Transcriber’s Notes
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between _underscores_. Small capitals have been changed to ALL
CAPITALS. Characters between ~tildes~ represent extra large
characters; ^{text} represents superscript text.
Please see the Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this file for some
important notes about this text and the changes made to it.
A
MILITARY DICTIONARY,
OR,
EXPLANATION OF THE SEVERAL SYSTEMS OF DISCIPLINE OF DIFFERENT
KINDS OF TROOPS,
INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, AND CAVALRY;
THE PRINCIPLES OF FORTIFICATION,
AND
ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
SCIENCE OF TACTICS:
COMPRISING
_THE POCKET GUNNER, OR LITTLE BOMBARDIER_;
THE MILITARY REGULATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES; THE WEIGHTS,
MEASURES, AND MONIES OF ALL NATIONS;
_THE TECHNICAL TERMS AND PHRASES OF THE ART OF WAR
IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE_.
PARTICULARLY ADAPTED TO THE USE OF THE MILITARY INSTITUTIONS
OF THE UNITED STATES:
BY WILLIAM DUANE,
LATE LIEUTENANT COLONEL IN THE ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES,
AND AUTHOR OF THE AMERICAN MILITARY LIBRARY.
An army without discipline is but a mob in uniform, more dangerous to
itself than to its enemy. Should any one from ignorance not perceive
the immense advantages that arise from a good discipline, it will be
sufficient to observe the alterations that have happened in Europe
since the year 1700.
SAXE.
I am fully convinced that the tactics of Frederic II. the causes of
his superiority, of his system of battles and lines, and of his most
skilful movements have been wholly misunderstood to the present time,
and that the actions of this great man have been attributed to maxims
diametrically opposite to his real principles.
JOMINI.....1808.
_PHILADELPHIA_:
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM DUANE,
NO. 98, MARKET STREET.
1810.
_DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA_, TO WIT:
[Illustration: L S]
BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Tenth day of August, in the Thirty Fifth
year of the Independence of the United States of America, A. D. 1810,
William Duane of the said district, hath deposited in this office,
the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in
the words following, to wit: “A Military Dictionary; or, Explanation
of the several systems of discipline of different kinds of Troops,
Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry; the Principles of Fortification, and
all the Modern Improvements in the Science of Tactics: comprising the
Pocket Gunner, or Little Bombardier; the Military Regulations of the
United States; the Weights, Measures, and Monies of all Nations; the
Technical Terms and Phrases of the Art of War in the French language.
Particularly adapted to the use of the Military institutions of the
United States: by William Duane, late lieutenant colonel in the army
of the United States, and author of the American Military Library. An
army without discipline is but a mob in uniform, more dangerous to
itself than to its enemy. Should any one from ignorance not perceive
the immense advantages that arise from a good discipline, it will be
sufficient to observe the alterations that have happened in Europe
since the year 1700. _Saxe_. I am fully convinced that the tactics
of Frederic II. the causes of his superiority, of his system of
battles and lines, and of his most skilful movements have been wholly
misunderstood to the present time, and that the actions of this great
man have been attributed to maxims diametrically opposite to his real
principles. _Jomini_....1808.”
In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States,
intituled “an Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the
copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of
such copies during the times therein mentioned.” And also to the Act,
entitled “an Act supplementary to an Act, entitled ‘an Act for the
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and
books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times
therein mentioned,’ and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of
designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints.”
D. CALDWELL,
_Clerk of the District of Pennsylvania_.
ELUCIDATORY PREFACE.
When the editor first undertook to prepare a MILITARY LIBRARY for
general use, he was stimulated thereto by perceiving the total decay
of military information, and the gross errors, in particulars the most
simple and essential, which every where had superceded or obstructed
useful knowlege. War at the moment seemed to be impending. There was
no organization of the militia, nor any system established, excepting
an incomplete elementary hand book, formed during the revolution, and
adapted to fix those who had already some military experience of the
first evolutions of a battalion, in a common method.
This book, no way calculated to teach the initiatory exercises, nor to
give an idea of the combined manœuvres of larger bodies; nor any method
of instruction, nor the duties of any other body than an infantry
battalion, was improperly dignified with the name of a _system_. The
most elevated in power as well as the most subordinate in military or
militia duty, adopted this false notion of a system, without enquiring
further than that it was established. When such a tract was held forth
as sufficient by the authority of law and by the silent indifference
of those who knew or ought to know better, it is not at all surprizing
that every other object of military study was neglected, since every
other was announced to be superfluous.
This state of general indifference or unacquaintance with the business
of war, gave rise to the American _Military Library_; in which the
editor intended originally to have comprehended a _vocabulary of
military terms_; and had made so much progress in its preparation,
as to discover that it would make a large book, and that any thing
short of a minute and comprehensive Dictionary, would be leaving the
undertaking still incomplete. The general _want_ of knowlege on the
subject, the inaccuracy of the notions which prevailed, and above all
the great revolutions which modern times had produced in the whole
economy and ordination of military science, decided the editor upon
the necessity of rendering the undertaking as complete as practicable,
by giving to the public a competent book of reference, so necessary to
study in the acquisition of every species of knowlege.
After some numbers of the Library had been published, the French
Military Dictionary of 1768, and the English Military Dictionary of
major James, fell into the editor’s hands. These works rendered much of
what had been already done superfluous, though not entirely useless;
the French work had been antiquated long before the revolution, by
the changes which took place in the French establishment in 1788 and
1791, and still more by the total renovation which it underwent during
the revolution. The English Dictionary labored under difficulties
of another nature; adapted to England alone, the military system of
England, called by the name of Dundas, which was only a modification
of the Prussian system of Saldern, and the French system formed in
imitation of the Prussian after the seven years war, must necessarily
be to a British officer the standard of a work published for the
British army; accordingly, although major James, both from his fine
understanding and experience, was well acquainted with the defects of
that system, he was still under the necessity of making it his standard.
In undertaking to give a work to the American people, the publication
of either the French or English Dictionary, though it might equally
profit the bookseller, would be only imposing upon the public, instead
of giving the best information and the most recent and approved
principles and improvements in the art of war: it was necessary
therefore almost to _re-write_, and to augment to a vast bulk the
quantity of information. The whole has been, therefore, modelled
and adapted throughout to the modern principles of discipline and
general tactics. So much of what is old has been retained as may give
some correct ideas of the systems of other nations; and the body of
information, as well as of words of reference, renders this the most
ample and particular Military Dictionary that has been published in the
language.
To the general mass has been added the useful little work called the
_Little Bombardier_, or _Pocket Gunner_, originally compiled for
the British artillerists from the French _Manuel de l’Artilleur_ of
Durtubie. The measures of extent and capacity, and the monies of
all foreign nations: under the words _Tactics_, _Military Schools_,
_Topographical Depot_, _Money_, _Weights and Measures_, _Valor_,
and generally throughout the work will be found a vast body of new
information, particularly adapted to the communication of correct
knowlege to all who wish to comprehend military subjects.
_A too prevalent error_, and the most fatal if we should ever be
engaged in war, and not acquire more perfect and general knowlege, is,
that the art of war requires neither study nor much attention to what
is called discipline; and this error has obtained a sort of sanctity
from the triumphs of our undisciplined yeomanry over the British,
Hanoverian, Wurtemburg, and Hessian veterans in our revolution.
Undoubtedly without an examination into the causes of the triumphs in a
more particular manner than general history presents, the assumption is
very imposing, and adapted to flatter self-love and national pride.
These natural and often useful passions must, nevertheless, be
restrained like all others within the bounds of reason; and, in order
to avoid the danger which may flow from our prejudices, we must
endeavor to consider our own circumstances with eyes as dispassionate
as we should those of strangers. We must enquire, what was the state
of military knowlege in the armies of the invaders; whether they
exhibited any of the great qualities which constitute well disciplined
troops or great generals; whether the whole course of their military
transactions was not a series of blunders, produced by their ignorance
of our people and country; and even in a great degree owing to the want
of talents in the officers of the enemy, to supply by their genius and
spirit of enterprize, the disadvantages under which they labored. It
would require only an enumeration of a few facts to shew, that although
the patience with which the American troops endured hardships and
privations, afford glorious examples of the military virtues; that even
these great virtues, conducted as they were, by a general who united in
himself the military qualities of a Fabius and a Scipio, could not have
had so much success were it not for the want of a good discipline, and
the utter incapacity of the generals of the British army.
In the modern wars of the French revolution, the like truths have
been demonstrated as in the American contest. The British armies had
been merely taught the duties of parade, and when they came into
the field, had to learn by hard fighting and severe defeats, that
their officers were generally ignorant of the art of war; for they
were beaten once more by _raw troops_ ably conducted to the field
by experienced officers, who possessed skill, who had made military
science their study; and, above all, who knew how to take advantage of
the incompetency of the British leaders.
Mankind in every country, educated in the same way, varies very
little in those points which are adapted to military services. It
must, therefore, in a great measure depend upon the education which
is applied to military affairs, in the discipline of armies, whether
they are victors or vanquished. All nations profess to have acted upon
this opinion, though there seems not to be that attention paid to the
subject, nor to education of any kind, which the acknowleged importance
of the case calls for. This indifference or heedlessness has at times
infected all nations, and may be considered as a disease, which if not
cured at a certain stage, ensures destruction.
The triumphs of Spain before the peace of Vervins in 1598, is a most
important part of history for the study of men fond of military
enquiries; the infantry of Spain was then the first in Europe; we have
seen in the years 1808 and 1809, that the extinction, by the neglect of
military knowlege, has left Spain, with ten millions of people, an easy
conquest. _Austria_ and _Prussia_ have successively shone preeminent
on the military theatre of Europe. The daily parades at Berlin, which
Frederic II. conducted himself for many years, and from which strangers
were excluded, were only lessons of experiment and instruction by
which he formed his own mind to the conviction of the power of rapid
movement, and close evolutions by small divisions; divisions moving in
different modes, and by different points, in apparent disorder but by
the most exact laws, to one common point of action. Here it was that he
contrived those methods which he accomplished in action afterwards, and
which enabled him, with a force not equal to half the Austrian army, to
baffle, defeat, and triumph over all Europe. It will be useful for the
man of sense to consider, whether Frederic could have performed such
wonders in the field, without this previous practice himself, and the
previous discipline which rendered his armies of 40,000 as manageable
as a battalion of 500 men. Perhaps we shall be told that _Steuben’s_
tract renders all these considerations unnecessary.
The military triumphs of modern France have been ascribed to a
multitude of causes; really, perhaps, the causes of her military
successes may be reduced to two. First, the necessity which arose
out of what has been preposterously called the balance of power in
Europe, which under the pretence of maintaining an equality of nations,
has been the real mask for reiterated wars, conquests, plunder, and
desolation; Spain, Austria, and France, have been at different periods
held up as aspiring to universal dominion; under the color of resisting
the aggrandizement of either, they have been for two centuries
constantly engaged in efforts to plunder each other. France, from her
position, was from the passions of the age, forced to be prepared for
the defensive; and in several successive wars had made conquests on
her extremities, which rendered it daily more necessary to maintain a
military establishment; and at length, after suffering great disasters,
and thereby producing a succession of great generals, the passions and
character of the people became military.
Taught by triumphs and disasters, the causes of success and failure,
her generals and statesmen directed their attention to the perfection
of all the branches of military institution; the management of weapons,
the array of troops, the plans of marches, the supply of armies, the
passage of rivers, and the simplification of every species of duty.
Colleges were instituted, the sciences were enlisted in the military
service, and it was difficult to tell in which class of citizens the
greatest military enthusiasm prevailed....the nobles who alone could
aspire to command, or the privates who composed the rank and file of
armies.
It is to these institutions, through which the path to honor and
renown lay, that France owes her present preeminence. Under several
heads of this Dictionary will be found the facts upon which this
opinion is sustained; other nations rather _aped_ than _emulated_ her
institutions; while France pursued the spirit of the Romans who adopted
every weapon which they found powerful in the hands of their enemies;
France adopted the prolonged line of the Austrians, or abandoned it to
pursue the concentric movements of Prussia; those echellons which under
another name were among the manœuvres of Scipio and Gustavus Adolphus,
and which so many have affected to laugh at as novelties, because they
know neither their history nor their use; were recommended by _Guibert_
in 1763, as the _column_ had been before recommended by _Folard_; and
each of whom had been calumniated and their tactics reprobated, by the
enemies of innovation, or rather by the blockheads of their day, _a
class of beings of which some are to be found every where_.
The rapid principles of Frederic, and the evolutions of the echellon
and column adapted to the concentric method of movement, upon oblique
as well as direct lines; and all executed with a combined precision
before unusual, constitute the great features of the modern tactics.
Simplicity of method in instruction is the key to it.
It must be evident to the humblest understanding, that a great part of
the success of armies in war must depend as much upon the knowlege of
the enemies’ mode of movement and action, as well as in the perfection,
precision, and promptitude of execution in their own. Voltaire,
whose history of Europe is alike admirable for its conciseness and
authenticity, since all his information on military affairs was
drawn from the _military depot_ established at Versailles, speaking
of the battle of Rosbach, attributes the defeat of the French under
Soubise to their ignorance of the new methods of movement which had
been introduced by Frederic II. The soldiers saw that the old method
of battle was changed; they did not comprehend the motions of the
Prussians, which were not merely novel, but as exact as the movements
on a parade; they believed they saw their masters in the art of war,
they were dismayed and fled.
This anecdote, which has many resemblances in ancient history, is of
great moment in directing the understanding to the consideration of
military institution. It leaves no doubt of the necessity of knowing
the art of war as it is practised by other nations, and especially the
importance of practising that which has proved superior to all others.
A fatality has attended all the efforts which have been made for
several years to introduce a suitable organization of the militia,
and a correct military system. The genius of ignorance appears to
have cast a spell over all the attempts that have been made. Like the
projector who was so much occupied by the erection of a _weathercock_,
that he set about it before the foundation for the steeple was laid,
every attempt has been made at the wrong end; a part has been mistaken
for a whole, composed of numerous parts, and the wrong part has
always been chosen first. America, which has been so original in the
revolution as to give rise to the institution of rifle corps, which
have decided seven-eighths of the battles that have been fought in
Europe since; has been led to resort constantly to the very system of
which America proved the futility, for precepts and examples; instead
of profiting by the march of science, we have gone for instruction to
the worst military institutions of Europe. When any person intrusted
with the military concerns of the U. States wants information, it is
to authorities exploded and condemned by men of military knowlege,
reference is made. A minister of England in addressing that nation
in 1806, at the very moment when it was announced to that nation
that the _bellum ad internicionem_ had only then begun..... that
“the war was now at the foot of her walls,” had the honesty, which
times of danger extracts even from ministers, to declare.... “_The
military system of England was equally in want of repairs, or rather
a thorough rebuilding, even to its foundation stone._” There is no
truth more certain, yet it is to this tattered and defenceless fabric
we resort for models on every occasion. The bill for establishing a
_quarter-master general’s department_, which was before congress in
1809-10, is a scion of this decayed tree; no doubt that as long as the
present apology for a system exists, the proposed department may serve,
as a crutch is of use to a body stricken with paralysis.
Military science even in France, where it has now reached the greatest
perfection, has had to struggle with selfishness and the occasional and
almost insuperable difficulties, which the appointment of ministers
incompetent and inexperienced in military affairs, threw in their way.
Folard is reputed to have died broken-hearted, by the persecution which
he experienced from stupid generals and ministers who looked to nothing
but official patronage. Levrilliere, whose admirable improvements in
the various departments of artillery, to whom is owing the reduction
of the length and the weight of metal of guns of the same calibre,
was persecuted out of France, and obliged to take refuge in the army
of Austria, where his services proved so formidable as to induce
his recall, and the final adoption of his vast improvements; those
improvements which, by lessening the weight of artillery, have led to
the powerful institution of horse artillery.
Wise nations are never disposed to reject the useful because it is not
of their own invention. The Austrians after the battle of Austerlitz
immediately abolished their old discipline, and the archduke Charles
instituted a better system upon the principles of the modern French.
Even the French themselves, surrounded by triumphs, have not yet
deemed the science of war perfect. New dispositions of the column were
adopted in Egypt; it was only in 1808 that the _regulations_ for the
exercise and manœuvres of _Cavalry_ were completed; and even since the
campaign which closed with the battle of Wagram, they have made some
important alterations in the arms of their cavalry, founded either
on the experience of inconvenience in their own, or of some superior
advantages in those of their enemy.
The conclusions which we draw from these facts are, that the prevalence
of erroneous opinions on the military institutions is a subject of very
serious concern; because it is evident, that so long as a nation or a
government, which has the care of the national concerns, and a great
influence over its opinions, suffers ignorance and prejudice to occupy
the place of intelligence, a similar fate may be considered as the
consequence, whenever the nation shall be attacked, as other negligent
or ignorant nations have been, by a power of superior knowlege and
capacity in the art of war.
Nothing more plainly shews the misconception which generally prevails,
especially in the legislatures of the Union and the several states,
than the contradictory motives which are assigned for leaving the
militia and military system in their present state of disorganization.
Some plead that the art of war is laid down in Steuben; others that
Steuben carried us through the revolution; when in fact both Burgoyne
and Cornwallis were taken before Steuben’s tract was introduced;
others are for arming our militia with pikes alone, forgetting that
an open country is that for which pikes are best adapted; and that
to render pikes effective there must be a most perfect discipline of
manœuvre, which may render the line as potent and firm as the column,
and as easily displayed, concentrated, and formed to various fronts
as the best disciplined infantry; when the new modes of movement are
mentioned, they are called novelties, though the principal of them are
as old as the battle of Pharsalia, and were in practice at the battle
of Lutzen; other exceptions are, that besides being new, the modern
discipline is too difficult to learn, too perplexed and fatiguing; that
the multiplied manœuvres require more time and labor, and must be in a
great measure useless; and that so satisfied are the British of this
that they have reduced them all to nineteen manœuvres. Nothing so truly
depicts the want of judgment or a proper attention to the subject, as
observations like these.....the truth is that the modern principles of
instruction are _fewer in number_, more easily taught and understood,
and less irksome to the soldier; better adapted to engage the soldier’s
attention and afford him gratification; that the variety and number
of evolutions is not more various than the eternal variety of ground
by which military movements and dispositions are always governed; and
that the new discipline, by teaching the first elements well, enables
the military body to be moved by these principles on any ground, and
not only to form any disposition that it is possible to form, but
without having been previously formed in such new dispositions; the
elementary principles of modern discipline being peculiarly adapted to
the understanding, and the movements by small bodies, enabling every
officer of a small portion of troops to move his particular corps by
the mode best adapted to the ground.
It must always be the fault of the government if its military
institutions are erroneous. If there were but a single regiment, that
should be instructed according to the best principles, and made to
practise whatever was most useful and necessary in the art of war. In a
nation of freemen the _regular_ force should constantly exhibit their
exercises and evolutions, so that every citizen should be familiar with
the best practice of the use of arms and of manœuvres. The eye may be
said to have an infallible memory, it is above all other of the organs
of sense the best medium of intelligence. The United States troops
are usually cooped up in garrisons, as if they were, like the king of
Prussia, forming a system _in secret_, while in fact there is nothing
worthy of the name of discipline carried on, and in too many instances
nothing understood. Perhaps the troops of the United States have not,
as a part of discipline, fired a ball at a target for twenty years.
Field artillery, or mortar practice, probably not more frequent. The
maxim of economy is an important one in a free state, but there is an
economy more destructive than the greatest profusion; and that is the
economy of practical and useful knowlege.
We speak of these things reluctantly, but the evil is almost a disease,
and requires the regard of the intelligent men in all parts of the
nation.
_What is then requisite for the United States?_
It will be said that there is some difficulty in effecting any
improvement. Unquestionably so it is, and so it ever will be. But
the government is bound not to regard difficulties, when they are
put in competition with the dangers which may flow from neglect. The
government possesses the power, and the army is bound, and the country
is anxious to possess a more complete system in lieu of the once useful
but at present useless tract of baron Steuben. The difficulties are not
so great as may be at first sight supposed, and may be surmounted in
a way rather to serve as a pleasure than a difficulty to the army and
militia. The elements of modern exercise might be first introduced,
they are neither so numerous, so perplexed, nor so unnatural as the
old forms; neither are they so tiresome to the teacher or the taught.
They have also another advantage, that the soldier is not as heretofore
stiffened and set up like an embalmed Egyptian mummy; the modern
method takes any number from 10 to 100 men, and places them in an easy
position erect without constraint of head, or limbs, or body; and
proceeds by familiarizing the ear to equal time by the action of the
feet of the whole squad or company; after which they are all taught to
face to either hand or about, indifferently, and never in one routine;
the mode of moving the limbs and the time of movement is ever the same;
and the words of command few, simple, and plain; where they in any
case differ from the usual words of common life the teacher’s duty is
to explain them often, until the ears of all are familiar with their
practical meaning.
The next process is advancing, at a given length of pace in equal
times; and this is combined with facings, and at last with wheelings,
in whole ranks, or in sections of any given numbers, always varying,
diminishing, and augmenting at discretion the numbers of the sections,
by drawing from the right of each successive section in the rear of
the first, to the left of the leading section, a number sufficient to
augment the first to the number required, and so of every section from
front to rear; the drill is thus carried on always with moving feet at
the time of gay dancing music, and when marching always at a pace of 24
inches.
After the squad of 20 or 100 is found complete in these minute branches
of marking time, advancing at time, facing and wheeling, augmenting
and diminishing sections, they are taught the oblique wheelings and
facings, or as the modern words are _half_ or _quarter facing_, or
_half_ or _quarter wheeling_; and to march dressed in these several
orders, so as to form exactly in the same relative position to each
other when wheeled or faced to their primitive position.
Thus much may be well taught, and comprehended, and practised in two or
three weeks, employing only two or three hours at each drill, and twice
each day.
The instruction of the pivots or flank men of ranks and sections, go
along with the first wheelings; and as soon as the uses of the pivots
are generally understood, then the whole are formed into double ranks;
and the men are prepared to execute any of the modern evolutions or
manœuvres; it being always calculated that the officers are equally
diligent and as well drilled as the men, and competent not only to
comprehend but to correct an error when it occurs.
At this stage, and not before, arms should be put into their hands;
and a manual exercise of some kind taught, for it is not material what
the motions are so that the firing and loading motions are taught to
be performed with dexterity and ease. The drill is then manœuvred
once a day with arms, and the officer who feels a proper sense of the
importance of the habit of command, and the advantage of giving troops
the practice of movement, will diversify his own pleasures and gratify
his men, by moving them into all the various positions of column, line,
echellons, movements by heads of sections, changing flanks and fronts,
taking new alignements, countermarching in the various modes of which
modern military works furnish such useful and abundant examples.
The elements of the first drills with minute instructions might be
comprised in a hand book of one half the compass of Steuben’s tract;
and this elementary work placed in the hands of all descriptions of
troops, infantry, artillery, and cavalry, should be the first rule of
practice for them all in common. This introduced, the government could
at leisure prepare instructions for a more comprehensive course of
manœuvres, and particularly hand books upon the same simple principles
of drills for artillery, riflemen, and cavalry, in their particular
branches of duty. It being to be understood as a fundamental principle,
that as the movements and action of all kinds of troops are regulated
by the movements of infantry; or in other words, as infantry compose
the main body, line, or column; the riflemen, artillery, and cavalry
must be governed in their movements by the main body, to which they
are appendages or auxiliaries; and it is therefore required that they
should know themselves how to execute the infantry manœuvres, in order
that they should not, like the French at Rosbach, be confounded by
movements of which they are ignorant.
The profound mathematician may look down from the elevation of abstract
science upon the cold common place of syllabic combination and Arabic
numerical notation; but he owes his first knowlege to the alphabet of
language and arithmetic; here he must have begun, and here the military
man of whatever grade must also begin. He must learn the alphabet of
military knowlege at the drill, he must take his lessons and learn
them; he must study and practice what he has learned there, in order to
teach; and the officer must learn both to command others and to obey.
There is no science which may not be attained by earnest application
and practice. But no science or art can be acquired or understood
without both; and the more carefully that study is pursued and the
more frequently it is practised, the more efficient will it be in the
individual and in the regular mass of individuals. But practice is
above all requisite, careful, frequent, constant, obstinately pursued
practice.
_But this is not yet a system._
We have exhibited the elementary branch of military instruction first,
merely because it is the point at which every military body must
commence; because this is what is now most wanted, and because while
it is carrying into practical use, the general system containing all
the purposes and uses of an efficient military establishment may in the
mean time be prepared and digested.
Having treated so much on this subject, its importance will excuse
the discussion of it more at large. To the perfection of a military
establishment for the U. States two things are essential.
The _first_ is, that it should be such as to be equally applicable in
its operation to the militia and to the army of the U. States, whenever
the former are called forth.
The _second_, that every act and duty appertaining to the military
establishment should be transacted by none other than men subject to
military order, control, and responsibility; and liable to be put in
motion or brought to account for delay or neglect in a military manner.
These two principles lead to the consideration of what would be an
efficient military organization; and here we have a host of formidable
enemies, _ignorance_, _a disorderly mass_; _indolence_ and _idleness_,
hanging on the flanks; the _steady habits_ of _old prejudice_ ever
alarmed for its patronage or its place; all immediately exclaim,
would there not be great confusion produced by abrogating some duties
and introducing others. We shall not skirmish with this motley and
unmilitary groupe; we shall come to the point. In considering the
subject, it will be found that the present war department in fact
corresponds with what is called the general staff in other countries;
the president representing the commander in chief, the secretary at war
chief of the staff. From this fact it will be perceived, that whatever
improvements might take place in the system, it would at first consist
only of defining and distributing the duties and details of service by
the war department.
After defining and arranging the various heads of service, they should
of course be classed according to analogy or the dependency of one kind
upon another; so that there would be several heads, under each of which
the inferior branches of duty might be distributed. At the head of one
of the superior branches should be placed a responsible officer, who
would have the superintendance of all the duties, and the direction
and control of all those placed in the execution of the subordinate
branches; this officer to be responsible to the executive directly
in peace; and when the arrangements became necessarily distinct in
the field, to become responsible to the commanding officer in the
field. These heads of branches should be the efficient staff of the
military institution, it is through the perfection of the organization
of the staff, and the rigid responsibility for the due execution and
for seeing all under them duly performed, that modern tactics is in
an eminent degree indebted for its preeminency and its triumphs.
Precision, promptitude, and provident foresight, are their invariable
laws, and upon these being perfect depends all the success of modern
military science; but it must be taken in connexion also with the
disciplinary principles which go into action, where the same provident
foresight, the same precision, and the same celerity of motion ensure
success to all that is undertaken against any force, however numerous
and brave, destitute of a system equally provident and combined in its
operations.
To commence an efficient system we must take the outline upon the
_largest scale_; that is, in preparing an establishment, of which the
end is the defence of all the nation, we must not begin with a system
which is only adapted to a peace; an assumption of this kind would
render any military system nugatory. To form a system complete, it must
be founded in its very nature on the supposition of an actual war.
This would no doubt be reversing the present order of things; since it
is not to be concealed, that as it is at present constituted, the war
department is utterly incompetent to conduct a war; but such as would
leave the mind of a general officer, in case of actual war, to labor
under a most hazardous and perplexing responsibility. Possibly economy
may here take the alarm, we shall quiet this _costly chimera_.
A peace establishment of the military department we conceive should
be treated as the incident; forming and fixing the principles of the
institution would not necessarily call for its immediate completion,
or the appointment even of a single officer, or the expenditure of a
single dollar more than at present; the duties and functions should
be defined, but no additional officers employed until occasion called
for them, _that is war_. It is necessary to offer these precautionary
ideas to prevent misapprehension, and lest the idea of the formation
of a system, that is a coherent and comprehensive regulation for the
military department, should be mistaken for a wish to immediately
organize an army and staff, and put them into pay. It is barely meant
that during peace provision should be made against war, which we do not
know how soon we may be involved in.....we shall therefore proceed.
The military system may be said to consist of two principal branches,
_military operations_, and _subsistence_, both of which must be within
the full and ample command of the chief of an army. These two branches
become the objects of duty distributed among the staff; which unfolds
another important truth, that every officer who has the provision,
or charge of procuring supplies of subsistence or clothing, should
be responsible in a military manner for the execution of his duty,
and liable to military penalties for the abuse or the neglect of that
duty. This is a most important consideration; and it is apprehended
the scandalous state of the clothing of the army of the U. States,
which has been gradually becoming worse for several years past, is
a strong exemplification of this necessity. There should not be a
single officer of the war department, unless perhaps the accounting
officers, who should be exempt from military control, in order to
assure a due exercise of their duty between the public and the military
establishment; as it would be in the power of men intrusted with the
provision of clothing or subsistence at any time.... _to betray the
army to an enemy_.
The beginning should be with the organization of the general staff, and
this should be adapted, for the reasons given, to a state of war. The
secretary of the war department being in fact the chief of the staff,
the rest of the staff should consist of an able practical general
officer, a capable chief officer of the artillery, an effective chief
officer of the engineers, a vigilant and experienced quarter-master
general, and an intelligent and experienced adjutant general, with one
or two commissioned officers, as the service might require, attached
to each of these several officers as aids, who should execute under a
board of war the details of duty; these superior officers, with others
called in, should constitute this council or board for the regulation
of all the military details; appoint inspectors of reviews; and such
other persons as might be required to aid in the service, such as
surgeons, draftsmen, &c. They should divide their duties into the
military and the administrative, and have cognizance and control over
every branch, always subject to the chief of the staff or secretary at
war; they should assemble and deliberate, and their consultations and
measures, however minute, with their reasonings or objections, should
be daily recorded; and these consultations should, whenever required,
be presented to the secretary at war, to the president, or to congress
when called for.
The military branch should be distributed under the heads following.....
MILITARY I.....PLANS AND MEANS OF DEFENSIVE OR OFFENSIVE WAR.
1. This should comprehend a topographical establishment; the
preparation of complete maps and surveys of our own country; and a
classification of the surface of the Union into districts of equal
portions of three, five, or nine parts; and these again into lesser
districts; designating all the passes, roads, rivers, &c., in each,
with descriptive memoirs and references to each.
2. The police of armies.
3. Military exercises or discipline.
4. Military operations, marchings, and encampments.
5. Movements of troops by water.
6. Military chronology, or daily and other returns, of duties,
actions, retreats, &c. &c.
FISCAL II.....SUBSISTENCE, PECUNIARY AND CIVIL ADMINISTRATION.
1. Pay, receipts, and expenditures, or the treasury branch.
2. Clothing, equipments, arms.
3. Provisions, meat, bread, grain, liquors, fuel.
4. Forage, hay, oats, straw, corn.
5. Hospitals and magazines.
6. Carriages and horses for stores and artillery.
Such is the outline of a military system adapted to the circumstances
and necessities of the U. States. On a superficial glance, to timid or
unreflecting men, this may appear to be surrounded with difficulties
insuperable; there will be discordant opinions, envy, jealousy, folly
will devise objections; no two men may concur, however equal and able;
the objects are themselves too numerous and complex for any one man to
prepare in time or in a satisfactory manner; the proposition itself
will be said to arise from interested motives; from some lust of place
or profit; it will require resolution to resist prejudice; and the
requisite firmness to decide may not be found.
We shall close this part of our essay by stating generally, that
whenever there shall appear a disposition to adopt this or any such
system, means can be pointed out by which the insuperable difficulties
shall be made appear easy to be overcome; discordant opinions
reconciled and brought spontaneously to concurrence; envy, folly,
and jealousy will be allowed to prey upon themselves, without danger
of annoyance to the plan; the variety of the objects can be made
subservient to render them more simple, practicable, and effective; and
instead of the merit being ascribed to any one man, every officer in
the army and the militia if they choose shall have an opportunity of
laying his claim to a participation in the plan.
If the observations thrown out in this preface are well founded, the
necessity of a work of this kind will be immediately perceived. Let it
not however be imagined, says major James, that a Military Dictionary
ought exclusively to belong to a camp or barrack, or be found in the
closets or libraries of military men alone. The arts and sciences are
so intimately connected together, that they eventually borrow language
and resources from each other, and go hand in hand from the senate
to the field, from the pulpit to the bar, and from the desk of the
historian to the bureau of the statesman or politician.
We have a few words to say on certain parts of the work. The French
phrases are adopted for their usefulness in reading, and often even
in political reading: the words and phrases in the language of the
East Indies, are adopted from the English Dictionary, in which however
there were some errors which the editor of this work was enabled to
correct, and to give more accurate explanations to many. Some subjects
which might with more propriety be placed under one letter are placed
under another; the course of reading which the editor commenced
cotemporaneous with the preparation of the three first letters, not
affording the illustrations until the letter to which they properly
belonged had been printed. Thus under _Valor_ will be found much of
what would properly come under _Courage_; and under _Topographical_
what would properly belong to _Depot_. There are several similar
instances.
Should the disposition be manifested to cultivate the knowlege of
military subjects generally, the editor proposes at some future day to
publish gen. Grimoard’s treatise on the _Staff_ of armies; the French
Regulations for Cavalry of 1808; and the most modern and celebrated
works on Tactics, the treatise of Jomini, the 4th volume of which
was published in the beginning of 1810. All these works are already
translated and ready to be put to press; beside a Dictionary of all the
military actions recorded in ancient and modern history which is now in
great forwardness.
Military men who may be desirous of adding to the stock of useful and
correct knowlege, will oblige by pointing out any defects or errors,
or recommending any additions that are pertinent to the nature of this
work, addressed to the compiler.
JULY 4, 1810.
MILITARY
DICTIONARY.
A.
ABATIS, in a military sense, is formed by cutting down many entire
trees, the branches of which are turned towards an enemy, and as much
as possible entangled one into another. They are made either before
redoubts, or other works, to render the attacks difficult, or sometimes
along the skirts of a wood, to prevent an enemy from getting possession
of it. In this case the trunks serve as a breast-work, behind which the
troops are posted, and for that reason should be so disposed, that the
parts may, if possible, flank each other.
ABLECTI, _in military antiquity_, a choice or select part of
the soldiery in the Roman armies, picked out of those called
_extraordinarii_.
ABOLLA, _in military antiquity_, a warm kind of garment, generally
lined or doubled, used both by the Greeks and Romans, chiefly out of
the city, in following the camp.
ABORD, _Fr._ attack, onset.
_S’_ABOUCHER, _Fr._ to parley.
ABOUT, a technical word to express the movement, by which a body of
troops changes its front or aspect, by facing according to any given
word of command.
_Right_ ABOUT, is when the soldier completely changes the situation of
his person, by a semi-circular movement to the right.
_Left_ ABOUT, is when the soldier changes the situation of his person
by a semi-circular movement to the left.
ABREAST, a term formerly used to express any number of men in front. At
present they are determined by Files.
ABRI, _Fr._ shelter, cover. _Etre à l’abri_, to be under cover, as of a
wood, hillock, &c.
ABSCISSA, _in military mathematics_, signifies any part of the diameter
or axis of a curve, contained between its vertex or some other fixed
point, and the intersection of the ordinate.
In the parabola, the _abscissa_ is a third proportional to the
parameter and the ordinate.
In the ellipsis, the square of the ordinate is equal to the rectangle
under the parameter and _abscissa_, lessened by another rectangle
under the said _abscissa_, and a fourth proportional to the axis, the
parameter, and the _abscissa_.
In the hyperbola, the squares of the ordinates are as the rectangles of
the _abscissa_ by another line, compounded of the _abscissa_ and the
transverse axis.
But it must be remembered, that the two proportions relating to the
ellipsis and hyperbola, the origin of the _abscissas_, or point from
whence they began to be reckoned, is supposed to be the vertex of the
curve, or, which amounts to the same thing, the point where the axis
meets it; for if the origin of the _abscissa_ be taken from the centre,
as is often done, the above proportions will not be true.
ABSENT, a term used in military returns. It forms a part of regimental
reports, to account for the deficiency of any given number of officers
or soldiers; and is usually distinguished under two principal heads,
viz.
ABSENT _with leave_, officers with permission, or non-commissioned
officers and soldiers on furlough.
ABSENT _without leave_. Men who desert are frequently reported _absent
without leave_, for the specific purpose of bringing their crime under
regimental cognizance, and to prevent them from being tried capitally,
for desertion.
ABSOLUTE _Gravity_, in philosophy, is the whole force by which a body,
shell, or shot, is impelled towards the centre. See GRAVITY.
ABSOLUTE _Number_, in Algebra, is the known quantity which possesses
entirely one side of the equation. Thus, in the equation, _xx_ + 10_x_,
= 64, the number 64, possessing entirely one side of the equation, is
called the _absolute number_, and is equal to the square of the unknown
root _x_, added to 10_x_, or to 10 times _x_.
ABUTMENT. See BRIDGES.
ACADEMY, in antiquity, the name of a villa situated about a mile
from the city of Athens, where Plato and his followers assembled for
conversing on philosophical subjects; and hence they acquired the name
of _Academics_.
The term _Academy_ is frequently used among the moderns for a society,
of learned persons, instituted for the cultivation and improvement of
arts or sciences. Some authors confound _academy_ with university;
but, though much the same in Latin, they are very different things in
English. An university is, properly, a body composed of graduates in
the several faculties; of professors, who teach in the public schools;
of regents or tutors, and students who learn under them, and aspire
likewise to degrees; whereas an _academy_ was originally not intended
for teaching, or to profess any art, but to improve it; it was not
for novices to be instructed in, but for those who were more knowing;
for persons of distinguished abilities to confer in, and communicate
their lights and discoveries to each other, for their mutual benefit
and improvement. The first _academy_ we read of, was established by
Charlemagne, by the advice of Alcuin: it was composed of the chief wits
of the court, the emperor himself being a member.
_Military_ ACADEMY. There are in England two royal military academies,
one at Woolwich, and one at Portsmouth. The first was established by
king George II. in 1741, endowed, and supported, for the instructing of
the people belonging to the military branch of ordnance, in the several
parts of mathematics necessary to qualify them for the service of the
artillery, and the business of engineers. The lectures of the masters
in theory were then duly attended by the practitioner-engineers,
officers, serjeants, corporals, private men, and cadets. At present
the gentlemen educated at this academy are the sons of the nobility
and military officers. They are called gentlemen cadets, and are not
admitted under 14 and not above 16 years of age. They are taught
writing, arithmetic, algebra, Latin, French, mathematics, mechanics,
surveying, levelling, and fortification, together with the attack and
defence; gunnery, mining, laboratory works, geography, perspective,
fencing, dancing, &c. The master-general of the ordnance is always
captain of the company of gentlemen cadets, and some officer of merit
is always captain-lieutenant. There is, besides, a first lieutenant,
and two second lieutenants. They are further under the immediate care
of a lieutenant-governor, and an inspector, who are officers of great
abilities and experience; and the professors and masters are men of
known talents and capacity. That at Portsmouth was founded by George
I. in 1722, for teaching of the branches of the mathematics which more
immediately relate to navigation.
For the American and French _Military Academies_, see SCHOOL.
ACANZI, in military history, the name of the Turkish light-horse that
form the van-guard of the Grand Signior’s army on a march.
ACCELERATED _Motion on oblique or inclined-planes_. See MOTION.
ACCELERATED _Motion of pendulums_. See PENDULUMS.
ACCELERATED _Motion of Projectiles_. See PROJECTILES.
ACCENDONES, in military antiquity, a kind of gladiators, or
supernumeraries, whose office was to excite and animate the combatants
during the engagement.
ACCENSI, in antiquity, were officers attending the Roman magistrates;
their business was to summon the people to the public games, and to
assist the prætor when he sat on the bench.
_Accensi_, in military antiquity, was also an appellation given to a
kind of adjutants appointed by the tribune to assist each centurion and
decurion. According to Festus, they were supernumerary soldiers, whose
duty it was to attend their leaders, and supply the places of those who
were either killed or wounded. Livy mentions them as irregular troops,
but little esteemed. Salmasius says, they were taken out of the fifth
class of the poor citizens of Rome.
ACCESSIBLE, that which may be approached. We say, in a military stile,
that place, or that fortress, is _accessible_ from the sea, or land, i.
e. it may be entered on those sides.
An accessible height or distance, in geometry, is that which may be
measured by applying a rule, &c. to it: or rather, it is a height, the
foot whereof may be approached, and from whence any distance may be
measured on the ground.
Heights, both accessible, and inaccessible, may be taken with a
quadrant. See ALTITUDE; and the article on Field Fortifications in the
_American Military Library_, Theorem 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
One of the objects of surveying, is the measuring both accessible and
inaccessible distances.
ACCLIVITY, in a military sense, is the steepness or slope of any
work, inclined to the horizon, reckoned upwards. Some writers on
fortification use acclivity as synonymous with _talus_; though _talus_
is commonly used to denote all manner of slopes, either in its
ascendent or descendent state.
ACCONTIUM, in ancient military writers, a kind of Grecian dart or
javelin, somewhat resembling the Roman _pilum_.
ACCOUTREMENTS, in a military sense, signify habits, equipage, or
furniture, of a soldier, such as belts, pouches, cartridge-boxes,
saddles, bridles, &c. Accoutrements should be made of stout leather,
not of the spongy kind, which is always stretching, and difficult to
clean. The belts are about 2¹⁄₄ inches broad, with two buckles to fix
them to the pouch. Pouches are made of the stoutest blackened leather,
especially the outside flaps, which are of such a substance as to turn
the severest rain. Cartridge-boxes are made as light as possible, with
holes in each, to hold cartridges. See CARTRIDGE.
ACLIDES, in Roman antiquity, a kind of missive weapon, with a thong
fixed to it, whereby it might be drawn back again. Most authors
describe the _aclides_ as a sort of dart or javelin: but Scaliger makes
it roundish or globular, with a wooden stem to poise it by.
ACOLUTHI, in military antiquity, was a title in the Grecian empire,
given to the captain or commander of the _varangi_, or body-guards,
appointed for the security of the emperor’s palace.
ACTIAN _games_ in antiquity, were games instituted, or at least
restored, by Augustus, in memory of the famous victory, at Actium, over
Mark Antony.
ACTIAN _years_, in chronology, a series of years, commencing with the
epocha of the battle of Actium, otherwise called the æra of Augustus.
ACTION, in the military art, is an engagement between two armies, or
any smaller body of troops, or between different bodies belonging
thereto. The word is likewise used to signify some memorable act done
by an officer, soldier, detachment or party.
ACTIVITY, in a military sense, denotes laboriousness, attention, labor,
diligence and study.
ACUTE _angle_. See ANGLE.
ADACTED applies to stakes, or piles, driven into the earth by large
malls shod with iron, as in securing ramparts or pontoons.
ADDICE, a sort of axe which cuts horizontally. It is sometimes called
an Adze.
ADIT, a passage under ground, by which miners approach the part they
intend to sap. See GALLERY.
ADJUTANT-GENERAL is a staff officer, who aids and assists a general
in his laborious duties: he forms the several details of duty of the
army, with the brigade-majors, and keeps an exact state of each brigade
and regiment, with a roll of the lieutenant-generals, major-generals,
colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors. He every day at head
quarters receives orders from the general officer of the day, and
distributes them to the majors of brigades, from whom he receives
the number of men they are to furnish for the duty of the army, and
informs them of any detail which may concern them. On marching days he
accompanies the general to the ground of the camp. He makes a daily
report of the situation of all the posts placed for the safety of the
army, and of any changes made in their posts. In a day of battle he
acts as aid to the general. In a siege he visits the several posts
and guards of the trenches, and reports their situation, and how
circumstanced: he gives and signs all orders for skirmishing parties
(if time permit) and has a serjeant from each brigade to carry any
orders which he may have to send. See _American Mil. Lib._ Article
STAFF.
ADJUTANT, an officer who aids the major in part of his duty, and
performs it in his absence. He receives orders from the brigade-major,
if in camp; and when in garrison, from the town-major: after he has
carried them to his colonel or officer commanding the regiment, he
then assembles the serjeant-major, drum-major and fife-major, with
a serjeant and corporal of each company, who write the orders in
an orderly book, to shew to their respective officers. If convoys,
parties, detachments, or guards, are to be furnished, he gives the
number which each company is to furnish, and hour and place for the
assembling: he must keep an exact roster and roll of duties, and have a
perfect knowlege of all manœuvres, &c. This post is usually given to an
active subaltern.
ADMIRAL, on the European establishiments, when on shore, are entitled
to receive military honors, and rank with generals in the army.
ADVANCE. See PAY in Advance.
ADVANCED signifies some part of an army in front of the rest, as in
_advanced guards_, which always precede the line of march or operations
of a body of troops; again, as when a battalion, or guns of a second
line are brought up in front and before the first line. This term also
applies to the promotions of officers and soldiers.
{_Fossé_} See FORTIFICATION.
ADVANCED {_Ditch_}
{_Guard._ See GUARD.
ADVANCEMENT, in a military sense, signifies honor, promotion, or
preferment, in the army, regiment or company.
ADVANTAGE _Ground_, a ground that gives superiority, or an opportunity
of annoyance or resistance.
ADVICE-_Boat_, a vessel employed for intelligence.
ADVOCATE _General_. See JUDGE _Martial_.
ÆNEATORES, in military antiquity, the musicians in an army; including
those who sounded the trumpets, horns, _litui_, _buccincæ_, &c.
AFFAIR, in the military acceptation of the word, means any slight
action or engagement.
AFFAIR _of Honor_, a duel.
AFFAMER, _une Place_, _Fr._ to besiege a place so closely as to starve
the garrison and inhabitants. See BLOCKADE.
AFFIDAVIT, in military law, signifies an oath taken before some person
who is properly authorised to administer it; as first, when a soldier
is inlisted, when it is stiled an attestation; secondly, by all
officers appointed on a court-martial; thirdly, by the commissaries, or
muster-masters.
AFFRONTER, _Fr._ to encounter or attack boldly.
AFFUT, the French name for a gun-carriage, and for which we have no
appropriate name; the only distinction from all other carriages is,
that it belongs to a gun. See CARRIAGE.
AGA, in the Turkish army, is the same as a general with us.
AGE. A young man must be 14 years old before he can become an officer
in the English army, or be entered as a cadet at Woolwich, in the
English academy.
Persons are enlisted for soldiers from 17 to 45. After the latter age,
every inhabitant is exempted from serving in the British militia.
By a late regulation in England, growing boys may be enlisted under 16
years of age. These recruits are chiefly intended for the East-India
service.
In the United States 18 to 45 is the legal age for militia and regulars.
The Romans were obliged to enter themselves in the army at the age
of 17 years; at 45 they might demand their dismission. Amongst the
Lombards, the age of entry was between 18 and 19; among the Saxons, at
13.
AGEMA, in the ancient military art, a kind of soldiery chiefly in the
Macedonian armies. The word is Greek, and literally denotes vehemence,
to express the strength and eagerness of this corps. Some authors will
have _agema_ to denote a certain number of picked men, answering to a
legion among the Romans.
AGENCY, a certain proportion of money which is ordered to be subtracted
from the pay and allowances of the British army, for transacting the
business of the several regiments composing it.
AGENT, a person in the civil department of the British army, between
the paymaster-general and the paymaster of the regiment, through whom
every regimental concern of a pecuniary nature must be transacted.
He gives security to government for all monies which pass through
his hands in the capacity of an Agent--and by the Mutiny Act, it was
provided, That if an Agent shall withhold the Pay of Officers or
Soldiers for the Space of one Month, he should be dismissed from his
Office and forfeit 100_l._
The army agency has since been incorporated with the British war
office, and forms a special department.
_Military_ AGENT in the United States is a civil officer whose duty is
the transporting of clothing and other articles; and the expenditures
for other services attached to the military department; they act under
direct orders from the War Department.
AGGER, in ancient military writers, denotes the middle part of a
military road, raised into a ridge, with a gentle slope on each side,
to make a drain for the water, and keep the way dry.
AGGER is also used for the whole road, or military way. Where highways
were to be made in low grounds, as between two hills, the Romans used
to raise them above the adjacent land, so as to make them of a level
with the hills. These banks they called _aggeres_. Bergier mentions
several in the _Gallia Belgica_, which were thus raised 10, 15, or 20
feet above ground, and 5 or 6 leagues long. They are sometimes called
_aggeres calceati_, or causeways.
AGGER, also, denotes a work of fortification, used both for the defence
and the attack of towns, camps, &c. in which sense _agger_ is the same
with what was otherwise called _vallum_, and in later times, _agestum_:
and among the moderns, _lines_; sometimes, _cavaliers_, _terrasses_, &c.
The _agger_ was usually a bank, or elevation of earth, or other matter,
bound and supported with timber; having sometimes turrets on the top,
wherein the workmen, engineers, and soldiery, were placed. It had also
a ditch, which served as its chief defence. The height of the _agger_
was frequently equal to that of the wall of the place. Cæsar tells us
of one he made, which was 30 feet high, and 330 feet broad. Besides
the use of _aggers_ before towns, they generally used to fortify their
camps with them; for want of which precaution, divers armies have been
surprised and ruined.
There were vast _aggers_ made in towns and places on the sea-side,
fortified with towers, castles, &c. Those made by Cæsar and Pompey, at
Brundusium, are famous. Sometimes _aggers_ were even built across arms
of the sea, lakes, and morasses; as was done by Alexander before Tyre,
and by M. Antony and Cassius.
The wall of Severus, in the north of England, may be considered as
a grand _agger_, to which belong several lesser ones. Besides, the
principal _agger_ or _vallum_, on the brink of the ditch, Mr. Horsley
describes another on the south side of the former, about 5 paces
distant from it, which he calls the south _agger_; and another larger
one, on the north side of the ditch, called the north _agger_. This
latter he conjectures to have served as a military way; the former,
probably, was made for the inner defence, in case the enemy should
beat them from any part of the principal _vallum_, or to protect the
soldiers against any sudden attack from the provincial Britons.
AGGER _Tarquinii_, was a famous fence built by Tarquinius Superbus, on
the east side of Rome, to stop the incursions of the Latins, and other
enemies, whereby the city might be invested.
AGGER is also used for the earth dug out of a ditch or trench, and
thrown up on the brink of it: in which sense, the Chevalier Folard
thinks the word to be understood, when used in the plural number,
since we can hardly suppose they would raise a number of cavaliers, or
terrasses.
AGGER is also used for a bank or wall, erected against the sea, or
some great river, to confine or keep it within bounds; in which sense,
_agger_ amounts to the same with what the ancients called _tumulus_ and
_moles_; the Dutch, _dyke_; and we, _dam_, _sea-wall_; the Asiatics
call them _bunds_, &c.
AGIADES, in the Turkish armies, are a kind of pioneers, or rather field
engineers, employed in fortifying the camp, &c.
AGUERRI, _Fr._ an officer or soldier experienced in war; a veteran.
AIDE-DE-CAMP, an officer appointed to attend a general officer, in the
field, in winter-quarters, and in garrison; he receives and carries
the orders, as occasion requires. He is taken from the line, and all
aids-de-camp have extra pay allowed for their duty. This employment is
of greater importance than has been generally believed: it has been,
however, too often entrusted to young officers of little experience,
and of as little capacity; but in the French service they bestow
great attention on this article. Marshal de Puysegur mentions the
loss of a battle through the incapacity of an aide-de-camp. On the
English establishment, generals, being field marshals, have _four_,
lieutenant-generals _two_, and major-generals and brigadier-generals
_one_.
In the United States the number is established by law; though on
service the number must necessarily be equal to the exigency, or the
various points to which orders must be sent. See _American Mil. Lib._
Article STAFF.
AIDE _du Parc des Vivres_, _Fr._ an officer in France, acting
immediately under the commissary of stores and provisions.
AID-MAJOR. See ADJUTANT.
AIGREMORE, a term used by the artificers in the laboratory, to express
the charcoal in a state fitted for the making of powder.
AIGUILLE, an instrument used by engineers to pierce a rock for the
lodgement of powder, as in a mine; or to mine a rock, so as to excavate
and make roads.
AILE, _Fr._ a wing or flank of an army or fortification.
AIM, the act of bringing the musquet, piece of ordnance, or any other
missive weapon, to its proper line of direction with the object
intended to be struck.
AIM FRONTLET, a piece of wood hollowed out to fit the muzzle of a gun,
to make it of an equal height with the breech, formerly made use of
by the gunners, to level and direct their pieces. It is not used at
present.
AIR-GUN, a pneumatic machine for exploding bullets, &c. with great
violence.
The common air-gun is made of brass, and has two barrels: the inside
barrel is of a small bore, from whence the bullets are exploded; and a
large barrel on the outside of it. There is likewise a syringe fixed
in the stock of the gun by which the air is injected into the cavity
between the two barrels through a valve. The ball is put down into its
place in the small barrel with the rammer, as in any other gun. Another
valve, being opened by the trigger, permits the air to come behind
the bullet, so as to drive it out with great force. If this valve be
opened and shut suddenly, one charge of condensed air may be sufficient
for several discharges of bullets; but if the whole air be discharged
on one single bullet, it will drive it out with uncommon force. This
discharge is effected by means of a lock placed here, as usual in other
guns; for the trigger being pulled, the cock will go down and drive the
lever, which will open the valve, and let in the air upon the bullet:
but as the expansive power of the condensed air diminishes at each
discharge, its force is not determined with sufficient precision for
the purposes of war. Hence it has been long out of use among military
men.
In the air-gun, and all other cases where the air is required to be
condensed to a very great degree, it will be necessary to have the
syringe of a small bore, viz. not exceeding half an inch in diameter;
because the pressure against every square inch is about 15 pounds, and
therefore against every circular inch about 12 pounds. If therefore the
syringe be one inch in diameter, when the atmosphere is injected, there
will be a resistance of 12 pounds against the piston; and when 10 are
injected, there will be a force of 120 pounds to be overcome; whereas
10 atmospheres act against the circular half-inch piston (whose area
is only ¹⁄₄ part so large) with only a force equal to 30 pounds; or 40
atmospheres may be injected with such a syringe, as well as 10 with
the other. In short, the facility of working will be inversely as the
squares of the diameter of the syringe.
AIR-SHAFTS, in mining. See MINING.
ALARM, is a sudden apprehension upon some report, which makes men
run to their arms to stand upon their guard; it implies either the
apprehension of being suddenly attacked, or the notice given of such
an attack being actually made; generally signified by the firing of a
cannon, or rocket, the beat of a drum, &c.
ALARM-_Post_, in the field, is the ground appointed by the
quarter-master general for each regiment to march to, in case of an
alarm.
ALARM-_Post_, in a garrison, is the place allotted by the governor for
the troops to draw up in, on any sudden alarm.
_False_-ALARMS, are stratagems of war, frequently made use of to
harrass an enemy, by keeping them perpetually under arms. They are
often conveyed by false reports, occasioned by a fearful or negligent
sentinel. A vigilant officer will sometimes make a false alarm, to try
if his guards are strict upon duty.
ALARM _Bell_, the bell rung upon any sudden emergency, as a fire,
mutiny, approach of an enemy, or the like, called by the French, Tocsin.
ALCANTARA, knights of a Spanish military order, who gained a great name
during the wars with the Moors.
ALERT, originally derived from the French word _alerte_, which is
formed of _a_ and _airte_. The French formerly said _airte_ for _air_;
so that _alerte_ means something continually in the air, and always
ready to be put in action. A general is said to be _alert_ when he is
particularly vigilant.
_To be kept upon the alert_, is to be in continual apprehension of
being surprised. _Alerte_, among the French, is an expression which is
used to put soldiers upon their guard. It is likewise used by a post
that may be attacked in the night, to give notice to the one that is
destined to support it; and by a sentry to give warning when any part
of the enemy is approaching. _We have had an alert_, is a military
phrase.
ALGEBRA, a peculiar kind of arithmetic, in which every military man
ought to be versed, but which is indispensibly necessary for officers
in the ordnance department.
ALIEN, in law, implies a person born in a foreign country, in
contradistinction to a natural born or naturalized person.
ALIGNEMENT, implies any thing strait--For instance, the _alignement_
of a battalion means the situation of a body of men when drawn up in
line. The _alignement_ of a camp signifies the relative position of the
tents, &c. so as to form a strait line, from given points.
ALLAY. See ALLOY.
ALLÆ, in the ancient military art, the two wings or extremes of an army
ranged in order of battle.
ALLEGIANCE, in law, implies the obedience which is due to the laws.
_Oath of_ ALLEGIANCE, is that taken by an alien, by which he adopts
America and renounces the authority of a foreign government. It is also
applied to the oath taken by officers and soldiers in pledge of their
fidelity to the state.
ALLEGIANT, loyal, faithful to the laws.
ALLEZER, to cleanse the mouth of a cannon or other piece of ordnance,
and to increase the bore, so as to produce its determined calibre.
ALLEZOIR, a frame of timber firmly suspended in the air with strong
cordage, on which is placed a piece of ordnance with the muzzle
downwards. In this situation the bore is rounded and enlarged by
means of an instrument which has a very sharp and strong edge made
to traverse the bore by the force of machinery or horses, and in an
horizontal direction.
ALLEZURES, the metal taken from the cannon by boring.
ALLIAGE, a term used by the French to denote the composition of metals
used for the fabrication of cannon and mortars, &c.
ALLIANCE, in a military sense, signifies a treaty entered into by
sovereign states, for their mutual safety and defence. In this sense
alliances may be divided into such as are offensive, where the
contracting parties oblige themselves jointly to attack some other
power; and into such as are defensive, whereby the contracting powers
bind themselves to stand by, and defend one another, in case of being
attacked by any other power.
Alliances are variously distinguished, according to their object,
the parties in them, &c. Hence we read of equal, unequal, triple,
quadruple, grand, offensive, defensive _alliances_, &c.
ALLODIAL, independent; not feudal. The Allodii of the Romans were
bodies of men embodied on any emergency, in a manner similar to our
volunteer associations.
ALLOGNE, the cordage used with floating bridges, by which they are
guided from one side of a river to the other.
ALLONGE, _Fr._ a pass or thrust with a rapier or small sword; also a
long rein used in the exercising of horses.
ALLOY, is the mixture of metals that enter into the composition of the
metal proper for cannon and mortars.
ALLY, in a military sense, implies any nation united to another--under
a treaty, either offensive or defensive, or both.
ALMADIE, a kind of military canoe, or small vessel, about 24 feet long,
made of the bark of a tree, and used by the negroes of Africa.
ALMADIE, is also the name of a long-boat used at Calcutta, often 80 to
100 feet long, and generally six or seven broad, they row from ten to
thirty oars.
ALTIMETRY, the taking or measuring altitude, or heights.
ALTITUDE, height, or distance from the ground, measured upwards, and
may be both accessible, and inaccessible.
ALTITUDE _of a figure_, is the distance of its vertex from its base, or
the length of a perpendicular let fall from the vertex to the base. See
_American Mil. Lib._ Art. FIELD FORTIFICATION.
ALTITUDE _of a shot or shell_, is the perpendicular height of the
vertex above the horizon. See GUNNERY and PROJECTILES.
ALTITUDE, _in optics_, is usually considered as the angle subtended
between a line drawn through the eye, parallel to the horizon, and a
visual ray emitted from an object to the eye.
ALTITUDE, _in cosmography_, is the perpendicular height of an object,
or its distance from the horizon upwards.
ALTITUDES are divided into _accessible_ and _inaccessible_.
_Accessible_ ALTITUDE _of an object_, is that whose base you can have
access to, i. e. measure the nearest distance between your station and
the foot of the object on the ground.
_Inaccessible_ ALTITUDE _of an object_, is that when the foot or
bottom of it cannot be approached, by reason of some impediment; such
as water, or the like. The instruments chiefly used in measuring of
_altitudes_, are the quadrant, theodolite, geometric quadrant, cross,
or line of shadows, &c.
ALTITUDE _of the eye_, in perspective, is a right line let fall from
the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical plane.
ALTITUDE _of motion_, a term used by some writers, to express the
measure of any motion, computed according to the line of direction of
the moving force.
AMAZON, one of those women who are fabled to have composed a nation
of themselves, exclusive of males, and to have derived their name
from their cutting off one of their breasts, that it might not hinder
or impede the exercise of their arms. This term has often by modern
writers been used to signify a bold daring woman, whom the delicacy of
her sex does not hinder from engaging in the most hazardous attempts.
The recent and former wars with France have furnished several instances
of females who have undergone the fatigue of a campaign with alacrity,
and run the hazards of a battle with the greatest intrepidity. Several
cases occurred also in the American Revolution.
AMBIT, the compass or circuit of any work or place, as of a
fortification or encampment, &c.
AMBITION, in a military sense, signifies a desire of greater posts,
or honors. Every person in the army or navy, ought to have a spirit
of emulation to arrive at the very summit of the profession by his
personal merit.
AMBUSCADE, in military affairs, implies a body of men posted in some
secret or concealed place, ’till they find an opportunity of falling
upon the enemy by surprise; or, it is rather a snare set for the enemy,
either to surprise him when marching without precaution; or by posting
your force advantageously, and drawing him on by different stratagems,
to attack him with superior means. An ambuscade is easily carried into
execution in woods, buildings, and hollow places; but requires a more
fertile imagination, and greater trouble, in a level country.
AMBUSH, a place of concealment for soldiers to surprise an enemy, by
falling suddenly upon him.
AME, a French term, similar in its import to the word _chamber_, as
applied to cannon, &c.
AMENDE _honorable_, in the old armies of France, signified an apology
for some injury done to another, or satisfaction given for an offence
committed against the rules of honor or military etiquette; and was
also applied to an infamous kind of punishment inflicted upon traitors,
parricides, or sacrilegious persons, in the following manner: the
offender being delivered into the hands of the hangman, his shirt
stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; then
he was led into court, where he begged pardon of God, the court, and
his country. Sometimes the punishment ended there; but sometimes it was
only a prelude to death, or banishment to the gallies. It prevails yet
in some parts of Europe.
AMMUNITION, implies all sorts of powder and ball, shells, bullets,
cartridges, grape-shot, tin, and case-shot; carcasses, granades, &c.
AMMUNITION, or _gun-powder_, may be prohibited to be exported.
AMMUNITION, _for small arms_, in the British service, is generally
packed in half barrels, each containing 1000 musket, or 1500 carbine
cartridges. An ammunition waggon will carry 20 of these barrels, and an
ammunition cart 12 of them: their weight nearly 1 cwt. each.
The cartouch boxes of the infantry are made of so many different
shapes and sizes, that it is impossible to say exactly what ammunition
they will contain; but most of them can carry 60 rounds. See the word
_Cartridges_; and for artillery ammunition, see the word _Artillery_,
for the field, for the siege, and the defence of a fortified place.
The French pack all their ammunition in waggons without either boxes or
barrels, by means of partitions of wood. Their 12 Pr. and 8 Pr. waggons
will contain each 14,000 musket cartridges, but their 4 Pr. waggons
will contain only 12,000 each.
AMMUNITION _bread_, such as is contracted for by government, and served
in camp, garrison, and barracks.
AMMUNITION _shoes_, _stockings_, _shirts_, _stacks_, &c. such of those
articles as are served out to the private soldiers, by government. See
HALF-MOUNTINGS.
AMMUNITION _waggon_, is generally a four-wheel carriage with shafts;
the sides are railed in with staves and raves, and lined with
wicker-work, so as to carry bread and all sorts of tools. It is drawn
by four horses, and loaded with 1200 pound weight. See WAGGON.
AMMUNITION-_cart_, a two-wheel carriage with shafts; the sides of
which, as well as the fore and hind parts, are inclosed with boards
instead of wicker-work. See CAISSON.
AMMUZETTE. See the word GUNS.
AMNESTY, in a military or political sense, is an act by which two
belligerent powers at variance promise to forget and bury in oblivion
all that is past.
AMNESTY is either general and unlimited, or particular and restrained,
though most commonly universal, without conditions or exceptions: such
as that which passed in Germany at the peace of Osnaburg in the year
1648, and between the United States and Great Britain, in 1783.
AMNESTY, in a more limited sense, denotes a pardon to persons
rebellious, usually with some exceptions; such as was granted by
Charles II. at his restoration.
AMNISTIE, _Fr._ See AMNESTY.
AMORCE, an old military word for fine-grained powder, such as is
sometimes used for the priming of great guns, mortars or howitzers; as
also for small-arms, on account of its rapid inflammation. A port fire,
or quick match.
AMPLITUDE _of the range of a projectile_. See PROJECTILE.
AMPOULETTE, an old military term used by the French to express the
stock of a musket, &c.
AMUSETTE, a species of offensive weapon which was invented by the
celebrated Marshal Saxe. It is fired off in the same manner as a
musquet, but is mounted nearly like a cannon. It has been found of
considerable use during the war of the French revolution, especially
among the French, who armed some of their horse artillery with it, and
found it superior to the one adopted by the Prussians from Marshal Saxe.
ANABASII, in antiquity, were expeditious couriers, who carried
dispatches of great importance, in the Roman wars.
ANACLETICUM, in the ancient art of war, a particular blast of the
trumpet, whereby the fearful and flying soldiers were rallied and
recalled to the combat.
ANCIENT, a term, used formerly to express the grand ensign or standard
of an army.
ANCILE, in antiquity, a kind of shield, which fell, as was pretended,
from heaven, in the reign of Numa Pompilius; at which time, likewise, a
voice was heard, declaring, that Rome would be mistress of the world as
long as she should preserve this holy buckler.
Authors are much divided about its shape: however, it was kept with
great care in the temple of Mars, under the direction of twelve
priests; and lest any should attempt to steal it, eleven others were
made so like it, as not to be distinguished from the sacred one. These
_Ancilia_ were carried in procession every year round the city of Rome.
ANDABATÆ, in military antiquity, a kind of gladiators, who fought
hoodwinked; having a sort of helmet that covered the eyes and face.
They fought mounted on horse-back, or on chariots.
_St._ ANDREW, _or the Thistle_, a nominally military order of
knighthood in Scotland. The occasion of instituting this order is
variously related.
In 819, Achaius, king of Scotland, having formed a league, offensive
and defensive, with Charlemagne, against all other princes, found
himself thereby so strong, that he took for his device the _Thistle_
and the _Rue_, which he composed into a collar of his order, and for
his motto, _Pour ma defense_; intimating thereby, that he feared not
the powers of foreign princes, seeing he leaned on the succour and
alliance of the French. And though from hence may be inferred, that
these two plants, the Thistle and the Rue, were the united symbols of
one order of knighthood, yet Menenius divides them into two; making one
whose badge was the thistle, whence the knights were so called; and
the motto, _Nemo me impune lacessit_; another vulgarly called _Sertum
rutæ_, or the garland of rue; the collar of which was composed of two
branches or sprigs thereof, or else of several of its leaves: at both
these collars hung one and the same jewel, to wit, the figure of St
Andrew, bearing before him the cross of his martyrdom.
But though the thistle has been acknowleged for the badge and symbol of
the kingdom of Scotland, even from the reign of Achaius, as the rose
was of England, and the lily of France, the pomegranate of Spain, &c.;
yet there are some who refer the order of the thistle to later times,
in the reign of Charles VII. of France; when the league of amity was
renewed between that kingdom and Scotland, by which the former received
great succour from the latter, at a period of extraordinary distress.
Others again place the foundation still later, even as low as the year
1500; but without any degree of certainty.
The chief and principal ensign of this order is a gold collar, composed
of thistles, interlinked with annulets of gold, having pendent thereto
the image of St Andrew with his cross, and this motto, _Nemo me impune
lacessit_.
_Knights of St._ ANDREW, is also a nominal military order instituted by
Peter III. of Muscovy, in 1698; the badge of which is a golden medal,
on one side whereof is represented St. Andrew’s cross; and on the other
are these words, _Czar Pierre monarque de toute la Russie_. This medal,
being fastened to a blue ribbon, is suspended from the right shoulder.
ANGARIA, in ancient military writers, means a guard of soldiers posted
in any place for the security of it. Vide Vegetius, lib. i. c. 3. lib.
ii. c. 19. lib. iii. c. 8.
ANGARIA, in civil law, implies a service by compulsion, as furnishing
horses and carriages for conveying corn or other stores for the army.
ANGE, a term used by the French to express chain shot.
ANGEL _Shot_. See CHAIN-SHOT.
ANGLE, in geometry, is the inclination of two lines meeting one another
in a point.
Sometimes angles are denoted by a single letter placed at the point
of intersection; but when several lines meet at the same point, each
particular angle is denoted by three letters, whereof the middle letter
shews the angular point, and the other two letters the lines which form
that angle.
The measure of an angle is the arch of a circle, described on the
angular point, intercepted between the two lines which form the angle,
and as many degrees, &c. as are contained in that arch, so many
degrees, &c. the angle is said to consist of.
ANGLES are either _right_, _acute_, or _obtuse_.
_A Right_ ANGLE, is that whose two legs are perpendicular to each
other; and consequently the arch intercepted between them is exactly
90° or the quarter of a circle.
_An Acute_ ANGLE, is that which is less than a right angle, or 90°.
_An Obtuse_ ANGLE, is that which is greater than a right angle.
_Adjacent_ ANGLES, are such as have the same vertex, and one common
side contained beyond the angular point. The sum of the adjacent angles
is always equal to two right angles (13. _Eucl._ 1.) and therefore,
if one of them be acute, the other will be obtuse; and the contrary:
whence, if either of them be given, the other is also given, it being
the complement of the former to 180°.
_Homologous_ ANGLES in similar figures are such as retain the same
order, reckoning from the first in both figures.
_Vertical_ ANGLES, are the opposite angles made by two lines cutting
or crossing each other. When two lines cut or cross each other, the
vertical angles are equal (15 _Eucl._ 1.)
_Alternate_ ANGLES, are those cut or obtuse angles made by two lines
cutting or crossing each other, and formed by a right line cutting or
crossing two parallel lines. Alternate angles are always equal to each
other (18. _Eucl._ 1.)
_A rectilineal or right lined_ ANGLE, is made by strait lines, to
distinguish it from the spherical or curvilineal angle.
ANGLES _of contact_. Angles of contact may be considered as true
angles, and should be compared with one another, though not with right
lined angles as being infinitely smaller.
ANGLE _of elevation_, in gunnery, is that which the axis of the hollow
cylinder, or barrel of the gun, makes with a horizontal line. See
ELEVATION.
ANGLES _oblique_ are those which are greater than right angles.
_Spherical_ ANGLE, is an angle formed by the intersection of two great
circles of the sphere. All spherical angles are measured by an arch
of a great circle described on the vertex as a pole, and intercepted
between the legs which form the angle.
ANGLE _lunular_ is an angle formed by the intersection of two curves,
the one concave and the other convex.
_Mixed-line_ ANGLE, is that comprehended between a right line and a
curved line.
_Curved-line_ ANGLE, is that intercepted between two curved lines
meeting each other in one point, in the same plane.
ANGLE _of a semi-circle_ is that which the diameter of a circle makes
with the circumference.
ANGLE _of Incidence_, is that which the line of direction of a ray
of light, &c. makes at the point where it first touches the body it
strikes against, with a line erected perpendicular to the surface of
that body.
ANGLE _of interval_ between two places is that formed by two lines
directed from the eye to those places.
ANGLE _of Reflection_, is the angle intercepted between the line of
direction of a body rebounding, after it has struck against another
body, and a perpendicular erected at the point of contact.
ANGLE _at the centre_, in fortification, is the angle formed at the
middle of the polygon, by lines drawn from thence to the points of the
two adjacent bastions.
ANGLE _of the curtain_, ANGLE _of the flank_, That which is made by,
and contained between the curtain and the flank.
ANGLE _of the polygon_, that which is made by the meeting of the two
sides of the polygon, or figure in the centre of the bastion. See
FORTIFICATION.
ANGLE _of the triangle_, is half the angle of the polygon.
ANGLE _of the bastion_, or _Flanked_ ANGLE, That which is made by the
two faces, being the utmost part of the bastion most exposed to the
enemy’s batteries, frequently called the point of the bastion. See
FORTIFICATION.
_Diminished_ ANGLE, only used by some engineers, especially the Dutch,
is composed of the face of the bastion, and the exterior side of the
polygon.
ANGLE _of the shoulder_, or ANGLE _of the épaule_, Is formed by one
face, and one flank of the bastion. See FORTIFICATION.
ANGLE _of the tenaille_, ANGLE _rentrant_, Is made by two lines
fichant, that is, the faces of the two bastions extended till they meet
in an angle towards the curtain, and is that which always carries its
point towards the out-works. See FORTIFICATION.
ANGLE _of the flank exterior_, is that which is before the centre of
the curtain, formed by the prolongation of the faces of the bastion,
or by both the fichant lines of defence, intersecting each other on
planning a fortification.
ANGLE _of the flank interior_, is formed by the flanked line of defence
and the curtain; being that point where the line of defence falls upon
the curtain.
ANGLE _of the line of defence_, is that angle made by the flank, and
the line of defence.
ANGLE _of the face_, is formed by the angle of the face and the line of
defence produced till they intersect each other.
ANGLE _of the base interior_, is the half of the figure, which the
interior polygon makes with the radius, when they join each other in
the centre; intersecting the centre of the gorges of each bastion.
ANGLE _of the base exterior_, is an angle formed by lines drawn from
the centre of the figure, to the angle of the exterior polygon, cutting
the centre of the gorges of each bastion.
ANGLE _of the gorge_, is that angle formed by the prolongation of the
curtains, intersecting each other, in the centre of the gorge, through
which the capital line passes.
ANGLE _of the ditch_, is formed before the centre of the curtain, by
the outward line of the ditch.
ANGLE _of the mole_, is that which is made before the curtain where it
is intersected.
_Flanked_ ANGLE. See ANGLE _of the bastion_.
_Saliant_ ANGLE, ANGLE _sortant_, Is that angle which points outwards,
or towards the country. Such is the angle of the counterscarp before
the point of a bastion.
_Entering_ ANGLE, or ANGLE _rentrant_, An angle pointing inwards, as
the saliant angle does outwards. Such is the angle of the counterscarp
before the curtain.
ANGLE _of the counterscarp_, made by two sides of the counterscarp,
meeting before the centre of the curtain.
ANGLE _at the circumference of a circle_, is an angle formed by two
chords in the circumference of a circle.
ANGLE _of the circumference_, is the mixed angle formed by an arch,
drawn from one gorge to another.
_Re-entering_ ANGLE. See _Entering_ ANGLE.
ANGLE _of the complement of the line of defence_, is the angle formed
by the intersection of the two complements with each other.
ANGLES _of a battalion_, are made by the last men at the extremity of
the ranks and files.
_Front_ ANGLES, the two last men of the front rank.
_Rear_ ANGLES, the two last men of the rear rank.
_Dead_ ANGLE, is a re-entering angle, consequently not defended.
ANGULAR, in a general sense, denotes something relating to angles, or
that hath angles.
ANGON, in ancient military history, was a kind of dart of a moderate
length, having an iron bearded head and cheeks; in use about the fifth
century. This sort of javelin was much used by the French. The iron
head of it resembles a fleur-de-lis; and it is the opinion of some
writers, that the old arms of France were not fleurs-de-lis; but the
iron point of the _angon_ or javelin of the ancient French.
_To_ ANIMATE, in a military sense, is to encourage, to incite, to add
fresh impulse to any body of men who are advancing against an enemy, or
to prevent them from shamefully abandoning their colours in critical
situations. Soldiers may be encouraged and incited to gallant actions
not only by words, but by the looks and gestures of the officers,
particularly of their commanding one. It is by the latter alone,
indeed, that any of these artificial means should be resorted to; for
silence, steadiness, and calmness are the peculiar requisites in the
characters of subordinate officers. Whatever their private feelings
may be, a superior sense of duty should always prevent them from
discovering the slightest symptom of perturbation. The best effects,
however, may be sometimes produced by a sort of electrical shock which
is communicated to the soldiery: as, when officers, being themselves
animate and full of fire, give a sudden and unexpected utterance to
their sentiments; make use of some particular expression by which the
national ear is captivated, or by a happy waving of the hand, hat, or
sword cause the most timid to become careless of danger, and keep up
the enthusiasm of the bravest. Many battles, both in ancient and modern
times, have taken a sudden turn from the most trivial circumstance of
this nature.
The French are very susceptible of this species of animation. During
the present war they have furnished several instances of the power
of military animation. The success at Lodi, to which Bonaparte
owes so much of his reputation, was the consequence of a bold and
individual exertion, when he snatched the standard, and personally
led the grenadiers across the bridge. A variety of instances might be
enumerated wherein words and gestures have had the most happy result.
As far back as the days of Cæsar there are examples that stand fresh
upon record; and nothing proves more forcibly the influence which a
great reputation has upon common minds, than the exclamation which
Cæsar used when he was crossing a branch of the sea, between Brundusium
and Dyrrachium. He embarked by night in the habit of a slave, and lay
on the boards like an ordinary passenger. As they were to sail down the
river Annius a violent storm arose, which quite overcame the art of the
pilot, who gave orders to put back; but this, Cæsar would not permit,
who discovering himself, and taking the astonished pilot by the hand,
bade him boldly go on and fear nothing, _for_, cried he, _thou carried
Cæsar and Cæsar’s fortune_. “_Cæsarem vebis fortunamque ejus._”
ANNALS, a species of military history, wherein events are related in
the chronological order they happened. They differ from a perfect
history, in being only a mere relation of what passes every year, as a
journal is of what passes every day.
ANNUNCIADA, an order of military knighthood in Savoy, first instituted
by Amadeus I. in the year 1409; their collar was of 15 links,
interwoven one with another, and the motto _F. E. R. T._ signifying
_fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit_. Amadeus VIII. changed the image of St.
Maurice, patron of Savoy, which hung at the collar, for that of the
Virgin Mary; and instead of the motto abovementioned, substituted the
words of the angel’s salutation. Now extinct.
ANOLYMPIADES. See OLYMPIAD.
ANSE _des Pieces_, a French term for the handles of cannon. Those of
brass have two--Those of iron seldom any--these handles serve to pass
cords, handspikes, or levers, the more easily to move so heavy a body,
and are made to represent dolphins, serpents, &c.
ANSPESADE. See LANCE CORPORAL.
ANTEMURAILLE, in the ancient military art, denoted what now the moderns
generally call the outworks.
ANTESTATURE, in ancient fortification, signifies an intrenchment
of pallisades or sacks of earth, thrown up in order to dispute the
remainder of a piece of ground.
ANTHONY, or _Knights of St. Anthony_, a military order instituted by
Albert, duke of Bavaria, Holland, and Zealand, when he designed to
make war against the Turks in 1382. The knights wore a collar of gold
made in the form of a hermit’s girdle, from which hung a stick like a
crutch, with a little bell, as they are represented in St. Anthony’s
pictures.
APPAREILLES, are those slopes that lead to the platform of the bastion.
See FORTIFICATION.
APPAREILLEUR, _Fr._ an architect who superintends the workmen in the
construction of fortifications, sluices, &c.
APPEAL, might formerly have been made, by the prosecutor or prisoner,
from the sentence or jurisdiction of a regimental to a general
court-martial.
APPEL, _Fr._ a roll call; a beat of drum for assembling; a challenge.
APPEL, in fencing, a smart beat with your blade on that of your
antagonist on the contrary side to that you have engaged, generally
accompanied with a stamp of the foot, and used for the purpose of
procuring an opening.
APPOINTE. This word was applicable to French soldiers only, during
the old monarchy of France, and meant a man who for his long service
and extraordinary bravery received more than common pay. There were
likewise instances in which officers were distinguished by being stiled
_officiers appointés_.
The word _appointé_ was originally derived from it being said, that a
soldier was appointed among those who were to do some singular act of
courage, as by going upon a forlorn hope, &c.
APPOINTMENT, in a military sense, is the pay of the army; it likewise
applies to warlike habiliments, accoutrements, &c.
APPREHEND, in a military sense, implies the seizing or confining of any
person. According to the articles of war, every person who apprehends a
deserter, and attests the fact duly before a magistrate, is entitled to
receive a reward.
APPROACHES. All the works are generally so called that are carried
on towards a place which is besieged; such as the first, second, and
third parallels, the trenches, epaulements with and without trenches,
redoubts, places of arms, saps, galleries, and lodgments. See these
words more particularly under the head FORTIFICATION.
This is the most difficult part of a siege, and where most lives are
lost. The ground is disputed inch by inch, and neither gained nor
maintained without the loss of men. It is of the utmost importance to
make your approaches with great caution, and to secure them as much
as possible, that you may not throw away the lives of your soldiers.
The besieged neglect nothing to hinder the approaches; the besiegers
do every thing to carry them on; and on this depends the taking or
defending of the place.
The trenches being carried to their glacis, you attack and make
yourself master of their covered-way, establish a lodgment on the
counterscarp, and effect a breach by the sap, or by mines with several
chambers, which blow up their intrenchments and fougades, or small
mines, if they have any.
You cover yourselves with gabions, fascines, barrels, or sacks; and if
these are wanting, you sink a trench.
You open the counterscarp by saps to make yourself master of it; but,
before you open it, you must mine the flanks that defend it. The best
attack of the place is the face of the bastion, when by its regularity
it permits regular approaches and attacks according to art. If the
place be irregular, you must not observe regular approaches, but
proceed according to the irregularity of it; observing to humor the
ground, which permits you to attack it in such a manner at one place,
as would be useless or dangerous at another; so that the engineer who
directs the attack ought exactly to know the part he would attack, its
proportions, its force and solidity, in the most geometrical manner.
APPROACHES, in a more confined sense, signify attacks.
_Counter_ APPROACHES, are such trenches as are carried on by the
besieged, against those of the besiegers.
APPRENTI, _Fr._ Apprentice.
In France they had apprentices or soldiers among the artillery, who
served for less pay than the regular artillery men, until they became
perfect in their profession; when they were admitted to such vacancies
as occurred in their respective branches. The system is changed.
APRON, in gunnery, a square plate of lead that covers the vent of a
cannon, to keep the charge dry, and the vent clean and open.
APRONS--of lead for guns, according to _Deturbie_
_lbs._ _oz._
Large--1 foot long--10 in. wide-- 8 4
Small--6 inch long--4¹⁄₂ in. wide-- 1 12
Their dimensions are as follow, viz. for a 42, 32, and a 24 pounder, 15
inches by 13; for an 18, 12, and a 9 pounder, 12 inches by 10; for a 6,
5¹⁄₄, 3, and 1¹⁄₂ pounder, 10 inches by 8. They are tied fast by two
strings of white marline, the length of which, for a 42 to a 12 pounder
inclusive, is 18 feet, 9 feet each string; for a 9 to 1¹⁄₂ pounder, 12
feet, 6 feet for each.
APPUI--_Pointe d’appui_, or point of bearing, or direction, or support,
is any particular given point or body, upon which troops are formed, or
by which they are marched in line or column.
_Aller à l’_APPUI, _Fr._ to go to the assistance of any body, to
second, to back.
_Hauteur d’_APPUI, _Fr._ breast-height.
AQUEDUCT, a channel to convey water from one place to another.
Aqueducts, in military architecture, are generally made to bring water
from a spring or river to a fortress, &c.; they are likewise used to
carry canals over low ground, and over brooks or small rivers; they
are built with arches like a bridge, only not so wide, and are covered
above by an arch, to prevent dust or dirt from being thrown into the
water--there are also subterranean aqueducts, such as pipes of wood,
lead, or iron. See Muller’s _Practical Fortification_.
The Romans had aqueducts which extended 100 miles. That of Louis XIV.
near Maintenon, which carries the river Bute to Versailles, is 7000
toises long.
ARAIGNEE, in fortification. See GALLERY.
ARBALET, in the ancient art of war, a cross-bow, made of steel, set
in a shaft of wood, with a string and trigger, bent with a piece of
iron fitted for that purpose, and used to throw bullets, large arrows,
darts, &c. Also a mathematical instrument called a _Jacob’s Staff_, to
measure the height of the stars upon the horizon.
ARBALETE _à jalet_, a stone bow.
ARBALETRIER, _Fr._ a cross-bow man.
ARBALETRIER _d’une Galére_, _Fr._ that part of a galley where the
cross-bowmen were placed during an engagement.
ARBORER, _Fr._ to plant. _Arborer l’étendart_, to plant the standard.
ARC, _Fr._ a bow; an arch in building.
ARCH, in military architecture, is a vault or concave building, in form
of a curve, erected to support some heavy structure, or passage.
_Triumphal_ ARCH, in military history, is a stately monument or
erection generally of a semicircular form, adorned with sculpture,
inscriptions, &c. in honor of those heroes who have deserved a triumph.
ARCHERS, in military history, a kind of militia or soldiery, armed with
bows and arrows. They were much used in former times, but are now laid
aside, excepting in Turkey, and in some parts of Asia.
ARCHERY, is the art of shooting with a bow and arrow. The ancient
English were famous for being the best archers in Europe, and most
of their victories in France were the purchase of the long-bow. The
statutes made in 33 Hen. VIII. relative to this exercise, are worth
perusal. It was forbidden, by statute, to shoot at a standing mark,
unless it should be for a rover, where the _archer_ was to change his
mark at every shot. Any person above 24 years old was also forbidden to
shoot with any prick-shaft, or flight, at a mark of eleven score yards
or under. 33 Hen. VIII. chap. 9. The former was a provision for making
good marksmen at sight; the latter for giving strength and sinews. The
modern rifle has rendered the bow an useless weapon.
ARCHITECTURE, in a military sense, is the art of erecting all kinds of
military edifices or buildings, whether for habitation or defence.
_Military_ ARCHITECTURE, instructs us in the method of fortifying
cities, sea-ports, camps, buildings, powder magazines, barracks,
&c. Military architecture is divided into _regular_ and _irregular_
fortification.
Regular fortification consists in having all its sides and angles equal
among themselves.
_Irregular fortification_ is composed of parts where the sides and
angles are not equal or uniform among themselves. This species of
fortification is permanent or temporary.
The permanent one is constructed for the purpose of remaining a long
time, and for the protection of large towns.
The temporary one is that which is erected in cases of emergency. Under
this denomination are contained all sorts of works which are thrown
up to seize a pass or gain an eminence, or those which are made in
circumvallations and countervallations, viz. redoubts, trenches, and
batteries. See FORTIFICATION.
_Field Fortification_ is the art of forming temporary works of defence,
such as trenches, redoubts, breastworks, epaulments, _chevaux de
frize_, _trous de loup_, &c. See FIELD FORTIFICATION.
_Naval_ ARCHITECTURE, is the art of building the hull, or body of
the ship, distinct from her machinery and furniture for sailing; and
may properly be comprehended in three principal articles. 1. To give
the ship such a figure, or outward form, as may be most suitable to
the service for which she is intended. 2. To find the exact shape of
the pieces of timber necessary to compose such a fabric. 3. To make
convenient apartments for the artillery, ammunition, provisions, and
cargo: together with suitable accommodations for the officers and men.
ARCHITRAVE, the master beam, or chief supporter, in any part of a
subterraneous fortification.
AREA, the superficial content of any rampart, or other work of a
fortification.
ARIGOT, _Fr._ a fife or flute.
ARM--Military writers use this word to signify a particular species of
troops--thus the artillery is an arm, and the cavalry, and infantry,
and rifle men are each called an arm; but this use of the word is now
deemed quaint.
ARM, in geography, denotes a branch of the sea, or of a river.
ARM is also used figuratively to denote power.
_To_ ARM, to take arms, to be provided against an enemy.
ARMADA, a Spanish term, signifying a fleet of men of war, applied
particularly to that great one fitted out by the Spaniards, with an
intention to conquer England in 1588, and which was first dispersed by
a terrible storm, several of the ships wrecked on the coasts of England
and Ireland, and many overtaken and defeated by the English fleet,
under admirals Howard and Drake.
ARMADILLA, a Spanish term, signifying a small squadron.
ARMATURA, in ancient military history, signifies the fixed and
established military exercise of the Romans, nearly in the sense we use
the word exercise. Under this word is understood, the throwing of the
spear, javelin, shooting with bows and arrows, &c.
ARMATURA is also an appellation given to the soldiers who were
light-armed. Aquinus seems without reason, to restrain _armatura_ to
the _tyrones_, or young soldiers.
ARMATURA was also a denomination given to the soldiers in the Roman
emperor’s retinue.
ARMED, in a general sense, denotes something provided with, or carrying
arms.
_An_ ARMED _body of men_, denotes a military corps or detachment,
provided with arms and ammunition, ready for an engagement.
ARMED, in the sea language. A cross-bar-shot is said to be armed, when
some rope-yarn, or the like, is rolled about the end of the iron bar
which runneth through the shot.
ARMED _ship_, is a vessel taken into the public service, and equipped
in time of war, with artillery, ammunition, and warlike instruments:
in the British service an armed ship is commanded by an officer who
has the rank of master and commander in the navy, and upon the same
establishment with sloops of war, having a lieutenant, master, purser,
surgeon, &c.
ARMEE, _Fr._ See ARMY.
ARMEMENT, _Fr._ a levy of troops, equipage of war, either by land or
sea.
ARMES _a l’Epreuve_, a French term for armor of polished steel, which
was proof against the sword or small arms; but its weight so encumbered
the wearer, that modern tacticians have wholly rejected its use.
ARMES _à la légére_, _Fr._ light-troops, who were employed to attack in
small bodies, as opportunity occurred. See RIFLEMEN, &c.
ARMES _des Pieces de Canon_, the French term for the tools used in
practical gunnery, as the scoop, rammer, sponge, &c.
ARMET, _Fr._ a casque or helmet.
ARMIGER, an esquire or armor-bearer, who formerly attended his knight
or chieftain in war, combat, or tournament, and who carried his lance,
shield, or other weapons with which he fought.
ARMILUSTRIUM, in Roman antiquity, a feast observed among the Roman
generals, in which they sacrificed, armed, to the sound of trumpets,
and other war-like instruments.
ARMISTICE, a temporary truce, or cessation of arms for a very short
space of time only.
ARMORY, a warehouse of arms, or a place where the military habiliments
are kept, to be ready for use.
ARMOR, denotes all such habiliments as serve to defend the body from
wounds, especially darts, a sword, a lance, &c. A complete suit of
armor formerly consisted of a helmet, a shield, a cuiras, a coat of
mail, a gantlet, &c. now almost universally laid aside.
ARMOR BEARER, he that carries the armor of another.
ARMORER, a person who makes or deals in armor, or arms; also a person
who keeps them clean.
ARMS, in a general sense, signify all kinds of weapons, whether used
for offence or defence.
_Fire_-ARMS, are cannon, mortars, howitzers, grenades, firelocks,
rifles, fusils, carbines, guns, and pistols; or any other machine
discharged by inflamed powder.
Arms may properly be classed under two specific heads--
_Arms of offence_, which include musquet, bayonet, sword, pistol,
rifle, &c.
_Arms of defence_, which are shields, helmets, coats of mail, or any
species of repulsive or impenetrable covering, by which the body of a
man is protected.
ARMS--Small.
+---------------+-------+-------+---------------------------+
| |Length | Diam. | Balls weight for |
| Nature. | of | of +-------------+-------------+
| |Barrel.| Bore. | Proof. | Service. |
+---------------+-------+-------+-------------+-------------+
| |Ft. In.|Inches.|oz. dr. gr. |oz. dr. gr. |
|Wall pieces | 4 6 | .98 | 2 8 8 | 2 5 7 |
|Musquet | 3 6 | .76 | 1 6 11¹⁄₂| 1 1 12 |
|Carbine | 3 0 | .61 | 0 14 13 | 0 12 11 |
|Pistol, common | 1 2 | .58 | 0 8 15 | 0 7 4¹⁄₂|
|Ditto, Carbine | 1 0 | .66 | 0 14 13 | 0 12 11 |
|Rifle, the long| 3 6 | .55 | 0 9 0 | 0 8 0 |
|Short Rifle | 3 2 | .58 | 0 10 8 | 0 10 0 |
+---------------+-------+-------+-------------+-------------+
In a legal sense, arms may extend to any thing that a man wears for
his own defence, or takes in his hand, and uses in anger, to strike,
throw at, or wound another. It is supposed, that the first artificial
arms were of wood, and only employed against beasts; and that Belus,
the son of Nimrod, was the first that waged war; whence, according to
some, came the appellation _bellum_. Diodorus Siculus takes Belus to be
the same with Mars, who first trained soldiers up to battle. _Arms_ of
stone, and even of brass, appear to have been used before they came to
iron and steel. Josephus assures us, that the patriarch Joseph first
taught the use of iron arms in Egypt, arming the troops of Pharaoh with
a casque and buckler.
The principal _arms_ of the ancients were hatchets, scythes, lances,
swords, and bucklers: the Saxons used the halberd, bow, arrows,
cross-bow, &c. By the ancient laws of England, every man was obliged
to bear arms, except the judges and clergy. Under Henry VIII. it was
expressly enjoined on all persons to be regularly instructed, even from
their tender years, in the exercise of the _arms_ then in use, viz. the
long bow and arrows; and to be provided with a certain number of them.
But by the common law of England now it is an offence for persons to go
or ride armed with dangerous weapons; but gentlemen, both in and out of
the army, may wear common armor, according to their quality.
ARMS _of parade_, or _courtesy_, were those used in the ancient justs
and tournaments; which were commonly unshod lances, swords without edge
or point, wooden swords, and even canes.
_Bells of_ ARMS, _or Bell Tents_, a kind of tents in the shape of
a cone, where a company’s arms are lodged in the field. They are
generally painted with the colour of the facing of the regiment; they
have gone much out of use.
_Pass of_ ARMS, a kind of combat, when anciently one or more cavaliers
undertook to defend a pass against all attacks.
_Place of_ ARMS. See FORTIFICATION.
_Stand of_ ARMS, a complete set of arms for one soldier.
ARMS, in artillery, are the two ends of an axletree. See _Axletree_,
under the word CARRIAGE.
ARMY, a large number of soldiers, consisting of artillery, foot,
riflemen, horse, dragoons, and hussars or light horse, completely
armed, and provided with engineers, a train of artillery, ammunition,
provisions, staff, forage, &c. and under the command of a general,
having lieutenant-generals, major-generals, brigadier-generals,
colonels, lieutenant-colonels, majors, captains, and subalterns, and
the suitable staff to each portion. An army is composed of legions, or
corps, brigades, regiments, battalions, and squadrons; and is generally
divided into three or more co-operating corps, and formed into three
lines; the first of which is called the front line, a part of which
forms the van-guard; the second, the main body; and the third, the
rear-guard, or corps of reserve. The centre of each line is generally
possessed by the foot; the cavalry and light troops form the right and
left wings of each line; and sometimes a squadron of horse is posted
in the intervals between the battalions. When an army is drawn up in
order of battle, the horse are frequently placed at five feet from each
other, and the foot at three. In each line the battalions are distant
from each other about 180 feet, which is nearly equal to the extent
of their front; and the same rule holds good of the squadrons, which
have about 300 feet distance, being the extent of their own front.
These intervals are left for the squadrons and battalions of the second
line to range themselves against the intervals of the first, that both
may more readily march through those spaces to the enemy. The front
line is generally about 300 feet from the centre line; and the centre
line as much from the rear, or corps of reserve; that there may be
sufficient room to rally when the squadrons or battalions are broken.
European armies anciently were a sort of militia; composed chiefly of
the vassals and tenants of the lords. When each company had served the
number of days or months enjoined by their tenure, or the customs of
the fees they held, they returned home.
Armies in general are distinguished by the following appellations--
_The grand army._
_A covering army._
_A blockading army._
_An army of observation._
_An army of reserve._
_A flying army._
The grand army, is that which is the principal of several armies acting
at different points remote from each other.
An army is said to _cover_ a place when it lies encamped or in
cantonments for the protection of the different passes which lead to a
principal object of defence.
An army is said to _blockade_ a place, when, being well provided with
heavy ordnance and other warlike means, it is employed to invest a
town for the direct and immediate purpose of reducing it by assault or
famine.
_An_ ARMY _of observation_ is so called because by its advanced
positions and desultory movements it is constantly employed in watching
the enemy.
_An_ ARMY _of reserve_ may not improperly be called a general depot for
effective service. In cases of emergency the whole or detached parts
of an army of reserve are generally employed to recover a lost day
or to secure a victory. It is likewise sometimes made use of for the
double purpose of secretly increasing the number of active forces and
rendering the aid necessary according to the exigency of the moment,
and of deceiving the enemy with respect to its real strength. Such was
the army at Dijon, before Bonaparte entered Italy.
_Flying_ ARMY, a strong body of horse and foot, commanded for the most
part by a lieutenant-general, which is always in motion, both to cover
its own garrisons, and to keep the enemy in continual alarm.
_A naval or sea_ ARMY, is a number of ships of war, equipped and manned
with sailors, mariners, and marines, under the command of a superior
officer, with the requisite inferior officers under him.
ARNAUTS, Turkish light cavalry, whose only weapon was a sabre very much
curved. Some are in the Russian service.
ARQUEBUSE _a Croc_, an old piece of fire-arms, resembling a musquet,
but which is supported on a rest by a hook of iron, fastened to the
barrel. It is longer than a musquet, but of larger calibre, and was
formerly used to fire through the loop holes of antique fortifications.
ARQUEBUSIER, a French term, formerly applied to all the soldiery who
fought with fire arms, whether cavalry or infantry.
ARRAY, order of battle. See BATTLE-ARRAY.
ARRAYERS, officers who anciently had the charge of seeing the soldiers
duly appointed in their armor.
ARREARS, in the army, were the difference between the full pay and
subsistence of each officer, which was directed to be paid once a year
by the agent. See PAY.
ARREST, a French phrase, similar in its import to the Latin word
_retinaculum_. It consists of a small piece of steel or iron, which was
formerly used in the construction of fire-arms, to prevent the piece
from going off. _Ce pistolet est en arret_ is a familiar phrase among
military men in France. This pistol is in arrest, or is stopped.
ARREST, is the exercise of that part of military jurisdiction, by
which an officer is noticed for misconduct, or put into a situation to
prepare for his trial by a general court-martial.
ARRESTE of the glacis, is the junction of the talus which is formed at
all the angles.
ARRIERE, _Fr._ the rear.
ARRIERE _Ban_, _Fr._ See BAN.
ARRIERE-_garde_, _Fr._ the rear-guard.
_En_ ARRIERE--_marche!_ _Fr._ to the rear--march!
ARROW, a missive weapon of offence, slender and pointed, made to be
shot with a bow.
ARROW. See FORTIFICATION.
ARSENAL, is a large and spacious building, or number of buildings, in
which are deposited all kinds of arms, and other warlike implements;
such as cannon, mortars, howitzers, small arms, and every other kind of
warlike engines and instruments of death.
ART. Military art may be divided into two principal branches. The first
branch relates to the order and arrangement which must be observed in
the management of an army, when it is to fight, to march, or to be
encamped. This branch is called _tactics_, and derives its appellation
from _tactic_, which signifies _order_.
The same appellation belongs to the other branch of military art, and
includes the composition and the application of warlike machines.
ARTICLES OF WAR, are known rules and regulations for the better
government of an army. The articles of war of the United States
underwent an alteration in 1806, and are of date 10th April of that
year; they consist of 103 articles; all that relates to the army not
comprehended therein, are published in general orders or in established
regulations, issued from time to time from the War Department, or by
the commanding officer of the army, copies of which are delivered
to the officers of the army. In England they may be altered and
enlarged at the pleasure of their king. And in certain cases extend
to civilians--as when by proclamation any place shall be put under
martial law; or when people follow a camp or army for the sale of
merchandize, or serve in any civil capacity. It is ordained, that the
articles of war shall be read in the circle of each regiment or company
mustered once every month, or oftener if the commanding officer thinks
proper. A recruit or soldier is not liable to be tried by a military
tribunal, unless it can be proved that the articles of war have been
duly read to him.
ARTIFICE, among the French, is understood as comprehending every thing
which enters the composition of fire works; as the sulphur, salt-petre,
charcoal, &c. See FIRE WORKS.
ARTIFICER _or_ ARTIFICIER, he who makes fire works, or works in the
artillery laboratory, who prepares the fuses, bombs, grenades, &c. It
is also applied to the military smiths, collar-makers, &c. and to a
particular corps in an army.
ARTILLERY, in a general sense, signifies all sorts of great guns or
cannon, mortars, howitzers, petards, and the like; together with all
the apparatus and stores thereto belonging, which are not only taken
into the field, but likewise to sieges, and made use of both to attack
and defend fortified places. See ORDNANCE.
ARTILLERY, in a particular sense, signifies the science of artillery
or gunnery, which art includes a knowledge of surveying, levelling,
geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, laws of motion, mechanics,
fortification, and projectiles.
_The Train of_ ARTILLERY consists of an unlimited number of pieces
of ordnance; such as 24 pounders, 18 pounders, 12, 9, 6, 4, and 3
pounders; mortars from 13 to 8 inches diameter; besides royals and
cohorns; howitzers of every denomination, mounted on their proper
carriages and beds, &c. There is moreover attached to the train a
sufficient quantity of horses, spare carriages, spare mortar-beds,
block-carriages, limbers, waggons for ammunition and stores, shells,
round and grape shot, bullets, powder, cartridges, port-fires,
intrenching-tools, artificers tools, miners tools, gins, capstans,
forges, small stores, laboratory-stores, pontoons, pontoon-carriages,
with their requisites; tumbrels, aprons of lead, budge-barrels, chevaux
de frize, pallisades, platforms, chandeliers, blinds, prolonges,
drag-ropes, flints, harness, powder-measures, fuze-engines, fuzes,
tents, &c. The train of artillery is, or should be, divided into
brigades, to which belong not only the officers of the regiments of
artillery, but even the civil-list, such as comptrollers, commissaries
of stores, clerks of stores, artificers of all denominations,
conductors, store-keepers, waggon-masters, drivers, &c. The increase of
artillery clearly demonstrates its great utility; for in the year 1500,
an army of 50,000 men had only 40 pieces of cannon in the field; and in
the year 1517, the same number of troops brought 200 pieces into the
field, including mortars and howitzers.
At the battle of Jemappe, which was fought between the French and
Austrians on the 6th of November, 1792, the latter had 120 pieces of
cannon disposed along the heights of Framery, whilst their effective
force in men did not exceed 28,000. The French on this occasion brought
nearly the same quantity of ordnance, some indeed of extraordinary
calibre, but their strength in men was above 40,000, and composed of
young men who had never seen service, nor had any more than a few days
discipline.
_A Brigade of_ ARTILLERY generally consists of 8 or 10 pieces of
cannon, with all the machinery, and officers to conduct them, and all
the necessary apparatus thereto belonging.
_The Park of_ ARTILLERY is that place appointed by the general of an
army, to encamp the train of artillery, apparatus, ammunition, as
well as the battalions of the artillery, appointed for its service
and defence. The figure of the park of artillery, is that of a
parallelogram, unless the situation of the ground renders another
necessary.
The park of artillery is generally placed in the centre of the second
line of encampment, and sometimes in the rear line, or corps of
reserve. In both places the muzzles of the guns are in a line with
the fronts of the serjeants tents of the regiments of artillery and
infantry. Some generals choose to place the park about 300 paces before
the centre of the front line of the army. But let the situation be
where it will, the manner of forming the park is almost every where the
same, except that some artillery officers differ in the disposition of
the carriages; others again divide the equipage as well as the guns
into brigades, placing the first in the front line, the second in the
next, and so on. However the most approved method, is to divide the
whole into brigades, placing the guns of the first to the right of the
front line, and their ammunition behind them, in one or more lines.
The different brigades should be all numbered, as well as every waggon
belonging to them. Example, 1st brigade, front line, No 1, 2, &c. 1st
brigade, 2d line, No. 1, 2, &c. 2d brigade, front line, No. 1, 2, &c.
and so of all the rest. This method prevents confusion in the forming
and breaking up of the park, as also on a march: besides, according to
the numbers, the stores therein contained are known.
ARTILLERY--The proportion of artillery and ammunition necessary to
accompany an army in the field, to lay siege to a fortified place,
or to defend one, must depend upon so many circumstances, that it is
almost impossible, in a work of this kind, to lay down any positive
rules as guides on the subject: the following principles are drawn from
the best authorities:
1st. ARTILLERY _for the Field_.
FIELD Artillery is divided into _Battalion Guns_, _Artillery of the
Park_, and _Horse Artillery_.
The _Battalion Guns_ include all the light pieces attached to regiments
of the line, which they accompany in all manœuvres, to cover and
support them.
The following kinds of field ordnance are attached to battalions of
infantry, by different powers in Europe:
French --two-- 4 Prs. per battalion.
English --two-- 6 do. do.
Danes --two-- 3 do. do.
Austrians --three-- 6 do. do.
Prussians --two-- 6 Prs. to a battalion in the first line.
Prussians --two-- 3 Prs. to a battalion in the second line.
Hanoverians --two-- 3 Prs. per battalion.
The _Artillery of the Park_ is composed of all kinds of field ordnance.
It is destined to form batteries of position; that is to say, to
occupy advantageous situations, from which the greatest effect may
be produced, in supporting the general movements of an army, without
following it, like the battalion guns, through all the detail of its
manœuvres. The park of artillery attached to an army in the field,
generally consists of twice as many pieces of different kinds, varied
according to the country in which it is to act, as there are battalions
in the army. Gribauvale proposes the following proportion between the
different kinds of artillery for the park or reserve, viz. two-fifths
of 12 Prs. two-fifths of 8 Prs. and one-fifth of 4 Prs. or reserve for
battalion guns. In a difficult country he says, it may be ¹⁄₄ of 12
Prs. ¹⁄₂ of 8 Prs. and ¹⁄₄ of 4 Prs. and for every 100 pieces of cannon
he allots 4 Howitzers; but this proportion of Howitzers is much smaller
than what is generally given.
AMMUNITION _for Field Artillery_.
_A proportion of Ammunition and Stores for each Species of Field
Ordnance, viz. 1 Medium 12 Pr.[1]--1 heavy 6 Pr.--2 light 6 Prs. as
they are always attached to Battalions of Infantry--and one 5¹⁄₂ inch
Howitzer; according to the British Service._
---------------------------+---------+---------+----------+-----------
| _12 | _6 | _2 |
_Proportion of |Pounders,|Pounders,| Light 6 |_5¹⁄₂ Inch
Ammunition and Stores._ |Medium._ | Heavy._ |Pounders._|Howitzers._
---------------------------+---------+---------+----------+-----------
Shot fixed to wood bottoms
--case 24 30 68 24
Shot fixed to wood bottoms
--round 120 120 188 00
Shells, fixed 00 00 00 24
Shells, empty 00 00 00 120
Carcasses, fixed 00 00 00 4
{4 lb. 120 00 00 00
{3¹⁄₂ lb. 00 00 00 00
{2¹⁄₄ lb. 00 120 00 00
Cartridges of {2 lb. 00 30 00 00
flannel filled {1¹⁄₂ lb. 00 00 188 00
with powder. {1¹⁄₄ lb. 00 00 68 00
{10 oz. 00 00 125 00
{1 lb. 00 00 00 144
{12 oz. 00 00 00 28
Cartridges flan. empty 12 12 100 12
Ditto of paper for
bursting 10 oz. 00 00 00 120
Tubes of tin--N. P. 172 178 560 190
Portfires--long small 18 18 62 18
Fuses--drove 00 00 00 132
Powder, mealed lbs. 00 00 00 ¹⁄₂
Travelling carriages and
limbers 1 1 2 1
Aprons of lead 1 1 2 1
Spunges with staves and heads 2 2 4 2
Wad hooks, with staves 1 1 2 00
Handspikes, traversing 2 2 4 2
Tompions with collars 1 1 2 1
Trucks, Hanoverian 00 1 2 1
Straps for lashing side arms 00 3 8 00
Tarpaulins, gun 1 1 2 1
Tarpaulins, limber 00 1 2 1
Lintstocks with cocks 1 1 2 1
Drag ropes with pins, pairs 2 2 4 2
Padlocks with keys 2 3 5 4
Match, slow--lbs. 28 28 56 28
Spikes{Spring 1 1 2 1
{Common 2 2 4 2
Punches for vents 2 2 4 2
Barrels budge 1 1 1 1
Couples for chain traces 00 6 12 6
Spare heads, spunge 1 1 2 1
Spare heads, rammer 1 1 2 1
Hammers, claw 1 1 2 1
Priming irons, sets 1 1 2 1
Draught chains, prs. 2 1 3 2
Powder horns, N. P. 00 1 00 00
Water buckets French 1 1 2 1
Intrench’g tools,
felling axes, 1 1 2 1
pick axes, 1 1 2 1
hand bills, 1 1 2 1
spades, 2 2 4 2
Marline, tarred-skeins 1 1 1 1
Twine, tarred-lbs. 00 1 00 00
Hambro’ line, tarred-do. 1 1 1 1
Packthread, tarred-do. 00 1 00 00
Grease-firkins 1 1 1 1
Grease-boxes 3 2 3 3
Tallow-lbs. 1 1 2 1
Lanthorns, dark 1 1 1 1
Jacks, lifting 1 1 1 1
Jacks, handscrew 1 00 00 00
Waggons with hps. and
painted covers, Flanders
pattern 2 1 1 2
Wad miltilts 2 1 1 2
Tanned hides 2 1 1 2
Men’s harness (12 to a set)
sets 1 1 00 00
{ {Rope,
{ {6 do. sets 1 00 00 00
{New {Chain,
{pattern{6 do. sets 00 1 00 00
{ {Trace,
Horse { {4 do. sets 2 1 1 3
Harness.{ {Thill 00 00 2 00
{Common {Trace 00 00 4 00
{Pattern {Bit
{ {halters 00 00 6 00
{Wanties 2 1 3 2
{Hemp halters 14 10 10 12
Whips, long 00 00 2 00
Whips, short 7 5 2 6
Nose bags 14 10 10 12
Corn Sacks 3 2 3 3
Forage cords, sets 3 2 3 3
Rope, tarred, 2 inch, fathoms 00 00 10 00
{Linch pins 2 1 1 2
For {Clouts, body 4 2 2 4
Waggons.{Clouts, linch 4 2 2 4
{Clout nails, 6_d._ 64 32 32 64
Spare ladle staves 1 1 1 1
Horses, for guns 6 6 6 4
Horses, for waggons 8 4 4 8
Drivers, for guns 3 3 2 2
Drivers, for waggons 4 2 1 4
Tube boxes, with straps 2 2 4 2
Portfire sticks 2 2 4 2
Cutting knives 1 1 2 1
Drawing do. 00 00 00 1
Scissars, pairs 1 1 2 1
Worsted, ounces ¹⁄₂ ¹⁄₂ 1 ¹⁄₂
Needles, large 2 2 4 2
Cartouches of leather 2 2 4 2
Copper {4 oz. 1 1 2 00
measures{2 oz. 00 1 00 00
for {1 oz. 1 1 2 00
powder. {4 lb. to ¹⁄₄ oz.
{sets 00 00 00 1
Thumb stalls 2 2 4 2
Perpendicular 00 00 00 1
Quadrant of brass 00 00 00 1
Diagonal scale 00 00 00 1
Copper salting box 00 00 00 1
Pincers for drawing fuzes,
pairs 00 00 00 1
Sheepskins 00 00 00 2
Funnels of copper 00 00 00 1
Compasses of steel, Pairs 00 00 00 1
Saw, tenant 00 00 00 1
Files, square 00 00 00 3
Rasps, half round 00 00 00 2
Flax, oz. 00 00 00 8
Tow, oz. 00 00 00 4
Saw set 00 00 00 1
Mallets of wood 00 00 00 1
Setters do. 00 00 00 2
[1] The 12 Prs. which have a small box on their limbers, carry 6
round shot and 2 case shot, with 6 cartridges of 4 lbs. and 2 of 3¹⁄₂
lbs. of powder, more than the above proportion.
This proportion of ammunition and stores is carried in the following
manner:
12 Pr. MEDIUM--Has no limber boxes,[2] but has two waggons attached to
it, and the ammunition and stores divided between them.
[2] A small limber box has lately been added to the medium 12 Prs.
which carries 6 round shot and 6 case shot, with a small proportion
of the small stores. See note preceding page.
6 Pr. HEAVY--Carries 36 round, and 14 case shot in limber boxes, with
a proportion of the small stores; and the remainder is carried in one
waggon.
6 Pr. LIGHT--Carries 34 round, and 16 case shot on the limber, with a
proportion of the small stores for immediate service; and, if acting
separately, must have a waggon attached to it, to carry the remainder.
But two 6 pounders attached to a battalion, have only one waggon
between them.
5¹⁄₂ Howitzer, LIGHT--Has 22 shells, 4 case shot, and two carcasses in
the limber-boxes, with such of the small stores as are required for
immediate service; and has two waggons attached to carry the rest.
One common pattern ammunition waggon carries the following numbers of
rounds of ammunition of each kind:
Kinds. No. of Rounds.
12 Pr. Medium, 72
6 Pr. Heavy, 120
6 Pr. Light, 156
3 Pr. 288
5¹⁄₂ Howitzer, 72
8 Inch Howitzers, 24
Musquets, 20000[3]
[3] Though the waggons will contain 20,000 cartridges, it is
customary to load them with only 18 half barrels of 1000 each, and 2
half barrels of flints.
The waggons, however, attached to the different parks of artillery in
England, which have not been altered from the old establishment, are
loaded with only the following number, and drawn by three horses:
Kinds. No. of Rounds.
12 Prs. Medium, 66
6 Prs. Heavy, 120
6 Prs. Light, 138
5¹⁄₂ Howitzer, 60
The horse artillery having waggons of a particular description, carry
their ammunition as follows:
| | | Car-|Total No.
| Shot. | |cass-|with each
KINDS. |Round.|Case.|Shells.| es. |Piece.
-----------------------------+------+-----+-------+-----+---------
12 Prs. light, on the limber.| 12 | 4 | 4 | 00 } 92
Do. ---- in one waggon. | 52 | 10 | 10 | 00 }
6 Prs. light, on the limber. | 32 | 8 | 00 | 00 } 150
Do. ---- in one waggon. | 97 | 13 | 00 | 00 }
5¹⁄₂ In. How’r on the limber.| -- | 5 | 13 | 00 } 73
Do. ---- in one waggon. | -- | 10 | 41 | 4 }
3 Prs. heavy, curricle. | 6 | 6 | 00 | 00 } 136
Do. ---- ammunition cart. | 100 | 24 | 00 | 00 }
_The following Proportion of Artillery, Ammunition, and Carriages,
necessary for four French Armies of different Degrees of Strength,
and acting in very different Countries, is attributed to Gribauvale,
and is extracted from Durtubie, on Artillery._
| _Flan- | _Mo- | |
_ARMIES._ | ders._ | selle._|_Rhine._|_Italy._
---------------------------+--------+--------+--------+--------
Number of battalions 80 28 32 48
------------------------------------
Battalion guns 160 56 64 94
}12 Prs. 32 12 12 16
Park or }8 Prs. 72 24 32 48
Reserve.}4 Prs. 40 16 16 24
}6 In. How. 8 4 4 8
------------------------------------
Total pieces of ord. 312 112 128 192
------------------------------------
Carriage }12 Prs. 36 14 14 18
for ord. }8 Prs. 81 27 36 54
including}4 Prs. 215 78 90 129
sp. ones }6 In. Howtz. 9 5 5 9
------------------------------------
Total ord. carriages 341 124 145 210
------------------------------------
}12 Prs. 96 36 36 48
Ammunition}8 Prs. 144 48 64 96
waggons }4 Prs. 200 72 80 120
}6 In. How. 24 12 8 24
Wags. for musq. cart. 120 42 48 72
Large wags. for park 10 6 5 8
------------------------------------
Total am. waggons 594 216 241 368
------------------------------------
Smiths {Large 14 3 3 8
forges.{Small -- 3 3 4
------------------------------------
Total forges 14 6 6 12
------------------------------------
Waggons{Intrench.}Artillery 27 10 12 16
for {tools for}The army 20 10 12 16
Car- {New iron 6 3 3 6
riages{Wood for spr. car. 9 3 3 7
for {Anchors, &c. for
{pontoons 4 2 2 4
------------------------------------
Total store carriages 66 28 32 49
------------------------------------
Pontoons upon their
carriages 36 18 18 36
Spare pontoon carriages 4 2 2 4
------------------------------------
Total pontoon carri’gs 40 20 20 40
------------------------------------
RECAPITULATION.
Ordnance--pieces 312 112 128 192
------------------------------------
{Ordnance carri’gs 341 124 145 210
Car- {Ammunition 594 216 241 368
riages.{Store 66 28 32 49
{Pontoon 40 20 20 40
{Forges 14 6 6 12
------------------------------------
Genl. total of carri’gs 1055 394 444 679
------------------------------------
This table contains, beside the proportion of ordnance with each army,
also the quantity of ammunition with each piece of ordnance, and the
number of rounds of musquet ammunition carried for the infantry; for
each waggon in the French service, having its particular allotment of
ammunition and stores, it needs but to know the number of waggons of
each description, to ascertain the quantity of ammunition and stores
with an army. The following is the number of waggons usually attached
to each piece of field ordnance in the French service, and the quantity
of ammunition carried with each.
Kind of Ordnance and Number of | Shot. |Total with
Waggons attached to each. |Round.|Case.|each piece.
--------------------------------+------+-----+-----------
12 Pr. on the carriage | 9 | 00 } 00 213
3 Waggons, each containing | 48 | 20 }
8 Pr. on the carriage | 9 | 00 }00 193
2 Waggons, each containing | 62 | 30 }
4 Pr. on the carriage | 18 | 00 } 00 168
One waggon, containing | 100 | 50 }
6 Inch Howitzer, on the carriage| 00 | 4 }
3 Waggons, each containing |shell | }00 160
| 49 | 3 }
The French horse artillery waggon, called the _wurst_, carries 57
rounds for 8 pounders; or 30 for 6 inch howitzers.
The following is a proportion of ammunition for one piece of field
artillery of each kind, by different powers in Europe.
+--------+------------+------------+------------+-----+------+
| | Austrians. | Prussians. | Danes. |Hanoverians.|
| KINDS. +-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+
| |Case.|Round.|Case.|Round.|Case.|Round.|Case.|Round.|
+--------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+
| 3 Pr. | 40 | 184 | 20 | 90 | 58 | 177 | 50 | 150 |
| 6 Pr. | 36 | 176 | 30 | 150 | 53 | 166 | 48 | 144 |
|12 Pr. | 44 | 94 | 20 | 130 | 44 | 128 | 50 | 150 |
|Howitzer| 16 | 90 | 20 | 60 | 25 | 76 | 30 | 120 |
+--------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+-----+------+
Of the movements and positions of field artillery.
_Battalion Guns_; the following are the usual positions taken by
battalion guns, in the most essential manœuvres of the battalion to
which they are attached; but the established regulations for the
movements of the infantry in the British service, take so little notice
of the relative situations for the artillery attached to it, that
they afford no authority for a guide on the subject. In review, both
guns are to be placed, when in line, on the right of the regiment;
unlimbered and prepared for action. The guns 10 yards apart, and
the left gun 10 yards from the right of the battalion. Nos. 7 and 8
dress in line with the front rank of the regiment. The officer, at
open order, will be in front of the interval between his guns, and in
line with the officers of the regiment. When the regiment breaks into
column, the guns will be limbered up and wheeled by pairs to the left:
the men form the line of march, and the officer marches round in front
of the guns. In the review of a single battalion, it is usual after
marching round the second time, for one of the guns to go to the rear,
and fall in at the rear of the column. Upon the regiment wheeling on
the left into line, the guns, if separated, will be unlimbered to
the right, but if they are both upon the right, they must be wheeled
to the right, and then unlimbered; and afterwards run up by hand, as
thereby they do not interfere with the just formation of the line, by
obstructing the view of the pivots.
The usual method by which the guns take part in the firings while in
line, is by two discharges from each piece, previous to the firing of
the regiment; but this is usually regulated by the commanding officer,
before the review. Though the guns when in line with a regiment in
review, always remain in the intervals; in other situations of more
consequence, every favorable spot which presents itself, from which the
enemy can be more effectually annoyed, should be taken advantage of. In
column, if advancing, the guns must be in front; if retreating, in the
rear of the column. If in open column of more than one battalion, the
guns in the centre must be between the divisions, and when the column
is closed, these guns must move to the outward flank of that division
of the column, which leads the regiment to which they are attached. In
changing front, or in forming the line from column, should the guns be
on that flank of the battalion on which the new line is to be formed,
they will commence firing to cover the formation.
In retiring by alternate wings or divisions, the guns must be always
with that body nearest the enemy. That is, they will not retire with
the first half, but will remain in their position till the second half
retires; and will then only retire to the flanks of the first half; and
when it retires again, the guns will retire likewise, but only as far
as the second half, and so on.
When in hollow square, the guns will be placed at the weakest angles,
and the limbers in the centre of the square. In passing a bridge or
defile in front, the guns will be the first to pass; unless from any
particular position they can more effectually _enfilade_ the _defilé_;
and thereby better open the passage for the infantry. But in retiring
through a _defilé_, the guns will remain to the last, to cover the
retreat.
_General rule_--with very few variations, the guns should attend in
all the movements of the battalion, that division of it, to which they
are particularly attached; and every attention should be paid in thus
adapting the movements of the guns to those of the regiment, that they
be not entangled with the divisions of the line, and never so placed
as to obstruct the view of the pivots, and thereby the just formation
of the line; but should always seek those positions, from which the
enemy can be most annoyed, and the troops to which they are attached,
protected.
If at any time the battalion guns of several regiments should be united
and formed into brigades, their movements will then be the same as
those for the artillery of the park.
ARTILLERY _of the Park_--The artillery of the park is generally divided
into brigades of 4, 6 or 8 pieces, and a reserve, according to the
force and extent of the from of an army. The reserve must be composed
of about one-sixth of the park, and must be placed behind the first
line. If the front of the army be extensive, the reserve must be
divided.
The following are the principal rules for the movements and positions
of the brigades of artillery: they are mostly translated from the _Aide
Mémoire_, a new French military work.
In a _defensive_ position, the guns of the largest caliber must be
posted in those points, from whence the enemy can be discovered at the
greatest distance, and from which may be seen the whole extent of his
front.
In an _offensive_ position, the weakest points of the line must be
strengthened by the largest calibers; and the most distant from the
enemy: those heights on which the army in advancing may rest its
flanks, must be secured by them, and from which the enemy may be fired
upon obliquely.
The guns should be placed as much as possible under cover; this is
easily done upon heights, by keeping them so far back that the muzzles
are only to be seen over them: by proper attention many situations may
be found of which advantage may be taken for this purpose, such as
banks, ditches, &c. every where to be met with.
A _battery_ in the field should never be discovered by the enemy till
the very moment it is to open. The guns may be masked by being a little
retired; or by being covered by troops, particularly cavalry.
To enable the commanding officer of artillery to choose the proper
positions for his field batteries, he should of course be made
acquainted, with the effect intended to be produced; with the troops
that are to be supported; and with the points that are to be attacked;
that he may place his artillery so as to support, but not incommode
the infantry; nor take up such situations with his guns, as would be
more advantageously occupied by the line. That he may not place his
batteries too soon, nor too much exposed; that he may cover his front
and his flanks, by taking advantage of the ground; and that he may not
venture too far out of the protection of the troops, unless some very
decided effect is to be obtained thereby.
The guns must be so placed as to produce a cross fire upon the position
of the enemy, and upon all the ground which he must pass over in an
attack.
They must be separated into many small batteries, to divide the fire of
the enemy; while the fire from all these batteries, may at any time be
united to produce a decided effect against any particular points.
These points are the _débouchés_ of the enemy, the heads of their
columns, and the weakest points in the front. In an attack of the
enemy’s position, the cross fire of the guns must become _direct_,
before it can impede the advance of the troops; and must annoy the
enemy’s positions nearest to the point attacked, when it is no longer
safe to continue the fire upon that point itself.
The shot from artillery should always take an enemy in the direction of
its greatest dimension; it should therefore take a line obliquely or in
flank; but a column in front.
The artillery should never be placed in such a situation, that it can
be taken by an enemy’s battery obliquely, or in flank, or in the rear;
unless a position under these circumstances, offers every prospect of
producing a most decided effect, before the guns can be destroyed or
placed _hors de combat._
The most elevated positions are not the best for artillery, the
greatest effects may be produced from a height of 30 or 40 yards at the
distance of about 600, and about 16 yards of height to 200 of distance.
Positions in the rear of the line are bad for artillery, because they
alarm the troops, and offer a double object to the fire of the enemy.
Positions which are not likely to be shifted, but from whence an effect
may be produced during the whole of an action, are to be preferred; and
in such positions a low breast work of 2 or 3 feet high may be thrown
up, to cover the carriages.
Artillery should never fire against artillery, unless the enemy’s
troops are covered, and his artillery exposed; or unless your troops
suffer more from the fire of his guns, than his troops do from yours.
Never abandon your guns till the last extremity. The last discharges
are the most destructive; they may perhaps be your salvation, and crown
you with victory.
The parks of artillery in Great Britain are composed of the following
ordnance: 4 medium 12 pounders; 4 desaguliers 6 pounders; and 4 light
5¹⁄₂ inch howitzers.
The following is the proposed line of march for the three brigades when
acting with different columns of troops, as settled, in 1798.
12 Pounders. | 6 Pounders. | Howitzers.
----------------------+----------------------+----------------------
4 Guns. | 4 Guns. | 4 Howitzers.
8 Ammunition Waggons.| 4 Ammunition Waggons.| 8 Ammunition Waggons.
1 Forge Cart. | 1 Forge Cart. | 1 Forge Cart.
1 Store Waggon, with | 1 Store Waggon. | 1 Store Waggon.
a small proportion | |
of stores and spare| |
articles. | |
1 Spare Waggon. | 1 Spare Waggon. | 1 Spare Waggon.
1 Waggon to carry | 1 Waggon for bread | 1 Waggon with bread
bread and oats. | and oats. | and oats.
2 Waggons with | 2 Waggons with | 2 Waggons with
musquet ball | musquet ball | musquet ball
cartridges. | cartridges. | cartridges.
-- |-- |--
18 Total. |14 Total. |18 Total.
2d. ARTILLERY and Ammunition for a siege.
Necessary considerations in forming an estimate for this service.
The force, situation, and condition of the place to be besieged;
whether it be susceptible of more than one attack; whether lines of
circumvallation or countervallation will be necessary; whether it be
situated upon a height, upon a rocky soil, upon good ground, or in
a marsh; whether divided by a river, or in the neighborhood of one;
whether the river will admit of forming inundations; its size and
depth; whether the place be near a wood, and whether that wood can
supply stuff for fascines, gabions, &c. whether it be situated near any
other place where a depot can be formed to supply stores for the siege.
Each of these circumstances will make a very considerable difference
in proportioning the stores, &c. for a siege. More artillery will be
required for a place susceptible of two attacks, than for the place
which only admits of one. For this last there must be fewer pieces of
ordnance, but more ammunition for each piece. In case of lines being
necessary, a great quantity of intrenching tools will be required, and
a numerous field train of artillery. In case of being master of any
garrison in the neighborhood of the besieged town, from whence supplies
can readily be drawn, this must be regarded as a second park: and too
great a quantity of stores need not be brought at once before the
besieged place. The number of batteries to be opened before the place
must determine the number of pieces of ordnance; and on the quantity or
ordnance must depend the proportion of every species of stores for the
service of the artillery.
There must be a battery to _enfilade_ every face of the work to be
besieged, that can in any way annoy the besiegers in their approaches.
These batteries, at least that part of them to be allotted for
guns, need not be much longer than the breadth of the rampart to be
enfiladed, and will not therefore hold more than 5 or 6 heavy guns;
which, with two more to enfilade the opposite branch of the covert
way, will give the number of guns for each ricochet battery. As the
breaching batteries, from their situation, effectually mask the fire of
the first or ricochet batteries, the same artillery generally serves
for both. Having thus ascertained the number of heavy guns, the rest of
the ordnance will bear the following proportion to them:
_Mortars._ From 8 inch to 13 inch, about ¹⁄₃.
_Small Mortars._ About ¹⁄₄.
_Heavy Howitzers._ About ¹⁄₃.
The fewer kinds of ordnance which compose the demand the better, as a
great deal of the confusion may be prevented, which arises from various
kinds of ammunition and stores being brought together.
The carriages for the ordnance are generally as follows:
For 24 Prs. ⁵⁄₆ the number of guns.
For Mortars, ⁸⁄₉ the number of mortars.
For Howitzers, ³⁄₄ the number of howitzers.
For _Stone_ Mortars, ⁶⁄₇ the number of mortars.
Ammunition for the ordnance.
24 Prs. At 1000 rounds per gun.
Mortars, howitzers, and stone mortars, at 800 rounds per piece of
ordnance.
The following proportion of artillery and ammunition was demanded by
a very able officer, for the intended siege of Lisle, in 1794, which
place was thought susceptible of two attacks.
64--24 Prs, with carriages complete, at 50 _round shot_ per gun, per
day, for the whole siege; half of them _en ricochet_, with 2lbs. of
powder; the other half with the full charge of 8lbs.
_Case_ and _Grape_ shot, at one round per gun, per day, of each: 6lbs.
per charge.
_Shells_ for guns, two rounds do.
_Flannel cartridges_, for the case, grape, and shells.
_Tin_ tubes for the case and grape.
_Quill_ tubes for the round shot.
_Spare_, one tenth.
28--10 Inch mortars, on iron beds, at 50 shells each per day, for the
whole siege. 3lbs. of powder charge; 2lbs. 10 oz. for bursting.
_Pound shot_; 100 to a charge; 50 rounds per mortar each day for 10
mortars 7 days; 2lbs. of powder each.
_Hand granades_; 25 to a charge; the same as the pound shot.
_Carcasses, round_; 1 per mortar, per day.
8--8 Inch howitzers, on travelling carriages.
30 _Shells_ for each per day, during the siege.
_Case shot_; 5 rounds per day each.
_Carcasses_; 1 per day each.
_Powder_; 1lb. per charge; 1lb. 14 oz. for bursting.
20--5¹⁄₂ Inch mortars, on wooden beds.
50 _Shells_ for each, per day, for the whole siege; charge 8 oz.; 12
oz. for bursting.
_Flannel cartridges_, for ¹⁄₃ the number of rounds.
_Tin_ tubes in the same proportion.
_Portfires_, one half the number of rounds with tubes.
_Fuzes_, one tenth to spare.
_Match_, 50 cwt.
Spare carriages for 24 Prs. seven.
2 Devil carriages.
6 Sling carts.
6 Block carriages.
3 Forge carts.
3 Store waggons, with iron and coals.
3 Triangle gins, complete.
6 Laboratory tents.
2 Small petards.
4 Grates for heating shot.
Of the arrangement of Artillery at a siege.
The first arrangement of the artillery at a siege is to the different
batteries raised near the first parallel, to enfilade the faces of the
work on the front attacked, which fire on the approaches. If these
first batteries be favorably situated, the artillery may be continued
in them nearly the whole of the siege; and will save the erection of
any other gun batteries, till the besiegers arrive on the crest of
the glacis. It however frequently happens, from local circumstances,
that the besiegers cannot avail themselves of the most advantageous
situations for the first batteries. There are four situations from
which the defenses of any face may be destroyed; but not from all
with equal facility. The best position for the first batteries, is
perpendicular to the prolongation of the face of the work to be
enfiladed. If this position cannot be attained, the next that presents
itself is, on that side of the prolongation which takes the face in
reverse; and under as small an angle as possible. From both these
positions the guns must fire _en ricochet_. But if the ground, or
other circumstance, will not admit of either of these being occupied
by ricochet batteries, the battery to destroy the fire of a face must
be without the prolongation, so as to fire obliquely upon the outside
of the face. The last position, in point of advantage, is directly
parallel to the face. From these two last positions the guns must fire
with the full charges.
The second, or breaching batteries at a siege, are generally placed
on the crest of the glacis, within 15 or 18 feet of the covert way;
which space serves as the epaulment: but if the foot of the revetement
cannot be seen from this situation, they must be placed in the covert
way, within 15 feet of the counterscarp of the ditch. These batteries
must be sunk as low as the soles of the embrasures, and are in fact but
an enlargement of the sap, run for the lodgment on the glacis or in
the covert way. In constructing a battery on the crest of the glacis,
attention must be paid that none of the embrasures open upon the
traverses of the covert way. These batteries should consist of at least
four guns; and if the breadth between the traverses will not admit of
this number, at the usual distances, the guns must be closed to 15 or
12 feet from each other.
The mortars are generally at first arranged in battery, adjoining
the first gun batteries, or upon the prolongation of the capitals of
the works; in which place they are certainly least exposed. Upon the
establishment of the half parallels, batteries of howitzers may be
formed in their extremities, to enfilade the branches of the covert
way; and upon the formation of the third parallel, batteries of
howitzers and stone mortars may be formed to enfilade the flanks of the
bastions, and annoy the besieged in the covert way. In the lodgement on
the glacis, stone and other mortars may also be placed, to drive the
besieged from their defences. A great object in the establishment of
all these batteries, is to make such an arrangement of them, that they
mask the fire of each other as little as possible; and particularly
of the first, or ricochet batteries. This may very well be prevented
till the establishment on the crest of the glacis, when it becomes in
some degree unavoidable: however, even the operations on the glacis
may be so arranged, that the ricochet batteries be not masked till the
breaching batteries be in a great state of forwardness: a very secure
method, and which prevents the soldiers in trenches being alarmed by
the shot passing over their heads, is to raise a _parados_, or parapet,
in the rear of the trenches, at such parts where the fire from the
besieger’s batteries crosses them. For further details on this subject,
and for the manner of constructing batteries, see the word _Battery_;
also the words _Ricochet_, _Breach_, _Magazine_, _Platform_, &c.
3d. ARTILLERY _and Ammunition for the defence of a Fortified Place_.
_It is usual in an Estimate of Artillery and Ammunition for the Defence
of Fortified Places, to divide them into Eight Classes, as follows_:
+-----------------------+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| CLASSES. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
+-----------------------+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|Garrisons |12000|10000|8000|5000|3500|2500|1600| 400|
|Cannon | 100| 90| 80| 70| 60| 50| 40| 30|
|Triangle Gins | 4| 3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1|
|Sling Carts | 4| 3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1|
|Jacks of Sizes | 4| 3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1|
|Truck carriages | 6| 6| 4| 4| 2| 2| 2| 2|
|Ammunition carts, &c. | 12| 12| 12| 6| 6| 6| 2| 2|
|Tools for Pioneers | 9000| 6000|5000|4000|3500|3000|1000|1000|
|Tools for Miners | 300| 200| 100| 100| 100| 100| 50| 5|
|Tools for}¹⁄₃ Axes }| 1200| 900| 600| 500| 450| 300| 150| 150|
|Cutting }²⁄₃ Billh’ks}| | | | | | | | |
|Forges complete | 6| 4| 2| 2| 2| 2| 1| 1|
+-----------------------+-----+-----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
The guns will be of the following calibres: one-third of 18 prs.;
one-third of 12 prs.; and one-third of 24, 9, and 4 pounders in equal
proportions. If the place does not possess any very extraordinary means
of defence, it will be very respectably supplied with 800 rounds of
ammunition per gun for the two larger calibers, and 900 for each of the
others.
_Gun Carriages_; one-third more than the number of guns.
_Mortars_; about one-fourth the number of guns in the three first
classes; and one-fifth or one-sixth in the other classes. Of these
two-fifths will be 13 or 10 inch mortars, and the rest of a smaller
nature.
_Howitzers_; one-fourth the number of mortars.
_Stone Mortars_; one-tenth the number of guns.
_Shells_; 400 for each of the 10 and 13 inch mortars, and 600 for each
of the smaller ones.
_Beds_ for mortars; one-third to spare.
_Carriages_ for howitzers; one-third to spare.
_Hand Grenades_; 4 or 5000 for the two first classes; 2000 in the three
following classes; and from 1500 to 600 in the three last classes.
_Rampart Grenades_; 2000 for the first class; 1000 for the four
following classes; and 500 for the sixth class; none for the two last.
_Fuzes_; one-fourth more than the number of shells.
_Bottoms_ of wood for stone mortars; 400 per mortar.
_Sand Bags_; 500 for every piece of ordnance in the large places, and
one-fourth less in the small ones.
_Handspikes_; 10 per piece.
_Tackle Falls_ for gins; 1 for every 10 pieces to spare.
_Musquets_; 1 per soldier, and the same number to spare.
_Pistols_, pairs; one half the number of musquets.
_Flints_; 50 per musquet, and 10 per pistol.
_Lead_ or _Balls_ for small arms; 30 pounds per musquet.
_Powder for small arms_; 5 pounds for every musquet in the garrison,
including the spare ones.
The above proportions are taken from Durtubie’s Manuel De l’Artilleur.
The following method of regulating the management of the artillery, and
estimating the probable expenditure of ammunition in the defence of a
fortified place, is extracted from a valuable work on fortification
lately published at Berlin. It is particularly applied to a regular
hexagon: the siege is divided into three periods, viz.
1st. From the first investiture to the first opening of the trenches,
about 5 days.
2d. From the opening of the trenches to the effecting a lodgement on
the glacis, about 18 days.
3d. From this time to the capitulation, about 5 days.
_First Period._ Three guns on the barbette of each bastion and on the
barbettes of the ravelins in front of the gate ways, half 24 prs. and
half 18 prs.[4] three 9 prs. on the barbette of each of the other
ravelins.
[4] For 16 prs. in the French work, we have said 18 prs....for 8 prs.
9 prs....for 12 inch mortars, 13 inch: to which they nearly answer,
our measures being generally the same as the English.
Twelve 12 prs. and twelve 4 prs. in reserve.
One 13 inch mortar in each bastion.
Six of 8 inch in the salient angles of the covert way.
Do. in reserve.
Ten stone mortars.
The 12 prs. in reserve, are to be ranged behind the curtain, on which
ever side they may be required, and the 4 prs. in the outworks; all to
fire _en ricochet_ over the parapet. By this arrangement, the whole
of the barbette guns are ready to act in any direction, till the side
of attack is determined on; and with the addition of the reserve, 49
pieces may be opened upon the enemy the very first night they begin to
work upon the trenches.
The day succeeding the night on which the trenches are opened, and the
side to be attacked determined, a new arrangement of the artillery
must take place. All the 24 and 18 prs. must be removed to the front
attacked, and the other bastions, if required, supplied with 12 prs.
The barbettes of the bastions on this front may have each 5 guns, and
the twelve 18 prs. may be ranged behind the curtain. The six mortars
in reserve must be placed, two in each of the salient angles of the
covert way of this front, and with those already there mounted as
howitzers,[5] to fire down the prolongations of the capitals. Three
4 pounders in each of the salient places of arms of the ravelins on
the attacked fronts, to fire over the palisading, and five 9 prs.
in the ravelin of this front. This arrangement will bring 47 guns
and 18 mortars to fire on the approaches after the first night; and
with a few variations will be the disposition of the artillery for
the second period of the siege. As soon as the enemy’s batteries are
fairly established, it will be no longer safe to continue the guns _en
barbette_, but embrasures[6] must be opened for them; which embrasures
must be occasionally masked, and the guns assume new directions, as the
enemy’s fire grows destructive; but may again be taken advantage of,
as circumstances offer. As the enemy gets near the third parallel, the
artillery must be withdrawn from the covert way to the ravelins, or
to the ditch, if dry, or other favorable situations; and, by degrees,
as the enemy advances, to the body of the place. During this period
of the siege, the embrasures must be prepared in the flanks, in the
curtain which joins them, and in the faces of the bastions which flank
the ditch of the front ravelins. These embrasures must be all ready to
open, and the heavy artillery mounted in them, the moment the enemy
attempts a lodgement on the glacis.
[5] The iron mortars, on iron beds, all admit of being fired at low
angles.
[6] A German author proposes that the mounds of earth which enable
the guns to fire en barbette, should be so arranged, that the
embrasures may be opened between them; and when the guns descend to
the embrasures, the barbettes will serve as traversers.
Every effort should be made to take advantage of this favorable moment,
when the enemy, by their own works, must mask their former batteries,
and before they are able to open their new ones.
The expenditure of ammunition will be nearly as follows:
_First period_ of the siege; 5 rounds per gun, per day, with only half
the full charge, or one-sixth the weight of the shot, and for only such
guns as can act.
_Second period_; 20 rounds per gun, per day, with one-sixth the weight
of the shot.
_Third-period_; 60 rounds per gun, per day, with the full charge, or
one-third the weight of the shot.
_Mortars_; at 20 shells per day, from the first opening of the trenches
to the capitulation.
_Stone Mortars_; 80 rounds per mortar, for every 24 hours, from the
establishment of the demi-parallels to the capitulation; about 13 days.
_Light_, and _Fire balls_; five every night, for each mortar, from the
opening of the trenches to the eighth day, and three from that time to
the end of the siege.
These amount to about 700 for guns.
400 for mortars.
1000 for stone do.
This proportion and arrangement is however made upon a supposition,
that the place has no countermines to retard the progress of the
besiegers, to a period beyond what is abovementioned; but the same
author estimates, that a similar place, with the covert way properly
countermined beforehand, and those countermines properly disputed,
may retard a siege at least 2 months; and that if the other works be
likewise effectually countermined and defended, the siege may be still
prolonged another month.
The above proportion is therefore to be further regulated, as the
strength of the place is increased by these or any other means. These
considerations should likewise be attended to, in the formation of
an estimate of ammunition and stores for the siege of a fortified
place. See _Carriage_, _Platform_, _Park_, and the different kinds of
artillery, as _Gun_, _Mortar_, _Howitzer_, &c.
The ammunition for small arms is estimated by this author as follows:
¹⁄₄ of a pound of gunpowder, or 10 rounds per day, per man, for all the
ordinary guards.
1¹⁄₄ lbs. or 50 rounds per man, per 12 hours, for all extraordinary
guards.
⁵⁄₈ of a pound, or 25 rounds for every man on picket, during the period
of his duty.
ARTILLERY, in a military acceptation of the term, signifies every
species of light or heavy ordnance. It is classed under specific heads;
the most important of which are--
_Field_ ARTILLERY, which includes every requisite to forward the
operations of an army, or of any part of an army acting offensively
or defensively in the field. Field artillery may be divided into two
distinct classes--_Field Artillery_, commonly called the _Park_, and
_Horse Artillery_.
_Encampment of a regiment of_ ARTILLERY. Regiments of artillery are
always encamped, half on the right, and half on the left of the park.
The company of bombardiers (when they are formed into companies, which
they are in European nations excepting England) always takes the right
of the whole, and they rate by seniority, so that the two youngest are
next but one to the centre or park: the two companies next to the park,
are the miners on the right, and the artificers on the left.
In the rear of, and 36 feet from the park, are encamped the civil list,
commissioners, clerks, &c. all in one line.
The breadth between the front tent-pole of one company, and that of
another, called the streets, will depend on the size and capacity of
the tents; but according to the old mode during the revolution of 1776,
when the American army had tents, 36 feet to each was the interval.
FEET.
From the front pole of officers tent of the quarter-guard, or
guard of the army, to the centre of the bells of arms of ditto 34
To the parade of the quarter-guard 12
To the first line of the regimental parade 150
To the centre of the bells of arms 90
From thence to the front poles of serjeants tents 12
For pitching 12 tents of artillery, with their proper intervals
at 9 feet each 108
From the rear of companies tents, to the front of the subalterns
tents 60
From the front of the subalterns, to that of the captains 72
From the front of the captains, to that of the field officers 72
From the front of the field officers, to that or the colonels 36
From the front of the colonels, to that of the staff officers 48
From the front of the staff officers, to the front row of bâtmans
tents 54
From thence to the first row of pickets for horses 6
From thence to the second row 36
From thence to the second row of bâtmans tents 6
From thence to the front of the grand suttler’s tent 42
From thence to the centre of the kitchens 60
From thence to the front of petit-suttler’s tents 45
From thence to the centre of the bells of arms of the rear-guard 45
---
Total depth 789
---
The army guard is in the front of the park, opposite the alarm-guns, in
a line with the artillery quarter-guards, that are placed on the right
and left of the artillery companies.
When there are bells of arms they front the poles of serjeants tents.
The colours are placed in the centre of the front line of guns, in the
interval of the two alarm-guns, in a line with the bells of arms of the
companies.
The lieutenant-colonels and majors tents front the centres of the
second streets from the right and left of the regiment.
The colonel’s tent is in a line with the colours and guard of the army,
facing the same.
The staff-officers front the centres of the second streets, on the
right and left of the angles of the park.
The bâtmen’s tents front towards their horses.
The rear-guard fronts outwards. The front poles are in a line with the
centre of the bells of arms, and each is 18 feet distant. The parade of
the rear-guard is 12 feet from the bells of arms.
In the rear of the rear guard, and 80 feet distant from their parade,
the artillery-horses and drivers tents are placed, in two or more
lines, parallel with the line of guns, extending from the right and
left of the whole.
It sometimes happens, that a very large train of artillery is in the
field, with two or more regiments: in that case the oldest takes the
right of the park, the next oldest the left, and the youngest the
centre: the centre or grand street is 63 feet broad, opposite to which
the tent of the commanding officer is placed. In the centre of this
street, the colours are placed in a line with the bells of arms, and
the artillery quarter-guard is in the front of the colours at the same
distance as before mentioned. For further particulars of camps, see
_American Mil. Lib_. Vol. II. Art. CAMPS.
_Regiment of_ ARTILLERY. The corps of artillery, with all its
dependencies, is, as it were, the general instrument of the army. It
is impossible to attack fortified places, or to defend them, without
artillery; and an army in the field, which wants artillery, can not
so well make head against one that is well provided with it. for this
reason it is, that at all times governments have taken great care to
provide proper officers of learning and capacity to govern, repair and
keep in order, this essential part of military force.
The strength of a regiment of artillery depends upon the circumstances
of the country, the quantity of troops to maintain, the number of
fortifications and points to be defended. It had always been the
custom, to regulate the corps of artillery according to the French
method; but, the celebrated king of Prussia fixed his regiments of
artillery on another plan, and produced a great change, upon which the
French have since improved, and are again followed by all nations. The
British method, from which we borrowed in the revolution, may be useful
to know as well as the Prussian.
In 1628, and probably long before, the artillery had sundry privileges,
from which the rest of the army were excluded, viz. of having the
first rank and the best quarters; neither could any carriage or waggon
presume to march before theirs, except that belonging to the treasurer.
In 1705, we find the first mention made of English _royal_ artillery,
before that time it was only called the _train of artillery_. It
then consisted only of 4 companies, under the command of general
Borgard. From that period it gradually increased to 6 battalions, each
battalion consisting of 10 companies, beside 1 invalid battalion equal
in its establishment to the others, but confined in duty to the home
garrisons, or to Jersey, Guernsey and Bermuda, commanded by a colonel
commandant, 1 colonel en second, 2 lieutenant-colonels, 1 major, who
have no companies. Each company in time of war generally consisted of
120 men, commanded by 1 captain, 1 captain lieutenant, 2 first, and 1
second lieutenant. In time of peace the companies were reduced to 50
men each.
Frederick the second of Prussia, found his army in a very good
condition, excepting the corps of artillery and engineers, little
esteemed by the rest of the army, and the officers without commissions.
Knowing how necessary it was to have a good corps of artillery
and engineers, and how impossible it was to secure that important
object without having officers learned in every branch of military
mathematics; immediately draughted all the illiterate officers into
the garrison regiments, supplying their places with persons of
capacity; and giving them all commissions, with rank equal to that of
the officers of the guards, and an extraordinary pay. This method of
proceeding established the use and reputation of that corps; induced
the nobility and men of rank (provided they had capacity) to engage
in it sooner than elsewhere; which brought it to that summit of high
renown, it since enjoyed.
The Prussian army consisted of 12 battalions, 8 for the field, and
4 for garrison. Each battalion had 12 companies, namely, 1 company
of bombardiers, 1 of miners, 1 of artificers, and 9 of artillerists.
The first, or bombardier companies, were composed of 1 captain,
2 lieutenants, 3 upper and 6 under fire-workers, 2 serjeants, 4
corporals, 2 drummers, and 60 bombardiers. The miners had the same
commissioned officers, with 3 serjeants, 6 corporals, 2 drummers,
33 miners, and 33 sappers. The artificers had the same officers
and non-commissioned officers as the miners, with 30 artificers,
and 36 pontoneers. All the artillery companies had 3 commissioned
and 6 non-commissioned officers, 2 drummers, and 60 artillerists.
The colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major’s companies, had each
a captain-lieutenant; and each battalion had further, 1 chaplain,
1 auditor, 1 adjutant, 1 quarter-master, 1 doctor, 3 surgeons, 1
serjeant-major, 1 drum-major, 6 musicians, and 1 provost.
By the law of the 16th March, 1802, sect. 2, the United States
artillery consists of five battalions, consisting of 1 colonel, 1
lieutenant colonel, 4 majors, 1 adjutant, 20 companies, each composed
of 1 captain, 1 first lieutenant, 1 second lieutenant, 2 cadets, 4
serjeants, 4 corporals, 4 musicians, 8 artificers, and 56 privates;
two teachers of music were added by the law of February 28, 1803.
_March of the_ ARTILLERY. The marches of the artillery are, of all the
operations of war, the most delicate; because they must not only be
directed on the object you have in view, but according to the movements
the enemy make. Armies generally march in 3 columns, the centre column
of which is the artillery: should the army march in more columns, the
artillery and heavy baggage march nevertheless in one or more of the
centre columns; the situation of the enemy determines this. If they are
far from the enemy, the baggage and ammunition go before or behind,
or are sent by a particular road; an army in such a case cannot march
in too many columns. But should the march be towards the enemy, the
baggage must absolutely be all in the rear, and the whole artillery
form the centre column, except some brigades, one of which marches at
the head of each column, with guns loaded and burning matches, preceded
by a detachment for their safety. The French almost invariably place
their baggage in the centre.
Suppose the enemy’s army in a condition to march towards the heads of
your columns: the best disposition for the march is in 3 columns only;
that of the centre for the artillery; for it is then easy to form it
in order of battle. Hence it is equally commodious for each brigade
of artillery to plant itself at the head of the troops, in the place
marked for it, in such a manner, that the whole disposition being
understood, and well executed, the line of battle may be quickly formed
in an open country, and in the presence of any enemy, without risquing
a surprise; by which method the artillery will always be in a condition
to act as soon as the troops, provided it march in brigades.
If your march should be through a country full of defiles, some cavalry
and other light troops must march at the head of the columns, followed
by a detachment of grenadiers and a brigade of artillery; cannon being
absolutely necessary to obstruct the enemy’s forming into order of
battle.
When you decamp in the face of the enemy, you must give most attention
to your rear-guard. On such occasions, all the baggage, ammunition,
provisions, and artillery, march before the troops; your best light
troops, best cavalry, some good brigades of infantry, together
with some brigades of artillery, form the rear-guard. Cannon is of
infinite use for a rear-guard, when you are obliged to pass a defile,
or a river; and should be placed at the entry of such defile, on an
eminence, if there be one, or on any other place, from whence they can
discover the ground through which the enemy must march to attack the
rear-guard.
A detachment of pioneers, with tools, must always march at the head of
the artillery, and of each column of equipage or baggage.
If the enemy be encamped on the right flanks of the march, the
artillery, &c. should march to the left of the troops, and _vice
versa_. Should the enemy appear in motion, the troops front that way,
by wheeling to the right or left by divisions; and the artillery, which
marches in a line with the columns, passes through their intervals,
and forms at the head of the front line, which is formed of the column
that flanked nearest the enemy, taking care at the same time that the
baggage be well covered during the action.
Though we have said armies generally march in 3 columns, yet where the
country will allow it, it is better to march in a greater number; and
let that number be what it will, the artillery must form the centre
columns. See _American Mil. Lib._ on the march of troops.
_Line of march of the_ ARTILLERY for a large army, as established
before the French revolution:
1. A guard of the army; the strength of which depends on the commander
in chief.
2. The companies of miners (excepting a detachment from each, dispersed
in various places, to mend the roads) with tumbrels of tools, drawn by
2 horses, assisted by pioneers.
3. The brigades of artillery’s front-guard, with four light 6 pounders
loaded, and matches burning.
4. The trumpeters on horse-back.
5. The flag-gun, drawn by 12 horses, and ten 12 pounders more, by 4
horses each.
6. Twenty waggons with stores for the said guns, and 1 spare one, by 4
horses each.
7. All the pontoons, with the waggons thereto belonging.
8. Eight 9 pounders, by 3 horses each.
9. Fifteen waggons with stores for said guns, by 4 horses each, and 2
spare ones.
10. Gins and capstans, with their proper workmen, 3 waggons, with 2
horses each.
11. A forge on four wheels, and 1 waggon, 4 horses each.
12. Twelve heavy 24 pounders, by 16 horses each.
13. Sixteen waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones, by 4
horses each.
14. A waggon with tools, and pioneers to mend the roads.
15. Nine light 24 pounders, by 8 horses each.
16. Twelve waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones, by 4 horses
each.
17. A forge and waggon, by 4 horses each.
18. Nine 24 pounders, by 8 horses each.
19. Twelve waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
20. Twelve 12 pounders, by 8 horses each.
21. Sixteen waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
22. Sixteen 5.8 inch mortars, by 2 horses each.
23. Twenty-five waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
24. Ten 8 inch mortars, by 4 horses each.
25. Twenty waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
26. Six 10 inch howitzers, by 6 horses each.
27. Twenty waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
28. A waggon with tools, and men to mend the roads.
29. A forge and waggon, by 4 horses each.
30. Ten 8 inch mortars, by 4 horses each.
31. Twenty waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one.
32. Sixteen 12 inch mortars, by 8 horses each.
33. Thirty waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
34. Eight 18 inch stone mortars, by 10 horses each.
35. Sixteen waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one.
36. Eight 9 pounders, by 3 horses each.
37. Sixteen waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one.
38. Twenty 6 pounders, by 2 horses each.
39. Twenty waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one.
40. Two sling-waggons, and 2 truck-carriages, 4 horses each.
41. Twenty 3 pounders, by 1 horse each.
42. Ten waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one.
43. A waggon with tools, &c.
44. A forge and waggon, by 4 horses each.
45. Twelve 2 and 1 pounders, by 1 horse each.
46. Six waggons with stores for ditto.
47. Sixteen 6 pounders, by 2 horses each.
48. Ten waggons with stores for ditto.
49. Twenty spare carriages, for various calibres.
50. Eighteen ditto.
51. Fifty spare limbers.
52. Ten 18 pounders, by 6 horses each.
53. Twenty waggons with stores for ditto, and 2 spare ones.
54. Twenty waggons with ammunition and stores.
55. Two 12 pounders, by 4 horses each.
56. Four waggons with stores for ditto.
57. Fifty waggons with stores.
58. A waggon with tools, and men to mend the roads.
59. A forge and waggon, by 4 horses each.
60. A hundred waggons with stores, and 4 spare ones.
61. Four 2 and 1 pounders, by 1 horse each.
62. A hundred waggons with stores, and 3 spare ones.
63. Two hundred waggons, and 2 spare ones.
64. Two hundred and fourteen waggons belonging to the artillery
baggage; some with 4, 3, and 2 horses each.
65. The artillery rear-guard.
66. The rear-guard from the army.
_Horse Artillery._--The French horse artillery consists of 8 Prs. and 6
inch Howitzers.
The English of light 12 Prs., light 6 Prs. and light 5¹⁄₂ inch
Howitzers.
The Austrian and Prussian horse artillery have 6 Prs. and 5¹⁄₂ inch
Howitzers.
The United States by a law of April 12, 1808, authorised the raising of
a regiment of horse artillery of ten companies, of the same number of
officers and men as the artillery regiment of the old establishment to
the company.
_Officers of_ ARTILLERY. The commander of the army is commander in
chief of the artillery; the colonels of artillery act under his orders;
they are entrusted with one of the most laborious employments, both
in war and peace, requiring the greatest ability, application, and
experience. The officers in general should be good mathematicians, and
engineers, should know all the powers of artillery, the attack and
defence of fortified places; in a word, every thing which appertains to
that very important corps.
ARTILLEUR, _Fr._ an officer belonging to the French service.
ARTILLIER, _Fr._ a man who works on pieces of ordnance as a founder; or
one who serves them in action.
ARX, in the ancient military art, a fort, castle, &c. for the defence
of a place.
ARZEGAGES, _Fr._ batons or canes with iron at both ends. They were
carried by the Estradiots or Albanian cavaliers who served in France
under Charles VIII. and Louis XII.
ASAPPES, or AZAPES, auxiliary troops which are raised among the
Christians subject to the Turkish empire. These troops are generally
placed in the front to receive the first shock of the enemy.
ASCENT. See GUNNERY.
ASPECT, is the view or profile of land or coast, and contains the
figure or representation of the borders of any particular part of
the sea. These figures and representations may be found in all the
charts or directories for the sea coast. The Italians call them
_demonstratione_. By means of this knowlege you may ascertain whether
the land round the shore be high; if the coast itself be steep or
sloping; bent in the form of an arc, or extended in strait lines;
round at the top, or rising to a point. Every thing, in a word, is
brought in a correct state before the eye, as far as regards harbors,
swamps, bogs, gulphs, adjacent churches, trees, windmills, &c. See
RECONNOITRING in _Amer. Mil. Lib._
_A menacing_ ASPECT. An army is said to hold a menacing aspect, when by
advanced movements or positions it gives the opposing enemy cause to
apprehend an attack.
_A military_ ASPECT. A country is said to have a military aspect, when
its general situation presents appropriate obstacles or facilities for
an army acting on the offensive or defensive.
_An imposing_ ASPECT. An army is said to have an imposing aspect, when
it appears stronger than it really is. This appearance is often assumed
for the purpose of deceiving an enemy, and may not improperly be
considered as a principal _ruse de guerre_, or feint in war.
ASPIC, _Fr._ a piece of ordnance which carries a 12 pound shot. The
piece itself weighs 42-50 pounds.
ASSAILLIR, _Fr._ to attack; to assail. This old French term applies
equally to bodies of men and to individuals.
ASSAULT, a furious effort to carry a fortified post, camp, or fortress,
where the assailants do not screen themselves by any works. While an
assault during a siege continues, the batteries cease, for fear of
killing their own men. An assault is sometimes made by the regiments
that guard the trenches of a siege, sustained by detachments from the
army.
_To give an_ ASSAULT, is to attack any post, &c.
_To repulse an_ ASSAULT, to cause the assailants to retreat, to beat
them back.
_To carry by_ ASSAULT, to gain a post by storm, &c.
ASSAUT, _Fr._ See ASSAULT.
ASSIEGER, _Fr._ to besiege.
ASSEMBLEE, _Fr._ the assembling together of an army. Also a _call_, or
beat of the drum. See ASSEMBLY.
ASSEMBLY, the second beating of the drum before a march; at which the
men strike their tents, if encamped, roll them up, and stand to arms.
See DRUM.
ASSESSMENT, in a military sense, signifies a certain rate which is
paid in England by the county treasurer to the receiver-general of the
land-tax, to indemnify any place for not having raised the militia;
which sum is to be paid by the receiver-general into the exchequer.
The sum to be assessed is five pounds for each man, where no annual
certificate of the state of the militia has been transmitted to the
clerk of the peace: if not paid before June yearly it may be levied on
the parish officers. Such assessment where there is no county rate is
to be raised as the poor’s rate.
ASSIETTE, _Fr._ the immediate scite or position of a camp.
ASSOCIATION, any number of men embodied in arms for mutual defence
in their district; and to preserve the public tranquility therein,
against foreign or domestic enemies.
ASTRAGAL. See CANNON.
ATTACH. Officers and non-commissioned officers are said to be attached
to the respective army, regiment, battalion, troop, or company with
which they are appointed to act.
ATTACHE, _Fr._ the seal and signature of the colonel-general in the old
French service, which were affixed to the commissions of officers after
they had been duly examined.
ATTACK, any general assault, or onset, that is given to gain a post, or
break a body of troops.
ATTACK _of a siege_, is a furious assault made by the besiegers by
means of trenches, galleries, saps, breaches, or mines, &c. by storming
any part of the front attack. Sometimes two attacks are carried on at
the same time, between which a communication must be made. See SIEGE.
_False_ ATTACKS are never carried on with that vigor and briskness that
the others are; the design of them being to favor the true attack,
by amusing the enemy and by obliging the garrison to severer duty in
dividing their forces, that the true attack may be more successful.
_Regular_ ATTACK, is that which is carried on in form, according to the
rules of art. See SIEGE, APPROACHES, &c.
_To_ ATTACK _in front or flank_, in fortification, means to attack the
saliant angle, or both sides of the bastion.
This phrase is familiarly used with respect to bodies of men which
attack each other in a military way.
ATTACK _and Defence_. A part of the drill for recruits learning the
sword exercise, which is commenced with the recruit stationary on
horseback, the teacher riding round him, striking at different parts as
openings appear, and instructing the recruit how to ward his several
attacks; it is next executed in a walk, and, as the learner becomes
more perfect, in speed; in the latter under the idea of a pursuit. The
attack and defence in line and in speed form the concluding part of
the sword exercise when practised at a review of cavalry. It is to be
observed, that although denominated _in speed_, yet when practising, or
at a review, the pace of the horse ought not to exceed _three quarters_
speed.
ATTENTION, a cautionary word used as a preparative to any particular
exercise or manœuvre. _Garde-á-vous_, which is pronounced _Gar-a-vous_,
has the same signification in the French service.
ATTESTATION, a certificate made by some justice of the peace of the
enlistment of a recruit. This certificate is to bear testimony, that
the recruit has been brought before him in conformity to law and
has declared his _assent_ or _dissent_ to such enlistment; and, if
according to the law he shall have been, and is duly enlisted, that
the proper oath has been administered to him by the said magistrate.
ATILT, in the attitude of thrusting with a spear, &c. as was formerly
the case in tournaments, &c.
AVANT, _Fr._ foremost, most advanced toward the enemy, as
AVANT-_chemin couvert_, _Fr._ The advanced covert-way which is made at
the foot of the glacis to oppose the approaches of an enemy.
AVANT-_duc_, _Fr._ The pile-work which is formed by a number of young
trees on the edge or entrance of a river. They are driven into the
ground with battering rams or strong pieces of iron, to form a level
floor, by means of strong planks being nailed upon it, which serve for
the foundation of a bridge. Boats are placed wherever the _avant-duc_
terminates. The avant-duc is had recourse to when the river is so broad
that there are not boats sufficient to make a bridge across. Avant-ducs
are made on each side of the river.
AVANT-_fossé_, _Fr._ The ditch of the counterscarp next to the country.
It is dug at the foot of the glacis. See FORTIFICATION.
AVANT-_garde_. See VAN GUARD.
AVANT-_train_, _Fr._ The limbers of a field piece, on which are placed
one or two boxes containing ammunition enough for immediate service.
AUDITOR, the person who audits regimental or other military accounts.
AVENUE, in fortification, is any kind of opening or inlet into a fort,
bastion, or out-work.
AUGET, or AUGETTE, _Fr._ A wooden pipe which contains the powder by
which a mine is set fire to.
AULNE _de Paris_, a French measure, containing 44 inches, used to
measure sand-bags.
AUTHORITY, in a general acceptation of the term, signifies a right
to command, and a consequent right to be obeyed. The appointment of
officers in the army of the United States is in the nomination by the
president, and approved by a majority of the Senate. The president
may however dismiss at his discretion. The king of Great-Britain has
the power to exercise military authority without controul, as far as
regards the army; and may appoint or dismiss officers at his pleasure.
AUXILIARY. Foreign or subsidiary troops which are furnished to a
belligerent power in consequence of a treaty of alliance, or for
pecuniary considerations. Of the latter description may be considered
the Hessians that were employed by Great-Britain to enslave America.
AWARD, the sentence or determination of a military court.
AXLE-TREE, a transverse beam supporting a carriage, and on the ends of
which the wheels revolve. See CARRIAGES.
B.
BACK-_Step_, the retrograde movement of a man or body of men without
changing front; it is half the forward step.
BACKWARDS, a technical word made use of in the British service to
express the retrograde movement of troops from line into column, and
_vice versa_. See WHEEL.
BAGGAGE, in military affairs, signifies the clothes, tents, utensils of
divers sorts, and provisions, &c. belonging to an army.
BAGGAGE-_Waggons_. See WAGGONS.
BAGPIPE, the name of a musical warlike instrument, of the wind kind,
used by the Scots regiments, and sometimes by the Irish. Bagpipes were
used by the Danes; by the Romans, and by the Asiatics at this day;
there is in Rome a most beautiful bas-relievo, a piece of Grecian
sculpture of the highest antiquity, which represents a bag-piper
playing on his instrument exactly like a modern highlander. The Greeks
had also an instrument composed of a _pipe_ and _blown-up skin_. The
Romans in all probability, borrowed it from them. The Italians still
use it under the names of _piva_ and _cornumusa_. The Bagpipe has been
a favorite instrument among the Scots. There are two varieties: the
one with long pipes, and sounded with the mouth; the other with short
pipes, filled with air by a bellows, and played on with the fingers:
the first is the loudest and most ear-piercing of all music, is the
genuine highland pipe, and is well suited to the warlike genius of that
people. It formerly roused their courage to battle, alarmed them when
secure, and collected them when scattered: solaced them in their long
and painful marches, and in times of peace kept up the memory of the
gallantry of their ancestors, by tunes composed after signal victories.
The other is the Irish bagpipe.
BAGS, in military employments, are used on many occasions: as,
_Sand_ BAGS, generally 16 inches diameter, and 30 high, filled with
earth or sand to repair breaches, and the embrasures of batteries, when
damaged by the enemies fire, or by the blast of the guns. Sometimes
they are made less, and placed three together, upon the parapets, for
the men to fire through.
_Earth_-BAGS, containing about a cubical foot of earth, are used to
raise a parapet in haste, or to repair one that is beaten down. They
are only used when the ground is rocky, and does not afford earth
enough to carry on the approaches.
BALANCE, _Fr._ a term used in the French artillery to express a machine
in which stores and ammunition are weighed.
BALL, in the military art, comprehends all sorts of balls and bullets
for fire-arms, from the cannon to the pistol.
BALLS of Lead, of different kinds.
-----------+-------+---------+------------
|_Number|_Diameter| _No. made
|to one | in |from one ton
KINDS. |Pound._| Inches._| of Lead._
-----------+-------+---------+------------
Wall pieces| 6³⁄₄ | .89 | 14,760
Musquets | 14¹⁄₂ | .68 | 32,480
Carabine | 20 | .60 | 44,800
Pistol | 34 | .51 | 78,048
7 Brl. guns| 46¹⁄₂ | .46 | 104,160
-----------+-------+---------+------------
Lead balls are packed in boxes containing each 1 cwt. About 4 pounds of
lead in the cwt. are generally lost in casting. See SHOT.
_Cannon_-BALLS are of iron; and musket and pistol-balls are of lead.
Cannon-balls are always distinguished by their respective calibres,
thus,
A 42} {6,684 inches.
32} {6,105
24} {5,547
18} {5,040
12} pound ball, the diameter of which is {4,403
9} {4,000
6} {3,498
3} {2,775
2} {2,423
1} {1,923
_Fire_-BALLS, _Light_-BALLS, of which there are various sorts, used
for various purposes. Their composition is mealed powder 2, saltpetre
1¹⁄₂, sulphur 1, rosin 1, turpentine 2¹⁄₂. Sometimes they are made of
an iron shell, sometimes a stone, filled and covered with various coats
of the above composition, until it conglomerates to a proper size; the
last coat being of grained powder. But the best sort in our opinion,
is to take thick brown paper, and make a shell the size of the mortar,
and fill it with a composition of an equal quantity of sulphur, pitch,
rosin, and mealed powder; which being well mixed, and put in warm, will
give a clear fire, and burn a considerable time.
When they are intended to set fire to magazines, buildings, &c. the
composition must be mealed powder 10, saltpetre 2, sulphur 4, and
rosin 1; or rather mealed powder 48, saltpetre 32, sulphur 16, rosin
4, steel or iron filings 2, fir-tree saw-dust boiled in saltpetre
ley 2, birch-wood charcoal 1, well rammed into a shell for that
purpose, having various holes filled with small barrels, loaded with
musket-balls; and lastly the whole immerged in melted pitch, rosin and
turpentine oil.
_Smoke_-BALLS are prepared as above, with this difference, that they
contain 5 to 1 of pitch, rosin and saw-dust. This composition is put
into shells made for that purpose, having 4 holes to let out the smoke.
Smoke-balls are thrown out of mortars, and continue to smoke from 25 to
30 minutes.
_Stink_-BALLS are prepared by a composition of mealed powder, rosin,
saltpetre, pitch, sulphur, rasped horses and asses hoofs, burnt in the
fire, assa-fœtida, seraphim gum or ferula, and bug or stinking herbs,
made up into balls, as mentioned in _Light_-BALLS, agreeably to the
size of the mortar out of which you intend to throw them.
_Poisoned_ BALLS. We are not sure that they have ever been used in
Europe; but the Indians and Africans have always been very ingenious
at poisoning several sorts of warlike stores and instruments.
Their composition is mealed powder 4, pitch 6, rosin 3, sulphur 5,
assa-fœtida 8, extract of toad’s poison 12, other poisonous substances
12, made into balls as above directed. At the commencement of the
French Revolution poisoned balls were exhibited to the people said to
have been fired by the Austrians, particularly at the siege of Lisle.
We have seen some of this sort. They contained glass, small pieces of
iron, &c. and were said to be concocted together by means of a greasy
composition which was impregnated with poisonous matter. In 1792, they
were deposited in the Archives of Paris.
_Red-hot_ BALLS are fired out of mortars, howitzers, or cannon. Use
which you will, the ball must be made red-hot, which is done upon a
large coal fire in a square hole made in the ground, 6 feet every way,
and 4 or 5 feet deep. Some make the fire under an iron grate, on which
the shell or ball is laid; but the best way is to put the ball into
the middle of a clear burning fire, and when red-hot, all the fiery
particles must be swept off. Whatever machine you use to throw the
red-hot ball out of, it must be elevated according to the distance
you intend it shall range, and the charge of powder must be put into
a flannel cartridge, and a good wad upon that; then a piece of wood
of the exact diameter of the piece, and about 3¹⁄₂ inches thick, to
prevent the ball from setting fire to the powder; then place the ball
on the edge of the mortar, &c. with an instrument for that purpose,
and let it roll of itself against the wood, and instantly fire it
off. Should there be a ditch or parallel before such a battery, with
soldiers, the wood must not be used, as the blast of powder will break
it to pieces, and its own elasticity prevent it from flying far; it
would in that case either kill or wound your own people. For this
deficiency the wad must be double. See _American Mil. Lib_. article
ARTILLERY.
_Chain_-BALLS are two balls linked together by a chain of 8 or 10
inches long, and some have been made with a chain of 3 or 4 feet
long; they are used to destroy the pallisadoes, wooden bridges, and
chevaux-de-friezes of a fortification. They are also very destructive
to the rigging of a ship.
_Stang_-BALLS are by some called balls of two heads; they are sometimes
made of two half-balls joined together by a bar of iron from 8 to 14
inches long; they are likewise made of two entire balls; they are for
the same purpose as the before-mentioned.
_Anchor_-BALLS are made in the same way as the light-balls, and filled
with the same composition, only with this addition, that these are made
with an iron bar two-thirds of the ball’s diameter in length, and 3
or 4 inches square. One half is fixed within the ball, and the other
half remains without; the exterior end is made with a grapple-hook.
Very useful to set fire to wooden bridges, or any thing made of wood,
or even the rigging of ships, &c. for the pile end being the heaviest,
flies foremost, and wherever it touches, fastens, and sets all on fire
about it.
_Message_-BALLS. See SHELLS.
BALLIUM, a term used in ancient military history. In towns the
appellation of ballium was given to a work fenced with pallisades, and
sometimes to masonry, covering the suburbs; but in castles it was the
space immediately within the outer wall.
BALLOON, a hollow vessel of silk, varnished over and filled with
inflammable air, by which means it ascends in the atmosphere. It has
during the war been used by the French in reconnoitering, and with
great success at Fleurus.
BALOTS, _Fr._. sacks or bales of wool, made use of in cases of great
emergency, to form parapets or places of arms. They are likewise
adapted for the defence of trenches, to cover the workmen in saps, and
in all instances where promptitude is required.
BAN, _or_ BANN, a sort of proclamation made at the head of a body of
troops, or in the several quarters or cantonments of an army, by sound
of trumpet, or beat of drum; either for observing martial discipline,
or for declaring a new officer, or punishing a soldier, or the like. At
present such kind of proclamations are given out in the written orders
of the day.
BAN and ARRIERE BAN, a French military phrase signifying the
convocation of vassals under the feudal system. Ménage, a French
writer, derives the term from the German word _ban_, which means
_publication_; Nicod derives it from another German term which
signifies _field_. Borel from the Greek _pan_ which means _all_,
because the convocation was general. In the reign of Charles VII. the
_ban_ and _arriere ban_ had different significations. Formerly it meant
the assembling of the ordinary militia. After the days of Charles VII.
it was called the extraordinary militia. The first served more than
the latter; and each was distinguished according to the nature of its
particular service. The persons belonging to the arriere-ban were at
one period accoutred and mounted like light-horse; but there were
occasions on which they served like the infantry. Once under Francis I.
in 1545, and again under Lewis XIII. who issued out an order in 1637,
that the Arriere-Ban should serve on foot.
BAN likewise signified during the ancient monarchy of France, a
proclamation made by the sound of drums, trumpets, and tamborines,
either at the head of a body of troops, or in quarters. Sometimes to
prevent the men from quitting camp, at others to enforce the rigor
of military discipline; sometimes for the purpose of receiving a new
commanding officer, and at others to degrade a military character.
BANDER, _Fr._ to unite, to intrigue together for the purposes of
insurrection.
BANDERET, in military history, implies the commander in chief of the
troops of the canton of Berne, in Switzerland.
BANDES, _Fr._ bands, bodies of infantry.
BANDES _Francoises_. The French infantry was anciently so called. The
term, however, become less general and was confined to the _Prévôt des
Bandes_, or the Judge or Prevost marshal that tried the men belonging
to the French guards.
BANDIERES, _Fr._ Une Armée rangée en front de _bandieres_, signifies an
army in battle array. This disposition of the army is opposed to that
in which it is cantoned and divided into several bodies.
BANDOLEER, in ancient military history, a large leathern belt worn over
the right shoulder, and hanging under the left arm, to carry some kind
of warlike weapon.
BANDOLIERS were likewise little wooden cases covered with leather, of
which every musqueteer used to wear 12 hanging on a shoulder-belt; each
of them contained the charge of powder for a musquet.
BANDROLS. BANNEROLS. See CAMP COLORS.
BANDS, properly bodies of foot, though almost out of date.
_Train_-BANDS. In England the militia of the City of London were
generally so called. The third regiment of Foot or the Old Bulls were
originally recruited from the Train bands, which circumstance gave that
corps the exclusive privilege of marching through London with drums
beating and colors flying. They lost their colors in America, which are
now in the war-office at Washington.
BAND _of Music_. The term _band_ is applied to the body of musicians
attached to any regiment or battalion, with wind instruments.
BAND is also the denomination of a military order in Spain, instituted
by Alphonsus XI. king of Castile, for the younger sons of the nobility,
who, before their admission, must serve 10 years, at least, either in
the army or during a war; and are bound to take up arms in defence of
the Catholic faith, against the infidels.
BANERET, _Fr._ a term derived from Baniere. This appellation was
attached to any lord of a fief who had vassals sufficient to unite them
under one _banier_ or _banner_, and to become chief of the troops or
company.
_Un Chevalier_ BANERET, or a _Knight_ BANERET gave precedence to the
troop or company which he commanded over that of a baneret who was not
a knight or chevalier; the latter obeyed the former, and the banner of
the first was cut into fewer vanes than that of the second.
BANNERET, _Knights-bannerets_, according to the English acceptation of
the term, are persons who for any particular act of valor were formerly
knighted on the field of battle.
BANQUET. See BRIDGES.
BANQUETTE. See FORTIFICATION.
BAR, a long piece of wood or iron. Bars have various denominations in
the construction of artillery carriages, as sweep and cross bars for
tumbrils: fore, hind and under cross bars, for powder carts; shaft bars
for waggons, and dowel bars used in mortar beds.
BAR _Shot_, two half bullets joined together by an union bar, forming a
kind of double headed shot.
BARB, the reflected points of the head of an arrow. The armor for
horses was so called. See CAPARISON.
BARBACAN, or BARBICAN, a watch-tower, for the purpose of descrying an
enemy at a great distance: it also implies an outer defence, or sort of
ancient fortification to a city or castle, used especially as a fence
to the city or walls; also an aperture made in the walls of a fortress
to fire through upon the enemy. It is sometimes used to denote a fort
at the entrance of a bridge, or the outlet of a city, having a double
wall with towers.
BARBETS were peasants of Piedmont, who abandoned their dwellings when
an enemy has taken possession of them. They formed into bodies and
defended the Alps.
BARBET-_Battery_, in gunnery, is when the breast-work of a battery is
only so high, that the guns may fire over it without being obliged to
make embrasures: in such cases, it is said the guns fire _en barbette_.
See BATTERY.
BARDEES _d’eau_, _Fr._ a measure used in the making of saltpetre,
containing three half-hogsheads of water, which are poured into tubs
for the purpose of refining it. Four half-hogsheads are sometimes
thrown in.
BARILLER, _Fr._ an officer employed among the gallies, whose chief duty
was to superintend the distribution of bread and water.
BARRACKS, or BARACKS, are places erected for both officers and men to
lodge in; they are built different ways, according to their different
situations. When there is sufficient room to make a large square,
surrounded with buildings, they are very convenient, because the
soldiers are easily contained in their quarters; and the rooms being
contiguous, orders are executed with privacy and expedition; and the
soldiers have no connection but with those who instruct them in their
duty.
BARRACK-_Allowance_, a specific allowance of bread, beer, wood, coals,
&c. to the regiments stationed in barracks. See RATION.
BARRACK-_Guard_, when a regiment is in barracks, the principal guard is
the barrack-guard; the officer being responsible for the regularity of
the men in barracks, and for all prisoners duly committed to his charge
while on that duty.
BARRACK-_Master General_, a staff officer at the head of the barrack
department; he has a number of barrack-masters and deputies under him,
who are stationed at the different barracks; he has an office and
clerks for the dispatch of business; to this office all reports, &c.
respecting the barrack department are made. This is a British sinecure
office.
BARRACK-_Office_: the office at which all business relating to the
Barrack department is transacted.
BARRELS, in military affairs, are of various kinds.
_Fire_-BARRELS are of different sorts: some are mounted on wheels,
filled with composition and intermixed with loaded grenades, and the
outside full of sharp spikes: some are placed under ground, which have
the effect of small mines: others are used to roll down a breach, to
prevent the enemy’s entrance.--Composition, corned powder 30lb. Swedish
pitch 12, saltpetre 6, and tallow 3. Not used now.
_Thundering_-BARRELS are for the same purpose, filled with various
kinds of combustibles, intermixed with small shells, grenades, and
other fire-works. Not used now.
_Powder_-BARRELS are about 16 inches diameter, and 30 or 32 inches
long, holding 100 pounds of powder.
BARRELS _for powder_--Their dimensions.
+-----------------+------------+------------+------------+
| | _Whole | _Half | _Quarter |
| | Barrels._ | Barrels._ | Barrels._ |
| +------------+------------+------------+
| |_Ft._ _In._|_Ft._ _In._|_Ft._ _In._|
+-----------------+------------+------------+------------+
|Depth | 1 9.61 | 1 5.13 | 1 2.25 |
|Diameter at top | 1 3.61 | 1 0.37 | 9.35 |
|Diameter at bulge| 1 5.36 | 1 2. | 10.71 |
|Diameter at bot’m| 1 3.51 | 1 0.31 | 9.41 |
+-----------------+------------+------------+------------+
The whole barrels are made to contain 100 pounds, and the half barrels
50 pounds of powder; but of late only 90 pounds have been put into the
barrels, and 45 into the half barrels; which, by leaving the powder
room to be shifted, preserves it the better.
_Budge_ BARRELS, hold from 40 to 60 pounds of powder; at one end is
fixed a leather bag with brass nails: they are used in actual service
on the batteries, to keep the powder from firing by accident, for
loading the guns and mortars.
_Budge-Barrels_ contain 38 lbs.
Weight of barrel--copper hooped--10 lbs.
Weight of barrel--hazle hooped--6lbs.
Length of barrel--hazle hooped--10¹⁄₂ inches.
Diameter of barrel--hazle hooped--1 foot 1 inch.
BARRICADE. To barricade is to fortify with trees, or branches of trees,
cut down for that purpose, the brushy ends towards the enemy. Carts,
waggons, &c. are sometimes made use of for the same purpose, viz. to
keep back both horse and foot for some time. ABATIS.
BARRIER, in a general sense means any fortification, or strong place
on the frontiers of a country. It is likewise a kind of fence composed
of stakes, and transums, as overthwart rafters, erected to defend the
entrance of a passage, retrenchment, or the like. In the middle of
the barrier is a moveable bar of wood, which is opened and shut at
pleasure. It also implies a gate made of wooden bars, about 5 feet
long, perpendicular to the horizon, and kept together by two long bars
going across, and another crossing diagonally: Barriers are used to
stop the cut made through the esplanade before the gate of a town.
BARRIER-_Towns_, in military history, were Menin, Dendermond, Ypres,
Tournay, Mons, Namur, and Maestricht. These towns were formerly
garrisoned half by French or Imperial, and half by Dutch troops.
BARM, _or_ BERM. See BERM.
BASCULE, _Fr._ a counterpoise which serves to lift up the draw bridge
of a town. Likewise a term used in fortification to express a door that
shuts and opens like a trap door.
BASE, _or_ BASIS, in fortification, the exterior part or side of a
polygon, or that imaginary line which is drawn from the flanked angle
of a bastion to the angle opposite to it.
BASE signifies also the level line on which any work stands that is
even with the ground, or other work on which it is erected. Hence the
base of a parapet is the rampart.
BASE, an ancient word for the smallest cannon. See CANNON.
BASE-_line_, the line on which troops in column move, the first
division that marches into the alignement forms the base line, or
_appui_ which each successive division prolongs.
BASE-_ring_. See CANNON.
BASILISK, an ancient name given to a 48 pounder. See CANNON.
BASIS, the same as BASE.
BASKET-_Hilt_, the hilt of a sword, so made as to contain, and guard
the whole hand.
BASKETS, in military affairs, are simple baskets, frequently used in
sieges. They are filled with earth, and placed on the parapet of the
trench, or any other part. They are generally about a foot and a half
in diameter at the top, and eight inches at the bottom, and a foot
and a half in height; so that, being placed on the parapet, a kind of
embrasure is formed at the bottom, through which the soldiers fire,
without being exposed to the shot of the enemy. See GABION.
BASKETS.--Ballast, ¹⁄₂ bushel--weight 5 lbs.
Diameter, 1 foot 6 inches--length 1 foot.
BASTILLE, _Fr._ any place fortified with towers.
BASTILLE, a state prison which stood near the Temple in Paris, and was
deservedly destroyed by the inhabitants of that capital on the 14th of
July, 1789.
BASTINADO, a punishment among the Turkish soldiers, which is performed
by beating them with a cane or flat of a sword on the soles of their
feet.
BASTION. See FORTIFICATION.
BASSE-_Enceinte_. See FAUSSE-_Braye_.
BASSINET, _Fr._ the pan of a musquet.
BASSON _or_ BASSOON, a wind instrument blown with a reed, performing
the base to all martial music, one or two of which are attached to each
regimental band.
BAT DE MULET, a pack-saddle used on service when mules are employed to
carry stores, &c.
BATAGE, _Fr._ the time employed in reducing gun-powder to its proper
consistency. The French usually consumed 24 hours in pounding the
materials to make good gun-powder; supposing the mortar to contain 16
pounds of composition, it would require the application of the pestle
3500 times each hour. The labour required in this process is less in
summer than in winter, because the water is softer.
BATAILLE, _Fr._ a battle.
_Cheval de_ BATAILLE, _Fr._ a war horse, or charger. This expression is
used figuratively as a sheet anchor or last resource.
BATAILLER, _Fr._ to struggle hard.
BATARDE, French 8 pounders were so called.
BATARDEAU, in fortification, is a massive perpendicular pile of
masonry, whose length is equal to the breadth of the ditch, inundation,
or any part of a fortification where the water cannot be kept in
without the raising of these sorts of works, which are described either
on the capitals prolonged of the bastions or half-moons, or upon their
faces. In thickness it is from 15 to 18 feet, that it may be able to
withstand the violence of the enemy’s batteries. Its height depends
upon the depth of the ditch, and upon the height of the water that is
necessary to be kept up for an inundation; but the top of the building
must always be under the cover of the parapet of the covert way, so as
not to be exposed to the enemy’s view. In the middle of its length is
raised a massive cylindrical turret, whose height exceeds the batardeau
6 feet.
BATESME _du Tropique_, _Fr._ a christening under the line. This is a
ridiculous ceremony which every person is obliged to go through the
first time he crosses the Line on his passage to the East-Indies.
Different methods of performing it are observed by different nations.
Englishmen frequently buy themselves off. Among the French, the
individual who was to be baptized or christened, swore that he would
individually assist in forcing every person hereafter, who should be
similarly situated, to go through the same ceremony. A barbarous usage.
BAT-_Horses_, BAW-_Horses_, are baggage horses belonging to the
officers when on actual duty.
BAT-_Men_, BAW-_Men_, were originally servants hired in war time, to
take care of the horses belonging to the train of artillery, bakery,
baggage, &c. Men who are excused regimental duty, for the specific
purpose of attending to the horses belonging to their officers, are
called bat-men.
_Knights of the_ BATH, an English military order of uncertain original.
After long decay, this order was revived under George I. by a creation
of a considerable number of knights. They wear a red riband, and their
motto is, _Tria juncta in uno_, alluding to the three cardinal virtues
which every knight _ought to possess_!
BATON, _Fr._ a staff. See STAFF.
BATON _a deux bouts_, _Fr._ a quarter-staff.
BATON _de commandement_, _Fr._ an instrument of particular distinction
which was formerly given to generals in the French army. Henry III.
before his accession to the throne was made generalissimo of all the
armies belonging to his brother Charles the IX. and publicly received
the Baton, as a mark of high command.
BATON _ferrat et non ferrat_, _Fr._ all sorts of weapons.
_Obténir son object par le tour du_ BATON, _Fr._ to accomplish one’s
ends by equivocal means.
_Etre bien assuré de son_ BATON, _Fr._ to be morally certain of a thing.
_Etre reduit au_ BATON _blanc_, to be reduced to your last stake.
A BATONS _rompus_, _Fr._ to do any thing by fits and starts, to be
undecided in your plans of attack, &c.
BATOON, a truncheon, or marshal’s staff.
BATTAILOUS, a warlike or military appearance.
BATTALIA, Johnson adopts the word from Battaglia, Ital. and calls it
the main body of an army, distinguished from its wings. It also implies
an army or considerable detachment of troops drawn up in order of
battle, or in any other proper form to attack the enemy. See BATTLE.
BATTALION, an undetermined body of infantry in regard to number,
generally from 500 to 1000 men. In the United States the usage is
various, as it is in all other countries. The United Stares regiment
of artillery consists of 20 companies, which form five battalions; the
other regiments infantry and artillery, consist of ten companies of
each, so that each regiment must form two battalions of five companies
each. The militia regiments in most of the states consist of 1000
men, composing two battalions of 500 men each, being perhaps the most
perfect organization for a battalion.
The French call their military corps which answer to our regiments,
_demi brigades_, these usually consist or three battalions of 1000 men
each; when two of the battalions of a demi brigade are in the field the
other is in quarters or recruiting and disciplining the young soldiers,
who are thus drafted from their regimental depots.
On the British establishment the companies of grenadiers and light
infantry-men having been detached from their several corps and formed
into separate battalions; the British guards at present consist of
9 battalions. The different companies are likewise considerably
augmented; so that it is impossible to affix any specific standard
to their complement of men. The English royal regiment of artillery
consists of 4 battalions. Sometimes regiments consist each of 1
battalion only; but if more numerous, are divided into several
battalions, according to their strength; so that every one may come
within the numbers mentioned. A battalion in one of the English
marching regiments consists of 1000, and sometimes of 1200 men,
officers and non-commissioned included. When there are companies of
several regiments in a garrison to form a battalion, those of the
eldest regiment post themselves on the right, those of the second
on the left, and so on until the youngest fall into the centre. The
officers take their posts before their companies, from the right
and left, according to seniority. Each battalion is divided into 4
divisions, and each division into two sub-divisions, which are again
divided into sections. The companies of grenadiers being unequal in all
battalions, their post must be regulated by the commanding officer. See
REGIMENT.
_Triangular_ BATTALION, in ancient military history, a body of troops
ranged in the form of a triangle, in which the ranks exceed each other
by an equal number of men: if the first rank consists of one man only,
and the difference between the ranks is only one, then its form is that
of an equilateral triangle; and when the difference between the ranks
is more than one, its form may then be an isoscele; having two sides
equal, or scalene triangle. This method is now laid aside.
BATTER, a cannonade of heavy ordnance, from the 1st or 2d parallel of
entrenchment, against any fortress or works.
_To_ BATTER _in breach_, implies a heavy cannonade of many pieces
directed to one part of the revetement from the third parallel.
BATTERING, in military affairs, implies the firing with heavy artillery
on some fortification or strong post possessed by an enemy, in order to
demolish the works.
BATTERING-_Pieces_, are large pieces of cannon, used in battering a
fortified town or post.
It is judged by all nations, that no less than 24 or 18 pounders are
proper for that use. Formerly much larger calibres were used, but, as
they were so long and heavy, and very troublesome to transport and
manage, were for a long time rejected, till adopted among the French,
who during the present war have brought 36 and 42 pounders into the
field.
BATTERING-_Train_, a train of artillery used solely for besieging a
strong place, inclusive of mortars and howitzers: all heavy 24, 18, and
12 pounders, come under this denomination; as likewise the 13, 10, and
8 inch mortars and howitzers.
BATTERING-_Ram_. See the article RAM.
BATTERIE _de Tambour_, a French beat of the drum similar to the
_general_ in the British service.
BATTERIE _en roüage_, _Fr._ is used to dismount the enemy’s cannon.
BATTERIE _par camarades_, _Fr._ the discharge of several pieces of
ordnance together, directed at one object or place.
BATTERY, in military affairs, implies any place where cannon or mortars
are mounted, either to attack the forces of the enemy, or to batter a
fortification: hence batteries have various names, agreeably to the
purposes they are designed for.
_Gun_-BATTERY, is a defence made of earth faced with green sods or
fascines, and sometimes made of gabions filled with earth: it consists
of a _breast-work parapet_, or _epaulement_, of 18 or 20 feet thick at
top, and of 22 or 24 at the foundation; of a ditch 12 feet broad at
the bottom, and 18 at the top, and 7 feet deep. They must be 7¹⁄₂ feet
high. The embrasures are 2 feet wide within, and 9 without, sloping a
little downwards, to depress the metal on occasion. The distance from
the centre of one embrasure to that of the other is 18 feet; that is,
the guns are placed at 18 feet distance from each other; consequently
the _merlons_ (or that part of solid earth between the embrasures)
at 16 feet within, and 7 without. The _genouilliers_ (or part of the
parapet which covers the carriage of the gun) are generally made 2¹⁄₂
feet high from the platform to the opening of the embrasures; though
this height ought to be regulated according to the semi-diameter of
the wheels of the carriage, or the calibre of the gun. The platforms
are a kind of wooden floors, made to prevent the cannon from sinking
into the ground, and to render the working of the guns more easy; and
are, strictly speaking, a part of the battery. They are composed of
5 sleepers, or joists of wood, laid lengthways, the whole length of
the intended platform; and to keep them firm in their places, stakes
must be driven into the ground on each side: these sleepers are then
covered with sound thick planks, laid parallel to the parapet; and at
the lower end of the platform, next to the parapet, a piece of timber 6
inches square, called a _hurter_, is placed, to prevent the wheels from
damaging the parapet. Platforms are generally made 18 feet long, 15
feet broad behind, and 9 before, with a slope of about 9 or 10 inches,
to prevent the guns from recoiling too much, and for bringing them more
easily forward when loaded. The dimensions of the platforms, sleepers,
planks, hurters, and nails, ought to be regulated according to the
nature of the pieces that are to be mounted.
The powder magazines to serve the batteries ought to be at a convenient
distance from the same, as also from each other; the large one, at
least 55 feet in the rear of the battery, and the small ones about 25.
Sometimes the large magazines are made either to the right or left of
the battery, in order to deceive the enemy; they are generally built 5
feet under ground; the sides and roof must be well secured with boards,
and covered with earth, clay, or something of a similar substance, to
prevent the powder from being fired: they are guarded by centinels. The
balls are piled in readiness beside the merlins between the embrasures.
The officers of the artillery ought always to construct their own
batteries and platforms, and not the engineers, as is practised in
the English service; for certainly none can be so good judges of
those things as the artillery officers, whose daily practice it is;
consequently they are the properest people to direct the situation and
to superintend the making of batteries on all occasions.
_Mortar_-BATTERY. This kind of battery differs from a gun-battery, only
in having no embrasures. It consists of a parapet of 18 or 20 feet
thick, 7¹⁄₂ high in front, and 6 in the rear; of a berm 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet
broad, according to the quality of the earth; of a ditch 24 feet broad
at the top, and 20 at the bottom. The beds must be 9 feet long, 6
broad, 8 from each other, and 5 feet from the parapet: they are not to
be sloping like the gun platforms, but exactly horizontal. The insides
of such batteries are sometimes sunk 2 or 3 feet into the ground,
by which they are much sooner made than those of cannon. The powder
magazines and piles of shells are placed as is mentioned in the article
GUN-BATTERY.
_Ricochet_-BATTERY, so called by its inventor M. Vauban, and first used
at the siege of Aeth in 1697. It is a method of firing with a very
small quantity of powder, and a little elevation of the gun, so as
just to fire over the parapet, and then the shot will roll along the
opposite rampart, dismounting the cannon, and driving or destroying the
troops. In a siege they are generally placed at about 300 feet before
the first parallel, perpendicular to the faces produced, which they are
to enfilade. Ricochet practice is not confined to cannon alone; small
mortars and howitzers may effectually be used for the same purpose.
They are of singular use in action to enfilade an enemy’s ranks; for
when the men perceive the shells rolling and bouncing about with their
fuzes burning, expecting them to burst every moment, the bravest among
them will hardly have courage to await their approach and face the
havoc of their explosion.
_Horizontal_ BATTERIES are such as have only a parapet and ditch; the
platform being only the surface of the horizon made level.
_Breach_ or _Sunk_ BATTERIES are such as are sunk upon the glacis, with
a design to make an accessible breach in the faces or saliant angles of
the bastion and ravelin.
_Cross_ BATTERIES are such as play athwart each other against the
same object, forming an angle at the point of contact; whence greater
destruction follows, because what one shot shakes, the other beats down.
_Oblique_ BATTERIES or _Batteries en Echarpe_, are those which play
on any work obliquely, making an obtuse angle with the line of range,
after striking the object.
_Enfilading_ BATTERIES are those that sweep or scour the whole length
of a strait line, or the face or flank of any work.
_Sweeping_ BATTERIES. See _Enfilading_-BATTERIES.
_Redan_ BATTERIES are such as flank each other at the saliant and
rentrant angles of a fortification.
_Direct_ BATTERIES are those situated opposite to the place intended to
be battered, so that the balls strike the works nearly at right angles.
_Reverse_ BATTERIES are those which play on the rear of the troops
appointed to defend the place.
_Glancing_ BATTERIES are such whose shot strike the object at an angle
of about 20°, after which the ball glances from the object, and recoils
to some adjacent parts.
_Joint_ BATTERIES, _Camarade_ BATTERIES, when several guns fire on the
same object at the same time. When 10 guns are fired at once, their
effect will be much greater than when fired separately.
_Sunk_ BATTERIES are those whose platforms are sunk beneath the
level of the field; the ground serving for the parapet; and in it
the embrasures are made. This often happens in mortar, but seldom in
gun-batteries. BATTERY sometimes signifies the guns themselves placed
in a battery.
_Fascine_ BATTERIES, _Gabion_ BATTERIES, are batteries made of those
machines, where sods are scarce, and the earth very loose or sandy.
For a particular detail of all kinds of batteries, see _Toussard’s
Artillerist_, No. I. c. 1.
BATTERY.--Dimensions of Batteries.
1. _Gun_ BATTERIES.--Gun Batteries are usually 18 feet per gun. Their
principal dimensions are as follow:
_Ditch_--Breadth 12 feet.
Depth 8
_Note._--These dimensions give for a battery of two guns 3456 cubic
feet of earth; and must be varied according to the quantity required
for the epaulment.
_Epaulement_--Breadth at bottom 23 feet.
Breadth at top 18
Height within 7
Height without 6 ft. 4 in.
Slope, interior ²⁄₇ of h’gt.
Slope, exterior ¹⁄₂ of h’gt.
_Note._--The above breadths at top and bottom are for the worst
soil; good earth will not require a base of more than 20 feet wide,
which will reduce the breadth at top to 15 feet; an epaulement of
these dimensions for two guns will require about 4200 cubic feet of
earth, and deducting 300 cubic feet for each embrazure, leaves 3600
required for the epaulement. In confined situations the breadth of the
epaulement may be only 12 feet.
_Embrazures_--Distance between their centers 18 feet
Openings, interior 20 inc.
Openings, exterior 9 feet
Height of the sole above the platform 32 inc.
_Note._--Where the epaulement is made of a reduced breadth, the
openings of the embrazures are made with the usual breadth within, but
the exterior openings proportionably less. The embrazures are sometimes
only 12 feet asunder, or even less when the ground is very confined.
The superior slope of the epaulement need be very little, where it
is not to be defended by small arms. The slope of the side of the
embrasures must depend upon the height of the object to be fired at.
The _Berm_ is usually made 3 feet wide, and where the soil is loose,
this breadth is increased to 4 feet.
2. _Howitzer_ BATTERIES.--The dimensions of howitzer batteries are
the same as those for guns, except that the interior openings of the
embrazures are 2 feet 6 inches, and the soles of the embrazures have a
slope inwards of about 10 degrees.
3. _Mortar_ BATTERIES.--Are also made of the same dimensions as gun
batteries, but an exact adherence to those dimensions is not so
necessary. They have no embrazures. The mortars are commonly placed 15
feet from each other, and about 12 feet from the epaulement.
_Note._--Though it has been generally customary to fix mortars at 45°,
and to place them at the distance of 12 feet from the epaulement, yet
many advantages would often arise from firing them at lower angles,
and which may be done by removing them to a greater distance from the
epaulement, but where they would be in equal security. If the mortars
were placed at the undermentioned distances from the epaulement, they
might be fired at the angles corresponding:
At 13 feet distance for firing at 30 degrees.
21 20
30 15
40 10
over an epaulment of 8 feet high.
A French author asserts, that all ricochet batteries, whether for
howitzers or guns, might be made after this principle, without the
inconvenience of embrazures; and the superior slope of the epaulement
being inwards instead of outwards, would greatly facilitate this mode
of firing.
If the situation will admit of the battery being sunk, even as low as
the soles of the embrazures, a great deal of labour may be saved. In
batteries without embrazures, this method may almost always be adopted;
and it becomes in some situations absolutely necessary in order to
obtain earth for the epaulement; for when a battery is to be formed
on the crest of the glacis, or on the edge of the counterscarp of the
ditch, there can be no excavation but in the rear of the battery.
4. BATTERIES _on a coast_--generally consist of only an epaulement,
without much attention being paid to the ditch; they are, however,
sometimes made with embrazures, like a common gun battery; but the guns
are more generally mounted on traversing platforms, and fire over the
epaulement. When this is the case, the guns can seldom be placed nearer
than 3¹⁄₂ fathoms from each other. The generality of military writers
prefer low situations for coast batteries; but M. Gribauvale lays down
some rules for the heights of coast batteries, which place them in such
security, as to enable them to produce their greatest effect. He says
the height of a battery of this kind, above the level of the sea, must
depend upon the distance of the principal objects it has to protect or
annoy. The shot from a battery to ricochet with effect, should strike
the water at an angle of about 4 or 5 degrees at the distance of 200
yards. Therefore the distance of the object must be the radius, and the
height of the battery the tangent to this angle of 4 or 5°; which will
be, at the above distance of 200 yards, about 14 yards. At this height,
he says, a battery may ricochet vessels in perfect security; for their
ricochet being only from a height of 4 or 5 yards, can have no effect
against the battery. The ground in front of a battery should be cut
in steps, the more effectually to destroy the ricochet of the enemy.
In case a ship can approach the battery so as to fire musquetry from
her tops, a few light pieces placed higher up on the bank, will soon
dislodge the men from that position, by a few discharges of case shot.
It is also easy to keep vessels at a distance by carcasses, or other
fire balls, which they are always in dread of.
Durtubie estimates, that a battery of 4 or 5 guns, well posted, will be
a match for a first rate man of war.
To estimate the materials for a battery.
Fascines of 9 feet long are the most convenient for forming a battery,
because they are easily carried, and they answer to most parts of the
battery without cutting. The embrazures are however better lined with
fascines of 18 feet. The following will be nearly the number required
for a fascine battery of two guns or howitzers:
90 fascines of 9 feet long.
20 fascines of 18 feet--for the embrazures.
This number will face the outside as well as the inside of the
epaulement, which if the earth be stiff, will not always be necessary;
at least not higher than the soles of the embrazures on the outside.
This will require five of 9 feet for each merlon less than the above.
A mortar battery will not require any long fascines for the lining
of the embrazures. The simplest method of ascertaining the number of
fascines for a mortar battery, or for any other plain breast work, is
to divide the length of work to be fascined in feet, by the length of
each fascine in feet, for the number required for one layer, which
being multiplied by the number of layers required, will of course give
the number of fascines for facing the whole surface. If a battery be
so exposed as to require a shoulder to cover it in flank, about 50
fascines of 9 feet each will be required for each shoulder.
Each fascine of 18 feet will require 7 pickets.
Each fascine of 9 feet will require 4 pickets.
12 workmen of the line, and 8 of the artillery, are generally allotted
to each gun.
If to the above proportion of materials, &c. for a battery of two guns,
there be added for each additional gun, 30 fascines of 9 feet, and 10
of 18 feet, with 12 workmen, the quantity may easily be found for a
battery of any number of pieces.
The workmen are generally thus disposed: one half the men of the line
in the ditch at 3 feet asunder, who throw the earth upon the berm:
one fourth upon the berm at 6 feet asunder, to throw the earth upon
the epaulement, and the other quarter on the epaulement, to level the
earth, and beat it down. The artillery men carry on the fascine work,
and level the interior for the platforms. This number of workmen may
complete a battery in 36 hours, allowing 216 cubic feet to be dug and
thrown up, by each man _in the ditch_ in 24 hours.
Tools for the construction of the battery.
_Intrenching_--1¹⁄₂ times the number of workmen required; half to be
pick axes, and half shovels or spades, according to the soil.
_Mallets_--3 per gun.
_Earth Rammers_--3 per gun.
_Crosscut Saws_--1 to every two guns.
_Axes_ or _Hatchets_--2 per gun.
This estimate of tools and workmen, does not include what may be
required for making up the fascines, or preparing the other materials,
but supposes them ready prepared. For these articles, see the words
_Fascine_, _Gabion_, _Platform_, &c. and for the construction of field
magazines for batteries, see the word _Magazine_.
_Note._ The following estimate of the quantity of earth which may be
removed by a certain number of workmen in a given time, may serve to
give some idea of the time required to raise any kind of works. 500
common wheel barrows will contain 2 cubic toises of earth, and may be
wheeled by one man, in summer, to the distance of 20 yards up a ramp,
and 30 on a horizontal plain, in one day. In doing which he will pass
over, going and returning, about 4 leagues in the first case, and 6 in
the last. Most men, however, will not wheel more than 1³⁄₄ toise per
day. Four men will remove the same quantity to four times the distance.
In a soil easy to be dug, one man can fill the 500 barrows in a day;
but if the ground be hard, the number of fillers must be augmented, so
as to keep pace with the wheel barrow man.
BATTERY-_Planks_ are those planks or boards used in making platforms.
BATTERY-_Boxes_ are square chests or boxes, filled with earth or dung;
used in making batteries, where gabions and earth are not to be had.
They must not be too large, but of a size that is governable.
BATTERY-_Nails_ are wooden pins made of the toughest wood, with which
the planks that cover the platforms are nailed. Iron nails might strike
fire against the iron-work of the wheels, in recoiling, &c. and be
dangerous.
BATTERY-_Master_, whose duty formerly it was to raise the batteries.
This officer is now out of use.
BATTEURS _d’Estrade_. See SCOUTS.
BATTLE, implies an action, where the forces of two armies are engaged;
and is of two kinds, _general_ and _particular_, general where the
whole army is engaged, and particular where only a part is in action;
but as they only differ in numbers, the methods are nearly alike.
There is no action in war more brilliant than that of pitched battles.
Their success sometimes decides the fate of nations. It is by this
action a general acquires reputation. It is in battle that his valour,
his force of genius, and his prudence, appear in their full extent; and
where especially he has occasion for that firmness of mind, without
which the most able general will hardly succeed.
_Battles_ have ever been the last resource of good generals. A
situation where chance and accident often baffle and overcome the most
prudential and most able arrangements, and where superiority in numbers
by no means ensures success, is such as is never entered into without
a clear necessity for so doing. The fighting a battle only because the
enemy is near, or from having no other formed plan of offence, is not
the way of making war. Darius lost his crown and life by it: Harold, of
England, did the same; and Francis I. at Pavia, lost the battle and his
liberty. King John, of France, fought the battle of Poictiers, though
ruin attended his enemy if he had not fought. The king of Prussia lost
his country, and the reputation which Prussia acquired from Frederick
II. by the battle of Jena.
A skilful general will give battle when his army’s situation cannot
be worse, if defeated, than if it does not fight at all; and when
the advantage may be great, and the loss little. Such was the duke
of Cumberland’s at Hastenbeck, in 1757, and prince Ferdinand’s at
Vellinghausen, in 1761. The reasons and situations for giving battle
are so numerous, that to treat of them all would fill a large volume;
the following are a few exigencies of state that require an army to
attack the enemy at all events. Such were the causes of the battle of
Blenheim, in 1704, of Zorndorff, in 1758, of Cunnersdorff, in 1759, and
of Rosbach, in 1757, of Austerlitz, in 1805. An army is also obliged to
engage when shut up in a post. An army may give battle to effect its
junction with another army, &c.
The preparations for battle admit of infinite variety. By a knowlege
of the detail of battles, the precept will accompany the example. The
main general preparations are, to profit by any advantage of ground;
that the tactical form of the army be in some measure adapted to it;
and that such form be, if possible, a form tactically better than the
enemy’s; and, in forming the army, to have a most careful attention to
multiply resources, so that the fate of the army may not hang on one
or two efforts; to give any particular part of the army, whose quality
is superior to such part in the enemy’s army, a position that ensures
action; and finally, to have a rear by nature, or if possible, by art,
capable of checking the enemy in case of disaster.
The dispositions of battles admit likewise of an infinite variety of
cases; for even the difference of ground which happens at almost every
step, gives occasion to change the disposition or plan; and a general’s
expedience will teach him to profit by this, and take the advantage the
ground offers him. It is an instant, a _coup d’œil_ which decides this:
for it is to be feared the enemy may deprive you of those advantages
or turn them to his own profit; and for that reason this admits of no
precise rule, the whole depending on the time and the occasion.
With regard to battles, there are three things to be considered; what
precedes, what accompanies, and what follows the action. As to what
precedes the action, you should unite all your force, examine the
advantage of the ground, the wind, and the sun, (things not to be
neglected) and chuse, if possible, a field of battle proportioned to
the number of your troops.
You must post the different kinds of troops advantageously for each:
they must be so disposed as to be able to return often to the charge;
for he who can charge often with fresh troops, is commonly victorious.
Your wings must be covered so as not to be surrounded, and you must
observe, that your troops can assist each other without any confusion,
the intervals being proportioned to the battalions and squadrons.
Great care must be taken about the regulation of the artillery, which
should be disposed so as to be able to act in every place to the
greatest advantage; for nothing is more certain than that, if the
artillery be well commanded, properly distributed, and manfully served,
it will greatly contribute to gaining the battle; being looked upon
as the general instrument of the army, and the most essential part of
military force. The artillery must be well supplied with ammunition,
and each soldier have a sufficient number of cartridges. The baggage,
provisions, and treasure of the army, should, on the day of battle, be
sent to a place of safety.
In battle, where the attacks are, there is also the principal defence.
If an army attacks, it forms at pleasure; it makes its points at will:
if it defends, it will be sometimes difficult to penetrate into the
designs of the enemy, but when once found, succour succeeds to the
discovery. Ground and numbers must ever lead in the arrangement of
battles; impression and resource will ever bid fairest for winning them.
The most remarkable on record are
_B. C._
1225. The Theban war of the Seven Heroes against Eteocles.
1184. Troy taken after ten years siege.
1048. Jerusalem taken by David from the Jebusites.
750. War of the Romans against the Sabines.
743. The first Messinian war begins and continues 19 years, to the
taking of Ithome.
721. Samaria taken.
685. The second Messinian war begins, continues 14 years to the
taking of Ira, after 11 years siege.
624. Scythians make war in Asia Minor.
612. Nineveh destroyed by the Medes.
596. The war of the Persians against the Scythians, who are expelled
by Cyaxeres.
587. Jerusalem taken by Nebuchadnezzar after a siege of 18 months.
548. War of Cyrus against Crœsus.
509. Civil war at Rome, the Tarquins expelled, monarchy abolished,
and consuls chosen.
504. The Athenians take and burn Sardis.
490. Battle of Marathon.
480. Battle of Thermopylæ.
Battle of Salamis.
479. Platea}Same day Persians defeated at both places.
Mycale}
470. Cyprus, Persians defeated.
Eurymedon, Persians defeated.
465. Third Messinian war begins, continues ten years.
448. First sacred war concerning the temple of Apollo at Delphi.
439. War between Corinth and Corcyra.
431. The Peloponnesian war begins the 7th of May, lasts 27 years.
409. Carthage makes war on Sicily.
405. Battle of Egospotamos--the usurpation of Dyonisius.
404. Lysander takes Athens--end of the Peloponnesian war--30 tyrants
reign.
401. Battle of Cunaxa--the younger Cyrus killed--the glorious retreat
of the 10,000, and expulsion of the 30 tyrants.
396. Agesilaus carries the war into Persia.
395. The Corinthian war--Athens, Corinth, Thebes, Argos, against
Lacedæmon.
394. Battle of Cnidus--Lacedæmonians under Pisander defeated by
Conon.
A few days after Agesilaus defeats the allies at Choronea.
390. Battle of Attia--Rome taken by the Gauls.
387. War against Cyprus--ends in two years.
371. Leuctra, battle of--Epaminondas, general of Thebes, defeats the
Lacedæmonians.
363. Mantinea battle gained by Epaminondas.
360. Methone, the first victory of Philip of Macedon over the
Athenians.
357. Second sacred war, on the temple being attacked by the Phoceans,
ends in 9 years.
340. Battle of Agrigentum--Timoleon defeats the Carthaginians.
338. Battle of Cheronea.
335. Thebes destroyed by Alexander the Great, when he left only
Pindar the poet’s house standing.
334. Battle of Granicus--Alexander.
333. Battle of Issus.
331. Battle of Arbella.
301. Battle of Ipous--Antigonus defeated.
312. Tuscan war commenced.
278. Battle at Delphi. Gauls under Brennus cut to pieces.
264. First Punic war lasts 23 years.
262. Sardis, Antiochus Soter defeated there by Eumenes.
256. Regulus defeated by Xanthippus.
234. Sardinian war continues 3 years.
222. Battle of Sellafia.
218. Second Punic war begins, lasts 17 years.
217. Battle of Thrasymene.
216. Battle of Cannæ.
208. Battle of Mantinea.
202. Battle of Zama.
197. Battle of Cynocephale--Philip defeated.
168. Battle of Pydna. This battle closed the Macedonian empire.
149. Third Punic war.
146. Carthage destroyed by the Romans.
111. Jugurthine war begins, continues 5 years.
105. Battle on the Rhine, the Tuetones defeat 80,000 Romans.
102. Tuetones defeated by C. Marius at Aquæ Sextia.
91. Social war begins, continues three years, finished by Sylla.
89. Mithridatic war begins, continues 26 years.
88. Wars of Marius and Sylla, last six years.
73. War of the Slaves under Spartacus, lasts two years, ended by
Pompey and Crassus.
54. England invaded by Julius Cæsar.
48. Battle of Pharsalia.
45. Battle of Munda.
43. Battle of Mutina.
42. Battle of Philippi. Death of Brutus.
31. Battle of Actium. Death of the Republic; beginning of the
Empire.
_A. D._
10. Varus the Roman general, defeated in Germany.
70. Jerusalem destroyed by Titus, August 31.
73. Byzantium taken by the Romans.
196. Byzantium destroyed by Severus.
269. The Goths conquered by Claudius, who massacres 300,000 of them.
340. Battle of Aquileia, Constantine the younger defeated and killed
by Constans.
405. Battle of Fesulæ, Stilicho defeats 200,000 Goths.
410. Rome taken and plundered by the Goths.
440. England ravaged by the Picts and Scots.
455. Rome taken and plundered by the Vandals.
547. Rome re-taken by the Goths.
553. Rome re-conquered by the Emperor.
613. Jerusalem pillaged by the Persians, and 90,000 inhabitants
killed.
622. Carthage destroyed by the Saracens.
637. Jerusalem taken by the Saracens.
640. Egypt conquered by the Saracens.
787. Danes, their first descent upon England, at Portland.
895. The Danes under Rollo, make their first descent on France.
1016. Battle of Ashdown, between Canute and Edmund.
1017. Danes under Canute conquer England.
1041. Danes expelled from England.
1066. England invaded by the Normans.
1066. Battle of Hastings, where Harold was slain, and William the
Norman became king of England.
1074. The last Danish invasion of England, when they were bribed to
depart.
1095. First Crusade--Jerusalem taken and re-taken.
1100. Jerusalem taken by Robert, duke of Normandy.
1147. Second Crusade.
1187. Jerusalem finally conquered by Saladin.
1189. Third Crusade--Siege of Acre.
1192. Battle of Ascalon, in Palestine.
1203. Fourth Crusade.
1204. Constantinople taken by the Latins.
1205. Zenghis Khan, till his death in 1227, gains various battles in
Asia.
1215. Prussia subdued by the Mercian Knights.
1214. Battle of Bovines, 25 July.
1217. Battle of Lincoln, 19 May.
1218. The Fifth Crusade.
1219. Prussia revolted to Poland.
1261. Constantinople recovered by the Greeks.
1064. Battle of Lewis, 14 May.
1265. Battle of Evesham, 4 Aug.
1314. Battle of Bannockburn, 25 June.
1333. Battle of Halydown-Hill, 19 July.
1346. Battle of Cressy, 26 Aug.
Battle of Durham, when David, king of Scots, was taken prisoner,
17 Oct.
1347. Calais taken by the English, August 4.
1356. Battle of Poictiers, when the Fr. king and his son were taken
prisoners, 19 Sept.
1357. John, king of France, taken prisoner by Edward the Black Prince,
brought to England, and ransomed for 3,000,000 crowns, but
being unable to pay this sum, he returned to England, and died
in prison 1364.
1370. Timour (vulgarly called Tamerlane) appears a warrior, and
conquers Asia, reigns 35 years.
1388. Battle of Otterburn, between Hotspur and earl Douglas, 31 July.
1403. Battle of Shrewsbury, 12 July.
1415. Battle of Agincourt, 25 Oct.
1421. Battle of Beauge, 3 April.
1423. Battle of Crevaut, June.
1424. Battle of Ferneuil, 27 Aug.
1429. Battle of Herrings, 12 Feb.
1453. Mahomed II. takes Constantinople, and begins the Turkish Empire
in Europe, which put an end to the eastern empire.
Same year, the wars of the two Roses in England commence.
1455. Battle of St. Alban’s, 22 May.
1459. Battle of Blackheath, 23 Sept.
1460. Battle of Northampton, 10 July.
Battle of Wakefield, 24 Dec.
1461. Battle of Tourton, 29 March.
1464. Battle of Hexham, 15 May.
1469. Battle of Banbury, 26 July.
1470. Battle of Stamford, March.
1471. Battle of Barnet, 14 April.
Battle of Tewkesbury, 4 May.
1485. Battle of Bosworth, 22 Aug.
1487. Battle of Stoke, 6 June.
1494. Battle of Formonte, 6 July.
1497. Battle of Blackheath, 22 June.
1513. Battle of Flouden, 9 Sept. when James IV. king of Scots, was
killed.
1515. Battle of Marignano, Francis I. gains victory, 14-15-25 Sept.
1516. Egypt conquered by the Turks.
1525. Battle of Pavia, Francis I. loses all but honor, 24 Feb.
1542. Battle of Solway, 24 Nov.
1547. Battle of Pinkey, 20 Sept.
1557. Battle of St. Quintin, 10 Aug.
1558. Calais retaken by the French, January 10.
1596. Cadiz, in Spain, taken by the English.
1632. Battle of Lutzen, Gustavus Adolphus, killed.
1641. Battle of Naseby, June.
1642. Battle of Edgehill, 24 Oct.
1643. Battle of Shatton, 16 May.
Battle of Lansdown, 5 July.
Battle of Roundawaydown, 13th July.
Battle of Newbury, 20 Sept.
1644. Indians, in New England, at war amongst themselves.
1644. Battle of Marston-moor, 2 July.
1650. Battle of Dunbar, 3 Sept.
1651. Battle of Worcester, 3 Sept.
1658. Ostend attempted to be taken by the French, but they were
defeated with great loss.
1658. Dunkirk taken by the English, June 24.
1662. Battle of Steinkirk.
1675. Providence, the town of, in Rhode Island, almost destroyed by
Indians.
1675. Medfield, town of, in Massachusetts, about half-burnt by the
Indians, Feb.
1676. Northampton, and several other towns in Massachusetts, burnt and
plundered by the Indians, March.
1679. Battle of Bothwell-bridge, 22 June.
1686. Buda taken from the Turks by the Imperialists.
1690. Battle of Staffarda, Catenat defeats the duke of Savoy.
Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, taken by the Massachusetts forces.
Battle of Boyne, Ireland, 1 July.
Casco fort, New Hampshire, taken by the French and Indians.
1691. York-town, in the province of Maine, burnt and plundered by the
Indians, Jan. 25.
Battle of Aughrim, Ireland, 22d July.
1700. Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, retaken by the French.
1703. Deerfield in Massachusetts, burnt, and the inhabitants carried
off by the French and Indians, as prisoners, February.
1704. Battle of Blenheim, 13 Aug.
1705. Battle of Cassano, passage of the Adda, by prince Eugene.
1706. Battle of Turin, prince Eugene defeats the French.
Battle of Ramillies, on Whitsunday.
Charleston, South Carolina, invaded by the French, who were
repulsed with loss.
1708. Battle of Oudenard, 30 June.
Battle of Wynendale, 28 Sept.
1709. Battle of Malplaquet, Eugene defeats Villeroy.
Battle of Blarignies, 14 Sept.
Battle of Pultowa, Charles XII. defeated.
Canada unsuccessfully attacked by the New-Yorkers.
1710. Port Royal, in Nova Scotia, re-taken by the English, when it
received the name of Annapolis.
1711. Canada attacked by the British troops and those of New England.
1712. Indian war in North Carolina.
1715. Battle of Dumblain, 12 Nov.
1717. Indians instigated by a Jesuit to make incursions upon the
colony of Massachusetts.
1734. Dantzic taken by the Swedes.
1743. Dettingen, the battle of, won by the English and allies, in
favour of the queen of Hungary, 26th June.
1744. Battle of Fontenoy, 30 Apr.
1745. Louisburgh taken by the Massachusetts forces, June 17.
Battle of Preston-pans, 21 Sept.
1746. Battle of Falkirk, 17 Jan.
Battle of Culloden, 16 Apr.
Madras taken from the English.
1747. Battle of Laffeldt, 20 July.
1749. Louisburg given up to the French.
1755. Fort Du Quesne, (now Pittsburgh) battle of, July 9.
1756. Oswego taken by the English.
Grenada, the island of, taken by Admiral Rodney, Feb.
Battle of Lobositz, 1 Oct.
1757. Battle of Rosbach, 5 Nov.
Battle of Reichenberg, 21 April.
Battle of Gros Jegerndorff, 30 Aug.
Battle of Breslau, 22 Nov.
Battle of Lissa, 5 Dec.
Battle of Hastenbeck, 26 July.
Battle of Kolin, 13 June.
Battle of Prague, 6 May.
1758. Fort Du Quesne (Pittsburg) taken by General Forbes.
Hanover desolated by the French.
Louisburgh re-taken, July 22.
Dresden taken by the Prussians.
Battle of Sandershausen, 23 July.
Battle of Crevelt, 23 June.
Battle of Meer, 5 Aug.
Battle of Zorndorff, 25 Aug.
Battle of Sandershagen, 10 Oct.
Battle of Munden, 11 Oct.
Battle of Hochkirken, 14 Oct.
1759. Battle of Kunersdorf, 12 Aug.
Niagara taken by the English, July 24.
Ticonderoga taken by the English.
Quebec taken by the English, September 13.
Canada taken by the English, September 13.
Arcot, Carnatic, taken by the English from the Hindoos.
Frankfort upon the Oder, the Prussians and Russians, 20,000 men
on field of battle.
Dresden taken by the Imperialists.
Crown Point taken from the English.
Battle of Bergen, 13 April.
Battle of Zullichau, 23 July.
Battle of Coefeld, 1 Aug.
Battle of Minden, 1 Aug.
Battle of Torgau, 8 Sept.
Battle of Pretsch, 29 Oct.
Battle of Plains of Abraham, 13 Sept. Wolf killed.
Battle of Maxen, 20 and 21 Nov.
1760. Montreal taken by the English.
Battle of Cosdorff, 20 Feb.
Battle of Quebec, 28 April.
Battle of Grabensteyn, 4 June.
Battle of Corbach, 24 June.
Battle of Emsdorff, 9 July.
Battle of Warburg, 31 July.
Battle of Strehlen, 2 Aug.
Battle of Leignitz, 15 Aug.
Battle of Torgau, 2 Nov.
Dresden taken by the Prussians again.
Chamblee taken from the French by the British, Sept. 7.
1761. Cherokee Indians in Carolina, defeated by the Americans under
Col. Grant.
Dominica taken by the English.
Battle of Langensaltz, 15 Feb.
Battle of Grümberg, 21 March.
Battle of Vellinghausen, 16 July.
Battle of Kirkdenckern, 15 July.
Battle of Einbeck, 24 Aug.
1762. Battle of Dobeln, 12 May.
Battle of Wilhelmstahl, 24 June.
Battle of Fulda, 23 July.
Battle of Friedberg, 30 Aug.
Battle of Freyberg, 10 and 29 Oct.
1773. Dantzic taken by the Prussians.
1774. Fort William and Mary, in New-Hampshire, seized by the
inhabitants, who possessed themselves of a quantity of powder
and military stores, Dec. 14.
1775. Cedars, fort at the, given up to the British by Major
Rutherfield, March 15.
Engagement at Concord and Lexington.
The grenadiers and light infantry of the British army at Boston,
under colonel Smith, 10th foot, and Major Pitcairn, detached to
destroy the magazines at Concord, 20 miles from Boston, 18-19
April.
Another detachment march under earl Percy, of 16 companies of
infantry and a corps of marines, 19 April.
At Lexington, 15 miles from Boston, fell in with the
continentals about five in the morning. The British fire on them
and a skirmish is continued to Concord; the British are forced
to retreat to Boston, driven before the Americans like sheep;
the British lost 114 killed, and 127 wounded, beside 52 missing:
the Americans had 62 men killed and wounded; about the third
recovered of their wounds.
Ticonderoga taken by Ethan Allen, “in the name of Great Jehovah
and the continental Congress,” containing 120 pieces of iron
ordnance, between 6 and 24 pounders, 50 swivels, 2 ten inch
mortars, 1 howitzer, 1 cohorn, 10 tons of leaden ball, 3 carts
laden with flints, 30 new field carriages, a quantity of shells,
100 stand of small arms, 10 casks gun-powder, 2 pieces of brass
artillery, 3 May.
Crown Point taken by the Americans, May 14.
Bunker’s-hill, the British began the attack about noon; the
British lost 1440 men killed, 857 wounded; among the killed were
26 commissioned officers, and 81 among the wounded. The
Americans had 452 men killed, 301 wounded and missing; among the
killed was the gallant Dr. Warren, who commanded the American
forces. The American fire was conducted with great judgment; and
the British were blockaded in Boston, 17 June.
Charlestown, Massachusetts, burnt by the British, June 17.
Stonington, Connecticut, set on fire by the British, Sept. 3.
Canada invaded by the American forces, October.
Chamblee taken by the Americans commanded by Col. Brown and
Major Livingston, October 18.
Falmouth, New England, destroyed by the British forces, October
18.
Chamblee fort, in Canada, attacked by the Americans, Oct. 20.
Chamblee taken by Montgomery, 124 barrels gun-powder, 6564
musket cartridges, 150 stand French made arms, 3 mortars, 61
shells, 83 stand English arms; and other valuable military and
naval stores, 3 Nov.
Montreal taken by the Americans, Nov. 12.
St. John’s taken by Montgomery, 17 brass ordnance, 2 eight inch
howitzers, 22 iron ordnance, shot, shells, powder, 800 stand
small arms, and naval stores, 13 Nov.
Storm of Quebec, Montgomery falls, Arnold wounded, the Americans
obliged to retreat, but encamp on the Plains of Abraham, 31 Dec.
Great Bridge in Virginia, battle of, in which the British were
defeated, Dec.
1776. Norfolk, in Virginia, burnt by order of Lord Dunmore the British
governor, and great damage sustained, Jan. 1.
Chamblee fort retaken by the British, Jan 18.
Highlanders, and regulators of N. Carolina, defeated with great
loss near Moore’s Creek bridge, by Gen. Moore, Feb. 27.
Dorchester Point fortified in the night, so as to render Boston
no longer tenable by the British, March 4.
Boston evacuated precipitately, the British leaving behind their
arms, military stores and provisions; sir Archibald Campbell,
with 1700 men, enters the harbor, and are made prisoners by
general Washington, 18 March.
Crown Point re-taken by the British.
British attack on the Cedars, Arnold capitulates; Americans
treated with barbarity; congress annuls the capitulation in
consequence, 26 May.
British tories defeated at Moore’s creek, in North Carolina, by
colonel Caswell, and the tory leader Macleod killed.
Portsmouth, Virginia, destroyed by the British, June 1.
General sir H. Clinton attacks Sullivan’s island, in concert
with Sir P. Parker, and is defeated by general Lee, 15 June.
Montreal retaken by the British, June 15.
Charleston, S. C. attacked by a squadron of ships under Sir
Peter Parker, and a body of troops under Generals Clinton and
Cornwallis, who were defeated with great slaughter, June 25.
Battle of Long Island, or Flat bush; the American lines attacked
by sir William Howe, with 20,000 men, and the American army
suffers great loss from an injudicious disposition of the
forces; the retreat however was conducted with admirable skill,
in thirteen hours 9000 men with artillery, and all their
equipage, crossed an arm of the sea a mile wide, in the face of
a superior and victorious army. In this action the Americans had
2000 men killed and wounded, and 1000 taken prisoners. 26 Aug.
Fort on Sullivan’s Island, unsuccessfully attacked by the
British, June 28.
New-York surrendered to the British forces, Sept. 15.
General Arnold opposes the force sent by Carleton from Canada
against Ticonderoga, but is defeated on Lake Champlain; he makes
an admirable retreat to Crown point, 11 Oct.
Battle of White Plains; generals Knyphausen, Cornwallis, and
Percy, commanded columns; Howe commander in chief of the
British, with 15,000 effectives; general Washington commander in
chief of the American army, consisting of 5000 regulars, and
11,000 militia; the British attack the American entrenchments
but are defeated, 28 Oct.
Fort Washington, near King’s Bridge, taken by the British, with
a loss of 1000 men! 15 Nov.
Fort Lee, near New-York, taken by the British, Nov. 18.
Newport, R. Island, taken by the British, Dec. 7.
General Washington surprises the Hessians at Trenton; general
William Irvine commanding the advance; general Cadwallader, the
second column, and general Washington the principal division,
general Greene and general Sullivan formed his suite; the enemy
and their artillery were captured, 26 Dec.
Strength of British and American armies in 1776.
British. Americans.
Aug. 24000 16000
Nov. 26900 4500
Dec. 27000 3300
1777. Princetown, battle of, when the Americans under General
Washington, defeated the British with great loss, Jan. 2.
Providence, the island of, taken by Commodore Hopkins, March.
Danbury, town of, in Connecticut, burnt by the British, and
large quantities of continental stores destroyed, April 26.
Ticonderoga taken by the British, 5 July.
Action at Hubberton, the British general Frazer attacks the
retreating Americans under colonel Francis, and defeats them, 6
July.
Fairfield, in Connecticut, burnt by the British, July 7.
Bennington battle, 16 Aug.
General Stark defeats the Hessian general Baum, and colonel
Breyman, on Walloon Creek, 16 Aug.
Fort Stanwix, alias Fort Schuyler, the siege of, raised by Sir
John Johnson and Lieut. Col. St. Leger, Aug. 22.
Eutaw Springs, the battle of, in which General Green defeats the
British, Sept. 8.
Battle of Brandywine; the dispositions of the British were
masterly in this action; the American army discomfitted and make
a precipitate but circuitous retreat, 11 Sept.
Massacre at the Paoli, by sir Charles Grey, 20 Sept.
Philadelphia taken by the British under General Howe, Sept. 26.
Battle of Germantown; 800 English, 900 Americans killed and
wounded; the British lost general Agnew and colonel Bird; the
Americans, colonel Haslet, of Delaware state, a gallant officer,
4 Oct.
Battle of Stillwater, about 600 men killed on each side; no
victory; the action as intrepid as any known for the numbers;
Burgoyne retreats and entrenches himself at Saratoga, 17
September.
British entrenchments near Lake George attacked by general
Gates, and the British completely beaten; the British general
Frazer, and the Hessian colonel Breyman killed; Arnold who
commanded on the right, was wounded in the tendon Achilles;
Gates took 200 prisoners and 9 brass field pieces. Burgoyne
makes a precipitate retreat to Saratoga, where he capitulates on
the 17th of October, surrendering 5790 men, and 35 pieces of
field artillery, &c. 17 Oct.
Esopus, in New-York, was totally destroyed by the British, with
great quantities of stores, October 15.
Kingston, in Ulster county, New-York, burnt by the British,
October 15.
Action at Red Bank, the Hessian general Donop killed, and the
British attack frustrated, and the ship of war Augusta blown up,
22 Oct.
Forts Montgomery and Clinton taken by the British, October.
Martha’s Island, pillaged by the British, who carried off 300
oxen, and 2000 sheep.
Attack of Mud Fort, (now Fort Mifflin) by Cornwallis; gallantly
defended by Col. Samuel Smith, 15 Nov.
Strength of British and American armies in 1777.
British. Americans.
March, 27000 4500
June, 30000 8000
1778. Battle of Savannah, 15 Jan.
Battle of Monmouth, the British retreat by forced marches to New
York, 28 June.
Wyoming, out of 417 Americans stationed there, 360 were
inhumanly butchered by a party of Tories and Indians, commanded
by Col. John Butler, July 1.
Dominica taken by the French under the Marquis de Bouille, when
164 pieces of cannon and 24 brass mortars were found therein,
Sept. 7.
Attack of Savannah, 28 Dec.
1779. Sunbury taken by Gen. Provost, Jan. 9.
Briars creek, American general Ashe defeated, 3 March.
Portsmouth, in Virginia, invaded again by the British, under Sir
George Collier and General Matthews, who burnt vast quantities
of property there, May 10.
Stoney Point and Verplanks taken by the British under general
Vaughan, 30 May.
Stonoferry, in Carolina, the battle of, June 20.
Grenada taken by the French, July 6.
Norwalk, in Connecticut, burnt by the British, July 7.
General Wayne storms and takes Stony Point, 16 July.
Pawlus-hook taken by the Americans under General Lee, when 30 of
the British were killed, and 160 made prisoners, July 19.
A conflagrating war carried into Connecticut, by governor Tryon
and general Garth, New Haven taken; Fairfield, Norwalk, and
Greenfield burnt to the ground, July.
Newhaven, town of, ravaged by the British, July.
General Lincoln attacks the British under colonel Maitland, 27
June.
Attack of the British lines at Savannah, by Lincoln and
D’Estaign, who are repulsed and raise the siege, 9 Oct.
Fort of Omoa, key to the Bay of Honduras, taken by the British
from the Spaniards, Oct. 20.
1780. Fort on Sullivan’s Island taken by the British, May 6.
Wachaws, North Carolina, where Colonel Tarleton surprised 300
Americans, of whom he killed by far the greatest number, May.
Charleston, South Carolina, taken by the British, after a siege
of several weeks, by Gen. Clinton, 12 May.
Elizabethtown, New-Jersey, taken by the British, June 7.
Springfield attacked and burnt by the British from New York; the
British severely handled and forced to retire, 23 June.
General Sumpter, after three repulses storms and takes the
British post at Rocky Mount, on the Catawba river; but abandons
it and attacks the post at Hanging Rock, 30 July.
Battle of Camden, Gates against Cornwallis, both armies set out
at midnight, and their advanced guards began the action at 2
o’clock in the morning, 16 Aug.
Tarleton attacks Sumpter on the Wateree, a skirmish without any
other effect than the display of enterprise and intrepidity on
both sides, 18 Aug.
Augusta, Georgia, attacked by American general Clark, without
success, 14 Sept.
Tarleton attacks Sumpter at Black Rock, on the Tyger river, and
is defeated; both commanders severely wounded, Oct.
Battle of King’s Mountain, in which a party of American mounted
riflemen collected from Kentucky, Georgia, and the Carolinas,
attack and kill the tory leader Ferguson, and take 800 of his
party prisoners, 7 Oct.
Clermont, S. C. taken by Colonel Washington, Dec. 4.
1781. Richmond, in Virginia, destroyed by the British under General
Arnold, Jan. 5.
Hillsborough, in Carolina, the royal standard erected there by
Lord Cornwallis, Feb. 20.
Colonel Henry Lee, with his legion, attacks a body of tories
upon the Haw river, within a mile of Tarleton’s encampment, and
cuts them to pieces, 25 Feb.
Battle of Guilford court house; general Greene commanded the
Americans; general Cornwallis the British; a hard fought battle,
the Americans defeated, but the victory was fatal to the
victors, 15 March.
Fort Watson, South Carolina, taken by the Americans, April 15.
Camden, battle at, in South Carolina, between General Green and
Lord Rawdon, when the Americans retreated, April 25.
Petersburgh, in Virginia, the shipping and stores destroyed at,
by Phillips and Arnold, April 26.
Fort Motte, in South Carolina, taken by the Americans, May 12.
Camden, S. C. burnt by the British, May 13.
Fort Granby, in South Carolina, taken by the Americans, May 15.
Fort Cornwallis, at Augusta, taken by the Americans under Gen.
Marion and Col. Lee, June 5.
Augusta, Georgia, taken by Col. Pickens and Lee, 5 June.
Battle of the Cowpens, general Morgan defeats Tarleton, whose
whole force is cut to pieces; the British had 600 men killed on
the field; the Americans 12 killed and 60 wounded, 7 June.
Battle of Ninety-six. 19 June.
Grotton, in Connecticut, burnt by Gen. Arnold, Sept. 6.
Battle or Hobkirks hill, general Greene and lord Rawdon, 8 Sept.
Eutaw Springs, the British under general Stewart, defeated by
general Greene; the standard of the 3d British regiment, or old
Bulfs, taken by the Americans; the American colonel Washington
wounded and taken by the British, 8 Sept.
New London, Connecticut, burnt by Benedict Arnold, Sept. 13.
Battles of Porto Novo and Mooteapollam, E. Indies.
1782. Floating batteries, the, destroyed before Gibraltar, Sept. 13.
Surrender of Yorktown, by Cornwallis, with his whole army,
consisting of 7000 men, to the united armies of America and
France, under the command of general Washington, which closed
the battles of the American revolution, 17 Oct.
Mohawk river, battle at, when Colonel Willet defeated the
British, Oct. 24.
1790. The Miami Indians defeat General Harmar with great loss,
September 30.
1791. The Indians defeat Gen. St. Clair with great loss, Nov. 4.
Bangalore, battle of, Cornwallis captures the place.
1792. Ostend taken possession of by the French under Dumourier, Dec.
Nice taken by the French under General Anselm, Sept. 29.
Savoy, part of the king of Sardinia’s dominions, taken by the
French under General Montesquieu, Oct.
Battle of Jemappe, Dumourier, French 40,000, Clairfayt,
Austrians 28,000, Nov. 5.
Frankfort treacherously given up to the Austrians, when 1300
Frenchmen were massacred by the Hessians, and several whose
lives were spared had their hands cut off, Dec. 2.
1793. Neuingen, the battle of, between the combined armies and General
Dumourier, when the French were defeated with great loss, March
20.
Battle of Tirlemont, Clairfayt defeats Dumourier, March 18.
Battle of St. Amand, in which Dampierre the French commander was
killed by a cannon ball, in an engagement near the woods of
Rhemes and Vicoigne, when the allies were defeated with great
loss; General Clairfayt and Duke of York commanded the coalesced
army, May 8.
Famars, battle of, between the French and combined powers, when
the former were defeated, by Cobourg and Duke of York, May 23.
Carlberg, the battle of, when the French under Custine, defeated
the Prussians, May 18.
Arlon, French and Austrians, latter defeated, 9 June.
Valenciennes, taken by the combined powers, and soon after
retaken, June.
Marseilles, which had revolted against the convention, subdued
Aug. 24.
Verdun, the French garrison, taken by the Prussians, and retaken
soon after, Sept. 2.
Battle of Weissemberg, (or attack and repulse of,) Aug. 27.
Battle of Hondschoote, French under Houchard commander, Marshal
Freytag taken, duke of York escapes, Sept. 6.
Dunkirk besieged by the combined army under the Duke of York,
August 25, who were repulsed with great slaughter, Sept. 7,
following.
Battle of Dunkirk, Duke of York and Marshal Freytag defeated by
the French under Houchard and Jourdan, 32 24-pounders, and 68
other pieces of cannon taken by the French, Sept. 8.
Battle of Pirmasens, on the Rhine, Duke of Brunswick victorious
over the French.
Battle of Saorgia, King of Sardinia beaten, Sept. 20.
Spaniards defeated at Perpignan under Ricardos.
Boufflers, from 8 in the morning to 7 at night, Austrians
retreat under cover of night.
Battle of Maubeuge, Cobourg Austrian, Jourdan French, lasted two
days, from day light ’till night.
Jeremie fort, St. Domingo, taken by the British, Oct.
Limbach, battle of, when the French were victorious, Sept. 14.
Maubeuge, the battle of, between the Austrians and the French,
when the former were defeated with great loss, Oct. 15 & 16.
Toulon surrendered to the English Admiral Lord Hood, who took
possession of the town and shipping in the name of Louis XVII.
when the tree of liberty, which had been erected there, was
converted into a gibbet for the republicans. On December 19,
following, the republicans attacked the town in a most vigorous
manner; when the combined forces, finding that all future
resistance was useless, after having set fire to the shipping,
arsenals, &c. made a precipitate retreat.
Tirlemont, battle of, when after a contest of several days, the
French under Dumourier were defeated.
Battle of Deuxponts, Hoche and Wurmser, Hoche victorious at 4
o’clock, afternoon, loss of Austrians 6000, French 2000, 21 Nov.
Hagenau, Hoche gains a victory, 8-9 Dec.
Action five days at Weissemberg, and Austrians driven from
Balberotte, 31 Dec.
1794. Noimoutier, the island of, taken from the Insurgents of La
Vendee, by the arms of the French Republic, Jan 3.
Battle between Russians and Poles, former defeated, 4 Jan.
Fort Vauban taken by the French, Jan. 7.
Battle of Villers en Couchée, 24 April.
Battle of Cateau.
Moucron, battle of, when the allied forces under Clairfayt were
totally defeated by the French under Pichegru, April 26.
Courtray, the same, 11 May.
Tournay, battle of, between the French and English, when the
former were defeated, May 10; again between the French and
combined powers, when the latter were defeated with great loss,
May 17 & 18 following.
Lannoy, Pichegru defeats duke of York, 18 May, takes 60 pieces;
here the duke won the race, but lost the battle.
Turcoing, Pichegru and Clairfayt, a victory on neither side,
though a desperate battle, 22 May.
Coilloure, the Spanish garrison of, also Port Vendre, Fort St.
Elmo, &c. with 8000 prisoners, taken by the French under Gen.
Dugoumier, May.
Battle of Espierres, 25 May.
Hoogleden, Macdonald defeats Clairfayt, 13 June.
Charleroy, a garrison consisting of 3000 Austrians, surrendered
to the French under Gen. Jourdan, June 25.
Battle of Fleurus, Jourdan victorious over Cobourg, began at 3
o’clock in the morning; the French three times fell back from
the powerful artillery of the Austrians, and returned fresh to
the fight. The French word of battle was, _no retreat to day_,
for 9 hours victory indecisive; when Jourdan collecting his
corps de reserve, Lefebvre leading the cavalry, the Austrians
were put to the route. In this action reconnoitering with
balloons was practised with the greatest effect, the combined
forces lost about 8000 men killed and 15000 prisoners, June 28.
In consequence of this victory, Le Chateau de Namur soon after
submitted to the French republic.
Battle of Bellgarde, in the Eastern Pyrennees, Spaniards
defeated, French general Mirabel, killed, 13 July.
Fontarabia, the key of Spain, was taken by the French, July.
Chandernagore taken from the French by the British, July.
Indians defeated by Gen. Wayne, Aug. 20.
Juliers, the fortress of, submitted to the French, when all the
provinces west of the Rhine fell into their hands.
Boxtel, Moreau pursues duke of York, 14, 15, 16, Sept.
Bellegarde taken after an action, the last place possessed by
the coalesced powers in France, 18 Sept.
Battle of Warsaw, between the Russians and Poles, in which
Kosciusko was taken prisoner covered with wounds, 10 Oct.
Battle of Rerzese, in Poland, in which Suwarrow annihilated the
Poles, took all their artillery, 19 Oct.
Berterzel, Moreau, beats the Duke of York; general Fox wins a
race here, 19 Oct.
Praga, the suburb of, near Warsaw in Poland, taken by the
Russian General Suwarrow, who gave the barbarous orders to his
army to give quarters to no one, in consequence of which,
upwards of 30,000 Poles, men, women and children, were
massacred, Nov. 4.
Nimeguen, port of, evacuated by the British, Nov. 7.
Warsaw, the capital of Poland, taken by the Russians under
Suwarrow, Nov. 9.
Maestrecht, the garrison of, consisting of 8000 Austrians,
surrendered to the French, Nov. 9.
Battle of the Black Mountain, Eastern Pyrennees, in which
Dugomier, commander of the French, gained a complete victory,
but fell in the battle; took 50 pieces of cannon and the Spanish
founderies of Egui and Orbaycette, 17 Nov.
Another battle, French took tents for 50,000 men, at Figueras,
20 Nov.
Graves, the fortress of, taken by the French, Dec. 30.
1795. Battle of Bommel, in Holland, French under Moreau, took 120
pieces of cannon, 7 Jan.
Grenada, bloody battle fought between the French and English in
that island, in which the latter were defeated, March 3.
Battle of Quiberoon, Puissaye defeated by Hoche, 3 Aug.
1796. Battle of Kreutsnach, in which the French general Moreau,
defeats the Austrian generals Kray and Wurmser, 4 Jan.
Bonaparte’s first campaign in Italy.
Montenotte, Bonaparte with 56,000 men, defeats Boileau with
84,000, took from the Austrians 40 pieces of cannon, 11 April.
Battle of Fonubio, 7 May.
Battle of Pavia, 17 May.
Milessimo, 11 May.
Dego, the same, 14 April.
Battle of Mondovi, in which the French general Stengel was
killed, 22 April.
Battle of Lodi, over Boileau, 11 May.
Passage of the Mincio and battle of Borghetta, 4 June.
Battle of Renchen, Moreau victorious over the Austrians, 28
June.
Battle of Etingen, the corps of Condé cut to pieces, 1 July.
Battle of Neukirchen, Lefebvre defeats the Austrians, 6 July.
Battle of Castiglione lasted five days, Wurmser defeated, 70
field pieces, 15,000 prisoners, and Killed 6000, 2 Aug.
Battle of Peschiera, 6 Aug.
Battle of Roveredo, 6 Sept.
Battle of Bassano, 8 Sept.
Battle of Castellaro, 14 Sept.
Battle of Legonaro, 11 Oct.
Battle of Caldiero, 12 Oct.
Battle of Arcole, 15 Oct.
Battle of Altenkirken, Jourdan defeats Wurmser, 1 June.
Moreau attacks Wurmser and defeats him at Frankenthal, 15 June.
Moreau defeats the Austrians at Nordlingen, 10 Aug.
Jourdan defeated and retreats from Frankfort towards the Rhine,
30 Aug. to 3 Sept.
Desaix defeats the Austrians at Marienburg and covers Moreau’s
retreat, 7 Sept.
1797. Battle near Laforma on the Adige, 13 Jan.
Provera beaten and made prisoner at La Favorita, 15 Jan.
Passage of Tagliamento and defeat of the Archduke near Gradisca;
who narrowly escapes, 16 Feb.
Battle of Tagliamento, Austrians under arch duke Charles,
defeated by Massena, 16 March.
Battle of Neuwied, Hoche defeats the Austrians under Kray, and
takes 4000 prisoners, 18 March.
Battle of Tarvis in the Noric Alps, Massena defeats the
Austrians, 20 March.
Battle of Lavis, Joubert defeats the Austrians, 22 March.
Battle of Pufero, Austrians defeated by general Guyeux, 23
March.
Battle of Tarvis, fought above the clouds, Austrians defeated by
Massena, the imperial cuirassiers annihilated, 25 March.
Battle of the defiles of Neumark, Massena defeats the Austrians,
2 April.
1798. General Berthier, enters and occupies the city of Rome, in
consequence of the assassination of general Duphot, and an
attempt to assassinate Joseph Bonaparte the French ambassador,
10 Feb.
General Brune takes possession of Fribourg in Switzerland, after
a severe action, 3 March.
A revolt in Ireland, several actions between the Irish and
British troops with various success, during this month, April.
Action at Killalla, 19 April.
Action at Hacketstown, between the Irish insurgents and British
troops; same day actions in Clare, Lucan, Lusk, and Kilcullen,
25 May.
Action at Tarragh, very desperate and bloody; same day the
insurgents in Wexford, capture a British detachment, 27 May.
Battle at Enniscorthy, Ireland; same day a desperate action near
Limerick, 28 May.
Battle of Arklow, the Irish insurgents defeat the British
regulars, 29 May.
Battle of Vinegar Hill, the British under general Fawcett,
defeated, 30 May.
Action at Newtownbarry, the British compelled to retreat before
the insurgents; the pike the chief weapon of the Irish, 1 June.
The insurgents from Wexford, defeat the British under colonel
Walpole, the colonel is killed, and the cannon are taken by the
insurgents, 4 June.
Desperate action at New Ross, county Wexford; the British army
under general Johnson, severely cut up, their cannon taken, and
lord Mountjoy killed. Several actions during this month in which
the British are defeated, 5 June.
Battle of Antrim, lord O’Neil killed, with a pike, 7 June.
Battle of Ballinahinch, the British army severely handled by the
insurgent general Munroe, who was wounded and taken prisoner and
afterwards executed; the British in vengeance burned the town of
Saintfield, 12 June.
Insurgents camp at Vinegar hill, stormed by general Lake, and
carried with great slaughter, 21 June.
Sir Charles Asgill, defeated by a body of insurgents, under the
command of Murphy, an Irish priest, 23 June.
Sir Charles Asgill, attacks the Irish insurgents on Kilconnel
Hill, and defeats them, but with the loss of 1000 men; the
insurgents lose as many with all their cannon, and their leader
Murphy falls in battle, 26 June.
Several actions in this month between the revolted Irish and
British troops, July.
A French army under general Humbert, lands in Ireland, and takes
possession of Kilalla, 22 Aug.
Humbert attacks Lake at Castlebar, and defeats him, taking six
pieces of British artillery, 27 Aug.
Battle of Underwalden in Swisserland, between the adherents of
the aristocracy of Berne and the French, under Schauenburg; the
town of Stantz was burnt to the ground, 9 Sept.
The Irish insurgents defeat a British force at Rathfarnham, 18
Oct.
Desperate action at Kilcock, the British troops suffer from the
pike, 28 Oct.
General Mack commences hostilities in Italy against the French,
by an attack on five different points of the French lines, in
the Roman territory, 22 Nov.
Battle of Porto Fermo, on the Adriatic, the French defeat the
Neapolitans and take their cannon and baggage, 28 Nov.
Macdonald defeats the Neapolitans at Civita Castellano, 5 Dec.
Again defeats Mack at Calvi, 8 Dec.
Championnet defeats Mack in a general action, 11 Dec.
Macdonald defeats the Neapolitans under Dumas. The fruit of
these battles, was 12,000 prisoners, 99 pieces of cannon, 21
standards, 3000 horses, and all the baggage of the Neapolitan
armies.
Egypt conquered by the French.
1799. Battle of el Arish, Bonaparte defeats the Mamalukes, 9 Feb.
Jaffa taken by storm, by generals Lasnes and Bonaparte, 5 March.
Battle of Sadaseer, near Periptnam, first action on the invasion
of Mysore, 5 March.
Battle of Luciensteig, Massena forces that place with dreadful
slaughter; and thus gains the key of Tyrol and the Grisons, 7
March.
Battle at Loubi, on the river Jordan, near Nazareth; Bonaparte,
Murat, and Junot commanded, 8 March.
Kleber defeats the Syrians at Led-Jarra, 10 March.
Battle of Esdrelon, near Mount Tabor, 17 March.
General Desolles scales the Julian Alps, takes the intrenched
defiles of Tauffers in the rear, and gains a complete victory
over Laudohn, 17 March.
Ostrach, Jourdan with 40,000 men, is attacked by the archduke
with 80,000, and is forced to retreat, 21 March.
Samanhout, a new and elegant disposition, infantry squares
formed the two flanks, cavalry in a square the centre; the
troops to oppose were Mamalukes and horsemen. Davoust commanded
the French horse, Friant and Belliard the two squares of
infantry, 22 March. Several battles at Biramba, Bardis, Girgé,
gained by Desaix in this month.
Stockach, Jourdan attacks Archduke, but is defeated and forced
to retreat; Jourdan’s force under 40,000 men, the Archduke’s
above 80,000; the battle was principally fought by infantry and
was terrible; 10,000 men lay on the field of battle, 25 March.
Scherer and Moreau attack the Austrians between the Garda and
Adige, gain a hard earned victory, fought from day break to 11
at night, 26 March.
Scherer and Moreau attack general Kray before Verona, and are
defeated, 30 March.
Battle of Magnan, the French are defeated, 5 April.
Battle Malanelly, E. Indies, 5 April.
Lacourbe defeats Bellegarde in the Engadine, 1 May.
Seringapatam taken by storm, Tippoo put to death, partition of
Mysore followed, 4 May.
Attack of St. Jean d’Acre, and Bonaparte forced to raise the
siege, 7 May.
Moreau defeats the Russians on the Po, 12 May.
Lecourbe defeats the Austrians on the Reuss, 2 June.
Battle of Zurich, the Austrian Generals Hotze, and Wallis,
Kerpen and Hillier wounded; and Judinot and Humbert of the
French, 5 June.
Battle of Modena, Macdonald defeats Hohenzollern, 10 June.
Battle of the Trebia, at St. Juliano, Moreau and Suwarrow; the
French defeated, 18 June.
Battle of Chebrisa, Bonaparte against the Mamelukes; a new
disposition, echellons of squares with artillery and baggage of
each square in its centre--and giving a front and flank fire.
Turks land and take Aboukir after a battle very desperate, the
Turks defeated, Bonaparte embarks for France, 15 July.
Battle of the Pyramids, the same order of battle--very decided
victory over Murad Bey, 21 July.
Second battle of Zurich, most terrible and brilliant, Massena
attacks the Archduke; indecisive, 14 Aug.
Suwarrow attacks Joubert at Novi, who is killed, Moreau takes
the command but is forced to retreat, a bloody battle, 15 Aug.
Helder, 27 Aug.
Battle of Bergen, in Holland, general Brune attacks Abercrombie,
10 Sept.
Second battle, the British and Russians under the Duke of York,
defeated by Brune, and forced to retire within intrenchments, 19
Sept.
Third battle of Zurich, terrible and decisive, one of the most
brilliant in history; Massena commanded, the Austrian general
Hotze killed, the French triumph, 7 to 24 Sept.
Battle of Fossano, 14 Sept.
Gaeta, Aquila taken by storm, Mack defeated, and the Neapolitans
capitulate to Championnet, 1 Oct.
Battle of Bergen, 1 Oct.
Battle of Sand hills near Bergen, 2 Oct.
Battle of Egmont, duke of York again defeated and capitulates, 6
Oct.
Battle of Fossano, French defeated by Melas, 4 Nov.
1800. Egypt conquered by the English.
Moreau crosses the Rhine, and defeats the Austrians at Engen, 2
May.
Battle of Gremback, same, 3 May.
Biberach, same effect, 9 May.
Severe action at Memmingen, Kray forced to retreat, 11 May.
Signal defeat of five Austrian columns, by two French on the
Iller, 5 June.
Battle of Hochstedt, the Austrians defeated by Moreau, 18 June.
Action at Ungerhausen, 26 June.
Celebrated battle at Hohenlinden, gained by Moreau, takes 80
pieces of cannon and 10,000 prisoners; action began at day break
and ended at 4 o’clock.
Battle of Casteggio, Austrians defeated by Berthier, 8 June.
Battle of Marengo, one of the most brilliant in history, and
important in its consequences; it lasted 11 hours; decided the
fate of Italy, and placed the iron crown on the head of the
Bonaparte Dynasty, 14 June.
Battle at Muhldorf, 1 Dec.
1801. Alexandria, Egypt, Abercrombie fell, French defeated by
Hutchinson, 21 March.
1805. Battle of Wertingen in Bavaria, the first of the coalition of
Austria and Russia; Austrians defeated and all their cannon
taken, Oct. 8.
Battle of Guntzburg, marshal Ney defeats the Austrians, 9 Oct.
Battle on the Adige, Massena forces a passage at Verona, and
defeats the archduke Charles, Oct. 18.
Surrender of Ulm by Mack, October 20.
Murat defeats prince Ferdinand at Nuremburg, Oct. 21.
Battle of Caldiero, Massena attacks the whole Austrian line,
defeats them; captures one of their divisions; the arch duke
escapes at night, Oct. 30.
Battle of Amstetten, the Russians defeated by Murat, 4 Nov.
Battle of Marienzel, Davoust defeats the Austrian General
Meerfeldt, 8 Nov.
Mortier defeats the Russians under Kutasoff at Diernstein, Nov.
11.
Murat and Lasnes defeat the Russians under Kutasoff at
Holabrunn, 15 Nov.
Soult again at Guntersdorff, 16 Nov.
Battle of Austerlitz or of the three emperors, 500 pieces of
cannon and 150,000 men were engaged in this battle, which was
one of the most profound in the history of tactics, and the most
brilliant in the annals of victory; 150 pieces of artillery were
taken by the victors; this battle deprived the house of Austria
of the title of Emperor of Germany, 2 Dec.
1806. Battle of Jena, Oct. 14.
Prussia subdued by Bonaparte.
1807. Dantzick taken, May 20.
Battle of Spaudau, June 5.
Battle of Lonutten, same day.
Deppen, battle of, Marshal Ney makes a fictious retreat, and
cuts a body of Russians to pieces, June 6.
Eylau, battle of, very bloody and desperate, Russians lost
30,000 men killed, June 6-12.
Friedland, battle of, this action decided the fate of the
Coalition, and produced the peace of Tilsit on the 7th July
succeeding. This battle stands in the same rank with Jemappe,
Fleurus, Nordlingen, Zurich, Marengo, Jena and Austerlitz.
BATTLE-_Array_, _Line of_ BATTLE, the method and order of arranging the
troops in order or line of battle; the form of drawing up the army for
an engagement. This method generally consists of three lines, viz. the
front line, the rear line, and the reserve.
The second line should be about 300 paces behind the first, and the
reserve at about 5 or 600 paces behind the second. The artillery is
likewise divided along the front of the first line. The front line
should be stronger than the rear line, that its shock may be more
violent, and that, by having a greater front, it may more easily close
on the enemy’s flanks. If the first line has the advantage, it should
continue to act, and attack the enemy’s second line, terrified by the
defeat of their first. The artillery must always accompany the line of
battle in the order it was at first distributed, if the ground permit
it; and the rest of the army should follow the motions of the first
line, when it continues to march on after its first success.
BATTLE-_Ax_, an offensive weapon, formerly much used by the Danes,
and other northern infantry. It was a kind of halbert, and did great
execution when wielded by a strong arm.
_Main_-BATTLE. See BATTLE-_Array_.
BATTLEMENTS, in military affairs, are the indentures in the tops of
old castles or fortified walls, or other buildings, in the form of
embrasures, for the greater conveniency of firing or looking through.
BATTRE _l’estrade_, _Fr._ to send out scouts.
BATTRE _la campagne_, _Fr._ to scour the country or make incursions
against an enemy.
BATTRE, _Fr._ to direct one or more pieces of ordnance in such a
manner, that any given object may be destroyed or broken into by the
continued discharge of cannon ball, or of other warlike materials; it
likewise means to silence an enemy’s fire.
BATTRE _de front_, _Fr._ to throw cannon-shot in a perpendicular or
almost perpendicular direction against any body or place which becomes
an object of attack. This mode of attack is less effectual than any
other unless you _batter in breach_.
BATTRE _d’écharpe_, _Fr._ to direct shot, so that the lines of fire
make a manifest acute angle with respect to the line of any particular
object against which cannon is discharged.
BATTRE _en flanc_, _Fr._ is when the shot from a battery runs along the
length of the front of any object or place against which it is directed.
BATTRE _a dos_, _Fr._ to direct the shot from one or several pieces of
cannon so as to batter, almost perpendicularly, from behind any body of
troops, part of a rampart or intrenchment.
BATTRE _de revers_, _Fr._ to direct shot, in such a manner as to run
between the two last mentioned lines of fire. When you batter from
behind, the shot fall almost perpendicularly upon the reverse of the
parapet. When you batter from the reverse side, the trajectories or
lines of fire describe acute angles of forty five degrees or under,
with the prolongation of that reverse.
BATTRE _de bricole_, _Fr._ This method can only be put in practice
at sieges, and against works which have been constructed in front
of others that are invested. A good billiard player will readily
comprehend what is meant by the _bricole_ or back stroke; it means
simply the firing of shot against a wall so that the balls may rebound
and in the rebound strike men or objects, that could not be struck
directly.
BATTRE _la Caisse_, _Fr._ to beat a drum.
_Mener battant_, to overcome.
_Mener quelqu’un au Tambour battant._ To overcome by strokes of the
drum. To disconcert, to confound, puzzle and perplex any body.
BAVINS, in military affairs, implies small faggots, made of brush-wood,
of a considerable length, no part of the brush being taken off. See
FASCINES.
BAYARD, _Fr._ a provincial term used in ancient Languedoc and
Roussillon to signify a wheel-barrow.
BAYONET, a kind of triangular dagger, made with a hollow handle, and a
shoulder, to fix on the muzzle of a firelock or musket, so that neither
the charging nor firing is prevented by its being fixed on the piece.
It is of infinite service against horse. At first the bayonet was
screwed into the muzzle of the barrel, consequently could not be used
during the fire. It is said by some to have been invented by the people
of Malacca, and first made use of on quitting the pikes. According to
others, it was first used by the fusileers in France, and invented or
used at Bayonne. At present it is given to all infantry.
BEACON, a signal for securing and guarding against dangers.
On certain eminent places of the country are placed long poles erect,
whereon are fastened pitch-barrels to be fired by night, and smoke made
by day, to give notice, in a few hours of an approaching invasion;
the Irish are reported to have risen upon and extirpated the Danes by
beacons or fires lighted on their hills.
BEAR, in gunnery. A piece of ordnance is said to _bear_, or _come_
to _bear_, or _brought_ to _bear_ when pointed directly against the
object; that is, pointed to hit the object.
BEARD, the reflected points of the head of an ancient arrow,
particularly of such as were jagged.
BEAT, in a military sense, signifies to gain the day, to win the
battle, &c.
_To_ BEAT _a parley_. See CHAMADE.
BEAVER, that part of the ancient helmet which covered the face, and
which was moveable so as to expose the face without removing the beaver
from the helmet.
BECHE, _Fr._ a spade used by pioneers.
BEDS, in the military language, are of various sorts, viz.
_Mortar_-BEDS serve for the same purpose as a carriage does to a
cannon: they are made of solid timber, consisting generally of 2 pieces
fastened together with strong iron bolts and bars. Their sizes are
according to the kind of mortar they carry.
BEDS _for Mortars_.
+-------------+------------+------------+--------+-------+---------+
| KINDS. | Weight. | Tonnage. | Len. | Br. | Ht. |
+-------------+------------+------------+--------+-------+---------+
| |cwt. qr. lb.|ts. cwt. qr.|ft. in. |ft. in.|ft. in. |
| Sea | 38 3 13| 3 3 2 | | | |
|13{ Land Wood| 21 2 7| 1 6 0 | 7 0 | 2 6 | 2 3 |
| { Do. Iron | 50 0 0| 2 10 0 | 6 3 | 3 1 | 1 6 |
| Sea | 32 2 14| 2 2 2 | | | |
|10{ Land Wood| 10 0 20| 0 14 2 | 6 6 | 1 8 | 1 10 |
| { Do. Iron | 23 0 0| 1 3 0 | 4 8 | 2 4 | 1 1¹⁄₂|
| 8 {Land Wood| 6 0 20| 0 7 2 | 4 2 | 1 7 | 1 7¹⁄₂|
| {Do. Iron | 12 0 0| 0 12 0 | 4 0 | 1 11 | 0 11 |
|5¹⁄₂ Wood | 1 0 22| 0 2 0 | 2 9 | 1 4 | 0 10 |
|4²⁄₅ Wood | 0 3 11| 0 1 2 | 2 4¹⁄₂| 1 2 | 0 9 |
+-------------+------------+------------+--------+-------+---------+
_Stool_-BEDS for guns.
+------+------+---------+----+-------------+----
| | | | Inch. | In.
+------+------+---------+----+-------------+----
42 Prs.|0 1 20|0 1 0 |2 10|11 to 8³⁄₄|3³⁄₄
32 ----|0 1 14|0 1 0 |2 10|10 5¹⁄₂|3¹⁄₄
24 ----|0 1 14|0 1 0 |2 9|10¹⁄₄ 6¹⁄₂|4
18 ----|0 1 12|0 1 0 |2 8| 9¹⁄₂ 6¹⁄₂|3³⁄₄
12 ----|0 1 10|0 0 2²⁄₃ |2 8|10 6¹⁄₂|4
9 ----|0 1 4|0 0 2 |2 7| 9¹⁄₂ 5³⁄₄|3¹⁄₂
6 ----|0 1 0|0 0 1³⁄₄ |2 6| 9 4³⁄₄|3¹⁄₂
4 ----|0 1 0|0 0 1 |2 6| 8¹⁄₄ 5¹⁄₄|
+------+------+---------+----+-------------+----
_Sea-Mortar_-BEDS, are made of solid timber, having a hole in the
centre to receive the pintle or strong iron bolt, about which the
bed turns. Sea-mortars are mounted on these beds, on board of the
bomb-ketches.
These beds are placed upon very strong timber frames, fixed into the
bomb-ketch, in which the pintle is fixed, so as the bed may turn about
it, to fire any way. The fore part of these beds is an arc of a circle
described from the same centre as the pintle-hole.
_Stool_-BED, is a piece of wood on which the breech of a gun rests
upon a truck-carriage, with another piece fixed to it at the hind end,
that rests upon the body of the hind axle-tree; and the fore part is
supported by an iron bolt. See CARRIAGE.
BEEF-_Eaters_, the yeomen of the guard to the king of Great Britain are
so called, being kept up rather for pageantry, than for any military
service. Their arms are a sabre and lance; and the dress of the 13th
century.
BEETLES, in a military sense, are large wooden hammers for driving down
pallisades, and for other uses, &c.
BEETLESTOCK, the stock or handle of a beetle.
BELLIGERENT, in a state of warfare. Hence any two or more nations at
war are called belligerent powers.
BELTS, in the army are of different sorts, and for various purposes,
viz.
_Sword_-BELT, a leathern strap in which a sword hangs.
_Shoulder_-BELT, a leathern belt, which goes over the shoulder, and to
which the pouch is fixed. It is made of stout leather. See POUCH.
_Shoulder_-BELTS for the light cavalry and dragoons, 2¹⁄₂ inches
broad. Regiments that have buff waistcoats, usually have buff-coloured
accoutrements, and those which have white waistcoats, wear white.
_Waist_-BELTS, are 1³⁄₄ inches; to have buckles or clasps.
BELTS are known among the ancient and middle-age writers by divers
names, as _zona_, _cingulum_, _reminiculum_, _ringa_, and _baldrellus_.
The _belt_ was an essential piece of the ancient armor, insomuch that
we sometimes find it used to denote the whole armor. In latter ages the
_belt_ was given to a person when he was raised to knighthood: whence
it has also been used us a badge or mark of the knightly order.
BELTS among the aborigines of America, are the symbols of peace or
war; they are made in a rude fanciful taste, of colored beads, and are
usually presented at all conferences or talks.
BENDINGS, in military and sea matters, are ropes, wood, &c. bent for
several purposes. M. Amontons gives several experiments concerning the
_bending_ of ropes. The friction of a rope _bent_, or wound round an
immovable cylinder, is sufficient, with a very small power, to sustain
very great weights. Divers methods have been contrived for _bending_
timber, in order to supply crooked planks and pieces for building
ships; such as by sand, boiling water, steam of boiling water, and
by fire. See M. Du Hamel, in his book called _Du Transport, de la
Conservation, & de la Force des Bois_. M. Delesme ingeniously enough
proposed to have the young trees bent, while growing in the forest. The
method of _bending_ planks by sand-heat, now used in the British navy
yards, was invented by captain Cumberland.
A method has been lately invented and practised for _bending_ pieces
of timber, so as to make the wheels of carriages without joints. The
_bending_ of boards, and other pieces of timber for curved works in
joinery, is effected by holding them to the fire, then giving them
the figure required, and keeping them in this figure by tools for the
purpose.
BENEFICIARII, in ancient military history, denotes soldiers who attend
the chief officers of the army, being exempted from all other duty. In
the American service called _waiters_; each commissioned officer being
allowed one.
BENEFICIARII were also soldiers discharged from the military service or
duty, and provided with _beneficia_ to subsist on.
BERM, in fortification, is a little space or path, of about 3, 4, 6, or
8 feet broad, according to the height and breadth of the works, between
the ditch and the parapet, when made of turf, to prevent the earth from
rolling into the ditch; and serves likewise to pass and repass.
_To_ BESIEGE, to lay siege to or invest any place with armed forces.
BESIEGERS, the army that lays siege to a fortified place.
BESIEGED, the garrison that defends the place against the army that
lays siege to it. See SIEGE.
_To_ BETRAY, to deliver perfidiously any place or body of troops into
the hands of the enemy. To discover that which has been entrusted to
secrecy.
BETTY, a machine used for forcing open gates or doors. See PETARD.
BICOQUE, _Fr._ a term used in France to signify a place ill-fortified
and incapable of much defence. It is derived from a place on the road
between Lodi and Milan, which was originally a gentleman’s country
house surrounded by ditches. In the year 1522, a body of Imperial
troops were stationed in it, and stood the attack of the whole French
army, during the reign of Francis I. This engagement was called the
battle of _Bicoque_.
BILBO, a rapier, or small sword, was formerly so called: from Bilboa in
Spain, where excellent swords are made.
BILL or BILL-HOOK, a small hatchet used for cutting wood for fascines,
gabions, bavins, &c.
BILLET, in England is a ticket for quartering soldiers, which intitles
each soldier, by act of parliament, to candles, vinegar, and salt,
with the use of fire, and the necessary utensils for dressing and
eating their meat. The allowance of small beer has been added by a late
regulation.
BILLET _de logement_, _Fr._ a billet for quarters. This billet or
ticket was formerly delivered out to the French troops upon the same
general principles that it is issued in England.
BILLETING, in the army, implies the quartering soldiers in the houses
of any town or village.
BINACLE, a telescope with 2 tubes, so constructed, that a distant
object might be seen with both eyes, now rarely used.
BIVOUAC, BIOUAC, BIOUVAC, or BIOVAC, _Fr._ [from the German
_weywacht_, a double watch or guard.] A night-guard, or a detachment
of the whole army, which during a siege, or in the presence of an
enemy, marches out every night in squadrons or battalions to line the
circumvallations, or to take post in front of the camp, for the purpose
of securing their quarters, preventing surprises, and of obstructing
supplies. When an army does not encamp, but lies under arms all night,
it is said to _bivoac_. Thus before the battle of Austerlitz, Bonaparte
was all night in _bivoac_, or with the advanced guard.
BIT, the bridle of a horse, which acts by the assistance of a curb. See
CURB and BRIDON.
BLACK-HOLE, a place of confinement for soldiers, in the English
discipline, who may be confined therein by the commanding officer,
but not by any inferior officer. In this place they are generally
restricted to bread and water.
BLANKETS, are made of coarse paper steeped in a solution of saltpetre,
and when dry are again dipt in a composition of tallow, resin, and
sulphur. They are used only in fire-ships.
BLAST, and BLASTING. See MINE and MINING.
BLINDS, in military affairs, are wooden frames, composed of 4 pieces,
either flat or round, two of which are 6 feet long, and the others
3 or 4 feet, which serve as spars to fasten the two first together:
the longest are pointed at both ends, and the two others are fastened
towards the extremities of the former, at about 10 or 12 inches from
their points, the whole forming a rectangular parallelogram, the long
sides of which project beyond the other about 10 or 12 inches. Their
use is to fix them either upright, or in a vertical position, against
the sides of the trenches or saps, to sustain the earth. Their points
at the bottom serve to fix them in the earth, and those at top to hold
the fascines that are placed upon them; so that the sap or trench is
formed into a kind of covered gallery, to secure the troops from stones
and grenades.
The term _Blind_ is also used to express a kind of hurdle, made of the
branches of trees, behind which the soldiers, miners, or labourers, may
carry on their work without being seen. See HURDLE.
BLINDS are sometimes only canvas stretched to obstruct the sight of
the enemy. Sometimes they are planks set up, for which see MANTLET.
Sometimes they are made of a kind of coarse basket-work; see GABIONS.
Sometimes of barrels, or sacks filled with earth. In short, they
signify any thing that covers the labourers from the enemy.
BLIND See ORILLON and FORTIFICATION.
BLOCKADE, BLOCKADING, in military affairs, implies the surrounding a
place with different bodies of troops, who shut up all the avenues on
every side, and prevent every thing from going in or out of the place;
this is usually effected by means of the cavalry. The design of the
blockade is to oblige those who are shut up in the town, to consume all
their provisions, and by that means to compel them to surrender for
want of subsistence.
Hence it appears that a blockade must last a long time, when a place
is well provided with necessaries; for which reason this method of
reducing a town is seldom taken, but when there is reason to believe
the magazines are unprovided, or sometimes when the nature or situation
of the place permits not the approaches to be made, which are necessary
to attack it in the usual way.
Maritime towns, which have a port, are in much the same case as other
towns, when their port can be blocked up, and the besiegers are masters
of the sea, and can prevent succours from being conveyed that way into
the place.
_To_ BLOCKADE, or to block up a place, is to shut up all the avenues,
so that it cannot receive any relief either of men or provisions, &c.
_To raise a_ BLOCKADE, is to march from before a place, and leave it
free and open as before.
_To turn a siege into a_ BLOCKADE, is to desist from a regular method
of besieging, and to surround the place with those troops who had
formed the siege.
_To form a_ BLOCKADE, is to surround the place with troops, and hinder
any thing from going in or coming out.
A new species of BLOCKADE has been discovered during the French
Revolution, a blockade by _proclamation_.
BLOCUS, _Fr._ See _Blockade_.
BLOCK _battery_, in gunnery, a wooden battery for two or more small
pieces, mounted on wheels, and moveable from place to place: very ready
to fire _en barbet_, in the galleries and casemates, &c. where room is
wanted.
BLOCK-_house_, in the military art, a kind of wooden fort or
fortification, sometimes mounted on rollers, or on a flat-bottomed
vessel, serving either on the lakes or rivers, or in counter-scarps and
counter-approaches. This name is sometimes given to a brick or stone
building on a bridge, or the brink of a river, serving not only for its
defence, but for the command of the river, both above and below.
BLUNDERBUSS, a well known fire-arm, consisting of a wide, short, but
very large bore, capable of holding a number of musquet or pistol
balls, very fit for doing great execution in a croud, making good a
narrow passage, defending the door of a house, stair-case, &c. or
repelling an attempt to board a ship.
BOARD _of Ordnance_. See _Ordnance_.
BOARD, also implies an office under the government, where the affairs
of some departments are transacted; of which there are several sorts in
England.
BOAT. See _Advice-Boat_, _Pontoon-Boat_, &c.
BODY, in the art of war, is a number of forces, horse or foot, united
and marching under one commander.
_Main_ BODY _of an army_, sometimes means the troops encamped in the
center between the two wings, and generally consists of infantry. The
main body on a march, signifies the whole of the army, exclusive of the
van and rear-guard.
BODY _of a Reserve_. See _Reserve_.
BODY _of a place_, is, generally speaking, the buildings in a fortified
town; yet the inclosure round them is generally understood by it.
BOIS _de remontage_, _Fr._ every species of timber which is used to new
mount cannon, or refit ammunition waggons, &c.
BOIS _de chauffage_, _Fr._ the fuel which is distributed among French
troops.
BOLT, an iron pin used for strengthening a piece of timber, or for
fastening two or more articles together. Bolts in gunnery, being of
several sorts, admit of various denominations, which arise from the
specific application of them, as
1. _Eye_ }
2. _Joint_ }
3. _Transom_ }
4. _Bed_ }
5. _Breeching_}BOLTS.
6. _Bracket_ }
7. _Stool-bed_}
8. _Garnish_ }
9. _Axle-tree_}
10. _Bolster_ }
{See SHELL.
BOMB{_Chest._ See CAISSON.
{_Vessels_,}
(_Ketches_,}
small vessels, made very strong with large beams, particularly
calculated for throwing shells into a town, castle, or fortification,
from 13 and 10-inch mortars; two of which are placed on board of each
ship. They are said to have been invented by M. Reyneau, a Frenchman,
and to have been first put in action at the bombardment of Algiers in
1681: till then it had been judged impracticable to bombard a place
from the sea.
BOMB _Ketch_. The old bomb-ketches carried one 13-inch and 1 10-inch
mortar, with 8 six-pounders, besides swivels, for their own immediate
defence. The modern bomb-vessels carry 2 10-inch mortars 4 68-pounders,
and 6 18-pounders carronades; and the mortars may be fired at as low an
angle as 20 degrees; though these mortars are not intended to be used
at sea but on very particular occasions; their principal intention, at
these low angles, being to cover the landing of troops, and protect
coasts and harbours. A bomb-ketch is generally from 60 to 70 feet
long from stem to stern, and draws 8 or 9 feet water. The tender is
generally a brig, on board of which the party or artillery remain, till
their services are required on board the bomb-vessel.
_Instructions for their Management and Security in Action._
1. A Dutch pump, filled with water, must be placed in each round-top,
one upon the forecastle, one on the main-deck, and one on the
quarter-deck; and furnished with leather buckets, for a fresh supply of
water.
2. The booms must be wetted by the pumps before the tarpaulins and
mortar-hatches are taken off; and a wooden skreen, 5 feet square, is to
be hung under the booms, over each mortar, to receive the fire from the
vents.
3. The embrasures being fixed and properly secured, the port must
be let down low enough to be covered by the sole of the embrasure.
Previous to its being let down, a spar must be lashed across it, to
which the tackles for raising it again must be fixed; this spar serves
to project the tackles clear of the explosion.
4. The mortars must not be fired through the embrasures at a lower
angle than 20 degrees, nor with a greater charge than 5 lbs. of powder.
5. Previous to firing, the doors of the bulkhead, under the
quarter-deck, must be shut, to prevent the cabin being injured by the
explosion.
6. The bed must be wedged in the circular curb, as soon as the mortar
is pointed, to prevent re-action; the first wedge being driven tight,
before the rear ones are fixed, in order to give the full bearing on
the table, as well as the rear of the bed. The holes for dog-bolts must
be corked up, to prevent the sparks falling into them.
7. When any shells are to be used on board the bomb, they must be fixed
on board the tender, and brought from thence in boxes in her long-boat;
and kept along side the bomb-ship till wanted, carefully covered up.
8. In the old constructed bomb-vessels it was necessary to hoist out
the booms, and raft them along side previous to firing; but in these
new ones, with embrasures, only the boats need be hoisted out; after
which the mortars may be prepared for action in 10 minutes.
_Proportion of Ordnance and Ammunition for a Bomb Ship, carrying two 10
inch Mortars, to fire at low angles, and at 45 degrees, four 68 Prs.
and six 18 Prs. Carronades._
----------------------------------------------------------------------
_In the
Bomb
_KINDS._ Ship._ _Tender._ _Total._
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mortars, sea service, with Beds, &c. 10
inch 2 -- 2
Quoins for do.--2 for 45°--2 for 20°
elevation 4 -- 4
Capsquares, with keys, &c. spare 2 -- 2
Handspikes, large 4 -- 4
Spunges, with ram.heads 4 -- 4
Handscrews, small 2 -- 2
Handcrow levers--6 feet 4 -- 4
Handspikes, common 6 -- 6
Linstocks, with cocks 4 -- 4
Powder horns, new pat. 4 -- 4
Match cwts. 1 -- 1
Marline skeins -- 12 12
Budge bar. cop hooped 1 1 2
Lanthorns, Muscovy 2 2 4
Lanthorns, dark 2 2 4
Carronades, 68 Prs. 4 -- 4
Carronades, 18 Prs. 6 -- 6
having sliding carriages, elevating screws,
spunges, rammers &c. complete
Gun tackles, complete for traversing mortars,
12 Prs. 4 -- 4
Wads, 68 Prs. 270 270 540
Wads, 18 Prs. 480 180 660
Musquets{Bright 32 -- 32
{Black 8 -- 8
Pistols, pairs 15 -- 15
Swords 40 -- 40
Pole axes 6 -- 6
Pikes 40 -- 40
Musquetoons 2 -- 2
Flints, musquet 900 -- 900
Flints, pistol 150 -- 150
Ball cartridges, musq. 2000 -- 2000
Ball cartridges, pistol 2000 -- 2000
Shot, musq. cwt. qr. lb. 1.0.0 -- 1.0.0
Shot, pistol 1.0.0 -- 1.0.0
Round car. fixed, 10 in. 48 152 200
Empty shells, 10 inch. 48 352 400
Iron shot, 1 lb. 1000 4000 5000
Fixed shells, 10 inch 48 -- 48
Case shot, 68 Prs. car. 20 20 40
Emp. sh. 8 in for car. 52 100 152
Shot, round, 68 Prs. 50 50 100
Carcasses do. 68 Prs. 96 104 200
Shot, round, 18 Prs. 300 -- 300
Case shot, 18 Prs. 30 30 60
Carcas. do. fix. 18 Prs. 150 150 300
Hand shells, fixed, sea service -- 150 150
Fuzes for do. spare -- 15 15
Pap. cov. for cart, 10 in. 106 609 715
Pap. cov. for cart, 68 Pr. 293 301 594
Pap. cov. for cart, 18 Pr. 258 198 456
Flan. cartridg. }to hold 5 lb. 106 -- 106
emp. for 10 in. mor. }do. 10.lb. -- 609 609
Flan. cartridg. }to hold 5 lb. 293 151} 594
emp. for 68 Prs. car.}do. 4 lb. -- 150}
Flannel cartridges, emp. for 18 Prs. to hold
1¹⁄₂ lbs. 528 148 676
Paper cartridges for bursting, 10 inches,
empty, -- 352 352
Paper cartridges, for bursting, 8 inches,
empty -- 100 100
Paper cartridges filled with 2 lb. 10 oz for
10 inch. 48 -- 48
Do. filled with 1 lb. 14 oz. for 8 inch 52 -- 52
Fuzes, drove, 10 inch. 52 388 440
Fuzes, drove, 8 inch. 57 110 166
{200 for 10 inch. shells at 14
Valenciennes{oz. each, lbs. -- 175 175
composition {768 for 10 inch. shells, at 9
{oz. each, lbs. -- 42 42
Tube boxes, tin 12 -- 12
Fuze composition, for priming carcasses, lbs. -- 10 10
Powder bags -- 6 6
Portfires -- 200 200
Quick match, cotton, lbs. -- 20 20
Spirits of wine, gals. -- 4 4
Kitt lbs. -- 80 80
Bottoms of wood, 10 in. 10 40 50
Signal rockets, 1 lb. doz. -- 2 2
Blue lights, do. -- 3 3
Gunpowder for the mortars and carronades,
half barrels 72 150 222
Powder for priming, do. -- 1 1
Powder for bursting, do. -- 28 28
with all the small articles which usually
attend mortars on every service, and the
articles necessary for the service of
carronades at sea.
Laboratory chests, 4 ft. -- 2 2
Laboratory chests, 3 ft. -- 2 2
Handpumps for wetting the rigging, &c. 6 -- 6
Leather buckets 24 -- 24
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BOMB _Tender_, a small vessel of war laden with ammunition for the
bomb-ketch, and from which the latter is constantly supplied.
BOMBARD, an ancient piece of ordnance, so called, very short, and very
thick, with an uncommon large bore. There have been bombards which have
thrown a ball or shell of 300 weight: they made use of cranes to load
them. The Turks use some of them at present.
_To_ BOMBARD, BOMBARDING, BOMBARDMENT, the act of assaulting a city
or fortress, by throwing shells into it in order to set fire to and
ruin the houses, churches, magazines, &c. and to do other mischief.
As one of the effects of the shell results from its weight, it is
never discharged as a ball from a cannon, that is, by pointing it at
a certain object: but the mortars are fixed at an elevation of or
about 45 degrees; that is, inclined so many degrees from the horizon,
that the shell describes a curve, called the military projectile:
hence a mortar, whose trunnions are placed at the breech, can have no
point-blank range. Mortars should be so contrived, that they may be
elevated to any degree required, as much preferable to those fixed at
an angle of 45°; because shells should never be thrown at that angle
but in one single case only, which seldom happens; that is, when the
battery is so far off, that they cannot otherwise reach the works:
for when shells are thrown from the trenches into the works of a
fortification, or from the town into the trenches, they should have
as little elevation as possible, in order to roll along, and not bury
themselves; whereby the damage they do, and the terror they cause to
the troops, is much greater than if they sink into the ground. On
the contrary, when shells are thrown upon magazines, or any other
buildings, with an intention to destroy them, the mortar should be
elevated as high as possible, that the shells may acquire a greater
force in their fall.
Shells should be loaded with no more powder than is requisite to burst
them into the greatest number of pieces, and the length of the fuzes
should be exactly calculated according to the required ranges; for,
should the fuze set fire to the powder in the shell, before it falls on
the place intended, the shell will burst in the air, and probably do
more mischief to those who fired the mortar, than to those against whom
it was discharged. To prevent this, the fuzes are divided into as many
seconds as the greatest range requires, consequently may be cut to any
distance, at an elevation of 45 degrees.
Mortars are not to be fired with two fires; for when the fuze is
properly fixed, and both fuze and shell dredged with mealed powder, the
blast of the powder in the chamber of the mortar, when inflamed by the
tube, will likewise set fire to the fuze fixed in the shell.
BOMBARDIERS, artillery soldiers, who are employed in mortar and
howitzer duty. They are to load them on all occasions; and in most
services they load the shells and grenades, fix the fuzes, prepare
the composition both for fuzes and tubes, and fire both mortars and
howitzers on every occasion. In the English service, shells and
grenades, composition for the same, fuzes, &c. are prepared in the
laboratory by people well-skilled in that business.
In most other armies both officers and soldiers belonging to the
companies of bombardiers, have an extraordinary pay, as it requires
more mathematical learning to throw shells with some degree of
exactness, than is requisite for the rest of the artillery. In the
British service a specific number is attached to each company of
artillery, and do not form a separate corps as in other countries.
BONAVOGLIE, _Fr._ a man that for a certain consideration voluntarily
engages to row.
BONNET, in fortification, implies a small but useful work, that greatly
annoys the enemy in their lodgments. This work consists of two faces,
which make a salient angle in the nature of a ravelin, without any
ditch, having only a parapet 3 feet high, and 10 or 12 feet broad.
They are made at the salient angles of the glacis, outworks, and body
of the place, beyond the counterscarp, and in the faussebray. See
FORTIFICATION.
BONNET _à Prêtre_, or _Priest’s Cap_, in fortification, is an outwork,
having three salient and two inward angles, and differs from the
double tenaille only in having its sides incline inwards towards the
gorge, and those of a double tenaille are parallel to each other. See
FORTIFICATION.
BORDER, in military drawings, implies single or double lines, or any
other ornament, round a drawing, &c.
BOOKS. There are different books made use of in the army, for the
specific purposes of general and regimental economy.
_The general orderly_ BOOK is kept by the brigade major, from which the
leading orders of regiments, conveying the parole and countersign, are
always taken.
_The regimental orderly_ BOOK contains the peculiar instructions
of corps which are given by a colonel or commanding officer to the
adjutant--hence _adjutant’s orderly_ BOOK--and from him to the
serjeant-major, who delivers the same to the different serjeants of
companies assembled in the orderly room for that purpose--hence the
_company’s orderly_ BOOK.
_The regimental_ BOOK is kept by the clerk of the regiment, and
contains all the records, &c. belonging to the corps.
_The Company_ BOOK, is kept by the commanding officer of every company;
and contains returns of all incidents and payments.
_The black_ BOOK is a sort of memorandum which is kept in every
regiment, to describe the character and conduct of non-commissioned
officers and soldiers; when and how often they have been reduced or
punished, &c.
Every quarter-master belonging to the cavalry and infantry, has
likewise a book which may not improperly be called a book or inventory
of regimental stores, &c.
_Practice_ BOOK. Every officer of the artillery ought to have a book in
which he should note every useful fact that occurs in practice.
BOOM, in marine fortification, is a long piece of timber, with which
rivers or harbors are stopped, to prevent the enemy’s coming in: it is
sometimes done by a cable or chain, and floated with yards, topmasts,
or spars of wood lashed to it.
BORE, in gunnery, implies the cavity of the barrel of a gun, mortar,
howitzer, or any other piece of ordnance.
BOSSE, _Fr._ a term used in the French artillery, to express a glass
bottle which is very thin, contains four or five pounds of powder, and
round the neck of which four or five matches are hung under, after it
has been well-corked. A cord, two or three feet in length, is tied to
the bottle, which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks,
the powder catches fire, and every thing within the immediate effects
of the explosion is destroyed.
BOTTES, _Fr._ boots.
_Grosses_ BOTTES, _Fr._ jack-boots.
BOTTINE, _Fr._ half-boots worn by the hussars and dragoons in foreign
armies.
BOUCHE, _Fr._ means the aperture or mouth of a piece of ordnance,
that of a mortar, of the barrel of a musket, and of every species of
fire-arms from which a ball or bullet is discharged.
BOUCHES _à feu_, _Fr._ is generally used to signify pieces of ordnance.
BOULER _la Matiere_, _Fr._ to stir up the different metals which are
used in casting cannon.
BOULETS _à deux têtes_, chain-shot.
BOULEVART, _Fr._ formerly meant a _bastion_. It is no longer used as
a military phrase, although it sometimes occurs in the description of
works or lines which cover a whole country, and protect it from the
incursions of an enemy. Thus Strasburgh and Landau may be called two
principal boulevarts or bulwarks, by which France is protected on this
side of the Rhine.
The elevated line or rampart which reaches from the Champs Elysées in
Paris beyond the spot where the bastille was destroyed in 1789, is
stiled the Boulevart.
In ancient times, when the Romans attacked any place, they raised
boulevarts near the circumference of the walls. These boulevarts were
80 feet high, 300 feet broad, upon which wooden towers commanding the
ramparts were erected covered on all sides with iron-work, and from
which the besiegers threw upon the besieged stones, darts, fire-works,
&c. to facilitate the approaches of the archers and battering rams.
BOULINER, _Fr._ a French military phrase. _Bouliner dans un camp_,
means to steal or pilfer in a camp. _Un soldat boulineur_, signifies a
thief.
BOURGUIGNOTE, _Fr._ Is a helmet or morion which is usually worn with a
breast-plate. It is proof against pikes and swords.
BOURRELET, _Fr._ the extremity of a piece of ordnance towards its
mouth. It is usually cast in the shape of a tulip on account of its
aptitude to fit the construction of embrasures. Bourrelet means
likewise a pad or collar.
BOURRER, _Fr._ to ram the wad or any other materials into the barrel of
a fire-arm.
BOURRIQUET, _Fr._ a basket made use of in mining, to draw up the earth,
and to let down whatever may be necessary for the miner.
BOUSSOLE, _Fr._ a compass which every miner must be in possession of to
direct him in his work.
BOUTE-SELLE, _Fr._ the signal or word which is given to the cavalry to
saddle their horses.
BOUTON, _Fr._ the sight of a musquet.
BOW, an ancient weapon of offence, made of steel, wood, or other
elastic matter; which, after being bent by means of a string fastened
to its two ends, in returning to its natural state, throws out an arrow
with prodigious force.
The use of the bow is, without all doubt, of the earliest antiquity. It
has likewise been the most universal of all weapons, having obtained
amongst the most barbarous and remote people, who had the least
communication with the rest of mankind.
The bow is a weapon of offence amongst the inhabitants of Asia, Africa,
and America, at this day; and in Europe, before the invention of
fire-arms, a part of the infantry was armed with bows. Lewis XII. first
abolished the use of them in France, introducing, in their stead, the
halbert, pike, and broadsword. The long-bow was formerly in great use
in England, and many laws were made to encourage the use of it. The
parliament under Henry VII. complained of the disuse of long bows,
theretofore the safeguard and defence of that kingdom, and the dread
and terror of its enemies.
_Cross_-BOW, is likewise an ancient weapon of offence, of the eleventh
century. Philip II. surnamed the Conqueror, introduced cross-bows into
France. In this reign Richard I. of England, was killed by a cross-bow
at the siege of Chalus.
BOWMAN. See ARCHER.
BOWYER. The man who made or repaired the military bows was so called.
BOXES, in military affairs, are of several sorts, and for various
purposes.
_Battery_-BOXES. See BATTERY.
_Cartouch_-BOXES. See CARTOUCH.
_Nave_ BOXES, are made of iron or brass, and fastened one at each end
of the nave, to prevent the arms of the axle-tree, about which the
boxes turn, from causing too much friction.
_Tin_-BOXES, such as are filled with small shot for grape, according to
the size of the gun they are to be fired out of.
_Wood_-BOXES, with lids, for holding grape-shot, &c. each calibre has
its own, distinguished by marks of the calibre on the lid.
BOXES _for Ammunition_. The dimensions of the common ammunition boxes
vary according to the ammunition they are made to contain, in order
that it may pack tight: this variation, however, is confined to a few
inches, and does not exceed the following numbers.
Table of general dimensions of Ammunition Boxes.
----+------------------------+------
| Exterior. |Weight
+-------+-------+--------+ when
| Len. | Bre. | Depth. |empty.
----+-------+-------+--------+------
|ft. in.|ft. in.|ft. in. | lbs.
From| 2 2 | 0 10 | 0 8¹⁄₂| 20
To | 2 9 | 1 6 | 1 6 | 30
----+-------+-------+--------+------
Weight when filled, and number contained in each.
------------------------------------+--------------+---------
| | No. of
| Weight of | Rounds
| Boxes when |contained
| filled with | in each
Kinds of Ammunition. | Ammunition. | Box.
------------------------------------+--------------+---------
|cwt. qrs. lbs.| No.
{12 Prs.{ Round | 1 1 10 | 8
Boxes for { { Case. | 0 3 15 | 6
shot fixed { 6 Prs. {Round | 1 2 7 | 12
with { {Case. | 1 0 15 | 12
powder. { 3 Prs.{ Round | 0 2 25 | 16
{ { Case. | 0 2 23 | 14
{24 Prs.{ Round | 1 1 26 | 6
{ { Case. | 2 0 0 | 6
{12 Prs. {Round | 1 2 20 | 12
Box. for shot{ {Case. | 1 2 22 | 8
fixed to wood{ 6 Prs.{ Round | 1 2 20 | 24
bottoms { { Case. | 1 1 12 | 18
without { 3 Prs. {Round | 1 1 0 | 30
powder. { {Case. | 1 1 0 | 30
{How’r {8 | 1 2 2 | 3
{Case. {5¹⁄₂ | 1 2 12 | 10
{ {4¹⁄₂ | 1 2 22 | 20
Boxes {How’r {8 } | 1 2 2 | 3
for {Shells.{5¹⁄₂ }fixed. | 1 2 12 | 10
Shells. { {4¹⁄₂[7]} | 1 2 22 | 20
------------------------------------+--------------+---------
[7] Shells called four and an half, are really four and two-fifths.
The common ammunition waggon will hold from 9 to 13 of these boxes in
one tier.
The tonnage of ammunition in boxes is equal to its weight: about 12
boxes make one ton.
BOYAU, in fortification, is a particular trench separated from the
others, which, in winding about, incloses different spaces of ground,
and runs parallel with the works of the place, that it may not be
enfiladed. When two attacks are made at once, one near to the other,
the boyau makes a communication between the trenches, and serves as
a line of contravallation, not only to hinder the sallies of the
besieged, but likewise to secure the miners.
BRACES, in a military sense, are a kind of armor for the arm: they were
formerly a part of a coat of mail.
BRACKETS, in gunnery, are the cheeks of the travelling carriage of a
mortar; they are made of strong wooden planks. This name is also given
to that part of a large mortar-bed, where the trunnions are placed,
for the elevation of the mortar: they are sometimes made of wood, and
more frequently of iron, of almost a semicircular figure, well fastened
with nails and strong plates.
BRANCH. See MINE and GALLERY.
BRAND, an ancient term for a sword; so called by the Saxons.
BRAQUER, _Fr._ is improperly used to express the movement of a cannon
to any particular side. The correct expression is, to point the cannon,
_pointer le canon_.
BRASSARTS, _Fr._ thin plates of beaten iron which were anciently used
to cover the arms above the coat of mail.
Brassarts and cuirasses were worn in the days of St. Louis.
BRASSER _la Matiere_, _Fr._ to mix the different ingredients which are
required for the making of gunpowder or other combustible matter.
BREACH, in fortification, a gap, or opening, in any part of the works
of a fortified place, made by the artillery or mines of the besiegers,
preparatory to the making an assault.
The batteries to make a breach, should commence by marking out as near
as possible, the extent of the breach intended to be made; first, by
a horizontal line within a fathom of the bottom of the revetement in
a dry ditch, and close to the water’s edge in a wet one; and then by
lines perpendicular to this line, at short distances from each other,
as high as the cordon; then, by continuing to deepen all these cuts,
the wall will give way in a body. The guns to produce the greatest
effect should be fired as near as possible in _salvos_ or vollies. The
breach should be one third the length of the face, from the centre
towards the flanked angle. When the wall has given way, the firing must
be continued to make the slope of the breach practicable.
Four 24 pounders from the lodgement in the covert way will effect a
breach in 4 or 5 days, which may be made practicable in 3 days more.
Another way of making a breach is by piercing the wall sufficiently to
admit two or three miners, who cross the ditch, and make their entry
during the night into the wall, where they establish two or three small
mines, sufficient to make a breach. See ARTILLERY at Siege; see also
BATTERY.
_To repair a_ BREACH, is to stop or fill up the gap with gabions,
fascines, &c. and prevent the assault.
_To fortify a_ BREACH, is to render it inaccessible by means of
chevaux-de-frize, crow’s-feet, &c.
_To make a lodgment in the_ BREACH. After the besieged are driven away,
the besiegers secure themselves against any future attack in the breach.
_To clear the_ BREACH, that is, to remove the ruins, that it may be the
better defended.
BREAK _off_, a term used when cavalry or infantry are ordered to
diminish its front. It is also used to signify wheeling from line; as
BREAKING-off to the left, for _wheeling_ to the left.
BREAK-_Ground_, the first opening of the earth to form entrenchments,
as at the commencement of a siege. It applies also to the striking of
tents and quitting the ground on which any troops had been encamped.
_To_ BREAK _ground_, to begin, to open and work at the trenches in a
siege, &c.
BREAST PLATE, in military antiquity, a piece of defensive armor worn on
the breast of both men and horses. They are but seldom used now.
BREAST-_work_ See PARAPET.
BREECH _of a gun_, the end near the vent. See CANNON.
BREVET _rank_, is a rank in the army higher than that for which you
receive pay; and gives a precedence (when corps are brigaded) to the
date of the brevet commission.
BREVET, _Fr._ commission, appointment. Under the old government of
France it consisted in letters or appointments signed by the king,
by virtue of which every officer was authorised to discharge his
particular duty. All officers in the old French service, from a cornet
or sub-lieutenant up to a marshal of France were stiled _Officiers à
Brévet_.
BREVET _d’Assurance ou de Retenue d’Argent_, _Fr._ certain military
and civil appointments granted by the old kings of France, which were
distinguished from other places of trust, in as much as every successor
was obliged to pay a certain sum of money to the heirs of the deceased,
or for the discharge of his debts. Hence the term _brevet d’Assurance
ou de retenue_.
BRICKS, in military architecture, supply the place of stone in common
buildings, and are composed of an earthy matter, hardened by art,
to a resemblance of that kind: they may be very well considered as
artificial stone. The Greeks and Romans, &c. generally used bricks in
their buildings, witness the Pantheon, &c. In the east they baked their
bricks in the sun. The Romans used them unburnt, having first left them
to dry in the air for 3, 4, or 5 years.
The best _bricks_ must not be made of any earth that abounds with
sand or gravel, not of such as is gritty or stony; but of a greyish
marle, or yellow clay, or at least of reddish earth. But if there is
a necessity to use that which is sandy, choice should be made of that
which is tough and strong.
The best season for making _bricks_ is the spring; because they are
subject to crack, when made in the summer: the loam should be well
steeped or soaked, and wrought with water. They are shaped in a mould,
and, after some drying in the sun or air, are burnt to a hardness.
This is our manner of making bricks; but whether they were always
made in this manner admits a doubt. We are not clear what was the use
of straw in the bricks for building in Egypt, or why in some part of
Germany they mix saw-dust in their clay for bricks.
We are in general tied down by custom to one form, and one size; which
is truly ridiculous: 8 or 9 inches in length, and 4 in breadth, is the
general measure: but beyond doubt there might be other forms, and other
sizes, introduced very advantageously.
_Compass_ BRICKS, are of a circular form; their use is for steening of
walls; we have also concave, and semi-cylindrical, used for different
purposes.
_Grey-Stocks_, are made of the purest earth, and better wrought: they
are used in front in building, being the strongest and handsomest of
this kind.
_Place_-BRICKS, are made of the same earth, or worse, and being
carelessly put out of hand, are therefore weaker and more brittle, and
are only used out of sight, and where little stress is laid on them.
_Red Stocks_, are made of a particular earth, well wrought, and little
injured by mixtures: they are used in fine work, and ornaments.
_Hedgerly_ BRICKS, are made of a yellowish colored loam, very hard
to the touch, containing a great quantity of sand: their particular
excellence is, that they will bear the greatest violence of fire
without hurt.
BRICOLE, an improved kind of traces used by the French in drawing and
manœuvring artillery; analogous to the old drag rope, but having the
addition of a leather strap or girdle with a buckle, to which the drag
is affixed; and an iron ring and hook at the end to drag by.
BRIDGES. Manner of laying a pontoon bridge across a river.
The bank on each side, where the ends of the bridge are to be, must
be made solid and firm, by means of fascines, or otherwise. One end
of the cable must be carried across the river; and being fixed to a
picket, or any thing firm, must be drawn tight by means of a capstan,
across where the heads of the boats are to be ranged. The boats are
then launched, having on board each two men, and the necessary ropes,
&c. and are floated _down_ the stream, under the cable, to which they
are lashed endwise, by the rings and small ropes, at equal distances,
and about their own breadth asunder; more or less, according to the
strength required. If the river be very rapid, a second cable must be
stretched across it, parallel to the first, and at the distance of the
length of the boats; and to which the other ends of the boats must be
lashed. The spring lines are then lashed diagonally from one boat to
the other, to brace them tight; and the anchors, if necessary, carried
out, up the stream, and fixed to the cable or sheer line across the
river. One of the chesses is then laid on the edge of the bank, at each
end of the bridge, bottom up; these serve to lay the ends of the baulks
upon, and as a direction for placing them at the proper distances, to
fit the chesses that cover the bridge. The baulks should then be laid
across the boats, and keyed together: their numbers proportioned to
the strength required in the bridge. If the gangboards are laid across
the heads and sterns of the boats from one side of the river to the
other, they will give the men a footing for doing the rest of the work.
Across the baulks are laid the chesses, one after another, the edges to
meet; and the baulks running between the cross pieces on the under side
of the chesses. The gangboards are then laid across the ends of the
chesses on each edge of the bridge.
Precautions for passing a bridge of boats.
Whatever size the bridge may be, infantry should never be allowed to
pass at the same time with carriages or cavalry. The carriages should
always move at a certain distance behind each other, that the bridge
may not be shook, by being overloaded. The horses should not be allowed
to trot over the bridge; and the cavalry should dismount and lead their
horses over. Large flocks of cattle must not be allowed to cross at
once.
For the dimensions, weight, and equipage of a pontoon, see the word
_Pontoon_.
When bridges are made to facilitate the communication between different
parts of the approaches at a siege, they should, if possible, be placed
above the town; or the besieged will take advantage of the current
to float down large trees, or other bodies, in order to destroy the
bridge. Two of such bridges should always be placed close to each
other, in order to prevent the confusion of crossing and recrossing on
the same bridge; the one being intended to pass over one way, and the
other to return. Pontoon bridges will generally not support a greater
weight than 4 or 5,000 pounds. Pontoons, when united as a bridge, will
no doubt bear more in proportion, than when acted upon separately: but
the weight which a pontoon will bear may be easily ascertained, by
loading it with water till it sinks to any required depth, and then by
calculating the number of cubic feet of water it contains, ascertain
the number of pounds required to sink it to that particular depth.
BRIDGES, in military affairs, are of several sorts and denominations,
viz.
_Rush_-BRIDGES, are made of large bundles of rushes, bound fast
together, over which planks are laid, and fastened: these are put in
marshy places, for an army to pass over on any emergency.
_Pendant_ or _hanging_ BRIDGES, are those not supported by posts,
pillars, or butments, but hung at large in the air, sustained only at
the two ends; as the new bridge at the Falls of Schuylkill, five miles
from Philadelphia, 1809.
_Draw_-BRIDGE, that which is fastened with hinges at one end only, so
that the other may be drawn up (in which case the bridge is almost
perpendicular) to hinder the passage of a ditch, &c. There are others
made to draw back and hinder the passage; and some that open in the
middle; one half of which turns away to one side, and the other half to
the other, and both again join at pleasure.
_Flying_-BRIDGE, is generally made of two small bridges, laid one over
the other, in such a manner that the uppermost stretches, and runs out
by the help of certain cords running through pullies placed along the
sides of the upper bridge, which push it forwards, till the end of it
joins the place it is intended to be fixed on. They are frequently used
to surprise works, or out-posts that have but narrow ditches. There is
a curious bridge of this kind on the Ohio, worthy of attention.
BRIDGE _of boats_, is a number of common boats joined parallel to each
other, at the distance of 6 feet, till they reach across the river;
which being covered with strong planks, and fastened with anchors and
ropes, the troops march over.
BRIDGE _of communication_, is that made over a river, by which two
armies, or forts, which are separated by that river, have a free
communication with one another.
_Floating_-BRIDGE, a bridge made use of in form of a work in
fortification called a redoubt; consisting of two boats, covered
with planks, which are solidly framed, so as to bear either horse or
artillery. Bridges of this kind are frequently used.
Floating bridges made of large logs of light timber bound together with
a floor along them are common in the United States.
_Ponton_-BRIDGE, a number of tin or copper boats placed at the distance
of 7 or 8 feet asunder, each fastened with an anchor, or a strong rope
that goes across the river, running through the rings of the pontons.
They are covered with baulks, and then with chests or planks, for the
army to march over. See PONTON.
_Cask_, or _Barrel_ BRIDGE, a number of empty casks that support
baulks and planks, made as above into a bridge, where pontons, &c.
are wanting. Experience has taught us that 5 ton of empty casks will
support above water 9000 pounds: hence any calculation may be made.
BRIDGES are made of carpentry or masonry. The number of arches of a
bridge is generally made odd; either that the middle of the stream or
chief current may flow freely without interruption of a pier; or that
the two halves of the bridge, by gradually rising from the ends to the
middle, may there meet in the highest and largest arch; or else, for
the sake of grace, that by being open in the middle, the eye in viewing
it may look directly through there as we always expect to do in looking
at it, and without which opening we generally feel a disappointment in
viewing it.
If the bridge be equally high throughout, the arches, being all of
a height, are made all of a size, which causes a great saving of
centering. If the bridge be higher in the middle than at the ends, let
the arches decrease from the middle towards each end, but so that each
half have the arches exactly alike, and that they decrease in span
proportionally to their height, so as to be always the same kind of
figure. Bridges should rather be of few and large arches, than of many
and small ones, if the height and situation will allow of it.
Names of all the terms, peculiar to BRIDGES, &c.
_Abutment._ See _Butments_.
_Arch_, an opening of a bridge, through or under which the water,
&c. passes, and which is supported by piers or butments. Arches are
denominated circular, elliptical, cycloidal, caternarian, equilibrial,
gothic, &c. according to their figure or curve.
_Archivolt_, the curve or line formed by the upper sides of the
voussoirs or arch-stones. It is parallel to the intrados or under side
of the arch when the voussoirs are all of the same length; otherwise
not.
By the archivolt is also sometimes understood the whole set of
voussoirs.
_Banquet_, the raised foot-path at the sides of the bridge next the
parapet: it is generally raised about a foot above the middle or
horse-passage, and 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, &c. feet broad, according to the
size of the bridge, and paved with large stones, whose length is equal
to the breadth of the walk.
_Battardeau_, or _Coffer-dam_, a case of piling, &c. without a bottom,
fixed in the river, water-tight or nearly so, by which to lay the
bottom dry for a space large enough to build the pier on. When it is
fixed, its sides reaching above the level of the water, the water is
pumped out of it, or drawn off by engines, &c. till the space be dry;
and it is kept so by the same means, until the pier is built up in it,
and then the materials of it are drawn up again. Battardeaux are made
in various manners, either by a single inclosure, or by a double one,
with clay or chalk rammed in between the two, to prevent the water from
coming through the sides: and these inclosures are also made either
with piles only, driven close by one another, and sometimes notched or
dove-tailed into each other, or with piles grooved in the sides, driven
in at a distance from one another, and boards let down between them in
the grooves.
_Butments_, are the extremities of a bridge, by which it joins to, or
abuts upon, the land, or sides of the river, &c.
These must be made very secure, quite immoveable, and more than barely
sufficient to resist the drift of its adjacent arch, so that, if there
are not rocks or very solid banks to raise them against, they must be
well re-inforced with proper walls or returns, &c.
_Caisson_, a kind of chest, or flat-bottomed boat, in which a pier
is built, then sunk to the bed of the river, and the sides loosened
and taken off from the bottom, by a contrivance for that purpose; the
bottom of it being left under the pier as a foundation. It is evident,
therefore, that the bottoms of the caissons must be made very strong
and fit for the foundations of the piers. The caisson is kept afloat
till the pier be built to the height of low water mark; and for that
purpose, its sides must either be made of more than that height at
first, or else gradually raised to it, as it sinks by the weight of the
work, so as always to keep its top above water: and therefore the sides
must be made very strong, and kept asunder by cross-timbers within,
lest the great pressure of the ambient water crush the sides in, and
so not only endanger the work, but also drown the workmen within it.
The caisson is made of the shape of the pier, but some feet wider on
every side to make room for the men to work; the whole of the sides
are of two pieces, both joined to the bottom quite round, and to each
other at the salient angle, so as to be disengaged from the bottom, and
from each other, when the pier is raised to the desired height, and
sunk. It is also convenient to have a little sluice made in the bottom,
occasionally to open and shut, to sink the caisson and pier sometimes
by, before it be finished, to try if it bottom level and rightly;
for by opening the sluice, the water will rush in and fill it to the
height of the exterior water, and the weight of the work already built
will sink it: then by shutting the sluice again, and pumping out the
water, it will be made to float again, and the rest of the work may be
completed. It must not however be sunk except when the sides are high
enough to reach above the surface of the water, otherwise it cannot be
raised and laid dry again. Mr. Labelye states, that the caissons in
which he built Westminster bridge, London, contained above 150 load of
fir timber, of 40 cubic feet each, and were of more tonnage or capacity
than a 40 gun ship of war.
_Centres_, are the timber frames erected in the spaces of the arches
to turn them on, by building on them the voussoirs of the arch. As the
centre serves as a foundation for the arch to be built on, when the
arch is completed, that foundation is struck from under it, to make way
for the water and navigation, and then the arch will stand of itself
from its curved figure. The centre must be constructed of the exact
figure of the intended arch, convex, as the arch is concave, to receive
it on as a mould. If the form be circular, the curve is struck from a
central point by a radius; if it be elliptical, it should be struck
with a double cord, passing over two pins fixed in the focusses, as the
mathematicians describe their ellipses; and not by striking different
pieces or arcs of circles from several centres; for these will form no
ellipsis at all, but an irregular misshapen curve made up of broken
pieces of different circular arches; but if the arch be of any other
form, the several abscissas and ordinates should be calculated; then
their corresponding lengths, transferred to the centering, will give so
many points of the curve; by bending a bow of pliable matter, according
to those points, the curve may be drawn.
The centres are constructed of beams of timber, firmly pinned and
bound together, into one entire compact frame, covered smooth at top
with planks or boards to place the voussoirs on; the whole supported
by off-sets in the sides of the piers, and by piles driven into the
bed of the river, and capable of being raised and depressed by wedges
contrived for that purpose, and for taking them down when the arch is
completed. They should also be constructed of a strength more than
sufficient to bear the weight of the arch.
In taking the centre down, first let it down a little, all in a piece,
by easing some of the wedges; then let it rest a few days to try if the
arch makes any efforts to fall, or any joints open, or any stones crush
or crack, &c. that the damage may be repaired before the centre is
entirely removed, which is not to be done till the arch ceases to make
any visible efforts.
_Chest._ See CAISSON.
_Coffer-dam._ See BATTARDEAU.
_Drift_, _Shoot_, or _Thrust_, of an arch, is the push or force which
it exerts in the direction of the length of the bridge. This force
arises from the perpendicular gravitation of the stones of the arch,
which being kept from descending by the form of the arch, and the
resistance of the pier, exert their force in a lateral or horizontal
direction. This force is computed in _Prop. 10_, of Mr. Hutton’s
_Principles of Bridges_, where the thickness of the pier is determined
that is necessary to resist it, and is greater the lower the arch is,
_cæteris paribus_.
_Elevation_, the orthographic projection of the front of a bridge, on
the vertical plane, parallel to its length. This is necessary to shew
the form and dimensions of the arches and other parts, as to height and
breadth, and therefore has a plain scale annexed to it, to measure the
parts by. It also shews the manner of working up and decorating the
fronts of the bridge.
_Extrados_, the exterior curvature or line of an arch. In the
propositions of the second section in Professor Hutton’s _Principles of
Bridges_, it is the outer or upper line of the wall above the arch; but
it often means only the upper or exterior curve of the voussoirs.
_Foundations_, the bottoms of the piers, &c. or the bases on which
they are built. These bottoms are always to be made with projections,
greater or less, according to the spaces on which they are built: and
according to the nature of the ground, depth and velocity of water, &c.
the foundations are laid and the piers built after different manners,
either in caissons, in battardeaux, on stilts with sterlings, &c. for
the particular method of doing which, see each under its respective
term.
The most obvious and simple method of laying the foundations and
raising the piers up to the water-mark, is to turn the river out of
its course above the place or the bridge, into a new channel cut for
it near the place where it makes an elbow or turn; then the piers are
built on dry ground, and the water turned into its old course again;
the new one being securely banked up. This is certainly the best
method, when the new channel can be easily and conveniently made. This,
however, is seldom or never the case.
Another method is, to lay only the space of each pier dry till it be
built, by surrounding it with piles and planks driven down into the bed
of the river, so close together as to exclude the water from coming
in; then the water is pumped out of the inclosed space, the pier built
in it, and lastly the piles and planks drawn up. This is coffer-dam
work, but evidently cannot be practised if the bottom be of a loose
consistence, admitting the water to ooze and spring up through it.
When neither the whole nor part of the river can be easily laid dry
as above, other methods are to be used; such as to build either in
caissons or on stilts, both which methods are described under their
proper words; or yet by another method, which hath, though seldom,
been sometimes used, without laying the bottom dry, and which is thus:
the pier is built upon strong rafts or gratings of timber, well bound
together, and buoyed up on the surface of the water by strong cables,
fixed to the other floats or machines, till the pier is built; the
whole is then gently let down to the bottom, which must be made level
for the purpose; but of these methods, that of building in caissons is
best.
But before the pier can be built in any manner, the ground at the
bottom must be well secured, and made quite good and safe, if it be
not so naturally. The space must be bored into, to try the consistence
of the ground; and if a good bottom of stone, or firm gravel, clay,
&c. be met with, within a moderate depth below the bed of the river,
the loose sand, &c. must be removed and digged out to it, and the
foundation laid on the firm bottom on a strong grating or base of
timber made much broader every way than the pier, that there may be the
greater base to press on, to prevent its being sunk; but if a solid
bottom cannot be found at a convenient depth to dig to, the space must
then be driven full of strong piles, whose tops must be sawed off level
some feet below the bed of the water, the sand having been previously
dug out for that purpose; and then the foundation on a grating of
timber laid on their tops as before: or, when the bottom is not good,
if it be made level, and a strong grating of timber, 2, 3, or 4 times
as large as the base of the pier be made, it will form a good base to
build on, its great size preventing it from sinking. In driving the
piles, begin at the middle, and proceed outwards all the way to the
borders or margin; the reason of which is, that if the outer ones were
driven first, the earth of the inner space would be thereby so jammed
together, as not to allow the inner piles to be driven; and besides the
piles immediately under the piers, it is also very prudent to drive in
a single, double, or triple row of them round, and close to the frame
of the foundation, cutting them off a little above it, to secure it
from slipping aside out of its place, and to bind the ground under the
pier firmer: for, as the safety of the whole bridge depends on the
foundation, too much care cannot be used to have the bottom made quite
secure.
_Jettée_, the border made round the stilts under a pier. See STERLING.
_Impost_, is the part of the pier on which the feet of the arches
stand, or from which they spring.
_Key-stone_, the middle voussoir, or the arch-stone in the top or
immediately over the centre of the arch. The length of the key-stone,
or thickness of the archivolt at top, is allowed to be about ¹⁄₁₅th or
¹⁄₁₆th of the span, by the best architects.
_Orthography_, the elevation of a bridge, or front view, as seen at an
infinite distance.
_Parapet_, the breast-wall made on the top of a bridge to prevent
passengers from falling over. In good bridges, to build the parapet but
a little part of its height close or solid, and upon that a balustrade
to above a man’s height, has an elegant effect.
_Piers_, the walls built for the support of the arches, and from which
they spring as their bases. They should be built of large blocks of
stone, solid throughout, and cramped together with iron, which will
make the whole as one solid stone. Their faces or ends, from the base
up to high-water-mark, should project sharp out with a salient angle,
to divide the stream: or, perhaps the bottom of the pier should be
built flat or square up to about half the height of low-water-mark,
to allow a lodgement against it for the sand and mud, to go over
the foundation; lest, by being kept bare, the water should in time
undermine, and so ruin or injure it. The best form of the projection
for dividing the stream, is the triangle; and the longer it is, or the
more acute the salient angle, the better it will divide it, and the
less will the force of the water be against the pier; but it may be
sufficient to make that angle a right one, as it will make the work
stronger; and in that case the perpendicular projection will be equal
to half the breadth or thickness of the pier. In rivers, on which large
heavy craft navigate and pass the arches, it may, perhaps, be better to
make the ends semicircular: for, although it does not divide the water
so well as the triangle, it will both better turn off and bear the
shock of the craft.
The thickness of the piers should be such as will make them of weight
or strength sufficient to support their interjacent arch independent
of any other arches; and then, if the middle of the pier be run up to
its full height, the centering may be struck to be used in another arch
before the hanches are filled up. The whole theory of the piers may be
seen in the third section of Professor Hutton’s _Principles of Bridges_.
They should be made with a broad bottom on the foundation, and
gradually diminishing in thickness by off-sets up to low-water-mark.
_Piles_, are timbers driven into the bed of the river for various
purposes, and are either round, square, or flat like planks. They
may be of any wood which will not rot under water; but oak and fir
are mostly used, especially the latter, on account of its length,
straightness, and cheapness. They are shod with a pointed iron at the
bottom, the better to penetrate into the ground, and are bound with a
strong iron band or ring at top, to prevent them from being split by
the violent strokes of the ram by which they are driven down.
Piles are either used to build the foundations on, or they are driven
about the pier as a border of defence, or to support the centres on;
and in this case, when the centreing is removed, they must either be
drawn up, or sawed off very low under water; but it is better to saw
them off and leave them sticking in the bottom, lest the drawing of
them out should loosen the ground about the foundation of the pier.
Those to build on, are either such as are cut off by the bottom of the
water, or rather a few feet within the bed of the river; or else such
as are cut off at low-water mark, and then they are called stilts.
Those to form borders of defence, are rows driven in close by the frame
of a foundation, to keep it firm, or else they are to form a case or
jettée about the stilts, to keep the stones within it, that are thrown
in to fill it up: in this case, the piles are grooved, driven at a
little distance from each other, and _plank-piles_ let into the grooves
between them, and driven down also, till the whole space is surrounded.
Besides using this for stilts, it is sometimes necessary to surround a
stone pier with a sterling, or jettée, and fill it up with stones to
secure an injured pier from being still more damaged, and the whole
bridge ruined. The piles to support the centres may also serve as a
border of piling to secure the foundation, cutting them off low enough
after the centre is removed.
_Pile-driver_, an engine for driving down the piles. It consists of a
large ram or iron sliding perpendicularly down between two guide posts;
which being lifted up to the top of them, and there let fall from a
great height, comes down upon the top of the pile with a violent blow.
It is worked either with men or horses, and either with or without
wheel-work. The bridge on Schuylkill, Philadelphia, is a master-piece
of workmanship; and the new bridge at Trenton, over the Delaware, is
equally bold and ingenious in its plan--in the latter the floor is
suspended from the voussoirs of the arches, by stirrups of iron.
_Pitch_, of an arch, the perpendicular height from the spring or impost
to the key stone.
_Plan_, of any part, as of the foundations, or piers, or
superstructure, is the orthographic projection of it on a plane
parallel to the horizon.
_Push_, of an arch. See DRIFT.
_Salient angle_, of a pier, the projection of the end against the
stream, to divide itself. The right-lined angle best divides the
stream, and the more acute, the better for that purpose; but the right
angle is generally used, as making the best masonry. A semicircular
end, though it does not divide the stream so well, is sometimes better
in large navigable rivers, as it carries the craft the better off, or
bears their shocks the better.
_Shoot_, of an arch. See DRIFT.
_Springers_, are the first or lowest stones of an arch, being those at
its feet, and bearing immediately on the impost.
_Sterlings_, or _Jettées_, a kind of case made about a pier of stilts,
&c. to secure it, and is particularly described under the next word,
_Stilts_.
_Stilts_, a set of piles driven into the space intended for the pier,
whose tops being sawed level off, above low-water mark, the pier is
then raised on them. This method was formerly used when the bottom of
the river could not be laid dry; and these stilts were surrounded, at
a few feet distance, by a row of piles and planks, &c. close to them
like a coffer-dam, and called a _sterling_, or _jettée_; after which
loose stones, &c. are thrown or poured down into the space, till it is
filled up to the top, by that means forming a kind of pier of rubble of
loose work, and which is kept together by the sides or sterlings: this
is then paved level at the top, and the arches turned upon it. This
method was formerly much used, most of the large old bridges in England
being erected that way, such as London bridge, Newcastle bridge,
Rochester bridge, &c. But the inconveniences attending it are so great,
that it is now quite disused; for, because of the loose composition of
the piers, they must be made very large or broad, or else the arch must
push them over, and rush down as soon as the centre was drawn; which
great breadth of piers and sterlings so much contracts the passage of
the water, as not only very much to incommode the navigation through
the arch, from the fall and quick motion of the water; but likewise to
put the bridge itself in much danger, especially in time of floods,
when the water is too much for the passage. Add to this, that besides
the danger there is of the pier bursting out the sterlings, they are
also subject to much decay and damage by the velocity of the water and
the craft passing through the arches.
_Thrust._ See DRIFT.
_Voussoirs_, the stones which immediately form the arch, their
undersides constituting the intrados. The middle one, or key-stone,
should be about ¹⁄₁₅th or ¹⁄₁₆th of the span, as has been observed; and
the rest should increase in size all the way down to the impost: the
more they increase the better, as they will the better bear the great
weight which rests upon them without being crushed; and also will bind
the firmer together. Their joints should also be cut perpendicular to
the curve of the intrados. For more information, see Professor Hutton’s
_Principles of Bridges_, in 8vo.
BRIDGE, in gunnery, the two pieces of timber which go between the
two transoms of a gun-carriage, on which the coins are placed, for
elevating the piece. See CARRIAGE.
BRIDLE-_Arm Protect_, a guard used by the cavalry, which consists in
having the sword-hilt above the helmet; the blade crossing the back of
the head, the point of the left shoulder, and the bridle-arm; its edge
directed to the left, and turned a little upwards, in order to bring
the mounting in a proper direction to protect the hand.
BRIDON, or BRIDOON, the snaffle and rein of a military bridle, which
acts independent of the bit and curb at the pleasure of the rider.
BRIGADE, in military affairs, implies a party or division of a body
of soldiers, whether horse, foot, or artillery, under the command of
a brigadier. There are, properly speaking, three sorts of brigades,
viz. the brigade of an army, the brigade of a troop of horse, and the
brigade of artillery. A brigade of the army is either foot or dragoons,
whose exact number is not fixed, but generally consists of 3, 4, 5 or
6 regiments, or battalions: a brigade of horse may consist of 8, 10 or
12 squadrons; and that of artillery, of 6, 8 or 10 pieces of cannon,
with all their appurtenances. The eldest brigade takes the right of the
first line, the second of the second line, and the rest in order, the
youngest always possessing the centre, unless the commander deems a
different arrangement expedient; and in such case mere etiquette always
bends to orders. The cavalry and artillery observe the same order.
_The Horse Artillery_ in the British service are called the _horse
Brigade_; and consist of 6 troops, with their guns and stores. Their
head-quarters are at Woolwich, where handsome barracks, detached from
those of the royal artillery, have been erected for their accommodation.
A BRIGADE, in the French ordination, is the same as our _Regiment_;
but it consists of 3 battalions, each of which is equal to one of our
regiments or 1000 men; a demi brigade is half a regiment, or a French
battalion.
BRIGADE-_Major_, an officer appointed by the brigadier, to assist
him in the management of his brigade. The most experienced captains
are generally nominated to this post; who act in the brigade as
major-generals do in the armies, receiving their orders from their
commanders.
BRIGADE-_Major-General_. The military commands in Great Britain being
divided into districts, an office has been established for the sole
transaction of brigade duties. Through this office all orders from
the commander-in-chief to the generals of districts relative to corps
of officers, &c. must pass. For further information on this head, see
James’s _Regimental Companion_, 2d edition, vol. i. page 25.
BRIGADE _de Boulangers_, _Fr._ It was usual in the old French service,
to brigade the bakers belonging to the army. Each brigade consisted of
one master baker and three boys; the system is continued in the modern
French army.
BRIGADIER, a military officer, whose rank is next above that of a
colonel; appointed to command a corps, consisting of several battalions
or regiments, called a brigade. This title in England is suppressed
in time of peace, but revived in actual service in the field. Every
brigadier marches at the head of his brigade upon duty. On the United
States establishment, there is only one brigadier-general, who is chief
in actual command; provision has been lately made by law for two more
in case of war.
BRIGANDINE, or BRIGANTINE, in ancient military history, a coat of mail,
or kind of defensive armor, consisting of tin.
BRINGERS-_up_, an antiquated military expression, to signify the whole
rear rank of a battalion drawn up, as being the hindmost men of every
file.
BRINS-_d’Est_, _Fr._ large sticks or poles resembling small pickets,
with iron at each end. They are used to cross ditches, particularly in
Flanders.
BRISURE, in fortification, is a line of four or five fathom, which is
allowed to the curtain and orillon, to make the hollow tower, or to
cover the concealed flank.
BROADSIDE, in a sea fight, implies the discharge of all the artillery
on one side of a ship of war.
BROAD-SWORD, a sword with a broad blade, chiefly designed for cutting;
not at present much used in the British service, except by some few
regiments of cavalry and Highland infantry. Among the cavalry, this
weapon has in general given place to the sabre.
The principal guards with the broad-sword are:
The _inside guard_, (similar to carte in fencing,) which is formed
by directing your point in a line about six inches higher than
your antagonist’s left eye, the hilt opposite your own breast, the
finger-nails turned upwards, and the edge of the sword to the left.
The _outside guard_, (resembling tierce,) in which, by a turn of the
wrist from the former position, the point of the sword is directed
above your antagonist’s right eye, the edge of the weapon turned to the
right, and the finger-nails downward; the arm sufficiently straightened
to the right to protect the outside of your body from the attack.
The _medium guard_, which is a position between the inside and outside
guard, seldom used, as it affords very little protection.
The _hanging guard_, (similar to prime and seconde) in which the hilt
of your sword is raised high enough to view your opponent under the
shell, and the point directed towards his body.
The _St. George’s guard_, which protects the head, and differs from the
last-described only in raising the hand somewhat higher, and bringing
the point nearer to yourself.
The swords worn by officers of the infantry being constructed
either for cutting or thrusting, it is necessary for gentlemen to
be acquainted both with the method of attacking and defending with
the broad sword and with the rapier. Those who have not opportunity
of regular lessons from a professed teacher, may obtain much useful
information from a work entitled the Art of Defence on Foot, with the
Broad Sword, &c. in which the spadroon or cut and thrust sword play is
reduced into a regular system.
BROND. See BRAND.
BROWNBILL, the ancient weapon of the English foot, resembling a
_battle-ax_.
BRUNT. The troops who sustain the principal shock of the enemy in
action, are said to bear the _brunt_ of the battle.
BRUSQUER _une attaque_, _Fr._ is to open the trenches in the nearest
approaches to a place, completing the works from the front towards
the rear. This undertaking is extremely hazardous, unless the object
invested, or attacked, be ill-garrisoned, have a narrow front to
besiege, the ditches be dry, &c.
BRUSQUER _l’affaire_, _Fr._ to attack suddenly, and without attending
to any regular rule of military manœuvre.
BUCCANEERS, in military history, a name frequently applied to those
famous adventurers, consisting of pirates, &c. from all the maritime
nations of Europe, who formerly joined together, and made war upon the
Spaniards in America.
BUCKETS. Water-buckets are necessary appendages to field-pieces, to
cool the gun when hotly engaged; otherwise it might fire itself, or run
at the muzzle.
BUCKLER, a piece of defensive armor used by the ancients. It was always
worn on the left arm, and composed of wicker-work, of the lightest
sort, but most commonly of hides, fortified with plates of brass or
other metals. The shape of it varied considerably, being sometimes
round, sometimes oval, and often nearly square. The shield of Achilles
in the Illiad, as well as the book itself merits the attention of the
military student.
BUDGE-_Barrels_. See BARREL.
BUFF-_Leather_, in military accoutrements, is a sort of leather
prepared from the buffalo, which, dressed with oil, after the manner of
shamoy, makes what is generally called buff-skin. Sword-belts were made
of this leather.
BUGLE-HORN, the old Saxon horn; it is now used by the light infantry,
and particularly by riflemen. By its soundings, their manœuvres are
directed, either in advancing, skirmishing, or retreating. It is also
used by the horse artillery, and some regiments of light cavalry.
BUILDING, in a general sense, a fabric erected by art, either for
devotion, magnificence, conveniency, or defence.
_Military_ BUILDINGS, are of various sorts, viz. powder-magazines,
bridges, gates, barracks, hospitals, store-houses, guard-rooms, &c.
_Regular_ BUILDING, is that whose plan is square, the opposite sides
equal, and all the parts disposed with symmetry.
_Irregular_ BUILDING, that whose plan is not contained within equal or
parallel lines, either by the accident of situation, or the design of
the builder, and whose parts are not relative to one another in the
elevation.
_Insulated_ BUILDING, that which is not contiguous to any other, but
is encompassed with streets, open squares, &c. or any building which
stands in a river, on a rock surrounded by the sea, marsh, &c.
_Engaged_ BUILDING, one surrounded with other buildings, having no
front to any street or public place, nor any communication without, but
by a common passage.
_Interred_ or _sunk_ BUILDING, one whose area is below the surface of
the place where it stands, and of which the lowest courses of stone are
concealed.
In _building_ there are three things to be considered, viz. commodity
or conveniency; secondly, firmness or stability; thirdly, delight.
To accomplish which ends, Wotton considers the whole subject under two
heads, namely, the seat or situation, and the work.
1. As for the seat, either that of the whole is to be considered, or
that of its parts.
2. As to the situation, regard is to be had to the quality,
temperature, and salubrity or healthiness of the air; that it be a
good healthy air, not subject to foggy noisomeness from adjacent fens
or marshes; also free from noxious mineral exhalations; nor should
the place want the sweet influence of the sun-beams, nor be wholly
destitute of the breezes of wind, that will fan and purge the air; the
want of which would render it like a stagnated pool, and would be very
unhealthy.
In the foundations of _buildings_, Vitruvius orders the ground to be
dug up, to examine its firmness; that an apparent solidity is not to be
trusted, unless the whole mould cut through be sound and solid: ’tis
true, he does not say to what depth it should be dug: but Palladio
determines it to be a sixth part of the height of the building.
The great laws of walling are:--1. That the walls stand perpendicular
on the ground-work, the right angle being the foundation of all
stability. 2. That the largest and heaviest materials be the lowest, as
more proper to sustain others than be sustained themselves. 3. That the
work diminish in thickness, as it rises, both for the ease of weight
and to lessen the expence. 4. That certain courses, or lodges, of more
strength than the rest, be interlaid, like bones, to sustain the wall
from total ruin, if some of the under parts chance to decay. 5. Lastly,
that the angles be firmly bound, they being the nerves of the whole
fabric. These are sometimes fortified on each side the corners, even in
brick buildings, with square stones; which add both beauty and strength
to the edifice. See STONE, BRICKS, LIME, SAND.
BULLETIN, _Fr._ any official account which is given of public
transactions. See GAZETTE.
BULLETS, are leaden balls, wherewith all kinds of small fire-arms are
loaded. The diameter of any bullet is found, by dividing 1.6706 by the
cube root of the number, which shews how many of them make a pound; or
it may be done in a shorter way. From the logarithm .2228756 of 1.6706
subtract continually the third part of the logarithm of the number of
bullets in the pound, and the difference will be the logarithm of the
diameter required.
Thus the diameter of a bullet, whereof 12 weigh a pound, is found
by subtracting .3597270, a third part of the logarithm of 12, from
the given logarithm .2228756, or, when the logarithm is less than
the former, an unit must be added, so as to have 1.2228756, and the
difference .8631486 will be the logarithm of the diameter sought, which
is .7297 inches; observing that the number found will always be a
decimal, when the logarithm, which is to be subtracted, is greater than
that of one pound; because the divisor is greater than the dividend in
this case.
Hence, from the specific gravity of lead, the diameter of any bullet
may be found from its given weight: for, since a cube foot weighs 11325
ounces, and 678 is to 355 as the cube 1728 of a foot, or 12 inches, is
the content of the sphere, which therefore is 5929.7 ounces: and since
spheres are as the cubes of their diameters; the weight 5929.7 is to 16
ounces, or 1 pound, as the cube 1728 is to the cube of the diameter of
a sphere which weighs a pound; which cube therefore is 4.66263, and its
root 1.6706 inches, the diameter sought.
The diameter of musket bullets differs but ¹⁄₅₀th part from that of
the musket bore; for if the shot but just rolls into the barrel, it is
sufficient. The English allow 11 bullets in the pound for the proof
of muskets, and 14 in the pound, or 29 in two pounds, for service; 17
for the proof of carbines, and 20 for service; and 28 in the pound for
the proof of pistols, and 34 for service. The proof bullet of the U.
S. _musket_ made at Harper’s ferry in Virginia, the barrel of which is
3 feet 8³⁄₄ inches, is _one fifteenth_ of a pound; the service ball
_one nineteenth_. The _Rifle_ of Harper’s ferry, the barrel of which
is 2 feet 10 inches; the proof ball is _one twenty-eighth_ of a pound;
the service ball is _one thirty-secondth_ part of a pound. See GUN and
RIFLE.
_Hollow_ BULLETS, or shells, of a cylindrical shape. These have an
opening and a fuze at the end, by which fire is communicated to the
combustibles within, and an explosion takes place, similar to that
occasioned by the blowing up of a mine.
_Chain_ BULLETS, are two balls which are joined together by a chain, at
any given distance from each other.
_Branch_ BULLETS, two balls joined together by an iron bar.
_Two-headed_ BULLETS, sometimes called angles, are two halves of a
bullet which are kept together by means of a bar or chain.
BULWARK, the ancient name for bastion or rampart, which words see.
BURDEN, BURTHEN, in a general sense, implies a load or weight, supposed
to be as much as a man, horse, &c. can well carry. A sound healthful
man can raise a weight equal to his own, can also draw and carry 50lb.
a moderate distance. An able horse can draw 350lb. though in length of
time 300 is sufficient. Hence all artillery calculations are made. One
horse will draw as much as 7 men, and 7 oxen will draw as much as 11 or
12 horses. Burthen likewise in a figurative sense means impost, tax, &c.
BURGANET, or BURGONET, _Fr._ a kind of helmet used by the French.
BURIALS, as practised by the military, are as follows, in the British
service, viz. The funeral of a field-marshal shall be saluted with
3 rounds of 15 pieces of cannon, attended by 6 battalions, and 8
squadrons.
That of a general, with 3 rounds of 11 pieces of cannon, 4 battalions,
and 6 squadrons.
That of a lieutenant-general, with 3 rounds of 9 pieces of cannon, 3
battalions, and 4 squadrons.
That of a major-general, with 3 rounds of 7 pieces of cannon, 2
battalions, and 3 squadrons.
That of a brigadier-general, 3 rounds of 5 pieces of cannon, 1
battalion, and 2 squadrons.
That of a colonel, by his own battalion, or an equal number by
detachment, with 3 rounds of small arms.
That of a lieutenant-colonel, by 300 men and officers, with 3 rounds of
small arms.
That of a major, by 200 men and officers, with 3 rounds of small arms.
That of a captain, by his own company, or 70 rank and file, with 3
rounds of small arms.
That of a lieutenant, by 1 lieutenant, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 1 fifer,
and 36 rank and file, with 3 rounds.
That of an ensign, by an ensign, a serjeant, and drummer, and 27 rank
and file, with 3 rounds.
That of an adjutant surgeon, and quarter-master, the same party as an
ensign.
That of a serjeant, by a serjeant, and 19 rank and file, with 3 rounds
of small arms.
That of a corporal, musician, private man, drummer, and fifer, by 1
serjeant and 13 rank and file, with 3 rounds of small arms.
All officers, attending the funerals of even their nearest relations,
notwithstanding wear their regimentals, and a black crape round the
left arm.
The pall to be supported by officers of the same rank with that of the
deceased: if the number cannot be had, officers next in seniority are
to supply their place.
The order of march to be observed in military funerals is reversed with
respect to rank. For instance, if an officer is buried in a garrison
town or from a camp, it is customary for the officers belonging to
other corps to pay his remains the compliment of attendance. In which
case the youngest ensign marches at the head immediately after the
pall, and the general, if there be one, in the rear of the commissioned
officers, who take their posts in reversed order according to
seniority. The battalion, troop or company follow the same rule.
The expence for a regimental burial is to be charged against the
captains of the respective troops or companies.
For further particulars, see Reid’s Military Discipline.
BURR, in gunnery, a round iron ring, which serves to rivet the end of
the bolt, so as to form a round head.
BURREL-_shot_, small bullets, nails, and stones discharged from any
piece of ordnance.
BUSKINS, a kind of shoe, or half boot, adapted to either foot; formerly
a part of the Roman dress, particularly for tragic actors on the stage.
They are now much worn by the army.
BUTIN, _Fr._. booty or pillage. At the beginning of the French
monarchy, and for a long time after its establishment, a particular
spot was marked out by the prince or general, to which all persons
belonging to the victorious army were directed to bring every species
of booty that might have fallen into their hands. This booty was not
divided, or appropriated according to the will and pleasure of the
prince or general, but was thrown into different lots, and drawn for in
common.
BUTMENTS. See BRIDGES.
BUTT, in gunnery, is a solid earthen parapet, to fire against in the
proving of guns, or in practice.
BUTTON, in gunnery, a part of the cascable, in either a gun or
howitzer, and is the hind part of the piece, made round in the form of
a ball. See CANNON.
BUTTRESS. See COUNTERFORT.
BUZE, a wooden, or leaden pipe, to convey the air out of mines.
C.
CABAS, _Fr._ a basket made of rushes, used in ancient Languedoc and
Roussillon, for the purpose of conveying stores and ammunition. This
term is adopted in military inventories.
CABINET COUNCIL, a council held with privacy and unbounded confidence.
CABLE _ou_ CHABLE, _Fr._ a large rope.
CADENCE, in tactics, implies a very regular and uniform method of
marching, by the drum and music, beating time; it may not be improperly
called mathematical marching; for after the length of a step is
determined, the time and distance may be found. It is by a continual
practice and attention to this, that the Prussians arrived at that
point of perfection, once so much admired in their evolutions.
CADENCE or _Cadency_, in cavalry, is an equal measure or proportion,
which a horse observes in all his motions.
CADET, among the military, is a young gentleman, who applies himself to
the study of fortification and gunnery, &c. and who sometimes serves
in the army, with or without pay, ’till a vacancy happens for his
promotion. The proper signification of the word is, younger brother.
See ACADEMY.
CADET, _Fr._ differs in its signification from the term as it is used
in our language. A cadet in the French service did not receive any pay,
but entered as a volunteer in a troop or company, for the specific
purpose of becoming master of military tactics.
In the reign of Louis XIV. there were companies of Cadets. The sons of
noblemen and gentlemen of fashion were received into these companies,
and when reported fit to undertake a military function, were nominated
cornets, sub-lieutenants or ensigns. In the reign of Louis XV. a
regulation was made, by which no cadet could be admitted unless he had
passed his fifteenth year and was under twenty.
He was likewise obliged to prove his nobility by the testimony of four
gentlemen. Officers’ sons, however, were admitted on proof being given,
that their fathers had actually served, or had died in the service.
A chaplain was appointed to every cadet-company, whose duty it was to
instruct the cadets in reading and writing. They had likewise a master
in mathematics, a drawing master, a fencing master and dancing master.
CADET, _Fr._ likewise means any officer that is junior to another.
CÆMENT, CEMENT, among engineers, a strong sort of mortar, used to bind
bricks or stones together for some kind of moulding; or in cementing
a block of bricks for the carving of capitals, scrolls, or the like.
There are two sorts, i. e. hot _cement_, which is the most common,
made of resin, beeswax, brick dust, and chalk, boiled together. The
bricks to be cemented with this mixture, must be made hot in the fire,
and rubbed to and fro after the _cement_ is spread, in the same manner
as joiners do when they glue two boards together. Cold _cement_, made
of Cheshire cheese, milk, quick lime, and whites of eggs. This _cement_
is less used than the former, and is accounted a secret known but to
very few bricklayers.
CÆSTUS, in military antiquity, was a large gauntlet, composed of raw
hides, used by pugilists at the public games.
CAGE _de la Bascule_, _Fr._ a space into which one part of the
draw-bridge falls, whilst the other rises and conceals the gate.
CAIC, _Fr._ a skiff or boat belonging to a French galley.
CAIMACAN, in military history, an officer among the Turks, nearly
answering to our lieutenant.
CAISSE, _Fr._ _Battre la caisse_ is used in the French service to
express the beating of a drum instead of _battre le Tambour_.
CAISSON, in military affairs, is a wooden frame or chest, made square,
the side planks about 2 inches thick: it may be made to contain from
4 to 20 loaded shells, according to the execution they are to do, or
as the ground is firmer or looser. The sides must be high enough, that
when the cover is nailed on, the fuzes may not be damaged. _Caissons_
are buried under ground at the depth of 5 or 6 feet, under some work
the enemy intends to possess himself of; and when he becomes master of
it, fire is put to the train conveyed through a pipe, which inflames
the shells, and blows up the assailants. Sometimes a quantity of
loose powder is put into the chest, on which the shells are placed,
sufficient to put them in motion, and raise them above ground: at the
same time that the blast of powder sets fire to the fuze in the shells,
which must be calculated to burn from 1 to 2¹⁄₂ seconds. When no powder
is put under the shells, a small quantity of mealed powder must be
strewed over them, having a communication with the saucisson, in order
to convey the fire to the fuzes.
CAISSON, is a covered waggon, to carry bread or ammunition.
CAISSON, _Fr._ is variously used in the French service.
CAISSON _des bombes_, is a tub which is filled with loaded shells and
buried even with the ground. It is inclined a little on one side, and
by means of a quantity of powder which is scattered on the top and
connected with the bottom by a saucisson, an explosion may be effected
so as to throw the shells into the open air towards any given point.
_Caissons_ which are buried in the glacis produce great effect.
CAISSON _pour les vivres_, _Fr._ a large chest whose lid rises in the
centre somewhat like the capital of a pillar, in order that the rain
may run off. The following dimensions were adopted to contain eight
hundred rations at least.
The caisson or chest must be 8 French feet 4 inches long at least, 3
feet 4 inches high from the bottom to the extreme point of the lid, or
chapiter, 2 feet 6 inches from its square sides to the bottom, 2 feet 5
inches broad at the bottom, outside, 2 feet 9 inches broad at top, and
the cover or lid must be 5 feet 4 inches long. Poplar trees afford the
best wood for the construction of caissons, because that species has a
close grain, and is calculated to keep out rain.
CALATRAVA, a Spanish military order so called from a Fort of that name.
The knights of Calatrava bear a cross; gules, fleur-de-lissed with
green, &c.
CALCULATION, in military affairs, is the art of computing the
amplitudes of shells, time of flight, projectile curve, velocity of
shots, charges of mines, &c. together with the necessary tables for
practice.
CALIBER, in gunnery, signifies the same as the bore or opening: and
the diameter of the bore is called the diameter of its caliber. This
expression regards all pieces of artillery.
CALIBER-_Compasses_, CALLIPER-_Compasses_, the name of a particular
instrument used by gunners, for measuring the diameters of shot,
shells, &c. as also the cylinder of cannon, mortars, and howitzers.
They resemble other compasses, except in their legs, which are arched,
in order that the points may touch the extremities of the arch. To
find the true diameter of a circle, they have a quadrant fastened to
one leg, and passing through the other, marked with inches and parts,
to express the diameter required: the length of each ruler or plate
is usually between the limits of 6 inches and a foot. On these rulers
are a variety of scales, tables, proportions, &c. such as are esteemed
useful to be known by gunners. The following articles are on the
completest gunners-callipers, viz. 1. The measure of convex diameters
in inches. 2. Of concave ditto. 3. The weight of iron shot from given
diameters. 4. The weight of iron shot from given gun bores. 5. The
degrees of a semicircle. 6. The proportion of troy and avoirdupois
weight. 7. The proportion of English and French feet and pounds. 8.
Factors used in circular and spherical figures. 9. Tables of the
specific gravity and weights of bodies. 10. Tables of the quantity of
powder necessary for proof and service of brass and iron guns. 11.
Rules for computing the number of shot or shells, in a finished pile.
12. Rule concerning the fall of heavy bodies. 13. Rules for raising
of water. 14. Rules for firing artillery and mortars. 15. A line of
inches. 16. Logarithmetic scales of numbers, sines, versed sines and
tangents. 17. A sectoral line of equal parts, or the line of lines.
18. A sectoral line of plans, and superficies. 19. A sectoral line of
solids.
CALIBRE, _Fr._ See CALIBER.
CALIBRE, _Fr._ signifies, in a figurative sense, cast or character; as
_un homme de ce calibre_, a man of this cast.
CALIBRER, _Fr._ to take the measurement of the calibre of a gun. A
particular instrument has been invented for this purpose. It resembles
a compass with curved branches, which serve to grasp and measure a ball.
CALIVER, an old term for an arquebuse or musket.
CALOTE, _Fr._ a species of scull cap which officers and soldiers wear
under their hats in the French cavalry, and which are proof against
a sabre or sword. Calotes are usually made of iron, wick, or dressed
leather, and every officer chuses the sort he likes best. Those
delivered out to the troops are made of iron.
CALQUING, CALKING, the art of tracing any kind of a military drawing,
&c. upon some plate, paper, &c. It is performed by covering the
backside of the drawing with a black or red colour, and fixing the side
so covered upon a piece of paper, waxed plate, &c. This done, every
line in the drawing is to be traced over with a point, by which means
all the outlines of the drawing will be transferred to the paper or
plate, &c.
CALTROPS, in military affairs, is a piece of iron having 4 points, all
disposed in a triangular form: so that 3 of them always rest upon the
ground, and the 4th stands upwards in a perpendicular direction. Each
point is 3 or 4 inches long. They are scattered over the ground and
passages where the enemy is expected to march, especially the cavalry,
in order to embarrass their progress.
CAMARADE. See COMRADE.
CAMION, _Fr._ a species of cart or dray which is drawn by two men, and
serves to convey cannon-balls. These carts are very useful in fortified
towns.
CAMISADE _or_ CAMISADO, in military transactions, implies an attack by
surprise, either during the night, or at break of day, when the enemy
is supposed to be in their shirts asleep, or off his guard. The attack
on Cremona was a camisade; the Irish regiment of Macguire, fought in
their _shirts_, and frustrated the attack.
CAMOUFLET, in war, a kind of stinking combustibles blown out of paper
cases, into the miners faces, when they are at work in the galleries of
the countermines.
CAMPEMENT, _Fr._ an encampment. This word is also used to denote a
detachment sent before the army to mark out the ground for a camp.
CAMP. With some trifling variations, camps are formed after the same
manner in all countries. This principle seems general, that there
should not be more ground occupied by the camp of a body of men, in
front, than the extent of their line when drawn out in order of battle.
Intervals are however generally left between battalions of infantry
of about one eighth their front, and between squadrons of cavalry of
thirty or forty paces. An army is sometimes encamped in two lines, and
sometimes in three; the distance between the lines varies according to
the face of the country, from 200 to 600 yards, or more.
In the distribution of the front of a camp, two feet are generally
allowed for every file of infantry, and three feet for each file of
cavalry. When the ground will admit of it, the infantry are usually
arranged in rows perpendicular to the front; each row containing the
tents of one company; and the cavalry in the same position, each
perpendicular row containing the horses of a troop.
The grenadiers and light infantry are usually placed in single rows on
the flanks, and the battalion companies in double rows.
A single row, or one company, occupies in front, nine feet; and a
double row, or two companies, twenty-one feet, if formed of the old
pattern rectangular tents, which hold only five men each. But if the
new bell tents are used, 15 feet must be allowed for a single row, and
30 feet for a double row in front.
In the cavalry, a row or troop occupies in front as follows:
Old Tents. New Tents.
Tent 3 yards. 5 yards.
From the front pole of the tent to picket rope 3 3
For the horse 6 6
For the dung 2 2
-- --
14 yards. 16 yards.
The breadth of a row in front, whether of infantry or cavalry, being
multiplied by the number of rows, and the product subtracted from the
whole extent of front for a battalion of infantry, or a squadron of
cavalry, will leave the space for the streets, which are generally
divided as follows:
For the infantry, 59¹⁄₂ feet each.
For the cavalry, 30 feet each between the tents.
For the cavalry, 46 feet each between the horses.
The following is the distribution of the depth of a camp of infantry or
cavalry, when the ground permits.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
_Distribution of the Depth of a Camp._ _Infantry._ _Cavalry._
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Yards. Yards.
From the quarter guard parade to the line of
parade of battalion 62
From this first line of parade}serjeant’s tents 16
to the front of the }quarter master’s -- 24
N. B. _These tents open to the front._
To the first picket of horses -- 5
Infant. for every tent in depth
Infant. old pattern, 9 feet
Infant. new pattern, 15 feet
Cavalry: for every horse, 3 feet
_The soldiers tents for the infantry open to
the streets. The cavalry tents front to the
horses heads._
Suppose infantry 12 tents deep, old pattern} 36 60
Suppose cavalry, 60 horses, old pattern }
From the last tent of infantry, or the last
horse of the cavalry, to the front of the
subalterns’ tents 15 12
_These tents open to the rear._
To the front of the line of captains 15 15
_These open to the front. The captains and
subalterns in the rear of their troops or
companies._
To the front of the field officers 10 15
_Open to the front, opposite the outside
street of the battalion._
To the colonel’s 10 10
_Opens to the front, opposite the main
street of the battalion._
To the staff officers 10 14
_Open up the streets next the main street._
To the first row of batmen’s tents 10}
_The batmen’s tents front their horses._ }
To the first row of pickets for bat horses 2} 15
To the second row of ditto 10}
To the second row of batmen 2}
To the front of the grand sutler’s tent 10}
_The grand sutler is in the rear of the
colonel._
To the centre of the kitchens 15 20
_The kitchens are 16 feet in diameter._
To the front of the petty sutlers 15 15
_Directly in the rear of the kitchens: there
are allowed 6 yards in front by 8 deep._
To the rear guard 15 15
_Opens to the rear._
--- ---
Total depth required--Yards 253 220
If the ground on which the camp is to be formed will not, from a swamp
in the rear, or any other circumstance, admit of each troop or company
being formed in one row perpendicular to the front, the distribution
of the front of a battalion or squadron must be more contracted than
the above, and laid out as follows: Find how many perpendicular rows
will be required, by dividing the number of men in the battalion or
squadron by the number the ground will admit of in one row; then
the number of rows being multiplied by the breadth of one in front,
will give that part of the front to be occupied by the rows: and the
difference between it and the whole front allowed for the battalion or
squadron, will be left for the streets; which, if the streets are to be
equal, must be divided by their number, to find a breadth of each; or
is otherwise easily divided into streets of unequal breadths. When two
guns are attached to a battalion, they are posted on the right in the
following order: from the right of battalion to the centre of the first
gun, four yards--from this to the second gun, 6 yards.--The muzzles of
the guns in a line with the serjeants’ tents.
The subaltern of artillery, if any, in a line with the subalterns of
infantry. The rear of the gunner’s tents in a line with the rear of the
battalion tents.
For the proper positions for camps, see the word RECONNOITRING; and for
the encampment of a park of artillery, see the word PARK.
CAMP, in military affairs, is the whole extent of ground, in general,
occupied by an army pitching its tents when in the field, and upon
which all its baggage and apparatus are lodged. It is marked out by
the quarter-master-general, who allots every regiment its ground. The
extent of the front of a regiment of infantry is 200 yards, including
the two battalion guns, and depth 520, when the regiment, contains 9
companies, each of 100 private men, and the companies tents in two
rows; but when the companies tents stand in one row, and but 70 private
men to each row, the front is then but 155 yards. A squadron of horse
has 120 yards in front, and 100 for an interval between each regiment.
The nature of the ground must also be consulted, both for defence
against the enemy, and for supplies to the army. It should have a
communication with that army’s garrisons, and have plenty of water,
forage, fuel, and either rivers, marshes, hills, or woods to cover
it. An army always encamps fronting the enemy, and generally in two
parallel lines, besides a corps de reserve, about 500 yards distant
from each other; the horse and dragoons on the wings, and the foot in
the centre. Where, and how the train of artillery is encamped, see
_Park of artillery_, and _Encampment of a regiment of artillery_, under
the word ARTILLERY. Each regiment posts a subaltern’s guard at 80 yards
from the colors to the officers tent, called the _quarter guard_,
besides a corporal’s guard in the rear: and each regiment of horse or
dragoons, a small guard on foot, called the _standard-guard_, at the
same distance. The grand guard of the army consists of horse, and is
posted about a mile distant towards the enemy.
In a siege, the _camp_ is placed all along the line of circumvallation,
or rather in the rear of the approaches, out of cannon-shot: the army
faces the circumvallation, if there be any; that is, the soldiers have
the town in their rear.
One thing very essential in the establishing a _camp_, and which should
be particularly attended to, if the enemy is near; is, that there
should not only be a commodious spot of ground at the head of the camp,
where the army, in case of surprise, may in a moment be under arms,
and in condition to repulse the enemy: but also a convenient field of
battle at a small distance, and of a sufficient extent for them to form
advantageously, and to move with facility.
The arrangement of the tents in _camp_, is nearly the same all over
Europe, which is, to dispose them in such a manner, that the troops may
form with safety and expedition.
To answer this end, the troops are encamped in the same order as that
in which they are to engage, which is by battalions and squadrons;
hence, the post of each battalion and squadron in the line of battle,
must necessarily be at the head of its own encampment. Gustavus
Adolphus, king of Sweden, was the first who formed encampments
according to the order of battle.
By this disposition, the extent of the _camp_ from right to left, of
each battalion and squadron, will be equal to the front of each in line
of battle; and consequently, the extent from right to left of the whole
_camp_, should be equal to the front of the whole army when drawn up in
line of battle, with the same intervals between the several encampments
of the battalions and squadrons, as are in the line.
There is no fixed rule for the intervals: some will have no intervals,
some small ones, and others are for intervals equal to the front of the
battalion or squadron. The most general method is, an interval of 60
feet between each battalion, and of 36 feet between each squadron.
Hence it follows, 1st, That the front line of the _camp_ must be in a
direction to face the enemy; 2dly, That at the head of the encampment
of each battalion and squadron, there must be a clear space of ground,
on which they may form in line of battle; and 3dly, That when the space
taken up by the army is embarrassed with woods, ditches, and other
obstructions, a communication must be opened for the troops to move
with ease to the assistance of each other.
The _camps_ of the Greeks and Romans were either round, square, or
oval, or rather of an oblong square figure, with the sharp corners
taken off; and to secure them against surprises, it was the prevailing
custom to surround them with intrenchments. The _camps_ of the
Anglo-Saxons and Danes were generally round, as likewise those of the
Anglo-Normans. The _camps_ of the ancient Britons were of an oval form,
composed of stakes, earth, and stones, rudely heaped together: but the
practice of the present times is quite different; for the security of
our _camps_, whose form is a rectangle, consists in being able to draw
out the troops with ease and expedition at the head of their respective
encampments.
CAMP _of a battalion of infantry_, is the ground on which they pitch
their tents, &c.
The principal object in the arrangement of a _camp_ is, that both
officers and men may repair with facility and expedition to the head of
the line; for which reason the tents are placed in rows perpendicular
to the front of the camp, with spaces between them, called streets.
The general method is, to form as many rows of tents as there are
companies in the battalion; those for the private men in the front, and
those for the officers in the rear. In the British service the several
companies of a battalion are posted in camp, in the same manner as in
the line of battle; that is, the company of grenadiers on the right,
and that of light-infantry on the left; the colonel’s company on the
left of the grenadiers, the lieutenant-colonel’s on the right of the
light-infantry, the major’s on the left of the colonel’s, the eldest
captain’s on the right of the lieutenant-colonel’s; and so on from
right to left, ’till the two youngest companies come into the centre.
The battalion companies are posted two by two: that is, the tents of
every two of these companies are ranged close together, to obtain,
though they be fewer in number, larger and more commodious streets: the
entrances of all the companies tents face the streets, except the first
tent of each row belonging to the serjeants, which faces the front of
the camp.
The number of tents in each perpendicular row, is regulated by the
strength of the companies, and the number of men allowed to each tent,
which is 5 men to 7 men: thence it follows, that a company of 60 men
will require 9 to 12 tents, a company of 75 men 11 to 15 tents, and a
company of 100 men 15 to 20 tents; but as it always happens, that some
are on duty, fewer tents may serve in time of necessity.
When the battalion is in the first line of encampment, the privies are
opened in the front, and at least 150 feet beyond the quarter-guard;
and when in the second line, they are opened in the rear of that line.
To distinguish the regiments, camp colors are fixed at the flanks, and
at the quarter and rear guard.
The colors and drums of each battalion are placed at the head of its
own grand street, in a line with the bells of arms of the several
companies. The officers espontoons were formerly placed at the colors,
with the broad part of their spears to the front. The serjeants
halberts were placed between, and on each side of the bells of arms,
with their hatchets turned from the colors.
When two field-pieces are allowed to each battalion, they are posted to
the right of it. Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, was the first who
ordered two field-pieces to each battalion, which are generally light 6
pounders.
_Distribution of the front and depth of the_ CAMP _for a battalion
of infantry_. The present mode of encampments differs from what was
formerly adopted. The front of the _camp_ for a battalion of 10
companies of 60 men each, is at present 400 feet, and during the late
wars only 360 feet; the depth at present 759 feet, and during the late
war 960. The front of the _camp_ of a battalion of 10 companies of 100
men each, is at present 668 feet, and formerly only 592. The breadth
of the streets from 45 to 55 feet, excepting the main street, which is
sometimes from 60 to 90 feet broad.
_Of the_ CAMP _of a battalion by a new method_. This is, by placing the
tents in 3 rows parallel to the principal front of the _camp_; which is
suitable to the 3 ranks in which the battalion is drawn up: the tents
of the first row, which front the _camp_, are for the men of the front
rank: the tents of the second row front the rear, and are for the men
of the second rank; and the tents of the third row, which front the
centre row, are for the men of the rear rank.
CAMP _of Cavalry._ The tents for the cavalry, as well as for the
infantry, are placed in rows perpendicular to the principal front of
the _camp_; and their number is conformable to the number of troops.
The horses of each troop are placed in a line parallel to the tents,
with their heads towards them.
The number of tents in each row, is regulated by the strength of the
troops, and the number of troopers allotted to each tent is 5: it
follows, that a troop of 30 men will require 6 tents, a troop of 60 men
12 tents, and a troop of 100 men 20 tents. The tents for the cavalry
are of the same form as those of the infantry but more spacious, the
better to contain the fire-arms, accoutrements, saddles, bridles,
boots, &c. See TENTS.
_Distribution of the front and depth of a_ CAMP _of cavalry_. Supposing
the regiment to consist of 2 squadrons, of 3 troops each, and of 50 men
in each troop, the extent of the front will be 450 feet, if drawn up in
2 ranks; but if drawn up in 3 ranks, the front will be only 300 feet,
the depth 220, and the breadth of the back streets 30 feet, and the
other streets 46 feet each. In the last war 600 feet were allowed each
regiment of cavalry in front, 774 feet for the depth, and the breadth
of the streets as above.
The standard-guard tents are pitched in the centre, in a line with the
quarter-master’s. The camp colors of the cavalry are also of the same
color as the facings of the regiment, with the rank of the regiment in
the centre: those of the horse are square, like those of the foot; and
those of the dragoons are swallow-tailed. The dung of each troop is
laid up behind the horses.
CAMP _duty_, consists in guards, both ordinary and extraordinary: the
ordinary guards are relieved regularly at a certain hour every day
(generally about 9 or 10 o’clock in the morning) the extraordinary
guards are all kinds of detachments commanded on particular occasions
for the further security of the _camp_, for covering the foragers, for
convoys, escorts, or expeditions.
The ordinary guards are distinguished into grand guards, standard, and
quarter guards; rear guards, picket guards, and guards for the general
officers; train of artillery, bread waggons, pay-master general,
quarter-master general, majors of brigade, judge advocate, and provost
marshal.
The number and strength of the grand guards and out-posts, whether of
cavalry or infantry, depend on the situation of the _camp_, nature of
the country, and the position of the enemy. The strength of general
officers guards is limited.
CAMP _maxims_, are 1. The principal rule in forming a _camp_, is to
give it the same front the troops occupy in order of battle.
2. The method of encamping is by battalions and squadrons, except the
several corps of artillery, which are encamped on the right and left
of the park of artillery. See ARTILLERY PARK, and _Encampment of a
regiment of artillery_.
3. Each man is allowed 2 feet in the ranks of the battalion, and 3 feet
in the squadron: thence the front of a battalion of 500 men, formed 3
deep, will be 324 feet; and the front of a squadron of 150 men, formed
2 deep, will be 225 feet.
4. The depth of the _camp_ when the army is encamped in 3 lines, is at
least 2750 feet; that is, 750 feet for the depth of each line, and 250
feet for the space between each of those lines.
5. The park of artillery should always be placed on a dry rising
ground, if any such situation offers; either in the centre of the front
line, or in the rear of the second line; with all the train horses
encamped in the rear of the park.
6. The bread-waggons should be stationed in the rear of the _camp_, and
as near as possible to the centre, that the distribution of the bread
may be rendered easy.
7. When the commander in chief encamps, it is generally in the centre
of the army; and the town or village chosen for his residence is
called head quarters.
8. That general is inexcusable, who, for his own personal
accommodation, makes choice of quarters that are not properly secured,
or at too great a distance to have an easy communication with the
_camp_.
9. If the ground permits, the troops should be encamped as near to good
water as possible.
10. When there are hussars or rifle corps, they are generally posted
near the head quarters, or in the front of the army.
11. The ground taken up by the encampment of an army, should be equally
distributed, and, if possible, in a straight line; for then the
whole will have more room: for a crooked line, and an inequality of
disposition, afford a very unpleasing view both of the camp, and of the
troops when they are under arms.
12. Cleanliness is essentially necessary to the health of a _camp_,
especially when it is to remain for any length of time. To maintain
this, the privies should be often filled up, and others opened; at
least every 6 days. The offal of cattle, and the carcasses of dead
horses, should be buried very deep: and all kinds of corrupt effluvia,
that may infect the air and produce epidemical disorders, should be
constantly removed.
_Choice of_ CAMPS. 1. At the beginning of a campaign, when the enemy
is at too great a distance to occasion any alarm, all situations for
_camps_ that are healthy are good, provided the troops have room, and
are within reach of water, wood, and provisions. More ground should be
allowed to the troops in _camps_ of duration, than in temporary ones.
2. _Camps_ should be situated as near as possible to navigable rivers,
to facilitate the conveyance of all manner of supplies; for convenience
and safety are the principal objects for _camps_.
3. A _camp_ should never be placed too near heights, from whence the
enemy may overlook it; nor too near woods, from whence the enemy may
surprise it. If there are eminences, not commanded by others, they
should be taken into the _camp_; and when that cannot be done, they
should be fortified.
4. The choice of a _camp_ depends in a great measure on the position
of the enemy, on his strength, and on the nature and situation of the
country.
5. A skilful general will avail himself of all the advantages for
a _camp_, which nature may present, whether in plains, mountains,
ravines, hollows, woods, lakes, inclosures, rivers, rivulets, &c.
6. The disposition of the troops in _camp_ should depend on the nature
and situation of the ground: as there are occasions which require all
the infantry to encamp on the right, and the cavalry on the left; and
there are others which require the cavalry to form in the centre, and
the infantry on the wings.
7. A _camp_ should never be formed on the banks of a river, without the
space of at least 2 or 3000 feet, for drawing out the army in order of
battle: the enemy cannot then easily alarm the _camp_, by artillery and
small arms from the other side.
8. _Camps_ should never be situated near rivers that are subject to
be overflowed, either by the melting of the snow, or by accidental
torrents from the mountains. Marshy grounds should also be avoided, on
account of the vapors arising from stagnant water, which infect the air.
9. On the choice of _camps_ and posts, frequently depends the success
of a campaign, and even sometimes of a war.
CAMP _guards_. They are of two sorts, the one serves to maintain good
order within the _camp_; and the other, which is stationed without the
_camp_, serves to cover and secure it against the enemy. These guards
are formed of both infantry and cavalry; and in proportion to the
strength of the army, situations of the _camp_, and disposition of the
enemy. Sometimes it is required, that these guards should consist of
the 8th part of the army; at others, of the 3d part; and when an attack
from the enemy is apprehended, even of the half.
_Manner of stationing the_ CAMP _guards_. It is of the utmost
consequence to station the guards in such places, as may enable them to
discover easily whatever approaches the _camp_.
2. The guards of the cavalry are generally removed further from the
_camp_, than those of the infantry; but never at so great a distance,
as to endanger their being cut off: within cannon-shot is a very good
distance. They are often stationed in highways, in open places, and
on small heights; but, they are always so disposed, as to see and
communicate with one another.
3. The vedettes to the out-posts should be double: for, should they
make a discovery, one may be detached to inform the officer commanding
the out-post, and the other remain on duty: they should not be at too
great a distance from their detachment: probably, about 50 or 60 paces
will be sufficient.
4. The guards of infantry have different objects, and are differently
stationed: their duty is, to receive and support the guards of cavalry
in cases of need: to protect the troops sent out for wood, forage, or
water; in short to prevent any approaches from the small parties of the
enemy. Some are stationed in the churches or the neighboring villages,
in barns, houses, and in passages and avenues of woods: others are
stationed on the borders of rivulets, and in every place necessary to
secure the _camp_. Guards that are stationed in churches, in woods
or among trees, barns, and houses, should if possible, be seen from
the army, or at least from some grand guard in its neighborhood, that
signals may be readily perceived and repeated.
5. The guards of infantry are generally fixed; that is, they have the
same post both day and night, except such as are to support and protect
the guards of cavalry, and to cover the forage grounds. All out-guards
should have intrenching-tools with them.
6. The guards of cavalry have generally a day-post and a night-post;
the latter is seldom more than 4 or 500 paces from the _camp_; one
third should be mounted, one third bridled, and one third feeding their
horses; but when near the enemy, the whole guard should be kept mounted
during the night.
7. The security and tranquillity of a _camp_ depending upon the
vigilance of the guards, the officers who command them cannot be too
active in preventing surprises: a neglect in this particular is often
of fatal consequence. Though an officer should, at all times, be
strictly attentive to every part of the service, yet he should be more
particularly watchful in the night than in the day. The night is the
time most favorable for surprises: as those who are not on duty, are
generally asleep, and cannot immediately afford assistance; but in the
day time, the attention of all the troops is turned to the movements of
the enemy: they are sooner under arms, sooner in readiness to march,
and in much less danger of being thrown into confusion. Those who wish
to be better acquainted with the nature and mode of encampments, may
read Mr. Lochée’s useful _Essay on Castrametation_.
Concerning the healthiness of the different seasons of a campaign,
the ingenious Dr. Pringle has the following observations. The first 3
weeks is always sickly; after which the sickness decreases, and the men
enjoy a tolerable degree of health throughout the summer, unless they
get wet clothes. The most sickly part of the campaign is towards the
end of August, whilst the days are still hot, but the nights cold and
damp with fogs and dews; then, if not sooner, the dysentery prevails;
and though its violence is over by the beginning of October, yet the
remitting fever, gaining ground, continues throughout the rest of the
campaign, and never entirely ceases, even in winter quarters, ’till
the frost begins. He likewise observes, that the last 14 days of a
campaign, if protracted ’till the beginning of November, are attended
with more sickness than the two first months of the encampment. As to
winter expeditions, though severe in appearance, he tells us, they are
attended with little sickness, if the men have strong and good shoes,
warm quarters, fuel, and provisions enough.
CAMP-_Color-men_. Each regiment has generally 6, and sometimes 1 per
company: they always march with the quarter-master, to assist in
making the necessary preparations against the arrival of the regiment
in a new encampment. They likewise carry the camp-colors.
CAMP-_Fight_, an old term for COMBAT.
_Flying_-CAMP, or army, generally means a strong body of horse and
foot, commanded for the most part by a lieutenant-general, which is
always in motion both to cover its own garrisons, and to keep the
enemy’s army in a continual alarm. It is sometimes used to signify the
ground on which such a body of men encamps.
CAMP-_Utensils_, in war time, are hatchets, shovels, mattocks,
blankets, camp-kettles, canteens, tents, poles and pins: that is,
each company has 10 shovels, and 5 mattocks; each tent 1 hatchet,
2 blankets, 1 camp-kettle, with its linen bag; and each soldier 1
canteen, 1 knapsack, and 1 havre-sack.
CAMP-_diseases_ are chiefly bilious fevers, malignant fevers, fluxes,
scurvy, rheumatism, &c.
CAMP is also used by the Siamese and some other nations in the East
Indies, to express the quarters where the persons from different
countries, who come to trade with them, usually reside.
CAMPUS _Maii_, an anniversary assembly which was observed by ancient
pagans on May-day, when they mutually pledged themselves to one another
for the defence of the country against foreign and domestic foes.
CAMPUS _Martius_, a public place so called among the Romans from the
God Mars.
CAMPAIGN, in military affairs, the time every year that an army
continues in the field, in war time. We also say, a man has served so
many campaigns, i. e. years: the campaign will begin at such a time;
this will be a long campaign, &c. The word is also used for an open
country before any towns, &c.
CANNIPERS. See CALLIPERS.
CANNON or _pieces of_ ORDNANCE, in the military art, imply machines
having tubes of brass or iron. They are charged with powder and ball,
or sometimes cartridges, grape and canister shot, &c.
The length is distinguished by three parts; the first re-inforce, the
second re-inforce, and the chace: the first re-inforce is ²⁄₇ths, and
the second ¹⁄₇th and a half of the diameter of the shot. The inside
hollow, wherein the powder and shot are lodged, is called the bore, &c.
_History of_ CANNON or _pieces of_ ORDNANCE. They were originally made
of iron bars soldered together and fortified with strong iron hoops;
some of which are still to be seen, viz. one in the tower of London,
two at Woolwich, one in the royal arsenal at Lisbon, they are numerous
in all parts of Asia; and baron Tott describes them in Turkey. Others
were made of thin sheets of iron rolled up together, and hooped;
and on emergencies they were made of leather, with plates of iron or
copper. These pieces were made in a rude and imperfect manner, like
the first essays of many new inventions. Stone balls were thrown out
of these cannon, and a small quantity of powder used on account of
their weakness. These pieces have no ornaments, are placed on their
carriages by rings, and are of cylindrical form. When or by whom they
were made, is uncertain; however we read of _cannon_ being used as
early as the 13th century, in a sea engagement between the king of
Tunis and the Moorish king of Seville. The Venetians used _cannon_ at
the siege of Claudia Jessa, now called Chioggia, in 1366, which were
brought thither by two Germans, with some powder and leaden balls; as
likewise in their wars with the Genoese in 1369. Edward III. of England
made use of _cannon_ at the battle of Cressy in 1346, and at the siege
of Calais in 1347. _Cannon_ were made use of by the Turks at the siege
of Constantinople, then in possession of the Christians, in 1394, or
in that of 1452, that threw a weight of 500lb. but they generally
burst, either the first, second, or third shot. Louis XII. had one cast
at Tours, of the same size, which threw a ball from the Bastille to
Charenton. One of those famous _cannon_ was taken at the siege of Diu
in 1546, by Don John de Castro, and is in the castle of St. Juiliao da
Barra, 10 miles from Lisbon: its length is 20 feet 7 inches, diameter
at the centre 6 feet 3 inches, and discharges a ball of 100lb. It has
neither dolphins, rings, nor button, is of a curious kind of metal, and
has a large Hindustanee inscription upon it, which says it was cast in
1400.
_Ancient and present names of_ CANNON. Formerly they were distinguished
by uncommon names; for in 1503, Louis XII. had 12 brass cannon cast,
of an uncommon size, called after the names of the 12 peers of France.
The Spanish and Portuguese called them after their saints. The emperor
Charles V. when he marched before Tunis, founded the 12 Apostles.
At Milan there is a 70 pounder, called the Pimontelle; and one at
Bois-le-duc, called the devil. A 60-pounder at Dover castle, called
Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket-pistol. An 80-pounder in the tower of London
(formerly in Sterling castle) called Mounts-meg. An 80-pounder in the
royal arsenal at Berlin, called the Thunderer. An 80-pounder at Malaga,
called the Terrible. Two curious 60-pounders in the arsenal at Bremen,
called the Messengers of bad news. And lastly an uncommon 70-pounder in
the castle of St. Angelo at Rome, made of the nails that fastened the
copper plates which covered the ancient Pantheon, with this inscription
upon it: _Ex clavis trabalibus porticus Agrippæ._
In the beginning of the 15th century these uncommon names were
generally abolished, and the following more universal ones took place,
viz.
Pounders Cwt.
Cannon royal, or carthoun = 48 about 90
Bastard cannon, or ³⁄₄ carthoun = 36 79
¹⁄₂ carthoun = 24 60
Whole culverins = 18 50
Demy culverins = 9 30
Falcon = 6 25
{lowest sort = 6 13
Saker{ordinary = 5 15
{largest size = 8 18
Basilisk = 48 85
Serpentine = 4 8
Aspik = 2 7
Dragon = 6 12
Syren = 60 81
Falconet = 3, 2, & 1 15, 10, 5.
Moyens, which carried a ball of 10 or 12 ounces, &c.
Rabinet, which carried a ball of 16 ounces.
These curious names of beasts and birds of prey were adopted, on
account of their swiftness in motion, or of their cruelty; as the
_falconet_, _falcon_, _saker_, and _culverin_, &c. for their swiftness
in flying; the _basilisk_, _serpentine_, _aspik_, _dragon_, _syren_,
&c. for their cruelty. See the Latin poet Forcastarius.
At present _cannon_ or pieces of ordnance take their names from the
weight of the ball they discharge: thus a piece that discharges a ball
of 24 pounds, is called a 24-pounder; one that carries a ball of 12
pounds, is called a 12-pounder; and so of the rest, divided into the
following sorts, viz.
Ship-guns, consisting of 42, 32, 24, 18, 12, 9, 6, and 3 pounders.
Garrison-guns, of 42, 32, 24, 18, 12, 9, and 6 pounders.
Battering-guns, of 24, 18, and 12 pounders.
Field-pieces, of 18, 12, 9, 6, 3, 2, 1¹⁄₂, 1, and ¹⁄₂ pounders.
The British seldom use any of lower calibre than 6 in the field.
The metal of which brass cannon is made, is in a manner kept a secret
by the founders; yet, with all their art and secrecy, they have not
hitherto found out a composition that will stand a hot engagement
without melting, or at least being rendered useless. Those cast at
Woolwich bid fair towards this amendment. The respective quantities
which should enter into this composition, is a point not decided;
every founder has his own proportions, which are peculiar to himself.
The most common proportions of the ingredients are the following,
viz. To 240lb. of metal fit for casting, they put 68lb. of copper,
52lb. of brass, and 12lb. of tin. To 4200lb. of metal fit for casting,
the Germans put 3687³³⁄₄₁lb. of copper, 204¹³⁄₄₁lb. of brass, and
307³⁶⁄₄₁lb. of tin. Others again use 100lb. of copper, 6lb. of brass,
and 9lb. of tin; and lastly, others 100lb. of copper, 10lb. of brass,
and 15lb. of tin. With respect to iron guns, their structure is the
same as that of the others, and they generally stand the most severe
engagements, being frequently used on shipboard. Several experiments
have taught that the Swedish iron guns are preferable to all others in
Europe.
CANNON is now generally cast solid, and the cavity bored afterwards
by a very curious machine for that purpose, where the gun is placed
in a perpendicular position; but of late these machines have been
made to bore horizontally, and much truer than those that bore in a
vertical form. This new machine was first invented at Strasburg, and
greatly improved by Mr. Verbruggen, a Dutchman, who was head founder at
Woolwich, where probably the best horizontal boring machine in Europe
has been lately fixed; it both bores the inside, and turns and polishes
the outside at once. For length and weight of French and English cannon
see GUNS.
_Names of the several Parts of a_ CANNON.
_The grand divisions exterior_, are as follows, viz.
_First re-inforce_, is that part of a gun next the breech, which is
made stronger, to resist the force of powder.
_Second re-inforce._ This begins where the first ends, and is made
something smaller than the first.
_The chace_, is the whole space from the trunnions to the muzzle.
_The muzzle_, properly so called, is the part from the muzzle astragal
to the end of the piece.
_Small divisions exterior._
_The cascable_, the hindermost part of the breech, from the base-ring
to the end of the button.
_The cascable-astragal_, is the diminishing part between the two breech
mouldings.
_The neck of the cascable_, is the narrow space between the breech
moulding and the button.
_The breech_, is the solid piece of metal behind, between the vent and
the extremity of the base-ring, and which terminates the hind part of
the gun, exclusive of the cascable.
_The breech-mouldings_, are the eminent parts, as squares or rounds,
which serve only for ornaments to the piece, &c.
_The base-ring and ogee_, are ornamental mouldings; the latter is
always in the shape of an S, taken from civil architecture, and used in
guns, mortars, and howitzers.
_The vent-field_, is the part from the vent to the first re-inforce
astragal.
_The vent-astragal and fillets_, are the mouldings and fillets at or
near the vent.
_The charging cylinder_, is all the space from the chace-astragal to
the muzzle-astragal.
_The first re-inforce ring and ogee_, is the ornament on the second
re-inforce.
_The first re-inforce astragal_, is the ornament between the first and
second reinforce.
_The chace-girdle_, is the ornament close to the trunnions.
_The trunnions_, are two solid cylindrical pieces of metal on every
gun, which project from the piece, and by which it is supported upon
its carriage as an axis.
_The dolphins_, are the two handles, placed on the second re-inforce
ring of brass guns, resembling the fish of that name: they serve for
mounting and dismounting the guns.
_The second re-inforce ring and ogee_, are the two ornaments joining
the trunnions.
_The second re-inforce astragal_, is the moulding nearest the trunnions.
_The chase-astragal and fillets_, the two last-mentioned ornaments
jointly.
_The muzzle-astragal and fillets_, the joint ornaments nearest the
muzzle.
_The muzzle-mouldings_, the ornaments at the very muzzle of the piece.
_The swelling of the muzzle_, the projected part behind the
muzzle-mouldings.
_Interior Parts._
_The mouth, or entrance of the bore_, is that part where both powder
and ball are put in, or the hollow part which receives the charge.
_The vent_, in all kinds of fire-arms, is commonly called the
touch-hole; it is a small hole pierced at the end, or near it, of the
bore or chamber, to prime the piece with powder, or to introduce the
tube, in order, when lighted, to set fire to the charge.
_The chamber_, which is only in large calibers, is the place where the
powder is lodged, which forms the charge.
_Tools for loading and firing_ CANNON, are rammers, sponges, ladles,
worms, hand-spikes, wedges, and screws.
_Coins_, or _Wedges_, to lay under the breech of the gun, in order to
elevate or depress it.
_Hand-spikes_, serve to move and to lay the gun.
_Ladles_, serve to load the gun with loose powder.
_Rammers_, are cylinders of wood, whose diameter and _axis_ are equal
to those of the shot: they serve to ram home the wads put upon the
powder and shot.
_Sponge_, is fixed at the opposite end of the rammer, covered with lamb
skin, and serves to clean the gun when fired.
_Screws_, are used to field-pieces, instead of coins, by which the gun
is kept to the same elevation.
_Tools necessary for proving_ CANNON, are, a searcher with a reliever,
and a searcher with one point.
_Searcher_, is an iron, hollow at one end to receive a wooden handle,
and on the other end has from four to eight flat springs of about eight
or ten inches long, pointed and turned outwards at the ends.
_The reliever_, is an iron flat ring, with a wooden handle, at right
angles to it. When a gun is to be searched after it has been fired,
this searcher is introduced; and turned every way, from end to end, and
if there is any hole, the point of one or other of the springs gets
into it, and remains till the reliever, passing round the handle of the
searcher, and pressing the springs together, relieves it.
When there is any hole or roughness in the gun, the distance from the
mouth is marked on the outside with chalk.
The other searcher has also a wooden handle, and a point at the fore
end, of about an inch long, at right angles to the length: about this
point is put some wax, mixed with tallow, which, when introduced into
the hole or cavity, is pressed in, when the impression upon the wax
gives the depth, and the length is known by the motion of the searcher
backwards and forward: if the fissure be one ninth of an inch deep, the
gun is rejected. See INSTRUMENTS.
N. B. The strength of gunpowder having been considerably increased by
Col. Congreve, of the British Artillery, the quantity for service has
been somewhat reduced. That for proof remaining as heretofore.
CANNON _Ball._ See BALLS.
CANNON _Shot._ See SHOT.
CANNONIER, a person who manages a gun. See GUNNER.
CANNON-_Baskets_. See GABIONS.
_To nail_ CANNON. See NAIL.
CANNONADE, in artillery, may be defined the application of artillery
to the purposes of a land war, or the direction of its efforts against
some distant object intended to be seized or destroyed, as the troops
in battle, battery, fortress, or outwork.
_Cannonading_ is therefore used from a battery, to take, destroy, burn,
or drive the enemy from the defences, &c. and to batter and ruin the
works or fortified towns.
CANON-BIT, that part of the bit which is let into the horse’s mouth.
CANTEENS, in military articles, are tin vessels used by the soldiers
on a march, &c. to carry water or other liquor in, each holds about 2
quarts.
CANTONMENTS are distinct situations, where the different parts of an
army lie as near to each other as possible, and in the same manner as
they encamp in the field. The chief reasons for cantoning an army are,
first, when the campaign begins early; on which occasion, in cantoning
your troops, two objects demand attention, viz. the military object,
and that of subsistence: the second is, when an army has finished a
siege early, the troops are allowed to repose till the fields produce
forage for their subsistence: the third reason is, when the autumn
proves rainy, and forage scarce, the troops are cantoned to protect
them from the bad weather.
CANVAS-BAGS. See BAGS, _Sand_-BAGS, &c.
CAPARISON, under this term is included the bridle, saddle, and housing,
of a military horse.
CAPITAINE _en pied_, _Fr._ an officer who is in actual pay and does
duty.
CAPITAINE _reformé_, _Fr._ a reduced officer.
CAPITAINE _general des vivres_, _Fr._ the person who has the chief
management and superintendance of military stores and provisions.
CAPITAINE _des portes_, _Fr._ a commissioned officer who resides in a
garrison town, and whose sole duty is to receive the keys of the gates
from the governor every morning, and to deliver them to him every
night, at appointed hours.
CAPITAL, in fortification, is an imaginary line which divides any work
into two equal and similar parts. It signifies also, a line drawn from
the angle of a polygon to the point of the bastion, or from the point
of the bastion to the middle of the gorge.
_To_ CAPITULATE, to surrender any place or body of troops to the enemy,
on certain stipulated conditions.
CAPITULATION, in military affairs, implies the conditions on which
the garrison of a place besieged agrees to deliver it up, &. This
is likewise the last action, both in the attack and defence of a
fortification, the conditions of which may be of various kinds,
according to the different circumstances or situations in which the
parties may be placed.
As soon as the capitulation is agreed on, and signed, hostages are
generally delivered on both sides, for the exact performance of the
articles; part of the place is delivered to the besiegers, and a day
appointed for the garrison to evacuate the place. The usual and most
honorable conditions are, with arms and baggage, drums beating and
colors flying, matches lighted, and some pieces of artillery; waggons,
and convoys for the baggage, sick and wounded, &c.
CAPONNIER, in fortification, is a passage made from one work to
another, of 10 or 12 feet wide, and about five feet deep, covered
on each side by a parapet, terminating in a glacis. Caponniers are
sometimes covered with planks and earth. See FORTIFICATION.
CAPS, in gunnery, are pieces of leather, or more commonly sheep-skins,
to cover the mouth of mortars when loaded, till they are fired, to
prevent damps, or rain getting in.
CAP-_Squares_. See CARRIAGES.
CAP-A-PEE, in military antiquity, implies being clothed in armor from
head to foot.
CAPSTERN, CAPSTAN, in military machines, signifies a strong massy
piece of timber, in the form of a truncated cone, having its upper
part, called the drum-head, pierced with a number of square holes,
for receiving the levers. By turning it round, several actions may be
performed that require an extraordinary power.
CAPTAIN is a military officer, who is commander of a troop of cavalry,
or of a company of foot or artillery. The name of captain was the first
term made use of to express the chief or _head_ (_caput_) of a company,
troop, or body of men. He is both to march and fight at the head of his
company. A captain of artillery and engineers ought to be master of the
attack and defence of fortified places, and captains of infantry or
cavalry should acquire some knowlege of those branches; artillerists
should be good mathematicians, and understand the raising of all kinds
of batteries, to open the trenches, to conduct the sap, to make mines
and fougasses, and to calculate their charges. They ought further to
be well acquainted with the power of artillery, the doctrine of the
military projectile, and the laws of motion, together with the system
of mechanics; and should be good draughtsmen. A captain has in most
services the power of appointing his own serjeants and corporals, and
may by his own authority reduce or break them; but he cannot punish a
soldier with death, unless he revolts against him on duty.
The captains of artillery in the Prussian service, rank as majors
in the army, and have an extraordinary pay, on account of the great
qualifications demanded of them; and the captains of bombardiers,
miners, and artificers, in the Portuguese service, have 9 dollars a
month more than the captains of artillery in the same regiment.
CAPTAIN-_General_. The King is _captain-general_ of all the forces of
Great Britain. This term implies the first rank, power, and authority
in the British army. This power was delegated to the Duke of York, in
1799.
CAPTAIN-_Lieutenant_, the commanding officer of the colonel’s troop or
company in the British army, in case the colonel is absent, or he gives
up the command of it to him. He takes rank as full captain, by an order
in 1772, and by a late regulation, succeeds to the first vacant troop
or company; the price of a captain-lieutenancy being the same as that
of a captaincy. This title is still used in foreign services.
CAPTAIN _reformed_, one who, upon a reduction of the forces, on the
termination of war, loses his company, yet keeps his rank and pay,
whether on duty or not.
CAPTAIN _on half pay_, is one who loses his company on the reduction of
an army, and retires on half-pay, until seniority puts him into duty
and full pay again.
CAPTAIN _en second_, or second captain, is one whose company has been
broke, and who is joined to another, to serve under the captain of it.
In some armies the _captain en seconde_, is also a second captain to
the same company, whose rank is above all the lieutenants, and below
all the captains of the same corps.
CAPTURE _de deserteurs_, _Fr._ Under the old government of France,
a particular order existed, by which every intendant de province or
commissaire de guerre was authorised to pay one hundred livres, or
twenty dollars, to any person or persons who should apprehend and
secure a deserter; and three hundred livres, or seventy dollars for
every man that could be proved to have enticed a soldier from the
regular army or militia.
CAQUE _de poudre_, _Fr._ a term synonymous to a tun or barrel of powder.
CAR, in military antiquity, a kind of small carriage; figuratively,
used by the poets for a chariot: it is mounted on wheels, representing
a stately throne, used in triumphs and on other solemn occasions.
CARABINIERS, _Fr._ One complete regiment of carabineers was formed,
during the monarchy of France, out of the different corps of cavalry.
They were usually distributed among other bodies of troops, and it was
their duty to charge the advanced posts of the enemy.
CARABINS, _Fr._ These were light-armed horsemen, who sometimes acted on
foot. They were generally stationed in the out-posts, for the purpose
of harrassing the enemy, defending narrow passes, &c. In action, they
usually fought in front of the dragoons, or upon the wings of the
first line. Their name is derived from the Arabian word _Karab_, which
signifies, generally, any warlike instrument.
CARAVAN; _Caravanne_, _Fr._ from a Turkish word, which signifies, a
troop of travellers, who go armed by sea or land.
CARBINE, in military affairs, is a fire-arm somewhat smaller than the
firelock of the infantry, and used by the cavalry. It carries a ball of
24 in the pound: its barrel is three feet long, and the whole length,
including the stock, 4 feet.
_Rifled_-CARBINES, are generally of the same dimensions with the above,
and have their barrels rifled spirally from the breech to the mouth;
so that when the ball, which is forced into it, is driven out again
by the strength of the powder, it is lengthened about the breadth of
a finger, and marked with the rifle of the bore. Fire-arms of this
kind have a much greater range than any other, because the rifle of
the barrel gives a spiral direction, instead of a rotatory direction
to the ball, which by that means makes the greater resistance at the
first inflammation of the powder, giving time for the whole charge to
take fire, before the ball is out of the bore. These arms are used by
horse-riflemen, the chasseurs, or light infantry.
CARBINEERS, or _Carabineers_. All regiments of light armed horse
were formerly called so; but since the establishing of hussars and
chasseurs, they have lost that denomination; and now all the cavalry
are called carabineers, who carry the carabine.
CARACOLE, a semi-circular motion or half-wheel; chiefly applied to that
used either by individuals or squadrons of cavalry, to prevent an enemy
from discovering where they intend to make their attack.
CARBON, charcoal. It is the name in the new chemistry given to
every body which has the properties or qualities of the carbonic
acid or charcoal; impregnated in certain degrees, bodies are called
_carbonates_. See AIGREMORE.
CARBONE. Pure charcoal is called carbone in the new chemical
nomenclature. It is the black residuum of vegetables, which have
suffered a complete decomposition of their volatile principles by fire.
Charcoal is black, brittle, sonorous, and light. It is placed among
simple bodies, because no experiment has hitherto shown the possibility
of decomposing it. It exists in the animal, vegetable, and mineral
regions. When it is required to procure carbone in a state of great
purity, it must be dried by strong ignition in a closed vessel.
CARBONIC ACID. Carbonaceous acid. Fixed air. Mephitic gas. Aerial acid.
The name of cretaceous acid appears to agree best with this substance,
because it is contained in very large quantities in chalk; and there
is no other body with which it has so strong an affinity, as with
lime, which composes the base of this earthy salt. The carbonic acid
possesses all the more obvious qualities of air, and exists in the
atmosphere, of which it is a small part.
_Atmospheric air._ In 100 parts of atmospheric air there are 72 of
azote, 27 of oxygene, and 1 of carbonic acid.
CARCASS, a composition of combustibles. Carcasses are of two sorts,
oblong and round: the uncertain flight of the first sort has almost
rendered them useless. They are prepared in the following manner:
boil 12 or 15 lb. of pitch in a glazed earthen pot; mix with that 3
lb. of tallow, 30 lb. of powder, 6 lb. of salt-petre, and as many
stopins as can be put in. Before the composition is cold, the carcass
must be filled; to do which, smear your hands with oil or tallow, and
fill the carcass 1-third full with the above composition; then put in
loaded pieces of gun or pistol barrels, loaded grenades, and fill the
intervals with composition; cover the whole over with coarse cloth,
well sewed together, keeping it in a round form. Then put it into the
carcass, having a hollow top and bottom, with bars running between them
to hold them together, and composed of four slips of iron joined at
top, and fixed at the bottom, at equal distances, to a piece of iron,
which, together with the hoops, when filled, form a complete globular
body. When quite finished and cold, the carcass must be steeped in
melted pitch, and then instantly immerged in cold water. Lastly, bore
three or four holes at top, and fill the same with fuze composition,
covering the holes with pitch until used. Carcasses are thrown out of
mortars, and weigh from 50 to 230 lb. according to the size of the
mortars they are to be thrown out of. There are other carcasses for the
sea-service, which differ from a shell only in the composition, and in
the four holes from which it burns when fired.
CARCASSES were first used by the bishop of Munster, at the siege of
Groll, in 1672, where the duke of Luxemburg commanded.
CARCASSES. Their dimensions and weight, 1796.
--------------+------------------------------------+----------
| Weight. |
+-----------+------------+-----------+----------
| | Of | |Time each
Kinds. | Empty. |composition.| Complete. |will burn.
--------------+-----------+------------+-----------+----------
_Round_ for |lb. oz. dr.| lb. oz. dr.|lb. oz. dr.| Min.
| | | |
Mortars 13|194 10 11| 18 14 --|213 8 16| 11
and 10| 89 13 11| 7 8 11| 97 6 11| 8¹⁄₂
How’rs. 8| 44 9 5| 4 4 11| 48 14 --| 5-
42| 27 3 --| 2 7 11| 29 10 11| 5
| | | |
32| 20 13 5| 1 14 5| 22 11 11| 4-
Guns. 24| 14 12 --| 1 9 11| 16 5 11| 4
18| 11 13 11| 1 1 5| 12 15 --| 4
| | | |
68| -- -- --| -- -- --| |
42| 26 -- --| 2 7 --| 28 7 --| 4-
Carronades. 32| 21 10 --| 1 13 --| 23 7 --| 4
24| 14 5 --| 2 5 --| 16 10 --| 3-
18| 10 4 --| 1 2 --| 11 6 --| 3
| | | |
_Oblong_ for | | | |
| | | |
Mortars 10| 36 7 5| 35 10 --| 72 1 5| 12
and 8| 16 5 5| 18 2 --| 34 7 5| 10
How’rs. 5¹⁄₂| 1 12 2| 6 15 --| 8 11 3| 6
4-| 1 0 6| 3 11 7| 4 11 13| 4
+-------------+-----------+------------+-----------+----------
_Note._--It being found at the siege of Quebec, that the quantity of
powder requisite for throwing the carcasses into the town, always
destroyed them, the method of filling the interval between the powder
and carcass with turf was adopted; and found to preserve the carcass,
and to produce every desired effect.
CARIPI, a kind of cavalry in the Turkish army, which to the number of
1000 are not slaves, nor bred up in the seraglio, like the rest, but
are generally Moors, or renegado Christians, who have obtained the rank
of horse-guards to the Grand Seignior.
CARMINE, a bright scarlet color, which is used in plans of
fortification, and serves to describe those lines that have mason work.
CAROUSAL, in military history, signifies a magnificent entertainment,
exhibited by princes or other great personages, on some public
occasion, consisting of cavalcades of gentlemen richly dressed and
equipped, after the manner of the ancient cavaliers, divided into
squadrons, meeting in some public place, and performing justs,
tournaments, &c.
CARRIAGES, in military affairs, are of various kinds, viz.
_Garrison_-CARRIAGES, are those on which all sorts of garrison-pieces
are mounted. They are made much shorter than field-carriages, and have
generally iron trucks instead of wheels.
As the trucks of garrison-carriages are generally made of cast-iron,
their axle-trees should have copper-clouts underneath, to diminish the
friction of the iron against the wood. Travelling-carriages are in many
respects very unfit for garrison service, though they are frequently
used.
_Travelling_-CARRIAGES are such as guns are mounted on for sieges, and
for the field; they are much longer, and differently constructed from
garrison-carriages; having 4 wheels, 2 for the carriage, and 2 for the
limber, which last are only used on marches.
_Field_-CARRIAGES are both shorter and lighter than those
before-mentioned, bearing a proportion to the pieces mounted upon them.
_Limbers_ are two-wheel carriages, sometimes made with shafts, and
sometimes with beams for drawing double; they serve to support the
trail of _field carriages_, by means of the pintle or iron bolt, when
artillery is transported from one place to another, and are taken
off again when the pieces are to be fired, unless upon a march, when
harrassed by the enemy, &c.
_Galloper_-CARRIAGES serve for 1¹⁄₂ pounders. These carriages are made
with shafts, so as to be drawn without a limber. In the war of 1756,
the King of Prussia, mounted light 3-pounders on these carriages, which
answered very well. The horse-artillery is an improvement of this
method of the Prussian.
_Howitz_-CARRIAGES are for transporting howitzers; and those for the 6
and 5-8 inch howitzers, are made with screws to elevate them, in the
same manner as the light 6 pounders; for which reason they are made
without a bed, and the centre-transom must be 9 inches broad to fix
the screw, instead of 4 for those made without: in the centre, between
the trail and centre-transom, there is a transom-bolt, which is not in
others, because the centre-transom must be made to be taken out; after
which, the howitzer can be elevated to any angle under ninety degrees.
_Tumbrel_-CARRIAGE. See TUMBREL.
_Block_-CARRIAGE, a carriage which is made from a solid piece of
timber, hollowed out so as to receive the gun or howitzer into the
cap-squares. The lower part of the cap-square is let into the solid
wood, and the gun or howitzer is either elevated or depressed by a
screw, as in other carriages. The limber for this carriage carries two
large chests for ammunition, and takes four men. The pintle of the
limber is so constructed as to receive the gudgeon of the carriage; by
which means a greater relief is afforded when the carriage passes over
rough ground.
_Block_-CARRIAGES are also used by the horse-artillery as curricles.
They are particularly useful on mountain service. The original inventor
of them, is the British Colonel Congreve, author of many other
important military inventions.
_Truck_-CARRIAGES are to carry timber and other heavy burthens from one
place to another, at no great distance: they serve also to convey guns
or mortars upon a battery, whither their own carriages cannot go, and
are drawn by men as well as horses.
_Ponton_-CARRIAGE. Carriages of this kind are solely for transporting
the pontons; they had formerly but two wheels, but are generally now
made with four. The making use of two-wheel carriages for travelling a
great way, is contrary to sense and reason; because the whole weight
lying upon the two wheels, must make them sink deeper into the ground,
than those of a four-wheel carriage.
CARRIAGE.--Weight of Field Carriages at present in use.
_Horse Artillery Carriages_
cwts. qrs. lbs.
12 Prs. gun and carriage complete for service, with
two men, and their appointments on the limber, and 16
rounds of ammunition. 45 0 14
Ammunition caisson for do. complete, with two men on
the limber, and 1 spare wheel, 2 spare shafts, with
78 rounds of ammunition. 33 3 0
6 Prs. equipped as above with 42 rounds 34 1 21
Ammunition caisson as above, 108 rounds 39 0 21
5¹⁄₂ Inch howitzer, equipped as above, with 20 rounds 35 3 0
Ammunition caisson for do. as above, with 52 rounds 39 2 0
Forge waggon, complete for travelling 19 2 14
Large tilted baggage waggon, empty 18 3 0
Equipage to be carried 12 0 0
_Park Carriages._
cwts. qr. lb. cwts. qr. lb.
12 Prs. Med. gun carriage, without box. 16 1 21}
Limber to do. 7 2 14} 42 0 7
Gun 18 0 --}
12 Pr. light gun 12 0 -- }
Carriage complete 12 3 7 }36 2 21
Limber, with em. box. 12 3 14 }
6 Prs. Desaguliers 12 0 --}
Carriage complete 11 0 14} 34 1 13
Limb. to do. em. box. 11 0 27}
6 Prs. light batt. gun 6 0 -- }
Carriage without box. iron axletrees 9 2 -- }24 1 21
Limber, with em. box. 8 3 21 }
5¹⁄₂ Inch howit. light 4 3 7 }
Carriage, without box. 10 0 7} 24 0 14
Limber, with em. box. 9 1 --}
24 Prs. platform travelling carriage 22 3 -- }
Standing carriage for do. iron trucks, }84 2 16
and tackles of the carr. 13 3 16 }
Iron gun 48 0 -- }
Ball cartridge waggon, Duke of }
Richmond’s pattern, with spare pole and } 36 1 17
swingle trees 16 1 17}
Charge of musquet ammunition 20 0 --}
Common pattern ammunition caisson, }
altered 16 2 -- }36 2 --
Charge of ammunition 20 0 -- }
New infantry ammunition cart 9 1 14} 21 1 14
Charge of ammunition 12 0 --}
Common sling cart, complete 17 1 14
Common truck carriage 12 2 21
Common hand cart 4 1 --
Forge waggon, complete 13 2 14
Dimensions of certain parts of carriages, the knowlege of which
may prevent many mistakes in arranging the different pieces for
disembarkation, or in other similar situations.
_Axletrees._--Most of the field carriages are now made with _iron_
axletrees; the dimensions of which are as follows:
---------------------------------+-------------+-------------------
| Dia. of | Len. of
| the arm. | arm.
---------------------------------+------+------+-----+------+------
| | | | | Total
| | | Box,| |length
|At the| | or | | to
|shoul-|At the| nave|Washer|linch-
Iron Axletrees. | der. |point.|part.| part.| pin.
---------------------------------+------+------+-----+------+------
| in. | in. | in. | in. | inch
6 Pr. Light }| | | | |
3 Pr. Heavy }| | | | |
5¹⁄₂ in. Howitz. }| | | | |
Ammu. caisson }| 2³⁄₄ | 1³⁄₄ | 13 | ⁵⁄₈ | 13⁵⁄₈
Ball cartridge do. whether horse}| | | | |
artillery or the park, whether }| | | | |
limber or carriage }| | | | |
Light 12 Pounder and limber | 3¹⁄₄ | 2¹⁄₄ | 16 | ³⁄₄ | 16³⁄₄
Medium 12 Pr. | 3¹⁄₂ | 2¹⁄₂ | 16 | ³⁄₄ | 16³⁄₄
Limber to do. | 2³⁄₄ | 2 | 13 | ⁵⁄₈ | 13⁵⁄₈
---------------------------------+------+------+-----+------+------
-----------------------+--------------------++--------------------
| Carriage. || Limber.
+-------------+------++-------------+------
| Di. of Arm. | || Di. of Arm. |
+------+------+ ++------+------+
| At | |Length|| At | |Length
Wood |Shoul-| At | of ||Shoul-| At | of
Axletrees. | der. |Point.| Nave.|| der. |Point.| Nave.
-----------------------+------+------+------++------+------+------
| In. | In. | In. || In. | In. | In.
24 Prs. Heavy | 7 | 4.9 | 18 || 6 | 3.3 | 16
12 Prs. Med | 6 | 4 | 16 || 6 | 4 | 12
6 Prs Des’rs. | 5¹⁄₂ | 3¹⁄₂ | 13¹⁄₂|| 5¹⁄₂ | 3¹⁄₂ | 13¹⁄₂
6 Prs. Light | 5 | 3 | 13 || 5 | 3 | 13
3 Prs. Des’rs. | 2- | 1¹⁄₄ | || 2- | 1¹⁄₄ |
3 Prs. Light | | | || | |
How’r. 8 In. | 6- | | 17 || 5- | | 15
How’r. 5¹⁄₂ in. | 5- | | 13 || 4¹⁄₄ | | 11-
How’r. 4²⁄₅ in. | 4- | | 12 || 4 | | 10
| ----fore---- || ----hind----
Ammunition waggon, with| | | || | |
folding sides | 5 | 2.9 | 14 || 5 | 2.9 | 13
Close bodied Ammunition| | | || | |
caisson | 5 | 3.3 | 14 || 5 | 2.9 | 14
-----------------------+------+------+------++------+------+------
Dimensions and Weight of _Standing Gun Carriages_.
+--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| Kinds. | 32 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
+--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| |Ft. in.|Ft. in.|Ft. in.|Ft. in.|Ft. in.|Ft. in.|
|Axletrees, length | 4 9 | 4 7 | 4 3 |3 9¹⁄₂|3 6¹⁄₂| 3 4 |
|Side pieces, length | 6 4 | 6 0 | 5 9 | 5 6 |5 3 | 5 0 |
|Whole height to | | | | | | |
|trunnion beds | 2 9 | 2 7 | 2 6 | 2 3 | 2 1 | 2 0 |
|Weight of carriage,}|ct. qr.|ct. qr.|ct. qr.|ct. qr.|ct. qr.|ct. qr.|
|bed & coins }| 9 0 | 8 0 | 7 0 | 6 0 | 3 3 | 2 3 |
+--------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
_Carriages_ on a march. See MARCHING.
The carriages for horse artillery guns, as 12, 9, and 4 pounders, are
constructed lighter than formerly; the two first of these calibres have
an additional trunnion plate; and indeed it does not appear why every
travelling carriage should not have this important improvement since it
eases the horses and saves the carriage; and by lessening the fatigue
increases the celerity of the movements, and spares the cattle for
service.
_Diameter of the wheels of the Field Carriages at present in use_:
Diameter.
_ft._ _in._
All the horse artillery carriages, limbers, and caissons;
the heavy 6 Prs. and long 3 Prs. and their limbers; the
carriage of a 6 Pr. battalion gun, and a light 5¹⁄₂ inch
howitzer; the hind wheels of a common ammunition caisson 5 0
Limber to light 6 Pr. and 5¹⁄₂ howitzer } 4 8
Med. 12 Pr.--limber, 4 ft. 6 in. carriage }
Sling cart 5 8
Fore wheels of an ammunition caisson 4 0
Pontoon carriage }Fore 3 0
}Hind 5 6
8 Inch Howitzer }Limber 4 0
}Carriage 5 0
Ball Ammunition Cart 5 0
24 Prs. Platform Carriage}Fore 4 0
}Hind 4 2
For wood of which carriages are made, see the word WOOD.
CARRIER, a kind of pigeon, so called from its having been used in
armies, to carry orders from one division of an army to another, or
intelligence to some officer commanding a post or army at a distance.
CARRONADES. Their weight and dimensions.
+-------+-------+--------------+-------------+------------+
| | Dia- | | | Proportion |
| | meter | Length in | Weight. | between |
| | of +--------+-----+-------------+the shot and|
| Kinds.| Bores.|ft. in.|Calr.|cwt. q. lb.| carronade. |
+-------+-------+--------+-----+-------------+------------+
|68 Prs.|8.05 --| 5 2 |7.702| 36 -- -- | 59 to 1 |
|-- -- | --| 4 0 |5.962| 29 -- -- | |
|42 -- |6.84 --| 4 3¹⁄₂|7.518| 22 1 -- | 58 to 1 |
|32 -- |6.35 --| 4 0- |7.679| 17 -- 14 | 62 to 1 |
|24 -- |5.68 { | 3 7- |7.656| 13 -- -- | 56 to 1 |
| | { | 3 0 |6.336| 11 2 25 | |
|18 -- |5.16{ | 3 3 |7.587| 9 -- -- | 56 to 1 |
| | { | 2 4 |5.447| 8 1 25 | |
|12 -- |4.52 --| 2 2 |5.778| 5 3 10 | 56 to 1 |
+-------+-------+--------+-----+-------------+------------+
N. B. Carronades have not so much windage as guns. See WINDAGE.
RANGES with Carronades, 1798. The charge is ¹⁄₁₂th the weight of the
shot; and with one shot and one wad. The line of fire from 6 to 9 feet
above the level of the water.
+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+---------+------+
|Kinds. | 68 | 42 | 32 | 24 | 18 | 12 |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+---------+------+
|Charge. |5lb. 8oz.|3lb. 8oz.|2lb. 1oz.| 2lb. |1lb. 8oz.| 1lb. |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+---------+------+
| | Yards. | Yards. | Yards. |Yards.| Yards. |Yards.|
|P. Blank| 450 | 400 | 330 | 300 | 270 | 230 |
|1 Degree| 650 | 600 | 560 | 500 | 470 | 400 |
|2 ---- | 890 | 860 | 830 | 780 | 730 | 690 |
|3 ---- | 1000 | 980 | 900 | 870 | 800 | 740 |
|4 ---- | 1100 | 1020 | 970 | 920 | 870 | 810 |
|5 ---- | 1280 | 1170 | 1087 | 1050 | 1000 | 870 |
+--------+---------+---------+---------+------+---------+------+
_Note._--The highest charge for carronades is ¹⁄₈th the weight of the
shot; the lowest ¹⁄₁₆th.
_Ranges_ with 8 inch shells, from 68 Pr.
+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+-------+
| Shells | | | Ele- | First|Extreme|
| Weight.|Charge.|Flight.| vation.|graze.| range.|
+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+-------+
| {| 3 lbs.| 1¹⁄₂ | P. B. | 302 | 1365 |
|lb. oz.{| 3 -- | -- | 5 deg.| 1140 | |
|43 11 {| 4 -- | 1¹⁄₂ | 1 -- | 358 | 1843 |
| {|-- -- | 5 | 5 -- | 1137 | 1250 |
| {|-- -- | -- |11¹⁄₂ | 1767 | |
+--------+-------+-------+--------+------+-------+
_To_ CARRY _on the trenches_. See TRENCHES.
CART, in a military sense, is a vehicle mounted on two wheels, and
drawn by one or more horses; of which there are several sorts, viz.
_Powder_-CARTS, for carrying powder with the army; they are divided
into 4 parts, by boards of an inch thick, which enter about an inch
into the shafts. Each of these carts can only stow 4 barrels of powder.
The roof is covered with an oil-cloth, to prevent dampness from coming
to the powder.
_Sling_-CARTS, used to carry mortars or heavy guns from one place to
another at a small distance, but chiefly to transport guns from the
water side to the proof-place, and from thence back again; as also to
convey artillery to the batteries in a fortification; they have wheels
of a very considerable diameter, and the guns or other heavy articles
which they carry are slung in chains from the axle.
CARTE, is a thrust with a sword at the inside of the upper part of the
body, with the nails of your sword hand upwards. _Low carte_, is a
thrust at the inside of the lower half of the body; the position of the
hand being the same as in the former.
CARTE-_blanche_ _Fr._ a full and absolute power which is lodged in
the hands of a general of an army, to act according to the best of
his judgment, without waiting for superior instructions or orders. It
likewise strictly means a blank paper; a paper to be filled up with
such conditions as the person to whom it is sent thinks proper.
CARTEL, in military transactions, an agreement between two states at
war for the exchange of their prisoners of war.
CARTOUCH, in military affairs, is a case of wood about 3 inches thick
at bottom, bound about with marline, holding about 400 musquet balls,
besides 8 or 10 iron balls of a pound each, to be fired out of a
howitzer, for the defence of a pass, &c. See GRAPE SHOT.
CARTOUCHES in artillery, are made of leather, to sling over the
shoulder of the matross, who therein carries the ammunition from the
magazine or waggon, for the service of the artillery, when at exercise
or on real service.
CARTOUCHES _ou formules_, _Fr._ military passes which were given to
soldiers going on furlough.
CARTRIDGE, a case of paper, parchment, or flannel, fitted to the
bore of a piece, and holding exactly its proper charge. Musket and
pistol cartridges are always made of strong paper, between 30 and 40
of which are made from 1 pound of powder, including their priming.
Ball cartridges should be made of a different coloured paper to what
is used for blank. The French musquet ball-cartridges are all capped
with flannel. Cannon and howitzer cartridges are sometimes made of
parchment, though more generally of flannel: the charges they contain
are adapted to the service they are intended for.
Cartridges for cannon, are made with the best effect, when the flannel
does not admit the leakage of powder; to effect this the flannels are
first sewed to the size of a mandril or wooden roller; and the sewing
completed, the end is tied, and hammered on the end of the mandril, the
whole is then smeared with a coat of paste made of wheat flour and gum;
and then drawn over, so that the pasted side may be inward; then set to
dry, before filling they must be examined.
The experiment is worth the trial of making cartridges of cotton
saturated with alum; its cheapness, its abundance, and easy formation,
all recommend it. The alum would render it fire proof.
CARTRIDGE-_Box_, a case of wood, made in a circular form, to wear
before the body of the soldier, holding 24 or more musket-ball
cartridges in rows: it is covered with leather, and worn upon a belt,
both on duty, and on the day of battle. See POUCH.
The light infantry in the French service carry a cartridge box in front
which covers the abdomen; and contains several rounds; some carry the
cartridges on the side one above the other.
CARTRIDGES for guns.
-------------+-----------+--------+-----------------------------------
| Weight of | |
| one | | Tonnage.
Of Paper. | Dozen. | Length.| No. packed ³⁄₄ Ton Vat.
-------------+-----------+--------+-----------------------------------
Pounders. |lb. oz. dr.|Ft. in. |Number.
42 ---- | 3 0 0 | 2 4 | 1000
32 ---- | 3 0 0 | 2 4 | 1100
24 ---- | 3 0 0 | 2 4 | 1400
18 ---- | 2 14 0 | 2 4 | 1500
12 ---- | 2 4 0 | 2 4 | 1600
9 ---- | 2 4 0 | 2 4 | 1800
6 ---- | 1 5 0 | 2 0 | 2000
4 ---- | 1 1 0 | 1 7 | 2200
3 ---- | 1 1 0 | 1 7 | 2200
Of Flannel. | | |
42 and 32 | 2 2 0 | 2 3 |The tonnage of flannel cartridges
{Heavy | 1 12 0 | 1 10 |is 1-fifth more than that of paper.
24{Med. | 1 6 0 | 1 5 |
{Light | 1 1 8 | 1 0 |
18 ---- | 1 6 0 | 2 3 |
{Heavy | 1 3 0 | 1 6 |
12{Med. | 0 11 0 | 1 2 |
{Light | 0 8 0 | 0 10 |
9 ---- | 0 10 0 | 1 4 |
{Heavy | 0 14 0 | 1 1 |
6{Med. | -- | -- |
{Light | 0 5 0 | 0 9¹⁄₂|
3 ---- | 0 6 0 | 0 8 |
13 in. Morts.| 1 2 8 | 1 6 |
10 -- ---- | 0 10 8 | 1 1- |
8 -- ---- | 0 7 0 | 1 0 |
5¹⁄₂ ---- | 0 4 0 | 0 9 |
4²⁄₅ ---- | 0 3 0 | 0 7 |
8 in. How’r | 0 10 8 | 1 1- |
5¹⁄₂ ---- | 0 4 8 | 0 9- |
4²⁄₅ ---- | 0 4 0 | 0 9- |
-------------+-----------+--------+-----------------------------------
CARTRIDGES for small arms.
+-----------+-------+-------+-------------+--------------------+-----+
| | Powder| | No. | | |
| | con- | No. of| contained | | One |
| |tained | each | in one | Weight of one |Sheet|
| |in each| tied | Barrel. | Barrel filled. | of |
| | Car- | in one+------+------+-----------+--------+paper|
| Kinds. |tridge.|Bundle.|Whole.| Half.| Whole. | Half. |makes|
+-----------+-------+-------+------+------+-----------+--------+-----+
| | drs. | No. | No. | No. |ct. qr. lb.|qr. lb.| No. |
|Wall pieces| 10 | 6 | 1400 | 500 | 2 2 19 | 3 24| |
|Musquet | 6 | 10 | 2100 | 1000 | 1 3 10 | 3 24| 6 |
|Carbine | 4 | 10 | 2853 | 1500 | 1 3 7 | 3 26| 12 |
|Do. pistol | 3 | 10 | 4400 | 1500 | 1 3 17 | 3 21| 16 |
|Com. pistol| 3 | 10 | | 2000 | | 3 11| 24 |
|7 bar. guns| 1¹⁄₂| 14 | | 1000 | | | 24 |
| | | | | in | | | |
| | | | | kegs | | | |
+-----------+-------+-------+------+------+-----------+--------+-----+
_Musquet_ CARTRIDGES, by different powers in Europe.
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| Weight | | | |
| of | English. | Hessian. | Austrian. |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| |oz. dr. gr.|oz. dr. gr.|oz. dr. gr.|
|Powder | 0 6 0 | 0 7 10 | 0 6 13 |
|Cartridges,| | | |
|complete. | 1 9 11 | 1 7 2 | 1 6 4 |
+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
+-----------+------------+------------+
| Weight | | |
| of | Dutch. | French. |
+-----------+------------+------------+
| |oz. dr. gr. |oz. dr. gr. |
|Powder | 0 10 10¹⁄₂| 0 7 4¹⁄₂|
|Cartridges,| | |
|complete. | 1 12 4 | 1 6 0 |
+-----------+------------+------------+
CASCABLE, in artillery, is the very hindermost knob or button of the
cannon, or the utmost part of the breech. See CANNON.
CASCANS, in fortification, holes in the form of wells, serving as
entrances to galleries, or giving vent to the enemy’s mines. See
FORTIFICATION.
CASEMATE, in fortification, a vault, or arch of mason-work, in that
part of the flank of a bastion which is next the curtain, made
to defend the ditch, and the face of the opposite bastion. See
FORTIFICATION.
CASEMATES _nouvelles_, _Fr._ arched batteries which are constructed
under all the openings of revetements or ramparts. The different forts
at Cherbourg, are defended by these casemates: the works erected round
Dover Castle, come likewise under this description; the works at fort
Columbus, New York, are erected on the same principles.
CASERNES, in fortification, are buildings for the soldiers of the
garrison to live in; generally erected between the houses of fortified
towns, and the rampart.
CASERNES, in a general acceptation, signify barracks.
CASE-_Shot_. See SHOT, and LABORATORY.
CASHIERED. An officer sentenced by a general court-martial, or
peremptorily ordered by the king, to be dismissed from the service, is
said to be cashiered.
CASK, _or_ CASQUE, the ancient helmet or armor for the head.
CASSINE, in military history, signifies a small house in the country,
generally surrounded by a ditch. Cassines are very convenient to post
small parties in, where they will be sheltered from any sudden attack,
and can even make head till the nearest detachments can come and
relieve them.
CASSIONS. See CAISSONS.
CASTING, in founding guns, implies the operation of running any sort of
metal into a mould prepared for that purpose.
CASTLE, in military affairs, a fortified place, or strong hold, to
defend a town or city from an enemy. English castles are for the most
part no higher in antiquity than the Norman conquest; or rather about
the middle of king Stephen’s reign. Castles were erected in almost all
parts of that kingdom, by the several contending parties; and each
owner of a castle was a kind of petty prince, coining his own money,
and exercising sovereign jurisdiction over his people. History informs
us that 1017 castles were built in one reign.
CASTRAMETATION, is the art of measuring or tracing out the form
of a camp on the ground; yet it sometimes has a more extensive
signification, by including all the views and designs of a general;
the one requires only the knowlege of a mathematician, the other the
experience of an old soldier. The ancients were accustomed to fortify
their camps by throwing up entrenchments round them. The Turks, and
other Asiatic nations, fortify themselves, when in an open country,
with their waggons and other carriages. The practice of the Europeans
is quite different; for the surety of their camp consists in the
facility and convenience of drawing out their troops at the head of
their encampment; for which reason, whatever particular order of
battle is regarded as the best disposition for fighting, it follows
of course, that we should encamp in such a manner as to assemble and
parade our troops in that order and disposition as soon as possible.
It is therefore the order of battle that should regulate the order of
encampment; that is to say, the post of each regiment in the line of
battle should be at the head of its own encampment; from whence it
follows, that the extent of the line of battle from right to left of
the camp, should be equal to the front of the troops in line of battle,
with the same intervals in the camp as in the line. By this means every
battalion covers its own tents, and they can all lodge themselves, or
turn out in case of necessity, at a minute’s warning.
If the front of the camp is greater than the line, the troops must
leave large intervals, or expose their flanks; if less, the troops
will not have room to form with the proper intervals.
The front or principal line of the camp is commonly directed to face
the enemy. See CAMP.
CAT _o’ nine tails_, a whip with nine knotted cords, with which the
British soldiers are punished. Sometimes it has only five cords. A
barbarous and unmilitary usage, unknown in any other European army.
CATAFALCO, in military architecture, a scaffold of timber, decorated
with sculpture, painting, &c. for supporting the coffin of a deceased
hero, during the funeral solemnity
CATAPHRACT, the old Roman term for a horseman in complete armor.
CATAPHRACTA, in the ancient military art, a piece of heavy defensive
armor, formed of cloth or leather, fortified with iron scales or links,
wherewith sometimes only the breast, sometimes the whole body, and
sometimes the horse too, was covered.
CATAPULTA, in military antiquity, an engine contrived for throwing
of arrows, darts and stones, upon the enemy. Some of these engines
were so large, and of such force, that they would throw stones of an
hundred weight. Josephus takes notice of the surprising effects of
these engines, and says, that the stones thrown out of them beat down
the battlements, knocked off the angles of the towers, and had force
sufficient to level a very deep file of soldiers
CATATROME. See CRANE.
CATERVA, in ancient military writers, a term used in speaking of the
Gaulish or Celtiberian armies, denoting a body of 6000 armed men.
The word is also used to denote a party of soldiers in disarray; in
opposition to _cohort_ or _turma_, which signify in good order.
CATTUS, CATHOUSE, in ancient military history, was a kind of covered
shed, sometimes fixed on wheels, and similar to the _Vinca_ and
_Pluteus_ of the ancients.
CAVALCADE, in military history, implies a pompous procession of
horsemen, equipages, &c. by way of parade, to grace a triumph, public
entry, or the like.
CAVALIER, in fortification, is a work generally raised within the body
of the place, 10 or 12 feet higher than the rest of the works. Their
most common situation is within the bastion, and made much in the
same form: sometimes they are placed in the gorges, or on the middle
of the curtain; they are then made in the form of a horse-shoe. See
FORTIFICATION. Their use is to command all the adjacent works and
country round about it; they are seldom, or never, made but when there
is a hill or rising ground, which overlooks some of the works.
_Trench_-CAVALIER, in the attacks, is an elevation which the besiegers
make by means of earth or gabions, within halfway, or two thirds of the
glacis, to discover, or to enfilade the covert way.
CAVALRY, in military affairs, that body of soldiers which serves and
fights on horseback: under this denomination are included,
_Horse_, that is, regiments or troops of horse. The first English troop
of horse was raised in 1660.
_Dragoons_, are likewise regiments of horse, but distinguished from
the former by being taught to fight both on foot and on horseback. The
first English regiment of dragoons was raised in 1681. See _American
Mil. Lib._ Art. CAVALRY.
_Hunters._ See LIGHT-HORSE.
_Light-horse_, are regiments of cavalry, mounted on light, swift
horses, whose men are but small, and lightly accoutred. They were first
raised by the British, in 1757.
_Hussars_, generally Hungarian horse; their uniform is a large furred
cap, adorned with a cock’s feather; those of the officers, either
with an eagle’s or a heron’s; a very short waistcoat, with a pair of
breeches and stockings in one; short light boots, generally of red or
yellow leather; with a curious doublet, having five rows of buttons,
which hang loosely on the left shoulder. Their arms are a long crooked
sabre, light carbines, and pistols. Before they begin an attack, they
lay themselves so flat on the necks of their horses, that it is hardly
possible to discover their force; but being come within pistol-shot of
the enemy, they raise themselves with surprising quickness, and fall
on with such vivacity, that it is very difficult for the troops to
preserve their order. When a retreat is necessary, their horses have
so much fire, and are so indefatigable, their equipage so light, and
themselves such excellent horsemen, that no other cavalry can pretend
to follow them; they leap over ditches, and swim over rivers, with
a surprising facility. Most of the German powers have troops under
this name, as also France; into which country they were originally
introduced under Louis the XIII. and were called Hungarian cavalry.
This description of cavalry was accordingly more ancient in the French
service, than that of hussars.
CAVEATING, in fencing, implies a motion whereby a person in an instant
brings his sword, which was presented to one side of his adversary, to
the opposite side.
CAVIN, in military affairs, implies a natural hollow, sufficiently
capacious to lodge a body of troops, and facilitate their approach to a
place. If it be within musket-shot, it is a place of arms ready made,
and serves for opening the trenches, free from the enemy’s shot.
CAUTION, an explanation given previous to the word of command, by
which the soldiers are called to attention, that they may execute the
movement to be directed with unanimity and correctness.
CAZEMATTE. See CASEMATE.
CAZEMATE, CASEMATE, in fortification, is a certain retired place in
the flank of a bastion, for the defence of the ditch, and face of the
opposite bastion; not used at present. It also implies a well, having
several subterranean branches, which are extended when they suspect the
enemy is forming a mine, till they hear the miners at work.
CAZERNES, _Fr._ See CASERNES.
CEINTURE _militaire_, _Fr._ a broad leather belt which was worn round
the waist, and was ornamented with gold or silver plates.
CELERES, the life-guards which attended Romulus, in the infancy of
Rome, were so called. They were laid aside by Numa Pompilius. Celeres
are properly distinguished from other troops, by being lightly armed
and acting always on foot. The Celeres cannot be considered under the
same head as Velites.
CEMENT. See CÆMENT.
CENOTAPH, in military history, implies the empty tomb of a hero, or
a monument erected to the honor of a person, without the body of the
deceased being interred in or near it.
CENTESIMATION, in ancient military history, a mild kind of military
punishment, in cases of desertion, mutiny, and the like, when only
every 100th man was executed.
CENTER, CENTRE, in a general sense, signifies a point equally distant
from the extremities of a line, surface, or solid.
CENTRE _of a battalion_, on parade, is the middle, where an interval is
left for the colors; of an encampment, it is the main street: and on a
march, is an interval for the baggage, &c.
CENTRE _of a bastion_, is a point in the middle of the gorge of the
bastion, from whence the capital line commences, and which is generally
at the inner polygon of the figure.
CENTRE _of gravity_, in military mechanics, is that point about which
the several parts of a body exactly balance each other in any situation.
CENTRE _of a conic section_, is the point where all the diameters meet.
CENTRE _of an ellipsis_, is that point where the transverse and
conjugate diameters intersect each other.
CENTRE _of motion_, is that point which remains at rest while all the
other parts of the body move about it.
CENTRE _of percussion_, is that point in which the force of the stroke
is the greatest possible. When the moving body revolves round a
fixed point, the centre of percussion is the same with the centre of
oscillation, and found by the same method; but when the body moves in
a parallel direction, the centre of percussion is the same with the
centre of gravity.
CENTINEL, CENTRY, is a private soldier from the guard, posted upon any
spot of ground, to stand and watch carefully for the security of the
guard, or of any body of troops, or post, and to prevent any surprise
from the enemy. All centinels are to be very vigilant on their posts;
neither are they to sing, smoke, or suffer any noise to be made near
them. They are not to sit down, lay their arms out of their hands, or
sleep; but keep moving about on their posts during the two hours they
stand, if the weather will allow of it. No centry to move more than
50 paces to the right, and as many to the left of his post, and let
the weather be ever so bad, he must not get under any other cover,
but that of the centry box. No one to be allowed to go from his post
without leave from his commanding officer; and, to prevent desertion or
marauding, the centries and vedettes must be charged to let no soldier
pass.
CENTINEL _perdu_, a soldier posted near an enemy in some very dangerous
post, where he is in perpetual danger of being shot or taken.
CENTRY-_box_, a sort of box, or hut, to shelter the centinel from the
injuries of the weather; in fortifications they are sometimes made of
masonry, and of stone, in a circular form.
CENTURION, a military officer among the ancient Romans; who commanded
an (_centum_) hundred men. The term is now obsolete. It answers to the
modern captain of a company.
CENTURY, in a military sense, means a hundred soldiers, who were
employed in working the battering-ram.
CERCLE, _Grand-cercle_, _Fr._ a form observed under the old government
of France, by which it was directed, that every evening at a specific
hour the serjeants and corporals of a brigade should assemble to
receive orders; the former standing in front of the latter. Subsequent
to the grand cercle, a smaller one was made in each regiment, when
general, or regimental orders were again repeated to the serjeants
of each regiment, and from them communicated to the officers of the
several companies.
CERTIFICATES, are of various kinds, as applied to officers generally,
or to commissaries, commanding officers, or staff. They are a
testimonial bearing witness to the existence of some requisite
qualifications, or to the performance of some act required by the
regulations of the army, and for which the officer who signs is
responsible, whether he certifies for himself, or for any other officer.
_Military_ CERTIFICATES are of various denominations, and consist
chiefly of the following kinds, viz.
_Certificate_ from a field officer to the commander in chief, affirming
the eligibility of a young man to hold a commission.
_Certificate_ of an officer in the English army upon honor, that he
does not exceed the regulation in the _purchase of his commission_.
_Certificate_ from a general officer to affirm and prove the losses
which officers may sustain in the field
_Certificate_ from colonels of regiments to the board for admission of
proper objects to the hospital.
_Certificate_ from a magistrate to identify the person of a recruit,
and to affirm, that he has enlisted himself voluntarily into the
service; likewise, that the articles of war have been read to him.
_Certificate_ from regimental surgeons, whether men when they join are
proper and fit objects to be enlisted; this is required in the United
States army, to be on the back of every paper of enlistment.
_Certificate_ of commanding officers for stores, &c.
_Certificate_, to enable an officer to receive half pay.
_Certificate_ of surgeons and assistant surgeons, to prove their having
passed a proper examination.
CESSATION, or _cessation of arms_, in a military figurative sense,
means a truce, or the total abrogation of all military operations for a
limited time.
CHACE _of a gun_, means the length from the trunnions to the muzzle.
See CANNON.
CHAFFERY, that part of the foundry where the forges are placed
for hammering iron into complete bars, and thereby bringing it to
perfection.
CHAIN _for engineers_, is a sort of wire chain divided into links of an
equal length, made use of for setting out works on the ground, because
cord lines are apt to shrink and give way.
There are several sorts of chains made use of in mensuration; as Mr.
Rathbone’s, of two perches in length; others, one perch long; some of
1000 feet in length; but that which is most in use amongst engineers is
Mr. Gunter’s, which is 4 poles long, and contains 100 links, each link
being 7⁹²⁄₁₀₀ inches in length.
CHAIN-_shot_. See SHOT.
CHALLENGE, a cartel, or invitation to a duel, or other combat; it may
with propriety be called a provocation, or summons to fight, when an
affront in derogation of honor has been offered.
CHALLENGE is also a term applied to an objection made against any
member of a court-martial, on the score of real or presumed partiality.
The prisoner, however, in this case, must assign his cause of
challenge; of the relevancy, or validity of which the members are
themselves the judges; so that peremptory challenges, though allowed
in civil cases, are not acknowleged in military law. The privilege of
challenging belongs equally to the prisoner and the prosecutor.
CHAMADE, in a military sense, means a signal made by the enemy, either
by beat of drum, or sound of trumpet, when they have any matter to
propose; such as to bury their dead, &c. See PARLEY.
CHAMBER _of a cannon_, in artillery, that part of the bore of a cannon
which receives the powder with which it is charged. See CANNON.
CHAMBER _of a mortar_, the space where the powder lies, and generally
of several forms and dimensions, such as the conic, spheric, cylindric,
parabolic, and concave, or bottled chambers. See MORTARS.
In 1787 and 1789 experiments were made at Woolwich with an 8 inch
mortar, with four shifting chambers, to ascertain which form gives the
longest range.
The chambers were all of the same capacity, viz. 63.7 cubic inches, and
contained two pounds of powder. Their forms were:
1st. Common conical chamber with the circular bottom.
2d. The same reversed.
3d. The cylindric chamber with circular bottom.
4th. The spheric chamber.
The ranges were the medium of 6 rounds; from them it appears, that when
the spheric chamber is filled with powder, it has the advantage in
point of range; but when smaller charges are used, its ranges are found
to be shorter than those of other forms. The conical (No. 1.) chamber
of the present British establishment gives the longest range under
other circumstances.
CHAMBER _of a mine_, that place where the charge of powder is lodged,
to blow up the works over it. See MINE.
CHAMBER _of a battery_, is a place sunk under ground for holding
powder, loaded shells, and fuzes, where they may be out of danger, and
preserved from rain or moisture.
CHAMBRER, _faire chambrée_, a military phrase among the French, to
signify several persons lodged in the same room, barrack, or tent.
CHAMP _de bataille_, _Fr._ field of battle; the ground on which two
armies meet.
CHAMP _de Mars_, the field of Mars, an open place in the neighborhood
of Paris, where troops are frequently reviewed and in which the public
festivals have been held.
CHAMPION, he who undertook to settle the difference of contending
armies, by single combat.
CHANDELIERS, in military affairs, a kind of moveable parapet,
consisting of wooden frames, on which fascines are laid to cover the
workmen when at work on the trenches. They are made of various sorts
and sizes, according to the use they are for.
CHANTIER, _Fr._ a square piece of wood, which is used for the purpose
of raising any thing. It serves to place barrels of gunpowder in a
proper manner, and frequently to try pieces of ordnance instead of
frames.
CHAPE, the metalline part put on the end of a scabbard, to prevent the
point of the sword or bayonet from piercing through it.
CHAPELET, _Fr._ a piece of flat iron with three tenons or ends of
timber, which is fixed to the end of a cannon.
CHAPITEAU, _Fr._ two small boards which are joined together obliquely,
and serve to cover the touch-hole of a piece of ordnance.
CHAPPE, _Fr._ a barrel containing another barrel, which holds
gunpowder. It likewise means a composition of earth, horse dung, and
wad, that covers the mouth of a cannon, or mortar.
CHARACTER, in a general sense, implies any mark used for representing
either ideas, or objects.
_Military_ CHARACTERS, _Mathematical_ CHARACTERS, are certain marks
invented for avoiding prolixity, and more clearly conveying the
thoughts of the learned in those sciences to beginners; the chief of
which are as follow:
+ in algebra is the sign of the real existence of the quality it stands
before, and is called an affirmative, or positive sign. It is also the
mark of addition, and signifies, that the numbers, or quantities on
each side of it are added together.
- This is the note of negation, negative existence, or non-entity.
It is the sign of subtraction, and signifies, that the numbers, or
quantities which come after it, are to be taken from the numbers,
or quantities which stand before it. As + signifies a _positive_
or _affirmative_ quantity, or _absolute_ number, so - signifies a
_fictitious_ or _negative_ number or quantity. Thus -3, is 8 times less
than nothing. So that any number or quantity with the sign + being
added to the same number, or quantity with the sign -, their sum will
be equal to nothing. Thus 8 added to -8 is equal to 0, but -8 taken
from + 8, is equal to 16.
× is the sign of multiplication. It signifies _into_, or _multiplied
by_.
÷ is the mark of division, and signifies, that the numbers, or
quantities before it are to be divided by the numbers after it.
= are the signs of equality, and signify, that the quantities and
numbers on the one side of it are equal to the quantities and numbers
on the other.
√ is the sign of radicality, and shews (according to the index of the
power that is set over or after it) the square, cube, or other root,
that is extracted, or is to be so, out of any quantity.
∛ is the sign of the cube root, and signifies the extraction of it, as
in the square root above.
∺ is the sign of continued, or geometrical proportion.
∷ is the mark of geometrical proportion disjunct, and is usually placed
between two pair of equal ratio’s; as 3 : 6 ∷ 4 : 8, shews, that 3 is
to 6, as 4 is to 8. Or _a_ : _b_ ∷ _d_ : _e_, and are thus read, as _a_
is to _b_, so is _d_ to _e_, &c.
> or ⫍ are signs of majority; thus _a_ > _b_ expresses that _a_ is
greater than _b_.
< or ⫎ are signs of minority; and when we would denote that _a_ is less
than _b_, we write _a_ < _b_, or _a_ ⫎ _b_, &c.
± signifies _more_, or _less such a quantity_, and is used often in the
extraction of roots, completing of squares, &c.
_Artillery_-CHARACTERS, most generally used, are as follow:
_C. qr. lb._ which signifies centners, or hundreds of 112 pounds, _qr._
quarters of 28 pounds, _lb._ pounds of 16 ounces avoirdupois. Thus
a piece of artillery with 14 _c._ 3 _q._ 16 _lb._, is 14 hundred, 3
quarters, and 16 pounds.
_Pr._ signifies pounder. Thus 24 _pr._ is a 24 pounder.
_T. C. qr. lb._ signifies tons, hundreds, quarters, pounds; and 28
_lb._ is one quarter: 4 _qr._ is one centner, or 112 pounds; and 20
_C._ or _cwt._ is one ton.
_lb. oz. dr._ means, pounds, ounces and drams: 16 _dr._ is one ounce,
and 16 _oz._ is one pound avoirdupois.
_lb. oz. dwts. gr._ is pounds, ounces, penny-weights, and grains; of
which 24 _gr._ make one penny-weight, 20 _dwt._ make one ounce, and 12
_oz._ one pound of troy-weight.
CHARACTERS in fire-works, are the following.
_M_ Meal-powder.
Э Corned powder.
Ө Saltpetre.
_Z_ Brimstone.
_C Z_ Crude Sulphur.
_C_ + Carbon or charcoal.
_C S_ Sea-Coal.
_B R_ Beech raspings.
_S_ X Steel or iron filings.
_B_ X Brass-dust.
_G_ X Glass-dust.
_T_ X Tanners dust.
_C I_ Cast-iron.
_C A_ Crude antimony.
♓ Camphor.
_A Y_ Yellow amber.
_L S_ Lapis calaminaris.
ᘏ Gum.
_B L_ Lamp-black.
_G I_ Ising-glass.
_W_ Spirit of wine.
_S T_ Spirit of turpentine.
_P O_ Oil of spike.
CHARACTERS, used in the arithmetic of infinites, are dots over letters,
denoting the character of an infinitesimal, or fluxion. Thus the first
fluxions of _x_, _y_, _z_, being marked thus, _ẋ_, _ẏ_, _ż_; the second
are _ẍ_, _ÿ_, _z̈_, and the third
.: :. :.
_x_, _y_, _z_.
_Geographical_ CHARACTERS, are °, ′, ″, ‴ &c. which signify degrees,
minutes, seconds, thirds. Thus 40°, 55′, 18″, 55‴, is read 40 degrees,
35 minutes, 18 seconds, 55 thirds. It is also used in the elevation of
pieces of artillery.
_Characters._ See GUNPOWDER.
CHARBON, See AIGREMORE.
CHARGE, _Fr._ The French technically use this term in two different
senses, viz. _charge precipitée_ and _charge à volonté_. _Charge
precipitée_ is given when the four times are expressly marked, as
_chargez vos armes_, _un_, _deux_, _trois_, _quatre_; and applies
chiefly to the drill. _Charge à volonté_ is executed in the same manner
as the _charge precipitée_, with this difference, that the soldiers do
not wait for the specific words.
CHARGES for field guns.
lbs.
42 Prs. med and heavy for Rnd. Shot 4
Case 3¹⁄₂
12 Prs. Light Round Shot 3
Case 3
6 Prs. Desaguliers Round Shot 2¹⁄₄
Case 2
6 Prs. Medium Round Shot 2
Case
6 Prs. light Round Shot 1¹⁄₂
Case 1¹⁄₄
3 Prs. Heavy Round Shot 1
Case
3 Prs. Light Round 12 oz.
The charge for battering guns is one third the weight of the round
shot, for round shot, and one fourth of it for case shot.
The charge for carronades is usually one twelfth the weight of the
shot. The highest is one eighth, and the lowest one sixteenth.
By the experiments made at Woolwich in March 1801, it is recommended,
that when cylinder powder is used on service, the charges of field
ordnance with round shot, shall be reduced to the usual quantities
for case shot. The same experiments recommend, that the thickness or
length of the wood bottom be varied, in order to change the position of
the shot, and thereby save the bore; and that the paper cap which is
usually thrown away on service, shall be put over the shot before it is
introduced into the piece.
For charges for small arms see the word CARTRIDGES.
Charges of French guns in French weights.
lbs.
24 Prs. 8 }Siege
16 Prs. 5¹⁄₂}
12 Prs. 4 }
8 Prs. 2¹⁄₂}Field}¹⁄₄ less for Case Shot.
4 Prs. 1¹⁄₂} }
CHARGE _de mine_, _Fr._ the disposition of a certain quantity of
powder, which is used for the explosion of a mine.
CHARGE, in gunnery, implies the quantity of powder, shot, ball, shells,
grenades, &c. with which a gun, mortar, or howitzer, is loaded.
_Charges for heavy guns from a 42-pounder to a 3 pounder, both brass
and iron, in proof, service, saluting, and ricochet._
------+---------------+---------------+-------+-------
| Proof. | Service. | |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+ Salut-| Rico-
Kinds.| Brass.| Iron. | Brass.| Iron. | ing. | chet.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Prs. |lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
42 |31 8 |25 0 |14 0 |12 0 |10 4 | 3 4
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
32 |26 12 |21 8 |10 10 | 9 4 | 8 0 | 2 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
24 |21 0 |18 0 | 8 0 | 8 0 | 6 0 | 2 0
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
18 |18 0 |15 0 | 6 0 | 8 0 | 4 8 | 1 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
12 |12 0 |12 0 | 4 0 | 4 0 | 3 0 | 1 6
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
9 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 3 0 | 3 0 | 2 8 | 1 4
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
6 | 6 6 | 6 0 | 2 8 | 2 8 | 2 0 | 1 0
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
3 | 3 0 | 3 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 12 | 0 6
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
_Charges for Medium Guns._
------+---------------+---------------+-------+-------
| Proof. | Service. | |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+ Salut-| Rico-
Kinds.| Brass.| Iron. | Brass.| Iron. | ing. | chet.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Prs. |lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
24 |18 0 |18 0 | 8 0 | 8 0 | 4 0 | 1 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
12 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 3 8 | 0 0 | 2 8 | 1 4
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
6 | 6 6 | 6 0 | 2 0 | 2 4 | 1 4 | 1 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
3 | 3 0 | 3 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 14 | 0 8
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
_Charges for light Guns._
------+---------------+---------------+-------+-------
| Proof. | Service. | |
+-------+-------+-------+-------+ Salut-| Rico-
Kinds.| Brass.| Iron. | Brass.| Iron. | ing. | chet.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
Prs. |lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
24 |10 0 | 5 0 | 5 0 | 0 0 | 4 0 | 1 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
12 | 6 0 | 0 0 | 3 0 | 0 0 | 2 8 | 1 4
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
6 | 3 0 | 0 0 | 1 8 | 0 0 | 1 4 | 0 12
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
3 | 1 8 | 1 12 | 0 12 | 0 0 | 0 14 | 0 8
------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------
As pieces of artillery are of various denominations, and consequently
made use of on several occasions, their charges must of course have
many variations.
CHARGE, is also the attack of cavalry; and _charge bayonet_ is a word
of command given to infantry, to force the enemy whom they are to
charge at the point of the bayonet. _To sound a charge_, is the sound
of the trumpet as a signal for cavalry to begin the attack.
CHARGE, in military law, is the specification of any crime, or offence
for which a non-commissioned officer or soldier is tried before a
court martial. In all charges of this nature, the time and place, when
and where the crime, or offence was committed, must be set forth with
accuracy and precision.
CHARGED _Cylinder_, in gunnery, implies that part of the chace of a
gun, which contains the powder and ball.
CHARGER, any horse belonging to an officer on which he rides in action.
CHARGERS are also either bandoliers, or little flasks that contain
powder for charge or priming.
CHARIOT, a car, in which men of arms were anciently placed. These were
armed with scythes, hooks, &c. The person who drove the chariot was
called the _charioteer_.
CHARPENTIER, _Fr._ a carpenter.
CHART, or _sea_-CHART, is a hydrographical map, or a projection of some
part of the earth’s superficies in plano, for the use of navigators and
geographers.
_Plane_-CHART, is a representation of some part of the earth’s
superficies of the terraqueous globe, in which the meridians are
supposed parallel to each other, the parallels of latitude at equal
distances, and consequently the degrees of latitude and longitude every
where equal to each other.
CHART _of reduction_, is that where the meridians are represented
by right lines, inclining towards each other; thence it appears by
construction, that these charts must correct the errors of the plane
ones. But since these parallels should cut the meridians at right
angles, and do not, they are defective, inasmuch as they exhibit the
parallels inclined to the meridians.
_Mercators_-CHART, is that where the meridians are straight lines
parallel to each other, and equidistant: these parallels are also
straight lines, and parallel to each other; but the distance between
increases from the equinoctial towards each pole, in the ratio of the
secant of the latitude to the radius.
_Globular_-CHART, a meridional projection, wherein the distance of the
eye from the plane of the meridian, upon which the projection is made,
is supposed to be equal to the sine of the angle of 45 degrees. This
projection comes the nearest of all to the nature of the globe, because
the meridians therein are placed at equal distances.
_Chorographic_-CHARTS, are descriptions of particular countries.
_Heliographic_-CHARTS, descriptions of the body of the sun, and of the
maculæ or spots observed in it.
_Selenographic_-CHARTS, particular appearances of the spots of the
moon, her appearance and maculæ.
_Telegraphic_-CHARTS, are descriptions of the telegraph on paper.
_Topographic_-CHARTS, are specific delineations of military positions,
in any given tract of country. Companies of topographers have
been formed among the French, for the purpose of accurately and
expeditiously pointing out to generals and commanding officers, all
the relative points of locality, &c. See _American Mil. Lib._ article
RECONNOITRING.
CHASE _of a gun_. See CHACE.
_To_ CHASE _the enemy_, means to march after them on horseback in full
speed. To pursue a ship at sea.
CHASSEURS. The French light infantry, answering to the American
_riflemen_ and German _yagers_, are called _chasseurs a pied_; they
have also _chasseurs a cheval_. The word means literally a _hunter_.
CHAT, _Fr._ a piece of iron having one, two or three very sharp prongs,
or claws; arranged in a triangular shape, when it has three prongs.
This piece of iron is fixed to a shaft. It is used in the examination
of a piece of ordnance, and by being introduced into the bore, shews
whether it be honey-combed, damaged, or otherwise defective.
There is another species of _Chat_ which differs a little from the one
we have just described. It consists of two branches of iron, that are
fixed to the end of a piece of the same metal, and have, each of them
two steel prongs or claws. One of these branches contains a hinge with
a spring so fixed, that when the _chat_ is put into the bore, the least
cavity releases the spring, and the defect is instantly discovered.
Master Founders, who by no means like the invention, call the common
chat _Le Diable_, the devil; and they distinguish the one with two
branches, by terming it _la màlice du diable_, the malice of the devil.
CHATTER _les pieces_, _Fr._ to search, to probe, or examine pieces
of ordnance with a chat, in order to discover whether there are any
defects within the bore of a cannon.
CHAUDIERES, _Fr._ are vessels made use of in military magazines, to
boil pitch in, for various purposes.
CHAUFFE, _Fr._ a spot where the wood is collected and burnt in a
foundry. The _chauffe_ stands three feet under the side of the furnace,
the flames which issue from it, spread over every part of the inside of
the furnace, and by their intense heat dissolve the metal.
CHAUSSE-_Trapes_, _Fr._ are what we call _crows-feet_, they consist of
nails with 4 or 5 points, of which one always stands upwards above the
level of the ground; each point is 2, 3, 4 or 5 inches long. They are
usually fixed in different parts of a breach, or in any place which is
accessible to cavalry; to prevent its approach: sometimes they are of
use to obstruct the passage of cavalry through the streets of towns.
CHAUSSEE, or _Rès de_ CHAUSSEE, an old expression for the level of the
field or the plain ground.
CHEEKS, a general name among mechanics, for those pieces of timber in
their machines, which are double and perfectly corresponding to each
other. In the construction of military carriages, &c. the term is used
to denote the strong planks which form the sides of gun carriages.
CHEF, _Fr._ Chef has various significations in the French service.
With regard to private soldiers, it serves to mark out the corporal or
oldest soldier, who has the management of their provisions in quarters,
or in the field; this person was called _chef de chambrée_. A chef de
chambrée among the Romans, was called a decanus, whence our church
deacon.
CHEF _d’escadre_, _Fr._ a general officer, who commands any part of an
army, or division of a fleet. His duty in the sea-service is nearly the
same as that of a commodore or a brigadier general on shore. _Chefs
d’escadre_ sit upon all general courts-martial, and rank according to
the dates of their commissions.
CHEFS _de files_, _Fr._ the front rank of a battalion, consisting
generally of the best and bravest soldiers. When an engagement takes
place, par file, by files, as in the action of riflemen, the order of
the battalion is necessarily changed; that which was rank becomes file,
and what was file becomes rank.
CHELSEA HOSPITAL, a noble edifice which was built by Charles the 2d of
England on his restoration, and afterwards improved by his successor
James the 2d. Non-commissioned officers and private men, who have
been wounded or maimed in the service, are entitled to the benefit
of this hospital. There are in and out-pensioners belonging to the
establishment, and the provisions of it extend to the militia under the
following restrictions: serjeants who have served fifteen years, and
corporals or drummers who have served twenty, may be recommended to
the bounty. Serjeants on the establishment may likewise receive that
allowance, with their pay in the militia. But serjeants who have been
appointed subsequent to the passing of the 26th of George the 3d, are
not entitled to it under twenty years service.
CHEMIN-_Couvert_. See COVERT-WAY.
CHEMIN _des rondes_, in _fortification_, space between the rampart and
low parapet under it, for the rounds to go about it.
CHEMISE, _Fr._ an obsolete term to signify the revetement made of brick
work, which was formerly constructed to secure works made of earth,
especially those that were formed of sandy soil, and would necessarily
require too large a talus to support the weight. The modern term is
_ouvrage revetu_, _place revetüe_.
CHEMISE _de feu_, _Fr._ a French sea-term, to signify several pieces
of old sails of various sizes, which after they have been pitched, and
thoroughly soaked in other combustible matter, such as oil of petrol,
camphor, &c. may be nailed to an enemy’s ship on boarding her, and when
set fire to, will consume the same.
CHEMISE _de maille_, _Fr._ a shirt of mail, or body lining made of
several scales or iron rings, which was worn under the coat to protect
the body of a man.
CHEMISTRY, the art of examining bodies, and of extracting from them any
of their component parts; a science of the first importance to military
men; it opens to the mind so many sources of knowlege applicable to
military uses.
CHESS, a nice and abstruse game, supposed to have been invented during
the siege of Troy. This game is particularly adapted to military
capacities.
CHEVAL _de Bois_, _Fr._ a wooden-horse, a military chastisement, which
prostitutes who followed the French army, were subject to undergo, by
exposing them, we presume, on a wooden-horse.
CHEVALER, in the manege, is said of a horse, when, in passing upon a
walk or trot, his off fore leg crosses the near fore leg every second
motion.
CHEVALET, _Fr._ a sort of bell-tent, formerly used in the French
service, when an army encamped. It resembled in some degrees the wigwam
of the Indian.
CHEVALIER, in a _general sense_, signifies a knight or horseman.
CHEVAUX-_de frize_, in _fortification_, a large joist or piece of
timber, about 5 or 6 inches square, and 10 or 12 feet in length; into
the sides whereof are driven a great number of wooden pins, about
6 feet long, and 1¹⁄₂ inch diameter, crossing one another at right
angles, and pointed with iron. They are used on numberless occasions,
as to stop up breaches, to secure avenues to a camp from the inroads
both of horse and foot. They are sometimes mounted on wheels, with
artificial fires, to roll down in an assault, &c. They were first used
at the siege of Groningen, in 1658.
CHEVAUX-_de-frize_. The _body_ or _beam_ of a cheval-de-frize is
generally made 9 feet long, and 6 inches square, and weighs 41 lbs. The
_spears_ are 33 in number, weighing 2 lb. each, are 5 feet long, and
1¹⁄₄ inches square. They are placed 9¹⁄₂ inches asunder.
CHEVET, _Fr._ a small wedge which is used in raising a mortar, it is
placed between the frame and swell of the mortar.
CHEVISANCE, _Fr._ enterprize, feat, or atchievement.
CHEVRE, _Fr._ a crab or gin. See CHEVRETTE.
CHEVRETTE, a kind of gin. Among the many inventions for raising guns
or mortars into their carriages this engine is very useful; it is made
of two pieces of wood about four feet long, standing upright upon a
third, which is square: they are about a foot asunder, and parallel;
pierced with holes opposite one another, to hold a strong bolt of iron,
which may be raised higher or lower at pleasure: it may be used with a
hand-spike, which takes its poise over this bolt, to raise any thing by
force.
CHEVROTINES, _Fr._ leaden bullets of small calibre; there are generally
sixty to a pound weight.
CHIEF _or_ CHIEFTAIN, the head leader, or commander of any clan in time
of war, was so called, especially among the Scotch.
CHIORME, _Fr._ the crew of galley slaves and bonavogliers or volunteers.
CIMIER, _Fr._ a heavy ornament, which the ancient knights or chevaliers
in France and in other countries were accustomed to wear upon their
helmets; small figures were afterwards substituted in their stead.
CHOROGRAPHY, in _engineering_, is the art of making a drawing or map of
a country, province or district.
CIMETAR, See SCIMITAR.
CINQUAIN, in _ancient military history_, was an order of battle, to
draw up 5 battalions, so that they might make 3 lines; that is, a van,
main-body, and reserve. Supposing the 5 battalions, to be in a line,
the 2d and 4th advance and form the van, the 3d falls back and forms
the rear, the 1st and 5th form the main body upon the same ground.
Lastly, every battalion ought to have a squadron of horse on both the
right and left wings. Any number of regiments, produced by multiplying
by 5, may be drawn up in the same manner.
CIRCLE, in _mathematics_, is a plane figure, comprehended under one
line only, to which all right lines drawn from a point in the middle of
it are equal to one another.
CIRCUMFERENTER, an instrument used by engineers for measuring angles.
CIRCUMVALLATION, or _line of circumvallation_, in _military affairs_,
implies a fortification of earth, consisting of a parapet and trench,
made round the town intended to be besieged, when any molestation is
apprehended from parties of the enemy, which may march to relieve the
place.
Before the attack of a place is begun, care is to be taken to have
the most exact plan of it possible; and upon this the line of
circumvallation and the attack are projected. This line, being a
fortification opposed to an enemy that may come from the open country
to relieve the besieged, ought to have its defence directed against
them; that is, so as to fire from the town: and the besiegers are to
be encamped behind this line, and between it and the place. The camp
should be as much as possible out of the reach of the shot of the
place; and the line of circumvallation, which is to be farther distant
from the place than the camp, ought still more to be out of the reach
of its artillery.
As cannon are never to be fired from the rear of the camp, this line
should be upwards of 1200 fathoms from the place: we will suppose its
distance fixed at 1400 fathoms from the covert way. The depth of the
camp may be computed at about 30 fathom, and from the head of the camp
to the line of circumvallation 120 fathoms, that the army may have room
to draw up in order of battle at the head of the camp, behind the line.
This distance added to the 30 fathoms, makes 150 fathoms, which being
added to the 1400, makes 1550 fathoms constitute the distance of the
line of circumvallation from the covert-way. The top of this line is
generally 12 feet broad, and 7 feet deep: the parapet runs quite round
the top of it; and at certain distances is frequently strengthened with
redoubts and small forts; the base 18 feet wide, the height within 6,
and on the outside 5 feet, with a banquette of 3 feet wide, and 1¹⁄₂
high. See CONTRAVALLATION, or COUNTERVALLATION.
CIRCUS, in _military antiquity_, a very capacious building, of a round
or oval form, erected by the ancients for exhibiting shews to the
people.
CISEAUX, _Fr._ chissels made use of by miners, to loosen earth from
the sides of the excavation, without making a noise, which the miner
effects by striking the handle.
CITADEL, is a fort with 4, 5, or 6 bastions, raised on the most
advantageous ground about a city, the better to command it; and
commonly divided from it by an esplanade, the better to hinder the
approach of an enemy; so that the citadel defends the inhabitants
if they continue in their duty, and punishes them if they revolt.
Besiegers always attack the city first, that, being masters of it, they
may cover themselves the better against the fire of the citadel. Its
having bastions distinguishes it from a castle. Sometimes the citadel
stands half within, and half without the ramparts of the place.
CIVIC-CROWN, among the ancient Romans, was a crown given to any soldier
who had saved the life of a citizen. It was composed only of oaken
boughs, but accounted more honorable than any other.
CIVIERE, _Fr._ a small hand-barrow, which is carried by 2 men, and is
much used by the artillery.
CLARENCIEUX, a silly pageant which has survived the feudal and heraldic
ages, and kept up for shew in the court of England, he is called the
second king at arms, from the duke of Clarence, third son of king
Edward III.
CLARIGATION, in _Roman antiquity_, a ceremony which always preceded a
formal declaration of war. It was performed in the following manner:
the chief of the heralds went to the territory of the enemy; where,
after some solemn prefatory indication, he, with a loud voice,
intimated, that he declared war against them for certain reasons
specified; such as injury done to the Roman allies, or the like.
CLAN, a term used among the Scotch for a number of families subject to
one head, or chief, who led them to war. The word is _claöwn_ Celtic
signifying _Children_.
CLATES. CLAYES. See HURDLES.
CLAYONAGES, _Fr._ a species of hurdle, with which the timber work of a
gallery is covered. It is likewise used in saps.
CLEAR, to clear the trenches. See TRENCHES.
CLERK, in the general acceptation of the term, a writer in a public
office; military departments have persons of this description. See
_Regimental_ BOOK.
CLOCHE, _Fr._ a bell.
CLOTHING. Clothing of the army of the United States is provided under
the order of the war department, by a purveyor of public supplies, who
buys and sees the clothing made; it is then placed in the military
stores and issued upon order. The clothing of the British army is
determined by a permanent board, composed of the commander in chief,
and a certain number of general officers, who act under the king’s
immediate authority: The annual clothing of the infantry of the line,
or fencible infantry, serving in Europe, in North America, or at the
Cape of Good Hope, (Highland corps excepted) consists in a coat,
waistcoat, or waistcoat front, a pair of breeches, unlined, except the
waistband, and with one pocket only: a cap made of felt and leather,
with brass plate, cockade and tuft. The felt crown of the cap, cockade,
and tuft to be supplied annually, the leather part and brass plate,
every two years. Two pair of good shoes, of the value of 5_s._ 6_d._
each pair, are to be supplied annually in lieu of the half mounting,
and each serjeant is to be credited with the sum of 3_s._ being the
difference between the value of the former articles of half mounting
for a serjeant and private man. Some exceptions are made with respect
to highland corps, and regiments serving in the East and West Indies.
CLOY, or _to cloy guns_. See _To_ NAIL.
CLOU, _Fr._ See NAILS.
CLOUTS. See AXLE-TREE.
_To_ CLUB _a Battalion_ implies generally a temporary inability in
the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their
natural front in line or column. This occurs after some manœuvre has
been performed, and is occasioned by false directions being given to
the different component parts. Ignorant and inexperienced officers
may frequently commit this error; sometimes however, the circumstance
may arise from an erroneous movement of a division or company,
notwithstanding that the word of command was correct. An able officer
in that case will instantly know how to unravel the several parts.
The less informed and the less capable may find a relief in sounding
the _disperse_, which see. It does not, however, always follow, that
because an officer may occasionally commit this error with respect to
the minute movements of a battalion, he must therefore be unequal to
the superior functions of command; or that when a man, who has risen
from the ranks, is perfectly master of the mechanical arrangement of
inferior movements, he should be able to act upon the enlarged scale
of locality and position. The military science which is required in
each of these cases essentially differs in its appropriate exercise,
but both are necessary. In the confusion of a manœuvre, the best mode
would be to halt those parts which are not disordered, and bring the
rest either forward in line--under separate officers in detachments
different ways, or to rear, right, and left: and halt each as they
recover some order; and then marching the parts to the positions
analogous to those from which they had been deranged; it would be
a useful exercise to create this disorder, in order to be ready at
correcting it.
CLEY-MORE, (_Celtic_, the _large sword_) a great sword, formerly in
use among the highlanders, two inches broad, doubly edged: the length
of the blade, 3 feet 7 inches; the handle, 14 inches; of a plain
transverse guard, 1 foot; the weight, 6 pounds and a half. These swords
were the original weapons of England, as appears by the figure of a
soldier found among the ruins of London, after the great fire in 1666.
COALITION, see CONFEDERACY.
COAT of _Mail_, armor made of scales or iron rings.
COCK, that part of the lock of a musket, which sustains the two small
pieces of iron called jaws, between which the flint is fixed.
_To_ COCK, to fix the cock of a musquet or pistol, so as to have it
ready for an instant discharge.
COCKADE, a ribbon worn in the hat. This military mark succeeded the
scarf that was formerly worn by the officers and soldiers belonging to
European nations, which are principally distinguished in the following
manner. In the army and navy of Great Britain, black silk riband for
the officers, and hair cockades for the non-commissioned officers,
private soldiers and mariners; light blue, pink and white ribands
mixed, called tricolor or three-colored, distinguish the French; red
marks the Spaniard, black the Prussian and Austrian, green the Russian,
&c. Under the old government of France, officers were not permitted to
wear a cockade, unless they were regimentally dressed; and, singular
as it may appear, the officers and men belonging to a certain number
of old regiments in the Prussian service do not wear any mark in
their hats. In the United States the cockade is worn, in and out of
regimentals, by every species of military character.
COFFER, in _fortification_, a hollow lodgment sunk in the bottom of a
dry ditch, from 6 to 7 feet deep, and from 16 to 18 feet broad, and
the length of it, the whole breadth of the said ditch, from side to
side. The besieged generally make use of these coffers to repulse the
besiegers, when they attempt to pass the ditch: they are distinguished
only by their length from _Caponiers_; the difference between coffers
and the traverse and gallery, consists in this, that the latter are
made by the besiegers, and the former by the besieged. They are covered
with joists, hurdles, and earth, raised 2 feet above the bottom of the
ditch; which rising serves instead of a parapet, with loop-holes in it.
COFFRE. See COFFER.
COGNIZANCE. Judicial notice, trial, judicial authority. In a military
sense, implies the investigation to which any person or action is
liable. During the suspension of civil authority, every offence comes
under military cognizance, is subject to military law, and may be
proceeded upon according to the summary spirit of its regulation.
Hence, a drum-head court-martial is the strongest instance of military
cognizance.
COHORT, in _Roman antiquity_, a name given to part of the Roman legion,
comprehending about 600 men.
COINS, in gunnery, are a kind of wedges to lay under the breech of a
gun, to raise or depress the metal.
COLLET, _Fr._ that part of a cannon which is between the astragal and
the muzzle.
COLONEL, the commander in chief of a regiment, whether of horse,
foot, dragoons, or artillery: but in France, Spain, and some other
southern nations, the colonels of horse are called _Mâitres de Camp_;
in Germany, and most northern nations, they are called _Ritmeesters_.
Colonels of foot in the English army take place, and command one
another, according to the seniority of their regiments, and not of
their commissions; but those of horse, on the contrary, according to
the dates of their commissions.
COLONEL _of horse_, who is the first officer of the regiment; hence
his attention ought to be given to keeping the regiment complete, to
have it composed of both men and horses fit for service, and to take
particular care to have them well exercised and taught the different
evolutions; to be able on all occasions to form themselves according to
the ground, or manner in which they may attack, or be attacked.
COLONEL _of foot_, or _infantry_. His functions are more extensive
than those of the cavalry, as the infantry are employed to more and
different purposes. A colonel of infantry should understand something
of fortification, and be well acquainted with field engineering. He
cannot be too careful to maintain union and harmony among his officers;
and, to succeed in this, he must acquire their esteem and confidence,
and make himself to be respected. The true way to succeed in this, is
to keep up subordination with unalterable firmness; to do justice to
every one, to employ all his credit to procure favors to the corps in
general, and to the officers in particular, without ever losing sight
of the health, comfort, and contentment of his men.
COLONEL _of dragoons_ is nearly connected with that of horse, to which
word we refer the reader.
COLONEL _of artillery_. The commander of a battalion of artillery is
one of the most laborious employments both in war and peace, requiring
the greatest ability, application, and experience. He is supposed to
be a very able mathematician and engineer, to be thoroughly acquainted
with the power of artillery, to understand the attack, and defence
of fortifications in all the different branches; to be able on all
occasions to form the artillery according to the ground or manner in
which they may attack or be attacked; in short, he should be master of
every thing belonging to that important corps.
COLONEL _of engineers_, should be a very able mathematician and
mechanician, he should be master of fortification, and be correctly
versed in the art of planning, constructing, attacking, and defending.
See ENGINEER.
_Lieutenant_ COLONEL, is the second person in command of a regiment.
Under his direction all the affairs of the regiment are conducted.
His military qualifications should be adequate to the size and the
importance of the corps in which he has the honor to serve.
COLONEL _general of the French infantry_. An appointment of great
trust and authority, which was suppressed during the old government of
France. A colonel-general was formerly entitled to the nomination of
every commission and place of trust in the infantry. He could order
courts-martial, and enforce the sentences awarded by them without
ulterior reference; and he had a company in every regiment which was
called the colonel-general’s company.
This appointment was created during the reign of Francis I. in 1544,
and became an immediate gift of the king, under Henry III. in 1584.
There was likewise a colonel-general of the cavalry; which appointment
was entrusted to two officers under the reign of Louis XIII. One
commanded the French and the other the German cavalry.
The appointment of colonel-general of dragoons was created by Louis
XIV. in 1688.
COLONELLE, _Fr._ was formerly the first company in a French regiment.
_Madame la Colonelle_ is still the colonel’s wife.
COLORS in the military art, are large silk flags fixed on half pikes,
and carried by the ensigns; when a battalion is encamped, they
are placed in its front; but in garrison they are lodged with the
commanding officer.
The size of the colors to be 6 feet 6 inches flying, and 6 feet deep
on the pike. The length of the pike (spear and ferril included) to
be 9 feet 10 inches. The cords and tassels of the whole to be of the
standard color, mixed with gold or silver; silver for the infantry and
cavalry; gold for the artillery, rifle corps, and engineers.
_Camp_-COLORS, are a small sort of colors placed on the right and left
of the parade of a regiment when in the field; one or two to each
company; they are 18 inches square, and of the color of the facing of
the regiment, with the number of the regiment upon them. The poles to
be 7 feet 6 inches long, except those of the quarter and rear-guards,
which are to be 9 feet. See BANNEROLLS.
COLOR-_guard_. See GUARD.
COLORS, _used in the drawings of fortification_. It is necessary to use
_colors_ in the drawings of plans and profiles of a fortification, in
order to distinguish every particular part, and separate, as it were,
the one from the other, so as to make their difference more sensible.
The different sorts of _colors_, generally used in these kinds of
drawings, are, _Indian-ink_, _carmine_, _verdigrease_, _sap-green_,
_gum-bouge_, _Prussian blue_, _indigo_, and _umber_.
_Indian-ink_ is the first and most necessary thing required in drawing;
for it serves, in drawing the lines, to express hills or rising
grounds, and, in short, for all what is called shading in drawings. The
best sort of _Indian ink_ is of a bluish black, soft and easily reduced
into a liquid, free from sand or gravel. It is made in oblong squares.
The manner of liquefying it, is by putting a little clear water into
a shell or tea-cup, and rubbing it gently ’till the water is black,
and of a consistence much like common ink: when it is used for drawing
lines, it must be made very black, though not too thick, otherwise
it will not easily flow out of the camel hair pencil; but when it is
for shading, it must be pale, so as to go over the same shade several
times, which adds a beauty to the shading.
_Carmine_, is an impalpable powder, and the fairest red we know of: it
serves for coloring the sections of masonry, the plans of houses, and
all kinds of military buildings; as likewise their elevation; but then
it is made of a paler color. It is also used for drawing red lines in
plans, to represent walls. It is of a high price, but a little will go
a great way. It must be mixed with a little gum-water.
_Verdigrease_, or _sea-green_, used in drawings, is either liquid in
small phials, or mixed in little pots or shells, &c. it serves to color
wet ditches, rivers, seas, and in general to represent all watery
places; it is most soluble in vinegar; and mixed with vinegar makes a
fine green ink.
_Sap-green_, is a stone of a faint yellowish green, when liquefied
with clear water: but when mixed with a little sea green, it makes a
beautiful grass-green; but, as all mixed _colors_ are liable to fade,
if _verdigrease_ can be had, it will be much better. _Sap-green_ is
very cheap.
_Gum-bouge_, is a fine yellow gum. It may be dissolved in water, but
requires no other gum: it serves to color all projects of works; as
likewise to distinguish the works unfinished from those that are
complete. It serves also to color the trenches of an attack.
_Indigo_, is in small cakes, and very cheap; it serves to color iron,
and roofs of buildings which are covered with slates: it must be well
ground upon a smooth stone or glass, and mixed with a little gum-water.
_Prussian blue_, is a kind of friable substance of an exceeding fine
blue: it is used to represent the color of blue cloth in drawing
encampments, battles, &c. It must be well ground, and mixed with a
little gum-water.
_Smalt_, also a good sort of blue, and may be used for the same
purposes.
_Ultramarine_, is an impalpable powder, and of a very delicate
sky-blue. It is a _color_ of high price.
_Umber_, is a yellowish brown _color_ in powder: when it is mixed with
gum-water, it serves to color dry ditches, sand, and all kinds of
earth. By mixing a little red ink with it, it will make a wood _color_.
If some tobacco-leaves be steeped in clear water for several hours, and
filtered through a woollen cloth, or brown paper, with a little red ink
mixed with it, it will make the best earth or wood _color_, as lying
smoother than any other.
_Gum-water_, is best when it is made some time before it is used; for
which purpose take some _gum arabic_ and steep it in clear water for
some hours, ’till it is dissolved; then strain it through a woollen
cloth or brown paper, and preserve it in phials, well stopped, ’till
wanted.
COLUMN, in the art of war, a long, deep file of troops or baggage. The
advantages and disadvantages of columns are so numerous, that we shall
only mention, that columns ought to be able to form near the enemy;
and in such a position, as not to suffer much from the artillery; that
their motions be quick, so as not to suffer much during the operation;
and that the divisions, in short, which compose each column, be so
arranged as to afford each other a mutual defence and assistance, in
case they should be attacked. Such are the principles that should
guide, in forming of columns judiciously, and of freeing them from that
multiplicity of inconveniencies which make them liable to the most
melancholy accidents. The chevalier Folard has written a treatise on
the disposition of the column as the best order of battle; after his
death the theory sunk into disregard; but the French revolution has
revived and realized all the advantages, held forth by Folard.
_Close_-COLUMN, a compact, solid column, with very little space between
the divisions of which it is composed.
_Open_-COLUMN, a column with intervals between the divisions equal to
their respective fronts.
COMBAT, a battle or duel. Anciently it was not uncommon for contending
powers to adjust their disputes by single combat, when each party chose
for itself a champion who contested the point in presence of both
armies.
COME-_in_, soldiers are said to come in, as volunteers, recruits, &c.
when invited to join any particular standard.
COME-_over_, when men desert from an enemy, and join the army that
opposes them, they are said to come over. This term is opposed to _go
over_.
_To_ COME-_in to_, to join with, to bring help. “They marched to Wells,
where the Lord Audley, with whom their leaders had before secret
intelligence, _came in to_ them.” _English History._
_To_ COME-_up_, to overtake. To come up with an enemy, is a military
phrase much in use.
COMINGE, _Fr._ a shell of extreme magnitude, which takes its name from
the person who originally invented it.
COMMAND, generally called _the word of command_, is a term used by
officers in exercise, or upon service.
COMMAND, in military matters. All _commands_ fall to the eldest in the
same circumstances, whether of horse, dragoons, artillery, foot, or
marines.
COMMANDE, a rope made use of in boats and pontoons.
COMMANDS, _in fortification_, are:
_A command in front_, when any eminence is directly facing the work
which it commands.
_A command in rear_, when any eminence is directly behind the work
which it commands.
_A command by enfilade_, when an eminence is situated in the
prolongation of any line of a work, and a considerable part of it may
be seen from thence.
COMMANDANT, is that person who has the command of a garrison, fort,
castle, regiment, company, &c. called also commander.
COMMANDEMENT _Fr._ in a military sense, means any spot which is higher
than another. A commandement is called _simple_, when the difference
between two heights is only 9 feet. It is called _double_, when the
difference is 18 feet; triple when 27, and so progressively, taking 9
feet invariably, for the height of each commandement. A commandement
may be considered in three lights. In _front_, in _enfilade_, and in
_reverse_. The commandement in _front_, is when you see all the persons
who are employed in protecting a work; in _enfilade_, when you only see
them from a flank; and in _reverse_, when you see them obliquely from
behind.
COMMANDING-_ground_, implies in a military sense, a rising ground which
overlooks any post, or strong place. There are, strictly speaking,
three sorts of commanding grounds; namely,
_Front_ COMMANDING-_ground_, Every height is called so, that lies
opposite to the face of the post which plays upon its front.
_Reverse_ COMMANDING-_ground_, an eminence which plays upon the rear of
a post.
_Enfilade_ COMMANDING-_ground_, or _Curtain_ COMMANDING-_ground_, a
high place, which, with its shot, scours all the length of a line, &c.
COMMANDERY, a certain benefice belonging to a military order. A body
of the knights of Malta, were so called. They have now only a nominal
existence.
COMMIS, _Fr._ Clerk or inferior person, who is employed in any of the
French war-departments.
COMMISSAIRE, _Fr._ Commissary. This term was used in the old French
service, to express a variety of military occupations. The following
are the principal designations.
COMMISSAIRE-_général des armées_. Commissary-general of the armies. His
duties were correspondent to those of a quarter master, forage master,
or agent for supplying an army with provisions and stores.
COMMISSAIRE-_général de la cavalerie légère_. _Fr._ Commissary general
of light cavalry.
COMMISSAIRE _d’artillerie_. _Fr._ Commissary of artillery. One
commissary general superintended in each department of the ordnance,
and had one of the three keys which belonged to the general magazine.
This officer had the power of giving directions respecting the
cleanliness and the general government of the magazines.
COMMISSAIRES _provinciaux d’artillerie_, _Fr._ Provincial commissaries
attached to the ordnance.
COMMISSAIRES _ordinaires d’artillerie_, _Fr._ Commissaries in ordinary
attached to the ordnance. These were subordinate to the provincial
commissaries, and were distributed among the navy, forts, and garrison
towns.
COMMISSAIRES _extraordinaires d’artillerie_, _Fr._ Extraordinary
commissaries attached to the ordnance. These formed the third class of
commissaries under the monarchial government in France. They likewise
did duty on board the king’s ships, or in garrisoned towns.
COMMISSAIRE _provincial en l’Arsenal de Paris, au départment de l’Isle
de France_. Provincial commissary belonging to the arsenal in Paris.
This officer received his commission from the grand master, in whose
gift the situation lay, and had the exclusive privilege of being
rendered privy to every alteration or movement that was made in the
arsenal.
COMMISSAIRE _général des poudres et salpêtres_, _Fr._ Commissary
general of gun-powder and saltpetre.
COMMISSAIRE _général des fontes_, _Fr._ Commissary general of the
Founderies.
COMMISSAIRES _des guerres_, _Fr._ Commissaries of the war departments
or muster masters general.
COMMISSAIRES _ordinaires des guerres_, _Fr._ Commissaries in ordinary,
or deputy muster masters. These were subordinate to the former, and
were entrusted with the superintendance of hospitals, to see that
proper provisions were procured for, and distributed among the sick.
They likewise gave proper vouchers to account for the absence of
soldiers, and regulated what number of extraordinary waggons should be
furnished to the troops on marches.
COMMISSAIRES _provinciaux et ordinaires des guerres_, _Fr._ Provincial
or ordinary commissaries of war. Specific duties were attached to their
appointments, the discharge of which was principally confined to the
different provinces.
COMMISSAIRES _des guerres entretenus dans l’hotel des invalides_,
_Fr._ Commissaries of war, specifically attached to, and resident in
the hotel des invalides. It was their duty to keep a regular roll,
containing all the names of the different officers, non-commissioned
officers, and soldiers who might be detached on garrison duty, &c.
which return was made monthly by them to the secretary at war. Each
commissary at every review or inspection of the corps of invalids, had
particular directions to mark out those men who appeared capable of
serving; and a regular return to that effect was made to the secretary
at war.
COMMISSAIRE _des vivres_, _Fr._ Commissary of stores. The commissary of
stores had several deputies, who acted immediately under, and were in
every respect accountable to him for the management of their trust.
COMMISSAIRE _general des fortifications_, _Fr._ Commissary general
of Fortifications. This was a very important situation during war,
as it was the duty of the commissary general to trace the lines of
circumvallation, &c. at the siege; to determine upon the mode of attack
and defence, and to see, that the necessary repairs were made.
COMMISSARY, in military affairs, is of various denominations, though
generally a civil officer appointed to inspect the musters, stores, and
provisions for the army. In war-time their number is proportioned to
the service required.
COMMISSARY-_general of the musters_, or _muster-master general_. He
takes account of the strength of every regiment as often as he pleases;
reviews them, sees that the horse are well mounted, and all the men
well armed and clothed. He receives and inspects the muster rolls, and
knows exactly the strength of the army. The British have created an
_inspector general of cavalry_, which answers every purpose for which
that of muster master general was intended.
COMMISSARY-_general of stores_, a civil officer in the artillery, who
has the charge of all the stores, for which he is accountable to the
office of ordnance. He is allowed various other commissaries, clerks,
and conductors, especially in war-time.
COMMISSARY _of the train horses_, a civil officer likewise of the
artillery, who has the inspection of all horses belonging to the train,
the hospital, and the bakery; having under him a number of conductors,
drivers, &c.
COMMISSARY _of accounts_ is a responsible person who attends each
army, where the numbers are of sufficient importance, with a proper
establishment, for the purpose of examining and controlling accounts
on the spot. All commissaries of accounts make returns of their
examination, and on these documents the comptrollers of the army
accounts found the best enquiry into the expenditure which the nature
of the subject admits of.
COMMISSARY-_general of provisions_, has the charge of furnishing
the army in the field with all sorts of provisions, forage, &c.
by contract; he must be very vigilant and industrious, that the
troops may never suffer want. He has under him various commissaries,
store-keepers, clerks, &c.
COMMISSION, in a military sense, any situation or place which an
individual may hold in the army, or militia. In the United States
the President nominates the officer, who enters upon service and pay
immediately on his acceptance, but the appointment must be submitted to
the senate, and approved by a majority, before the commission issues.
_Militia_ COMMISSIONS are issued in different modes in all the United
States; officers being elective by the line in some states, as in
Pennsylvania; they are appointed by the governor, as Maryland.
COMMISSION _of array_. In the reign of Henry II. 1181, an assize of
arms was settled to the following effect: That every person possessed
of a knight’s fee, was to have a coat of mail, an helmet, a shield,
and a lance, and as many of these as he had fees. Every free layman
that had in goods or rents to the value of 16 marks, was to have the
same arms; and such as had 10 marks were to have a lesser coat of mail,
an iron cap, and a lance; the two last of which with a _wamhois_ were
assigned for the arms of burgesses, and all the freemen of boroughs.
These arms were all to be provided before the feast of St. Hilary next
following.
To enforce these regulations, it was customary for the time, at certain
seasons of the year, to issue commissions to experienced officers, to
draw out and array the fittest men for service in each county, and to
march them to the sea coasts, or to such other quarters of the country
as were judged to be most in danger. Of these _commissions of array_,
there are many hundreds in the Gascon and French rolls in the tower
of London, from the 36th of Henry III. to the reign of Edward IV. The
form of the ancient commissions of array may be seen in Rushworth’s
historical collection published in 1640. These commissions were again
attempted to be revived by Charles I but they were voted illegal and
unconstitutional by the parliament.
_Non_-COMMISSIONED, applies to that particular class of men who act
between what are called the rank and file of a battalion, and the
commissioned or warrant officers. See SERJEANTS.
COMMITTEE, a select number of persons to whom the more particular
consideration of some matter is referred, and who are to report their
opinion to the court, &c. of which they are members.
COMMUNICATION, in fortification signifies all sorts of passages, or
ways which lead from one work to another. The best, and indeed the
only good communications are those which the besieger cannot annoy,
or interrupt by his fire. The obstinate defence of a work is rendered
almost impracticable, if you are destitute of good communications.
Subterraneous galleries, coffers, or caponiers, slopes made on the
outside of gorges, may be termed communications. When the ditches are
filled with water, floating bridges, &c. serve as communications.
COMPAGNE, _Fr._ a room or cabin belonging to the chief of a galley.
COMPANIES-_Franches_, _Fr._ free corps or companies, which during the
old government of France, were put upon a certain establishment in war
time. The Austrians and Prussians had free corps in the seven years
war; there were some in France at the beginning of the revolution, but
they were more fatal to friends than enemies, and utterly destitute of
discipline.
COMPANY, in a military sense, means a small body of foot, or
artillery, the number of which is never fixed, but is generally from
50 to 120, commanded by a captain, a lieutenant, and an ensign, and
sometimes by a first and second lieutenant, as in the artillery and
flank companies of the line. A company has usually 4 or 6 serjeants,
4 or 6 corporals, and 2 drums. A company should have at least 4
commissioned officers, a serjeant and corporal for every ten men and a
company consist of 120. In the Austrian service a company consists of
200 men.
_Free_ COMPANY, is one of those corps commonly called irregular; is
seldom or never under the same orders with the regular corps of the
army, but for the most part acts like a detached army, either by
itself, or in conjunction with some of its own kind; therefore their
operations are properly considered under the title of the _petite
guerre_. Same as companies Franches.
_Independent_ COMPANY, that which is not incorporated in a regiment.
Two such companies generally belong to each regiment in England, who
are to supply the regiments with recruits.
COMPARTIMENT _de feu_, _Fr._ a specific division of the intermediate
spaces belonging to a mine, and the regular allotment of the saucissons
or train-bags to convey fire to the furnaces at one and the same time.
COMPLEMENT _of the curtain_, that part in the interior side of a
fortification which makes the demi-gorge. See FORTIFICATION.
COMPLEMENT _of the line of defence_, the remainder of the line of
defence, after you have taken away the angle of the flank. See
FORTIFICATION.
COMPLETE, a regiment, troop, or company, is said to be complete when
it has the whole number of officers, non-commissioned officers and
privates, according to the regulation for the time being.
COMPLIMENT _of the line of the army_. See HONORS.
COMPLIMENT _from guards_. See HONORS.
COMPOSITION.--For the composition of FUZES, PORTFIRES, TUBES,
CARCASSES, see those words.
_Composition for Kitt._
lbs.
Rosin 9
Pitch 6
Beeswax 6
Tallow 1
_For Fire Balls, 1794._
lbs. oz.
Rosin 5 8
Sulphur 3 0
Alum powder 1 8
Starch, Do. 0 8
Saltpetre 4 6
Mealed powder 8 0
Linseed oil ¹⁄₄ pint
Oil of spike 1 pint.
_Bengal Lights._
_First_ Composition.
lbs. oz.
Saltpetre 7 0
Sulphur 1 12
Red orpiment 0 1
_Second_ Composition.
lbs. oz.
Saltpetre 2 4
Sulphur 0 8
Antimony 0 4
Orpiment 0 1¹⁄₂
_Light Balls._
Nitre 40 parts
Sulphur 15
Antimony 3
Pitch 3
This composition to be carefully fused, and cast into the shape of
balls, which when cold will be sufficiently hard to be fired from a
small mortar.
Composition for _Suffocating Pots_.
Sulphur 6 parts
Nitre 5
This composition when intimately mixed, to be rammed into wooden boxes,
and primed in the usual way.
This composition will answer for fumigation.
_Chinese_, or _White Light_.
Nitre from 50 to 60 parts.
Sulphur 16 to 20
Antimony 5
Orpiment 8 to 10
For _Smoke Balls_.
lbs.
Corned powder 10
Saltpetre 2
Pitch 4
Seacoal 3
Tallow 1
For _Fire Hoops_, _Fire Arrows_, and _Fire Lances_.
lbs. oz.
Mealed powder 1 0
Saltpetre 3 0
Flour of Sulphur 0 8
Linseed oil ¹⁄₂ pint.
_Composition_ to fill cases for _setting fire to Fascine Batteries_.
lbs. oz.
Mealed powder 1 4
Saltpetre 6 0
Sulphur 1 8
All dry compositions must be well mixed; first by the hands, and then
passed several times through fine hair sieves, that the ingredients may
be thoroughly incorporated. In mixing compositions which require fire,
the greatest precautions are necessary; particularly in those where
gunpowder enters. The dry parts of the composition may in general be
mixed together first, and put by degrees into the cauldron, while the
other ingredients are fluid, being well stirred all the time of putting
in. When the dry ingredients are inflammable, the cauldron must not
only be taken off the fire, but the bottom must be dipt in water, to
prevent the possibility of accident while mixing them.
COMPOUND _motion_. See GUNNERY.
COMPTROLLER _of the artillery_, inspects the musters of the artillery,
makes the pay-list, takes the account and remains of stores, and is
accountable to the office of ordnance. This post is only in war-time.
Also an officer who superintends the accounts of the army at large.
COMRADE, a fellow soldier in the same regiment, troop, or company.
_To_ CONCERT, in a military sense, is to digest, arrange, and dispose
matters in such a manner, that you may be able to act in conjunction
with other forces, however much divided, at any given point of
offensive or defensive operation.
CONCORDANT, _Fr._ a certain agreement, which officers belonging to
the same corps in the French service formerly entered into, for the
specific purpose of providing for a comrade who left the regiment. This
contract was, however, without the sanction of government, and if known
incurred its displeasure.
CONDUCTORS, are assistants to the commissary of stores, to conduct
depots, or magazines, from one place to another: they have also the
care of the ammunition waggons in the field; they report to the
commissary, and are under his command.
CONFEDERATE _Troops_. Troops of different nations united together in
one common cause against an enemy. Hence the league by which they are
so engaged, is called a _confederacy_. The same as coalition, the
powers of Europe coalesced in 1791, to partition France, and were
defeated; there were several other coalitions since, which have ended
in the subjugation of them all.
CONFIDENCE, in a military sense, implies an explicit reliance upon
the skill, courage, &c. of an individual. Next to a perfect knowlege
of military tactics, the faculty of securing the confidence of the
soldiers is, perhaps, one of the surest means of becoming successful in
war. There are instances, indeed, which prove that many victories have
been gained by men who had the entire confidence of their army, without
being remarkable for much military knowlege; whilst on the other
hand, battles have been lost by the most celebrated generals, because
they did not possess the good opinion of their men. When confidence
and military science go together, an army must be unfortunate not to
succeed in the most desperate enterprize.
CONFLICT. See COMBAT.
CONGE, _Fr._ leave of absence, The old service of France admitted of
two sorts. The _Congé limité_, a limited or specific leave, and _Congé
absolu_, a full discharge: in time of war, the latter was always
suspended.
CONGLOMERATE, to gather together, to assemble in a knot.
CONGRESS, in military and political affairs, is an assembly of
commissioners, deputies, envoys, &c. from several powers meeting to
agree on terms for a general pacification, or to concert matters for
their common good. A committee of the American Congress conducted the
war during the first years of the revolution.
CONNETABLE _de France_. Constable of France. This appointment succeeded
to that of Grand Sénéchal de France. It was not originally a military
place of trust, but merely an office belonging to the king’s household.
CONSCRIPT, _conscriptus_, a term anciently applied to the senators of
Rome, from their names being entered all in one register. It was used
by congress in our revolution.
CONSCRIPTS, men raised to recruit the French armies. In Bohemia and
Hungary, all men capable of bearing arms are enregistered, and must
march whenever there is occasion for their services. The conscripts in
France have been raised during the present war upon similar principles.
The militia of Great Britain come under the appellation, with this
difference, that the men are raised by ballot, and do not march out of
their native country, unless they be voluntarily disposed so to do. In
a republic every man is a soldier, and as the word means must have his
_name written on the militia roll_.
CONSEILLE-_de-guerre_, _Fr._ not only signifies a council of war, at
which the French king and his minister sat to determine upon military
matters, both by sea and land, but it likewise meant a general or
regimental court martial.
CONSIGNE, _Fr._ parole or countersign.
It likewise means, when used in the masculine gender, a person formerly
paid by the French government for constantly residing in a garrisoned
town, in order to take cognizance of all persons who entered or went
out of the gates. He had a place allotted to him in the half-moon, and
delivered a regular report to the governor or commandant of the place.
CONSPIRATION, _Fr._ Conspiracy.
CONSPIRATION _contre le service du Roi_, _Fr._ a conspiracy against
the King’s service. During the existence of the old government of
France, any conspiracy, collusion, or unlawful understanding, which was
discovered to exist against the king, his governors, commandants, or
other inferior officers, was reckoned a capital military offence; and
by an order which took place on the 1st of July, 1727; it was enacted,
that every person convicted of the crime should be broken upon the
wheel.
CONSTABLE, _chief_. A person employed under the militia establishment
to collect fines.
They may likewise apprehend persons suspected of being deserted
serjeants, corporals or drummers.
_High_ CONSTABLE and _Marshal_ were officers of considerable weight
and dignity, not only in France, but throughout all the feudal
governments of Europe. The title of constable or _comes stabuli_,
according to the ingenious author of an essay on military law, explains
the original nature of this office, which was that of commander of the
cavalry, and as these once constituted the principal strength of the
imperial or royal armies, this officer became naturally the commander
in chief of those armies. The office of marshal appears originally to
have been of a much inferior nature, the person who exercised it being
the actual superintendant of the stables, or chief of the equerries,
whose duty was to furnish the provender for the horses, and to oversee
their proper management. But in process of time this office grew into
high consideration, and the marshal subordinate only to the constable,
became the second in command of the armies, and in the absence of the
latter supplied his place. See MARSHAL.
The powers of the constable as a field officer, were extremely ample
and dignified. The constable was subordinate only to the king in the
command of the army; and even when the king was actually in the field,
the efficient command of the troops seems to have been in this officer,
and all the general orders were issued jointly in the sovereign’s name
and in the constable’s.
CONSUL. The person invested with the powers of the consulate.
Consul _chief_, or _premier_ Consul, _Fr._ The first or chief
magistrate of three persons, each bearing the title of consul,
according to the constitution of France, in 1799, the chief consul
commanded, directed, and superintended all the military establishments
of the country, and whenever it was judged expedient led the armies
into battle. Bonaparte, was appointed chief consul; but soon after
emperor.
CONSULAR, relating, or appertaining to the consul.
CONSULATE, a civil and military power which was originally instituted
by the Romans, on the extinction of their kings in Tarquin the Proud.
It has been revived in France, and was the principal feature of the
last constitution.
CONSULSHIP. The office of consul.
CONTACT, a touching, or the point or points where one body touches
another.
CONTINGENT, something casual or uncertain, that may or may not happen.
_The_ CONTINGENT _bill_ of a regiment, is an account of extra charges,
which depend on the accidental situation or circumstances, which may
attend any regiment in its due course of service. See RECRUITING.
CONTRABAND, this term is applicable to various foreign commodities
which are either totally prohibited by the laws, or are subject to
severe penalties and heavy duties.
CONTRAMURE, in fortification, is a wall built before another partition
wall to strengthen it, so that it may receive no damage from the
adjacent buildings.
CONTRAVALLATION, in military art, implies a line formed in the same
manner as the line of circumvallation, to defend the besiegers against
the enterprises of the garrison: so that the army, forming a siege,
lies between the lines of circumvallation and contravallation. The
trench of this is towards the town, at the foot of the parapet, and
is never made but when the garrison is numerous enough to harrass and
interrupt the besiegers by sallies. This line is constructed in the
rear of the camp, and by the same rule as the line of circumvallation,
with this difference, that as it is only intended to resist a body of
troops much inferior to a force which might attack the circumvallation,
so its parapet is not made so thick, nor the ditch so wide and deep; 6
feet is sufficient for the 1st, and the ditch 8 feet broad, and 5 feet
deep.
Amongst the ancients this line was very common, but their garrisons
were much stronger than ours; for, as the inhabitants of towns were
then almost the only soldiers, there were commonly as many troops
to defend a place, as there were inhabitants in it. The lines of
circumvallation and contravallation are very ancient, examples of them
being found in histories of the remotest antiquity. The author of the
military history of _Louis le Grand_ pretends however, that _Cæsar_
was the first inventor of them; but it appears from the chevalier de
Folard’s treatise on the method of attack and defence of places, used
by the ancients, how little foundation there is for this opinion. This
author asserts with great probability on his side, that these lines are
as ancient as the time in which towns were first surrounded with walls,
or, in other words, were fortified.
CONTREBANDE, _Fr._ See CONTRABAND.
_Faire la_ CONTREBANDE, _Fr._ to smuggle.
CONTREBANDIER, _Fr._ a smuggler.
CONTRE-_Forts_, _Fr._ Brick-work which is added to the revetement of
a rampart on the side of the terre-pleine, and which is equal to its
height. Contre-forts are used to support the body of earth with which
the rampart is formed. They are likewise practised in the revetements
of counterscarps, in gorges and demi-gorges, &c. The latter are
constructed upon a less scale than the former. It has been suggested
by an able engineer in the French service, to unite contre-forts, and
consequently to strengthen them, by means of arches.
Contre-forts likewise form a part of the construction of powder
magazines, which are bomb proof.
CONTRE-_queue d’hironde_, _Fr._ denotes the figure or shape which is
made by the oblique direction of the wings, or long sides of a horned
or crowned work, whose branches widen as they approach any place.
CONTRIBUTION, in military history, is an imposition or tax paid by
countries who suffer the afflictions of war, to redeem themselves
from being plundered and totally destroyed by the enemy; or when a
belligerent prince, wanting money, raises it by contribution on the
enemy’s country, and is either paid in provisions or in money, and
sometimes in both.
CONTROL, _comptrol_, or _controle_, is properly a double register kept
of acts, issues of the officers or commissioners in the revenues, army,
&c. in order to ascertain the true state thereof.
CONTROLER, an officer appointed to control or oversee the accounts of
other officers, and on occasions to certify whether or no things have
been controled or examined.
CONTROLES, _Fr._ See MUSTER-ROLLS.
CONTROLEURS _des guerres_, _Fr._ Muster-masters. This term was likewise
applied to signify various other appointments belonging to the interior
arrangement of the French army, viz. controlleurs general d’artillerie,
controleurs des hopiteaux militaires. See SUPERINTENDANT of military
hospitals.
CONTROLEUR _general des vivres_. See COMMISSARY general of stores.
CONVALESCENT, recovering, returning to a state of health.
_List of_ CONVALESCENTS, is a return made out by the surgeon belonging
to a battalion, hospital, &c. to ascertain the specific number of men
who may shortly be expected to do duty.
CONVENTION, a treaty, contract, or agreement between two, or more
parties.
CONVERSION, is a military motion or manœvre, which turns the front of
a battalion where the flank was, when the flank is attacked. The old
method of conversion is now exploded, and the new method which has
superceded it, has received the name of _counter-march_, or _changing
front by counter-march_; this is best effected in column; and is never
attempted in line in the face of an enemy. For the manner of performing
it and the bad effects of attempting it in the face of an enemy, see
_Am. Mil. Lib._
CONVOY, in military affairs, a detachment of troops employed to guard
any supply of men, money, ammunition, provisions, stores, &c. conveyed
in time of war, by land or sea, to a town, or army. A body of men that
marches to secure any thing from falling into the enemy’s hand, is also
called a _convoy_. An officer having the command of a convoy, must
take all possible precautions for its security; and endeavor, before
its march, to procure some good intelligence concerning the enemy’s
out-parties. And as the commanding officer of the place from which the
convoy is to march, and those of such other places as he is to pass
by, are the most proper persons to apply to for assistance; he must
therefore take such measures as will enable him to keep up a constant
intercourse with them. The conducting a convoy is one of the most
important and most difficult of all military operations.
CONVOYS. A waggon with four horses occupies about sixteen paces; a mile
will therefore hold about 117 waggons: but allowing a short distance
between each waggon in travelling, a mile may be said to contain 100
waggons. Waggons in convoy may travel from one to two miles per hour,
according to the roads and other circumstances. A great object in
convoys is to preserve the horses as much as possible from fatigue.
For this purpose, if the convoy amounts to many hundred waggons, they
must be divided into divisions of not more than 500 each. Should it
consist of thousands, it will be adviseable to divide them into _grand_
divisions, and then again into subdivisions of 500 each: by this means,
and the time of departure being calculated by the following rules, each
division may remain at rest, till just before its time of movement; and
which will prevent the necessity of the latter part of a large convoy
being harrassed for a considerable time before its turn to move.
Rule 1. _To find the time in which any number of waggons may be driven
off_: Divide the number of waggons by 100, and multiply by the time of
travelling one mile.
Rule 2. _To find the time in which any number of waggons will drive
over any number of miles_: To the time they take in driving off, add
the time any one of the waggons takes to travel the distance.
The different divisions of the convoy should be numbered, and obliged
each day to change the order of their marching.
Whenever the progress of a train of waggons is arrested by the breaking
down of any one of them, or other delay, all the waggons in the rear of
the stoppage, should immediately drive up into the first open space, to
as great a number as the open space will hold; this keeps the convoy
together and better under the care of the escort.
The escort for a convoy should be divided into front, centre, and rear
guards; beside the divisions for the flanks, which should never be
beyond musquet shot, or at most 400 yards from each other. The whole
escort should never be so separated that they could not be collected
in an hour. Under proper precautions against an enemy, a convoy of any
size cannot travel more than ten or fifteen miles per day.
_To_ CO-OPERATE, to put a well digested plan into execution, so that
forces, however divided, may act upon one principle and towards one end.
COOK, each troop or company has cooks, who are excused from other
duties.
COPPER. No other metal is allowed to the magazines, or barrels of
gunpowder.
COQUILLES _à boulet_, _Fr._ shells or moulds. They are made either of
brass or iron; two are required for the casting of a cannon ball; but
they never close so effectually as to prevent the liquid metal, which
has been poured in, from running somewhat out of the part where they
join. This excrescence is called the beard, which is broken off to
render the ball completely round.
CORBEILLES, _Fr._ Large baskets, which being filled with earth, and
placed one by another along the parapet, serve to cover the besieged
from the shot of the besieging enemy. They are made wider at top than
at the bottom, in order to afford loop-holes, through which the men may
fire upon the besiegers. Their usual dimensions are one foot and a half
high, as much in breadth at the top, and eight or ten inches at the
bottom. See GABION.
CORDE, _Fr._ Cord, in geometry and fortification, means a straight line
which cuts the circumference into two parts, without running through
the centre.
CORDEAU, _Fr._ a cord which is used in measuring ground. It is divided
into toises, feet, and inches, for the purpose of ascertaining with
precision, the opening of angles and the extent of lines. In wet
weather a small chain made of wire is substituted to prevent mistakes
that would necessarily occur, from the cord becoming shorter or
longer, according to the influence of the weather. The technical terms
among French Engineers, are Manier le _cordeau_, Pendre le _cordeau_,
Travailler au _cordeau_.
CORDON, in fortification, is a row of stones made round on the outside,
and placed between the termination of the slope of the wall, and
the parapet which stands perpendicular, in such a manner, that this
difference may not be offensive to the eye; whence those cordons serve
only as ornaments in walled fortifications.
_The_ CORDON of the revetement of the rampart is often on a level with
the terre pleine of the rampart. It has been observed in a late French
military publication, that it might be more advantageously placed some
feet lower; especially when there is a wall attached to the parapet, to
shield the rounds from the enemy’s fire.
CORDON, in military history, is a chain of posts, or an imaginary line
of separation between two armies, either in the field or in winter
quarters.
CORIDOR, the covert way which is formed between the fossé and the
pallisade on the counterscarp. See COVERT-_way_. This word is becoming
obsolete as a military term, and is chiefly confined to domestic
buildings.
CORNAGE, an ancient tenure, which obliged the land-holder to give
notice of an invasion by blowing a horn.
CORNE, _ou_ OUVRAGE _a_ CORNE, _Fr._ See HORNED WORK.
CORNET, in the military history of the ancients, an instrument much in
the nature of a trumpet: when the cornet only sounded, the ensigns were
to march alone without the soldiers; whereas, when the trumpet only
sounded, the soldiers were to move forward without the ensigns. A troop
of horse was so called.
CORNET, in the military history of the moderns, the junior commissioned
officer in a troop of horse or dragoons, subordinate to the captain and
lieutenants, equivalent to the ensign amongst the foot. His duty is to
carry the standard, near the centre of the front rank of the squadron.
CORNETTE-BLANCHE, _Fr._ an ornament which in ancient times, served
to distinguish French officers who were high in command. It was
worn by them on the top of their helmets. It likewise meant a royal
standard, and was substituted in the room of the Pennon Roïal. The
cornette-blanche was only unfurled when the king joined the army; and
the persons who served under it were princes, noblemen, marshals of
France, and old captains, who received orders from the king direct.
CORNETTE, _Fr._ See CORNET.
_The_ CORNETTES or _Cornets_, of the colonel general of cavalry, in the
old French service, as well as those attached to the quarter-master
general and commissary general, ranked as lieutenants, and the
cornettes of la colonelle général des dragons ranked as youngest
lieutenants, and commanded all other cornets.
CORNETTE, _Fr._ was likewise the term used to signify the standard
peculiarly appropriated to the light cavalry. Hence cornettes and
troops were synonimous terms to express the number of light-horse
attached to an army. The standard so called was made of taffeta or
glazed silk, one foot and a half square, upon which the arms, motto,
and cypher of the officer who commanded the cavalry were engraved. A
sort of scarf or long piece of white silk, (the old French colors) was
tied to the cornette whenever the cavalry went into action, in order to
render the standard conspicuous, that the men might rally round it.
CORNISH _ring_, in gunnery, the next ring from the muzzle backwards.
See CANNON.
CORPORAL, a rank and file man with superior pay to that of common
soldiers, and with nominal rank under a serjeant. He has charge of one
of the squads of the company, places and relieves centinels, and keeps
good order in the guard. He receives the word of the inferior rounds
that pass by his guard. Every company should have a corporal for every
ten men.
_Lance_-CORPORAL, one who acts as corporal, receiving pay as a private.
CORPS, any body of forces, destined to act together under one commander.
CORPS _de garde_, _Fr._ an inferior post which is sometimes covered in,
and at others is in the open air, garrisoned and defended by troops
who are occasionally relieved, and whose immediate duty is to prevent
a post of greater consequence from being surprised. _Corps de garde_,
in the French acceptation of the word, signifies not only the place
itself, but likewise the men who are stationed to protect it.
CORPS _de garde avancés_, _Fr._ These posts are occupied by cavalry and
infantry, according to the exigency of the service, and the peculiar
nature of the ground. When a camp is secured by entrenchments, and
has one line of defence, the corps de garde, or advanced post of the
cavalry is on the outside of the line, and each part has its quarter
and main guard. These guards are always within sight of the same line,
unless the unevenness of the ground should obstruct the view. The
quarter guard or petit corps de garde is more in front, but still in
sight of the main guard, and the _vedette_ is still further in advance
for the security of both.
CORPS _de battaille_, _Fr._ the main body of an army, which marches
between the advanced and the rear guard.
CORPS _de reserve_, See REAR GUARD.
CORRESPOND, an officer or soldier who corresponds with the enemy, is
liable to suffer death, by the articles of war.
CORSAIR, in naval history, a name given to the piratical cruisers of
Barbary, who frequently plunder the merchant ships of countries with
whom they are at peace.
CORSELET, a little cuirass; or according to others, an armor, or coat
made to cover the whole body, anciently worn by the pike-men, who were
usually placed in the fronts and flanks of the battle, for the better
resisting the enemy’s assaults, and guarding the soldiers posted behind
them.
COSECANT, the secant of an arch which is the complement of another to
90°.
COSINE, the right sine of an arch which is the complement of another to
90°.
COSSACS, in military history, a wild irregular people, who inhabit the
Ukraine, and live by plunder and piracy, in small vessels on the Black
Sea. A scythe fixed on the end of a pole was their ancient weapon. They
are now a regular militia, and use the same arms as the Croats and
Pandours.
COTANGENT, the tangent of an arch which is the complement of another to
90°.
COTE _extérieur du poligone_, _Fr._ exterior side of the polygon. The
line which is drawn from the capital of one bastion to another.
COTE _intérieur du poligone_, _Fr._ interior side of the polygon. The
line which is drawn from the angle of one gorge to the angle of the
gorge most contiguous to it. See sides of the POLYGON.
COUNCIL _of war_, in military affairs, is an assembly of principal
officers of an army or fleet, called by the general or admiral who
commands, to concert measures for their conduct.
COUNTER-APPROACHES, lines or trenches made by the besieged, when they
come out to attack the lines of the besiegers in form.
_Line of_ COUNTER APPROACH, a trench which the besieged make from their
covered way to the right and left of the attacks, in order to scour or
enfilade the enemy’s works.
COUNTER-_Battery_, a battery used to play on another in order to
dismount the guns. See BATTERY.
COUNTER-_breastwork_. See FAUSSE-BRAYE.
COUNTER-_forts_, in fortification, are certain pillars and parts of the
wall, distant from 15 to 20 feet one from another, which are advanced
as much as may be in the ground, and are joined to the height of the
cordon by vaults, to sustain the chemin de rondes, and the part of the
rampart, as well as to fortify the wall, and strengthen the ground. See
BUTTRESSES.
COUNTER-_guards_, in fortification, are small ramparts, with parapets
and ditches, to cover some part of the body of the place. They are
of several shapes, and differently situated. They are generally made
before the bastions, in order to cover the opposite flanks from being
seen from the covert way; consisting then of 2 faces, making a salient
angle, and parallel to the faces of the bastion. They are sometimes
made before the ravelins. See FORTIFICATION.
COUNTER-_round_. See ROUNDS.
COUNTER-_mines_. See MINES.
COUNTER-_trenches_. See SIEGE.
COUNTER-_working_, is the raising of works to oppose these of the enemy.
COUNTER-_swallow’s-tail_, in fortification, is a kind of an out-work
very much resembling a single tenaille.
_To_ COUNTERMAND, is to give contrary orders to those already given; to
contradict former orders, &c.
COUNTERMURE, a wall built up behind another in order to increase the
strength of any work.
COUNTERMARCH, a change by wings, companies, subdivisions, sections,
or files, whereby those who were on the right take up the ground
originally occupied by the left; generally used in changing the front.
See MARCH.
COUNTERSCARP, in fortification, is properly the exterior _talus_, or
slope or the ditch, on the farther side from the place, and facing it.
Sometimes the covert way and glacis are meant by this expression. See
FORTIFICATION.
COUNTERSIGN, in a general acceptation of the term means any particular
word, such as the name of a place or person, which, like the parole,
is exchanged between guards, entrusted to persons who visit military
posts, go the rounds, or have any business to transact with soldiers
in camp or garrison. It ought always to be given in the language most
known to the troops.
COUNTERVALLATION, or line of countervallation, a trench with a parapet,
made by the besiegers, betwixt them and the place besieged, to secure
them from the sallies of the garrison; so that the troops which form
the siege, are encamped between the lines of circumvallation and
countervallation. When the enemy has no army in the field, these lines
are useless.
COUP-DE-MAIN, in military affairs, implies a desperate resolution in
all small expeditions, of surprise, &c. The favorable side of the
proposed action must ever be viewed; for if what may happen, arrive, or
fall out, is chiefly thought upon, it will, at the very best, not only
greatly discourage, but, in general, it will produce a total failure.
The very name of an expedition implies risk, hazard, precarious
warfare, and a critical but desperate operation, or _Coup-de-main_.
COUP-_d’œil_, _Fr._ in a military sense, signifies that fortunate
aptitude of eye in a general, or other officer, by which he is enabled
at one glance on the ground or on a map to see the weak parts of
an enemy’s country, or to discern the strong ones of his own. By
possessing a ready _coup d’œil_, a general may surmount the greatest
difficulties, particularly in offensive operations. On a small scale
this faculty is of the greatest utility. Actions have been recovered
by a sudden conception of different openings upon the enemy, which
could only be ascertained by a quick and ready eye, during the
rapid movements of opposing armies. See _Am. Mil. Lib._ articles
RECONNOITRING, and COUP D’OEIL.
COUPURE, in fortification, are passages, sometimes cut through the
glacis, of about 12 or 15 feet broad, in the reentering angle of
the covert way, to facilitate the sallies of the besieged. They are
sometimes made through the lower curtain, to let boats into a little
haven built on the rentrant angle of the counterscarp of the out works.
COURANTIN, _Fr._ a squib; a term used among French artificers.
COURCON, _Fr._ a long piece of iron which is used in the artillery, and
serves to constrain, or tighten cannon.
COURIER, in a military sense, means a messenger sent post, or express,
to carry dispatches of battles gained, lost, &c. or any other
occurrences that happen in war.
COURIERS _des vivres_, _Fr._ were two active and expert messengers
attached to the French army, whose duty consisted wholly in conveying
packets of importance to and fro, and in taking charge of pecuniary
remittances.
COURONEMENT, or _Couronnement_, in fortification, implies the most
exterior part of a work when besieged.
COURSER. See CHARGER.
COURSIER, _Fr._ a gun which was formerly placed in the forecastle of a
galley for the purpose of firing over the ship’s beak. The weight of
its ball was from 33 to 34 lb.
COURT-_martial_, a court appointed for the investigation and subsequent
punishment of offences in officers, under-officers, soldiers, and
sailors; the powers of which are regulated by the articles of war for
the government of the armies of the United States, passed in the year
1806.
Art. 64. General courts martial may consist of any number of
commissioned officers from five to thirteen inclusively, but they shall
not consist of less than thirteen, where that number can be convened,
without manifest injury to the service.
Art. 65. Any general officer commanding an army, or colonel commanding
a separate department, may appoint general courts martial whenever
necessary. But no sentence of a court martial shall be carried into
execution until after the whole proceedings shall have been laid before
the officer ordering the same, or the officer commanding the troops for
the time being; neither shall any sentence of a general court martial,
in time of peace, extending to the loss of life, or the dismission of a
commissioned officer, or which shall, either in time of peace or war,
respecting a general officer, be carried into execution, until after
the whole proceedings shall have been transmitted to the secretary of
war, to be laid before the President of the United States, for his
confirmation or disapproval and orders in the case. All other sentences
may be confirmed and executed by the officer ordering the court to
assemble, or the commanding officer for the time being, as the case may
be.
Art. 66. Every officer commanding a regiment, or corps, may appoint,
for his own regiment or corps, courts martial, to consist of three
commissioned officers, for the trial and punishment of offences, not
capital, and decide upon their sentences. For the same purpose all
officers, commanding any of the garrisons, forts, barracks, or other
places where the troops consist of different corps, may assemble courts
martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, and decide upon
their sentences.
Art. 67. No garrison, or regimental court martial shall have the power
to try capital cases, or commissoned officers; neither shall they
inflict a fine exceeding one month’s pay, nor imprison, nor put to hard
labor, any non-commissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than
one month.
Art. 68. Whenever it may be found convenient and necessary to the
public service, the officers of the marine shall be associated with the
officers of the land forces, for the purpose of holding courts martial
and trying offenders belonging to either; and in such cases the orders
of the senior officers of either corps who may be present and duly
authorised, shall be received and obeyed.
Art. 69. The judge advocate, or some person deputed by him, or by the
general, or officer commanding the army, detachment, or garrison, shall
prosecute in the name of the United States, but shall so far consider
himself as council for the prisoner, after the said prisoner shall
have made his plea, as to object to any leading question to any of the
witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which might
tend to criminate himself; and administer to each member of the court
before they proceed upon any trial, the following oath, which shall
also be taken by all members of the regimental and garrison courts
martial.
“You A. B. do swear that you will well and truly try and determine,
according to evidence, the matter now before you, between the United
States of America, and the prisoner to be tried, and that you will duly
administer justice, according to the provisions of “An act establishing
rules and articles for the government of the armies of the United
States,” without partiality, favor or affection; and if any doubt shall
arise, not explained by said articles, according to your conscience,
the best of your understanding, and the custom of war, in like cases;
and you do further swear, that you will not divulge the sentence of the
court until it shall be published by the proper authority; neither will
you disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member
of the court martial, unless required to give evidence thereof as a
witness, by a court of justice, in a due course of law. _So help you
God._”
And as soon as the said oath shall have been administered to the
respective members, the president of the court shall administer to the
judge advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following
words:
“You A. B. do swear, that you will not disclose or discover the vote or
opinion of any particular member of the court martial, unless required
to give evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice in due
course of law. Nor divulge the sentence of the court to any but the
proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. _So
help you God._”
Art. 70. When any prisoner arraigned before a general court martial
shall, from obstinate and deliberate design, stand mute or answer
foreign to the purpose, the court may proceed to trial and judgment as
if the prisoner had regularly pleaded not guilty.
Art. 71. When a member shall be challenged by a prisoner, he must
state his cause of challenge, of which the court shall, after
due deliberation determine the relevancy or validity, and decide
accordingly; and no challenge to more than one member at a time shall
be received by the court.
Art. 72. All the members of a court martial are to behave with decency
and calmness; and in giving their votes, are to begin with the youngest
in commission.
Art. 73. All persons who give evidence before a court martial, are to
be examined on oath or affirmation in the following form:
“You swear or affirm (as the case may be) the evidence you shall give
in the cause now in hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. _So help you God._”
Art. 74. On the trials of cases not capital, before courts martial, the
deposition of witnesses not in the line or staff of the army, may be
taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence; provided,
the prosecutor and person accused are present at the taking the same,
or are duly notified thereof.
Art. 75. No officer shall be tried but by a general court martial,
nor by officers of interior rank, if it can be avoided. Nor shall any
proceedings or trials be carried on excepting between the hours of
eight in the morning, and three in the afternoon, excepting in cases,
which, in the opinion of the officer appointing the court martial,
require immediate example.
Art. 76. No person whatsoever shall use any menacing words, signs, or
gestures, in presence of a court martial, or shall cause any disorder
or riot, or disturb their proceedings, on the penalty of being punished
at the discretion of the said court martial.
Art. 77. Whenever any officer shall be charged with a crime, he shall
be arrested and confined in his barracks, quarters, or tents, and
deprived of his sword, by the commanding officer. And any officer who
shall leave his confinement before he shall be set at liberty by his
commanding officer, or by a superior officer, shall be cashiered.
Art. 78. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, charged with crimes,
shall be confined until tried by a court martial, or released by proper
authority.
Art. 79. No officer or soldier who shall be put in arrest, shall
continue in confinement more than eight days, or until such time as a
court martial can be assembled.
Art. 80. No officer commanding a guard, or provost martial, shall
refuse to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge by an
officer belonging to the forces of the United States; provided the
officer committing, shall, at the same time, deliver an account in
writing, signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner
is charged.
Art. 81. No officer commanding a guard, or provost martial, shall
presume to release any person committed to his charge, without proper
authority for so doing, nor shall he suffer any person to escape, on
the penalty of being punished for it by the sentence of a court martial.
Art 82. Every officer or provost marshal, to whose charge prisoners
shall be committed, shall within twenty-four hours after such
commitment, or as soon as he shall be relieved from his guard,
make report in writing, to the commanding officer, of their names,
their crimes, and the names of the officers who committed them, on
the penalty of being punished for disobedience or neglect, at the
discretion of a court martial.
Art. 83. Any commissoned officer convicted before a general court
martial of conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, shall be
dismissed the service.
Art. 84. In cases where a court martial may think it proper to sentence
a commissioned officer to be suspended from command, they shall have
power also to suspend his pay and emoluments from the same time,
according to the nature and heinousness of the offence.
Art. 85. In all cases where a commissioned officer is cashiered for
cowardice or fraud, it shall be added in the sentence, that the
crime, name, and place of abode, and punishment of the delinquent, be
published in the newspapers, in and about the camp, and of a particular
state from which the offender came, or where he usually resides, after
which it shall be deemed scandalous for an officer to associate with
him.
Art. 86. The commanding officer of any post or detachment, in which
there shall not be a number of officers adequate to form a general
court martial, shall, in cases which require the cognizance of such a
court, report to the commanding officer of the department, who shall
order a court to be assembled at the nearest post or detachment, and
the party accused, with necessary witnesses, to be transported to the
place where the said court shall be assembled.
Art. 87. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death but by the
concurrence of two thirds of a general court martial, nor except in the
cases herein expressly mentioned; nor shall more than fifty lashes be
inflicted on any offender, at the discretion of a court martial, and no
officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier, or follower of the army,
shall be tried a second time for the same offence.
Art. 88. No person shall be liable to be tried and punished by a
general court martial for any offence which shall appear to have been
committed more than two years before the issuing of the order for such
trial, unless the person by reason of having absented himself, or some
other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice
within that period.
Art. 89. Every officer authorised to order a general court martial,
shall have power to pardon or mitigate any punishment ordered by such
court, except the sentence of death, or of cashiering an officer; which
in the cases where he has authority (by article 65) to carry them
into execution, he may suspend until the pleasure of the President
of the United States can be known; which suspension, together with
copies of the proceedings of the court martial, the said officer shall
immediately transmit to the President for his determination. And the
colonel or commanding officer of the regiment or garrison, where any
regimental or garrison court martial shall be held, may pardon or
mitigate any punishment ordered by such court to be inflicted.
Art. 90. Every judge advocate, or person officiating as such, at any
general court martial, shall transmit, with as much expedition as the
opportunity of time and distance of place can admit, the original
proceedings and sentence of such court martial, to the secretary of
war, which said original proceedings and sentence shall be carefully
kept and preserved in the office of the said secretary, to the end that
the persons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the
said office, to obtain copies thereof.
The party tried by any general court martial, shall, upon demand
thereof made by himself, or by any person, or persons in his behalf,
be entitled to a copy of the sentence and proceedings of such court
martial.
The following section is extracted from the laws of Congress of 1808.
Sec. 10. _And be it further enacted_, That the officers,
non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates of the said corps,
shall be governed by the rules and articles of war, which have been
established by the United States in Congress assembled, or by such
rules and articles as may be hereafter, by law established; _Provided
nevertheless_, That the sentence of general courts martial, extending
to the loss of life, the dismission of a commissioned officer, or
which shall respect the general officer, shall, with the whole of the
proceedings of such cases, respectively, be laid before the President
of the United States, who is hereby authorised to direct the same to be
carried into execution, or otherwise, as he shall judge proper.
COURT _of inquiry_, an assemblage of officers who are empowered to
inquire into the conduct of an officer, or to see whether there
is ground for a court-martial, &c. Courts of inquiry cannot award
punishment, but must report to the officer by whose order they were
assembled. Courts of inquiry are also appointed to examine into the
quality and distribution of military stores. See ARTICLES OF WAR, §.
91, and 92.
_A regimental_ COURT-MARTIAL cannot sentence to the loss of life or
limb. The colonel or commanding officer approves the sentence of a
regimental court-martial.
_A garrison_ COURT-MARTIAL resembles a regimental one in as much as
the members are not sworn, and only differs by its being composed of
officers of different regiments. The governor, or other commanding
officer of the garrison, approves the sentence.
COURTINE, _Fr._ See CURTAIN.
COUSSINET _à mousquetaire_, _Fr._ a bag formerly worn by a French
soldier on his left side beneath the cross belt. It hung upon hooks
near the but of his musquet. It likewise signifies a wedge used to
support the mortar in its frame.
COUTELAS, _Fr._ See CUTLASS.
COUVERT, _Fr._ See COVER.
COUVRE-FACE, _Fr._ a term used by some engineers, and among others
by Cohorn, to express the counter-guard: others, particularly
Montalembert, convey by _couvre face géneral_ a second line of complete
investment.
_To_ COVER, in the mechanical disposition of a battallion, company or
squad, only means that a man is to stand in such a position in files,
as that when he looks exactly forward to the neck of the man who leads
him, he cannot see the second man from him. Nothing but great attention
at the drill can bring men to cover so truly as never to destroy the
perpendicular direction of any leading body. The least deviation in the
men who cover upon either flank of a leading column or division, will
throw all that follow out of the true line.
_To_ COVER _ground_, is to occupy a certain proportion of ground
individually, or collectively. A foot soldier upon an average covers 22
inches of ground when he stands in the ranks. The dimensions are taken
from his shoulder points.
A file on horseback covers or occupies in the ranks about 2 feet 8
inches. Thus three file, 8 feet; twelve file will occupy about 32 feet
or 10 yards and 2 feet; thirteen file, 34 feet 8 inches, or 11 yards,
1 foot 8 inches; fourteen file, 37 feet 4 inches, or 12 yards 1 foot 4
inches, and so on.
One horse’s length from nose to croup, on an average, 8 feet and about
2 inches, or 2 yards 2 feet 2 inches. This consequently will be the
space which about three files occupy in front.
Cavalry and infantry officers cannot pay too much attention to the
calculation of distances by an accurate knowlege of which, ground will
be properly covered, and any proportion of men, on horseback or on
foot, be drawn up so as to answer the intentions of an able general.
The best way that an officer can form his eye, is to exercise it to
the measurement of ground by the regular pace of two feet, used in
the military drawing; by this he can calculate his interval exactly,
when he once knows how many feet his division occupies; for it is
only halving the number of feet, and the number, so produced, is his
distance in paces of two feet each. This instruction has been given to
cavalry officers, by a very able Tactician.
COVER, a term in war to express security or protection: thus, to
land under cover of the guns, is to advance offensively against an
enemy who dares not approach on account of the fire from ships, boats
or batteries. It likewise signifies whatever renders any movement
imperceptible: as, under cover of the night, under cover of a wood,
&c. The gallery or corridor in fortification is however, particularly
distinguished by the term _Chemin Couvert_, covert way, because the
glacis of the parade is its parapet.
COVERT-WAY, in fortification, is a space of 5 or 6 fathoms on the
border of the ditch towards the country, covered by a rising ground,
which has a gentle slope towards the field. This slope is called the
glacis of the covert-way. See FORTIFICATION.
_Second_ COVERT-WAY, or as the French call it _avant chemin couvert_,
is the covert-way at the foot of the glacis. See FORTIFICATION.
CRAB. See GIN.
CRANE, an instrument made with ropes, pullies, and hooks, by which
great weights are raised.
CREDITS. See DEBTS _and Credits_.
CREMAILLE, in field fortification, is when the inside line of the
parapet is broken in such a manner as to resemble the teeth of a saw;
whereby this advantage is gained, that a greater fire can be brought to
bear upon the defile, than if only a simple face were opposed to it;
and consequently the passage is rendered more difficult.
_Redouts en_ CREMAILLERE, or _Cremaille_, are such as are constructed
as above mentioned.
CRESSET, any great light upon a beacon, light-house, or watch-tower.
CRETE, in fortification, implies the earth thrown out of the ditch in
a fortification, trench, &c. The most elevated part of a parapet or
glacis.
CRI _des armes_, _Fr._ a savage custom which is still preserved by the
Turks and other uncivilized nations, whenever they go into action. It
was formerly practised among the French, Spaniards, and the English,
&c. The national exclamations were Montjoie and St. Dennis for France,
St. James for Spain, St. George for England, St. Malo or St. Yves for
the Dukes of Britanny, St. Lambert for the principality of Liege, &c.
The war-whoop may likewise be considered in this light. It is still
practised among the savages of America. See WAR-WHOOP.
Every species of noise however is now exploded in Europe. When two
armies are upon the point of engaging, a dead silence prevails, the eye
and ear of the soldier are rivetted to the word of command; and when he
comes into close contact with the enemy, nothing is heard besides the
noise of drums, trumpets and cymbals, to which are added the discharge
of ordnance and the fire of the musquetry.
In making any desperate assault, or in charging bayonet, or when one
battalion is directly opposed to another, or squadron to squadron, the
French soldiery frequently use the cri des armes; _tué tué_; and the
Spaniards vociferate _amat_. Silence and calmness in the soldier, with
steadiness and observation in the officer, are nevertheless superior to
such ungovernable effusions. The former must contribute to regularity,
the latter seldom fails to create disorder.
CRIQUES, _Fr._ small ditches which are made in different parts of a
ground, for the purpose of inundating a country, in order to obstruct
the approaches of an enemy.
CROATS, in military history, light irregular troops so called;
generally people of Croatia. They are ordered upon all desperate
services, and their method of fighting is the same as the Pandours.
They wear a short waist-coat, and long white pantaloons, with light
boots, a cap greatly resembling the hussar cap. Their arms are a long
firelock with rifled barrel, and short bayonet, a crooked hanger, and
brace of pistols.
CROCUS, a calcined metal used by the soldiers to clean their musquets,
&c.
CROIX _de St. Louis_, _Fr._ The cross of St. Louis, a French order
which was purely of a military nature. It was instituted by Louis,
surnamed the Great, in 1693.
In 1719 the number of grand crosses to be distributed in the French
army was limited, with appropriate allowances, in the following manner.
445 Commandeurs and chevaliers. 12 grand crosses at 6000 livres, 13
commandeurs at 4000 livres, 27 ditto at 3000, 25 chevaliers at 2000, 38
ditto at 1500, 100 ditto at 1000, 1 ditto at 900, 99 ditto at 800, 45
ditto at 600, 23 ditto at 500, 35 ditto at 400, 5 ditto at 300, and 4
ditto at 200.
The King was Sovereign Grand Master of the order. Land and sea officers
wore it promiscuously. The cross consisted of an enamelled golden
_fleur de lis_ which was attached to the button hole of the coat by
means of a small riband, crimson colored and watered.
On one side was the cross of St. Louis, with this inscription
_Ludovicus Magnus instituit_, 1693; on the reverse side a blazing sword
with the following words, _Bellicæ virtutis, præmium_.
This is the only order which could be properly and strictly called
military. There were several others during the old French government,
which we judge superfluous to the present work.
CROSS, the ensign or grand standard borne by the crusaders in the
holy-war.
CROSS-_fire_, in the art of war, is when the lines of fire of two or
more adjoining sides of a field-redoubt, &c. cross one another; it
is frequently used to prevent an enemy’s passing a defile. It may be
two ways obtained: first, by constructing the redoubt with the face
opposite the defile, tenailled; that is, forming a re-entering angle.
The other way is, to defend the defile by 2 redoubts, whose faces
command the passage, flanking each other at the same time.
CROSS-_bar shot_, shot with iron bars crossing through them, sometimes
standing 6 or 8 inches out at both sides: they are used at sea, for
destroying the enemy’s rigging. At a siege they are of great service in
demolishing the enemy’s palisading, &c.
CROSS-_bars_. See CARRIAGES.
CROSS-_bow_, a missive weapon used to propel arrows, &c. previous to
the use of gunpowder.
CROTCHET, of cavalry. See CROSS.
CROW, an iron bar used as a lever, in moving heavy ordnance, or
carriages, &c.
CROWS-_feet_, or CALTROPS, in the art of war, are 4 pointed irons, so
made that what way soever they fall, one point is always uppermost. The
short ones are about 4 inches in length, and the long ones 6 or 7. The
short ones are thrown on bridges, &c. and the long ones on the earth,
both to incommode the cavalry, that they may not approach without great
difficulty.
CROWN-_work_, in fortification, an out work that takes up more ground
than any other. It consists of a large gorge, and two sides terminating
towards the country in two demi-bastions, each of which is joined by a
particular curtain, forming two half bastions and one whole one: they
are made before the curtain, or the bastion, and generally serve to
inclose some buildings which cannot be brought within the body of the
place, or to cover the town gates, or else to occupy a spot of ground
which might be advantageous to the enemy. See FORTIFICATION.
CROWNED _horned-work_, in fortification, is a horn-work, with a
crown-work before it.
CROWNS, in ancient military history, were of various uses and
denominations, viz.
_Oval_ CROWN, _corona ovalis_, given to a general who, without effusion
of blood, had conquered the enemy.
_Naval_ CROWN, _corona navalis_ distributed to those who first should
board an enemy’s ship.
_Camp_ CROWN, _corona castrensis_, the reward of those who first passed
the palisades of, and forced an enemy’s camp.
_Mural_ CROWN, _corona muralis_, the recompense and mark of honor due
to those who first mounted the breach at an assault of a besieged town.
_Civic_ CROWN, _corona civica_, more esteemed than the preceding:
it was the distinguishing mark of those who had saved the life of a
Roman citizen in battle. It was given to Cicero for dissipating the
conspiracy of Catiline, and denied to Cæsar, because he embrued his
hands in the blood of his fellow citizens.
_Triumphal_ CROWN, _corona triumphalis_, the symbol of victory, and
presented to a general who gained any signal advantage to the republic.
_Grass_ CROWN, _corona graminea_ was delivered by the whole Roman
people to any general who had relieved an army invested or besieged
by the enemy. The other _crowns_ were distributed by the emperors and
generals; this was given to Fabius by the Roman people, for obliging
Hannibal to decamp from Rome.
_Olive_ CROWN, _corona oliva_, the symbol of peace, and presented to
the negotiators of it.
CROISADE CRUSADE in military history, also called a holy war, barbarous
expeditions of the Christians against the Saracens or Turks for the
recovery of the holy land, and so called from those who engaged in it
wearing a cross on their clothes.
CUBE a solid, consisting of 6 equal square sides. The solidity of any
cube is found by multiplying the superficial content of any one of the
sides by the height. Cubes are to one another in the triplicate ratio
of their diagonals.
CUBE-_root_, is the side of one of the squares constituting the cube.
CUBIC _foot_, implies so much as is contained in a cube whose side is 1
foot, or 12 inches.
CUBIC _hyperbola_, is a figure expressed by the equation _x y²_ = _a_,
having 2 asymptotes, and consisting of 2 hyperbolas, lying in the
adjoining angles of the asymptotes, and not in the opposite angles,
like the Apollonian hyperbola, being otherwise called, by Sir Isaac
Newton, in his _enumeratio linearum tertii ordinis_, an hyperbolismus
of a parabola: and is the 65th species of lines, according to him.
CUBIC _number_, is that which is produced by multiplying any number by
itself, and then again the product by that number.
CUBIC _parabola_, a curve of the second order, having infinite legs,
diverging contrary ways.
CUE _or_ QUEUE, the hair tied in form of a tail. All the British
soldiers, excepting the grenadiers and light infantry, till very lately
wore their hair cue’d.
CUIRASSE, a piece of defensive armor, made of plate, well hammered,
serving to cover the body, from the neck to the girdle, both before and
behind, called breast and back plate.
CUIRASSIERS, in the military art, are a sort of heavy cavalry armed
with cuirasses, as most of the German horse are. The several German
powers have regiments of cuirassiers, especially the emperor, and the
king of Prussia. The late king of France had also one regiment; but
there were none in the English army since the revolution of 1688.
CUISH, the ancient armor which covered the thighs, was so called.
CUISSARS, _Fr._ are plates or scales made of beaten iron, which
formerly served to cover the thighs.
CUITE, _Fr._ a technical word to express the preparation of saltpetre
for the making of gunpowder. See SALTPETRE.
CULASSE, _Fr._ See BREECH of a GUN.
CULBUTER, _une Colonne_, to overthrow a column. This term is frequently
used when cavalry attack infantry by rapidly charging it.
CULEE _d’un pont_, _Fr._ butment of a bridge.
CULVERIN, CULVERIN _ordinary_, CULVERIN _of the largest size_, See
CANNON.
CUNEUS. See WEDGE.
CUNETTE. See CUVETTE.
CURFEW-_bell_, a signal given in cities taken in war, &c. to the
inhabitants to go to bed. The most eminent curfew was that in England,
established by William the Conqueror, who appointed, under severe
penalties, that, at the ringing of a bell, at 8 o’clock in the evening,
every one should put out their lights and fires, and go to bed, &c.
CURTAIN, in fortification, is that part of the body of the place, which
joins the flank of one bastion to that of the next. See FORTIFICATION.
_Angle of the_ CURTAIN. See FORTIFICATION.
_Complement of the_ CURTAIN. See FORTIFICATION.
CURTELASSE, CURTELAX, See CUTLASS.
CUSTREL, the shield-bearer of the ancients was so called.
CUT. There are six cuts used by the cavalry, to be made with the broad
sword, or sabre. See SWORD _Exercise_.
_To_ CUT _off_. To intercept, to hinder from union or return. In a
military sense, this phrase is variously applicable, and extremely
familiar.
_To_ CUT _off an enemy’s retreat_, is to manœuvre in such a manner
as to prevent an opposing army, or body of men, from retiring, when
closely pressed, either to their entrenchments, or into a fortified
town from which they had marched or sallied. Whole armies may be
cut off either through the mismanagement of their own generals, by
extending the line of operation too far, or through the superior
talents of an individual, who in the midst of the hurry, noise, and
desolation, which invariably attend a pitched battle, suddenly takes
advantage of some opening in the wings or centre, and cuts off a
material part of his enemy’s line. When one army is superior to another
in numbers, and is commanded by a shrewd and intelligent officer, it
may always cut off a part at least of the opposing forces that come
into action.
_To_ CUT _short_. To abridge: as the soldiers were cut short of their
pay.
_To_ CUT _up_. When the cavalry are sent in pursuit of a flying enemy,
the latter are generally cut up.
_To_ CUT _through_. A small body of brave men, headed by a good
officer, will frequently extricate itself from apparent captivity, or
destruction, by cutting its way through superior force.
CUTLER, a military artificer, whose business is to forge, temper, and
mount all sorts of sword blades.
CUTTING-_off_. See RETRENCHMENT.
CUVETTE, in fortification, is a small ditch of 10 or 12 feet broad,
made in the middle of a large dry ditch, about 4 or 4¹⁄₂ feet deep,
serving as a retrenchment to defend the ditch, or else to let water in,
(if it can be had during a siege,) and afford an obstacle, should the
enemy endeavor to cross the fosse.
CYCLOPOEDIA. See ENCYCLOPOEDIA.
CYCLOID, a curve in geometry.
CYLINDER, or _concave cylinder of a gun_, is all the hollow length of
the piece, or bore. See CANNON.
_Charged_ CYLINDER, the chamber, or that part which receives the powder
and ball. See CANNON.
_Vacant_ CYLINDER, that part of the hollow or bore which remains empty
when the piece is loaded.
CYMAR, a slight covering; a scarf.
CYMBAL, in ancient military history, a war-like musical instrument in
use among the ancients, made of brass and silver. They are derived from
Asia, where they are of a variety of sizes. They are now used by the
British and other European nations, in their martial music.
CZAR, in military history, a title assumed by the great dukes, or,
as they are now stiled, emperors of all the Russias. This title is
no doubt, by corruption, taken from _Cæsar_, emperor; and the Czars
accordingly bear an eagle, as the symbol of their empire. The first
that bore this title was Basil, the son of Basilides, about the year
1470. The Empress is called the Czarina or Tzarina.
D.
DAGGER, in military affairs, a short sword, or poinard, about 12 or 13
inches long. It is not long since, that duellists fought with sword and
dagger.
DAGUE, _Fr._ dagger, a short thick poniard which was formerly used when
individuals engaged in single combat.
DAM. See DYKE.
DAME, _Fr._ among miners any portion of earth which may remain after
the explosion of a mine has taken place. It likewise means a piece of
wood with two handles used to press down turf or dirt in a mortar.
DARE, a challenge or defiance to single combat.
DARRAIN. See BATTLE-_array_.
DART, in ancient military history, implies a small kind of lance,
thrown by the hand.
DAY, in a military sense implies any time in which armies may be
engaged, from the rising of one day’s sun to that of another. According
to Johnson it signifies the day of contest, the contest, the battle.
DAYSMAN, an umpire of the combat was so called.
DEBANDADE. _A la débandade_, helter-skelter.
_Se battre à la débandade_, to fight in a loose, dispersed manner.
_Laisser à la débandade_, to leave at random, or in disorder.
DEBARK, See DISEMBARK.
DEBAUCHER, _Fr._ to debauch or entice a soldier from the service of his
country. During the reign of Louis the XV. and in former reigns, it was
enacted, that any person who should be convicted of having _debauched_
or enticed a soldier from his duty should suffer death. By a late act
of the British parliament it is made a capital offence to entice or
seduce a soldier from any regiment in the British service.
By the 23d section of the articles of war of the United States, the
advising or persuading any officer of the United States army to
desert, subjects the adviser to the punishment of death, or such other
punishment as a court martial may inflict.
DEBENTURE, is a kind of warrant, given in the office of the British
board of ordnance, whereby the person whose name is therein specified,
is intitled to receive such a sum of money as by former contract had
been agreed on, whether wages, or otherwise. Debenture, in some of
the British acts of parliament, denotes a kind of bond or bill, first
given in 1649, whereby the government is charged to pay the soldier,
creditor, or his assigns, the money due on auditing the account of his
arrears. The payments of the board of ordnance for the larger services
at home are always made by debentures; and the usual practice has been
to make those payments which are said to be in course of office, at
a period which is always somewhat more than three months after the
date of each debenture, and which can never exceed six: to pay, for
instance, at once for the three months of January, February, and March,
as early as possible after the 30th of June.
Debentures were generally made up at the Pay-Office by virtue of
warrants from the War-Office, with the state of regimental charges
annexed, after which is issued the final, or clearing warrant. See
WARRANT.
DEBLAYER _un Camp_, _Fr._ To evacuate a camp for the purpose of
cleaning and purifying the ground.
DEBTS and _Credits_. Every captain of a troop or company in the British
service is directed to give in a monthly statement of the _debts and
credits_ of his men; and it is the duty of every commanding officer to
examine each list, and to see, that no injustice or irregularity has
been countenanced or overlooked in so important an object, as every
money matter between officer and soldier most unquestionably is.
DECAGON, in fortification, is a polygon figure, having 10 sides, and as
many angles; and if all the sides are equal, and all the angles, it is
called a regular decagon, and may be inscribed in a circle. The sides
of a regular decagon are, in power and length, equal to the greatest
segment of an hexagon inscribed in the same circle, and cut in extreme
and mean proportion.
DECAGONE. _Fr._ See DECAGON.
_To_ DECAMP, to march an army or body of men from the ground where it
before lay encamped. It also signifies to quit any place or position in
an unexpected manner. See CAMP.
DECANUS, in Roman military history, an officer who presided over ten
other officers, and was head of the contubernium, or serjeant of a file
of Roman soldiers; hence our _Deacons_.
DECHARGEURS, _Fr._ are men appointed to attend the park of artillery,
and to assist the non commissioned officers, &c. who are employed on
that service. It is the duty of the former to keep a specific account
of articles received and consumed, in order to enable the latter to
furnish their officers with accurate statements.
_To_ DECIMATE, to divide any body of men into as many tenths as the
aggregate number will afford, and to make them cast lots for the
purpose of being punished.
DECIMATION, in Roman military history, a punishment indicted upon such
soldiers as quitted their post, or behaved themselves cowardly in the
field. The names of all the guilty were put into an urn or helmet, and
as many were drawn out as made the tenth part of the whole number: the
latter were put to the sword and the others saved.
DECIMER, _Fr._ See DECIMATE.
DECLARATION _of war_, a public proclamation made to the citizens, or
subjects of a state, declaring them to be at war with any foreign
power, and forbidding all and every one to aid or assist the common
enemy, at their peril.
DECLIVITY, as opposed to acclivity, means a gradual inclination, or
obliquity reckoned downwards.
DECOMPTE, _Fr._ signifies a liquidation, or balance, which from time
to time was made in the old French service, between the captain of a
company and each private soldier, for monies advanced, or in hand.
In the British service every infantry soldier is settled with on the
24th day in each month. The cavalry is paid every second month. In the
American army the soldiers are required to be paid every two months at
least.
DECOUVERTE, _Aller à la découverte_, _Fr._ To patrole. In the old
French service, the party ordered to perform this duty, when in a
garrison, usually went three miles round the fortifications to pick up
stragglers who could not account for themselves, and to secure spies,
should any be lurking about.
_Aller à la_ DECOUVERTE, when applied to any party that is detached
from the army, signifies to reconnoitre the enemy. Cavalry are usually
employed upon this duty.
DECOY, a stratagem to carry off the enemy’s horses in a foraging party,
or from the pasture; to execute which, you must be disguised, and mix
on horseback in the pasture, or amongst the foragers on that side on
which you propose to fly; you must then begin, by firing a few shots,
which are to be answered by such of your party as are appointed to
drive up the rear, and are posted at the opposite extremity of the
pasture, or foraging ground; after which they are to gallop from their
different stations towards the side fixed for the flight, shouting and
firing all the way: the horses being thus alarmed, and provoked by
the example of others, will break loose from the pickets, throw down
their riders and the trusses, and setting up a gallop, will naturally
direct their course to the same side; insomuch that, if the number of
them was ever so great, you might lead them in that manner for several
leagues together: when you are got into some road, bordered by a hedge,
or ditch, you must stop as gently as possible; and without making any
noise; the horses will then suffer themselves to be taken without any
opposition. It is called in French _Haraux_; and marshal Saxe is the
only author that mentions it.
DECOYED, an enemy is said to be decoyed when a small body of troops
draws them into action, whilst the main body lies in ambush ready to
act with the greatest effect.
DECURIO, in Roman military history, a commander of ten men in the army,
or chief of a decury.
DECURY, ten Roman soldiers ranged under one chief, or leader, called
the Decurio.
DEEP, troops are told off in ranks of two, or 3 deep, and on some
occasions in 4 or more.
DEFAULTER. See DESERTER.
DEFEAT, the overthrow of an army.
DEFECTION. See MUTINY.
DEFENCE, in fortification, consists of all sorts of works that cover
and defend the opposite posts; as flanks, parapets, casemates, and
fausse-brays. It is almost impossible to fix the miner to the face of
a bastion, till the defences of the opposite one are ruined; that is,
till the parapet of its flank is beaten down, and the cannon, in all
parts that can fire upon that face which is attacked, is dismounted.
See FORTIFICATION.
_Active_ DEFENCE, generally considered, means every species of
offensive operation which is resorted to by the besieged, to annoy
the besiegers. Such for instance, is the discharge of heavy ordnance
from the walls, the emission of shells, and the firing of musquetry.
A mass of water may likewise be understood to mean active defence,
provided it can be increased according to the exigency of the service,
and be suddenly made to overflow the outworks, or entrenchments of the
besieging enemy. Mines which are carried beyond the fortifications may
likewise be included under this head.
_Passive_ DEFENCE is chiefly confined to inundations, and is effected
by letting out water in such a manner, that the level ground which
lies round a fortified town or place may be entirely overflowed and
become an inert stagnant pool. Mere _submersion_ is, in fact, the
distinguishing character of this species of defence, which does not
afford any other movement than what naturally arises from the greater
or lesser elevation of the waters, without the means of urging them
beyond a given point.
_Distant_ DEFENCE, consists in being able to interrupt the enemy’s
movements by circuitous inundations; to inundate, for instance, a
bridge, when a convoy is passing, or to insulate batteries, the heads
of saps or lodgments which have been made in the covert way is to
act upon a distant defence. By this species of defence an enemy’s
communications may be perpetually intercepted, and his approaches so
obstructed as to force him to leave dangerous intervals.
See Belidor’s treatise on Hydraulic Architecture.
_Line of_ DEFENCE, represents the flight of a musquet ball from the
place where the musqueteers stand, to scour the face of the bastion.
It should never exceed the reach of a musquet. It is either fichant or
razant: the first is when it is drawn from the angle of the curtain
to the flanked angle; the last, when it is drawn from a point in the
curtain, razing the face of the bastion.
_Line of_ DEFENCE is the distance between the salient angle of the
bastion, and the opposite flank; that is, it is the face produced to
the flank. See FORTIFICATION.
DEFENCE _of rivers_, in military affairs, is a vigorous effort to
prevent the enemy from passing; to effect which, a careful and
attentive officer will raise redoubts, and if necessary join curtains
thereto: he will place them as near the banks as possible, observing
to cut a trench through the ground at the windings of the river, which
may be favorable to the enemy, and to place advanced redoubts there, to
prevent his having any ground fit to form on, &c. See RIVERS.
_To be in a posture of_ DEFENCE, is to be prepared to oppose an enemy,
whether in regard to redoubts, batteries, or in the open field.
_To_ DEFEND, to fortify, secure, or maintain a place or cause.
DEFENSE, _Fr._ See _Ligne de_ DEFENSE.
DEFENSE, _Fr._ _être en défense_, technically signifies to be in a
state of defence, or able to resist. The French usually say: _Cette
redoute est en défense_. This redoubt is in a state of defence.
DEFENSES _d’une place_, _Fr._ See DEFENCE in FORTIFICATION.
DEFENSIVE, serving to defend; in a state or posture of defence.
DEFENSIVE-_war_. See WAR.
DEFIANCE. See CHALLENGE.
DEFICIENT, wanting to complete, as when a regiment, troop, or company
has not its prescribed number of men.
DEFILE, in military affairs, a strait narrow passage, or road, through
which the troops cannot march, otherwise than by making a small front,
and filing off; so that the enemy may take an opportunity to stop,
or harrass their march, and to charge them with so much the more
advantage, because the rear cannot come up to the relief of the front.
_To_ DEFILE, is to reduce divisions or platoons into a small front, in
order to march through a defile; which is most conveniently done by
quarter facing to either the right or left, and then covering to either
right or left, and marching through by files, &c. It has been mentioned
by a writer on military manœuvres, that defiling should be performed
with rapidity, for this obvious reason, that a body of men which
advances towards, or retires from an approaching enemy, may get into
line, or into columns prepared for action, without loss of time. There
may, however, be exceptions to this general rule. For instance, if the
regiment is passing a bridge, either retreating or advancing, and the
bridge is not firm, the pressure upon it must be as little as possible;
because if it should break down, the regiment is suddenly separated,
and the remainder may be cut to pieces. In passing a common defile the
pace must be proportioned to the nature of the ground.
DEFILING _a lodgment_. See ENFILADE.
DEFORMER, _Fr._ in a military sense, signifies to break: as _déformer
une colonne_, to break a column.
DEFY. See CHALLENGE.
DEGAST, _Fr._ the laying waste an enemy’s country, particularly in the
neighborhood of a town which an army attempts to reduce by famine, or
which refuses to pay military exactions.
DEGORGEOIR, _Fr._ a sort of steel pricker used in examining the
touch-hole of a cannon; called a priming wire.
DEGRADATION, in a military life, the act of depriving an officer for
ever of his commission, rank, dignity, or degree of honor; and taking
away, at the same time, title, badge, and every other privilege of an
officer.
DEGRADER, _Fr._ To degrade. The character of a soldier in France was
formerly, and we presume still is, so scrupulously watched, that
criminals were never delivered over to the charge of the civil power,
or sent to be executed, without having been previously degraded; which
was done in the following manner:
As soon as the serjeant of the company to which the culprit belonged,
had received orders from the major of the regiment, to degrade and
render him incapable of bearing arms; he accoutred him cap-a-pied,
taking care to place his right hand upon the but-end of the musquet,
while the soldier remained tied. He then repeated the following
words: _finding thee unworthy to bear arms, we thus degrade thee_.
“Te trouvant indigne de porter les armes, nous t’en dégradons.” He
then drew the musquet from his arm backwards, took off his cross-belt,
sword, &c. and finally gave him a kick upon the posteriors. After which
the serjeant retired, and the executioner seized the criminal. See
DRUM-OUT.
DEGRE. See DEGREE.
DEGREE. Though this term properly belongs to geometry, nevertheless it
is frequently used both in fortification, and gunnery. Hence it will
not be improper to state, that it is a division of a circle, including
a 360th part of its circumference. Every circle is supposed to be
divided into 360°, parts called degrees, and each degree into 60′,
other parts, called minutes; each of these minutes being divided into
60″ seconds, each second into thirds, and so on.
DEHORS, in the military art, are all sorts of out-works in general,
placed at some distance from the walls of a fortification, the
better to secure the main places, and to protect the siege, &c. See
FORTIFICATION.
DELINEATION, an outline or sketch. See DESIGN.
DELIVER. See SURRENDER.
DEMI-BASTION, or _half-bastion_, is a work with only one face and one
flank. See FORTIFICATION.
DEMI-CANNON. See CANNON.
DEMI-CULVERIN. See CANNON.
DEMI-DISTANCE _des polygones_, _Fr._ is the distance between the
exterior polygons and the angles.
DEMI-DISTANCES, _Fr._ half distances: as _serrez la colonne à
demi-distances_, close to the column at half distances.
DEMI-FILE, _Fr._ is that rank in a French battalion, which immediately
succeeds to the _serre-demi-file_, and is at the head of the remaining
half of its depth.
DEMI-LANCE, a light lance or spear.
DEMI-LINE, in fortification, is a work placed before the curtain to
cover it and prevent the flanks from being discovered sideways. It is
made of two faces, meeting in an outward angle. See FORTIFICATION.
DEMI-GORGE, in fortification, is half the gorge, or entrance into the
bastion, not taken directly from angle to angle, where the bastion
joins the curtain, but from the angle of the flank to the centre of
the bastion; or the angle which the two curtains would make, by their
prolongation. See FORTIFICATION.
DEMISSION, _Fr._ Resignation.
DEMOLITION, the act of overthrowing buildings.
DENIZEN, a free man, residing in a country or state, and owing
allegiance, as opposed to Alien, which means a person not a citizen,
and who owes or acknowleges a foreign allegiance.
DENONCIATEUR _d’un déserteur_, _Fr._ During the old government
of France, a military regulation existed by which any person who
discovered a deserter, was entitled to his full discharge, if a
soldier: and to one hundred livres, or eleven dollars reward.
DENONCIATEUR, in a general sense, may not improperly be called a
military informer. So rigid indeed, were the regulations (even in the
most corrupt state of the French government) against every species
of misapplication and embezzlement, that if a private dragoon gave
information to the commissary of musters of a troop horse that had
passed muster, having been used in the private service of an officer,
he was entitled not only to his discharge, but received moreover
one hundred livres in cash, and became master of the horse and
equipage, with which he retired unmolested. It is not mentioned in the
publication from which we extract this remark, whether the officer was
cashiered, &c. but we presume he was.
One hundred and fifty livres were likewise paid to any dragoon, or
soldier who should give information of a premeditated duel; he obtained
moreover his discharge.
DENSITY _of bodies_. See MOTION.
DEPASSER (or DEBORDER), _Fr._ To over-run. In oblique movements,
particular care should be taken not to afford an enemy that advances on
the same points with yourself, the means of outflanking you; which must
inevitably happen, should any part of your troops over-run their proper
ground. For the instant such an error occurs, your antagonist will only
have to form a retired flank, oppose you in front on that part, and
charge the remainder in flank, after having cut off all the troops that
had over-run.
_Se laisser_ DEPASSER, to suffer yourself to be overtaken.
DEPENSES, _Fr._ In a military sense, implies secret service money.
DEPLOY, to display, to spread out; a column is said to deploy, when
the divisions open out, or extend to form line on some one of those
divisions.
DEPLOYMENT, or _flank march_, in a military sense, the act of unfolding
or expanding any given body of men, so as to extend their front. A
_deployment_ may be made in various ways. The principal one is, from
the close column into line. A battalion in close column may form in
line on its front, on its rear, or on any central division, by the
_deployment_, or flank march, and by which it successively uncovers and
extends its several divisions.
In the passage of an obstacle, parts of the battalion are required
to form in close column, and again _deploy_ into line; although the
division formed upon, continues to be moveable. This, however, depends
wholly upon the nature of the ground or country, over which the
battalion is marching.
DEPLOYMENT _into line on a front division, the right in front_, is
effected by halting that division in the alignement, and all the
others in their true situations, parallel and well closed up to it;
and then by taking a point for forming upon, and dressing by it in
the prolongation of that division. For a minute explanation of the
deployments on a rear and central division. See _American Military
Library_.
_Oblique Deployments_ differ from those movements, which are made when
a battalion stands perpendicular to the line on which it is to form.
These _deployments_ are frequently made on an oblique line advanced, on
an oblique line retired: and when the close column halted is to form in
line in the prolongation of its flank, and on either the front, rear,
or central division. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
DEPOT, any particular place in which military stores are deposited
for the use of the army. In a more extensive sense, it means several
magazines collected together for that purpose. It also signifies an
appropriated fort, or place, for the reception of recruits, or detached
parties, belonging to different regiments. During hostilities, the
greatest attention should be given to preserve the several _depots_
which belong to the fighting army. Hence the line of operation should
be invariably connected with them; or rather no advance should be made
upon that line, without the strictest regard being paid to the one of
communication.
DEPOT is also used to denote a particular place at the tail of the
trenches, out of the reach of the cannon of the place, where the
troops generally assemble, who are ordered to attack the out-works, or
support the troops in the trenches, when there is reason to imagine the
besieged intend making a vigorous sally.
DEPOT, likewise means a temporary magazine for forage, for fascines,
gabions, tools, and every other thing necessary for the support of an
army, or for carrying on a siege.
DEPOUILLE, _Fr._ _mettre en dépouille_, is an expression made use of in
casting of cannon, and signifies to strip it of the matting, clay, &c.
DEPOUILLES _de l’ennemi_, _Fr._ See SPOILS.
DEPRESSION, the placing of any piece of ordnance, so that its shot be
thrown under the point blank line.
DEPRESSED _gun_, any piece of ordnance having its mouth depressed below
the horizontal line.
DEPTH _of a battalion or squadron_, in military affairs, the number
of ranks, or the quantity of men. Infantry were formerly drawn up 6
or 8 deep, that is, it consisted of so many ranks; but now the line
of infantry are generally drawn up only 3 deep, and in defence of a
breastwork but two deep. When infantry is drawn up 3 deep, the first
rank is called the front rank; the second, the centre rank; and the
third, the rear rank; and the files which bind the right and left, are
called the flanks. The cavalry is drawn up 2 deep.
DEPTH, a technical word peculiarly applicable to bodies of men drawn up
in line or column.
DEPTH _of formation_. The fundamental order of the infantry in which
they should always form and act, and for which all their various
operations and movements are calculated, is _three ranks_. The
formation in _two ranks_ is regarded as an occasional exception that
may be made from it, where an extended and covered front is to be
occupied, or where an irregular enemy, who deals only in fire, is to be
opposed. The formation in two ranks, and at open files, is calculated
only for light troops in the attack and pursuit of a timid enemy,
but not for making an impression on an opposite regular line, which
vigorously assails, or resists.
DEPTH is not only applicable to men drawn up in line, and standing at
close, or open files two or three _deep_, but it may likewise signify
the relative depth of an army marching towards any given object, in
desultory columns.
DEPUTY, a term given to persons employed in the civil departments of
the army, and subject to superior trusts.
DEPUTY _pay-masters_.
DEPUTY _muster-masters_.
DEPUTY _commissaries_.
DEPUTY _judge-advocate_.
DEROUTE, _Fr._ The total overthrow of an army, battalion, or of any
armed party. See DEFEAT.
_To_ DESCEND, signifies to leave any position on an eminence for
immediate action.
_To_ DESCEND _upon_, to invade. When an enemy from surrounding heights
suddenly marches against a fortified place, he is said to descend upon
it. The term is also applied to troops debarking from their ships for
the purpose of invasion.
DESCENT. Hostile invasion of any state or kingdom.
DESCENTES, _dans le fossé_, _Fr._ See DESCENTS _into the ditch_.
DESCENTS _into the ditch_, are cuts and excavations which are made by
means of saps in the counterscarp beneath the covert way. They are
covered with thick boards and hurdles, and a certain quantity of earth
is thrown upon the top, in order to obviate the bad effects which might
arise from shells, &c.
When the ditch or fossé is full of water, the _descent_ must be made
to its edge, after which the ditch must be filled with strong fascines
covered with earth. When the ditch is dry, the saps are carried on to
the bottom, and traverses are made in order to secure a lodgment, or to
render the approaches of the miner more practicable. When the ditch or
fossé which is full of water, has little or no bank, the _descent_ is
simply made over it, care being taken to cover its enfilade or range
with blinds and chandeliers, or to execute it as much out of that line
as possible.
DESCENTS, in fortification, are the holes, vaults, and hollow places,
made by undermining the ground.
DESCRIPTION, _Signalement_, _Fr._ The description of a man’s person,
his appearance, &c. It not only signifies the figure, but an exact and
specific detail of such marks and prominent features, that by comparing
the copy taken on paper with the original, the latter may be instantly
recognised. It is the custom in all well regulated armies for every
regiment to have an exact description of each man that belongs to it,
specifically drawn out in the adjutant’s books. So that when a soldier
deserts, a copy is instantly taken, and forwarded to those places to
which he is most likely to resort.
DESERTER, in a military sense, a soldier who, by running away from his
regiment, troop, or company, abandons the service.
DESERTERS. A prudent officer will always be cautious of what he
entrusts to a deserter; the judgment of the officer and his knowlege
of human character, are the only guides which he has in his conduct;
the motives of the deserter are therefore to be considered, whether it
was the result of depravity in himself or of causes which might affect
a generous mind. In this case, however, he should be as cautious as
if it proved to be depravity only. A deserter on reaching the lines
is put under arrest and conducted to the commanding officer, where
he is examined, and it is usual to notify him he will be punished
with death as a spy if he gives false information. Though great
caution is required in regard to the information given by deserters,
great advantage may be derived from their information, as attacks
premeditated, the positions of officers, corps, and magazines, and
head quarters, of discontents in the army, or disagreements among the
superior officers.
DESERTERS from the militia may be apprehended by any person in the same
manner, that deserters are from the regular army. Persons apprehending
a deserter are entitled to 10 dollars.
_Penalty of_ DESERTION. All officers and soldiers, who having received
pay, or having been duly enlisted in the U. S. service, shall be
convicted of having deserted the same, shall suffer death or such other
punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted. _Art. War_, § 20,
21, 22, 23.
Any non commissioned officer or soldier, who shall, without leave from
his commanding officer, absent himself from his troop or company, or
from any detachment with which he shall be commanded, shall, upon being
convicted thereof, be punished according to the nature of the offence,
at the discretion of a court-martial.
No non commissioned officer or soldier shall inlist himself in any
other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge from the
regiment, troop, or company in which he last served, on the penalty of
being reputed a deserter and suffering accordingly: and in case any
officer shall knowingly receive and entertain such non commissioned
officer or soldier, or shall not, after his being discovered to be
a deserter, immediately confine him, and give notice thereof to the
corpse in which he last served, he, the said officer so offending,
shall by a court-martial be cashiered.
Whatsoever officer or soldier shall be convicted of having advised any
other officer or soldier, to desert our service, shall suffer such
punishment as shall be inflicted upon him by the sentence of the
court-martial.
_Penalty for concealing_ BRITISH DESERTERS, or _buying their arms,
clothes_, &c. Provided always, that if any person shall harbor,
conceal, or assist any deserter from his majesty’s service, knowing
him to be such, the person so offending shall forfeit for every such
offence, the sum of 5_l._ or if any person shall knowingly detain, buy,
or exchange, or otherwise receive, any arms, clothes, caps, or other
furniture belonging to the king, from any soldier or deserter, or any
other person, upon any account or pretence whatsoever, or cause the
color of such clothes to be changed; the person so offending, shall
forfeit for every such offence the sum of 5_l._ and upon conviction
by the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses, before any
of his majesty’s justices of the peace, the said respective penalties
of 5_l._ and 5_l._ shall be levied by warrant under the hands of the
said justice or justices of the peace, by distress and sale of the
goods and chattels of the offender; one moiety of the said first
mentioned penalty of 5_l._ to be paid to the informer, by whose means
such deserter shall be apprehended; and one moiety of the said last
mentioned penalty of 5_l._ to be paid to the informer; and the residue
of the said respective penalties to be paid to the officer to whom any
such deserter or soldier did belong: and in case any such offender, who
shall be convicted, as aforesaid, of harboring or assisting any such
deserter or deserters, or having knowingly received any arms, clothes,
caps, or other furniture belonging to the king or having caused the
color of such clothes to be changed, contrary to the intent of this
act, shall not have sufficient goods and chattels, wherein distress
may be made, to the value of the penalties recovered against him for
such offence, or shall not pay such penalties within 4 days after such
conviction; then, and in such case, such justice of the peace shall and
may, by warrant under his hand and seal, either commit such offender
to the common gaol, there to remain without bail or mainprise for the
space of three months, or cause such offender to be publicly whipped at
the discretion of such justice.
DESERTEUR, _Fr._ See DESERTER.
DESIGN, in a general sense, implies the plan, order, representation, or
construction of any kind of military building, chart, map, or drawing,
&c. In building, the term _ichnography_ may be used, when by design is
only meant the plan of a building or a flat figure drawn on paper: when
some side or face of the building is raised from the ground, we may
use the term _orthography_; and when both front and sides are seen in
perspective, we may call it _scenography_.
DESIGNING, the art of delineating or drawing the appearance of natural
objects, by lines on a plane.
DESORDRE, _Fr._ See DISORDER.
DESTINATION, the place or purpose, to which any body of troops is
appointed in order to do or attempt some military service.
_To_ DETACH, is to send out part of a great number of men on some
particular service, separate from that of the main body.
DETACHED _pieces_, in fortification, are such out-works as are
detached, or at a distance from the body of the place; such as
half-moons, ravelines, bastions, &c.
DETACHEMENT, _Fr._ See DETACHMENT.
DETACHMENT, in military affairs, an uncertain number of men drawn out
from several regiments or companies equally, to march or be employed
as the general may think proper, whether on an attack, at a siege,
or in parties to scour the country. A detachment of 2000 or 3000 men
is a command for a general officer; 800 for a colonel, 500 for a
lieutenant-colonel, 200 or 300 for a major, 80 or 100 for a captain, 40
for a lieutenant or ensign, 12 for a serjeant, and 6 for a corporal.
Detachments are sometimes made of intire squadrons and battalions.
One general rule in all military projects that depends upon us alone,
should be to omit nothing that can insure the success of our detachment
and design; but, in that which depends upon the enemy, to trust
something to hazard.
DETAIL, _Fr._ _faire le détail d’une armée, d’une compagnie, ou d’une
corps de gens de guerre_; is to keep a strict eye upon every part
of the service, and to issue out instructions or orders, that every
individual belonging to a military profession may discharge his trust
with accuracy and fidelity. _Faire le détail d’une compagnié_, likewise
means to make up a company’s report, &c.
DETAIL _of duty_, in military affairs, is a roster or table for the
regular and exact performance of duty, either in the field, garrison,
or cantonments. The general detail of duty is the proper care of the
majors of brigade, who are guided by the roster of the officers, and by
the tables for the men, to be occasionally furnished. The adjutant of a
regiment keeps the detail of duty for the officers of his regiment, as
does the serjeant-major that for the non-commissioned, and the latter
that for the privates.
DEVASTATION, in military history, the act of destroying, laying waste,
demolishing, or unpeopling towns, &c.
DEVELOPPER, _Fr._ to unfold, to unravel; as _Se développer sur la tête
d’une colonne_, to form line on the head of a column.
DEVICE, the emblems on a shield or standard.
DEUIL _militaire_, _Fr._ military mourning.
DEVUIDER, in the _manege_, is applied to a horse that, upon working
upon volts, makes his shoulders go too fast for the croupe to follow.
DIABLE. _Fr._ See CHAT.
DIAGONAL, reaching from one angle to another; so as to divide a
parallelogram into equal parts.
DIAGONAL MOVEMENTS. See ECHELLON.
DIAMETER, in both a military and geometrical sense, implies a right
line passing through the centre of a circle, and terminated at each
side by the circumference thereof. See CIRCLE.
The impossibility of expressing the exact proportion of the diameter
of a circle to its circumference, by any received way of notation, and
the absolute necessity of having it as near the truth as possible,
has put some of the most celebrated men in all ages upon endeavoring
to approximate it. The first who attempted it with success, was the
celebrated Van Culen, a Dutchman, who by the ancient method, though so
very laborious, carried it to 36 decimal places: these he ordered to be
engraven on his tomb-stone, thinking he had set bounds to improvements.
However, the indefatigable Mr. Abraham Sharp carried it to 75 places in
decimals; and since that, the learned Mr. John Machin has carried it to
100 places, which are as follows:
If the diameter of a circle be 1, the circumference will be
3.1415926535,8979323846,2643383279,5028841971,6939937510,
5820974944,5923078164,0528620899,8628034825,3421170679,+
of the same parts; which is a degree of exactness far surpassing all
imagination.
But the ratios generally used in the practice of military mathematics
are these following. The diameter of the circle is to its circumference
as 113 is to 355 nearly.--The square of the diameter is to the area of
the circle, as 452 to 355. The cube of the diameter is, to the solid
content of a sphere, as 678 to 355.--The cubes of the axes are, to the
solid contents of equi-altitude cylinders, as 452 to 355.--The solid
content of a sphere is, to the circumscribed cylinder, as 2 to 3.
_How to find the_ DIAMETER _of shot or shells_. For an iron ball, whose
diameter is given, supposing a 9-pounder, which is nearly 4 inches,
say, the cube root of 2.08 of 9 pounds is, to 4 inches, as the cube
root of the given weight is to the diameter sought. Or, if 4 be divided
by 2.08, the cube root of 9, the quotient 1.923 will be the diameter of
a 1-pound shot; which being continually multiplied by the cube root of
the given weight, gives the diameter required.
Or by logarithms much shorter, thus: If the logarithm of 1.923, which
is .283979, be constantly added to the third part of the logarithm of
the weight, the sum will be the logarithm of the diameter. Suppose a
shot to weigh 24 pounds: add the given logarithm .283979 to the third
part of .460070 of the logarithm 1.3802112 of 24, the sum .7440494 will
be the logarithm of the diameter oi a shot weighing 24 pounds, which is
5.5468 inches.
If the weight should be expressed by a fraction, the rule is still
the same: for instance, the diameter of a 1¹⁄₂ pound ball, or ³⁄₂, is
found by adding the logarithm .2839793, found above, to .0586971 ¹⁄₃
of the logarithm of ²⁄₃, the sum .3426764 will be the logarithm of the
diameter required, _i. e._ 2.2013 inches.
As the diameter of the bore, or the calibre of the piece, is made ¹⁄₂₀
part larger than that of the shot, according to the present practice,
the following table is computed for this proportion.
DIAMETERS _of the shots and calibres of English guns_.
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|lb.| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | 0 |1.923|2.423|2.775|3·053|3.288|
| 0 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | 0 |2.019|2.544|2.913|3.204|3.568|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |4.143|4.277|4.403|4.522|4.635|4.743|
| 1 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |4.349|4.490|4.623|4.748|4.866|4.981|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |5.220|5.305|5.388|5.409|5.547|5.623|
| 2 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |5.480|5.579|5.661|5.742|5.824|5.893|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |5.975|6.041|6.105|6.168|6.230|6.290|
| 3 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |6.275|6.343|6.410|6.475|6.?41|6.604|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |6.576|6.631|6.684|6.737|6.789|6.640|
| 4 +-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |6.904|6.962|7.018|7.076|7.128|7.182|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
|lb.| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |3.498|3.679|3.846|4.000|diam. |
| 0 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |3.668|3.861|4.038|4.200|calib.|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |4.846|4.945|5.040|5.131|diam. |
| 1 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |5.088|5.192|5.292|5.368|calib.|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |5.697|5.769|5.839|5.908|diam. |
| 2 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |5.982|6.057|6.129|6.203|calib.|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |6.350|6.408|6.465|6.521|diam. |
| 3 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |6.666|6.707|6.788|6.846|calib.|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |6.890|6.940|6.989|7.037|diam. |
| 4 +-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
| |7.234|7.287|7.338|7.383|calib.|
+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+
EXPLANATION.
The numbers in the first line of the table are units, and those in the
first column of the left side of the table tens; the other numbers,
under the one, and opposite to the others, are the respective diameters
of shot and calibres. Thus, to find the diameter of the shot, and the
calibre of a 24 pr. look for the number 2 on the left-hand side, and
for 4 at top; then the number 5.547, under 4, and opposite 2, will be
the diameter of the shot in inches and decimals, and the number 5.824,
under the first, the calibre of a 24-pounder &c.
DIAMETERS _of the Bullets and Calibres of English musquets_.
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|0| 0 |1.671|1.326|1.158|1.05 | .977| .919| .873| .835| .803|
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|1|.715| .?51| .730| .711| .693| .677| .663| .650| .637| .626|
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|2|.615| .605| .596| .587| .579| .571| .564| .557| .550| .544|
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|3|.538| .536| .526| .521| .517| .511| .506| .501| .497| .493|
+-+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
The diameter of musquet bores differs about ¹⁄₅₀th part from that of
the bullet.
DIAMETER _of powder measures_. See POWDER MEASURES.
DICTATOR, a magistrate of Rome, made in times of exigence and public
distress, and invested with absolute authority.
DIFFERENCE. The sum paid by an officer in the British service, when
he exchanges from half to full pay. It likewise means the regulation
price between an inferior and a superior commission. Officers who
retire upon half pay, and take the difference, subject themselves to
many incidental disadvantages, should they wish to return into active
service.
DIGGING. See MINING.
DIGLADIATION, a combat with swords.
DIGUON, _Fr._ a staff at the end of which is suspended a vane or
streamer. This term is properly marine.
DIKE or DYKE, a channel to receive water, also a dam or mound, to
prevent inundation. See FORTIFICATION.
DIMACHÆ, in ancient military affairs, were a kind of horsemen,
answering to the dragoons of the moderns.
DIMICATION. See BATTLE.
_To_ DIMINISH _or increase the front of a battalion_, is to adapt
the column of march or manœuvre according to the obstructions and
difficulties which it meets in advancing. This is one of the most
important movements, and a battalion which does not perform this
operation with the greatest exactness and attention, so as not to
lengthen out in the smallest degree, is not fit to move in the column
of a considerable corps.
DIRECTEUR _General_, _Fr._ A military post of nominal importance which
was originally instituted by Louis XIV. This charge was entrusted
to eight lieutenant generals, four to command and superintend the
infantry, and four for the cavalry. They possessed, however, little or
no authority over the army in general; being subordinate in some degree
to the general officer whose corps they might inspect, and to whom they
rendered a correct account of its interior œconomy. They were likewise
assisted by Inspectors general. The four directors were afterwards
replaced by the inspectors, from a principle of œconomy. The permanent
ones of that appellation were: director general of the royal artillery
school; director general of military hospitals; director general of
fortification; director general of the cavalry; director general of
stores.
DIRECTION, in military mechanics, signifies the line or path of a body
in motion, along which it endeavors to force its way, according to the
propelling power that is given to it.
_Angle of_ DIRECTION, that formed by the lines of direction of two
conspiring powers.
_Quantity of_ DIRECTION, a term used by military mathematicians for the
product of the velocity of the common centre of gravity of a system
of bodies, by the sum of their quantities of matter: this is no ways
altered by any collisions among the bodies themselves.
DIRK, a kind of dagger used by military men, and by the highlanders in
Scotland.
_To_ DISARM. To deprive a soldier of every species of offensive or
defensive weapon.
DISARMED. Soldiers divested of their arms, either by conquest, or in
consequence of some defection.
DISBANDED, the soldiers of any regiment, who are in a body dismissed
from the conditions of their military service.
DISBARK. See DISEMBARK.
DISCHARGE, in a military sense, is the dismissing a soldier from the
troop or company he belonged to, either at his own request, or after
long services.
This term is also applied to the firing of cannon or musquets, as a
discharge of cannon, or of small arms.
DISCIPLINARIAN, an officer who pays particular regard to the discipline
of the soldiers under his command.
DISCIPLINE, in a military sense, signifies the instruction and
government of soldiers.
_Military_ DISCIPLINE, _Military Constitution_, By _military
constitution_ is meant, the authoritative declared laws for the
guidance of all military men, and all military matters; and by
_discipline_ is meant, the obedience to, and exercise of those laws.
As health is to the natural body, so is a sound military constitution
to the military one; and as exercise is to the first, so is discipline
to the last. Bravery will perchance gain a battle; but every one knows
that by discipline alone the long disputed prize of a war can be
ultimately obtained.
The kingdom of Prussia was a striking example in favor of perfect
discipline; for while that state had a strong army, and maintained that
army in strict discipline, it had held a very considerable share in the
system of Europe.
_Marine_ DISCIPLINE, is the training up soldiers for sea service,
in such exercises and various positions as the musquet and body may
require: teaching them likewise every manœuvre that can be performed on
board ships of war at sea, &c.
DISCIPLINE _militaire_. See MILITARY DISCIPLINE.
DISCRETION, _Fr._ discretion. _Se rendre à discrétion_, to surrender at
discretion, implies to throw one’s self upon the mercy of a victorious
enemy. The French likewise say, _les soldats vivent à discrétion
dans un pays_; which in familiar English signifies, soldiers live
_scot-free_ in a country.
_To_ DISENGAGE, to clear a column or line, which may have lost its
proper front by the overlapping of any particular division, company,
or section when ordered to form up. To do this, ground must be taken
to the right or left. It is however, a dangerous operation when the
army or battalion gets into a line of fire. In that case the files that
overlap must remain in the rear, and fill up the first openings.
_To_ DISENGAGE, is also to extricate yourself and the men you command
from a critical situation. A battalion, for instance, which may have
advanced too far during an action, and got between two fires, may, by
an able manœuvre, disengage itself.
_To_ DISENGAGE _the wings of a battalion_. This is necessary when the
battalion countermarches from its centre, and on its centre by files.
The battalion having received the word “by wings, inward face,” is next
ordered “by wings, three side steps to the right, march,” by which the
wings are disengaged from each other, or this may be done by a quarter
face to the right and left alter facing inward. In counter-marching,
&c. the leading files must uniformly disengage themselves.
_To_ DISENGAGE, in fencing, to quit that side of your adversary’s
blade, on which you are opposed by his guard, in order to effect a cut
or thrust where an opportunity may present.
DISMANTLE, to strip a town or fortress of its outworks.
_To_ DISMANTLE _a gun_. To render it unfit for use. Guns are frequently
dismantled and left upon the field of battle.
DISCOMFIT, defeat, rout, overthrow.
DISCOVERER, a scout; one who is set to descry the enemy.
DISEMBARK, to land from on board any vessel or craft, used to convey
troops on the sea.
DISEMBODIED. See DISBANDED.
_To_ DISEMBODY. To disband.
DISGARNISH, to take guns from a fortress.
DISLODGE, to drive an enemy from their post or station.
DISMISSED. An officer in the British service may be dismissed
generally or specifically. When an officer is dismissed generally, it
is signified to him, that there is not any further occasion for his
services. When an officer is dismissed specifically, it is expressly
notified, that he is rendered incapable of ever serving again.
Sometimes, indeed this species of dismissal is attended with public
marks of extreme disgrace and degradation. In the Austrian service a
colonel has been dismissed at the head of his regiment, and has had
his sword broken before him, &c. During the present war the colonel
of a militia regiment has not only been rendered incapable of ever
serving again, but has been expelled the house of commons for military
misconduct. The charges against him, together with the circumstantial
proofs of his guilt, and the king’s approbation of the sentence were
read in the circle of every regiment throughout Great Britain, in 1795,
and nothing but a plea of severe indisposition saved the culprit from
having the minutes publicly communicated to him at the horse guards.
DISMOUNTING, in a military sense, is the act of unhorsing. Thus, to
dismount the cavalry, &c. is to make them alight.
_To_ DISMOUNT _cannon_, is to break their carriages, wheels,
axle-trees, or any thing else, so as to render them unfit for service.
It also implies dismounting by the gin, &c.
DISOBEDIENCE _of orders_. Any infraction, by neglect or wilful
omission, of general or regimental orders. It is punishable by the
articles of war.
DISPART, in gunnery, is to set a mark on the muzzle ring, so that
it may be of an equal height with the base ring: hence a line drawn
between them, will be parallel to the axis of the concave cylinder, for
the gunner to take aim by it, to hit the mark he is to fire at; for the
bore and this imaginary line being parallel, the aim so taken must be
true. This exactness cannot be made use of in an engagement, and but
very seldom at a siege; for in those cases practice and the eye must be
the only guides.
DISPART. The dispart of a gun is the half difference between the
diameter of the gun at the base ring, and at the swell of the muzzle.
The general dispart of all guns is about the ¹⁄₅₆ part of their length.
See the disparts of French and English guns under the word TANGENT
SCALE.
DISPART-_frontlet_. See FRONTLET.
_To_ DISPERSE. In a military sense, may be variously understood. In an
active one, it signifies to disperse any body of men, armed or unarmed,
who may have assembled in an illegal or hostile manner. The cavalry are
generally employed on these occasions.
_To_ DISPERSE, likewise means to break suddenly from any particular
order, in line or column, and to repair to some rallying point.
Hence to sound the disperse, is to give notice that the battalion or
battalions are to retreat from their actual position, in a loose and
desultory manner, and to reassemble according to the natural line of
formation, taking the colors as their central points to dress by.
DISPLACED, officers in the British service are sometimes displaced from
a particular regiment in consequence of misconduct proved upon the
minutes of a general court martial; but they are at liberty to serve in
any other corps.
_To_ DISPLAY, in a military sense, is to extend the front of a column,
and hereby bring it into line. See DEPLOY.
DISPOSE, to dispose cannon, is to place it in such a manner, that its
discharge may do the greatest mischief. For instance, to dispose cannon
along the front of the line.
DISPOSITION, in a general sense, is the just placing an army or body of
men upon the most advantageous ground, and in the strongest situation
for a vigorous attack or defence.
DISPOSITION _de guerre_, _Fr._ warlike arrangement, or disposition.
Under this head may be considered the mode of establishing, combining,
conducting, and finally terminating a war, so as to produce success and
victory.
Wisdom and discretion in council point out the form necessary for the
first establishment of a warlike enterprise, or disposition, afford the
means of bringing it to a conclusion, and assimilate all the various
parts so as to unite the whole.
The following maxims are in the memoirs of general Montecuculli.
1. _Deliberate leisurely, execute promptly._
2. _Let the safety of your army be your first object._
3. _Leave something to chance._
4. _Take advantage of circumstances._
5. _Use all the means in your power to secure a good reputation._
The disposition or arrangement of a warlike enterprise may be
universal, or particular.
An universal disposition or arrangement of war implies every thing
which relates to that system upon an extensive scale; such as the
combination of many parts for the ultimate benefit of the whole, &c.
A particular disposition or arrangement of war signifies the detail
of minute objects, and the appropriation of various parts, one with
another, for the purpose of effecting a general combination. This
disposition, (without which the other must prove abortive,) consists
in an observance of the strictest discipline by every individual that
belongs to a troop or company. To this end, general officers should be
scrupulously exact in attending to the inspection of particular corps;
specific instructions for regimental œconomy and discipline should be
given, and the strictest regard be paid to the execution of orders.
DISTANCE, in military formation, signifies the relative space which is
left between men standing under arms in rank, or the intervals which
appear between those ranks, &c.
DISTANCES. Inaccessible distances may be found several ways; the
most correct of which of course is by means of proper mathematical
instruments; which, however, are not always to be had in the field.
The following different methods are laid down by several authors, where
instruments cannot be had.
[Illustration: _Fig. 1._]
1. Wishing to know the distance of the object A from B (fig. 1.) place
a picket at B and another at C, at a few fathoms distance, making A
B C a right angle, and divide B C into 4, 5, or any number of equal
parts: make another similar angle at C, in a direction from the object,
and walk along the line C D till you bring yourself in a line with the
object A, and any of the divisions, (say _o_) of the line B C. Then, as
C_o_ : C D ∷ B_o_ : B A.
VAUBAN.
[Illustration: _Fig. 2._]
2. To gain the distance between two objects C and D (fig. 2.) from
any point A, taken in the line C D, erect the perpendicular A E: on
which set off from A to E, 1 or 200 feet, more or less, according to
the distance between the points C and D; set off from E to G in the
prolongation A E, one eighth or one tenth of A E; at G raise the
perpendicular G F, and produce it towards I; plant pickets at E and G,
then move with another picket on G F till it becomes in a line with E
and D: and on the prolongation of the perpendicular F G place another
picket at I in the line with E and C; measure F I, and it will be as G
E : A E ∷ F I : C D.
[Illustration: _Fig. 3._]
3. To gain the inaccessible length A B, (fig. 3.) of the front of a
fortification; plant a picket at C, from whence both points may be
seen: find the lengths C A and C B by the method just given (No. 1.)
make C E ¹⁄₄, or any part of C B, and make C D bear the same proportion
to C A: measure D E, then it will be as C D : D E ∷ C A : A B.
See _Am. Mil. Lib._ Article FIELD FORTIFICATION.
Nearly after the same manner may be ascertained the distance from B to
A when the point B is accessible; for having measured the line C B, and
made the angle C E D equal to C B A, it will be, as C E : D E ∷ C B : B
A.
4. The distance of a battery, or other object, may be ascertained by
the tangent scale on the breech of a gun. It is however necessary in
this case to know the height of the object, the distance of which is
required. Lay the gun by the upper line of metal for the _top_ of the
object, then raise the tangent scale till the top of the scale and the
notch at the muzzle are in a line with the bottom of the object, and
note what height of the tangent scale is required: then say, as the
length of the scale above the base ring of the gun is to the length
from the base ring to the swell of the muzzle, so is the height of the
object to its distance from the muzzle of the gun.
5. The breadth of a river, or other short distance, may be taken thus:
take two pickets of different lengths, drive the shortest into the
ground close to the edge of the bank; measure some paces back from it,
and drive in the other till you find, by looking over the tops of both,
that your sight cuts the opposite side--Then pull up the first picket,
measure the same distance from the second, in any direction the most
horizontal, and drive it as deep in the ground as before. Consequently,
if you look over them again, and observe where the line of sight falls,
you will have the distance required.
6. The following simple method of ascertaining the breadth of a river
may be sufficiently correct for some cases: Place yourself at the edge
of one bank, and lower one corner of your hat till you find the edge
of it cuts the other bank; then steady your head, by placing your hand
under your chin, and turn gently round to some level spot of ground,
and observe where your eyes and the edge of the hat again meet the
ground: your distance from that point will be nearly the breadth of the
river.
7. DISTANCES ascertained by the difference between the true and
apparent level. See LEVELLING.
8. DISTANCES measured by sound. See SOUND.
9. The following simple micrometer may be so usefully applied to
military purposes, that we shall extract it verbatim from the
Philosophical Transactions for 1791, where it is described by Cavallo.
This micrometer consists of a thin and narrow slip of mother of
pearl, finely divided, and placed in the _focus_ of the eyeglass of a
telescope, just where the image is formed. It is immaterial whether the
telescope be a reflector, or a refractor, provided the eye glass be a
_convex_ lens and not a _concave_ one, as in the Galilean construction.
The simplest way to fix it, is to stick it on the diaphragm, which
generally stands within the tube, and in the locus of the eye glass.
When thus fixed, if you look through the eye glass, the divisions
on the scale will appear very distinct, unless the diaphragm is not
exactly in the focus: in which case the scale must be placed exactly
in the focus, by pushing the diaphragm, backwards or forwards, when
this is practicable; or else the scale may be easily removed from
one surface of the diaphragm to the other, by the interposition of
a circular bit of paper or card, or a piece of sealing wax. This
construction is fully sufficient when the telescope is always to be
used by the same person; but when different persons are to use it, then
the diaphragm, which supports the micrometer, must be so constructed
as to be easily moved backwards or forwards, though that motion need
not be greater than about the tenth or eighth of an inch. This is
necessary, because the distance of the focus of the same lens appears
different to the eyes of different persons; and therefore whoever is
going to use the telescope for the mensuration of an angle, must first
unscrew the tube which contains the eye glass and micrometer, from the
rest of the telescope, and, looking through the eye glass, place the
micrometer where the divisions of it may appear most distinct to his
eye. The mother of pearl scale may be about the 24th part of an inch
broad; its length is determined by the aperture of the diaphragm; its
thickness that of writing paper. The divisions on it maybe the 200th
of an inch, which may reach from one edge of the scale to about the
middle; and every fifth and tenth division may be a little longer,
the tenths going quite across. When the telescope does not magnify
above 30 times, the divisions need not be so minute. For the sake of
those not conversant in trigonometry, the following is an easy method
of determining the value of the divisions on the scale. Mark upon a
wall or other place, the length of 6 inches; then place the telescope
before it so that the 6 inches be at right angles to it, and exactly
57 feet 3¹⁄₂ inches distant from the object glass of the telescope.
This done, look through the telescope, and observe how many divisions
of the micrometer are equal to it, and that same number of divisions
will be equal to half a degree, or 30′; and this is all that need be
done to ascertain the value of the scale. The reason on which it is
founded is, that an extension of six inches at the distance of 57 feet,
3¹⁄₂ inches, subtends an angle of 30′, as is easily calculated by
trigonometry. To save the trouble of calculation, a scale may be made
requiring only inspection. Thus, draw a line equal to the diameter of
the field of the telescope, and divide its under side into the same
number of parts as are on your micrometric scale, and, by the above
operation on the wall, having determined the value of 30′, which we
will suppose to correspond with 16 divisions on the scale, mark 30′ on
the opposite side of the line, opposite 16 on the lower; 15 opposite 8,
and so on.
By the following table the results may be ascertained by inspection
only: thus, suppose an extension of 1 foot is found by the table to
subtend an angle of 22′, the distance will be 156.2: and suppose at the
distance of 171.8 an object subtends an angle of 20′, its height will
be found to be 1 foot; or, suppose an object of 6 feet high to subtend
an angle of 20′, the distance is 1030.8, by multiplying 171.8 by 6.
_Table of Angles subtended by 1 Foot, at different Distances._
-----+------++-----+------++-----+------++------------
| Dis- || | Dis- || | Dis- || | Dis-
|tances|| |tances|| |tances|| |tances
Min-| in || Min-| in || Min-| in || Min-| in
utes.| feet.||utes.| feet.||utes.| feet.||utes.| feet.
-----+------++-----+------++-----+------++-----+------
1 |3437.7|| 16 | 214.8|| 31 | 110.9|| 46 | 74.7
2 |1718.9|| 17 | 202.2|| 32 | 107.4|| 47 | 73.1
3 |1145.9|| 18 | 191.0|| 33 | 104.2|| 48 | 71.6
4 | 859.4|| 19 | 180.9|| 34 | 101.1|| 49 | 70.1
5 | 687.5|| 20 | 171.8|| 35 | 98.2|| 50 | 68.7
6 | 572.9|| 21 | 162.7|| 36 | 95.5|| 51 | 67.4
7 | 491.1|| 22 | 156.2|| 37 | 92.9|| 52 | 66.1
8 | 429.7|| 23 | 149.4|| 38 | 90.4|| 53 | 64.8
9 | 382.0|| 24 | 143.2|| 39 | 88.1|| 54 | 63.6
10 | 343.7|| 25 | 137.5|| 40 | 85.9|| 55 | 62.5
11 | 312.5|| 26 | 132.2|| 41 | 83.8|| 56 | 61.4
12 | 286.5|| 27 | 127.2|| 42 | 81.8|| 57 | 60.3
13 | 264.4|| 28 | 122.7|| 43 | 79.9|| 58 | 59.2
14 | 245.5|| 29 | 118.5|| 44 | 78.1|| 59 | 58.2
15 | 229.2|| 30 | 114.6|| 45 | 76.4|| 60 | 57.3
-----+------++-----+------++-----+------++-----+------
DISTANCE _of files_. Every soldier when in his true position under
arms, shouldered and in rank, must just feel with his elbow the touch
of his neighbor with whom he dresses; nor in any situation of movement
in front, must he ever relinquish such touch, which becomes in action
the principal direction for the preservation of his order, and each
file as connected with its two neighboring ones, must consider itself
a complete body, so arranged for the purpose of attack, or effectual
defence. Close files must invariably constitute the formation of all
corps that go into action. The peculiar exercise of the light infantry
is the only exception. See _Am Mil. Lib._
DISTANCE _of ranks_, open distances of ranks are two paces asunder;
when close they are one pace; when the body is halted and to fire,
they are still closer locked up. Close ranks, order or distance is the
constant and habitual order at which troops are at all times formed and
move; open ranks, order or distance is only an occasional exception,
made in the situation of parade, or in light infantry manœuvres.
DISTANCES _of files and ranks_, relate to the trained soldier, but in
the course of his tuition he must be much exercised at open files and
ranks, and acquire thereby independence and the command of his limbs
and body.
DISTANCE _of the bastions_, in fortification, is the side of the
exterior polygon. See FORTIFICATION.
DISTRIBUTION. In a military sense, generally applies to any division,
or allotment, which is made for the purposes of warfare. Thus an army
may be distributed about a country. In a more confined sense, it
means the minute arrangements that are made for the interior œconomy
of corps; as distribution of pay or subsistence, distribution of
allowances, &c.
DISTRICT, in a military sense, one of those parts into which a country
is divided, for the conveniences of command, and to secure a ready
co-operation between distant bodies of armed men.
DITCH. See FORTIFICATION, MOAT.
_To drain a_ DITCH, is to make the water run off into lower ground, by
means of small trenches cut for this purpose.
DIVERSION, in military history, is when an enemy is attacked in one
place where he is weak and unprovided, in order to draw off his forces
from making an irruption somewhere else; or where an enemy is strong,
and by an able manœuvre he is obliged to detach part of his forces
to resist any feint or menacing attempt of his opponent. To derive
advantage from a diversion, taken in an extended acceptation of the
term, it is necessary, that one state should have greater resources
than another; for it would be absurd to attack the territories of
another before you had secured your own.
It is likewise requisite, that the country you attack by stratagem or
diversion, should be easy of access, and the invasion you make must be
prompt, vigorous and unexpected, directed against a weak and vulnerable
quarter. A little good fortune is however essential to render a
diversion perfectly successful, as all the ways and means by which it
ought be made, cannot be reduced to rule.
The most memorable instance of a diversion well executed, which we meet
with in ancient history, was performed by Scipio in Africa, whilst
Annibal carried the war into Italy. In 1659, a diversion no less
remarkable, was practised by the imperial and allied armies against the
Swedes.
DIVISIONS _of a battalion_, are the several platoons into which a
regiment or battalion is divided, either in marching or firing; each of
which is commanded by an officer.
DIVISIONS _of an army_, are the number of brigades and squadrons it
contains.
The advance, the main, and the rear guards are composed out of the
several brigades, and march in front, in the centre, and in the rear of
an army. Each army has its right wing, its centre, and its left wing.
When armies march they advance in column, that is, they are divided
into several squadrons and battalions of a given depth, successively
formed upon one another. If an army be drawn out or displayed in order
of battle it is usually divided into the first line, which constitutes
the front, the second line, which makes the main body, and the third
line or reserve.
DODECAGON, in geometry, is a regular polygon, consisting of 12 equal
sides and angles, capable of being regularly fortified with the same
number of bastions.
DODECAHEDRON, is one of the platonic bodies, or five regular solids,
and is contained under 12 equal and regular pentagons.
The solidity of a _dodecahedron_, is found by multiplying the area of
one of the pentagonal faces of it by 12; and this latter product by
¹⁄₃d of the distance of the face from the centre of the _dodecahedron_,
which is the same as the centre of the circumscribing sphere.
The side of a _dodecahedron_ inscribed in a sphere, is the greater part
of the side of a cube inscribed in that sphere, cut into extreme and
mean proportion.
If the diameter of the sphere be 1,0000, the side of a _dodecahedron_
inscribed in it will be .35682 nearly.
All _dodecahedrons_ are similar, and are to one another as the cubes
of the sides; and their surfaces are also similar, and therefore they
are as the squares of their sides; whence as .509282 is to 10.51462,
so is the square of the side of any _dodecahedron_ to the superficies
thereof; and as .3637 is to 2.78516, so is the cube of the side of any
_dodecahedron_ to the solidity of it.
DOG-_Nails_. See NAILS.
DOLPHINS. See CANNON.
DOMMAGE, _Fr._ in a general acceptation of the term, signified in the
old French service, the compensation which every captain of a troop,
or company was obliged to make in consequence of any damage that their
men might have done in a town, or on a march. If any disagreement
occurred between the officers and the inhabitants, with respect to the
indemnification, a statement of losses sustained was sworn to by the
latter, before the mayor or magistrates of the place, who determined
the same. But if the officers should refuse to abide by their decision,
a remonstrance was drawn up and transmitted to the secretary at war,
with a copy of the same to the intendant of the province. Officers have
frequently been displaced or degraded on this account. Hence the term
dommage is supposed to have been derived from the latin words _damnum
jactura_, and signifies the loss or privation of a step.
DONJON. See DUNGEON.
DOSSER, in military matters, is a sort of basket, carried on the
shoulders of men, used in carrying the earth from one part of a
fortification to another, where it is wanted.
DOUBLING, in the military art, is the placing two or more ranks, or
files into one.
DOUBLE _your ranks_, is for the 2d, 4th, and 6th ranks (when so drawn
up) to march into the 1st, 3d, and 5th; so that of 6 ranks they are
made but 3; which is not so when they double by half files, because
then 3 ranks stand together, and the 3 other come up to double them;
that is, the 1st, 2d, and 3d, are doubled by the 4th, 5th, and 6th, or
the contrary.
DOUBLE _your files_, is for every other file to march into that which
is next to it, on the right or left, as the word of command directs;
and then the 6 ranks are doubled into 12, the men standing 12 deep; and
the distance between the files is double what it was before. By this
method 3 files may be doubled into 6, &c.
_To_ DOUBLE _round_, in military movements, is to march by an inversion
of a second line, on the extremity of a first line, thereby to outflank
an enemy.
DOUBLE _tenaille_. See TENAILLE.
DOUILLE, _Fr._ a small iron socket which is at the heel of the bayonet,
and receives the extreme end of the musquet, so as to be firmly united
together.
DOUILLE likewise signifies, the cavity which belongs to the round piece
of iron that is fixed to the end of the ramrod, by means of two nails
through two small holes, called _yeux_ or eyes, and to which the worm
is attached.
DRAGON et DRAGON VOLANT, _Fr._ some old pieces of artillery were
anciently so called. The _Dragon_ was a 40-pounder; the _Dragon Volant_
a 32. But neither the name nor the size of the calibre of either piece
is now in use.
DRAGONNER, _Fr._ According to the French acceptation of the term, is to
attack any person in a rude and violent manner; to take any thing by
force; to adopt prompt and vigorous measures; and to bring those people
to reason by hard blows, who could not be persuaded by fair words.
DRAGOONS, in military affairs, are a kind of horsemen, or cavalry,
who serve both on horseback, and foot; being always ready on every
emergency, as being able to keep pace with the horse, and to do
infantry duty. In battle, or on attacks, they generally fight sword
in hand after the first fire. In the field they encamp on the right
and left of the lines. They are divided into brigades, regiments, and
squadrons. Their martial music is the clarion or trumpet. The first
regiment of dragoons in England was raised in 1681, and called the
royal regiment of dragoons of North Britain. This name is derived from
the Latin word _Draconarii_, used amongst the Romans. The standard of
the Roman cavalry bore as its device a dragon; as that of the infantry
bore an eagle.
_To_ DRAGOON, is to persecute by abandoning a place to the rage of the
soldiery.
DRAG-_ropes_. See ROPES. See BRICOLE.
DRAIN _or_ DREIN, in the military art, is a trench made to draw water
out of a ditch, which is afterwards filled, with hurdles and earth,
or with fascines, or bundles of rushes and planks, to facilitate the
passage over the mud. See TRENCH.
DRAKE, a small piece of artillery.
DRAUGHT, a plan or delineation of any place; a body of troops selected
from others.
_To_ DRAUGHT, to draw forces from one brigade, &c. to complete another;
to select a proportion from brigades, regiments, or companies for any
particular service.
DRAUGHT-_hooks_, in a gun-carriage, are fixed to the transom-bolts on
the cheeks of artillery carriages, near the trunnion holes and trails:
they are used to draw the guns backwards and forwards by men with drag
ropes fixed to those hooks.
DRAUGHTED, the soldiers of any regiment being allotted to complete
other regiments are said to be draughted.
DRAUGHTSMEN, a body of men educated to assist the engineers in drawing
plans, fortifications, and surveying; every officer should endeavor to
be a good draughtsman; and every corps ought to have a master to teach
in camp or quarters.
_To_ DRAW, to delineate or make a sketch.
DRAW RAMROD, a word of command, used in the drill exercise, on which
the soldier draws his ramrod half from the pipes, and seizing it back
handed by the middle, waits for the signal for the next motion, when
he turns it round, and with an extended arm, places the butt of the
rod about one inch in the muzzle of the firelock, in which position he
waits for the command _ram down cartridge_.
DRAW SWORDS, a word of command in the sword exercise of the cavalry.
The drawing of swords is performed in 3 motions. 1st, Bring the right
hand smartly across the body to the sword knot, which being placed on
the wrist, and secured by giving the hand a couple of turns inwards,
seize the hilt of the sword. 2d, Draw the sword with an extended arm;
sink the hand till the hilt of the sword is immediately against the
left nipple, the blade of the sword perpendicular, and the back of the
hand outwards. 3d. Bring down the hilt till in a line with the bridle
hand, the blade perpendicular, the edge turned towards the horse’s left
ear.
Officers of infantry, when the men are under arms, draw their swords
without waiting for any word of command.
_To_ DRAW _off_, to retire.
_To_ DRAW _on_, to advance.
_To_ DRAW _out_, to call the soldiers forth in array for action.
_To_ DRAW _up_, to form in battle array.
DRAW _bridge_. See BRIDGE.
DRAWING, in a military sense, is the art of representing the
appearances of all kinds of military objects by imitation, or copying,
both with and without the assistance of mathematical rules.
DRESS-_military_. The clothing of the army is generally called
regimentals, every part of which should facilitate, and not hinder,
the various motions of the manual exercise. A soldier, without regard
to fashion or taste (to use the words of a modern author) should be
dressed in the most comfortable and least embarrassing manner possible;
and the keeping him warm, and leaving him the entire use of his limbs,
are objects always to be had in view.
_To_ DRESS, in a military sense, is to keep the body in such a relative
position, as to contribute towards, and form a part of, an exact
continuity of line, upon whatever front, or in whatever shape, the
battalion may be formed. Soldiers dress by one another in ranks, and
the body collectively dresses by some given object.
DRESSING _of a battalion after the halt_, is to bring all its relative
parts in a line with the point, or object, towards which it was
directed to move. Whatever correction is necessary, must be made by
advancing or retiring the flanks, and not by moving the centre; which,
having been the guide in the march, has properly stopped at the point
where it has arrived.
DRESSING _of a battalion when it is to retire_, is to have some
intelligent officer placed thirty paces in the rear, so as to stand
perpendicular to the front directing serjeant, by whom the direction of
the march is to be ascertained, as the officer will, of course, be in
the line, or nearly so, of the directing serjeants.
DRESSER, _Fr._ See _to_ DRESS.
DRINKING to excess in the army is at all times highly criminal, but
upon service it ought never to be overlooked; and the consequence
will be a trial by a court martial. It has been productive of almost
innumerable mischiefs, and is a most detestable and horrid practice.
Whatever commissioned officer shall be found drunk on his guard, party,
or other duty, under arms, shall be cashiered; any non-commissioned
officer or soldier, so offending, shall suffer such corporal punishment
as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court martial. _Art. of War._
_To_ DRILL, to teach young recruits the first principles of military
movements and positions, &c.
_To be sent to_ DRILL, to be placed under the command of the drill
officer, or non-commissioned officer, and made to join the recruits
in performing the manual and platoon exercise, &c. This is sometimes
ordered as a punishment to those who are perfect in their exercise,
when a battalion, company, or individual has done something to merit
exposure.
DRIVERS _of baggage or artillery_, men who drive the baggage,
artillery, and stores, having no other duty in the army.
DRUM, is a martial musical instrument in the form of a cylinder, hollow
within, and covered at the two ends with vellum, which is stretched or
slackened at pleasure, by means of small cords and sliding leathers.
This instrument is used both by infantry and artillery; which is done
in several manners, either to give notice to the troops of what they
are to do, or to demand liberty to make some proposal to an enemy.
Every company of foot or artillery, has two or more drums, according
to the effective strength of the party. The drum was first invented by
Bacchus, who, as Polyenus reports, fighting against the Indians, gave
the signal of battle with cymbals and drums; and the Saracens, who
invaded Christendom, introduced the drum into the European armies. The
various beats are as follow, among the British.
_The general_, is to give notice to the troops that they are to march.
_The assembly_, _The troop_, to order the troops to repair to the place
of rendezvous, or to their colors.
_The march_, to command them to move, always with the left foot first.
_Tat-too_, to order all to retire to their quarters.
_The reveille_, always beats at break of day, and is to warn the
soldiers to rise, and the centinels to forbear challenging, and to give
leave to come out of quarters.
_To arms_, for soldiers who are dispersed, to repair to them.
_The retreat_, a signal to draw off from the enemy. It likewise means a
beat in both camp and garrison a little before sun-set, at which time
the gates are shut, and the soldiers repair to their barracks.
_The alarm_, is to give notice of sudden danger, that all may be in
readiness for immediate duty.
_The parley_, _The chamade_, is a signal to demand some conference with
the enemy.
DRUM, or DRUMMER, the person who beats the drum.
_Kettle_-DRUMS, are two sorts of large basons of copper or brass,
rounded at the bottom, and covered with vellum or goatskin, which is
kept fast by a circle of iron, and several holes, fastened to the body
of the drum, and a like number of screws to stretch it at pleasure.
They are used among the horse.
DRUM-_major_, is always that person in the regiment, who beats the best
drum, has the command over the other drums, and teaches them their
duty. Every regiment has a drum-major.
DRUM-STICKS, the sticks with which the drummer beats his drum.
DUEL, is a single combat, at a time and place appointed, in consequence
of a cartel or challenge. Duelling was anciently authorised; but the
motive of the duellists was the good of their country, when one,
or a small number of combatants were chosen to save the blood of a
whole army, and decide, by victory or death, the quarrels of kings or
nations. Thus it was with Goliah and David, the Horatii and Curatii,
and several others.
DUELLING was so general a method of determining differences among the
nobles, that even ecclesiastics were not excused; only, to prevent
their being stained with blood, they procured champions to fight for
them. None were excepted from combat, but sick people, cripples, and
such as were under 21 years of age, or above 60. Justs and tournaments,
doubtless, rendered duels more frequent.
No officer or soldier shall pretend to send a challenge to any other
officer or soldier, to fight a duel; if a commissioned officer, on
pain of being cashiered; if a non-commissioned officer or soldier, of
suffering corporal punishment, at the discretion of a court martial.
_Articles of war._
Pharamond king of the Gauls, in the year 420, issued the following
edict against duelling.
“WHEREAS it has come to our royal notice and observation, that in
contempt of all laws, divine and human, it has of late become a custom
among the nobility and gentry of this our kingdom, upon slight and
trivial, as well as great and urgent provocations, to invite each other
into the field, there, by their own hands, and of their own authority,
to decide their controversies by combat: we have thought fit to take
the said custom into our royal consideration, and find, upon inquiry
into the usual causes whereon such fatal decisions have arisen, that
by this wicked custom, maugre all the precepts of our holy religion,
and the rules of right reason, the greatest act of the human mind,
_forgiveness of injuries_, is become vile and shameful; that the rules
of good society and virtuous conversation are hereby inverted; that the
loose, the vain, and the impudent, insult the careful, the discreet,
and the modest; that all virtue is suppressed, and all vice supported,
in the one act of being capable to dare to death. We have also further,
with great sorrow of mind, observed that this dreadful action, by
long impunity, (our royal attention being employed upon matters of
more general concern) is become honorable, and the refusal to engage
in it ignominious. In these our royal cares and inquiries, we are yet
farther made to understand, that the persons of most eminent worth, of
most hopeful abilities, accompanied with the strongest passion for
true glory, are such as are most liable to be involved in the dangers
arising from this licence. Now, taking the said premises into our
serious consideration, and well weighing, that all such emergencies
(wherein the mind is incapable of commanding itself, and where the
injury is too sudden, or too exquisite to be borne) are particularly
provided for by laws heretofore enacted; and that the qualities of less
injuries, like those of ingratitude, are too nice and delicate to come
under general rules; we do resolve to blot this fashion, or wantonness
of anger, out of the minds of our subjects, by our royal resolutions
declared in this edict, as follows:--No person who either sends or
accepts a challenge, or the posterity of either, though no death
ensues thereupon, shall be, after the publication of this our edict,
capable of bearing office in these our dominions:--The person who
shall prove the sending or receiving a challenge, shall receive to his
own use and property, the whole personal estate of both parties; and
their real estate shall be immediately vested in the next heir of the
offenders, in as ample a manner as if the said offenders were actually
deceased:--In cases where the laws (which we have already granted
to our subjects) admit of an appeal for blood: when the criminal is
condemned by the said appeal, he shall not only suffer death, but
his whole estate, real, mixed, and personal, shall, from the hour of
his death, be vested in the next heir of the person whose blood he
spilt:--That it shall not hereafter be in our royal power, or that of
our successors, to pardon the said offences, or restore the offenders
to their estates, honor, or blood, for ever. Given at our court, at
Blois, the eighth of February, 420, in the second year of our reign.”
DUELLING was authorised before the Normans came into England, but the
practice was not so frequent as after the conquest.
DULEDGE, a peg of wood which joins the ends of the felloes, forming the
circle of the wheel of a gun carriage; and the joint is strengthened on
the outside of the wheel by a strong plate of iron, called the _duledge
plate_.
DUMB-BELLS, weights which were used in drilling the soldier, who held
one in each hand, which he swung backwards and forwards, to open his
chest, increase muscular strength, throw back his shoulders, and
accustom him to that freedom of action in the arms, and to that erect
position of body which are so essentially necessary to a soldier.
The following method of exercising recruits with the dumb-bells, is
extracted from a work entitled Military Instruction.
The dumb-bells being placed one on each side of the recruit, and
himself in an erect, steady posture--on the word,
_Raise bells_--he will take one in each hand, and by a gentle motion,
raise them as high as his arm will suffer him above his head; then
gradually sinking them with stretched arm, as much behind him as
possible, he will form a circle with them, making the circle complete,
by causing the backs of his hands to meet behind his body; this will be
repeated according to his strength, 5 or 6 times.
_Extend bells._--The bells being raised to the shoulder, they will be
forced forwards, keeping the same height, then brought back in the same
manner; this will throw the chest forward, and force back the neck and
shoulders, this must be frequently repeated.
_Swing bells._--The top part of the bells to be made meet together in
front, the height of the breast; then forced backwards with an extended
arm, and be made to touch behind: in doing this, the palm of the hands
must be uppermost, and the elbows well down: this circle must be
repeated 14 or 15 times: Time, the circle performed, in 2 seconds.
_Ground bells._--The recruit will let fall the bells by his sides, and
remain steady and firm.
DUNES, _Fr._ sand hills, commonly called downs. As _les dunes sur la
cote de Flandres_; the downs, or sand hills along the coast of Flanders.
DUNGEON, DONJON, _Fr._ in _fortification_, is commonly a large tower
or redoubt of a fortress, whither the garrison may retreat, in case
or necessity, and capitulate with greater advantage. Also a dark and
secluded place in which prisoners were kept.
DUTY, in a military sense, is the exercise of those functions that
belong to a soldier; yet with this nice distinction, that duty is
counted the mounting guard, &c. where no enemy is directly to be
engaged; for when any body of men marches to meet the enemy, this is
strictly called _going upon service_.
On all duties, whether with or without arms, picquets, or courts
martial, the tour of duty begins with the eldest downwards. An officer
who is upon duty cannot be ordered for any other before that duty is
finished, except he be on the inlying picquet, as then he shall be
relieved, and go on the duty ordered.
_Military_ DUTIES may be divided into two general classes, under the
heads of Brigade and Regimental _duties_.
_Brigade duties_, are those which one regiment does in common with
another, collectively or by detachments; and of which the brigade major
keeps a regular roster.
_Regimental Duties_, are those which the several companies of a
regiment perform among themselves, and of which the adjutant keeps a
regular roster.
The following _general regulations_ are to be observed, respecting
duties in general.
When field or other commissioned officers, are given out at head
quarters for one _duty_, they cannot be taken off to be put on any
other _duty_.
No officer is allowed to exchange his _duty_ with another, after he has
been put in orders for it, without leave of the commanding officer of
his regiment.
Guards, or detachments, which have not marched off from the parade,
are not to be reckoned as for a _duty_ done; but, if they should have
marched from the parade, it stands for a _duty_ done, though they
should be dismissed immediately.
If any officer’s tour of _duty_ for the picquet, general court martial,
or _duty_ of fatigue, happen when he is on _duty_, he shall not make
good such _duty_ when he comes off.
No regiment can demand a tour of _duty_, unless it has marched off the
place of parade, and beyond the main guard.
General courts martial that have assembled, and the members sworn in,
shall be reckoned for a _duty_, though they should be dismissed without
trying any person.
Whenever the picquets are ordered to march to any parade, it is not to
be accounted a _duty_, unless they march off that parade.
All commands in the regular forces, fall to the eldest officers in
the same circumstances, whether of cavalry or infantry, entire, or
in parties. In case two commissions, of the same date, interfere, a
retrospect is to be had to former commissions, or to lot.
Officers, on all duties under arms, are to have their swords drawn,
without waiting for any word of command for that purpose.
E.
EAGLE. _Black_-EAGLE, an order of military knighthood in Prussia,
instituted by the elector of Brandenburg, in 1701, on his being crowned
king of Prussia. The knights of this order wear an orange colored
riband, from which is suspended a black eagle.
_White_-EAGLE, is a like order in Poland, instituted in 1325, by
Uladislaus V. on occasion of the marriage of his son Casimir to the
daughter of the great duke of Lithuania. The knights of this order wear
a chain of gold, to which a silver eagle, crowned, is suspended.
The white headed eagle, peculiar to America, is the standard of the
United States.
EAGLE. The standard of the ancient Romans. In a general sense, it
formerly meant the standard of the Roman armies; in a more limited
acceptation, the sign or flag of the several legions.
The standard of the German empire was an eagle with two heads,
referring to the eastern and western Roman empires, whose successors
they claimed to be, and called themselves _Keisar_, or Cæsar.
The difference between the Roman and the Imperial eagle consists in
this, that the first were eagles of gold or silver, fixed at the end
of a pike, having their wings extended, and holding the lightning in
their claws; the second are eagles painted or embossed upon the colors
and standards of the emperors. The eagle likewise signified, in a
figurative sense, the German empire, now extinct.
EARL-MARSHAL. An officer who has the care and direction of military
solemnities. The dukes of Norfolk are by hereditary right, earls
marshal of England.
EARTH-_bags_. See BAGS.
EASE, in a military sense, signifies a prescribed relaxation of the
frame, from the erect and firm position which every well dressed
soldier should observe. He is, on no account to lounge, or in his
common gait so far to give way to an idle fluctuation of his limbs,
as to feel himself constrained when he returns to duty. A habit of
this sort will gradually gain upon recruits, if they are not corrected
during the intervals of drill.
_To stand at_ EASE, in a technical acceptation of the term, is to draw
the right foot back about six inches, and to bring the greatest part
of the weight of the body upon it. The left knee must be a little
bent, and the hands brought together before the body, the right hand
in front. But the shoulders must invariably be kept back and square,
the head to the front, and the whole carriage of the person be
unconstrained.
In cold weather, when standing at ease, the men are permitted by
command, to move their limbs without quitting their ground.
_Stand at_ EASE, (from the support) on this command the soldier retires
his right foot 6 inches, bends his left knee, and carrying the right
hand smartly across the body, seizes the firelock by the small of the
butt, and raises it sufficiently to slope it over his left shoulder,
and relieve the left arm from the pressure of the cock. In some corps,
instead of seizing the small of the butt with the right hand, they only
place the hollow of the hand below the left elbow.
EASE _arms_, a word of command, given immediately after the order, to
_handle arms_, by which the soldier is directed to drop his right hand
to the full extent of the arm, from the top of the ramrod on the front
of the sling, with his fingers spread along it.
EAU, _Fr._ water, is a principal object to be considered, whenever
an army advances, retreats, or encamps. It is the quarter master
general’s business, through his subordinate deputies, to secure this
indispensible necessary of life. Small running rivulets are preferable
to large rivers, because the latter cannot be so easily turned for the
convenience of the army; whereas the former may be always stopped, or
diverted from their natural course.
Wells are never resorted to, but in case of absolute necessity.
Stagnant or pond water is in general unwholesome, and rarely limpid or
clear.
_Haute_ EAU. High water.
_Basse_ EAU. Low water.
EAUX _Meres_ ou AMERES, _Fr._ The water which remains after the first
boiling of saltpetre. It has a bitter salt taste, and is used to fill
the tubs a second time.
_Petites_ EAUX, _Fr._ The water which remains after the saltpetre has
been boiled to a certain degree. See SALTPETRE.
ECHANTILLON, _Fr._ means literally a pattern or model. In a military
sense, it signifies a plank, which is covered on one side with iron,
and serves to finish the mouldings, &c. of a piece of ordnance.
ESCHARPE, _Fr._ a scarf. In ancient times, a military mark to
distinguish officers and soldiers from the rest of the people. Before a
regular clothing was adopted among the nations in Europe, officers and
soldiers appeared with two scarfs of different colors, which crossed
each other before and behind, in order to point out the country and the
corps to which the wearer of it belonged. The scarf was preserved among
the French, as late down as the reign of Louis the XIVth. It consisted
of a piece of white silk, which previous to the revolution, was the
national color of France.
Scarfs, however, were continued much later among other nations,
particularly among the Germans, who wear them to this day across their
uniforms. Cross belts succeed the scarf.
_En_ ECHARPE, in the military art. To batter _en echarpe_, is to fire
obliquely, or sideways. See BATTERY.
ECHAUGETTE, in military history, signifies a watch-tower, or kind of
centry-box.
ECHELLE, _Fr._ scale. In a mathematical sense, is a straight line drawn
double, which is divided into a certain number of parts, each part
containing as many toises or yards, &c. as the size of the chart or
paper will admit, which are again reduced into feet.
ECHELLE, _Fr._ ladder, in civil and military architecture, means a
machine, which is made of two side pieces or arms, that receive a
certain number of small steps, at equal distances from one another.
These _echelles_ or ladders, are of two kinds: large and small. The
small ladders are used to descend into the ditches of fortified places,
and the large ones for scaling the walls, &c. See SCALING LADDERS.
ECHELLON, _Fr._ from _echelle_, a ladder. A position in military
tactics, where each division follows the preceding one, like the
steps of a ladder; and is convenient in removing from a direct to
an oblique, or diagonal line. When troops advance in _echellon_,
they almost invariably adopt the ordinary time. Hence to march in
_echellon_, may not improperly be said to approach towards any given
object by a gradual movement.
ECHELLON _movements and positions_, are not only necessary and
applicable to the immediate attacks and retreats of great bodies, but
also to the previous oblique or direct changes of situation, which a
battalion, or a more considerable corps already formed in line, may be
obliged to make to the front or rear, or on a particular fixed division
of the line.
The oblique changes are produced by any wheel of less than the quarter
circle of divisions from line, which places them in the echellon
situation. The direct changes are produced by the perpendicular and
successive march of divisions from line to front, or rear. See _Amer.
Mil. Lib._
ECLAIREURS, _Fr._ a corps of grenadiers raised by Bonaparte, in France,
who from their celerity of movement were compared to lightning.
ECLOPES, a French military term, to express those soldiers who, though
invalids, are yet well enough to follow the army. Among these may be
classed dragoons or horsemen, whose horses get suddenly lame, and
cannot keep up with the troop or squadron. They always march in the
rear of a column.
ECLUSES, _Fr._ See SLUICES.
ECONOMY, in a military sense, implies the minutiæ, or interior
regulations of a regiment, troop, or company. Hence regimental economy.
ECORE, _Fr._ steep shore. _Côte en ecore_, signifies a very steep
descent.
ECOUPE, _Fr._ An instrument used by the pioneers. See OUTILS.
ECOUVILLON, _Fr._ a maulkin or drag. The spunge made use of to clean
and to cool the inside of a cannon, when it has been discharged.
ECOUVILLONER, _Fr._ To clean a piece of ordnance before it has been
fired, or to cool it after.
ECRETER, _Fr._ To batter or fire at the top of a wall, redoubt,
epaulement, &c. so as to dislodge or drive away the men that may
be stationed behind it, in order to render the approach more easy.
_Ecreter les pointes des palissades_, is to blunt the sharp ends of the
palisades. This ought always to be done before you attack the covert
way, which is generally fenced by them.
ECU, _Fr._ A large shield which was used by the ancients, and carried
on their left arms, to ward off the blows of a sword or sabre. This
instrument of defence was originally invented by the Samnites. The
Moors had _ecus_ or shields, sufficiently large to cover the whole of
their bodies. The clipei of the Romans, only differed from the _ecu_ in
shape; the former being entirely round, and the latter oval.
EDGE. The thin or cutting part of a sword or sabre.
EDICT. See PROCLAMATION.
EDUCATION, in a military sense, implies the training up of youth to
the art of war; the first object to be considered is, whether nature
has given the young man the talents necessary for the profession or
not; for here sense, parts, courage, and judgment, are required in
a very eminent degree. The natural qualities of an officer are, a
robust constitution, a noble open countenance, a martial genius, fire
to produce activity, phlegm to moderate his transports, and patience
to support the toils and fatigues of war, almost without seeming to
feel them. Acquired qualities in an officer consist in moral virtues
and sciences; by the first is meant, a regular good conduct, economy,
prudence, and a serious application to what regards the service.
Military sciences indispensibly demand the reading of ancient and
modern historians; a good knowlege of military mathematics; and the
study of the chief languages of Europe.
It is in ancient authors we find all that is excellent, either in
politics or war: the make and form of arms are changed since the
invention of gunpowder; but the science of war is always the same.
On one hand, history instructs us by examples, and furnishes us with
proofs, of the beautiful maxims of virtue and wisdom, which morality
has taught us: it gives us a kind of experience, beforehand, of what
we are to do in the world; it teaches us to regulate our life, and to
conduct ourselves with wisdom, to understand mankind; ever to carry
ourselves with integrity and probity, never to do a mean action; and to
measure grandeur with the level of reason, that we may despise it when
dangerous or ridiculous.
On the other hand, history serves to give us a knowlege of the
universe, and the different nations which inhabit it; their prejudices,
their governments, their interests, their commerce, their politics, and
the law of nations. It shews us the origin of the illustrious men who
have reigned in the world, and given birth to their successors.
The knowlege of military mathematics, regards the operations of war in
general; every thing there consists in proportion, measure, and motion:
it treats of marches, encampments, battles, artillery, fortification,
lines, sieges, mines, ammunition, provisions, fleets, and every thing
which relates to war; but no perfect notion can be acquired without
geometry, natural philosophy, mechanics, military architecture, and the
art of drawing.
The study of languages is most useful to an officer, and he feels the
necessity of it, in proportion as he rises to higher employments. Thus
the Latin, German, and French languages, are very necessary for an
English officer; as the English, French, and Italian, are for a German.
_French_ MILITARY EDUCATION. He who undertakes to investigate the
causes of the military superiority of the modern French, will, perhaps,
be inclined to attach some importance to the facts contained in the
following anecdote:
In the course of the winter of 1806, part of the pupils of the
_Prytaneum_, at Paris, left that city to receive appointments as
officers in the grand army in Poland. The route of these youths, of
whom many had not obtained their full stature, and others had a weakly
appearance, though they were neither so small nor so weak as were
formerly many subalterns in the Prussian army--led them through Berlin.
An officer accompanied them in quality of inspector. They passed one
night in that capital.
A well-informed inhabitant of the city, who had formerly been in the
army, and possessing considerable military attainments, had occasion
to be in the neighborhood of their quarters. Their juvenile appearance
induced him to ask the officer who accompanied them, whether these
youths would be capable of enduring the fatigues and dangers of field
encampments in a northern climate, at so inclement a season, and in
such a country as Poland. The officer, a polite and sensible man, made
this reply:--
“These young men, sir, can scarcely be subjected to any contingency
for which they are not perfectly prepared by education and practice.
You are mistaken if you imagine that the Emperor Napoleon considers
theoretical instruction sufficient for a soldier; our institution goes
farther, a great deal farther. All these youths whom you here see,
have had much more experience than many officers in actual service in
other armies. Their constitution is early inured to all the prejudicial
influences which menace the practical soldier. Among these young
men there is not one but what has worked with his own hands at the
construction of real forts; not one but what has stood centinel whole
nights together. All of them have slept many cold and tempestuous
nights in the open air, and next day performed a march of 16 or 18
miles; have climbed lofty mountains, beneath the scorching rays of a
meridian sun; have swam, sometimes in their clothes, sometimes without,
through impetuous rivers and chilling streams; have even been obliged
to abstain for whole days from food, and during the hottest weather
from drink, that they might learn to endure all possible inconveniences
incident to a soldier’s life, and that they might be intimately
acquainted with them before they were involved in them by necessity.
Nothing would terrify them in an uncommon degree: for in the sham
fights in our Institution, the rapier is thrown away after the first
few hours, and a sharp sword is put into the hands of the pupils. If
any of them receive a wound, he has nothing but his own aukwardness to
blame for it. It is his business to protect himself by his superiority.
Would you now repeat your question?”
It is easy to conceive what an effect such a practical education must
have upon the soldier in the higher ranks! What may be expected of
an officer thus prepared for every event? That the conduct of their
leader operates with a powerful impulse on all those who are under his
command, is not to be denied. Exercise begets courage and energy, and
at a period when war is a trade, those who possess these two qualities
in the highest degree, must predominate.
EFFECTIVE _men_, in a military sense, are soldiers fit for service; as
an army of 30,000 effective (fighting) men.
EFFORT _du Cannon_, _Fr._ The effect or impression made by a piece of
ordnance, which wholly depends upon the manner it is loaded and fired.
EGUILLETTES. Shoulder knots.
_To_ ELANCE, to throw darts, &c.
ELDER _battalion_. A battalion is counted elder than another, by the
time since it was raised. See SENIORITY.
ELDER _officer_, is he whose commission bears the oldest date. See
SENIORITY.
ELEMENTS, in a military sense, signify the first principles of tactics,
fortification, and gunnery.
ELLIPSIS, an oval figure, made by the section of a cone, by a plane
dividing both sides of a cone; and though not parallel to the base, yet
meeting with the base when produced.
ELEVATION, in _gunnery_, that comprehended between the horizon and the
line of direction of either cannon or mortars; or it is that which the
chace of a piece, or the axis of its hollow cylinder, makes with the
plane of the horizon.
EMBARKATION. The act of putting troops on board of ship, when destined
to be conveyed on an expedition.
EMBARKATION. 1. _Of ordnance and stores._--The first thing necessary is
to prepare a list of all the articles to be embarked, with the weight
of each. This list must have a large column for remarks. The tonnage
required for bulky articles will be generally one third more than their
actual weight; but the tonnage of ordnance, shells, shot, &c. will be
equal to their weight. If vessels be paid according to the tonnage they
carry, the masters will of course stow away as much as the ships will
hold; but if, by the voyage, they will be averse to loading their ships
too much; a naval officer should therefore always attend to see that
the ships are properly stowed.
Ordnance and stores may be embarked either for the purpose of merely
transporting them to another situation, or for a military expedition.
In the first case, each ship must be stowed with as much as it will
carry, and every article that relates to one particular species of
service or ordnance, must be put on board the same ship; that in case
one ship be lost, the others may remain in themselves complete. This
principle must of course be likewise attended to in an embarkation for
an expedition; but a more particular distribution must take place of
the stores when on board. With each piece of ordnance must be placed
every thing necessary for its service; its side arms, carriage, limber,
ammunition, &c. so as to be readily come at, when required to be
disembarked. If it be an embarkation of ordnance, &c. for a siege, not
only every thing necessary for the service of the pieces of ordnance
should be arranged with them; but also every thing necessary for the
construction of the battery on which they are mounted. It will be
adviseable in this case, to put different kinds of ordnance in the same
ship, in proportions according to the service required of them. In
general it will be best to put the heavy articles in first, and every
thing that is light, easy to be removed, or likely to be first wanted,
on the top. Previous to embarkation, the guns, carriages, waggons, &c.
must be dismounted, but first numbered as follows: and the number of
each article marked in the list, in the column of remarks. Give each
piece of ordnance and its carriage the same number. Give the ammunition
and other carriages, different numbers from the ordnance carriages.
Then give every limber, whether of ordnance carriage, ammunition
carriage, or waggon, the number of its respective carriage. If for a
simple transport, arrange the small stores, side arms, &c. according to
their several kinds; but if for an expedition, every thing belonging to
each particular piece of ordnance must be collected together, and the
cases or chests in which they are put, marked with the number of the
piece of ordnance to which they belong, their kinds and description. If
there be any doubt of the different parts of the carriages, being made
with that uniformity, so essentially necessary, every part which is
separated, must bear the number of its carriage. This precaution at any
rate may be a good one, if the same vessel contain different kinds of
ordnance or carriages.
The axletrees need not be taken off the carriages, if the vessel be
of a sufficient size to admit them when fixed, as they are not easily
replaced without workmen and a tedious operation. When a carriage is
dismounted, all the small articles, such as elevating screws, linch
pins, drag washers, cap squares, &c. must be carefully collected, and
secured in a box, marked with the description of stores, and number of
the carriage to which they belong. All carriages or waggons embarked
with their axletrees fixed, must be arranged in the ship, side by side,
and alternately front and rear, that their axletrees may not interfere
with each other, and take too much room. Every transport or other
vessel employed in carrying troops or stores for an expedition, should
be numbered on the quarters and on the bows, with figures as large as 2
or 3 feet, and on the sails, that they may be known at a distance. The
number of the ship, her name and tonnage, and the master’s name should
be entered in the list of the stores which she carries.
In disembarking ordnance and stores, they must be landed exactly
in order, the reverse of what they were shipped. The carriages and
waggons must be mounted as soon as possible, and every kind must be
arranged as far from the shore as possible to prevent confusion. If the
disembarkation take place in the presence of an enemy, the vessels of
course must be loaded accordingly; and the field ordnance, with their
carriages, ammunition, &c. must be so arranged as to be first landed,
and with the greatest ease possible. In this case, the entrenching
tools must also be kept in the greatest readiness.--_Aide Memoire._
2. _Of troops._--All transports taken into the public service, are
under the direction of the naval agents, and of their agents at the
different ports at home and abroad. No troops or other persons can
be put on board them, or victualled, but by an order from the navy
department, or one of its agents. Troops embarked on board transports
or ships of war (except as marines) are only allowed two thirds of
a seaman’s allowance of provisions. (See the word RATION.) It is
therefore necessary to divide the men into messes of 6 each. Six women
to 100 men embarked on foreign service, are allowed rations; and 10
women to 100 men on home service. The births on board transports, are
usually made 6 feet square, and each admits 4 men at a time; but one
third of the men should always be on deck; there fore 6 men (or one
mess) are told off to each birth, one third of whom are always on
watch. The commanding officer of the troops on board a transport, has a
right to peruse the charter party of the ship, which points out every
different article, as firing, candles, boats, utensils, &c. which the
ship is engaged to find for the use of the troops on board. It likewise
expresses the part of the ship allotted to the officers, to the master,
the mate, and the agent, should there be one on board.
EMBARGO, a prohibition for any ships to leave a port: generally
enforced on the rupture of any two or more nations, or by law.
EMBARK. See EMBARKATION.
EMBARRASS, _Fr._ a cheval de frise.
EMBATTLE. See BATTLE ARRAY.
EMBEZZLING, EMBEZZLEMENT, of military stores, is punishable by the
articles of war, but not at the discretion of a general court martial,
as the offender must be sentenced to be cashiered.
EMBLEE, _Fr._ a prompt, sudden, and vigorous attack, which is made
against the covert way and out works of a fortified place. This
military operation is executed by means of a rapid march, and an
unexpected appearance before a town, followed by an instantaneous
assault upon the out posts of the enemy, who is thrown into so much
confusion, that the assailants force their way at the same time, and
endeavor to get possession of the town.
EMBOUCHURE _du canon_, _Fr._ the muzzle of a cannon.
EMBRASSEUR, _Fr._ from embrasser, to embrace or close round. A piece
of iron, which grasps the trunnions of a piece of ordnance, when it is
raised upon the boring machine, to widen its calibre.
EMBRASURE, in _fortification_, is an opening, hole, or aperture in
a parapet, through which cannon is pointed to fire at the enemy.
Embrasures are generally made from 10 to 12 feet distant from one
another, every one of them being from 6 to 9 feet wide without, and
2 or 2¹⁄₂ within: their height above the platform is 2¹⁄₂ er 3 feet
towards the town, and 1¹⁄₂ foot on the other side towards the field, so
that the muzzle of the piece may be sunk on occasion, and brought to
fire low. See BATTERY and FORTIFICATION.
EMBUSCADE, _Fr._ See AMBUSCADE.
EMERILLON, _Fr._ a mislin, or small piece of brass or cast iron, which
does not exceed a pound weight.
EMERY, a ground iron ore. The British soldiers are each allowed a
certain quantity for cleaning their arms.
EMIGRANTS, persons who have quitted their native country.
EMINENCE, in military art, a high or rising ground, which overlooks
and commands the low places about it: such places, within cannon shot
of any fortified place, are a great disadvantage; for if the besiegers
become masters of them, they can from thence fire into the place.
EMISSARY, a person sent by any power that is at war with another, for
the purpose of creating disaffection among the people of the latter.
EMOUSSER, _Fr._ to blunt, to dull. In a military sense, it signifies
to take off the four comers of a battalion, which has formed a square,
and to give it, by those means, an octagon figure; from the different
obtuse angles of which it may fire in all directions.
EMPALE. See FORTIFY.
EMPATTEMENT, in _fortification_. See TALUS.
EMPILEMENT, _Fr._ from empiler, to pile up. The act of disposing
balls, grenades, and shells, in the most secure and convenient manner.
This generally occurs in arsenals and citadels.
EMPRIZE. See EXPEDITION.
EMULATION, in a military sense, is a noble jealousy, without the
slightest tincture of envy, whereby gentlemen endeavor to surpass each
other in the acquisition of military knowlege. Is not the want of
encouragement to excite emulation, the great cause of misconduct among
military men? An officer who is not protected, who is never sure of
the least favor, neglects himself, and takes less trouble to acquire
glory, rarely heard of, though merited by the bravest actions, than to
enjoy the tranquillity of an ordinary reputation. Brave actions, by
whomsoever accomplished, should never be buried in oblivion, as they
excite to emulation, and are full of instruction.
ENAMBUSH. See AMBUSH.
ENCAMPMENT, the pitching of a camp. See CAMP.
In the regulations published by authority, are particularly enjoined
the following:
_Attentions relative to_ ENCAMPMENTS. On the arrival of a brigade, or
a battalion, on the ground destined for its camp, the quarter and rear
guards of the respective regiments will immediately mount; and when
circumstances require them, the advanced picquets will be posted. The
grand guards of cavalry will be formed, and the horses picqueted. The
mens’ tents will then be pitched, and till this duty is completed, the
officers are on no account to quit their troops or companies, or to
employ any soldier for their own accommodation.
Necessaries are to be made in the most convenient situations, and the
utmost attention is required in this, and every other particular, to
the cleanliness of the camp.
If circumstances will allow the ground on which a regiment is to encamp
to be previously ascertained, the pioneers should make these, and other
essential conveniences, before the corps arrives at its encampment.
Whenever a regiment remains more than one night in a camp, regular
kitchens are to be constructed.
No tents, or huts, are to be allowed in front of, or between the
intervals of the battalions. A spot or ground for this purpose should
be marked by the quarter-master, with the approbation of the commanding
officer.
On arriving in a camp which is intersected by hedges, ditches,
unequal or boggy ground, regiments will immediately make openings of
communication, of 60 feet in width.
The ground in front of the encampment is to be cleared, and every
obstacle to the movement of the artillery and troops is to be removed.
Commanding officers of regiments must take care that their
communication with the nearest grand route is open, and free from any
impediments.
ENCEINTE, in _fortification_, is the interior wall or rampart which
surrounds a place, sometimes composed of bastions or curtains, either
faced or lined with brick or stone, or only made of earth. The
_enceinte_ is sometimes only flanked by round or square towers, which
is called a Roman wall.
ENCLOUER _un canon_, _Fr._ to spike the cannon.
ENCLOUEURE, _Fr._ this term is used in the artillery, to signify the
actual state and condition of any thing that has been spiked.
ENCOUNTERS, in military affairs, are combats, or fights, between two
persons only. Figuratively, battles or attacks by small or large
armies. The marquis de Feuquieres mentions four instances of particular
encounters brought on by entire armies, with a design to create a
general engagement.
ENCOURAGE. See ANIMATE.
ENCROACHMENT, the advancement of the troops of one nation, on the
rights or limits of another.
ENDORMI, _Fr._ asleep; _soldat endormi_, a soldier asleep on guard. See
the articles of war, which direct that any centinel who is found asleep
during the period of his duty, shall be punished with death.
ENDECAGON, a plain figure of 11 sides and angles.
ENEMY, in a military sense, one who is of an opposite side in war, or
who publicly invades a country.
ENFANS _perdus_, forlorn hope, in military history, are soldiers
detached from several regiments, or otherwise appointed to give the
first onset in battle, or in an attack upon the counterscarp, or the
breach of a place besieged; so called (by the French) because of the
imminent danger they are exposed to.
ENFILADE, in _fortification_, is used in speaking of trenches, or other
places, which may be scoured by the enemy’s shot, along their whole
length. In conducting the approaches at a siege, care must be taken
that the trenches be not _enfiladed_ from any work of the place. See
TRENCHES.
_To_ ENFILADE, is to sweep the whole length of any work or line of
troops, with the shot of artillery or small arms.
ENFILER, _Fr._ to enfilade, is to batter and sweep with cannon shot,
the whole extent of a strait line.
ENGAGEMENT, _Fr._ See ENLISTMENT.
ENGAGEMENT. See BATTLE.
ENGARRISON, to protect any place by a garrison.
ENGINES, in military mechanics, are compound machines, made of one or
more mechanical powers, as levers, pullies, screws, &c. in order to
raise, project, or sustain any weight, or produce any effect which
could not be easily effected otherwise.
ENGINE _to drive fuzes_, consists of a wheel with a handle to it, to
raise a certain weight, and to let it fall upon the driver, by which
the strokes become more equal.
ENGINE _to draw fuzes_, has a screw fixed upon a three-legged stand,
the bottom of which has a ring to place it upon the shell; and at the
end of the screw is fixed a hand screw by means of a collar, which
being screwed on the fuze, by turning the upper screw, draws out or
raises the fuze.
ENGINEER, is commonly applied to an officer who is appointed to inspect
and contrive any attacks, defences, &c. of a fortified place, or to
build or repair them, &c.
The art of fortification is an art which stands in need of so
many others, and whose object is so extensive, and its operations
accompanied with so many various circumstances, that it is almost
impossible for a man to make himself master of it by experience
alone, even supposing him born with all the advantages of genius
and disposition possible for the knowlege and practice of that
important art. We do not pretend to deny that experience is of greater
efficacy, than all the precepts in the world: but it has likewise
its inconveniences as well as its advantages; its fruits are of slow
growth; and whoever is content with pursuing only that method of
instruction, seldom knows how to act upon emergencies of all kinds,
because old age incapacitates him from exercising his employment.
Experience teaches us, through the means of the errors we commit
ourselves, what theory teaches us at the expence of others. The life
of man being short, and opportunities of practice seldom happening, it
is certain nothing less than a happy genius, a great share of theory,
and intent application joined to experience, can make an engineer one
day shine in his profession. From whence it follows, that less than the
three first of those four qualities, should not be a recommendation for
the reception of a young gentleman into a corps of engineers.
The fundamental sciences, and those absolutely necessary, are
arithmetic, geometry, mechanics, hydraulics, and drawing. Without
arithmetic, it is impossible to make a calculation of the extent,
and to keep an account of the disbursements made, or to be made;
nor without it can an exact computation be made upon any occasion
whatsoever.
Without geometry, it is impossible to lay down a plan or map with truth
and exactness, or settle a draught of a fortification, or calculate the
lines and angles, so as to make a just estimation, in order to trace
them on the ground, and to measure the surface and solidity of their
parts.
Mechanics teach us the proportions of the machines in use, and how to
increase or diminish their powers as occasion may require; and likewise
to judge whether those which our own imagination suggests to us, will
answer in practice.
Hydraulics teach us how to conduct waters from one place to another, to
keep them at a certain height, or to raise them higher.
How fluently soever we may express ourselves in speaking or writing, we
can never give so perfect an idea as by an exact drawing; and often in
fortification both are wanted; for which reason the art of drawing is
indispensibly necessary for engineers.
To the qualities above mentioned, must be added activity and
vigilance; both which are absolutely necessary in all operations
of war, but especially in the attack of such places as are in
expectation of succours. The besieged must have no time allowed them
for consideration; one hour lost at such a juncture often proves
irreparable. It is by their activity and vigilance, that engineers
often bring the besieged to capitulate, much sooner than they would
have done, if those engineers had not pushed on the attack with
firmness and resolution. Want of vigilance and activity often proceed
from irresolution, and that from weakness of capacity.
As the office of an engineer requires great natural qualifications,
much knowlege, study, and application, it is but reasonable that
the pay should be proportioned to that merit which is to be the
qualification of the person employed: he must be at an extraordinary
expence in his education, and afterwards for books and instruments for
his instruction and improvement, as well as for many other things;
and that he may be at liberty to pursue his studies with application,
he must not be put to shifts for necessaries. It should likewise be
considered, that if an engineer do his duty, be his station what it
will, his fatigue must be very great; and, to dedicate himself wholly
to that duty, he should be divested of all other cares.
The word engineer is of modern date in England, and was first used
about the year 1650, when one captain Thomas Rudd had the title
of chief engineer. In 1600, the title given to engineers, was
trench-master; and in 1622, sir William Pelham, and after him sir
Francis Vere, acted as trench-masters in Flanders. In the year 1634, an
engineer was called camp-master general, and sometimes engine-master,
being always subordinate to the master of the ordnance.
At present the corps of _engineers_ in _England_, consists of 1
colonel in chief, 1 colonel en second, 1 chief engineer, 5 colonels,
6 lieutenant colonels, 18 captains, 15 captain lieutenants, and
captains, 31 lieutenants, 16 second lieutenants.
The establishment of the corps of _invalid engineers_, comprises a
colonel, lieutenant colonel, captain, captain lieutenant and captain,
first lieutenant, and second lieutenant.
The corps of _engineers in Ireland_ consists of a director, colonel,
lieutenant colonel, major, captain, captain lieutenant and captain, and
2 first lieutenants.
During the administration of general Washington, the necessity of some
military institute, or school, was frequently recommended; and in the
administration that followed, the same policy was pursued; particularly
at the period of raising the additional army in 1798. In the year 1792,
military subjects were very much pressed upon congress, as arising
out of the state of the world, and the necessity of being prepared to
ward against the dangers which might arise. In 1800, the subject of
military defence was discussed, with increased zeal, and a very able
and judicious report of the then secretary at war was laid before
congress, in which it was proposed to establish a military academy to
be divided into four general departments. 1. A fundamental school.
2. A school of artillerists and engineers. 3. A school of cavalry
and infantry. 4. A naval school. The objects of this report fell to
the ground. In 1802, (16 March) a law was passed, in which it was
provided, Sect. 26. That the President of the United States is hereby
authorised and empowered, when he shall deem it expedient, to organize
and establish a corps of engineers, to consist of one engineer, with
the pay, rank, and emoluments of a major; two assistant engineers,
with the pay, rank, and emoluments of captains; two other assistant
engineers, with the pay, rank, and emoluments of first lieutenants;
two other assistant engineers, with the pay, rank, and emoluments of
second lieutenants; and ten cadets, with the pay of sixteen dollars per
month, and two rations per day: and the President of the United States
is, in like manner authorised, when he shall deem it proper, to make
such promotions in the said corps, with a view to particular merit, and
without regard to rank, so as not to exceed one colonel, one lieutenant
colonel, two majors, four captains, four first lieutenants, four second
lieutenants, and so as that number of the whole corps shall, at no
time, exceed twenty officers and cadets.
Sec. 27. _And be it further enacted_, That the said corps when so
organized, shall be stationed at West Point in the state of New York,
and shall constitute a military academy; and the engineers, assistant
engineers, and cadets of the said corps, shall be subject at all times,
to do duty in such places, and on such service, as the President of the
United States shall direct.
Sec. 28. _And be it further enacted_, That the principal engineer,
and in his absence the next in rank, shall have the superintendance
of the said military academy, under the direction of the President
of the United States; and the secretary of war is hereby authorised,
at the public expence, under such regulations as shall be directed
by the President of the United States, to procure the necessary
books, implements and apparatus for the use and benefit of the said
institution.
This school of engineers of the U. States has been since augmented; and
it is proposed to place it at Washington city.
ENGINERY, the act of managing artillery; also engines of war.
ENGUARD. See GUARD.
ENLARGEMENT, the act of going or being allowed to go beyond prescribed
limits: as the extending the boundaries of an arrest, when the officer
is said to be enlarged, or under arrest at large.
ENNEAGON, in, _geometry_, or _fortification_, is a figure consisting of
9 angles, and as many sides, capable of being fortified with the same
number of bastions.
ENNEGONE. See ENNEAGON.
ENRANK, to place in orderly or regular rows.
ENROLEMENT, _Fr._ enrollment. This term, according to the military
acceptation of it in the French service, differs from the words
engagement, enlistment, inasmuch as in some instances, the officer
enrolls or enlists a soldier without his consent; whereas in others the
soldier is enrolled, after having declared that he voluntarily enlisted.
ENROLLED, ENROLLMENT, See INLISTED.
ENSCONCE, to cover as with a fort.
ENSEIGNE, _Fr._ the colors, originally derived from the Latin word
_Insignire_. The French designate all warlike symbols under the term
_enseigne_; but they again distinguish that word by the appellations
of _drapeaux_, colors, and _étendarts_, standards. _Drapeaux_ or
colors are particularly characteristic of the infantry; _étendarts_ or
standards belong to the cavalry. We make the same distinctions in our
service. See COLORS.
ENSEIGNE _de vaisseau_, _Fr._ The lowest commissioned officer in the
French navy.
ENSHIELD, to cover from the enemy.
ENSIFORM, having the shape of a sword.
ENSIGN, in the military art, a banner, under which the soldiers are
ranged according to the different regiments they belong to. See COLORS.
ENSIGN, or _ensign-bearer_, is an officer who carries the colors being
the lowest commissioned officer in a company of foot, subordinate to
the captain and lieutenant. The word ensign is very ancient, being
used both by the Greeks and Romans, and amongst both foot and horse.
Ensigns belonging to the foot, were either the common ones of the
whole legion, or the particular ones of the manipuli. The common ensign
of the whole legion was an eagle of gold or silver, fixed on the top
of a spear, holding a thunderbolt in his talons as ready to deliver
it. That this was not peculiar to the Romans, is evident from the
testimony of Xenophon, who informs us, that the royal ensign of Cyrus
was a golden eagle spread over a shield, and fastened on a spear, and
that the same was still used by the Persian kings. In the rustic age
of Rome, the ensigns were nothing more than a wisp of hay carried on
a pole, as the word _manipulus_ properly signifies. The ensign of the
cavalry was a dragon; but there were some of cloth, somewhat like our
colors, distended on a staff; on which the names of the emperors were
generally depicted. The religious care the soldiers took of their
ensigns, was extraordinary: they worshipped them, swore by them (as at
present several European powers do) and incurred certain death if they
lost them. The Turks and Tartars make use of horses tails for their
ensigns, whose number distinguishes the rank of their commanders; for
the Sultan has 7, and the Grand Vizier only 3, &c.
ENTERPRIZE, in military history, an undertaking attended with some
hazard and danger.
ENTERPRISER, an officer who undertakes or engages in any important and
hazardous design. This kind of service frequently happens to the light
infantry, light horse, and hussars.
ENTIRE, or _rank_ ENTIRE, a line of men in one continued row on the
side of each other. When behind each other, they are said to be in
file. See INDIAN _files_.
ENTONNOIR, _Fr._ the cavity or hole which remains after the explosion
of a mine. It likewise means the tin-case or port-feu which is used to
convey the priming powder into the touch-hole of a cannon.
ENTREPOSTS, _Fr._ magazines and places appropriated in garrison towns
for the reception of stores, &c. In a mercantile sense it means an
intermediate public warehouse, where goods were deposited, and from
whence they might be forwarded to different quarters within or beyond
the immediate confines of a country.
ENTREPRENEUR, _Fr._ See CONTRACTOR.
ENVELOPE, in fortification, a work of earth, sometimes in form of
a single parapet, and at others like a small rampart: it is raised
sometimes in the ditch, and sometimes beyond it. Envelopes are
sometimes _en zic-zac_, to inclose a weak ground, where that is
practicable, with single lines, to save the great charge of horn
works, crown works, and tenailles, or where room is wanting for such
large works. These sort of works are to be seen at Besancon, Douay,
Luxembourg, &c. Envelopes in a ditch are sometimes called sillons,
contregardes, conserves, lunettes, &c. which words see.
_To_ ENVIRON, to surround in a hostile manner, to hem in, to besiege.
EPAULE, in fortification, denotes the shoulder of a bastion, or the
place where its face and flank meet, and form the angle, called the
angle of the shoulder. See FORTIFICATION.
EPAULEMENT, in fortification, is a kind of breast work to cover the
troops in front, and sometimes in flank. In a siege, the besiegers
generally raise an epaulement of 8 or 10 feet high, near the entrance
of the approaches, to cover the cavalry, which is placed there to
support the guard of the trenches. These works are sometimes made of
filled gabions, or fascines and earth. This term is frequently used for
any work thrown up to defend the flank or a post, or any other place.
It is sometimes taken for a demi-bastion, and at other times for a
square orillon to cover the cannon of a casemate. See FORTIFICATION.
EPAULETTES, are shoulder knots, worn by officers; those for the
officers are made of gold or silver lace, with rich fringe and
bullions, those of non-commissioned are of cotton or worsted. They are
badges of distinction worn on one or both shoulders. When a serjeant or
corporal is publicly reduced, the shoulder-knot is cut off by the drum
major in the front or circle of the battalion.
Among the French, all the degrees of rank, from a cadet to a general
officer, were so minutely marked out by the epaulette, that a common
centinel might instantly know what officer approached his station, and
could pay the prescribed honors without hesitation or mistake.
All officers above the rank of captain wear two in the United States
army and militia; captains wear one on the right shoulder: lieutenants
and ensigns on the left; serjeants and corporals wear as captains and
lieutenants.
Epaulettes have been introduced into the British navy.
The following are the gradations of rank as distinguished by epaulettes.
Masters and commanders have one epaulette on the left shoulder.
Post captains under three years, one epaulette on the right shoulder.
And after having been post three years, two epaulettes.
Rear admirals have one star on the strap of the epaulette, vice
admirals two stars, and admirals three stars.
EPEE, _Fr._ a sword.
EPERON, _Fr._ a spur.
EPICYCLOID, a curve formed by the revolution of the periphery of a
circle along the convex or concave part of another circle.
EPIGNARE, _Fr._ a small piece of ordnance which does not exceed one
pound in calibre.
EPREUVE, _Fr._ See PROOF.
EPROUVETTE, is a machine to prove the strength of gunpowder. There are
different sorts of eprouvettes, according to the fancy of different
nations who use them. Some raise a weight, and others throw a shot, to
certain heights and distances.
EPTAGON. See HEPTAGON.
EQUANGULAR, having equal angles.
EQUATION, an expression of the same quantity in two dissimilar terms,
but of equal value. See ALGEBRA.
EQUERRE, _Fr._ a sort of rule which is absolutely necessary to the
miner in order to make his descent at right angles.
EQUERRY, the master of the horse. It likewise means any person who is
appointed to attend horses.
EQUESTRIAN _statue_, the inanimate resemblance, in bronze, stone, or
marble, of any person mounted on horseback.
EQUESTRIAN _order_, among the Romans, signified their knights or
equites; as also their troopers or horsemen in the field; the first of
which orders stood in contradistinction to the senators, as the last
did to the foot; each of these distinctions was introduced into the
state by state cunning.
EQUILIBRIUM, equality of weight or powder.
_To_ EQUIP, to furnish an individual, a corps, or an army, with
every thing that is requisite for military service, such as arms,
accoutrements, uniforms, &c. &c.
EQUIPAGE, in a military sense, is all kinds of furniture made use of by
the army; such as
_Camp_-EQUIPAGE, _Field_-EQUIPAGE, are tents, kitchen furniture, saddle
horses, baggage waggons, bat horses, &c.
EQUIPMENT, the act of getting completely equipped, or supplied with
every requisite for military service.
EQUITES, an order of equestrian knights introduced among the Romans by
Romulus.
ESCADRON, _Fr._ Squadron. This term is derived from the Italian _scara_
or _scadra_, corrupted from the Latin quadrum. Froissart was the first
French writer that made use of the word _escadron_ to signify a troop
of horse drawn out in order of battle. The term escadron is more
ancient than _battalion_. See SQUADRON.
ESCALADE. See SCALADE.
ESCALADE _d’un soldat_ was used in the old French service to express
the act of a soldier who got into a town, camp, or quarters, by scaling
the ramparts, &c. When discovered in the act of so doing, the centinels
had orders to fire at him; and if apprehended, he was tried and
condemned to death.
ESCALE, _Fr._ a machine used to apply the petard.
ESCARMOUCHE, _Fr._ See SKIRMISH.
ESCARPE, is the outward slope or talus of the rampart.
ESCARPMENT. See DECLIVITY.
ESCORT, in the art of war. See CONVOY.
ESCORTS, _Fr._ See CONVOY.
ESCOUADE, _Fr._ in the old French service generally meant the third
part of a company of foot or a detachment. Companies were divided in
this manner for the purpose of more conveniently keeping the tour of
duty among the men.
The word escouade is, however, more specifically applicable to the
old distribution of a French artillery company, which was divided
into three parts called escouades. The first, containing double the
complement of the rest, was composed of 24 artillerists or bombardiers,
including two serjeants, two corporals, two anspessades or lance
corporals of the same profession, and twenty-four soldiers called
_soldats apprentis_. The second escouade was composed of twelve miners
or sappers, including one serjeant, one corporal, and one anspessade or
lance corporal of the same profession, and twelve _soldats apprentis_.
The third escouade was composed of twelve workmen or artificers in
wood or iron attached to the artillery, amongst whom were included one
serjeant, one corporal and one anspessade or lance corporal of the same
trade, together with twelve _soldats apprentis_. We have corrupted the
terra and called it squad. See SQUAD.
ESCOUT. See SPY.
ESCUAGE, an ancient feudal tenure by which the tenant was bound to
follow his lord to war or to defend his castle.
ESPADON, in old military books, a kind of two-handed sword, having two
edges, of a great length and breadth; formerly used by the Spanish.
ESPION, _Fr._ a spy.
ESPLANADE, in fortification, the sloping of the parapet of the
covert-way towards the field, and is therefore the same as the glacis
of the counterscarp; but begins to be antiquated in that sense, and is
now only taken for the empty space between the glacis of a citadel, and
the first houses of the town.
ESPONTOON, _Fr._ A sort of half pike. On the 10th of May, 1690, it
was ordered by the French government that every espontoon, or half
pike, should be 8 feet in length. The colonels of corps as well as the
captains of companies always used them in action. The officers of the
British army have likewise been provided with this weapon: but it has
been replaced by the strait sword in both countries; and is generally
exploded.
ESPRINGAL, in the ancient art of war, a machine for throwing large
darts, generally called muchettæ.
ESPRIT _de Corps_, _Fr._ this term is generally used among all
military men in Europe. It may not improperly be defined a laudable
spirit of ambition which produces a peculiar attachment to any
particular corps, company or service. Officers without descending to
mean and pitiful sensations of selfish envy, under the influence of
a true _Esprit de corps_ rise into an emulous thirst after military
glory. The good are excited to peculiar feats of valor by the
sentiments it engenders, and the bad are deterred from ever hazarding
a disgraceful action by a secret consciousness of the duties it
prescribes.
ESQUADE. See SQUAD.
ESQUIRE. See ARMIGER.
S’ESQUIVER, _Fr._ to steal away.
ESSES, in the train of artillery, are fixed to draught chains and made
in the form of an S, one end of which is fastened to the chain, and the
other hooks to the horses harness, or to a staple: they serve likewise
to lengthen and piece chains together.
ESSUYER _le feu_, _Fr._ to remain exposed to the fire of cannon or
musquetry.
ESTABLAGE, _Fr._ the harness which is between the two shafts of a cart,
and serves to support them.
_To_ ESTABLISH, To fix, to settle. It is likewise a technical phrase,
to express the quartering of any considerable body of troops in a
country. Thus it is common to say: The army took up a position in the
neighborhood of ---- and established its head quarters at ----.
ESTABLISHMENT, in a military sense, implies the quota of officers and
men in an army, regiment, troop, or company.
_Peace_-ESTABLISHMENT, is the reduction of corps to a certain number,
by which the aggregate force of a country is diminished, and its
expenditure lessened.
_War_-ESTABLISHMENT, is the augmentation of regiments to a certain
number, by which the whole army of a country is considerably increased.
ESTAFFE, contribution money.
ESTIMATE, army estimates are the computation of expences to be incurred
in the support of an army for a given time.
ESTOFETTE, a military courier, sent express from one part of an army to
another.
ESTOILE. See ETOILE.
ESTRADE, _Fr._ a road or way. This word is derived from the Italian
_strada_, which signifies road, street, or way. Some writers take
its etymology from _Estradicts_, a class of men on horseback, who
were employed in scouring the roads, and in procuring intelligence
respecting the movements of an army. See BATTEUR D’ESTRADE.
ETAIM or ETAIN, _Fr._ Tin, A white metal of a consistency less hard
than silver, but firmer than lead. It is used in the casting of
cannon. The best quality is found in Cornwall.
ETANCONS, _Fr._ Stays, supporters. Large pieces of wood which are fixed
vertically in the cavities of mines, for the purpose of sustaining the
weight of earth that is laid upon the galleries.
ETAPE, _Fr._ subsistence, or a soldier’s daily allowance. See
SUBSISTENCE.
ETAPIERS, _Fr._ were military purveyors, who accompanied the French
armies or were stationed in particular places to supply the troops on
their march.
ETAT-_Major_, _Fr._ Staff. Etat major in the French service, is a
more comprehensive term than staff appears to be in our acceptation
of the word. As we have in some degree adopted the term, it cannot
be superfluous to give a short account of its origin, &c. Among the
French, according to the Author of the _Recueil Alphabetique de tous
les termes propres à l’art de la guerre_, état-major signifies a
specific number of officers who are distinguished from others belonging
to the same corps. It did not follow that every regiment was to have
its staff, as the king had the power of appointing or suppressing staff
officers at pleasure.
The _état-major général de l’infanterie_, or the general staff of the
infantry, was created under Francis I. in 1525. That of the light
cavalry under Charles IX. in 1565. That of the dragoons under Louis
XIV. in 1669.
The _état-major_ of an infantry regiment, was composed of the
colonel, the major, the aid-major, quarter-master, the chaplain,
the provost-marshal, the surgeon, and the attendant commissary, who
was called _le commissaire à la conduite_. To these were added the
lieutenant of the provostship, the person who kept the regimental
register, or the greffier, the drum-major, six archers, and the
executioner. By this establishment it is presupposed, that a
provostship, was allowed in the regiment, which was not a general
regulation, but depended upon the king’s pleasure.
The _état-major_, or staff of an old French regiment of _cavalry_,
according to the _Ordonnance_, or military regulation which was
issued on the 4th of November in 1651, consisted of the _mestre de
camp_, or colonel of the horse, the major and the aid-major. It is
therein particularly stated, that the état-major of a cavalry regiment
shall not have a provostship, a chaplain, a surgeon, nor any other
subordinate officer under that denomination.
Every fortified town or place had likewise its appropriate état-major,
consisting of a certain number of officers who were subject to specific
and distinct regulations.
By an order dated the 1st of August, 1733, the officers belonging
to the état major of a garrison town, or citadel, were strictly
forbidden to absent themselves more than four days from their places
of residence, without especial leave from the king, nor for four days,
unless they obtained permission from the governor or commandant of the
town or citadel. See _Amer. Mil. Lib._ Art. STAFF.
ETENDART. _Fr._ Standard. This word derives its name from the
circumstance of its application, being constantly stretched out,
_étendu_ or displayed. This etymology does not appear to hold good with
our translation of the word.
ETERCILLON, _ou arcboutant_, _Fr._ Buttress. A piece of wood which is
placed transverse, or horizontally in the galleries of a mine, in order
to sustain the earth on both sides; but most especially to keep the
chamber well closed, and to support the corners of the gallery.
ETIQUETTE, a French term, primarily denoting a ticket, or title affixed
to a bag, or bundle of papers, expressing its contents. It is also
used, when applied to the Spanish and some other courts to signify a
particular account of what is to be done daily in the king’s household.
It likewise denotes those forms that regulate the decorum of conduct
towards persons of various ranks and stations. In the Austrian service,
military etiquette is punctiliously attended to; and in the old French
service the utmost deference was paid to a superior officer by an
inferior, at all times, and on all occasions.
ETOILES, _Fr._ small redoubts, which are constructed by means of angles
rentrant and angles sortant, and have from five to eight saliant
points. Each one of their sides or faces may contain from 12 to 25
toises. This species of fortification has fallen into disuse, not only
because etoiles do not possess the advantage of having their angle
rentrant effectually flanked, but because they have been superceded by
square redoubts, which are sooner built, and are applicable to the same
purposes of defence.
ETOUPILLE, _Fr._ an inflammable match, composed of three threads of
very fine cotton, which is well steeped in brandy mixed with the best
priming gunpowder.
EVACUATE, in military history, a term made use of in the articles of
capitulation granted to the besieged at the time they surrender to the
besiegers; and is the same as quitting a place.
EVENT, _Fr._ Vent. This word is particularly applicable to the vent
or cavity which is left in cannon, or other fire arms, after they
have been proved and found defective. The vent is sometimes round and
sometimes long. Vents are frequently so exiguous, that they appear like
the lines of a small fibre, through which water will ooze, and smoke
evaporate. These pieces, whether of ordnance, or of musquetry, are of
course rejected.
EVIDENCE, a declaration made _viva voce_ of what any person knows of
his own knowlege relative to the matter in question. Military men are
obliged to attend and give evidence before courts-martial, without any
expence to the prosecutor, or prisoner.
_Hearsay_ EVIDENCE, the declaration of what one has heard from others.
As in all other courts of ordinary judicature, this species of evidence
is not admissible in courts-martial.
EVOCATI, were a class of soldiers among the Romans, who, after having
served their full time in the army, entered as volunteers to accompany
some favorite general. Hence they were likewise called _emeriti and
beneficiarii_.
EVOCATION. A religious ceremony which was always observed among the
Romans, at the commencement of a siege, wherein they solemnly called
upon the gods and goddesses of the place to forsake it, and come over
to them. When any place surrendered, they always took it for granted,
that their prayer had been heard, and that the _Dii Penates_, or the
household gods of the place had come over to them.
EVOLUTION, in the art of war, the motion made by a body of troops,
when they are obliged to change their form and disposition, in order
to preserve a post, occupy another, to attack an enemy with more
advantage, or to be in a condition of defending themselves the better.
That evolution is best, which, with a given number of men, may be
executed in the least space, and consequently in the least time
possible.
EVOLUTION _of the moderns_, is a change of position, which has always
for its object either offence or defence. The essentials in the
performance of an evolution are, order, directness, precision, and the
greatest possible rapidity.
EVOLUTIONS may be divided into two classes, the simple and the
compound; simple evolutions are those which consist in simple
movements, which do not alter the shape or figure of the battalion,
but merely afford a more or less extended front or depth, keep it more
or less closed to its flanks or centre, turn its aspect to flank or
rear, or break it into divisions, subdivisions, sections, or files, in
order that it may unfold itself, or defile and resume its proper front
or order of battle. All the various ways of defiling, forming line,
opening to right and left, closing or deploying, doubling the ranks or
files, or changing front upon either of the flanks by conversion, are
called simple evolution.
Compound evolutions are those which change the shape and figure of
battalions, break them into divisions or companies, separate the
companies from the main body, and again replace or rejoin them; in a
word which afford the means of presenting a front at every direction.
Compound evolutions are practised either by repeating the same simple
evolution several times, or by going through several simple evolutions,
or moving in different modes with different parts of the same corps,
which ultimately tend to the same object.
The EVOLUTIONS _of the ancients_ were formed and executed with uncommon
good sense and ability. Considering the depth and size of the Grecian
phalanx, it is astonishing how the different parts could be rendered
susceptible of the most intricate and varied evolutions. The Roman
legion, though more favorable to such changes and conversions, from
being more loose and detached, did not execute them upon more sound or
better principles.
EVOLUTION (_in geometry_) the equal _evolution_ of the periphery
of a circle, or any other curve, is such a gradual approach of the
circumference to rectitude, as that all its parts do meet together, and
equally evolve or unbend; so that the same line becomes successively a
less arch of a reciprocally greater circle, till at last they turn into
a straight line.
EVOLUTION _of powers_ (_in algebra_) extracting of roots from any given
power, being the reverse of involution.
EXAGON. See HEXAGON.
EXAMINER. One who scrutinizes.
EXCAVATION, the act of cutting or otherwise making hollows; also the
cavity formed. In military matters, it is generally applied to the
place from whence the earth or other substance has been taken by mining.
EXAMPLE, any act or word which disposes to imitation. The example of
a superior officer has considerable influence over the mind of an
inferior; but in no instance does it appear more important than in
the good and bad behaviour of a non-commissioned officer or corporal.
These characters, therefore, should be particularly correct in their
duties, tenacious of every principle of military honor, and remarkable
for honesty. Old soldiers should likewise direct their attention to the
strict observance of rules and regulations, as young recruits always
look up to them for example.
EXAMINATION, a scrutiny or investigation of abilities, conduct, &c.
All officers of artillery and engineers should undergo an examination
in mathematics, fortification, and gunnery, prior to their having
commissions. Surgeons and assistant surgeons should be examined before
a medical board.
EXAUCTORATIO, in the Roman military discipline, differed from the
missio, which was a full discharge, and took place after soldiers
had served in the army 20 years; whereas the exauctoratio was only a
partial discharge: they lost their pay indeed, but still kept under
their colors or vexilla, though not under the aquila or eagle, which
was the standard of the legion: whence instead of _legionarii_, they
were called _subsignani_, and were retained till they had either served
their full time, or had lands assigned them. The exauctoratio took
place after they had served 17 years.
EXCELLENCY, a title absurdly given to kings and emperors, in Europe,
and with equal falsehood and absurdity given to governors, ambassadors,
generals, and other persons.
EXCHANGE, in a military sense, implies the removal of an officer from
one regiment to another, or from full to half pay, and _vice versa_:
It is usual on these occasions for individuals belonging to the latter
class to receive a pecuniary consideration. See DIFFERENCE.
EXCHANGE _of prisoners_, the act of giving up men, that have been
taken in war, upon stipulated conditions which are subscribed to by
contending powers.
EXCHANGE, in a general sense, signifies any contract or agreement
whereby persons or things are exchanged for others.
EXCHEQUER. The public office from whence all monies are issued for the
use of the English army. With respect to the militia, it is enacted
that the money paid for that particular service, shall be kept apart
from all other money.
Officers belonging to the exchequer, are not to take any fees for
receiving, or issuing such money.
EXCITE. See ANIMATE.
EXCUBIÆ, in antiquity, the watches and guards kept in the day by the
Roman soldiers. They differed from the _vigiliæ_ which were kept in the
night.
EXECUTER, _Fr._ The French use this verb technically. They say,
_exécuter et servir une piéce_. See the particular method of so doing,
under TIRER _le canon_, to fire a gun or cannon.
EXECUTER, _Fr._ to execute, to put to death.
EXECUTION. _Military_ EXECUTION is the pillaging or plundering of a
country by the enemy’s army.
_Military_ EXECUTION also means every kind of punishment inflicted on
the army by the sentence of a court martial; which is of various kinds.
When a soldier is to be punished with death, a detachment of about 200
men from the regiment he belongs to form the parade, when a file of
grenadiers shoots the prisoner to death.
Every nation has different modes of military execution.
EXEMPT, men of 45 years of age are exempt from serving in the militia.
An aid-de-camp and brigade major are exempt from all regimental duties
while serving in these capacities. Officers on courts martial are
sometimes exempt from all other duties until the court is dissolved.
The people called _Quakers_, and all others who are religiously
scrupulous, are by the laws of the U. States exempt from militia duty,
an indulgence which they have hitherto repaid with extreme ingratitude.
EXEMPTION, the privilege to be free from some service or appearance.
Thus officers in the British militia who have served during the war,
according to prescribed regulations, are exempted from being balloted
for.
EXEMTS, _Fr._ so called originally, from being exempted from certain
services, or entitled to peculiar privileges.
EXEMTS _du ban et arriere ban_ persons exempted from being enrolled for
that particular service, were so called. They consisted of the domestic
attendants belonging to the palace, those attached to the princes and
princesses of the blood; all persons actually serving his majesty,
together with the sons of officers who were in the army.
EXEMTS _des gardes du corps_. Exempts belonging to the body guards.
They were twelve in number, and held the rank of captains of cavalry,
taking precedence of all captains whose commissions were of a younger
date to the brevet of the exempts.
These brevet commissions were given away under the old government of
France.
EXEMTS _des maréchaussées_. Certain persons employed to keep the public
peace. _Maréchaussée_ means in a literal sense, marshalsey. But the
functions of the exempts were of a nature peculiar to France. They held
their situations under commissions, bearing the great seal, which were
forwarded to them by the secretary at war. The privileges they enjoyed
were to be exempted from all taxes, &c. but they could not institute
any species of criminal information without the concurrence of the
greffier or sheriff.
EXERCISE, in military affairs, is the practice of all those motions
and actions, together with the whole management of arms, which a
soldier is to be perfect in, to render him fit for service, and make
him understand how to attack and defend. Exercise is the first part of
the military art; and the more it is considered the more essential it
will appear. It disengages the human frame from the stiff rusticity of
simple nature, and forms men and horses to all the evolutions of war.
The honor, merit, appearance, strength, and success of a corps depend
wholly upon the attention which has been paid to the drill and exercise
of it, according to prescribed rules and regulations; while on the
other hand we see the greatest armies, for want of being exercised,
instantly disordered, and that disorder increasing in spite of command;
the confusion oversets the art of skilful masters, and the valor of the
men only serves to precipitate the defeat: for which reason it is the
duty of every officer to take care, that the recruits be drilled as
soon as they join the corps.
The greatest advantage derived from the exercise, is the expertness
with which men become capable of loading and firing, and their
learning an attention to act in conformity with those around them.
It has always been lamented, that men have been brought on service,
without being informed of the uses of the different manœuvres they
have been practising; and that having no ideas of any thing but the
uniformity of the parade, they instantly fall into disorder and
confusion when they lose the step, or see a deviation from the straight
lines they have been accustomed to at exercise. It is a pity to see
so much attention confined to show, and so little given to instruct
the troops in what may be of use to them on service. Though the parade
is the place to form the characters of soldiers, and to teach them
uniformity, yet when confined to that alone, it is too limited and
mechanical for true military use.
The great loss which the British troops sustained in Germany, America,
and the West Indies, during the war of 1783, from sickness, as well as
from the enemy, was chiefly owing to a neglect of exercise. An army
whose numbers vanish after the first 4 months of a campaign, may be
very ready to give battle in their existing period; but the fact is,
that although fighting is one part of a soldier’s business, yet bearing
fatigue, and being in health, is another, and at least as essential
as the first. A campaign may pass without a battle; but no part of
a campaign can be gone through without fatigue, without marches,
without an exposure to bad weather; all of which have exercise for
their foundation; and if soldiers are not trained and enured to these
casualties, but sink under them, they become inadequate to bodily
fatigue, and eventually turn out a burthen to the country.
It is not from numbers, nor from inconsiderate valor, that we are to
expect victory; in battle she commonly follows capacity, and a knowlege
of arms. We do not see, that the Romans made use of any other means to
conquer the world, than a continual practice of military exercises, an
exact discipline in their camps, and a constant attention to cultivate
the art of war. Hence, both ancients and moderns agree, that there is
no other way to form good soldiers but by exercise and discipline; and
it is by a continual practice and attention to this, that the Prussians
arrived at that point of perfection which was long so much admired in
their evolutions, and manual exercise.
Formerly in the British service every commander in chief, or officer
commanding a corps, adopted or invented such manœuvres as he judged
proper, excepting in the instance of a few regulations for review:
neither the manual exercise, nor quick and slow marching were precisely
defined by authority. In consequence when regiments from different
parts were brigaded, they were unable to act in line till the general
officer commanding had established some temporary system to be
observed by all under his command.
These inconveniences were at length obviated by the rules and
regulations compiled by general Dundas on the system of the Prussian
discipline, as established by Frederic the Great.
During the American revolution, a committee of officers was appointed
by congress to digest a system of discipline for the military forces
of the United States. A considerable body of materials were thrown
together by the several officers, which proving too voluminous,
amounting to three volumes folio, Baron Steuben, an officer who had
been in the Prussian service, was appointed to make a digest, which
was afterwards adopted, and continues still to be the only regulation
for discipline. This work which is very brief, was of much use where
there was no sort of order established, or rather where utter disorder
prevailed; but is not by any means adapted to the uses of a good
discipline in the present state of military knowlege. It is confined
to the duties of a regiment of infantry only, and is in fact no more
than an abstract modification of the Prussian system of 1741. The
war department of the United States, has had the provision of a more
enlarged and competent system under preparation for three or four
years, and the commander in chief (general Wilkinson) had made great
progress in a general arrangement of a system comprehending all the
details of drill, exercise, manœuvre, formations of separate, and
co-operating bodies, and of various kinds of troops; as well as the
police of camps, garrisons, rank, and rotation; and other regulations,
but public service having called him off to the southern frontier, and
general Dearborne having resigned, the system of Steuben remains, while
the new discipline of Europe has become known to all the volunteer
corps of the Union, commanded by intelligent officers; and the old
discipline of Steuben, has from actual deficiency been superceded.
_Infantry_ EXERCISE, includes the use of the firelock and practice
of the manœuvres for regiments of foot, according to the regulations
issued by authority.
When a regiment of foot is drawn up, or paraded for exercise, the men
are placed two and sometimes three deep, which latter is the natural
formation of a battalion. In order to have the manual exercise well
performed, it is in a particular manner requisite, that the ranks and
files be even, well dressed, and the file leaders well covered: this
must be very strictly attended to both by the major, and his adjutant:
all officers also, on service in general, where men are drawn up under
arms, or without, must be careful, that the ranks and files are exactly
even; and the soldiers must learn to dress themselves at once, without
the necessity of being directed to do it. The beauty of all exercise
and marching, consists in seeing a soldier carry his arms well, keep
his firelock steady and even in the hollow of his shoulder, the right
hand hanging down, and the whole body without constraint. The musquets
when shouldered, should be exactly dressed in rank and file; the men
must keep their bodies upright, and in full front, not having one
shoulder too forward, or the other too backward. The distances between
the files must be equal, and not greater than from arm to arm, which
gives the requisite room for the motions. The ranks are to be two
paces distant from each other. Every motion must be done with life,
and all facings, wheelings, and marchings, performed with the greatest
exactness. Hence a regiment should never be under arms longer than
three hours without rest. See FIRINGS, MANUAL and MANŒUVRES.
_Cavalry_ EXERCISE, is of two sorts, on horseback, and on foot. The
squadrons for exercise are sometimes drawn up three deep, though
frequently two deep; the tallest men and horses in the centre and
front. When a regiment is formed in squadrons, the distance of 24 feet,
as a common interval, is always to be left between the ranks; and the
files must keep boot top to boot top. The officers commanding squadrons
must, above all things, be careful to form with great celerity, and,
during the whole time of exercise, to preserve their several distances.
In all wheelings, the flank which wheels, must come about in full
gallop. The men must keep a steady seat upon their horses, and have
their stirrups at a fit length.
_Cavalry Sword_ EXERCISE. See SWORD EXERCISE.
_Artillery_ EXERCISE, is the method of teaching the corps of artillery
the use and practice of all the various machines of war, viz.
EXERCISE _of the light field pieces_, teaches the men to load, ram, and
spunge the guns well; to elevate them according to the distance, by the
quadrant and screw; to judge of distances and elevations without the
quadrant; how to use the port fire, match, and tubes for quick firing;
how to fix the _bricole_ and _prolonge_, and use them in advancing,
retreating, and wheeling with the field pieces; how to fix and unfix
the trail of the carriage on the limbers, and how to fix and unfix the
boxes for grape shot on the carriages of each piece.
EXERCISE _of the garrison and battering artillery_, is to teach the men
how to load, ram, and spunge; how to handle the handspikes in elevating
and depressing the metal to given distances, and for ricochet; how to
adjust the coins, and work the gun to its proper place; and how to
point and fire with exactness, &c.
_Mortar_ EXERCISE, is of two different sorts, viz. with powder and
shells unloaded, and with powder and shells loaded; each of which
is to teach the men their duty, and to make them handy in using the
implements for loading, pointing, traversing, and firing, &c. See
PRACTICE.
_Howitz_ EXERCISE, differs but little from the mortar, except that it
is liable to various elevations; whereas that of the mortar is usually
fixed to an angle of 45°; but the men should be taught the method of
ricochet firing, and how to practise with grape shot: each method
requiring a particular degree of elevation. See PRACTICE.
EXERCISE _of guns with reduced numbers._ When 15 men are attached to
the service of a gun in the field, they may be classed to the right
and left sides of the gun; or they may be placed in a kind of roster,
by a succession of numbers from 1 to 15; the two first numbers of each
gun being the first and second gunner; and the remaining 13 as aids.
This numerical distribution, upon a little practice, will be found as
easy as the regulation of the guard duties, and is well calculated for
service where discipline is good. It is by this arrangement also well
suited to use, where there are men not well disciplined, as these can
be placed on the remotest numbers. So it is also well calculated for
horse artillery, where it will require some men to take care of the
horses; and it is also well adapted to service where men are lost by
the casualties of war.
Supposing, therefore, that a 12 pound gun with 15 men, is required to
exercise with 9 men. The six numbers, beginning with the 4th aid of the
left, or Nos. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, that is, the fourth of the left,
fifth and sixth aids of the right and left, in the practice; they are
either employed on other service, or engaged in securing the horses, or
in preserving and securing the caisson. The first gunner has provided
a return of the names and stations of each man at the gun. They are
posted as follows: and the numbers which precede their stations are the
numbers of their roster, and they should be prepared to answer by their
number, whenever called for.
No. 1. First gunner on the right.
2. Second gunner on the left.
3. First aid on the right.
4. First aid on the left.
5. Second aid on the right.
6. Second aid on the left.
7. Third aid on the right.
8. Third aid on the left.
9. Fourth aid on the right.
10. Fourth aid on the left.
11. Fifth aid on the right.
12. Fifth aid on the left.
13. Sixth aid on the right.
14. Sixth aid on the left.
15. Thirteenth aid.
A reference to the number prefixed to these stations, simplifies the
return, and points out the duty of each, which may be done by either
telling them off in ranking, or giving them a ballot with their number
on it, or any other arbitrary sign that may be devised. It is proposed
then to post the artillerists to a gun on the march; and so of several
guns. A twelve pounder is detached with 15 men, and they are numbered,
it is required to know the stations of the artillerists according to
their numbers, and according with the dipositions of the men to the
same duties.
First rule, all the odd numbers are on the right side of the gun; all
the even numbers on the left side. This is their position in _battery_,
and prepared for action. The next rule is their positions in advancing.
_Line of march._ Nos. 2, 4, 6, and 8, are on the left, which numbers
correspond with the second gunner, the first, second, and third aids
of the left; so on the right of the gun, are the Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, and
9, answering to the first gunner of the right, and the first, second,
third, and fourth aids of the right, making in all nine. The other six
aids, that is to say, the fourth aid of the left, the fifth aids of
right and left, the sixth aids of right and left, and the thirteenth
aid, are thus dispensed with, and may be thus dispensed with, unless
the men are required with their bricoles to manœuvre the gun; if
this is done with horse, their aid is only required with the horses,
and it exemplifies the excellent adaptation of the means of this new
discipline to its proposed end.
The third rule is, to find the men, and their stations by their
numbers, it is only requisite to refer to the preceding table of
numbers, 1 and 2 are stationed opposite the trail, they are the two
gunners; 3 and 4 are opposite the muzzle in the march, they load and
ram the cartridge and shot; 5 and 6 are opposite the breech; they
have charge of the port fire and priming; 7 and 8 march opposite the
axletree of the limber; they are the third aids of right and left, and
have to supply ammunition, and move the tumbril on unlimbering; they
are purveyors of the gun; 9 leads the limber horse, and takes charge of
the tumbril when the gun is in battery.
_Duties of nine men as numbered in battery._
_Light Artillery duties._
1 Commands the gun.
2 Stops the vent, and elevates the gun.
3 Rams and spunges.
4 Loads with cartridge and shot.
5 Fires the gun.
6 Clears the vent and primes.
7 {Supply
8 {cartridge.
9 Takes charge of the tumbril or caisson.
_Positions._
1 At the right handspike.
2 At the left handspike.
3 Outside of the right wheel, in front.
4 Outside of the left wheel, in front.
5 }Covering 3 and 4, and dressing
6 }with the rear of the wheels.
7 {Cover the aids in front, at a distance
8 {of 5 yards in their rear.
9 Is posted with the tumbril or caisson,
25 yards in the rear.
_Heavy guns._--The duties and positions are the same, only that 4 aids
3 in ramming home the charge.
_Howitzers._--The positions and duties are nearly the same as at the
heavy guns; only that 3 spunges, uncaps the fuze, and puts in the
shell; 4 takes the sheep-skin out of the piece, lays it on the ground,
with the woollen side up, loads with cartridge, wipes the bottom of the
shell, (when 2 holds it up) puts in the sheep-skin again, and pulls
it out with his left hand, on the word _Ready_: He stops the muzzle
with it immediately, when the piece is fired; 6 serves the vent; 5
fires; 1 commands; 7 carries the slow match and bucket; 8 serves 4 with
cartridges from a cartouch; 9 serves 3 with shells from the limber,
which he lays on the sheep-skin. As from unavoidable accidents, the
number of men attached to a gun may be reduced, it will be necessary,
if the vacancies happen amongst those doing the most essential duties,
to immediately replace them by those doing the most subordinate duties.
_The following method of distributing the duties amongst a smaller
number of men, will be equally applicable to all kinds of field
ordnance._
+----+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| No | |
| of | |
|men.|KIND. Numbers retained. The vacancies, how supplied. |
+----+---------------------------------------------------------------+
| 9 {Gun. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9{Complete. |
| {How’r. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9{ |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 8 {Gun. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9{No. 6 being dropt, No 8 does his |
| {How’r. 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9{duties. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 7 {Gun. 1 2 3 4 5 7 9{No. 8’s pouch is laid on the ground; |
| { {2 carries it when moving. |
| {How’r. 1 2 3 4 5 7 9{No. 3 serves himself with ammunition. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 6 {Gun. 1 2 3 5 7 9{2 serves the vent with his left hand, |
| { {pricks, primes, and carries tube box on the |
| {How’r. 1 2 3 5 7 9{left side. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 5 {Gun. 1 2 6 7 9{No. 1 does all the duties of 5 like 2 in the |
| { {last change, his own duties, and those of 2 |
| {How’r. 1 2 6 7 9{at trail. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 4 {Gun. 1 2 6 9{No. 9 brings the ammunition; 6 serves the |
| {How’r. 1 2 6 9{shells. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
| 3 {Gun. 1 6 9{No. 6 serves and loads all the ammunition. |
| {How’r. 1 6 9{No. 6 and 9 must change duties occasionally. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
_To limber up, light Guns and Howitzers._
The whole of the men face towards the gun; 1 unships the traversing
handspikes; the limber is brought up by 9, rather to the sight of the
gun, and then turned to the left about; 7 and 8 raise the trail, and
place it on the limber, in which they are assisted by 3 and 4 bearing
down on the muzzle, and 5 and 6 at the wheels; 2 chains the limber.
_Heavy Field Guns, or Howitzers._--The only difference from the above
is, that 3 and 4 assist 7 and 8 to raise the trail, and 9 aids 5 and 6
at the wheels; 1 stands to the carriage wheels.
_To unlimber, Light Guns and Howitzers._
The whole face towards the gun; 1 unchains the limber; 2 and 7 lift
the trail off the pintle, and set it on the ground, in which they are
assisted, as in limbering up, by 3, 4, 5, and 6; 2 ships the traversing
handspikes, and the whole assume the position for action. The limber is
led by 9 and the driver, 25 yards to the rear, and there turned to the
left about. The leading horse is unhooked by the driver, and tied to
the rear of the limber.
_Heavy Field Guns, and Howitzers._--The same as the light ones, except
that 5 and 6 assist 2 and 7 to raise the trail, and 8 and 9 stand to
the gun wheels.
It must be understood, that simply to _limber up_, or to _unlimber_,
means that the gun is to be placed upon its limber, or lifted off,
without changing its direction: but, guns may be limbered up to the
_front_, to the _right_, or to the _left_, according as it is intended
to advance in any of those directions; and unlimbered to the _rear_,
to prepare for action to the _front_, to the _left_ for action to the
_right_, and to the _right_ for action to the _left_. To limber up, or
to unlimber, in any of these situations, is exactly the same as those
already given, except that in the first, previous to limbering up, the
trail is thrown round by No. 1, assisted by 2, if necessary, into the
direction specified by the word of command, and the limber is brought
up to that side to meet it; and in the second, the trail, after being
taken off the limber, is carried round to the _rear_, _right_, or
_left_, according as the word of command expresses, before it is put to
the ground, and the limber goes round to the rear of the gun.
It must be constantly kept in mind, that the _front_ of a gun, or line
of guns, or column of guns, is that to which the men at the gun front,
without any respect to the situation of the gun or carriage. The trail
of the carriage, when moved round to the rear, or the contrary, whether
in limbering up, or unlimbering, must always be carried round to the
_right_, and the limber, or a horse, when brought up to advance or
retire a gun, must always be brought up on the _right_ side, and go
off on the _left_; and whenever the limber is turned about, it must be
to the _left_ about. By attending to these precautions, the greatest
confusion is avoided.
_Prepare to advance with a horse and prolonge._
_Light pieces._--3 gives his spunge to 5; 3 and 4 unhook the chain
traces from the breast of the carriage, and lay them over the spokes
of the wheels; the driver brings up a horse to the front, by the right;
3 and 4 unhook the horses traces from the back band, and hook them to
the gun, and then take post outside the wheels; 3 takes his spunge; 7
and 8 hook the traces to the swingle-trees.
_Heavy pieces._--This is done with two horses, one before the other; 3
and 4 hook the horses, the driver rides to the rear horse, and 6 and 8
hook the rear horse to the gun; 1 and 9 look to the unfixing length and
fastening of the prolonge.
_Prepare for action._--The different numbers exactly undo what they had
just done; 1 and 9 beginning to loose the prolonge as soon as the gun
is fronted or about to be limbered.
_Prepare to advance with a limber._
The only difference between this and advancing with a horse, is, that
the limber is brought up to the front; and 9 or 15 brings up the
prolonge, and, takes a turn on the lashing rings of the trail; or if
the gun is to be limbered, it is laid on as in the drill.
_Exercise with heavy ordnance in a Battery._
_32, or 42 Pounder._
_10 Men._
3 spunges; 4 loads.
7 and 8 run the gun up.
5 and 2 run up and elevate.
6 serves the vent, traverses, primes, and runs up.
5 fires.
8 brings cartridges.
1 points and commands.
_9 Men._
3 spunges; 4 loads.
7 and 8 run up.
2 brings cartridges.
6 serves the vent, runs up, and primes.
3 runs up, traverses, and fires.
1 points and fires.
2 traverses and elevates.
_8 Men._
3 spunges; 4 loads and runs up.
8 runs up.
5 and 6 run up and elevate.
7 brings cartridges, runs up, and traverses.
2 serves the vent, runs up, traverses, and primes.
1 points, fires, and commands.
_7 Men._
3 spunges and runs up.
4 loads and runs up.
7 runs up and elevates.
6 brings cartridges, runs up, and elevates.
2 serves the vent, runs up, traverses, and primes.
5 runs up, traverses, and fires.
1 points and commands.
_6 Men._
3 Spunges and runs up.
4 loads, runs up, and elevates.
6 runs up and elevates.
5 brings cartridges, runs up, and traverses.
2 serves the vent, runs up, traverses, and primes.
1 runs up, points, fires, and commands.
_5 Men._
3 and 4 load and run up.
2 and 3 prime, fire, and run up.
1 elevates, points, and commands.
_24 Pounder, &c._
_8 Men._
3 spunges; 4 loads.
6 and 7 run up and elevate.
2 serves the vent, runs up, traverses, and primes.
5 runs up, traverses, and fires.
8 brings cartridges.
1 points and commands.
_7 Men._
3 spunges; 4 loads.
7 runs up and elevates.
6 brings cartridges, runs up, and elevates.
2 serves vent, traverses, and primes.
5 runs up, traverses, and fires.
1 points and commands.
_6 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, elevates.
4 loads, runs up, and elevates.
2 serves the vent, runs up, traverses, and primes.
5 runs up, traverses, fires.
6 brings cartridges.
7 points and commands.
_5 Men._
3 spunges, runs up.
4 brings cartridges, loads, runs up.
2 serves vent, runs up, elevates, and primes.
5 runs up, traverses, fires.
1 points and commands.
_4 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, points.
4 brings cartridges, loads, runs up, and elevates.
2 serves vent, runs up, traverses, elevates, and primes.
1 runs up, traverses, fires.
_3 Men._
1 spunges, runs up, points, and fires.
2 brings cartridges, loads, runs up, elevates, traverses.
3 serves vent, runs up, elevates, traverses, and primes.
_4²⁄₅, or 5¹⁄₂ Inch Mortar._
_2 Men._
1 spunges, runs up, brings shells, puts them in, traverses, and
primes.
2 serves the vent, runs up, brings cartridges, puts them in, points,
and fires.
_3 Men._
2 spunges, runs up, traverses, brings shells, and puts them in.
3 brings cartridges, puts in, serves the vent, runs up, primes, and
fires.
1 points, elevates, and commands.
_8 Inch Mortar, or Howitzer._
_5 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, dredges.
5 runs up, brings cartridges, and puts them in.
4 runs up, brings cartridges, and puts them in.
4 runs up, brings shells, puts them in, elevates, primes.
2 runs up, traverses, fires.
1 serves vent, points, and commands.
_4 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, dredges.
4 runs up, brings cartridges, and puts them in.
2 serves the vent, brings shells, and puts them in, runs up,
traverses, and fires.
1 runs up, points, elevates, and commands.
_10, or 13 Inch Mortar._
_10 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, puts in shells, and dredges.
4 runs up, brings cartridges, puts them in, and puts in the shells.
6 brings cartridges.
7 and 8 bring shells.
9 and 10 run up and traverse.
2 serves vent and primes.
5 fires; 1 points, elevates and commands.
_6 Men._
3 spunges, runs up, puts in shells, dredges, and traverses.
4 runs up, brings cartridges, and puts them in, puts in shells, and
traverses.
5 and 6 run up, bring shells, and traverse.
2 runs up, serves vent, and primes.
1 runs up, points, elevates, fires, and commands.
_Of the exercise of auxiliary machines._
_Exercise of the Gin._
The complement of men for a gin is usually 1 non-commissioned officer
and 10 men; they are numbered from 1 to 10, the non-commissioned
officer being 11.
_To carry a Gin._
1 and 2 carry a pry-pole, 3 and 5 the right cheek, 4 and 6 the left,
7 the windlass and side, 8 and 9 the blocks and tackles, 10 the
handspikes, &c.
_To set up a Gin._
1 and 2 put a common handspike through the ring, near the foot of the
pry-pole, at which they lift; 3 and 4 steady the cheeks, by placing
each a handspike against the lower cross bar; 5, 7, and 9, lift the
right cheek; 6, 8, and 10, the left cheek; 11 gives directions. The
tackles must be hooked on before the gin is raised.
_To work a Gin._
1 and 3 man the right handspikes of the gin: 2 and 4 the left; 5, 6,
7, and 8, hold on the fall, and pull in the slack; 9 and 10 steady the
gun, 9 at the muzzle, 10 at the breech. The tackle hook must be fixed
directly over the dolphins, if any, or a little behind the trunnions.
In heaving, when the ends of 1 and 4’s handspikes come as low as their
knees, 2 and 3 put theirs into the upper holes of the windlass, and 3
gives the word _Bear_, upon which 1 and 4 clear their handspikes from
the windlass, and 1 gives the word _Heave_; 2 and 3 then bear down
their handspikes, and remain fast till 1 and 4 having taken their fresh
purchase, 1 gives the word _Bear_, when 2 and 3 clear their handspikes,
and 3 gives the word _Heave_; and so on alternately, till the gun is
at its proper height, when the handspikes in the upper holes are made
to rest against the upper cross bar, and 5 makes fast the fall to the
lower cross bar; and if required to lower the gun, eases the fall off
from the windlass; 5, 6, 7, and 8, move the carriage, as required,
under the gun.
_Exercise of the Sling Cart._
The men for the service of the sling cart are numbered from 1 to 7; the
non-commissioned officer being No. (1); Nos. 2 and 3 sling the gun.
The gun must be laid with one trunnion touching the ground, and the
sling passes diagonally round the gun, being before one trunnion, and
behind the other; and that end of the sling which goes round the lower
side of the gun, must be the end to be acted on by the windlass; as by
that means the trunnions become horizontal when the gun is raised; Nos.
4, and 6, man the right lever; 5, and 7, the left lever; and upon the
word from the non commissioned officer, then directs, _left hand lever
hold on, right lever bear_; the right lever takes a fresh purchase:
then, _right lever hold on, left lever bear_; the left lever takes a
fresh purchase; they then heave together again. When the gun is high
enough, (1) puts in the pall; 2 and 3 take out the levers, and put
in the pry-pole; 4 and 5 raise the breech of the gun with two common
handspikes, and 6 and 7 lash it to the pry-pole: 2 and 3 then lay their
levers along side the pry-pole, and 4 and 5 their handspikes on the top
of them, which 6 and 7 lash all fast together.
EXERCISES, are also understood of what young gentlemen or cadets learn
in the military academies and riding schools; such as fencing, dancing,
riding, the manual exercise, &c.
EXHORT. See ANIMATE.
EXPEDITION, in a general sense, signifies haste, speed, rapidity.
In a military sense, it is chiefly used to denote a voyage or march
against an enemy, the success of which depends on rapid and unexpected
movements. It is out of the nature of the thing itself to lay down
fixed rules for the minute conducting of small expeditions; their
first principles only can be with certainty fixed, and men will often
disagree about preparations, and differ in their conduct, though they
acknowlege the same principles.
One of the principles of many small expeditions, is surprise; and 6
battalions, without much accompaniment, may sometimes do that which 24,
and a great fleet, would not succeed in.
There is no part of war so interesting to an insulary soldier as an
expedition; nor can there be any part more worthy of attention.
EXPEDITIONS have heretofore had no rules laid down for their conduct,
and that part of war had never been reduced to a system. The slow rules
of a great war will not do in expeditions; the blow must be struck with
surprise, and intimidation be produced in the invaded enemy, before
succors can arrive. Debate is out of season, and all slow proceedings
are ruin. Not to advance, is to recede; and not to be on the road to
conquest, is to be already conquered. There must be that glance, which
sees certainly, though instantly; that rapidity, which executes on the
surest rules, when it seems least to act on any. The French have given
all their campaigns the characters of expeditions.
In all small expeditions, such as expeditions of surprise, or
_coup-de-main_, the favorable side of the proposed action must ever
be viewed; for if what _may_ happen, what _may_ arrive, what _may_
fall out, is chiefly thought upon, it will, at the very best, greatly
discourage, but in general end in a total failure. Hence the very
name of an expedition implies risk, hazard, precarious warfare, and a
critical operation.
_An expedition_ is governed by five principal maxims.
1st, A secrecy, if possible, of preparation, and a concealment of
design, &c.
2dly, That the means bear proportion to the end. In this there will
ever be a difference in opinion.
3dly, A knowlege of the state and situation of the country, where the
scene of action is, or the place or object that is to be attacked.
4thly, A commander who has the particular turn of mind, which is most
adapted to such particular sort of warfare.
Lastly, The plan of an expedition, great or small, is ever to be
arranged as much as possible before setting out, and then any
appearances that may vary a little from what might have been expected,
will not perplex.
EXPEDITION, _Fr._ See EXPEDITION. The French likewise use this word, to
express any particular military quality, which an officer or soldier
may possess. As, _cet officier est un homme d’expedition_, this officer
is a man of enterprise, is courageous and daring.
EXPLOIT. See ATCHIEVEMENT.
_To_ EXPLODE, burst or blow up.
EXPLOSION, the discharge of a gun, the blowing up of a mine, or the
bursting of a shell.
EXPRESS. A messenger sent with direct and specific instructions.
_To send by_ EXPRESS, to send any thing by extraordinary conveyance.
EXPUGN, EXPUGNATION, the taking any place by assault.
EXPERIMENTS, in a military sense, are the trials, or applications of
any kind of military machines, in order to ascertain their practical
qualities and uses.
EXTEND, when the files of a line, or the divisions of a column are to
occupy a greater space of ground, they are said to extend their front
or line. Extended order is applicable to the light infantry.
EXTORTION, the act of obtaining money or property by violence or unjust
means: taking advantage of the ignorance or peculiar circumstances
of a purchaser, to demand more than a fair price for an article. All
sutlers, or camp followers, who are guilty of extortion in the sale of
necessaries, are punishable by a general or regimental court-martial.
EXTRADOS, _Fr._ The exterior surface of a regular arch, used in the
construction of powder magazines.
EXTRAORDINARIES _of the army_. The allowances to troops, beyond the
gross pay in the pay office, come under the head of extraordinaries to
the army. Such are the expences for barracks, marches, encampments,
staff, &c.
EXTRAORDINARII, among the Romans, were a body of men consisting of a
third part of the foreign horse, and a fifth of the foot, which body
was separated from the rest of the forces borrowed from the confederate
states, with great caution and policy, to prevent any design, that they
might possibly entertain against the natural forces. A more choice body
of men was drawn from amongst the extraordinarii, under the name of
ablecti. See ABLECTI.
EXTRAORDINARY. Something out of the common course.
EXTRAORDINARY _couriers_, persons sent with some information or order
of great importance.
EXTRAORDINARY _guards_. Guards out of the common routine of duty. They
are frequently given as a punishment for military offences.
EYES _Centre_, an old word of command given when the battalion was
advancing in line, denoting, that the men were to look to the centre in
which the colors are placed, and dress by them.
EYES _right_, EYES _left_, words of command denoting the flank to which
the soldier is to dress. In casting his eyes to either flank care must
be taken that the shoulders are kept square to the front.
EYES _front_, a word of command given after the dressing in line is
completed, on which the soldier is to look directly forward, which is
the habitual position of the soldier. These motions are only useful
on the wheeling of divisions, or when dressing is ordered after a
halt, and particular attention must be paid in the several turnings
of the eyes, to prevent the soldier from moving his body, which must
invariably be preserved perfectly square to the front. In the American
practice the direction of the eye is understood to follow the word
_dress_--as _right_, _centre_, or _left_ _dress_.
Eye-_bolts_. See BOLTS.
F.
FACADE, in military fortification. See FACE.
FACE, in fortification, is an appellation given to several parts of a
fortress; as the
FACE _of a bastion_, the two sides, reaching from the flanks to the
saliant angle. These in a siege are commonly the first undermined,
because they extend most outwards, and are the least flanked;
consequently the weakest.
FACE _prolonged_, FACE _extended_, that part of the line of defence
razant, which is terminated by the curtain and the angle of the
shoulder, that is, it is, strictly taken, the line of defence razant,
diminished by the face of the bastion.
FACE _of a place_, is the front comprehended between the flanked angles
of two neighboring bastions, composed of a curtain, two flanks, and two
faces; and is sometimes called the _Tenaille of the place_.
FACE _of a gun_, is the superficies of the metal at the extremities of
the muzzle of the piece.
FACE, (_to the right, left, &c._) a word of command on which the
soldiers individually turn to the side directed; in performing which,
the left heel should never quit the ground, the knees must be kept
straight, and the body turned smoothly and gracefully. The moving of
the right foot forward or backward, is wholly exploded; all the facings
are now made upon the left heel as a pivot. The following are the old
methods.
_To the right_, FACE. 2 motions.--1st, Place the hollow of the right
foot smartly against the left heel; 2d, Raise the toes, and turn (a
quarter of the circle) to the right on both heels.
_To the right about_, FACE, 3 motions.--1st, Place the ball of the
right toe against the left heel; 2d, Raise the toes, and turn (half of
a circle) to the right about on both heels; 3d, Bring the right foot
smartly back in a line with the left.
_To the left_, FACE. 2 motions.--1st, Place the right heel against the
hollow of the left foot; 2d, Turn (a quarter of the circle) to the left
on both heels.
_To the left about_, FACE. 3 motions.--1st, Place the right heel
against the ball of the left foot; 2d, Raise the toes, and turn (half
of a circle) to the left about on both heels; 3d, Bring up the right
foot smartly in a line with the left.
_Quarter_ FACE to the right or left, is now substituted for the old and
awkward mode of oblique marching, the quarter facing being referred to
the positions of action being all on the face of a semicircle; half
of which is facing to the _right_ or _left_; that is the side of the
soldier is thrown to the previous front; in quarter facing the side is
thrown diagonally between the front and flanks; marching quarter face
is called marching by the _line of science_.
Great precision must be observed in these facings; otherwise the
dressing will be lost in every movement.
FACES _of a square_. The different sides of a battalion, &c. when
formed into a square are all denominated faces, viz. the _front face_,
the _right face_, the _left face_, and the _rear face_. See SQUARE.
FACE _ou pan de bastion_, _Fr._ See FACE _of a bastion_.
FACE _d’une place_, _Fr._ See TENAILLE.
FACINGS, are the different movements of a battalion, or of any other
body of men, to the right, to the left, or right and left about. All
facings must be executed with a straight knee; and the body must be
kept firm, and turn steadily, without drooping forward or jerking. The
plant of the foot, after facing about, must be sharp.
FACINGS, likewise signify the lappels, cuffs, and collar of a military
uniform, and are generally different from the color of the coat or
jacket.
FACTION, _Fr._ the duty done by a private soldier when he patroles,
goes the rounds, &c. but most especially when he stands centry. The
French usually say, _entrer en faction_, to come upon duty; _être en
faction_, to be upon duty; _sortir de faction_, to come off duty.
FACTIONNAIRE, _Fr._ _Soldat factionnaire_, a soldier that does every
species of detail duty.
The term _factionnaire_, was likewise applicable to the duty done by
officers in the old French service. _Premier factionnaire du regiment_
implied, that the officer, so called, was the fourth captain of a
battalion; as the colonel, lieutenant colonel, major, and the captain
of grenadiers did not mount the ordinary guards.
FAGOTS, in the military history were men hired to muster by officers
whose companies are not complete; by which means they cheated the
public of the men’s pay, and deprive the country of its regular
establishment. See _False return_.
A British general in the East Indies made an immense fortune by
_bullock_ fagots. Artillery are all drawn by oxen in Asia, as well as
all baggage; upon an _inspection_ of bullocks, the inspector counted
12,000: it appeared there were only 4,000, they were drawn up in front
of a wood, and as soon as the bullocks on the right were inspected;
they were drawn off successively by the rear, and appeared again in
ranks on the left; so that every bullock was three times inspected, and
the round number returned.
FAGOTS. See FASCINES.
FAILER. See DESERTER.
FAILURE, an unsuccessful attempt, as the failure of an expedition.
FAIRE _faux feu_, _Fr._ to miss fire; to flash in the pan.
FALAISE, _Fr._ Any part of the sea-coast is so called by the French,
when it is extremely steep, and broken into precipices.
FALAISER, _Fr._ to break upon. _La mer falaise_ signifies, the sea
breaks upon the shore.
FALCHION, a short crooked sword.
FALCON, or _Faucon_, an ancient name given to a 3-pounder. See CANNON.
FALCONET, an ancient name given to a 1¹⁄₂-pounder. See CANNON.
FALL. The fall of a place after it has been besieged. See SURRENDER.
_To_ FALL _back_, to recede from any situation in which you are placed.
This phrase is frequently, indeed, always made use of in the drill, or
exercise of soldiers; particularly during the formation of a line, when
individuals, or whole divisions are apt to overstep their ground and
get beyond the dressing point.
FALL _in_, a word of command for men to form in ranks, as in parade,
line, or division &c.
_To fall in_ likewise means the minute arrangement of a battalion,
company, guard or squad, by which every man is ordered to take his
proper post. The long roll, a peculiar beat of the drum, is the usual
signal for soldiers to assemble and fall in.
_To_ FALL _into_, to become the property of another, as, we fell in
with a large convoy of the enemy, which after a short resistance made
by the escort, _fell into our hands_.
_To_ FALL _in with_. A military technical phrase, signified any sudden
or unlooked for rencontre of any enemy. As our light cavalry patroles
fell in with a party of foragers belonging to the enemy’s army.
_To_ FALL _off_, to desert; to fail; to relax in exertion.
_To_ FALL _out_, to quit the rank or file in which you were first
posted. Dirty soldiers on a parade are frequently ordered to fall out,
and remain in the rear of their companies. The phrase is applicable in
a variety of other instances:
_To_ FALL _upon_. To attack abruptly, as, _we_ no sooner came in sight
of the enemy, but our advanced guard instantly fell upon his out-posts
and beat them in. According to the celebrated General Monk it is very
fit, that a general should often command his horse and dragoons to fall
upon his enemy’s outermost horse quarters; which mode, he says is one
of the easiest, readiest, and securest ways to break an enemy’s army.
FALOTS, _Fr._ small lanthorns fixed upon the end of a stick or pole.
Small lamps are likewise used, attached in the same manner, for the
purpose of carrying them readily about to light a camp, or besieged
towns, as occasion may require.
FALSE _alarms_, an alarm or apprehension which is either designedly
or unintentionally created by noise, report, or signals without being
dangerous.
FALSE _attack_, an approach which is made as a feint for the purpose of
diverting your enemy from the real object of attack.
FALSE _fires_, any fire or light which is made use of for the purpose
of deceiving an enemy. False fires or lights are frequently resorted to
when an army finds it necessary to retreat from an advanced position.
On this occasion large fires are lighted in different parts of the camp
and round the lines, previous to the departure of the troops, which
generally happens in the night.
FALSE _lights_, in debarkations under cover of the night, may likewise
be used as signals of deception, when it is found expedient to attract
the attention of the invaded country towards one part of the coast or
territory, whilst a real attack is meditated against another.
FALSE _muster_, an incorrect statement of the effective number of
men or horses, by which government is defrauded. By the articles of
war every officer, paymaster, or commissary, found guilty of false
mustering, is ordered to be cashiered.
FALSE _report_. A false report in military matters, may be truly
said to be the ground work of a false return and a false muster, and
consequently the primary cause of imposition upon the public. The
strictest attention should, therefore, be paid to the most trifling
report which is made in a troop or company respecting the presence or
absence of men or horses, the state of clothing, accoutrements, or
necessaries. This can only be done by the commanding officer of such
troop or company having constantly the general good of the service
at heart in preference to his own convenience, or to that of others.
Every serjeant or corporal of a squad should be severely punished when
detected in making a false report.
FALSE _return_, a wilful report of the actual state of a brigade,
regiment, troop, or company, by which the commander in chief or the
war-office is deceived, as to the effective force of such regiment,
troop or company.
FANION, _Fr._ corrupted from the Italian word _gonfanone_, a particular
standard which was carried in the front of the ordinary baggage
belonging to a brigade in the old French service. It was made of serge,
and resembled in color the uniform or livery of the brigadier, or of
the commandant of any particular corps.
FANTASSIN, _Fr._ A foot soldier. The term is derived from the Italian
_fante_, a _boy_, the light troops in the 14th and 15th centuries being
formed of boys who followed the armies, that were formed into corps
with light arms, hence the origin of the word _infantry_; the French
still use the words _mes enfans_.
FARAILLON, _Fr._ a light house.
FARIAL, _Fr._ a light house; also a watch light.
FARRIER, in a general acceptation of the term, any person who shoes
horses, or professes to cure their diseases. In a practical military
sense a man appointed to do the duty of farriery in a troop of cavalry.
Troop farriers should be under the immediate superintendance and
controul of a veterinary surgeon, to whom they ought to apply whenever
a horse is ill or lame, that he may report the same to the officer
commanding the troop. No farrier should presume to do any thing without
having first received directions from his superior.
When the farrier goes round, after riding out, or exercise on
horseback, he must carry his hammer, pincers, and some nails to fasten
any shoe that may be loose.
When horses at out quarters fall particularly ill, or contract an
obstinate lameness, the case must be reported to the head quarters of
the regiment; and if the veterinary surgeon cannot prescribe for him at
a distance, he must, if time and distance will permit, be personally
sent to examine the horse.
No farrier should make up any medicine or any external application
contrary to the receipt given him by the veterinary surgeon.
If any farrier, through carelessness or inattention, lames a horse
belonging to another troop, he ought to be at all the expence in curing
the horse so lamed. In some well regulated cavalry corps this forms one
of the standing regimental orders.
Farriers are in every respect liable to be tried according to the
articles of war. They may be ordered to inflict punishments; and they
must constantly recollect, that the circumstance of being a farrier is
no extenuation for dirty appearance, or excuse for drunkenness. The
guilt of the latter vice, indeed, is aggravated by the responsibility
of their situation.
FARRIER-_Major_, a person who was formerly appointed by the colonel
of a dragoon regiment to superintend the farriers of troops, who
are named by the several commanding officers of them. He has since
been superceded or replaced by a veterinary surgeon, who, as the
farrier-major was formerly directed, is to have free access to every
stable of the regiment whenever he chuses. It is his duty to go
frequently into the cantonments of the different troops, and examine
the horses feet; and if he finds a shoe contrary to the regimental
pattern, or discovers any thing amiss in the management of the troop
horses, he is to report it immediately to the officer commanding the
regiment. In all his duty he is to receive the utmost support from
every officer and quarter master; and any farrier that dares to act
contrary to his instructions, should be punished. There ought, in fact,
to be a chain of mutual support and co-operation from the veterinary
surgeon, up to the commanding officer of every cavalry regiment, each
farrier looking to the veterinary surgeon for correct instructions
relative to the preservation of every horse’s health.
FASCINES, in fortification, are a kind of fagots, made of small
branches of trees or brush wood, tied in 3, 4, 5, or 6 places, and are
of various dimensions, according to the purposes intended. Those that
are to be pitched over, for burning lodgments, galleries, or any other
works of the enemy, should be 1¹⁄₂ or two feet long. Those that are
for making epaulements or chandeliers, or to raise works, or fill up
ditches, are 10 feet long, and 1 or 1¹⁄₂ feet in diameter. They are
made as follows: six small pickets are struck into the ground, 2 and
2, forming little crosses, well fastened in the middle with willow
bindings. On these tressels the branches are laid, and are bound round
with withes at the distance of every 2 feet. Six men are employed in
making a fascine; 2 cut the boughs, 2 gather them, and the remaining 2
bind them. These six men can make 20 fascines every hour. Each fascine
requires five pickets to fasten it.
FASTNESSES, strong places not easily forced.
FATHOM, in fortification, originally denoted that space which a man
could reach when both his arms were extended; but it now means a
measure of 6 feet or 2 yards, equivalent to the French word toise. See
TOISE.
FAUCON. See FALCON.
_Faucon_ ou FAUCONNEAU, _Fr._ a small piece of ordnance, carrying from
1 to 1¹⁄₄ pound ball.
FAUCHION. See FALCHION.
FAUCONET. See FALCONET.
FAULX, _Fr._ an instrument nearly resembling a scythe. It is often used
to defend a breach, or to prevent an enemy from scaling the walls of a
fortified place. This weapon was first resorted to with some success,
when Louis the XIV. besieged Mons. On the surrender of that town, the
besiegers found large quantities of faulx, or scythes in the garrison.
FAUSSE-BRAIE. See FAUSSE BRAYE.
FAUSSE-BRAYE, in fortification, is a low rampart encircling the body
of the place; its height is about 3 feet above the level ground, and
its parapet about three or four toises from that of the body of the
place. These works have been entirely rejected by the modern engineers,
excepting M. Vauban, who makes them only before the curtains; and then
they are called more properly tenailles.
FEATHERS, are ornamental marks worn by officers and soldiers in their
caps or hats. The following distinctions are made, and directed
by authority to be observed in the British service. In the royal
artillery, both officers and men, have white feathers. The cavalry and
battalion corps scarlet and white; the grenadiers all white, and the
light-infantry all green.
FEDERATE. See CONFEDERATE.
FEES, are sums of money claimed by persons in office, and to the
payment of which every British officer is subject. Fees are paid at the
British war office for different commissions, and are charged to their
respective owners by the army agents.
FEINT, a mock attack, or assault, often made to conceal the true one.
FELLOES, or FELLIES, in artillery, are the parts of a wheel which form
its circumference. The dimensions of fellies of British wheels are as
follow: for a 24-pounder, 5 inches thick, and 6.5 inches broad; for
a 12-pounder, 4.5 inches thick, and 6 inches broad; for a 6-pounder,
4 inches thick, and 5.5 inches broad, &c. made of dry elm. There are
generally 6 in each wheel. See WHEEL.
FELLOW _soldier_ one who fights under the same commander, a comrade.
Dr. Johnson very properly calls this term an endearing appellation
used by officers, to their soldiers. The French use an equivalent
expression, _camarade_, or comrade; the officers also call the soldiers
_mes enfans_, my _boys_ or my _children_. The toils and perils, in fact
of a military life, are so many, that an army fighting under the same
banners may be truly called one family, and every officer should look
upon himself as the father, the guardian, and the protector of his men.
FENCE, a guard, security, outwork, &c.
_To_ FENCE, to practice with foils; to fight with swords; to secure any
place by pallisades, &c.
FENCIBLE, any thing capable of defence. Such regiments as are raised
for limited service, and for a limited time, are called fencible
regiments. They rank junior to the line.
FENCING, is the art or science of making a proper use of the sword, as
well for attacking an enemy, as for defending one’s self. Fencing is a
genteel exercise, of which no military gentleman should be ignorant. It
is learned by practising with steel foils. See FOILS.
Fencing is either simple, or compound. Simple is that which is
performed nimbly, and off hand, on the same line. In this the principal
intention, in respect to the offensive part, should be to attack the
enemy in the most unguarded quarter; and in the defensive, to parry or
ward off the enemy’s thrusts or blows.
_Attitude, in_ FENCING, the head upright, though the body hath a
forward inclination on a longe; and all the weight resting on the left
haunch when on guard. The feet, hand, body, arm, and sword, must be to
the line.
_Appel, in_ FENCING, is a sudden beat of your blade, on the contrary
side to that you join your adversary on, and a quick disengagement to
that side again.
_Beating, in_ FENCING, is when you parry with a sudden short beat, to
get a quick repost; or when you beat with your foot, to try if you are
firm on it, or on both feet.
_Battering, in_ FENCING, is to strike the feeble of your adversary’s
blade on the side opposite to that you join, &c.
_Back-quarte_, is a parade of a late invention, and is a round quarte
over the arm.
_Cave, in_ FENCING, is a tierce on a quarte side, also the thrust of a
prime, or a seconde, at the low quarte side.
_Darting, in_ FENCING, to defend a blow with some contraction of your
arm, and to dart a thrust right forward.
_Feint forward, in_ FENCING, made by advancing your point a little from
its line and coming to it again.
_Guard, in_ FENCING, is any of the parades you stand on.
_On guard_, is being placed properly on your feet, and well covered
with your weapon.
_Lurching, in_ FENCING, to make an opening, to invite your adversary to
thrust at you, when you, being ready, may find a favorable repost at
him.
_Locking, in_ FENCING, is to seize your adversary’s sword arm by
twining your left arm round it, after you close your parade, shell to
shell, in order to disarm him.
_Guards in_ _carte_, _tierce_, implies the putting of the body and
sword in such a state of defence, as to prevent the antagonist from
wounding you, by either of the thrusts so denominated. These are the
principal positions on which to engage. The others, _viz._ prime,
seconde, quinte, half-circle, &c. are termed parades, when used with
the small sword.
_Hanging-guard_, one of the broad-sword guards. See BROAD-SWORD.
_Thrusts_ are of various denominations, according to the direction of
the point, and position of the wrist.
The thrusts directed at the inside of the body, are called prime,
carte, and low-carte; those at the outside, are seconde, tierce, carte
over the arm, quinte and flanconade.
In teaching, the thrusts are not arranged according to the above order;
it is usual to begin with carte (or quarte) and tierce, the names of
which prove them to have been originally the 4th and 3d positions in
the art; but which are now justly considered as the chief and most
elegant.
_Parrying in_ FENCING, the action of warding off the blows aimed at
each other.
_Flanconade, in_ FENCING, is the action of dropping the point of your
sword under your adversary’s hilt, in seizing with force the feeble
of his blade; which binding, without quitting it, form the parade in
octave and then throw in your thrust. See _Art of defence with swords
by the author of Am. Military Library_.
_Glissade, in_ FENCING, is performed by dexterously making your sword
slip along your adversary’s blade, and forming at the same time your
extension, &c.
FER, _Fr._ Iron. Figuratively, this word is used for a sword or dagger;
as _manier le fer_, to wear the sword, to follow the profession of
arms, _Battre le fer_, to fence.
FER _à cheval_, _Fr._ In fortification, a horse-shoe, which see. It
further means according to the French acceptation of the term, a work
constructed for the purpose of covering a gate, by having within it a
guard-house, to prevent the town from being surprised.
FERDWIT, in ancient military history, a term formerly used to denote
a freedom from serving upon any military expedition; or according to
some, the being quit of manslaughter committed in the army.
FERRIES, water conveyances, made use of to cross rivers, or branches of
the sea.
FERTH or FORTH. See ARMY.
FEU, _Fr._ Fire. _Faire feu_, to discharge any sort of firearms.
FEU, _fire_, is also understood to mean any light combustible, which is
kept up in the front of a camp, and at each post during the night to
keep the soldiers alert, and to prevent them from being surprised.
Every species of fire, or light is, however, strictly forbidden on
a march, when the object is to surprize an enemy. Soldiers on these
occasions are not permitted to smoke. Bundles, and large wisps of
lighted straw, which are hung out from the tops of steeples, or from
any other elevation, frequently serve to give the alarm when an enemy
is discovered in the act of passing a river.
Lights are likewise resorted to on various other occasions. See LIGHTS.
FEU _de joie_. See RUNNING-FIRE.
FEU _rasant_, _Fr._ a grazing fire, or a discharge of ordnance or
musquetry so directed that the shot shall run parallel with the ground
they fly over, within 3 or 4 feet of the surface.
That is likewise called a _feu rasant_, or grazing fire, which is sent
in parallel directions with the faces of the different works belonging
to a fortification.
FICHANT. See LINE OF DEFENCE, FORTIFICATION.
FIELD. The ground of battle. A battle, campaign, or the action of an
army while it keeps the field.
FIELD-_bed_, a folding bed used by officers in their tents.
{_Colors_, } {_Camp colors_.
{_Officers_,} {_Officers_.
Field-{_Pieces_, }See{_Cannon_.
{_Staff_, } {_Lintstock_.
{_Works_, } {_Field fortification_.
FIELD-_Fort_. See FORT.
FIELD-_marshal_, a military rank superior to all others, except the
captain general.
This rank formerly existed and has been again revived in England. The
French in their modern system, have given it an effective character, it
being the superior rank of distinguished generals; the number of which
have a temporary limitation. Their corps d’armée or legions of 25,000
men, are each commanded by a marshal.
FIFE, a military instrument of the wind kind, generally used as an
accompaniment to the drum.
FIFRE, _Fr._ Fife. In French, this word likewise means fifer.
FIGHT. See BATTLE.
FIGHTING-_men_, such as are effective, and able to bear arms.
_Running_-FIGHT, that in which the enemy is continually chased.
FIGURE, in fortification, the plan of any fortified place, or the
interior polygon. Of this there are two sorts, regular, and irregular;
a regular figure is that where the sides and angles are equal; an
irregular one where they are unequal.
FILE, in the art of war, is an unlimited term, comprehending any number
of men, drawn up in a direct line behind each other; as a rank on the
other hand, includes any number drawn up beside each other; whether in
either respect, they be in close or open order. Or rather, by _file_ is
meant the line of soldiers standing one behind another, which makes the
depth of the battalion; and is thus distinguished from the rank, which
is a line of soldiers drawn up side by side, forming the length of the
battalion. A file is 2 or 3 deep; hence a battalion or regiment drawn
up, consists of 2 or 3 ranks, and of as many files as there are men in
a rank.
The files of a battalion of foot were formerly 12 and 6 deep, but now
only 3, which is its natural formation. Those of the cavalry are but 2
deep.
_A_ FILE on horseback, in marching order, occupies in the ranks 3
feet; thus 3 file 9 feet. A file on foot occupies in the ranks 22
inches.
_Close_ FILES in cavalry, are at the distance which was taken before
dismounting, when each man’s boot-top touches, but does not press that
of his neighbor.
_Loose_ FILES, in cavalry movements, are 6 inches distant from boot top
to boot top being calculated for the gallop as well as the walk of a
squadron.
_Open_ FILES in cavalry are the full breadth of a horse from boot-top
to boot-top. They contain the distance which is left, when from close
files the left files rein back to dismount. Recruits and horses must be
frequently exercised at this distance. See _American Military Library_.
_Flank_ FILE, the extreme file on the right or left of a squadron or
troop, battalion or company, &c.
_Forming from_ FILE, is when the front file halts, and the rest ride
up at a very smart gallop, taking care to halt in time, and not to
over-run the front. If the formation is by doubling round the front
file (for instance, when a formation is made to the rear of the march,
or to the right, when marched from the right) the files must double
round as close and as expeditious as possible.
In all formings from file, the leaders of ranks instantly cover each
other, take the ordered front and halt. See _American Military Library_.
In the covering of files on horseback, the same directions hold good as
on foot. In addition, it must be scrupulously observed that every man’s
horse stands exactly straight to the same front as that of the man
before him. Both in the horse and foot drill, the men should be often
practised in covering. The former are thereby taught to place their
horses straight under them.
_Close_ FILES of infantry, are soldiers standing in rank, contiguous
to one another, upon any given depth of line or column. Whenever a
regiment marches in front, every man should feel the arm of his next
man which ever way he dresses; but he must not lean on him, nor must
he move his arm from the body to feel him. So that close files mean
nothing more than that soldiers in the ranks should lightly touch each
other, without crowding or pressing.
_Open_ FILES, are soldiers standing in rank at given distances without
touching one another. The formation at open files is only practised as
a preparatory drill for forming at close files, (which is the order for
action) so that every man may be taught to stand and move in a proper
position, without acquiring a habit of leaning upon his neighbor.
On this account every intelligent officer who has the management of
recruits, will form them sometimes at open files, and march them in
that order. Soldiers that have been regularly drilled, should likewise
be occasionally practised in advancing by open tiles.
_Double_ FILES are formed by the left files in each rank stepping to
the rear of the right files; or the contrary.
_Indian_ _Files_, a line of men advancing or retreating from either
of the flanks, from the centre or from any proportion of a line in
succession to one another. They are sometimes called goose files; but
the term is only familiarly, or rather vulgarly used among soldiers,
and derives its appellation from a flock of geese, generally following
a leader, one by one. The Prince de Ligne, says, that men march forward
in file, or _en ordré mince, par une instinct moutonnier_, meaning,
that they follow each other like so many sheep, who move by instinct.
FILE-_leader_, is the soldier placed in the front of any file, or the
man who is to cover all those that stand directly in the rear of him,
and by whom they are to be guided in all their movements.
File leaders must be particularly careful to preserve their proper
distances from which ever hand they are to dress, and the followers of
each file must only be attentive to cover, and be regulated by their
proper file leaders. In file the rear rank invariably dresses by, and
is regulated by the front rank.
_To double the_ FILES, is to put 2 files into one, making the depth of
the battalion double to what it was, in number of men. Thus four deep
are double files.
FILE _marching on foot_, all recruits must be taught first to face, and
then to cover each other exactly in file, so that the head of the man
immediately in front may conceal the heads of all the others behind
him. The principal points to be attended to are, that the men move
in equal time an equal pace of 2 feet, that the front rank men cover
exactly, and that the rear rank men keep closed and dressed to the
front rank.
File marching may be practised to the front, to the rear, and to either
flank; in all which cases the men must be taught to cover well. When
recruits are at drill, on the word _march_, the whole are to step off
with the left foot together, gaining at the very first step 24 inches,
and so continuing each step, without increasing the distance betwixt
each recruit, every man placing his advanced foot on the ground, before
the spot from whence his preceding man had taken up his. See _Amer.
Mil. Lib._
_Marching in open order to the front_, is when any body of men advances
by ranks at open order, and dress to some given object without touching
one another. The flank man of the flank the soldiers dress to, must
be a non-commissioned officer, and he must take especial care not
to incline to one hand or the other. His head must be kept quite
straight to the front, his body must be erect, and he must advance
without deviating in the most trifling manner to the right or left.
In order to execute this essential part of the drill with any degree
of accuracy, two persons should be present, one in the front, and the
other on the flank, to observe the dressing. Young officers should be
exercised themselves in the presence of a superior officer; for upon
them thereafter will greatly depend the movement of the battalion in
line or column.
_Marching to the front in close order_, is when any number of men
advance by ranks at close order, and dress to some given objects each
man lightly touching his next man, without crowding or pressing. The
march in front by closed files is much easier than that at open files,
because every man feels his next man, which ever way the rank dresses,
and into whatever direction the line or column moves.
_To_ FILE, is to advance to, or move from any given point by files; as
to file to the front, to file to the rear, to file from the right or
left flank, or to file from any given company. In some of which cases,
the leading files must disengage themselves according to the directions
given.
_To_ File _off_, _To defile_, to wheel off from marching in a spacious
front, and march in length by files. When a regiment is marching in
full front, or by divisions or platoons, and comes to a defile or
narrow pass, it may file off to the right or left, as the ground
requires, &c.
FILINGS, are movements to the front, rear, or flank by files. These
movements must be executed with great quickness. The files must go
off at a smart gallop, and continue so till all are in file, the rear
rank men dressing well to their front rank; the front rank covering
well, and keeping close to the croup. If the filings are to be made
from a flank to the front or rear, the whole must keep passaging up to
the ground from whence the first file went, before they go off; if to
a flank, the horses must be turned as soon as there is room. If the
filings are from a flank to march along the front or rear, past the
other flank, every file must come off from its own ground as the next
gets into file.
_General and necessary_ FILINGS, are from either, or both flanks of
the squadron to front, flank or rear; filing from the centre of the
squadron to the front, or to the flank. Filing single men by ranks, or
by front or rear rank men alternately from either flank of the squadron.
In the filings of the squadron, the _serre-files_ take their places in
the rear of the files unless the ground will allow them to remain on
the flanks of the rear rank; but their general and proper position is
in the rear of the files.
_In cavalry filing_, the greatest attention must be paid to keep the
squadron as compact together as the nature of the movement will permit.
It is a situation in which horses move free, and without confinement,
but in which the parts of a squadron are apt to lengthen out, and take
up much more ground than what they stand upon in line, and is therefore
to be adopted only from necessity, in broken or embarrassed ground.
When the word _file_, has been given, and the heads of the horses have
been turned ready to move off without loss of distance, the leaders of
files must go off short and quick in their ordered direction. They are
followed close by each man as it comes to his turn, so as to leave no
unnecessary interval from one to another, and instantly to put off the
ground. After being once in file, a distance of a yard from head to
tail may be taken so as to trot or gallop the easier if required. Every
alteration of pace ought to be made as much as possible by the whole
file at once: if this is not observed, a crowding and stop in the rear
will always attend such alteration.
FIRE, in the art of war, a word of command to soldiers of all
denominations, to discharge their fire arms, grenades, cannon, &c.
FIRE, is also used to denote the discharge of all sorts of fire arms
against the enemy. The fire of the infantry is by a regular discharge
of their fire-locks, in platoons, divisions, &c. that of the cavalry,
with their pistols; and that of a place besieged with their artillery.
FIRE _of the curtain or second flank_, is from that part of the curtain
comprehended between the face of the bastion prolonged and the angle of
the flank; frequently called the line of defence fichant.
FIRE _rasant_, is produced by firing the artillery and small arms in
a line parallel with the horizon, or parallel with those parts of the
works you are defending.
FIRE-_arms_, are all kinds of arms charged with powder and ball; every
one of which is mentioned under its respective head.
_Running_-FIRE, is when a rank or ranks of men, drawn up, fire one
after another; or when the lines of an army are drawn out to fire on
account of a victory; when each squadron or battalion takes it from
that on its right, from the right of the first line to the left, and
from the left to the right of the second line; also called _feu de
joie_.
FIRE-_balls_. See BALLS.
FIRE-_cross_, an ancient token in Scotland for the nation to take up
arms.
FIRE-_ship_, a ship filled with a variety of combustibles to set fire
to the vessels of the enemy.
FIRE-_ship_. _Proportion of combustible stores for a fire-ship of 150
tons._
No.
Fire barrels, filled with composition 8
Iron chambers, to blow open the ports 12
Composition for priming barrels 3¹⁄₂
Quick, match do. 1
Curtains, dipped 48
Reeds, long, single dipped 150
Do. short}double dipped 75
}single dipped 75
Bavins, single dipped 250
The fire barrels are about 2 feet 4 inches high, and 1 foot 6 inches
diameter. Each barrel must have four holes of about 6 inches square
cut in its sides; and these holes must have a square piece of canvass
nailed over them quite close. They are then filled with the same
composition as for carcasses, and 4 plugs of about 1 inch diameter and
3 inches long, and well greased are thrust into the top, and then left
to dry. When dry, these plugs are taken out and the holes driven with
fuze composition and quick match at the top; which goes from one hole
to the other: after this the top is smeared over with mealed powder
mixed up with spirits of wine. When dry again a sheet or two of brown
paper is laid over the top, and then one of the canvass covers, which
is made secure by the upper hoop of the barrel.
_Composition for dipping Reeds, Bavins, and Curtains._
lbs.
Rosin 120
Coarse Sulphur 90
Pitch 60
Tallow 6
Mealed powder 12
This proportion will dip about 100 reeds and 25 bavins.
Each curtain contains 1 square yard of barras.
Each cover for fire barrels 1 do. of sacking.
Immediately that the curtains, covers, &c. are dipped, they are to be
strewed over with fine brimstone, before the composition grows cold.
The iron chambers, for blowing open the ports, hold from 9 to 11 ounces
of powder. They are fixed in such a manner as to prevent their recoil,
and to ensure the ports being blown open. The vents are generally
corked up, and covered with a piece of barras, till required to be
primed.
_To fit out a fire ship._ The whole breadth of the fire room is to be
divided into 9 parts, and troughs laid the whole length of the room.
Cross troughs of communication are laid between them, about 20 in each
row, perpendicular to the long troughs. These troughs are usually
4 inches wide, and 4 deep. There are two fire trunks and two fire
scuttles on each side, under which the eight fire barrels are to be
placed.
The reeds and bavins are to be tied down in the troughs. The curtains
are to be nailed up to the beams, equally through the fire room. The
ship is not to be primed when fitted out, but only when intended to be
fired.
_To Prime._
_Composition for priming_,
Saltpetre pulverized 22 lbs. 8 oz.
Rosin 2 11
Sulphur 18 --
Mealed powder 45 --
Linseed oil 1 pint.
All the reeds and bavins are to be taken up, and a little of the above
composition sprinkled in the bottom of the troughs; the reeds, &c. to
be then gently tied down again. Quick match of 6 or 8 threads doubled
must be laid along on the tops of all the reeds, &c. and priming
composition strewed over it, and over all the fire room. The covers of
all the fire barrels must be cut open, and made to hang down on the
sides of the barrels. Leaders of strong quick match must be laid from
the reeds to the barrels and to the chambers; and must be tied down to
the vents to ensure its not falling off. Strong leaders of quick match,
4 or 5 times doubled, must be laid from the reeds to the sally ports;
and the sally ports must be connected by quick match, that the whole
may take fire at once.
The following method is now adopted of producing an external fire, in
addition to the internal fire, before gained by the fire room.
Fireboxes filled with the carcass composition, are distributed in the
following manner, in a ship of three masts:
1 Suspended from each of the catheads and davits, on each side the
bow 4
8 Slung across the bowsprit 8
4 Across each of the outriggers abaft 8
2 From the graplins of each of the lower yard-arms 12
2 From the dead-eyes on each side of the three round tops 6
2 From the middle of the inside of the main, fore, and mizzen
shrouds 6
--
44
The boxes are suspended by chains and hooks, and those slung across
the bowsprit and outriggers, are fixed by staples. The two inner ones
are laid with leaders of quick match, which fire instantly, or with
portfires, which burn a given time; they communicate with the outer
ones by reeds, which are tied down on the bowsprit and outriggers. The
boxes hanging from the dead-eyes and shrouds, are fired by curtains
suspended from the shrouds, the lower one of which hangs immediately
over one of the large fire barrels. The two boxes on each yard-arm
are hung one over the other; the upper one having a leader of quick
match carried along the yard from the shrouds; and in burning will no
doubt fire the lower one. Besides the boxes, there are fire barrels
arranged as follows; 2 half barrels on the forecastle; 2 abaft the main
deck, and 4 on the main deck; 2 in each roundtop, placed against the
masts; and 4 large fire barrels under fire trunks, to convey fire to
the curtains on the shrouds. All these fire barrels and boxes are to
be fired by separate leaders of quick match or portfire, in order that
any part of the ship may be fired, to cover its approach by the smoke;
and the remaining part instantaneously upon quitting the ship. It has
been found by experiment, that two men with lighted portfires can set
fire to the whole of the leaders on the deck, bowsprit, catheads,
outriggers, &c. in less than a minute; therefore the risk of trusting
to one main leader to the whole may be avoided.
The leaders are laid in painted canvass hose made for the purpose.
FIRE-_master_, in the artillery, gives the directions and proportions
of all ingredients for each composition required in fire-works, whether
for the service of war, or for rejoicings and recreations.
FIRE-_masters-mate_. His duty is, to aid and assist the chief
fire-master, and he should be skilled in every kind of laboratory works.
FIRE-_pan of a gun_, is the receptacle for the priming powder.
FIRE-_pot_, in the military art, a small earthen pot, into which is put
a charged grenade, and over that, powder enough to cover the grenade;
the whole covered with a piece of parchment, and two pieces of quick
match across lighted: it breaks and fires the powder, as also the
powder in the grenade, which has no fuze, that its operations may be
quicker: it burns all that is near it.
FIRE-_works_, are particular compositions of different sorts, made
with sulphur, salt-petre, and charcoal. They are used in war, and on
rejoicing days.
FIRE-_workers_, were formerly subordinate to the fire-master and his
mate; had afterwards the rank of youngest lieutenants to the regiment
of artillery; but now that rank is abolished, and they are all second
lieutenants. They were supposed to be well skilled in every kind of
laboratory-work, which knowlege is an essential qualification in every
officer of that regiment.
FIRE-LOCKS, so called from their producing fire of themselves, by the
action of the flint and steel; the arms carried by a foot-soldier: they
were formerly 3 feet 8 inches in the barrel, and weighed 14lb.; at
present the length of the barrel is from 3 feet 3 inches to 3 feet 6
inches and the weight of the piece from 9 to 12lb. British fire-locks
carry a leaden bullet of which 29 make 2lb. Its diameter is .550 of
an inch, and that of the barrel ¹⁄₅₀th part of the shot. Fire-locks
were first made use of in 1690, when matchlocks were universally
disused; but when invented we cannot ascertain. A fire-lock is called,
by writers of about the middle of the last century, a _snaphaan_,
which being a low Dutch word, seems to indicate its being a Dutch
invention. Formerly, both in the manual and platoon exercises, the
term fire-lock was always adopted--as shoulder your fire-lock, present
your fire-lock--At present a more simple and brief mode of expression
prevails as, _shoulder arms_, _carry arms_, &c.
FIRING _in line_. According to regulations, the following principal
heads constitute firing in line.
The object of fire against cavalry is to keep them at a distance, and
to deter them from the attack; as their movements are rapid, a reserve
is always kept up. But when the fire commences against infantry, it
cannot be too heavy, nor too quick while it lasts; and should be
continued till the enemy is beaten or repulsed. This may not improperly
be called offensive fire.
_Defensive fire_, belongs principally to infantry, when posted on
heights, which are to be defended by musquetry. As soldiers generally
_aim too high_, and as fire is of the greatest consequence to troops
that are on the defensive, the habitual mode of firing should therefore
be rather at a low level of three or four feet than a high one.
On these occasions the men are generally drawn up 3 deep; in which case
the front rank may kneel when it can be safely and usefully done; but
this is now generally rejected, and the third rank loads for the centre
rank, which fires the guns of both centre and rear rank.
FIRING _by half battalions, the line advancing_. The left wings _halt_,
and the right ones continue to march 15 paces, at which instant the
word _march_ being given to the left wings, the right at the same time
are ordered to _halt_, _fire_, and _load_; during which the left march
on and pass them, till the right wings, being loaded and shouldered,
receive the word _march_, on which the left ones _halt_, _fire_, &c.
and thus, they alternately proceed.
FIRING _by half battalions, the line retiring_. The right wings come
to the right about and march 15 paces, are ordered to _halt_, _front_,
and when the left wings have gained 15 paces, and have received the
word _halt_, _front_, the right wings are instantly ordered to _fire_,
_load_, _about_, and march 15 paces beyond the left ones, where they
receive the word _halt_, _front_, on which the left wings _fire_, &c.
and thus alternately proceed.
In manœuvring many battalions there should be a regulating battalion
named, by the half battalions of which each line may move, halt, and
fire: the commander of each line to be with such half battalion and
in giving his several commands, to have an attention to the general
readiness of the line, especially after loading, that the whole be
prepared to step off together at the word _march_. The firing of the
advanced wing succeeds the _march_, or the _halt_, _front_, of the
retired wing instantly; and each half battalion fire independent and
quick, so that no unnecessary pauses being made betwixt the firing
words, the fire of the line should be that of a volley as much as
possible; and the whole being thereby loaded together, to be ready for
the next command of movement. In these firings of the line advancing or
retiring, the two first ranks fire standing, and the rear rank support
their arms, and may change places at the second fire with the centre
rank.
In this manner also may the alternate battalions of a line advance or
retire, and when the whole are to form, and that the last line moves up
to the first, every previous help of advanced _guides_ will be given to
ensure its correctness.
_Fire in line advancing_, is when the infantry marches in line to
attack the enemy and in advancing makes use of its fire. On these
occasions it is better to fire the two first ranks only standing,
reserving the third, than to make the front rank kneel, (as was
formerly the practice) and to fire the whole; but when it is necessary
to fire a considerable distance, or on a retiring enemy, vollies may be
given by the three ranks, the front one kneeling.
FIRING _by platoons_ is practised when a line is posted, or arrives at
a fixed situation, in this position battalions fire independent of one
another, and the fire generally commences from the centre of each. The
first fire of each battalion must be regular, and at established pauses
and intervals; after which each platoon may continue to fire as soon
as it is loaded independent and as quick as possible. The use of this
is to acquire the habit of obedience to command; for in close action
platoon firing is both absurd and impracticable.
FIRING _by files_, is generally used behind a parapet, hedge, or
abbatis. In this situation the two first ranks only can fire, and that
must be by the 2 men of the same file always firing together, with
coolness and deliberation. When however, the parapet, hedge, or abbatis
is but a little raised, platoon firing may be resorted to.
_Oblique_ FIRING _by battalions_, or otherwise, according to the
ground, is extremely advantageous when it is found expedient to give
an oblique direction to part of a line, or when it is discovered that
their fire can in this manner be thrown against the opening of a
defile, the flanks of a column, or against cavalry or infantry that
direct their attack on some particular battalion or portion of the
line. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
Oblique firing, is either to the right and left, or from the right and
left to the centre, depending entirely on the situation of the object
to be fired against. The Prussians have a particular contrivance for
this purpose: If they are to level to the right, the rear ranks of
every platoon are to make two quick but small paces to the left, and
the body of each soldier to quarter face or turn ¹⁄₈th of a circle; and
are to take the same distance to the right if they are to level to the
left.
When a line halts at its points of firing, no time is to be lost in
scrupulous dressing, and the firing is instantly to commence. But when
a line halts, and is not to fire, the usual dressings must be attended
to; and every thing will depend upon the coolness and attention of the
officers and non-commissioned officers.
It should be observed with respect to firings in general, that after
the march in front, and halt of the battalion, company, or platoon,
firing ought invariably to begin from the centre, and not from the
flank. In other cases, and in successive formations, it may begin from
whatever division first arrives, and halts on its own ground.
_Square_ FIRING, is that method of firing where either a regiment
or any body of men are drawn up in a square, each front of which is
generally divided into divisions or firings, and the flanks of the
square, as being the weakest part, are sometimes covered by platoons
of grenadiers who flank the angles. The first fire is from the right
division of each face; the second fire from the left division of each
face, and so on; the grenadiers making the last fire.
_Street_ FIRING, is the method of firing adopted to defend or scour a
street, lane, or narrow pass of any kind; in the execution of which the
platoon must be formed according to the width of the place, leaving
sufficient room on the flanks for the platoons which have fired,
successively to file round to the rear of the others.
_Street_ FIRING _advancing_. When the column has arrived at the spot
where the firing is to commence, the commanding officer from the
rear gives the word _halt!_ and the officer commanding the platoon,
orders it to _make ready_, _aim_, _fire_; _recover arms_, _load_; he
then orders the rear platoon of the column _outward face_, (by half
platoons) _quick march_.
At the instant the men in the first platoon recover their arms after
firing, the rear platoon _makes ready_, and moves up the flank to the
front of the first platoon having filed round the flanks towards the
front, when the second from the rear advances, with recovered arms,
until it receives the words _halt_, _ready_, _aim_, _fire_.
The platoon which has fired, primes and loads in its ground
immediately, without moving; the rear platoons only advancing.
_Street_ FIRING _retiring_, is conducted on the same principles, except
that the platoons fire without advancing, on the front being cleared by
the former platoon filing round the flank.
Another method of _street firing_, _advancing_, generally esteemed more
eligible, is, after firing, to wheel out by subdivisions, (the pivots
having taken a side step to right and left outwards) prime and load,
and as soon as the last platoon has passed, file inwards and form.
FISSURE, a narrow chasm where a small breach has been made.
FIT. Qualified, proper; adapted to any purpose or undertaking.
FIT _for service_ strong, healthy men, from 18 to 45 years of age, of
a certain height, and not subject to fits; are considered fit objects
for service, and may be enlisted into the United States regiments. The
principal heads under which every recruit should be rejected, consist
of rupture, venereal lues, or incurable pox, habitual ulcers, sore
legs, scurvy, scald head, and fits.
FIT, a paroxysm. Any violent affection of the body, by which a man is
suddenly rendered incapable of going through the necessary functions of
life.
FITS, habitual affections of the body to which men and women are
subject, and by which they may be frequently attacked without any
other immediate consequence, than a temporary suspension of the mental
powers, accompanied by a disordered and painful action of the frame.
FIX-_Bayonets_, a word of command in the manual exercise. See MANUAL.
FLAGS in the United States navy, are the colors of the Union, red and
white alternate stripes, equal to the number of states; with a square
in the upper angle of blue, upon which are wrought white stars equal
in number to the states of the Union. A custom has grown up among
commanders of ships of appropriating a peculiar flag for each state,
but as this is not a settled regulation requires no further notice.
FLAGS. See COLORS, STANDARDS, &c.
FLAGS, in the British navy, are either red, white, blue, or yellow, and
they are hoisted either at the heads of the main-mast, fore-mast, or
mizen-mast.
FLAGS, when displayed from the top of the main-mast, are the
distinguishing marks of admirals; when from the fore-mast, of vice
admirals; and when from the mizen-mast, of rear admirals.
The highest flag in the British navy, is the _anchor and cable_, which
is only displayed when their lord high admiral, or lords commissioners
of the admiralty are on board; the next is the _union_, the distinction
peculiar to the second officer, called admiral of the fleet; and the
lowest flag is the _blue_ at the mizen-mast.
FLAG-_Officer_, a naval officer commanding a squadron.
FLAG-STAFF, the staff on which the flag is fixed.
FLAM, a word formerly made use of in the British service, signifying a
particular tap or beat upon the drum, according to which each battalion
went through its firings or evolutions. The practice is laid aside,
as only a matter of mere parade without any practical utility; too
often employed by officers to cover their ignorance or incapacity, or
to indulge their indolence; therefore it is the usage now wherever
discipline is well understood and practised, for every battalion, troop
or company to be exercised by specific words of command, delivered in a
distinct and audible tone of voice.
FLAMME, or ORIFLAMME, _Fr._ in the old French marine establishment, was
a mark of distinction which exclusively belonged to the French king’s
ships.
FLAMME, _ou pendant_, _Fr._ Bolting cloth or ticking. It is a long
streamer which generally hangs either from the topmast head, and serves
for ornament, or to give signals.
FLAMBEAU, a torch.
FLANC _du bastion_, _Fr._ See flank of the bastion.
{_bas_, }
FLANC{_couvert_,}See _Retired_ FLANC.
{_retiré_, }
FLANKS, in the art of war and in fortification, are of several
denominations, according to their uses, viz.
FLANKS _of an army_. Certain proportions of offensive or defensive
forces which are extended to the right and left of a main body, and
ought to be posted in such a manner, that it would be certain ruin to
the enemy were he to attempt any impression between them. In a more
confined sense, the troops which are stationed on the right and left of
each line of encampment. See WINGS.
FLANK-_files_, are the two first men on the right and the two last men
on the left, telling downwards from the right, of a line, battalion,
company, division, subdivision or section. When a battalion is drawn
up three deep, its flank files consist of three men, or as the French
call its file and demi-file. When four deep, the flank files are termed
double files; so that a column formed from any of these alignements
will have all its relative flank files, be the depth of formation what
it will.
_Inward_ FLANK _in manœuvring_. The first file on the left of a
division, subdivision, or section when the battalion stands at close
or open column with the _right in front_. Upon this flank, which is
called the proper flank, and on which the pivot rests, the division,
&c. wheels backward from line into column, or forward from column into
line. When the left is in front the right becomes the proper flank and
pivot.
_Outward_ FLANK, of a line or battalion, the extreme file on the right
or left of a division, subdivision, or section, according to the given
front, when the battalion is at close or open column, and which is the
furthest wheeling point from line into column, or from column into
line. It is likewise called the _reverse_ flank. The general rule which
directs, that leading officers shall march invariably on the inward
flank, where the proper pivot rests, is in one instance dispensed with,
when, after marching by the right in front, the wheeling of the column
or guard is to the right. On this occasion, the officer who had shifted
from the right to his proper flank, instead of being wheeled upon,
wheels with the flank, and continues his march. It has been remarked in
a late military publication, that the squareness of the division would
certainly be preserved with greater ease, were the officer to remain
upon the right, though the right be in front, until the wheel in that
direction should be completed, when he might shift to his proper flank.
Where the column or guard has only a few paces to proceed beyond the
passing or saluting point, this certainly is advisable. The regulation
of guides, that is, non-commissioned officers on both flanks of every
subdivision of a line, renders it of less moment where the officer is
posted; but the pivot is the most rational position.
FLANK _company_, a certain number of men drawn up on the right or left
of a battalion. Thus where there are grenadiers they compose the right,
and the light infantry the left flank company. When these are detached,
the two extreme battalion companies become such.
The grenadiers and light infantry are generally called flank companies,
whether attached or not to their several battalions; rifle corps are
always flankers.
FLANKING _party_, a select body of men on foot or on horseback, whose
object is to harrass and perplex the enemy, to get upon his wings, or
by any manœuvre to hang upon the flank of an opposing force.
FLANK _en potence_, is any part of the right or left wing formed at a
projecting angle with the line. See POTENCE.
_Leading_ FLANK, when the line breaks into column in order to attack
an enemy, it is the flank which must almost always preserve the line
of _appui_ in all movements in front. The first battalion, division or
company of every column which conducts is called the head or leading
flank of that column. All the writhings and turnings to which it
must unavoidably be subject, are followed by every other part of the
body, and such head becomes a flank, right or left, when formed into
line. The commander must therefore be on whichever flank directs the
operations of the line, and by which he proposes to attack, or to
counteract the attempts of the enemy.
FLANK in fortification, in _general_, is any part of a work that
defends another work, along the outside of its parapet.
FLANK _of a bastion_, in fortification, that part which joins the face
to the curtain, comprehended between the angle of the curtain and that
of the shoulder, and is the principal defence of the place. Its use is,
to defend the curtain, the flank, and face of the opposite bastion, as
well as the passage of the ditch; and to batter the salient angles of
the counter-scarp and glacis, from whence the besieged generally ruin
the flanks with their artillery; for the flanks of a fortification are
those parts which the besiegers endeavor most to ruin, in order to take
away the defence of the face of the opposite bastion.
_Oblique_}FLANK,
_Second_ }
that part of the curtain from whence the face of the opposite bastion
may be discovered, and is the distance between the lines rasant and
fichant, which are rejected by most engineers, as being liable to be
ruined at the beginning of a siege, especially when made of sandy
earth. The second parapet, which may be raised behind the former, is of
no use; for it neither discovers nor defends the face of the opposite
bastion: besides, it shortens the flank, which is the true defence;
and the continual fire of the besiegers’ cannon will never suffer the
garrison to raise a second parapet. This second flank defends very
obliquely the opposite face, and is to be used only in a place attacked
by an army without artillery.
_Retired_}
_Low_ }FLANK,
_Covered_}
the platform of the casemate, which lies hid in the bastion. These
retired flanks are a great defence to the opposite bastion and passage
of the ditch; because the besiegers cannot see, nor easily dismount
their guns.
FLANK _prolonged_, in fortification, is the extending of the flank from
the angle of the epaule to the exterior side, when the angle of the
flank is a right one.
_Concave_ FLANK, is that which is made in the arc of a semi-circle
bending outwards.
FLANKS _of a frontier_. Are the different salient points of a large
extent of territory, between each of which it would be impolitic for
any invading army to hazard an advanced position. The late celebrated
gen. Lloyd (whose accuracy of observation and solidity of conclusion
with respect to the iron frontier of old France have been universally
acknowleged) has furnished military men with a full and succinct
account of the relative positions upon it. This long line he begins
at Basle in Switzerland, and runs into various directions from thence
to Dunkirk in old French Flanders, he divides it into three parts,
and considers each of them separately. The first part goes from Basle
to Landau and covers old Alsace, near 130 miles in length. The second
from Landau to Sedan on the Moselle, covers ancient Lorrain on the side
of Treves, Deux-Ponts, Luxemburgh, and Limburg; 190 miles in length.
From Sedan down the Meuse to Charlemont in old Flanders, and thence to
Dunkirk, is the third part, and is about 150 miles; so that the whole
natural frontier of old France was 470 miles. The greatest part, if
not the whole of which, is in the shape of a horse shoe, and presents
impregnable flanks. An anonymous writer, after referring the reader to
general Lloyd for a specific account of the first and second lines of
the French frontier, has made the following observations relative to
the third and last which runs from Sedan down the Meuse to Charlemont,
from thence to Dunkirk, and is 150 miles in length. His words
are--While the duke of Brunswick and the king of Prussia were ruining
the most formidable armies in Europe by endeavoring to penetrate a few
miles into Lorrain and Champagne through the first and second line,
(without having previously secured the two flanks,) the French with
redoubled activity operated upon the third, and finally subdued all
Flanders. Those very difficulties, in fact, which presented themselves
to oppose the progress of the allied army into France, facilitated
every excursion on her part, as _the direction of the line which goes
from Sedan to Landau is concave towards that part of Germany_.
The remainder of this line, (within which so many faults were
committed, or rather could not be avoided, because the impression
itself was founded in error,) runs to Dunkirk. It has been the scene of
successive wars for near two centuries, the most expensive, bloody, and
durable of any recorded in the annals of mankind. This line, continues
general Lloyd, is stronger by art than nature, having a prodigious
number of strong fortresses and posts upon it, moreover it projects in
many places, so that an enemy can enter no where, without having some
of them in front and on his flanks.
The United States are flanked by Canada and Florida.
FLANKS, in farriery, a wrench, or any other grief in the back of a
horse.
_To_ FLANK, in fortification, is to erect a battery which may play upon
an enemy’s works on the right or left without being exposed to his line
of fire. Any fortification, which has no defence but right forward, is
faulty; and to make it complete, one part ought to flank the other.
_To_ FLANK, in evolutions, to take such a position in action as either
to assist your own troops, or to annoy those of your enemy by attacking
either of his flanks, without exposing yourself to all his fire.
_To_ OUT-FLANK. A manœuvre by which an army, battalion, troop, or
company outstretches another, and gets upon both or either of its
flanks.
_To_ OUT-FLANK, in an extensive acceptation of the term, when
applied to locality, means to possess any range of opposite parts,
of territory, whence you might invade your neighbor. Thus France, by
her present possessions along the Dutch and Flemish coasts, outflanks
all the opposite shores of England, properly so called; resting her
left flank at Ushant in Finisterre, and her right at Schelling, in
North Holland, in the Province of Friesland. By the conquest of Spain
and Portugal, the French have extended their south western flank, and
rendered the invasion of Ireland more easy. Ireland again is completely
outflanked by Great Britain at Penzance, in Cornwall, and at the
Hebrides or Western Isles, independent of the continental part of
Scotland.
FLANKER, a fortification jutting out so as to command the side or flank
of an enemy marching to the assault or attack. Riflemen and all light
troops are also called flankers.
FLANKERS, in cavalry manœuvres, the most active men and horses are
selected to do the duty of flankers. The men of course must be perfect
masters of their horses. One complete file of each four must be a file
of flankers; it does not signify which file, but if it can conveniently
be done, the centre file should be taken, as in that case neither the
flank men, nor the telling off of the squadron or division will be
affected.
When you manœuvre by _whole_ squadrons, six or eight flankers are
sufficient in general for the whole squadron.
The word of command, when the flankers come out to the front, is
_flankers forward_.
In flanking, a great deal depends upon the officer or serjeant; he
must be extremely active, and not only attend to the movements of the
division from which he is detached, but likewise to his flankers.
As horses frequently refuse to quit the ranks and hang back
obstinately, the men indiscriminately should be often called out of the
ranks one by one, and practised as flankers.
_To_ FLANKER, in French _flanquer_. To fortify the walls of a city with
bulwarks or countermines.
FLANKING, is the same in fortification as defending.
FLANKING party--Any body of men detached from the main army to get upon
the flanks of an enemy. See FLANKERS.
FLANKING _angle_, in fortification, that composed of the two lines of
defence, and pointing towards the curtain. See TENAILLE.
FLANKING _line of defence_. See _line of defence_.
FLANKING-POINT. See POINT.
FLASH.--The flame which issues from any piece of ordnance on its being
fired.
FLASH _in the pan_, an explosion of gunpowder without any communication
beyond the touch hole. When a piece is loaded, and upon the trigger
being drawn, nothing but the priming takes fire, that piece is said to
flash in the pan.
FLASK, a measure made of horn, used to carry powder in, with the
measure of the charge of the piece on the top of it.
FLASQUES, _Fr._ in the artillery, are the two cheeks of the carriage of
a great gun. See AFFUT.
FLASQUE likewise means a gun-powder flask.
FLAT-_bottomed boats_, in _military affairs_, are made to swim in
shallow water, and to carry a great number of troops, artillery,
ammunition, &c. They are constructed in the following manner: a
12-pounder, bow chase, an 18 ditto, stern chase; 90 to 100 feet keel;
12 to 24 ditto beam; 1 mast, a large square main-sail; a jib-sail: they
are rowed by 18 or 20 oars, and can each carry 400 men. The gun takes
up one bow, and a bridge the other, over which the troops are to march.
Those that carry horses have therefore parts of the boats made to open.
FLAW, any crack or small opening in a gun or its carriage is so called.
FLEAU, _Fr._ the beam, or balance of a pair of scales.
There are some fleaux or scales among the French, which hold 6000 lb.
weight in one scale, and 6000 lb. weight of ammunition in the other,
making together 12000 weight.
FLEAU _de fer_, an iron instrument or weapon, that resembles in shape
the flails with which corn is thrashed.
FLECHE, in _field fortification_, a work of two faces, usually raised
in the field, to cover the quarter guards of a camp or advanced post.
FLETCHER. See BOWYER.
FLIGHT, is used figuratively for the swift retreat of an army or any
party from a victorious enemy.
_To put to_ FLIGHT, to force your enemy to quit the field of battle.
FLIGHT, is likewise applicable to missile weapons or shot, as a flight
of arrows, a flight of bombs, &c.
FLINT, a well known stone, used at present with every sort of fire
arms. Every soldier ought to have one or two spare flints when on
service.
FLINTS--are usually packed in half barrels.
Weight.
qrs. lbs.
}Musquet, 2000 -- 2 14
One half barrel contains}Rifle, 3000 -- 2 10
}Pistol, 4000 -- 2 15
The most transparent and free from veins are esteemed the best flints.
28 kegs of musquet flints take 18 cwt. in tonnage.
10 kegs of pistol flints take 3 cwt. 2 qrs. in tonnage.
_To_ FLOAT, a column is said to float when it loses its perpendicular
line in march, and becomes unsteady in its movements.
FLOATING-_batteries_, vessels used as batteries, to cover troops in
landing on an enemy’s coast.
FLOGGING, a barbarous punishment in general use among the British foot
soldiers. It is inflicted with a whip having several lashes, and is
calculated to degrade and render the man totally unfit for a soldier.
It is not practised in any other army in Europe.
FLOOD-GATE, in fortified towns, is composed of 2 or 4 gates, so that
the besieged by opening the gates may inundate the environs so as to
keep the enemy out of gun shot.
FLOOR. See PLATFORM.
_To_ FLOURISH, in a general musical acceptation of the term, is to play
some prelude or preparatory air without any settled rule.
_A_ FLOURISH, any vibration of sound that issues from a musical
instrument.
_The trumpet_ FLOURISH in drawing swords, is used regimentally by corps
of cavalry on their own ground, and is the sounding used in receiving a
general officer.
FLOWER _de Luce_, FLEUR _de Lis_, The arms of France under the old
monarchy. They consisted in three flowers de lis _or_, or gold, in a
field _azure_, or blue. These arms were superceded by the three colored
flag, when the bastile was taken and destroyed by the inhabitants of
Paris.
FLUSHED, a term frequently applied when men have been successful, as,
flushed with victory, &c.
FLUTE, a wind instrument which is sometimes used in military bands; but
never on service.
FLUX, an extraordinary evacuation of the body, to which soldiers are
frequently subject on service. Towards the fall of the year this
disorder is particularly prevalent, especially in camps. It is of a
contagious nature, and the greatest care should be taken to prevent
the healthy men in a regiment from frequenting the privies to which
those infected by this cruel disorder are permitted to resort. A centry
should always be posted in the vicinity of every hospital for that
specific purpose.
FLYING{_army_. See ARMY.
{_bridge_. See BRIDGE.
FLYING _Artillery_. See HORSE ARTILLERY.
FLYING-_Camp_. See CAMP.
FOCUS, in _mining_. See MINE.
FODDER. See FORAGE.
FOE. See ENEMY.
FOIL, in _fencing_, a long piece of steel of an elastic temper, mounted
somewhat like a sword, which is used to learn to fence with; it is
without a point, or any sharpness, having a button at the extremity,
covered with leather.
_To_ FOIL, to defeat.
FOLLOWERS _of a camp_, Officers, servants, sutlers, &c. All followers
of a camp are subject to the articles of war equally with the soldiery.
FOND, ground, properly means the surface of the earth which lies above
the water.
FONDEMENS, _Fr._ foundation.
FONDERIE, _Fr._ forge, _ou Fourneaux_. See FOUNDERY.
FONDS _destinés pour le payement des troupes_. _Fr._ Monies issued for
the service of the army.
FONTE _des pieces d’artillerie_. The metal used in the casting of
cannon which consists of three sorts well mixed together, viz. copper,
tin, and brass.
FOOT, in a _military sense_, signifies all those bodies of men that
serve on foot. See _Infantry_.
FOOT is also a long measure, consisting of 12 inches. Geometricians
divide the foot into 10 digits, and the digits into 10 lines; but we
after the manner of the English divide the foot into 12 inches, and an
inch into 12 lines, and a line into 12 points. The French call the 12th
part of a foot, a _line_.
_A square_ FOOT, is the same measure, both in length and breadth,
containing 12 × 12 = 144 square or superficial inches.
_A cubic_ FOOT, is the same measure in all the three dimensions,
length, breadth, and thickness; containing 12 × 12 = 144 × 12 = 1728
cubic inches. The foot is of different length in different countries.
The Paris royal foot exceeds the English by 9 lines; the ancient Roman
foot of the capitol consisted of 4 palms = 11⁴⁄₁₀ English inches; and
the Rhineland or Leyden foot, by which the northern nations go, is to
the Roman foot as 950 to 1000. The proportions of the principal feet
of several nations are as follow. The English foot divided into 1000
parts, or into 12 inches, the other feet will be as follow:
PLACES. 1000 feet. inch. lines.
parts
----------------------------------------------
London foot 1000 -- 12 --
Amsterdam 942 -- 11 3
Antwerp 946 -- 11 2
Bologna 1204 1 2 4
Berlin 1010 1 -- 2
Bremen 964 -- 11 6
Cologne 954 -- 11 4
Copenhagen 965 -- 11 6
Dantzic 944 -- 11 3
Dort 1184 1 2 2
Frankfort on the Main 948 -- 11 4
The Greek 1007 1 -- 1
Mantua 1569 1 6 8
Mechlin 999 -- 11 --
Middlebourg 991 -- 11 9
Paris Royal 1068 1 -- 9
Prague 1026 1 -- 3
Rhineland 1033 1 -- 4
Riga 1831 1 9 9
Roman 967 -- 11 6
Old Roman 970 -- 11 8
Scotch 1005 1 -- ⁵⁄₇
Strasbourg 920 -- 11 --
Madrid 899 -- 10 7
Lisbon 1060 1 -- 6
Turin 1062 1 -- 7
Venice 1162 1 1 9
_To be on the_ SAME FOOTING _with another_, is to be under the same
circumstances in point of service; to have the same number of men, and
the same pay, &c.
_To gain or lose ground_ FOOT _by_ FOOT, is to do it regularly and
resolutely; defending every thing to the utmost extremity, or forcing
it by dint of art or labor.
FOOT-_bank_, in fortification. See BANQUETTE.
FORAGE, in the art of war, implies hay, straw, and oats, for the
subsistence of the army horses. This forage is divided into rations,
one of which is a day’s allowance for a horse, and contains 20 lb. of
hay, 10 lb. of oats and 5 lb. of straw.
_Dry_ FORAGE, oats, hay, &c. which are delivered out of magazines to
a garrison, or to troops when they take the field, before the green
forage is sufficiently grown to be cut or gathered.
_Green_ FORAGE, oats, hay, &c. that have been recently cut. It likewise
means meadow pasture, into which horses are turned.
When the British cavalry are stationed in barracks, the number
of rations of forage to be issued to the horses of the officers,
non-commissioned officers, and soldiers is not to exceed what follows,
and is to be confined to those which are actually effective in the
barracks.
_Rations._
Field officers, having 4 effective horses 4
Captains, having 3 ditto 3
Subalterns and staff officers, having 2 ditto 2
Quarter masters, each 1
Non-commissioned officers and private men, each 1
For each of which rations a stoppage is to be made of 8¹⁄₂_d._ per diem.
On foreign service this article is governed by circumstances.
FORCE, an armament or warlike preparation.
FORCE, in a military sense, any body of troops collected together for
warlike enterprize.
_Effective_ FORCES. All the efficient parts of an army that may be
brought into action are called effective, and generally consist of
artillery, cavalry, and infantry, with their necessary appendages such
as hospital staff, waggon-train, artificers and pioneers: the latter,
though they cannot be considered as effective fighting men, constitute
so far a part of effective forces, that no army could maintain the
field without them.
_Effective_ FORCES _of a country_. All the disposable strength,
vigour and activity of any armed proportion of native or territorial
population. The navy of Great Britain must be looked upon as part of
the effective force of England, to which is added the body of marines.
_Distribution of the effective_ FORCES _of a country_. Under this head
may be considered, not only the effective forces which might engage
an enemy, but likewise those included in the several returns that are
made from home to foreign stations to the war office, and out of which
a grand total is formed to correspond with the estimates that are
annually laid before the government.
_To_ FORCE is to take by storm; also to man the works of a garrison.
_To_ FORCE _an enemy to give battle_. To render the situation of an
enemy so hazardous, that whether he attempt to quit his position,
or endeavor to keep it, his capture or destruction must be equally
inevitable. In either of which desperate cases, a bold and determined
general will not wait to be attacked, but resolutely advance and give
battle; especially if circumstances should combine to deprive him of
the means of honorable capitulation. This can only be safely effected,
by having previously disposed your own forces so as to defy any
impression on his part, and by subsequent able manœuvres to have it in
your power to foil his attack.
_To_ FORCE _a passage_. To oblige your enemy to retire from his
fastnesses, and to open a way into the country which he had occupied.
This may be done either by _coup de main_, or renewal of assaults. In
either case, the advancing body should be well supported and its flanks
be secured with the most jealous attention.
FORCING _an adversary’s guard or blade_, a term used in the science of
broadsword.
“If at any time your antagonist appears languid and weak on his guard,
and barely covers his body on the side he is opposed; by stepping well
forward, and striking the fort of your sword smartly on his blade,
you may be enabled to deliver a cut without risk, even at the part he
intends to secure, taking care to direct your blade in such a manner,
that the plate or cross bar of your hilt shall prevent his sword from
coming forward.”
_Art of defence on foot._
FORCEPS, an instrument used in chirurgery, to extract any thing out
of wounds or to take hold of dead or corrupt flesh, to amputate. It
is made somewhat in the shape of a pair of tongs or pincers, with
grappling ends. Every regimental surgeon, or assistant surgeon, should
have a pair among his set of instruments.
FORD. The shallow part of a river where soldiers may pass over without
injuring their arms.
FORE-RANK, first rank, front.
FOREIGN _service_, in a general sense, means every service but home. In
a more confined and native acceptation of the term, it signifies any
service done out of the limits of the United States, or the dependent
territories.
FOREIGN _troops_, in an English acceptation, regiments or companies
which are composed of aliens, as the Hessians in the American
revolution. Before the present war, no foreigner could bear a
commission in the British service, or be enlisted as a soldier.
FORELAND, in fortification, called by the French _pas de souris_,
_relais_, _retraite_, _berm_ or _lizier_, a confined space of ground
between the rampart of a town or fortified place, and the moat.
Whenever a fortification can be completed without having recourse to
this substitute for stone, (with which the rampart ought to be faced)
it certainly is advisable to go to the expence. For a bold enemy, who
has once made his way over the moat, will derive considerable advantage
from having this path to stand on. It is generally from 3 to 8 or 10
feet wide. This space serves to receive the demolished parts of the
rampart, and prevents the ditch from being filled up. In Holland the
foreland is planted with thickset, but it is generally faced with
palisades. See BERM.
FORELAND, or FORENESS, any point of land which juts out into the sea.
FORGE, in the _train of artillery_, is generally called a _travelling
forge_, and may not be improperly called a portable smith’s shop: at
this forge all manner of smith’s work is made, and it can be used upon
a march, as well as in camp. Formerly they were very ill contrived,
with 2 wheels only, and wooden supporters to prop the forge for working
when in the park. Of late years they are made with 4 wheels, which
answers the purpose much better.
FORGE _for red hot balls_, is a place where the balls are made red-hot
before they are fired off: it is built about 5 or 6 feet below the
surface of the ground, of strong brick work, and an iron grate, upon
which the balls are laid, with a very large fire under them. See
RED-HOT BALLS.
FORKHEAD. See BARB.
FORLORN-_hope_, in the military art, signifies men detached from
several regiments, or otherwise appointed to make the first attack in
the day of battle; or at a siege, to storm the counterscarp, mount
the breach, &c. They are so called from the great danger they are
unavoidably exposed to; but the expression is old, and begins to be
obsolete.
_To_ FORM, in a general acceptation of the term, is to assume or
produce any shape or figure, extent or depth of line or column, by
means of prescribed rules in military movements or dispositions.
_To_ FORM _from file, among cavalry_. The front file halts at a given
point: the rest, or remaining files successively ride up at a very
smart gallop, taking care to halt in time, and not to over-run the
ground. If the formation is by doubling round the front file, (in a
formation, for instance, to the rear of the march, or to the right
when marched from the right,) the files must double as close round
as possible and with the utmost expedition. In forming from file,
particular attention should be given to make the men put their horses
quite straight as they come in. They must keep their bodies square,
dress by a slight cast of the eye towards the point of formation, and
close and dress in an instant. A dragoon, in fact, must no sooner get
into the ranks, than his attention should be given to remain steady,
well closed and dressed. It is generally required, that when the
cavalry forms, each man must come up in file to his place, and by no
means move up to his leader, till that leader has formed to which ever
hand the file is forming to. The whole must follow the exact track of
the first leader, and come up one by one into their respective places
in squadron.
_To_ FORM _to the front_. To move nimbly up from file into ranks, and
close to your leader, whether on foot, or horseback.
_To_ FORM _to the rear_. To double round your leaders, who have
themselves turned and faced.
_To_ FORM _to a proper flank_. To turn and close in to your leader.
_To_ FORM _to a reverse flank_. To pass, turn and successively close to
your leaders.
In all formations from file, the whole, till otherwise directed, dress
to the hand to which the squadron, or division forms. See _Am. Mil.
Lib._
_To_ FORM _by moving in front, and successively arriving in line_, is
by divisions, or distinct bodies, to advance forward by word of command
towards any given point of alignement. On these occasions the eyes of
the whole are turned to the hand to which they are to form, and from
which they preserve required distances. The leading officer must be
on the _inward_ flank of his division; he conducts it to its point
of junction in line, and from thence dresses and corrects it on the
person, who is previously placed beyond him, and prolonging the general
line. The outward flank of the last formed and halted body, is always
considered as the point of conjunction (necessary intervals included)
of the succeeding one. Thus the looking and lining of the soldier is
always towards that point, and the flank of the line formed to; and
the correction of dressing by the officer is always made from that
point towards the other flank. Therefore on all occasions of moving up,
forming and dressing in line, by the men lining themselves to one hand
(_inwards_) and the officers correcting to the other (_outwards_) the
most perfect line may be obtained. Commanding officers of regiments,
when a considerable line is forming, must take every advantage from
timeously throwing out intelligent _guides_ to give them true points
in the general line. In the French service these persons are called
_jalonneurs_ from _jalonner_, to fix any thing, by which any true
direction, perpendicular or otherwise, may be obtained; the word
_guide_ is the best translation of the word _jalonneur_, and it is so
used in the American Military Library.
_To_ FORM _line_, is to wheel to the right or left from open column of
divisions, subdivisions, or sections, according to prescribed rules, so
as to present one continued front or straight line; or to deploy from
close column for the same end, or to file to the front.
_To_ FORM _rank entire_, is to extend the front of a battalion or
company by reducing it to the least possible depth, from any existing
number of ranks.
_To_ FORM _two deep_, is from rank entire or from three deep to produce
a regular line of files.
_To_ FORM _three deep_, is to add the depth of one half file to two
deep, and to produce the natural formation of a battalion in line.
_To_ FORM _four deep_, is to diminish the natural extent of a battalion
formed in line, by adding one half-file to its depth.
_To_ FORM _echellon_, is, from line, or open column, to wheel a given
number of paces forward or backward, so as to produce a diagonal or
oblique direction in the different proportions of a line, the outward
flank of each succeeding division, company or section, constantly
preserving a perpendicular direction, at a regulated distance, from the
inward flank of its leader, until it arrive at its point of junction.
_To_ FORM _line by echellon_, is to advance in column towards any given
object by a diagonal movement, so as eventually to produce a regular
continuity of front. See ECHELLON or DIAGONAL _movement_.
_To_ FORM _close column_, is to march by files in detached proportions
of a line, till each proportion shall arrive in front or in rear of any
given body.
_To_ FORM _open column_, is to wheel backwards or forwards, or to march
out by files, so that the several proportions of a line may stand in
a perpendicular direction to one another, with intervals between them
equal to the extent of their front.
_To_ FORM _circle_, is to march a battalion or company standing in line
from its two flanks; the leading files bringing their right and left
shoulders forward, so as to unite the whole in a circular continuity of
files. On the word of command--_To the right and left, form circle_,
the two flank files bring their right and left shoulders forward; and
on the word _quick, march_, the whole advance. The centre marks time,
each file from the direct central one gradually inclining to right and
left till the junction of the two extremes has been completed.
The general use which is made of this formation is to punish offenders,
or to convey public orders to the men in such a manner, that every
individual may have an equal opportunity of hearing what is read, or
delivered to the whole battalion.
_To_ FORM _on_, is to advance forward, so as to connect yourself with
any given object of formation, and to lengthen the line.
_To_ FORM _on a front division_, is from close, or open column, or
by the march in echellon, to arrive by a parallel movement at the
right or left of any given division, by which means a prolongation of
the line is produced. When this formation takes place with the right
in front, the officer of the second, or leading division (the first
standing fast, and all the rest facing to the left) having stepped
out to the right at the words _quick march!_ allows his division led
by his serjeant to go on a space equal to its front, and then gives
his word _front_, _dress_, _halt_; his serjeant still remaining on
the left of his division. The officer being still on the right of
his division, immediately gives the word _march!_ and the division
proceeds at the ordinary step towards its place in the alignement.
He steps nimbly forward, and obliques so as to be within the third
file of the left flank of the preceding division, and is thus ready
to give the words, _dress_, _halt!_ at the instant his inward flank
man joins that division. He then expeditiously corrects his men, (who
have dressed upon the formed part of the line, on the distant given
point) and resumes his proper post in line. Great care should be taken
in these movements to prevent the outward flank of every advancing
division from over-stepping its ground; as it is a general principle in
dressing, to be rather behind the preceding formed division at the word
_dress_, than before it; the word _halt_ being the final and conclusive
direction, and the dressing of ranks being more easily attained by a
forward than a backward movement.
In this manner every other division proceeds; each officer advancing,
with a firm, steady step, in a perpendicular direction towards his
point of formation, while the flank serjeant remains at his point in
the line, till the succeeding officer, who has dressed his division,
arrives to replace him; after which the serjeant covers his own officer.
_To_ FORM _on a rear division_, is to face all the preceding divisions
which are in column to the right, (the point of forming having been
previously taken in that direction, as far as the prolongation of the
head division will extend, and just beyond where the right of the
battalion is to come) and to uncover the rear one, so as to enable it
to advance forward to a given point on the left, and take up its place
in the alignement.
The leader of the front or head division having been shewn the distant
point in the alignement on which he is to march, and having taken his
intermediate points, if necessary, at the word _march_, the faced
divisions step off quick, heads of files are dressed to the left, the
front one moves in the alignement with scrupulous exactitude, and
the others continue in a parallel direction close on its right; each
carefully preserving its relative points of prolongation, and being
fronted by its officer the instant it gets upon the ground, which is
perpendicular to its intended formation in line.
As soon as the rear division is uncovered, and has received the word
_march_, it proceeds forward, and when arrived within a few paces of
its ground, the officer commanding steps nimbly up to the detached
officer or serjeant, who has carefully marked its left in the new
position, gives the words _dress_, _halt_, and quickly corrects his
division on the distant point of formation; after which he replaces
his serjeant on the right of his division. As the officer who conducts
this division has necessarily the longest extent of ground to march
on, he must take especial care to observe his perpendicular direction,
constantly keeping the different points of formation in his eye, and
preserving a perfect squareness of person. The intermediate divisions
will successively proceed and advance as the ground opens before them.
_To_ FORM _on a central division_. To execute this manœuvre, the front
and rear divisions must deploy, or open, so as to uncover the named
division, and enable it to move up to a given point of alignement. A
forming point must be given to both flanks in the prolongation of the
head division.
When the caution of forming on a central division has been given, the
leading officers will shift to the heads of their several divisions,
the instant they have been faced according to the hand which leads to
their ground. The files during their deployment must be kept close,
and well locked up; and when fronted, must instantly be corrected in
their dressing before they march forward. The central division, when
uncovered, moves up into line to its marked flank. Those that were
in front of it proceed as in forming on a rear division; those that
were in rear of it proceed as in forming on a front division. By means
of those three formations, which are effected by the deployment, or
flank march, every battalion in close column, may uncover and extend
its several divisions. The previous formation of close column upon
given proportions of a brigade, battalion, &c. is done by facing and
moving _inwards_, and thus contracting the original line with any
given division for the head; which line may again be restored by the
different divisions facing and moving _outwards_, as we have just
described.
_To_ FORM _line on a rear company of the open column standing in
echellon_, that company remains placed; the others face about, wheel
back on the pivot flanks of the column, as being those which afterwards
first come into line. On the word _march_, they move forward, and then
_front_, _halt_, _dress_, successively, in the line of the rear company.
_To_ FORM _line on the rear company facing to the rear of the open
column standing in echellon_, the whole column must first countermarch,
each company by files, and then proceed as in forming on a front
company.
_To_ FORM _line on a central company of the open column_, that company
stands fast, or is wheeled on its own centre into a new required
direction. Those in front, must be ordered to _face_ about. The whole,
except the central company, must wheel back the named number of paces.
Those in front, on the proper pivot flanks of the column, and those in
its rear on the reverse flanks, such being the flanks that first arrive
in line. The whole then marches in line with the central company. See
_Am. Mil. Lib._
_To_ FORM _line from close column on a rear company facing to the
rear_, the whole of the column changes front by countermarching each
company by files. The rear company stands fast, and the remaining
companies face to the right, deploy, successively _front_, _halt_,
_dress_, and move up into the alignement.
_To_ FORM _line from close column on a central company facing to the
rear_, the central company countermarches and stands fast; the other
companies face outwards, countermarch, deploy, and successively march
up to the alignement.
Whenever the column is a retiring one, and the line is to front to the
rear, the divisions must each countermarch before the formation begins.
In which case the head would be thrown back, and the rear forward.
_To_ FORM _en potence_, to wheel the right or left flank of a body of
men, or to march them forward by files, so as to make that proportion
of a line face inwards, and resemble a potence or angle. A double
potence may be formed by running out both flanks, so that they stand
in a perpendicular direction facing towards each other like the letter
Λ, or thus, \__/; these oblique lines are the potence, so named by the
power of their cross fire. This formation is not only extremely useful
on actual service, but it conduces greatly to the accommodation of any
body of men which may be marched into a place that has not sufficient
extent of ground to receive it in line.
FORMATION, in a military sense, the methodical arrangement, or drawing
up of any given body of men mounted, or on foot, according to
prescribed rules and regulations.
_Cavalry_ FORMATION, consists of the following proportions.
Squadrons of cavalry are composed each of two troops; regiments are
composed of ten.
FORMATION _of a troop_, is the drawing out of a certain number of men
on horseback on their troop parade, in a rank entire, fixed according
to the size roll, the tallest men in the centre.
FORMATION _of the squadron_, is the military disposition of two troops
that compose it closed into each, from their several troop parades. In
this situation, the officers move out, and form in a rank advanced two
horses length, fronting to their troops. The serjeants and covering
corporals rein back, and dress with the quarter-master in the rear.
When the formation of a squadron has been completed, and its component
parts have been accurately told off, the commanding officer is advanced
a horse’s length before the standard. Two officers are posted, one
on each flank of the front rank, covered by a non-commissioned
officer. One officer is posted in the centre of the front rank
with the standard, and is covered by a corporal. The serjeants are
placed, one on the right of the front of each of the four divisions,
except the right one, and each is covered by a corporal or private
dragoon. The serre-files or supernumerary officers and serjeants,
the quarter-masters and trumpeters, are in the rear of their several
troops, divided in a line, at two horses distance from the rear rank.
Farriers are behind the serre-files a horse’s length. Allowance is
always made for sick and absent officers and non-commissioned officers;
and if a sufficient number of any rank is not present, then serjeants
replace officers, corporals replace serjeants, and lance-corporals or
intelligent men replace corporals.
Formation, considered as to general circumstances, admits of a few
deviations from the strict letter of the term. In order to preserve
each troop entire, it is not material, if one division be a file
stronger than another. The flank divisions indeed, both in cavalry and
infantry regiments, will be strongest from the addition of officers.
Officers, in the formation of squadrons, are recommended to be posted
with their troops. Corporals not wanted to mark the divisions, or to
cover officers or serjeants, will be in the ranks according to their
size, or be placed in the outward flank file of their troops. Farriers
are considered as detached in all situations of manœuvre.
All these general circumstances of formation apply and take place,
whether the squadron be composed of two, or more troops, and whether
the troops be more or less strong.
_General modes of_ FORMATION, are when a regiment broken into and
marching in open column, must arrive at and enter on the ground on
which it is to form in line, either in the _direction_ of that line,
_perpendicular_ to that line, or in a direction more or less _oblique_
betwixt the other two.
_Infantry_ FORMATION, is the arrangement or disposition of any given
number of men on foot according to prescribed rules and regulations.
When the companies join, which are generally ten in number, the
battalion is formed; there is not to be any interval between the
relative parts, but the whole front must present a continuity of
points, and one compact regular line from one flank file to the other.
The formation or drawing up of the companies will be from right to
left. There is much folly prevalent on the subject of positions of
companies. Steuben’s work has endeavored to fix a plan of alternation;
but failed. A simple principle would be to number the companies from
right to left, and form the first battalion of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and the
second of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10. Officers commanding companies or platoons are
all on the right of their respective ones.
The eight battalion companies will compose four grand divisions--eight
companies or platoons--sixteen subdivisions--thirty-two sections, when
sufficiently strong to be so divided, otherwise twenty-four, for the
purposes of march. The battalion is likewise divided into right and
left wings. When the battalion is on a war establishment, each company
will be divided into two equal parts. When the ten companies are with
the battalion, they may then be divided into five grand divisions from
right to left. This is done to render the firings more exact, and to
facilitate deploy movements.
The battalion companies will be numbered from the right to the left
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The subdivisions will be numbered 1. 2. of
each. The sections will be numbered 1. 2. 3. 4. of each. The files of
companies will also be numbered 1. 2. 3. 4. &c. the grenadier and light
companies will be numbered seperately in the same manner, and with the
addition of those distinctions. No alteration is to be made in these
appellations whether the battalion be faced to front or rear.
FORMATION _at close order_, is the arrangement of any given number
of men in ranks at the distance of one pace, except where there is a
fourth, or supernumerary rank, which has three paces. In firing order
the ranks are more closely locked in.
When a battalion is formed in close order, the field officers and
adjutant are mounted. The commanding officer is the only officer
advanced in front for the general purpose of exercise, when the
battalion is single; but in the march in line, and during the firings,
he is in the rear of the colors. The lieutenant colonel is behind the
colors, six paces from the rear rank. The major and adjutant are six
paces in the rear of the third and sixth companies. One officer is on
the right of the front rank of each company or platoon, and one on
the left of the battalion. All these are covered in the rear by their
respective serjeants, and the remaining officers and serjeants are in
a fourth rank behind their companies. There are no coverers in the
centre rank to officers or colors. The colors are placed between the
fourth and fifth battalion companies, both in the front rank, and each
covered by a non-commissioned officer, or steady man in the rear rank.
One serjeant is in the front rank betwixt the colors; he is covered by
a second serjeant in the rear rank, and by a third in the supernumerary
rank. The sole business of these three serjeants is, when the battalion
moves in line, to act as guides, and direct the march according to
prescribed instructions. The place of the first of those serjeants,
when they do move out, is preserved by a named officer or serjeant, who
moves up from the supernumerary rank for that purpose. The pioneers are
assembled behind the centre, formed two deep, and nine paces from the
third rank. The drummers of the eight battalion companies are assembled
in two divisions, six paces behind the third rank of their 2d and 7th
companies. The music are three paces behind the pioneers, in a single
rank, and at all times, as well as the drummers and pioneers, are
formed at loose files only, occupying no more space than is necessary.
The staff officers are three paces behind the music.
FORMATION _at open order_, is any open disposition, or arrangement of
men by ranks, at straight lines parallel to each other.
When a battalion is directed to take open order, the rear ranks fall
back one and two paces, each dressing by the right the instant it
arrives on the ground. The officers in the front rank, as also the
colors, move out three paces. Those in the rear, together with the
music, advance through the intervals left open by the front rank
officers, and divide themselves in the following manner: the captains
covering the second file from the right, the lieutenants the second
file from the left, and the ensigns opposite the centre of their
respective companies. The music form between the colors and the front
rank. The serjeant coverers move up to the front rank, to fill up the
intervals left by the officers. The pioneers fall back to six paces
distance behind the centre of the rear rank. The drummers take the same
distance behind their divisions. The major moves to the right of the
line of officers; the adjutant to the left of the front rank. The staff
place themselves on the right of the front rank of the grenadiers. The
colonel and lieutenant-colonel dismounted, advance before the colors
four and two paces.
FORMERS, round pieces of wood that are fitted to the diameter of the
bore of a gun, round which the cartridge paper, parchment, lead, or
cotton is rolled before it is sewed.
FORMERS were likewise used among officers and soldiers to reduce their
clubs to an uniform shape, before the general introduction of tails.
FORMATION _of guards_. See GUARDS.
FORT, in the military art, a small fortified place, environed on all
sides with a ditch, rampart, and parapet. Its use is to secure some
high ground, or the passage of a river, or to make good an advantageous
post, to defend the lines and quarters of a siege, &c.
Forts are made of different figures and extents, according to the
exigency of the service, or the peculiar nature of the ground. Some are
fortified with bastions, others with demi-bastions. Some are in form
of a square, others of a pentagon. Some again are made in the form of
a star, having 5 or 7 angles. A fort differs from a citadel, the last
being built to command some town. See CITADEL.
_Royal_-FORT, one whose line of defence is at least 26 toises long.
_Triangular_ FORTS, are frequently made with half bastions; but they
are very imperfect, because the faces are not seen or defended from
any other part. If, instead of being terminated at the angle, they
were directed to a point about 20 toises from it, they would be much
better, as then they might be defended by that length of the rampart,
though but very obliquely. The ditch ought to be from 8 to 10 toises.
Sometimes instead of half bastions at the angles, whole ones are placed
in the middle of the sides. The gorges of these bastions may be from
20 to 24 toises, when the sides are from 100 to 120; the flanks are
perpendicular to the sides, from 10 to 12 toises long; and the capitals
from 20 to 24. If the sides happen to be more or less, the parts of the
bastions are likewise made more or less in proportion. The ditch round
this fort may be 10 or 12 toises wide.
The ramparts and parapets of these sorts of works are commonly made
of turf, and the outside of the parapet is fraised; that is, a row of
pallisades are placed about the middle of the slope, in an horizontal
manner, the points declining rather a little downwards, that the
grenades or fireworks thrown upon them may roll down into the ditch;
and if the ditch is dry, a row of pallisades should be placed in the
middle of it, to prevent the enemy from passing over it unperceived,
and to secure the fort from any surprise.
FORT _de campagne_, _Fr._ a field fortification, See FORTIFICATION.
FORTERESSE, _Fr._ Fortress. Any strong place rendered so by art, or
originally so by local advantages, or by means of both nature and art.
Places which are strong by nature generally stand upon mountains,
precipices, in the middle of a marsh, on the sea-coast, in a lake, or
on the banks of some large river. Places which are strong by art, owe
their strength to the labor of man, whose ingenuity and perseverance
substitute ditches and ramparts where mountains and rivers are wanting.
FORTIFICATION, is the art of fortifying a town, or other place; or of
putting it in such a posture of defence, that every one of its parts
defends, and is defended by some other parts, by means of ramparts,
parapets, ditches, and other outworks; to the end that a small number
of men within may be able to defend themselves for a considerable time
against the assaults of a numerous army without; so that the enemy, in
attacking them, must of necessity suffer great loss.
_Fortification_ may be divided into ancient and modern; offensive, and
defensive; regular, and irregular; natural, and artificial, &c.
_Ancient_ FORTIFICATION, at first, consisted of walls or defences
made of trunks, and other branches of trees, mixed with earth, for
security against the attacks of an enemy. Invention owes its origin
to necessity; _fortification_ seems to have had fear for its basis;
for when man had no other enemy but the wild beasts, the walls of his
cottage were his security; but when pride, ambition, and avarice, had
possessed the minds of the strong and the daring to commit violences
upon their weaker neighbors, either to subject them to new laws, or
to plunder their little inheritance, it was natural for the latter to
contrive how to defend themselves from such injuries.
Our Aborigines of North America, have left traces of _fortification_ in
its infancy, of which there are some curious and magnificent remains on
the _Miami_ river, in the state of Ohio.
There are abundance of Indian villages fenced round by long stakes
driven into the ground, with moss or earth to fill the intervals; and
this is their security (together with their own vigilance) against the
cruelty of the savage neighboring nations.
Nor is _fortification_ much less ancient than mankind; for Cain, the
son of Adam, built a city with a wall round it upon mount Liban, and
called it after the name of his son Enoch, the ruins of which, it is
said, are to be seen to this day; and the Babylonians, soon after the
deluge, built cities and encompassed them with strong walls.
At first people thought themselves safe enough with a single wall,
behind which they made use of their darts and arrows with safety: but
as other warlike instruments were continually invented to destroy these
feeble structures, so on the other hand persons acting on the defensive
were obliged to build stronger and stronger to resist the new contrived
forces of the desperate assailants.
What improvements they made in strengthening their walls many ages ago,
appear from history. The first walls we ever read of, and which were
built by Cain, were of brick; and the ancient Grecians, long before
Rome was ever thought of, used brick and rubble stone, with which
they built a vast wall, joining mount Hymetus to the city of Athens.
The Babylonian walls, built by Semiramis, or, as others will have it,
by Belus, were 32 feet thick, and 100 feet high, with towers 10 feet
higher, built upon them, cemented with bitumen or asphaltus. Those of
Jerusalem seem to have come but little short of them, since, in the
siege by Titus, all the Roman battering rams, joined with Roman art and
courage, could remove but 4 stones out of the tower of Antonia in a
whole night’s assault.
After _fortification_ had arrived at this height it stopped for many
ages, ’till the use of gunpowder and guns was found out; and then the
round and square towers, which were very good flanks against bows and
arrows, became but indifferent ones against the violence of cannon; nor
did the battlements any longer offer a hiding place, when the force of
one shot both overset the battlement, and destroyed those who sought
security from it.
_Modern_ FORTIFICATION, is the way of defence now used, turning the
walls into ramparts, and square and round towers into bastions,
defended by numerous outworks; all which are made so solid, that they
cannot be beat down, but by the continual fire of several batteries of
cannon. These bastions at first were but small, their gorges narrow,
their flanks and faces short, and at a great distance from each other,
as are those now to be seen in the city of Antwerp, built in 1540 by
Charles V. emperor of Germany; since which time they have been greatly
improved and enlarged, and are now arrived to that degree of strength,
that it is almost a received opinion, that the art of fortification is
at its height, and almost incapable of being carried to a much greater
perfection.
_Offensive_ FORTIFICATION, shews how to besiege and take a fortified
place; it further teaches a general how to take all advantages for his
troops; the manner of encamping, and method of carrying on either a
regular or irregular siege, according as circumstances may direct.
_Defensive_ FORTIFICATION, shews a governor how to make the most of a
garrison committed to his care, and to provide all things necessary for
its defence.
_Regular_ FORTIFICATION, is that built in a regular polygon, the sides
and angles of which are all equal, being commonly a musquet shot from
each other, and fortified according to the rules of art.
_Irregular_ FORTIFICATION, on the contrary, is that where the sides and
angles are not uniform, equi-distant, or equal; which is owing to the
irregularity of the ground, vallies, rivers, hills, and the like.
_To_ FORTIFY _inwards_, is to represent the bastion within the polygon
proposed to be fortified; and then that polygon is called the _exterior
polygon_, and each of its sides the _exterior side_, terminating at the
points of the two nearest bastions.
_To_ FORTIFY _outwards_, is to represent the bastion without the
polygon proposed to be fortified, and then the polygon is called
the _interior polygon_, and each of its sides the _interior side_,
terminating in the centres of the two nearest bastions.
_Elementary_ FORTIFICATION, by some likewise called the theory of
fortification, consists in tracing the plans and profiles of a
fortification on paper, with scales and compasses; and examining the
systems proposed by different authors, in order to discover their
advantages and disadvantages. The elementary part is likewise divided
into regular and irregular fortification, which see.
_Front_ FORTIFICATION, any proportion of the body of a place,
consisting of two half bastions and a curtain.
_Practical_ FORTIFICATION, consists in forming a project of a
fortification, according to the nature of the ground, and other
necessary circumstances, to trace it on the ground, and to execute the
project, together with all the military buildings, such as magazines,
store houses, barracks, bridges, &c.
_The names of every part of a_ FORTIFICATION; and first of lines, which
are divided into right lines, and curve lines.
_Line of defence_, is the distance between the saliant angle of the
bastion, and the opposite flank; that is, it is the face produced
to the flank. Common experience, together with some of the greatest
artists in fortification, unanimously agree, that the _lines of
defence_ may extend (though not exceed) 150 fathom. Some indeed will
affirm, that as a musquet does not carry more than 130 fathom point
blank, the angle of the bastion should be no further removed from
its opposite flank. We agree that a musquet carries no farther point
blank; but we are sure it will do execution, and kill, at 180 fathom.
The enemy generally makes his breaches near the middle of the face;
which if granted, the line of fire from the flank to the breach,
scarcely exceeds 130 fathom; besides, the cannon of the flank does less
execution upon a short _line of defence_ than on a long one.
_Line of defence fichant_, is a line drawn from the angle of the
curtain, to the point of the opposite bastion, which is not to exceed
120 fathom; and from the point of the curtain, and flank, to the
face of the opposite bastion, which is to be defended. This line may
not improperly be called in good English the _butting flank_, since
it partly sees the opposite faces in reverse; and the shot from it,
especially near the orillon, strike against the faces. Authors are
numerous both for and against the _fichant_ and _rasant_ lines; we
can only set down as a fixed rule, that the more powerful the active
quality is, the more the passive must suffer; that in fortification
the active quality is the fire, which discovers the assailants (who
are the passive) going to attack the face of the opposite bastion;
consequently, the more this active quality is augmented, by so much the
more must the passive subjects suffer; and from thence we argue for the
_fichant flank_, since it augments this active quality, by all the fire
of the curtain added to the flank, which is the principal action in the
art of defence.
_Line of defence rasant_, is a line drawn from the point of the bastion
along the face, ’till it comes to the curtain, which shews how much of
the curtain will clear, or defend the face. This line may very justly
in our language be called the _sweeping flank_; because the shot as
it were sweeps along the opposite faces. This line, as well as the
_fichant_, has many supporters, and as many opponents. In our humble
opinion, the _line fichant_ is preferable to the _line rasant_.
_Line of circumvallation._ See SIEGE. See CIRCUMVALLATION.
_Line of contravallation._ See CONTRAVALLATION.
_Line of counter-approach._ See APPROACHES.
_Capital line_, is an imaginary line which divides the work into two
equal and similar parts, or a line drawn from the point of the bastion
to the point where the two demi-gorges meet, &c.
_Line of defence prolonged_. In the square, and most polygons of the
lesser fortification, you prolong the line of defence; but in the
polygons of the greater and meaner, you draw a line from the angle of
the opposite shoulder to the angle of the curtain, upon which you raise
a perpendicular, which serves for the first line of the flank.
_Names of the angles in a_ FORTIFICATION.
_Angle of the centre_, in a polygon, is formed by two radii drawn to
the extremities of the same side, or from the centre, terminating at
the two nearest angles of the figure.
_Angle of a bastion_, _Flanked angle_, that which is made by the two
faces, being the outermost part of the bastion, most exposed to the
enemy’s batteries, frequently called the saliant angle, or point of the
bastion.
_Angle of the polygon_, is made by the concourse of two adjacent sides
of a polygon, in the centre of the bastion.
_Angle of the triangle_, is half the angle of the polygon.
_Angle of the shoulder_, _Angle of the epaule_, is made by the face and
flank of the bastion.
_Angle of the flank_, _Angle of the curtain_ that which is made by, and
contained between the curtain and the flank.
_Angle of the tenaille_, _Flanking angle_, made by two lines fichant,
that is, the face of the two bastions extended till they meet in an
angle towards the curtain, and is that which always carries its point
towards the work.
_Dead-angle_. Every angle is so called, that points inwards, or is not
well defended.
_Angle of the ditch_, is formed before the centre of the curtain, by
the outward line of the ditch.
_Angle rentrant_, _Re-entering angle_, is any angle whose point turns
inwards, or towards the place; that is, whose legs open towards the
field.
_Saliant angle_, is that which points outwards or whose legs open
towards the place.
_Angle of the complement of the line of defence_, is the angle formed
by the intersection of the two complements with each other.
_Inward flanking angle_, that which is made by the flanking-line and
the curtain. See ANGLE.
_Names of the solid works of a_ FORTIFICATION.
_Advanced-foss_, _Avant-fossé_, or ditch, made at the foot of the
glacis: it is but very seldom made, because it is easily taken, and
serves for a trench to the besiegers.
_Appareille_, is that slope or easy ascent which leads to the platform
of the bastion, or to any other work, where the artillery, &c. are
brought up and carried down.
_Approaches_, are a kind of roads or passages sunk in the ground by the
besiegers, whereby they approach the place under cover of the fire from
the garrison.
_Area_, the superficial content of a rampart, or other work.
_Arrow_, is a work placed at the saliant angle of the glacis, and
consists of two parapets, each about 40 fathoms long; this work has a
communication with the covert-way, of about 24 or 28 feet broad, called
a caponniere, with a ditch before it of about 5 or 6 fathom, and a
traverse at the entrance, of three fathom thick, and a passage of 6 or
8 feet round it.
_Banquette_, whether single or double, is a kind of step made on the
rampart of a work near the parapet, for the troops to stand upon, in
order to fire over the parapet: it is generally 3 feet high when
double, and 1¹⁄₂ when single, and about 3 feet broad, and 4¹⁄₂ feet
lower than the parapet.
_Bastion_, is a part of the inner inclosure of a fortification, making
an angle towards the field, and consists of 2 faces, 2 flanks, and an
opening towards the centre of the place, called the gorge: or it is
rather a large mass of earth, usually faced with sods, sometimes with
brick, but rarely with stone; having the figure described.
With regard to the first invention of bastions, there are many opinions
amongst authors. Some have attributed this invention to Zisca, the
Bohemian; others to Achmet Bashaw, who having taken Otranto in the
year 1480, fortified it in a particular manner, which is supposed to
be the first instance of the use of bastions. Those who wrote on the
subject of fortification 200 years ago, seem to suppose, that bastions
were a gradual improvement in the ancient method of building, rather
than a new thought, that any one person could claim the honor of. It is
certain, however, that they were well known soon after the year 1500;
for in 1546, Tartalea published _Quesiti & inventioni diverse_, in the
6th book of which he mentions, that whilst he resided at Verona (which
must have been many years before) he saw bastions of a prodigious size:
some finished, and others building: and there is besides, in the same
book, a plan of Turin, which was then fortified with 4 bastions, and
seems to have been completed some time before.
The great rule in constructing a bastion is, that every part of it may
be seen and defended from some other part. Mere angles are therefore
not sufficient, but flanks and faces are likewise necessary. The faces
must not be less than 50 fathom, nor more than 65. The longer the
flanks are the greater is the advantage which can be derived from them.
They must therefore stand at right angles with the line of defence. At
the same time the disposition of the flanks makes the principal part of
a fortification, as on them the defence chiefly depends; and it is this
that has introduced the various kinds of fortifying.
The angle of the bastion must exceed 60°; otherwise it will be too
small to give room for the guns, and will either render the line of
defence too long, or the flanks too short. It must therefore be either
a right angle or some intermediate one between that and 60 degrees.
_Full bastions_ are best calculated for intrenchments, which are thrown
up at the gorge, or by means of a cavalier, whose faces are made
parallel to those of the bastion at the distance of 15 toises; having
its flanks at the distance of 12 toises, and a ditch measuring 5.
_Large bastions_ have the advantage of small ones, for this palpable
reason; the bastion being considered the weakest part of the body of
a place, is always attacked; when there is room for troops, cannon and
mortars, its natural weakness is greatly remedied.
_Gorge of a bastion_, the interval between the extremity of one flank
and that of the next.
_Flat bastion._ When a bastion upon a right line is so constructed,
that its demi-gorges do not form an angle, it is called a flat bastion.
_Gorge of a flat bastion_, is a right line, which terminates the
distance between two flanks.
_Solid bastion_, _Full bastion_, A bastion is said to be solid or full,
when the level ground within is even with the rampart; that is, when
the inside is quite level, the parapet being only more elevated than
the rest. Solid bastions have this advantage over others, that they
afford earth enough to make a retrenchment, in case the enemy lodge
themselves on the top of the bastion, and the besieged are resolved to
dispute every inch of ground.
_Hollow bastion_, _Empty bastion_, is that where the level ground
within is much lower than the rampart, or that part next to the
parapet, where the troops are placed to defend the bastion. The
disadvantage of these kinds of bastions is, the earth being so low,
that when an enemy is once lodged on the rampart, there is no making a
retrenchment towards the centre, but what will be under the fire of the
besiegers.
_Detached bastion_, is that which is separated or cut off from the body
of the place, and differs from a half moon, whose rampart and parapet
are lower, and not so thick as those of the place, having the same
proportion with the works of the place. Counter-guards with flanks are
sometimes called detached bastions.
_Cut bastion_, is that whose saliant angle or point is cut off, instead
of which it has a re-entering angle, or an angle inwards. It is used,
either when the angle would, without such a contrivance, be too acute,
or when water, or some other impediment, prevents the bastion from
being carried to its full extent.
_Composed bastion_, is when two sides of the interior polygon are very
unequal, which also renders the gorges unequal; it may not improperly
be called a _forced bastion_, being as it were forced into that form.
_Deformed bastion_, is when the irregularity of the lines and angles
causes the bastion to appear deformed, or out of shape.
_Demi-bastion_, is composed of one face only, has but one flank, and a
demi-gorge.
_Double bastion_, is that which is raised on the plane of another
bastion, but much higher; leaving 12 or 18 feet between the parapet of
the lower, and the foot of the higher; and is sometimes in the nature
of a cavalier.
_Regular bastion_, is that which has its true proportion of faces,
flanks, and gorges.
_Irregular bastion_, is that wherein the above equality of just
proportion is omitted.
_Barriers_, in fortification, a kind of rails to stop the horse or foot
from rushing in upon the besieged with violence. In the middle of this
kind of defence there is a moveable bar of wood, which opens or shuts
at pleasure.
_Berm_, is a little space or path, of 4 to 8 feet broad, between the
ditch and the talus of the parapet; it is to prevent the earth from
rolling into the ditch, and serves likewise to pass and repass. As it
is in some degree advantageous to the enemy, in getting footing, most
of the modern engineers reject it.
_Bonnet_, in fortification, is a sort of work placed before the saliant
angle of the ravelin to cover it: it consists of 2 faces, parallel
to the ravelin, or perpendicular to those of the lunette. They are
generally made 10 fathom broad at the ends with a ditch of the same
breadth, the covert-way 6, and the glacis 20 fathom.
_Breach_, is on opening or gap made in a wall or rampart, with either
cannon or mines, sufficiently wide for a body of troops to enter the
works, and drive the besieged out of it.
_Practical breach_, is that where men may mount, and make a lodgment,
and should be 15 or 20 feet wide.
_Capital of a work_, is an imaginary line which divides that work into
two equal parts.
_Capital of a bastion_, a line drawn from the angle of the polygon
to the point of the bastion, or from the point of the bastion to the
centre of the gorge. These capitals are from 35 to 40 toises in length,
from the point of the bastion to the place where the two demi-gorges
meet; being the difference between the exterior and the interior radii.
_Caponnier_ is a passage made in a dry ditch from one work to another:
when it is made from the curtain of the body of the place to the
opposite ravelin, or from the front of a horn or crown-work, it has a
parapet on each side, of 6 or 7 feet high, sloping in a glacis of 10 or
12 toises on the outside to the bottom of the ditch; the width within
is from 20 to 25 feet, with a banquette on each side: there is a brick
wall to support the earth within which only reaches within 1¹⁄₂ foot of
the top, to prevent grazing shot from driving the splinters amongst the
defendants.
_Caponnieres_ with two parapets may properly be called double; as there
are some made with one rampart only, in dry ditches of the ravelin,
and in that of its redoubt, towards the saliant angles, and to open
towards the body of the place.
_Caponnieres_, made from the body of the place to the out-works, are
sometimes arched over, with loop-holes to fire into the ditch. The
single ones in the ditch of the ravelin and redoubt are likewise made
with arches open towards the place; for by making them in this manner,
the guns which defend the ditch before them, can no other way be
dismounted than by mines.
_Cascanes_, in fortification, a kind of cellars made under the capital
of a fortification; also subterraneous passages or galleries to
discover the enemy’s mines.
_Casemate_, in fortification, is a work made under the rampart, like a
cellar or cave with loop-holes to place guns in it.
_Cavaliers_, are works, raised generally within the body of the place,
10 or 12 feet higher than the rest of the works. Their most common
situation is within the bastion, and they are made much in the same
form: they are sometimes placed in their gorges, or on the middle of
the curtain, and then are in the form of a horse-shoe, only flatter.
The use of cavaliers is, to command all the adjacent works and country
round them: they are seldom or never made, but when there is a hill or
rising ground which overlooks some of the works.
_Centre_, the middle point of any work. From the _centre_ of a place
are drawn the first lines to lay down the form of a _fortification_.
_Centre of the bastion_, is that point where the two adjacent curtains
produced intersect each other.
_Citadel_, is a kind of fort, or small fortification, of 4, 5, or 6
sides; sometimes joined to towns, &c. Citadels are always built on the
most advantageous ground. They are fortified towards the city, and
towards the country; being divided from the former by an esplanade, or
open place: and serving in one case to overawe the inhabitants; and in
the other, not only to hinder the approach of an enemy; but to become a
retreat to the garrison, should the town be taken.
_Coffers._ See COFFERS.
_Command_ is when a hill or rising ground overlooks any of the works of
a _fortification_, and is within reach of common shot; such a hill is
said to command that work. See COMMAND.
_Complement of the curtain_, is that part of the interior side which
forms the demi-gorge.
_Complement of the line of defence_, is a _horn-work_ with a
_crown-work_ before it. See CROWN-WORK.
_Cordon_, in fortification, is a round projection made of stone, in
a semi-circular form, whose diameter is about 1 foot, and goes quite
round the wall, and within 4 feet from the upper part.
The cordon being placed on the top of the revetement of the scarp, is
a considerable obstacle to the besiegers, when they attempt to storm a
place by applying scaling ladders to the scarp.
_Covert-way_ is a space of five or six toises broad, extending round
the counterscarp of the ditch, and covered by a parapet from six to
seven feet and a half high, having a banquette: the superior part of
this parapet forms a gentle slope towards the country, which terminates
at the distance of twenty to twenty five toises; this slope is called
the glacis.
Sometimes the covert-way is sunk 2 or 3 feet below the horizon of the
field; for, as such works are never made to discover the enemy in their
trenches, so this method of lowering the covert-way will give room for
the fire of the lower curtain (in works that have one) to scour the
esplanade; and the expence of it should be the most material objection
against it.
_Counter-forts_, in fortification, are by some called _buttresses_;
they are solids of masonry, built behind walls, and joined to them at
18 feet distance from the centre to centre, in order to strengthen
them, especially when they sustain a rampart or terrace.
_Counter-guard_, in fortification is a work placed before the bastions
to cover the opposite flanks from being seen from the covert way. It is
likewise made before the ravelins.
When counter-guards are placed before the collateral bastions, they are
esteemed of very great use, as the enemy cannot batter them without
having first secured the possession of the counter-guards. They were
first invented by Pasino, in 1579, and greatly improved by Speckle, in
1589.
_Counterscarp_, is properly the exterior talus of the ditch, or that
slope which terminates its breadth, and is the further side from the
body of the place. It is so called from being opposite to the scarp.
_Crown-work_, in fortification is a kind of work not unlike a crown: it
has 2 fronts and 2 branches. The fronts are composed of 2 half bastions
and 1 whole one: they are made before the curtain or the bastion, and
generally serve to enclose some buildings which cannot be brought
within the body of the place, or to cover the town-gates, or else
to occupy a spot of ground which might be advantageous to an enemy.
They are of such an expence, that they are rarely found in practice.
The best use this work can possibly be put to, is to cover 2 joining
curtains, when the sides of it will be parallel to the sides of the
place, and it should be fortified with the same strength, and in the
same manner.
The authors who have written on the subject, have never thought of this
useful part; and we often see 2 horn-works put in practice to cover two
curtains, where crown-work would do it much cheaper and much better.
The crown-work is adopted for the same purposes as the horn-work.
_Crowned horn-work_, is a _horn-work_ with a _crown-work_ before it.
See CROWN-WORK.
_Curtain_, in fortification, is that part of the body of the place,
which joins the flank of one bastion to that of another. The straight
curtains have always been preferred to the different designs which have
been proposed, of which some have diminished the expence, and (at the
same time) the strength of the place, others have somewhat augmented
the strength, but greatly diminished its area.
_Cuvette_, _Cunette_, in fortification, is a small ditch from 15 to
20 feet broad, made in the middle of a large dry ditch, serving as a
retrenchment to defend the same, or otherwise to let water into it,
when it can be had during a siege.
When there is a cunette, there should be a caponniere to flank it.
_Defilement_, in fortification, is the art of disposing all the works
of a fortress in such a manner, that they may be commanded by the body
of the place. It also includes the relative disposition of the works,
and the ground within cannon shot, so that the one may be discovered,
and the other not observed.
_Demi-gorge_, is half the gorge, or entrance into the bastion, not
taken directly from angle to angle, where the bastion joins the
curtain, but from the angle of the flank to the centre of the bastion,
or rather the angle the two curtains would make were they protracted to
meet in the bastion. Mr. Landmann determines it to be the line which is
formed by the prolongation of the curtain meeting the oblique radius.
_Demi-lune._ See RAVELIN.
_Descents_ in fortification, are the holes, vaults, and hollow places
made by undermining the ground.
_Descents into the ditch or fossé_, are boyaux or trenches effected by
the means of saps in the ground of the counterscarp, under the covert
way. They are covered with madriers, or hurdles, well loaded with
earth, to secure them against fire. In ditches that are full of water,
the descent is made even with the surface of the water; and then the
ditch is filled with fagots, fast bound, and covered with earth. In
dry ditches the _descent_ is carried down to the bottom; after which,
traverses are made either as lodgments for the troops, or to cover the
miner. When the ditch is full of water, the _descent_ must be made over
its surface; which is done by securing it with blinds or chandeliers,
from being enfiladed, or by directing the course of the descent from
the point of enfilade in the best way you can.
_Detached bastion._ See BASTION.
_Detached redoubt._ See REDOUBT.
_Ditch_, in fortification, is a large deep trench made round each work,
generally from 12 to 22 fathom broad, and 15 to 16 feet deep: the earth
dug out of it serves to raise the rampart and parapet. Almost every
engineer has a particular depth and breadth for ditches; some are for
narrow ones and deep, others for broad ones and shallow; and it is most
certain that ditches should be regulated according to the situation.
In regard to wet and dry ditches, almost all authors have given it in
favor of the latter; and we shall only add, that the best of all are
those which can either be filled or kept dry at pleasure.
_Wet ditches_, which have stagnant waters, are liable to great
inconveniences. They are said to be well calculated to prevent
sudden surprises and assaults; but we are convinced of the contrary,
especially during a hard frost. Some again assert, that they stop all
communication between ill-disposed persons in the garrison and the
besiegers. Every man with the least experience, must be of a different
opinion.
Wet ditches might certainly be so constructed, as to let the surface
of the water remain 12 or 15 feet above the level of the adjacent
country. In which case they would serve as large reservoirs, and not
only contribute to the defence of a fortified place, but enrich the
grounds by being occasionally let out. The additional value which the
neighboring meadows would bear from these seasonable overflowings,
might in some degree compensate for the expence of the fortification.
During a siege, these waters, with proper management, must give
considerable uneasiness to the enemy that invests the place.
To answer this double purpose, the ditch must be separated into several
large basons, which might be filled or emptied at discretion, as often
as circumstances would require.
_Dry ditches._ There are some ditches which may be filled at will; and
others which cannot, except by extraordinary means. If they should
be intended to answer the purpose of agriculture, aqueducts might be
constructed, or the waters poured in through artificial channels.
In which case the ditches would not require much depth. The glacis
might be raised in such a manner as to serve to dam in the body of
water, and to afford a second glacis from whence the besieger might be
considerably embarrassed.
_Ditches that are lined_, ditches whose counterscarp is supported, and
kept up by a stone or brick wall.
_Ditches that are not lined_, whose counterscarp is supported by earth
covered with sods. These ditches are not so secure as the former, on
account of the breadth which must be given to the talus, and by which
an enemy might easily surprise a place.
So that ditches in fortification may be briefly distinguished under
three separate heads, viz:
_Dry ditches_, which from the facility with which they may be repaired,
and their capability of containing other works proper for their
security, are in most instances preferable to any others.
_Wet ditches_ that are always full of water, and consequently must
have bridges of communication which are liable to be destroyed very
frequently during a siege.
Wet ditches are subject to many inconveniences, are ill calculated to
favor sallies, and have only the solitary advantage of preventing a
surprise.
The third sort of ditch has all the advantages of the other two kinds;
if, as we have just observed, it can be so contrived, as to admit water
occasionally into the different basons by means of aqueducts, and be
drained, as circumstances may require.
_Draw-bridge._ See BRIDGE.
_Embrasures._ See EMBRASURE.
_Envelope_, is a work of earth raised occasionally in the ditch,
sometimes like a plain parapet, at others like a small rampart with a
parapet to it. Envelopes are generally made before weak places.
_Epaulement._ See EPAULEMENT.
_Epaule_, or the shoulder of the bastion, the angle made by the union
of the face and flank.
_Escarp._ See SCARP.
_Esplanade._ See ESPLANADE.
_Exterior side of a fortification_, is the distance, or imaginary line
drawn from one point of the bastion to that of the next.
_Faces_ of the bastion. See BASTION.
_Faces_, of any work, in fortification, are those parts where the
rampart is made, which produce an angle pointing outwards.
_Face prolonged_, that part of the line of defence rasant, which is
terminated by the curtain, and the angle of the shoulder.
_Fascine._ See FASCINES.
_Fausse bray_, is a low rampart going quite round the body of the
place; its height is about 3 feet above the level ground, and its
parapet is about 3 or 4 fathom distant from that of the body of the
place. These works are made at a very great expence: their faces are
very easily enfiladed, and their flank of course is seen in reverse:
the enemy is under cover the minute he becomes master of them; and a
great quantity of shells which may be thrown into them, and must of
necessity lodge there, will go near to make a breach, or at worst to
drive every one out. Hence they are liable to do more harm than good,
and contribute no way to the defence of the place. M. Vauban only makes
them before the curtains, and as such calls them tenailles.
_Flanks_, in fortification, are, generally speaking, any parts of a
work, which defend another work along the outsides of its parapets.
_Flank of the bastion_, is the part between the face and the curtain;
the flank of one bastion serves to defend the ditch before the curtain
and face of the opposite bastion.
_Flanking_, is the same thing in fortification, as defending.
_Retired flanks_, are those made behind the line which joins the
extremity of the face and the curtain, towards the capital of the
bastion.
_Concave flanks_, are those which are made in the arc of a circle.
_Direct, or grazing flank_, is that which is perpendicular to the
opposite face produced, and oblique or fichant, when it makes an acute
angle with that face.
_Second flank._ When the face of a bastion produced does not meet the
curtain at its extremity, but in some other point, then the part of the
curtain between that point and the flank, is called the second flank.
The modern engineers have rejected this method of fortifying. See FLANK.
_Flêche_, a work of two faces, often constructed before the glacis of
a fortified place, when threatened with a siege, in order to keep the
enemy as long at a distance as possible.
_Gallery_, is a passage made under ground, leading to the mines:
galleries are from 4¹⁄₂ to 5 feet high, and about 3¹⁄₂ or 4 feet broad;
supported at top by wooden frames, with boards over them.
_Genouilliere_, the undermost part of the rampart of a battery, or that
part from the platform to the sole of the embrasures.
_Glacis_, is the part beyond the covert way, to which it serves as
a parapet, and terminates towards the field in an easy slope at any
required number of fathoms distance. Sometimes double glacis are made
parallel to the esplanade, and at the distance of 16, or 20 fathoms.
Some authors think these works never answer the expence; however, M.
Vauban was so sensible of their utility, that he never failed to make
them when the ground was convenient for it; because, when such works
are defended by a skilful governor, they will afford the means of being
valiantly supported.
_Gorge_, of a bastion, is the interval between the extremity of one
flank and that of the other.
_Gorge_, of any work, is that part next to the body of the place, where
there is no rampart or parapet; that is, at the counterscarp of the
ditch.
_Half-moon._ (_Fr._ _Demi-Lune_.) Is an out-work that has two faces
which form a saliant angle, the gorge of which resembles a crescent.
It owes its original invention to the Dutch, who use it to cover the
points of their bastions. This kind of fortification, is, however,
defective, because it is weak on its flanks. Half-moons are now called
ravelins; which species of work is constructed in front of the
curtain. See RAVELINS.
_Gorge of a half moon_, the distance between the two flanks, taken on
the right of the counterscarp.
_Head of a work_, its front next the enemy, and farthest from the place.
_Horn-work_, is composed of a front and 2 branches: the front is made
into 2 half bastions and a curtain: this work is of the nature of a
crown-work, only smaller, and serves for the same purposes. The use
of horn-works in general is to take possession of some rising ground
advanced from the fortification; the distance of which determine that
of the horn-work; and they are placed either before the curtain, or
before the bastions, according to circumstances.
_Horse-shoe_, is a small round or oval work, with a parapet, generally
made in a ditch, or in a marsh.
_Insult._ A work is said to be _insulted_, when it is attacked suddenly
and openly.
_Interior side of a fortification_, an imaginary line drawn from the
centre of one bastion to that of the next, or rather the curtain
produced till they meet.
_Lodgment_, See SIEGE.
_Loop-holes_, are either square, or oblong holes, made in the wall, to
fire through with musquets. They are generally 8 or 9 inches long, 6 or
7 inches wide within, and 2 or 3 feet without; so that every man may
fire from them direct in front, or oblique to right or left, according
to circumstances.
_Lunettes_ in fortification, are works made on both sides of a ravelin:
one of their faces is perpendicular to half or ²⁄₃ds of the faces of
the ravelin, and the other nearly so to those of the bastion.
There are likewise lunettes, whose faces are drawn perpendicular to
those of the ravelin, within ¹⁄₃ part from the saliant angle; whose
semi-gorges are only 20 fathoms.
These kind of works make a good defence, and are of no great expence;
for as they are so near the ravelin, the communication with it is very
easy, and one cannot well be maintained till they are all three taken.
_Lunettes_, are also works made beyond the second ditch, opposite
to the places of arms: they differ from the ravelins only in their
situation.
_Lunettons_, are small lunettes.
_Merlon_, is that part of the breast-work of a battery which is between
the embrasures.
_Orillon_, is a part of the bastion near the shoulder, which serves
to cover the retired flank from being seen obliquely: it is sometimes
faced with stone, on the shoulder of a casemated bastion, to cover the
cannon of the retired flank, and hinder them from being dismounted by
the enemy’s cannon.
Of all the works in a fortification, there is none more capable
of defending the passage of the ditch, and to destroy the miner,
wheresoever he enters himself, than the orillon. Experience in the last
war has shewn us of what vast advantage it is to have 2 or 3 reserve
pieces of cannon, which command the ditch, and the face of the opposite
bastion, in such a manner as to destroy the attempts of the miners, and
see the breach in reverse. Hence the great advantages of a double flank
thus concealed weigh so very much with us, and convince us so entirely
of their usefulness, that we affirm no place to be well fortified
without the orillon, and that the straight flank is fit for nothing but
field works.
The orillon is as old as the bastion, and was first made use of about
the year 1480; and we find it frequently mentioned in the works of
Pasino and Speckle, first published in 1579.
_Out-works._ See WORKS.
_Palisades_, in fortification, are a kind of stakes made of strong
spars about 9 feet long, fixed 3 deep in the ground, in rows about 6
inches asunder: they are placed in the covert-way, at 3 feet from,
and parallel to the parapet of the glacis, to secure it from being
surprised.
_Parapet_, in fortification, is a part of the rampart of a work, 18 to
20 feet broad, and raised 6 or 7 feet above the rest of the rampart: it
serves to cover the troops placed there to defend the work against the
fire of the enemy.
_Parallels._ See SIEGE.
_Port-cullice_, in fortification, is a falling gate or door, like a
harrow, hung over the gates of fortified places, and let down to keep
out the enemy.
_Place_ is the term commonly used in fortification instead of a
fortified town.
_Regular place_, one whose angles, sides, bastion, and other parts are
equal, &c.
_Irregular place_, one whose sides and angles are unequal, &c.
_Place of arms_, in fortification, is a part of the covert-way,
opposite to the re-entering angle of the counterscarp, projecting
outward in an angle. It is generally 20 fathoms from the re-entering
angle of the ditch on both sides, and the faces are found by describing
a radius of 25 fathoms.
_Places of arms._ See SIEGE.
_Pits_, or _ponds_, in fortification, are little holes dug between
the higher and lower curtains, to hold water, in order to prevent the
passing from the tenailles to the flanks.
_Profiles_, in fortification, are a representation of the vertical
sections of a work; and serve to shew those dimensions which cannot
be described in plans, and are yet necessary in the building of a
fortification; they may be very well executed and constructed upon a
scale of 30 feet to an inch. By a profile are expressed the several
heights, widths, and thicknesses, such as they would appear were
the works cut down perpendicularly from the top to the bottom. See
PROFILES.
_Rampart_, is an elevation of earth raised along the faces of any
work, 10 or 15 feet high, to cover the inner part of that work against
the fire of an enemy: its breadth differs according to the several
systems upon which it may be constructed: for De Ville makes them 12¹⁄₂
fathoms, M. Vauban 6, and others 10 fathoms.
_Rams-horns_, in fortification, are a kind of low work made in the
ditch, of a circular arc; they were first invented by Mr. Belidor, and
serve instead of tenailles.
_Ravelin_, in fortification, is a work placed before the curtain to
cover it, and prevent the flanks from being discovered sideways, it
consists of 2 faces meeting in an outward angle. Some ravelins are
counter-guarded, which renders them as serviceable as either the
cunettes, or tenaillons.
_Gorge of the ravelin_, is the distance between the two sides or faces
towards the place.
_Gorges_, of all other outworks, are the intervals or spaces which lie
between their several wings or sides towards the main ditch. See GORGES.
_Redans_, in fortification, are a sort of indented works, consisting
of lines or facings that form sallying or re-entering angles, flanking
one another, and are generally used on the sides of a river running
through a garrisoned town. They were used before bastions. Sometimes
the parapet of the covert-way is carried on in this manner.
_Redoubt_, is a kind of work placed beyond the glacis, and is of
various forms. Its parapet, not being intended to resist cannon, is
only 8 or 9 feet thick, with 2 or 3 banquettes. The length of the sides
may be from 10 to 20 fathoms.
_Redoubt_, is also the name of a small work, made sometimes in a
bastion, and sometimes in a ravelin, of the same form.
_Redoubt_, is likewise a square work without any bastions, placed at
some distance from a fortification, to guard a pass or to prevent an
enemy from approaching that way.
_Detached-redoubt_, is a kind of work much like a ravelin, with flanks
placed beyond the glacis: it is made to occupy some spot of ground
which might be advantageous to the besiegers; likewise to oblige the
enemy to open their trenches farther off than they would otherwise do.
Their distance from the covert-way should not exceed 120 toises, that
it may be defended by musquet shot from thence.
_Redouts-en-cremaillere_, so called from their similitude to a saw;
the inside line of the parapet being broken in such a manner, as to
resemble the teeth of a saw; whereby this advantage is gained, that a
greater fire can be brought to bear upon the defile, than if only a
simple face was opposed to it, and consequently the passage is rendered
more difficult.
_Retrenchment_, in fortification, is any work raised to cover a post,
and fortify it against an enemy, such as fascines loaded with earth,
gabions, sand-bags, &c.
_Revetement_, in fortification, is a strong wall built on the outside
of the rampart and parapet, to support the earth, and prevent its
rolling into the ditch. When the revetement of a rampart goes quite
up to the top, 4 feet of the upper part is a vertical wall of 3 feet
thick, with a square stone at the top of it, projecting about 5 or 6
inches, and a circular one below, or where the slope begins, of 8 or
10 inches diameter. They go quite round the rampart, and the circular
projection is called the _cordon_.
_Rideau_, in fortification, is a small elevation of earth, extending
lengthways on a plane, and serving to cover a camp, or to give an
advantage to a post. They are also convenient for the besiegers of a
place, as they serve to secure the workmen in their approaches to the
foot of a fortress.
_Rideau_ is also used sometimes for a trench, the earth of which is
thrown up on its sides, to serve as a parapet for covering the men.
_Sap._ See SIEGE.
_Scarp_, is, properly speaking, any thing high and steep, and is used
in _fortification_ to express the outside of the rampart of any work
next to the ditch.
_Sillon_, in fortification, a work raised in the middle of a ditch to
defend it when too broad. This work has no particular construction, but
as it runs, forms little bastions, half moons, and redans, which are
lower than the rampart of the place, but higher than the covert way. It
is not much used at present.
_Sillon_ means literally a furrow. In fortification, it is a work
raised.
_Swallow’s-tail_, a kind of out-work, only differing from a single
tenaille, in that its sides are not parallel as those of the tenaille,
but narrower towards the town than towards the country.
_Talus_ signifies a slope made either on the outside or inside of
any work, to prevent the earth’s rolling down; it is of various
denominations, viz.
_Talus of the banquette_ is that gentle slope from the top of the
banquette to the horizontal line.
_Interior talus of the parapet_, the slope from the top of the parapet
to the banquette.
_Talus of the top of the parapet_, that slope which lessens the height
of the parapet towards the berm, by which means the troops firing from
the banquette can defend the covert way.
_Exterior talus of the parapet_, the slope of the parapet from the top
to the berm.
_Interior talus of the ditch_, the slope from the top of the ditch to
the bottom, within.
_Tenailles_ are low works made in the ditch before the curtains; of
which there are three sorts. The first are the faces of the bastion
produced till they meet, but much lower; the second have faces,
flanks, and a curtain; and the third have only faces and flanks.
Their height is about 2 or 3 feet higher than the level ground of the
ravelin. Their use is to defend the bottom of the ditch by a grazing
fire, as likewise the level ground of the ravelin, and especially the
ditch before the redoubt within the ravelin, which cannot be defended
from any other quarter so well as from them.
_Tenaillons_ are works made on each side of the ravelin, much like the
lunettes; with this difference, that one of the faces in a tenaillon
is in the direction of the ravelin; whereas that of the lunette is
perpendicular to it.
_Terre-pleine_, in fortification, the horizontal superficies of the
rampart, between the interior talus and the banquette. It is on the
_terre pleine_ that the garrison pass and repass; it is also the
passage of the rounds.
_Tower bastions_ are small towers made in the form of bastions; first
invented by M. Vauban, and used in his second and third method; with
rooms or cellars underneath, to place men and artillery in them. As
these towers are almost a solid piece of masonry, they must be attended
with great expence, though their resistance can be but little; for it
has been found by experience, that the casemates are but of little use,
because as soon as they have fired once or twice, the smoke will oblige
the defenders to leave them, notwithstanding the smoke holes: hence it
may be concluded, that the strength of these tower bastions does by
no means answer their expences; and that, if small bastions were made
instead of them, without casemates, they would be much better, and less
expensive.
_Traditore_, in fortification, signifies the concealed or hidden guns
in a fortification, behind the reverse of the orillon.
_Traverse_, in fortification, is a parapet made across the covert
way, opposite to the saliant angles of the works, and near the places
of arms, to prevent enfilades; they are 18 or 20 feet thick, and as
high as the ridge of the glacis. There are also traverses made in the
caponniers, but then they are called _tambours_.
_Traverses_ are likewise made within other works, when there are any
hills or rising grounds from whence the interior parts of these works
may be observed. Traverses that are made to cover the entrances of
redoubts in the field, need not be above 8 or 10 feet thick.
_Trous-de-loup_, or wolf holes, round holes made about 5 or 6 feet
deep, with a stake in the middle: they are generally dug round a field
redoubt, to obstruct the enemy’s approach; circular at top, and about
4¹⁄₂ feet diameter; pointed at the bottom like an inverted cone. Two or
three rows of them are dug chequerwise, about 6 paces from the edge of
the ditch, viz. two rows of holes exactly opposite to each other, and
a third row in the middle, covering the intervals.
_Wicket_, a small door in the gate of a fortified place, at which a man
on foot may go in, and which may be opened though the gate itself be
kept shut.
_Works._ All the fortifications about a place, are called the _works_
of a place.
_Out-works._ All detached _works_ in a fortification are so called. See
_Dehors_.
_Zig-Zag._ See SIEGE.
_The principal maxims of fortification_, are these, viz. 1. That every
part of the works be seen and defended by other parts, so that an enemy
cannot lodge any where without being exposed to the fire of the place.
2. A fortress should command all places round it: and therefore all the
out works should be lower than the body of the place.
3. The works farthest from the centre should always be open to those
that are nearer.
4. The defence of every part should always be within the reach of
musquet shot, that is, from 120 to 150 fathoms, so as to be defended
both by ordnance and small fire arms; for if it be only defended by
cannon, the enemy may dismount them by the superiority of their’s,
and then the defence will be destroyed at once; whereas, if a work is
likewise defended by small arms, if the one be destroyed, the other
will still subsist.
5. All the defences should be as nearly direct as possible; for it
has been found by experience, that the soldiers are too apt to fire
directly before them, without troubling themselves whether they do
execution or not.
6. A fortification should be equally strong on all sides; otherwise the
enemy will attack it in the weakest part, whereby its strength will
become useless.
7. The more acute the angle at the centre is, the stronger will be the
place.
8. In great places, dry ditches are preferable to those filled with
water, because sallies, retreats, succors, &c. are necessary; but, in
small fortresses, wet ditches, that can be drained, are the best, as
standing in need of no sallies.
_Field_ FORTIFICATION is the art of constructing all kinds of temporary
works in the field, such as redoubts, field forts, star forts,
triangular and square forts, heads of bridges, and various sorts of
lines, &c. An army intrenched, or fortified in the field, produces, in
many respects, the same effect as a fortress; for it covers a country,
supplies the want of numbers, stops a superior enemy, or at least
obliges him to engage at a disadvantage.
The knowlege of a field engineer being founded on the principles of
_fortification_, it must be allowed, that the art of fortifying is as
necessary to an army in the field, as in fortified places; and though
the maxims are nearly the same in both, yet the manner of applying and
executing them with judgment, is very different.
A project of fortification is commonly the result of much reflexion;
but in the field it is quite otherwise: no regard is to be had to the
solidity of the works; every thing must be determined on the spot; the
works are to be traced out directly, and regulated by the time and
number of workmen, depending on no other materials than what are at
hand, and having no other tools than the spade, shovel, pick-axe, and
hatchet. It is therefore in the field, more than any where else that an
engineer should be ready, and know how to seize all advantages at first
sight, to be fertile in expedients, inexhaustible in inventions and
indefatigably active.
_Quantity and quality of the materials which are required in the
construction of field-fortification._
1. Every common fascine made use of in the construction of field works
or fortifications, should be 10 feet long and 1 foot thick. A fascine
is raised by means of 6 pickets, which are driven obliquely into the
earth, so that 2 together form the shape of a cross. These pickets are
tied with willows, or birch twigs. It is upon supporters or tressels
of this kind, that fascines are made, which are properly fagots bound
together with rods, at intervals of 1 foot each in breadth. Six men
are required to complete each fascine; viz. 2 to cut the branches,
2 to gather them up, and 2 to bind the fascines. Six men may with
great ease, make 12 fascines in an hour. The smaller sort of willows,
or birch twigs, are best calculated for this work. The fascines are
fastened to the parapet, which would otherwise crumble and fall down. A
redoubt, constructed _en crémaillere_, must have fascines 8 feet long.
2. There must be 5 pickets for each fascine, and each picket must be 3
or 4 feet long, an inch and a half thick, and sharp at one end; they
serve to fasten the fascines to the parapet.
3. When you cannot procure wood for the fascines, the parapet must be
covered or clothed with pieces of turf, 4 inches thick, and a foot and
a half square; these are fastened to the parapet with 4 small pickets 8
inches long.
4. The fraises, or pointed stakes, must be 8 feet long, 5 inches thick,
and be sharp at the top. The beams upon which they are laid, must be 12
feet long and 6 inches thick. These beams are spread horizontally along
the parapet, and fraises are fixed to them, with nails 7 inches long;
after which the beams are covered with earth. Two men will make 12
fraises in an hour.
5. The palisades, by which the ditch or fossé of a work is fortified,
must be 9 or 10 feet long, and 6 inches thick; they must, likewise, be
sharpened at the end. If you cannot procure them of these dimensions,
you must use smaller ones; in which case you will have the precaution
to mix a few large stakes.
6. The pickets, which are fixed in _trous-de-loup_ or wolf-holes, must
be 6 feet long, 4 inches thick, and sharp at the top.
7. The beams belonging to a _cheval-de-frize_ must be 12 feet long, and
6 inches broad. The spokes which are laid across, must be 7 feet long,
4 inches thick, and placed at the distance of 6 inches from each other.
These _chevaux-de-frizes_ are made use of to block up the entrances
into redoubts, to close passages or gates, and sometimes they serve to
obstruct the fossé.
8. Gabions are constructed of various sizes. Those which are intended
for field works, must be 3 or 4 feet high, and contain 2 or 3 feet in
diameter. These gabions are made by means of long stakes, 3 or 4 feet
long, which are placed so as to form a circle, which is 2 or 3 feet in
diameter. The pickets must be covered and bound in the same manner as
hurdles are. Gabions are chiefly of use in embrasures. They are fixed
close to each other, and are afterwards filled with earth. There are
also gabions of one foot, with 12 inches diameter at the top, and 9
at the bottom. The bank of the parapet is lined with gabions of this
construction, behind which troops may be stationed, so as to fire
under cover through the intervals. A quantity of large wooden mallets,
rammers, hatchets, axes, and grappling irons, is required for this work.
_Names of all works used in field_ FORTIFICATION.
_Bridge heads_, or _têtes de pont_, are made of various figures and
sizes, sometimes like a redan or ravelin, with or without flanks,
sometimes like a horn or crown work, according to the situation of the
ground, or to the importance of its defence. Their construction depends
on various circumstances; for, should the river be so narrow, that the
work may be flanked from the other side, a single redan is sufficient;
but when the river is so broad, that the saliant angle cannot be well
defended across the river, flanks must be added to the redan; but
should a river be 100 toises, or more across, half a square may be
made, whose diagonal is the river side; and where the river is from
3 to 500 toises broad, a horn, or crown-work should be made. All the
different sorts of _heads of bridges_, are to be esteemed as good works
against a sudden onset only, and their use is almost momentary, as they
sometimes serve but for a few days only, and at most during a campaign.
_Dams_ are generally made of earth, but sometimes of other materials,
as occasion may require: their use is to confine water.
_Flêche_ a work consisting of two faces, terminating in a saliant
angle of 90°, the faces are generally 75, or 80 feet long, the parapet
6 feet thick, and the ditch 7 feet broad.
_Forts_, in field fortification, are of various sorts, viz.
_Field forts_ may be divided into two kinds: the one defending itself
on all sides, as being entirely surrounded; the other, bordering on
a river, &c. remain open at the gorge. They have the advantage of
redoubts, in being flanked, and the disadvantage in containing less
within, in proportion to their extent.
_Star forts_ are so called, because they resemble that figure. They
were commonly made of 4 angles, sometimes of 5, and very rarely of 6;
but we find them now made of 7 and 8 angles. Let their figure however,
be what it will, their angles should be equal; if formed of equilateral
triangles, so much the better; for then the flanking angle being 120°,
the fires cross better and nearer; and as the 2 flanks are on the same
line, the space not defended before the saliant angle, is reduced to a
parallelogram, whose smallest side is equal to the gorge.
_Bastioned forts_ differ in nothing from that of places, except that
the figure is less, and the attack supposed of another kind. It is
reckoned sufficient to flank them with half bastions.
_Triangular forts._ As these kind of _forts_ contain less in proportion
than any other, they are consequently used as seldom as possible.
_Square forts_ are in many respects preferable to the triangular ones.
See FORT.
_Lines_, in field fortification, are of several sorts, viz. the front
of a fortification, or any other field work, which with regard to the
defence, is a collection of lines, contrived so as reciprocally to
flank each other.
_Lines of intrenchment_ are made to cover an army; or a place
indifferently fortified, and which sometimes contains the principal
magazine of an army; or to cover a considerable extent of ground, to
prevent an enemy from entering into the country to raise contributions,
&c.
_Lines_, of whatever form or shape, should be every where equally
strong, and alike guarded.
_Maxims._ 1st. To inclose with the work as much ground as possible,
having regard to circumstances. This attention chiefly concerns
redoubts and small works.
2d. If there are several works near each other, their lines of defence
should be so directed, as to defend each other without being annoyed by
their own fire.
3d. Not to depend on the defence of small arms, but where they can fire
at right angles; as they too generally fire without aim, and directly
before them.
4th. Not to have recourse to the 2d flank or fire of the curtain, but
when there is an absolute necessity.
5th. That the flanking angle be always a right one, or at least obtuse,
but never to exceed 100°, if possible, there being no fear here, as in
a fortification, of the flank being too much exposed. Besides, it is
not necessary to graze the faces, or even to fire obliquely on them;
since there is no danger of being exposed to the defence of a breach,
or lodgment of the miners. The only thing to apprehend, is a sudden
attack.
6th. That the flanking parts be sufficiently extended, so that the
interior of their parapets at least may rake the whole breadth of the
opposite ditch.
7th. Never to make an advanced ditch in dry ground, unless it can be
enfiladed throughout, and under a proper angle be defended by the work
which it covers, or surrounds.
8th. Not to allow more than from 60 to 80 toises for the lines of
defence, when they proceed from two flanks separated by two branches,
forming a saliant angle, or when not made to cross, though produced.
9th. That the parts most extended, and consequently the weakest in
themselves, be as much defended as possible, and have at least the fire
of two flanks, besides their own direct fire.
_Redans_ are a sort of indented works, consisting of lines and faces,
that form saliant and re-entering angles, flanking one another. Lines
are often constructed with redans: their saliant angles are generally
from 50 to 70°.
_Indented redans_ are when the two faces are indented, in that case the
faces of each indented angle is 8¹⁄₂ feet only.
_Tambour_, a kind of work formed of palisades, 10 feet long, and 6
inches thick, planted close together, and driven 2 or 3 feet into the
ground; so that when finished it has the appearance of a square redoubt
cut in two. Loop-holes are made 6 feet from the ground, and 3 feet
asunder, for the soldiers to fire through, who are placed on scaffolds
2 feet high. They have often been used by the French with great
advantage.
_Têtes-de-pont._ See _Bridge-heads_.
_Trous-de-loup_ are holes dug in the ground, circular at top, about
4¹⁄₂ feet diameter, and 6 feet deep, pointed at bottom, like an
inverted cone, or sugar loaf. A stake six feet long is fixed in their
centre, driven 2 feet into the ground, and made sharp at top. Two or
three rows of them are dug chequerwise, about 6 paces from the ditch of
a field-work. They prevent the approach of horse, &c.
PERPENDICULAR FORTIFICATION.
The principles of Vauban for direct or horizontal works, are the most
perfect of all others: indeed all the masters of the art in modern
times, who have introduced any thing new, allow that their works
are only improvements of Vauban. The writings of Cormontagne are the
most approved of the late writers on military defence. The principles
of elevated works to cover naval roads and harbors, is among the
improvements on Vauban; the works at Cherbourg, in France, and at fort
Columbus, New York harbour, are very happy examples of the power of
such works, as well as of the talents of the Engineers who erected
them. Those at New York were by Col. Williams of the United States
engineer corps.
_Subterraneous_ FORTIFICATION.
These consist of the different galleries and branches which lead
to mines, to the chambers belonging to them, or to fougasses, and
which are required whenever it is found necessary to explode for the
purposes of attack or defence. A subterraneous fortification may be
of a permanent or temporary construction, offensive or defensive
nature. Whenever this sort of work is adopted to strengthen and secure
a fortified place, it is generally built of stone or brick, and made
sufficiently solid to last a long time; it is then called permanent
and defensive. Any place which is put in a state to withstand the
subterraneous attacks of a besieging enemy, is said to be countermined.
When the besieger wishes to make an impression on a fortification of
this sort, he must first construct galleries which he covers with
wood, &c. He then practices offensive and temporary fortifications
of the subterraneous sort. These works are well calculated to aid
him in securing a lodgment for his subterraneous artillery, and in
establishing chambers, fougasses, &c.
With respect to fortification in general, different authors recommend
different methods; but the principal are those of Pagan, Blondel,
Vauban, Coehorn, Belidor, Scheiter, and Muller.
It must, however, be constantly recollected by every engineer, that his
views are not to be confined to the mere art of fortification. He ought
further to know the use which different generals, in different periods,
have made of natural strength and position; without an attention of
this sort, he will fall very short of that extensive knowlege, which
every military man, who aims at military fame, must be ambitious of
acquiring. Chains of mountains, and volumes of water, together with
the influence which different climates have upon the latter element,
should always constitute a part of the natural system that ought to
form an essential portion of his application. Hydrography will likewise
assist him in this pursuit. To enlarge upon this important branch of
geography, and to point out the great means which it affords of natural
defence and offence in fortification, would be to exceed the limits
of our present undertaking. We shall, therefore, refer our military
readers to Belair’s _Elemens de Fortification_, and content ourselves
with submitting a short account of the different authors who have
either given original systems, or have greatly improved those that were
already known. Independent of whom, may be named the following writers,
who have likewise contributed to the general knowlege of fortification,
viz. Errard, Deville, Belidor, D’Alembert, Cormontagne, Folard,
Clairac, Muller, Robins, LeBlond, Didier, Marshal Saxe, Cugnot, Tielke,
Landsberghen, Trincano, Fallios, Rosard, Belair, &c.
FORTIFICATION, according to the method of Pagan, consists in three
different sorts, viz. the great, the mean, and little, whose principal
dimensions are contained in the following
TABLE.
+-----------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
| The great FORTIFICATION. | The mean. | The little. |
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
| | for |for all| for |for all| for |for all|
| |squares| other |squares| other |squares| other |
| | | poly- | | poly- | | poly- |
| | | gons | | gons | | gons |
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|Exterior side | 200 | 200 | 180 | 180 | 160 | 160 |
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|The perpendicular | ?7 | 30 | 24 | 30 | 21 | 3? |
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|The face | 60 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 45 | 50 |
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|The flank | 22 | 24 2| 19 1| 24 | 18 3| 23 2|
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|The curtain | 73 2| 70 5| 63 4| 60 4| 63 5| 50 4|
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
|The line of defence| 141 4| 141 2| 126 1| 126 5| 115 5| 112 3|
+-------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+
Blondel fortifies within the given polygon: he establishes two sorts
of fortification; the great one, whose exterior side is 200 toises,
and the lesser one 170; because he will not have the line of defence
exceed 140 toises, which is the greatest musquet shot, nor less than
120 toises, not to increase the number of bastions. He begins by the
diminishing angle, which may be found by taking 90 degrees from the
angle of the polygon, and by adding 15 degrees to the third of the
remainder.
Vauban’s method is divided into little, mean, and great: the little is
chiefly used in the construction of citadels; the mean, in that of all
sorts of towns; and the great, in particular cases only.
TABLE.
+-----------------------+--------------------------++
| | Forts. ||
+-----------------------+---+---+------+---+---+---++
|Side of Polygon | 80| 90|100 |110|120|130||
+-----------------------+---+---+------+---+---+---++
|Length of perpendicular| 10| 11| 12¹⁄₂| 14| 15| 16||
+-----------------------+---+---+------+---+---+---++
|Faces of Bastions | 22| 25| 28 | 30| 33| 35||
+-----------------------+---+---+------+---+---+---++
|Capital of Ravelins | 25| 28| 30 | 35| 38| 40||
+-----------------------+---+---+------+---+---+---++
+-----------------------++---------------++-------+-------+
| || Little. || Mean. | Great.|
+-----------------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+
|Side of Polygon ||140|150|160|170||180|190|200|260|
+-----------------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+
|Length of perpendicular|| 20| 21| 23| 25|| 30| 31| 25| 22|
+-----------------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+
|Faces of Bastions || 40| 42| 45| 47|| 50| 53| 55| 60|
+-----------------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+
|Capital of Ravelins || 45| 50| 50| 52|| 55| 55| 60| 50|
+-----------------------++---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+
In the first horizontal row are the numbers expressing the lengths of
the exterior sides from 80 to 260.
In the second, the perpendiculars answering to these sides.
In the third, the lengths of the faces of the bastions; and in the
fourth, the lengths of the capitals of the ravelins.
Belidor’s method is divided also into little, mean, and great: and in
all three the exterior side is 200 toises; the perpendicular of the
little is 50, that of the mean 55, and the great 40: the faces of the
first 70, the second 70, and the third 55 toises.
Scheiter’s method is divided into the great, mean, and small sort. The
exterior side of the polygon for the great sort is 200 toises, the mean
sort 180, and the small 160. The line of defence in the first is 140
toises, the second 130, and the third 120. This line is always rasant.
All the other lines are fixed at the same length for all polygons,
whose structure chiefly depends upon the knowlege of the exterior
side, of the capital, or of the flanked angle, the rest being easily
finished.--See the TABLE.
TABLE _of capitals and flanked Angles_.
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| Polygons. | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII|
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|The flanked angles in the | deg. | | | | |
|3 sorts of fortification. | 64 | 76 | 84 | 90 | 95 |
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| |toises| | | | |
|Capital for the great sort.| 46 | 49 | 51 | 52 | 53 |
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Capital for the mean sort. | 42 |44¹⁄₂|46¹⁄₂|48¹⁄₂| 50 |
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Capital for the small sort.| 39 |41¹⁄₂|42¹⁄₂| 45 | 46 |
+---------------------------+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| Polygons. | IX | X | XI | XII |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|The flanked angles in the | | | | |
|3 sorts of fortification. | 97 | 99 | 101 | 103 |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| | | | | |
|Capital for the great sort.|54¹⁄₂|56¹⁄₂| 58 | 59 |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Capital for the mean sort. | 51 |52¹⁄₂| 54 | 54 |
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Capital for the small sort.|47¹⁄₂|48¹⁄₂| 50 |50¹⁄₂|
+---------------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+
Errard, of Bois le-Duc, who was employed by Henry IV. and was the first
that laid down rules in France respecting the best method of fortifying
a place so as to cover its flank, constructs that flank perpendicular
to the face of the bastion; but by endeavoring to cover it effectually,
he makes the gorges too exiguous, the embrasures too oblique, and
leaves the ditch almost defenceless.
The Chevalier de Ville, who succeeded Errard, draws the flank line
perpendicular to the curtain; but here again the embrasures are too
oblique, especially in the polygons, and the ditch is necessarily
ill guarded. This engineer’s method of fortifying is stiled by most
authors, the _French method_. His favorite maxim is to make the flank
angle straight, and the flank equal to the demigorge.
Count Pagan makes the flank perpendicular to the line of defence, which
method seems to agree perfectly with this maxim, because by that means
the flank so raised covers as much as possible the face of the opposite
bastion; but notwithstanding this apparent advantage the flank becomes
too small and is too much exposed to the enemy’s batteries. This
engineer acquired great reputation during the several sieges which he
assisted in conducting under Louis XIII. His system has been improved
upon by _Alain Marrison Mallet_, and his construction in fortification
is to this day esteemed the most perfect. It differs very little from
Marshal Vauban’s first system. Count Pagan has pointed out the method
of building casemates in a manner peculiar to himself.
Marshal Vauban has judiciously steered between these different methods.
He has drawn his flank in such a manner, that it does not stand too
much exposed, nor does its collateral line of defence extend too far
from the direct line of defence. He has effected this by lengthening
out his flank and giving it a circular form.
It cannot be disputed but that large and extensive flanks and
demi-gorges are superior to narrow and confined ones. The more
capacious the flank is, the better calculated will it prove for the
disposition of a formidable train of artillery. From this conviction
many writers in their proposed systems of fortification, have added a
second flank, in order to augment the line of defence; but they did
not foresee, that this second flank is not only incapable of covering
the face of the opposed bastion, except in a very oblique and insecure
direction, but that the right flank, or the flank of the bastion,
is thereby more exposed to the enemy’s batteries, which, it must be
acknowleged, is a great fault.
The prevailing system of the present day is to make the flanks of the
bastion as wide as possible, without having recourse to a second flank,
unless it be absolutely necessary. Those gorges are likewise best which
are most capacious, because they afford space and ground in the bastion
for the construction of intrenchments within, should the enemy have
effected a practicable breach.
All parts of a fortification which stand exposed to the immediate
attacks of a besieging enemy, must be strong enough to bear the boldest
attempts, and the most vigorous impressions. This is a self-evident
maxim, because it must be manifest to the most common understanding,
that works are erected round a place for the specific purpose of
preventing an enemy from getting possession of it. It consequently
follows, that flanked angles are extremely defective when they are too
acute, since their points may be easily flanked and destroyed by the
besieger’s cannon.
The Dutch construct at sixty degrees; but according to Vauban’s method,
no work should be under seventy-five degrees, unless circumstances and
situation should particularly require it.
A place to be in a state of defence, should be equally strong in all
its relative directions; for the enemy would of course make the weak
part his object of attack, and finally succeed in getting possession
of the town. The body of the place must have a command towards the
country, and no quarter in the outward vicinity of it must overlook, or
command either the place itself, or its outworks. Those works which are
nearest to the centre of the place, must have a greater elevation than
the more distant ones.
The first regular system of fortification which appeared and was
adopted in France, owed its origin to Errard of Bois-le-Duc, whom we
have just mentioned. His method, however, has been uniformly rejected
by able engineers; and if we may give credit to the report of Ozanan,
Errard himself never carried his own system into practice.
Next to Errard of Bois-le-Duc, came the Chevalier Antoine de Ville,
who was engineer under Louis XIII. and published an excellent treatise
upon fortification. His method is stiled by most authors, the _French
method_. Others call it the _Compound System_, or _Systeme à trait
Composé_, because it united the Italian and Spanish methods. He was,
indeed, by no means an advocate for new systems; for he generally
observed, that any new method, or invention was extremely easy, so long
as it was confined to the mere alteration of something in the measure,
or in the disposition of those parts of fortification which have been
discussed by other authors.
The Count de Pagan followed after, and had the good fortune to propose
a system which entirely superseded the other two. We have already
mentioned the principal feature, in his method.
Marshal Vauban, whose reputation rose upon the manifest superiority
which his skill gave him over all others that had written upon
fortification, likewise proposed three methods, with considerable
improvements: _viz._ The _great_, the _mean_, and the _little_.
The great method, according to Vauban, contains on its exterior side
from 200 to 230, or 240 toises. This extent is not uniformly the same
throughout all the sides of a place, but is confined to that side which
lies along the banks of a river, where he uniformly erects considerable
outworks.
Vauban made use of his second method in fortifying Béfort and Landau.
On account of the bad local situation of Béfort, and the impossibility
of fortifying it with common bastions that would not be exposed to
an enfilade in almost every direction, in spite of the traverses or
_rechutes_ which might be made: he invented arched bastions that
were bomb proof, which he called _tours bastionnées_, or _towers
with bastions_. These arched bastions are covered by counter-guards,
the height of whose parapet almost equals the elevation of the
towers themselves. Although strictly speaking, both these places are
irregularly fortified, nevertheless a method of regular defence may be
established from the construction of their works.
Vauban’s third system grows out of the second, and for that reason
it is called _ordre renforcé_, the _reinforced order or method_. It
was adopted in the fortifications of New Brisac. Vauban left nothing
untried to bring this system to perfection, and he had the ingenuity to
execute his plan at a less expence, than it would otherwise have been
effected, by means of half revetements which he threw up in the outward
works called the dehors.
This system, however, (ingenious and unrivalled as it certainly is,)
has not escaped the censure of some writers. It must nevertheless be
acknowleged, that their remarks are either founded in envy, or that
they proceed from ignorance.
There are other systems of fortification which have been proposed by
the writers of other countries besides France. We shall give a brief
detail of them, and leave the inquisitive to go more at length into the
nature of their methods, by referring them to the different treatises.
The Italians have furnished several authors who have written variously
on the subject of fortification. The method proposed by Sardis has been
generally esteemed the best.
The Spaniards in their methods of fortifying, never adopt that which
adds a second flank. The obtuse flanked angle is not looked upon by
their best engineers as a defective system in fortification.
Both the Italians and the Spaniards speak frequently of the _ordre
renforcé_, which was originally invented to lessen the number of
bastions in a great town or fortified place, and to render consequently
the line of defence equal to the range of musquetry.
The Chevalier St. Julien, a very able engineer, has published a method,
by which, he asserts, that works may be constructed not only at a
less expence than others require, but in a manner that must render
his defence or attack more formidable. He has likewise invented a new
method for the defence of small places, which is preferable to the
first, although it is not without faults. According to his system, the
reach of the musquet is taken from the centre of the curtain. To this
end he directs, that a covert lodgment, 7 feet high, and 10 toises
wide, be constructed from that spot to the gorge of the half moon or
ravelin. Cannon is disposed along the faces, and a gallery is erected
for the musquetry, which likewise serves as a passage to the ravelin.
Francis Marchi, a gentleman of Bologna, in his folio edition, has
furnished us with upwards of 160 different methods of constructing
fortifications.
The Dutch uniformly pursue the system published by Marollois.
Bombelle has likewise established three sorts of fortification, the
great royal, _grand royal_; the mean; and the little royal, _petit
royal_. His method agrees with the sound maxims of good fortification
much more than any of the preceding ones.
Blondel has published a system of fortification, which he divides into
two principal heads; the _great_, whose exterior side contains 200
toises; and the _little_, where the side does not exceed 170 toises.
His reason is, because he objects to the line of defence having more
than 140 toises, which is the furthest reach of musquetry, or less
than 120 toises, to prevent an unnecessary increase of bastions. The
principles of Blondel’s system resemble, in a great degree, those upon
which Pagan’s is founded, and chiefly consist in methods of fortifying
inward posts. The invention has certainly great merit, but its adoption
must prove expensive in all its practical branches. It must, moreover,
be manifest, that the four long batteries which are supported by flanks
of his construction, must serve as so many scaling ladders, or steps to
the besiegers, the instant they have effected a breach by cannon shot,
or shells.
In 1689, a work was published, entitled:
_Nouvelle maniere de fortifier les places, tirée de methodes du
Chevalier de Ville, du Comte de Pagan, et de M. de Vauban; avec des
remarques sur l’ordre renforcé, sur les desseins du Capitaine Marchy,
et sur ceux de M. Blondel._ This work is full of strong reasoning, from
the result of which the author has formed a new method, containing
indeed, nothing original, but giving references to what has already
appeared, and disposing the different parts in so judicious a manner,
as to shew how a place may be rendered stronger, and be subject at the
same time to a less expence. This writer divides fortification into
three parts, the great, the mean, and the little.
There is a second and a third method proposed anonymously, and
containing mere simple designs. That method in which a modern author
gives it the preference over the system of New Brisac, contains little
useful information, and contributes less to the real art of fortifying
places.
Donato Rosetti, a Canon belonging to Livournia, professor of
mathematics in the academy at Piedmont, and mathematician to the Duke
of Savoy, has written upon a method of constructing works in what
he calls _fortification à rebours_, or fortification in reverse; so
called not only because the re-entering angle of the counterscarp is
opposite to the flanked angle; but because, in his idea, it will be
necessary to attack it from the reverse side of other works. His system
is very simple, and does not require a sacrifice of much money, or
stand in need of many men to defend the works: although he can, on his
side, pour as much fire upon the enemy, as could be furnished by more
complicated methods.
Antonio de Herbart, major of artillery, in the Duke of Wurtemberg’s
service, in 1735, published a treatise on fortifications with square
angles, which he calls _angular polygons_.
Monsieur de Montalembert has lately endeavored to bring arches, which
are so much condemned by the Chevalier de Ville, into repute. He
treats the subject in a manner, and upon principles so similar to
those proposed by Antonio de Herbart, that it is almost impossible to
separate the two systems. M. de Montalembert asserts, that the science
of fortification, (as it is established and taught at present) can
only be valued by the public on account of its illusion. He looks
upon the use of bastions, as the effect of prejudice; he rejects them
wholly, and substitutes in their room, a front of _angular tenailles,
polygons with small wings, and angular polygons_. The engineers of
the present day assert with confidence, that the chief security to
be derived in works that are supported by bastions, must depend upon
cross and reverse firing directed against the enemy’s lodgments on the
glacis. Large half-moons are made, not only for the purpose of covering
the curtains and the flanks of bastions, but principally to obtain a
reverse firing, which effectually prevents the enemy from maintaining
his ground on the glacis of a bastion, before he has taken the two
collateral half-moons.
M. Menno, Baron of Coehorn, who was general of artillery in the Dutch
service, lieutenant-general of infantry, director-general of all the
fortified places belonging to the united provinces, and governor of
Flanders and all the fortresses that lay along the Scheldt, has been
justly esteemed for his extensive knowlege in the art of fortifying
places. He was cotemporary with Vauban. This intelligent and sagacious
officer being thoroughly convinced, that, however expensively the
rampart of a town may be constructed, it could not long sustain the
shock of heavy ordnance, invented three different systems, by which he
throws so many obstacles in the way of a besieging enemy, that although
the place be not in reality rendered impregnable, it is nevertheless so
far secured as to make its conquest a business of considerable hazard
and expence. We must however acknowlege, that the three methods which
have been pointed out by this Dutch general, can only suit places and
grounds that are nearly on a level with the surface of the water; that
is to say of 3, 4, or 5 feet; which circumstance plainly indicates,
that his attention has been chiefly directed to the soil and ground
of Holland; so that his instructions are peculiarly applicable to low
and aquatic situations. There is much skill discovered in his manner
of treating the subject, and considerable ingenuity in the treatise he
has published, which certainly contains several improvements that are
exclusively his own. It would be impossible to force a passage, or to
penetrate into any of his works, without being exposed on all sides, to
the fire of the besieged, who are under cover, and from whose discharge
of ordnance and musquetry, it is scarcely possible for an assailing
enemy to secure himself.
Scheiter, a German writer, describes two kinds of fortifications, the
_great_ or the _superior_, and the _small_ or the _inferior species_.
It has been erroneously and unjustly stated, that the celebrated Vauban
only copied after Scheiter, at New Brisac.
Every man of the least knowlege or penetration must see, that the whole
system of that illustrious engineer differs essentially from the author
we have quoted.
The defects which are manifest in all these different systems shew the
superiority which exists, to this day, in all the fortifications that
have been constructed by Vauban.
An anonymous writer in the Sardinian service, proposes two new methods
of fortification in a work entituled _Science de la Guerre_, which was
published at Turin, in 1744. After having discussed, at considerable
length, the art of fortification in general, its utility, the
different sciences which must be acquired towards obtaining any degree
of perfection in that art, the various systems in it, regular and
irregular, and the construction of palisades, gates, mines, casemates,
magazines, &c. &c. he concludes with this extraordinary sentence: “It
is not my intention to propose any alteration in the general system,
but merely to suggest, that the style be rendered more intelligible.”
It must be noticed, that this Italian writer in his preface, frankly
confesses his deficiency in the French language. We shall however
pass over what he says relative to the approbation which his proposed
systems, or rather his explanation of methods already known has met
with from scientific men, and give his own observations concerning the
improvements that might be made. His words are--
“The first method which I propose, consists of a new figure and
position that should be given to exterior works in fortification.
Having constructed the body of the place after Vauban’s manner, my next
object is to erect counter guards with bastions at the head, and flanks
upon the wings. I have been induced to adopt this species of work, in
order to remedy the inconveniences and the dangers which invariably
attend works erected at the foot of the glacis. These works contribute
very little to the security of the place, and can only be defended
by cannon, which eventually do more harm to the garrison than to the
besieging enemy, since they serve as an epaulement to the battery,
which the latter will naturally erect the instant he obtains footing
in that quarter. This was proved during the siege of Turin, where in a
very short space of time the French carried the bonnets and fleches,
and made use of them for the purpose of bringing up their artillery.
By means of the small bastions which I have proposed, and which must be
pushed forward into the country, the enemy’s approaches are necessarily
checked, the saliant angle of the counter-guard is covered, the ditch
is completely flanked, and the garrison are impressed with confidence,
because the artillery and the troops can always be called in, in cases
of exigency. They moreover equal the enemy in the fire which they can
furnish, and the whole body of the place is covered by them.
I construct the bastions and flanks out of the sides of the
counter-guard, which are detached by means of a ditch 4 toises wide.
This ditch is covered above by vaults made of brick or timber, and by
boards well supported underneath by strong stakes, the whole being
strengthened and rendered bomb-proof with earth 3 or 4 feet thick. This
earth keeps the upper plan of the bastion compact, and is sufficient
to form a parapet to the counter-guard when the bastion is destroyed.
If the vaults should be blown up by mines, and the besiegers set fire
to the beams that supported them, a fresh work will present itself,
together with a ditch which they had not foreseen or expected, and
which they must cross before any further impression can be made.
This sort of subterraneous fortification is extremely advantageous,
and may be converted to various purposes. It serves for casemates and
galleries to the mines, which I would construct along the whole extent
of the faces belonging to these bastions; a communication with them is
kept up by means of the galleries attached to the counter-guard. These
galleries must be blocked up the instant the bastion is demolished. The
flanks of the side will be built after the same method, with a ditch
as wide as the one dug in front of the bastion, and which, according
to circumstances, may be uncovered, like that already described. The
flanks will be of a round figure, in order to avoid the projection of
any angles towards the body of the place, which would be the case,
should the work be carried; for the enemy availing himself of the earth
in front of the walls, and throwing it up, would derive considerable
advantage from these angles.
The principal advantage to be obtained from my system arises out of the
double defence which it affords to the saliant angles of the bastions,
by covering a part of the _demi-lunes mitrées_, or mitred half-moons
(which are their chief protection,) and by these means concealing the
body of the place from any outward command, or eminence. This cover or
defence cannot, in fact, be taken, before the enemy has got complete
possession of the outworks.
I have spoken of these sorts of fortification in the chapter that
treats of field works, which, in my humble opinion, are more useful,
more solid, less expensive, and more easily built than a variety of
others that have been adopted to this day.
The demi-lunes or half-moons which are nearly mitred or crossed, and
which I dispose between the counter-guards, have been constructed in
that manner for the purpose of stretching as far as possible, beyond
the body of the place towards the country. One essential advantage
attends this method, which is, that the work being more spacious, it is
better calculated to hold a greater quantity of artillery, and a large
garrison; that it becomes double by means of the ditch, which separates
it from the advanced work, which it covered as described above, and
which is joined to the interior revetement by plain walls, separating
a whole half-moon from it; in which space a small fort with loop-holes
may be constructed to enable the garrison to dispute every inch of
ground as the enemy advances. Under the main body of the place, I build
a subterraneous chamber, to serve as occasion may require, either for a
powder magazine, or for mines.
Between the half-moons and counter-guards, I construct another kind
of ravelins, which are open towards the body of the place, cover the
curtains of the counter-guards, and supply a double fire against the
enemy and the covert way. These ravelins are not raised so high as the
other works, in order to keep them under their fire; and I preserve a
communication by means of palisaded caponnieres. I leave them empty
within, that the besiegers may have as little ground as possible; they
are moreover sufficiently thick and solid to withstand the discharge
of ordnance, which can only batter in breach from the counterscarp,
which acquires double strength, because by means of these works, it is
enfiladed, and secured against the enemy’s attack or attempt to make a
lodgment.
If the plan, which I had the honor of laying before the king of
Sardinia, be carefully examined, it must be apparent to every military
man, that the works I therein describe, are not only more useful,
but capable of being constructed at a less expence, than those which
are generally practised to this day. It will be clearly seen, that
I have done nothing more than add some additional proportions of
the flanks and bastions to the counter-guards, which are usually
erected; and that I have augmented their double face, by joining
it to the half-moons of the curtain. The object of this addition,
is to throw obstacles in the enemy’s way, should he attempt to make
close approaches, to cover the body of the place, to render the siege
difficult, to increase the besieger’s expence, and to give confidence
to the troops of the garrison, who are thereby no longer exposed, as
they must be in all outworks erected upon the foot of the glacis.
It is not, however, my design to throw works of this kind into utter
disrepute. There are situations and local circumstances, which not
only make their adoption useful, but render it absolutely necessary. I
cannot pretend to describe the specific nature of such exigencies, as
they grow out of existing cases, which an able general and an engineer
will know how to discriminate by examining the ground.
The ditch belonging to the body of the place, be its soil what it
may, must be very broad, as the chief security to be derived from it,
depends entirely upon its width. The enemy cannot easily fill it up,
and he must suffer a considerable loss of men, should he attempt to
cross it; being exposed to the discharge of artillery from the flanks,
which artillery cannot be dismounted from any quarter or lodgment,
before the counter-guards are taken. The storming of the place must
depend entirely upon the previous conquest of the side ravelins, and of
the centre half moons; for unless the enemy has first effected this,
he will not be able to cross the ditch, or make any lodgment, since
at every approach he must be annoyed from the flanks, and battered in
front; he must, in fact, attack and get the better of five works at
once. The execution of any part of so important a task, must be the
more dangerous, because in proportion, as he overcomes one line of
defence, another presents itself which is equally formidable, and the
rest increase in difficulty and hazard.
When I submitted this new method to the consideration of able and
intelligent men, only one opponent started to controvert the property
of its general adoption. This was a celebrated Dutch engineer, who
asserted that it could not be of any essential service, except in
hexagons, or figures that had many sides; he further argued, that the
method was more faulty in small works, because the angles became more
acute, and that no use could be made of them in regular fortification.
I had the good fortune to satisfy this gentleman, and to convince
him, that his objections were not well founded. I stated to him, that
by increasing the width of the ditch at the angle of the flanks of
the bastion, I reduced that angle to any size I judged necessary; I
maintained, that by so doing I did not weaken the place; but that on
the contrary by cancelling the parallelogram of the counter-guards, I
rendered more oblique any battery which the enemy might erect in front
of the bastion, whilst the rampart belonging to it fell under a cross
fire from the mitred half-moon.
With respect to its uselessness in irregular fortification, after
having discussed the subject at some length, I got him to agree with
me, that every detached piece of fortification might be constructed any
where (and with greater advantage to the ultimate defence of a place)
sooner than in plain counter-guards, horn or crownworks, tenailles and
such like fortifications, because by means of the retreat which was
secured under a second line of retrenchment, by means of the regular
resistance it afforded, without having one dead angle attached, and by
means of the little ground it left for the enemy to lodge on, the main
body of the place was more effectually protected, and the approaches of
the enemy were considerably checked.
With regard to the construction proposed in this new method, I take
all the measurements, and I mark all the essential points upon capital
lines; that is to say, I prolong the lines of the saliant angles of
the bastion, and those of the centre of the curtain; after which I
determine the width of the ditch at 23 or 24 toises, in order to
make the parallels of the faces of the different bastions for the
counterscarp of the counter-guards and of the great half-moon, and
finally the thickness of the works, to agree with the ditches in front.
With regard to the ravelins which are made between the mitred
half-moons and the counter-guards, I place the saliant angle in the
centre of the scite, and I construct faces to them in such a manner,
that they are under a straight line of defence from the half-moons
and counter-guards. I erect the counterscarp and glacis in the usual
manner, only with this difference that I wish to have a ditch of
moderate breadth and depth between the covert-way and the glacis: say,
two toises broad upon two deep.
In order to clear the ditch of occasional rubbish that may fall in, or
of pieces that may drop from the demolished parts of a fortification
during a siege, square excavations or wells must occasionally be made
along the flanks and faces of the different works; by which means
the ditch is always kept clean, and you may at any time repair the
fortifications, whilst on the other hand, the enemy, should he attempt
to storm the place, must have recourse to fascines, as he could derive
no advantage from the materials that would otherwise be found under the
walls.”
This ingenious writer has described every part of the method proposed
in a clear and perspicuous manner. His plan is particularly valuable,
on account of the exact measurements it contains, whereby the most
common understanding may become acquainted with the construction. He
appears singularly anxious to have it practically proved, that works
can be erected according to this method at a less expence than by
any other, and that there is no comparison between the advantages it
affords in point of real utility. In chap. 16, p. 61, the following
account is given of his second system, which he calls the _Great
System_.
“After I had thoroughly digested my plan, relative to the best method
of covering a town or fortified place by outworks, it naturally
occurred, that I had not provided the necessary means of keeping the
troops under shelter, of securing a retreat to the artillery, which is
always seized whenever a work is taken by assault, nor of furnishing
a heavier discharge of ordnance and musquetry than the enemy could
pour in. These important objects put my invention to work, and I
directed all the faculties of my mind towards discovering a kind of
fortification which might not only cover the body of the place, and by
a new disposition of its relative parts communicate equally with every
quarter, without there being any necessity to carry the heavy ordnance
into the ditch; but likewise oblige the besieging enemy to increase his
means of attack, and make extraordinary efforts. I necessarily saw,
that the saliant angles of the bastions should be well covered, and
that the strongest ought to be raised before the curtain belonging to
the body of the place, in order to force the assailants to make their
attack on a quarter from whence the concentrated fire of several works,
presenting a wide front of artillery, would issue with considerable
effect.
After having for several years, directed the whole of my attention
to this specific object, and tried the result of my reflections upon
paper by a variety of designs; I had the good fortune to discover a
method, whose plan exhibits to the eye several pieces that are joined
together by their different walls, and in front of which there are
ditches covered in with beams and strong oak boards, and made bombproof
by means of a sufficient quantity of earth that is spread upon the
whole. So that it appears evident to me, that there is only one species
of fortification, which affords the means of concentrating your line
of defence from every quarter, and of lining the parapets with heavy
ordnance. By means of this construction, the lines and glacis will be
secured against any immediate approaches of the enemy, during which
seasonable interruption, the artillery may without risk, be withdrawn
and lodged in the interior work; a convenience which cannot be obtained
in detached pieces, on account of the difficulty which always attends
the first erection, or ultimate demolition of them.
By taking away the beams, or by destroying them at once, and by
pulling down the walls which compose the flanks, you suddenly open
a new work upon the enemy; which work has the advantage of being
considerably larger than the one he has just attacked and taken, and
against which he must raise fresh batteries, and prepare the means
of crossing a ditch, he had not foreseen, and which he cannot easily
pass. This work either communicates with a tenaille that commands it,
or is connected with a horned work, flanked by two others of similar
construction. The tenaille is open in the centre (being divided into
two parts by a ditch) in order to leave as little room as possible for
the enemy to lodge on, and to multiply the enfilading points of the
place.
Between these large works, demi-lunes or half-moons, of three orders,
are constructed in the shape of bastions. These have orillons and
ditches between the two, which flank the side-works, and are always
protected by an enfilade, that the enemy never can lodge without being
exposed to a cross and rear fire. In order to cover the whole body of
the place, I construct other intermediate demi-lunes, which are equal
in elevation to the first works. These contribute greatly towards
preventing the enemy’s approaches; for they not only enfilade the
covert-way, but they likewise double the defences in such a manner,
that the enemy, as has already been observed, cannot attack one place
without experiencing a necessity to attack four others at the same
time: to which may be added this disheartening circumstance, that as
fast as he advances, so fast a retreat is made behind some new work,
and he is, of course, obliged to recommence his attack.
The regular communication between the several works must be kept up
by means of sleeping bridges, which are well supported underneath by
strong beams or stakes. Those which form a part of the rampart must
be covered with four feet of earth, well pressed together. The walls
by which the works are connected, must be so built as to be easily
demolished, and they must only serve to cover the subterraneous
fortifications. These walls are never within the reach of the enemy’s
cannon, and when they are pulled down, their ruins are thrown into
wells, or excavations, which have been previously dug at the foot
of the main wall, to prevent the ditch from being filled with them:
subterraneous embrasures are opened from within to enfilade the ditch,
and to obstruct the passage.
When by dint of perseverance, and after having expended considerable
sums of money, lost many lives and consumed much time the enemy has
at last obtained possession of these works, he discovers, that his
sacrifices have only led him to an unexpected body of the place which
he cannot injure. This new construction he finds flanked on both
sides by two double bastions, and a broad curtain lined with a triple
front of artillery, having a very wide ditch, traversed by tenailles,
batteries from casemates, and defended by flanks with the two cavaliers
belonging to the bastions, which keep up an incessant fire upon the
artillery that is planted in the carried outworks, and render it almost
impossible for him to establish a lodgment.”
“I need not pretend,” continues the same author, “to have discovered by
this new method, any certain means of rendering a place impregnable;
such an idea would be chimerical and absurd.
Let a town be ever so well fortified, that town, if properly invested
and resolutely attacked, must eventually fall, unless it be seasonably
succoured from without. My chief object is to correct the errors into
which former writers seem to have fallen, and by the methods I have
proposed, to harrass a besieging army, not only by increasing its
expence, but by occasioning a considerable loss of men; I thereby
prolong the siege, and gain time for the garrison, so that succours may
arrive, or such conditions be entered into as will secure the country,
which the place attacked is destined to cover.
Counter-guards, ravelins, and demi-lunes are, in fact, a species of
fortification by which they flank one another obliquely, and which only
tend to embarrass the troops of the garrison, whenever it is judged
expedient to manœuvre under the fire of artillery; a circumstance that
invariably causes confusion; whereas the works which I have proposed
are capacious enough to admit of every movement and evolution without
inconvenience.
Horned and crowned works are extremely expensive in their construction,
and of little use when completed; their lines of defence, their faces
and their flanks are so short and limited, that a besieging enemy can
with great ease attack, and carry them by means of an equal front
and range of fire: and when he has so far succeeded, he derives
considerable advantage from having opened a wide space of ground on
which he can erect angles to annoy and batter the place. Whereas in the
works of my proposed method, the foundations are broader, the defences
are more direct and within musquet shot, and when the garrison retreats
towards the body of the place, the ground which it abandons is scarcely
sufficient for the erection of a small battery; it is moreover exposed
to all the retrenched and flanking points, so that the enemy would be
instantly dislodged.
Tenailles and _queues d’hirondelle_ contain dead angles which may
always be taken advantage of by the besieging enemy. This does not
exist in the works I propose. For at every approach, not only fresh
expences must be incurred by the assailant, but he will remain exposed
to several fires at once, without being able to cover himself from the
reverse and cross ones.
Double ditches afford the means of creating perpetual uneasiness in
the enemy, by uncovering fresh works as he advances. So that the
siege is protracted, his expences are increased, and his loss of men,
ammunition, stores, and artillery is proportionably multiplied.
In the examination which was made of the _relief_ proposed by me; some
persons well acquainted with the particular subject, objected to its
adoption on account of the expence. I made an accurate calculation
of the amount, and I found that it cost a sixth more than the usual
fortification. This does not assuredly form sufficient ground
to outbalance the many advantages which can be derived from the
construction. Besides, there is no occasion of fortifying all the parts
of a town in this manner, since it would be advisable to strengthen the
weak points only.”
The construction which is proposed in this new method, is simple,
and easily understood. The principal objects to be attended to are
these; that there be mines under all the works, and that a regular
communication be kept up with the chambers by means of subterraneous
galleries, which must be resorted to in proportion as the enemy
approaches.
The Piedmontese engineer, from whom we have made these extracts, has
added to Vauban’s and Coehorn’s systems. We leave the subject to the
consideration of those professional men who have made the art of
fortification their peculiar study; they must determine whether the
theory of the proposed method be susceptible of practice, and if so,
whether it can be rendered so generally useful, as the author seems to
promise it would.
On a general view of the subject it must, however, be acknowleged, that
a situation is not always found which will admit of the improvements
and additions that might otherwise be made. There are some old places
in which the figure of the fortifications erected for their defence, is
so strange and whimsical, that the least correction of its errors, must
be attended with an enormous expence.
A town may be irregularly fortified, and owe that irregularity either
to the figure of the works only, by the angles not being equally
distant from the centre, although every one may admit of a good
bastion, and the lines be tolerably extensive; or by the figure and the
angles differing, from some being too acute, and others being rentrant;
or by the inequality of the figure and its sides; some being too long
and others too short; or finally by a disparity all together in the
figure, in its sides and angles.
If the three first kinds of irregularity are judiciously corrected,
the correction of the fourth follows of course, as it is only the
natural consequence of the others. Those irregularities may be
occasioned by a neighboring river, by the entrance into a creek or
harbor, or by steep rocks beyond which it is impossible to carry the
works.
It is a sound and general maxim in the art of fortifying, to reduce
the irregular proportions of its lines, &c. of defence to as much
regularity as the ground and situation will permit. For by so doing,
their strength becomes equally great throughout. If you should not be
able to surmount the natural obstacle which may be thrown in your way,
you must never deviate from the general rules that are laid down in
regular fortification. These are, that all the parts be well flanked,
that the angles of the bastions do not fall under sixty degrees,
that the line of defence be within musquet shot, or that outworks
be established to bring it within that range; and finally, that the
means of resistance be distributed in as many equal proportions as the
irregularity of the works will suffer.
You must, however, be careful to avoid an error into which many have
fallen. You must not weaken the collective means of defence, in order
to strengthen any particular vulnerable quarter; for by so doing you
are sacrificing a great line of defence, to the security of a small
part which might be strengthened by outworks.
The author of Oeuvres Militaires, in his 3d volume, page 45, has given
observations and maxims relative to irregular fortification.
Baron d’Espagnac, in consequence of the remarks which are made by
Marshal Saxe, in his _Reveries_, has in his supplement to that work
amply discussed the subject of fortification, and described the
different means of attack and defence. We refer the inquisitive officer
to those works. Before we conclude these interesting remarks upon
an art, which is certainly equal to any invention that has employed
the skill and ingenuity of man, we must observe that in all periods,
productions on that head have been as numerous as the subject has
hitherto proved inexhaustible. It must, however, be acknowleged with
some regret, that the tendency of the greater part, if not of all,
seems to be an indiscriminate and bold attack upon the works of the
immortal Vauban. These writers censure the methods of that great
engineer by proposing something of their own, which only differs in
appearance, and which they think proper to call a _superior system_.
Assertions, and promises to afford new lights upon the science of
fortification, have always, in fact, been profusely given by authors
of this description. Their labors, however, are only so far to be
regarded and esteemed, in as much as their different systems tend to
point out the necessary calculations which are required to shew the
expence attending their construction, and to prove the effects they
might produce. The memoirs upon perpendicular fortification, written
by M. Montalembert engineer, will throw considerable light upon these
observations.
With respect to the knowlege of fortification, it must be manifest to
every thinking man, that from a chief magistrate, or head of a country,
down to the lowest infantry officer, the acquirement of it is more or
less indispensibly necessary.
A chief magistrate of a country, should be well versed in the science
of fortification, in order to examine the plans that are laid before
him, and to determine upon the execution of proposed projects.
A secretary of war should know it, in order to explain the nature
of the plans when questioned by a superior power, to calculate
the expences which will attend the construction of works, and to
distinguish good ones from those which might be useless and expensive.
Every commandant of a town or fortified place, should be well
acquainted with the subject, because it may fall to his peculiar share
to construct works in cases of emergency, or to add to those already
erected for the defence of the place entrusted to his care. He likewise
ought, at all times, to be able to ascertain how far such a place is
capable of holding out.
Every director of fortification should be master of it, in order to
discriminate between what is proper, or what is defective, and make his
report accordingly.
Every infantry officer, in a word, should be conversant in field
fortification at least, if not acquainted with the general system.
For without some knowlege of its branches, how will he, in cases of
emergency, be capable of throwing up a temporary redoubt, of fortifying
a spot of ground which he is ordered to maintain, or of securing a
common outpost?
_Field_ FORTIFICATIONS, _fortifications de campagne_, _Fr._ consist in
the art of fortifying, constructing, attacking, and defending all sorts
of temporary field works during a campaign.
Although an engineer may be perfectly master of the different methods
by which a town can be strengthened and secured by permanent works, he
should not remain satisfied with that acquisition, but carefully direct
his attention to the distribution of ground, for field fortification.
He should be able to ascertain, with geometrical precision, all the
relative divisions and corresponding points of any situation in which
it might be judged expedient to construct that species of fortification
which consists in intrenched lines, fortins, or small forts, and in
redoubts of various denominations. The shape or figure of these works
is exactly similar to those of the permanent kind. Ditches, ramparts,
and parapets must be dug and thrown up, to secure the former, in the
same manner as they are practised for the protection of the latter.
They only differ in their measurement and proportions. Intrenched lines
are made for the purpose of covering a camp from any sudden insult of
the enemy, which should always, on this account, be pitched in the most
advantageous manner; contiguous to and facing that quarter where it is
probable the attack will be made, a ditch must be dug, having three
toises at least in width and two in depth. This must be defended by a
parapet _en redans_, or be occasionally flanked with small bastions,
two toises thick, consisting of solid good earth well pressed together,
covered and supported with fascines; having likewise banquettes behind
them sufficiently high to conceal the soldiers’ tents. If water could
be conveyed, or drawn into the ditch from any adjacent rivulet, or
river, the security would be greater. When the lines of intrenchment
are thrown up with an intention to maintain the ground any length of
time, a covert-way must be made, which should be regularly fenced with
palisades.
There is another species of field fortifications, which is resorted to
in order to keep up a communication between two places; in which case
great care must be taken to prevent the lines from being enfiladed in
any quarter; and if they should be exposed in that manner, no time
ought to be lost in strengthening the weak points by constructing
redoubts, or small forts. The defence of these redoubts and forts
must be entrusted to small arms and musquetry, but not to cannon, as
the range of the latter is always too extensive to prevent an enemy’s
close approaches to the lines of communication from their field works,
or forts. Necessary drains must be made to let out the water that
collects, as it would otherwise destroy the works, drown the sentries,
and cut off all communication with the main body.
When a position is taken upon a steep rock, or eminence extremely
difficult of access, the lines which surround it do not absolutely
require ditches for their safety, as the parapet and banquette may
probably be sufficient; but if any vulnerable or weak part be observed,
every effort should be used to get at a spring, and to fill up an
excavation in front of it, to prevent surprises. An able engineer
will be particularly careful in drawing his plan of communication, to
ascertain the exact points whereby they may be protected by an enfilade
from one fort to another; so that if the enemy should make a lodgment
any where, he will not be able to maintain his position on account of
his being flanked by other works.
Field works, or small forts are generally constructed in places the
preservation of which is judged to be indispensibly necessary. Such,
for instance, are necks of land that stretch into a marsh, and are
surrounded by it; the passage of a road, _têtes de ponts_, or heads
of bridges, and other objects of similar importance in offensive, or
defensive operations. On these occasions the shape and size of the
construction must depend upon the nature of the ground, the importance
of the undertaking, and on the number of men by which the works are to
be garrisoned.
Many forts in field fortification are built in triangular forms; some
are square, some starred, or _en étoile_, some as redoubts, in the
shape of demi-lunes, others in crown, or horn-work, and others again in
the figures of tenailles or _queues d’hirondelle_.
When the object of defence is a windmill, a castle, or a small
dwelling-house, the first step to be taken, is to select a spot of
ground upon which you are to build the field work, so as to check and
prevent the enemy’s approaches. In order to do this effectually, the
shape and adjacent parts of the building must be closely attended to,
and the work be thrown up without exposing it to a rear attack; but if
the place to be defended stand alone, and be not supported by any ditch
or eminence on its flanks, or in its rear, you must then fortify it all
round. The earth which is dug out of the ditch will serve to raise the
rampart, or parapet. Saliant angles, distributed at equal distances, in
the shape of bastions, must be erected with good flanks to protect and
cover the intrenchment. If, on account of the ground, the work should
not be much raised, the parapet must be raised, in order to prevent the
enemy from attempting an easy assault.
An engineer from Piedmont, who has proposed some new methods in
field fortification, is decidedly against stone and masonry, in the
construction of parapets and field works. His reason is self-evident;
for as he justly observes, the scattered pieces which must naturally
be thrown about in all directions by the demolishing of the walls in
the discharge of heavy cannon, would do more mischief than the cannon
itself.
It is frequently found necessary to fortify a bridge; the means adopted
for this purpose must depend entirely upon the size and current of the
river. If the stream should be broad and navigable, and so far from the
fortress, that it cannot be defended by the ordinance of the town or
fortified place, in that case a large retrenchment, resembling a place
of arms, must be constructed, with strong bastions to support and cover
it, curtains and half-moons, a broad and deep ditch, and covert-way
that must be well secured by palisades. This retrenchment, or place
of arms, must be made sufficiently capacious to hold a garrison that
would be capable of opposing the attack of a large detachment from
the main army of an enemy. A half-moon must be constructed within the
lines, with a ditch in front, to serve as a work behind which the
garrison might retreat with its artillery, disputing every inch of
ground, and by that means affording sufficient time to cut down the
bridge.
If the river should be narrow, yet wide enough to prevent any sudden
irruption into the country beyond it, the bridges that are across must
be fortified by works made of earth, which are to be covered by ditches
dug in front. Half-moons, tenailles, crown and horn-works, and similar
constructions, provided they be well fenced with palisades, will answer
all the purposes required in such cases. The engineer, by the first
glance of his eye, will be able to ascertain the situation of the
country, and to fit his plans accordingly. Small lodgments, or wooden
recesses, must be made as guard-houses, in which detached parties of
men should be stationed to meet the first attacks of the enemy, and to
keep him in check while the whole army passes over the river, or is
drawn up in order of battle to dispute the passage. These intrenchments
must invariably be well furnished with light artillery, for the
purpose of annoying the approaching enemy. But the disposition and
arrangement of these pieces must always be such as to admit of their
being instantly removed, when the intrenchments are carried, under the
cover of heavier ordnance which is kept playing upon the enemy from the
opposite side of the river.
_Practical Maxims in building Field Works._ 1st. The spot on which
works are to be constructed should determine their figure; nor should
any attention be paid to preserve a regular form which does not occupy
the ground to advantage.
2d. Every line must be so disposed, that the slope of hills all around
even to the very bottom, be open to the small arms of the garrison; and
every part should be discoverable to the distance of at least 500 paces.
3d. Works thrown up for the defence of a defile, should always be
within musquet shot of it, which must not be more than 200 yards.
4th. The best defence in works that are flanked, or where one side is
defended by the fire of another, is that formed by right angles.
5th. A saliant angle should never be less than 60, and a re-entering
angle than 90 degrees; nor greater than 120 degrees.
6th. The entrance to the work should always be made in the part least
exposed to attack, and if possible in a re-entering angle.
7th. Endeavor to present, if possible, a larger front to the enemy than
he can occupy in making the attack.
8th. Avoid all ground commanded by an eminence, either in front,
flank, or rear.
9th. Never leave the rear of a work so exposed that the enemy may turn
it.
10th. Always make the angles of a work in the directions least exposed
to attacks, and consequently always present a front to the most exposed.
11th. The garrison should never be drawn up more than two deep; and an
ordinary pace of two feet is usually allowed for each file, and from 6
to 8 paces from each piece of ordnance.
12th. If a work is so large as to be defended by a battalion or two, a
reserve should be allowed of about one sixth of the number.
13th. The space within a work should always be sufficient for the men
to move and lie down. Every soldier will require at least 18 square
feet, and every field gun at least 216 square feet.
14th. Provided the line is not made too extensive, the more inward
space there is the better.
15th. A parapet to resist cannon shot should never be less than 12 feet
thick; and for musquet shot not less than 6 feet.
16th. The height of the parapet must be regulated by the situation of
the work, and of the adjoining ground; with this consideration, that
its height above the banquette does not exceed 4¹⁄₂ feet.
17th. The depth and breadth of the ditch must be regulated by the
quantity of earth required for the parapet and banquette.
18th. A _tête de pont_, or work to cover the embarkation of troops, or
the passage of a river, should, if possible, be made where the line of
the river or coast forms a kind of re-entering angle; that the flanks
of the corps, as well as those of the works, may be covered.
_To carry on the work._--The number of workmen must be proportioned to
the time allotted for carrying on the work, the quantity of labor, and
the number of hands capable of being employed at the same time. When
the ditches are broad, the workmen may be posted in two rows; but if
narrow, only in one. In the first case, the earth will be thrown by
those who are on the outward edge of the ditch to the second row, and
by them upon the parapet; for which reason the second row, to keep pace
with the first, ought to be twice as numerous. The workmen should never
be placed nearer than 2 paces, or 4 feet, from each other; and two men
with shovels should be preceded by one with a pickaxe. If more than
usual expedition be required, one man with a wheelbarrow, or basket,
may be added to six or eight with shovels. Another row of workmen
should also be placed upon the parapet, to spread the earth and beat it
down, as it is thrown up.
In fixing the fascines, three men will be sufficient for every 24
feet of the work, who should be provided with mallets, a saw, and a
handbil, or hatchet.
In order to form some idea of the time in which a field work may be
completed, compute the number of cubic feet of earth to be excavated,
thus; multiply half the sum of the breadth of the ditch at top and at
bottom, by the depth, for the number of square feet in the profile; and
this multiplied by the distance between the workmen in feet will give
the number of cubic feet each man has to dig: or being multiplied by
the length of the ditch, gives the cubic contents of the ditch. Now one
man is supposed to be able to move 216 cubic feet of earth in a day,
during the summer; but this is not always the case. If a field work be
completed in 24 hours, it will be as much as the most diligent workmen
are capable of. This time is generally allowed for the formation of a
weak profile; 48 hours for that of a stronger, with a revetement of
fascines; and 72 for the strongest.
The different slopes for the works must depend upon the nature of the
soil, and the materials of which the work is composed. The interior
slope of the parapet, though it be fascined, should be ¹⁄₆ of its
height; exterior about ²⁄₃ its height. The slope of the banquette
equal to its height. The slope of the scarp or counterscarp of the
ditch, should be from half its height to its full height, according
to the soil. The superior slope of the parapets must entirely depend
upon the situation of the work, and that of the surrounding country.
The interior slope of the parapet is generally lined with fascines,
to keep up the earth; but it is not absolutely necessary to fascine
the exterior slope, if the soil be pretty stiff. The embrasures are
generally made 20 inches wide on the inside, and 9 feet on the outside;
they must always be lined with something to retain the earth; turf is
generally preferred, as fascines are so apt to take fire.
The manner of making the materials for field works, may be seen under
the heads _Fascines_, _Gabions_, _Hurdles_, &c. and the manner of
estimating the quantity of materials for works of this kind, may be
seen under the word _Battery_. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
FORTIFICATION...._Permanent_.
A parapet, to resist cannon should never be less than 18 feet thick
in earth, and 8 or 9 in masonry. A wall need only be two feet thick
in masonry to resist musquetry. The parapet should always be 4¹⁄₂
feet above the banquette, and 7¹⁄₂ or 8 feet above the rampart, or
terre-plein.
The _Rampart_ should always be sufficiently wide to allow for the
platform, and for two carriages passing each other; about 9 fathoms
at top. A parapet of earth, though it takes more room, is always
preferable to one of masonry, when it can be raised; though the only
objection to the masonry, is the number of splinters it produces.
Entire _Revetements_ of masonry are not advantageous for the same
reason. The masonry of revetments should not be so high as to be seen
or battered from a distance; earth parapets are battered in vain, as
the earth forms a natural slope.
The best _Scarp_ is made of masonry, either in wet or dry ditches, be
the earthen one ever so well fraized or palisaded. The earthen one may
be stormed without making a breach. The scarp should be 30 or 35 feet
high.
The _Counterscarp_ should also be of masonry, and not less than 12
feet high. The inconveniences of an earth or low counterscarp, are the
impossibility of defending to the last the covert way; as the enemy
may descend into the ditch, and again mount the covert way, and so get
in the rear of the traverses. The enemy may find his way along the
natural slope of an earth counterscarp, and is not delayed by a tedious
operation of getting into the ditch. Besides the natural slope of the
end of an earth traverse prevents its effectually covering the covert
way.
Ditches are generally 15 or 18 toises wide. Dry ditches are always
preferable to wet ones, on account of the shelter they afford the
troops, and the ready communication with the outworks, without the
constant trouble and danger of bridges.
The _Covert way_ should be 5 toises wide; less would croud the troops,
and more would allow room for the enemy to erect batteries in it.
The whole of the glacis should be seen, not only from the crest of the
parapet, but from the embrasures in the parapet.
The _Tenaille_, must not be so high as to prevent the flank guns in one
bastion seeing the breach that may be made in the collateral one.
_Ravelins_ are best without flanks; their faces directed to 10 toises
from the shoulders of the bastions.
The crest of the parapet of the body of the place should be 8 feet
above the crest of the glacis, to command it across a ditch of 15 or 20
toises.
The crest of the parapet of the ravelin is 3 feet lower than that
of the body of the place, in order that it may be more effectually
commanded from the place; and therefore to enable the parapet of the
ravelin to command its own glacis, the ditch is only made 10 toises,
and this glacis is a foot lower than that of the body of the place.
There must be an equilibrium of defence established through every
front of a fortified place; for it will be needless to strengthen any
particular front, if the others from their weakness be left exposed.
The following remarks may enable an observer to appreciate the value of
particular works, in the proper application and arrangement of which
that equilibrium consists.
_Intrenchments_ within the works add much to their defence. In
large bastions with obtuse flanked angles, the best intrenchment is
formed of the front of a fortification, or of two demi-bastions and
a curtain, connecting the angles formed by the flank and curtain. If
this intrenchment be advanced to the shoulders of the bastion, so as
to include its flanks, as is often the case, it will be subject to be
taken in the rear, by the fire from the counter batteries opposed to
the flanks. But in bastions with acute flanked angles which do not
afford sufficient space for this kind of intrenchment, Cormontaigne
proposes one in the form of a cavalier, whose faces and flanks are
parallel to those of the bastion. The first kind of intrenchment does
not operate in the defence of the place, till after the passage of the
ditch; till which time it remains entire, and then capable of a very
great defence. The second kind becomes a support to the bastion from
the first commencement of the siege; but it is therefore subject to
have its defence destroyed at a distance. Nor is its defence equal to
that of the other form.
_Counterguards_ should possess the three following properties: 1st.
They must cover effectually the principal work before which they are
placed; at least that part of it, which can be battered in breach. 2d.
They must be lower than the work which they cover; but not so low as to
permit its revetement to be seen. 3d. They must be so narrow as not to
afford room for the besiegers to erect batteries in them, against the
work which they cover, and therefore not leave the besiegers a choice
of positions. The counterguards in Coehorn’s system are only of earth,
through which it is necessary to make an opening, before the capital
work can be battered.
_Horn_ or _Crown works_, unless to occupy some important point, to
strengthen some weak side, or to afford more room for a confined
garrison are rather a weak than a strong arm to a place. This is
particularly the case when they are constructed with smaller, and
consequently weaker fronts, than that part of the body of the place
which they cover: as they facilitate, when taken, the approaches to
the body of the place. This is remedied by constructing their fronts
of the same strength as the front or fronts which they cover. They
also facilitate the taking of the place, by exposing the revetement
of the work on which their branches are directed to be battered in
breach, along the ditches of those branches. This is a great evil,
even to an outwork, but is of serious consequence if they rest upon
the body of the place. This defect has been remedied by placing these
works altogether outside of the covert way, and allowing their ditch no
communication with those in the rear. In this case their gorge must be
made very secure to prevent its being turned.
An _Advanced Covert way_, is esteemed amongst the best means of adding
to the defence of places. Besides the advantages common to the usual
covert way, it has many peculiar to itself. It however seems necessary
to ensure to it the many advantages of which it is susceptible, (beside
being properly palisaded,) that it should be secured in the rear by a
wet ditch, as the only means of giving it an inaccessible counterscarp,
and at the same time keeping it under the fire of the musquetry of the
place. This kind of covert way is generally supported by redoubts upon
the capitals of the bastions and ravelins which from their position
cannot mask the fire of the place; and being mounted with artillery,
oblige the besiegers to commence their attack at a great distance,
and very much to extend their operations; and as their establishment
upon this covert way must effectually mask the fire of their first
batteries, it must greatly increase their labor. The retreat from these
redoubts must be secured by an underground passage.
_Countermines_ are undoubtedly one of the first means of strengthening
places. For this article we refer to the word _Mines_.
_Detached redoubts_, when circumstances of situation favor them, are
employed with great success. They are usually detached and totally
unconnected with any of the works of the place, by any covert way or
other above ground work; and have for objects, either the opposing
an additional obstacle to the besiegers at the point they occupy, or
the rendering the adjoining fronts inaccessible, by an enfilade or
reverse fire upon the approaches. They also afford at their gorge, a
most excellent rendezvous and retreat for sorties; upon the level of
the country, and without the difficulty of filing troops through the
barrier of a covert way.
But in order to insure to the detached work or works, all these
advantages, it is necessary that they should be either totally
inaccessible to the besiegers, by reason of the natural difficulties
of their situation, as in an inundation, morass, &c. or be made secure
by art, from being taken by storm, and only attackable by regular
approaches. They should be under cover of the fire of the place; but
if their distance be too great for that, an intermediate work must be
established to give them support. Their best form is that of a bastion
with retired flanks; and a strong system of countermines the most
effectual way of prolonging their resistance.
_General remarks_...The larger the flanked angles of works, the more
direct will be their fire, and that of their covert way, upon the
approaches; the greater extent will they oblige the besiegers to occupy
in their parallels and batteries; and the more will they oblige the
besiegers to expose themselves to the fire of the fronts collateral to
the one attacked. Faces of works directed to inaccessible situations,
such as rivers, lakes, &c. from whence they cannot be enfiladed by
ricochet batteries, add greatly to the strength of a front.
If the flanked angle of a ravelin be so advanced as to see in reverse
any battery erected upon the crest of the glacis, or in the covert way
of the bastions, it will increase the strength of that front; because
it will oblige the besiegers to gain possession of the ravelin, before
they can make any lodgment, from which they can batter the bastions.
This is the case in Cormontaigne’s system: and a place thus fortified,
obliges the besiegers to attack and gain two ravelins to get at the
bastion between them. Beside, if this system be applied to a right
line, or to a polygon of many sides, the prolongations of the faces of
the bastions will be intercepted by the flanked angle of the ravelins,
and consequently make the establishment of enfilading batteries
against them very difficult. A work which admits of a breach being
made in it (particularly the body of the place) at a distance, very
much facilitates its being taken. The ditch of the ravelin affords an
opening through which the besiegers may make a breach in the face of
the bastion from the glacis, opposite the flanked angle of the ravelin,
and is therefore subject to this defect. A counterguard before the
bastion, lessens this evil, by transferring the breach from the body of
the place to the ravelin; but it requires a counterguard also before
the ravelin, effectually to cure it. A crown or horn work also produces
this evil; its remedy was given, in speaking of those works.
The direction of the flanks or faces of a work is not so material
as relating to the fire of artillery, as to that of musquetry; for
artillery is never fired without being pointed, but musquetry is fired
mechanically, and perpendicular to the parapet, without much attention
to the object to be struck.
A work in the neighborhood of a height must be defiladed[8] from that
height, that is, instead of being built upon a horizontal plane,
it must be erected upon an imaginary inclined plane, passing from
somewhere in the interior of that work, over the most commanding points
of the height: and every part of the works must bear the same relation
to this inclined plane, that they would do, to a horizontal plane in a
level country.
[8] _The French use the word_ defile _in a contrary sense to_ enfile;
_and as we admit the words enfilade and enfiladed from the latter, we
cannot refuse the terms defilade and defiladed from the former_.
A work is not therefore always to be condemned, because it is in the
neighborhood of a height; for if it be properly defiladed from that
height, it will receive a great advantage over the approaches of the
besiegers, carried on down an inclined plane towards it. But a work
to be properly constructed in the neighborhood of heights, must
not uniformly preserve the same distance from those heights, unless
their summits be all upon the same level; but must approach them at
their lowest parts, and recede from them as they rise; thus will the
necessary plane of defilement preserve nearly the same degree of
obliquity throughout.
_Dimensions of Walls and their Counterforts, from 10 to 50 Feet high,
having a Slope of ¹⁄₅ their Height._
+---------------------------+-------------------------+
| Wall. | Counterforts. |
+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+-------+
| |Thickness|Thickness|Distance| | |
| | at | at | between| | |
|Height.| Top. | Bottom. | them. |Breadth.|Length.|
+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+-------+
| Ft. | Ft. In. | Ft. In. | Feet |Ft. In. |Ft. In.|
| 10 | 4 0 | 6 0 | 8 | 2 8 | 4 -- |
| 15 | 4 3 | 7 3 | 10 | 3 4 | 5 -- |
| 20 | 4 6 | 8 6 | 12 | 4 0 | 6 -- |
| 25 | 4 9 | 9 9 | 14 | 4 8 | 7 -- |
| 30 | 5 0 | 11 0 | 16 | 5 4 | 8 -- |
| 35 | 5 3 | 12 3 | 18 | 6 0 | 9 -- |
| 40 | 5 6 | 13 6 | 20 | 6 8 |10 -- |
| 45 | 5 9 | 14 9 | 22 | 7 4 |11 -- |
| 50 | 6 0 | 16 0 | 24 | 8 0 |12 -- |
+-------+---------+---------+--------+--------+-------+
The heights in the above table are taken only from the bottom of the
ditch, and do not include the foundations.
When the rampart is partly walled and partly turfed; then ¹⁄₅ of the
height of the turfed part must be added to the breadth of the wall at
the top given in the table.
The bases of all inward slopes of earth should be equal to their
height, if not more.
The bases of all outward slopes of earth ²⁄₃ of their height.
The superior slopes of all parapets ¹⁄₆ of their breadth.
The slope of all walls, or revetements ¹⁄₅ of their height.
Though the above principles given for the erection of field works may
assist an officer’s recollection who may be employed on that duty,
the memorandums given respecting _permanent_ fortification pretend
to no such object: but may serve to remind an officer, if he should
visit a fortification, of its essential requisites; and may assist his
observations in passing round the works.
FORTIN, FORTLETT, or FORTILAGE. See FIELD-FORT.
FORTRESS, any place strongly fortified.
FORWARD, a word of command, which is given when a regiment, or
company has been interrupted in its regular movement, and the march is
continued. On this occasion every succeeding division must preserve its
proper distance and mark time until the word _Forward_, is given. This
frequently occurs in the passage of obstacles, and in the winding of
roads, streets, &c.,
_Right_ or _Left_ _shoulders_ FORWARD, an absurd word of command, used
in the British exercise. It is a gross misconception of the French
_line of science_, which requires the whole body to face in the given
inclination; every man must see that it is impossible for a soldier to
march either with ease or grace in such a position. See LINE OF SCIENCE.
FOSSE, in fortification. See DITCH.
FOSSES _pleins d’eau_, _Fr._ Wet Ditches. See FORTIFICATION.
FOSSES _secs_, _Fr._ Dry ditches.
FOSSES _revétus_, _Fr._ Ditches that are lined.
FOSSES _non revétus_, _Fr._ Ditches that are not lined.
FOUCADE, FOUGADE, a small mine.
FOUGASS, in _mining_, a small mine, from 6 to 8 feet under ground: It
is generally placed under the glacis or dry ditches.
FOUGETTE. _Fr._ Indian sky-rocket, a species of fire-work which
is frequently used by the Asiatics. The author of a late military
production in France makes the following observations relative to
advantages which might be derived from this weapon against cavalry, and
for the defence of fortified places, or intrenchments. He observes,
that the fougette, in shape, resembles a sky-rocket, whose flight is
gradually brought to run along an horizontal direction. By throwing
several fougettes into parks of artillery and upon the caissons, &c.
considerable damage might be occasioned from the fire which would
inevitably be communicated to some part. A fougette forces itself
immediately forward, cuts as it penetrates, by the formation of its
sides, which are filled with small spikes, becomes combustible and
on fire at all its points; and possesses within itself a thousand
various means by which it can adhere to whatever object it is destined
to set on fire or to destroy. This weapon would be more effectual,
because it might be more variously applied, to defend the mouth of
a harbor against an enemy’s shipping, than red-hot balls can ever
prove. Fougettes might be used on board ships of war, but there would
certainly be some danger in the experiment; although, in my humble
opinion, a little experience would effectually remove that difficulty;
in which case ships might run along a coast, and easily destroy the
wooden works that are sometimes erected upon it. They would in the
first place occasion more havoc than red-hot balls; and in the next,
they might be used whilst the vessel was in full sail; which cannot be
done in the first instance. By means of their natural velocity they
would do more execution in a less space of time, than the most active
piece of ordnance could effect; and they would require fewer hands, as
the only necessary operation would be to light and dart them forward.
As a defensible weapon it must naturally be allowed, that, where a
small body of men is attacked, the fougette might be adopted with
considerable advantage.--The writer of this article, who, we find, is
likewise the inventor of a fougette which has been submitted to the
French government, continues to argue much in favor of its adoption.
If, adds he, our enemies should imitate the invention, we must then
have recourse, especially in sea-fights to those pieces of ordnance
which are calculated to do more execution at a distance; and it will
then be our business to contrive fougettes that shall reach their
shipping, by means of a greater degree of force and velocity which
might be given to them, than they would be capable of attaining. See
ROCKET.
FOUILLER, _Fr._ To search. In a military sense, it signifies to detach
small bodies of infantry round the flanks of a column that is marching
through a wood, for the purpose of discovering an ambuscade, and of
giving timely notice that it may be avoided. The same precaution is
necessary when a body of men advances towards or enters a village.
FOUNDATION, in military architecture, is that part of a building which
is under ground, or the mass of stone, brick, &c. which supports a
building, or upon which the walls of a superstructure are raised: or
it is the coffer or bed dug below the level of the ground, to raise
a building upon; in which sense, the _foundation_ either goes to the
whole area or extent of the building, as when there are to be vaults,
galleries, casemates, or the like; or is drawn in cuts or trenches,
as when only walls are to be raised. Sometimes the _foundation_ is
massive, and continued under the whole building, as in the antique
arches and aqueducts; but it is more usually in spaces, or intervals;
in which latter case, insulated pillars, bound together by arches,
should be used.
There are several things to be well considered in laying the
_foundation_ of a military building. We must first examine the bed of
the earth upon which we are to build, and then the under fillings or
substruction. We are not to rest upon any seeming solidity, unless the
whole mould through which we cut has likewise been solid; and in such
cases, allow ¹⁄₆th part of the height of the building for the hollowing
or under-digging, unless there be cellars under ground, in which case
it may be something less. There are many ways to try the firmness of
the ground; but the following, in our opinion, is the best. Take an
iron crow, or such a borer as well-diggers use, which at once will
point out the goodness and tenacity of the ground.
Engineers should use the utmost diligence in this point; for, of all
the errors that may happen in building, those are the most pernicious
which are committed in the foundation, because they bring with them the
ruin of the whole building; nor can they be amended without very great
difficulty.
FOUNDATIONS are either natural, or artificial: natural, as when we
build on a rock, or very solid earth; in which case we need not seek
for any other strengthening; for these, without digging, or other
artificial helps, are of themselves excellent _foundations_, and most
fit to uphold the greatest buildings. But if the ground be sandy or
marshy, or have lately been dug, in such case recourse must be had to
art. In the former case, the engineer must adjust the depth of the
_foundation_ by the height, weight, &c. of the building: ¹⁄₆th part of
the whole height is looked upon as a medium; and as to the thickness,
double that of the width of a wall is a good rule. If you build upon
mossy and loose earth, then you must dig until you find sound ground.
This sound ground, fit to support a building, is of divers kinds: in
some places so hard, as scarcely to be cut with iron; in other places
very stiff; in other places blackish, which is accounted the weakest;
in others like chalk, and in others sandy: but of all these, that is
the best which requires most labor in cutting or digging, and when wet,
does not dissolve into dirt.
If the earth to be built upon is very soft, as in moorish grounds, or
such that the natural _foundation_ cannot be trusted, then you must get
good pieces of oak, whose length should be the breadth of the trench
or about 2 feet longer than the wall; these must be laid across the
foundation about 2 feet asunder, and being well rammed down, lay long
planks upon them; which planks need not lie so broad as the pieces are
long, but only about four inches on a side wider than the basis, or
foot of the wall is to be. But if the ground be so very bad, that this
will not do, then you must provide good piles of oak of such a length
as will reach the good ground, and whose diameter must be about ¹⁄₁₂th
part of their length. These piles must be driven down by an engine for
that purpose, and must be placed as close as one can stand by another;
then lay planks upon them, and pin them fast. But if the ground be
faulty in some parts, and firm in others, you may turn arches over
those loose places, which will discharge them of the weight. You must
not forget to place the piles under the inner, as well as the outer
walls; for if these should sink, it would be a means to make the outer
walls crack, and so ruin the whole building.
Having thus far considered the bed of the earth on which the building
is to be erected, we shall next consider the substruction, as it
was called by the ancients; but our modern engineers call it the
_foundation_. This is the ground-work of the whole edifice, which must
sustain the walls, and may be termed artificial, as the other was
natural; with regard to which, the following things are most necessary
to be observed: 1. That the bottom be exactly level; therefore lay a
platform of good boards. 2. That the lowest ledge or row be all of
stone, the broader the better, laid closely without mortar; which is
a general caution for all parts of a building that are contiguous
to board or timber, because lime and wood are utter enemies to one
another, and, if unfit confiners any where, they are more especially so
in the foundation. 3. That the breadth of the _foundation_ be at least
double the breadth of the wall which is to be raised upon it: but even
in this case art should give way to discretion: and the foundation may
be made either broader, or narrower, according as the ground and the
ponderosity of the edifice require. 4. That the _foundation_ be made
to diminish as it rises, but yet so that there may be as much left on
the one side as on the other; so that the middle of that above may be
perpendicularly over the middle of that below, which should in like
manner be observed in diminishing the walls above ground; for by this
means the building will become much stronger than it would be if the
diminution were made by any other way. 5. That you should never build
on the ruins of an old foundation, unless you are well assured of its
depth, and that its strength is sufficient to bear the building.
The stones in the _foundation_ should be laid as they naturally lay in
the quarry, for they have the most strength in their natural position.
This should be observed in all parts of a building, because all stones
have a cleaving grain; consequently, if the horizontal position of the
stones in the quarry should be placed vertically in the building, the
superincumbent weight would be apt to cleave them, and so render the
building ruinous.
FOUNDER, a person, who casts cannon, &c.
FOUNDERING, a disorder in horses, which may be considered under two
heads, viz.
FOUNDERING _in the feet_, which is an universal rheumatism, or
defluxion of humors upon the sinews of a horse’s feet; so that in the
course of time the hoofs become stiff and callous, and the horse has
no sense or feeling of them. This disorder is generally brought on by
hard riding. Sometimes it proceeds from sudden heats and colds; and
frequently from the horse being watered when he is very hot. Too tight
a shoe, or frequent travelling upon hard flinty ground, will likewise
produce this disorder.
FOUNDERING _in the chest_, a disorder which may be occasioned by
crudities collected in the stomach, or by other infirmities which
obstruct the free action of the lungs. It is discovered by the horse
not being able to bend his joints, and, when once laid, by not being
able to rise again. A swelling in the legs is likewise symptomatic of
it.
FOUNDERY, FOUNDRY, in military matters, the art of casting all kinds
of ordnance, such as cannon, mortars, howitzers, &c. It likewise
signifies the place or work-house wherein these operations are
performed. At present all pieces of artillery are cast solid, and bored
afterwards. Formerly guns were bored perpendicularly, but at present
in a horizontal position: the boring instrument is fixed immoveably,
and forced into the gun or mortar by a mechanical power. The piece
of artillery is turned round by a large wheel, and at the same time
the gun is bored, the outside is turned and polished, by another very
curious machine for that purpose, invented by the very ingenious
Messrs. Verbruggen, founders at Woolwich. Guns were first founded in
England in 1587.
FOURAGE, _Fr._ Forage. In the artillery, it is used figuratively to
signify hay, straw, or any thing else of vegetable growth, which is
used to ram into the bore of a cannon for the purpose of cleansing it.
_Aller au_ FOURAGE, to go a foraging.
FOURAGER, _Fr._ To forage, or look about for provender and provisions.
FOURAGER likewise means among the French to ravage, desolate, pillage,
and waste a country for the purpose of throwing the inhabitants into
disorder. The word is derived from _foras agere_, or to seek for forage
in the fields.
FOURAGEUR, _Fr._ foragers, or men employed to procure forage, &c. for
an army. They are generally escorted. Hence the expression: so many men
have been ordered to escort the foragers. The body of foragers has been
charged by the enemy’s cavalry.
FOURBISSEURS, _Fr._ a sword cutler. The French familiarly say of two
persons who are extremely intimate, _Ces gens sont tête-a-tête comme
des fourbisseurs_, meaning, that, like sword cutlers, (who when they
work sit closely opposite to each other) they are putting their heads
together.
_Se battre a l’épée qui est chez le fourbisseur_, to fight with a
sword which is still in the cutler’s hands; signifying figuratively to
dispute about any thing that does not concern either party.
FOURGON, _Fr._ a sort of waggon. It likewise signifies a poker.
FOURNEAU, _Fr._ furnace, also the chamber of a mine.
FOURIER, _Fr._ A quarter master belonging to a cavalry or infantry
regiment. In France there were _fouriers-majors_ of cavalry who
composed a part of the cavalry staff. Serjeant fourier, and corporal
fourier, answer to our quarter master serjeant.
FOURNIMENT, _Fr._ A horn which holds about one pound of gun-powder to
prime cannon. It is likewise used by cavalry and infantry soldiers, who
hang it across their shoulder. The artillerists keep it in a belt.
FOURCHETTES _à mousquet_, _Fr._ Rests for a musquet. They are sometimes
used to relieve men who do duty on the rampart of a town.
_Chemin_ FOURCHU, a cross way.
_Paix_ FOURREE, _Fr._ a peace suddenly patched up.
_Pays_ FOURRE, _Fr._ a country thick set with hedges, &c. properly
called a close country.
FOURREAU _de pistolet_, a holster.
_Faux_ FOURREAU _de pistolet_, pistol bag.
FOURREAU _d’epée_ the scabbard of a sword.
FOURMILLER, _Fr._ to swarm with. _La France fourmille en braves
soldats_--France swarms with brave soldiers; _L’Angleterre fourmille en
braves marins_--England swarms with brave seamen.
FOUR _de campagne_. A field oven.
FOUR, a place of confinement in Paris to which vagabonds and persons
who could not give any satisfactory account of themselves were
committed; and when once shut up had their names enregistered, and were
enlisted for the service of the old French government. A _four_ in this
acceptation of the term means a room arched over without having the
least aperture to receive day light. There were several such places
of confinement in Paris. They owed their invention to a Monsieur
D’Argenson, and were supposed to add annually two thousand men at least
to the king’s regular army; by which means the capital was relieved
from a multitude of thieves, pick-pockets, &c.
FOURNITURES _des vivres_, _Fr._ See STORES, &c.
FOYER, _Fr._ Focus, or centre of the chamber. See MINE.
FRAISE, in _fortification_, a kind of stakes or palisades placed
horizontally on the outward slope of a rampart made of earth, to
prevent the work being taken by surprise. They are generally 7 or 8
feet long, and about 5 inches thick. When an army intrenches itself,
the parapets of the retrenchments are often fraised in the parts
exposed to an attack.
_To_ FRAISE _a battalion_, is to line, or cover it every way with
pikes, that it may withstand the shock of a body of horse.
FRAISER, _Fr._ To plait, knead or drill....In a military sense to
fraise or fence; as _fraiser un battalion_, is to fraise or fence all
the musquetry-men belonging to a battalion with pikes, to oppose the
irruption of cavalry should it charge them in a plain. At present it
means to secure a battalion by opposing bayonets obliquely forward, or
cross-ways in such a manner as to render it impossible for a horseman
to act against it.
FRAISES, _Fr._ See FRAISE an adopted English term.
FRANCHES, _Fr._..._Les compagnies franches_, free companies, were
bodies of men detached and separated from the rest of the army, having
each a chief, or commandant. They consisted chiefly of dragoons,
hussars, &c. and their peculiar duty was to make irruptions into an
enemy’s country; and may not improperly be called land pirates, as
their chief occupation was to harrass and plunder the enemy and his
adherents, in whatever manner they could, without paying any regard
to military forms. The persons who composed these corps were termed
partisans. They always accompanied the main army in time of war, and
were distributed among the different garrison towns in France during
peace. They were common to every power in Europe; the Pandours and
Hulans were of this description. They were the worst afflictions of
war; and generally as fatal to their _friends_ as their _enemies_.
FRAY, a battle, combat, or duel.
FRICTION, in _mechanics_, the rubbing of the parts of engines and
machines against each other, by which a considerable part of their
effect is destroyed.
It is hardly possible to lay down general rules for computing the
quantity of friction, because it depends upon a multiplicity of
circumstances, as the structure, firmness, elasticity, &c. of bodies
rubbing against each other. Some authors make the friction upon a
horizontal plane, equal to ¹⁄₃d of the weight to be moved; while
others have found it to be considerably less. But however this be, the
doctrine of friction, as ascertained by the latest experiments, may be
summed up in the following manner.
1. When one body rests on another upon a horizontal plane, it presses
it with its whole weight, which being equally reacted upon, and
consequently the whole effect of its gravity destroyed by the plane,
it will be absolutely free to move in any horizontal direction by any
the least power applied thereto, provided both the touching surfaces be
smooth.
2. But since we find no such thing as perfect smoothness in the
surfaces of bodies, arising from their porosity and peculiar texture,
it is easy to understand, that when two such surfaces come together,
the prominent parts of the one will, in some measure, fall into the
concave parts of the other; and therefore, when an horizontal motion
is attempted in one, the fixed prominent parts of the other will give
more or less resistance to the moving surface, by holding and retaining
its parts; and this is what we call friction.
3. Now since any body will require a force equal to its weight, to draw
it over a given obstacle, it follows that the friction arising to the
moving body, will always be in proportion to its weight only, and not
to the quantity of the surface, by which it bears upon the resisting
plane or surface. Thus if a piece of wood 4 inches wide, and 1 thick,
be laid upon another fixed piece of the same wood, it will require the
same weight to draw it along, whether it be laid on its broad or narrow
side.
4. For, though there be 4 times the number of touching particles on
the broad side (_cetæris paribus_) yet each particle is pressed with
only ¹⁄₄th of the weight, that those are on the narrow side, and since
4 times the number multiplied by one fourth of the weight, it is plain
the resistance is equal in both places, and so requires the same force
to overcome it.
5. The reason why friction is proportional to the weight of the moving
body, is, because the power applied to move the body must raise it
over the prominent parts of the surface on which it is drawn; and this
motion of the body, as it is not upright, will not require a power
equal to its whole weight; but being in the nature of the motion on an
inclined plane, it will only require a part of its own weight, which
will vary with the various degrees of smoothness and asperity.
6. It is found by experiment, that a body, may be drawn along by nearly
¹⁄₃d of its weight; and if the surfaces be hard and well polished, by
less than ¹⁄₃d part; whereas, if the parts be soft or rugged, it will
require a much greater weight.
The ingenious Mr. Emerson, in his Principles of Mechanics, has given
the following rules deduced from experiments; but they require some
variation under different circumstances, which must be left to the
judgment of the artist.
1. Wood and all metals, when greased, have nearly the same friction;
and the smoother they are, the less friction they have; yet metals may
be so far polished as to increase friction by the cohesion of their
parts.
Wood slides easier upon the ground in wet weather than in dry, and
easier than iron in dry weather; but iron slides easier than wood,
in wet weather. Lead makes a great deal of resistance. Iron or steel
running in brass, makes the least friction of any. In wood acting
against wood, grease makes the motion twice as easy, or rather ²⁄₃ds
easier. Wheel-naves, greased or tarred, go 4 times easier than when
wet.
Metals oiled make the friction less than when polished, and twice as
little as when unpolished.
In general, the softer or rougher the bodies, the less or greater their
friction.
2. As to particular cases: a cubic piece of soft wood of 8 pounds
weight, moving upon a smooth plane of soft wood, at the rate of 3 feet
per second; its friction is about ¹⁄₃d of the weight of it; but if it
be rough, the friction is little less than one half the weight.
Upon the same supposition, other soft wood upon soft wood very smooth,
the friction is bout ¹⁄₄th of the weight.
Soft wood upon hard, or hard wood upon soft, ¹⁄₅th or 1-half of the
weight. Hard wood upon hard wood, ¹⁄₇th or ¹⁄₈th of the weight.
Polished steel moving upon steel or pewter, ¹⁄₄th of the weight; moving
on copper or lead, ¹⁄₅th of the weight; on brass, ¹⁄₅th of the weight.
Metals of the same sort have more friction than different sorts.
The friction, _cæteris paribus_, increases with the weight almost
in the same proportion. The friction is also greater with a greater
velocity, but not in proportion to it, except in very few cases. A
greater surface also causes somewhat more friction, with the same
weight and velocity; yet friction may sometimes be increased by having
too little surface to move on; as upon clay, &c. where the body sinks.
3. The friction arising from the bending of ropes about machines,
differs according to their stiffness, the temper of the weather, degree
of flexibility, &c., but, _cæteris paribus_, the force or difficulty of
bending a rope is as the square of the diameter of the rope, and its
tension, directly; and the diameter of the cylinder or pulley it goes
about, reciprocally.
A rope of 1 inch diameter, whose tension or weight drawing it is 5
pounds, going over a pully 3 inches diameter, requires a force of 1
pound to bend it.
4. The resistance of a plane moving through a fluid is as the square
of the velocity; and putting _v_ = velocity in feet in a second; it is
equal to the weight of a column of the fluid, whose base is the plane,
and height
_vv_
----.
_b_4
And in a globe it is but half so much.
5. As to the mechanic powers, the single lever makes no resistance by
friction; but if, by the motion of the lever in lifting the fulcrum, or
place of support, be changed further from the weight, the power will be
decreased thereby.
6. In any wheel of any machine, running upon an axis, the friction on
the axis is as the weight upon it, the diameter of the axis, and the
angular velocity. This sort of friction is but small.
7. In the pully, if _p_, _q_, be 2 weights, and _q_ the greater; and
4_pq_
_w_ = -----,
_pxq_
then _w_ is the weight upon the axis of the single pulley; and it is
not increased by the acceleration of the weight _q_, but remains always
the same.
The friction of the pullies is very considerable, when the sheaves rub
against the blocks; and by the wearing of the holes and axles.
The friction of the axis of the pulley is as the weight _w_, its
angular velocity, the diameter of the axis directly, and the diameter
of the pully inversely. A power of 100 pounds, with the addition of 50
pounds, will only draw up 500 with a tackle of 5; and 15 pounds over a
single pully will draw up only 14 pounds.
8. In the screw, there is a great deal of friction: those with sharp
threads have more friction than those with square threads; and endless
screws have more than either. Screws, with a square thread, raise a
weight with more ease than those with a sharp thread.
In the common screw the friction is so great, that it will sustain
the weight in any position given, when the power is taken off; and
therefore the friction is at least equal to the power. From whence it
will follow, that in the screw, the power must be to the weight or
resistance, at least as twice the perpendicular height of a thread to
the circumference described by one revolution of the power; if it be
able to raise the weight, or only sustain it. This friction of the
screw is of great use, as it serves to keep the weight in any given
position.
9. In the wedge, the friction is at least equal to the power, as it
retains any position it is driven into; therefore in the wedge, the
power must be to the weight at least as twice the base to the height,
to overcome any resistance.
10. To find the friction of any engine, begin at the power, and
consider the velocity and the weight at the first rubbing part; and
estimate its quantity of friction by some of the foregoing articles;
then proceed to the next rubbing part, and do the same for it, and so
on through the whole.
And note that something more is to be allowed for increase of friction
by every new addition to the power.
FRILL. An ornamental appendage to the shirt which officers and soldiers
generally wear with regimentals. A small aperture is usually made at
the top to admit the hook and eye of the uniform coat. Detached frills
for the privates are certainly preferable to those which are fixed to
the shirts, as three per week, at the regular times allotted for a
change of linen, would answer every purpose of cleanliness.
FRISE. _Fr._ See CHEVAUX _de Frize_.
FRISRUTTER. An instrument made of iron, and used for the purpose of
blocking up an haven, or a river. The following description of it is
among General Monk’s observations on political and military affairs.
The beams through which the upright bars pass must be twelve feet in
length, and the upright bars that go through the beam must be of that
length, so that when one of these iron frisrutters is let down into an
haven or river, the perpendicular bars of this iron instrument shall be
deep enough to reach at high water within five feet of the surface. See
CHEVAUX-DE-FRIZE.
FROCK, the undress regimental coat is very often so called.
FRONDE, _Fr._ a sling. This weapon was used in France by the Huguenots
at Sancerre, as late as the year 1572, in order to save their powder.
There are two sorts, one which is used in throwing a stone from the
arm, and the other that was fixed to a lever, and was so contrived,
that a large quantity of stones might be thrown out of a machine,
either from a camp into a besieged town, or from a town into the
enemy’s camp. This machine has been used since the invention of cannon.
The fronde or sling was used by the Romans on three different
occasions, viz. when they sent their light-armed men, called _velites_,
forward to skirmish before a general engagement; when they wished
to drive the enemy from under the walls of a town which they were
preparing to storm, and finally to harrass and wound the men in the
enemy’s works. This weapon, in fact, together with the bow and arrow,
may be numbered among the primitive arms of mankind.
FRONT, a word of command signifying, that the men are to turn to their
proper front; this movement is performed at once by revolving on the
left heel, without first planting the right foot, as in the facings.
If the battalion has been faced to the right, the men turn on this
word a quarter circle to the left; if faced to the left, they turn a
quarter circle to the right, if they have been faced to the right, or
left about, they turn a half circle to the right. When the battalion
is marching by files, or is put through its right or left facings, as,
To the Right, Face, To the Left, Face, the word _front_ is some times
used to restore it to its natural situation in line. In displaying,
or, to use the French term, in _deploying_, from close or open column,
or in executing either of those movements from line, the word _front_
precedes _halt_.
FRONT _of a regiment_, the foremost rank of a battalion, squadron, or
any other body of men. To front every way, is when the men are faced to
all sides.
_Quatre hommes de front_, four men in front.
FRONT _of a fortification_. See FACE.
_Front d’un bataillon_, _Fr._ The front of a battalion, consisting
of the leading man of each file. This term is variously used in the
French service, as _Un battalion qui fait front de tous côtés, et
presente les armes par tout_. A battalion which is fronted towards
every quarter and presents arms in every direction. _Un battalion est
sur son front_ signifies, that a battalion is drawn up so that it
presents its natural front in line.
FRONT _give-point_, a movement of the sword used by the cavalry. See
SWORD EXERCISE.
_Rear_-FRONT is the disposition of a body of men in line, or column, so
that the natural formation of the battalion is changed with regard to
aspect, but not to shape. Those files, which in the first telling off
were leaders, become followers. It sometimes happens, that to save time
a column is ordered suddenly to face about and retire; in this case the
different companies march rear front. In the conversion of a regiment,
and during the various manœvres, the divisions, &c. frequently
appear _rear front_. They are restored to their natural order by the
countermarch. Thus a battalion standing in open column, the right in
front, when faced about stands rear front; when countermarched it
resumes its original or natural formation, and stands left in front
with its proper leading files. When a battalion retiring in line, fires
by wings or alternate companies, every retrograde movement is made
_rear front_.
FRONTIER, the limits, confines, or boundaries of any country. See
BARRIER _Towns_.
FUEL, the matter or aliment of fire; any thing capable of ignition.
There is a certain and regulated allowance of fuel made by government,
to regiments and companies.
When there is a sufficient number of rooms in a barrack to allow of one
to a subaltern of infantry, a full allowance of fuel and candles may be
issued for the same.
The weekly deliveries of fuel and candles for every room are not to
exceed the given quantities.
FUGEL-MAN, (an incorrect method of pronouncing _flugel-man_) a well
drilled intelligent soldier advanced in front of the line, to give the
time in the manual and platoon exercises. The word _flugel_ is derived
from the German, and signifies a wing; the man having been originally
posted on the right wing.
FUGITIVE, one who runs from his post, station or duty.
_To_ FUMIGATE, in a general acceptation of the term, to medicate
or heal by vapours; to correct any infected building, or limited
circumference of atmosphere, by smoke, impregnated with antiputrescent
particles of heat. Hospitals are strictly ordered to be attended to on
this head; especially when any contagious disorder has prevailed. But
in no instance ought this important precaution to be so scrupulously
observed as when troops are embarked for any space of time.
FUMIGATION, the act of fumigating or conveying smoke into any confined
place.
The frequent fumigation of every ship on which troops, or prisoners
of war are embarked, is deemed highly material, in order to prevent
mischief from confined air. The materials for fumigation may be
brimstone with saw-dust; or the brimstone may be thrown over hot coals.
Nitre, to which a little vitriolic acid is added; or common salt, with
the same addition of vitriolic acid. Gun-powder wetted, or the heated
loggerhead in the pitch pot.
This operation should always be performed under the immediate eye of
the medical officer on board, to prevent improper quantities of the
articles being used.
FUND. See STOCK PURSE.
FUNERALS. See BURIALS.
FUNNEL, any pipe or passage of communication from one place to another.
_To_ FURL, in regard to military flags or colors, is opposed to their
exposure; and is used, to express the act of folding them so as to be
cased.
FURLOUGH, a leave of absence. Every non-commissioned officer and
soldier who obtains leave of absence from his regiment must be provided
with a proper voucher to satisfy the commanding officer of any place
or party, that he has the sanction of his superiors to pass and repass
within a given period.
The following is an eligible form:
According to the authority vested in me by law, I -------- lieutenant
colonel -------- commanding the -------- quartered at -------- do issue
the following.
“Permit the bearer ---- private -------- in the above regiment and in
captain -------- -------- to pass to -------- in the state of --------
county of -------- for the space of -------- ending the -------- of
-------- and then to return to -------- as no excuse will be taken but
that of sickness, for his over-staying his furlough; and that to be
certified by an officer of the army, or civil magistrate; he behaving
as becometh. He is ---- feet ---- inches high, ---- years of age,
-------- complexion, ---- hair, -------- eyes, &c.”
All soldiers found half a mile from a camp or garrison, going towards
an enemy’s country, or quarters, without a pass, are deemed and treated
as deserters.
FURNACE. In a general acceptation of the term, any vessel or utensil
for maintaining a strong and searching fire, either of coal or wood.
FURNACE is sometimes applied, but improperly so, to that used in the
melting of iron, and by some authors it is confounded with iron forges;
although there is a considerable difference between them. See FOUNDRY.
FURNACE in mining, signifies a hollow, or excavation which is made in
the earth and is charged with gun-powder, for the purpose of blowing up
a rock, wall, or any part of a fortification.
_Mine_ FURNACES must be made under that part of the glacis belonging to
the covert way, which faces the quarter from whence the besiegers will
make their principal attacks, the instant they can be ascertained by
the opening of the trenches. Several small ones must likewise be sunk
under the glacis of the outworks, in order to blow up the lodgments
which the enemy may have made when he has carried the advanced posts.
Mine furnaces are moreover extremely useful in the defence of the
covert way, especially to overthrow the saps and lodgments, together
with the batteries that may have been erected by the besieging enemy.
For a scientific explanation of this article, see Foissac’s last
edition of _Traité de la défense des places par le Maréchal Vauban_,
_tom._ ii. pages 202, 224, 240.
FURNITURE. In a general sense means all sorts of moveables made use
of for the comfort, or decoration of a house. In a military sense it
applies to certain articles which are allowed in barracks, to which are
added household utensils, according to the number of rooms.
By the British regulations, commissioned and warrant officers’ rooms of
cavalry and infantry are to have a closet, 1 table, 2 chairs, a coal
box, coal tray, bellows, fire irons and fender.
Non-commissioned officers and private mens’ rooms of cavalry and
infantry are to be furnished with bedsteads, mattrasses, or paillasses,
bolsters, blankets, sheets, rugs, round towel, closet or shelves, 1
table, rack for arms, set of fire-irons, a fender and three forms.
The following _utensils_ are also allowed for each room: 2 iron
pots with wooden lids, 2 pair of iron pot hooks, 2 iron trivets, 2
wooden ladles; an iron flesh-fork, and a frying-pan, 2 large bowls
or platters; 8 small bowls or porringers, 8 trenchers and 8 spoons
for cavalry rooms; 12 of each of the three last articles for infantry
rooms; a water bucket, coal-tray, candlestick, tin can for beer, large
earthen pan for meat, box or basket for carrying coals; 2 drinking
horns; a wooden urinal, broom and mop.
The guard rooms of cavalry and infantry are furnished with a water
bucket, candlestick, tin can for beer, drinking horns; also with fire
irons and a coal-tray, from 1st Sept. to 1st May, when they are to be
taken into store.
The rooms of the quarter masters and serjeants of cavalry, and the
serjeant major, and quarter master serjeant of infantry, to be
furnished with the necessary bedding and utensils, in the same manner
as is allowed to the soldiers’ rooms.
Each stable of cavalry for 8 horses is provided with 2 pitchforks, 2
shovels, 1 lantern, 1 wheel-barrow, 2 water buckets; and allowed 4
brooms per month.
_Horse_ FURNITURE, ornaments and embellishments which are adopted by
military men when they are mounted for service or parade, consisting
chiefly of housins, saddle cloth, &c. The following are the usual
distinctions in the British service:
Field Marshal, }
General, }Saddle cloth or covering leopard skin trimmed
Lieutenant General, }with black bear skin.
Major General, }
Brigadier General, }
Colonel of Infantry, }
Lt. Colonel of ditto,}White furniture.
Major of ditto, }
Aid de Camp, }White do. trimmed with black.
Brigade Major, }
Cavalry--cloth trimmed with silver, or gold. Privates in cavalry
regiments--large saddle cloths, the centre of which is yellow, with a
border to agree with the facings of the regiment. The tenth regiment of
light dragoons is an exception to this general custom. The privates of
that corps have a large piece of broad blue cloth which is thrown over
the saddle, and covers the horse’s loins.
At the commencement of the present war, officers were dispensed from
wearing furnitures at reviews, because it was judged very properly that
the expence of 14 or 15 guineas for an article which was worn one day
in the year, was at such a moment unnecessary.
FUSES, in artillery, are chiefly made of very dry beach wood, and
sometimes of horn-beam taken near the root. They are turned rough and
bored at first, and then kept for several years in a dry place. The
diameter of the hole is about ¹⁄₄th of an inch; the hole does not go
quite through, having about ¹⁄₄ of an inch at the bottom; and the head
is made hollow in the form of a bowl.
The composition for fuses is, salt petre 3, sulphur 1, and mealed
powder 3, 4, and sometimes 5. This composition is driven in with
an iron driver, whose ends are capped with copper, to prevent the
composition from taking fire; and to keep it equally hard; the last
shovel-full being all mealed powder, and 2 strands of quick match laid
across each other, being driven in with it, the ends of which are
folded up into the hollow top, and a cap of parchment tied over it
until it be used.
When these fuses are driven into the loaded shell, the lower end is cut
off in a slope, so that the composition may inflame the powder in the
shell. The fuze must be of such a length as to continue burning all the
time the shell is in its range, and to set fire to the powder as soon
as it touches the ground, which occasions the shell instantly to burst
into many pieces.
When the distance of the battery from the object is known, the time of
the shell’s flight may be computed to a second or two; which being
ascertained, the fuse may be cut accordingly, by burning two or three,
and making use of a watch, or of a string by way of a pendulum, to
vibrate seconds.
FUSEE, according to the French acceptation of the word, is applied to
various purposes, and belongs to various instruments of destruction
which are used in war. The fusee is differently made by different
artificers. Some make it consist of one pound of gunpowder, and two or
three ounces of charcoal well mixed together; others of four pounds of
gun-powder, two of saltpetre, and one of sulphur. It must be generally
remarked, that the time a bomb, or grenade, will take to burst after it
has been thrown out of the mortar, must depend entirely upon the length
and quality of the fusee.
FUSEES _à bombes_, _Fr._ bomb fuses. The intent and object of these
fuses, are to communicate fire to the gun-powder, with which the bomb
is filled, in order to force it to burst and separate in broken pieces
on any given spot. These fuses are usually made in the shape of a
wooden pipe or tap, out of the linden tree, the alder, or any other
dry and solid wood, and are afterwards filled with a slow combustible
composition. The materials are increased, or diminished, according to
the nature of their application. Fuses are sometimes made of copper,
and they must not have the least aperture or fissure.
There are fuses for bombs of 12, of 10, and of 8 inches diameter.
Fuses for bombs of 12 inches diameter, are 8 inches 4 lines long,
being 1 inch 8 lines broad at the thick, and 1 inch 2 lines broad at
the thin end; the breadth or diameter of the light, or aperture, is 5
lines. Fuses decrease nearly 1 inch in length and 2 lines in diameter,
according to the calibre of the bomb. The diameters of the lights or
apertures, only diminish one half line.
The composition for bomb fuses consists of seven parts of priming
powder to four of salt-petre, and three of sulphur. These different
materials are (each separately) first passed through a silk sieve; and
after they have been well mixed together, the whole mass is thrown into
a moderate sized hair sieve, and again passed through.
The fuse is gradually filled with this composition, each proportion
being well pressed in, without violence. Iron ramrods, fitted to the
bore of the fuse are used for this purpose. Every time the materials
are poured in, the ramrod is inserted, and by means of a small mallet,
with which it is struck 14 or 15 times, the composition is pressed into
a hard consistency.
When fuses have been well loaded, and the materials have previously
been properly mixed, they will naturally burn with an equal steady
fire, preserving in general an even length of flame, without spitting
or irregularly shaking.
In order to preserve fuses for a length of time, the composition, when
thoroughly prepared, must be covered with a mastick or cement made of
²⁄₃ds bees-wax and ¹⁄₃d rosin, well mixed together. Bomb fuses prepared
in this manner, will burn either in water, or in earth, nearly 70
seconds, without being extinguished.
The usual method of priming fuses, is to grate about one third of a
French inch of composition. Two small matches about 5 or 6 inches
long, with the ends bent inwards, are then well fixed with pounded
composition to the eye of the fuse, by which last operation it is
completely filled and closed. This part is finally covered over with
cartridge paper that is tied, and remains so till there is occasion to
use it. Before the fuse is driven into the bomb, the thin or small end
must be cut off, in order that the fire may be easily communicated to
the mass of gun-powder, which is lodged in the bomb.
FUSEES _à bombes_, _à feu-mort_, bomb fuses with dead light. There is
a species of bomb-fuse, which is distinguished by the term _feu mort_,
or dead-light. The difference between these fuses and the ordinary ones
consists in this, that the eye instead of being pierced and hollow,
is full and of a half spherical shape. In both cases, however, the
composition is introduced through the small end.
The composition for fuses, _à feu-mort_, consists of 16 parts of
pounded gunpowder and 9¹⁄₂ parts of ashes. The ashes must be baked
over again, and run through a silk sieve. Potter’s earth or clay will
produce the same effect as ashes.
In proceeding to charge a bomb-fuse that is made of ordinary wood, the
eye, or aperture is first closed with pipe-clay, which is well beaten
and pressed against the fuse in a small platter; the thin end of the
fuse being held upwards. Three lines (or ³⁄₁₂ths of a French inch) of
this earth will be sufficient to stop the communication of any fire.
A tube, or trundle, filled with pounded gunpowder for the purpose of
setting fire to the composition called _feu mort_, is thrust into
the fuse, by which it is finally charged. If this charge of pounded
gunpowder were to be omitted, the fuse might not be susceptible of
ignition; but the quantity never ought to exceed 3 lines, as the fuse
would split by the explosion.
When the grains of gunpowder have been well pounded, a trundle, or tube
filled with the aforementioned composition must be applied, and it is
finally loaded like the rest.
It must be recollected, that two inches of this composition will last
as long as one of the quality with which common fuses are charged.
Before the fuse is driven into the bomb, it must be pierced through
with a gimblet of one line diameter, taking care, that the hole is
made precisely through the charge of pounded gunpowder. One end of a
priming match must be forced in, and three others be tied to it, which
three are to fall upon the bomb when it lies in the mortar.
The particular object to be obtained from this sort of fuse, is
to prevent the least trace of fire or light being visible in its
projection; so that the enemy may remain ignorant of the range, or
direction of the bomb, and not be able, of course, to get out of the
way when it falls, or to avoid the effects of its explosion.
These fuses were made use of at the siege of Ham in 1761. The
experiments which were made in 1792, with this composition, by an
artificer belonging to the ordnance-board at Douay, have proved, that
it answers every purpose for which it is invented.
The author of the _Manual de l’Artilleur_, from whose treatise these
observations are taken, concludes this article by stating that the
advantages to be derived from this invention are not so great as they
at first appear.
He remarks that with respect to the real utility of the fuse _à feu
mort_, if it be considered as tending martially to the defence of any
besieged place, the argument cannot be very forcible, when we reflect,
that to gain time constitutes one of the principal means of defence,
and that the only way to obtain it is by regarding the besiegers’
operations. These ends are gained by various expedients. Among others,
the common lighted fuse conduces not a little; since during the
whole direction of the bomb against the works of the assailants, the
attention of the workmen is diverted from their immediate labour, and
as long as it continues in its range, much uneasiness is created,
because its ultimate explosion and concomitant destruction are unknown.
Add to this, that independent of the confusion which is occasioned
among the assailants by repeated projectiles, the bombadier by means
of the lighted fuses, is enabled to correct his aim during the darkest
night. The same principles must certainly hold good in attacks; and
from a conviction of their solid utility in both instances, the common
fuses have been hitherto adopted, although the kind in question has
been known for several years.
FUSEES _à grenades_, _Fr._ fuses for grenades. These fuses are made of
the same quality of wood as those adopted for bombs. Their length is
2 inches 6 lines; their diameter at the head is 10 lines; 7 lines in
diameter 1 inch from the head, and 2 lines in diameter to the sight or
aperture. The composition of these fuses consists of 5 parts of priming
gunpowder, 3 parts of sulphur, and 2 of saltpetre: or 3 parts of
priming powder, 2 of saltpetre, and one of sulphur.
These fuses must be loaded with the same care and precision as are
required in bomb-charges; that is, the thick end of the fuse must be
placed downwards, so that it stands upright; the composition must then
be introduced by means of a trundle, which the French call _lanterne_,
made for that specific purpose; the composition must, after that, be
well pressed in with an iron ramrod fitted to the bore of the fuse, and
gradually forced in by gentle taps with a mallet. Great precaution must
be observed during this operation, as too much violence might split
the fuse. When the fuse has been half filled, a shorter ramrod must be
used, with which the charge is completed. In making bomb-fuses great
care must be taken to strike equal blows with the mallet until you get
to the three last, when the strength of each blow must be increased.
FUSEES _d’obus_, _Fr._ howitzer-fuses. These are generally made of the
same composition and wood, as serve for bombs, and are loaded in a
similar manner. They have the same dimensions when applied to calibres
of 8 or 6 inches diameter; that is, they contain 5 inches 4 lines in
length; 15 lines diameter at the small end, 3 lines diameter at the
thick end; 13 lines diameter 1 inch from the head; the eye, or vent is
10 lines. These fuses do not exceed the vent of an howitzer, so much as
bomb fuses do the vent of bombs. They are in fact, shorter.
FUSEES _volantes_, _Fr._ sky-rockets. These fuses are made of various
dimensions, and serve for signals in times of war. They are sometimes 2
inches and more in diameter. The cartridges with which they are loaded,
contain in thickness the sixteenth part, or more of the diameter.
The composition which is used for fuses of this description, consists
of 16 parts of saltpetre, 7¹⁄₂ of charcoal, and 4 of sulphur; or of
16 parts of saltpetre, 6 of charcoal, 4 of sulphur, and 2 of priming
gunpowder. The materials must be carefully pounded and well mixed
together. Hollow rods of various lengths are used to charge these
fuses. They must have cavity enough to admit the stick.
Fuses are tied to long sticks, or rods made of very light wood, such as
hazel tree which must have been cut some time, and be perfectly dry.
They must likewise be straight, and contain from 7 to 8 feet in length;
the thick end of the rod, in which 2 notches are made to fix it to the
fuse, must be 7 or 8 lines in diameter, and at the small end 3 to 4
lines diameter. When the rod is rather heavy, it takes a more upright
direction than when it is light; but it does not acquire so many
degrees of elevation.
It must be generally remarked, that as soon as a fuse is fixed to a
grenade, which is not intended for immediate use, you must melt some
pitch and immerse the head of the fuse, instantly dipping it into
cold water, by which precaution the composition will remain unaltered;
unless the wood be rotten.
FUSEE, FUSIL, or FUZEE, a light musquet.
FUSILS _à l’épée_, _Fr._ fusils with long bayonets, shaped like a cut
and thrust sword. These weapons have been proposed by the writer of
_Melanges Militaires_, as being extremely useful in the rear rank of a
battalion, or in detached bodies that are stationed for the defence of
baggage, &c.
Something similar to this invention has been adopted by the dismounted
light horse volunteers in London, who have in addition temporary sword
hilts made to fit the sockets of their bayonets.
FUSILS, _mousquets_, _Fr._ a sort of fusil which was invented by
Marshal Vauban, and which was so contrived, that in case the flint did
not strike fire, the powder might be inflamed by means of a small match
which was fixed to the breech.
FUSILS _à chevalets_, a species of fusils upon rests, which is
recommended by Marshal Vauban, to be used at the commencement of a
siege, about 50 or 100 toises in front of the glacis, at the entrances
of narrow passes, &c.
FUSILEERS, are soldiers armed like the infantry, with this difference
only, that their musquets are shorter and lighter than those of the
battalion and the grenadiers. They wear caps which are somewhat less in
point of height, than common grenadier caps. There are three regiments
in the English service: the royal regiment of Scotch Fusileers, raised
in 1678; the royal regiment of Welch Fusileers, raised in 1685; and the
royal regiment of Welch Fusileers, raised in 1688-9.
It is always presumed, that these corps, like the guards, possess an
_esprit de corps_, which is peculiar to themselves.
As the fusileer regiments upon the British establishment are
distinguished from other corps by some peculiarities, we shall briefly
state what has occurred to us on the subject. In former times the
officers of these regiments did not carry spontoons, but had fusils
like the officers of flank companies throughout the line. At present
they wear swords. It is necessary to remark, that there are not any
ensigns in fusileer regiments; their junior officers rank as second
lieutenants, taking precedence of all ensigns, and those of the 7th
or Royal Fusileers, have no second lieutenants; so that they rank,
with the rest of the army according to the dates of their several
commissions, as lieutenants. On account of this difference, the first
commission in the fusileers was, by a regulation issued from the War
Office in 1773, rated fifty pounds higher than that of an ensign;
whilst the first commission in the 7th having the pay of lieutenant
attached to it, was rated at 500_l._ that of the other two, having
only the pay of ensign annexed, was 450_l._
When the estimates of the British army were made out for the year 1755,
the extra sum of 164_l._ 5_s._ per annum was charged against the 7th
regiment. This surplus, however, was easily explained when it came
to be understood, that that regiment, being a fusileer corps, had 20
lieutenants, instead of 11 lieutenants and 9 ensigns. The difference
between these commissions amounted to 9_s._ per diem, and the sum
total to 164_l._ 5_s._ per annum. The 23d, or royal regiment of Welch
fusileers, wear helmets; and all officers belonging to fusileer corps
have two epaulettes.
FUSILIERS, _Fr._ Fusileers are men armed with fusils or light musquets.
When pikes were in use among the French, each regiment had only four
fusileers, exclusive of ten grenadiers who carried the fusil or
musquet. At present fusils or musquets are universally adopted in
the European armies. Among the French there was a distinct regiment
of fusileers under the immediate command of the grand master of the
ordnance. The length of a French fusil was directed to consist of three
French feet eight inches from the touch-hole to the muzzle, and the
calibre to have the diameter of a ball taking twenty to the pound.
FUYARD, _Fr._ a run-a-way, a coward.
_Un corps fuyard_, _Fr._ a regiment that has been in the habit of
running away.
FUZE. See FUSE.
FUZES. _Composition._
Saltpetre 3 lbs. 4 oz.
Sulphur 1 --
Mealed powder 2 12
+---------+-------------------+--------------------+------+
| | Fuse Diameter. | Composition. | Drove|
| Kind. |below| at | at |Diam-|Length.|Time |by one|
| | the | the | the |eter.| | it |man in|
| |cup. |bottom.| cup.| | |burns.|1 day.|
+---------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-------+------+------+
| Inches. | In. | Inch. |Inch.| In. | In. | ″ | No. |
| 13 | 2.1 | 1.575 | 2.49| .5 | 8.4 | 35 | 25 |
| 10 | 1.8 | 1.55 | 2.13| .438| 7.2 | 33 | 25 |
| 8 | 1.3 | 1.25 | 1.78| .375| 6.37 | 29 | 30 |
| 5¹⁄₂ | 1.1 | .825 | 1.3 | .275| 4.4 | 18 | 50 |
| 4¹⁄₂ | 1.0 | .75 | 1.18| .25 | 3.5 | 15 | 703 |
|Grenades.| 0.8 | .6 | .9 | .2 | 2.25 | | 1000 |
+---------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-------+------+------+
Diameter inside the cup is 3 diameters of the bore.
Depth of the cup 1¹⁄₂ do.
Thickness of wood at bottom of the bore, 2 diameters.
_To find the length of Fuzes for any Range._
The 13 and 10 inch fuzes of the same length burn so nearly equal,
that one common length answers both, as do the 8 inch, 5¹⁄₂ and 4²⁄₅.
Therefore, to find the length of fuze for any range, multiply the
time of flight by 22 for the 13 and 10 inch, and by 24 for the 8,
5¹⁄₂ and 4²⁄₅; which is the decimal part of an inch a fuze burns in
a second. Fuzes are thought to keep better by being painted; and for
field service, are often marked off by black lines into seconds and ¹⁄₂
seconds.
G.
GABION, in fortification, is a kind of basket, made of ozier-twigs,
of a cylindrical form, having different dimensions, according to what
purpose it is used for. Some gabions are 5 or 6 feet high, and 3 feet
in diameter: these serve in sieges, to carry on the approaches under
cover, when they come pretty near the fortification. Those used in
field-works are 3 or 4 feet high, and 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet diameter. There
are also gabions, about 1 foot high, 12 inches diameter at top, and
from 8 to 10 at bottom, which are placed along the top of the parapet,
to cover the troops in firing over it, they are filled with earth.
In order to make them, some pickets, 3 or 4 feet long, are struck
into the ground, in form of a circle, and of a proper diameter,
wattled together with small branches, in the manner of wattled fences.
Batteries are often made of gabions. See BATTERY.
GABIONS.--Small gabions of 3 feet high, and 2 feet diameter, are made
with least trouble, and are easiest carried. The pickets for them must
be 1¹⁄₂ or 2 inches thick, and 4 feet long. Large gabions are 6 feet
high, and 3 feet in diameter; and require two men to carry them. The
smallest gabions or baskets are formed of pickets, 1 inch in thickness,
and 1 foot long: they are 12 inches in diameter at top, and 10 at
bottom. The small gabions have 7 or 8 pickets, the large ones 9 or 10.
_To make them_--The pickets are first to be fixed in the ground in a
circle, the size or the bottom of the intended gabion; then a few twigs
are to be wove through the upper ends, to keep them from flying out;
afterwards the work must be begun at the bottom and continued upwards;
and the whole being well driven down with a mallet, the edges must be
secured by twigs, wattled up and down. The twigs of willow, birch,
hazle, alder, poplar, and beech are proper for this purpose. The top
of the gabion must be made very even, because that becomes the bottom
when finished. Four men are usually employed on each gabion, with a
billhook, a mallet, a spade, and two axes. Two collect the wood, while
the other two form the gabion. A 3 foot gabion ought to be made in half
an hour.
_Stuft_-GABIONS, in fortification, are made in the same manner as the
former: they are only filled with all sorts of branches and small wood,
and are 4 or 6 feet long: they serve to roll before the workmen in the
trenches to cover them in front against musquet-shot.
GABION _farci_, _Fr._ a stuft gabion.
GABIONADE, _Fr._ a term made use of when a retrenchment is suddenly
thrown up and formed of gabions, for the purpose of covering the
retreat of troops, who may be obliged to abandon a work, after having
defended it to the last extremity. Every parapet that is made of
gabions is generally called _gabionade_.
GABIONNER, _Fr._ to cover or secure with gabions.
GAFFLES, the steel lever with which the ancients bent their cross-bows.
GAGES, _Fr._ wages. Among the French this phrase signified the fruits
or compensations which were derived by individuals from appointments
given by the crown, whether of a military, civil, or judicial nature,
or for service done at sea or by land.
GAIN is frequently used in a military sense, as _they gained the day_,
&c.
_To_ GAIN _ground_. See GROUND.
GAINE _de flamme_, _Fr._ a sort of linen sheath or cover, into which
the staff of a flag or pendant is put.
GAINE _de pavilion_, _Fr._ a cloth, or linen-band, which is sewed
across the flag, and through which the different ribands are interlaced.
GAINES _de girouettes_, _Fr._ bands, or pieces of linen, with which the
vanes are tied to the staff.
GAITERS, a sort of cover for the leg, usually made of cloth, and are
either long as reaching to the knee, or short, as only reaching just
above the ancle; the latter are termed half-gaiters.
GALERIES _Capitales_, _Fr._ are those galleries which lie under the
capitals in works of fortification.
GALERIE _tranversale_, _Fr._ is a gallery in fortification which cuts
the capital in a perpendicular direction.
GALERIE _meurtriére ou de premiere envelope_, _Fr._ a gallery which
runs under the whole extent of the covert-way, and is frequently
carried close to the counterscarp, in order to afford a circulation of
air.
GALERIE _d’envelope_, _Fr._ a gallery which is constructed at the
extremity of the glacis, and is commonly made parallel to the magistral
or principal line of fortification. The _envelope_ is the chief gallery
in a fortress or garrison-town, and serves as a path of communication
or covered way to all the rest.
It is of the utmost consequence to the besieged to secure this gallery
from every approach of the enemy; and if any impression should be made,
to repair the injury without delay. From this gallery the garrison
always direct their attacks, whenever it is necessary to keep the
assailants out of the covert-way.
GALERIE _d’écoute_, _Fr._ a gallery in front of the envelope.
_Ecouter_, which signifies to listen, sufficiently explains the purpose
for which these galleries are erected.
_Petites_ GALERIES, _ou rameaux_, _Fr._ small galleries, branches, or
_arraignées_, in fortification, which issue from the counter-mine, and
at the extremities of which the furnace or chamber for the lodgment of
gunpowder is constructed. There is not any established or fixed rule to
direct the height to which small galleries, branches, or _arraignées_
ought to be carried; in general they should have the least possible
elevation.
When galleries are built of mason-work their height is from five to six
feet, their breadth from three to four, and sometimes only three.
GALERIES _de mines_, _Fr._ galleries in mining differ from
counter-mines, in as much as that they are supported by coffers resting
upon frames, which are covered with earth three feet in depth; that
is, two feet and a half from one frame to another. These galleries are
usually built three feet and a half high, and two and a half broad; and
whenever there is a necessity to work in the rameau or arraignée, the
galleries in that case are reduced to smaller proportions.
GALERIE _magistrale_, _Fr._ in mining signifies any covered avenue
or gallery which is parallel to the magistral or principal line of
the place, and exists under the whole or part of the front of the
fortifications. This gallery is usually as thick as the enemy’s
mason-work against which the counter-mine is directed. By means of this
work, the besieged generally endeavour to interrupt every attempt which
the besiegers may make in the passage of the fossé or ditch.
GALERIE _à passer un fossé_, a gallery constructed for the purpose of
crossing a ditch. It is a small passage made of timber-work, having
its beams or supporters driven into the bottom of the ditch, and
being covered at top with boards that are again covered with earth,
sufficiently strong to bear the miner, and to withstand the effect of
artificial fire, or the weight of stones which the enemy might direct
against them. This sort of gallery is sometimes called the traverse, or
cross way.
These galleries have been out of use for some years. The miner gets at
the body of the place which is attacked, either through a subterraneous
gallery that is dug beneath the ditch, when the nature of the ground
will permit the attempt, or under cover of the epaulement, which
covers the passage of the ditch. When the ditch is full of water, and
the miner has made considerable progress under it, he instantly makes
the best of his way to the breach, either by swimming, or by supporting
his body on a raft of timber; as soon as he has reached the spot, he
works into the earth among the ruins of the wall, and completes the
object of his enterprize.
GALERIES _de communication_, _Fr._ are subterraneous galleries, by
means of which, the garrison of a besieged town or place may, without
being perceived by the enemy, communicate from the body of the place,
or from the counterscarp, with the different outworks.
GALERIES _souterraines des anciens_, _Fr._ Subterraneous galleries as
originally invented by the ancients. The author of the Dictionnaire
Militaire in his last edition of that work enters upon the explanation
of these galleries by the following curious assertion.
“I must, he observes, in this place, assert with the chevalier Folard,
that it would be absurd to deny the superiority which the ancients
possessed over us in the essential knowlege and requisites of war, and
that they pushed the different branches of that science to as high a
pitch of perfection as it was possible to raise it.
“The only inventions which the moderns can boast of, are those of
fire-arms, mines, and furnaces. But then, on the other hand, we
stand indebted to them for our lines of circumvallation and of
contravallation, our approaches or trenches which are effected from
a camp to its different batteries, together with the construction of
those batteries; our parallel entrenchments or places of arms, the
descent into, or the filling up of the ditch, our covered saps in
mining, and our open galleries; we owe to them, in fact, the original
art of throwing up works and of creating obstacles, by which we are
enabled to secure ourselves, or by various stratagems to annoy our
enemies. The ancients were indeed superior to us, in the means of
defence.
“The origin of subterraneous galleries or passages in mining, is
totally unknown to us; a circumstance which proves their antiquity. We
read in the History of Josephus, that the Jews frequently made use of
them; so that neither the Greeks nor the Romans, who, in many instances
arrogate to themselves the exclusive glory of invention, were the
authors of this discovery.
“The method which was pursued by the ancients in their passages of
mines, resembled the one that is invariably followed by the moderns.
But the latter possess a considerable advantage over the former, in
this sort of attack and defence, which advantage consists wholly in the
invention of gunpowder.
“The ancients, it is well known, could only undermine in one way;
namely under the terraces or cavaliers, or under the towers and
battering-testudo-machines (_tortues bélieres_,) and in order to do
any execution, they were obliged, in the first place, to construct a
spacious high subterraneous chamber, to carry away and raise the earth,
to support the remainder by powerful props, and afterwards to fill the
several chambers with dry wood and other combustible materials, which
were set fire to in order to reduce the towers and various machines
that were placed above, into one common heap of ruins. But this attempt
did not always succeed; for owing to the magnitude of the undertaking
and the time it required, the enemy might either trace the miners, cut
off their communication with the main body of the place, or get into
the chambers before they could be finished, or be properly prepared for
inflammation.
“The ancients constructed their galleries on a larger scale than we
adopt. They were wider, but less elevated; whereas those that we use
require less trouble; our chamber mines being more contracted, and
having an advantage of access by means of the different branches. One
or two small chambers are sufficient with us to blow up the whole face
of a bastion. But the ancients only sapped in proportion to the extent
of wall which they were determined to demolish. This was a tedious
operation; for when the besieger had reached the foot of the wall, it
became necessary to run a gallery along the whole extent of what he
proposed to demolish. Subsequent to this, he had to operate upon the
entire front, during which the besieged found time and opportunities to
open subterraneous passages, and to discover those which the assailants
were practising against them. In the latter, indeed they seldom failed.
“The Romans were extremely partial to subterraneous galleries. By means
of these secret passages they took Fidenæ, and Veiæ; and Darius, king
of Persia, by the same method took Chalcedon. That species of gallery
which is run out under the soil of an encampment, and pushed forward
into the very body of a town, has been known from time immemorial. The
Gauls were likewise very expert in their management of subterraneous
galleries. Cæsar mentions the use of them in five or six places of his
Commentaries.”
GALERIE _de pourtour_, _Fr._ in architecture, a sort of gallery which
is raised either in the inside, or on the outside, and surrounds the
whole or part of a building.
GALEA, GALIOT, a low built vessel for the conveyance of troops and
stores, having both sails and oars.
GALION, _Fr._ a name which was formerly given to French ships of war
that had three or four decks. The term, however, is in disuse, except
among the Spaniards, who call vessels _galions_, that sail to Santa
Marguerita, to Terra Firma, Carthagena, Porto-Bello, &c.
GALIOTE _à bombes_, _Fr._ a bomb-ketch. A vessel built of very strong
timber, with flat ribs and half decks. It is used for the carriage
of mortars, that are placed upon a false deck which is made in the
hold. Chevalier Renau first invented this species of naval battery,
and submitted it to the French government. The Dey of Algiers having
declared war against France, this ingenious man naturally imagined,
that the most effectual method which could be adopted to strike terror
into the barbarians, would be to bombard their capital, and this, he
knew, could not be done, except from the decks of ships. His proposal
was at first treated with extreme neglect, and was considered in full
council, as the project of a visionary madman.
This disheartening circumstance, however, (which as Monsieur Belidor
has very justly remarked, almost always attends original plans and
inventions) did not check the warm mind of Chevalier Renau. His known
abilities had secured some powerful partisans in his favor, and the
French government at last consented, that he should construct two
_galiotes à bombes_ at Dunkirk, and three at Havre de Grace. Having
completed them, he sailed for Algiers; and after having braved the most
tempestuous weather, got before the place with five vessels of that
description. The town was bombarded during the whole of the night; and
so great was the consternation of the inhabitants, that they rushed out
of the gates, to avoid the dreadful effects of so unexpected an attack.
The Algerines immediately sued for peace, and as M. de Fontenelle has
shrewdly remarked, the Chevalier Renau returned to France with his
_galiotes à bombes_, having obtained a complete triumph, not only over
the Algerines, but over the petty cavillers against his invention.
Orders were instantly issued to construct others after the same model,
and the king gave directions, that a new corps of artillery officers
should be formed, for the specific purpose of doing duty on board the
galiotes or bomb-ketches.
GALLERY, a passage of communication to that part of a mine where the
powder is lodged. See GALERIE.
GALLET. _Fr._ See JALET.
GALLIVATS are large row-boats, used in India. They are built like the
grab, but of smaller dimensions, the largest rarely exceeding 70 tons;
they have two masts, of which the mizen is very slight; the mizen mast
bears only one sail, which is triangular and very large, the peak of
it, when hoisted, being much higher than the mast itself. In general
the gallivats are covered with a spar deck, made for lightness of
bamboos split, and these carry only patteraroes, which are fixed on
swivels in the gunnel of the vessel; but those of the largest size have
a fixed deck, on which they mount six or eight pieces of cannon, from
two to four pounders; they have forty or fifty stout oars, and may be
rowed four miles an hour.
GALLOPER, a piece of ordnance of small calibre.
GAMACHE, _Fr._ See GAITERS.
GAMBESON, _Fr._ a term which the French formerly applied to a coat of
mail that was worn under the cuirass. It was likewise called _cotte
gamboisée_. It was made of two strong cloths interwoven with pointed
worsted.
GAMBLING. Every species of chance play, such as hazard, &c. should
be strictly forbidden in the army. The non-commissioned officers and
private soldiers are severely punished when found guilty of this
mischievous practice; and in some services the officers are treated
with equal severity.
GAMELLE, _Fr._ a wooden or earthen bowl used among the French soldiers
for their messes. It generally contained the quantity of food which
was allotted for three, five, or seven men belonging to the same room.
The porridge-pots for the navy were made of wood, and held a certain
allowance. During the monarchy of France, subaltern officers and
volunteers were frequently punished for slight offences by being sent
to the _gamelle_, and excluded their regular mess, and put upon short
allowance, according to the nature of their transgression.
GANTELET, _Fr._ See GAUNTLET.
GANGES, a considerable river in India in Asia. It rises in the
mountains which border on Little Thibet, in 82 degrees of east
longitude, and 32 degrees 45 minutes of north latitude. According to
the ingenious author of the History of Indostan, it disembogues itself
into that country through a pass called the straights of Kupele, which
are distant from Delhi, about 30 leagues, in the longitude of 96, and
in the latitude of 30° 2′. These straights are believed by the Indians,
who look very little abroad, to be the sources of the Ganges; and a
rock 15 miles distant from them, bearing some resemblance to the head
of a cow, has joined in the same part of the country two very important
objects of their religion; the grand image of the animal which they
almost venerate as a divinity, and the first appearance of that immense
body of holy water, which is to wash away all their sins.
GANTLET, GAUNTLET, in ancient military history, a large kind of glove,
made of iron, and the fingers covered with small plates: it was
formerly worn by cavaliers, or single knights of war, when armed at all
points, but is now in disuse.
GANTLET or _gantelope_, denotes a kind of military punishment, in which
the criminal running between the ranks receives a lash from every man.
See RUN THE GANTLET.
GAP. See BREACH.
GAR, the general term used by the Saxons, for a weapon of war.
GARCON-_Major_, _Fr._ an officer so called in the old French service.
He was selected from among the lieutenants of a regiment to assist the
aid-majors in the general detail of duty.
GARDE _d’une Place_, _Fr._ the garrison of a place. See GARRISON.
Garde _du l’armée_, _Fr._ the grand guard of an army. Guards in the
old French service were usually divided into three sorts: _Guard of
Honor_, _Fatigue Guard_, and _the General’s Guard_. That was called a
_guard of honor_ in which the officers and men were most exposed to
danger; for the quintessence of military honor is to be often in peril,
and either to fall courageously in the discharge of duty, or to return
from the field after having exhibited proofs of valor, prudence and
perseverance. A _fatigue guard_ belonging to a garrison or to a camp. A
_general’s guard_ was mounted before the door or gate of the house in
which the commanding officer resided. For a more specific account of
guards in general see GUARD.
GARDES _de corps_, _Fr._ the body guards. Under the old government of
France they consisted of a certain number of gentlemen or cavaliers
whose immediate duty was to attend the king’s person. They were divided
into four companies, under as many captains, whose tour of duty came
every quarter. They took rank above the Gens-d’armes and the king’s
light cavalry.
The first and most ancient of the four companies was called the _Scotch
company_.
In 1423 Charles VII. of France established this body of gentlemen or
cavaliers, for the purpose of shewing the great confidence which he
placed in the Scots; who were not a little indebted for this mark of
distinction to the service which their countryman Lord Buchan, eldest
son to the Duke of Albany, rendered the French in 1421 at the battle
of Bangé en Anjou, where the English army was completely routed. In
order to preserve the remembrance of their behaviour, and in token
of their gratitude to the Scotch nation, the French king gave orders
that whenever the roll-call took place in the Scotch company, each
individual instead of answering Me voila! should say _I am here!_ or
_here!_
GARDES-_feux_, _Fr._ wooden cases or boxes used to hold cartridges.
GARDES _fous_, _Fr._ the rails of a bridge.
GARDE _imperiale_, _Fr._ The only guard of honor which at present
exists in France.
GARDES _Francoises_, _Fr._ the French Guards--In 1563 Charles IX. King
of the French, raised a regiment for the immediate protection of the
palace. The colonel or the gardes Francoises was on duty throughout the
year, and was entitled to the _baton de commandement_ in common with
the four captains of the body guards. Peculiar privileges were attached
to every officer belonging to this body. No stranger, not even a native
of Strasburg, Savoy, Alsace, or Piedmont, could hold a commission in
the French guards. The age at which men were enlisted was above 18 and
under 50 years. The height 5 French feet 4 inches and upwards. The
serjeants were strictly forbidden to exercise any trade or business,
and many of them got the _Croix de St. Louis_.
In the revolution of 1789 the French guards took a very active and
leading part.
GARDES-_magazins_, _Fr._ In the old French service there were two sorts
of magazine guards:--one for the military stores and the other for the
artillery. The first was subject to the grand master, and the second
was appointed by the secretary at war.
GARDE-_general d’artillerie_, _Fr._ An officer was so called under the
old government of France, who had charge of all the ordnance and stores
belonging to his majesty for the land service. He gave receipts for all
ammunition, &c. and his bills were paid by the treasurer general of the
artillery.
GARDES _provinciaux_, _Fr._ Provincial guards, were persons appointed
to superintend, take charge of, and be responsible, for the artillery
belonging to Paris, Metz, Chalons, Lyons, Amiens, Narbonne, and Calais.
GARDES _particuliers des magazins d’artillerie_, _Fr._ Officers
appointed by the grand master of the ordnance for the specific purpose
of attending to the ammunition, &c. Their pay was in proportion to the
quantity of stores with which they were entrusted. They enjoyed some
particular privileges, and were lodged at the expence of government.
GARDE _magazin d’un arsenal de marine_, _Fr._ An officer in France
appointed to take charge and to keep a register of all warlike stores,
&c. for the service of the navy.
GARDES _de la porte_, _Fr._ A company so called during the monarchy
of France, and of so ancient a date, indeed, with respect to original
institution, that it appears to have been coeval with it. Mention
is made of the gardes de la porte in the oldest archives or records
belonging to the king’s household, in which service they were employed,
without being responsible to any particular treasurer as other
companies were.
This company consisted of one captain, four lieutenants, and fifty
guards. The captain and officers received their commissions from the
king. The first took an oath of fidelity to the king in person,
and received the _baton_ from his hands. The duty he did was purely
discretionary, and depended on his own will. The lieutenants served by
detachment, and took their tour of duty every quarter. Their specific
service consisted in guarding the principal gate belonging to the
king’s apartments. Their guard-house was within the palace, which they
occupied from six o’clock in the morning until six in the evening; when
they were relieved by the body guards. They delivered the keys to a
brigadier belonging to the Scotch garrison.
GARDES _Suisses_, _Fr._ The Swiss guards. This body originally
consisted of a certain number of companies which were taken into the
French service in consequence of the close alliance that subsisted
between the Swiss cantons and France; but they were not distinguished
from other troops by the appellation of guards, until a considerable
period had elapsed from their first establishment. The zeal, fidelity,
and attachment which they uniformly evinced whenever they were
entrusted with this distinguished part of the service, induced the
crown in 1616 to bestow upon them this additional name.
The regiment was composed of twelve companies of two hundred effectives
each. Some consisted of half companies complete in men. They were
commanded by the three following officers, subordinate to each other,
and created in 1689, viz. One colonel general of the nation, one
particular colonel of the regiment, and one lieutenant colonel. The
Swiss guards received double the pay which was given to the French
guards. It is somewhat remarkable, that one hundred and three years
after the regular establishment of the regiment under the three
mentioned field officers, this brave body of men should have fallen
victims to their attachment to the monarchy of France. On the 10th
of August, 1792, they withstood the Parisian populace, and defended
the palace in the Louvre until almost every man was killed. During
the resistance which the Swiss guards made, Louis the XVIth, with his
family escaped, and took shelter in the national assembly.
GARDES (_cent_) _Suisses du corps du Roi_, _Fr._ One hundred Swiss
guards immediately attached to the king’s person. They were a select
body of men who took an oath of fidelity to the king, and were formed
into a regular troop. Louis XIV. during several sieges which he
personally attended, gave directions, that the head of the trench
should be guarded by a detachment of this troop; so that the hundred
Swiss guards might properly be ranked as military men, although their
officers did not wear any uniform, and in the last periods of the
monarchy of France, the principal duties of the hundred Swiss guards
consisted in domestic and menial attendance.
GARDE _qui monte_, _Fr._ The new guard.
GARDE _qui descend_, _Fr._ The old guard.
GARDES _ordinaires des lignes_, _Fr._ ordinary guards.
GARDE _de la tranche_, _Fr._ Guard for the trenches. Among the French,
this guard usually consisted of four or six battalions. It was
entrusted to three general officers, viz. one lieutenant general on the
right, one major general on the left, and one brigadier general in the
centre. All general officers, when on duty for the day in the trenches,
remained the succeeding night, and never left them until they were
regularly relieved by others of their own rank.
When it came to the tour of any particular battalion to mount the
trench guard, it was the duty of the major of that battalion to examine
the ground on which it was to be drawn up, to look at the piquets, and
to see where the grenadiers were posted, in order to go through the
relief with accuracy and expedition.
The battalion was drawn up in front of the camp; the grenadiers
being stationed on the right, next to them the piquet, and on its
left flank the body of the battalion. The latter was divided into
different piquets, and formed in order of battle. So that instead of
the several companies being posted together, the men were drafted
out, and distributed in such a manner, that the whole battalion was
separated into troops or companies, each consisting of forty eight men,
promiscuously thrown together.
The advantage which was derived from this disposition of the battalion,
and from its having been previously told off according to each
company’s roster, is manifest; for when a second or third battalion
piquet was wanted in the trenches, the different detachments were
already formed without going into the small detail of companies. The
officers in conformity to their roster were ordered to march, and the
piquet moved out without a moment’s delay.
Add to this that whenever it was found necessary to make a sortie, the
loss of men did not fall upon one company, but was divided among the
whole battalion.
A general rendezvous or parade was fixed for all the regiments who
were to do duty in the trenches; they assembled in that quarter, and
were drawn up in line, with all the grenadiers on the right, and the
whole of the piquets upon the same alignement. At the hour appointed
the latter began to file off, and each regiment followed according to
its seniority. The lieutenant general whose tour of command was in the
trenches, placed himself at the head of those troops who were to attack
from the right; the major general at the head of those belonging to the
left, and the brigadier general took the centre; the oldest regiment
headed the right, the next in seniority stood in front of the left,
and the third preceded the centre.
As soon as the troops reached the tail of the trench, the men marched
by Indian files, or rank entire, and each one took his post. Sentries
were stationed, and the necessary detachments were made. The colors
were planted upon the parapet of the trench. At night the adjutants of
corps went to head quarters, to receive instructions relative to the
projected attack, and got the parole and countersign from the general.
The senior adjutant communicated his orders to the rest, who conveyed
the same, first to their several colonels, and afterwards to the
serjeants of each regiment.
When on duty in the trenches, soldiers must not, on any account, quit
their firearms; and the instant the least noise is heard, it is their
duty to throw themselves upon the back of the trench, and there remain
till the order is given to march. When an attack is directed to be
made, the execution of it is always entrusted to the grenadiers. These
are supported by the different piquets, and the main body of the corps
follows with the colors.
When the chamade was beat by the besieged with a view to capitulate, it
was a rule among the French, that the battalions which were posted in
the trenches, might refuse to be relieved, and could remain at their
station until the garrison marched out. When the capitulation was
signed, it fell to the oldest regiment belonging to the besieging army
to take possession of the gate that was delivered up, and that corps
remained in the town until a governor was named, and a regular garrison
appointed.
GARDE _du camp_, _Fr._ See QUARTER GUARD.
GARDE _avancée_, _Fr._ a small body of cavalry, consisting of 15 or 20
horsemen, under the command of a lieutenant, whose station is beyond,
but still in sight of the main guard. The particular duty of those men
is to watch the motions of the enemy for the greater security of the
camp.
During the famous crusade to the Holy Land, the Christians having
taken the town of Damietta, and finding it impossible to make further
progress, on account of the overflowings of the river Nile, effected
a passage over, but neglected to entrench themselves according to the
custom of those days. The consequence was, that the Arabs insulted them
in their camp, and frequently murdered their sentries at their very
tents. In order to prevent these incursions, advanced guards of the
description just mentioned were resorted to. Vedettes were posted round
the camp, and from hence most probably was derived their origin.
Many methods have been proposed by the military writers of all ages
to secure advanced guards from surprise. Frochetta advises fires
to be lighted during the night in one quarter, while the rendezvous
and station of the guard are in another. His reason is this: if the
enemy should approach the quarter which is lighted up, the soldiers
belonging to the advanced guard may readily discover him, without being
themselves exposed to a direct attack. Onosander is of the same way
of thinking. Silence on these occasions is indispensably requisite.
Xenophon, on the other hand, has proposed, that the station should
be often changed, and that the guard should consist of different
numbers. His object is to form a considerable ambuscade in front of the
spot where the guard has been usually posted, so that when the enemy
approaches towards it, he may be suddenly surprised by a larger body of
men than he expected, and instead of carrying off the ordinary guard,
be himself taken prisoner.
GARDE _du pont_, _Fr._ Guard for the security of a bridge. The same
author (Frochetta) proposes that one or two sentries be posted at each
end of the bridge, if it be of any length. His motive is to prevent too
heavy loads from being conveyed upon it, and to check bodies of cavalry
who might be disposed to gallop or trot across it. If the bridge be
constructed upon barges or boats, there must always be a certain number
of wooden scoops to drain off the water as it rises, or gets through
small apertures upon the surface. The commanding officer of the guard
must order frequent rounds to be made, both night and day, lest the
enemy should send divers to get under the boats and pierce the bottoms.
Foresti, the historian, relates, that the Emperor Henry III. having
ordered several barges to be constructed and stationed on the Danube
for the purpose of storming Posonio, his project was defeated by the
bold and desperate act of an individual. One Zormonde, a Hungarian,
having provided himself with a gimblet, swam under the surface of the
water, and got beneath the boats, which he bored in several places,
without the least suspicion or knowlege of the mariners. The boats
gradually filled, and were finally sunk, which circumstance obliged the
emperor to raise the siege.
GARDE _des travailleurs_, _Fr._ A particular guard which is kept
among the workmen and artificers during a siege. In France they had
a particular roster among themselves; beginning from the eldest
downwards, as well among the officers as among the men.
GARDE _relevée_, _Fr._ the guard that is relieved, commonly called the
old guard.
GARDES _de la marine_, _Fr._ During the existence of the old French
government, several young gentlemen received brevet commissions from
the king, and were permitted to serve on board ships of war. They were
distributed among the fleet, and when they had acquired a knowlege of
their profession, were promoted to the rank of officers. Their duty was
near the admiral, when he commanded in person; and during his absence
they were placed on board the different vessels, in order to assist the
several officers, particularly in the discharge of their functions at
the batteries.
GARDES _costes_, _Fr._ from the Spanish _guarda costa_, signifying
ships of war that cruize along the coast to protect merchantmen, and to
prevent the depredations of pirates.
GARDES _costes_ (_capitaineries_), _Fr._ The maritime divisions, into
which France was formerly divided, were so called.
Each division was under the immediate superintendance of a captain,
named _capitaine gardes-costes_, who was assisted by a lieutenant and
an ensign. Their duty was to watch the coast, and to attend minutely to
every thing that might affect the safety of the division they had in
charge.
There were thirty-seven capitaineries _gardes côtes_ in Normandy,
four in Poitou, two in Guienne, two in Languedoc, and six in French
Flanders, Picardy, Boulogne, Calais, &c.
The establishment of sea fencibles in Great Britain, which has taken
place during the present war, most probably owes its origin to the
_gardes costes_.
GARDE _d’épée_, _Fr._ Sword-hilt.
GARDE, _Fr._ Watch, guard, protection.
_Corps de_ GARDE _du guet_, _Fr._ Watch-house or rendezvous for the
street patroles.
GARDE _bois_, _Fr._ a forest-keeper.
GARDE _du corps_, _Fr._ life-guard.
GARDE _chasse_, _Fr._ a game-keeper.
GARDE _pluie_, _Fr._ literally means a fence, or cover against rain.
This machine was originally invented by a Frenchman, who left his
native country to avoid persecution or unmerited neglect, and submitted
it to the Prussians, who adopted it for the use of their infantry.
Other armies, however, either seem ignorant of the invention, or do
not think it worthy of imitation. Belair, the author of _Elemens de
Fortification_, in his military dictionary, (which forms a small part
of that interesting work,) observes, that “these machines might be
rendered extremely useful in the defence of fortresses, outposts,
redoubts, or retrenchments. Under the cover of them, the besieged, or
the troops stationed in the posts attacked, would be able to keep up a
brisk and effectual discharge of musquetry during the heaviest fall of
rain, and thereby silence, or considerably damp the fire of the enemy.
The _garde pluie_ is capable of being much improved. Light corps ought
to be particularly anxious for its adoption, as the service in which
they are generally employed, exposes their arms to every change of
weather; and by means of this cover, both themselves, and their rifles,
or musquets, would be secured against rain.”
_Attaquer la_ GARDE, _Fr._ to make an attempt on the guard.
_Une forte_ GARDE, _Fr._ a strong guard.
_Un piquete de_ GARDE, _Fr._ a piquet guard.
_La_ GARDE _à pied_, _Fr._ the foot guards.
_La_ GARDE _à cheval_, _Fr._ the horse guards.
_La_ GARDE _Ecossoise_, _Fr._ the Scotch guards.
_La_ GARDE _Irelandoise_, _Fr._ the Irish guards.
_Faire monter la_ GARDE, _Fr._ to set the guard.
_Etre de_ GARDE, _Fr._ to be upon guard.
_Monter la_ GARDE, _Fr._ to mount guard.
_Descendre la_ GARDE, _Fr._ to come off guard.
_Rélever ou changer la_ GARDE, _Fr._ to relieve guard.
_La_ GARDE _montante_, _Fr._ the guard that mounts, or the new guard.
_La_ GARDE _descendante_, _Fr._ the guard that comes off, or the old
guard.
GARDE _à vous_, _Fr._ A cautionary phrase made use of in the French
service. We formerly adopted the term, _take care_, or _have a
care_--at present we use the word attention, which is usually
pronounced _’tention_.
GARDENS, in _ancient military history_, places of resort to practice
military exercises.
GARGOUILLIS, _Fr._ the powder with which cannon is charged.
GARGOUSSE, _Fr._ a cartouch, a cartridge.
GARGOUSSIERE, _Fr._ a pouch for cartridges.
GARLAND, a sort of chaplet made of flowers, feathers, and sometimes of
precious stones, worn on the head in the manner of a crown. The word
is formed of the French guirlande, and that of the barbarous Latin
garlanda, or Italian ghirlanda. Both in ancient and modern times it
has been customary to present garlands of flowers to warriors who
have distinguished themselves. Among the French the practice is still
familiar. A beautiful young woman is generally selected for the purpose.
GARNIR _d’artillerie_, _Fr._ to line with artillery. _Un rampart garni
de grosse artillerie_, a rampart covered or lined with heavy ordnance.
_Se_ GARNIR, _Fr._ To seize.
GARNISH-_nails_. Diamond headed nails, formerly used to ornament
artillery carriages.
GARNISON, _Fr._ See GARRISON.
GARNITURE. See EQUIPAGE, &c.
Garrison _des Janissaires_, _Fr._ The elite or flower of the
Janissaries of Constantinople is frequently sent into garrison on the
frontiers of Turkey, or to places where the loyalty of the inhabitants
is doubted. The Janissaries do not indeed assist in the immediate
defence of a besieged town or fortress, but they watch the motions of
all suspected persons, and are subject to the orders of their officers,
who usually command the garrison.
GARRISON, in the _art of war_, a body of forces, disposed in a
fortress or fortified town, to defend it against the enemy, or to
keep the inhabitants in subjection; or even to be subsisted during
the winter season: hence garrison and winter-quarters are sometimes
used indiscriminately for the same thing; while at others they denote
different things. In the latter case a garrison is a place wherein
forces are maintained to secure it, and where they keep regular guards,
as a frontier town, a citadel, castle, tower &c. The garrison should
always be stronger than the townsmen.
_Winter-quarters_ signifies a place where a number of forces are
laid up in the winter season, without keeping the regular guard. See
WINTER-QUARTERS.
GARRISON-_town_, generally a strong place in which troops are
quartered, and do duty, for the security thereof, keeping strong guards
at each port, and a main-guard in, or near the market-place.
_Order of the_ GARTER, an English order of knighthood, instituted by
Edward III. This order consists of 26 knights companions, whereof the
king of England is the sovereign or chief.
This piece of regal mummery is not strictly military, but is inserted
here as matter of curiosity.
All these officers, except the prelate, have fees and pensions. The
college of the order is in the castle of Windsor, with the chapel of
St. George, and the chapter-house, erected by the founder for that
purpose. The habit and ensign of the order are, a garter, mantle, cap,
George, and collar. The 3 first were assigned the knights companions by
the founders; and the George and collar by king Henry VIII. The garter
challenges pre-eminence over all other parts of the dress, because from
it the noble order is denominated; that it is the first part of the
habit presented to foreign princes, and absent knights, who, together
with all other knights elect, are therewith first adorned; and it is of
such honor and grandeur, that by the bare investiture with this noble
ensign, the knights are esteemed companions of the greatest military
order in the world. It is worn on the left leg, between the knee and
calf, and is enamelled with this motto, _Honi soit qui mal y pense_:
that is, “Evil be to him, who evil thinks.” The meaning of which is,
that king Edward having laid claim to the kingdom of France, retorted
shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think amiss of the just
enterprize he had undertaken, for recovering his claim to that crown;
and that the bravery of those knights whom he had elected into this
order, was such as would enable him to maintain the quarrel against
those that thought ill of it.
The mantle is the chief of those vestments made use of upon all solemn
occasions. The color of the mantle is by the statutes appointed to be
blue. The length of the train of the mantle, only, distinguishes the
sovereign from the knights companions. To the collar of the mantle is
fixed a pair of long strings, anciently wove with blue silk only, but
now twisted round, and made of Venice gold and silk, of the color of
the robe, with buttons and tassels at the end. The left shoulder of
the mantle is adorned with a large garter, and device _Honi soit_, &c.
Within this is the cross of the order, which was ordained to be worn at
all times by king Charles I. At length the star was introduced, being a
sort of cross irradiated with beams of silver.
The collar is composed of pieces of gold in fashion of garters, the
ground enamelled blue, and the motto gold.
The garter is of blue velvet bordered with fine gold wire, having
commonly the letters of the motto of the same: it is, at the time
of installation, buckled upon the left leg, by two of the senior
companions, who receive it from the sovereign, to whom it is presented
upon a velvet cushion by Garter king at arms, with the usual reverence,
whilst the chancellor reads the following admonition, enjoined by the
statutes. “To the honor of God omnipotent, and in memorial of the
blessed martyr St. George, tie about thy leg, for thy renown, this
noble garter; wear it as the symbol of the most illustrious order,
never to be forgotten, or laid aside; that thereby thou mayest be
admonished to be courageous, and having undertaken a just war, in which
thou shalt be engaged, thou mayest stand firm, valiantly fight, and
successfully conquer.”
The princely garter being thus buckled on, and the words of its
signification pronounced, the knight elect is brought before the
sovereign, who puts about his neck, kneeling, a sky colored riband,
whereon is appendant, wrought in gold within the garter, the image of
St. George on horseback, with his sword drawn, encountering the dragon.
In the mean time the chancellor reads the following admonition: “Wear
this riband about thy neck, adorned with the image of the blessed
martyr and soldier of Christ, St. George, by whose imitation provoked,
thou mayest so overpass both prosperous and adverse adventures, that
having stoutly vanquished thy enemies both of body and soul, thou
mayest not only receive the praise of this transient combat, but be
crowned with the palm of eternal victory.”
Then the knight elect kisses his sovereign’s hand, thanks his majesty
for the great honor done him, rises up, and salutes all his companions
severally, who return their congratulations.
Since the institution of this order, there have been 8 emperors, and
28 kings, besides numerous sovereign princes, enrolled as companions
thereof. Its origin is somewhat differently related: the common account
is, that it was erected in honor of a garter of the countess of
Salisbury, which she dropped dancing with king Edward, and which that
prince picked up; but others think it was instituted on account of the
victory over the French at Cressy, where the king ordered his garter to
be displayed as a signal of the battle.
GASCONADE, a boast or vaunt of something very improbable. The term is
originally derived from the Gascons, or people of Gascony in France,
who it seems have been particularly distinguished for extravagant
stories.
GASCONADE, _Fr._ _pour menterie_, _ródomontáde_, _filouterie_; a lie, a
_ródomontáde_, an imposition.
GASCONNER, _Fr._ to gasconade, to repeat extravagant, wild stories.
GATE, an entrance, a large door, the passage into a walled place; in a
military sense, is made of strong planks with iron bars to oppose an
enemy. Gates are generally fixed in the middle of the curtain, from
whence they are seen and defended by the two flanks of the bastions.
They should be covered with a good ravelin, that they may not be seen
or enfiladed by the enemy. The palisades and barriers before the gates
within the town are often of great use. The fewer ports there are in a
fortress, the more you are secured against the enemy. At the opening of
a gate, a party of horse is sent out to patrole in the country round
the place, to discover ambuscades or lurking parties of the enemy, and
to see if the country be clear.
GAUCHE, _Fr._ The left.
A Gauche, _Fr._ On the left.
GAUGE. See STANDARD.
GAUGES, in gunnery, are brass rings with handles, to find the diameter
of all kinds of shot with expedition.
GAULS, the name given by the Romans to the inhabitants of the country
that now forms part of the kingdoms of Italy and France. The countries
were called _cisalpine_, and _transalpine_ Gaul, with reference to the
position of Rome. The original inhabitants were descended from the
Celtes or Gomerians, by whom the greatest part of Europe was peopled:
the name of Galli or Gauls, being probably given them long after their
settlement in that country.
GAUNTELOPE. GAUNTLET. See GAUNTELOPE. _Run the_ GAUNTELOPE.
GAZETTE, a newspaper. The word is derived from _gazetta_, a Venetian
coin, which was the usual price of the first newspaper printed there,
and which name was afterwards given to the paper itself.
The first gazette in England was published at Oxford, the court being
there, in a folio half sheet, November the 7th, 1665. On the removal
of the court to London, the title was changed to the _London Gazette_.
The Oxford Gazette was published on Tuesdays, the London on Saturdays.
And these have continued to be the days of publication ever since that
publication has been confined to London.
All commissions in the British army, militia, fencible, and volunteer
corps must be gazetted. The dates specified in the gazette generally
agree in every point with those of the original commissions. So that
by referring to the gazette, an officer may always know the precise
day on which he is entitled to receive subsistence from the agent, and
to assume rank in the British army. Should an erroneous statement,
however, get into the gazette, or a commission be wrong dated therein,
a reference to the latter will always supersede any notification in the
former.
GAZONS, in fortification, are pieces of fresh earth or sods, covered
with grass, and cut in the form of a wedge, about a foot long, and
half a foot thick, to line the outsides of a work made of earth; as
ramparts, parapets, banquettes, &c. The first bed of gazons is fixed
with pegs of wood: and the second bed is so laid as to bind the former,
by being placed over its joints; and so continued till the works are
finished. Betwixt those sods it is usual to sow all sorts of binding
weed or herbs, in order to strengthen the rampart.
GEAR, furniture, equipage, or caparison.
GEAT, the hole through which the metal is conveyed to the mould in
casting ordnance.
GEBEGIS. Armorers among the Turks are so called.
GEBELUS. Every timariot in Turkey, during a campaign, is obliged to
take a certain number of horsemen, who are called gebelus, and to
support them at his own expence. He is directed to take as many with
him as would annually cost three thousand aspres (each aspre being
equal to two-pence farthing English) for subsistence.
GELD, in the English old customs, a Saxon word signifying _money_,
or tribute. It also denoted a compensation for some crime committed.
Hence _wergeld_, in the old Saxon laws, was used for the value of a man
slain; and _orfgeld_, for that of a beast.
GELIBACH. A sort of superintendant or chief of the gebegis, or armorers
among the Turks. He is only subordinate to the _toppi bachi_, or the
grand-master of the Turkish artillery.
GENDARMERIE, _Fr._ the gendarmerie was a select body of cavalry that
took precedence of every regiment of horse in the French service, and
ranked immediately after the king’s household. The reputation of the
gendarmerie was so great, and its services so well estimated by the
king of France, that when the emperor Charles V. in 1552, sent a formal
embassy to the Court of Versailles to request a loan of money, and
the assistance of the gendarmerie to enable him to repulse the Turks;
Francis I. returned the following answer: “With respect to the first
object of your mission, (addressing himself to the ambassador) I am not
a banker; and with regard to the other, as my gendarmerie is the arm
which supports my sceptre, I never expose it to danger, without myself
sharing its fatigue and glory.”
The uniform of the gendarmerie, as well as of the light cavalry, under
the old French government, was scarlet, with facings of the same color.
The coat was formerly more or less laced with silver according to the
king’s pleasure. A short period before the revolution, it was only
laced on the cuff. The waistcoat of buff leather, and the bandouleer
of the same, silver laced; the hat was edged with broad silver lace.
The horse-cloths and holster-caps were red, and the arms of the captain
embroidered on the corners of the saddle cloths, and on the front of
the holsters. In 1762, a considerable body of men was raised by order
of Louis XIV. The soldiers who composed it were called gensdarmes. And
in 1792, the number was considerably augmented, consisting of horse
and foot, and being indiscriminately called gens d’armes; but their
clothing was altered to deep blue. Their pay was greater than what the
rest of the army enjoyed, and when others were paid in paper currency,
they received their subsistence in hard cash (_en argent sonant_.) They
possessed these privileges on account of the proofs they were obliged
to bring of superior claims to military honor, before they could be
enlisted as gendarmes. It was necessary, in fact, that every individual
amongst them should produce a certificate of six or eight years service.
GENDARMES (gens d’armes) _de la garde_, a select body of men so called
during the old government of France, and still preserved in that
country; but their services are applied to different purposes. They
consisted originally of a single company which was formed by Henry
IV. when he ascended the throne. He distinguished them from his other
troops, by stiling them _hommes d’armes de ses ordonnances_; men
at arms under his own immediate orders. They consisted of men best
qualified for every species of military duty, and were to constitute a
royal squadron at whose head the king himself might personally engage
the enemy, as necessity might require. He gave this squadron to his
son, the Dauphin, who was afterwards king of France, under the name and
title of Louis XIII.
GENERAL, in a military sense, is an officer in chief, to whom the
government of a country have judged proper to entrust the command of
their troops. He holds this important trust under various titles, as
captain-general, in England and Spain, _feldt mareschal_, in Germany,
or _mareschal_, in France.
In the British service the king is constitutionally, and in his
official right, captain-general. He has ten aids-de-camp; every one of
whom enjoys the brevet rank of full colonel in the army. Next to the
king is the commander in chief, whom he sometimes honors with the title
of captain-general. During the expedition to Holland the Duke of York
was entrusted with this important charge.
_The natural qualities of a_ GENERAL, are a martial genius, a solid
judgment, a healthy robust constitution, intrepidity and presence of
mind on critical occasions, indefatigability in business, goodness
of heart, liberality, a reasonable age; if too young, he may want
experience and prudence; if too old, he may not have vivacity enough.
His conduct must be uniform, his temper affable, but inflexible in
maintaining the police and discipline of an army.
_Acquired qualities of a_ GENERAL should be secrecy, justice, sobriety,
temperance, knowlege of the art of war from theory and practice,
the art of commanding, and speaking with precision and exactness;
great attention to preserve the lives and supply the wants of the
soldiers, and a constant study of the characters of the officers of
his army, that he may employ them according to their talents. His
conduct appears in establishing his magazines in the most convenient
places; in examining the country, that he may not engage his troops
too far, while he is ignorant of the means of bringing them off; in
subsisting them, and in knowing how to take the most advantageous
posts, either for fighting, retreating, or shunning a battle. His
experience inspires his army with confidence, and an assurance of
victory; and his good qualities, by creating respect, augment his
authority. By his liberality he gets intelligence of the strength and
designs of the enemy, and by this means is enabled to take the most
successful measures. He ought to be fond of glory, to have an aversion
to flattery, to render himself beloved, and to keep a strict discipline
and regular subordination.
_The office of a_ GENERAL is to regulate the march and encampment of
the army; in the day of battle to choose out the most advantageous
ground; to make the disposition of the corps; to post the artillery,
and, where there is occasion, to send his orders by his aids-de-camp.
At a siege he is to cause the place to be invested, to regulate the
approaches and attacks, to visit the works, and to send out detachments
to secure the convoy and foraging parties.
GENERALISSIMO, a supreme and absolute commander in the field. This word
is generally used in most foreign languages. It was first invented by
the absolute authority of cardinal Richelieu, when he went to command
the French army in Italy.
GENERAL _of the artillery_. See ORDNANCE.
GENERALS _of horse_ are officers next under the general of the army.
They have an absolute command over the horse belonging to an army,
above the lieutenant generals.
GENERALS _of foot_ are officers next under the general of the army,
having an absolute command over the foot of the army.
GENERAL _officers_. All officers above the rank of colonel in the line
are so called.
GENERAL. In the German armies, and among the sovereigns of the North,
there are certain generals of cavalry, and others of infantry, who
take rank of all lieutenant generals. Those belonging to the infantry,
in the imperial service, and who are of this description, are called
_general field zeugmeisters_. In Russia they bear the title of generals
in chief; of which class there are four belonging to the armies of that
empire, two for the infantry and two for the cavalry. They are only
subordinate to field marshals; which title or dignity is the same in
Russia as was formerly that of marshal of France.
In the two imperial armies just mentioned, it is usual for generals,
lieutenant generals, and major generals to take their routine of duty,
and rise progressively in the infantry or cavalry corps, to which
they were originally appointed, until they arrive at a chief command;
whereas in France a major general might be employed to take charge
of either infantry or cavalry, without any regard being paid to the
particular line of service in which he was bred.
GENERAL _chez les Turcs_, _Fr._ Turkish generals.
The Turks have had brave generals. They possess experience, because
from their earliest infancy they become inured to arms; because through
the different stages of acknowleged service, they rise by degrees; and
because their empire being very extensive, it is necessary that they
should over-run several provinces for its protection, and be almost
constantly engaged in skirmishes or battles. These, at least, were
the original principles upon which the military code of that country
was established. But abuses, the natural consequences of corruption,
have since crept in amongst them; for there have been persons suddenly
raised from subordinate employments under the Porte to the supreme
command of armies. The primary cause of this abuse is to be found
in the luxury and effeminacy of the grand signors, who are become
heedless of the Mahomedan laws, and never go to war in person.
The acknowleged valor of the Turkish generals may be attributed to the
following causes. To a constitution which is naturally robust, to a
practical knowlege of war, and to habitual military exercises.
To these may be added the confidence with which they are inspired by
the recollection of former victories; but they are influenced above
all, by the secret dictates of a religion, which holds out eternal
happiness to those who shall die in battle, and which teaches them to
believe, that every Turk bears written on the forehead, not only the
hour of his departure from this earth, but the manner of his removal.
A Turkish general possesses a power as absolute and uncontroled as
that which was entrusted to the dictators of the Roman republic. He
has no competitor, or equal in the charge he holds, no assistants or
colleagues with whom he is directed to consult, and to whose assent or
dissent, in matters of consultation, he is to pay the least regard. Not
only the army under his command, but the whole country into which he
marches, is subject to his orders, and bound implicitly to obey them.
Punishments and rewards are equally within his distribution. If an
authority so absolute as this be considered in the light of executive
effect, nothing most unquestionably can so readily produce it; for the
tardiness of deliberation is superseded at once by a prompt decision,
before which all sorts of objections, and every species of jealousy,
subside. When a project is to be fulfilled, secrecy is the natural
consequence of this arbitrary system, and rational plans are not
interrupted by a difference of opinion, by prejudice, or cabal.
GENERAL _de bataille_, GENERAL _major_, a particular rank or
appointment, whose functions correspond with those of a ci-devant
marshal of France. This situation is entrusted to a general officer,
and is only known among the armies of Russia, and some other northern
powers. He takes precedence in the same manner that our major generals
do, of all brigadier generals and colonels, and is subordinate to
lieutenant generals. The rank of brigadier general is known in France,
Russia, England, Holland, and the United States. It does not exist in
Austria or Sweden.
GENERAL _des galéres_, _Fr._ Superintendant officer, or general of the
gallies. This was one of the most important appointments belonging to
the old government of France. The officer to whom it was entrusted
commanded all the gallies, and vessels which bore what the French call
_voiles latines_ (a triangle rectangular sail) in the Mediterranean. He
had a jurisdiction, a marine police, and an arsenal for constructing
ships under his own immediate command, without being in the least
subordinate to the French admiralty board. When he went on board he was
only inferior in rank to the admiral.
The privileges which were attached to his situation, and the authority
he possessed with regard to every other marine, or sea officer,
were specifically mentioned in the king’s regulations, and were
distinguished by the respect and compliments that were paid to the
royal standard, which this general bore, not only on board his own
galley, but whenever he chose to hoist it in another.
During the reign of Louis XIV. in 1669, the Duke de Vivone, marshal of
France, raised the reputation of the galley service, to a considerable
degree of eminence, by gaining several hard fought engagements. His
son the Duke de Mortemart succeeded him in the appointment; and the
chevalier d’Orleans, grand prior of France, was general of the gallies
at his decease.
GENERAL _des vivres_, _Fr._ a sort of chief commissary, or
superintendant general of stores, whose particular functions were to
provide ammunition, bread, and biscuit for the army. There were several
subordinate commissaries who watched the distribution of these stores,
and saw, that the bakers gave bread of the quality they contracted for.
It was likewise within the department of the superintendant general to
attend to the collection of grain and flour, and to see that proper
carriages and horses were always at hand to convey them to the several
depots or magazines. The different camps were also supplied from the
same source. See MUNITIONNAIRE.
GENERAL _and staff officers_ are all officers as above described, whose
authority extends beyond the immediate command of a particular regiment
or company, and who have either separate districts at home, or commands
on foreign service.
_Lieutenant_ GENERAL, this office is the first military dignity after
that of a general. One part of the functions belonging to lieutenant
generals, is to assist the general with counsel: they ought therefore,
if possible, to possess the same qualities with the general himself;
and the more, as they often command armies in chief, or succeed thereto
on the death of the general.
The number of lieutenant generals have been multiplied of late in
Europe, in proportion as the armies have become numerous. They serve
either in the field, or in sieges, according to the dates of their
commissions. In battle the oldest commands the right wing of the
army, the second the left wing, the third the centre, the fourth the
right wing of the second line, the fifth the left wing, the sixth the
centre, and so on. In sieges the lieutenant generals always command
the right of the principal attack, and order what they judge proper
for the advancement of the siege, during the 24 hours they are in the
trenches, except the attacks, which they are not to make without an
order from the general in chief. Lieutenant generals are entitled to
two aids-de-camp.
_Lieutenant_ GENERAL _of the ordnance_. See ORDNANCE.
_Lieutenant_ GENERAL _of artillery_, is, or ought to be, a very able
mathematician, and a skilful engineer, to know all the powers of
artillery, to understand the attack and defence of fortified places, in
all its different branches; how to dispose of the artillery in the day
of battle to the best advantage; to conduct its march and retreat; as
also to be well acquainted with all the numerous apparatus belonging to
the train, laboratory, &c.
_Major_ GENERAL, the next officer to the lieutenant general. His chief
business is to receive orders from the general, or in his absence
from the lieutenant general of the day; which he is to distribute to
the brigade-majors, with whom he is to regulate the guards, convoys,
detachments, &c. On him the whole fatigue and detail of duty of
the army roll. It is the major general of the day who is charged
with the encampment of the army, who places himself at the head of
it when it marches, who marks out the ground of the camp to the
quarter-master-general, and who places the new guards for the safety of
the camp.
The day the army is to march, he dictates to the field officers the
order of the march, which he has received from the general, and on
other days gives them the parole.
In a fixed camp he is charged with the foraging, with reconnoitring the
ground for it, posting the escorts, &c.
In sieges, if there are two separate attacks, the second belongs to
him; but if there be only one, he takes either from the right or left
of the attack, that which the lieutenant general has not chosen.
When the army is under arms, he assists the lieutenant general, whose
orders he executes.
If the army marches to an engagement, his post is at the head of the
guards of the army, until they are near enough to the enemy to rejoin
their different corps; after which he retires to his own proper post;
for the major generals are disposed on the order of battle as the
lieutenant generals are, to whom however, they are subordinate, for the
command of their divisions. The major general has one aid-de-camp and
one brigade major.
_Brigadier_ GENERAL, is the next rank to that of major general, being
superior to all colonels, and having frequently a separate command.
GENERAL _of a district_, a general officer who has the charge and
superintendance of a certain extent of country, in which troops
are encamped, quartered, or cantoned. He is entitled to have three
aids-de-camp and one brigade major.
He receives reports, &c. from the major general, respecting the troops
in his district; reviews and inspects them, likewise orders field days
of the whole, brigaded, or by separate corps, when and in what part he
pleases, making the necessary reports to the war-office, commander in
chief, &c.
_Colonel_ GENERAL, an honorary title, or military rank, which is
bestowed in foreign services. Thus the _prince_ of the peace in Spain
was colonel general of the Swiss guards.
_Brigade major_ GENERAL. As England and Scotland have been divided
into different districts, each district under the immediate command of
a general officer, it has been found necessary, for the dispatch of
business, to establish an office, which shall be solely confined to
brigade duties. The first brigade major general was appointed in 1797.
Since which period all orders relative to corps of officers, which are
transmitted from the commander in chief to the generals of districts,
pass through this channel of intermediate communication.
By the British regulations, it is particularly directed, that all
general officers commanding brigades, shall very minutely inspect the
internal œconomy and discipline of the several regiments under their
order. They are frequently to visit the hospitals and guards. On
arriving in camp they are never to leave their brigades till the tents
are pitched, and the guards posted; they must always encamp with their
brigades, unless quarters can be procured for them immediately in the
vicinity of their camp. General officers must not at any time change
the quarters assigned them, without leave from head quarters.
All general officers should make themselves acquainted, as soon as
possible, with the situation of the country near the camp, with the
roads, passes, bridges, &c. leading to it; and likewise with the
out-posts, that in case they should be ordered suddenly to sustain, or
defend any post, they may be able to march without waiting for guides,
and be competent, from a topographical knowlege of the country, to
form the best disposition for the service. They should instruct their
aids-de-camp in these particulars, and always require their attendance
when they visit the out-posts.
All general officers, and others in considerable command, must make
themselves thoroughly acquainted with the nature of the country, the
quality of the roads, every circuitous access through vallies or
openings, the relative height of the neighboring hills, and the course
of rivers, which are to be found within the space entrusted to their
care. These important objects may be attained by maps, by acquired
local information, and by unremitting activity and observation. And if
it should ever be the fate of a country, to act upon the defensive,
a full and accurate possession of all its fastnesses, &c. must give
each general officer a decided advantage over the commanding officer
of an enemy, who cannot have examined the ground upon which he may be
reduced to fight, and must be embarrassed in every forward movement
that he makes. Although guides may serve, and ought always to be used
in the common operations of marches, there are occasions where the eye
and intelligence of the principal officers must determine the movements
of troops, and enable them to seize and improve every advantage that
occurs as the enemy approaches.
General officers on service abroad, or commanding districts at home,
may appoint their own aids-de-camp and brigade majors. The latter,
however, are to be considered as officers attached to their several
brigades, not personally to the officers commanding them. The former
are their habitual attendants and domestic inmates. In the selection
of aids-de-camp and brigade majors, too much attention cannot be
given to their requisite qualifications; and that general would not
only commit an act of injustice against the interests of his country,
but deserve the severest censure and displeasure of his sovereign,
who through motives of private convenience, family connexion, or
convivial recommendation, could so far forget his duty, as to prefer
an unexperienced stripling, to a character marked by a knowlege of the
profession, a zeal for the service, and an irreproachable conduct.
In the day of battle the station of a general is with the reserve,
where he remains so situated that he can see every thing which is
going forward; and by means of his own observation, or through the
communications of his aids-de-camp, is enabled to send reinforcements,
as the exigencies of the conflict may require.
The celebrated Marshal Saxe has made the following remarks on the
necessary qualifications to form a good general. The most indispensible
one, according to his idea, is valor, without which all the rest will
prove nugatory. The next is a sound understanding with some genius; for
he must not only be courageous, but be extremely fertile in expedients;
the third is health and a robust constitution.
“His mind must be capable of prompt and vigorous resources; he must
have an aptitude, and a talent at discovering the designs of others,
without betraying the slightest trace of his own intentions. He must
be _seemingly_ communicative, in order to encourage others to unbosom,
but remain tenaciously reserved in matters that concern his own army;
he must, in a word, possess activity with judgment, be able to make a
proper choice of his officers, and never deviate from the strictest
line of military justice. Old soldiers must not be rendered wretched
and unhappy, by unwarrantable promotions, nor must extraordinary
talents be kept back to the detriment of the service, on account of
mere rules and regulations. Great abilities will justify exceptions;
but ignorance and inactivity will not make up for years spent in the
profession.
“In his deportment he must be affable, and always superior to
peevishness, or ill-humor; he must not know, or at least seem to know,
what a spirit of resentment is; and when he is under the necessity
of inflicting military chastisement, he must see the guilty punished
without compromise or foolish humanity; and if the delinquent be from
among the number of his most intimate friends, he must be doubly
severe towards the unfortunate man. For it is better, in instances of
correction, that one individual should be treated with rigor (by orders
of the person over whom he may be supposed to hold some influence,)
than that an idea should go forth in the army, of public justice being
sacrificed to private sentiments.
“A modern general should always have before him the example of
Manlius; he must divest himself of personal sensations, and not only
be convinced himself, but convince others, that he is the organ of
military justice, and that what he does is irrevocably prescribed. With
these qualifications, and by this line of conduct, he will secure the
affections of his followers, instil into their minds all the impulses
of deference and respect; he will be feared, and consequently obeyed.
“The resources of a general’s mind are as various as the occasions
for the exercise of them are multiplied and chequered; he must be
perfectly master of the art of knowing how to support an army in all
circumstances and situations, how to apply its strength, or be sparing
of its energy and confidence; how to post all its different component
parts, so as not to be forced to give, or receive battle in opposition
to settled plans. When once engaged, he must have presence of mind
enough to grasp all the relative points of disposition and arrangement,
to seize favorable moments for impression, and to be thoroughly
conversant in the infinite vicissitudes that occur during the heat of
a battle; on a ready possession of which its ultimate success depends.
These requisites are unquestionably manifold, and grow out of the
diversity of situations, and the chance medley of events that produce
their necessity.
“A general to be in perfect possession of them, must on the day of
battle be divested of every thought, and be inaccessible to every
feeling, but what immediately regards the business of the day; he must
reconnoitre with the promptitude of a skilful geographer, whose eye
collects instantaneously all the relative portions of locality; and
feels his ground as it were by instinct; and in the disposition of his
troops, he must discover a perfect knowlege of his profession, and make
all his arrangements with accuracy and dispatch. His orders of battle
must be simple and unconfused, and the execution of his plan be as
quick as if it merely consisted in uttering some few words of command;
as, _the first line will attack! the second will support it! or such a
battalion will advance and support the line_.
“The general officers that act under such a general, must be ignorant
of their business indeed, if, upon the receipt of these orders,
they should be deficient in the immediate means of answering them,
by a prompt and ready co-operation. So that the general has only to
issue out directions according to the growth of circumstances, and
to rest satisfied, that every division will act in conformity to his
intentions; but if, on the contrary, he should so far forget his
situation as to become a drill serjeant in the heat of action, he
must find himself in the case of the fly in the fable, which perched
upon a wheel and foolishly imagined, that the motion of the carriage
was influenced by its situation. A general, therefore, ought on the
day of battle to be thoroughly master of himself, and to have both
his mind and his eye rivetted to the immediate scene of action. He
will by these means be enabled to see every thing; his judgment will
be unembarrassed, and he will instantly discover all the vulnerable
points of the enemy. The instant a favorable opening offers, by which
the contest may be decided, it becomes his duty to head the nearest
body of troops, and, without any regard to personal safety, to advance
against his enemy’s line. [By a ready conception of this sort, joined
to a great courage, general Desaix determined the issue of the battle
of Marengo.] It is, however, impossible for any man to lay down rules,
or to specify, with accuracy, all the different ways by which a victory
may be obtained. Every thing depends upon variety of situations,
casualties of events, and intermediate occurrences which no human
foresight can positively ascertain, but which may be converted to good
purposes by a quick eye, a ready conception, and a prompt execution.
“Prince Eugene was singularly gifted with these qualifications,
particularly with that sublime possession of the mind, which
constitutes the essence of a military character.
“Many commanders in chief have been so limited in their ideas of
warfare, that when events have brought the contest to issue, and two
rival armies have been drawn out for action, their whole attention has
devolved upon a straight alignement, an equality of step, or a regular
distance in intervals of columns. They have considered it sufficient
to give answers to questions proposed by their aids-de-camp, to send
orders in various directions and to gallop themselves from one quarter
to another, without steadily adhering to the fluctuations of the day,
or calmly watching for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow. They
endeavor, in fact, to do every thing, and thereby do nothing. They
appear like men, whose presence of mind deserts them the instant
they are taken out of the beaten track, or are reduced to supply
unexpected calls by uncommon exertions; and from whence continues the
same sensible writer, do these contradictions arise? from an ignorance
of these high qualifications without which the mere routine of duty,
methodical arrangement, and studied discipline must fall to the ground,
and defeat themselves. Many officers spend their whole lives in putting
a few regiments through a regular set of manœuvres; and having done
so, they vainly imagine, that all the science of a real military man
consists in that acquirement. When, in process of time, the command
of a large army falls to their lot, they are manifestly lost in the
magnitude of the undertaking, and from not knowing how to act as they
ought, they remain satisfied with doing what they have partially
learned.
“Military knowlege, as far as it regards a general or commander in
chief, may be divided into two parts, one comprehending mere discipline
and settled systems for putting a certain number of rules into
practice; and the other originating a sublimity of conception, that
method may assist, but cannot give.
“If a man be not born with faculties that are naturally adapted to the
situation of a general, and if his talents do not fit the extraordinary
casualties of war, he will never rise beyond mediocrity.
“It is, in fact, in war as it is in painting, or in music. Perfection
in either art grows out of innate talents, but it never can be
acquired without them. Study and perseverance may correct ideas, but
no application, no assiduity will give the life and energy of action;
those are the works of nature.
“It has been my fate (observes the Marshal) to see several very
excellent colonels become indifferent generals. I have known others,
who have distinguished themselves at sieges, and in the different
evolutions of an army, lose their presence of mind and appear ignorant
of their profession, the instant they were taken from that particular
line, and be incapable of commanding a few squadrons of horse. Should a
man of this cast be put at the head of an army, he will confine himself
to mere dispositions and manœuvres; to them he will look for safety;
and if once thwarted, his defeat will be inevitable, because his mind
is not capable of other resources.
“In order to obviate in the best possible manner, the innumerable
disasters which must arise from the uncertainty of war, and the
greater uncertainty of the means that are adopted to carry it on, some
general rules ought to be laid down, not only for the government of the
troops, but for the instruction of those who have the command of them.
The principles to be observed, are: that when the line or the columns
advance, their distances should be scrupulously observed; that whenever
a body of troops is ordered to charge, every proportion of the line
should rush forward with intrepidity and vigor; that if openings are
made in the first line it becomes the duty of the second instantly to
fill up the chasms.
“These instructions issue from the dictates of plain nature, and do
not require the least elucidation in writing. They constitute the A,
B, C, of soldiers. Nothing can be more simple, or more intelligible;
so much so, that it would be ridiculous in a general to sacrifice
essential objects in order to attend to such minutiæ. His functions in
the day of battle are confined to those occupations of the mind, by
which he is enabled to watch the countenance of the enemy, to observe
his movements, and to see with an eagle’s, or a king of Prussia’s
eye, all the relative directions that his opponents take. It must be
his business to create alarms and suspicions among the enemy’s line
in one quarter, whilst his real intention is to act against another;
to puzzle and disconcert him in his plans; to take advantage of the
manifold openings, which his feints have produced, and when the contest
is brought to issue, to be capable of plunging with effect, upon the
weakest part, and of carrying the sword of death where its blows
is certain of being mortal. But to accomplish these important and
indispensible points, his judgment must be clear, his mind collected,
his heart firm, and his eyes incapable of being diverted, even for a
moment, by the trifling occurrences of the day.
“I am not, however, an advocate for pitched battles, especially at
the commencement of a war. _A skilful general might, I am persuaded,
carry on a contest between two rival nations during the whole of his
life, without being once obliged to come to a decisive action._ Nothing
harrasses and eventually distresses an enemy so much as this species
of warfare. He must, in fact, be frequently attacked, and by degrees,
be broken and unnerved; so that in a short time he will not be able to
shew himself.
“It must not generally be inferred from this opinion, that when an
opportunity presents itself, whereby an enemy may be crushed at once,
the attack should not be made, or that advantage should not be taken
of the errors he may commit; all I mean to prove is, that war can be
carried on without leaving any thing to chance; and in this consists
the perfection and highest point of ability belonging to a general.
But when a battle is risked, the triumphant party ought well to know
all the advantages which may be derived from his victory. A wise
general, indeed, will not remain satisfied in having made himself
master of the mere field of battle. This, I am sorry to observe, is too
often the custom; and, strange to say, that custom is not without its
advocates.
“It is too much the practice of some governments, and as often the
custom of generals, to follow the old proverb, which says, _that in
order to gain your ends, you must make some sacrifices, and even
facilitate the retreat of your enemy_. Nothing can be more impolitic or
more absurd. An able surgeon might as well tamper with a mortification,
and by endeavoring to save an useless limb, run the hazard of
destroying all the vital parts.
“An enemy, on the contrary, ought to be vigorously pushed, harrassed
night and day, and pursued through every winding he can make. By a
conduct of this sort, the advancing army will drive him from all his
holds and fastnesses, and the conclusion of his brilliant retreat,
will ultimately turn out a complete and total overthrow. Ten thousand
well trained and disciplined troops, that are sent forward from the
main army, to hang upon the rear of a retiring enemy, will be able
to destroy an army of an hundred thousand men, when that army has
once been forced to make retrograde movements. A want of confidence
in their generals, added to many other disheartening circumstances,
will naturally possess the minds of the latter, while implicit faith
and warm affection must influence the former. A first defeat well
followed up, almost always terminates in a total rout, and finishes the
contest. But some generals do not wish to bring war to a speedy issue.
Public misfortunes too frequently produce private emoluments, and the
accumulation of the latter is too endearing to suffer itself to be
superseded by the former.”
In order to substantiate what he thus advances with much good sense,
the Marshal cites the following particular instance, from among an
infinity of others.
“When the French army, at the battle of Ramillies, was retiring in good
order over an eminence that was rather confined, and on both sides of
which there were deep ravines, the cavalry belonging to the allies
followed its track leisurely, without even appearing to wish to harrass
or attack its rear. The French continued their march with the same
composure; retreating upon more than twenty lines, on account of the
narrowness of the ground.
“On this occasion, a squadron of English horse got close to two French
battalions, and began to fire upon them. The two battalions, naturally
presuming that they were going to be attacked, came to the right
about, and fired a volley at the squadron. What was the consequence?
the whole of the French army took to its heels; the cavalry went off
full gallop, and all the infantry, instead of patiently retiring over
the heights, threw itself into the ravines in such dreadful disorder,
that the ground above was almost instantly abandoned, and not a French
soldier was seen upon it.
“Let any military man consider this notorious event, and then praise
the regularity of a retreat and the prudent foresight of those who,
after an enemy has been vanquished in the field, relax in their
exertions, and give him time to breathe. I do not, however, pretend to
maintain, that all the forces of a victorious army should be employed
to follow up the pursuit; but I am decidedly of opinion, that large
bodies should be detached for that purpose, and that the flying enemy
should be annoyed as long as the day lasts. This must be done in good
order. And let it be remembered, that when an enemy has once taken to
his heels in real earnest, you may drive him before you by the mere
noise of empty bladders.
“If the officer who is detached in pursuit of an enemy, begins to
manœuvre after prescribed rules and regulations, and operate with
slowness and precaution, he had better be recalled; for the sole
purpose of his employment is to push on vigorously, to harrass and
distress the foe. Every species of evolution will do on this occasion;
if any can be defective, the regular system might prove so.
“I shall conclude these observations by saying, that all retreats
depend wholly upon the talents and abilities of generals, who must
themselves be governed by circumstances and situations; but I will
venture to assert, that no retreat can eventually succeed, unless it be
made before an enemy who acts with extreme caution; for if the latter
follow up his first blow, the vanquished army must soon be thrown into
utter confusion.”
These are the sentiments of Marshal Saxe, as far as they relate to
the qualifications which the general of an army should indispensibly
possess. And no man we are persuaded was better enabled to form an
opinion on so important a subject; for as baron Espagnac has justly
observed in his _Supplément aux Rêveries de ce Mar_, p. 166, he
possessed uncommon courage, was fertile in expedients and resources;
he knew how to distinguish and to make use of the abilities of
individuals, was unshaken in his determinations; and when the good
of the service required chastisement or severity, was not influenced
by private feelings, or hurried away by a sanguinary temper; he
was uncommonly attentive to his men, watchful of their health, and
provident to supply their wants; sparing of their blood in the day
of battle, and always inspiring them, by the liveliness of his mind,
tempered by experience, with confidence and attachment to his
measures. He knew the cast of each man’s character, particularly so
of his officers; and whilst he directed the former with consummate
knowlege and consequent success, he never lost sight of the merits of
the latter, when they co-operated with his designs. If the natural
vivacity of his mind sometimes led him into temporary neglect, good
sense and a marked anxiety to be just, soon made amends for apparent
slights, by rendering the most important services; he was ingenious and
subtle in all his manœuvres before an enemy, skilful in his choice of
camps, and equally intelligent in that of posts; he was plain in his
instructions previous to an engagement, simple in his disposition of
the order of battle; and he was never known to lose an opportunity,
through the want of prompt decision, whereby a contest might be ended
by a bold and daring evolution. When it appeared necessary to give
weight to his orders, and to turn the balance of fortune by personal
exposure, no man became less fearful of his own destiny, than Marshal
Saxe. On these occasions he was daring to an extreme, heedless of
danger, but full of judgment, and a calm presence of mind. Such, in our
humble opinion, are the outlines of a _real_ general, how well they
were exemplified and filled up by the subject of this article, time and
the concurring testimony of events have proved.
GENERAL’S _Guard_. It was customary among the French, for the oldest
regiment to give one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, two
serjeants, and fifty privates, as a general’s guard. Whenever the
marshals of France were on service under the immediate orders of the
king, or of the princes belonging to the royal household, they always
retained the rank of general.
GENERAL _d’armée_, _Fr._ the commander in chief of any army.
_Battre la_ GENERAL, _Fr._ to beat the general. See DRUM.
GENERAL _court-martial_. See COURTS MARTIAL.
GENERAL _formations_ of the battalion, are from line into column, and
from column into line by echellon; to either flank, to the front, or on
a line oblique to any given point front or rear.
GENERAL, is also used for a particular beat of the drum. See DRUM.
GENETTE, _Fr._ a particular sort of snaffle, which is used among the
Turks; it resembles a large ring, and serves to confine the horse’s
tongue.
GENIE, _Fr._ The art of engineering. It consists in a knowlege of lines
so as to be able to trace out all that is requisite for the attack or
defence of places, according to established rules in fortification.
Marshal Vauban and the marquis of Louvois, have particularly
distinguished themselves in this art.
GENIUS, in a military sense, a natural talent or disposition to every
kind of warlike employment, more than any other; or the aptitude a man
has received from nature to perform well, and easily, that which others
can do but indifferently, and with a great deal of pains.
From the diversity of genius, the difference of inclination arises in
men whom nature has had the precaution of leading to the employment for
which she designs them, with more or less impetuosity, in proportion
to the greater or lesser number of obstacles they have to surmount, in
order to render themselves capable of answering this occasion. Thus
the inclinations of men are so very different, because they follow the
same mover, that is the impulse of their genius. This is what renders
one officer more pleasing, even though he trespasses against the rules
of war; while others are disagreeable notwithstanding their strict
regularity.
GENOUILLIERE, _Fr._ the lower part of the embrasure of a battery. The
genouilliere is about 2¹⁄₂ or 3 French feet high from the platform to
the opening of the embrasure. It lies immediately under the arch of
the fortification. Its thickness, which usually consists of fascines
well put together, is of the same dimensions that merlons bear; namely
from 18 to 22 feet. The term _genouilliere_ is derived from _genou_,
signifying the knee, to the height of which it is generally raised.
GENS, _Fr._ a word in much desultory use among the French, signifying
in a general acceptation of it, folks, people, servants, soldiers, &c.
GENS _d’armes_. See GENDARMES.
GENS _de guerre_, _Fr._ men attached to a military profession.
_Mes_ GENS, _Fr._ an affected phrase, which was formerly used among the
French, to signify their servants or attendants. It seems to have been
an arrogant and foolish imitation of _mon peuple_, my _people_. During
the monarchy of France, this term was in much vogue at Paris, and was
afterwards adopted by almost all the _petits maitres_, or coxcombs
belonging to the church, state, and army.
GENS _de sac et de corde_, _Fr._ an opprobrious term which the French
apply to men that deserve chastisement. In former times, the cord
or rope, and the sack, were the common instruments and means of
punishment. The ropes served to hang up malefactors: and the sack was
used to contain their bodies when it was ordained that they should be
thrown into a river.
GENS _de mer_, _Fr._ sea-faring men.
GENS _de l’équipage_, _Fr._ men belonging to the train of artillery.
GENT. _Fr._ Nation. It is only used in poetry, viz. _La gent, qui
porte le Turban_. The Turkish Nation. In the plural number it is only
accepted according to the following significations.
_Le droit des_ GENS, _Fr._ the rights of nations.
_Violer le droit des_ GENS, _Fr._ to infringe or violate the rights of
nations.
_Respecter le droit des_ GENS, _Fr._ to respect the rights of nations.
_Un traité du troit des_ GENS, _Fr._ a treatise on the rights of
nations.
The following phrases are in familiar use among the French, viz.
GENS _de marque_, _Fr._ men of distinction.
GENS _de condition_, _Fr._ men of condition.
GENS _d’honneur_, _Fr._ men of honor.
GENS _de qualité_, _Fr._ men of fashion, or quality.
GENS _de coeur_, _Fr._ men of spirit.
GENS _d’epée_, _Fr._ this term is used among the French, to distinguish
officers, gentlemen, &c. who wear swords, from those who do not,
particularly so in opposition to _gens de la robe_, or lawyers.
GENS _de main_, _Fr._ executive characters.
GENS _de service_, _Fr._ useful men, persons of exertions.
GENS _de pied_, _Fr._ The same as _fantassins_, foot soldiers, or men
who serve on foot.
GENS _de cheval_, _Fr._ cavalry, or men who serve on horseback.
_Mille_ GENS, _cent mille gens_, _Fr._ signifies any considerable
number of men.
GENS, _Fr._ this word is likewise used to distinguish bodies of men
that are in opposition to each other, viz.
_Nos_ GENS _ont battu les ennemis_, _Fr._ our men, or people have
overcome the enemy.
_Nos_ GENS _ont été battus_, _Fr._ our men or people have been beaten.
_Je craignois que ce ne fussent des ennemis, et c’étoient de nos_ GENS,
_Fr._ I was apprehensive that they were our enemies, but they proved to
be our own people.
_Nos_ GENS _battirent les vôtres_, _Fr._, our men beat your’s.
GENS, _Fr._ when followed by the preposition _de_, and by a
substantive, which points out any particular profession, trade, &c.
signifies all those persons that belong to one nation, one town, &c. or
who are of one specific profession or calling, as
LES GENS _d’église_, _Fr._ churchmen.
LES GENS _de robe_, _Fr._ lawyers or gentlemen of the long robe.
_Les_ GENS _de finance_, _Fr._ men concerned in the distribution of
public money.
_Les_ GENS _de loi_, _Fr._ means generally all persons who have any
connection with the law in the way of profession.
_Les_ GENS _du roi_, _Fr._ Crown lawyers.
GENTILHOMMES _de la garde_, commonly called _Au bec de corbin_, or
the battle axe. This company went through many alterations during the
monarchy of France. During the last years of that government, it
consisted of 200 guards under the command of a captain, a lieutenant,
and an ensign. The captain had the power of giving away the subaltern
commissions, and had moreover the entire management of the rest; every
vacancy being in his gift. They marched in file, each holding his
battle-axe, before the king on days of public ceremony. These were
chiefly at the coronation, and the marriage of the king, or at the
reception of the knights of the Holy Ghost.
When the company was first raised, its particular duty was to attend
the king’s person, and to be constantly near him on the day of battle.
GENTILHOMME _à drapeau établie dans chaque compagnie des gardes
Francoises_, _Fr._ under the old French government, this person ranked
as _officier en second_. He did duty in common with the ensigns of
the French guards, and took precedence immediately under them. His
name always stood upon the muster roll, but his appointment was purely
honorary, as he did not receive any pay; his tour of duty in mounting
guards, went with that of the ensigns, he was obliged to be present at
all field days, and could not absent himself without leave.
GENTILSHOMMES _pensionnaires_, _Fr._ Gentlemen pensioners. See
PENSIONERS.
GEODOESIA, GEODESIE, _Fr._ that part of practical geometry, which
contains the doctrine or art of measuring surfaces and finding the
contents of all plain figures. Among the French _géodesie_ means
likewise the division of lands. See SURVEYING.
GEOGRAPHY is the doctrine or knowledge of the terrestrial globe; or the
science that teaches and explains the state of the earth, and parts
thereof that depend upon quantity; or it is rather that part of mixed
mathematics, which explains the state of the earth, and of its parts
depending on quantity, viz. its figure, magnitude, place, and motion,
with the celestial appearances, &c. In consequence of this definition,
geography should be divided into general and special, or universal and
particular.
_By universal_ GEOGRAPHY, is understood that part of the science which
considers the whole earth in general, and explains its properties
without regard to particular countries. This division is again
distinguished into three parts, absolute, relative, and comparative.
The absolute part respects the body of the earth itself, its parts and
peculiar properties; as its figure, magnitude, and motion; its lands,
seas, and rivers, &c. The relative part accounts for the appearances
and accidents that happen to it from celestial causes; and lastly, the
comparative contains an explanation of those properties which arise
from comparing different parts of the earth together.
_Special_ or _particular_ GEOGRAPHY is that division of the science
which describes the constitution and situation of each single country
by itself; and is twofold, viz. chorographical, which describes
countries of a considerable extent; or topographical, which gives a
view of some place, or small tract of land. Hence the object or subject
of geography is the earth, especially its superficies and exterior
parts.
_The properties of_ GEOGRAPHY are of three kinds, viz. celestial,
terrestrial, and human. The celestial properties are such as affect us
by reason of the apparent motion of the sun and stars. These are 8 in
number.
1. The elevation of the pole, or the distance of a place from the
equator.
2. The obliquity of the diurnal motion of the stars above the horizon
of the place.
3. The time of the longest and shortest day.
4. The climate and zone.
5. Heat, cold, and the seasons of the year; with rain, snow, wind, and
other meteors.
6. The rising, appearance, and continuance of stars above the horizon.
7. The stars that pass through the zenith of a place.
8. The celerity of the motion with which, according to the Copernican
hypothesis, every place constantly revolves.
The terrestrial properties are those observed in the face of the
country, and are 10 in number.
1. The limits and bounds of each country.
2.} {figure;
3.} {magnitude;
4.}Its{mountains;
5.} {waters, viz. springs, rivers, lakes, and bays;
6.} {woods and deserts.
7. The fruitfulness and barrenness of the country, with its various
kinds of fruits.
8.} {minerals and fossils;
9.}The{living creatures there;
10.} {longitude and latitude of the place.
The third kind of observations to be made in every country is called
human, because it chiefly regards the inhabitants of the place. It
consists of 10 specific branches.
1. The stature, shape, color, and the length of their lives; their
origin, meat and drink.
2. Their arts, and the profits which arise from them, with the
merchandize they barter one with another.
3. Their virtues and vices, learning, capacities, and schools.
4. Their ceremonies at births, marriages, and funerals.
5. The language which the inhabitants use.
6.} {political government.
7.}Their{religion and church government.
8.} {cities and famous places.
9.} {remarkable histories and antiquities.
10. Their famous men, artificers, and inventions of the natives.
These are the three kinds of occurrences to be explained in special
geography.
_The principles of_ GEOGRAPHY, or those from which arguments are drawn
for the proving of propositions in that science, are, according to the
best authors, of three sorts.
1. Geometrical, arithmetical, and trigonometrical propositions.
2. Astronomical precepts and theorems.
3. Experience, being that upon which the greatest part of geography,
and chiefly the special is founded.
In proving geographical propositions, we are to observe, that several
properties, and chiefly the celestial, are confirmed by proper
demonstrations; being either grounded on experience and observation,
or on the testimony of our senses: nor can they be proved by any other
means. There are also several propositions proved, or rather exposed to
view, by the terrestrial globe, or by geographical maps.
Other propositions cannot be so well proved, yet are received as
apparent truths. Thus, though we suppose all places on the globe,
and in maps, to be laid down in the same order as they are really
on the earth; nevertheless, in these matters, we rather follow the
descriptions that are given by geographical writers.
GEOGRAPHY is very ancient, at least the special part thereof; for the
ancients scarce went beyond the description of countries. It was a
constant custom among the Romans, after they had conquered or subdued
any province, to have a map or printed representation thereof, carried
in triumph and exposed to the view of the spectators. Historians relate
that the Roman senate, about 100 years before Christ, sent geographers
into divers parts to make an exact survey and mensuration of the whole
globe; but they scarcely ever saw the 20th part of it.
Before them, Necho, king of Egypt, ordered the Phœnicians to make a
survey of the whole coast of Africa, which they accomplished in 3
years. Darius procured the Ethiopic sea, and the mouth of the Indus, to
be surveyed; and Pliny relates, that Alexander, in his expedition into
Asia, took two geographers to measure and describe the roads; and that
from their itineraries, the writers of the following ages took many
particulars. Indeed this may be observed, that whereas most other arts
and sciences are sufferers by war, geography, artillery, mining, and
fortification, alone have been improved thereby. Geography, however,
must have been exceedingly defective, as a great part of the globe was
then unknown, particularly all America, the northern parts of Europe
and Asia, with the Australasia, and Magellanica; and they were also
ignorant of the earth’s being capable to be sailed round, and of the
torrid zone being habitable, &c.
The honor of reducing geography to art and system, was reserved for
Ptolemy; who, by adding mathematical advantages to the historical
method in which it had been treated of before, has described the world
in a much more intelligible manner: he has delineated it under more
certain rules, and by fixing the bounds of places from longitude and
latitude, has discovered other mistakes, and has left us a method of
discovering his own.
GEOLIER _des prisons militaires_, _Fr._ the superintendant or head
jailor of military prisons. Under the old French government, this
person had a right to visit all prisoners that were not confined in
dungeons. He could order provisions, wood, and coal to be conveyed to
them; but he had not the power of permitting women to visit or have any
intercourse with the soldiers; and when their period of imprisonment
expired, he could not detain them on account of debts contracted for
food, lodging, or fees, &c. Half of the prisoner’s subsistence for one
day, according to his rank, was given on his release.
GEOMETRICAL _elevations_, just dimensions of ascent proportionate to a
given scale, &c. See ORTHOGRAPHY.
GEOMETRIE, _Fr._ Geometry.
GEOMETRIE _composée_, _Fr._ compound geometry, which consists in the
knowlege of curved lines, and of the different bodies produced by them.
The immediate object or intent of compound geometry is confined to
conic sections, and to lines of that species.
GEOMETRIE _sublime et transcendante_, _Fr._ these terms have been
applied by the French to the new system of geometry, which was produced
by Leibnitz, and Newton, when they found out the method of calculating
_ad infinitum_.
GEOMETRY, originally signified no more than the art of measuring the
earth, or any distance or dimensions in it; but at present it denotes
the science of magnitude in general; comprehending the doctrine and
relations of whatever is susceptible of augmentation or diminution,
considered in that light. Hence, to geometry may be referred the
consideration not only of lines, surfaces, and solids; but also of
time, velocity, number, weight, &c.
Plato thought the word geometry an improper name for this science,
and accordingly substituted in its place the more extensive one of
mensuration; and after him, others gave it the name of pantometry, as
demonstrating not only the quantities of all manner of magnitudes, but
also their qualities, ratios, positions, transformations, relations,
&c. and Proclus calls it the knowlege of magnitudes and figures, and
their limitations; also of their motions and affections of every kind.
_Origin and progress of_ GEOMETRY. This science had its rise in Asia,
the invention, which at first consisted only in measuring the lands,
that every person might have what belonged to him, was called geometry,
or the art of measuring land; and it is probable, that the draughts
and schemes which they were annually compelled to make, helped them to
discover many excellent properties of these figures; which speculation
has continued gradually to improve to this day.
From Asia it passed into Egypt, and thence into Greece, where it
continued to receive improvement from Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes,
Euclid, &c. The elements of geometry, written by Euclid in 15 books,
are a most convincing proof to what perfection this science was carried
among the ancients. However, it must be acknowleged, that it fell short
of modern geometry, the bounds of which, by the inventions of fluxions,
and the discovery of the almost infinite order of curves are greatly
enlarged.
_Division of_ GEOMETRY. This science is usually distinguished into
elementary, and higher or sublime geometry. The first, or elementary
geometry, treats of the properties of right lines, and of the circle,
together with the figures and solids formed by them. The doctrine of
lines comes first, then that of surfaces, and lastly that of solids.
The higher geometry comprehends the doctrine of conic sections, and
numerous other curves.
_Speculative and practical_ GEOMETRY. The former treats of the
properties of lines and figures, as Euclid’s Elements, Apollonius’s
Conic Sections, &c. and the latter shews how to apply these
speculations to the use of mensuration, navigation, surveying, taking
heights and distances, gauging, fortification, gunnery, &c.
_Usefulness of_ GEOMETRY. Its usefulness extends to almost every art
and science. By the help of it, astronomers turn their observations
to advantage: regulate the duration of times, seasons, years, cycles,
and epochs; and measure the distance, motion, and magnitudes of the
heavenly bodies. By it geographers determine the figure and magnitude
of the whole earth; and delineate the extent and bearings of kingdoms,
provinces, harbors, &c. It is from this science also that architects
derive their just measure and construction of public edifices, as well
as of private houses.
It is by the assistance of geometry that engineers conduct all their
works, take the situation and plans of towns, the distances of places,
and the measure of such things as are only accessible to the sight. It
is not only an introduction to fortification, but highly necessary to
mechanics. On geometry likewise depends the theory of gunnery, mining,
music, optics, perspective, drawing, mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics,
&c.
We may distinguish the progress of geometry into three ages; the first
of which was in its meridian glory at the time when Euclid’s Elements
appeared; the second beginning with Archimedes, reaches to the time
of Descartes; who by applying algebra to the elements of geometry,
gave a new turn to this science, which has been carried to its utmost
perfection by our learned countryman Sir Isaac Newton, and by the
German philosopher Leibnitz.
GEORGE, _or knight of St. George_, has been the denomination of several
military orders. See GARTER.
GERBE, _Fr._ means literally a sheaf, but it here signifies a sort of
artificial firework, which is placed in a perpendicular manner, and
resembles a sheaf. See JETS _de feu_.
GERBE likewise means the tithe which was formerly paid to the French
curates.
_Faire_ GERBE _de foarre à dieu_, _Fr._ a figurative expression,
signifying, that the farmer made up the worst sheaf he could for the
parson; filling it principally with straw instead of good ears of corn.
GERMS, small coasting vessels employed by the French, to keep up an
intercourse with Egypt.
GESE, _Fr._ a weapon used in former times.
GESES and _Materes_ were adopted by the Allobroges (a body of ancient
Gauls so called) independently of the broad cut and thrust sword, which
the Swiss still wear. These instruments were only one cubit long; half
the blade was nearly square, but it terminated in a round point that
was exceedingly sharp. Virgil in his Æneid calls this species of blade,
_alpin_, meaning, no doubt, to convey, that it was in general use among
the neighboring inhabitants of the _Alps_. Not only the Romans, but
the Greeks received it into their armies. The former retained the full
appellation and called it _gése_, but the latter corrupted it into
_ysse_. This is the only weapon with which those soldiers were armed
that escorted malefactors, who were condemned to death, to the place of
execution. The term _gese_ was also applied to a sort of a javelin.
GESSATES, a people of whom Polybius speaks in his history of the
ancient Gauls, and who inhabited the countries lying adjacent to the
alps, and to the river Rhone. According to some writers, they were so
called because they constantly wore _geses_. The gese is said to have
been a dart which the ancient Gauls exclusively used, and which some
authors since confounded with the _pertuisane_ or _partisan_, a sort of
halbert, called by others a _javelin_. This word was used in Provence,
as late as the year 1300; for in the inventory which was taken of the
goods, furniture, &c. appertaining to the Templars, we find _gessus_
or _gesus_ particularly specified in the list of weapons and iron
instruments, which was understood to mean _gese_, and under that
appellation was deposited in the king’s archives at Aix. See BOUCHER,
_Hist. Prov._ Liv. ii. c. 4. p. 82. This same author further asserts,
that the _Gési_, and the _Gessates_ took their names from that weapon.
He quotes Julius Cæsar’s account of the word _gesi_ in confirmation
of his own opinion. Many authors have mentioned the same term: among
others, Justus, Lipsus, Hugo, Cheves, Vossius, &c.
GESSATE _ou_ GESATE, _Fr._ a knight among the ancient Gauls, who took
delight in war, and frequently volunteered his services beyond the
boundaries of his native country. Whenever a neighboring country made
a levy of men, it was usual for the gessates to accompany the troops,
from a conviction that it would be dishonorable in them to remain
inactive at home. These adventurers, or knights-errant, were called
gessates, either on account of the gessus or large dart, which they
carried, or, as Polybius imagines, on account of the subsistence which
was paid them, and was called by that name.
GESTURE, a motion of the body intended to signify some idea, or
passion of the mind. All officers and soldiers who make use of any
menacing gesture before a commanding or superior officer, or before a
court-martial, are liable to be punished by the laws of war.
GEZE, _Fr._ a rentrant angle, which is made with slate or lead, and
forms a gutter between two roofs. It is likewise called _noue_, or
pantile.
GHERIAH, a port on the Malabar Mahrattah coast of Hindustan, the
capital part of Angria’s dominions, which consisted of an extent
of coast, from whence this warlike state was a perpetual source of
uneasiness to the trading ships of all the European nations in India.
It cost the English East-India company 50,000_l._ annually to protect
their own ships. Eight or ten grabs, and forty or fifty gallivats,
crowded with men, generally composed Angria’s principal fleet in
1754, destined to attack ships of force or burthen. The vessel no
sooner came in sight of the port or bay where the fleet was lying,
than they slipped their cables and put out to sea. If the wind blew,
their construction enabled them to sail almost as fast as the wind;
and if it was calm, the gallivats rowing towed the grabs: when within
cannon shot of the chace, they generally assembled in her wake, and
the grabs attacked her at a distance with their prow guns, firing
first only at the masts, and taking aim when the three masts of the
vessel just opened all together to their view; by which means the shot
would probably strike one or other of the three. As soon as the chase
was dismasted, they came nearer, and battered her on all sides until
she struck: and if the defence was obstinate, they sent a number of
gallivats, with two or three hundred men in each, who boarded sword in
hand from all quarters in the same instant.
The English trusting to the report of the natives, had until the
year 1756, believed Gheriah to be at least as strong as Gibraltar,
and like that situated on a mountain which was inaccessible from the
sea, for this reason it was resolved to send vessels to reconnoitre
it; which service commodore James, in the Protector, with two other
ships, performed. He found the enemy’s fleet at anchor in the harbor,
notwithstanding which, he approached within cannon shot of the fort,
and having attentively considered it, returned at the end of December
to Bombay, and described the place, such as it truly was, very strong
indeed, but far from being inaccessible or impregnable. This place
was taken by the English troops under the command of colonel Clive.
There were found in it 200 pieces of cannon, six brass mortars, and
a great quantity of ammunition, and military and naval stores of all
kinds; the money and effects of other kinds, amounted to 1,200,000_l._
sterling. All this booty was divided amongst the captors, without any
reserve either for the nation, or the company. In less than a month
the English, with their allies the Mahrattas got possession of all the
territories wrested from the latter by Angria’s predecessors, and which
they had for seventy years despaired of ever being able to recover.
GIBERNE, _Fr._ a sort of bag in which the grenadiers held their
hand-grenades. It was worn like a powder flask. They likewise carried,
independent of this bag, a cartouch box containing 18 or 20 charges.
GIBRALTAR, a strong fortress of Andalusia, in Spain. Gibraltar was
formerly thought to be impregnable; but it was taken by Sir George
Rooke in 1704, and has remained in the hands of the English ever since.
It has been several times attacked by the Spaniards, who have always
been unsuccessful. Their last effort to recover it was made September
13th, 1782, with floating batteries, in which were mounted 212 brass
cannon and mortars. The French united with the Spaniards on this
memorable occasion; and the brother to the last king of the French,
(then Count D’Artois) commanded the camp of St. Roche, from whence
the offensive operations were directed. General Elliot, (afterwards
called lord Heathfield) had prepared a great number of red-hot balls
against the attack; and these so effectually destroyed the floating
batteries, that the Spaniards were greatly annoyed, and relinquished
the enterprize. For particulars, see Drinkwater’s siege of Gibraltar.
GIN, in military mechanics, is a machine for raising great weights: it
is composed of 3 long legs, 2 of which are kept at a proper distance
by means of 2 iron bars fixed on one of the legs by a staple passing
through a hole at one end: the other end has a hook which enters into
a staple fixed into the other leg so as to be taken off or put on at
pleasure.
At 3 feet from the bottom is a roller, upon which the cable was wound;
and the 3 legs are joined together with an iron bolt, about which
they move: to this bolt, is also fixed an iron half-ring to hook on a
windlass: when the gin stands upright, so as the legs stand at a proper
distance, one end of the cable is fastened to a gun, mortar, or other
weight; and the other passes through the pullies and about the roller,
which is turned round by means of hand-spikes passing through the holes
in the ends of the roller: whilst a man holds the cable tight, the gun
is raised to the height required, so that the carriage may be put under
it.
GIN _Triangle_--Length of arms of the gin 16 feet 4¹⁄₂ inches. Roller,
6 feet long. Tackle fall, 78 feet of 3 inch white rope. Sling, 6 inch
white rope.
The newly constructed gin, by having one half of the roller of a
greater diameter than the other, gives a new power, that of elevating
or lowering the object in a greater or lesser proportion, according to
the end of the cylinder upon which the cable is fixed.
For the different exercises of the gin, see the word EXERCISE.
GINCE, a place in India, situated 35 miles N. W. of Pondicherry.
GINJAULS _or_ GINGAULS, an East Indian name, signifying large musquets
used with a rest, somewhat similar to those invented by Marshal Vauban,
for the defence of forts.
GIRANDE, _Fr._ the chief cluster, or assemblage of an artificial
firework, with which a shew or illumination is generally concluded.
A _girande_ may be made by uniting several chests or clusters together,
and securing with a match of communication, a regular inflammation.
GIRANDOLE, _Fr._ literally, a chandelier; a cluster of diamonds.
GIRANDOLES, _Fr._ circles ornamented with fusees. They are used in
fireworks. See SOLEILS _tournans_.
GIROUETTES, _Fr._ Weathercocks, vanes. They are seldom or ever used on
shore, except as weathercocks on tops of church-steeples, &c.
GIROUETTE in the singular number, likewise means figuratively light,
inconstant, not to be depended upon. As _ce jeune officier est aussi
girouette que ce coutume_. This young officer is as light as usual.
GISTES, pieces of wood which are made use of in the construction of
platforms to batteries, and upon which the madriers or broad planks are
placed.
GLACIS. See FORTIFICATION.
GLACIS _d’une corniche_, _Fr._ a waterfall, or insensible slope which
is made upon the _cymatium_ (a member of architecture, whereof one half
is convex, and the other concave) of a cornish.
GLADIATOR, GLADIATEUR, _Fr._ a sword player, a prize fighter. The old
Romans were accustomed to make their slaves fight with one another at
their public festivals, and the only weapon they used, was a gladine or
sword. This barbarous usage was abolished by the emperor Theodoric in
the year of Christ 500; but it prevailed among the ancient Britons, and
in England to a much later date.
GLAIS _militaire_, _Fr._ a military compliment which was paid to the
remains of a deceased general. It consisted in a discharge of ordnance.
In a civil sense, it means the chiming of bells at the death of a
parish priest.
GLAISE, _Fr._ clay, or potter’s earth.
GLAISER, _Fr._ to do over with potter’s earth, or clay.
GLAIVE, a broad sword, or falchion, anciently so called.
_Le_ GLAIVE _de la justice_, the sword of justice.
GLAIZE, a kind of halbert, so called by the Saxons.
GLAS, _Fr._ knell.
GLIB _act_, a very ancient act of parliament which directed that the
Irish nobility and gentry who were of English or Norman extraction,
should forfeit the privileges of their original country, if they did
not shave the upper lip. This act took place when Ireland was first
conquered, and its object was to distinguish the descendants of the
invaders; from the old Irish nobility that traced its origin to
Milesius, who wore their hair and their beards very long; hence glib,
means loose, flowing.
GLIPHE _ou_ GLYPHE, _Fr._ signifies generally every species of canal,
or hollow, which constitutes any part of ornamental architecture.
GLOBES _ou ballons d’artifices_, _Fr._ globes or balloons, which are
filled with artificial fire. They are used to set fire to an enemy’s
town or works, &c.
GLOBES _de feu_, _Fr._ a cartouch made of mashed paper, which is laid
upon a wooden bowl and made perfectly round. It is afterward perforated
in several places, and filled with the inflammable composition that is
used in the making up of _lances à feu_. The instant it catches, a
very bright and lively fire issues out of the several holes.
GLOBE. See GEOGRAPHY.
GLOIRE, _Fr._ an artificial fire-work, which resembles a large sun. It
is made by means of an iron wheel containing four circles, each circle
diminishing towards the centre, and kept at equal distances from one
another. Forty eight _jets de feu_, or fire spouts, are tied to these
circles; each jet is twenty French inches long, and there are twelve of
them fixed to each of the four circles. The gloire or soleil is placed
in the middle of the principal fire-work.
_Military_ GLORY, honor, reputation and fame, acquired by military
atchievements. That precarious splendor, which plays round the brows
of a warrior, and has been collected by hard service, extraordinary
genius, and unblemished integrity; but which may desert the greatest
hero through one unfortunate failure.
GO. The verb _to go_ is variously used in a military sense, as to march
in a hostile, or warlike manner.
_To_ GO _off_, implies to depart from any post.
_To_ GO _on_, to make an attack.
_To_ GO _over_, to revolt.
_To_ GO _out_, to go upon any expedition, &c.
_To_ GO _out_ is likewise frequently used to signify the act of
fighting a duel, as _he went out with a brother officer, and was
slightly wounded_.
GOA, a strong town on the Malabar coast, belonging to the Portuguese.
The chief trade is in arrack. This fort was taken by the English April
2d, 1756.
GOLADAR _or_ GOLDAR, an East Indian term, signifying a store-keeper, or
store-house-keeper.
GOLANDAAZEE, the Indian term for an artillery man.
GOLCONDA, a province in India, formerly comprehending the nabobships of
Arcot, Canoul, Cudapa, Rajamandry, and Chicacole.
GOLCONDA, formerly a city and the capital of the province. It stood at
the foot of the rock and fortress of the same name; but the city has
long since been deserted; and its inhabitants removed to Hyderabad:
nevertheless its name is still frequently used in Indostan, when in
reality the city of Hyderabad is meant.
GOLDEN _Rock_, a spot near Tritchinopoly in East India, which has been
renowned by the victory that was gained by the British troops over the
French and their allies in 1753.
GONDECAMA, _Gondegama_, a river in India, which makes the northern
boundary of the province of Arcot; Condavir extends between this and
the river Kristna.
GONDOLA, _Gondole_, _Fr._ this word may be taken in two senses, viz.
to signify a cup; or a small barge which is flat and long in its
construction, and is only moved, or worked by oars. Gondolas are much
used upon the canals in Venice; they are extremely remarkable for their
shape, and the great swiftness with which they glide through the water.
The middle sized ones are about thirty feet long, and are only four
feet broad across the middle, gradually tapering towards each end,
and rising in two sharp and narrow points to the ordinary height of a
man. Upon the prow is fixed an iron of uncommon length, which does not
exceed half a finger’s breadth in thickness; but which is four fingers
broad, and is so disposed as to cut the air. The upper part of this
iron which is flatter than the rest, stretches out in the shape of a
large hatchet a full foot in length: so that when the gondola is on her
way, it seems to menace every thing before it, and to force its passage.
GONDOLIERS, _Gondoliers_, _Fr._ the men who have the management of the
gondolas at Venice, are so called. The equipment of a gondola seldom
exceeds two persons, even on board of those barges that belong to the
foreign ambassadors.
It sometimes happens that there are four, when persons of distinction
go to their country houses. The gondoliers never sit down but row the
barge standing upright and push forward. One man always plies in the
fore part of the gondola, and the other is at the poop.
GONFALON, GONFANON, an ensign or standard.
GONG, the Persian word for a village.
GONG WALLAS, villagers, the militia in India so called; from _gong_, a
village, and _wallas_, a man.
GORGE. See FORTIFICATION.
GORGE, _Fr._ likewise means any hollow between a chain of mountains,
that affords a passage into an open country.
Gorge, _Fr._ a sort of concave moulding belonging to ornamental
architecture.
GORGERIN, _Fr._ in ancient times, that part of the armor which covered
the neck of a man. Hence our word _gorget_.
GORGONS, in military antiquity, a warlike female nation of Libya, in
Africa, who had frequent quarrels with another nation of the same sex,
called _Amazons_.
GOTHIC, (_Gothique_ _Fr._) any thing constructed after the manner
of the Goths. Various works and buildings that appear to have been
constructed without any particular regard to the rules of art, are so
called. All the old cathedrals are in the Gothic taste.
Monsieur de Fenelon has said, that gothic architecture can support an
immense vault upon the slightest pillars. The elevation of it is so
wonderful, that although it seems ready to tumble, is perforated and
full of windows in every part, and stands as it were suspended in the
skies, it nevertheless lasts out centuries, and almost always proves
more durable than the most regular buildings.
_Fronton_ GOTHIQUE, _Fr._ a gothic pediment. In modern architecture,
all circular or triangular gable ends are so called, when they are
sculptured, or three leaved.
GOUDRON _ou_ GOUDRAN, _Fr._ pitch and tar.
GOUDRONS, _Fr._ small fascines, or faggots which are well steeped in
wax, pitch, and glue, and then are lighted for the purpose of setting
fire to beams, planks, traverses, galleries, pontoons, &c. They are
likewise used in various shapes and ways, to convey light into the
ditches, or upon the ramparts.
GOVERNOR _of a fortification_, is, or should be, a person of great
military knowlege; and is a very considerable officer, whose authority
extends not only over the inhabitants and garrison, but over all troops
that may be there in winter quarters, cantonments, or quarters of
refreshment.
_Duty of a_ GOVERNOR _in time of peace_, is to order the guards, the
rounds, and the patroles; to give the parole and countersign every
night after the gates are shut; to visit the posts, to see that both
officers and soldiers do their duty, and that every thing goes on
regularly and in good order.
_Duty of a_ GOVERNOR _in time of war_. He should consider the place in
such a manner, as if the enemy were going to besiege him, not omitting
the least thing that may contribute to a long and obstinate defence;
he should therefore take particular care to keep the fortifications in
good repair; clearing the country round of all hedges, ditches, trees,
hollow roads, caverns, and rising grounds, within the reach of cannon
shot; not suffering any houses to be built within that distance, nor in
general any thing to be done that may favor the approach of an enemy.
He should consider well with himself every minute circumstance that may
be of advantage to him during the siege: he should thoroughly examine
the several works, and canvas all the different stratagems that may
be used, either to defend them, or to give way upon occasion, when
overpowered, with an intent to return and dislodge the enemy, after he
has got possession of them; in short, how to defend the place entrusted
to his care, inch by inch, with the best advantage.
He should consider how, and in what manner, the works defend each
other; whether their communications are safe, or liable to be
interrupted by the besiegers; how to incommode the enemy when he is
at a distance, or to dislodge him when near; whether the ground be
proper for mines, and where they should be made; whether any part of
the country may not be laid under water, by means of dykes or sluices:
if there are any already made, how to keep them in constant repair, or
to make new ones if they are wanted; taking care to construct them so
that the enemy may not have it in his power to destroy them, either
with his cannon or mortars.
If the governor be not sufficiently skilled in the systems of
attack and defence, he should frequently converse with the officers
of engineers and artillery who understand them; examine the works
together, see what may be done to render the defence of the place as
long as the circumstances and nature of the works will admit of; and to
make it familiar to himself, he should set down a project of defence on
paper, and have it canvassed by the most skilful officers of artillery
and engineers about him. This must be done in private; that spies or
deserters may not discover the weak parts to the enemy. In short,
nothing should be neglected on the part of the governor.
He should see that the place be well supplied with ammunition, and
wholesome provisions; that the hospitals are in good order, and
provided with able physicians and surgeons, as likewise with every
thing wholesome and necessary, that the sick and wounded may be well
taken care of.
The powder magazines above all things, require his most special care:
for though they are built bomb-proof, yet, when a great number of
shells fall upon them, they seldom resist their shock; for which reason
they should be covered 8 or 10 feet thick with earth, and a layer of
fascines, dung and strong planks, laid over them.
GOUJAT, _Fr._ A soldier’s boy. It likewise signifies an ignorant
good-for-nothing fellow.
GOUINE, a woman of infamous character.
GOURDIN, _Fr._ a flat stick, two fingers in breadth, which was used by
the french to punish galley slaves.
GOURGANDINE, _Fr._ a strumpet of the lowest species, a soldier’s trull.
GOUVERNAIL, _Fr._ a rudder.
GOUVERNEMENT, _Fr._ anciently meant a certain specific allotment of
provinces, towns, &c. under the superintendence and government of one
person who received his powers from the king, and had subordinate
officers under him. There were twelve governments in France, at the
first institution of monarchy, called _grands gouvernemens généraux_,
which were specifically noticed in all the general sittings of the
kingdom. They were first formed by Hugues Capet, in 987. Previous to
the revolution in 1789, they were subdivided into 39 general provincial
governments with inferior officers, subject to their jurisdiction;
such as governors of towns, and commandants of fortified places. Each
governor general was entitled to a guard of cavalry, a certain number
of halberdiers and armed men on foot.
GOUVERNEUR _d’une place de guerre_, _Fr._ the governor of a fortified
town or place. See _governor of a_ FORTIFICATION.
GOWA. A witness is so called in India.
GRABS. Vessels peculiar to the Malabar coast. They have rarely more
than two masts, although some have three; those of three are about 300
tons burthen; but the others are not more than 150 tons; they are built
to draw very little water, being very broad in proportion to their
length, narrowing from the middle to the end, where instead of bows
they have a prow, projecting like that of a Mediterranean galley, and
covered with a strong deck level with the main deck of the vessel, from
which, however, it is separated by a bulk head, which terminates the
forecastle. As this construction subjects the grab to pitch violently
when sailing against a head sea; the deck of the prow is not enclosed
with sides as the rest of the vessel is, but remains bare, that the
water which dashes upon it may pass off without interruption. On the
main deck under the forecastle are mounted two pieces of cannon nine or
twelve pounders, which point forwards through the port holes cut in the
bulk head, and fire over the prow; the cannon of the broadside are from
six to nine pounders.
GRAFF. See DITCH or MOAT.
GRAIN, _Fr._ A word used in the repairing of damaged cannon.
_Mettre un_ GRAIN _a une piece_, to fill up the touch-hole of a piece
of ordnance, the heating it in such a manner, that the metal which
is poured in may assimilate and mix. When it becomes cold, a fresh
aperture is made or bored.
GRAIS, _Fr._ large stones resembling Scotch pebbles. They are used to
pave the high-roads, and streets.
GRAM, the grey peas are called by this name in Hindustan, and is the
common food of horses, for which purpose it is previously steept in
water.
GRAMEN, grass, in botany.
GRAMINE, _couronne gramine_, _Fr._ a grass or gramineous crown, which
was made among the Romans. See OBSIDIONAL.
GRANADE. False orthography. See GRENADE.
GRANADIER, false orthography. See GRENADIER.
GRAND. This word is frequently used both in French and English as a
word of title or distinction; it means great. In French it also means
large.
GRAND _division_. The battalion being told off by two companies to
each division, is said to be told off in grand divisions; hence grand
division firing is, when the battalion fires by 2 companies at the same
time, and is commanded by 1 officer only.
GRAND _maitre d’artillerie_, _Fr._ grand master of the ordnance, &c.
&c. &c.
GRAND _soleil brillant_, _Fr._ a sun exhibited in artificial fireworks.
See GLOIRE.
GRAND _Vizir_. See VIZIR.
GRANITE, (_granit_, _Fr._) a sort of hard stone which is variegated by
spots and streaks, and is rather encrusted. It is very common in Egypt.
There is a species of granite, that is of a white and violet color; and
another which is green mixed with white. The most ordinary kind has
grey and green spots scattered over a greyish white.
Columns 40 feet high have been seen in Egypt which consisted wholly of
one piece of granite. The Egyptian Pyramids are made of that marble;
such indeed is the quantity said to exist about the country, that
some authors imagine the whole extent of its foundation to be a solid
rock of granite. The French distinguish this sort of stone by calling
it _marbre granit_ and _marbre granitelle_. In natural history it is
generally called _granita_, being a distinct genus of stones composed
of separate and very large concretions rudely compacted together, of
great hardness and capable of receiving a very fine and beautiful
polish.
GRANOIR, _Fr._ a term used in the French artillery, to signify a sort
of sieve, in which there are small round holes for moist powder to be
passed through, in order to make the grains perfectly round.
GRAPE _shot_. See SHOT.
GRAPHOMETER, (_graphometre_, _Fr._) among surveyors, an instrument for
taking angles, and generally called a semi-circle. In mathematics it
serves to measure heights and elevations, to raise plans, &c.
GRAPPLING. The French call it grapin, herisson, risson, or harpeau; it
is a sort of small anchor, with four or five flukes or arms, commonly
used to ride a boat.
GRAPPLING-_irons_, in the art of war, are composed of 4, 5, or 6
branches, bent round and pointed, with a ring at the root, to which is
fastened a rope to hold by, when the grapple is thrown at any thing, in
order to bring it near, so as to lay hold of it.
_Fire_ GRAPPLING, an instrument which nearly resembles the above, only
that it is fitted with strong barbs instead of flukes, and is fixed at
the yard arms of a fire-ship to grapple her adversary, and set her on
fire. The French call this instrument _grapin de brulôt_.
GRAS-_bois_, _Fr._ in carpentry, a term to signify any piece of wood
which is too large to fit the place it was intended to fill, and which
must necessarily be diminished. Hence the expression _dêmaigrir_, to
thin.
GRASS, (_gramen_,) in botany a general name for most of the herbaceous
plants used in feeding cattle.
GRASS _plats_, green walks which for the most part are made by laying
turfs or green sods.
GRATICULER, _Fr._ to divide with a pencil on a sheet of paper, any
design or drawing into small equal squares, in order to reduce the
original sketch or picture, or to enlarge it by the same process. This
word is derived from the Italian, _graticola_, a gridiron.
GRATIFICATION, _Fr._ In a general acceptation of the term, this word
meant, among the French, certain rewards which generals gave to the
troops, after a severe engagement, in testimony of their valor and
good conduct. These rewards were distributed according to rank. This
custom was prevalent in the most ancient times. According to Vegetius,
all monies distributed by the Romans, as military gratifications or
rewards, were deposited in the ensign or standard-bearer’s hands, to
be occasionally given to the soldiers. Sometimes the generals gave
directions, that a certain proportion should be sequestered or put
apart. By degree, a fund was collected; and the temptations to desert
lost their influence in the superior attachment which every soldier
felt to his standard, whose bearer was the trustee of his little
property, and to whom he was consequently bound by one of the most
powerful ties of the human heart--_self interest_.
By _gratification_ was likewise meant the accumulation of a certain
sum, which was deposited for the specific purpose of burying a deceased
soldier.
_Gratification_ signified, among the French, in a more extended sense
of the word, a public reward given to a body of soldiers on the
recommendation of a general, for some signal act of bravery in the day
of battle. When this happened the soldiers had a certain sum of money
distributed amongst them, and the officers received annual pensions.
GRATIFICATION likewise means a certain allowance in money which is made
to prisoners of war. The British officers in France have been allowed
6_d._ per day, and the non-commissioned and soldiers 1¹⁄₂_d._ the
officers have also 1_s._ 6_d._ in lieu of rations.
GRATTER _un Vaisseau_, _Fr._ to clean or careen a ship.
GRATTER _en maconnerie_, _Fr._ to restore the original appearance of a
wall or building by grating the superficies with a trowel, or any other
iron instrument.
GRAVEURS, _Fr._ Persons employed and paid by the founders of cannon for
repairing damaged pieces of artillery. Some individual, however, was
distinguished by the name of _Graveur de l’Artillerie_, Engraver to the
Artillery, and was permitted, by the Grand Master of the Ordnance, to
exhibit over his shop-door the arms of the royal artillery.
GRAVITY.--_Table of the Specific gravity of several Solid and Fluid
bodies._
Platina 23400
Fine gold 19640
Standard gold 18888
Quick silver 11325
Fine silver 11091
Standard silver 10535
Copper 9000
Copper halfpence 8915
Gun metal 8784
Cast brass 8000
Steel 7850
Iron 7645
Cast iron 7425
Tin 7320
Crystal glass 3150
Marble 2700
Common green glass 2600
Flint 2570
Common stone 2520
Clay 2160
Brick 2000
Common earth 1984
Nitre 1900
Ivory 1825
Brimstone 1810
Solid gunpowder 1745
Sand 1520
Coal 1250
Boxwood 1030
Sea water 1030
Common water 1000
Oak 925
Gunpowder, close stacken 937
Do. in loose heap 836
Ash 800
Maple 755
Elm 600
Fir 550
Charcoal
Cork 240
Air 1.232
The several sorts of wood are supposed dry.
This table also contains the weight of a cubic foot of each body in
avoirdupois ounces; from whence results the following rules:
1. _To find the magnitude of any body from its Weight._
As the tabular specific gravity of the body,
Is to its weight in avoirdupois ounces.
So is one cubic foot, or 1728 cubic inches,
To its contents in feet or inches respectively.
2. _To find the weight of a body from its magnitude._
As one cubic foot, or 1728 cubic inches,
Is to the content of the body,
So is the tabular specific gravity
To the weight of the body.
GRAVOIS, _Fr._ rubbish.
GREAT _fortification_. One of the divisions of the first system of M.
de Vauban.--It consists in a fortification whose exterior side is from
185 to 260 toises, or from 370 to 520 yards, and is seldom adopted but
towards a river or a marsh.
GREAT _radius_. The whole oblique radius. See FORTIFICATION.
GRECIAN _fire_, _feu Gregeois_, _Fr._ a sort of artificial fire, which
insinuates itself beyond the surface of the sea, and which burns with
increased violence when it mixes with that element. Its directions are
contrary to the course of natural fire; for the flames will spread
themselves downwards, to the right or left, agreeably to the movement
that is given. It is composed or made up of naphtha, sulphur, bitumen,
gum and pitch; and it can only be extinguished by vinegar mixed with
urine and sand, or with undressed leather or green hides. Some writers
assert, that it was invented by an engineer (belonging to Heliopolis, a
town in Syria,) whose name was Gallinicus, and who used it with so much
skill and effect during a naval engagement, that he destroyed a whole
fleet belonging to the enemy, upon which were embarked 30,000 men. This
combustible matter has retained the name of Grecian fire, because the
Greeks first practised the invention. It is asserted indeed, that the
secret of making Grecian fire, which should be unextinguishable, has
been long since lost; _we say unextinguishable_, because the ancients
did nor know, as we do, how to repress or put out the flame.
According to the author of _Oeuvres Militaires_, a powerful
composition, which could only be extinguished by strong vinegar
(a secret unknown to the ancients) might be made of the following
combustible materials: viz. pitch, rosin, tallow, camphor, turpentine,
salt of nitre, liquid varnish, oil of sulphur, linseed, rock oil, flax,
charcoal finely pulverized; the whole of which being boiled together,
and before it grows cold, mixed with quick lime: a consistence is
formed that will be susceptible of the most subtle and destructive fire.
GRENADES, GRANADES or GRENADOES, in the art of war, are hollow balls
or shells of iron or other metal, about 2¹⁄₂ inches diameter, which
being filled with fine powder, are set on fire by means of a small
fuse, driven into the fuse-hole, made of well seasoned beech wood, and
formerly thrown by the _grenadiers_ into places where men stood thick,
and particularly into the trenches and other lodgments made by the
enemy. As soon as the composition within the fuse gets to the powder
in the grenade, it bursts into many pieces, greatly to the injury of
all who happen to be in its way. Grenades were first made about the
time shells were invented (which see) and first used in 1594. Grenades
have much sunk into disuse; but nothing is more effectual than grenades
thrown into the midst of the enemy, who have jumped into the ditch.
During the siege of Cassel, under the Count de Lippe, in the campaign
of 1762, a young engineer undertook to carry one of the outworks, with
a much smaller detachment than had before attempted it without success.
He gained his object with ease, from the use of grenades; which is
a proof that they should not be neglected, either in the attack or
defence of posts.
GRENADE, _grenade_, _Fr._ There is a sort of grenade which is thrown
out of a mortar.
It is sometimes used for the purpose of annoying the besieging enemy;
in which case quantities are rolled down the rampart into the fossé, or
ditch, upon the workmen or miners.
A grenade resembles a bomb or shell, with this only difference, that
the grenade has not any handles to it.
There are some grenades, called _grenades à main_ hand-grenades, whose
calibre is equal to that of a four pounder. The charge is from five to
six ounces of gunpowder, or thereabouts. They are extremely serviceable
on many occasions: but particularly so to throw among the men that are
working in the trenches; numbers of whom they must inevitably wound.
The vent of a hand-grenade contains about six lines, or half an inch.
The following proportions belonged to grenades, according to their
several diameters in former times; they have been much improved.
Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 33 pounder, contain about
6 French inches or more diameter, 8 lines in thickness, and 16 pounds
in weight.
Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 24 pounder, contain 5
French inches 5 lines diameter, six lines in thickness, and 12 pounds
in weight.
Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 16 pounder, contain 4
French inches 9 lines diameter, 5 lines in thickness and 8 pounds in
weight.
Those that weigh 6 pounds, have 3 French inches 5 lines diameter, and
are 5 lines thick.
Those that weigh 5 pounds, have 3 French inches 2¹⁄₄ lines diameter,
and are 5 lines thick.
Those that weigh 3 pounds, have 2 French inches 8 lines diameter, and
are 4¹⁄₂ lines thick.
Those that weigh 2 pounds, have 2 French inches 4 lines diameter, and
are 4 lines thick.
Those that weigh 1 pound, have 1 French inch ten lines diameter, and
are 3 lines thick.
Those that weigh three quarters of a pound, have 1 French inch 8 lines
diameter, and are 3 lines thick.
Those that weigh half a pound, have 1 French inch 8 lines diameter, and
are 3 lines thick.
Those that weigh a quarter of a pound, have 1 French inch 6 lines
diameter, and are 2¹⁄₂ lines thick.
These proportions were formerly attended to in the old French service,
with occasional deviations from the strict measurement of the lines; as
it was supposed to be of little consequence whether the grenades fitted
the mortars exactly. It was, indeed, generally thought advisable to
adapt their sizes, so that they might be thrown out without the least
resistance or compression.
Grenades were directed to be thicker at the breech than elsewhere, in
proportion to their several diameters.
Durtubie, in his _Manuel de l’Artilleur_, gives the following succinct
account of grenades. That writer observes, “that besides bombs or
shells, and howitzers, hollow vessels made of iron in globular shapes,
which are called grenades, are frequently used; gunpowder is poured in
through the cavity or vent, called in French _lumiere_, into which a
fuse loaded with a composition of combustible materials is introduced.”
There are two sorts of grenades. Those distinguished by the name of
_grenades de rampart_, are rolled from the top of the parapet into the
ditch; they are equal in calibre to that of a 33 and a 16 pounder; and
they weigh 16, 11, and 8 ounces.
The other species is called _grenades à main_. These are thrown into
the covert way, and the trenches, &c. Their calibre is that of a 4
pounder, and they weigh 2 pounds. The ordinary thickness of grenades is
four lines throughout.
It will occur to our military readers, that by this account a
considerable alteration has taken place in the casting of grenades, as
the intermediate differences have been consolidated; hand-grenades,
instead of being thicker at the breach, are uniformly of the same
consistency. It cannot, however, be thought superfluous to preserve an
account of the original dimensions.
GRENADES--Hand grenades may be thrown to the distance of 13 fathoms.
For their dimensions see the word SHELL.
GRENADES _Turques_. _Fr._ Turkish grenades. A sort of grenade which
is made by the Turks. Their grenades are extremely defective, and do
little execution.
GRENADIER, GRANADIER, a foot soldier armed with firelock, bayonet, and
in some services with a hanger; grenadiers carry, besides their arms, a
cartridge box that will hold 36 rounds. They are always the tallest and
stoutest men, consequently the first upon all attacks. Every battalion
of foot in the British army has generally a company of grenadiers
belonging to it, which takes the right of the battalion. Grenadiers
were first instituted in France in 1667, by having 4 or 5 to each
company; but in the year 1670, they were formed into companies, and in
1685, were first known in the British service.
_Horse_ GRENADIERS, called by the French _grenadiers volans_, or flying
grenadiers, are such as are mounted on horseback, but fight both on
foot and horseback. They were first established in France by Lewis XIV.
in 1676, and formed into squadrons.
GRENADIERS _auxiliaries_, _Fr._ Auxiliary grenadiers. During a siege,
and when a place was closely invested, a certain number of grenadiers
were chosen out of the battalions belonging to the trenches, for the
purpose of making head against the besieged, whenever they might risk
a sally, or insult the works. It was the peculiar duty of these men to
stand forward on every occasion, to set fire to the gabions attached to
the batteries, and to crush every attempt which might be made by the
garrison to annoy the men that were posted in the trenches, &c.
It was customary among the French to increase the number of those
grenadiers, who went first into danger and did the duty of the
trenches. These were called _grenadiers postiches_, or _extra
grenadiers_.
GRENADIERES, _ou_ GIBERNES, the bags or haversacks which hold the
grenades. They were worn like powder-flasks.
GRENIER, _Fr._ (_mettre en grenier_.) To stow any thing loosely.
GRENOIR. _Fr._ (_Une espece de crible._) A sort of sieve through which
gunpowder was passed, and formed into grains of different sizes.
GREVE, _Fr._ Any flat space of ground on the bank of a river, or near
the sea. A place in Paris is so called, where during the old government
of France, all criminals were executed. _Greve_ is also used to signify
the gallows.
GREVE, _Fr._ armor, or covers for the legs. They were anciently worn
by the French; and generally consisted of a piece of steel or stiff
leather, which protected the front part of the leg.
GRIFFE, _Fr._ _means literally a claw_, but in a military sense, as
accepted by the French, it signifies an iron instrument which is made
like a hook, and is used by miners to pick out the small stones that
are incorporated with cement, &c.
GRIGNON, _Fr._ broken biscuit.
GRISONS, a people formerly in alliance with the British but since
annexed to Swisserland. They inhabit the mountainous parts of the Alps
in Italy, and supported a well organised army, called the army of the
Grisons, under general Macdonald during the war.
GROS, _Fr._ A body of soldiers; a detachment. The French frequently
say--_Un gros de cavalerie_, a body of cavalry; _un gros d’infanterie_,
a body of infantry.
GROUND. The field or place of action.
GROUND-_work_, in military architecture. See FOUNDATION.
GROUND _arms_, an old word of command on which the soldiers laid down
their arms upon the ground.
This word of command has been exploded since the introduction of the
new exercise. Soldiers are now ordered to _pile_ or _stack arms_.
_To take_ GROUND. A battalion or company is said to take ground when it
extends in any given direction. This term is likewise used in duelling,
as--_They took their ground at eight or ten paces from one another._
GRUE, _Fr._ A crane. It is frequently used in the embarkation and
debarkation of cannon, &c.
GUARANTEE. Any person or power who undertakes for the performance of
any stipulations agreed on between two other powers or parties.
GUARD, in the military art, is a duty performed by a body of men to
secure an army or place from being surprised by an enemy. In garrison
the guards are relieved every day; hence it comes that every soldier
mounts guard once every three or four days in time of peace, and much
oftener in time of war. See HONORS.
GUARDS, also imply the troops kept to guard generals and other public
officers, and sometimes consist of both horse and foot.
_Horse-grenadier_ GUARDS. The first troop was raised in the year 1693
in England; the second in 1702. Each troop had a colonel, lieutenant
colonel, 1 guidon or major, three exempts and captains, 3 lieutenants,
1 adjutant, 3 cornets, and 60 private men, they have been abolished.
_British life_ GUARDS. In consequence of the reduction of the horse
grenadier guards, two regiments have been raised for the specific
purpose of guarding the metropolis, and of royal escorts. They are
generally called the first and second life-guards. Each regiment
consists of six troops of 53 men and 1 kettle drum.
_Royal Regiment of Horse_ GUARDS. This regiment which is commonly
called the Oxford Blues, from having originally been raised by the earl
of Oxford, consists of nine troops.
_Yeomen of the_ GUARDS, a kind of foot guards to the British king’s
person, and are generally called by a nick-name--the _beefeaters_. They
were first raised by Henry VII. in the year 1485, consisting of 250 men
of the first rank, under gentry, and of a larger stature than ordinary,
each being required to be 6 feet high. At present there are but 100 on
constant duty, and 70 more not on duty; and when any one of the 100
dies, his place is supplied out of the 70. They go dressed after the
manner of Henry VIII.’s time. Their pay is 2 shillings and 6 pence per
day.
_Foot_ GUARDS, are regiments of foot appointed for the guard of the
British king and his palace, and for general service. There are three
regiments of them, called the 1st, 2d, and 3d regiment of foot-guards.
They were raised in the year 1660. The first regiment is at present
commanded by 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 3 majors, 27 captains,
1 captain-lieutenant, 62 lieutenants, 24 ensigns, and 3 adjutants,
and consists of 3 battalions. The second regiment, or Coldstream, has
1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 2 majors, 16 captains, 1 captain
lieutenant, 42 lieutenants, 14 ensigns, and 2 adjutants, and consists
of two battalions. The third regiment is the same as the second. The
first regiment of French guards was raised in the reign of Charles IX.
in the year 1563.
_Imperial_ GUARDS, the name of a body of select troops organised by the
French emperor, which greatly distinguished themselves at the battle of
Austerlitz.
_Trench_ GUARD only mounts in the time of a siege, and consists
sometimes of 3, 4, or 6 battalions, according to the importance of the
siege. This guard must oppose the besieged when they sally out, protect
the workmen, &c.
_Provost_ GUARD, is always an officer’s guard that attends the provost
in his rounds, to prevent desertion, marauding, rioting, &c. See
PROVOST.
GUARD-magazine. See STORE-KEEPER.
_Advanced_ GUARD, is a party of either horse or foot, or both, that
marches before a more considerable body, to give notice of any
approaching danger. These guards are either made stronger or weaker,
according to the situation or danger that may be apprehended from the
enemy, or the country you are to march through.
_Van_ GUARD. See ADVANCED GUARD.
_Artillery_ GUARD, is a detachment from the army to secure the
artillery when in the field. Their _corps de garde_ is in the front
of the artillery park, and their sentries distributed round it. This
is generally a 48-hours guard; and upon a march this guard marches in
the front and rear of the artillery, and must be sure to leave nothing
behind. If a gun or waggon breaks down, the officer that commands the
guard is to leave a sufficient number of men to assist the gunners and
aids in getting it up again.
_Artillery quarter_-GUARD, is frequently a non-commissioned officer’s
guard from the regiment of artillery, whose _corps de garde_ is always
in the front of their encampment.
_Artillery rear_-GUARD, consists in a corporal and 6 men, posted in the
rear of the park.
_Corps de_ GUARD, are soldiers entrusted with the guard of a post,
under the command of one or more officers. This word also signifies the
place where the guard mounts.
_Counter_ GUARD. See FORTIFICATION.
_Grand_ GUARD. A guard composed of three or four squadrons of horse,
commanded by a field officer, posted about a mile, or a mile and a half
from the camp, on the right and left wings, towards the enemy, for the
better security of the camp.
_Forage_ GUARD, a detachment sent out to secure the foragers, who
are posted at all places, where either the enemy’s party may come to
disturb the foragers, or where they may be spread too near the enemy,
so as to be in danger of being taken. This guard consists both of horse
and foot, who must remain on their posts till the foragers are all
come off the ground.
_Main_ GUARD, is that from whence all other guards are detached.
Those who are for mounting guard assemble at their respective private
parades, and march from thence to the general parade in good order,
where, after the whole guard is drawn up, the small guards are detached
to their respective posts: then the subalterns cast lots for their
guards, who are all under the command of the captain of the main guard.
This guard mounts in garrison at different hours, according to the
pleasure of the governor.
_Picquet_ GUARD, a good number of horse and foot, always in readiness
in case of an alarm: the horses are generally saddled all the time, and
the riders booted.
The foot draw up at the head of the battalion, frequently at the
beating of the tat-too; but afterwards return to their tents, where
they hold themselves in readiness to march upon any sudden alarm. This
guard is to make resistance, in case of an attack, until the army can
get ready.
_Baggage_ GUARD, is always an officer’s guard, who has the care of the
baggage on a march. The waggons should be numbered by companies, and
follow one another regularly; vigilance and attention in the passage
of hollow-ways, woods, and thickets, must be strictly observed by this
guard.
_Ordinary_ GUARDS, such as are fixed during the campaign, or in
garrison towns, and which are relieved daily.
_Extraordinary_ GUARDS, or detachments, such as are only commanded on
particular occasions; either for the further security of the camp, to
cover the foragers, or for convoys, escorts, or expeditions.
Soldiers are sometimes ordered to take extraordinary guards, as a
punishment for slight misconduct.
_Quarter_ GUARD, is a small guard commanded by a subaltern officer,
posted in the front of each battalion, at 200 feet or more before the
front of the regiment.
_Rear_ GUARD, that part of the army which brings up the rear on a
march, generally composed of all the old grand-guards of the camp.
_The rear guard_ of a party is frequently 8 or 10 horse, about 500
paces behind the party. Hence the advanced guard going out upon a party
forms the rear guard in a retreat.
_Rear_ GUARD, is also a corporal’s guard placed in the rear of a
regiment, to keep good order in that part of the camp.
_Standard_ GUARD, a small guard under a corporal, which is taken out of
each regiment of horse, and mounts on foot in front of each regiment,
at the distance of 20 feet from the streets, opposite to the main
street.
_To be upon_ GUARD. See _Mounting_ GUARD.
_To relieve_ GUARD. See RELIEVE.
_Turn out the_ GUARD. A phrase used when it is necessary for the guard
to form for the purpose of receiving a general or commanding officer;
on the approach of an armed party; on the beat of drum or sound of
trumpet, or any alarm.
_Port_ GUARD. A guard detached from the main guard. All officers on
port or detached guards are to send a report, night and morning, to
the captain of the main guard, and at all other times, when any thing
extraordinary occurs. Those who command at the ports are to draw up the
bridges, or shut the barriers, on the approach of any body of armed
men, of which they are to give notice to the officer of the main guard,
and not to suffer any of them to come into the garrison, without leave
from the governor or commander.
_Out_ GUARDS. Under this head may not improperly be considered
_outposts_, _advanced picquets_, and _detachments_. The duties of
outposts are so various as usually to require detailed instructions
according to circumstances. The following directions are generally
applicable, and must be strictly attended to should there be any
occasion for it to act upon home-service. The duty of outposts, &c.
is chiefly confined to light troops, who are occasionally assisted
and relieved by the line. They are always, in that case, under the
immediate direction of some general. But when circumstances render it
necessary, that this duty should be done from the line, the outposts
fall under the command of the officers of the day, unless some
particular officer be put in orders for that specific command.
All outguards march off without trumpets sounding, or drums beating.
They pay no compliments of any kind; neither do their sentries take any
complimentary notice of officers passing near their posts. No guards
are to presume to stop any persons coming to camp with provisions
(unless they be particularly ordered so to do,) and are on no account
to exact or receive any thing for their free passage.
Any officer, trumpeter, or other person, who comes from an enemy’s
camp, is to be secured by the first guard he arrives at, till the
commander in chief’s, or the general’s pleasure is known. When a
deserter comes in from the enemy, the officer commanding a post, or
guard, at which he arrives, is immediately to send him under a proper
escort, (without permitting him to be delayed or examined, or any
questions asked him) to the officer commanding the outposts, who, after
inquiring whether he brings any intelligence immediately relating to
his own post, will forward him to head-quarters.
The sentries on the outposts are always to be doubled. No officers,
soldiers, or followers of the camp, are on any account to be suffered
to pass the outposts, without they are on duty, or present a regular
pass from head-quarters.
The men on advanced picquets are to carry their provisions with them,
ready cooked, when circumstances will permit. The cavalry to carry
sufficient forage for the time they are to be out.
It is the duty of officers on all guards to inspect every relief of
sentries, both when they go on, and come off their posts; to call
the rolls frequently, and by every means in their power to keep the
men under their command in the most perfect state of vigilance and
preparation.
Officers commanding outposts are to send guides, or orderly men, to
the major of brigade of the day, or to the brigade-major of their own
brigades, as circumstances require, in order to conduct the new guards,
and to carry such orders as may be necessary.
When the army is on a march, the officers must apprize the
brigade-majors of the situation of their posts, as soon as they arrive
at them. All detachments of brigades, which are ordered to march
_immediately_, are to be taken from the picquets, and replaced directly
from the line.
Whenever detachments exceed 200 men, or upwards, a surgeon or surgeon’s
mate is to be sent from the corps of the officer who commands. On
particular duties, the attendance of a surgeon or mate may be requisite
with smaller detachments. Detachments of cavalry, of 50 or upwards,
will be attended by a farrier.
As soon as an officer commanding an outpost, or advanced picquet,
(whether of cavalry or infantry) arrives on his ground, he must
endeavor to make himself master of his situation, by carefully
examining, not only the space he actually occupies, but the heights
within musquet-shot; the roads and paths leading to or near his post,
ascertaining their breadth and practicability for cavalry and cannon.
He should examine the hollow ways that cover the approach of an enemy;
and, in short, consider all the points from which he is most likely to
be attacked, either by cavalry or infantry. He will, by these means, be
enabled to take measures to prevent the possibility of being surprized;
and should he be attacked during the night, from the previous knowlege
he has obtained of the ground, he will at once form a just estimate of
the nature of the attack, and make his arrangements for defence with
promptitude and decision. In order to convey the same alacrity to his
men, and to prepare the most inexperienced for sudden and unexpected
attacks, an officer upon an outpost will do well to put them upon the
alert, by skilfully occasioning false alarms. But these must not be
often repeated, nor when practised be made known to his men as having
proceeded from himself; since supineness and inactivity might by
degrees be the consequence of such a discovery.
An intelligent officer upon an outpost, even unprovided with
entrenching tools, will materially strengthen his post, when the
unobserver would remain inactive.
A tree felled with judgment; brushwood cut to a certain distance;
pointed stakes, about breast high, placed on the points most assailable
by an enemy, may be attended with the greatest advantages, and can
be effected with the common hatchets, which the men carry to cut
fire-wood. In short, every impediment which an officer, acting on
the defensive, can throw in an enemy’s way, ought to be scrupulously
attended to. Independently, therefore, of the means which he adopts for
the immediate protection of his posts, he must look beyond that point;
and as nothing checks the ardour of troops more than an unexpected
obstacle, within an hundred yards, more or less, of the place attacked,
he must, on his arrival at the outpost, throw up some temporary
impediment at that distance. See AM. MIL. LIBRARY.
_Mounting_ GUARDS. It is indispensibly necessary, that every officer
should know how to mount and come off guard.
All guards parade with ordered arms, and unfixed bayonets, without
any intervals between them, the ranks open. The officer brings the
guard to a shoulder; and the officers with their swords drawn, and
non-commissioned officers commanding guards, are formed about forty
paces in front of the centre, in two ranks, facing the line, where they
are to receive the old parole and such orders as may be given them.
The major or commanding officer gives the word of command.
“Officers and non-commissioned officers--Take post in front of your
respective guards!--Outward face--March!”
As soon as they have taken post, fronting their respective guards, the
word of command will be given--
“Officers and non-commissioned officers--to your
guards--March!--Front!--Halt!”
“Officers and non-commissioned officers, inspect your guards!”
The several officers and non-commissioned officers then inspect their
guard as quick as possible. When there is a captain’s guard, each
officer is to take a rank, the serjeants accompanying them.
As soon as the inspection is over, the adjutant goes down the line
and receives the report of each guard; the officers return to
their posts; and the major, or commanding officer, commands--“Fix
bayonets!--Shoulder!”
When the colours are brought on the parade, the drum is beat; and the
drummer’s call on the right.
The captain will face inwards, and the lieutenant and ensign will face
to the right, and march, _quick time_, to the head of the grenadiers.
The captain goes to the head of the right of his remaining men. The
field officer then orders the grenadiers to close their ranks, and to
march off in _quick time_, the lieutenant being three paces advanced
in front of his men, and the ensign one. The colours are received
as usual. And the color party on their arrival on the left flank of
the guards, will file at the _slow time_, through the ranks: the
lieutenant, and the colors, in front of the front rank. The guards are
to march off at the _slow time_, and by divisions, taking care, that
when they open their ranks, the front rank of each keeps its exact
distance from the front rank preceding it. When there are more officers
than one belonging to the same guard, the second in rank is to take
post, and to march past the commanding officer on the parade, at the
head of the last division, instead of being in the rear of it. When
there is an officer, senior to the field officer of the day, on the
parade, the guards are to march by and salute him: the field officer of
the day, in that case, marching at their head.
GUARD-_rooms_. The following articles should properly come under the
heads of furniture and utensils.
_Cavalry and infantry_ GUARD-_rooms_ are allowed a water bucket,
candlestick, tin can for drink, and drinking cups; they are also
allowed fire irons, and coal tray.
The rooms of the quarter-masters and serjeants of cavalry, and the
serjeant-major and quarter-master serjeant of infantry, to be furnished
with the necessary bedding and utensils in the same manner as is
allowed to the soldiers’ rooms.
GUARD, _in fencing_, implies a posture proper to defend the body from
the sword of the antagonist.
The word _guard_ is seldom applied among small swordsmen to any
position but those of carte and tierce, the other motions of defence
are stiled parades. See FENCING.
GUARDS _of the broad sword_. The positions of defence adopted with that
weapon are generally termed guards, and may be comprised under the
inside guard, half-circle guard, hanging guard, half-hanging guard,
medium guard, outside guard, St. George’s guard, and spadroon guard.
See BROAD-SWORD.
_Prepare to_ GUARD, in the cavalry sword exercise, is performed by
bringing the extremity of the sword-hilt up to the pit of the stomach,
with the back of the hand outwards; the blade of the sword to be
carried perpendicularly, with the flat in front of the left eye. From
this position the _guard_ is taken by darting the sword hand smartly
forward towards the left ear of the antagonist.
GUARD, _in the cavalry sword exercise_, is used to denote one
particular position, which consists in homing the sabre nearly
horizontal across the face, the point rather higher than the hilt, the
sword-hand directed towards the left ear of the antagonist. Although
this be peculiarly denominated _guard_, yet it is not to be considered
as a position calculated to meet every sort of attack, or an eligible
position to charge an enemy; but as the central point from which the
requisite change for attack or defence may be effected. The other
position of defence in the cavalry exercise are stiled PROTECTS.
GUASTADOURS, _Fr._ Turkish pioneers. Armenians and Greeks are generally
employed in the Turkish armies, to do the fatigue-work that is
necessary for the formation of a camp, or for conducting a siege.
GUDDA, an Indian term for a fool, a small fort erected upon a hill or
eminence; it means literally an ass, metaphorically a fool.
GUDGE, an Indian measure 24 inches long.
GUERITE, _Fr._ Centry box, small turret. In fortified towns there are
several small turrets of this denomination, which are sometimes made of
wood and sometimes built with stone. They are generally fixed on the
acute points of bastions and centinels are posted within them, for the
purpose of watching the ditch, and of preventing any surprize in that
quarter.
Those used upon the continent of Europe, particularly in France,
contain from 3 to 4 French feet diameter within, and are 7 or 8 feet
high. Their general shape or figure is round, pentagonal, hexagonal, &c.
There are apertures made on every side, through which the centinel can
observe every thing that passes in the ditch. A path about 2 or 3 feet
broad is cut through the parapet and the banquette, up to the entrance
of the guerite. Wooden guerites are generally used where the rampart is
lined with turf only.
The spots best adapted for guerites, are at the flanked angles of
bastions, and at the angles of epaulements. Sometimes indeed, they are
placed in the centre of the curtains. They must jut out at the point of
the angle, and the ground floor should be upon a line with the cordon,
which is a sort of fillet or trace that marks the separation of the
rampart from the parapet. They must likewise project far enough to
afford the centinel who is within, a full view of the faces, the flanks
and the curtains, and, if possible, a thorough command of all the
ditches.
_Gagner la_ GUERITE, _Fr._ A familiar phrase to express the escape of a
person.
_Enfiler la_ GUERITE, _Fr._ To avoid the pursuit of another.
GUERRE, _Fr._ War; which see.
The word _guerre_ is indeed so frequently used among the French, that
we shall not be thought too minute in specifying some general terms
under that head. The principal ones are,
GUERRE _civile_, _Fr._ See CIVIL WAR.
_Homme de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a military man.
_Nom de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a war name; a borrowed name; it was formerly
common to assume a _nom de guerre_ on entering the French army.
_Petite_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a harrassing species of warfare. A contest for
plunder.
_Place de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a fortified town or place.
_Faire la_ GUERRE _à l’œil_, in a figurative sense, signifies to watch
stedfastly, and without taking off the eye from a particular object.
_A la guerre comme á la_ GUERRE. A familiar expression among the
French, which implies, that things must be taken as they come.
_On ne fait la_ GUERRE _que pour faire enfin la paix_. War, after all,
must end in peace.
_La guerre nourrit la_ GUERRE, figuratively means, that an army always
subsists at the expence of the country in which it lies.
GUERRE _de Secours_, _Fr._ war of alliance or confederacy. This term
is more especially applicable to that species of contest in which
neighboring princes or countries embark to defend those with whom they
are in alliance, against the aggression or exorbitant demands of a
conqueror.
If such a contest or war be entered into upon the faith of settled
treaties, the parties are bound not only to supply the stipulated
number of soldiers, but even to augment their quota, if necessity
should require, and sometimes to march in person against the common
enemy.
If the object be to prevent any adjacent country from falling into
the hands of a conqueror, who might afterwards molest the contracting
party, the latter should observe many precautions before he withdraws
from the contest; the principal one is to demand the possession of some
strong places upon the frontiers, to prevent the inhabitants of the
country that is attacked from making a separate peace.
The general selected to command an auxiliary army must be endued with
wisdom and foresight. He must be wise and intelligent in order to
preserve discipline and good order among his troops: and have foresight
to provide for the wants of his army in a strange country, and to see
that the men are not sent more into action than they ought, and that
nothing is done contrary to the interest of his country.
GUERRE _de montagne_, _Fr._ a war which is chiefly carried on in a
mountainous part of the country. This species of warfare is extremely
hazardous, as it cannot be pursued without a thorough knowlege of
the country, and by means of able stratagems. Marshal Saxe, in his
Reveries, lays it down as a rule, that no army or detachment must
venture into passes or narrow ways, without having first secured the
eminences round them; and if the enemy should defend the gorges or
outlets, false attacks must be resorted to, in order to divert his
attention from a real one which is made against a weak quarter. It
frequently happens that bye-ways are found out, which have escaped the
enemy’s observation, and through which detached bodies may penetrate
for the purpose of turning his flanks. In a _guerre de montagne_, or
mountain-contest, it is essentially necessary, that the advancing body
should keep up a regular and safe communication with its rear, as well
to secure a retreat if necessary, as to have a free intercourse with
its convoys. See AM. MIL. LIB.
GUERRE _de chicane_, _Fr._ See WAR _of chicane or stratagem_.
GUERRE _Sainte_, _Fr._ a romantic expedition which was made by the
Christians, against the Infidels in Palestine, for the purpose of
re-conquering the Holy Land, from whence it was called holy war, or
_guerre sainte_. See CRUSADE.
_Foudre de_ GUERRE, a figurative expression among the French, to mark
the character of a man who has distinguished himself in battle, and is
acknowleged to possess a superior degree of valor.
_Flambeau de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ the torch of war. Any person who causes
war to be carried on with violence and animosity is so called.
_Aller à la petite_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to go out in detached parties for the
direct purpose of plundering an enemy’s country.
_Faire bonne_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to carry on hostilities with as much
humanity as the laws of war will permit.
_Faire bonne_ GUERRE, _à quelqu’un_, _Fr._ to treat with a man
decently, but vigorously, on matters that require explanation and final
arrangement.
GUERRE _et pitié ne s’accordent pas ensemble_, _Fr._ a French proverb,
signifying war and commiseration seldom go hand in hand.
GUERRE _juste_, _Fr._ a just and necessary war, that is a war of
defence, such as the war of resistance against the British, from 1775
to 1783; the war of the French against the first coalition, in 1792.
GUERRE _injuste_, _Fr._ an unjust war.
_Longue_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a long war.
GUERRE _étrangère_, _Fr._ a foreign war.
GUERRE _d’outre mer_, _Fr._ a war beyond the seas.
_Gens de_ GUERRE. See GENS.
_Le metier de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ the profession of arms. Hence it is
figuratively said, _les Francois sont au fait du métier de la guerre
de terre, et les Anglois sont au fait du métier de la guerre de mer_.
Frenchmen are at the top of the profession of arms on land, and
Englishmen are unrivalled at sea.
_Les lois de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ The laws of war.
_Le droit de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ the rights of war.
_Ruse de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a warlike stratagem.
_En temps de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ in time of war.
_Munitions de la_ GUERRE _et de bouche_, _Fr._ warlike stores, and
provisions.
_Préparatifs de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ warlike preparations.
_Place de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a fortified place.
_Machine de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a warlike instrument or machine.
_Conseil de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ a council of war. It likewise means a court
martial.
_Vaisseau de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ A ship of war.
_Vaisseau armé en_ GUERRE, _Fr._ an armed vessel.
_C’est un grand homme de_ GUERRE, _Fr._ he is a warlike character.
_Les malheurs de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ the misfortunes of war.
_Avoir_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to commence hostilities.
_Avoir la_ GUERRE. _Fr._ to be in a state of warfare.
_Les fruits de la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ the fruits, or consequences of war.
_Entreprendre la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to enter into a war.
_Déclarer la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to declare war.
_Soutenir la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to maintain the war.
_Entretenir la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to support the war.
_Ces deux princes sont en_ GUERRE, _Fr._ these two potentates are at
war.
_Etre en_ GUERRE _ouverte_, _Fr._ to be at open war.
_Se faire la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to make war with one another.
_Aller à la_ GUERRE, _Fr._ to go to war.
_Allumer la_ GUERRE _dans un ètat_, _Fr._ to light up a war, or excite
troubles in any state or country.
_Porter la_ GUERRE _dans le cœur d’un pays_, _Fr._ to carry war into
the heart of a country.
GUERRE _entre les puissances egales_, _Fr._ war between two powers
which are nearly equal in point of strength, and do not act with
auxiliary troops.
_Qui terre a_ GUERRE _a_, _Fr._ a French proverb, signifying, every man
who has landed property is exposed to feuds and litigation.
GUERRIER, _Fr._ Warrior.
_Un grand_ GUERRIER, _Fr._ a great warrior.
_Les plus fameux_ GUERRIERS, the most celebrated warriors.
It is also used as a substantive in the feminine gender, when speaking
of an amazon; as, _la vaillante guerriere_.
GUERRIER, _Fr._ as an adjective is variously used, viz. warlike, any
thing appertaining to war.
_Actions_ GUERRIERES, _Fr._ warlike actions.
_Travaux_ GUERRIERS, _Fr._ works of a military or warlike nature.
_Exploits_ GUERRIERS, _Fr._ warlike exploits.
_Courage_ GUERRIER, _Fr._ a warlike disposition.
_Humeur_ GUERRIERE, _Fr._ a warlike spirit or temper.
_Nation_ GUERRIERE, _Fr._ a warlike nation.
_Il a l’air_ GUERRIER, _Fr._ he has a warlike look or appearance.
_Il a la mine_ GUERRIERE, _Fr._ he has a warlike aspect.
GUERROYER, _Fr._ to make war.
GUERROYEUR, _Fr._ a warrior.
GUET, _Fr._ This term was particularly attached to those persons
belonging to the French body-guards, that did duty during the night.
GUET _de la mer_, _Fr._ the watch which the inhabitants belonging to
parishes, towns, or fortified places, situated on the sea coast, were
bound to keep for its security. On occasions of this sort, the signal
of alarm was made during the day by smoke, and during the night by
lighted combustibles.
GUET, _Fr._ in a military sense, signifies rounds, or those duties of a
soldier, or patroling party, which are prescribed for the security of a
town, &c. and to prevent surprises.
_Faire le_ GUET _au haut du belfroi_, _Fr._ to be put upon duty, or
stand watch at the top of a church belfry.
_Asseoir le_ GUET, _Fr._ to set the watch.
_Poser le_ GUET, to post the watch.
_Etre au_ GUET, _Fr._ to be upon the watch.
GUET _à pied_, _Fr._ foot patrole.
GUET _à cheval_, _Fr._ horse patrole.
_Ce sont les bourgeois qui font le_ GUET, _Fr._ the inhabitants of the
place go the rounds.
_Cri au_ GUET, _Fr._ the hue and cry.
_Le_ GUET _vient de passer_, the patrole has just passed.
_Avoir l’œil au_ GUET, _Fr._ to be minutely watchful and observing.
_Avoir l’oreille au_ GUET, _Fr._ to be listening for the direct purpose
of acquiring information.
_Maison de_ GUET, _Fr._ round-house.
_Mot du_ GUET, _Fr._ watch-word.
_Donner le mot de_ GUET, to give the watch-word.
_Se donner le mot de_ GUET, _Fr._ to understand one another. In
familiar intercourse it means likewise to play booty together.
GUET _apens_, _Fr._ Ambush; any premeditated design to injure another
in a clandestine manner. The French frequently use this expression; as
_Ce n’est point un rencontre ni un duel, c’est un_ GUET _apens_, _Fr._
it is neither an accidental meeting, nor a duel, it is a downright plot
to murder him.
_Droit du_ GUET _et garde_, _Fr._ a right which was formerly enjoyed
in feudal France, by some lords of the manor, and by which they were
authorised to call upon their vassals to watch and patrole for the
security of their castles, and to silence the frogs.
GUETRE. See GAITER.
_Tirer vos_ GUETRES, _Fr._ Go about your business: a familiar phrase
which is used among the french, when a person is discarded, or turned
away in a summary manner.
_Il y a laissé ses_ GUETRES, _Fr._ a figurative expression among French
soldiers, signifying that a person died in such a place.
GUETRER, _Fr._ to put on gaiters.
GUETTE, _Fr._ a name given by the French carpenters to a stake that is
fixed sideways and which serves for various purposes.
GUETTER, _Fr._ a familiar phrase, signifying to watch the motions of
any body, for the purpose of circumvention or surprize.
GUETTER likewise means to watch for a fit opportunity to get access to
any person.
_Il y a des sergens qui le_ GUETTENT, _Fr._ he is closely watched by
some serjeants.
_Le soldat_ GUETTOIT _sou colonel pour lui presenter un placet_, _Fr._
the soldier watched his colonel, in order to lay his petition before
him.
GUEUSE, _Fr._ a rough piece of iron, which has been melted, and has not
gone through any further process or purification.
GUICHET, _Fr._ a small door or outlet, which is made in the gates of
fortified towns. It is generally four feet high, and two broad; so
that a man must stoop to get through. In 1669, the high town of the
city of Albuquerque, in Spain, escaped being surprized by means of one
of these outlets. In garrison towns, the guichet is left open for the
space of one quarter of an hour after the retreat, in order to give the
inhabitants time to enter.
GUICHET _d’une porte d’écluse_, an opening which is made in the gate of
a sluice, and which closes by means of a flood-gate. It serves to let
in water when wanted.
GUIDES, (_guides_, _Fr._) are generally the country people in the
neighborhood where an army encamps: they are to give you intelligence
concerning the country, the roads by which you are to march, and the
route by which the enemy may approach you. Guides should be faithful,
because, in giving you false intelligence, or guiding you wrong,
they may greatly endanger the army. Several guides are requisite, as
every corps that marches by night should have one at least. There is
sometimes a captain, or chief of the guides, who should be a man of
intelligence, active, and attentive to the diligence and fidelity of
his people. He should always have a sufficient number with him, and who
are well acquainted with the country.
In time of war, particularly in the seat of it, the guides invariably
accompany head-quarters, and a certain number is allotted not only
to general officers, but to all detachments made from the main body,
either for the purpose of combating the advanced posts of an enemy, of
protecting escorts, or securing convoys. Guides, in an army, may be
justly called its principal outsets. They are to a body of men what
the eyes are to the human frame. They cannot, however, be too jealously
watched.
GUIDES, the name given to the non-commissioned officers who take
positions to mark the pivots, marches, formations, and alignements in
modern discipline; it is expressed in French by the word _jaloneur_,
from _jalon_ a post. See JALON.
GUIDES _of manœuvre_, the name given to those which the French call
_jaloneur_, and the British markers. The use of guides, is perhaps one
of the best conceived and ingenious methods which could be devised
to perfect the art of manœuvring troops; and one of its happiest
advantages is its fitness for raw or undisciplined troops, which by
the aid of _guides_ of manœuvre, may be brought to comprehend and
execute every species of movement in company, platoons, divisions,
or battalions, in one third of the time formerly required; and in a
manner much more perfect than was formerly considered as the utmost
excellence. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
GUIDES, corps of, under the new French dynasty have a new organization
of which we hear only by some decisive effects.
_Corps des_ GUIDES, _Fr._ The corps of guides. This body was originally
formed in France in the year 1756, and consisted of one captain, one
1st lieutenant, one 2d lieutenant, two serjeants, two corporals, one
anspessade, and twenty privates, called _fusiliers-guides_.--Twelve
out of the twenty-five (which was the effective number) were mounted.
These consisted of one Serjeant, one corporal, and ten fusiliers.
Their particular duty was to carry orders that required dispatch;
and on this account they were always attached to head-quarters. The
twelve fusiliers were mounted on small active horses, about four French
feet, five or six inches high. They were supplied with a saddle, blue
saddle-cloth trimmed with white, holster-caps the same; and they
were armed with a fusil and cut-and-thrust bayonet, a pistol, sabre,
with a cartouch-box, containing 20 rounds. They wore half-boots, or
bottines.--Each man carried, moreover, one field utensil out of the
twelve belonging to the company. These utensils consisted of four
hatchets, four shovels, and four pick-axes. The thirteen _fusilier
guides_ on foot were armed with a fusil six inches shorter than the
regular musquet, with a blade-bayonet and a cartouch-box, holding
twenty rounds of ball cartridges. Their uniform was a blue coat,
waistcoat, and breeches, with flat white metal buttons. The hat was
bordered with common white lace for the soldiers, and of a superior
quality for the serjeants; which latter had three silver brandenburgs
hanging from each shoulder. The corporals had three made of white
worsted, and the anspessade two ditto. The daily pay of the captain
was 4 livres, or 6s. 8d., the 1st lieutenant 1 livre, 7 sols and 6
deniers, equal to 2s. 4d., the 2d lieutenant 1 livre, or 10d., each
serjeant 13 sols, or 6¹⁄₂d., each corporal 10 sols, or 6d., each
anspessade 8 sols, 6 deniers, or 4¹⁄₂d. and each private 6 sols, 6
deniers, or 3¹⁄₂d.
GUIDON, _Fr._ See SIGHT.
GUIDON, in ancient military history, the name of a sort of standard
broad at one extreme and almost pointed at the other, and slit or
divided into two.
GUIDON also implies the officer who carries the guidon or standard.
GUIDONS, in the French service, were exclusively attached to the
Gendarmerie; and among them the word formerly meant not only the
standard but likewise the officer who carried it.
GUIGNEAU, _Fr._ This word means the same thing as _chevétre_. It is a
piece of wood which joins the joists of a floor, that are cut to make
room for the hearth of a chimney-piece.
GUILLAUME, _Fr._ a tool somewhat like a plane which is used by
carpenters, and of which there are several sorts according to the
nature of the work.
GUINDAS, _Fr._ All machines which by means of a wheel and its axis
serve to raise heavy loads, are so called by the French.
GUINDER, _Fr._ to draw up any weight. Hence the term _guindage_, which
is applied to the movement of loads that are raised and let down.
GUISARMIERS, _Fr._ a body of free archers, or bowmen, who took their
name from an offensive weapon called _guisarme_, or _jusarme_, somewhat
similar to the _voulgue_, a sort of javelin, which was used in hunting
the wild boar. Its length was equal to that of the halbert, and it had
a broad piece of sharp iron fixed to one end.
GULLY. Any hollow which has been made by running water. Ambuscades are
frequently laid in such places.
GUN, a fire-arm, or weapon of offence, which forcibly discharges a
bullet through a cylindrical barrel by means of gunpowder. The term is
chiefly applied to cannon.
Somnerus derives gun from _mangon_, a warlike machine, which was used
before the invention of guns. He establishes his derivation by taking
away the first syllable.
_Curricle_ GUNS are small pieces of ordnance, mounted upon carriages
of two wheels, and drawn by two horses. The artillery-man is seated on
a box, and the whole can be moved forward into action with astonishing
rapidity. The tumbrils belonging to curricle guns carry 60 rounds of
ball cartridges. Great improvements are daily making in this machine on
account of its acknowleged utility.
_Great_ GUN. See CANNON.
_Evening_ GUN, _Morning_ GUN is generally a 6 or 12-pounder, which is
fired every night about sun-set, and every morning at sun-rise, to
give notice to the drums and trumpets of the army, to beat and sound
the retreat and the reveille.
Morning and evening, and other signal guns, by the United States
regulations, are not to be fired from larger calibres than 6 or 12
pounders; which calibres are seldom mounted on permanent works.
GUN-_fire_. The time at which the morning or evening gun is fired.
GUN-_boat_, a boat which is generally used to form a kind of floating
battery, to cover the landing of troops.
GUNNEL, _or_ GUNWALE, the lower part of any port where ordnance is
planted. It likewise means that beam in a pontoon which supports the
main waste.
GUNNER, in the artillery, is the title of the first and second
artillerist at a gun in battery; all the rest are called aids.
GUNNERY, the art of determining the motions of bodies shot from cannon,
mortars, howitzers, &c. See the article PROJECTILE.
The late ingenious Mr. Robins, having concluded from experiments, that
the force of fired gunpowder, at the instant of its explosion, is the
same with that of an elastic fluid of a thousand times the density of
common air, and that the elasticity of this fluid, like that of the
air, is proportional to its density, proposes the following problem.
The dimensions of any piece of artillery, the weight of its ball, and
the quantity of its charge being given; to determine the velocity which
the shot will acquire from the explosion, supposing the elasticity or
force of the powder at the first instant of its firing to be given.
In the solution of this important problem, he assumes the two following
principles: 1. That the action of the powder on the shot ceases as soon
as it is got out of the piece. 2. That all the powder of the charge is
fired, and converted into an elastic fluid, before the shot is sensibly
moved from its place.
These assumptions, and the conclusions above mentioned, make the action
of fired gunpowder to be entirely similar to that of air condensed a
thousand times; and from thence it will not be difficult to determine
the velocity of the shot arising from the explosion: for the force
of the fired powder diminishing in proportion to its expansion, and
ceasing when it is got out of the piece; the total action of the powder
may be represented by the area of a curve, the base of which represents
the space through which the ball is accelerated, while the ordinates
represent the force of the powder at every point of that space; and
these ordinates being in reciprocal proportion to their distance from
the breech of the gun, because when the spaces occupied by the fired
powder are as 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. the ordinates representing it will be as
1, 1-half, ¹⁄₃d, ¹⁄₄th, &c. It appears that the curve will be a common
parabola, and that the area intercepted between is an asymptote; and
that the two ordinates representing the force of the powder at the
first explosion, and at the muzzle of the piece, will represent the
total action of the powder on the shot; but if the shot were urged
through the same space by an uniform force equal to its gravity, the
total action of this force would be represented by a rectangle, the
base of which would be the base of the curve or intercepted portion of
the asymptote above mentioned, and the height of which would represent
the uniform force of gravity. Hence the square of the velocity of the
shot resulting from gravity is given, being the velocity it would
acquire from a height equal to the space through which the powder
accelerates it; and the proportion between the hyperbola and the
rectangle is given from the analogy between the hyperbolic paces and
logarithms; therefore the velocity of the ball arising from the action
of the fired gunpowder will be given.
Mr. Robins has also given us an ingenious way of determining, by
experiments, the velocity with which any shot moves at any distance of
the piece it is discharged from.
This may be effected by means of a pendulum made of iron, having a
broad part at bottom, covered with a thick piece of wood, which is
fastened to the iron by screws; then having a machine like a common
artillery-gin, on two of its poles, towards their tops, are screwed
sockets, on which the pendulum is hung by means of a cross piece,
which becomes its axis of suspension, and on which it should vibrate
with great freedom. Somewhat lower than the bottom of the pendulum
there should be a brace, joining to which the pendulum is suspended;
and to this brace there is fastened a contrivance made with two edges
of steel, something in the manner of a drawing-pen; the strength with
which these edges press on each other, being diminished or increased
at pleasure by means of a screw. To the bottom of the pendulum should
be fastened a narrow riband, which, passing between the steel edges,
may hang closely down by means of an opening cut in the lower piece of
steel.
The instrument being thus fitted, if the weight of the pendulum, the
respective distances of its centre of gravity, and of its centre of
oscillation from the axis of suspension, be known, it may from thence
be found what motion will be communicated to this pendulum by the
percussion of a body of a known weight, moving with a known degree of
velocity, and sinking it into a given point; that is, if the pendulum
be supposed to rest before the percussion, it will be known what
vibration it should make in consequence of such a blow; and if the
pendulum, being at rest, is struck by a body of a known weight, and
the vibration which the pendulum makes after the stroke is known, the
velocity of the striking body may from thence be determined.
Now the extent of the vibration made by the pendulum may be increased
by the riband: for if the pressure of the steel edges on the riband be
regulated by the screw, so as to be free and easy, though with some
minute resistance to hinder it from slipping itself; then setting the
pendulum at rest, let the part of the riband between the pendulum and
the steel edges be down straight, but not strained, and fixing a pin in
the part of the riband contiguous to the edges, the pendulum, swinging
back by means of the impulse of the ball, will draw out the riband
to the just extent of its vibration, which will be determined by the
interval on the riband between the edges and the space of the pin.
The computation by which the velocity of the shot is determined from
the vibration of the pendulum, after the stroke, is founded on the
principle of mechanics; that if a body in motion strikes another at
rest, and they are not separated after the stroke, but move on with
one common motion, then that common motion is equal to the motion with
which the first body moved before the stroke; whence, if that common
motion and the masses of the two bodies are known, the motion of the
first body before the stroke is thence determined. On this principle
it follows, that the velocity of a shot may be diminished in any given
ratio, by its being made to impinge on a body of weight properly
proportioned to it.
It is to be observed, that the length to which the riband is drawn, is
always near the chord of the arc described by the ascent; it being so
placed, as to differ insensibly from those chords which must frequently
occur: and these chords are known to be in the proportion of the
velocities of the pendulum acquired from the stroke. Hence it follows,
that the proportion between the lengths of the riband, drawn out at
different times, will be the same with that of the velocities of the
impinging shots.
Now from the computations delivered by Mr. Robins, it appears, that
the velocity of the bullet was 1641 feet in one second of time,
when the chord of the arc described by the ascent of the pendulum,
in consequence of the blow, was 17¹⁄₄ inches, the proportion of the
velocity with which the bullets impinge, to the known velocity of 1641
feet in one second, will be determined.
Mr. Robins was (till of late) the only author who attempted to
ascertain the velocity of a military projectile by experiment; yet his
conclusions seem to be unsatisfactory. Perhaps he was too much attached
to the forming of a system, and warped his experiments a little in
favor of it. The resisting power he assigns to the air is probably
too great; and his notion of the tripling of this power when the
velocity of the projectile exceeds that of sound, seems to be rather an
ingenious theory than a well-grounded fact. However, experiment alone
must decide these points.
The great importance of the art of gunnery is the reason that we
distinguish it from the doctrine of projectiles in general; for in
truth it is no more than an application of those laws which all bodies
observe when cast into the air, to such as are put in motion by the
explosion of guns or other engines of that sort: and it matters not
whether we talk of projectiles in general, or of such only as belong to
gunnery; for, from the moment the force is impressed, all distinction,
with regard to the power which put the body first in motion is lost,
and it can only be considered as a simple projectile.
Every body cast into the air moves under the influence of two distinct
forces. By the one it is carried forward with an equal motion, and
describes equal spaces in equal times, in the direction in which it was
projected; and by the other, which we call gravity, is drawn downwards
in lines perpendicular to the surface of the earth, with a motion
continually accelerated, or whose velocity is always increasing. If
either of these forces were destroyed, the body would move according to
the direction of the other alone, so far as its motion was not hindered
by the interposition of other bodies; but as both continue to act, the
course of the projectile must be determined by a power compounded of
those two forces.
GUNNERY is also the province of the artillerist, and comprehends, in
an active sense, the perfect knowlege of the power of the machine,
and the proportions of powder to be employed in order to produce any
required effect. It also comprehends a knowlege of the properties and
composition of gunpowder, and the various kinds of shot, which are
employed in the practice of gunnery; the metal best adapted to make
guns, the proper weight and corresponding proportions between the
calibre of the gun and the shot fired from it, and also the dimensions
fitted for the various services in which gunnery is employed: for
batteries of permanent works, for ships, for field service, and the
light or flying artillery. Gunnery indeed comprehends all the duties of
the able artillerist and bombardier.
GUNNERY. By the assistance of good tables of practice, and the tables
of amplitudes, sines, tangents, and secants, all the cases in gunnery
in a nonresisting medium may be easily solved; and perhaps the solution
may be sufficiently correct for practice, if the initial velocity
of the projectile be not so great as to make the air’s resistance
considerable.
For the tables of ranges with ordnance, see the different natures,
as _Gun_, _Mortar_, &c. and for the tables of amplitudes, sines,
tangents, and secants, see pages 247 and 248.
_Upon Horizontal Planes._
1. The greatest range is at 45° nearly.
2. The ranges with different elevations with the same charge, are as
the double sines of the angles of elevation.
3. Any angle and its complement give the same range nearly.
4. The times of flight are as the sines of the angles of elevation.
5. The altitude of the curve, at any elevation is found by this
proportion: as Radius : tangent of angle of elevation ∷
range
----- : altitude.
4
6. The time of flight at 45° is equal the square root of the range in
feet, divided by 4, or more nearly = √(quotient²) of the range in feet,
divided by 16.1, or the space passed through in the first second by
gravity.
Having the first graze with a given elevation and charge, to determine
the charge for any other first graze and elevation, multiply the known
charge and elevation into the proposed first graze; also the proposed
elevation into the known first graze, and divide the first product by
the last, for the charge required.
_Upon inclined Planes, at 45° Elevation. Case 1st. Given the charge and
inclination of the plane, to find the range._
Multiply the horizontal range with this given charge, (found in the
tables of ranges) by the number found opposite the angle of inclination
of the plane, in the first column of multiplyers, in the table of
amplitudes, under the head _Ascents_, if it be inclined above the
horizon; and _Descents_, if below the horizon, for the range required.
_Case 2d. Given the range and inclination of the plane, to find the
charge._
Multiply the number found in the above mentioned table opposite the
angle or inclination of the plane, in the second column of multipliers,
under the head _Ascents_, or _Descents_, according as it is above or
below the horizon, by the given range; for the range on a horizontal
plane at 45°, the charge for which may be found from the tables of
ranges.
_Upon inclined planes, at any elevation._
There are always two elevations with which any range, (less than the
greatest) may be made; and these elevations are always the complements
of each other. The greatest range upon a horizontal plane is at 45°;
or when the direction bisects the angle formed by the horizontal and
vertical plane; also the greatest change upon any plane is made with
that direction which bisects the angle between the plane and the
zenith; and all other directions which make equal angles with this
direction, (on each side of it) will also make equal ranges on the said
plane; for the direction that bisects the angle between any plane and
the zenith is the same with respect to that plane as the direction at
45° is with respect to the plane of the horizon.
_Rules._--1st. The elevation which gives the greatest range on a given
ascent is equal to half the sum of 90° added to the ascent.
2d. The elevation which gives equal ranges on a given ascent, are the
complements of each other added to the ascent.
3d. The elevation which gives the greatest range on a descent, is equal
to half the complement of the descent.
If the range and inclination be given, the least charge that will reach
the object, may be found as follows: multiply the tangent of the proper
elevation into the proposed range, for the horizontal range whose
charge is required.
_Table of Amplitudes._
+--------+----------------++----------------+
|Degrees.| Ascents. || Descents. |
| | Multip’rs. || Multip’rs. |
+--------+--------+-------++--------+-------+
| |1st. cl.|2d. cl.||1st. cl.|2d. cl.|
| 1 | .983 | 1.02 || 1.02 | .983 |
| 2 | .966 | 1.03 || 1.04 | .966 |
| 3 | .949 | 1.06 || 1.05 | .950 |
| 4 | .932 | 1.07 || 1.07 | .932 |
| 5 | .916 | 1.09 || 1.09 | .916 |
| 6 | .900 | 1.11 || 1.11 | .900 |
| 7 | .884 | 1.13 || 1.13 | .884 |
| 8 | .868 | 1.15 || 1.15 | .868 |
| 9 | .852 | 1.18 || 1.17 | .853 |
| 10 | .836 | 1.20 || 1.19 | .836 |
| 11 | .821 | 1.22 || 1.22 | .821 |
| 12 | .805 | 1.24 || 1.24 | .805 |
| 13 | .789 | 1.27 || 1.27 | .789 |
| 14 | .774 | 1.29 || 1.29 | .774 |
| 15 | .758 | 1.32 || 1.31 | .763 |
| 16 | .742 | 1.35 || 1.34 | .745 |
| 17 | .726 | 1.38 || 1.37 | .730 |
| 18 | .711 | 1.40 || 1.39 | .720 |
| 19 | .693 | 1.45 || 1.42 | .704 |
| 20 | .677 | 1.48 || 1.45 | .690 |
| 21 | .660 | 1.52 || 1.48 | .675 |
| 22 | .643 | 1.56 || 1.52 | .662 |
| 23 | .625 | 1.60 || 1.55 | .645 |
| 24 | .607 | 1.64 || 1.58 | .633 |
| 25 | .589 | 1.70 || 1.62 | .617 |
| 26 | .570 | 1.76 || 1.66 | .603 |
| 27 | .550 | 1.82 || 1.69 | .592 |
| 28 | .530 | 1.86 || 1.73 | .578 |
| 29 | .510 | 1.96 || 1.78 | .562 |
| 30 | .488 | 2.05 || 1.82 | .549 |
| 31 | .466 | 2.14 || 1.87 | .534 |
| 32 | .442 | 2.26 || 1.92 | .526 |
| 33 | .418 | 2.41 || 1.97 | .508 |
| 34 | .393 | 2.55 || 2.02 | .495 |
| 35 | .366 | 2.73 || 2.08 | .488 |
| 36 | .338 | 2.96 || 2.13 | .470 |
| 37 | .309 | 3.24 || 2.20 | .455 |
| 38 | .278 | 3.60 || 2.26 | .443 |
| 39 | .245 | 4.09 || 2.33 | .430 |
| 40 | .210 | 4.80 || 2.40 | .417 |
| 41 | .173 | 5.78 || 2.48 | .404 |
| 42 | .134 | 7.46 || 2.56 | .390 |
| 43 | .092 | 10.90 || 2.64 | .380 |
| 44 | .045 | 22.22 || 2.73 | .370 |
| 45 | .000 | infi- || 2.88 | .360 |
| | | nite. || | |
+--------+--------+-------++--------+-------+
_Table of Natural Sines, Tangents, and Secants._
--------+------+---------+--------
Degrees.|Sines.|Tangents.|Secants.
--------+------+---------+--------
1 | .018 | .018 | 1.000
2 | .035 | .035 | 1.000
3 | .052 | .052 | 1.001
4 | .070 | .070 | 1.002
5 | .087 | .087 | 1.004
6 | .105 | .105 | 1.006
7 | .122 | .123 | 1.008
8 | .139 | .141 | 1.010
9 | .156 | .158 | 1.012
10 | .174 | .176 | 1.015
11 | .191 | .194 | 1.019
12 | .208 | .213 | 1.022
13 | .225 | .231 | 1.026
14 | .242 | .249 | 1.031
15 | .259 | .268 | 1.035
16 | .276 | .287 | 1.040
17 | .292 | .306 | 1.046
18 | .309 | .325 | 1.051
19 | .326 | .344 | 1.058
20 | .342 | .364 | 1.064
21 | .358 | .384 | 1.071
22 | .375 | .404 | 1.079
23 | .391 | .424 | 1.086
24 | .407 | .445 | 1.095
25 | .423 | .466 | 1.103
26 | .438 | .488 | 1.112
27 | .454 | .510 | 1.122
28 | .469 | .532 | 1.133
29 | .485 | .554 | 1.143
30 | .500 | .577 | 1.155
31 | .515 | .601 | 1.167
32 | .530 | .625 | 1.179
33 | .545 | .649 | 1.192
34 | .559 | .675 | 1.206
35 | .574 | .700 | 1.221
36 | .588 | .727 | 1.236
37 | .602 | .754 | 1.252
38 | .616 | .781 | 1.269
39 | .629 | .810 | 1.287
40 | .643 | .839 | 1.305
41 | .656 | .869 | 1.325
42 | .669 | .900 | 1.346
43 | .682 | .933 | 1.367
44 | .695 | .966 | 1.390
45 | .707 | 1.000 | 1.414
46 | .719 | 1.036 | 1.440
47 | .731 | 1.072 | 1.466
48 | .743 | 1.111 | 1.494
49 | .755 | 1.150 | 1.524
50 | .766 | 1.192 | 1.556
51 | .777 | 1.235 | 1.589
52 | .788 | 1.280 | 1.624
53 | .799 | 1.327 | 1.662
54 | .809 | 1.376 | 1.701
55 | .819 | 1.428 | 1.743
56 | .829 | 1.483 | 1.788
57 | .839 | 1.540 | 1.836
58 | .848 | 1.600 | 1.887
59 | .857 | 1.664 | 1.942
60 | .866 | 1.732 | 2.000
61 | .875 | 1.80 | 2.063
62 | .883 | 1.881 | 2.130
63 | .891 | 1.963 | 2.203
64 | .899 | 2.050 | 2.281
65 | .906 | 2.145 | 2.366
66 | .914 | 2.246 | 2.459
67 | .921 | 2.356 | 2.559
68 | .927 | 2.475 | 2.669
69 | .934 | 2.605 | 2.790
70 | .940 | 2.747 | 2.924
71 | .946 | 2.904 | 3.072
72 | .951 | 3.078 | 3.236
73 | .956 | 3.271 | 3.420
74 | .961 | 3.487 | 3.628
75 | .966 | 3.732 | 3.864
76 | .970 | 4.011 | 4.134
77 | .974 | 4.331 | 4.445
78 | .978 | 4.705 | 4.810
79 | .982 | 5.145 | 5.241
80 | .985 | 5.671 | 5.759
81 | .988 | 6.314 | 6.392
82 | .990 | 7.115 | 7.185
83 | .993 | 8.144 | 8.206
84 | .995 | 9.514 | 9.567
85 | .996 | 11.430 |11.474
86 | .998 | 14.301 |14.336
87 | .999 | 19.081 |19.107
88 | .999 | 28.636 |28.654
89 | .999 | 57.290 |57.299
90 |1.000 |infinite.| ----
--------+------+---------+-------
GUNS.--_Calibres of European Guns, expressed in inches._
+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+
| English.| French. | Spanish.| Dutch. | Russian.| Portug. |
+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+
|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|
| 42|7.018| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | 36| 6.86| 48| 7.49|
| 32|6.41 | 36|6.9 | 36| 6.84| 32| 6.4 | 30| 6.47| 36| 6.8 |
| 24|5.823| 24|6.03 | 24| 6.03| 24| 5.92| 24| 6. | 24| 5.93|
| 18|5.292| 16|5.26 | 18| 5.52| 18| 5.45| 18| 5.45| 18| 5.4 |
| 12|4.623| 12|4.78 | 12| 4.8 | 12| 4.76| 12| 4.76| 12| 4.7 |
| 9|4.200| 8|4.18 | 9| 4.2 | 8| 4.13| 8| 4.17| 9| 4.3 |
| 6|3.668| --| -- | --| -- | 6| 3.78| 6| 3.78| 6| 3.75|
| 4|3.204| 4|3.315| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- |
| 3|3.913| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- |
| 1|2.019| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- |
+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+
_Length and weight of English Brass guns._
-------------------+--------------+-----------
Kind. | Length in | Weight.
-------------------+------+-------+-----------
|Calib.|ft. in.|ct. qr. lb.
42 Pounders |16.244| 9 6 |66 -- --
32 ---- |18.721|10 0 |55 2 --
{Heavy |19.574| 9 6 |53 0 9
24 {Medium |16.483| 8 0 |41 3 2
{Light |10.302| 5 0 |16 3 13
{Do. new |13.000| 6 3 |24 0 --
18 Light do. |13.000| 5 9 |18 0 --
{Heavy |24.659| 9 0 |31 2 8
{Desagulier’s |19.468| 7 6 |22 1 21
12{Medium, old |16.872| 6 6 |21 3 --
{Medium, new |16.872| 6 6 |18 -- --
{Light |12.978| 5 0 | 8 3 4
* {Do. new |13.000| 5 0 |12 -- --
{Heavy |26.112| 8 0 |19 1 6
* {Desag’s. Med. |22.876| 7 0 |12 -- 24
6 { {new |18.500| 6 0 | 8 3 27
{Med.{reduced |17.000| 5 6 | 8 0 22
* {Gen. Belford’s|16.342| 5 0 | 5 2 21
{Light, common |14.706| 4 6 | 5 - 18
{Heavy |28.836| 7 0 |11 3 19
* {Desagulier’s |24.717| 6 0 | 6 -- --
*3 {Light, common |14.418| 3 6 | 2 2 27
{Light infantry |12.358| 3 0 | 1 3 16
{Gen. Pattison’s|12.358| 3 0 | 1 2 19
1 Pr. Amuzette |29.7 | 5 0 | 2 2 12
Do. |35.6 | 6 0 | 3 0 11
Do. |41.5 | 7 0 | 3 1 12
-------------------+------+-------+----------
The guns marked (*) are the only ones used by the British since 1795,
on general service.
_Length and weight of French brass guns, in their old weights and
measures._[9]
-----------------+------------------+----
Kind. | Length in |W’t.
-----------------+------+-----------+----
|Calib.|ft. in. li.|lbs.
24 Prs.}Siege {| -- | 9 11 5|5628
16 -- } {| -- | 9 7 --|4111
| | |
12 -- }Garrison{| -- | -- -- --|3184
8 } {| -- | -- -- --|2175
| | |
12 -- } {| 18.0 | 6 6 --|1808
8 -- }Field {| 18. | 5 8 --|1196
4 -- } {| 18. | 4 6 --| 590
1 -- | -- | -- -- --| 266
-----------------+------+-----------+----
[9] The French weights and measures have assumed new names, and are
reduced to strict proportions since the revolution. The weights here
referred to are the old. For the new French system of weights and
measures, see the word WEIGHTS.
_Length and weight of English iron guns._
---------+--------------+-------+--------
| | |[10]Pro-
| | |portion
| | |between
| | |shot and
Kind. | Length in | Wt. |gun.
---------+------+-------+-------+--------
|Calib.|ft. in.|ct. qr.|
42 Prs.{ |17.098|10 -- |67 -- |
{ |16.244| 9 6 |65 -- | 170
32 -- {|18.721|10 -- |58 -- |
{|17.725| 9 6 |55 -- | 193
{ |20.604|10 -- |52 -- |
24 -- { |19.574| 9 6 |49 2 | 231
{ |18.542| 9 -- |47 2 |
18 -- {|21.542| 9 6 |42 -- |
{|20.408| 9 -- |40 -- | 249
{ |24.659| 9 6 |34 -- |
12 -- { |23.361| 9 -- |32 -- |
{ |22.063| 8 6 |31 2 |
{ |19.468| 7 6 |29 1 | 294
{|21.4 | 7 6 |24 2 | 305
9 -- {|19.9 | 7 -- |23 -- |
{ |26.2 | 8 -- |22 -- |
6 -- { |19.6 | 6 -- |16 2 | 411
{|22.4 | 6 -- |22 1 | 343
4 -- {|20.6 | 5 6 |11 1 |
3 -- |18.6 | 4 6 | 7 1 | 270
---------+------+-------+-------+--------
[10] This column expresses the number of English pounds of metal in
the guns, to each pound in the shot.
_French iron guns, in English weights, &c._
------------+----------------+------------
Kind. | Length in | Weight.
------------+------+---------+------------
|Calib.|ft. in. |ct. qr. lbs.
36 Pounders | 16.18| 9 8 | 74 3 --
24 ---- | 18.18| 9 1¹⁄₂| 51 -- --
{| 21.01| 9 7 | 42 -- --
16 ---- {| 18.45| 8 4 | 43 2 --
{| 16.92| 7 8¹⁄₂| 35 -- --
{| 21.54| 8 7 | 31 2 --
12 ---- {| 20.5 | 8 2 | 20 3 --
{| 17.14| 6 10 | 28 -- --
8 ---- {| 24.64| 8 7 | 24 1 --
{| 17.22| 6 -- | 16 -- --
4 ---- | 17.19| 4 9 | -- -- --
============+======+=========+============
_Ranges of brass guns, with one shot. 1793._
------------------+--------+-----------------------------
| | To the first graze of
| | the shot.
Kind. | Charge.| PB | 1° | 2° | 3° | 4° | 5°
------------------+--------+----+----+----+----+----+----
|lbs. oz.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds.
Heavy | 8 0 | 473| 781|1032|1405|1585|1710
24 Medium | 8 0 | 488| 757|1103|1425|1557|1745
Light | 3 0 | 162| 364| 606| 722| |1399
Heavy | | | | | | |
12 Medium | 4 0 | | 705| 973|1189| |
Light | 3 0 | | 601| 816|1063| |
{Desagulier’s | 2 0 | | 646| 966|1325| |
{6 Feet | 2 0 | | 683| 948|1327| |
6{5 : 6 Med. | 2 0 | | 775|1003|1444| |
{5 : 6 Red’d. | 2 0 | | 642| 976|1150| |
{5 Feet | 1 8 | | 587| 825| 950| |
{4 : 6 Feet. | 1 8 | | 628| 804| 991| |
3 Desagulier’s | 1 0 | | 679| 883| 918| |
Amuzette of 5 feet| 0 8 | | 604| 800| | |
Do. 7 feet | 0 8 | | 656| 830|1000| |
------------------+--------+----+----+----+----+----+----
_Ranges from Brass Guns, with Two Shot. 1793._
+------------------+--------+------+------------------+
| | |Eleva-|Medium first Graze|
| Kind. | Charge.| tion.| in yards. |
+------------------+--------+------+---------+--------+
| |lbs. oz.|1° 30′|1st Shot.|2d Shot.|
|12 Pounder, Medium| 4 -- |1 30 | 607 | 706 |
| 6 : Desagulier’s | 2 -- |1 30 | 621 | 739 |
| 6 : of 5 feet | 1 8 |1 30 | 586 | 732 |
| 3 : Desagulier’s | 1 -- |1 30 | 523 | 638 |
+------------------+--------+------+---------+--------+
_Ranges from Brass Field Guns, with small charges. 1798._
+------+-------+----------------------------------+-----------------+
| | | First Graze | |
| Kind.|Charge.| with different elevations. | Extreme range. |
|------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+
| Pr. | | 1°| 2°| 3°| 4°| 5°| 6° | 7° | 8° | |
| 12 {| 10 oz.|199|290|390|385|597| 716| 695| 788|from 800 to 1000|
| {| 1 lb.|280|416|729|777|966|1090|1054|1295|from 1200 to 1500|
+------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+
|6 Pr.{| 5 oz.|111|222|376|432|618| 625| 650| 788|from 800 to 1000|
| {| 8 oz.|277|401|754|826|925| 980|1103|1100|from 1000 to 1300|
+------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+
N. B. The above was a 12 Pr. Medium, and a 6 Pr. Desagulier’s. The
distances are given in yards.
_Effects of case shot from a battalion gun--Light 6 Pr. length 5
feet--Weight 5 cwt. 3 qrs. 21 lbs. against a target 8 feet high, and 90
feet long._
--------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+-----------------
| | |No. put into the |No. put into the
Distance| Kind | |height of 6 feet,|height of 8 feet,
of | of | Ele- |or the height of |or the height of
Target.| charge. |vation.| Infantry. | Cavalry.
--------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+-----------------
Y’ds. | | deg. | |
500 {|12 balls, 8 oz. }| 1 | 3 | 3
{|each, 3 in a }| 1¹⁄₂ | 3 | 4
{|tier, 1¹⁄₄ lb. }| 2 | 3 | 4
{|powder. }| | |
{ | { | 1 | 6 | 6
400 { |same ch’ge { | 1¹⁄₂ | 4 | 5
{ | { | 2 | 4 | 5
{| {| ¹⁄₂ | 6 | 7
300 {|same ch’ge {| 1 | 3 | 3
{| {| 1¹⁄₂ | 4 | 6
{ |34 balls. 3 oz.} | P B | 10 | 12
400 { |each, 7 in a } | ¹⁄₂ | 9 | 10
{ |tier, 1¹⁄₄ lb. } | 1 | 6 | 8
{ |powder } | | |
{| {| P B | 11 | 13
300 {|same ch’ge {| ¹⁄₂ | 12 | 15
{| {| 1 | 7 | 9
--------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+-----------------
N. B. There were three rounds fired at each charge, but they were all
so nearly alike, that it has been thought necessary to put down only
one of them. 1802.
_Ranges with sea service iron guns. 1796._
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Kind of Guns, 32, 24, and 18 Pounders.
------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------
|Proportion| |
Eleva-| of | |
tion.| powder. | Kind of shot. |Range.
------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------
deg. | | |Yards.
2 | ¹⁄₃ |With single shot to the first graze | 1200
2 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. Do. | 1000
2 | ¹⁄₄ |2 shot, ranged close together, to | 500
4 | ¹⁄₃ |Single shot | 1600
4 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. | 1500
7 | ¹⁄₃ |Do. | 2150
7 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. | 2020
2 | ¹⁄₄ |1 round shot and 1 r’d. of grape range with |
| |effect together, to | 600
4 | ¹⁄₄ |One round of grape shot, alone, to | 1000
2 | ¹⁄₄ |One double headed, or bar shot will range to|
| |the first graze | 800
------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------
_Ranges with 5¹⁄₂ inch shells, from a 24 Pr. iron Gun. Length of Gun
9¹⁄₂ ft. Wt. 49 ct. 26lb._
+-----+------------------++------------------++------------------+
| | 2 Pounds. || 2 lbs. 8 oz. || 3 Pounds. |
| +-------+----------++-------+----------++-------+----------+
| |Flight.| ||Flight.| ||Flight.| |
| Ele-| +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to |
| va- | | First| Ex- || | First| Ex- || |First | Ex- |
|tion.| | Graze| treme|| | Graze| treme|| |Graze | treme|
+-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+
| deg.|Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.|
| 1 |1 | 213 | 1139 ||2³⁄₄| 562 | 1456 ||1 | 277 | 1424 |
| 2 |1³⁄₄| 384 | 1267 ||1¹⁄₂| 442 | 1413 ||1³⁄₄| 526 | 1464 |
| 3 |2³⁄₄| 565 | 1413 ||2 | 647 | 1553 ||2¹⁄₄| 740 | 1600 |
| 4 |2¹⁄₄| 750 | 1479 ||3³⁄₄| 896 | 1639 ||3¹⁄₂| 880 | 1679 |
| 5 |3³⁄₄| 836 | 1670 ||4 | 915 | 1510 ||5 | 1182 | 1733 |
| 6 |4 | 896 | 1495 ||5 | 1140 | 1657 ||6¹⁄₄| 1384 | 1787 |
| 7 |6¹⁄₂| 1180 | 1492 ||6 | 1205 | 1481 ||6¹⁄₄| 1410 | 1749 |
| 8 |6³⁄₄| 1305 | 1526 ||6¹⁄₂| 1259 | 1544 ||7 | 1520 | 1744 |
| 9 |7¹⁄₂| 1329 | 1527 ||7 | 1341 | 1561 ||7³⁄₄| 1722 | 1938 |
| 9¹⁄₂|6³⁄₄| 1229 | 1453 ||----| ---- | ---- ||8¹⁄₂| 1748 | 1881 |
+-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+
_Ranges with 4²⁄₅ Shells from a 12 Pounder, Medium._
+-----+------------------++------------------++------------------+
| | 8 Ounces. || 12 Ounces. || 1 lb. 8oz. |
| +-------+----------++-------+----------++-------+----------+
| |Flight.| ||Flight.| ||Flight.| |
| Ele-| +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to |
| va- | | First| Ex- || | First| Ex- || |First | Ex- |
|tion.| | Graze| treme|| | Graze| treme|| |Graze | treme|
+-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+
| deg.|Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.|
| 1 |1¹⁄₂| 156 }| || | | || | | |
| 2 |2 | 293 }| ||2¹⁄₂| 350 }| || | 707 }| |
| 3 |2¹⁄₂| 363 }| From ||3¹⁄₂| 355 }| From || | 758 }| From |
| 4 |3¹⁄₂| 462 }| 800 ||4 | 679 }| 1100 || | 849 }| 1400 |
| 5 |4 | 587 }| to ||3¹⁄₂| 641 }| to || |1075 }| to |
| 6 |4 | 621 }| 1200 ||5 | 941 }| 1300 || |1150 }| 1600 |
| 7 |4¹⁄₂| 898 }| ||6 |1020 }| || |1300 }| |
| 8 |5 | 781 }| || | | || | | |
+-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+
_Ranges with French brass field guns, with round shot._
------+------------+-------------------+-------
| | Elevation. |
| +-----------+-------+ Range
| | Lines of | | in
Kind.| Charge. |Tan. Scale.|Deg. M.|Toises.
------+------------+-----------+-------+-------
| {| L. M. |-- 58| 300
| {| 2 | 1 3| 350
12 Pr.| 4 lbs. {| 10 | 1 39| 400
| {| 14 | 1 49| 450
| {| 16 | 1 56| 480
| { | L. M. |-- 58| 300
| { | 6 | 1 24| 350
8 Pr.| 2¹⁄₂ lbs.{ | 12 | 1 51| 400
| { | 16 | 2 8| 450
| { | 20 | 2 24| 480
| {| L. M. |-- 58| 250
| {| 4 | 1 20| 300
4 Pr.| 1¹⁄₂ lbs. {| 8 | 1 40| 350
| {| 12 | 2 --| 400
| {| 16 | 2 20| 450
| {| 18 | 2 40| 480
------+------------+-----------+-------+-------
The above are in old French weights and measures.
_Definitions of_ GUNNERY. 1. The impetus at any point of the curve is
the perpendicular height to which a projectile could ascend, by the
force it has at that point; or the perpendicular height from which a
body must fall to acquire the velocity it has at that point.
2. The diameter to any point of the curve is a line drawn through that
point perpendicular to the horizon.
3. The points where the diameters cut the curve are called vertexes to
these diameters.
4. The axis is that diameter which cuts the curve in its highest or
principal vertex, and is perpendicular to the tangent at that point or
vertex.
5. The ordinates to any diameter are lines drawn parallel to the
tangent at the point where that diameter cuts the curve, and
intercepted between the diameter and curve.
6. The absciss is that part of the diameter which is intercepted
between the ordinate and the curve.
7. The altitude of the curve is the perpendicular height of the
principal vertex above the horizon.
8. The amplitude, random, or range, is the distance between the point
of projection and the object aimed at.
9. The elevation of the piece is the angle its axis (produced) makes
with the horizon, and the axis itself is called the direction.
10. The horizontal distance to which a mortar, elevated to a given
angle, and loaded with a given quantity of powder, throws a shell of a
given weight, is called the range of that mortar, with that charge and
elevation.
11. The inclination of a plane is the angle it makes with the horizon
either above or below.
12. The directrix is the line of motion, along which the describing
line or surface is carried in the genesis of any plane or solid figure.
_Laws of motion in_ GUNNERY.
1. Spaces equally run through with equal velocities, are to one another
as the times in which they are run through, and conversely.
2. Spaces equally run through in the same or equal times, are to
one another as the velocities with which they are run through, and
conversely.
3. Spaces run through are in the same proportion to one another, as
their times multiplied into their velocities, and conversely.
4. A body urged by two distinct forces in two different directions,
will in any given time be found at the point where two lines meet that
are drawn parallel to these directions, and through the points to which
the body could have moved in the same time, had these forces acted
separately.
5. The velocities of bodies, which by the action of gravity begin to
fall from the rest, are in the same proportion as the times from their
beginning of their falling.
6. The spaces run through by the descent of a body which began to fall
from rest, are as the squares of the times, from the beginning of the
fall.
7. The motion of a military projectile is in a curve.
GUN-_powder_, a composition of nitre, sulphur, and charcoal, well mixed
together and granulated, which easily takes fire, and expands with
amazing force, being one of the strongest propellents known.
_Gun-powder.--Proportions of the different ingredients for making
gunpowder, by different powers in Europe_:
+--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+
| |Eng.| Fran.|Sweden.|Poland.|Italy.|Russia.|
+--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+
|Nitre | 75| 75 | 75 | 80 | 76¹⁄₂| 70 |
|Sulphur | 10| 9¹⁄₂| 9 | 8 | 12¹⁄₂| 11¹⁄₂|
|Charcoal| 15| 15¹⁄₂| 16 | 12 | 12¹⁄₂| 18¹⁄₂|
+--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+
| Pounds| 100|100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
+--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+
GUNPOWDER. This well known powder is composed of seventy five parts,
by weight, of nitre, sixteen of charcoal, and nine of sulphur,
intimately blended together by long pounding in wooden mortars, with
a small quantity of water. This proportion of the materials is the
most effectual. But the variations of strength in different samples
of gunpowder are generally occasioned by the more or less intimate
division and mixture of the parts. The reason of this may be easily
deduced from the consideration, that nitre does not detonate until in
contact with inflammable matter; whence the whole detonation will be
more speedy, the more numerous the surfaces of the contact. The same
cause demands, that the ingredients should be very pure, because the
mixture of foreign matter not only diminishes the quantity of effective
ingredients which it represents, but likewise prevents the contacts by
its interposition.
The nitre of the third boiling is usually chosen for making gunpowder,
and the charcoal of light woods is preferred to that of those which
are heavier, most probably because this last, being harder, is less
pulverable. An improvement in the method of making the charcoal has
lately been adopted, which consists in putting the wood, cut into
pieces about nine inches long, into an iron cylinder laid horizontally,
closed at one end, and furnished with small pipes at the other, that
the pyroligneous acid and carburetted hidrogen may escape, and thus
exposed to the heat of a fire made underneath. It is said, this
charcoal improves the strength of gunpowder so much, that only two
thirds of the old charge of gunpowder for ordnance are now used in our
navy. The requisite pounding of the materials is performed in the large
way by a mill, in which wooden mortars are disposed in rows, and in
each of which a pestle is moved by the arbor of a water-wheel: it is
necessary to moisten the mixture from time to time with water, which
serves to prevent its being dissipated in the pulverulent form, and
likewise obviates the danger of explosion from the heat occasioned by
the blows. Twelve hours pounding is in general required to complete the
mixture; and when this is done, the gunpowder is in fact made, and only
requires to be dried to render it fit for use.
_Proofs of powder._--The first examination of powder in the British
mills, is by rubbing it in the hands to find whether it contains any
irregular hard lumps. The second is by blasting 2 drams of each sort
on a copper plate, and in this comparing it with an approved powder;
in this proof it should nor emit any sparks, nor leave any beads or
foulness on the copper. It is then compared with an approved powder, in
projecting an iron ball of 64 lbs. from an 8 inch mortar, with a charge
of 2 ounces. The best cylinder powder generally gives about 180 feet
range, and pit 150; but the weakest powder, or powder that has been
redried, &c. only from 107 to 117 feet.
The merchants’ powder, before it is received into the government
service, is tried against powder of the same kind made at the royal
mills; and it is received if it gives a range of ¹⁄₂₀ less than the
king’s powder with which it is compared. In this comparison both sorts
are tried on the same day, and at the same time, and under exactly the
same circumstances.
The proof of fine grained, or musquet powder, is with a charge of 4
drams from a musquet barrel, to perforate with a steel ball a certain
number of ¹⁄₂ inch wet elm boards, placed ³⁄₄ inch asunder, and the
first 39 feet 10 inches from the barrel: the king’s powder generally
passes through 15 or 16, and restoved powder from 9 to 12. The last
trial of powder is by exposing about 1 pound of each sort, accurately
weighed, to the atmosphere for 17 or 18 days; during which time, if the
materials are pure, it will not increase any thing material in weight,
by attracting moisture from the atmosphere.
In this exposure 100 lbs. of good gunpowder should not absorb more than
12 oz. or somewhat less than one per cent.
Different modes of trying gunpowder have been adopted. A ready one is,
to lay two or three small heaps on separate pieces of writing paper,
and fire one with a red hot wire. If the flame ascend quickly, with a
good report, leaving the paper free from white specks, and not burnt
into holes; and at the same time the other heaps be not fired by the
sparks, the powder is well made, and the ingredients are good.
There are experiments which seem to show, that gunpowder is stronger in
the fine impalpable form, than when granulated. This appears to be true
with regard to gunpowder originally made, or pounded till it assumes
that form; but it may be doubted, whether it have any foundation in
general, or indeed that the greater strength depends at all upon this
form.
_British Powder Marks._--The different sorts of powder are
distinguished by the following marks on the heads of the barrels.
N^{o.} ¹⁄₂} }
L G }Cylinder}
----- } }
N^{o.} 2} }
S G } Cylinder}Marked in Red.
----- } }
N^{o.} 3 } }
F G } Cylinder}
----- } }
~S A~--The dust from N^{o.}3, and F G cylinder.
~R A~--For rifle arms.
⁴⁄₇ Cylinder}mixed--Marked white L G.
³⁄₇ Restoved}
L G or F G in blue, is powder made of pitcoal.
/ \
/ \ {N^{o.} ¹⁄₂ L G}Marked in yellow, is restoved.
|R S| {N^{o.} 3 F G}
\ /
\ /
This _red_ L G, F G, or S G, denotes powder entirely made of the
cylinder charcoal, and is that which is now always used on service. The
white L G being a mixed powder, is not so uniform as the other, and is
therefore generally used in filling shells, or for such other purposes
as do not require much accuracy. All powder for service is mixed in
proportions according to its strength, so as to bring it as much as
possible to a mean and uniform force.
_French Gunpowder._--The French proof ball is of brass, and weighs
60 lbs. French: the diameter of the mortar 7 inches 9 points, or ³⁄₄
of a line, and has one line of windage. The chamber holds exactly 3
ounces; and their best powder must give a range of 90 toises, and their
restoved powder a range of 80 toises, to be received into the service.
But the powder they now make, when new, will give range of 100 and 120
toises; and Mr. Lombard calculates all his tables from experiments made
with powder giving 125 toises with the eprouvette. The above dimensions
and weights are all of old French standard.
_Invention of_ GUN-_powder_, is usually ascribed to one Bartholdus
Schwartz, a German monk, who discovered it about the year 1320; it
is said to have been first used in war by the Venetians against
the Genoese in the year 1380. Thevel says its inventor was one
Constantine Anelzen, a monk of Friburg. Peter Mexia says it was first
used by Alphonsus XI. king of Castile, in the year 1342. Ducange
adds, that there is mention made of this powder in the registers of
the chambers of accounts of France, so early as the year 1338; and
friar Bacon, expressly mentions the composition in his treatise _De
Nullitate Magiæ_, published at Oxford in the year 1216. Some indeed
are of opinion, that the Arabians or the latter Greeks were the first
inventors of gunpowder, about the middle ages of our æra; because its
Arabic name is said to be expressive of its explosive quality.
Considerable improvements have lately been made in the composition of
gunpowder by the Chinese.
_Method of making_ GUNPOWDER. Take nitre, sulphur, and charcoal; reduce
these to a fine powder, and continue to beat them for some time in a
stone mortar with a wooden pestle, wetting the mixture occasionally
with water, so as to form the whole into an uniform paste, which is
afterwards reduced to grains, by passing it through a sieve; and in
this form, being carefully dried, it becomes the common gunpowder. For
greater quantities mills are used, by means of which more work may be
performed in one day than a man can do in a hundred. See MILL.
This destructive powder is composed of 75 parts nitre, 9 sulphur, and
16 of charcoal, in the 100.
The granulation of gunpowder is performed by placing the mass, while in
the form of a stiff paste, in a wire sieve, covering it with a board,
and agitating the whole: by this means it is cut into small grains or
parts, which, when of a requisite dryness, may be rendered smooth or
glossy by rolling them in a cylindrical vessel or cask. Gunpowder in
this form takes fire more speedily than if it be afterward reduced to
powder, as may be easily accounted for from the circumstance, that the
inflamation is more speedily propagated through the interstices of the
grains. But the process of granulation does itself, in all probability,
weaken the gunpowder, in the same manner as it is weakened by suffering
it to become damp; for in this last case, the nitre, which is the only
soluble ingredient, suffers a partial solution in the water, and a
separation in crystals of greater or less magnitude; and accordingly
the surfaces of contact are rendered less numerous.
The detonation of gunpowder has been always an interesting problem in
chemistry. Numerous theories have been offered, to account for this
striking fact. But it is now very well settled, that the nitric acid
is decomposed by the heat of ignition; that is oxigen, combines with
the charcoal, and forms carbonic acid, while the nitrogen, or other
component part, with steam from the water of crystallization, becomes
disengaged in the elastic form. Berthollet found, that the elastic
product, afforded by the detonation of gunpowder, consisted of two
parts nitrogen gas, and one carbonic acid gas. The sudden extrication
and expansion of these airs are the cause of the effects of gunpowder.
The muriat afforded by combining the oxigenized muriatic acid and
potash, affords gunpowder of much greater strength than the common
nitre, but too dangerous for use. For the method of making this salt,
See ACID (MURIATIC, OXIGENIZED).
_How to refine nitre._ Put into a copper, or any other vessel, 100
weight of rough nitre, with about 14 gallons of clean water, and let it
boil gently for half an hour, and as it boils take off the scum; then
stir it about in the copper, and before it settles put it into your
filtering-bags, which must be hung on a rack, with glazed earthen pans
under them, in which sticks must be laid across for the crystals to
adhere to: it must stand in the pans for two or three days to shoot;
then take out the crystals and let them dry. The water that remains
in the pans boil again for an hour, and strain it into the pans as
before, and the nitre will be quite clear and transparent; if not, it
wants more refining; to effect which proceed as usual, till it is well
cleansed of all its earthy parts.
_How to pulverize nitre._ Take a copper kettle, whose bottom must be
spherical, and put into it 14lb, of refined nitre, with 2 quarts or 5
pints of clean water; then put the kettle on a slow fire; and when
the nitre is dissolved, if any impurities arise, skim them off; and
keep constantly stirring it with 2 large spattles till all the water
exhales; and when done enough, it will appear like white sand, and as
fine as flour; but if it should boil too fast, take the kettle off
the fire, and set it on some wet sand, by which means the nitre will
be prevented from sticking to the kettle. When you have pulverised a
quantity of nitre, be careful to keep it in a dry place.
_Different kinds of_ GUNPOWDER. It being proper that every one who
makes use of gun-powder should know of what it is composed, we shall
give a brief account of its origin and use. Gunpowder, for some time
after the invention of artillery, was of a composition much weaker than
what we now use, or than that ancient one mentioned by Marcus Græcus:
but this, it is presumed, was owing to the weakness of their first
pieces, rather than to their ignorance of a better mixture: for the
first pieces of artillery were of a very clumsy, inconvenient make,
being usually framed of several pieces of iron bars, fitted together
lengthways, and then hooped together with iron rings; and as they
were first employed in throwing stone shot of a prodigious weight, in
imitation of the ancient machines, to which they succeeded, they were
of an enormous bore. When Mahomed II. besieged Constantinople in the
year 1453, he battered the walls with stone bullets, and his pieces
were some of them of the calibre of 1200lb. but they never could be
fired more than four times in the 24 hours, and sometimes they burst
by the first discharge. Powder at first was not grained, but in the
form of fine meal, such as it was reduced to by grinding the materials
together; and it is doubtful, whether the first grain of it was
intended to increase its strength, or only to render it more convenient
for the filling it into small charges, and the loading of small arms,
to which alone it was applied for many years, whilst meal-powder was
still made use of in cannon. But at last the additional strength, which
the grained powder was found to acquire from the free passage of the
fire between the grains, occasioned the meal-powder to be entirely laid
aside. The coal for making gunpowder is either that of willow or hazle;
but the lightest kind of willow is found to be the best, well charred
in the usual manner, and reduced to powder. Corned powder was in use in
Germany as early as the year 1568; but it was first generally used in
England in the reign of Charles I.
_Government powder_, _Ordnance-powder_, such powder, as having
undergone the customary proof, is so called, and received into the
public magazines.
It has been recommended by a French writer to preserve gunpowder at sea
by means of boxes, which should be lined with sheets of lead. M. de
Gentien, a naval officer tried the experiment by lodging a quantity of
gunpowder, and parchment cartridges, in a quarter of the ship which was
sheathed in this manner. After they had been stowed for a considerable
time, the gunpowder and cartridges were found to have suffered little
from the moisture; whilst the same quantity, when lodged in wooden
cases, became nearly half rotted.
_Proof of Gunpowder_, first take out of the several barrels of
gunpowder a measure full, of about the size of a thimble, which
spread upon a sheet of fine writing paper, and then fire it, if the
inflammation be very rapid, the smoke rise perpendicular, and the paper
be neither burnt nor spotted, it is then to be judged good powder.
Then 2 drams of the same powder are exactly weighed, and put into an
eprouvette; which if it raises a weight of 24 pounds to the height of
3¹⁄₂ inches, it may be received into the public magazine as proof.
GUN-_powder prover_. See EPROUVETTE.
GUNSHOT, the reach or range of a gun. The space through which a shot
can be thrown.
GUNSHOT-_wound_. Any wound received from the discharge of cannon or
fire-arms.
GUNSMITH, a man who makes fire-arms.
GUNSTICK. The rammer or stick with which the charge is driven into the
gun.
GUNSTOCK. The wood to which the barrel of the gun is fixed.
GUNSTONE. Such materials, chiefly stone, as were formerly discharged
from artillery.
GUR, a house or dwelling in India.
GURRIES, mud forts made in India are so called. These forts are
sometimes surrounded with ditches.
GURRY, an indian term to express a certain division of time,
comprehending 24 minutes; but the word among the Europeans is generally
understood to mean an _hour_. A watch is called a gurry.
GUALIOR, a stupendous military fortification on the summit of a rocky
eminence in India, south of Jumma, 28 coss, or 56 English miles, from
Agra. It was once taken by a daring enterprize by Col. Popham.
GHYRETTY, cantonments seven coss (14 English miles) from Calcutta. It
is a palace built by Mr. Dupleix, which the British took by force in
1797, and imprisoned the principal French colonists of Chandernagore
there. This was two years before the war in Europe.
GYMNASTIC, (_gymnastique_, _Fr._) pertaining to athletic exercises,
such as leaping, wrestling, drawing the cross bow, fencing, &c. The
Greeks, among whom the art originated, were accustomed to strip
whenever they performed any part of it.
H.
HABERGEON, a small coat of mail, or only sleeves and gorget of mail,
formed of little iron rings or meshes linked together.
HABILIMENTS _of war_, in ancient statutes, signify armor, harness,
utensils, or other provisions, without which it is supposed there can
be no ability to maintain a war.
HABILLEMENT _des troupes_, _Fr._ properly means the regimental clothing
or the uniform of soldiers. The clothing of the French army was not
reduced to any regular system before the reign of Louis the 14th.
The following observations relative to this important object are too
appropriate, and suit all countries too well, to be left unnoticed.
The dress of a soldier should be plain, and made up so as to facilitate
every movement of his person, to guard him against the inclemency
of the weather, and to be remarkable for its collective uniformity
of appearance. Next to these general requisites, the ease of each
individual should be consulted; particularly with regard to the
breeches, trowsers, or pantaloons. Regimental surgeons will certainly
say, that in some instances men have suffered as much from an
inattention to this part of their dress, as from the most harrassing
service in the face of an enemy. The loins should invariably be
covered, the stride be made easy, and the bend of the knee be left
unembarrassed. Under the old French government, the whole infantry was
clothed in white, with facings of various colors; but both the officers
and the men were extremely plain in every part of their dress. Since
the revolution, the national color, which was white, has been changed
to blue. Not only the soldiers, but the waggon-drivers, &c. had a
particular dress to distinguish them from other people. See UNIFORM.
_Un_ HABIT _d’ordonnance_, _Un_ HABIT _d’uniforme_, _Fr._ regimental
coat; or clothing.
HACHE, _Fr._ a hatchet.
HACHE _d’armes_, _Fr._ a hatchet or battle-axe.
In ancient times this weapon was frequently resorted to by whole armies
when they engaged. At present it is only used on particular occasions,
in sorties, &c. or boarding ships.
HACHE, _Fr._ A term which was formerly used among the French to express
a certain punishment that military delinquents were obliged to undergo.
It consisted in being loaded with a pack or saddle, which the guilty
person was under the necessity of carrying a specified distance, and
which entailed disgrace upon the bearer.
HACHER, _Fr._ to cut to pieces. This word is very frequently used among
the French in a military sense, viz.
_Un bataillon, ou un escadron s’est fait_ HACHER _en pièces_, a
battalion, or a squadron has suffered itself to be cut to pieces.
They likewise make use of the expression in familiar discourse, as
speaking of truth, viz
_On se feroit_ HACHER _en pièces pour la verite_; one would be cut to
pieces for the support of truth.
HACHEREAU, _Fr._ a small hatchet.
HACKERY, an Indian two wheel carriage or cart, drawn by oxen.
HACQUETON. See HATCHET.
HACQUET-WAGEN, a four-wheeled waggon, which is used in the Prussian
service to convey pontoons. The under-frame of this carriage is built
like that of a chariot, by which means it can turn without difficulty.
HAIL-SHOT. See GRAPE-SHOT.
HAIR-CLOTH, a stuff made of hair. It is laid on the door of
powder-magazines and laboratories, to prevent accidents of fire from
the shoes of the men treading or rubbing upon nails, sand, or gravel.
HAIR-CLOTH--Weight 30 lbs.--length 15 feet--breadth 11 feet.
HAKIM. A term used in India to signify a master, the governor of a
city, a judge, or a king. It sometimes means the government, and power.
HALBERD, HALBERT, a weapon formerly carried by the serjeants of foot and
artillery. It is a sort of spear, the shaft of which is about 6 feet
long, generally made of ash. Its head is armed with a steel point edged
on both sides. Besides this point, which is in a line with the shaft,
there is a cross piece of iron, flat and turned down at one end, but
not very sharp, so that it serves equally to cut down or thrust with.
This weapon has of late been exchanged for the half-pike.
HALBERDIER, a soldier armed with a halbert.
HALEBARDE, _Fr._ halbert. This weapon, as well as the pike, was first
adopted by the French, in imitation of a similar one which was carried
by the Swiss troops. It was not known in that country before the reign
of Louis XI. and when it fell into disuse among the rank and file,
it was confined to the serjeants of infantry. The length of a French
halbert was six of their feet from one extremity to the other. The
handle or shaft was a long stick, with a strong, sharp, iron ferrel at
the end, and the upper part had a flat sharp blade, with a cross bar
attached to it.
HALF, is frequently used in military terms. Thus,
HALF-BRIGADE, (_demie brigade_, _Fr._) which signifies half the number
of men of which a whole brigade is composed. A brigade of infantry in
the French army, consists of six battalions, each of one thousand men,
making together six thousand men. Three thousand of course constitutes
a demie-brigade, or half-brigade. In the British service, a brigade is
various, according to the number of regiments that may be encamped, or
lie contiguous to each other. Sometimes two, three, or four regiments
form a brigade; so that half the recited number of men which composes a
brigade, whether of cavalry or infantry, makes a half-brigade.
HALF-COMPANIES. The same as subdivisions, and equal to a platoon.
HALF DISTANCE, signifies half the regular interval or space between
troops drawn up in ranks, or standing in column.
HALF FILES, half the given number of any body of men drawn up two deep.
Half-files are so called in cavalry, when the men rank off singly.
HALF-FILE _leader_, (_Chef de demi-file_, _Fr._) the foremost man of a
rank entire.
HALF-BATTA. An extra allowance which has been granted to the whole
of the officers belonging to the British east Indian army, except in
Bengal, when out of the company’s district in the province of Oude. In
the upper provinces double batta is allowed. All above full is paid
by the native princes, as the troops stationed in that quarter are
considered as auxiliaries. The full batta is an allowance granted to
both officers and men whenever they are under canvas. Batta is equal to
full pay.
HALF-CIRCLE _guard_, one of the guards used with the broad-sword to
parry an inside cut below the wrist, formed by dropping the point of
the sword outward in a semicircular direction, with the edge turned to
the left, and raising the hand to the height of the face.
HALF-CIRCLE _parade_, a parade of the small sword, used against the
thrust in low carte.
HALF-HANGER, _or_ HALF-HANGING-GUARD, a position of defence in the art
of broad-sword; differing from the hanging-guard, in the sword-hand not
being raised so high, but held low enough to see your opponent over the
hilt. See BROADSWORD.
HALF-MOON, _or demi-lune_, _Fr._ See FORTIFICATION.
HALF-PAY, a certain allowance which is made to officers in the British
service who have been reduced, in consequence of some general order
that effects whole corps, supernumerary companies or individuals.
It may likewise be considered as a compensation to individuals, who
have been permitted to retire from the active functions of military
life.
HALF-PAY _officers_ are, to all intents and purposes, out of the reach
of military cognizance. They cannot be tried by martial law; nor are
they liable to be called upon either as members of a court martial, or
for the purpose of actual service.
HALF-PIKE, (_demi pique_, _Fr._) a small pike, which was formerly
carried by officers.
HALF-SWORD, close fight, within half the length of a sword.
HALT [French _halte_], is a discontinuance of the march of any body
of men, armed or unarmed, under military direction. It is frequently
practised for the purpose of easing troops during their progress
through a country, or to render them fresh and active previous to any
warlike undertaking.
Frequent halts are made during the passage of obstacles, and in an
intersected country, in order to obviate the inconvenience and danger
which must attend a column whose head is advanced too far to preserve
the regular succession of all its component parts. Nothing, indeed, can
be more pregnant with mischief than such a chasm; for, if the enemy be
in the neighborhood, both front and rear are exposed. The best way in
the passage of defiles, &c. is to proceed to a distance beyond it which
shall be sufficiently extensive to admit of the whole number; there to
halt, and not to march forward until the rear has completely cleared
the obstacle.
HALT, is likewise a word of command in familiar use when a regiment
is on its march from one quarter to another. The men are permitted to
refresh themselves half-way. It should be generally observed, that to
prevent soldiers from straggling about, or getting among persons who
might entice them to be disorderly, a strict order ought to be given by
the commanding officer of every battalion not to allow any division or
detachment to halt in or near a town or village. A convenient midway
spot should be chosen for the purpose, and when the men have piled
their arms (which may be done in line or in column), a few steady
soldiers should be detached to guard the ground, and to prevent others
from straggling beyond certain limits. Among the French it was usual
for the commanding officer of a battalion, division, or detachment, in
hot weather, to send a sergeant and a few steady grenadiers forward, in
order to secure good water for the troops. This practice ought to be
avoided as much as possible; for men are more exposed to suffer from
drinking when overheated, than they would be by patiently enduring
the thirst until they reached the spot where the day’s march is to
terminate.
_To_ HALT _in open column for the purpose of wheeling up into line_.
When the several companies of one or more battalions have entered the
alignement, and marched with their guides of manœuvre, or pivot flanks
along the line, covering each other at their due distances (for which
company officers are answerable), the open column is then in a state to
be wheeled into line.
As soon, therefore, as the head or rear division, according to
circumstances, arrives at the given point where it is to form line,
the commander of the battalion gives the word _mark time_, in order to
afford the several ranks time to correct their dressing and distance
by their guides and pivots: on the delivery of this word, the foot
which is then off the ground, finishes its proper step, and the other
is brought up to it; and when the whole are dressed the word is given
to _halt_. The instant the _halt_ is ordered, the commanding officer
from the head division of each battalion (taking care that an adjutant
is placed in the true line) makes any small correction on a near point
in that line that the pivots may require, although no such correction
ought to be necessary.
_To_ HALT _after having wheeled from open column_. The officers
commanding companies, &c. having during the wheel turned round to face
their men, and inclined towards the pivot of the preceding company,
as they perceive their wheeling men make the step which brings them
up to their several pivots, they give the word _mark time--halt_. The
men, on receiving this last word of command, halt with their eyes
still turned to the wheeling flank, and each officer being then placed
before the preceding guide or pivot, to which his men are then looking,
corrects the interior of his company upon that pivot, his own pivot,
and the general line of the other pivots. This being quickly and
instantaneously done, the officer immediately takes his post on the
right of his company, which has been preserved for him by his serjeant.
Thus the whole line, when halted, is imperceptibly dressed.
In cavalry movements, when the open column halted on the ground on
which it is to form, wheels up into line, the following specific
instructions must be attended to:
Distances being just, guides and pivot leaders being truly covered, the
caution is given, _Wheel into line!_ when the then pivot-flank leaders
place themselves each on the _reverse_ flank of such divisions, as
by its wheel up brings them to their true place in the squadron. The
leading division of each squadron sends out a guide to line himself
with the pivot files. At the word _march!_ the whole wheel up into
line, which is marked by the guides or pivots, and also bounded by the
horses’ heads of the faced guides of it.--_Dress--halt!_ is then given
(as well as the other words by each squadron leader) the instant before
the completion of the wheel; the eyes are then turned to the standing
flank (to which the correction of the squadron is made), and remain so
till otherwise ordered; so that a line formed by wheels to the left,
will remain with eyes to the right; and one formed by wheels to the
right will remain with eyes to the left.
During the wheel up, the standard moves to its place in squadron, and
at the halt every individual must have gained his proper post.
HALTE, _Fr._ See HALT.
HALTER-CAST. In farriery, an excoriation or hurt in the pastern, which
is occasioned by the horse endeavoring to scrub the itching part of the
body near the head and neck, and thus entangling one of his hinder feet
in the halter. The consequence of which is, that he naturally struggles
to get free and sometimes receives very dangerous hurts in the hollow
of his pastern.
HALTING, in farriery, a limping, or going lame; an irregularity in the
motion of a horse, arising from a lameness in the shoulder, leg, or
foot, which obliges him to tread tenderly.
HAMLET, a small village.
_Tower_ HAMLETS. The militia raised in the district of the Tower of
London, is so called, and is divided into two battalions.
HAMMER, well-known instrument with an iron head, for driving nails, &c.
The artillery aids each carry one in his belt, in order to clear the
vent from any stoppage.
HAMMER, a piece of iron which stands in a perpendicular direction above
the cover of the pan, being a part of the same, and serving to produce
those sparks of fire that ultimately occasion the explosion of the
gunpowder. The Germans call it _pfannen deckel_, the cover of the pan;
but this expression does not convey a distinct and clear idea of the
use that is made of it. Nothing, however, can be less appropriate than
the term appears amongst us. We call the part which is struck against
to produce sparks of fire the hammer; and the part which strikes, the
cock; whereas that part of the cock which holds the flint is, in fact,
the hammer, and the other is without a proper name. The Germans call
the cock _hahn_. It is not within our province to propose new terms; we
are therefore satisfied in having pointed out the contradiction.
HAMMER-SPRING, the spring on which the hammer of a gun-lock works. It
is also called _feather-spring_.
HAMMOCK, (_hamac_, _Fr._) a sort of bed made of cotton or canvas.
Those used in America consisted of a broad piece of canvas which was
suspended between two branches of a tree, or between two stakes, and in
which the savages are accustomed to sleep.
Among sailors the hammock is about six feet long and three feet broad,
and drawn together at the two ends, and hung horizontally under the
deck for the sailors to repose in. In time of battle, the hammocks are
strongly fastened and laid above the rails on the quarter-deck and
forecastle, to barricade, and to prevent the execution of small shot.
HAMPE, _ou_ HANTE, _Fr._ a shaft; a long stick to which any thing else
is attached; as a sharp blade to form a halbert or pike.
HANCES, the ends of elliptical arches.
HAND. Among the Mysoreans the print of a hand is reckoned a form
equivalent to an oath. The hand is one of their military ensigns, and
always carried by their princes to war.
HAND, a measure of four inches, or of a clinched fist by which the
height of a horse is computed. Thus horses are said to be so many hands
high.
The sizes of military horses should run from 15 hands and 1 inch to 16
hands high, and the age 4 or 5 off, if possible.
Hand is also used for the division of a horse into the fore and
hind parts. The parts of the fore-hand are the head, neck, and
fore-quarters; and those of the hind-hand include all the other parts
of his body.
HAND is likewise used for the horseman’s hand. Thus spear-hand, or
sword-hand, is the horseman’s right hand, and bridle-hand is his left
hand.
HAND-BARROW, a machine made of light wood, of great use in
fortification for carrying earth from one place to another; or in a
siege, for carrying shells or shot along the trenches.
HAND-BARROW. Weight 13 pounds, length 5 feet 4 inches.
HAND-BREADTH, a measure of three inches, or a space equal to the
breadth of the hand, the palm.
HAND-GALLOP, a slow and easy gallop, in which the hand presses the
bridle to hinder increase of speed.
HAND-GRENADES, small iron shells, from 2 to 3 inches diameter, filled
with powder which being lighted by means of a fuse, are thrown by the
grenadiers amongst the enemy; until lately out of use. See GRENADES.
HAND-GUN, a gun held in the hand.
HAND-MALLET, a wooden hammer with a handle, to drive fuses, or pickets,
&c. in making fascines or gabion batteries.
HAND-SCREW, is composed of a toothed iron bar, which has a claw at the
lower end and a fork at the upper: the bar is fixed in a stock of wood,
about 2.5 feet high, and 6 inches thick, moved by a rack-work, so that
this claw or fork being placed under a weight raises it as far as the
bar can go.
HAND-SPIKE, in gunnery, a wooden lever 5 or 6 feet long, flattened at
the lower end, and tapering towards the other, useful in moving guns to
their places after being fired and loaded again, or for moving other
heavy weights.
HAND-SPIKES. Common, weight 10 pounds, length 6 feet.
HAND-TO-HAND, close fight; the situation of two persons closely opposed
to each other.
HANDFUL, used figuratively, in a military sense, to denote a small
quantity or number, as a handful of men.
_To_ HANDLE, to manage, to wield.
HANDLE _arms_, a word of command (when the men are at ordered arms) by
which the soldier is directed to bring his right hand briskly up to
the muzzle of his musquet, with his fingers bent inwards. This word of
command is frequently used at the private inspection of companies, and
always precedes--_Ease arms_.
This term was formerly used in the manual from the _support_ to the
_carry_. It is now however used only in the instance just mentioned.
_To_ HANG-FIRE. Fire-arms are said to hang-fire when the flame is not
speedy in communicating from the pan to the charge. This defect may
arise from the powder being damp or the touch-hole foul.
_To_ HANG _upon_. To hover, to impede.
_To_ HANG _upon the rear of a retreating enemy_. To follow the
movements of any body of men so closely as to be a constant annoyance
to them.
It requires both judgment and activity in the commanding officer of a
pursuing army to execute this business without endangering his troops.
For it might happen that the retreating enemy, seeing an opportunity
to make a retrograde flank movement from its front, would practice a
feint in its rear, and suddenly appear upon the right or left of his
pursuers. To prevent a surprize of this sort, constant vedettes and
side-patroles must be detached, and the pursuer must never attempt to
follow through any considerable length of defile, or cross rivers,
without having secured the neighboring eminences, and been well
informed as to the nature of the stream, for some extent on his right
and left. Without these precautions he might himself be taken in flank
and rear.
_To_ HANG _upon the flanks of an enemy_, is to harass and perplex him
in a more desultory manner than what is generally practised when you
press upon his rear.
Hussars, light dragoons, mounted riflemen, and light infantry
detachments are well calculated for this service. Light pieces of
artillery are likewise extremely useful, but they should be cautiously
resorted to, as ambuscades might be laid, and their removal would
require too much time. A perfect knowlege of the country in which you
fight, aided by intelligent guides and faithful scouts, will be one of
the best safeguards in all operations of this kind.
HANGER, a short-curved sword.
HANGING-GUARD, a defensive position in the art of broad-sword; it is
formed by raising the sword-hand high enough to view your antagonist
under your wrist, and directing your point towards his ribs. See
BROADSWORD.
HANNIBAL, a celebrated general among the Carthagenians, who crossed
the Alps, and threatened Rome. This able man lost all the fruits of his
uncommon exertions and military talents by relaxing from that active
conduct, by which he had thrown the Roman legions into confusion. He
is a striking example of the propriety of marshal Saxe’s observations
on the necessity of vigorous and unremitting operations against a
retreating enemy. See GENERAL.
HANOVERIANS, troops belonging to Hanover, formerly subject to the king
of Great Britain, and of which a considerable body were employed to
subjugate America, for which forty pounds sterling a head were paid
out of the British treasury to the elector of Hanover; they are now
subjects of France.
HANSE, _or_ HANS, (_Hans Teutonique_, _Fr._) a body or company of
merchants united together for the promotion of trade.
HANS _towns_, (_villes Hanseatiques_, _Fr._) Certain towns and places
in Germany and the north of Europe in which a commercial compact, or
agreement, for the benefit of commerce was entered into by merchants
of respectability. The four towns that first united for this purpose
were Lubec, Brunswick, Dantzic, and Cologne, and on that account they
bore the distinguishing title of mother-towns. After the original
establishment of this company had taken place, several towns became
anxious to belong to so respectable and useful a company. They were
accordingly adopted, and obtained the denomination of god-daughters.
The number of these associated places amounted to 81, and they were
generally called the Hanseatic or Anseatic towns. In the year 1372, a
treaty of alliance was entered into between Denmark and the Hans towns.
Amsterdam and other Dutch cities were included, as may be seen in a
copy of that treaty which has been preserved by Boxhoorn.
HAQUET, _Fr._ a dray; a species of waggon formerly used in the
artillery; they differed in their sizes and dimensions according to the
nature of the service.
_Military_ HARANGUES, (_harangues militaires_, _Fr._) It was usual
among the ancients for generals, &c. to harangue their soldiers
previous to an engagement. This custom, however, is too old to be
traced to its origin. Short harangues, if any are adopted, will always
prove the best; for that natural impulse by which the aggregate of
mankind are driven into acts of peril and possible destruction, is of
too subtile and too volatile a nature to bear suspence.
We find among the ancient historians various instances in which the
generals of armies have judged fit to harangue their troops. It must,
however, be acknowleged, that the greater part of these harangues
have been studiously made out by ingenious writers, and put into the
lips of the heroes they have thought proper to celebrate. Those which
contain most common sense, and are conveyed in short pithy sentences,
will always produce the best effects.
Eloquence is certainly a qualification which every general of an
army should possess; but, it is not, in our days, the most essential
requisite in his character. Cæsar was naturally endowed with a most
bewitching talent in the exercise of words; and he used it on many
occasions to considerable advantage. The manner in which he was
accustomed to address his men became so celebrated, that several
persons belonging to the army he commanded carefully selected his
_military harangues_; and, if we may believe the Chevalier Folard, the
emperor Augustus was particularly pleased and entertained in having
them read to him.
In Chevalier Folard’s opinion, those speeches which are enlivened by
expressions of humor and by occasional raillery, will always have
the most influence over the minds of common soldiers. War although
apparently dictated by the laws of nature (for war and bloodshed seem
to have been the concomitants of man from his first creation) cannot
be so far congenial to the feelings of civilized mortality, as to
mingle with sober sense and rational reflection. Consequently, those
discourses which lead the common mind to think, and which induce the
common heart to feel, are ill adapted to acts of violence and mutual
rancour. A witticism or humorous expression has sometimes the most
happy effect. The answer which Hannibal the Carthaginian made to one
of his generals, whose name was _Gisco_, produced a fortunate emotion
among the soldiers. The latter observed, _that the enemy’s great
numbers somewhat surprized him_; Hannibal, as Plutarch relates the
story, immediately said, with a sort of indignant look--_But there is
another circumstance, Gisco, which ought to surprize you much more, and
which you do not seem to know_. Gisco requested to know what it might
be. _It is_, replied Hannibal, _that in so large a multitude there
should not be one man whose name is Gisco_. This sarcastic observation
created a loud laugh among all who surrounded the general, and the
humor of the saying was instantly conveyed through the ranks.
Antigonus, according to the same authority, never adopted any other
mode of conveying his sentiments to the troops. The Lacedemonians were
even more laconic; but every thing they uttered was full of sound sense
and energy of thought. Thucydides, who was not only a good historian,
but likewise an able general, makes his heroes speak in a very emphatic
and eloquent manner. Tacitus does not appear to possess much excellence
that way; and the speeches which we find in Polybius, are copied after
what was spoken by the several generals, whom he celebrates. Titus
Livius is too ornamental and too flowery. An active and intelligent
general must be a perfect stranger to that species of oratory.
We read in Varillas, a French historian, who was born in 1624, and
wrote a history of France beginning with Louis XI. and ending with
Henry III. &c. that Zisca (or Ziska) a gentleman and soldier of
Bohemia (who was so called because he happened to lose an eye,) made a
remarkable speech to his followers. We refer our inquisitive readers to
that writer’s works for one of the most energetic, most soldier-like,
and persuasive pieces of military eloquence that perhaps is extant.
Zisca succeeded Huss, who had armed the peasantry of Bohemia to resist
the oppressions of the emperor and the Roman pontiff; and although he
lost his other eye at the siege of Rabi, his influence and courage were
so great, that he obliged the emperor Sigismund to send an embassy to
him, and to offer him the government of Bohemia. Such was his power
of persuasion, that he could not only animate his men to the most
desperate feats of valor, but likewise check them in the full career
of victory, to prevent plunder and unnecessary bloodshed. A remarkable
instance of this sort may be found in Varillas, where he relates, that
nothing but the influence which Zisca possessed over the minds of his
followers could have saved the city of Prague from utter destruction.
Several specimens of military eloquence may be found in Procopius. They
possess the happy quality of being very short, full of good sense and
strength of expression. Since the time of Henry the IVth, of France,
we find few instances in which the generals of armies have thought it
expedient to harangue their troops, unless we except the battle of
Nerva, previous to which Charles the XIIth, king of Sweden, addressed
his little army.
It frequently happens, however, that the commanding officers of corps
and of detached parties, feel it necessary to encourage their men by
short and appropriate speeches after the manner of the Lacedemonians.
At the famous battle of Tory, Henry the IVth, of France, rode down the
front of the line, and pointing to the white feather which he wore in
his hat, spoke in the following emphatic manner to his soldiers: _My
children_, (_mes enfans_) cried he, _should any mistake or irregularity
occur among the standard bearers, and your colors by any accident be
misled, recollect, that this feather will shew you where you are to
rally; you will always find it on the road to honor and victory!_
At Fleurus, general Jourdan rode along the line with this short
speech, “no retreat to-day.” At Marengo Bonaparte addressed the
soldiers, “remember we always sleep the night after victory on the
field of battle.” At Jena he told them--“There is Rosbach and a
column commemorating French defeat, we must retrieve the honor
of France, and plant a column dedicated to French glory.” Admiral
Nelson’s address before the battle of Trafalgar, merits perpetual
record,--“England expects every man to do his duty.” The English ladies
very significantly embroidered it on their garters.
HARASS, (_harceler_, _Fr._) In a military sense, signifies to annoy,
to perplex, and incessantly turmoil any body of men, to hang upon the
rear and flanks of a retreating army, or to interrupt its operations
at a siege by repeated attacks. The troops best calculated for this
duty are hussars, mounted riflemen, and light dragoons. The general
most celebrated among the ancients for this kind of warfare was
Sertorius. By means of the most subtile and ingenious manœuvres, aided
by a thorough knowlege of military tactics, he disconcerted all the
plans, and finally defeated all the attempts which were made by Pompey
and Metellus to subdue him. It has been shrewdly remarked by the
commentator on Polybius, that had there been one Sertorius within the
walls of Lisle, when that city was besieged in 1708, the whole combined
force of the allies that was brought before it would have been rendered
ineffectual. This wise and sagacious officer was constantly upon the
watch; no movement of the enemy escaped his notice; and by being
master of his designs, every measure which was attempted to be put in
execution, was thwarted in its infancy.
When he received intelligence that a convoy was on its way to the
enemy, such was his activity, that no precautions could save it from
his attack; and however seemingly advantageous a temporary position
might appear, every possible peril or surprize crouded upon his
mind, and the instant he judged it necessary to decamp, such was his
sagacity and shrewdness, that no foresight or information of the enemy
could circumvent him on his march. He was full of expedients, master
of military feints, and indefatigably active. When pursued in his
retreats, he had always the ingenuity to avoid his enemy by getting
into inaccessible places, or by disposing of his troops in such a
manner, as to render it extremely hazardous to those who might attempt
to harrass or perplex him.
HARBOR, in military architecture, a port or haven for shipping. The
making and inclosing harbors with piers, so as to resist the winds and
waves, for the preservation of ships in stormy weather, is one of the
most useful and necessary works that can be made in a trading nation;
since the security of their wealth and power depends greatly upon
it. Hence it should be the particular study of every young engineer,
who is desirous of being useful to his country, or of distinguishing
himself, to render himself master of this branch of business. The
works principally recommended to his attention are _L’Architecture
Hydraulique_, par M. Belidor; _Essai sur la Resistance des Fluides_,
par M. d’Alembert, Maclaurin, and Muller.
HARCARRAH. In India, a messenger employed to carry letters, and
otherwise entrusted with matters of consequence that require secrecy
and punctuality. They are very often Bramins, well acquainted with the
neighboring countries; they are sent to gain intelligence, and are used
as guides in the field.
HARDI, _Fr._ In French architecture, an epithet which is frequently
attached to those sorts of works that, notwithstanding their apparent
delicacy of construction, their great extent and wonderful height,
remain uninjured for a succession of years. Gothic churches are of this
description.
HARE, an old Saxon term for an army.
HARNESS, armor, or defensive furniture of war. Also the traces for
horses of draught.
HARNESS. For men in the light artillery, one set, 26 lbs. length 12
feet. Wheel harness for a pair of horses, such as was used in the
service of artillery, about 1 cwt.
HARNOIS, _Fr._ harness. This word was formerly used among the French to
signify the complete armor or equipment of a horseman, including the
cuirass, helmet, &c. The term, however is still adapted in a figurative
sense: as, _Cet ancien officier a blanchi sous le harnois_--_This old
officer has grown grey beneath his harness, or equipment_; signifying
that he has grown old in the service.
HARNOIS _du Cheval_, _Fr._ Military equipment for a horse. There are
some curious remarks on this subject in the _Reveries de Mareschal
Saxe_.
HARO, _Fr._ hue and cry.
HAROL. An indian term signifying the officer who commands the van of an
army. It sometimes means the vanguard itself.
HARPE, _Fr._ a species of draw-bridge, which was used among the
ancients, and which obtained the name of harp from its resemblance to
that instrument. This bridge, which consisted of a wooden frame, and
hung in a perpendicular direction against the turrets that were used
in those times to carry on the siege of a place, had, like the harp,
a variety of ropes attached to it, and was let down upon the wall of
a town by means of pullies. The instant it fell the soldiers left the
turret and rushed across the temporary platform upon the rampart.
HARQUEBUS, a kind of fire-arm, of the length of a musquet, usually
cocked with a wheel. It carried a ball of about 3 ounces. Not used at
present.
HARQUEBUSIER, a soldier carrying a harquebus.
HARROW, to lay waste, to ravage, or destroy.
HASTAIRES, _Fr._ soldiers armed with spears. See HASTATI.
HASP, a flat staple to catch the bolt of a lock.
HASTATI, from the Latin word _hasta_, a spear; so that they may
literally be called spearmen. A body of Roman soldiers who were more
advanced in age, and had acquired a greater reputation in arms than
the _Velites_ possessed, were distinguished by this appellation. They
wore a complete set of armor, and always carried a buckler, made
convex, measuring two feet and a half in breadth and four in length.
The longest contained about four feet nine inches, or a Roman palm.
The buckler was made of two boards glued together. These were covered,
in the first instance, with a broad piece of linen, which was again
covered over with sheep’s skin. The edges, both at top and bottom, were
fenced with iron, to enable them to meet the broad sword and sabre, and
to prevent them from rotting when planted on the ground. The convex
part was further covered over with iron plates to resist the impression
of hard blows, and to withstand the violent concussion of stones, &c.
The _hastati_ likewise wore a sword, which they carried girted to their
right thigh, and which was called the Spanish sword. This weapon was
calculated both to cut and thrust, the blade being very broad, thick,
and pointed. Each had moreover two pikes, a brass helmet, and half
boots. One of the pikes was thick, and the other of a middling size,
and they were in general either round or square. The round ones were
four fingers diameter, and the square ones contained the breadth of a
side. The small pikes were not unlike to the darts which the hastati,
or spearmen, were still obliged to carry.
The pole or staff of these pikes, whether large or small, was nearly
five cubits long. The iron which was made somewhat in the shape of a
fish-hook and was fixed to the pole, contained the same length. It
reached beyond the middle, and was so well nailed that nothing could
loosen it without at the same time breaking the pole. This iron was one
finger and a half thick, both at the bottom, and at the part where it
was joined to the wood.
The hastati or spearmen wore upon their heads a red or black plume,
consisting of three straight feathers, each measuring one cubit in
height. These, added to their other accoutrements, made them appear
uncommonly tall, and gave them a bold and formidable look. The lowest
class of hastati, or spearmen, had their chests protected by a piece
of brass, containing twelve fingers’ breadth every way. This plate was
called a _breast-plate_. All that were worth 10,000 drachmæ wore a coat
of mail, instead of a breast-plate.
Kennet, in his R. Ant. p. 190, gives a similar account of the hastati;
and adds, that the spears were afterwards laid aside as incommodious.
_Armes d’_HASTE, _Fr._ long-hafted weapons.
HASTE, _Fr._ The piece of wood or long pole to which the standard is
fixed, was formerly so called in France.
HASSEIN and HOUSSEIN, two brothers, and Mahomedan saints, whose feast
is celebrated with great pomp and much enthusiasm in Asia. This
festival is kept on the 14th of November, in commemoration of the
murder of those two brothers. The Mahomedans of Hindostan observe it
with a kind of religious madness, some acting and others bewailing
the catastrophe of their saints with so much energy, that several die
of the excesses they commit. They are likewise persuaded that whoever
falls in battle against unbelievers, during any of the days of this
ceremony, shall be instantly translated into the higher paradise,
without stopping at any of the intermediate purgatories. On these
occasions, to the enthusiasm of superstition is added the more certain
efficacy of inebriation; for the troops eat plentifully of bang, a
vegetable substance something like hemp which yields an intoxicating
juice.
HAT. Hats are no longer used by the non commissioned officers or
privates; in the European armies all the infantry wear caps of leather,
&c.
HATCHET, used in the army, a small light sort of an axe, with a bazil
edge on the left side, and a short handle, used by the men for cutting
wood to make fascines, gabions, pickets, &c.
_To take up the_ HATCHET, among the Indians to declare war, to commence
hostilities, &c.
HAUBERGEON, _Fr._ See HABERGEON.
HAUBERGIER, _Fr._ an individual who held a tenure by knight’s service,
and was subject to the feudal system, which formerly existed in France,
and by which he was obliged to accompany the lord of the manor in
that capacity whenever the latter went to war. He was called _fief de
haubert_, and had the privilege of carrying a halbert. All vassals in
ancient times served their lords-paramount as squires, haubergiers,
lance-men, bow-men, &c.
HAUBERJON, _Fr._ See HABERGEON.
HAUBERT. See HAUTBERT.
HAVERSACK, a kind of bag made of strong coarse linen, to carry bread
and provisions on a march. It is only used in the field and in
cantonments, each soldier having one.
HAVILDAR, or HAVILDAUR, a non-commissioned officer or serjeant among
the East India sepoys. He ranks next to the Jemidar.
HAVOCK, carnage, slaughter.
HAVRESAC, _Fr._ See HAVERSACK.
HAUSSE-_col_, _Fr._ an ornamental plate similar to the gorget. It is
worn by infantry officers only.
_Un_ HAUSSE-_cou_, _Fr._ a neck piece.
HAUT-LE-PIED, _Fr._ a term used to distinguish such persons as
were formerly employed in the French armies without having any
permanent appointment. _Commissaires hauts-le-pied_ were known in the
artillery during the monarchy of France. They were usually under the
quarter-master general.
_Le_ HAUT _Rhin_, _Fr._ the Upper Rhine.
_Le_ HAUTE _Saxe_, _Fr._ Upper Saxony.
HAUTBERT, _Fr._ a coat of mail, which covered the neck and arms,
formerly worn by the _seigneurs de haubert_, or lords-paramount, in
France, in lieu of the _hausse-col_, _brassarts_, and _cuissarts_.
HAUTBOY, (_hautbois_, _Fr._) a wind-instrument, now almost universally
adopted by the European armies, and which forms a part of the
regimental bands.
HAUTES-_payes_, _Fr._ were soldiers selected by the captains of
companies to attend them personally, for which service they received
something more than the common pay. _Haute-paye_ became afterwards a
term to signify the subsistence which any body of men superior to, or
distinguished from the private soldier were allowed to receive.
HAUTEUR, _Fr._ in geometry, signifies elevation.
HAUTEUR, _Fr._ in architecture, the extreme height of any building.
Thus, _un bâtiment est arrivée à hauteur_ signifies that the last
stones or bricks are laid ready for the roof to be covered in.
HAUTEUR _d’appui_, _Fr._ breast-height.
HAUTEUR _de marche_, _Fr._ The usual height which a man takes in
stepping, being about six or seven inches above ground.
HAUTEUR _d’un escadron, ou d’un battaillon_, _Fr._ the depth of a
squadron of horse, or battalion of foot. The word _hauteur_ in the
French service is equivalent to depth in the English: as--an army
consisting of many squadrons of horse and battalions of foot, one in
front of the other and forming several columns, is said to stand that
number of columns deep; the term being applicable in all services to
the army collectively or separately considered from several columns to
a mere rank and file.
HAUTS-_officers_, _Fr._ superior officers.
With respect to an army composed of several regiments, the following
fall under the description of _hauts officiers_ according to the
old French system: generals, lieutenant-generals, colonels, and
lieutenant-colonels. The _hauts-officiers_, or superior officers
in distinct corps, were majors, aid-majors, captains, lieutenants,
sub-lieutenants, and ensigns.
HAYE, _Fr._ a military disposition in which soldiers stood aside one
another on a straight line. _Se mettre en haie_, is to stand _rank
entire_. _Faire un double haie_, to stand _two deep_. _Border la haie_,
is a disposition to which infantry has recourse when attacked by
cavalry. See BORDER LA HAYE.
HAZAREE, an East Indian term signifying a commander of armed men.
HEAD, in gunnery, the fore part of the cheeks of a gun or howitz
carriage.
HEAD _of a work_, in fortification, is the front next to the enemy, and
farthest from the place; as the front of a horn-work is the distance
between the flanked angles of the demi-bastions: the head of a double
tenaille is the salient angle in the centre, and the two other sides
which form the re-entering angles. See FORT.
HEAD _of an army, or body of men_, is the front, whether drawn up in
lines, or on a march.
HEAD _of a double tenaille_, the salient angle in the centre, and the
two other sides which form the re-entering angle.
HEAD-_piece_, armor for the head; an helmet, such as the light dragoons
wear.
HEAD-_of a camp_, the ground before which the army is drawn up.
HEAD-QUARTERS, the place where the officer commanding an army or
independent body of troops takes up his residence.
HEADSTALL, that part of the bridle which goes over the horse’s head.
HEAUME, _Fr._ A word derived from the German, which formerly signified
_casque_, or helmet. The _heaume_ has been sometimes called among the
French _salade_, _armet_, and _celate_ from the Latin word which means
engraved, on account of the different figures which were represented
upon it. The _heaume_ covered the whole of the face, except the eyes,
which were protected by small iron bars laid cross-ways.
The heaume was not only worn by the chevaliers or knights when
they went to war, but also at tilts and tournaments. It serves
as an ornament or helmet in coats of arms and armorial bearings.
Various appellations have been given to this piece of armor, such as
_habillement de tête_, covering for the head, casque, helmet; and
under Francis I. it was distinguished by the name of _armet_. It does
not resemble the _morion_, the _salade_, or headpiece, the _pot_, or
_bourgignote_, burganet, which were worn only in the infantry. The
_heaume_, as we have observed above, covered the face. There was an
opening opposite to the eyes which was guarded by small iron bars, or
latice-work, and was a kind of visier. The _heaume_, or helmet, is
still preserved in heraldry, and is a distinguishing mark of nobility.
In tournaments, the helmet was presented as a prize of honor to the
most active champion, because it was the principal piece of defensive
armor; but a sword was given to the assailants, as that was an
offensive weapon.
HEBDOMADIER, _Fr._ The person whose week it is to be on duty.
HELEPOLIS, in the ancient art of war, a machine for battering down the
walls of a place besieged. The invention of it is ascribed to Demetrius
the Poliorcetes. Diodorus Siculus says, that each side of the helepolis
was 450 cubits broad, and 90 in height; that it had 9 stages or floors,
and was carried on four strong solid wheels, 8 cubits in diameter;
that it was armed with huge battering rams, and had 2 roofs capable
of supporting them; that in the lower stages there were different
sorts of engines for casting stones; and in the middle, they had large
catapulta’s for lancing arrows.
HELICOMETRY, an art which teaches how to draw or measure spiral lines
upon a plane, and shew their respective properties.
HELIOID _parabola_, is a curve arising from the supposition of the axis
of the Apollonian parabola, being bent into the periphery of a circle,
and is then a line passing through the extremities of the ordinates,
which converge toward the centre of the circle.
HELIOSCOPE, a prospect glass to view the sun. The glass is colored in
order to weaken the radiance of light.
HELIX, a spiral line.
HELM, or HELMET, an ancient defensive armor worn both in war and
tournaments. It covered both the head and face, only leaving an
aperture in the front, secured by bars, which was called the visor. The
Carians first invented the boss of shields and the crest of helmets. In
remembrance of this, a small shield and a crest were always buried with
them.
HELMET-CAP, HELMET-HAT, a cap, or hat, the crown of which is shaped
like the dragoon helmet.
HELVE, or HAFT, the wooden handle of a hatchet, hammer, or pick-axe.
_To_ HEM _in_, to surround.
HEMERODROMES, _Fr._ a French term taken from the Greek, signifying
sentries or guards, which were employed among the ancients to protect
and watch over fortified towns and places. As soon as the gates were
opened they went out, and continued to patrole round the skirts of the
town during the whole of the day. Frequently, indeed they advanced
considerably into the country, in order to discover whether any hostile
body of men was approaching in order to surprize the garrison.
HENDECAGON, a figure that has 11 sides and as many angles, each capable
of a regular bastion.
HINDOO, or HINDU, the name by which the natives of Hindustan
distinguish themselves from the inhabitants of other countries.
HEPTAGON, a figure consisting of seven sides and as many angles. If
the sides be all equal, it is called a _regular heptagon_.
HEPTAGONAL _numbers_, are a sort of polygonal numbers, wherein the
difference of the terms of the corresponding arithmetical progression
is = 5. One of the properties of these numbers is, that if they be
multiplied by 40, and 9 be added to the product, the sum is a square
number.
HEPTARCHY, a government which consisted of 7 kings or sovereign
princes. Such was the government under which England was ruled by the
Saxon kings.
HERALD, an officer at arms, whose duty is to declare war, to proclaim
peace, or to be employed in martial messages. The heralds in England
are judges and examiners of that ridiculous jargon called heraldry,
or coats of arms; they marshal all solemnities at the coronations,
and funerals of their princes, &c. The origin of heralds is extremely
ancient. It is reported that the Greek herald, Stentor, possessed such
a powerful voice that it exceeded the united clamor of fifty men.
There are three heralds called kings at arms in England, each bearing
a name peculiar to himself, and six heralds. The first king at arms
is that of Garter, created by Henry V., that of Clarencieux, created
by Edward IV. and that of Norroy, so called from the exercise of his
functions north of the river Trent.
The heralds extraordinary are those of Windsor and Chester, created by
Edward III., those of Somerset by Henry VIII. and those of York and
Lancaster, created by the children of Edward III. They are pageants and
sinecures.
HERALDS _College_, a corporation in England which consists of kings at
arms, heralds, and pursuivants, in which the nonsense of heraldry is
recorded.
HERAUT, _Fr._ herald. During the old monarchy of France there were
thirty heralds each distinguished by the name of some particular
province. The first of these who was king at arms, bore the title of
_Montjoy St. Denis_: he had the privilege of wearing a royal coronet
over the fleur de luce. On solemn occasions the king and the heralds
at arms appeared in their coats of arms made of violet colored crimson
velvet, with three golden fleurs de luces before and behind, and as
many on each sleeve where the name of the province stood, to which the
herald belonged. They wore a black velvet cap ornamented with golden
strings, and half boots, when they appeared on peaceable occasions,
with whole boots on warlike or martial ones. In solemn funerals they
had a long robe of black velvet. The only difference between the
king at arms and the heralds with respect to dress, consisted in the
richness of the embroidery, that of the former being more expensive.
The coats of arms which were peculiar to the heralds were called
_Plaques_, those of the kings at arms were distinguished by the name
of _Tunics_. They carried a stick called _Caduceus_ (such as Mercury
is represented to have borne in ancient mythology.) But this stick was
not ornamented by a crown with fleurs de luce, it was only covered with
crimson velvet, having a few fleurs de luce scattered here and there.
There was likewise a herald, whose particular functions were to carry
the king’s orders. He was entitled to a coat of arms upon violet
colored velvet, interspersed with fleurs de luce and gold embroidered
flammes or pendants, together with the arms and collars both before and
behind. He likewise wore the cross belonging to the order which was
attached to a black silk cord borne cross-ways.
The author of the Dictionnaire Militaire derives the French term
_Heraut_ from the German _Hérald_, which signifies a man at arms, _un
Gendarme_. Verstegan derives it from the Saxon. Other French writers
derive it from an old Gallic word _harou_, or _hara_, which was used
as a challenge, a notification of fresh hostilities, a ban or general
assembling of the people, a loud and public proclamation of battles
fought and victories obtained; on which account heralds, according to
Ducange, were formerly called _Clarigarvis_ as well as _Heraldus_.
HERCOTECTONIQUE, _Fr._ a term in fortification signifying that branch
of Military architecture which specifically points out the best means
of defence and the surest method of providing stores. This word is
derived from the Greek.
HEREFARE, an old term from the Saxon, signifying the same as warfare.
HEREGELD, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tax which was
formerly levied for maintaining an army.
HERESLITA, HERESILIA, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a
soldier who abandons his colors, or leaves the army without leave.
HERETEQ, HERETOQ, HERTZOG, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying
the leader of an army, a Duke, the same as _dux_ in the Latin.
HERETUM, a court in which the guards or military retinue that usually
attended the old British nobility and bishops were accustomed to parade
or draw up.
HERISSON, _Fr._ a turnpike which is made of one stout beam that is
fenced by a quantity of iron spikes, and which is fixed upon a pivot,
in the manner that turnstiles are, so that it can turn in every
direction.
HERISSON, (_foudroyant_, _Fr._) a sort of artificial firework which has
several sharp points attached to it on the outside, and is filled with
inflammable composition within. It is frequently used in breaches and
retrenchments.
HERGATE, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tribute which was
paid in ancient times to the lord of the soil, to enable him to carry
on a war.
HERO. This name was given by the ancients to those men who became
illustrious in war, and who were stiled Demi-Gods, from a general
notion, that their actions entitled them to a place in heaven
immediately after their decease.
The heroes of antiquity were divided into two classes, the one of
mortal genealogy, the other of heavenly descent, being the offspring of
some god or goddess who had connexion with the human species.
Modern authors make a distinction between a hero and a great man; the
former appellation being given to one who distinguishes himself by
feats of hardihood in military enterprize, and the latter to a person
eminent for his virtues and extraordinary talents in civil life.
HEROINE, a term generally applied to women who have given exemplary
proofs of courage and virtue.
HERRISON. See HERISSON.
HERSE, in fortification, a grated door formed by strong pieces of
wood, jointed cross-ways like a lattice or harrow, and stuck full of
iron spikes. It is usually hung by a rope and fastened to a molinett,
which is cut in case of a surprise, or when the first gate is forced
by surprise or with a petard, to the end that it may fall and stop the
passage of a gate or other entrance of a fortress.
These herses are also often laid in the roads, with the points upwards
instead of the chevaux-de-frize, to incommode the march of both
horse and foot. Common harrows are sometimes made use of in cases of
emergency, with their points upwards.
HERSILLON, a strong beam, whose sides are stuck full of spikes, which
is thrown across the breach made by an enemy to render it impassable.
HESSIAN, a substitute, a deputy, one employed to do base or dirty work
for another.
HESSIANS, troops belonging to the country of Hesse-Cassel in Germany.
They have been frequently hired by Great Britain, particularly in the
war of American independence, when they were sold at 40_l._ sterling
a head; nine pounds of which was to be repaid if they returned alive.
Hesse has been since made subject to France, forming part of the
kingdom of Westphalia.
HETMAN, _Fr._ sometimes called Atteman, a word derived from the German,
which signifies the _head-man_, the chief of a troop. The chief general
or grand general in Poland is called _Hetman Wielki_, and the second
general _Hetman Polny_.
The chief or general of the Cossacks is likewise invested with this
title by the sovereigns of Russia.
HEURTEQUINS, _Fr._ two pieces of iron resembling a knocker, which are
placed over the trunnions, or axis of a cannon.
HEXAEDRON, (_Hexaedre_, _Fr._) a solid geometrical figure, consisting
of six equal sides.
HEXAGON, a figure of 6 sides and as many angles, capable of being
fortified with 6 bastions. If the sides and angles be equal, it is
called a regular hexagon. The side of a regular hexagon inscribed in a
circle, is equal to the radius of that circle; hence a regular hexagon
is inscribed in a circle, by setting the radius of 6 times upon the
periphery: as 1 to 1.672, so is the square of the side of any regular
hexagon to the area therefore, nearly.
_Tanned_ HIDES, are always carried along with an army, especially in
the laboratory’s stores, to protect powder or shells from rain; they
are also used in batteries and in laboratories.
HIERARCHY, church government.
HIEROGLYPHICKS, (_hieroglyphes_, _Fr._) certain mysterious characters
of creatures or letters used among the Ægyptians, by which they
explained to one another the principles of their religion and their
maxims of philosophy, without divulging them to strangers. Arbitrary
signs which represent things: the signs used in almanacs for the
planets and other phenomena are hieroglyphicks.
HIGHLANDER, any person from a mountainous country.
HIGHLANDERS, the people of the north of Scotland, who wear a dress
peculiar to themselves.
HILT, the handle of a sword.
HINGES, are two iron bands, with a joint, nailed to the doors or
lockers of gun carriages to fasten them and move them backwards and
forwards.
HINGUET, _Fr._ See GINGUET.
HIPPODROME, _Fr._ a French term derived from the Greek, signifying a
spot where horses used to run, properly speaking a race-ground. The
Hippodrome or course at Constantinople was much celebrated in ancient
days. The spot still exists under that name.
HIRCARRAH, or HIRCARRA, an Indian term for a messenger, guide, footman,
or spy.
HISTORY, a narration or description of the several transactions, or
events of a state, king, or private person, in the order in which they
happened.
_Military_ History, a narrative of military transactions, campaigns,
battles, sieges, marches, &c. of an army: likewise a relation of the
heroic actions of great generals, &c.
HIVERNER, _Fr._ a sea phrase among the French signifying to winter.
HOCHEBOS, _Fr._ certain soldiers among the ancients, who were so called
from their brandishing the pike. This word has likewise been applied to
the pike itself.
HOGSHEADS, filled with earth, sand, &c. are sometimes used in lieu of
gabions, to cover men.
HOLD. See FASTNESSES.
_To_ HOLD _out_, to maintain any place, ground, &c. resolutely against
an enemy.
HOLLOW _square_, the form in which a body of foot is drawn up, with
a vacant space in the middle for the colors, drums, baggage, &c. See
SQUARE.
HOLLOW _tower_, a rounding made of the remainder of two brisures, to
join the curtain to the orillon, where the small shot are played, that
they may not be so much exposed to the view of the enemy.
HOLLOW _way_, any pass or road, both sides of which are commanded by
heights.
HOLSTERS, cases for a horseman’s pistols, affixed to the pommel of the
saddle.
_Order of the_ HOLY-GHOST, formerly the principal military order in
France, instituted by Henry III. in 1569. It consisted of 100 knights,
who were to make proof of their nobility for three descents.
HOME-SERVICE consists in military operations and arrangements for
the immediate defence of our own country, should it be threatened by
invasion, or by domestic broils or insurrections.
As there is a great affinity between the following general regulations
for home-service, and those that are generally prescribed for foreign,
we have thought it right to class the whole, including carriages,
baggage, &c. under one head.
The carriages allowed, if circumstances will permit, to be with each
regiment of infantry, of 10 companies at 80 each, are
3 Bread waggons; each to carry 4 day’s bread for 400 men, or 2400lb.
2 Ammunition caissons.
2 Battalion guns.
1 Waggon spare.
1 Cart with entrenching tools.
2 Sutler’s carts.
1 Waggon for sick; or more as may be permitted.
The carriages allowed to be with each regiment of cavalry, of 10 troops
of 76 each, are
3 Bread waggons; each to carry 4 day’s bread for 400 men, or 2400lb.
2 Ammunition caissons.
2 Sutler’s carts.
2 Forage carts.
2 Carriages for sick.
Regiments on lower establishments to be allowed carriages in proportion
to their effective strength.
The carriages of the general officers allowed with or near the column
of the army will be: for lieutenant-generals, 1 chaise and 2 carts--for
major-generals, 1 chaise and 1 cart.
The carriages of head quarters will be exceedingly limited by the
commander in chief.
All other private carriages whatever to be considered as belonging to
the heavy baggage of the army, and ordered to a great distance in the
rear, and if at any time found near the army, to be ordered to be
destroyed by the baggage-master general.
All other baggage therefore, whether tents, blankets, or necessaries
for the officers, to be carried on bat horses.
The number of horses which officers of each rank may have in common
situations in the field, to be specified by regulation. But as it
is impossible in any service that may occur, to calculate for the
carriage or use of large tents, or other conveniences which officers
are generally allowed when in the field; it is always recommended to
each officer to make his arrangements for moving in the lightest manner
possible.
The personal baggage of each officer must be contained in a small
portmanteau. One small tent is all that the officers of each company or
troop should calculate upon. To carry the above, blankets, provisions,
3 or 4 days grain and other useful necessary articles, 2 bat horses per
troop or company will be sufficient.
The bat horses of each regiment of infantry of 10 companies, at 80
each, should therefore be,
For the tents and poles of the regiment 20
For the company officers 20
Field officers and staff 4
Surgeon’s chest 1
Regiments on a lower establishment, allowed bat horses in proportion.
The bat horses of each regiment of cavalry of 10 troops of 75 each,
will therefore be,
For the tents and poles of the regiment 20
For the troop officers 20
Field officers and staff 6
Entrenching tools 2
Surgeon’s chest 1
and in proportion for regiments on a lower establishment.
The infantry to carry tents at the rate of 16 men per new tent, and the
cavalry 12 men per tent. The necessary outlying guards and detachments,
and the readiness of hutting and other cover that a woody country
affords, will make this a sufficient number. The troop and company
bat horses can therefore easily carry the tents, poles, and pins. The
blankets of the cavalry may be divided and carried under the men’s
saddles. The blankets of the infantry must be divided and carried by
the men, unless some other provision be made.
The picket ropes of the cavalry to be carried on the bat horses. Half
the usual number of pickets must be considered as sufficient, and be
carried by the men. The camp kettles will be carried by the men, if
horses are not provided for that purpose.
A reduction and critical inspection of what every soldier should carry
as his baggage should be made in time, and every thing superfluous
destined to be lodged with the heavy baggage, which should remain
in the last quarters of the regiment, till otherwise ordered to be
disposed of. Three shirts, 2 pair of shoes 2 pair of pantaloons, 2
pair of socks, a fatigue frock and cap, combs, brushes, (and a horseman
what is necessary for the care of his horse) is all a soldier ought to
carry.
The heavy baggage of the army, including every thing not mentioned
above, under a proper escort, should be ordered to some place of
security. Each regiment of infantry will be allowed to send a serjeant
and 6 men, and each regiment of cavalry 1 corporal and four dismounted
men as a guard; such men must be the least fit for marching duties, but
should be fully adequate to the service, and by no means convalescents
recovering from long indisposition. Proper officers should be ordered
to command the whole, and no part of this baggage will be allowed
to join the army but by public orders. If at any time carriages not
allowed in this regulation should be found in the army, they must be
conducted to head quarters, and there destroyed or confiscated to the
advantage of those who make the discovery.
Four battalion guns with two waggons will be attached to each regiment
of infantry. Should it be necessary, two bat horses will be allowed for
the artillery detachment.
Such artillery as remains in the park to be limited as to the number
of guns, carriages, and according to the specification given to the
commanding officer of the artillery.
The bat men allowed are two for each company and troop, also two for
the surgeon and staff of each regiment.
Each battalion to give a non-commissioned officer and 8 men; each
regiment of cavalry to give a non-commissioned officer and 6 men, as a
guard to their bat horses.
The following number of men on the several after-mentioned duties of
the regiment will never exceed
Infantry. Cavalry.
_Non-com._ _Men._ _Non-com._ _Men._
Camp color-men 2 10 2 8
Bat horse guard 1 4 1 3
Bread carriage guard 1 4 1 2
Heavy baggage 1 6 1 4
Regimental carriages 1 4 1 3
Allowed bat men 0 22 0 18
--------- ---------
6 52 6 48
--------- ---------
Each regiment of infantry will receive 20 pick-axes, 20 spades, 20
shovels, 40 bill-hooks, 10 axes, amounting in weight to about 400lb.
These tools to be carried in the cart allotted for that purpose, and
that cart at all times, and in all situations, to march at the head of
the regiment.
Each regiment of cavalry will receive 10 pick-axes, 10 spades, 10
shovels, 16 bill-hooks, and 10 axes. These tools will be carried on
horseback, and on a horse with hampers allotted for that purpose, and
will at all times march at the head of the regiment.
These tools are meant to be ready at all times for making the openings
so necessary in an embarrassed country, consequently should be kept in
the front of each regiment or column.
Spare appointments and arms of every kind must of course remain with
the heavy baggage.
The battalion guns will always march at the head of the regiment, which
ever flank leads. The ammunition waggons and carts will immediately
follow the troops of the column.
The place of march of the artillery of the park and carriages will be
specified in the order of march.
It is to be wished, that at all times each soldier be provided with 4
days bread in his haversack, and 4 days more carried in the regimental
carriages. When this is delivered out, those carriages, under the guard
of a serjeant and 4 men per battalion, and a corporal and 2 men per
regiment of cavalry, will be sent to the bakery to be again loaded.
Each infantry soldier will always carry 20 rounds in his pouch, and 40
in his knapsack or magazine. Each horseman his cartouch box full.
The cavalry will always carry 2 days grain if it can be got, and hay
according to circumstances.
_Order of March._
When a corps moves in one column, the following will in general be the
order of march, if not otherwise ordered, and exclusive of the more
particular van or rear guards.
_Advancing._
Advanced guard consisting of the picquets of the infantry and cavalry,
and new grand guard, followed by the camp-color men.
Pioneers.
1 Reg. light dragoons.
Infantry.
Cavalry.
Regimental ammunition waggons and carts.
Bat horses in the order of their regiments, artillery of the park.
General officers’ carriages, bread carriages.
Cavalry forge cart and ammunition cart.
Sutlers’ carts.
Sick carriages.
Squadron of cavalry.
Old grand guard and small out-posts and detachments which will be
ordered to join it, will form the rear guard.
_Retreating._
Advanced guard consisting of the new grand guard, guard for head
quarters, one infantry picquet, camp color-men.
Pioneers.
Sick carriages.
Sutlers’ carriages.
Cavalry forge carts and ammunition cart.
Bread carriages.
General officers’ carriages.
Artillery of the park.
Bat horses in the order of their regiments.
Regimental ammunition waggons and carts.
Cavalry.
Infantry.
1 Squadron light dragoons.
Rear guard consisting of the infantry and cavalry picquets, old grand
guard, out-posts of cavalry or infantry ordered to join.
Two or more pieces of cannon will always march with the advanced guard
when retiring.
When the tents are ordered to be struck, the advanced guard and camp
color-men will always assemble at the head of the regiment of infantry
in advancing, or of the cavalry in retiring, which leads the columns,
or of such regiment as will be specified when marching in more columns
than one. The general officers will each send a proper person with the
camp color-men, to take possession of quarters when they can be marked.
When the army marches in more than one column, the columns will
generally be composed of both cavalry and infantry; the particulars of
rear and advanced guards will be specified, the generals who command
them will be named, and the particular corps in the manner they follow
in each column. It is always the business of general officers leading
columns, to take care that every part of that column falls properly
into its place of march.
When the army marches from its left, every regiment marches from its
left; and when the army marches from its right, every regiment marches
from its right.
When the army retires, the carriages, except such artillery ones as are
specified, will in general be ordered under a proper escort to precede
the march of the army.
When the army is to march, the particular detail and disposition of
march will not always be given out in public orders. Should the only
notice given be, the army will march the ---- exactly at ---- o’clock;
an hour before the time fixed for the march, the tents must be struck;
the regiments will then form, and the baggage be loaded and ready in
the rear of each.
Guides will be sent to the head of the regiments that lead columns
and a sealed disposition of march, there to be opened by the general
or oldest field officer present. In consequence of which, by him the
advanced guard will be ordered to form; the regiments and carriages to
close in to the leading regiments, according to the order of march, and
when the whole are ready, the column, or columns, will move off in the
manner then prescribed, and at the appointed hour.
In general a rendezvous will be appointed for the bat horses and
carriages, that they may the more readily be directed into the line
of march.--One subaltern per brigade will attend the bat horses; one
subaltern per brigade will attend the carriages.
The aids-de-camp and majors of brigade will always regulate their
watches by head quarters, at orderly time, that regularity of movement
in the troops may be observed.
Commanding officers of battalions, squadrons, and brigades of
artillery, will be responsible that they are formed, tents struck, and
the baggage loaded in half an hour, from the time that the signal for
the march was given them, and for this purpose it is necessary that
they should exercise their men to it where they have opportunities.
The battalions are to march by subdivisions, and the cavalry by
subdivisions, or ranks by three’s or two’s. If the narrowness of the
route obliges them to diminish this front, they must be ordered to form
up again as soon as the route permits.
Every officer must remain with his division, and never quit it on any
account. No soldier to be permitted to leave his rank. No horses or
carriages suffered to interrupt the march of the column. The distance
between divisions never to exceed the front of divisions. Commanding
officers of brigades will take care that the battalions and squadrons
march at their proper ordered distance. When the formation in order
of battle may be expected to the flank, the divisions will march at
wheeling up distance; when the formation may be expected to the front,
the divisions will march at half or quarter distance. Officers on
command will remain with their brigades, and punctually observe the
order of march, and the execution of every article prescribed.
If a carriage breaks, it must be drawn aside, the road cleared, and
a proper escort left with it, that the march of the column be not
interrupted. If it can be repaired in time, it will follow; if not, the
loading must be divided among the nearest carriages, who are hereby
ordered to give this reasonable assistance.
The troops at most may march three miles in an hour and a quarter.
The guides serve only to shew the way for the columns; pioneers ordered
must make the necessary openings and repair the roads. But the generals
must not trust to those precautions, they must gain the most exact
knowlege of the route they are to march, and themselves reflect on the
most proper means to avoid all difficulties that may embarrass the
march.
It is always time well employed to halt the head of a column, and
enlarge an opening or repair a bad step in the road, rather than to
diminish the front and lengthen out the line of march.
No individual is ever to presume to march on a less front than what
the leader of the column directs, and all doublings therefore must
come from the head only; and the proper closeness of the march on
all occasions, is a point of the highest consequence, and it is a
most meritorious service in any officer to prevent all unnecessary
doublings, or to correct them as soon as made, and on all occasions
whatsoever, in an inclosed country, when in column, to march on
the greatest, front the roads or openings will allow, although the
regiments or divisions before them may be marching on a narrower front.
The carriages must be obliged to march two a breast when the roads will
allow, and the bat horses to be as connected, and take up as little
space as possible. In short, it should be the study and attention
of every one to contract the line of march to its just length, for
notwithstanding every possible exertion it will be much too extended.
Whenever the baggage is ordered to be sent away, all carriages whatever
are comprehended, except such as are particularly specified.
The instant that a regiment comes to its ground, it must make openings
of communication both to its front and flanks.
The line of carriages must at no time stop, whatever accident may
happen to any individual one, but such carriage must instantly be
drawn on one side, and repaired if possible, while the rest proceed.
The officers commanding the several divisions of carriages will be
answerable for the strict observance of this article, a failure of
which might stop and endanger the whole army.
Whenever the regiments encamp, or take up any extended position in
front, it will always be the business of commanding officers to find
out, and to make the most convenient passages to the great routes by
which the column is afterwards to march. And on many occasions, where
there will not be time to open and occupy an extensive front, the
army will encamp parallel to and along the great route, covered by an
advanced corps on the flank next the enemy.
At all times when commanding officers see, that there are likely to be
impediments from the nature of the ground to the movements or march
of their regiments, they should always detach officers in advance
to reconnoitre and point out the means and passages by which such
obstacles are to be avoided, and at no time are such helps so necessary
as when regiments are acting in line in broken ground, and when their
movements are combined with those of others.
Whenever the army moves, the majors of brigade are made responsible,
that all advanced and detached posts are called in at the proper times
to their places in the column of march.
It must be observed that this is the old British system of march; the
war of the French revolution has brought this part of the art of war
to a degree of perfection, which would have rendered the insertion of
this unnecessary if their system were published.
HOMME, _Fr._ a man.
HOMME _de mer_, _Fr._ a seaman.
HOMME _d’armes_, _Fr._ a military phrase among the French, signifying
a gentleman or cavalier who belonged to one of the old companies,
was armed cap-a-pied, and always fought on horseback. In ancient
times every man of this description was accompanied by two horsemen
independent of his servants. One of the mounted attendants was armed
with a cross-bow, and the other with a common bow or battle-axe; so
that one hundred _hommes d’armes_ composed a body of three hundred
horse. It was a species of cavalry which existed from the reign of
Louis XI. until the reign of Henry II. Charles VII. had begun to form
the French nobility into regular corps of cavalry, dividing them into
different troops. Out of these he established a body of fifteen hundred
_hommes d’armes_ or armed bowmen, and he gave the troops or companies
according to their sizes, to the princes and most experienced captains
in his kingdom. For particulars we refer the curious to Le Gendre and
Gaia, _Traité des armes_, L. 14, and to Fauchet, L. 2. C. 1. _de son
Traité de la milice et des armes_.
_Etre_ HOMME _de Cheval_, _Fr._ a term in French equitation,
signifying, that a man is completely master of his horse, or knows
how to manage him thoroughly and according to prescribed rules and
regulations. Thus _Il est suffisamment homme de cheval pour d’etre
point embarrassé de celui qu’il monte en commandant sa troupe_--He is
sufficiently master of his horse, or he is horseman enough, not to be
in the least embarrassed by the one he rides in exercising his troop.
HONDEAAN or HUNDYVEAAN, an Indian term signifying commission on bills
of exchange.
HONEY-_Combs_, in _cannon_, flaws in the metal, a fault in casting,
which renders it extremely dangerous in firing. The British board of
ordnance rejects all guns (on proof) having an honey-comb of ¹⁄₉th of
an inch deep, as being unfit for service.
HONI _soit qui mal y pense_, _Fr._ evil be to him that evil thinks. The
motto of the English order of the Garter.
HONNEUR, _Fr._ honor.
HONNEURS _Militaires_, _Fr._ military honors. It was directed by a
general instruction in the French service, that whenever an officer
saluted or paid a military honor to a general officer, he should make
his troop or company invariably face towards the enemy. The same
practice prevails in our service.
HONNEURS _funebres_. _Fr._ funeral honors. See BURIALS.
HONOR, in a _military sense_, is an expression, to which custom has
given different meanings. Honor consists in the constant practice of
virtue. Aristotle calls it the recompence of virtue; the testimony
of the excellence of a man who distinguishes himself by virtue. An
Italian writer calls it a state of inviolable dignity, above all
calumny, and all suspicion. Honor gives many advantages: it procures
us the consideration of the public; it advances our fortunes. The best
recompence of a brave action is, undoubtedly, the satisfaction of
having done it; but nevertheless the honor resulting to us from it is a
real good, which should be dear to us.
HONOR, in a general acceptation may be properly called a consciousness
of worth and virtue in the individual, and a lively desire to preserve
the reputation of virtue. As a term it is variously used in military
life, and frequently misunderstood by young and unexperienced officers
in their first outset. As a quality of the mind, it cannot be too much
encouraged or too much cultivated among military men of all ranks and
descriptions. The possession of it is a guarantee for good conduct, a
bond of fidelity, and a certain barrier against military corruption.
Men are excited to deeds of valor and enterprize by a sense of honor,
who would otherwise remain inactive, or only perform the mere drudgery
of service. This species of honor, is in fact, the root of that
_Esprit de corps_ which makes the whole body of an army tenacious of
reputation, and solicitous to preserve it unsullied from the colonel
down to the lowest drum boy.
This term may likewise be considered as esteem, reputation, the glory
which is attached by mankind to talents and the virtues.
_Affair of_ HONOR. We have already given a general outline of this term
under DUELLING. The propriety or impropriety, as well as the legality
or illegality of which mode of terminating human differences is thus
explained by the celebrated English lawyer John Selden. His words are
under the head _Duel_; we shall quote them under that of _affair of
honor_.
“A Duel may still be granted in some cases by the law of England, and
only there. That the church allowed it anciently appears by this, in
their public liturgies there were prayers appointed for the duellists
to say, the judge used to bid them go to such a church and pray, &c.
But whether this is lawful? If you make any war lawful, I make no doubt
but to convince you of it. War is lawful, because God is the only judge
between two, that is supreme. Now if a difference happen between two
subjects, and it cannot be decided by human testimony, why may not they
put it to God to judge between them, by the permission of the prince?
Nay, what if we should bring it down for argument’s sake, to the sword
men; one gives me the lie: it is a great disgrace to take it the law
has made no provision to give remedy for the injury, (if you can
suppose any thing an injury for which the law gives no remedy) why am
not I in this case supreme, and may therefore right myself.
“A duke ought to fight with a gentleman; the reason is this: the
gentleman will say to the duke, it is true you hold a higher place in
the state than I; there is a great difference between you and me, but
your dignity does not privilege you to do me an injury; as soon as ever
you do me an injury, you make yourself my equal; and as you are my
equal I challenge you; and in sense the duke is bound to answer him.”
In addition to what Selden has said upon duelling, we shall quote a
passage from Dr. Robertson’s History of the reign of Charles the V.
which will shew that this mode of determining private disputes is
extremely ancient.
“It is evident” observes that author, “from Velleius Paterculus, lib.
ii. c. 118, that all questions which were decided among the Romans by
legal trial, were terminated among the Germans by arms. The same thing
appears in the ancient laws and customs of the Swedes, quoted by Jo. O.
Stiernhook de jure Sueonum et Gothorum vetusto, 4to Holmiæ 1682, lib.
i. c. 7. It is probable, that when the various tribes which invaded the
empire were converted to Christianity, their ancient custom of allowing
judicial combats appeared so glaringly repugnant to the precepts of
religion, that for some time, it was abolished, and by degrees, several
circumstances which I have mentioned led them to resume it.
“It seems likewise to be probable from a law quoted by Stiernhook in
the treatise which I have mentioned, that the judicial combat was
originally permitted in order to determine points respecting the
personal character or reputation of individuals, and was afterwards
extended not only to criminal cases, but to questions concerning
property. The words of the law are ‘If any man shall say to another
these reproachful words ‘You are not a man equal to other men’ or,
‘You have not the heart of a man,’ and the other shall reply ‘I am a
man as good as you,’ let them meet on the highway. If he who first
give offence appear, and the person offended absent himself, let the
latter be deemed a worse man even than he was called; let him not be
admitted to give evidence in judgment either on man or woman, and
let him not have the privilege of making a testament. If he who gave
the offence be absent, and only the person offended appear, let him
call upon the other thrice with a loud voice, and make a mark upon
the earth, and then let him who absented himself be deemed infamous,
because he uttered words which he durst not support. If both shall
appear properly armed, and the person offended shall fall in the
combat, let a half compensation be paid for his death. But if the
person who gave the offence shall fall, let it be imputed to his own
rashness. The petulance of his tongue hath been fatal to him. Let him
lie in the field, without any compensation being demanded for his
death. Lex Uplandica ap. Stiern, p. 76. Martial people were extremely
delicate with respect to every thing that affected their reputation
as soldiers. By the laws of the Salians, if any man called another
a _hare_, or accused him of having left his shield in the field of
battle, he was ordained to pay a large fine. Leg. Sal. tit. xxxii, §
4. 6. By the law of the Lombards, if any one called another _arga_, i.
e. a good-for-nothing fellow, he might immediately challenge him to
combat. Leg. Longob. lib. i. tit. v. § i. By the law of the Salians, if
one called another _cenitus_, a term of reproach equivalent to _arga_,
he was bound to pay a very high fine, tit. xxxii. § i. Paulus Diaconus
relates the violent impression which this reproachful expression
made upon one of his countrymen, and the fatal effects with which it
was attended. De Gestis Longobard. lib. vi. c. 24. Thus the ideas
concerning the point of honor, which we are apt to consider as a modern
refinement, as well as the practice of duelling, to which it gave rise,
are derived from the notions of barbarians.” See Robertson’s History of
Charles V. pages 271, 272.
We shall not take leave of our learned author without giving two or
three instances out of his proofs and illustrations relative to the
termination of private feuds by judicial or private combat.
This mode of trial was so acceptable, that ecclesiastics,
notwithstanding the prohibitions of the church, were constrained not
only to connive at the practice, but to authorize it. A remarkable
instance of this is produced by Pasquier, Recherches, lib. iv. ch. i.
p. 350. The abbot Wittikindus considered the determination of a point
of law by combat as the best and most honorable mode of decision.
In the year 978, a judicial combat was fought in the presence of the
emperor. The archbishop Aldebert advised him to terminate a contest
which had arisen between two noblemen of his court, by this mode of
decision. The vanquished combatant, though a person of high rank, was
beheaded on the spot. Chronic. Ditmari. Episc. Mersb. chez Bouquet
Recueil des Hist. tom. x. p. 121. Questions concerning the property of
churches and monasteries were decided by combat. In the year 961, a
controversy concerning the church of St. Medard, whether it belonged
to the abbey of Beaulieu or not was terminated by judicial combat.
Bouquet Recueil des Hist. tom. ix. p. 729. ibid. p. 612, &c. The
emperor Henry I. declares that this law, authorizing the practice of
judicial combats, was enacted with consent and the applause of many
faithful bishops. Ibid. p. 231. So remarkable did the martial ideas
of those ages prevail over the genius and maxims of the canon law,
which in other instances was in the highest credit and authority with
ecclesiastics. A judicial combat was appointed in Spain by Charles V.
A. D. 1522. The combatants fought in the presence of the emperor, and
the battle was conducted with all the rites prescribed by the ancient
laws of chivalry. The whole transaction is described at great length by
Pontus Heuterus Rer. Austrica. lib. viii. C. 17. p. 205.
The last instance which occurs in the history of France, of a judicial
combat authorized by the magistrate, was the famous one between M.
Jarnac and M. de la Chaistagnerie, A. D. 1547. A trial by combat was
appointed in England, A. D. 1571, under the inspection of the judges
in the court of Common Pleas; and though it was not carried to the
same extremity with the former, queen Elizabeth having interposed her
authority, and enjoined the parties to compound the matter, yet in
order to preserve their honor, the lists were marked out, and all the
forms, previous to the combat, were observed with much ceremony. Spelm.
Gloss. Voc. _Campus_, p. 103. In the year 1631, a judicial combat
was appointed between Donald lord Rea, and David Ramsay, Esq. by the
authority of the lord high constable and earl marshal of England; but
that quarrel likewise terminated without bloodshed, being accommodated
by Charles I. Another instance occurs seven years later. Rushworth in
Observation on the Statutes, &c. p. 266.
It manifestly appears from these extracts, that in former times not
only the property of individuals was considered, but their feelings, as
men of honor, were consulted. Law, however, soon obtained the entire
ascendancy, and judicial or private combats were not only laid aside,
but were moreover strictly forbidden. The military character alone
seems to have retained a sort of tacit privilege to make appeals to
the sword, in cases where the nice sensibility of the heart breaks
through the trammels of legal disquisition, and establishes points of
honor which can only be determined by personal exposure. Thus we find
that although premeditated duels were severely punished in France,
_Rencontres_ or accidental quarrels were always overlooked, whatever
their issue might be. Frederic the Great of Prussia seems to have
set his face against duelling altogether. Yet it is singular, that
notwithstanding his severe prohibition, a Prussian officer was under
the necessity either of vindicating his wounded honor by an appeal to
the sword or pistol, or was disgraced for having suffered a personal
affront. In England the same hardship exists. Lord Kenyon declared from
the bench, that he would personally interfere as expounder of the
British laws, should any minister recommend mercy to his majesty on the
conviction of an individual who had murdered his fellow creature in a
duel. See DUEL.
_Word of_ HONOR, (_parole d’honneur_, _Fr._) A promise or engagement
that is made or entered into by word of mouth, the breach of which
entails disgrace upon the violator.
_Point of_ HONOR, (_point d’honneur_, _Fr._) A delicacy of feeling,
which is generally acquired by education, and strengthened by an
intercourse with men of strict integrity and good conduct. It is
likewise very frequently the offspring of peculiar habits, received
notions, and established etiquettes. The French familiarly say, _Ils se
sont battus pour un point d’honneur_, they fought for a point of honor;
they likewise say, _Il y va de son honneur_, his honor is at stake.
_To die upon the bed of_ HONOR, (_mourir au lit d’honneur_, _Fr._) is a
term particularly applied to military men, who die in battle fighting
in their country’s cause.
_A court of_ HONOR. Although a court of honor may be said, in some
degree, to resemble a court of inquiry, nevertheless it cannot
be strictly so; for a court of honor has not only the power of
ascertaining the degree of guilt which may be attached to misconduct,
but it can entail ignominy upon the guilty person; whereas a court of
inquiry only investigates the matter and circumstances, and determines
whether there be sufficient ground to try the accused before a general
court martial; which is the last resort of military jurisdiction, and
unites within itself all the qualities and powers of the other two
courts.
_A debt of_ HONOR, an obligation which among honorable men, especially
officers, is more binding than those engagements or contracts that are
guaranteed by law. The reason is manifest.
HONORS _by Guards, as a compliment to general officers, &c. with the
detail of officers and men they are entitled to in the English army_:
The commander in chief, if a field-marshal or captain-general, has 1
captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 ensign, 2 serjeants, 2 drummers, 2 fifers, and
50 privates, with colors.
A general of horse and foot has 1 captain, 1 subaltern, 2 serjeants, 2
drummers, 2 fifers, and 50 privates.
A lieutenant-general of horse and foot has 1 lieutenant, 1 serjeant, 1
drummer, 1 fifer, and 30 privates.
A major-general of horse and foot has 1 ensign, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer,
1 fifer, and 20 privates.
A brigadier has 1 serjeant and 12 privates.
A quarter-master general has 1 serjeant and 12 privates.
Majors of brigade encamped together, have 1 serjeant and 2 privates.
A judge advocate has 1 serjeant and 7 privates.
A provost-marshal has 1 serjeant and 18 privates.
A provost-marshal, when he has prisoners, has 1 lieutenant, 2
serjeants, 1 drummer, 1 fifer, and 48 privates.
_Military_ HONORS. A field-marshal in the British service is to be
saluted with the colors and standards of all the forces, except the
horse and foot guards, and excepting when any of the royal family shall
be present; but in case a field-marshal is colonel of any regiment, or
troop of horse or foot guards, he is to be saluted by the colors or
standards of the regiment or troop he commands.
Generals of cavalry and infantry, upon all occasions, are to have the
march beat to them, and to be saluted by all officers, those bearing
the colors excepted.
Lieutenant-generals of cavalry and infantry are, upon all occasions, to
be saluted by all officers. They are to have three ruffles given them,
with presented arms.
Major-generals are to have two ruffles with presented arms.
Brigadier-generals are to have one ruffle with presented arms.
To colonels their own quarter-guards in camp turn out, and present
their arms, once a day, after which they only turnout with ordered arms.
To majors their own guards turn out with ordered arms once a day; at
other times they stand by their arms.
When a lieutenant-colonel or major commands a regiment, their own
quarter-guards pay them the same compliment as is ordered for the
colonel.
_Honors to be paid by the cavalry._--A general of cavalry or infantry
is to be received with swords drawn, kettle drums beating, trumpets
sounding the march, and all the officers to salute, except the cornet
bearing the standard.
A lieutenant-general is to be received with swords drawn, trumpets
sounding twice the trumpet flourish, as in drawing swords, and all the
officers to salute except the cornet bearing the standard; but the
kettle drums are not to beat.
A major-general is to be received with swords drawn, one trumpet of
each squadron sounding once the trumpet flourish, as in drawing swords;
no officer to salute, nor kettle drum to beat
A brigadier-general is to be received with swords drawn; no trumpet to
sound, nor any officer to salute, nor kettle drum to beat.
All officers in the command of forts or garrisons, have a right to the
complimentary honors from the troops under their command, which are due
to the rank one degree higher than the one they actually possess.
_Manner of paying honors._--In the British service the king’s standard
or color in the guards, is never carried by any guard except that
which mounts on his majesty’s person.
The first standard, guidon, or color of regiments, which is the union
color, is not carried by any guard but that on the king, queen, prince
of Wales, or commander in chief being of the royal family; and, except
in those cases, it always remains with the regiment.
When general officers, or persons entitled to a salute, pass in the
rear of a guard, the officer is only to make his men stand shouldered,
and not to face his guard to the right about, or beat his drum.
All sentries are to pay a due respect to every officer who passes
by their posts, but are to keep their proper front while paying the
compliment.
All governors, whose commissions in the army are under the degree of
general officers, shall have, in their own garrisons, all the guards
turn out with rested arms, and beat one ruffle; and though the main
guard turns out with rested arms every time he passes, yet they give
him the compliment of the drum but once a day; but all the other guards
beat as often as he appears near them.
If they are general officers likewise, they are then to have the
further compliments paid them, by the several beatings of the drum, as
practised in the army.
_Regulation of honors to be paid to admirals._--Admirals, with their
flags on the main-top, are to have the same respect from the troops as
generals of cavalry and infantry; that is, upon all occasions to have
a march beat to them, and to be saluted by all the officers, those
bearing the colors excepted.
Vice admirals are to have the same respect as lieutenant generals of
cavalry and infantry; that is, upon all occasions be saluted by all the
officers in the garrison, the drummers beating 3 ruffles.
The rear admirals are to have the same respect as major generals, who
have two ruffles, and not to be saluted by any officer.
Commodores with broad pendants have the same respect as
brigadier-generals; which is, to have one ruffle.
_Rank and precedence between sea and land officers._--The admiral
or commander in chief of his majesty’s fleet is to rank with a
field-marshal of the army.
The admirals with their flags on the main-top mast-head, are to have
rank with generals.
Vice admirals are to have rank as lieutenant-generals.
Rear admirals are to have rank as major-generals.
Commodores with broad pendants are to have rank as brigadier-generals.
Captains commanding post ships, after three years from the date of
their first commission for a post ship, are to have rank as colonels.
All other captains commanding post ships, are to have rank as
lieutenant-colonels.
Captains of his majesty’s ships or vessels, not taking post, are to
have rank as majors.
Lieutenants of his majesty’s ships are to have rank as captains.
The rank and precedence of sea officers, in the classes
above-mentioned, are to take place according to the seniority of their
respective commissions.
Post captains commanding ships or vessels that do not give post, rank
only as majors during their commanding such vessels.
No land officer is to command on board any of his majesty’s squadrons
or ships, nor any sea officer to command on land; nor shall either have
a right to demand military honors due to their respective ranks, unless
they are upon actual service.
All guards and centinels are to pay the same compliments to the
officers of the navy, as are directed to be paid to the officers of the
army, according to their relative ranks.
The compliments above directed are to be paid by the troops, to
officers in the service of any power in alliance with the British king,
according to their respective ranks.
_Turning out of the line._ The line turns out without arms, whenever
the general commanding in chief comes along the front of the camp.
When the line turns out, the private men are to be drawn up in a line
with the colors and standards; the corporals on the right and left
of their respective companies, the picquet forms behind the colors,
accoutred, but without arms.
The officers and non-commissioned officers are to be drawn up with
their respective companies. The field officers in their proper posts in
battalion, two ensigns taking hold of the colors.
When the commander in chief comes along the line, the camp colors on
the flanks of the parade are to be struck, and planted opposite to the
bells of arms, and the drums piled up behind the colors; the halberts
are to be planted between, and on each side of the bells of arms, the
hatchets turned from the colors.
HONORS _of war_, in one sense are stipulated terms which are granted
to a vanquished enemy, and by which he is permitted to march out of a
town, from a camp or line of entrenchments, with all the insignia of
military etiquette. In another sense they signify the compliments which
are paid to great personages, military characters, &c. when they appear
before any armed body of men; or such as are given to the remains of a
deceased officer. The particular circumstances attending the latter are
well known, and depend greatly upon the usages of different countries;
those which regard our own service may be seen under _Burials_.
With respect to the former we think it necessary to observe, that it
is extremely difficult, and much beyond the limits of this work, to
describe them specifically; as much, indeed almost every thing, depends
upon the disposition of the general who grants the capitulation. In
some instances, the troops of a besieged garrison are permitted to
march out with drums beating, colors flying, &c. others are only
allowed to advance silently in front of their works, ground or
pile their arms, face to the right and return within their line of
entrenchments. Others again (as was the case with earl Cornwallis,
at York Town, in Virginia) are permitted to march out, with drums
beating, to a given spot, there pile their arms, face to the right
about, and march back to their works. In the instance quoted, the
officers retained their side arms and baggage, with such horses as they
had lawfully obtained by purchase, &c. A sloop of war was allowed to
proceed to New York with dispatches from the British general to sir
Henry Clinton, who was commander in chief of the forces acting against
America: which vessel passed and repassed without being searched. This
indulgence proved extremely fortunate to a small number of American
refugees, who were peaceably transported into the British lines,
instead of being sacrificed to the just fury of their countrymen in
arms.
When the town of Valenciennes surrendered to the coalition army, the
garrison under the orders of general Ferrand was permitted to march
out by the gate of Cambray with the honors of war. It was, however,
specifically stated, that the troops should lay down their arms at a
named spot, viz. at a house called _le Briquet_, where they were to
leave their colors and field-pieces without damaging them in the least.
They were likewise directed to leave their troop horses, artillery,
provisions, and other military effects. Those belonging to the officers
were restored to them, with their swords. It was further agreed, that
the garrison should march out on the 1st of August, in the manner
mentioned; and as the troops were prisoners of war, their route to
return into France was to be communicated to them 24 hours previous
to their departure, in order to receive their parole of honor. The
officers and soldiers engaged not to serve during the whole course of
the present war against the armies of his majesty the emperor, and of
his allies, without having been exchanged conformably to the cartels,
under pain of military punishment.
General Ferrand had demanded that the garrison should march out from
the place on the 6th day after the signature of the capitulation, to
repair to such part of the French republic as he should judge proper,
with arms and baggage, horses, drums beating, matches lighted at both
ends, colors flying, and with all the cannon they could carry away.
These articles were refused by the duke of York; and on the 28th of
July, 1793, Valenciennes surrendered to the British arms, in trust for
the emperor of Germany.
As soon as the capitulation was signed, hostages were sent into the
town, namely, a colonel, a major, and a captain, who were exchanged
against officers of an equal rank of the garrison; which hostages
were restored immediately after the execution of the articles of
capitulation.
When Mantua surrendered to Bonaparte, the veteran general Wurmser, in
consideration of his brave defence of the place, was allowed to leave
the place with all the honors of war.
Several emigrants on this occasion, escaped in the covered waggons.
When Saragossa was taken by marshal Lannes in 1809, it was refused the
honors of a capitulation, but ordered to surrender peremptorily at a
given hour on several points, which was obeyed.
HONORABLE, noble, high spirited, full of rectitude, and beyond the
least approach of meanness or corruption. This term is frequently
attached to surnames from false and vain courtesy.
HOOKS. Pieces of bent iron fixed to the transom plates of a
field-carriage are so called. They serve to fix the bricoles or ropes
for drawing it occasionally backwards or forwards.
HOOKS _and_ EYES. It is directed in all well-disciplined corps, that
every officer, non-commissioned officer, and soldier, when regimentally
dressed, should have the uniform coat hooked across the chest. This
regulation has, in some degree, been dispensed with during the winter
months, as far as it regards the officers who have been permitted to
button their coats. In some corps the indulgence is rendered nugatory,
as the facings are sewed to the coat. The dressing of a line is
certainly rendered more perfect by the use of the hooks and eyes, as
they prevent any intermediate obstacle along the line of sight. This
nicety is indispensible in parade business, and the propriety of some
general rule being established is manifest, since every soldier knows,
that the slightest deviation from the laudable system of uniformity
almost always leads to gross neglect.
HOOKUM, an Indian word, signifying order or command.
HOOKUMNAUMEH, in India, signifies a letter of instructions, or the
paper that contains orders.
HOOP _of iron_, a circular iron band. Several sorts of hoops are used
in the construction of artillery carriages, as nave and axle tree
hoops, &c.
HOPITAL, _Fr._ hospital. During the old French government, there
existed 80 military hospitals under the immediate sanction of the
king. These hospitals were subject to the war-minister, from whom
they received instructions, and they were all originally built for
the benefit of sick and disabled soldiers. The chief appointments in
each hospital consisted of a comptroller of accounts, a physician, a
surgeon major, and a contractor, whose sole duty was to provide for
the wants and necessities of the invalid troops. These were permanent
establishments. In time of war, every army had a certain number of
hospitals attached to its component parts. There were likewise other
hospitals, which were under the care of the intendant of each province.
They chiefly consisted in those erected on the frontier and in garrison
towns.
HOPITAL _sur mer_, _Fr._ hospital-ship. A particular vessel, which is
always attached to a naval armament, and is provided with the necessary
accommodations for the sick and wounded belonging to the ships of war.
The same precautions (indeed greater if possible) are indispensably
necessary to prevent the dreadful consequences of contagion, that are
directed to be observed in the fumigation, &c. of transports. During
the old government of France, hospital-ships were of a particular
construction. Independently of the equipage, tackle, &c. belonging to
every other navigable ship, these vessels were directed to have their
decks extremely high, to have large port-holes, and to have the space
between the decks constantly clear, so that the cots and bedding of the
sick might be conveniently placed, and a constant circulation of free
air be preserved.
HOPLITAI, foot soldiers among the Greeks, who bore heavy armor, and
engaged with broad shields and long spears. These took precedence of
all other foot soldiers.--Potter’s Greek Ant. vol. ii. c. 3.
HOQUETON, _Fr._ a sort of garment, which was worn during the old
government of France by gentlemen belonging to the king’s body guard,
who were called _gardes de la manche_. It sometimes signifies a
serjeant; but the term is obsolete.
HORD, (_horde_, _Fr._) a crowd or assemblage of people, who have not
any fixed or certain habitation. The term was originally applied to
a body of Tartars, who followed a roving life, encamped in different
countries, and chiefly lived with their flocks.
HORION, _Fr._ a term which formerly signified a helmet, and which in
the vulgar acceptation of it now, among the French, means a blow upon
the head.
HORIZONTAL, parallel to the horizon; on a level.
HORIZONTAL _superficies_, the plain field lying upon a level, without
any rising or falling.
HORIZONTAL _plane_, that which is parallel to the horizon of the place.
In levelling, the chief object to be considered is, whether two points
be in the horizontal plane; or whether they deviate; and in what
degree?
HORIZONTAL _range_, or _level range of a piece of ordnance_, is the
line it describes, when directed parallel to the horizon.
The following useful theorems come from the pen of the ingenious Dr.
Halley:
1. A shot being made on an inclined plane, having the horizontal
distance of the object it strikes with the elevation of the piece,
and the angle at the gun between the object and the perpendicular, to
find the greatest horizontal range of that piece loaded with the same
charge of powder, that is, half the latus rectum of all the parabolas
made with the same impetus.--Take half the angle contained between
the object and the nadir, and the difference of the given angle of
elevation from that half; subtract the versed sine of that difference
from the versed sine of the angle made by the object and zenith. The
difference of those versed sines will be to the sine of the angle last
mentioned, as the horizontal distance of the object struck to the
greatest range at 45 degrees.
2. Having the horizontal range of a gun, the horizontal distance and
angle of inclination of an object to the perpendicular, to find the
two elevations necessary to strike that object.--Take half the angle
contained between the object and nadir; this half is equal to half the
sum of the two angles of elevation sought. Then say, as the horizontal
range is to the horizontal distance of the object, so is the sine of
the angle of inclination to a fourth proportional; which fourth, being
subtracted from the versed sine of the angle formed by the object and
zenith, leaves the versed sine of half the difference of the angles of
elevation, whose half sum was before obtained; therefore, by adding and
subtracting half the difference of the angles of elevation to and from
the said half sum the elevations themselves will be found.
HORN. See BUGLE _horn_.
HORN-_work_. See FORTIFICATION.
HORS _de Combat_, a French military phrase, signifying that an
individual or body of men, are so completely beat by superior skill,
&c. as not to be able to maintain the field of battle; thus a wounded
man is _hors de combat_.
_Mettre_ HORS _de Combat_, to drive your opponent before you; to press
him so closely that he cannot make a stand against you--To put him out
of the lists of contest.
HORS _de portée_, _Fr._ (in fencing,) out of distance.
HORS _de mesure_, _Fr._ (in fencing,) out of measure.
HORSE, in a military sense, a body of horse. See CAVALRY.
ASSOCIATED HORSE--a body of cavalry so called in the days of Cromwell.
At the famous battle of Nasbie (fought on the 14th of June, 1645) which
decided the fate of Charles the First, the associated horse were posted
in the rear of the right wing of the Republican army, and formed part
of the reserve--There were troops of the association stationed in the
rear of the left. Oliver Cromwell commanded the cavalry on the right of
the whole, and the associated horse were under his immediate orders.
HORSE _near-side protect_, a guard used in the cavalry sword exercise.
See SWORD _Exercise_.
HORSE _off-side protect_. See SWORD _Exercise_.
HORSES--An allowance of 3 feet is generally made for the breadth of
each horse standing at picket; and about 9 feet for the length of a
horse.
A light dragoon horse, mounted and accoutred complete, carries about 2
cwt. 1 qr. and 14 lbs. without forage.
Horses in the service of artillery should not be made to draw above 3
cwt. each, besides the weight of the carriage.
Horses for this service should never be lower than 14³⁄₄ hands. The
contractor is obliged to furnish them of this height for government.--A
horse is generally supposed equal to five men.
Military horses _walk_ about 400 yards in 4¹⁄₂ minutes.
_Trot_ the same distance in 2 minutes 3 seconds, and _gallop_ it in
about 1 minute.
With great burthens, less weight must be allowed for each horse to
draw, than with medium burthens; as it cannot be supposed that, of a
team of 8 horses, the leaders can draw so much as the horses nearer the
carriage; and this disadvantage must increase as the team lengthens. A
team of
4 horses may draw 6 cwt. each. Tot. 24 cwt.
6 Do. 5 do. do. 30 do.
8 Do. 4¹⁄₂ do. do. 36 do.
12 Do. 4 do. do. 48 do.
including the carriages. See also the word _Load_.
It is usual in heavy carriages to reckon all their weight exceeding 12
cwt. as part of the load.
_Horses allowed for drawing Field Artillery Carriages._
All the horse artillery carriages are drawn by 4 horses each, except
12 prs. which have 6 each. _Park Carriages._--12 pr. medium, and 6 pr.
heavy, 6 horses each--6 pr. light, and 5¹⁄₂ howitzer, upon the new
construction, are allowed each 4 horses, but upon the old only 3 each.
Ammunition waggon, com. pat. 3 horses.
Do. -- Flanders pat. 4 do.
Forge cart, 2 horses.--Am. cart, 2 do.
HORSES _falsely mustered_ are by the 27th section of the British mutiny
act to be forfeited, if belonging to the person who lent them for
that purpose, if not, the person lending them to forfeit 20_l._ When
officers belonging to the cavalry regiments purchase horses for public
service, they are to make the best bargain they can for government, and
to account for every saving which has been made, within a limited sum.
HORSE, a wooden machine, which soldiers ride by way of punishment. See
CHEVAL DE BOIS.
HORSE. See PORTCULLIS.
HORSEMAN. See CAVALRY.
HORSE SHOE. See FORTIFICATION.
HOSE, breeches or stockings. It is generally taken in the latter sense
when mentioned as part of a soldier’s necessaries.
_Over_-HOSE, mens breeches and stockings together, or leggings.
Dragoons generally wear them when they appear in their watering dresses.
HOSPITAL, a place appointed for the sick and wounded men, provided with
physicians, surgeons, nurses, servants, medicines, beds, &c.
HOSPITALS _with military superintendants_--There are four British
general hospitals of this description, viz. at Plymouth, Deal, Gosport,
and Portsmouth, and Chelsea.
The surgeons at Portsmouth and Deal have not any rank attached to the
situation, but they receive five shillings per-day extra allowance in
addition to their nett pay of ten shillings. At Plymouth a physician
has charge of the hospital; he receives twenty shillings per day, but
has no extra allowance. York hospital at Chelsea is attended by an
assistant surgeon, being under the immediate direction of the surgeon
general.
The military superintendants have five shillings over and above their
nett pay, according to the rank they hold in the army.
At Gosport the military superintendant has one guinea allowed per week
for lodging money, together with coals, candles, &c.
A fifth military superintendant was appointed in 1800 to take charge of
the temporary hospital at Colchester.
The cause of humanity has lately been espoused by the belligerent
powers of Europe in a manner which reflects credit on the enlightened
age we live in. The following two articles which have been agreed
upon between the Austrians and the French are illustrative of our
observations.
Hospitals ought to be considered as inviolable.
Art. 1. The military hospitals shall be considered as so many
inviolable asyla, where valor shall be respected, shall be assisted,
and shall be free, whatever the army may be to which these hospitals
belong, and upon whatever ground they may be established.
Art. 2. These hospitals shall be marked out by writings placed on the
adjacent roads, in order that the troops may not approach, and that
in passing they may observe silence and cease beating the drums, or
sounding the trumpets.
_Camp_-HOSPITALS are either general or regimental. The general
hospitals are of two kinds, viz.
_Flying_-HOSPITAL, _Stationary_ HOSPITAL. The first attends the camp at
some convenient distance, and the latter is fixed at one place. In the
choice of both Dr. Pringle thinks it better to have them in towns than
villages, as the former will afford larger wards, besides more of other
conveniencies. These wards should be as airy as possible.
_Regimental_-HOSPITALS, are frequently in barns, stables, granaries,
and other outhouses; but above all, churches make the best hospitals
from the beginning of June to October; these hospitals are solely for
the use of the regiments they belong to.
Every regiment on the British establishment has an hospital for the
reception of the sick belonging to it. This hospital is under the
immediate care of the regimental surgeon, who is subordinate to the
general medical board.
Officers commanding brigades are enjoined frequently to visit the
hospitals of the regiments composing their brigades, and minutely to
investigate the economy and order therein established; to enquire into
the state of the patients, their diet, and attendance of every kind,
and to enforce the strictest observance of the hospital regulations.
These attentions are required still more in detail, from commanding
officers of regiments, who from personal observation have opportunities
of checking every abuse, and whose duty it is to extend to the
hospitals the same system of order, regularity, and discipline, which
should prevail in their regiments.
The captain and subaltern of the day of each regiment are to visit the
hospital at different and uncertain hours, to observe the cleanliness
of the wards, the regularity of messing and the appearance of the men,
who while they are in the hospital, are by no means to be permitted to
contract habits of slovenliness in their dress, but are expected to
appear perfectly clean in every particular.
Every species of gaming is strictly forbidden. Any patient convicted of
swearing, disorderly behaviour, insolent and provoking conduct towards
the attendants, or of any deviation from the hospital regulations, will
be severely punished.
The captain of the day is to report any irregularities, he may observe,
to the commanding officer of the regiment.
The surgeon is to make a daily report of the sick to the commanding
officer, who will make a weekly report to the officer commanding the
brigade, who will make a general report of the sick of his brigade once
a week to head quarters.
Regimental hospitals are under the immediate direction of their
respective surgeons, subject to the general instructions and
superintendance of the inspector of regimental hospitals, or other
professional persons, having authority for that purpose, from the
war department, or the commander in chief. It is the duty of the
inspector of regimental hospitals, and of such other officers of
the medical staff as shall be ordered for that purpose to visit
regimental hospitals from time to time; to observe whether the hospital
regulations are strictly adhered to, to enquire whether any causes
of complaint exist among the patients, and to submit to the generals
commanding in districts, such local observations as he conceives may
tend to the benefit of the sick.
When a regiment is stationed in a barrack, where no detached building
is appropriated for the hospital, or in camp and cantonments, it is the
business of the surgeon to procure an airy, and commodious hospital,
taking particular care, that it is amply supplied with wholesome water.
In camp, a tent will be allowed, which must be pitched upon the best
dry piece of ground in the vicinity of the regimental hospital, to
which it is granted as an aid, but must not, except in cases of
absolute necessity, be itself considered as the hospital.
The responsibility for the order, regularity, and cleanliness of the
regimental hospital, for the diet and care of the patients, and for the
general conduct and economy of the whole establishment, rests entirely
with the surgeon; but commanding officers are enjoined to furnish
such military assistance, as may be necessary for the attainment of
those objects, and all non-commissioned officers and others placed in
the hospital, in aid of the surgeon, are commanded to yield the most
implicit obedience to the instructions they may receive from him,
and to enforce in every instance, the most minute observance of the
hospital regulations, which are to be fairly written, and fixt on a
board in the most conspicuous part of the entrance of the regimental
hospital.
The surgeon should be consulted in the selection of the serjeant to be
appointed to assist him in the hospital; and it will tend materially to
the benefit of the sick, that this non-commissioned officer, and the
orderly men acting in the hospital, should be considered as being in
a permanent situation, and not liable to be removed except in case of
misdemeanor.
A guard is to be constantly furnished to the hospital, and the surgeon
must signify to the commanding officer of the regiment, the particular
orders which he wishes to be given to the non-commissioned officer
commanding it, and to the sentries.
When a soldier comes into the hospital, his arms and accoutrements are
to be taken in charge by the non-commissioned officer attending the
hospital, but his ammunition is to be left with his troop or company,
and is in no instance to be taken with him to the hospital.
Regimental surgeons are enjoined to take under their care any
non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other regiments, (upon
the commanding officer’s authority for so doing being obtained) who
from the absence of the corps to which they belong, from there being
no general hospital in the neighborhood, or from other unavoidable
circumstances, are under the necessity of applying to them for relief
and assistance.
It cannot be superfluous to remark in this place, that in the
French service there was, and we believe there still is, a specific
regulation, which directs, that all soldiers who have contracted a
venereal disorder should be received into one of the public hospitals,
without exception or distinction. They are attended to in a particular
quarter or ward without expence to themselves or to their corps.
Particular care is taken not to mix their linen or clothes with
others, and they are always washed apart. No soldier, whose disorder
has been pronounced incurable was or is received into any of the
public hospitals. The physician or surgeon only gives the incurables a
certificate of their state and condition.
It is very desirable that in every regimental hospital, there should
be an apartment appropriated to convalescents, whose diet and mode
of living must remain under the direction of the surgeon, and
who must themselves be in every respect, subject to the hospital
regulations. A trusty non-commissioned officer must be appointed to the
superintendance of the messing, and conduct of this particular ward.
Convalescents, on coming out of the hospital are not to be put on
duty, till the surgeon certifies to the adjutant, that they are
perfectly recovered; for which purpose the surgeon, or assistant
surgeon, must make a particular inspection of these men, at morning
parade, to prevent any remaining longer exempted from duty, than the
state of their health renders absolutely necessary. On a march, when
circumstances will permit, the packs of such convalescents, as have
not yet received certificates of their being fit for duty, should be
carried for them.
Convalescents, when discharged from the hospitals should not be put
immediately on public duties, but should be employed for a certain
time, on regimental guards only, where they are not liable to be so
much exposed to the weather, or to fatigue.
It is most positively ordered that the surgeon or assistant surgeon
shall attend all parades and field days. No punishment is to be
inflicted, but in the presence of the surgeon or assistant surgeon.
In cantonments and barracks the quarters of the surgeon must be near
the hospital; and the assistant surgeon’s tent must be pitched in its
vicinity when a regiment is in camp.
The instructions for the economy and management of regimental
hospitals, are framed by the war office.
_Chelsea_ HOSPITAL. See CHELSEA.
_Greenwich_ HOSPITAL. A magnificent building originally instituted by
king Charles II. for decayed seamen and mariners. It stands upon the
banks of the river Thames, has a delightful park annexed to it, with an
astronomical observatory. It is situated five miles east of London, in
the county of Kent.
HOSPITAL-_mate_, in recruiting districts. An hospital mate should be
placed under the orders of each field officer, to examine the recruits
when brought for inspection, and to give such medical assistance as may
be in his power, to the several recruiting parties in the district he
belongs to. The actual disbursements of the said mate for medicines,
when not supplied from the public stores, will be reimbursed to him by
the district military agent upon a certified account thereof, vouched
by the approving signature of the inspector of the district.
HOSPITAL-_fever_, a name given to the malignant catarrhal fever, as
being the most frequent in hospitals.
HOSPODAR, a dignitary title which is given to the prince of Walachia,
who is tributary to the Grand Seignor, and from whom he receives the
investure.
HOST, an army; any large body of men assembled together in arms.
HOSTAGE, in the art of war, a person given up to an enemy, as a
security for the performance of the articles of a treaty. When two
enemies enter into a treaty or capitulation, it is common for them
mutually to give hostages as a security for their reciprocally
performing the engagement they have entered into. An hostage becomes
either an accessary, or principal according to the state of things.
Thus, for example, he is accessary when a prince promises fidelity
to another prince, and gives either his son or some great lord, as a
security for his performance, without any further capitulation; for
then these hostages are only an additional engagement of the prince;
and if he violates his word, they are not in any manner responsible.
An hostage becomes a principal when it is stipulated that he shall be
answerable for the event of things. For instance, if a city promise
to surrender within a certain time, in case it is not succoured, and,
for the security of this article, give hostages (which are in the same
nature as bail given to a creditor to secure a debt); so that if the
succour arrives in time, the promise becomes void, and the hostages are
discharged; but if the succours do not arrive, and the city is guilty
of a breach of faith by refusing to surrender, then the hostages become
principal, and may be punished for a breach of faith.
HOSTILE, inimical; suitable to an enemy.
HOSTILITES, _Fr._ See HOSTILITIES.
HOSTILITIES, in a military sense, may imply a rupture between the
inhabitants of the same country, town, or place, and the first outrage
that is committed by either party, as in general matters of warfare,
is considered to be the first commencement of hostilities. Between
nations, the first act of hostility is taken as a declaration of war.
There are, however, certain established laws and regulations by which
acts of hostility formerly were governed; without the intervention of
these restrictions, war is conducted upon the most brutal and ferocious
principles. Every wise and good general will exert his influence and
authority to soften the fury of his victorious men, let the contest be
ever so obstinate and bloody. Self-preservation, indeed, suggests this
natural precaution; for if soldiers were permitted to ill-treat their
prisoners, the sanguinary system of retaliation must prevail.
HOSTILITY, denotes a state of war or enmity between two nations. During
a truce all acts of hostility are to cease on both sides.
HOSTING. An obsolete term, formerly signifying the mustering of men in
arms.
HOTEL _des invalides_, _Fr._ a spacious building which was erected
by Louis XIV. in Paris, at the extremity of the Fauxbourgh, St.
Germain, upon the river Seine, as a public monument of his charity and
magnificence. All disabled, infirm, and wounded officers and soldiers
were received, lodged, and subsisted, during the remainder of their
lives within its walls. The established number upon the foundation was
4000, including officers and soldiers. All exceeding that number, and
who were less incapable of bearing arms, were distributed among the
different garrison towns upon the frontiers of the kingdom, in detached
and separate companies.
During the old government of France, a particular staff was appointed
to superintend the duty at the _Invalides_, and a guard was regularly
mounted every morning. Officers and soldiers, entitled to this charity,
were first received in 1670. M. de Louvois, minister and secretary at
war, was the first director and administrator general, and M. Dormoy
was the first governor commandant.
The staff consisted of one director and administrator general, one
governor commandant, one _lieutenant du Roi_, one major, two adjutants,
one _garcon major_, one director and superintendant of the hospital,
and one inspector and comptroller general, who did the duty of
commissary at the different inspections.
No person could be admitted into the royal hospital of invalids unless
he had served twenty years successively and without interruption,
or had been dangerously wounded in the service of his country. The
necessary certificates were signed by the commanding officers and
majors of regiments, which were afterwards examined by the directors or
inspectors.
No officer was received with the rank of officer, unless he had served
two years in that capacity, and had been dangerously wounded, or was
otherwise rendered incapable of doing duty.
The persons belonging to the _Hotel des-Invalides_ were divided into
three classes:
The first class was composed of officers belonging to the king’s
troops, to the body-guards, gens d’armes, light-horsemen, musqueteers,
serjeants of companies in the horse grenadiers, after having served
five years in that capacity; of serjeants of the French and Swiss
guards, after ten years service in that capacity; of officers attached
to the constable’s jurisdiction, exempts and maréchaussés, after having
been ten years with the rank of officers; and of gens d’armes and light
horsemen belonging to established companies; of quarter-masters from
cavalry and dragoon corps, and of infantry serjeants, who bore the
brevet rank of lieutenant, after having served five years in the last
capacity.
The second class was composed of gens d’armes, light horsemen belonging
to established companies, quarter-masters belonging to cavalry and
dragoon corps, and of serjeants from the infantry, after having
served ten years in that capacity; of those likewise who, having
left the cavalry to enter into the body-guards, had again returned
to the cavalry. Within this class were also comprehended the _gardes
magasins_, the captains and conductors of artillery, after thirty years
service, ten of which were to be in the last mentioned capacities. All
belonging to this class wore an uniform distinguished from the dress of
the soldier, and were permitted to wear a sword. They received at the
commencement of every month 15 sols, or 7¹⁄₂d. English, for ordinary
expences; they were lodged in a particular quarter of the building,
which was allotted to their use; they had a separate room to mess in;
and they were fed like the common soldier, with this only exception,
that each of them was allowed every morning a _demi-septier_, or an
English pint, of wine. Those belonging to established garrisons in
forts or citadels composed companies which were called _compagnies de
bas-officiers_, companies of non-commissioned officers.
The third class was composed of private soldiers, heavy horsemen,
and dragoons archers attached to the constable’s jurisdiction and
marèchaussées, or patroles belonging to the police, masters or common
workmen and artillery drivers.
HOTTE, _Fr._ a sort of hand-basket, which is often made use of in the
construction of batteries and other works, and serves to carry earth
from one part to another. Hence the word _hod_ a well known machine for
carrying bricks.
HOTTENTOTS, the Aborigines, or native inhabitants of our present
settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.
HOULLIER, _Fr._ an obsolete French term, which meant what is now
expressed by _Picoreur des armées_, or a free-booter.
HOUN, a gold coin of the Mysore country, value about four rupees, or
two dollars.
HOURDEYS, _Fr._ an old French term which signified, first, hurdles with
which the tops of the walls belonging to a fortified town were covered,
in order to shield them against the concussion of warlike machines;
and secondly, a machine formerly used, which was called in Latin
_hordacium_.
HOUSEHOLD _troops_. The Life-Guards, Royal Regiment of Horse-Guards,
and the three regiments of Foot-Guards are so stiled. It is a
ridiculous privilege of these regiments, in the British service, that
no officer of the line, fencibles or militia, can sit upon a court
martial which may be assembled for the trial of any person belonging to
them.
HOUSING, or _saddle_-HOUSING, cloth, skin, or other ornaments added to
saddles, by way of distinction; frequently embroidered with gold or
silver, or edged with gold or silver lace.
HOUSS. See HOUSING.
HOWITZ, a kind of mortar, mounted upon a field-carriage like a gun: the
difference between a mortar and a howitz is, that the trunnions of the
first are at the end, and of the other in the middle. The invention
of howitzes is of much later date than mortars, as from them they had
their origin.
The constructions of howitzes are as various and uncertain as those
of mortars, excepting the chambers, which are all cylindric. They are
distinguished by the diameter of the bore; for instance, a 10 inch
howitz is that, the diameter of which is 10 inches; and so of the
larger or smaller ones.
Howitz _battery_ is made the same as a gun battery, only the embrasures
are made at least a foot wider, on account of the shortness of the
howitz. See BATTERY.
_Field_ HOWITZER. The modern French use 6-inch howitzers in the field,
which can throw a grenade at 6 degrees elevation, to a distance of 600
toises. The 6-inch howitzer can likewise throw to a smaller distance, a
cartridge with 61 balls, of seventeen lines diameter. In both instances
the effects are extremely fatal. The cavalry, in particular, can be
annoyed by the former, in so galling a manner, as to be rendered almost
useless.
These howitz are used very numerously by the light or horse artillery;
for which their form and weight admirably fit them.
HOWITZERS.--_Dimensions and weight of brass Howitzers._
+-----------+---------+--------------+-------+
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | Length|
| | | | of |
| Kind. | Length. | Weight. | bore. |
+-----------+---------+--------------+-------+
|Inch. diam.|Ft. Inch.|cwt. qrs. lbs.|Inches.|
|10 | 3 11¹⁄₂| 25 3 14 | 29.9 |
| 8 | 3 1 | 12 3 12 | 24.7 |
| 5¹⁄₂ Heavy| | 10 0 0 | |
| 5¹⁄₂ Light| 2 2³⁄₄| 4 0 2 | 18.47 |
| 4²⁄₅ | 1 10 | 3 0 13 | 15.21 |
+-----------+---------+--------------+-------+
+-----------+--------------------------------+
| | Chamber. |
| +-------+---------------+--------+
| | | | Powder |
| | | Diameter. | con- |
| | +-------+-------+ tained |
| Kind. |Length.|at top.|bottom.| in. |
+-----------+-------+-------+-------+--------+
|Inch. diam.|Inches.|Inches.|Inches.|lbs. oz.|
|10 | 12.6 | 5.776| 4.12 | 7 0 |
| 8 | 8.61 | 4.6 | 3.40 | 3 8 |
| 5¹⁄₂ Heavy| | | | 3 0 |
| 5¹⁄₂ Light| 6.02 | 3.2 | 2.45 | 1 0 |
| 4²⁄₅ | 4.52 | 2.73 | 2.24 | 0 8 |
+-----------+-------+-------+-------+--------+
_French Howitzers, in their own old weights and measures._
Ft. In. lbs. lbs. oz.
8 inches}diameter.| }length.|1110}weight.| 1 12}charge.
6 inches} | 2 3} | 670} | 1 12}full.
_Table containing the kinds of Howitzers used by different powers in
Europe._
+---------+------------------+-------+
|Nations. | Kinds. |Shells.|
+---------+------------------+-------+
| | | Wt. |
| {|25 Pr.[11] |62 lbs.|
|Prussian{|10 -- |27 |
| {| 7 -- |14 |
|Danish { |18 -- |36 |
| { |10 -- |20 |
|Saxon {|16 -- |32 |
| {| 8 -- |16 |
|Hanover{ |30 -- |61 |
| { |16 -- |33 |
| {|4²⁄₅ inch or 4 Pr.| 8 lb. |
|English {|5¹⁄₂ inch or 8 Pr.|16 |
| {|8 inch or 23 Pr. |46 |
|French { |6 inch or 12 Pr. |23 |
| { |8 inch or 22 Pr. |43 |
+---------+------------------+-------+
[11] See the word SHELL for the principle on which the Germans class
them in pounders.
_Ranges with a light 5¹⁄₂ inch Howitzer. 1798._
+-----+---------------------+---------------------+
| | 4 Ounces. | 8 Ounces. |
| +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| | | Range| | |Range | |
| Ele-| | to | Ex- | | to | Ex- |
| va- | | first| treme| |first | treme|
|tion.|Flight.|graze.|range.|Flight.|graze.|range.|
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| Deg.| Sec. |Yards.| | Sec. |Yards.| |
| P B | | | | 1 | 96 | |
| 1 | 1 | 66 | | 1¹⁄₂ | 143 | |
| 2 | 1 | 85 | | 1- | 184 | |
| 3 | 1¹⁄₂ | 100 | | 2 | 258 | |
| 4 | 1- | 110 | From | 2- | 307 | From |
| 5 | 2 | 115 | 400 | 2- | 376 | 700 |
| 6 | 2 | 168 | to | 3 | 408 | to |
| 7 | 2 | 194 | 600 | 3- | 529 | 1000 |
| 8 | 2- | 226 |yards.| 4- | 630 |yards.|
| 9 | 2- | 282 | | 5 | 645 | |
| 10 | 2- | 279 | | 5 | 642 | |
| 11 | 2- | 260 | | 5- | 797 | |
| 12 | 3 | 315 | | 5- | 715 | |
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
+-----+---------------------+---------------------+
| | 12 Ounces. | 1 Pound. |
| +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| | |Range | | |Range | |
| Ele-| | to | Ex- | | to | Ex- |
| va- | |first | treme| |first | treme|
|tion.|Flight.|graze.|range.|Flight.|graze.|range.|
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| Deg.| Sec. |Yards.| | Sec. |Yards.| |
| P B | 1¹⁄₂ | 140 | | 1¹⁄₂ | 159 | |
| 1 | 2 | 334 | | 1 | 325 | |
| 2 | 2 | 351 | | 2 | 490 | |
| 3 | 2- | 506 | | 3 | 668 | |
| 4 | 3 | 500 | From | 4 | 728 | From |
| 5 | 3 | 509 | 1000 | 5- | 918 | 1100 |
| 6 | 3- | 581 | to | 5 | 823 | to |
| 7 | 5 | 872 | 1350 | 6 | 975 | 1400 |
| 8 | 6- | 975 |yards.| 7 | 1044 |yards.|
| 9 | 7 | 911 | | 8 | 1049 | |
| 10 | 7 | 1021 | | 8 | 1104 | |
| 11 | 7- | 1177 | | 8 | 1173 | |
| 12 | | | | | | |
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
_Ranges with a heavy 5¹⁄₂ inch Howitzer. 1793._
+-----+---------------------+---------------------+
| | 2 Pounds. | 3 Pounds. |
| +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| Ele-| | | Ex- | | | Ex- |
| va- | | First| treme| | First| treme|
|tion.|Flight.|Graze.|range.|Flight.|Graze.|range.|
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
| Deg.| Sec. | Y’ds.|Yards.| Sec. | Y’ds.|Yards.|
| 1 | 2 | 453 | | 3 | 479 | |
| 2 | 4 | 595 | | 5 | 722 | |
| 3 | 4 | 666 | | 5 | 921 | |
| 4 | 5 | 847 | | 5 | 1000 | |
| 5 | 5 | 957 | From | 7 | 1325 | From |
| 6 | 7 | 1173 | 1400 | 8 | 1530 | 1400 |
| 7 | 9 | 1449 | to | 9 | 1577 | to |
| 8 | 8 | 1355 | 1900 | 9 | 1721 | 2000 |
| 9 | 8 | 1585 | | 9 | 1801 | |
| 10 | 10 | 1853 | | 9 | 1791 | |
| 11 | 9 | 1793 | | 12 | 1013 | |
| 12 | 10 | 1686 | | | | |
+-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+
HUE AND CRY, an English official Gazette so called, which is published
at the expiration of every third week in the year, and serves to
advertise deserters. That part which immediately relates to desertions
is divided into seventeen columns, viz names, corps, age, size, coat,
waistcoat, breeches, hair, complexion, eyes, marks, and remarks,
trade, &c., parish born, county born, time, from whence, agent’s names,
agent’s abode.
HUGHLY WACCA, _Ind._ a newspaper or chronicle which is kept by the
officers of the native governments in India.
HUISSIER _d’armes_, _Fr._ tipstaff; an officer formerly so called in
France, who was attached to the royal household. They were at first
distinguished by the name of _Sergens d’armes_, or serjeants at arms.
Some were directed to bear the mace before the king during the day,
and obtained on that account the appellation of _Huissiers d’armes_;
in later times while the monarchy subsisted, they were called the
_Huissiers_, or tipstaffs of the king’s chamber. Others kept watch in
the king’s bed-chamber during the night, and were sworn to expose their
lives for the safety of his person, whence they obtained the name of
_archers de la garde_, which term was changed into _gardes-du-corps_,
or body-guards.
_Death_ HUNTERS, followers of an army, who, after the engagement look
for dead bodies, in order to strip them. They generally consist of
soldiers’ wives, &c.
HUNGARIAN _battalion_, a body of men belonging to the Austrian army,
whose dress consists in a white jacket, the buttons straight down
to the waist, with blue colored collar, cuffs and skirts before and
behind, like the rest of the Austrian infantry, with this difference,
that the latter have white breeches and long black gaiters, and the
former wear light blue pantaloons and half-boots.
HUNS, GOTHS, and VANDALS, barbarous tribes that inhabited the various
provinces of Germany which had never been subdued by the Romans, or
were scattered over those vast countries in the north of Europe, and
north west of Asia which are now occupied by the Danes, the Swedes, the
Poles, the subjects of the Russian empire, and the Tartars.
HURDLES, in _fortification_, are made of twigs of willows or osiers,
interwoven close together, sustained by long stakes. They are made in
the figure of a long square; the length being 5 or 6 feet, and breadth
3 or 3¹⁄₂. The closer they are wattled together, the better. They
serve to render batteries firm, or to consolidate the passage over
muddy ditches; or to cover traverses and lodgments for the defence of
the workmen against the fireworks, or the stones, that may be thrown
against them.
HURDLE _Battery_. See BATTERY. These are the invention of colonel
Congreve of the British Artillery, and are admirably adapted for
temporary fortifications. They consist of hurdles fixed in the ground
in a triangular form, the intermediate space being filled with sand or
earth, &c. are constructed in a few minutes, and in any figure.
HURTER, a flatted iron fixed against the body of an axle-tree, with
straps to take off the friction of the naves of wheels against the body.
HURTOIR, a piece of timber about 6 inches square, placed before the
wheels of a carriage, against the parapet of a battery, to prevent the
wheels from doing damage to the parapet.
HURTLE. See SKIRMISH.
HUSB _ul hookum, or_ HASSAB _ul hookum_, Ind. a patent or order, under
the seal of the Vizier, with these initial words, which signify,
_always to command_.
HUSSARDS, _Fr._ hussars. They were first introduced into the French
service in 1692, and owed their origin to the Hungarian cavalry which
was subsidized by France before the reign of Louis XIII.
HUSSARS, are the national cavalry of Hungary and Croatia, they never
encamp, consequently are not burthened with any kind of camp equipage,
saving a kettle and a hatchet to every six men. They always lie in the
woods, out-houses, or villages, in the front of the army. The emperor
of Austria and the king of Prussia, had many troops under this name in
their service. See CAVALRY.
_Death’s-Head_ HUSSARS, a regiment of Hussars in the Prussian service,
so called from the emblems of death being exhibited on their caps. They
were dressed in black, faced with yellow, and rode small active horses.
In the seven years war they obtained considerable reputation under the
command of the brave and intrepid general Ziethen.
HUT. The ancient mode of encamping was in little huts. In the American
war, hutted camps were not uncommon. The French armies have encamped in
huts from 1793, as in that years campaign they lost all their tents.
HUTTE, _Fr._ Hut.
HUZZOOR NAVEIS, _Ind._ a secretary who resides at an Indian court, and
keeps copies of all firmauns, records, or letters. _Huzzoor_, is the
court, _Naveis_, a writer.
HYDER, the Arabic term for lion. This title is often given to men of
rank in India.
HYDER ALI, the sultan of Mysore; was known under the name of Hyder
Naik; his son Tippoo succeeded him, and was killed at the storming of
Seringapatam by the British forces.
HYDER COOLY, a term of subjection used in India, meaning literally the
slave; but not so understood; it is a proud assertion of humility, such
as the pope used, in calling himself the fisherman.
HYDERABAD, HYDRABAD, a city in Asia, which arose from the desertion of
Golconda. This name is often used in Indostan when Hyderabad is meant.
Hyderabad became the principal rendezvous of the Mahomedans opposed
to the Marattahs whose country lies between Guzzerat and Golconda. See
MARATTAHS.
HYDRAULIC, (_Hydraulique_, _Fr._) the name of a particular science,
which points out the method of conducting and raising bodies of water.
_Colonnes_ HYDRAULIQUES, _Fr._ columns ornamented by sheets of water or
water spouts.
HYDROMETER (_Hydrometre_, _Fr._) the name of an instrument which serves
to ascertain the dryness or moisture of the atmosphere.
HYDROSTATIC, (_Hydrostatique_, _Fr._) the name of a science whose
principal object is to ascertain the weight of fluids, particularly
of water, and of all bodies that are either borne upon the surface or
immersed beneath it.
HYPERBOLA, the section of a cone made by a plane, so that the axis of
the section shall incline to the opposite leg of the cone.
HYPOTHENUSE, that line which subtends the right angle of a right angled
triangle.
J.
JACK. See GIN.
JACK-_boots_. Boots formerly worn by cavalry, made of thick firm
leather, hardened in a peculiar manner, that is by a mixture of rosin,
pitch, and oil, applied before a fire until they become stiff and
impervious to water. They were sometimes lined with plates of iron. The
best infantry caps are jacked leather.
JACK _wambasium_, a sort of coat armor, formerly worn by horsemen, not
of solid iron but of many plates fastened together, which some persons
by tenure were bound to find upon any invasion.
JACKET, a short coat. See CLOTHING.
JACOB’S _staff_, a mathematical instrument for taking heights and
distances, called also a _cross staff_.
JACQUE, _ou_ JAQUE, _Fr._ a sort of close jacket, which was formerly
worn by the _francs-archers_, or free archers, and reached down to the
knee. These jackets were stuffed underneath the linen or cloth with
which they were made. They sometimes consisted of leather, lined with
20 or 30 pieces of old cloth, rather loosely put together. The ancient
horsemen wore these jackets under their coats of mail, and they were
called _gobison_.
JADE, _Fr._ a very hard stone, of an olive color, with which the
handles of swords and sabres are made in Poland and Turkey. This stone
is said to possess wonderful virtues for the removal of the gravel or
nephritic cholic; in these cases it is simply applied to the loins.
JAFFURNAPATAM. The town of Ceylon is so called by the Indians. The port
of Jaffur.
JAGURNHAUT, _Ind._ a Hindoo pagoda, on the Balasore coast, bay of
Bengal.
JAGHIRDAR, the person in possession of a jaghire.
JAGHIRE, an Indian term, signifying the assignment of the revenues of a
district to a servant or dependant of government, who is hence called a
_jaghirdar_. Jaghires are either _mushroot_, which means conditional,
or _belashurt_, which signifies unconditional. Jaghires are frequently
given in India to persons as a reward and compensation for their
military services. The British obtained footing in Bengal first as
traders by courtesy; they then got a _Jaghire mushroot_.
JAGHIRE ASHAM, _Ind._ land granted for the support of the troops.
JAGHIRE ZAT, _Ind._ lands granted for private maintenance.
JAM, _Fr._ which is sometimes written _jamb_, is a thick bed of stone,
by which the operations of the miners are suddenly interrupted when
they are pursuing the veins of ore.
JAMBEUX. An obsolete word, which formerly signified boots, covers, or
armor for the legs.
JAMBS, sometimes written _jaumbs_, _Fr._ The side posts of a door.
JALET, _Fr._ a name given to certain round stones which are cast out of
a bow called _arbalête à jalet_, or cross-bow. These stones are more
generally called _galet_.
JALONS, _Fr._ long poles with a wisp of straw at the top. They are
fixed at different places and in different roads, to serve as signals
of observation to advancing columns, when the country is inclosed, &c.
They are likewise used as camp-colors to mark out the ground on days of
exercise.
JALONNEMENT _d’une colonné_, _Fr._ is the designation of certain points
by which a column is governed on its march.
JALONNEURS, _Fr._ are the men selected from a battalion to mark out the
ground, or, to take up relative points towards which the columns may
march. We call them _guides_ of _manœuvre_.
_St._ JAMES, _Knights of_, a military order in Spain, first instituted
in the year 1170, by Ferdinand II. king of Leon and Galicia. The
greatest dignity belonging to this order was that of grand master,
which had been united to the crown of Spain. The knights were obliged
to make proof of their descent from families that had been noble
for four generations on both sides; they must also make it appear
that their said ancestors had neither been _Jews_, _Saracens_, nor
_heretics_, nor have ever been called in question by the Inquisition!
The novices were obliged to serve six months in the gallies, and to
live a month in a monastery. They observed the rules of St. Austin,
making no vows but of poverty, obedience, and conjugal fidelity.
JANIBAR, _Ind._ an advocate; a defender; it likewise signifies a
partial person.
JANISSAIRES, _Fr._ See JANIZARIES.
JANIZARIES. The first establishment of this body of armed men took
place when the sultan Amurat obtained such wonderful success in the
inroads that were made into Thrace, and a part of Macedonia, by the
Bachas Lala, Saim, and Auranos. Nor was the sultan satisfied with this
good fortune; he pushed his successes into Europe, and took an immense
number of prisoners of all ages, but principally children. These were
put under military tuition, with the view of hereafter converting them
to some useful purpose for the Ottoman state.
Amurat took advice of one Agis Bictas, who by the dint of hypocrisy
had obtained the character and reputation of a very virtuous man. Agis
Bictas gave directions in the first instance, that these children
should put several christians to death. He did this with the view of
accustoming their young minds to scenes of slaughter, and to inure
them to cruelty, as they were hereafter to compose the groundwork of
the Turkish infantry, under the appellation of _janizaries_, or _new
militia_. He next instructed them to observe an austere and barbarous
outside appearance, and to become emulous of acquiring peculiar fame
whenever they should be engaged in battle. In order to impress them
with ideas of grandeur, he took off a part of his muslin sleeve, and
twisted it in the shape of a turban, put it round the head of one of
the children, when the corps were first established. This turban or cap
was the model which the rest were to imitate. The Janizaries wear the
same sort to this day, with the addition of some gold lace.
The body of janizaries has been considerably augmented since their
first establishment. According to a late account they have been
increased to 54,222; these have been divided into three separate corps,
viz. into _jajabeys_, _bolykys_, and _selmanys_. These were moreover
distinguished among themselves by the following names; _corigys_,
_oturakys_, and _fodlahorans_.
They are under chiefs appointed for the specific purpose of
superintending their conduct and behaviour, and are subordinate to
particular officers, whose charge is confined to corps or companies
that are called _odas_, a Turkish word, which properly signifies
chamber or room, being thus called from the place in which they were
ordered to mess. At Constantinople these chambers are covered with a
sort of china ware; and there are recesses, called sophas, on which the
men may sit or sleep. A kitchen is attached to each room, with every
other convenience. When they take the field the same arrangement is
attended to. The different companies being distributed in large round
tents that are distinguished by the figures of beasts and Arabic words.
All the janizary companies consist of 196 men each. There are 101
companies of _jajabeys_, who form the garrisons of the most important
places upon the frontiers. The officers belonging to these companies
are permitted to ride in the presence of their general, which is a
privilege peculiar to themselves. On this account they wear yellow half
boots.
The _bolykys_ consist of 61 companies; the commanding officers are
obliged to wear red half boots, which is to shew, that they are not
permitted to go through their duty on horseback.
The _selmanys_ amount to 34 companies. The officers belonging to
them are subject to the same regulations by which the _bolykys_ are
governed. They must march by their general in red half boots on
foot, with this exception, that 30 supernumerary young men, who are
_seconded_, and in expectation of commissions through the influence of
their parents, are allowed to ride until they get companies.
A select body of men is indiscriminately chosen out of these three
sorts of janizaries; this chosen body is called _corigys_, and amounts
to 930 men. Their particular duty is to protect the three imperial
mansions of Constantinople, Adrianople, and Bursa.
Every janizary is obliged to give one and a half per cent. of all the
money he receives in time of peace to the treasurer of his room, or
to the treasurer general of the corps, and seven per cent. in time of
war. In consideration of this sum he is allowed a space of ground, six
feet in length and three in breadth to spread his mattrass; and he is
moreover entitled to have every day at dinner and supper one plate of
rice, a piece of mutton, and bread and water; so that a janizary may
easily save the greatest part of his pay.
The uniform or clothing of a janizary is a _dolimaun_, or long robe
with short sleeves. It is tied round the middle with a striped girdle
of different colors, fringed at the ends with gold or silver. They wear
over the _dolimaun_, a _saphi_, or blue surtout, in the same loose
manner that Europeans wear great coats or cloaks.
Instead of a turban the janizaries have their heads covered with a
_zarcola_, or cap made of felt, from which hangs a long hood of the
same stuff, that reaches to their shoulders, and is worn on parade
days. The zarcola is decorated with a quantity of long feathers, that
are fixed in a small tube, and stand in the front of the cap. The
janizaries in Constantinople usually carry a long stick or Indian
cane, without any other arms or weapons; but when they are equipped
for the field against any European power, they have a sabre and fusil
or musquet. They likewise carry a powder horn, which hangs on the left
side suspended from a leathern string that is thrown across the body.
In Asia, the janizaries always go armed with a bow and a quiver full
of arrows. They are thus equipped on account of the scarcity of
gunpowder.--They have besides a sort of poniard or large knife, which
they draw against every person from whom they wish to extort any thing.
The bows and arrows are regularly delivered out to the janizaries by
the _alkitef-ter-dars_ or vice treasurers general.
The janizaries seldom marry, or if they do it is at an advanced age;
for the Turks as well as other countries imagine that a married man
cannot be so determined and careless of danger, as he must be who has
no concerns to attend to besides his own. Matrimony, however, is not
forbidden amongst them. On the contrary, when the ceremony is performed
with the consent of their officers, they are permitted to take private
lodgings, and are only required to appear every Friday at their rooms,
and to parade before the _Wekilbarg_, or treasurer to the chamber,
under pain of forfeiting their subsistence. When they get children,
their pay is increased some aspres per day, by order of the grand
Signor.
The body of janizaries is by no means, however, so considerable as it
formerly was. In 1648, they were so formidable, that they assumed a
dangerous influence over the government of the Empire. They even went
so far as to dethrone the sultan Ibrahim, and afterwards to strangle
him in the castle called the Seven Towers. Since that period the grand
viziers have made a point to lower the pride and arrogance of the
janizaries, in order to preserve the authority of their sovereigns,
and to maintain their own: on this account they adopted the barbarous
policy of sending the bravest on a forlorne hope at the siege of
Candia; and they permitted the rest to marry, and to embrace various
trades, contrary to the established rules of the corps, for the sole
purpose of enervating the individuals belonging to it. By degrees
persons without experience and addicted to the loosest effeminacy,
were entrusted with commands; so that the janizaries soon came not to
possess either the character or the bravery of their predecessors.
The remedy has been as fatal as the disease; they have had a profligate
rabble in place of their hardy and enterprizing corps; and in the year
1808, deposed and put to death the grand Signor, for a bribe from a
foreign ambassador.
The janizaries consist chiefly of Christian children that have been
taken in war, or of debauched Turks who are ignorant of their birth
or connexion. Whenever any one dies, he leaves what little property
or clothing, &c. he possesses to his messmen; even the Turks, from a
species of social piety, always bequeath something to their particular
_oda_, or chamber. The consequence of which is, that the chambers
become extremely rich, and their wealth is frequently put out to
interest at 25 per cent. Add to this, that the grand Signor directs
that every thing which is supplied to the janizaries should be rated
lower than to the rest of his subjects, which circumstance easily
explains why the janizaries can live cheaper than other people in
Turkey.
JANIZAR AGASI, a name or military title which is attached to the
person who has the chief command of the janizaries. It corresponds,
in some degree, with the rank of colonel general of infantry in old
France, when that body was under the command of the duke of Epernon,
and afterwards under the duke of Orleans in 1720. This _Aga_ takes
precedence of all the infantry officers belonging to the Ottoman
empire. The name is derived from _Aga_, which, in the Turkish language,
signifies a staff, or baton. On public occasions the Aga always bears a
staff in his hand; so indeed do all the janizaries when they appear in
any large town or place, as an emblem of service.
This general was originally promoted to the rank of Aga out of the
corps of janizaries. But as this was the occasion of much jealousy,
and gave rise to various cabals, which frequently rendered the Aga
contemptible in the eyes of his followers, the grand Signor at present
appoints him from the Ichnoglans belonging to the seraglio.
The daily pay of the Aga amounts to one hundred aspres, which are
equal to 20 ecus, or French half-crowns, making 55 cents of our money;
independent of which he receives from 7 to 10 thousand French ecus
or English half-crowns, on account of the Timars who are attached to
his appointment. He moreover gets constant presents from the Sultan,
especially when the janizaries have conducted themselves to his
satisfaction on any critical emergency. The douceurs which are lavished
upon the Aga, whenever he has the good fortune to stand well with
the grand Signor, are innumerable; for it is through him, that every
application is made for places of emolument. It is customary, however,
in Turkey to bestow rank and advantageous posts not according to merit,
but in proportion to the number of purses, (in which manner all large
sums are counted) that are produced by the several candidates. A purse
in Turkey contains about 250 crowns, or 300 of our dollars.
The Aga seldom appears in the streets of Constantinople without being
followed by a large body of janizaries, most especially when any
convulsion or disastrous event has happened in the empire. In these
moments of public disturbance and consternation, the janizaries take
occasion to demand an increase of pay threatening, in case of refusal,
to pillage the town; which threat they have often put in execution.
Whenever these mutinous proceedings take place, the Aga marches at
the head of 30 or 40 _mungis_ or provost-marshals belonging to the
janizaries, together with 5 or 600 of this militia, in order to seize
the mutineers, and to have them safely conveyed to some prison. He has
the power of life and death over every individual of the corps; but
he never gives directions to have a janizary executed in open day,
lest the sight of their suffering comrade should create a disturbance
among the rest. Small crimes and misdemeanors among the janizaries are
punished by the bastinado, which is exercised by striking repeated
blows upon the sole of the foot; but when the guilt is capital, the Aga
orders the culprit either to be strangled, or to be sewed up in a sack
and thrown into a pond or river.
When the Janizar-Agasi dies, from disease or by violence, the whole
of his property devolves to the treasury belonging to the corps of
janizaries; nor can the grand Signor appropriate one aspre to his own
use.
JAVELIN, a sort of spear 5¹⁄₂ feet long, the shaft of which was of wood
with a steel point. Every soldier in the Roman armies had seven of
these, which were very light and slender.
The Velites or light armed troops among the Romans were armed with
javelins. They were two cubits long and one inch thick.
There were several sorts of javelins or darts used among the ancients;
some of which were projected by the help of a short strap girt round
their middle.
There was likewise another species of javelin, the bottom of which
was ornamented with three feathers, in the same manner that arrows
and darts are. These javelins have been used by the Poles and other
nations, but principally by the Moors, who call them _zogaies_. In the
early days of France, the javelin was likewise adopted in imitation of
the Gauls; but it disappeared, with many other missile weapons, on the
invention of fire-arms.
JAVELINE, _Fr._ See JAVELIN.
JEVELOT, _Fr._ Javelin. A term used among the ancients to express
every thing that was missile; it is derived from the Latin, _jacutum à
jaculando_.
JAZERAN, _Fr._ an obsolete term which was formerly applied to an able
veteran.
ICH DIEN, _I serve_. A motto belonging to the badge of the arms of the
British prince of Wales, which was first assumed by Edward surnamed the
Black Prince, after the battle of Cressy in 1346. _Dieu et Mon Droit_,
in the badge of the British king’s arms, was used by Richard I. on a
victory over the French in 1194.
ICHNOGLANS. It has been a singular maxim of policy among the Turks
to prefer Christian slaves, as confidential servants, to their own
countrymen. Their motive originates in an idea, that the former having
lost all recollection of their native spot, and of the tenderness which
is innate between child and parent, would have no other interest at
heart but that of their employers; whereas freemen in general measure
their attachment to their masters by the rule of self accommodation
and personal emolument. From these principles the grand Signor has
established a body of Ichnoglans, in order that they may be devoted to
his service; and as a security for their affection he frequently raises
individuals amongst them to the highest posts of trust and dignity in
the empire. The rank of _Sepaler Agasi_, or general of cavalry, has
been conferred upon them; which appointment, next to that of grand
vizir, of Mufti or of Bostangi, is the most considerable belonging to
the Ottoman empire.
ICHNOGRAPHIE, _Fr._ Ichnography.
ICHNOGRAPHY, in fortification, denotes the plan or representation of
the length and breadth of a fortification; the distinct parts of which
are marked out either on the ground itself, or on paper. By this we are
at once acquainted with the value of the different lines and angles
which determine the exact breadth of fossés, the depth of ramparts, and
of parapets. So that, in fact, a plan, upon the correct principles of
ichnography, represents a work as it would appear if it were levelled
to its foundations, and shewed only the expanse of ground upon which
it had been erected. But the science of ichnography does not represent
either the elevation or the depth of the different parts belonging to
a fortification. This properly comes under profile, which does not,
however, include length. See PLAN.
JEE, _Ind._ a title of respect which is used in India, and signifies
sir, master, worship.
JEE POTR, _Ind._ a statement and decree.
JEHAUNDER, _Ind._ a term used in India, signifying the possessor of the
world.
JEHAUN GEER, _Ind._ a term used in India, signifying the conqueror of
the world.
JEHAUN SHAH, _Ind._ king of the world.
JEHOULDAR, _Ind._ Treasurer.
JELOUDAR, _Ind._ belonging to the train or equipage.
JEMADE, _Ind._ the Indian word for month.
JEMIDAR or JEMMADAR, _Ind._ means a captain or chief of a company;
it is the title of a black officer who has the same rank as a white
lieutenant in the E. India company’s service. The author of the history
of the Carnatic calls Jemidars or Jemmadars, captains either of horse
or foot.
JENIZER-EFFENDI, an appointment among the Turks, which in some
degree resembles that of provost-marshal in European armies. The
only functions which this officer is permitted to exercise are those
of judge to the company. He sits on particular days for the purpose
of hearing the complaints of the soldiers, and of settling their
differences. If a case of peculiar difficulty should occur, he reports
the same to the Aga, whose opinion and determination are final.
JERSEY, an island on the coast of Normandy in France, which has
belonged to the English ever since the Norman conquest. Although this
island, as well as that of Guernsey, is still governed by the ancient
Norman laws, it is nevertheless subject to the British mutiny act in
many particulars.
JERUMONA, _Ind._ Mulct, fine, or penalty.
JETH, _Ind._ the name of a month which in some degree coincides with
our month of May.
JET, _Fr._ a term signifying the motion of any body that is urged
forward by main force; it likewise means the space which is gone over
by any propelled body.
JET _des bombes_, _Fr._ This word has been adopted instead of _Tir_,
which formerly expressed the course that a shell took when it was
thrown out of a mortar by the power of gunpowder.
We sometimes use the words _flight_ and _range_, to express the same
action and progress.
The jet or flight of a bomb usually forms a curved line; but many
engineers assert, that when the mortar is placed horizontally, it
describes the three movements that are made by a cannon ball, viz. The
violent or strait forward one, the mixed or curved, and the natural
one, which is perpendicular.
It is particularly incumbent upon the officers who superintend the
mortar duty, to ascertain, by a correct observation of the eye, the
exact distance to which he means to throw the bomb. With this view he
must give as many degrees of elevation as may be found necessary by the
judgment he has formed.
In order to obtain some degree of certainty he first throws a bomb,
by way of experiment, and he increases or diminishes his degrees of
elevation according to the distance it runs, and from the spot on which
it falls.
These are the only rules which are generally followed by those officers
who have the direction of mortars. However, according to St. Remi the
French bombardiers frequently make use of tables in order to calculate
precisely the different lines of extent according to the different
elevations of the mortar, particularly with respect to the degrees of
the square rule from 1 to 45·
Although this method has been sanctioned by various and innumerable
experiments, it has nevertheless been exposed to some censure. Mr.
Blondel has written a treatise on the subject. This engineer asserts,
that he has discovered a way of firing true, which exceeds all former
inventions.
We are of opinion, that the best method must be that which is founded
upon practical and daily experience. Those men who are in the continual
habit of exercising in mortar duty, and who can form just calculations,
especially with regard to the quality and quantity of gunpowder, will
always be esteemed in preference to the most profound theorists.
According to the experiments which have been made by bombardiers with
respect to the flight of bombs, a mortar is said to propel or urge
forward in proportion to the quantity and quality of the gunpowder, by
which it is charged.
A mortar, for instance, which has twelve inches calibre, and which is
loaded with two pounds of mealed gunpowder gives a difference in its
flight of 48 feet from one degree to another; and 2160 feet in its
greatest extent under the elevation of 45 degrees.
The same mortar gives a difference, from one degree to another, of 60
feet, provided there be two pounds and a half of the same powder in its
chamber, and it gives 2700 feet, for its greatest flight.
It finally gives 72 feet difference from one degree to another, if the
charge consists of three pounds of mealed gunpowder, and the elevation
be taken at 45 degrees, which in the opinion of bombardiers, is the
greatest flight, taking a range of 3240 feet.
Among the French bombardiers there are tables put out according to this
calculation, which may be found in Blondel or St. Remi. These tables
are adapted to mortars of 12 inches calibre, which weight we have taken
for example.
JET, among the French is likewise applied to the range taken by a
fusee, as _jet de la fusee_, the flight of a fusee.
In cannon founderies it is further used to express the different pipes
or hollows which are made of clay or wax, in order to convey the liquid
metals into their moulds. In this sense it means _cast_, so that _jet_
may be properly called a vent or aperture which is made at the extreme
end of the mould and through which the metal is poured.
_Un beau_ JET, _Fr._ a fine cast.
JETTER, _Fr._ to pour metal into a mould.
JETTEE, _Fr._ a pier. It usually consists of a projection, made with
stone, brick or wood at the extreme ends of a harbor, for the purpose
of resisting the impetuosity of the waves.
JEU _de hazard_, _Fr._ chance play. It was our intention to have
entered fully into this subject, as far as it concerns the military
system, under the head _hazard_; but as the matter has been more
particularly adverted to in a French author, we judge it best to quote
from that authority, and to shew, that, corrupt as the old government
of France most unquestionably was, the character of its army was
not neglected. Every species of chance play was strictly forbidden
in the French camps and garrisons, and throughout their armies. The
prohibitions on this head bear the most ancient dates. On the 24th of
July, 1534, Francis I. issued an order, which was again confirmed by
Henry II. on the 22d of May, 1557, that no comrade should, under any
pretext whatever, obtain money from a brother soldier by play. It was
further ordained, that in case of foul play, the persons who should
be discovered were, for the first offence, to be publicly flogged,
and for the second to be punished in the like manner, to have their
ears cut off, and to be banished for ten years. The delinquents were
committed to the charge and custody of the provost, who was authorized
to confiscate every farthing that was played for. Dice and cards were
rigorously forbidden under the same penalties, as well as all sorts of
games which might create animosities and dissentions among individuals.
On the 15th of January, 1691, Louis XIV. issued an order from the
privy council, by which he expressly forbade not only the officers
belonging to his army, but likewise all other persons of whatever sex
or denomination to play at _Hoca, Pharoah, Barbacole, Basset, and
Pour et Contre_. The penalties for every infraction or breach of this
order were as follows. Those persons who played were fined 1000 livres
or 200 dollars, and the master or mistress of the house where games
of the above description were allowed, stood fined in 6000 livres,
or 1200 dollars for each offence. One third of these penalties was
applied to his majesty’s use, one third to the relief of the poor of
the place where the offence was committed, and the other third was paid
to the informer. It was further ordained, that in case the persons
so discovered were unable to pay the fines, their persons should be
taken into custody. Those subjected to the penalty of 1000 livres
were imprisoned four months, and those who incurred the fine of 6000
livres, without having the means to pay it, were imprisoned one year.
The intendants, or lord-lieutenants of the provinces and armies, the
police magistrates, and the military provosts, were all and severally
directed to see this edict put into execution; and by a circular
letter, which in 1712, was written, in the king’s name, by M. Voisin,
to the different governors and lords-lieutenants of provinces, the
prohibitions were extended to the lansquenet, or private soldier.
On the 25th of August, 1698, Louis XIV. issued out an order, by which
he rigorously forbade, under pain of death, every individual belonging
to the French cavalry or infantry, (suttler and private soldier
included) to keep any gaming table in camp or quarters. In consequence
of these regulations, and with the view of introducing the strictest
principles of honor and regularity in a profession which must be
tarnished even by the breath of suspicion, on the 1st of July, 1727,
Louis the XVth ordained by the 43d article of war, that whatsoever
soldier, horse or foot, was convicted of cheating at play, should be
punished with death. He further directed, that in case any hazard table
should be set up in a camp, or garrison, the commanding officer or
governor was to order the same to be broken forthwith, and to commit
all persons concerned therein to prison.
JEWAER KHANNA, _Ind._ The jewel office.
IHTIMAMDAR, _Ind._ A person appointed by the Hindoo magistrate, who has
the superintending agency over several towns.
IJELAS, _Ind._ The general assembly of the court of justice in Bengal,
so called.
_To_ IMBODY, in a military sense, implies to assemble under arms,
either for defence or offence. This term is particularly applied to the
meeting of the militia.
IMPETUS, in mechanics, the force with which one body impels or strikes
another. See GUNNERY. MOMENTUM.
IMPOSTS, that part of a pillar in vaults or arches, on which the weight
of the whole rests.
IMPREGNABLE. Any fortress or work which resists the efforts of attack,
is said to be impregnable.
_To_ IMPRESS, to compel any body to serve.
IMPRESS-_Service_, A particular duty which is performed by persons
belonging to the navy. Soldiers, that behave ill, in the British
service, and from repeated misconduct are deemed incorrigible on shore,
get frequently turned over to a press gang. This does not, however,
occur without some sort of concurrence on the part of the soldier,
who is left to chuse between the execution or continuance of a severe
military punishment, or to enter on board one of the ships of war.
IMPRESS-_Money_. All sums which are paid to men who have been compelled
to serve are so called.
IMPRESSION, the effect of an attack upon any place, or body of soldiers.
IMPREST _of Money_. A term not strictly grammatical, but rendered
familiar by its official adoption, signifying sums of money received
from time, to time, by persons in public employment, for the current
services of the year.
_To_ IMPUGN, to attack, or assault.
IMPULSE, hostile impression.
INACCESSIBLE, not to be approached, in contradiction to accessible.
INCAPABLE. A term of disgrace, which is frequently annexed to military
sentences; as, such an officer has been cashiered by the sentence of
a general court-martial, and rendered _incapable_ of ever serving his
majesty in either a civil or military capacity.
INCH, a well known measure in length, being the 12th part of a foot,
and equal to three barley-corns in length. See MEASURE.
INCIDENCE, the direction with which one body strikes another; the angle
made by that line and the plane of the body struck, is called the Angle
of Incidence, which see.
INCLINAISON, _Fr._ See INCLINATION.
_To_ INCLINE, in a military sense, means to gain ground to the flank,
as well as to the front. Inclining is of great use in the marching of
the line in front, to correct any irregularities that may happen. It
is equivalent to the quarter facing and to the oblique marching of the
infantry. It enables you to gain the enemy’s flank without exposing
your own, or without wheeling or altering the parallel front of the
squadron.
_Right_ (_or left_) INCLINE. A word of command in cavalry movements,
when each man makes a half-face on his horse’s fore feet, by which
means each will appear to be half a head behind his flank leader; and
the whole will look to the hand to which they are to incline. It must
be generally observed, that the leading officer on the flank, with a
glance of his eye ascertaining his points, marches steadily upon them,
at whatever pace is ordered: every other man in the squadron moves in
so many parallel lines, with respect to him, and preserves the same
uniformity of front and files, as when he first turned his horse’s head.
At no time of the incline ought the former front of the squadron, or
distance of files to be altered.
In the incline, the rear rank moves in the same manner, and is of
course regulated by the front rank, which it takes care to conform to.
Whenever a squadron inclines it must not pass an angle of 34° with
respect to its former direction, unless it should be required to gain
as much or more ground to the flank as to the front. The distance of
files at six inches allows the squadron to incline in perfect order,
while its new direction does not go beyond the angle specified. When
more is required to be taken, the squadron must either wheel up, and
march upon the flank point, or it will fall more or less into file,
according to the degree of obliquity required, by moving each horse
retired, half neck, or head to boot.
INCLINED _Plane_. See GUNNERY.
INCLUSIVE, comprehended in the sum or number; thus when the abstracts
were made out for 60 and 61 days, they generally ran from the 24th
of one month to the 24th of the second month, including the last
24th _only_. Since the new British regulation, the muster, as also
the abstract, is taken from the 25th of one month to the 24th of the
following month, both days _inclusive_.
INCOMMENSURABLE. That cannot be measured, or be reduced to any
proportion or equal measure with another.
INCOMPETENT. Incapable, unfit, unequal. No officer, be his situation
what it may, (from a general inclusive to the lowest non-commissioned)
can be said to be _competent_ to command, who is not only willing and
able to follow orders himself, but will likewise see them strictly
adhered to by others; whose mind is not superior to partialities,
and whose judgment is not equal to discern real merit from ignorant
assumption. Every soldier is incompetent to his profession who does not
possess a spirit of subordination, and cool determined bravery.
INCOMPLETE, opposed to complete, which see.
_To_ INCORPORATE. In a military sense, is to add a smaller body of
forces to a large, and to mix them together. Independent companies are
said to be incorporated, when they are distributed among different
regiments, regiments among brigades, &c. &c. So that any lesser body
may be incorporated in a greater.
INCURSION, invasion without conquest; inroad; ravage.
INDEMNIFICATION, any reimbursement or compensation which is given for
loss or penalty.
_Military_ INDEMNIFICATION, a regulated allowance which is made by the
British for losses sustained by officers or soldiers on actual service,
viz.
_Infantry._
1st. The whole of the personal baggage of a subaltern officer to be
valued at 60_l._ and the camp equipage between two subalterns, 35_l._
2d. The baggage of a captain to be valued at 80_l._ and the camp
equipage, at 35_l._
3d. Field officer’s baggage, 100_l._ and the camp equipage 60_l._
4th. Colonel’s baggage, 120_l._ and camp equipage, 80_l._
_Cavalry._
5th. The whole of the personal baggage of a subaltern officer to be
valued at 70_l._ and the camp equipage at 45_l._
6th. Captain’s baggage, 90_l._ and camp equipage 45_l._
7th. Field officer’s baggage, 120_l._ and camp equipage 90_l._
8th. Colonel’s baggage, 140_l._ and camp equipage, 90_l._
9th. Officers giving certificates signed by themselves and the
commanding officer of their regiments, that they have lost the whole of
their baggage and camp equipage, and that at the time it was lost, they
were in no respect deviating from the orders of the general officer
commanding in chief relative to baggage, shall receive the whole of the
sums above allotted, according to their ranks.
10th. Officers losing any part of their baggage, are to give in similar
certificates, according to the best of their belief and judgment,
without entering into particulars, but estimating their loss at
one-fourth, one-half, or three-fourths of the whole value, according to
which they shall be paid the like proportion of the above sums.
11th. The whole baggage of a quarter-master of cavalry shall be
estimated at 40_l._ A quarter-master losing the whole or any part of
his baggage, must produce certificates from the officer commanding, and
from his captain, as to the quantity of his baggage, which to the best
of their belief and judgment has been lost, according to which he will
receive the whole or a proportion, of the above sum of 40_l._
12th. The baggage and camp equipage of all staff officers of both
cavalry and infantry, are to be valued as those of subaltern officers,
except for such as are allowed a tent to themselves, whose camp
equipage in that case will be valued as that of a captain.
13th. A serjeant of cavalry losing his necessaries, without any fault
of his own, shall receive 2_l._ 15_s._
14th. Corporal, trumpeter, or private, 2_l._ 10_s._
15th. Serjeant of infantry, 2_l._ 10_s._
16th. Corporal, drummer, or private, 2_l._ 2_s._
17th. A servant, not being a soldier, 3_l._ 8_s._
The certificates in these five cases to be the same as in the case of
the quarter-master.
Officers on actual service, whose horses shall be killed or taken by
the enemy, or shall be shot for the glanders, receive allowances by way
of indemnification for them, according to the following rates; viz.
_Cavalry._
Heavy dragoons, first charger, 47_l._ 5_s._
Light dragoons, first ditto. 36_l._ 15_s._
Heavy or light ditto, second ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._
Quarter-master’s horse, 29_l._ 8_s._
_Infantry._
Field officer’s charger, 31_l._ 10_s._
Adjutant’s ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._
Chaplain’s and subaltern’s horses, each 18_l._ 18_s._
Bat horses, (both cavalry and infantry) 18_l._ 18_s._
General officer’s first charger, 47_l._ 5_s._
Second ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._
Aids de camp, brigade majors, and other staff officers, whose
situations require their keeping good horses, receive as the light
dragoons.
Staff officers, for whom inferior horses are deemed sufficient, 18_l._
18_s._
Certificates, stating the particular circumstances and causes of the
loss of the horses, are to be signed by the officers themselves, and by
the commanding officers of their regiments.
And the general officers commanding in chief on the different foreign
stations, are to decide on the claims preferred in their respective
districts of command upon the ground of this regulation, and to grant
payment accordingly.
INDEMNITY, a security or exemption from penalty, loss, or punishment.
It is sometimes connected with amnesty. Thus Charles the second on his
restoration, endeavored to conciliate the minds of his subjects, by
promising amnesty and indemnity to the different parties that had been
directly active, indirectly instrumental, or passively the means of his
father’s death.
_To_ INDENT, a word particularly made use of in India for the dispatch
of military business. It is of the same import and meaning as to draw
or set a value upon. It likewise means an order for military stores,
arms, &c. As an indent for new supplies, &c.
INDENTED _line_, in fortification, is a line running out and in like
the teeth of a saw, forming several angles, so that one side defends
another. They are used on the banks of rivers, where they enter a town;
the parapet of the covert-way is also often indented.--This is by the
French engineers called _redans_. Small places are sometimes fortified
with such a line, but the fault of such fortifications is, that the
besiegers from one battery may ruin both sides of the _tenaille_ of the
front of a place, and make an assault without fear of being enfiladed,
since the defences are ruined.
INDEPENDENT, in a military sense, is a term which distinguishes
from the rest of the army, those companies that have been raised by
individuals for rank, and were afterwards drafted into corps that were
short of their complement of men.
INDEPENDENT COMPANY, INDEPENDENT TROOP, is one that is not incorporated
into any regiment.
INDIAN _Camp_. An Indian camp may be considered as one of the loosest
assemblages of men, women, and children, that can perhaps, be imagined.
Every common soldier in the army is accompanied with a wife, or
concubine; the officers have several, and the generals whole seraglios;
besides these the army is encumbered by a number of attendants and
servants, exceeding that of the fighting men; and to supply the various
wants of this enervated multitude, dealers, pedlars, and retailers of
all sorts, follow the camp, to whom a separate quarter is allotted,
in which they daily exhibit their different commodities, in greater
quantities, and with more regularity, than in any fair in Europe; all
of them sitting on the ground in a line, with their merchandise exposed
before them, and sheltered from the sun by a mat supported by sticks.
INDIAN _Engineer_. Mr. Orme, in his history of the Carnatic, affords an
instance of the art of engineering being known, and cultivated by the
native Indians. In page 265, he gives the following account of a place
called Chinglapet, which had been fortified by an Indian engineer.
Chinglapet is situated about 30 miles west of Covelong, 40 south-west
of Madras, and within half a mile of the northern bank of the river
Paliar. It was, and not without reason, esteemed by the natives, a very
strong hold. Its outline, exclusive of some irregular projections at
the gateways, is nearly a parallelogram, extending 400 yards from north
to south, and 320 from east to west. The eastern and half the northern
side, is covered by a continued swamp of ricefields, and the other half
of the north, together with the whole of the west side, is defended
by a large lake. Inaccessible in these parts, it would have been
impregnable, if the south side had been equally secure; but here the
ground is high, and gives advantages to an enemy.--The Indian engineer,
whoever he was that erected the fort, seems to have exceeded the common
reach of his countrymen in the knowlege of his art, not only by the
choice of the spot, but also, by proportioning the strength of the
defences, to the advantages and disadvantages of the situation: for the
fortifications to the south are much the strongest, those opposite to
the rice-fields, something weaker; and the part that is skirted by the
lake, is defended only by a slender wall: a deep ditch 60 feet wide,
and faced with stone; a _fausse braye_, and a stone wall 18 feet high,
with round towers, on, and between the angles, form the defences to the
land: nor are these all, for parallel to the south, east, and north
sides of these outward works, are others of the same kind, repeated
within them, and these joining to the slender wall, which runs to the
west along the lake, form a second enclosure of fortification.
INDIAN _Fortification_. The entrance into an Indian fortification is
through a large and complicated pile of buildings, projecting in the
form of a parallelogram from the main rampart; and if the city has
two walls, it projects beyond them both: this building consists of
several continued terraces, which are of the same height as the main
rampart, and communicate with it; the inward walls of these terraces,
form the sides of an intricate passage about 20 feet broad, which leads
by various short turnings at right angles, through the whole pile to
the principal gate, that stands in the main rampart. We have extracted
this passage, from the History of the Carnatic, as affording a general
outline of Indian fortification. In the same place may be seen, (page
320) the following description of a battery; which was built by the
English in 1753, and contributed to the preservation of Tritchinopoly,
when the French attempted to storm that place.
This battery was called Dalton’s battery, from an officer of that name,
who, when intrusted with the command of the garrison, had converted
that part of the gateway which projected beyond the outward wall,
into a solid battery, with embrasures; having the part between the
two walls, as it stood with its windings and terraces: an interval
was likewise left between the backside of the battery and the terrace
nearest to it, which lay parallel to each other; so that an enemy
who had gained the battery, could not get to the terrace, without
descending into the interjacent area, and then mounting the wall of the
terrace with scaling ladders: the battery, however, communicated with
the rampart of the outward wall of the city, but being, as that was,
only eighteen feet high, it was commanded by the terraces behind it, as
well as by the rampart of the inner wall, both of which, were thirty
feet high; upon one of the inward cavaliers, south of the gateway, were
planted two pieces of cannon, to plunge into the battery, and scour the
interval between the two walls, as far as the terraces of the gateway;
and two other pieces, mounted in the north-west angle of the inward
rampart, commanded in like manner, both the battery and the interval to
the north of the terraces.
INDIAN _Guides_. According to the ingenious author of the history of
the Carnatic, these men are not to be depended upon. In page 217 he
relates, that on the 1st of April, 1752, at night, a captain Dalton
was ordered with 400 men to march, and, by taking a large circuit, to
come in at the eastern extremity of the enemy’s camp, which he was to
enter, beat up, and set fire to. The English troops, from their long
inactivity, knew so little of the ground about Tritchinopoly, that
they were obliged to trust to Indian guides; and these being ordered
to conduct them out of the reach of the enemy’s advanced posts, fell
into the other extreme, and led them several miles out of their way,
and through such bad roads, that when the morning star appeared, they
found themselves between Elimiscram and the French rock, two miles from
Chunda Saheb’s camp, and in the centre of all their posts.
INDIAN _princes and their troops_. Their military character may be
collected from the following curious account, which is given of a
circumstance that occurred in the Tanjore country, when the English
obtained a signal victory over the French and Mysoreans, in 1753.
The presence of the nabob being thought necessary to facilitate a
negociation that was then judged expedient to undertake, he prepared
to march with the English army; but on the evening he intended to
quit the city, his discontented troops assembled in the outer court
of the palace, and clamoring, declared, that they would not suffer
him to move, before he had paid their arrears; in vain were arguments
used to convince this rabble, more insolent because they had never
rendered any effectual service, that his going to Tanjore was the
only measure from which they could hope for a chance of receiving
their pay: they remained inflexible, and threatened violence; upon
which captain Dalton, a British officer, sent a messenger to the camp,
from whence the grenadier company immediately marched into the city,
where they were joined by 100 of the garrison of Tritchinopoly, and
all together forcing their way into the palace, they got the nabob
into his palanquin, and escorted him to the camp, surrounded by 200
Europeans with fixed bayonets; the malcontents not daring to offer him
any outrage as he was passing, nor on the other hand, was any injury
offered to them: for notwithstanding such proceedings in more civilized
nations rarely happen, and are justly esteemed mutiny and treason; yet
in Hindustan they are common accidents, and arise from such causes
as render difficult to ascertain whether the prince or his army be
most in fault. The nabob had certainly no money to pay his troops;
so far from it, that the English had now for two years furnished all
the expences of their own troops in the field, but it is a maxim with
every prince in India, let his wealth be ever so great, to keep his
army in long arrears, for fear they should desert. This apprehension
is perhaps not unjustly entertained of hirelings collected from every
part of a despotic empire, and insensible of notions of attachment
to the prince or cause they serve; but from hence the soldiery,
accustomed to excuses when dictated by no necessity, give no credit to
those which are made to them, when there is a real impossibility of
satisfying their demands; and a practice common to most of the princes
of Hindustan, concurs not a little to increase this mistrust in all who
serve them; for on the one hand, the vain notions in which they have
been educated, inspire them with such a love of outward shew, and the
enervating climate in which they are born, renders them so incapable of
resisting the impulses of fancy; and on the other hand, the frequent
reverses of fortune in this empire, dictate so strongly the necessity
of hoarding resources against the hour of calamity, that nothing is
more common than to see a nabob purchasing a jewel or ornament of
great price, at the very time that he is in the greatest distress for
money to answer the necessities of the government. Hence, instead of
being shocked at the clamors of their soldiery, they are accustomed
to live in expectation of them, and it is a maxim in their conduct to
hear them with patience, unless the crowd proceed to violence; but
in order to prevent this, they take care to attach to their interest
some principal officers, with such a number of the best troops, as may
serve on emergency to check the tumult, which is rarely headed by a
man of distinction. But when his affairs grow desperate by the success
of a superior enemy, the prince atones severely for his evasions, by a
total defection of his army, or by suffering such outrages as the Nabob
Mahomed-Ally would in all probability have been exposed to, had he not
been rescued in the manner we have described.
_Military_ INDICATIONS. (_Indices_, _Fr._) Marshal Saxe very
judiciously observes, that there are indications in war which every
officer should attend to, and from which deductions and conclusions may
be drawn with some degree of certainty. A previous knowlege of your
enemy’s national character and customs, will contribute not a little
towards the attainment of this object. Every country indeed has customs
and usages which are peculiar to itself. Among various indications
that we might adduce, let us suppose these leading ones by which the
intentions of an enemy may be discovered by the garrison of a besieged
town. If, for example, towards the close of day groupes or loose
parties of armed men should be discovered upon the neighboring heights
which overlook and command the town, you may remain assured, that
some considerable attack is in agitation. Small detachments from the
different corps are sent forward for this purpose, and the besieging
army is thereby apprized of the business; as the heights are occupied
in the evening by the parties in question, in order that they may be
thoroughly acquainted with the leading avenues, &c.
When much firing is heard from an enemy’s camp, and another army lies
encamped near, the latter may conclude, that an engagement will take
place the following day; for it must be evident, that the soldiers are
cleaning and trying their musquets.
Marshal Saxe further remarks, that a considerable movement in an
enemy’s army may be discovered by any large quantity of dust, which is
a sure indication of it. The reflection of the sun upon the firelocks
of an army will likewise lead to some knowlege of its position. If the
rays are collected and perpendicular, it is a certain indication, that
the enemy is advancing towards you; if they disappear at times and
cast a broken radiance, you may conclude, that he is retreating. If
the troops move from right to left, their line of march is towards the
left; if from left to right, the line of march is towards the right.
Should considerable clouds of dust be seen to rise from an enemy’s
camp, and it be ascertained, that he is in want of forage, it may
fairly be inferred, that the train of waggoners and purveyors, &c. are
moving, and that the whole will follow shortly.
If the enemy, observes the same writer, has his camp-ovens on the right
or left, and you are covered by a small rivulet, you may make a flank
disposition, and by that manœuvre, suddenly return and detach ten or
twelve thousand men to demolish his ovens; and whilst you are protected
by the main body of the army which is ordered to support the first
detachment, you may seize upon all his flour, &c. There are innumerable
stratagems of this sort which may be practised in war, and by means of
which, a victory may be obtained without much bloodshed on your part,
and at all events with considerable disadvantage to the enemy.
INDIES (EAST). According to the geographical description of the East
Indies, they must be considered as being divided into two principal
parts, viz. India within the river Ganges, and India beyond the river
Ganges.
INDIA, _within the river Ganges_. This division consists of a country,
which is situated between the latitudes of 6 and 34 degrees north, and
between 53 and 91 degrees of east longitude. A great part of this space
is covered with the sea. India within the Ganges is bounded on the
north by Usbec Tartary, and part of Thibet, by the Indian ocean on the
south; by Great Thibet, India beyond the Ganges, and the bay of Bengal
on the east, and by Persia and the Indian ocean on the west. The chief
mountains are those of Caucasus, Naugracut, and Balahaut, which run
almost the whole length of India from north to south.
INDIA _beyond the Ganges_. This division consists of a country, which
is situated between the latitudes of one and 30 degrees north, and
between the longitudes of 89 and 109 degrees east. Great part of these
limits is covered by the sea. It is bounded on the north by Thibet and
China, by China and the Chinese sea on the east; by the same sea and
the streights of Malacca on the south, and by the bay of Bengal and
part of India on the west.
To enter into the extent of the British possessions in this quarter
of the globe, would be to exceed the limits of our undertaking in
a considerable degree, without materially aiding its principal
object, which is military information. We shall therefore content
ourselves with giving, in a brief and succinct manner, a view of those
establishments which constitutes the Indian army.
According to the last printed oriental register, the army in India is
composed of one corps of engineers, two artillery regiments, eight
regiments of cavalry, two regiments of European infantry, and forty
regiments of native infantry, divided into brigades of 6 regiments each.
The military board consists of one lieutenant-general, two
major-generals, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two captains and
one lieutenant.
The military offices and departments are superintended by one military
auditor-general, one deputy military auditor-general, one first
assistant and accomptant, one military pay-master general, one deputy
pay-master general, one adjutant-general, one deputy adjutant-general,
one secretary to the military board, one first assistant, one
quarter-master general, one deputy quarter-master general, one surveyor
general, one assistant to ditto, one judge-advocate general, one deputy
judge-advocate at Dinapore and Chunar, one ditto at Cawnpore and
Futtygur, one superintendant of powder-works, one assistant ditto.
The army stations in India, with their appropriate public staffs are;--
_Fort-William_, under one major-general commanding at the presidency,
who has one aid-de-camp, one head surgeon, one chaplain, one
pay-master; and we presume, one brigade-major.
_Barrackpore_, under one captain commandant, who has one brigade-major,
and one chaplain.
_Berhampore_, under one major-general, who commands the station, and
has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one chaplain, and one deputy
pay-master.
_Dinapore_, under one major-general, who has one aid-de-camp, one
brigade-major, one pay-master, one head surgeon, and one chaplain.
_Chunar_, under one major-general officer, who commands the station,
and has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one head surgeon, one
deputy pay-master, and one chaplain.
_Cawnpore_, under one major-general who commands the station,
and who has one secretary and Persian interpreter in the field,
one aid-de-camp, one head surgeon, one brigade-major, one deputy
pay-master, and one chaplain.
_Futty Ghur_, under one major-general commanding, who has one
aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one surgeon, one chaplain, and one
pay-master.
_Hydrabad detachment_, under the command of one lieutenant-colonel,
one major of brigade, one deputy commissary of ordnance, one deputy
pay-master, and one Persian interpreter.
_Prince of Wales’s Island_, under one captain commandant, one captain
subordinate to him, one lieutenant, who is deputy commissary of
ordnance, one pay-master, one engineer, having the rank of lieutenant,
one surgeon, and one assistant-surgeon.
The cantonments and garrisons consist of the following:--
_Barrackpore_, where there is one barrack-master.
_Berhampore_, where there is one barrack-master, and one engineer.
_Dinapore_, with one barrack-master, and one engineer.
_Midnapore_, with one adjutant and quarter-master.
_Fort-William_, with one fort-major, one barrack-master, one
fort-adjutant, one garrison store-keeper, one surgeon, and one
assistant surgeon.
_Monghyr_, under one major-general, who commands; one fort-adjutant,
one engineer, and one surgeon.
_Buxar_, under one major-general commandant, one fort-adjutant, and one
assistant surgeon.
_Chunar_, with one fort-adjutant, and barrack-master, one engineer, and
one garrison store-keeper.
_Allahhabad_, with one lieutenant-colonel commandant, one fort
adjutant, and one barrack-master.
There is likewise, an establishment for European invalids at Chunar,
consisting at present, of one captain from the first company of
artillery, two captains from the third company of infantry, two
lieutenants, two ensigns, one adjutant, and one quarter-master.
The medical department of India consists of an hospital board, under
one first member and director of the hospitals, one second member of
the hospital board, one secretary, one surgeon and apothecary, one
assistant surgeon and deputy apothecary, one purveyor and contractor
for bedding and clothing, one head surgeon at head quarters, and six
hospital mates.
The armed force of the East Indies independent of the troops sent
from Europe, consists in a marine battalion which has six companies
stationed at Bengal, one company at Fort-Marlborough, and one at the
Prince of Wales’s Island. There is likewise a battalion distinguished
by the name of the Ramghur battalion, and a corps of hill rangers. To
which must be added the Calcutta native militia, the Hindustan cavalry,
and three volunteer battalions serving in the Carnatic.--The Calcutta
militia, properly so called, is commanded by the right honorable the
governor general. This establishment consists of one troop of cavalry;
one infantry battalion, one Armenian corps, and one Portuguese corps.
The general staff of India in 1800, consisted of one commander in
chief, one military auditor general, one military paymaster general,
one adjutant general, one quarter-master general, one judge-advocate
general, two deputies at Dinapore and Chunar, and Cawnpore, and
Futtyghur, one surveyor general, one military secretary to the governor
general, four aids-de-camp to the governor general, two aids-de-camp
to the commander in chief, one secretary to the commander in chief,
one surgeon to the commander in chief, one Persian translator to the
commander in chief.
INDOSTAN. This word properly spelled Hindustan; from _Stan_ a country,
and _Hindus_ the people; usually called _India_.
INEXPUGNABLE. See IMPREGNABLE.
INFAMOUS _behaviour_, (_infamie_, _Fr._) a term peculiarly applicable
to military life when it is affected by dishonorable conduct. Hence
the expression which is used in the Articles of War, relative to
_scandalous infamous behaviour_; on conviction of which, an officer
is ordered to be cashiered. Infamy may be attached to an officer or
soldier in a variety of ways; and some countries are more tenacious
than others on this head. Among European nations it has always been
deemed infamous and disgraceful to abandon the field of action, or
to desert the colors, except in cases of the greatest emergency. In
Germany, a mark of infamy was attached to the character of every man
that was found guilty of misbehaviour before the enemy. He could not
assist at the public sacrifices, nor be present at a court-martial.
Many destroyed themselves in consequence of the ignominy they suffered
on these occasions. According to the old French salique law, any person
who should upbraid another with having fled from the field of battle,
and not be able to prove it, was heavily fined.
Among the Romans the punctilious nicety of military fame was carried
to a much higher pitch. It was considered as infamous and disgraceful
to be taken prisoner, and a Roman soldier was impressed with the idea,
that he must either conquer or die in the field. Regulus, the Roman
general, was so much influenced by these high sentiments, that when the
Carthagenians by whom he had been taken prisoner, sent him to Rome,
in order to arrange certain conditions of peace, he deemed himself
unworthy to appear in the senate, notwithstanding that his fellow
citizens invited him to the sitting. The advice which he gave his
countrymen, and the punishment he suffered on his return to Carthage
are well known.
Although these notions have considerably degenerated among the moderns,
the military character is nevertheless so far elevated above every
other profession in life, that the slightest imputation of cowardice
or dishonor is sufficient to affect it. Among the French the most
punctilious nicety is observed; so much so, that the common soldier
considers himself superior to the lower orders of mankind, and will
resent a blow or a lie with a pertinacity of honor, that puts him
upon a level with the most scrupulous duellist. How far this sense
or honor ought to be encouraged in the ranks we will not pretend to
determine. But we shall scarcely be found fault with, or run the
hazard of contradiction, when we assert, that no officer ought to
hold a commission in any service, who can either take or give the
lie, or receive a blow without resenting the insult in the most
summary manner. For we may pronounce, that man incapable of doing
justice to the service, who can be insensible himself. Nor does the
term _infamous_ apply in this instance only. There are various cases,
in which the conduct of an officer may render him unworthy of the
situation he fills: such as cheating at play, taking unfair advantages
of youth, imposing upon the credulity or confidence of a tradesman,
habitual drunkenness, flagrant breaches of hospitality, &c.
INFANTRY, (_Infanterie_, _Fr._) This term being little understood with
respect to its derivation, and having by some writers been either
vaguely interpreted, or erroneously traced, we think it our duty to
give the best, and we presume, the only correct explanation of the
word. In so doing we should be unthankful to one of the most acute
observers in life, and one of the closest reasoners, were we to omit
acknowleging that we have been favored by the ingenious and learned
author of the _Diversions of Purley_, with the following account of its
derivation.
Johnson generally states, that infantry _are foot soldiers belonging to
the army_; and the compilers of other dictionaries content themselves
with assimilating the term infantry to the name of a Spanish princess,
who marched at the head of a body of Spaniards on foot, and defeated
the Moors. She was called Infanta. Our learned friend, on the contrary,
traces it to the source of genuine etymology, and grounds his opinion
upon the best authorities. His first root is from the Greek _phe-mi_,
Latin, _Fa-ri_, participle _Fans_--_In-fans_; Italian, _Infante_, by
abridgment, _Fante_; _Infanteria_, by abridgment, _Fanteria_; French,
_Infanterie_; English, _Infantry_.
It is still in French and in English a common expression to soldiers,
_allons mes enfans_, _come on my lads_, (_or my boys_). So a servant
is called a _lad_ or _a boy_ (and formerly a _knave_ or a _page_),
although a full grown _man_.
The military profession is still called _service_; and a soldier is
said to _serve_ in the army.
Skinner says well;--“The _infantry_, _Fr._ G. _infanterie_; Italian,
_fanteria_, peditatus: _fante_, pedes et famulus; quia scilicet olim
pedites equitum famuli, vel pedissequi fuerunt.--_fante_ autem a Lat.
_Infans_, manifeste ortum ducit. Et nos _Boy_, non tantum pro puero sed
et pro famulo, secundario sensu usurpamus.”
After which he refers us to _Lansquenet_.
_A Lansquenet_, a Fr. G. _Lansquenet_, pedes, miles, gregarius, utr. a
Teut. _Lance_, lancea, et _Knecht_, servus: olim enim pedites equitum
lanceariorum quasi servi erunt; et quilibet eques quatuor vel quinque
pedites, tanquam famulos circumduxit. Exercitus autem numero equitum,
non peditum censebantur.
Vide _Comineum_ et alios illorum seculorum Scriptores.
It appears, that Machiavelli, in his Arte della Guerra, sufficiently
points out what, and how considered, the infantry were in his time,
when he says (libro primo) “Venuta la pace, che i _gentil huomini_ alla
loro particolare arte.”
It is plain, the _fanti_ were huomini bassi, e soldati gregarii, _i.
e._ hired _servants_, and therefore called _fanti_, and the corps
_fanteria_. The term _infantry_ was given to them when they were
considered merely as _lads_ attending on the army: and the term has
continued, though their condition is altered.
From these sensible observations, it is evident that although the
primary sources of infantry are in the Greek and Latin languages, its
modern derivation is from the Italian word _fante_, which signifies a
follower. In the first stages of modern warfare, battles were chiefly
fought by cavalry or horsemen; but in Italy, and afterwards in Spain,
the bodies of horse were always attended by a certain number of squires
or armed men on foot, who marched in the rear and assisted their
leaders.
Boccacio mentions the latter under the term _fanteria_, and other
Italian writers, one of whom we have already quoted, call it
_infanteria_, both being derived from _fante_. Nothing can be more out
of date, out of place, and superficial than to imagine that because
the Spaniards have recorded a gallant action, which was performed by
an _infanta_ of that nation, the rest of Europe should bury the real
etymology of infantry beneath the flimsy texture of court adulation.
It is, besides, extremely erroneous to state, that until that period
men did not fight on foot. It is well known that the Greeks and Romans
frequently placed the greatest confidence in men of that description.
The former had their Hoplitai, their Psiloi, and their Peltastai; and
the latter their _Celeres_, _Velites_, Hastati, Principes, and Triarii,
or Pisarii. The French word _Fantassin_ which signifies a foot soldier,
is manifestly derived from _fante_.
Until the reign of Charles the VIIth. the French infantry were
extremely defective; so much so, that Brantome says in one part of
his works, the infantry could not be considered as essentially useful
to the security of the state. For it consisted in those days, of
_marauts, belistres mal armés, mal complexionnés; fenéans, pillards
et mangeurs du peuple_: which may be thus rendered in plain English:
_lads, rascals, and vagabonds, scoundrels ill equipped and ill looking,
filchers, plunderers, and devourers of the people_.
Europe however is unquestionably indebted to the Swiss for a total
change in the military system particularly so with regard to foot
soldiers.
Dr. Robertson in the first volume of his history of Charles V. p. 105,
observes that the system of employing the Swiss in the Italian wars,
was the occasion of introducing a total innovation in the military
custom. The arms and discipline of the Swiss were different from those
of other European nations. During their long and violent struggles
in defence of their liberties against the house of Austria, whose
armies, like those of other considerable princes, consisted chiefly of
heavy-armed cavalry, the Swiss found that their poverty, and the small
number of gentlemen residing in their country, at that time barren and
ill cultivated, put it out of their power to bring into the field any
body of horse capable of facing the enemy. Necessity compelled them
to place all their confidence in infantry, and in order to render it
capable of withstanding the shock of cavalry, they gave the soldiers
breast-plates and helmets, as defensive armor, together with long
spears, halberts, and heavy swords, as weapons of offence. They formed
them into large battalions, ranged in deep and close array, so that
they could present on every side a formidable front to the enemy. (See
Machiavel’s Art of War, b. ii. chap. ii. p. 451.) The men at arms could
make no impression on the solid strength of such a body. It repulsed
the Austrians in all their attempts to conquer Swisserland. It broke
the Burgundian gendarmerie, which was scarcely inferior to that of
France, either in number or reputation; and when first called to act
in Italy, it bore down by its irresistable force, every enemy that
attempted to oppose it. These repeated proofs of the decisive effect
of infantry, exhibited on such conspicuous occasions, restored that
service to reputation, and gradually re-established the opinion which
had been long exploded, of its superior importance in the operations of
war. But the glory the Swiss had acquired, having inspired them with
such high ideas of their own prowess and consequence, as frequently
rendered them mutinous and insolent, the princes who employed them
became weary of depending on the caprice of foreign mercenaries, and
began to turn their attention towards the improvement of their national
infantry.
The German powers having the command of men, whom nature has endowed
with that steady courage and persevering strength which form them to be
soldiers, soon modelled their troops in such a manner, that they vied
with the Swiss both in discipline and valor.
The French monarch, though more slowly, and with greater difficulty,
accustomed the impetuous spirit of their people to subordination and
discipline; and were at such pains to render their national infantry
respectable, that as early as the reign of Louis XII. several gentlemen
of high rank had so far abandoned their ancient ideas, as to condescend
to enter into their service.
The Spaniards, whose situation made it difficult to employ any other
than their national troops in the southern parts of Italy, which was
the chief scene of their operations in that country, not only adopted
the Swiss discipline, but improved upon it, by mingling a proper number
of soldiers, armed with heavy musquets, in their battalions; and thus
formed that famous body of infantry, which, during a century and a
half, was the admiration and terror of all Europe. The Italian states
gradually diminished the number of their cavalry, and, in imitation of
their more powerful neighbors, brought the strength of their armies to
consist in foot soldiers. From this period the nations of Europe have
carried on war with forces more adapted to every species of service,
more capable of acting in every country, and better fitted both for
conquests, and for preserving them. See Robertson’s View of the State
of Europe, book I., pages 105 and 107.
INFANTERIE _aventuriere_, _Fr._ a species of French infantry, which
succeeded to the legions that were established under Francis I. in
imitation of the Roman legions. This infantry was kept up as late as
during the reign of Henry IV. when the whole of the foot establishment
was reduced into regiments.
_Heavy-armed_ INFANTRY, among the ancients, were such as wore a
complete suit of armor, and engaged with broad shields and long spears.
They were the flower and strength of the Grecian armies, and had the
highest rank of military honor.
_Light-armed_ INFANTRY, amongst the ancients, were designed for
skirmishes, and for fighting at a distance. Their weapons were arrows,
darts, or slings.
_Light_ INFANTRY have only been in use since the year 1656. They have
no camp equipage to carry, and their arms and accoutrements are much
lighter than the common infantry, or battalion men. Wherever there is
light cavalry, there should be light infantry to act in conjunction.
_Foreign_ INFANTRY (_Infanterie étrangere_, _Fr._) Foreign troops
were taken into pay, during the old monarchy of France, at a very
early period. In the reign of Philip surnamed le Bel or the handsome,
treatises and agreements were severally entered into for this purpose,
with John Bailleul king of Scotland, Eric king of Norway, Albert duke
of Austria, and many other German princes, and with Humbert duke of
Viennois.
Philip of Valois likewise made use of foreign troops, and under Louis
XI. the Swiss were taken into French pay; since that period and until
the revolution, which was accomplished on the 10th of August, 1792,
several regiments were maintained under the different denominations of
Swiss, German, Italian, Catalonian, Scotch and Irish corps or brigades.
During the present war the same system has been more or less adopted
by the British government. Independent of foreign subsidies, it has
been judged expedient to admit foreigners of rank, and we presume, of
military merit, within those native limits, from whence heretofore
every stranger was jealously excluded. A reference to the official army
list will readily point out the corps that come under this description.
With respect to the 60th or loyal American, it is necessary to
observe, that the original principles upon which those battalions were
established, have been totally altered. One battalion in particular,
instead of being called American, should be named German. For the
colonel is a German by birth and education, and the majority of the
corps are from that country.
In thus adverting to the 60th regiment, we think it right to explain
away an absurd and contradictory opinion, which has prevailed of late
years to the prejudice of that gallant corps. It has been called
the condemned regiment, from an idle, and unfounded notion, that
the different battalions, though forming a considerable part of the
British infantry, were excluded from home service, on account of some
imputed misconduct. Their uniform good behaviour is a sufficient
refutation to the latter supposition; and when we state that at the
close of the American war, the battalions of the 60th were formed for
the express purpose of garrisoning the British possessions in Canada,
and as the means of providing for those Americans who had suffered by
their attachment to the royal cause, we may leave the subject without
further explanation; merely adding, that instead of being exiled from
Europe, they have during the present war, done duty in Ireland and at
the Isle of Wight. With respect to foreign troops in the pay of and
actually serving in Great Britain; there are five Dutch regiments under
two Dutch generals, which in every sense of the word, come under the
description of foreign infantry. Indeed from the general convulsed
state of Europe, and the gradual introduction of coercive measures, the
business of arms seems necessarily to have taken an ascendancy over
every other calling or profession.
The foreign infantry, in the service of Great Britain, according to the
returns delivered in on the 1st of November 1800, consisted of loyal
French emigrants, Castries, Mortemart, Roll, and Dillon; Meuron ditto;
four ditto Dutch, each having a company of artillery attached, and one
Dutch rifle with a company of pioneers; Lowenstien’s corps, which was
not completed, and one corps of foreign invalids. Staff to a foreign
hospital. There were besides sixteen unattached foreign officers who
received full pay, 166 ditto on half pay, 504 aged and wounded ditto,
46 foreign officers widows, 44 children of foreign officers who died in
the king’s service. There was also a small corps of estafettes, which
were attached to the waggon train, and consisted wholly of foreigners.
_The Turkish_ INFANTRY (_Infanterie Turque_, _Fr._) is generally
composed of regiments that are chosen or select. This body is first
divided into two parts called _Capikuli_ and _Serratkuli_. The
militia, which is named _Capikuli_, is subdivided into _Janizaries_,
_Agemolans_, _Topeys_, _Gebegys_ and _Sakkas_. The agemolans constitute
the military school, in which young men, destined for the corps of
Janizaries, are educated; The _Topeys_ are Turkish cannoniers, the
_Gebegys_ are armorers, and the _Sakkas_ are water carriers.
The Serratkuli infantry is composed of _Azapes_, _Izarelys_,
_Seimenys_, _Lagumgys_ and _Musellims_. Count de Marsilly in his _Etat
militaire_ de l’Empire Ottoman, gives the following account of these
corps.
The Porte being convinced, that the body of Janizaries was not
sufficiently strong to garrison all the frontier places belonging to
the Turkish empire, established in the different provinces new corps of
infantry, whose duty was similar to that of the Janizaries, in camp and
garrison. These corps were maintained at the expence of each Beglerbey
or principality. Some writers have inconsiderately confounded this
corps with that of the Janizaries, merely distinguishing it by the name
of _Capikuli_. It differs, however, very materially from them, being
superior in the formation of its divisions, more celebrated for the
valor of its troops, and in every respect better disciplined.
This corps is not upon the same footing as the militia called Capikuli.
It is, in general under the direction of the Bachas of the different
provinces, the command of which is given to those persons who are
either the particular friends of the Bachas, or have the means of
bribing handsomely for the appointments. This militia does not receive
any pay, unless it be actively employed, and its subsistence in that
case is drawn from the provinces, much in the same manner as British
militia is from the different counties, at the monthly meetings. With
regard to its institution, the principal object of it is to support the
Janizaries, and to replace them, when vacancies occur.
The _Serratkuli_ infantry, is divided into _Azapes_, _Izarelys_,
_Seimenys_, _Lagumgys_, and _Musellims_.
The number of the Azapes is not particularly fixed. They consist
chiefly of independent companies, which are distributed among the
different departments of the Turkish empire. They are distinguished
among their own people by the different names of the week, and are
divided into as many odas or companies.
These odas or companies are indiscriminately subject to the orders of
two general officers, viz. the Azape-Agasi who is commander in chief of
the Azapes, and the Azape-Kiatiby their commissary general, who keeps
a register of their names and countries.
They obey subordinate officers called _derys_, oda-baschys, and
bairactars. There are ten derys attached to each company, who may be
properly considered as corporals, entrusted with the discipline of
the soldiers. The bairactars are the standard-bearers. Each standard
belonging to an oda or company consists of a horse’s tail, which hangs
from the end of a lance, that is capped with a gilt ball. The officers
are moreover directed to superintend the messes belonging to their
different companies.
It is usual for each azape to be a native of the province, in which he
serves, and he is generally clothed after the fashion of the country.
At Buda the azapes were ordered to be dressed in the Hungarian manner,
which consisted in a cloth cap bordered with skin, a sabre, an arquebus
or fusil: which similarity of dress and accoutrement has frequently
confounded the azapes with Hungarian christians.
The isarelys are chiefly employed in the frontier towns, and have
charge of the artillery in the room of the topeys or cannoniers. They
are under the direction and command of an artillery officer, who is
sent from Constantinople and is called _Topey-Agasi_.
Their number is uncertain, and they are not subdivided, as their
employment depends wholly upon the quality and quantity of artillery
that are used. One man is attached to small field pieces, and two
to those of larger calibre; so that instead of being distributed by
companies, they are ordered upon duty according to the nature and
number of the ordnance.
They have no other officer, besides the one already mentioned, attached
to them, which officer is subordinate to the Bacha of the province, as
their service does not require subaltern officers. The Bolukys-Baschys
are officers merely employed to bring orders from the general officers,
but they cannot interfere in the direction or management of the
artillery.
The _Seimenys_ are the least respected body belonging to this national
militia, being composed wholly of peasants, that are called out and
enrolled like the supplementary militia of Great Britain, in cases of
extreme necessity. They are only in fact considered as a mass of people
serving to increase the number of troops, without having any credit for
military skill or valor. They consist of Turks, Greeks, and even of
Roman Catholics, who enrol themselves in order to be exempted from the
annual tax.
Their only chief or commanding officer, is the bacha of the province.
The seimenys belonging to Natolia are all Mahomedans. They are called
_Jajas_, or _men on foot_, and although they do not receive any pay,
except when embodied, they are nevertheless divided into _Bairacts_
or standards, which are similar to the _Odat_, and they obey their
Seimeny-Boluk-Beschy, who commands sixty men that are attached to his
standard, and to the Bairactar, who escorts the standard, which is
generally red and of a moderate size.
The seimenys usually do duty in camp and garrison. For although the
Turks place little confidence in christians, yet there have been
instances wherein their services have been required on very important
occasions. At the siege of Vienna they employed Christian troops, and
increased their infantry by those means very considerably; they even
formed a reserve from troops of that description; and their conduct
was such, that they acquired a marked reputation by the obstinate
resistance which they made at Colemberg.
These troops, however, are in general ill-armed; having only rough
polished sabres, and very indifferent arquebusses with locks, or bad
fusils of different sizes, and consequently of little use in the hands
of such men.
The _Lagumgys_ are what we call miners: This body is chiefly composed
of Armenians and christians, out of Greece or Bosnia, who being in the
habit of mining, are extremely serviceable in that line, and act under
the immediate direction of some old officers called lagumgys-baschys or
chiefs of the miners. Some particular privileges are annexed to these
appointments.
The _Musellims_ are christian tributaries, whose duty is to march
before the advanced guard of the army, to clear the roads and to
construct bridges for the passage of the troops. On this account they
are called pioneers.
The bachas of the different Turkish towns pay great attention to these
musellims or pioneers. They not only exempt them from all taxes, but
even give them lands and freeholds. By a particular privilege which is
attached to this corps, only five out of thirty are obliged to do duty
on a march, and they are then joined to the carpenters, which renders
the service less fatiguing. Their number is not fixed. It depends
indeed, more or less, upon the population of the different provinces,
and on the extent of land which may be disposed of in their favor.
They are commanded by a bas-musellim or principal person belonging to
the exempts, whose only duty is to superintend the regular discharge of
their functions.
Those, however, belonging to Natolia are subject to the bey or sangiah,
who superintends the distribution of their subsistence, &c. in the
same manner that he does that of the cavalry which is attached to his
department.
The only weapon they carry is a hatchet; but the neighboring villages
or the public magazines belonging to the artillery, are obliged to
supply them with pickaxes and other tools that may be wanted in their
profession. They are strictly forbidden the use of a sabre or fusil.
Whenever the Turkish army is on its march, the musellims are obliged
to go forward every preceding day, in order to prepare the way for its
progress.
During a siege they are frequently attached to the garrison guns, which
they work in the best manner they can; and when a town is besieged by
the Turks, the musellims are employed in the trenches, from which duty
they derive considerable profit; so much so, that the Janizaries are
extremely jealous of them on these occasions. They are, in a word,
the most formidable body of infantry which the Turks possess; for the
groundwork of every species of attack or defence, and the management of
all warlike machines rest upon their exertions.
_The_ INFERNAL. Strada gives a very curious and interesting account of
this machine, in his history of the Belgic war.
The infernal was tried by the English at Dunkirk and St. Maloes, and by
the Dutch and English under king William. It is likewise mentioned by
Grose in his history of the English army.
The only time during the present war at which its dreadful powers have
been attempted, was in the month of December, 1800, when a conspiracy
was formed and emissaries under the direction of one _Jackson_, sent
from London to destroy Bonaparte. It failed as to its immediate
objects, but proved by its collateral effects, that the invention is as
destructive as the most sanguine destroyer of the human race could wish.
_To_ INFEST, _infester_, _Fr._ This word is more strictly applicable to
places than to things.
_To_ INFEST _a place_ (_infester un lieu_) signifies to frequent any
particular spot for the evident purpose of doing damage, to create
uneasiness and to commit depredations. Thus free-booters or thieves are
said to infest places.
INFINIMENT PETIT, _Fr._ Infinitely small. Modern calculators call,
by this name, every thing which is so exiguous that it cannot be
compared to any other quantity, or which is smaller than any other
assignable quantity. The new calculation which has been adopted among
geometricians respecting quantities that are infinitely small; is
called the calculation of _infinitesimals_.
INFIRMARY. See HOSPITAL.
INFLUENCE _of example_. In a military sense the influence of example is
of the greatest consequence. We have already spoken generally on the
necessity of good example (see EXAMPLE); we think it proper further
to observe, that the influence which every action of a commanding
officer bears, is of so much importance to the service, as to render
it incumbent upon every superior person to consider its effects upon
the mind and conduct of an inferior. A circumstance once occurred,
which is frequently quoted. It was briefly this: an officer happening
to appear upon the parade without being strictly uniform as to dress,
was ordered to fall out. Some little time after the commanding officer
(by whom the subaltern had been noticed) was himself irregularly
dressed; the latter availed himself of an opportunity to mention
the circumstance in a familiar and good-humored manner; upon which
the former very shrewdly replied--_It is true, sir, that I am not
strictly in uniform to-day, but you will be pleased to recollect, that
I have the commanding officer’s leave_. The repartee was not amiss,
as it conveyed at the same time a sound piece of advice to every
inferior officer; but it did not justify the deviation. An admiral,
from motives, we conceive, of duty, as well as principles of economy,
was so tenacious of regularity, that rather than appear not strictly
correct, he has been known to have a second naval uniform, made of
coarse flannel, which he constantly wore on board. Notwithstanding this
laudable instance, it is well known, that both in the army and navy,
the repartee of the commanding officer has been frequently used.
INFORMERS. Soldiers who give information of false musters, or of pay
illegally detained, are entitled to their discharge. See MUTINY ACT,
sections 27 and 69.
INGINEER. See ENGINEER.
INGENIEUR, _Fr._ Ingineer. See ENGINEER.
INGENIEUR _par rapport à l’architecture civile_, _Fr._ An engineer who
may be properly called an adept in civil architecture. A person of this
description was always employed among the French. He was a skilful and
intelligent man, perfectly master of mechanics; by which means he could
invent machines for the purpose of increasing propellents, so as either
to draw or to raise heavy loads with facility, or to elevate and direct
the course of waters.
INGENIEUR _en architecture militaire_, _Fr._ An engineer who is
perfectly master of military architecture. The term itself points out,
that the requisite qualifications are ingenuity, skill, and an apt
talent at invention. The French, in former times, made use of the word
_ingeigneur_ instead of _ingenieur_; deriving the former from _engin_,
which originally signified a machine amongst them, and has since been
adopted by us. All warlike machines, such as cannons, &c. were, in
fact, called engines, because they were, for the most part, invented
by engineers. So that even the word _engin_, _Fr._ and _engine_ comes
from the Latin _engenium_, or invention. These machines were, indeed,
frequently called in bad Latin _ingenia_. Hence the etymology of
_ingenieur_. The situation of _ingenieur_, among the French, has always
been deemed extremely honorable. They have always risen to the highest
posts in the army, and their skill and judgment have always been
thought indispensibly necessary in all the operations of war. We have
already pointed out, under the article ENGINEER, the outlines of this
important character. We only regret, that the limits of our undertaking
will not admit the very sensible observations which are to be found
under the head INGENIEUR in several French publications.
The French, and after them several other nations, have formed their
engineers into select corps; the French call them _corps de Genie_.
INGENIEUR _Directure_, _Fr._ A responsible person in the old French
service, whose duty was to superintend and take charge of a certain
number of fortified towns or places, and to transmit a regular account
of the actual state of the works, and to represent whatever might
appear defective, or stand in need of repair.
INGENIEUR _en Chef_, _Fr._ chief engineer. It was the business of this
officer to superintend the construction of all sorts of military works,
having several subordinate engineers under him to assist and put his
plans into execution. In order to make some distinction between the man
of skill and genius, and the mere pretenders to knowlege in this great
branch of military acquirements, it was usual, during the monarchy of
France, to call all engineers that were acknowleged by government,
_ingenieurs ordinaires du roi_, engineers in ordinary to the king.
The usual pay of the French engineers was, from _vingt ecus_ or
two pounds ten shillings up to one hundred _ecus_ or 4_l._ 10_s._
English, per month, according to each individual’s length of service,
peculiar talents, or appointment. Persons were received as engineers
by the superintendant of the board of ordnance, after having passed a
mathematical examination; and the situation was the more eagerly sought
after, inasmuch as it led to the highest military post; as that of
marshal of France, to which the celebrated Vauban was promoted.
In 1755, the French engineers were formed into one corps, under the
name of the royal corps of artillery and engineers; the principal
officers of which communicated with the secretary of war, and received
through him the king’s orders.
No country has ever paid so much attention to the art of engineering,
as France has under all her vicissitudes; and this has arisen not
so much from a natural predilection to that peculiar study, as from
a conviction of its utility in all warlike operations, but most
especially in sieges. This class of military men was, however,
extremely neglected, until the reign of Louis the XIVth. Few ever saw,
or were present at above five or six sieges; being either wounded at
the beginning, or during the operations of a siege. They seldom indeed,
witnessed the termination of it; and from the want of engineers, the
investment of a town or fortified place became tedious, and many lives
were unnecessarily lost. Louis the XIVth, by his personal appearance
and attention gave fresh life to his army, and instilled into every
part of it a spirit of subordination, which had been hitherto unknown.
He was actuated by a thorough conviction, that in every species of
offensive and defensive operation the use of artillery, under the
guidance of scientific men, was essentially requisite. In no instance
however, does the skill of an able engineer appear so much to advantage
as in the attack of a fortified place. This the king witnessed himself,
and on that account he considerably increased the number of engineers.
Persons of the first distinction became candidates for situations in
that honorable body.
Whenever there was a deficiency during a siege of subordinate engineers
or _ingénieurs en second_, it was usual among the French to select
lieutenants or sub-lieutenants from the different infantry corps to
superintend the works, and to see that the workmen did their duty.
They received an additional pay of ten ecus, or one pound five
shillings per month, in consideration of this extra service, and
their being selected in this manner was a sure step to the rank and
emoluments of an engineer. It has been very justly observed by a
French writer, that every infantry officer should be acquainted with
field fortification at least; for a thousand instances occur, in which
the immediate assistance of an engineer is required, and to which in
actual service, it is impossible for the regularly bred officer of that
establishment to pay personal attention. We allude among other cases,
to the temporary defence of out-posts, to the laying and springing of
fougasses, &c.
Before the revolution, the frontier towns and other fortified places
belonging to France were under the direction of 350 engineers, called
_ingénieurs du roi_, who were subordinate to one director general.
All instructions relative to the fortifications passed through the
latter officer to the king.
All engineers were subject to the orders that the commissary general
thought proper to issue, with respect to the attack or defence of
places, the construction of works, &c. and they were further directed
to see, that all the necessary implements for a siege were duly
provided. They gave in a weekly report to the director general of
the progress and state of the works, and had authority to draw upon
the treasury for whatever sums were wanted to pay the contractors.
Every engineer was particularly enjoined to see that the contractors
furnished good materials.
INGLEZ, _Ind._ The English are so called by the natives of Bengal: they
are frequently called Feringhees, that is strangers, _Wullaget_, which
signifies to the country. Americans are called _Nia-Feringhees_, or new
strangers, or foreigners.
INHIBITION. See EMBARGO.
INN-HOLDERS. In England, persons who have a licence to enable them
to sell spirituous liquors, beer, &c. and who are obliged by the
conditions specified in that license, to provide victuals and beer for
military men, under certain restrictions. See 39th and 40th Geo. III.
Cap. 27. Art. XLI. XLII. XLIII.
INIMICAL, hostile.
INLISTING, the act of engaging soldiers, to serve either in the
cavalry, infantry, or artillery. For the regulations respecting the
inlisting soldiers, see RECRUITING.
INNONDER, _Fr._ See INUNDATE.
INQUIRY. See COURTS _of_.
INROAD, incursion, sudden and desultory invasion.
INSCONSED, in the military art. When any part of an army has fortified
itself with a sconce, or small work, in order to defend some pass, &c.
it is said to be insconsed.
INSIDE _guard_, a guard with the broad sword, to secure the face and
front of the body, from a cut made at the inside of the position above
the wrist. See BROADSWORD.
INSPECTEUR, _Fr._ Inspector. Military inspectors were originally
instituted among the French, after the peace of Aix la Chapelle in
1668. Two persons at that epoch occupied this important situation; one
being called inspector general of cavalry, and the other inspector
general of infantry. Louis XIV. under whom France assumed over the rest
of Europe a preponderance of military character, increased the number
of inspectors, and ordered them to be distributed in the different
departments for the purpose of reviewing the troops every month, and of
transmitting to him a regular statement of their effective force, &c.
It was the duty of these inspectors to examine minutely at the
commencement of every month the state of each regiment, to look at the
books belonging to the several companies, and to mark out such men
as did not appear fit for the service. Each inspector had a separate
dwelling-house allotted to him in the garrison town of his department,
and he had the power, on giving previous notice to the governor, of
ordering the men under arms. A brigade major delivered to him every
evening the orders of the day.
Inspectors general of this description ranked with the army, without
bearing any direct commission, and in time of war, they were
acknowleged as general officers, brigadiers, or colonels.
Their inspection did not extend to the troops of the household, the
French, or Swiss guards, nor to the regiment _du Roi infanterie_. The
artillery were also out of their superintendance.
Previous to the French revolution, there were eleven inspectors of
infantry, and eleven of cavalry attached to the French army. There was
likewise one inspector general of infantry, and one inspector general
of cavalry.
INSPECTEUR _de construction_, _Fr._ an officer in the French army,
in whose presence all plans and profiles for fortification, &c. were
drawn, before any work could be undertaken. An accurate estimate
was made of the wood which would be required to complete it. It was
likewise a part of his duty to point out to the carpenters the precise
method by which ground, plans, and elevations, forts, batteries, and
bridges, &c. were to be conducted. It was his business, in a word, to
attend to the construction and repair of every part of a fortification.
INSPECTING _officer of a district_, a responsible character, selected
from the line, who is nominated by the war-office, to superintend the
troops, stations, and recruiting parties, within the limits of his
station.
Field officers of districts may order detachment courts-martial, to be
composed of the recruiting officers in their districts, in the usual
number and ranks, and they may approve of every such court martial,
and to direct the punishment awarded thereby to be executed, mitigated
or remitted, as they shall think expedient. They are to receive orders
from the adjutant general respecting the nature of their returns; and
all returns and reports are to come to the inspector general through
them. Each district field officer in the British service has an
allowance of ten shillings a day, in addition to the full pay of his
respective regimental rank, and he is to be reimbursed for the actual
expence he incurs for stationary and postage of letters; which charge
must be accompanied by a certificate upon honor.
Each district field officer is allowed to appoint a subaltern officer
(not employed upon the recruiting service) to act as adjutant in the
district. The pay or allowance of such subaltern is three shillings a
day in addition to his full regimental pay; he is also authorised to
nominate two serjeants, with the additional pay of sixpence each, one
to act as serjeant major, and the other as clerk to the district.
Each field officer may moreover give directions to the hospital mate,
who is placed under his orders, to examine the recruits when brought
for inspection, and to give such medical assistance as may be in his
power, to the several recruiting parties in the district he belongs to.
When colonels of regiments take upon themselves the whole direction of
the recruiting service for their own corps, they must conform to the
regulations which require returns to be made to the inspector general
of the recruiting service; and they must instruct their officers to
send weekly returns to the regulating field officer, in whose district
they are stationed, of all the casualties that have occurred.
INSPECTION, a strict examination, a close survey. It likewise
signifies superintendance. In a military sense it admits of both
interpretations, and may be considered under two specific heads, each
of which branches out into a variety of general, regimental, and
company duties.
_A general_ INSPECTION is made annually by the reviewing generals of
districts. Every regiment, on this occasion, is minutely looked into,
and a faithful account must be delivered by each commanding officer
of the actual state of his regiment, together with all the casualties
that have occurred during the current year. The interior economy of the
corps is not only investigated to the bottom, but the discipline of
the men is likewise examined. For a more particular explanation of the
latter, see REVIEW.
_Regimental_ INSPECTION is made once a month by the commanding officer.
The clothing, the necessaries, arms, and accoutrements belonging to the
different companies are examined by the lieutenant colonel or major
of the corps. Specific returns are made by the officers commanding
troops or companies, by whom the debts and credits of the men, which
have been made up and accounted for on the 24th day in each month, in
infantry regiments, and on the 24th day in each second month in cavalry
corps, are exhibited for examination at head quarters. This forms the
groundwork or basis of the general inspection, at which the troop or
company book should always be produced.
_Private_ INSPECTION _of companies_ is the first step towards the
other two, and ought to be made every Monday morning, by each officer
commanding a troop or company, or by his subaltern.
INSPECTION _of necessaries_ is an examination of the different articles
which every soldier is directed to have in good repair. The regular
or established proportion of necessaries that each soldier of cavalry
and infantry is to be in possession of on the 24th day of each month,
to entitle him to receive the balance that may be then due to him,
consists of the following articles.
_Cavalry._--3 shirts, 2 pair of shoes, 3 pair of stockings, one
pair of gaiters, 1 forage cap, 1 saddle-bag, one pair of canvas, or
woollen over-hose, 1 canvas, or woollen frock or jacket, 1 stock, 1
black-ball, 2 brushes, 1 curry-comb and brush, 1 mane comb and spunge,
1 horse-pricker.
_Infantry._--3 shirts, 2 pair of shoes, 2 pair of stockings, or 2
pair of socks, 1 pair of gaiters, 1 forage cap, 1 pack, 1 stock, 1
black-ball, 2 brushes.
_Private_ INSPECTION _of arms_. Twenty minutes or more before the
general parade, every troop or company should be drawn up on its troop
or private parade, and each man be narrowly inspected by an officer.
When the dress and accoutrements have been looked at, the troop or
company standing at open ranks, and with shouldered arms will receive
the following words of command from the senior officer.
_Open-pans_--_slope_, or _port arms_--The pans and locks will be
narrowly inspected. _Carry arms_--_shut pans_--_order arms_--_draw
ramrods_--at which word the men draw and put them in the pieces,
springing them successively as the officer comes up to them, but not
returning them until the whole troop or company has been examined. The
officer will carefully examine the nob of each ramrod, and determine
from its appearance whether the inside of the barrel be clean. On some
particular occasions, especially when a party is ordered upon immediate
duty with ball cartridges, a more minute examination of the musquet
should take place. The pricker is not always sufficient to ascertain
the state of the interior part of the touch-hole, as it can only enter
in one direction; it is therefore recommended to order the men _Buts to
the front_, after which they are to blow down the barrels. By applying
his hand to the touch-hole, the officer will be able to know the real
state of the vent. When the arms have been examined, the men will be
ordered to _handle arms_--_fix bayonets_.--When the bayonets and slings
will be inspected--_unfix bayonets_--_ease arms_--_stand at ease_.
INSPECTOR _of cavalry_, an officer whose particular duty is to inspect
all cavalry regiments, to report the state of the horses, and to
receive specific accounts from the different corps of their actual
state; he communicates with the commander in chief, and whenever a
cavalry regiment is ordered to be disbanded, it must be looked at by
the inspector general, before it is finally broken.
INSPECTOR _of the recruiting service_, an officer of rank through whom
the field officers of districts, and colonels of regiments (when they
personally manage the recruiting service of their own corps) transmit
their several returns to the adjutant general’s office.
INSPECTOR _of clothing_. These inspectors, or the inspectors for the
time being, are directed to view and compare with the sealed patterns,
the clothing of the several regiments, as soon as the same shall have
been prepared, and if the said clothing appear to be conformable to the
sealed patterns, they are authorized to grant two certificates of their
view and approval thereof; one of which certificates is to be delivered
to the clothier, to be sent with the clothing to the head quarters of
the corps, and the other to be lodged with the general clothing board,
as the necessary voucher for passing the assignment of the allowance
for the said clothing.
All clothing must be viewed, and certificates be signed by _both_
inspectors, except in cases where the absence of one of them shall be
unavoidable; in all which cases the cause of such absence is to be
stated by the other inspector, in his certificate of the view of the
clothing.
Inspectors of clothing are to follow all instructions which may be
transmitted to them from the commander in chief, or the secretary at
war.
INSPECTOR _of hospitals_, the next on the staff to the surgeon general.
INSTALLATION, the act of investing any one with a military order.
INSTRUCTION _des procés criminel_, _Fr._ A military form or process
in criminal matters. In the old French service when troops were
in garrison, it was the duty of the town-major to issue out the
regular form of proceeding against all officers, serjeants, and
soldiers who were accused of crimes or misdemeanors. The majors of
corps exercised this function when troops were encamped. There was
a specific form, subject only to a few alterations with respect to
terms and expressions, by which all sorts of military crimes were
investigated. Desertion was the chief and most prevalent crime among
French soldiers. It became the peculiar business of the major, whether
in garrison or in the field, to explain and bring forward every thing
that might establish the truth of the accusation; and he acted on this
occasion, as an attorney general does in civil matters; only with this
difference, that the latter explained the grounds of his indictment
before a judge, whereas the former not only exposed the nature of the
case, but drew his own conclusions, and bounded his verdict.
Those officers who may be disposed to enter more largely into the
subject of French military process, as conducted before the revolution,
may be satisfied by perusing _Le Code Militaire, ou deuxieme volume du
service de l’Infanterie_, page 123; and we refer all British officers
in general to M. Tytler’s late publication on English military law.
Major Macomb of the United States engineers has published a very
judicious and concise tract adapted to the military service of the
Union; and it is adopted by the war office.
_Military_ INSTRUMENTS (_instrumens militaires._) _Fr._ By the sound
of military instruments the troops belonging to the several armies in
Europe, &c. are directed in their various movements.
The instruments which are peculiar to the cavalry of most nations are
the trumpet and the cymbal. In France, dragoon regiments in general
formerly adopted the drum in common with the infantry, they now use the
trumpet for garrison, and the bugle for the field service. A certain
number of fifers are likewise allowed in foot regiments. Hautboys
and clarinets do not form any part of the music which is sanctioned
and paid for by the public. Colonels of corps, however, frequently
entertain a band either at their own expence, or out of what is called
the stock-purse.
The principal military instruments which were used among the ancients,
whether for cavalry or infantry, consisted of the trumpet, the cornet,
and the buccina or French horn.
_Warlike_ INSTRUMENTS _used by the Turks_. The Turks make use of wind
and clashing instruments of different shapes and sizes; all, except
one wind instrument, are better calculated for pomp and ceremony, than
adapted to military service.
The clashing instruments, which the French call _instrumens à choc_,
consist of two sorts of drums, and an instrument which is made of two
plates of metal, such as the cymbals we have adopted from the Asiatics.
Their wind-instruments consist of a winding or crooked trumpet, and of
a wooden fife.
The big drum which they call _daul_, stands three feet high. It is
carried by a mounted drummer, who makes use of a thick stick with which
he strikes the upper part, and a small one, with which he plays upon
the under one; these he applies alternately with much ingenuity of
hand, and great gravity of countenance. This is the only instrument
which the Turks use in military exercises or manœuvres. The big
drums are constantly beat when the enemy is near, and round all the
out-posts, in order to keep the sentinels upon the alert. On these
occasions the drummers exclaim with a loud voice: _Jegda Allah!_ that
is, God is good! or as the French interpret it--_Dieu Bon_.
The two small drums, or the kettle drums serve as marks of distinction
for the bacha’s family, and likewise as signals when the troops are to
march. They contribute greatly to the general harmony of a concert. The
Turkish name for them is _Sudar Nagara_. The bachas, or bashaws with
three tails are entitled to three kettle drums, which are fixed on each
side of the saddle, and are beat in the same manner that those in other
services are.
There is likewise another sort of Turkish instrument called _zill_,
which consists of two hollow brass plates, on whose convex side is
fixed a ring sufficiently large to contain the grasp of three fingers.
By clashing them seasonably together, an agreeable silvery sound is
extracted. The bashaws with three tails are each intitled to two sets
of these instruments.
There are two sorts of wind-instruments used among the Turks, they
differ very much both with regard to the manner in which they are
played, and to the materials with which they are made. The first is
the trumpet, which is made of the same metal that ours are, but are
somewhat longer; they are called _bori_. The man who blows this trumpet
is always mounted on horse back, and every bashaw with three tails is
intitled to have seven.
The second instrument is made of wood; it is a sort of pipe or flute
with five holes; the Turks call it _zurnader_. The person who plays
this instrument is on horseback, and every bashaw with three tails is
intitled to five.
The sounds which issue from these different instruments would be
extremely harsh to the ear, were they not in some degree harmonized by
the great drum: when the whole is played together, the effect is both
martial and pleasant.
_Surgical_ INSTRUMENTS _directed to be provided for the use of
regimental hospitals_. An amputating saw, with spare blade, 1
metacarpal saw, with ditto, 24 curved needles, 2 amputating knives, 1
catlin, 2 tenaculums, 1 bullet forceps, 1 pair of bone nippers, 2 screw
tourniquets, 4 field tourniquets with handle, 2 callico compresses,
2 trephines, with sliding keys, 1 trephine forceps, 1 elevator, 1
lenticular, a brush, key instruments for teeth, to fit trephine handle,
8 scalpels, 2 silver catheters, 1 trocar with spring and introductory
canula, 1 do. do. and canula for hydrocele, probang, 1 long silver
probe, 1 large bougie.
_Surgical_ INSTRUMENTS _directed to be provided for the field_. An
amputating saw, 1 metacarpal saw, 12 curved needles, 1 amputating
knife, 1 catlin, 1 screw tourniquet, 1 silver catheter, 1 elastic
ditto, 2 trephines to fit one handle, 1 trephine forceps, 1 elevator,
2 scalpels, 1 bullet forceps, 1 trocar with spring and introductory
canula, 1 trocar with spring canula for hydrocele, a brush, a
tenaculum, thread for ligatures.
_To_ INSULT, in a military signification, is to attack boldly and
in open day, without going through the slow operations of opening
trenches, working by mines and saps, or having any recourse to those
usual forms of war, by advancing gradually towards the object in view.
An enemy is said to insult a coast when he suddenly appears upon it,
and debarks with an immediate purpose to attack. The British forces
under the command of sir Ralph Abercrombie, insulted the Dutch coast
when they took possession of the Helder, in consequence of a bold
descent. The British fleet which entered the Chesapeake bay, and on the
22 June, 1807, attacked the United States frigate Chesapeake, insulted
the nation; they had the baseness to deny it, and to make an apology
afterwards; but they did not punish their officers; and afterwards fled
from the engagements made by their ambassador to the U. S. In attacking
fortified places it is usual to insult the counterscarp, in order to
avoid the destruction which would naturally follow, if the besieged
had time enough allowed them to give effect to the different mines
that must necessarily have been prepared beneath it. The grenadiers
are always employed on these occasions, accompanied by workmen and
artificers to secure the post, after it has been taken by assault.
INSULTER, _Fr._ See TO INSULT.
INSURGENTS. All vassals in Hungary when assembled together in
consequence of the general proclamation by Ban and Arriere Ban are
so called. This, however, does not happen except in cases of great
emergency, when they are headed by the prince Palatine of Hungary, and
march to the defence of their frontiers. The Hungarians have sometimes
indeed gone beyond them, in order to support their sovereign’s right,
and have acted offensively in the neighboring countries.
INSURGENTS is a term used to signify persons who have made inroads into
a country; or who rise in revolt against the established laws.
INTELLIGENCE, in a military sense may be variously applied, and of
course has different significations. No general can be said to be
in any degree qualified for the important situation which he holds,
unless, like an able minister of state, he be constantly prepared
with the requisite means to obtain the best intelligence respecting
the movements and the designs of the enemy he is to oppose. On the
other hand, it is not possible to conceive a greater crime than that
of affording intelligence to an enemy, and thereby bringing about the
overthrow and destruction of a whole army. A French military writer,
(to whose work we have the satisfaction of being frequently indebted
for much general and useful knowlege) makes the following observations
respecting the latter species of intelligence, which he classes under
two specific heads.
He justly remarks, that to hold correspondence, or to be in
intelligence with an enemy, (_étre d’intelligence avec l’Ennemi_)
is to betray your country. Armies and fortified places are almost
always surprized and taken by means of a secret intelligence, which
the enemy keeps up with domestic traitors, acting in conjunction with
commissioned spies and delegated hirelings. Arnold had nearly effected
the destruction of the American army by the intelligence which he kept
up through the British major André, with the British.
A garrison town may be taken by surprize, under the influence of secret
intelligence, in two different ways. The one is when the assailant to
whom the place has been surrendered, is not bound to join his forces
to those troops by whom he has been admitted; the other when it is
necessary, that an assault should be made by openly storming, by
throwing shells and petards, or by stratagem.
The first species of intelligence may be held with a governor who has
influence enough to direct the will and actions of the garrison; with a
garrison which is indisposed towards the governor and the officers that
command the troops; with the inhabitants who have undertaken to defend
a place where no garrison is stationed, and lastly with the prevailing
faction, where there are two parties that govern in a free town.
The other species of intelligence may be practised with a governor who
either wants power, or is afraid to tamper with the fidelity of the
garrison; with some particular officer, serjeants, or soldiers; with
the body of inhabitants who think differently from the armed force that
overawes them, or with active and shrewd individuals, who have access
to the ruling party, and can skilfully combine _affected_ loyalty with
_secret_ disaffection.
There is not, however, in human nature perhaps a more insidious, or a
more dangerous ground to tread on than that of secret intelligence; nor
are the faculties of the mind ever so much put to the test, as when it
is necessary to listen to the report of an individual, who whilst he
is betraying one side, may be equally disposed to dupe the other. A
wise general will consequently hear every thing, and say nothing; and a
wise man, let his secret wishes be what they may, will warily consider,
whether the person who insinuates to him even the possibilities of a
plot, does not at that instant endeavor to get into his confidence,
for the sole purpose of acting contrary to his supposed views, and
of betraying the man who has unfolded other schemes. It is certainly
justifiable policy, either in the governor of a town or in a general,
to affect to give into the views of any man or party of men whom he has
cause to suspect, and whose ultimate object he is determined to defeat.
But he should be equally cautious, how he listens to the communications
of spies or informers. The veil of honesty is often assumed to cover a
deep-laid scheme of villainy; and apparent candor is the surest path
to unguarded confidence. When villains voluntarily unfold themselves
in such a manner as to convince an able and penetrating officer, that
their treachery can be depended upon, much blood may be spared by
making a proper use of their intelligence. This axiom has prevailed in
every civilized country; and should be well attended to by thinking
men. For when a battle has been gained, it avails little to ask,
whether the enemy owed his success to force or treachery? No treachery,
however, is admissible, or should be sanctioned by belligerent powers,
which militates against those laws of nations which are founded upon
the wise basis of humanity. _Private assassinations_, _the use of
poison_, or _the disregard of paroles of honor_, must be generally
reprobated: and whatever general obtains his ends by any of these dark
means, his name should be stamped with infamy, and himself exposed to
all the melancholy casualties of retaliation.
INTENDANT _d’Armée_, _Fr._ under the old government of France, the
intendants d’armées or superintendants of the army, were principal
inspectors of all sorts of stores, &c. that were necessary for the
troops. The French general officers and governors of fortified towns,
held continual intercourse with the intendants or supervisors who
directed every branch of the commissariat.
When the intendant d’armée was not likewise intendant de province, he
was directed to accompany the troops, to visit their line of encampment
or cantonment, and to require of all the subordinate _intendants_ the
regular proportion of stores and provisions, and to see that they were
supplied according to contract, and with punctuality.
INTERIOUR _Flanking Angle_, is formed by the curtain and line of
defence.
INTERIOUR _Radius_, the part of an _oblique radius_ extending from the
centre of the polygon to the centre of the bastion.
INTERIOUR _Side_. The line of the curtain, produced to the two oblique
radii of the front; or a line drawn from the centre of one bastion to
that of the next.
INTERIOUR _Slope_. See TALUS.
INTERMEDIATE (_intermediare_, _Fr._) any thing that is, or lies
between. See _Intermediate_ POSTS.
INTERSECTION, the point where two lines cross each other.
INTERVAL, (_Intervalle_, _Fr._) any space between. A word variously
applied in military dispositions and manœuvres, to denote any given
distance or space.
INTERVAL _between two battalions_. The space which separates them when
they are drawn up for action, or when they are encamped. This space is
generally wide enough to admit the march of another battalion, that
is to say, it is equal to the extent of its front when in line. When
troops are encamped for the purpose of investing a town or fortified
place, the interval is much greater, and seldom or ever less.
INTERVAL _between the line and the camp_. This comprehends the
space which lies between the camp and the line of entrenchments. It
is generally from one hundred and eighty to two hundred toises in
breadth; so that the different battalions and squadrons which are
necessary for the security of the camp may have room to move in, while
sufficient ground is left in the rear for troops to pass and repass as
occasion may require. The same observation holds good with respect to
contravallation.
INTERVALLE _du Camp à la ligne_, _Fr._ See INTERVAL between the line
and the camp.
_To_ INTRENCH, to secure against the attack of an enemy, by digging a
ditch or trench.
_To_ INTRENCH _upon_. To invade, to make incroachments upon the
property or territories of another.
INTRENCHMENT, any work that fortifies a post against the attack of an
enemy. The word is generally used to denote a ditch or trench with a
parapet. Intrenchments are sometimes made of fascines, with earth
thrown over them, of gabions, hogsheads, or bags filled with earth, to
cover the men from the enemy’s fire. See RETRENCHMENT.
INTREPIDITE, _Fr._ See INTREPIDITY.
INTREPIDITY. An unqualified contempt of death, and indifference to
fortune, as far as it regards personal safety; a fearlessness of
heart and a daring enterprize of mind. According to Rochefoucault,
intrepidity, especially with regard to military daring, implies
_firmness_ of character, great _confidence_ of mind, and extraordinary
_strength_ of soul. Buoyed up and supported by these qualities, (which
are sometimes natural and sometimes acquired,) men become superior
to every emotion of alarm, and are insensible of those perturbations
of the heart which the prospect of imminent danger almost always
engenders. Chevalier Folard defines it to be a settled _contempt_ of
death, a species of courage which so intoxicates the mind as to make it
leap over the sober bounds of judgment and discretion; an enthusiastic
impulse which urges us forward and renders danger imperceptible, or, if
discovered, raises our sensations beyond the least impression of fear.
A general may be said to act with _intrepidity_, when with forces
inferior to those of his enemy, and under all the disadvantages of
ground, &c. he hazards a general action, attacks his whole front, and
finally defeats him. This hardiness and enterprize of character not
only surprize your enemy, but likewise create emotions of wonder. If,
on the contrary, a general at the head of a small army should be known
to act against another that is superior to him in every point, except
that of talent and military skill, and if by means of these qualities,
the former should by able manœuvres and well concerted measures, render
all the designs and attempts of the latter fruitless and abortive (at a
time and under circumstances, which might dishearten almost any other
general,) it is then fair to conclude, that the conduct of such a
general is the consequence of great military knowlege; but it cannot,
with propriety be said to be the result of _intrepidity_; for it must
be evident, that before any very dangerous step has been taken, most of
the obstacles have been previously removed or rendered practicable.
An officer, who is not under the influence of that species of
_intrepidity_ which we have described, when he has once got upon
equal ground, or finds it necessary to risk an action, will, without
hesitation, advance against his enemy, depending wholly upon military
skill and the superior disposition of his line of battle. Full of
resources and with great presence of mind, he will march forward and
obtain a victory, not by dint of courage or by the mere favor of
fortune, but through judgment, military ingenuity, and great tactical
knowlege. And yet it would be an injustice done to the character of
such an officer, were it imagined, that he could act in this manner
without possessing great intrepidity. We are rather of opinion that
such a man must have the most undaunted courage, with the additional
advantage of consummate prudence founded upon military knowlege.
The intrepidity of his soul is calmed by the cooler judgment of his
head; he is aware of difficulties, but is not disheartened by their
appearance; he is, on the contrary, encouraged to surmount them by that
self-possession, and by that unshaken presence of mind, which enable
him to execute what might seem impracticable to others.
Mere _intrepidity_ is of a lively, impetuous nature, restless and
impatient of restraint, which, though it may not degenerate into
downright animal brutality, is nevertheless very far from being
strictly rational or enlightened. If the person who acts under its
immediate influence be quick in his perceptions, his conduct is
generally marked by some imprudent measure, some enterprize that
bids defiance to reflexion, and by some attempt that is as hastily
executed as it has been inconsiderately planned. An _intrepidity_ of
this species is seldom found in the first class of military character:
sometimes indeed, but rarely, it has been accompanied by great prudence
and foresight.
In this number may be considered some ancient and modern heroes, such
as Alexander the great, Charles king of Sweden, Henry IV. of France,
Wolfe at Quebec, Bonaparte and Augereau at Lodi; Dessaix, Marmont,
and Lannes, at Marengo; Murat at Eylau; Davoust at Austerlitz; Soult
at Jena; Claperede on the Danube, in 1809; if instances be found in
their histories where prudence and discretion have been overleaped by
an _intrepidity_ of soul that was too actively disposed on certain
occasions, the effect was temporary, and easy to be traced to a cause
which was too powerfully engrafted upon their nature, to be always
subject to control.
INVALID properly includes every soldier that has been wounded, or has
suffered materially in his health, and in consequence of his good
conduct, has been recommended to a certain provision for life. Chelsea
hospital is the place allotted for the reception of such objects of
public gratitude and benevolence in England. Before the building of the
hotel des invalides at Paris, all soldiers of the above description who
belonged to the French army, were distributed among the frontier towns,
and enjoyed a certain allowance for life.
In England, and, we presume, the custom still exists under the new
order of things in France, those invalid soldiers who are reported not
wholly incapable of bearing arms, are occasionally sent into garrisoned
places, and do duty with the regular army.
It is a reproach to the United States that there is yet no provision
for the maintenance of those who serve the best part of their lives in
its military establishment.
INVALIDE, _Fr._ See INVALID.
INVASION, in war, the entrance or attack of an enemy on the dominions
of another.
INVENTAIRE _des Effets des Officiers décedés_, _Fr._ Inventory of the
effects of deceased officers. As the French regulations on this head
were more specific than those expressed in our articles of war, we
shall premise the extract from the latter, by the following particulars
which were in force during the old government of France.
When governors, commandants of places, staff officers, commissaries
of war, engineers and officers entrusted with the care of artillery,
died in their several provinces or allotted quarters, the judges or
magistrates belonging to the spot where such deaths occurred sealed up
the effects of the deceased, and took an inventory of their property,
without being, in the least, controled by any species of military
authority. On the removal of the seals, the town-major or his adjutant
received a specific statement of every thing which appertained to the
situation or appointment of the deceased person or persons, which
statement was transmitted to government.
The creditors of the deceased preferred a schedule of the debts
contracted in each place of residence, before any of the ordinary
justices, which debts were discharged out of the personal property
that was left. But all other creditors must have recourse to the judge
or justice belonging to the precise spot where the deceased resided;
applications respecting all debts which exceeded the value of the
personal effects were directed to be made through the same channel.
When officers died in a garrison town or upon a march, or when
engineers, who had no particular fixed residence, or artillery officers
that were upon leave, departed this life, the town-majors or aid-major
of the towns or places, where such persons died, fixed their seals
upon their effects. An inventory of these effects was afterwards
taken, provided they were not claimed by the next heir; in which
latter case, all the debts that had been contracted by the deceased
in the place where he died, were ordered to be paid by the person who
took possession of the property. Public notice was given by beat of
drum, that a military sale would be made, and one sol in the livre was
charged on all that was disposed of in this manner.
The man who beat the drum, and the person who enregistered the minutes
of the sale, were paid out of this sol; whatever surplus remained,
after a reasonable deduction had been made for these purposes, became
the town-major’s property.
The produce of the sale was appropriated to the discharge of such debts
as had been contracted in the garrison: and the judge or magistrate,
whose particular province it was to take cognizance of all cases
relating to property, placed his seal upon the remainder, which was
deposited in a box. This box was delivered over to the person that had
enregistered the effects and taken minutes of the sale; in whose hands
it remained until claimed by the widow of the deceased, the residuary
legatee, or by any creditors, except those who immediately belonged to
the garrison.
When a captain in the French guards died or was killed, his heirs or
executors were not obliged to discharge any demands which his company
might have had upon him. If the sale of his private property should not
be sufficient to defray these debts, the officer who succeeds to the
company is bound to make up the remainder, and the soldier’s claim has
the preference of all other demands. If there was an overplus, it was
paid into the hands of the lawful heirs. The soldiers of the company
received the moiety of what was due to them in ready money.
On the decease or departure of the officers belonging to any of the
detached companies of invalids, the superior officer of that detachment
in which the death or dereliction happened, ordered every article
belonging to the royal hospital of invalids to be sold in the presence
of the several officers, without deducting the sol in the livre. The
produce of this sale was placed to the credit of the detachment; and
all other articles belonging to the deceased were disposed of by the
town-majors in the manner already mentioned.
The powers which were vested in the town-majors and staff-officers
belonging to garrisoned places, were lodged in the hands of the majors
or aid-majors of regiments, who upon the decease of an officer on
service or in a place where there was not any staff, took a regular
inventory of his effects, &c.
Town-majors were not authorized to put their seals upon the effects
of deceased officers belonging to the Swiss regiments, as these had a
peculiar military jurisdiction of their own. But other foreign troops
in the service of France were not entitled to these privileges.
INVENTORY _of deceased officers effects, &c._ In the British army, when
any commissioned officer happens to die or is killed on service, it is
directed by the articles of war, that the major of the regiment, or
the officer doing the major’s duty in his absence, shall immediately
secure all his effects or equipage then in camp or quarters; and shall
before the next regimental court-martial make an inventory thereof,
and forthwith transmit the same to the office of our secretary at war,
to the end, that the executors of such officer may, after payment of
his regimental debts and quarters, and the expences attending his
interment, receive the overplus, if any be, to his or their use.
When any non-commissioned officer or private soldier, happens to die,
or is killed on service, the then commanding officer of the troop or
company, shall, in the presence of two other commissioned officers,
take an account of whatever effects he dies possessed of, above his
regimental clothing, arms, and accoutrements, and transmit the same to
the office of the secretary at war. These effects are to be accounted
for and paid to the representatives of such deceased non-commissioned
officer or soldier; and in case any of the officers so authorized
to take care of the effects of dead officers and soldiers, should,
before they have accounted to their representatives for the same, have
occasion to leave the regiment by preferment or otherwise, they are
ordered before they be permitted to quit the same, to deposit in the
hands of the commanding officer or of the agent of the regiment, all
the effects of such deceased non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in
order, that the same may be secured for, and paid to, their respective
representatives. See Articles of War, section XIX.
_To_ INVEST _a place_, (_investir une place_, _Fr._) A fortified town
or place is said to be invested, when all the avenues leading to it
have been seized upon by hostile troops, which are distributed and
posted on the principal commands, to prevent any succour from being
received by the garrison, and to keep the ground until the rest of the
army with the artillery, can arrive to form a regular siege. To invest
a place is, in fact, to take preparatory measures for a blockade,
or a close siege. In order to do this effectually, the general in
chief of the approaching army must detach a large body of cavalry,
together with the different corps of dragoons under the command of a
lieutenant-general, for the purpose of regularly investing the town.
As secrecy is of the utmost consequence on this occasion, the troops
belonging to the detachment must have their march so managed as to
create an alarm and jealousy in some other quarter, by deviating from
the road which leads directly to the proposed object of attack. The
general, indeed, would act wisely, by giving written sealed orders
to the commanding officer, with strict injunctions not to open them
until the detachment should have reached a certain spot, and then only
in the presence of some particular persons; by which means his real
designs may be concealed. Sometimes a place is partially _invested_,
for the sole purpose of diverting the enemy’s attention from the real
object, and of inducing him to weaken the garrison, by detaching it to
different quarters. Thus in 1710, the allied army suddenly appeared
before the town of Ypres, and by threatening to besiege it, caused
so many troops to be detached from Tournay to its relief, that the
latter place, which was the real object of attack, and was one of the
strongest towns in the Low Countries, afforded little or no resistance.
It is sometimes prudent to harrass and perplex the enemy that may
be in the neighborhood of the town which you propose to attack, by
perpetually driving in his out-posts, &c. and by forcing him to retire
from the different avenues and commanding grounds; when the various
objects, which are to facilitate the approaches of the besieging army,
have been accomplished, the lieutenant-general who is entrusted with
the investment of the town, must procure faithful and intelligent
guides, advance by forced marches, halt as little as possible, and then
only for the purpose of refreshing his men. He must studiously preserve
the secret of his expedition, until he gets so near to the town, that
the object of his approach becomes manifest and unequivocal.
When he arrives within one days march of the town, he must detach
from his main body two or three parties of horse, (each party to be
stronger than the garrison of the place) which must lie in ambush in
the neighborhood, for the purpose of carrying off cattle, or of making
prisoners. The instant he reaches the town, he must seize upon all the
leading avenues, and draw his army up on some advantageous ground. He
then goes out to reconnoitre, and to discover the most likely places
by which succours might be conveyed into the town. He must have the
precaution to post a strong guard in each of these places.
His next business will be to send out small scouting parties, in order
to obtain correct intelligence respecting the enemy’s motions. Every
outlet is blocked up by some dragoons, for the purpose of hemming in
the garrison as close as possible. He makes it his study moreover to
acquire personal information by examining the prisoners, with regard
to the nature of the country, the different fords, rivulets, points
of enfilade, avenues, strong buildings, or commanding heights in the
neighborhood. He further enquires as to the strength of the garrison,
and the number of officers; whether the governor suspects that a
regular siege is intended: whether he expects succours, supplies of
stores and ammunition, and from what quarter he is to be furnished;
finally, whether the fortifications be in good repair, and the place
equal to a defence.
At night he sends out advanced parties, with directions to bivouac
within musquet shot of the town, and takes especial care always to
post strong parties in those places and avenues by which succours and
supplies might be easily conveyed to the garrison. He has likewise the
precaution to have different small guards, or out-lying and in-lying
piquets, both in his front and rear, to prevent surprizes. On these
occasions the detachments are formed, half on foot and half mounted;
those on foot constantly remaining at their horses’ heads, bridle
in hand. These detachments are on the alert during the whole of the
night, and only one half of the number is suffered to repose during the
day.--Whenever the commanding officer has received intelligence of the
approach of a body of troops to relieve the garrison, he must make his
dispositions in such a manner as to give them battle, before they get
sufficiently near to throw themselves into the town in scattered and
divided parties. Great caution, however, must be observed under these
circumstances, not to advance too far, lest it should only prove a
feint on the enemy’s part, in order to induce him to weaken some of his
posts; and by taking advantage of their absence, to throw some succours
into the town.
As the principal, indeed the only object which the lieutenant-general
can have, is to prevent any assistance being given to the garrison,
whilst he _invests_ the place, he must always be on horseback; he must
incessantly visit the different posts, thoroughly reconnoitre the
country, and minutely examine those quarters, through which succours or
supplies might be conveyed to the garrison, or which offer advantageous
positions for his own troops to occupy. During the _investment_ of
the town, it will be his duty to collect all the intelligence and
information he can, respecting the state of the works and the adjacent
points, in order to communicate fully with the general in chief, when
he brings up the besieging army, and to put him in full possession of
every thing, which may facilitate the object of his enterprize.
The chief engineers should always accompany the lieutenant-general
who is entrusted with the _investing_ of a town, in order to get the
necessary knowlege of the place before hand, and to understand how
the lines of circumvallation, &c. should be drawn, three or four days
before the main army arrives; they should moreover make several rounds
for the purpose of reconnoitring. These measures will conduce a great
deal towards a wise and effectual method of _investing_ the place. To
accomplish these ends, a correct plan of the town must be procured.
This plan must be reduced, and a rough sketch taken of every thing
within half a league of the circumference of the town; after which a
small chart may be drawn of the lines, &c. which are to be made for the
purpose of carrying on the siege. This must be done in concert with
the lieutenant-general who ought to know better than any body, what
the order of battle will be, how much ground is to be occupied by the
different brigades and regiments and what the relative detail of the
whole army will require.
From the day on which a town is _invested_, every thing is thrown
into motion. The train of artillery is directed to be brought out with
necessary stores and ammunition, and proper carriages, with their
drivers, are impressed; every department, in a word, performs its
allotted duty, and the board of ordnance, as well as the commissary
general’s office become subservient to the orders that are issued by
the general in chief.
Whilst the necessary measures are adopted for the close _investing_ of
the town, the main army approaches by forced marches, and generally
arrives before the place five or six days after it has been invested.
The lieutenant-general, or officer commanding the _investing_ army goes
out to meet the main body when it is within half a league of the place,
and communicates with the general; who, in consequence of the report he
makes, gives directions respecting the lines of circumvallation, &c.
For further particulars on this article, see _Traité de l’Attaque des
Places par le Marechal Vauban revue, &c. F. P. Foissac Chef de brigade
au corps du Génie de la Republique Francaise_, vol. i. page 69.
INVESTISSEMENT. (A French word which is strictly military. The
celebrated Vauban has erroneously used _investiture_ to signify the
same thing.) The act of investing any town or place in such a manner
as to prevent the garrison or inhabitants from receiving succours or
provisions.
_To_ INUNDATE, in a military sense, is to overflow any part of a
country, in order to prevent an enemy from advancing. Holland is
particularly calculated for this species of defence.
INUNDATION. The act of letting water into a country, so that it shall
be overflowed to prevent the approach of an enemy.
In the _Instruction adressée aux officiers d’Infanterie pour tracer
et construire toutes sortes d’Ouvrages de Campagne, &c. par A. P. I.
Belair, Chef de Brigade_, may be found some very sensible observations
on the means of making inundations to answer military purposes, see
page 119, &c. Chapitre Huitieme, _Moyens de faire des Inondations_. We
likewise refer our military readers to the _Elemens de Fortification_,
published by the same author, see pages, 75, 82, 83, and 84. In page
294 of his _Dictionnaire Militaire_, some excellent observations
upon the same subject, may be seen under the article _Architecture
hydraulique_.
JOAR, _Ind._ A general massacre of the women and children, which is
sometimes performed by the Hindoos, when they find they cannot prevent
the enemy from taking the town. When this dreadful and unnatural
ceremony is to take place, a spot is selected, which is filled with
wood, straw, oil, &c., the victims are enclosed, and the whole is set
on fire.
_To_ JOIN. A technical word used in the British service, generally
signifying to effect the junction of one military body with another.
In a more limited sense, it means the accession of an individual
voluntarily, or otherwise, to a corps or army. If an officer on being
ordered to join, omits to do so wilfully, he is liable to be tried by a
general court-martial, or to be peremptorily suspended by the commander
in chief for being absent without leave.
JOINT _Bolts_. See BOLTS.
JOLS, _Fr._ Barges so called, are used in Denmark, and sometimes by the
Russians.
JONCTION, _Fr._ See JUNCTION.
JOODAY PERRAPUT, _Ind._ A term used in India to signify a slave taken
in war.
JOOMAN, _Ind._ Friday so called in India.
JOUE! _Fr._ A word of command in the French service answering to _aim!_
_Coucher en_ JOUE, _Fr._ To aim with a musquet, or other fire-arm,
which is used as such--as _je l’avois dêjà couché en joue_, I had
already taken my aim at him.
JOVES, _Fr._ The two sides in the epaulement of a battery which form
the embrazure are so called.
JOUR, _Fr._ The tour of duty which is done in the course of a day and
night.
_Etre de_ JOUR, _Fr._ To be officer of the day, or to command a body of
troops at a siege or otherwise in the capacity of a general officer,
&c. The usual time was 24 hours, at the expiration of which another
officer undertook the duty, and was relieved by one of his own rank.
See OFFICER _of the day_.
_Ordre du_ JOUR, _Fr._ Orders. See _General_ ORDERS.
JOURNAL, _Fr._ A public record or general orderly book, kept in the
French service, and in which every transaction that occurred during a
siege is entered by the governor of the town, for the future inspection
of a superior authority. The general officer who carried on the siege
of a place likewise kept a document of the sort, and minuted down every
thing that happened under his command. So that the journal which was
kept in this manner was a circumstantial detail of what occurred, day
after day, during the attack and defence of a town.
JOURNAL _de l’armée_, _Fr._ See RETURNS.
JOURNEE, _Fr._ A term used among the French, to express any particular
engagement or battle, as _la journée de Marengo_, the battle of
Marengo. We frequently adopt the word day in the same sense: thus a
hard fought _day_ signifies a hard fought _battle_.
JOUTE, _Fr._ A close fight between two individuals. It likewise means
an engagement at sea.
JOUTER, _faire des joutes_, _Fr._ To run a tilt at one another with
lances.
JOUST. See JUST.
IRAN, _Ind._ Persia.
IRENARCH, (_Irenarque_, _Fr._) An officer, so called in the old Grecian
empire, _irenarcha præfectus pacis_. His principal duty was to preserve
public tranquillity, and his functions were nearly similar to those of
the French _prévots de maréchaussées_, or police magistrates. We read
in the Justinian code of laws, that the _irenarchs_ were sent into
the different provinces, for the purpose of preserving peace and good
order. They were therefore invested with authority to take cognizance
of all crimes and misdemeanors, and to punish the delinquents. There
was likewise an _irenarch_ established in every town, to settle the
disputes and differences which might arise between the inhabitants,
and to secure public tranquillity. This person was anciently called
_præfectus urbis_. The office of _irenarch_ was abolished under the
Emperors Theodosius and Honorius, it having latterly been found more
productive of evil than good. The word itself is derived from the
Greek, and signifies _Prince of Peace_.
IRREGULAR _Fortification_. See FORTIFICATION.
IRON _Guns_. See GUNS.
IRONS. See PRIMING IRONS.
ISLAUD, _Ind._ A term to express slow music among the Indians.
ISOCELES, a triangle having only two sides which are equal.
ISOLE, _Fr._ This word is used among the French, to express any body
or thing which is detached from another. It is variously applied in
fortification. Thus a pavillion or a barrack which is not joined to
any other wall or building is called _isolé_, because it stands alone,
and a person may walk entirely round it. A parapet is also said to be
_isolé_, when there is an interval of four or five feet between the
rampart and its wall; which interval serves as a path for the rounds.
ISOPERIMETRICAL _Figures_.--(_Figures Isoperimetriques_, _Fr._) A
term derived from the Greek to express all figures that have equal
circumferences or perimeters.
ISSUE, event; consequence; the ultimate result of any undertaking; the
termination of any contest.
_General_ ISSUE. In matters of litigation is the question to be decided
upon, or issue, the parties state certain facts, one asserts the fact,
the other denies, and upon this they join issue, the determination of
that fact is the issue.
ISTHMUS, (_Isthme_, _Fr._) A neck of land which joins the Peninsula to
the Continent, and which separates two seas, as Darien; Corinth.
ITINERAIRES, _Fr._ Itinerary movements or days of march. A technical
phrase among the French to denote the order and disposition which a
body of men, or an army, is directed to observe in its march from one
camp to another, or to any particular quarter of destination.
ITMAMDAR. _Ind._ A superintendant or lieutenant-governor in India.
JUDGES are authorized to take judicial notice of the articles of war.
JUDGE MARTIAL, or _Advocate General_, the supreme judge in martial law
as to the jurisdiction and powers of military courts, in the British
system. It is incumbent upon this person, as well as upon his deputies
to be well acquainted with the laws of the land, that they may admonish
the court or president when their proceedings are tending to infringe
the civil law. He is register of courts-martial, and should take down
the evidence in the very words of the witness. He is neither a judge
nor a juror as to the charge.
JUGE, _Fr._ A sort of judge or provost marshal. This term was
particularly applicable to the interior government of the Swiss guards
that were in the service of France. Each regiment of that description
had one judge or provost marshal per company, and one superior to the
rest who presided over the regiment. The inferior judge was called
_richter_, and the grand or superior judge _obster richter_. The
inferior judges had the examination of petty crimes and offences which
they reported to the captain of the company. If the crimes were of
a serious or heinous nature, the inferior judges drew up a specific
statement of them, and laid the whole before the _obster richter_, who
communicated the circumstance to the colonel. Grounds for a general
court-martial were generally established out of the latter report.
JUGG, _Ind._ An Indian sacrifice.
JUGGUT GROW, _Ind._ An Indian term which signifies _guardian of
mankind_.
JUMBAUN, _Ind._ In Indian music, means, _shake_.
JUMBOO DEEP, _Ind._ A word particularly used to signify India; it is
derived from _jumboo_ or _jumbook_, a jackal, and _deep_, any large
portion of land which is surrounded by the sea.
JUMBOO DEEP, _Ind._ The inhabitants of India were so called before the
introduction of the Tartar governments.
JUMMA KERCH, _Ind._ An account, stating the receipt and expenditure of
the revenue; that is the gross or general account.
JUNCAN, _Ind._ A toll or duty on every thing that passes.
JUNGLE, An Indian term for a wood, or woody country. It likewise means
high grass, reeds, or thicket.
JURISDICTION. Legal authority, extent of power. Officers not being
liable to be tried by garrison or regimental courts-martial, may appeal
from the jurisdiction of such courts; as may non-commissioned officers
and soldiers in cases where their pay is concerned.
JUST. A sportive combat on horseback, man against man, armed with
lances; called also _Joust_, _Tilt_, _Tournament_, _&c._
JUSTICES. Military men are, in many instances, under the necessity
of applying to justices in order to execute their several orders
and instructions without infringing upon the civil authorities; and
justices on their side are bound to aid and assist the military in
conformity to established laws and regulations.
_Military_ JUSTICE, (_Justice Militaire_, _Fr._) That species of
justice which prevails in the army, and corresponds with the articles
of War.
K.
KABBADE or CABADE, _Fr._ A military dress which is worn by the modern
Greeks. According to Tzetzes it derives its name from Cabades, a
Persian king. Codinus, on the other hand, asserts, that the Greeks
in Constantinople adopted it in imitation of the Assyrians. Others
again maintain, that it owes its appellation to the resemblance which
it bears to a Greek letter. Father Goar, the author, very justly
ridicules this etymology. We are, however, authorized to say, that
be the derivation of the word what it may, the dress itself consists
of a short garment which was worn underneath another. It had not any
folds, but sat close to the body, being buttoned with large buttons,
and reaching down to the calves of the legs. It was fringed round the
edges, and was usually worn with a girdle; such is the description
which Father Goar has given of the kabbades in his notes upon Codinus.
He concludes by observing, that in his opinion it is what the Romans
called _sagum_, and the modern Greeks afterwards corrupted into
_kabbade_.
KAK TOWDA, _Ind._ Fine mould beat strongly in between two walls, for
the purpose of shooting arrows into when the walls are taken away.
KALEE, _Ind._ An Hindoo deity the genius of evil; the infernal god, to
whom human beings are sacrificed.
KALLAAT or KELAUT, _Ind._ a dress which is given to any person invested
with a new office.
KALMUCS, (_Kalmouques_, _Fr._) This word is generally written
_Calmucs_. They are wandering tribes of Tartars, who inhabit the parts
north of the Caspian sea. These hordes frequently put themselves under
the protection of the court of Russia. A French writer describes the
Kalmucs to be a sort of militia, which is established between Siberia
and the Caspian sea. There are generally some regiments of them
attached to the Russian armies in common with the Cossacks. They are
armed with a lance iron pointed, about six feet long, and carry a bow
with a quiver upon their backs, containing ten arrows. They never
serve on foot, and are only formidable by name.
KALSA, _Ind._ The treasury.
KALSA CUTCHERRY, _Ind._ the room of business, where the business of the
army is transacted; and all matters of litigation on that branch of
service is determined.
KHAN, an officer in Persia, who is invested with the same powers that
are entrusted to an European governor.
KANAUTS, _Ind._ a term used in India, to express the walls of a canvas
tent.
KATAA, the Indian name for China.
KATIK, an Indian month, which in some measure coincides with our month
of October.
KAULAUBHAIJE, the Indian term for message.
KECHERKLECHI, guards attached to the person of the king of Persia; they
are armed with a musquet of an extraordinary size and calibre. They
were raised and formed into a regular corps the middle of the last
century.
KEELS, the long boats in which the Saxons successfully invaded England
were so called.
KEEP, in ancient military history, a kind of strong tower which
was built in the centre of a castle or fort, to which the besieged
retreated and made their last efforts of defence. Of this description
is the keep of Windsor Castle.
_King’s_ KEEP, a fort built by king Henry II. in the interior part of
Dover castle is so called.
_To_ KEEP _off_, in a military sense, is either to deter your enemy
from approaching close to the lines or fortifications by inducing him
to suspect a superior force, an ambuscade, or a mine, or by openly
galling his advanced posts in such a manner as to beat him in detail.
Infantry may keep off cavalry by hot firing, or by a compact intrepid
direction of the bayonet.
_To_ KEEP _up_, in military movements, is the preservation of that
regular pace, by which a line or column, on a march, or in manœuvring,
advances towards any given point without any chasms or fluctuations.
When a regiment marches by files, it is almost impossible for the
rear to keep up. On this account, divisions, subdivisions, and
even sections, are best calculated to preserve a regular depth and
continuity of march.
_To_ KEEP _up_, likewise signifies to attend to the interior management
and discipline of a corps, so as to prevent the least deviation from
established rules and regulations. Thus commanding officers are said
to keep up good order and discipline, who, whilst absent or present,
provide against the least insubordination, &c.
_To_ KEEP _up a heavy fire_, is to play with heavy ordnance against
a fortified place, or body of men, by a calm and well-directed
succession of shot. In musquetry firing, officers commanding
battalions, divisions, or platoons, should be very exact in giving the
word in order to keep up the different firings.
KEERAY, _Ind._ expences, charges.
KENT. It is the peculiar duty of the county lieutenant, or of three
deputy lieutenants belonging to this English county, to issue orders to
the chief constables of the several hundreds to send out precepts to
the churchwardens or overseers to return a list of men liable to serve.
The churchwardens and overseers of the county of Kent are, by act of
parliament, invested with the powers of constables, to put in force the
militia acts.
KENTASSI, a range of mountains in Thibet, in which are the sources
of the Ganges. This river, formed from several sources, passes
successively two great lakes, and flows to the west, until the
opposition of a part of the Indian Caucasus turns it to the south, and
having completed in these various directions a course of two hundred
leagues, it enters India by forcing its passage through the mountains
of the frontier.
KERANA, a long trumpet, similar in shape and size to the speaking
trumpet. The Persians use it whenever they wish to make any
extraordinary noise, and they frequently blow it with hautboys, kettle
drums and other instruments at sunset, and two hours after midnight.
KEREEF, _Ind._ One of the two seasons into which the year is divided in
India.
KERIMCHARRY, _Ind._ an inferior officer under the Zemindar, who
collects from the villages, and keeps the accounts.
KERN. _Irish_, a soldier. The Irish infantry were formerly
distinguished by this appellation. The men in those days were armed
with a sword, and a dart or javelin, which was tied to a small cord,
so that after they had thrown it at the enemy, they could instantly
recover it, and use it in any way they thought proper. The javelin was
called _skene_, which is also the Irish for a _knife_.
KERUI, _Ind._ a village or parish.
KETTLE, a vessel used to boil composition for fire-works.
KETTLE-_Drums_. See DRUMS.
KETTLE-_drum cart_, a four wheel carriage which is drawn by four
horses, and is used exclusively by the British artillery as a pageant.
The ordnance flag is planted on the fore part, and the drummer with two
kettle drums is seated, as in a chair of state, on the back part. This
cart is finely engraven and richly gilt. It has not been in the field
since the year 1743, when the king was present. It is kept in the tower.
KEYS, in a general sense, are instruments with which locks are opened.
KEYS, in artillery carriages, may be considered under three specific
heads, viz.
_Fore-lock_ KEYS, which serve to pass through the lower end of bolts,
in order to fasten them.
_Spring_ KEYS may be used in the same manner, but are differently made,
for instead of being of one single piece, they are of two, like two
springs laid one over the other. When they are put into eye-bolts,
they are pinched together at the ends, and when they are in, they open
again; so that the motion of the carriage cannot disturb or shake them
out. Spring keys are peculiarly useful in travelling carriages.
KEYS _with chains and staples_ fixed on the side pieces of a carriage
or mortar bed. They serve to fasten the cap squares by passing through
the eyes of the eye-bolts, with or without.
KEY _stone_, in architecture, is the middle stone of an arch, by which
the sweep of the arch is bound together.
KEY. See QUAY.
KEYSERLICKS, or _imperialists_, the Austrian troops are frequently
called so. The term was indeed common among the British soldiers, when
they did duty together, and invaded France in 1794. It is derived from
_keyser_, from Caesar, which in German, signifies emperor.
KHAN, _Ind._ signifies lord or chieftain. This title was given by the
king of Delhi, for which it is supposed, the person maintained 250
horse soldiers, which he commanded and disciplined for the king’s
service.
KHEET, _Ind._ a fortified city, which is four coss or eight English
miles in length and breadth, and not so much as eight coss.
KHODA, _Ind._ GOD.
KHODADAUD SIRCAR, _Ind._ That is the government or ruler blessed
or beloved of God; it was a title assumed by Tippo Sultaun, the
sovereign of the kingdom of Mysore, who fell in defence of his capital,
Serungputtun, or Seringapatam, when it was stormed, May the 4th, 1799,
by the British forces under the command of lieutenant general Harris.
KID. This appellation was formerly given to any person that was
trepanned by kidnappers.
KIDNAPPER, a man who by improper means decoys the unwary into the army
or navy.
KIEU, the Indian term for any bridge under which water flows.
KILLA, _Ind._ a castle, fort, or fortress.
KILLADAR, _Ind._ the governor or commandant of a fort.
KINDALAHS, a vagabond, outcast set of people in India, originally
belonging to the Hindoo tribe. By such proscription and disgrace are
these miserable creatures marked, that the people of other casts not
only will not visit them, but if any one of them should presume to
approach a person of the Nayr tribe, it is lawful for the latter to
put him to instant death.
_To_ KINDLE, in a military sense, is to excite mankind to arms. To
kindle the flames of war is a familiar expression.
KING from the Saxon _koning_, that is _cunning_, _wise_; it has come
to bear a different sense, and to signify a person neither cunning
nor wise; a person in whom a supreme or qualified authority is vested
without the consent of a nation. The chief magistrate, and one of the
three nominal parts of the British government.
In a military acceptation of the term, the king of Great Britain is
captain general of the British army, the primary source from which
all appointments in it are derived, and the last resort of naval and
military jurisdiction. With him, as principal magistrate in the state,
and head of the executive power, all the arrangements of the British
army finally rest, as from him they primarily issued. From him all
the effective forces derive energy and effect, and when war has been
declared, to him only does the army look for the immediate application
and general exercise of its powers, through the medium of the ministers
he appoints, who are responsible to parliament for the manner in which
the authority they have received has been executed.
The British king is likewise supreme head of the militia, and has
the power of appointing or dismissing lieutenants of counties.
This king may likewise order three deputy lieutenants to act, when
the lieutenant is abroad, or when there is a vacancy. He may join
independent companies into a battalion, or incorporate them with any
other regiment; and by him only can adjutants be appointed to act in
the militia. If they are selected from the regular army, they preserve
their rank, and their new commission bears the sign manual.
In case of an invasion or rebellion, the British king has the power to
order the county lieutenants to embody the militia, and to put it under
general officers from the regular army. On these occasions he may issue
a proclamation for the meeting of parliament in fourteen days.
The word king is synonymous with _monarch_, _tyrant_, _despot_, and an
emperor is only a higher grade of king.
KING _at Arms_. See HERALD.
KIOSQUE, _Fr._ a sort of garden pavillion which is open on all sides.
It is used in the Levant, particularly in Turkey, and at Constantinople.
KISSELBACHES, _Ind._ soldiers are so called in India.
KIST, _Ind._ an instalment; the amount of a stated payment.
KISTYBUNDY, the Indian term for a monthly payment or periodical
instalment.
KITSBUNDY, a contract or agreement for the discharge of any debt or
obligation by stated payments.
KIT, in laboratory works, a composition made, of rosin 9lb. pitch 6lb.
bees wax 6lb. and tallow 1lb. used for the last covering of carcasses.
In order to apply it properly, it must first be broken into small
pieces, and put into an iron pot over the fire, where it must be kept
stirring about until it be thoroughly dissolved. When rendered very hot
and completely liquid, it may be used.
KIT is likewise used among dragoons, to signify their lot of
necessaries, which is packed up in a very small compass. The term
is also used by the infantry, and means the contents of a soldier’s
knapsack.
KLINKETS, in fortification, are small gates made through pallisades for
the purpose of sallying.
KNAPSACK, a rough leather or canvas bag, which is strapped to an
infantry soldier’s back when he marches, and which contains his
necessaries. Square knapsacks are supposed to be most convenient. They
should be made with a division to hold the shoes, blacking-balls, and
brushes, separate from the linen. White goat skins are sometimes used,
but we do not conceive them to be equal to the painted canvas ones.
Soldiers are put under stoppages for the payment of their knapsacks,
which after five years, become their property. See list of necessaries,
according to the last regulations, under the article NECESSARIES.
KNAVE, for its military acceptation, see INFANTRY.
KNIGHT, a person who, in ancient times, on account of some eminent
service, civil or military, was singled out from the common class of
gentlemen, &c. and was personally invested with a title. This word,
which was originally derived from the German and Dutch _knecht_ or
_kneht_, signifies a servant, in which sense it is applied when we
speak of the knight of a shire; it likewise means a military man, or
rather a horseman, from the Latin _eques_, a soldier or horseman;
knights of this description having been either the king’s domestic
servants or of his life guards.
In common law they are called _milites_, usually holding lands under
the feudal tenure by knight’s service, to serve the king in his wars.
KNOT, the wing or epaulette, which is commonly made of worsted, of a
non-commissioned officer or corporal. When serjeants and corporals are
sentenced to be reduced to the ranks, the knot is generally cut off by
the drum-major in the presence of the battalion, as a mark of ignominy.
KNOTS, the division of the log line. Each knot is equal to an English
mile.
KNOUT, a Russian punishment.
KOHISTAN, _Ind._ properly means a province. It likewise signifies a
rocky or mountainous country.
KOLLEE _Jogue_, _Ind._ is the fourth of the four æras or periods of
Indian chronology. It is the present æra, in which all mankind are
corrupted, or rather lessened; it is supposed to be ordained to subsist
four hundred thousand years, of which near five thousand are already
expired, and the life of man, in that period is limited to one hundred
years. _Colonel Dow_ says this age is to last thirty-six thousand
years: the age which preceded it, is called the _davapaar jogue_.
KOOLOO, _Ind._ the cocoa tree.
KOONAR, an Indian month, which partly coincides with our month of
September.
KOONCHY, _Ind._ a measure of about eight handfuls.
KOONWUR, _Ind._ prince, highness.
KOREISH, _Ind._ an Arabian tribe.
KORTCHI-BACHI, the chief or commanding officer of the Kortchis. In
former times he was the first military character in Persia, at present
he is only the second in command. He never leaves the court except upon
extraordinary occasions, when his presence is required at the army.
This, however, rarely happens, as the king is obliged to furnish him
with an household service of plate, and to detach a part of his own
guards for the protection of his person. The Kortchi Bachi is generally
entrusted with one of the chief governments belonging to Persia.
KORTCHIS, a body of Persian cavalry, which is stationed along the
frontiers of the country. Every individual belonging to this corps,
receives fifty crowns for his annual pay. The children of the Kortchis
succeed their fathers, with the consent and approbation of the general.
The Kortchis are descended from a race of foreigners, who used to live
under tents, and were always distinguished for their courage.
KOSSACKS, (_Kosaques_, _Fr._) See COSSACKS.
KOTE, _Ind._ a warehouse.
KOULER-AGASI, a distinguished military character in Persia, who has the
command of a body of men called _Kouls_. He is usually governor of a
considerable province.
KOULIE, a courier, a porter, a slave.
KOURIE, _Ind._ a sea-shell used as money in many parts of India.
KOULS, a corps of Persian soldiers who rank as a third body among the
five that constitute the king’s household troops; they mount guard
under the portico which stands between the first and second gate
leading to the palace. The Kouls are men of note and rank; no person
can arrive at any considerable post or situation, who has not served
among the Kouls. Their number is computed at 4000 men.
KOYAL, _Ind._ a weighman.
KOYALEE, _Ind._ fees for weighing.
KRAMA, _Ind._ wooden sandals which are worn by the natives of India
during the wet season.
KUFFEET, _Ind._ An Indian term for security.
KUL, the Turkish word for slave to the prince. The grand vizier, the
bachas, the beiglerbeys, and all persons who receive pay or subsistence
from situations dependent upon the crown, are so called. This title
is in high estimation among the Turkish military, as it authorizes
all who are invested with it, to insult, strike and otherways ill use
the common people, without being responsible for the most flagrant
breach of humanity. Horrid pre-eminence, and fitted only to Mahomedan
civilization!
KULLUSTAUNS, _Ind._ Christians.
KUNDNEE, _Ind._ A sum of money which is annually paid by an inferior
governor to his superior.
KUPELE, Straights so called in India, through which the Ganges
disembogues itself into Hindustan. They are distant from Delhi about
30 leagues, in the longitude of 96, and in the latitude of 30.2.
These straights are believed by the Indians, who look very little
abroad, to be the sources of the Ganges: and a rock 15 miles distant
from them, bearing some resemblance to the head of a cow, has joined
in the same part of the nations, two very important objects of their
religion: the grand image of the animal which they almost venerate
as a divinity, and the first appearance of that immense body of holy
water which washes away all their sins. It was at these straights that
the Indians made some shew of resistance, when the famous Tamerlane
invaded India. The field of this victory is the most distant term of
that emperor’s conquest in India and on the globe. See Dissertation on
the establishments made by Mahomedan conquerors in Hindustan, in Orme’s
History of the Carnatic, page 14, and 15.
KURROL, _Ind._ The advanced guard of a main army.
KURTCHI, a militia is so called in Persia. It consists of one body
of cavalry, which is composed of the first nobility belonging to the
kingdom, and of the lineal descendants of the Turkish conquerors, who
placed Ismael Sophi on the throne. They wear a red turban, made of
particular stuff, into twelve folds. This turban was originally given
them by Ismael, in consideration of their attachment to the religion
and family of Ali. The twelve folds are in remembrance of the twelve
Imaans or Mahomedan preachers who descended in a direct line from
Ali, and distinguished themselves so much in that sect. The turban is
red, for the purpose of provoking those who wear it to avenge upon
the Ottomans, the death of Ali and Hussein, who were murdered by the
chief of Sunis, to whose sect the Turks belong. In consequence of
their wearing this turban, the Persians are always called by the Turks
_kitil-baschi_ or _red-heads_. The noblemen in Persia have adopted the
term, with a slight alteration, and call themselves _kesil-baschis_ or
_golden-heads_. The Kurtchi form a body of nearly eighteen thousand
men. The chief or commanding officer is called kurtchi-baschi. This
was formerly the most distinguished situation in the kingdom, and the
authority annexed to it was equal to what the constable of France
originally possessed. At present his power does not extend beyond the
Kurtchis.
KUSH-BASH, _Ind._ Persons who enjoy lands rent free, upon condition of
serving government in a military capacity when called upon. The term
also signifies, people of middling circumstances who do not cultivate
their lands themselves, but hire servants to do it while they hold
other employments.
KUTTY, _Ind._ Closets.
KUVVAUS, _Ind._ Servants attending on the king’s person.
KUZANA, _Ind._ A treasury.
L.
LAAK, _Ind._ One hundred thousand.
LABARUM, a celebrated standard which was used among the Roman emperors,
and frequently means any imperial or royal standard. The original one,
so called, consisted of a long lance, at the top of which was fixed a
stick that crossed it at right angles, and from which hung a piece of
rich scarlet cloth, that was sometimes ornamented with precious stones.
Until the days of Constantine the great, the figure of an eagle was
placed upon the top of the labarum; but that prince substituted in its
room, a cross, with a cypher expressing the name of Jesus.
LABORATORY signifies that place where all sorts of fire-works are
prepared, both for actual service, and for pleasure, viz. quick
matches, fuses, portfires, grape-shot, case-shot, carcasses,
hand-grenades, cartridges, shells filled, and fuses fixed, wads, &c. &c.
_Aigrettes_. See MORTARS.
_Balls_ are of various sorts, shapes and forms; as
_Chain-shot_, are two shot linked together by a strong chain of 8 or 10
inches long; they are more used on board men of war, than in the land
service. The famous M. de Witt was the first inventor, about the year
1665.
_Light-balls_, of which there are several sorts: the best composition
is mealed powder 2, sulphur 1, rosin 1, turpentine 2¹⁄₂, and saltpetre
1¹⁄₂. Then take tow, and mix and dip it in this composition, till of a
proper size, letting the last coat be of mealed powder. Or take thick
strong paper, and make a shell the size of the mortar you intend to
throw it out of, and fill it with a composition of an equal quantity of
sulphur, pitch, rosin, and mealed powder; which being well mixed, and
put in warm, will give a clear fire, and burn a considerable time.
The composition for filling balls that are intended to set fire to
magazines is, mealed powder 10, saltpetre 2, sulphur 4, and rosin
1; or mealed powder 4, pounded glass 1, antimony ¹⁄₂, camphor ¹⁄₂,
sal-ammoniac 1, common salt ¹⁄₄; or mealed powder 48, saltpetre 32,
sulphur 16, rosin 4, steel or iron filings 2, fir tree saw-dust boiled
in saltpetre ley 2, and birch wood charcoal 1. With any of these
compositions fill the sack, and ram it, if possible, as hard as a
stone, putting in the opening, a fuse, and about the same an iron ring
¹⁄₅th of the ball’s diameter wide; and on the opposite end, another
ring ¹⁄₆th of the ball’s diameter; then with a strong cord of ¹⁄₄th of
an inch diameter, lace round the hoops, or rings, from one end of the
ball to the other, as often as is requisite; this is called the ribbed
coat; then lace it again the contrary way, which is called the check
coat.
Between each square cord, iron barrels are driven in, ¹⁄₃d of which
are filled with powder, and a bullet: at the end of each a small vent
is made, that the composition may inflame the powder, and drive the
balls out on every side, which not only kill numbers of people, but
prevent any one from extinguishing the fire-ball. The whole must, when
finished, be dipped in melted pitch, rosin and turpentine oil; which
composition fastens the whole together.
_Smoke-Balls_, are made and contrived to give an uncommon smoke, and
thereby prevent the enemy from seeing what you are about. They are
prepared as above, only the composition must be 5 to 1 of pitch, rosin,
and saw-dust: the ingredients are put into iron shells, having 4 holes
each to let out the smoke, and are thrown out of mortars.
_Stink-_ }
_Poisoned-_}
_Red-hot-_ }_Balls_. See BALLS.
_Chain-_ }
_Stang-_ }
_Anchor-_ }
_Message-Balls._ See SHELLS.
_Fire-Barrels_ are at present not much used: they were of different
sorts; some mounted on two wheels. The inside of the barrel is loaded
with powder, and the outside full of sharp iron points, intermixed
with grenades loaded, and fuses fixed. Sometimes they are placed under
ground, and made use of to annoy the enemy’s approach.
_Carcass_, in military affairs, was formerly of an oval form, made of
iron bars, and filled with a composition of mealed powder, saltpetre,
sulphur, broken glass, shavings of horn, pitch, turpentine, tallow, and
linseed oil, covered with a pitched cloth; it is primed with mealed
powder and quick match, and fired out of a mortar. Its design is to set
houses on fire, &c. See CARCASS.
None but _round carcasses_ are used at present, the flight of the
oblong ones being so uncertain. The composition is, pitch 2, saltpetre
4, sulphur 1, and corned powder 3. When the pitch is melted, the pot is
taken off, and the ingredients (well mixed) put in; then the carcass is
filled with as much as can be pressed in.
_Cartridges_ are made of various substances, such as paper, parchment,
bladders, and flannel. When they are made of paper the bottoms remain
in the piece, and accumulate so much, that the priming cannot reach the
powder; besides other inconveniencies. When they are made of parchment
or bladders, the fire shrivels them up, so that they enter into the
vent, and become so hard, that the priming iron cannot remove them so
as to clear the vent. Nothing has been found hitherto to answer better
than flannel, which is the only thing used at present for artillery
cartridges of all sorts; because it does not keep fire, and is
therefore not liable to accidents in the loading: but, as the dust of
powder passes through them, a parchment cover is sometimes made to put
over them, which is taken off when used.
The best way of making flannel cartridges, is to boil the flannel in
size; which will prevent the dust of powder from passing through, and
render it stiff, and more manageable; for without this precaution
cartridges are so pliable, on account of their size and the quantity
of powder they contain, that they are put into the piece with much
difficulty.
The loading and firing guns with cartridges is done much sooner than
with loose powder, and fewer accidents are likely to occur. The heads
of cartridges, especially for musquetry, are sometimes wrapped in
coarse cotton.
In quick firing the shot is fixed to the cartridge by means of a wooden
bottom, hollowed on one side so as to receive nearly half the shot,
which is fastened to it by two small slips of tin crossing over the
shot, and nailed to the bottom; and the cartridge is tied to the other
end thereof. They are fixed likewise in the same manner to the bottoms
of grape shot, which are used in field pieces.
_Grape-shot_, in artillery, is a combination of small shot, put into a
thick canvas bag, and corded strongly together, so as to form a kind of
cylinder, whose diameter is equal to that of the ball which is adapted
to the cannon.
_To make grape shot_, a bag of coarse cloth is made just to hold the
bottom which is put into it; as many shot are then thrown in as the
grape is to contain; and with a strong pack thread the whole is quilted
to keep the shot from moving. The bags, when finished, are put into
boxes for the purpose of being conveniently carried.
The number of shot in a grape varies according to the service or size
of the guns: in sea service 9 is always the number; but by land it is
increased to any number or size, from an ounce and a quarter in weight,
to four pounds. It has not yet been determined, with any degree of
accuracy, what number and size answer best in practice; for it is well
known, that they often scatter so much that only a small number takes
effect.
Of the three different sorts of cannon which are used for throwing
grape-shot, the 3-pounder seems rather the best; especially when two
are used, as the effect of two 3-pounders is much greater than that of
one 6-pounder. But the 8-inch howitzer, which can be made to throw in
from three to five of its charge (from 12 to 20lb. of shot) becomes
thereby a very formidable piece, when it can be used for grape-shot;
and this is the howitzer used by the French light or horse artillery.
_Proper charges for grape-shot_ have never yet been effectually
determined: we can only give our advice from some experiments; that for
heavy 6-pounders, ¹⁄₃d of the weight of the shot appears to be the best
charge of powder; for the light 6-pounders, ¹⁄₄th of the weight of the
shot; and for howitzers, ¹⁄₈th or ¹⁄₁₀th answers very well.
This kind of fire seems not yet to have been enough respected, nor
depended on. However, if cannon and howitzers can be made to throw ¹⁄₃d
or ¹⁄₄th, and sometimes half their charge of grape shot into a space 39
by 12 feet, at 200 and 300 yards distance, and those fired 7 or 8 times
in a minute; it surely forms the thickest fire that can be produced
from the same space.
_Tin case-shot_, in artillery, is formed by putting a great quantity
of small iron shot into a cylindrical tin box, called a canister, that
just fits the bore of the gun. Leaden bullets are sometimes used in the
same manner; and it must be observed, that whatever number or sizes of
the shot are used, they must weigh, with their cases, nearly as much as
the shot of the piece.
_Case shot_, formerly, consisted of all kinds of old iron, stones,
musquet balls, nails, &c.
_Tubes_, in artillery are used in quick firing. They are made of tin:
their diameter is ²⁄₁₀ths of an inch, being just sufficient to enter
into the vent of the piece; about 6 inches long, with a cap above, and
cut slanting below, in the form of a pen; the point is strengthened
with some solder, that it may pierce the cartridge without bending.
Through this tube is drawn a quick-match, the cap being fitted with
mealed powder, moistened with spirits of wine. To prevent the mealed
powder from falling out by carriage, a cap of paper or flannel, steeped
in spirits of wine, is tied over it.
_Flambeaux_, a kind of lighted torch, used in the artillery upon a
march, or the park, &c.
_Formers_, are cylinders of wood, of different sizes and dimensions,
used in the _laboratory_, to drive the composition of fuzes and
rockets.
_Funnels_, are of various sorts, used to pour the powder into shells,
and the composition into fuses, and rocket-cases.
_Fire-ship_, a vessel filled with combustible materials, and fitted
with grappling irons, to hook, and set fire to the enemy’s ships in
battle, &c.
From the bulk head at the fore castle to a bulk head to be raised
behind the main chains, on each side and across the ship at the bulk
heads, is fixed, close to the ship’s sides, a double row of troughs, 2
feet distance from each other, with cross troughs quite round, at about
2¹⁄₂ distance; which are mortised into the others. The cross troughs
lead to the sides of the ship, to the barrels and to the port holes,
to give fire both to the barrels and to the chambers, to blow open the
ports; and the side troughs serve to communicate the fire all along the
ship and the cross troughs.
The timbers of which the troughs are made, are about 5 inches square;
the depth of the troughs, half their thickness; and they are supported
by cross pieces at every 2 or 3 yards, nailed to the timbers of the
ship, and to the wood work which incloses the fore and main masts. The
decks and troughs are all well paved with melted rosin.
On each side of the ship 6 small port holes are cut, from 15 to 18
inches large, the ports opening downwards, and are close caulked up.
Against each port is fixed an iron chamber, which, at the time of
firing the ship, blows open the ports, and lets out the fire. At the
main and fore chains, on each side, a wooden funnel is fixed over
a fire barrel, and comes through a scuttle in the deck, up to the
shrouds, to set them on fire. Both funnels and scuttles must be stopped
with plugs, and have sail cloth or canvas nailed close over them, to
prevent any accident happening that way, by fire, to the combustibles
below.
The port holes, funnels, and scuttles, not only serve to give the fire
a free passage to the outside and upper parts of the ship, and her
rigging, but also for the inward air (otherwise confined) to expand
itself, and push through those holes at the time of the combustibles
being on fire, and prevent the blowing up of the decks, which otherwise
must of course happen, from such a sudden and violent rarefaction of
the air as will then be produced.
In the bulk head behind, on each side, is cut a small hole, large
enough to receive a trough of the same size of the others; from which,
to each side of the ship, lies a leading trough, one end coming through
a sally port cut through the ship’s side, and the other fixing into a
communicating trough that lies along the bulk-head, from one side of
the ship to the other; and being laid with quick match, at the time
of firing either of the leading troughs, communicates the fire in an
instant to the contrary side of the ship, and both sides burn together.
_Fire barrels_, for a fire-ship, are cylindric, on account of that
shape answering better both for filling them with reeds, and for
stowing them between the troughs: their inside diameters are about
21 inches, and their length 33. The bottom parts are first filled
with double-dipt reeds set on end, and the remainder with fire-barrel
composition, which is, corned powder 30lb. Swedish pitch 12, saltpetre
6, and tallow 3, well mixed and melted, and then poured over them.
There are 5 holes of 3-quarters of an inch diameter, and 3 inches deep,
made with a drift of that size in the top of the composition while it
is warm: one in the centre, and the other four at equal distances round
the sides of the barrel. When the composition is cold and hard, the
barrel is primed by well driving those holes full of fuze composition,
to within an inch of the top; then fixing in each hole a strand of
quick-match twice doubled, and in the centre hole two strands the whole
length; all which must be well driven in with mealed powder: then lay
the quick-match all within the barrel, and cover the top of it with a
dipt curtain, fastened on with a hoop to slip over the head, and nailed
on.
_Bavins_, for a fire-ship, are made of birch, heath, or other sort of
brushwood, that is both tough and quickly fired: in length 2.5, or 3
feet; the bush-ends all laid one way, and the other ends tied with two
bands each. They are dipped, and sprinkled with sulphur, the same as
reeds, with this difference, that the bush ends, only, are dipped, and
should be a little closed together by hand, as soon as done, to keep
them more compact, in order to give a stronger fire, and to preserve
the branches from breaking in shifting and handling them. Their
composition is, rosin 120lb., coarse sulphur 90, pitch 60, tallow 6,
and mealed powder 12, with some fine sulphur for salting.
_Iron-chambers_, for a fire-ship, are 10 inches long, and 3.5. in
diameter; breeched against a piece of wood fixed across the holes. When
loaded, they are almost filled full of corned powder, with a wooden
tompion well driven into their muzzles. They are primed with a small
piece of quick-match thrust through their vents into the powder, with a
part of it hanging out; and when the ship is fired, they blow open the
ports, which either fall downwards, or are carried away, and so give
vent to the fire out of the sides of the ship.
_Curtains_, for a fire-ship, are made of barras, about 3-quarters of
a yard wide, and 1 yard in length: when they are dipped, 2 men, with
each a fork, must run the prongs through the corner of the curtain at
the same end; then dip them into a large kettle of composition (which
is the same as the composition for bavins) well melted; and when well
dipped, and the curtain extended to its full breadth, whip it between
2 sticks of about 5.5 feet long, and 1-5 inches square, held close by
2 other men to take off the superfluous composition hanging to it;
then immediately sprinkle saw-dust on both sides to prevent it from
sticking, and the curtain is finished.
_Reeds_, for a fire-ship, are made up in small bundles of about 12
inches in circumference, cut even at both ends, and tied with two bands
each: the longest sort are 4 feet, and the shortest 2.5; which are all
the lengths that are used. One part of them are single dipped, only at
one end; the rest are double-dipped, _i. e._ at both ends. In dipping,
they must be put about 7 or 8 inches deep into a copper kettle of
melted composition (the same as that for bavins;) and when they have
drained a little over it, to carry off the superfluous composition,
sprinkle them over a tanned hide with pulverised sulphur, at some
distance from the copper.
STORES _for a_ FIRE-SHIP _of 150 tons_.
No.
Fire-barrels 8
Iron chambers 12
Priming composition barrels 3¹⁄₂
Quick-match barrels 1
Curtains dipped 30
Long reeds single dipped 150
Short reeds{double dipped 75
{single dipped 75
Bavins single dipped 209
_Quantity of_ COMPOSITION _for preparing the stores of a_ FIRE-SHIP.
For 8 barrels, corned powder 960lb. pitch 480lb. tallow 80.
For 3 barrels of priming composition, salt-petre 175lb. sulphur
140lb. corned powder 350lb. rosin 21lb. oil-pots 11.
For curtains, bavins, reeds, and sulphur to salt them, sulphur 200lb.
pitch 350lb. rosin 175lb. tallow 50lb. tar 25lb.
Total weight of the composition 3017 pounds, equal to C. 26 : 3 : 21.
Composition allowed for the reeds and barrels, 1-fifth of the whole of
the last article, which is equal to 160lb. making in the whole 3177
pounds, or C. 28 : 1 : 13.
_Port-fires_ in _artillery_, may be made of any length: however,
they are seldom made more than 21 inches. The interior diameter of
port-fire moulds should be ¹⁰⁄₁₆ of an inch, and the diameter of the
whole port-fire about ¹⁄₂ an inch. The paper cases must be rolled wet
with paste, and one end folded down. They are used instead of matches
to fire artillery. The composition of wet port-fire is, salt-petre 6,
sulphur 2, and mealed powder 1; when it is well mixed and sieved, it
is to be moistened with a little linseed oil: the composition for dry
port-fire is, salt-petre 4, sulphur 1, mealed powder 2, and antimony 1.
_Rockets_, in _pyrotechny_, an artificial firework, consisting of
a cylindrical case of paper, filled with a composition of certain
combustible ingredients; which being tied to a stick, mounts into the
air to a considerable height and there bursts: they are frequently used
as signals in war time.
Composition for sky-rockets in general is, salt-petre 4lb. brimstone
1lb. and charcoal 1¹⁄₂lb; but for large sky-rockets, salt-petre 4lb.
mealed powder 1lb. and brimstone 1lb. for rockets of a middling size,
salt-petre 3lb. sulphur 2lb. mealed powder 1lb. and charcoal 1lb.
_Quick-match_ in _artillery_, is of 2 sorts, cotton and worsted;
the first is generally made of such cotton as is put in candles, of
several sizes, from 1 to six threads thick, according to the pipes it
is designed for. The ingredients are, cotton 1 lb. 12 oz. salt-petre 1
lb. 8 oz. spirits of wine 2 quarts, water 2 quarts, isinglass 3 gills,
and mealed powder 10lb. It is then taken out hot, and laid in a trough
where some mealed powder, moistened with spirits of wine, is thoroughly
wrought into the cotton. This done, they are taken out separately,
and drawn through mealed powder, and hung upon a line to dry.--The
composition for the second is, worsted 10oz. mealed powder 10lb.
spirits of wine 3 pints, and white-wine vinegar 3 pints.
LABORER, _Fr._ literally, to remove earth with a plough, spade; &c.
Figuratively, to belabor, which according to Johnston, is to beat,
thump, &c. The French use it, in a military sense, to express any
direct and concentrated effort which is made to destroy a fortification.
LABORER _un rampart_, signifies to bring several pieces of ordnance
discharged from two oblique directions to bear upon one centre. Shells
and hollow balls are generally used on these occasions, and the chief
design is to second the operations of the miner in some particular part
from whence the explosion is to take place.
_Laborer_ likewise applies to the working of a bomb or shell, which
excavates, ploughs up, and scatters the earth about wherever it bursts.
LACAY _or_ LAQUET, _Fr._ An old French militia was formerly so called.
The name is found among the public documents which were kept by the
treasurers belonging to the dukes of Britanny, in the fifteenth century.
LACE, the uniform of regiments is distinguishable often by the lace and
button.
LACERNA, _Fr._ a garment which was worn by the ancients. It was made
of woollen stuff, and was only worn by men; originally indeed by those
alone that were of a military profession. It was usually thrown over
the toga, and sometimes indeed over the tunica. It may not improperly
be considered as the surtout or great coat of the ancients, with this
difference, that there was a winter lacernum and a summer one.
The lacerna was adopted by the Romans towards the close of their
republic. Even as late down as the days of Cicero it was unknown
amongst them, or if known, censured as a mark of disgraceful
effeminacy. During the civil wars that occurred in the triumvirate
of Augustus, Lepidus, and Antony, the lacerna became familiar to the
people, and by degrees was adopted as common apparel, by the senators
and knights of Rome, until the reigns of Gratian, Valentinian, and
Theodosius, who enjoined the senators not to wear it.
The lacerna is the same as the _chlamys_ and the _burrbus_.
_Un_ LACHE, _Fr._ A familiar phrase among the french to signify a
coward, &c.
LACHER, _Fr._ to go off. _Son pistolet, ou son fusil, vint à lâcher_;
his pistol, or his musquet, went off of itself.
LACHER _pied_, _Fr._ to run away.
LACHER _un prisonnier_, _Fr._ to let a prisoner escape, or go away
unmolested.
LACHER _un coup_, in speaking of fire arms, signifies to discharge a
pistol or musquet. _Il lui lâcha un coup de pistolet dans la tête_; he
lodged a bullet in his head. _Le vaisseau lâcha toute sa bordée à la
portée du mousquet_; the ship fired a whole broadside within musquet
shot.
LACHETE, _Fr._ An opprobrious term which is frequently used among the
French, and is applied in all instances of cowardice, want of spirit,
or dishonorable conduct. One of their writers emphatically observes,
that in a military sense of the word it cannot be misunderstood, as
the least imputation of cowardice or want of spirit, is sufficient to
destroy the entire character and fame of every officer and soldier whom
it may affect. As it is the direct opposite to courage, the person who
enters into the profession of arms, should weigh well within himself
whether he possesses that indispensible quality, which is above all the
temptations of pleasure or the effeminacy of life, and is only alive
to the glorious impulse of military animation. He only, in fact, is
fit for arms, whose spirit is superior to every sordid view, who knows
no personal fear, and who can encounter the greatest difficulties and
dangers with an inward placidity of soul, and an outward indifference
to life. In order to illustrate this article, we shall quote some
ancient and modern instances of that species of cowardice or _lâcheté_,
which affects the military character.
Euripidas, chief of the Eléans, having imprudently advanced too far
into a long and narrow defile, and learning, that Philip of Macedon was
on this march to block up the passage through which he had entered,
instead of manfully waiting the issue of an engagement, abandoned
his army, in the most cowardly manner. It does not appear says the
chevalier Folard, that Euripidas possessed those talents which are
necessary to form a great general; for instead of meanly stealing off
by a bye road and leaving his army to its fate, he would have remained
at its head, and either have fought his way through, honorably have
capitulated, or have died combating with his men.
Base and inglorious as this conduct of Euripidas most unquestionably
was, the behaviour of Perseus king of the Macedonians exceeded it in
cowardice and degradation. This infamous prince did not wait to be
visited by misfortune or to lose a battle; he had, on the contrary,
obtained a signal victory over the Romans, and when Paulus Emilius
marched against him, the army he commanded was not inferior to that of
his opponent in discipline and valor, and had the advantage in point of
numbers. Yet, strange to relate! the engagement was no sooner begun,
than he rode off full gallop, and repaired to the town of Pydnus, under
the flimsy pretext of sacrificing to the God Hercules; as if Hercules,
to use Plutarch’s expression, was the deity to whom the prayers and
offerings of _Cowards_ were to be preferred!
The English duke of York on two occasions during his command in the
Netherlands, displayed this _lâcheté_.
Mark Antony on the other hand, after having acquired the reputation
of a brave and distinguished general, submitted to the allurements of
sensual gratification, and buried all his glory in the meretricious
embraces of an Egyptian strumpet. We have had a striking instance,
during the present war, of the superiority which a real military
thirst for glory will always have over private indulgences. When the
French army was very critically situated in Germany, general Hoche who
commanded it, became exposed one evening to the allurements of a most
beautiful woman, who by design or accident got placed near the general
at a public supper. Aware of the weakness of human nature, and full of
his own glory, as well as conscious of the critical state of the army
entrusted to his care, he suddenly rose, ordered his horses, and left
the place at midnight.
We might enumerate a variety of cases in which the greatest heroes
have fallen victims to human weakness; and few alas! in which a sense
of public duty and a regard for the opinion of posterity have got the
ascendancy. History, however, saves us that trouble, and we shall
remain satisfied with having explained under the word _Lâchete_, what
we conceive disgraceful in an officer or soldier, who suffers personal
fear, passion, or interest to get the better of public character.
_La trahison est une lâcheté_; treason is infamous in its nature.
LACUNETTE, _Fr._ a term in fortification. A small fossé or ditch was
formerly so called. The word _Cunette_ has since been adopted.
LADAVEE, _Ind._ A release or acquittance from any demand.
LADLES, _in gunnery_, are made of copper, to hold the powder for
loading guns, with long handles of wood, when cartridges are not used.
LADLES, in _laboratory business_, are very small, made of copper, with
short handles of wood, used in supplying the fuses of shells, or any
other composition, to fill the cases of sky-rockets, &c.--There is
another kind of ladle which is used to carry red hot shot. It is made
of iron, having a ring in the middle to hold the shot, from which 2
handles proceed from opposite sides of the ring.
_Scaling_-LADDERS (_échelles de siege_, _Fr._) are used in scaling
when a place is to be taken by surprise. They are made several ways:
sometimes of flat staves, so as to move about their pins and shut like
a parallel ruler, for conveniently carrying them: the French make them
of several pieces, so as to be joined together, and to be capable of
any necessary length: sometimes they are made of single ropes, knotted
at proper distances, with iron hook at each end, one to fasten them
upon the wall above, and the other in the ground; and sometimes they
are made with 2 ropes, and staves between them, to keep the ropes at a
proper distance, and to tread upon. When they are used in the action of
scaling walls, they ought to be rather too long than too short, and to
be given in charge only to the stoutest of the detachment. The soldiers
should carry these ladders with the left arm passed through the second
step, taking care to hold them upright close to their sides, and very
short below, to prevent any accident in leaping into the ditch.
The first rank of each division, provided with ladders, should set out
with the rest at the signal, marching resolutely with their firelocks
slung, to jump into the ditch: when they are arrived, they should apply
their ladders against the parapet, observing to place them towards the
salient angles rather than the middle of the curtain, because the enemy
has less force there. Care must be taken to place the ladders within a
foot of each other, and not to give them too much nor too little slope,
so that they may not be overturned, or broken with the weight of the
soldiers mounting upon them.
The ladders being applied, they who have carried them, and they who
come after should mount up, and rush upon the enemy sword in hand: if
he who goes first, happens to be overturned, the next should take care
not to be thrown down by his comrade; but on the contrary, immediately
mount himself so as not to give the enemy time to load his piece.
As the soldiers who mount first may be easily tumbled over, and their
fall may cause the attack to fail, it would perhaps be right to
protect their breasts with the fore-parts of cuirasses; because, if
they can penetrate, the rest may easily follow.
The success of an attack by scaling is infallible, if they mount the 4
sides at once, and take care to shower a number of grenades among the
enemy, especially when supported by some grenadiers and picquets, who
divide the attention and share the fire of the enemy.
The ingenious colonel Congreve of the British artillery, has very much
improved upon the construction of these ladders. As the height of
different works vary, and the ladders, when too long, afford purchase
to the besieged, he has contrived a set of ladders having an iron
staple at the lower part of each stem, so that if 1, 2, or 3, should
be found insufficient to reach the top of the work, another might
with facility be joined to the lowest, and that be pushed up until a
sufficient length could be obtained.
LAITON, _sometimes written_ LETTON, _Fr._ a metallic composition which
is made of copper and the lapis calaminaris; a soft brass.
LALA, _Ind._ lord; sir; master; worship.
LAMA, _Ind._ A chief priest, whose followers suppose him immortal. They
imagine, that on the dissolution of his mortal frame, his spirit enters
the body of a new born child. He is also monarch of Thibet.
LAMBREQUINS, _Fr._ small mantles or ribands which were twisted round
the hood or top of a helmet at the bottom of the crest, and kept the
whole together. These ornaments fell into disuse when the helmet was
laid aside. In former times, when the cavaliers or persons who wore
them, wished to take breath, and to be relieved from the weight of
the helmet, they untied the mantles, and let them float about their
shoulders suspended from the hood only. Hence the appellation of
_valets_ as hanging behind.
LAMPION _à parapet_, _Fr._ a lamp generally used on the parapet or
elsewhere in a besieged place. It is a small iron vessel filled with
pitch and tar which the garrison lighted as occasions required. The
lampion is sometimes confounded with the _réchaud_ de rampart, or
chaffing dish, which is used upon the rampart on similar occasions.
LANCE, _lance_, _Fr._ This offensive weapon was much used by the French
in former times, particularly by that class of military gentlemen
called chevaliers, and by the gendarmes. It has also been used by the
English and other nations. Lances were made of ash, being a wood of a
tough quality and not so liable to break as another species. Before
the reign of Philip de Valois, the chevaliers and gens d’armes fought
on foot, armed with lances only, both in battles and at sieges. On
these occasions they shortened their lances, which were then said to be
retaillées or cut again. A sort of bannerol or streamer hung from each
lance, and was attached to the bottom of the sharp iron or blade which
was fixed to the pole. Lances were used in this manner as far back as
during the crusades.
_Rompre la_ LANCE, _Fr._ to break a lance. This was a phrase peculiar
to any assault which was given at tilts or tournaments, and signified
to engage or come to close combat.
_Rompre une_ LANCE, according to the last edition of the Dictionnaire
de l’Académie Francoise, likewise means in a familiar and proverbial
sense, to defend another against the attacks of an adversary. The
French say: _rompre des lances pour quelqu’un_, to defend another:
_rompre une lance avec quelqu’un_, to enter into any warm dispute or
controversy with another.
_Main de la_ LANCE, _Fr._ A figurative expression, to signify the right
hand of a cavalier or horseman.
LANCE _de drapeau_, _Fr._ The staff to which regimental colors are
attached.
LANCES _levées_, _Fr._ uplifted lances, indicated that the enemy was
beaten, and that the chevaliers or gendarmes should close the day by
giving a final blow to the disordered ranks. The use of the lance was
discontinued in France sometime before the compagnies d’ordonnance or
independent companies were reduced and formed into the gendarmerie.
Little or no use indeed, was made of them, during the reign of Henry
IV. But the Spaniards still retained that weapon as low down as the
days of Louis XIII. and when arms were too scarce at the opening of the
French revolution, the _pike_ or _lance_ was resorted to with great
success.
LANCE, _Fr._ means likewise an iron rod which is fixed across the
earthen mould of a shell, and which keeps it suspended in the air when
it is cast. As soon as the bomb or shell is formed, this rod must be
broken, and carefully taken out with instruments made for that purpose.
Shells ought to be scrupulously examined with respect to this article,
as they could not be charged, were the lance or any part of it to
remain within. _Lance_ is also an instrument which conveys the charge
of a piece of ordnance and forces it home into the bore. See RAMMER of
a GUN.
LANCE _à feu_, _Fr._ a squib. A species of artificial fire work which
is made in the shape of a fuse, and is used for various purposes.
According to the author of _Œuvres Militaires_, tom. II. p. 208, the
composition of the _lance à feu_ consists of three parts of the best
refined salt-petre, two parts of flour of sulphur, and two of antimony;
the whole being pounded and mixed together.
The chief use which is made of the _lance à feu_ is to throw occasional
light across the platform, whilst artificial fireworks are preparing.
They likewise serve to set fire to fuses, as they can be taken hold of
without danger.
LANCE _à feu puant_, _Fr._ Stink-fire lances prepared in the same
manner that stink-pots are, and particularly useful to miners. When
a miner or sapper has so far penetrated towards the enemy as to hear
the voices of persons in any place contiguous to his own excavation,
he first of all bores a hole with his probe, then fires off several
pistols through the aperture, and lastly forces in a _lance à feu
puant_, taking care to close up the hole on his side to prevent the
smoke from returning towards himself. The exhalation and stinking hot
vapour which issue from the lance, and remain confined on the side of
the enemy, infest the air so much, that it is impossible to approach
the quarter for three or four days. Sometimes, indeed, they have had so
instantaneous an effect, that in order to save their lives, miners, who
would persevere, have been dragged out by the legs in an apparent state
of suffocation.
LANCE _de feu_, _Fr._ a species of squib which is used by the garrison
of a besieged town against a scaling party.
LANCE-_Gaie_, _Fr._ an offensive weapon formerly so called in France.
LANCE _Spezzate_, _Fr._ a reduced officer. In former times it signified
a dismounted gendarme who was appointed to an infantry corps with
some emolument attached to his situation. The word anspessade, a
non-commissioned officer who acts subordinate to the corporal, is
corrupted from this term. Besides the three hundred Swiss guards which
were constantly attached to the palace, the Pope maintained twelve
lance-spezzates or reduced officers.
LANDING _Troops_. See DEBARKATION, and REGULATIONS.
LAND FORCES, troops whose system is calculated for land service only,
in contradistinction to seamen and mariners. All the land forces of
Great Britain are liable to serve on board the navy. Indeed the marine
establishment as a military corps is an anomaly, kept up only for
patronage; the proper establishment of soldiers for sea service should
be by detachments from the infantry, according to a roster.
LANE, in a _military sense_, is where men are drawn up in two ranks
facing one another, as in a street, for any great person to pass
through, or sometimes for a soldier to run the gantelope.
LANGUE, _Fr._ a term peculiarly connected with the late military
order of Malta. The eight nations of which this celebrated order
consisted, were distinguished by the appellation of _Langue_ or
tongues. There were three of this description in France, viz. _la
Langue de France_, _la Langue de Provence_, _et la Langue d’Auvergne_;
two in Spain, viz. _la Langue d’Arragon_, _et la Langue de Castile_;
and three indiscriminate ones, viz. _la Langue d’Italia_, _la Langue
d’Allemagne_, _et la Langue d’Angleterre_. The head of each langue was
called _Grand Prieur_, or _Grand Prior_.
LANGUE _de terre_, _Fr._ a tongue of land.
LANSQUENETS, _Fr._ the German mercenaries which Charles VII. of France
first added to his infantry, were so called. They continued in the
French service until the reign of Francis I. who consolidated all the
foot establishments into a certain number of legions; they were so
called from the lance or pike which was their weapon.
LANS-PESATE, LANCE-PESADE, a soldier that does duty as a corporal,
especially on guards and detachments; a lance corporal.
LANTERN, LANTHORN, commonly called Muscovy lanterns, being a kind of
dark lantherns, used in the field, when dark, to light the gunners in
the camp to prepare the stores, &c.
LANTERNE, _Fr._ A word used in the French navy to signify any wooden
case or box in which cartridges are brought out of the powder magazine
for the purpose of serving the guns.
LANTERNE, _Fr._ it is sometimes called _cuiller_ or ladle, and serves
to convey gunpowder into a piece of ordnance. It is made of copper, and
resembles a round spoon or ladle, which is fixed to a long pole.
LANTERNE, _a mitrailles_, _Fr._ A round piece of concave wood,
something like a box, which is filled with case shot, and is fired from
a piece of ordnance when the enemy is near.
LASCARS, or _Laskars_. The native seamen of India; the native
gunners are likewise so called. They are employed to tend and serve
the artillery on shore, and are attached to corps as pioneers or
tent-pitchers.
LASHING-RINGS, in _artillery_, with hoops, fixed on the side-pieces
of travelling carriages, to lash the tarpauling, as also to tie the
spunge, rammer, and ladle. See CARRIAGE.
LATH, in _building_, a long, thin, and narrow slip of wood, nailed to
the rafters of a roof or ceiling, in order to fasten the covering.
Laths are distinguished into three kinds, according to the different
kinds of wood of which they are made, viz. heart of oak, sap-laths,
deal-laths, &c.
LATHE, a machine for turning wood or metal.
LATHE _Reeve_, an officer during the Saxon government, who held a
certain jurisdiction over that part of the country which was called a
tithing.
LATTIE, an Indian term for warehouse.
LATITUDE, in _geography_, the distance of any place from the equator,
measured in degrees, minutes, seconds, &c. upon the meridian of that
place: and is either north or south according as the place is situated
either on the north or south side of the equator.
LATRINES, _Fr._ privies or holes which are dug at the back of a camp
for the convenience of soldiers. The pioneers are generally employed
to make them.
LAVER, LAVIS, _Fr._ a wash, or superficial stain or color; it is
particularly made use of in all sketches, plans, and drawings;
the different intervals or spaces of which are slightly shaded or
colored. This kind of painting is stiled _lavis_, or water-coloring.
The difference between miniature painting and washing or drawing in
water colors, consists in this, that the former is dotted and worked
up into light and shade; the latter is barely spread with a brush.
There are, besides, other marks of distinction; those colors which
more immediately resemble nature, are always used in the lavis or
water-painting; the spaces that represent a fosse or ditch, which is
supposed to be full of water, must be distinguished by a sky blue;
brick and tiles by red; roads by a dun color, and trees or turf, &c. by
green.
LAVIS, _Fr._ generally means every sort of simple color which is
diluted with water.
LAVURE, _Fr._ the grains, dust, or detached pieces of metal which fall
in casting cannon.
LAUREL, a shrub which is always green.
_To be crowned with laurels_, a figurative expression, signifying that
a man has atchieved glorious actions, and is entitled to marks of
public distinction. In ancient times heroes and conquerors had their
heads encircled with a wreath of laurels.
LAURES, gold coins which were issued from the English mint in 1619,
representing the head of king James I. encircled with laurels.
LAW _of arms_, certain acknowleged rules, regulations, and precepts,
which relate to war, and are observed by all civilized nations.
LAWS _of arms_ are likewise certain precepts shewing how to proclaim
war, to attack the enemy, and to punish offenders in the camp; also
restricting the contending parties from certain cruelties, &c.
LAW _military_. The persons who are subject to military law, and are
amenable to trial by court martial, are in the terms of military law,
all persons commissioned or in pay, as officers, non-commissioned
officers, private soldiers, and all followers of an army. Half pay
officers are not subject to military law, whilst civil justice can be
resorted to.
LAWS _relating to martial affairs_. The following laws existed during
the most flourishing state of the Roman commonwealth. We insert them in
this place as by no means being inapplicable to the present times.
_Secreta Lex Militaris_, which was promulgated about the year 411,
ordained, that no soldier’s name which had been entered in the muster
roll, should be struck out, unless by the party’s consent; and that
no person who had been military tribune should execute the office of
_ductor ordinum_. _Sempronia lex_, which appeared in the year 630,
ordained, that the soldiers should receive their pay gratis at the
public charge, without any diminution of their ordinary pay; and that
none should be obliged to serve in the army, who was not full seventeen
years old. _Sulpicia lex_, which was made in 665, ordained, that the
chief command in the Mithridatic war, which was then enjoyed by L.
Sylla, should be taken from him, and conferred on C. Marius.
_Gabinia lex_ appeared in 685, ordaining that a commission should
be granted to Cn. Pompey, for the management of the war against the
pirates for three years, with this particular clause, that upon all the
sea on this side Hercules’s pillars, and in the maritime provinces,
as far as 400 stadia from the sea, he should be empowered to command
kings, governors, and states to supply him with all the necessaries in
his expedition.
_Manilia lex_, published in 687, ordained, that all the forces of
Lucullus, and the province under his government, should be given to
Pompey; together with Bithynia, which was under the command of Glabrio,
and that he should forthwith make war upon Mithridates, retaining still
the same naval forces, and the sovereignty of the seas as before.
_Maria Parcia lex_ appeared in 1691, ordaining that a penalty should be
inflicted on such commanders as wrote falsely to the senate, about the
number of the slain, on the enemy’s side, and of their own party; and
that they should be obliged, when they first entered the city, to take
a solemn oath before the quæstors that the number which they returned,
was true, according to the best computation. See Kennett’s Ant. of
Rome, page 168.
It will be seen by these laws, particularly by the last, that the most
minute military operation was subservient to the senate. The French
seem, in this respect, to have imitated the Romans very closely, but
they do not appear to have adhered, so strictly as they might, to the
law which regards the loss of men, nor are their neighbors more correct.
LAWS _of Nations_, such general rules as regard the embassies,
reception and entertainment of strangers, intercourse of merchants,
exchange of prisoners, suspension of arms, &c.
LAW _of marque_, or _letters of marque_, that by which persons take the
goods or shipping of the party that has wronged them, as in time of
war, whenever they can take them within their precincts.
LAWS _of the United States_, regulating the military establishment;
these are of two descriptions, the first relates to the regular force;
the second to the militia, the latter of which is mere print and paper,
without consistency, efficacy, or force; and calculated rather to
discourage than assure military knowlege in the militia. The following
are the laws regulating the _military establishment_.
Sec. I. That from and after the passing of this act, the following
shall be the rules and articles by which the armies of the United
States shall be governed.
Art. 1. Every officer now in the army of the United States, shall, in
six months from the passing of this act, and every officer who shall
hereafter be appointed, shall before he enters on the duties of his
office, subscribe these rules and regulations.
Art. 2. It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers
diligently to attend divine service; and all officers who shall behave
indecently or irreverently at any place of divine worship, shall, if
commissioned officers, be brought before a general court-martial,
there to be publicly and severely reprimanded by the president; if
non-commissioned officers or soldiers, every person so offending shall,
for his first offence, forfeit _one sixth of a dollar_, to be deducted
out of his next pay; for the second offence, he shall not only forfeit
a like sum, but be confined twenty-four hours: and for every like
offence shall suffer and pay in like manner; which money, so forfeited,
shall be applied by the captain or senior officer of the troop or
company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the company or troop to
which the offender belongs.
Art. 3. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier who shall use any
profane oath or execration shall incur the penalties expressed in the
foregoing article, and a commissioned officer shall forfeit and pay
for each and every such offence one dollar, to be applied as in the
preceding article.
Art. 4. Every chaplain commissioned in the army or armies of the United
States, who shall absent himself from the duties assigned him (except
in cases of sickness or leave of absence) shall, on conviction thereof
before a court-martial, be fined not exceeding one month’s pay, besides
the loss of his pay during his absence; or be discharged, as the said
court-martial shall judge proper.
Art. 5. Any officer or soldier who shall use contemptuous or
disrespectful words against the president of the United States, against
the vice president thereof, against the congress of the United States,
or against the chief magistrate or legislature of any of the United
States in which he may be quartered, if a commissioned officer, shall
be cashiered, or otherwise punished as a court-martial shall direct; if
a non-commissioned officer or soldier, he shall suffer such punishment
as shall be inflicted on him by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 6. Any officer or soldier who shall behave himself with contempt
or disrespect towards his commanding officer, shall be punished
according to the nature of his offence, by the judgment of a
court-martial.
Art. 7. Any officer or soldier who shall begin, exercise, cause, or
join in any mutiny or sedition in any troop or company in the service
of the United States, or in any party, post, detachment, or guard,
shall suffer death, or such other punishment as by a court-martial
shall be inflicted.
Art. 8. Any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, who being
present at any mutiny or sedition, does not use his utmost endeavor to
suppress the same, or coming to the knowlege of any intended mutiny,
does not without delay, give information thereof to his commanding
officer, shall be punished by the sentence of a court-martial with
death or otherwise, according to the nature of his offence.
Art. 9. Any officer or soldier who shall strike his superior officer,
or draw or lift up any weapon, or offer any violence against him, being
in the execution of his office, on any pretence whatsoever, or shall
disobey any lawful command of his superior officer, shall suffer death,
or such other punishment as shall, according to the nature of his
offence, be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 10. Every non-commissioned officer, or soldier, who shall inlist
himself in the service of the United States, shall, at the time of his
so inlisting, or within six days afterwards, have the articles for
the government of the armies of the United States, read to him, and
shall, by the officer who inlisted him, or by the commanding officer
of the troop or company into which he was inlisted, be taken before
the next justice of the peace, or chief magistrate of any city or town
corporate, not being an officer of the army, or where recourse cannot
be had to the civil magistrate, before the judge advocate, and, in
his presence, shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I A. B.
do solemnly swear, or affirm, (as the case may be) that I will bear
true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve
them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies, or opposers,
whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the president of the
United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me,
according to the rules and articles for the government of the armies of
the United States.” Which justice, magistrate, or judge advocate is to
give the officer a certificate, signifying that the man inlisted, did
take the said oath, or affirmation.
Art. 11. After a non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall have
been duly inlisted and sworn, he shall not be dismissed the service
without a discharge in writing; and no discharge granted to him
shall be sufficient, which is not signed by a field officer of the
regiment to which he belongs, or commanding officer, where no field
officer of the regiment is present; and no discharge shall be given
to a non-commissioned officer or soldier, before his term of service
has expired, but by order of the president, the secretary of war,
the commanding officer of a department, or the sentence of a general
court-martial, nor shall a commissioned officer be discharged the
service, but by order of the president of the United States, or by
sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 12. Every colonel, or other officer commanding a regiment, troop,
or company, and actually quartered with it, may give furloughs to
non-commissioned officers or soldiers, in such numbers, and for so long
a time as he shall judge to be most consistent with the good of the
service; and a captain or other inferior officer commanding a troop or
company, or in any garrison, fort or barrack of the United States, (his
field officer being absent), may give furloughs to non-commissioned
officers or soldiers, for a time not exceeding twenty days in six
months, but not to more than two persons to be absent at the same time,
excepting some extraordinary occasion should require it.
Art. 13. At every muster, the commanding officer of each regiment,
troop, or company there present, shall give to the commissary of
musters, or other officer who musters the said regiment, troop, or
company, certificates signed by himself, signifying how long such
officers, as shall not appear at the said muster, have been absent, and
the reason of their absence. In like manner, the commanding officer
of every troop, or company, shall give certificates, signifying the
reasons of the absence of the non-commissioned officers and private
soldiers, which reasons, and time of absence, shall be inserted in the
muster-rolls opposite the name of the respective absent officers and
soldiers. The certificates shall, together with the muster-rolls, be
remitted by the commissary of musters, or other officer mustering, to
the department of war as speedily as the distance of the place will
admit.
Art. 14. Every officer who shall be convicted, before a general
court-martial, of having signed a false certificate, relating to the
absence of either officer or private soldier, or relative to his or
their pay, shall be cashiered.
Art. 15. Every officer who shall knowingly make a false muster of
man or horse, and every officer or commissary of musters, who shall
willingly sign, direct or allow the signing of musters-rolls, wherein
such false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof by two
witnesses, before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and shall be
thereby utterly disabled to have or hold any office or employment in
the service of the United States.
Art. 16. Any commissary of musters or other officer, who shall
be convicted of having taken money or other thing, by way of
gratification, on the mustering any regiment, troop or company, or on
the signing muster-rolls, shall be displaced from his office, and shall
be thereby utterly disabled to have or hold any office or employment in
the service of the United States.
Art. 17. Any officer who shall presume to muster a person as a soldier,
who is not a soldier, shall be deemed guilty of having made a false
muster, and shall suffer accordingly.
Art. 18. Every officer who shall knowingly make a false return to the
department of war, or to any of his superior officers, authorized to
call for such returns, of the state of the regiment, troop, or company,
or garrison, under his command; or of the arms, ammunition, clothing,
or other stores thereunto belonging, shall on conviction thereof before
a court-martial, be cashiered.
Art. 19. The commanding officer of every regiment, troop, or
independent company, or garrison of the United States, shall in the
beginning of every month, remit through the proper channels, to the
department of war, an exact return of the regiment, troop, independent
company, or garrison, under his command, specifying the names of
officers then absent from their posts, and the reasons for, and the
time of their absence. And any officer who shall be convicted of
having, through neglect or design, omitted sending such returns, shall
be punished according to the nature of his crime, by the judgment of a
general court-martial.
Art. 20. All officers and soldiers, who have received pay, or have
been duly inlisted in the service of the United States, and shall be
convicted of having deserted the same, shall suffer death, or such
other punishment as by sentence of a court-martial shall be inflicted.
Art. 21. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier, who shall, without
leave from his commanding officer, absent himself from his troop,
company, or detachment, shall, upon being convicted thereof, be
punished according to the nature of his offence at the discretion of a
court-martial.
Art. 22. No non-commissioned officer or soldier shall inlist himself
in any other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge
from the regiment, troop, or company, in which he last served, on
the penalty of being reputed a deserter, and suffering accordingly.
And in case any officer shall knowingly receive and entertain such
non-commissioned officer or soldier, or shall not, after his being
discovered to be a deserter, immediately confine him, and give notice
thereof to the corps in which he last served, the said officer shall by
a court-martial be cashiered.
Art. 23. Any officer or soldier, who shall be convicted of having
advised or persuaded any other officer or soldier, to desert the
service of the United States, shall suffer death, or such other
punishment as shall be inflicted upon him by the sentence of a court
martial.
Art. 24. No officer or soldier shall use any reproachful or provoking
speeches or gestures to another, upon pain, if an officer, of being put
in arrest; if a soldier, confined, and of asking pardon of the party
offended, in the presence of his commanding officer.
Art. 25. No officer or soldier shall send a challenge to another
officer or soldier, to fight a duel, or accept a challenge, if
sent; upon pain, if a commissioned officer of being cashiered; if a
non-commissioned officer or soldier, of suffering corporeal punishment
at the discretion of a court-martial.
Art. 26. If any commissioned or non-commissioned officer commanding a
guard, shall knowingly or willingly suffer any person whatsoever to
go forth to fight a duel, he shall be punished as a challenger; and
all seconds, promoters, and carriers of challenges, in order to duels,
shall be deemed principals, and be punished accordingly. And it shall
be the duty of every officer, commanding an army, regiment, company,
post, or detachment, who is knowing to a challenge being given, or
accepted, by any officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier,
under his command, or has reason to believe the same to be the case,
immediately to arrest and bring to trial such offender.
Art. 27. All officers, of what condition soever, have power to part and
quell all quarrels, frays, and disorders, though the persons concerned
should belong to another regiment, troop, or company; and either to
order officers into arrest, or non-commissioned officers or soldiers
into confinement, until their proper superior officers shall be
acquainted therewith; and whosoever shall refuse to obey such officer,
(though of an inferior rank) or shall draw his sword upon him, shall be
punished at the discretion of a general court-martial.
Art. 28. Any officer or soldier, who shall upbraid another for
refusing a challenge, shall himself be punished as a challenger, and
all officers and soldiers are hereby discharged from any disgrace or
opinion of disadvantage, which might arise from their having refused to
accept of challenges, as they will only have acted in obedience to the
laws, and done their duty as good soldiers, who subject themselves to
discipline.
Art. 29. No suttler shall be permitted to sell any kind of liquors or
victuals, or to keep their houses or shops open for the entertainment
of soldiers, after nine at night, or before the beating of the
reveilies, or upon Sundays, during divine service or sermon, on the
penalty of being dismissed from all future suttling.
Art. 30. All officers commanding in the field, forts, barracks, or
garrisons of the United States, are hereby required to see that the
persons permitted to suttle, shall supply the soldiers with good and
wholesome provisions, or other articles, at a reasonable price, as they
shall be answerable for their neglect.
Art. 31. No officer commanding in any of the garrisons, forts, or
barracks of the United States, shall exact exorbitant prices for
houses or stalls let out to suttlers, or connive at the like exactions
in others; nor by his own authority, and for his private advantage,
lay any duty or imposition upon, or be interested in, the sale of
any victuals, liquors, or other necessaries of life, brought into
the garrison, fort, or barracks, for the use of the soldiers, on the
penalty of being discharged from the service.
Art. 32. Every officer commanding in quarters, garrisons, or on the
march, shall keep good order, and to the utmost of his power, redress
all abuses or disorders, which may be committed by any officer or
soldier under his command; if upon complaint made to him of officers
or soldiers beating, or otherwise ill treating any person, of
disturbing fairs, or markets, or of committing any kind of riots, to
the disquieting of the citizens of the United States, he, the said
commander, who shall refuse or omit to see justice done to the offender
or offenders, and reparation made to the party or parties injured, as
far as part of the offender’s pay shall enable him or them, shall,
upon proof thereof, be cashiered or otherwise punished as a general
court-martial shall direct.
Art. 33. When any commissioned officer or soldier, shall be accused of
a capital crime, or of having used violence, or committed any offence
against the persons or property of any citizen of any of the United
States, such as is punishable by the known laws of the land, the
commanding officer, and officers of every regiment, troop, or company,
to which the person, or persons, so accused, shall belong, are hereby
required, upon application duly made by, or in behalf of the party or
parties injured, to use their utmost endeavors to deliver over such
accused person, or persons, to the civil magistrate, and likewise to
be aiding and assisting to the officers of justice in apprehending and
securing the person or persons so accused in order to bring him or
them to trial. If any commanding officer, or officers, shall wilfully
neglect, or shall refuse, upon the application aforesaid, to deliver
over such accused person, or persons, to the civil magistrates, or to
be aiding and assisting to the officers of justice in apprehending such
person, or persons, the officer, or officers, so offending, shall be
cashiered.
Art. 34. If any officer shall think himself wronged by his colonel,
or the commanding officer of the regiment, and shall, upon due
application being made to him, be refused redress, he may complain to
the general, commanding in the state or territory where such regiment
shall be stationed, in order to obtain justice; who is hereby required
to examine into the said complaint, and take proper measures for
redressing the wrong complained of, and transmit as soon as possible,
to the department of war, a true state of such complaint, with the
proceedings had thereon.
Art. 35. If any inferior officer or soldier, shall think himself
wronged by his captain, or other officer, he is to complain thereof
to the commanding officer of the regiment, who is hereby required
to summon a regimental court-martial, for the doing justice to the
complainant; from which regimental court-martial, either party may, if
he thinks himself still aggrieved, appeal to a general court-martial.
But if, upon a second hearing, the appeal shall appear vexatious
and groundless, the person so appealing, shall be punished at the
discretion of the said court-martial.
Art. 36. Any commissioned officer, store keeper, or commissary, who
shall be convicted at a general court-martial, of having sold, without
a proper order for that purpose, embezzled, misapplied, or wilfully,
or through neglect, suffered any of the provisions, forage, arms,
clothing, ammunition, or other military stores, belonging to the United
States, to be spoiled, or damaged, shall, at his own expence, make good
the loss, or damage, and shall moreover, forfeit all his pay, and be
dismissed from the service.
Art. 37. Any non-commissioned officer, or soldier, who shall be
convicted, at a regimental court-martial, of having sold, or
designedly, or through neglect, wasted the ammunition delivered out
to him, to be employed in the service of the United States, shall be
punished at the discretion of such court.
Art. 38. Every non-commissioned officer or soldier, who shall be
convicted before a court-martial, of having sold, lost, or spoiled,
through neglect, his horse, arms, clothes, or accoutrements, shall
undergo such weekly stoppages (not exceeding the half of his pay) as
such court martial shall judge sufficient, for repairing the loss or
damage; and shall suffer confinement or such other corporeal punishment
as his crime shall deserve.
Art. 39. Every officer, who shall be convicted before a court-martial,
of having embezzled, or misapplied any money, with which he may
have been entrusted for the payment of the men under his command,
or for inlisting men into the service, or for other purposes, if a
commissioned officer, shall be cashiered, and compelled to refund the
money; if a non-commissioned officer, shall be reduced to the ranks,
be put under stoppages until the money be made good, and suffer such
corporeal punishment as such court-martial shall direct.
Art. 40. Every captain of a troop, or company, is charged with the
arms, accoutrements, ammunition, clothing, or other warlike stores
belonging to the troop, or company under his command, which he is to be
accountable for to his colonel, in case of their being lost, spoiled,
or damaged, not by unavoidable accidents, or on actual service.
Art. 41. All non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who shall be
found one mile from the camp, without leave, in writing, from their
commanding officer, shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflicted
upon them by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 42. No officer, or soldier, shall be out of his quarters,
garrison, or camp, without leave from his superior officer, upon
penalty of being punished according to the nature of his offence, by
the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 43. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier shall retire to his
quarters or tent, at the beating of the retreat; in default of which he
shall be punished according to the nature of his offence.
Art. 44. No officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall fail
in repairing, at the time fixed, to the place of parade, of exercise,
or other rendezvous, appointed by his commanding officer, if not
prevented by sickness, or some other evident necessity; or shall go
from the said place of rendezvous, without leave from his commanding
officer, before he shall be regularly dismissed or relieved, on the
penalty of being punished according to the nature of his offence, by
the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 45. Any commissioned officer who shall be found drunk on his
guard, party, or other duty, shall be cashiered. Any non-commissioned
officer or soldier so offending, shall suffer such corporeal punishment
as shall be inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 46. Any centinel who shall be found sleeping upon his post, or
shall leave it before he shall be regularly relieved, shall suffer
death, or such other punishment as shall be inflicted by the sentence
of a court-martial.
Art 47. No soldier belonging to any regiment, troop, or company, shall
hire another to do his duty for him, or be excused from duty, but in
cases of sickness, disability, or leave of absence; and every such
soldier found guilty of hiring his duty, as also the party so hired to
do another’s duty, shall be punished at the discretion of a regimental
court-martial.
Art. 48. And every non-commissioned officer conniving at such hiring
of duty aforesaid, shall be reduced; and every commissioned officer,
knowing and allowing such ill practices in the service, shall be
punished by the judgment of a general court-martial.
Art. 49. Any officer belonging to the service of the United States,
who, by discharging of fire arms, drawing of swords, beating of drums,
or by any other means whatsoever, shall occasion false alarms in camp,
garrison, or quarters, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as
shall be ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 50. Any officer or soldier, who shall, without urgent necessity,
or without the leave of his superior officer, quit his guard, platoon,
or division, shall be punished according to the nature of his offence,
by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 51. No officer or soldier shall do violence to any persons who
brings provisions or other necessaries to the camp, garrison, or
quarters, of the forces of the United States, employed in any parts out
of the said states, upon pain of death, or such other punishment as a
court-martial shall direct.
Art. 52. Any officer or soldier, who shall misbehave himself before
the enemy, run away, or shamefully abandon any fort, post, or guard,
which he or they may be commanded to defend, or speak words inducing
others to do the like; or shall cast away his arms and ammunition, or
who shall quit his post or colors to plunder and pillage, every such
offender being duly convicted thereof, shall suffer death or such
other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a general
court-martial.
Art. 53. Any person belonging to the armies of the United States, who
shall make known the watch-word to any person who is not entitled
to receive it, according to the rules and discipline of war, or
shall presume to give a parole or watch-word, different from what he
received, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be
ordered by the sentence of a general court-martial.
Art. 54. All officers and soldiers are to behave themselves orderly in
quarters, and on their march; and whosoever shall commit any waste, or
spoil, either in walks of trees, parks, warrens, fish ponds, houses,
or gardens, corn-fields, enclosures of meadows, or shall maliciously
destroy any property whatsoever, belonging to the inhabitants of the
United States, unless by order of the then commander in chief of the
armies of the said states, shall (besides such penalties as they are
liable to by law,) be punished according to the nature and degree of
the offence, by the judgment of a regimental or general court-martial.
Art. 55. Whosoever, belonging to the armies of the United States,
employed in foreign parts, shall force a safe guard, shall suffer death.
Art. 56. Whosoever shall relieve the enemy with money, victuals, or
ammunition, or shall knowingly harbor or protect an enemy, shall suffer
death or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the sentence of a
court-martial.
Art. 57. Whosoever shall be convicted of holding correspondence with,
or giving intelligence to the enemy, either directly or indirectly,
shall suffer death, or such other punishment as shall be ordered by the
sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 58. All public stores taken in the enemy’s camp, towns, forts,
or magazines, whether of artillery, ammunition, clothing, forage, or
provisions, shall be secured for the service of the United States; for
the neglect of which the commanding officer is to be answerable.
Art. 59. If any commander of any garrison, fortress, or post, shall
be compelled, by the officers and soldiers under his command, to
give up to the enemy, or to abandon it: the commissioned officers,
non-commissioned officers, or soldiers, who shall be convicted of
having so offended, shall suffer death, or such other punishment as
shall be inflicted upon them by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 60. All suttlers and retainers to the camp, and all persons
whatsoever, serving with the armies of the United States, in the field,
though not inlisted soldiers, are to be subject to orders, according to
the rules and discipline of war.
Art. 61. Officers having brevetts, or commissions, of a prior date
to those of the regiment in which they serve, may take place in
courts-martial and on detachments, when composed of different corps,
according to the ranks given them in their brevetts, or dates of
their former commissions; but in the regiment, troop, or company, to
which such officers belong, they shall do duty and take rank, both
in courts-martial and on detachments, which shall be composed only
of their own corps, according to the commissions by which they are
mustered in the said corps.
Art. 62. If upon marches, guards, or in quarters, different corps
of the army shall happen to join, or do duty together, the officer
highest in rank of the line of the army, marine corps, or militia, by
commission there, on duty, or in quarters, shall command the whole,
and give orders for what is needful to the service, unless otherwise
specially directed by the president of the United States, according to
the nature of the case.
Art. 63. The functions of the engineers being generally confined to the
most elevated branch of military science, they are not to assume, nor
are they subject to be ordered on any duty beyond the line of their
immediate profession, except by the special order of the president of
the United States; but they are to receive every mark of respect, to
which their rank in the army may entitle them, respectively, and are
liable to be transferred, at the discretion of the president, from one
corps to another, regard being paid to rank.
Art. 64. General courts-martial may consist of any number of
commissioned officers, from five to thirteen, inclusively, but they
shall not consist of less than thirteen, where that number can be
convened, without manifest injury to the service.
Art. 65. Any general officer commanding an army, or colonel commanding
a separate department, may appoint general courts-martial, whenever
necessary. But no sentence of a court-martial shall be carried into
execution until after the whole proceedings shall have been laid
before the officer ordering the same, or the officer commanding the
troops for the time being; neither shall any sentence of a general
court-martial, in time of peace, extending to the loss of life, or the
dismission of a commissioned officer, or which shall, either in time
of peace or war, respect a general officer, be carried into execution,
until after the whole proceedings shall have been transmitted to the
secretary of war, to be laid before the president of the United States,
for his confirmation or disapproval, and orders in the case. All other
sentences may be confirmed and executed by the officer ordering the
court to assemble, or the commanding officer for the time being, as the
case may be.
Art. 66. Every officer commanding a regiment, or corps, may appoint,
for his own regiment or corps, courts-martial, to consist of three
commissioned officers, for the trial and punishment of offences, not
capital, and decide upon their sentences. For the same purpose all
officers, commanding any of the garrisons, forts, barracks, or other
places where the troops consist of different corps, may assemble
courts-martial, to consist of three commissioned officers, and decide
upon their sentences.
Art. 67. No garrison, or regimental court-martial shall have the power
to try capital cases, or commissioned officers; neither shall they
inflict a fine exceeding one month’s pay, nor imprison, nor put to hard
labor, any non-commissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than
one month.
Art. 68. Whenever it may be found convenient and necessary to the
public service, the officers of the marines shall be associated
with the officers of the land forces, for the purpose of holding
courts-martial and trying offenders belonging to either; and in such
cases the orders of the senior officers of either corps who may be
present and duly authorised, shall be received and obeyed.
Art 69. The judge advocate, or some person deputed by him, or by the
general, or officer commanding the army, detachment, or garrison, shall
prosecute in the name of the United States, but shall so far consider
himself as council for the prisoner, after the said prisoner shall
have made his plea, as to object to any leading question to any of
the witnesses, or any question to the prisoner, the answer to which
might tend to criminate himself; and administer to each member of the
court before they proceed upon any trial, the following oath, which
shall also be taken by all members of the regimental and garrison
courts-martial.
“You A. B. do swear that you will well and truly try and determine,
according to evidence, the matter now before you, between the United
States of America, and the prisoner to be tried, and that you will
duly administer justice, according to the provisions of ‘An act
establishing rules and articles for the government of the armies of
the United States,’ without partiality, favor, or affection; and if
any doubt shall arise, not explained by said articles, according to
your conscience, the best of your understanding, and the custom of war,
in like cases; and you do further swear, that you will not divulge
the sentence of the court until it shall be published by the proper
authority; neither will you disclose or discover the vote or opinion
of any particular member of the court-martial, unless required to give
evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice, in a due course
of law. _So help you God._”
And as soon as the said oath shall have been administered to the
respective members, the president of the court shall administer to the
judge advocate, or person officiating as such, an oath in the following
words:
“You A. B. do swear, that you will not disclose or discover the vote or
opinion of any particular member of the court martial, unless required
to give evidence thereof as a witness, by a court of justice in due
course of law. Nor divulge the sentence of the court to any but the
proper authority, until it shall be duly disclosed by the same. _So
help you God._”
Art. 70. When any prisoner arraigned before a general court-martial
shall, from obstinacy and deliberate design, stand mute or answer
foreign to the purpose, the court may proceed to trial and judgment as
if the prisoner had regularly pleaded not guilty.
Art. 71. When a member shall be challenged by a prisoner, he must
state his cause of challenge, of which the court shall, after
due deliberation determine the relevancy or validity, and decide
accordingly; and no challenge to more than one member at a time shall
be received by the court.
Art. 72. All the members of a court-martial are to behave with decency
and calmness; and in giving their votes, are to begin with the youngest
in commission.
Art. 73. All persons who give evidence before a court martial, are to
be examined on oath or affirmation in the following form:
“You swear or affirm (as the case may be) the evidence you shall give
in the cause now in hearing, shall be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. _So help you God._”
Art. 74. On the trials of cases not capital, before courts-martial, the
deposition of witnesses not in the line or staff of the army, may be
taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence; provided
the prosecutor and the person accused are present at the taking the
same, or are duly notified thereof.
Art. 75. No officer shall be tried but by a general court-martial,
nor by officers of inferior rank, if it can be avoided. Nor shall any
proceedings or trials be carried on excepting between the hours of
eight in the morning, and three in the afternoon, excepting in cases,
which, in the opinion of the officers appointing the court-martial,
require immediate example.
Art. 76. No person whatsoever shall use any menacing words, signs, or
gestures, in presence of a court-martial, or shall cause any disorder
or riot, or disturb the proceedings, on the penalty of being punished
at the discretion of the said court-martial.
Art. 77. Whenever any officer shall be charged with a crime, he shall
be arrested and confined in his barracks, quarters, or tent, and
deprived of his sword, by the commanding officer. And any officer who
shall leave his confinement before he shall be set at liberty by his
commanding officer, or by a superior officer, shall be cashiered.
Art. 78. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers, charged with crimes,
shall be confined, until tried by a court-martial, or released by
proper authority.
Art. 79. No officer or soldier who shall be put in arrest, shall
continue in confinement more than eight days, or until such time as a
court-martial can be assembled.
Art 80. No officer commanding a guard, or provost marshal, shall refuse
to receive or keep any prisoner committed to his charge, by an officer
belonging to the forces of the United States; provided the officer
committing, shall, at the same time, deliver an account in writing,
signed by himself, of the crime with which the said prisoner is charged.
Art. 81. No officer commanding a guard, or provost marshal, shall
presume to release any person committed to his charge, without proper
authority for so doing, nor shall he suffer any person to escape, on
the penalty of being punished for it by the sentence of a court-martial.
Art. 82. Every officer or provost marshal, to whose charge prisoners
shall be committed, shall, within twenty-four hours after such
commitment, or as soon as he shall be relieved from his guard,
make report in writing, to the commanding officer of their names,
their crimes, and the names of the officers who committed them, on
the penalty of being punished for disobedience or neglect, at the
discretion of a court-martial. Art. 83. Any commissioned officer
convicted before a general court-martial of conduct unbecoming an
officer and a gentleman, shall be dismissed the service.
Art. 84. In cases where a court-martial may think it proper to sentence
a commissioned officer to be suspended from command, they shall have
power also to suspend his pay and emoluments for the same time,
according to the nature and heinousness of the offence.
Art 85. In all cases where a commissioned officer is cashiered for
cowardice or fraud, it shall be added in the sentence, that the crime,
name, and place of abode and punishment of the delinquent, be published
in the newspapers in and about the camp, and of the particular state
from which the offender came, or where he usually resides, after which
it shall be deemed scandalous for an officer to associate with him.
Art. 86. The commanding officer of any post or detachment, in which
there shall not be a number of officers adequate to form a general
court-martial, shall, in cases which require the cognizance of such a
court, report to the commanding officer of the department, who shall
order a court to be assembled at the nearest post or detachment, and
the party accused, with necessary witnesses, to be transported to the
place where the said court shall be assembled.
Art. 87. No person shall be sentenced to suffer death, but by the
concurrence of two thirds of the members of a general court-martial,
nor except in the cases herein expressly mentioned; nor shall more
than fifty lashes be inflicted on any offender, at the discretion of a
court-martial; and no officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier, or
follower of the army, shall be tried a second time for the same offence.
Art. 88. No person shall be liable to be tried and punished by a
general court-martial for any offence which shall appear to have been
committed more than two years before the issuing of the order for such
trial, unless the person, by reason of having absented himself or some
other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice
within that period.
Art. 89. Every officer authorised to order a general court-martial,
shall have power to pardon or mitigate any punishment ordered by
such court, except the sentence of death, or of cashiering an
officer; which, in the cases where he has authority (by article 65)
to carry them into execution, he may suspend, until the pleasure of
the president of the United States can be known; which suspension,
together with the copies of the proceedings of the court-martial, the
said officer shall immediately transmit to the president, for his
determination. And the colonel or commanding officer of the regiment
or garrison where any regimental or garrison court-martial shall be
held, may pardon or mitigate any punishment ordered by such court to be
inflicted.
Art 90. Every judge advocate, or person officiating as such, at any
general court-martial, shall transmit, with as much expedition as the
opportunity of time and distance of place can admit, the original
proceedings and sentence of such court-martial, to the secretary of
war, which said original proceedings and sentence shall be carefully
kept and preserved in the office of said secretary, to the end that the
persons entitled thereto may be enabled, upon application to the said
office, to obtain copies hereof.
The party tried by any general court-martial, shall, upon demand
thereof made by himself or by any person or persons in his behalf,
be entitled to a copy of the sentence and proceedings of such
court-martial.
Art. 91. In cases where a general or commanding officer may order
a court of inquiry to examine into the nature of any transaction,
accusation, or imputation against any officer or soldier, the said
court shall consist of one or more officers, not exceeding three, and
a judge advocate, or other suitable person as a recorder, to reduce
the proceedings and evidence to writing, all of whom shall be sworn to
the faithful performance of their duty. This court shall have the same
power to summon witnesses as a court-martial, and to examine them on
oath. But they shall not give their opinion on the merits of the case,
excepting they shall be thereto specially required. The parties accused
shall also be permitted to cross examine and interrogate the witnesses,
so as to investigate fully the circumstances in question.
Art. 92. The proceedings of a court of inquiry must be authenticated
by the signature of the recorder and the president, and delivered to
the commanding officer: and the said proceedings may be admitted as
evidence by a court martial, in cases not capital, or extending to
the dismission of an officer, provided that the circumstances are
such, that oral testimony cannot be obtained. But as courts of inquiry
may be perverted to dishonorable purposes, and may be considered as
engines of destruction to military merit, in the hands of weak and
envious commandants, they are hereby prohibited, unless directed by the
president of the United States, or demanded by the accused.
Art. 93. The judge advocate, or recorder, shall administer to the
members the following oath:
“You shall well and truly examine and inquire, according to your
evidence, into the matter now before you, without partiality, favor,
affection, prejudice, or hope of reward: So help you God.”
After which the president shall administer to the judge advocate, or
recorder, the following oath:
“You A. B. do swear that you will, according to your best abilities,
accurately and impartially record the proceedings of the court, and the
evidence to be given in the case in hearing: So help you God.”
The witnesses shall take the same oath as witnesses sworn before a
court-martial.
Art. 94. When any commissioned officer shall die or be killed in the
service of the United States, the major of the regiment, or the officer
doing the major’s duty in his absence, or in any post or garrison,
the second officer in command, or the assistant military agent, shall
immediately secure all his effects or equipage, then in camp or
quarters, and shall make an inventory thereof, and forthwith transmit
the same to the office of the department of war, to the end that his
executors or administrators may receive the same.
Art. 95. When any non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall die, or
be killed in the service of the United States, the then commanding
officer of the troop, or company, shall, in the presence of two
other commissioned officers, take an account of what effects he
died possessed of, above his arms and accoutrements, and transmit
the same to the office of the department of war; which said effects
are to be accounted for, and paid to the representatives of such
deceased non-commissioned officer or soldier. And in case any of
the officers, so authorised to take care of the effects of deceased
officers and soldiers, should, before they have accounted to their
representatives for the same, have occasion to leave the regiment, or
post, by preferment or otherwise, they shall, before they be permitted
to quit the same, deposit in the hands of the commanding officer, or
of the assistant military agent, all the effects of such deceased
non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in order that the same may be
secured for, and paid to, their respective representatives.
Art. 96. All officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or
other persons whatsoever, receiving pay or hire in the service of the
artillery or corps of engineers of the United States, shall be governed
by the aforesaid rules and articles, and shall be subject to be tried
by courts-martial, in like manner with the officers and soldiers of the
other troops in the service of the United States.
Art. 97. The officers and soldiers of any troops, whether militia or
others, being mustered and in pay of the United States, shall, at all
times, and in all places, when joined or acting in conjunction with the
regular forces of the United States, be governed by these rules and
articles of war, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial, in
like manner with the officers and soldiers in the regular forces, save
only that such courts-martial shall be composed entirely of militia
officers.
Art. 98. All officers, serving by commission from the authority of any
particular state, shall on all detachments, courts-martial, or other
duty, wherein they may be employed in conjunction with the regular
forces of the United States, take rank, next after all officers of the
like grade in said regular forces, notwithstanding the commissions of
such militia or state officers may be elder than the commissions of the
officers of the regular forces of the United States.
Art. 99. All crimes not capital, and all disorders and neglects which
officers and soldiers may be guilty of, to the prejudice of good order
and military discipline, though not mentioned in the foregoing articles
of war, are to be taken cognizance of by a general or regimental
court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and
be punished at their discretion.
Art. 100. The president of the United States, shall have power to
prescribe the uniform of the army.
Art. 101. The foregoing articles are to be read and published once
in every six months, to every garrison, regiment, troop or company,
mustered or to be mustered in the service of the United States, and are
to be duly observed and obeyed, by all officers and soldiers who are or
shall be in said service.
Sec. II. That in time of war all persons not citizens of, or owing
allegiance to the United States of America, who shall be found lurking
as spies, in or about the fortifications or encampments of the armies
of the United States, or any of them, shall suffer death, according to
the law and usage of nations, by sentence of a general court-martial.
Sec. III. That the rules and regulations, by which the armies of the
United States have heretofore been governed, and the resolves of
congress thereunto annexed, and respecting the same, shall henceforth
be void and of no effect, except so far as may relate to any
transactions under them, prior to the promulgation of this act, at the
several posts and garrisons respectively, occupied by any part of the
army of the United States.
LAY. _To lay down_, implies to resign, as, the enemy laid down their
arms; he means to lay down his commission.--_To lay for_, is to attempt
something by ambuscade.
LAZARET, _Fr._ those large houses are so called which are built in the
neighborhood of some sea-ports belonging to the Levant, for the purpose
of lodging the people that are ordered to perform quarantine.
LAZARETTO, the same as lazaret.
LAZARUS, LAZARO, a military order instituted at Jerusalem by the
Christians of the west, when they were masters of the Holy-Land, who
received pilgrims under their care and guarded them on the roads from
the insults of the Mahomedans. This order was instituted in the year
1119, and confirmed by a bull of Pope Alexander IV. in 1255, who gave
it the rule of St. Augustine.
LEAD, a metal well known. It is employed for various mechanical uses;
as in thin sheets for covering buildings, for pipes, pumps, shot,
bullets, windows, for securing iron bars in hard stones, for sundry
kinds of large vessels for evaporation, and many other purposes.
LEADER. See COMMANDER.
_File_ LEADER, the front man of a battalion or company, standing two or
three deep.
LEADING-COLUMN, the first column that advances from the right, left, or
centre of an army or battalion.
LEADING-FILE, the first men of a battalion or company, that march from
right, left, or centre, in files.
_Flank_ LEADING-FILE, the first man on the right, and the last man on
the left of a battalion, company, or section, are so called.
_Centre_ LEADING-FILE, the last man of the right centre company,
division, or section; and the first man of the left centre company,
division, or section, are so called, when the line files from the
centre to the front or rear. At close order, the colors stand between
them.
LEAGUE, in _military history_, a measure of length, containing more or
less geometrical paces, according to the different usages and customs
of countries. A league at sea, where it is chiefly used by us, being a
land measure mostly peculiar to the French and Germans, contains 3000
geometrical paces, or 3 English miles.
The French league sometimes contains the same measure, and, in some
parts of France, it consists of 3500 paces: the mean or common league
consists of 2400 paces, and the little league of 2000. The Spanish
leagues are larger than the French, 17 Spanish leagues making a degree,
or 20 French leagues, or 69¹⁄₂ English statute miles. The German and
Dutch leagues contain each 4 geographical miles. The Persian leagues
are pretty near of the same extent with the Spanish; that is, they
are equal to 4 Italian miles, which is pretty near to what Herodotus
calls the length of the Persian parasang, which contained 30 stadia, 8
whereof, according to Strabo, make a mile. See MEASURE.
LEAGUE also denotes an alliance or confederacy between princes and
states for their mutual aid, either in attacking some common enemy, or
in defending themselves.
LEAVE, indulgence, licence, liberty.
LEAVE _of absence_, a permission which is granted to officers,
non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, to be absent from camp or
quarters for any specific period.
_General_ LEAVE, an indulgence which is annually granted on home
service, by the commander in chief, to a certain proportion of the
army, to be absent from military duty. This generally occurs in the
winter months, and ends on the 10th of March, and in time of peace only.
LECTURES. Lectures are read at the British establishment at Woolwich
to the officers of artillery, and engineers, and cadets, on chemistry:
lectures upon topography and upon other essential parts of military
science are given at High Wycombe: British colleges.
LEEKUK, _Ind._ a secretary or writer.
LEFT _give point_. See SWORD-EXERCISE.
LEFT _protect_. See SWORD-EXERCISE.
_To put on the_ LEG, among cavalry, is to press the inside of the foot
and leg against the horse’s flank. It is always used in passaging to
direct the horse which way to passage, and again on the opposite flank
to stop him after he has passaged to his place.
LEGATUS, _in Roman antiquity_, a military officer who commanded as
deputy of the chief general.
Kennett, in his Antiquities, observes, that the design of the legati,
at their first institution, was not so much to command as to advise.
The senate selecting some of the oldest and most prudent members to
assist the general in his councils.
Dionysius calls this the most honorable and sacred office among the
Romans, bearing not only the authority of a commander, but with all,
the sanctity and veneration of a priest.
Under the emperors there were two sorts of _legati_, _consulares_ and
_prætorii_; the first of which commanded the whole armies, as the
emperor’s lieutenant generals, and the other only particular legions.
Machiavel highly extols the wisdom of the Romans, in allowing their
generals unlimited commissions.
LEGER. This word although it be not strictly military, is in some
degree connected with the profession, as diplomacy is not wholly
foreign to military negociation. A leger ambassador, or resident
signifies any person acting in that capacity, who remains stationary.
_Artillerie Légère_, _Fr._ The light or horse artillery.
_Cavalerie Légère_, _Fr._ Light horse.
_Un Cheval léger à la main_, _Fr._ A horse which is easily managed, or
is not hard mouthed.
_Troupes Légères_, _Fr._ Light troops, or such as act in desultory
warfare.
LEGION, in _Roman antiquity_, a body of foot, which consisted of ten
cohorts, or 5000 men.
The exact number contained in a legion, was fixed by Romulus at 3000;
though Plutarch assures us, that, after the reception of the Sabines
into Rome, he increased it to 6000. The common number afterwards,
in the first times of the free state, was 4000; but in the war with
Hannibal, it rose to 5000; and after that, it is probable that it sunk
again to 4200, which was the number in the time of Polybius.
In the age of Julius Cæsar, we do not find any legions exceeding the
Polybian number of men; and he himself expressly speaks of two legions,
that did not make above 7000 between them. (Commentar. lib. 5.)
The number of legions kept in pay together was different, according to
the various times and occasions. During the free state, four legions
were commonly fitted up every year, and divided between the consuls:
yet in cases of necessity, we sometimes meet with no less than 16 or 18
in Livy.
Augustus maintained a standing army of 23 (or as some will have it) of
25 legions; but in aftertimes we seldom find so many.
They borrowed their names from the order in which they were raised,
as _prima_, _secunda_, _tertia_, &c. but because it usually happened,
that there were several _primæ_, _secundæ_, &c. in several places,
upon that account they took a sort of surname besides, either from the
emperors who first constituted them, as Augusta, Claudiana, Galbiana,
Flavia, Ulpia, Trajana, Antoniana, or from the provinces which had
been conquered chiefly by their valor, as Parthica, Scythica, Gallica,
Arabica, &c. or from the names of the particular deities for whom their
commanders had an especial honor, as Minervia and Appollinaris; or from
the region where they had their quarters, as Cretensis, Cyrenaica,
Britannica, &c. or sometimes upon account of the lesser accidents, as
Adjutrix, Martia, Fulminatrix, Rapax, &c.
The whole Roman infantry, which was divided into four sorts, Velites,
Hastati, Principes, and Triarii, consisted of Manipuli, Cohorts, and
Legions. So that legion was considered as the largest establishment for
foot soldiers. See Kennett’s Ant. of Rome, pages 190, 191.
Marshal Saxe has written at some length, respecting legion.
LEGION, in a general acceptation of the term, signifies any large
body of men. In a more confined one among the moderns, it applies to
a specific number of horse and foot, who are distinguished by that
name, and do duty with the rest of the army. Such for instance was the
British legion which served in America; and of this description were
the Polish and Belgic legions, that formed part of the French army in
the early part of the revolution. The French armies now form _corps
d’armie_, which are in fact legions; and of 20 to 30,000 men each.
LEGIONARY, any thing appertaining to a legion, or containing an
indefinite number.
LEGUMES, _Fr._ vegetables, roots, grain, &c. Every species of
subsistence, which under the old government of France, was not provided
for the troops by direct instructions from the war office, and at the
expence of the public, was called _legumes_. Subsistence of this sort,
however, may more properly be called that diet which soldiers got for
themselves in foreign countries during actual hostilities.
_Legumes_, or vegetable food, &c. was classed under two specific heads.
That which grew in consequence of the ground having been tilled and
sowed, and that which rose spontaneously from the earth. Beans, peas,
carrots, &c. may be considered as belonging to the first class, and
those herbs or wild roots which have been cultivated in gardens, or are
to be found in woods, &c. may come under the second. The latter sort,
indeed, was frequently resorted to by the soldier in order to give a
seasoning to his mess. Parties under the command of subaltern officers
were permitted to accompany the foragers for the purpose of procuring
this wholesome and pleasant addition to the regulated subsistence;
and when there were not any foraging days, soldiers were permitted to
gather roots and vegetables within the limits of the outermost house or
vedette quarters, or of the regular outposts of the infantry.
_To_ LENGTHEN _out_, in a military sense, means to stride out.
_To_ LENGTHEN _the step_, to take more than the prescribed pace.
LESKAR, the camp of the great Mogul.
_To_ LET _in_, to admit; as he let some of the enemy’s advanced parties
in, or into the camp, &c.
_To_ LET _off_, to discharge.
_To_ LET _off a pistol or musquet_, to fire either of those fire arms.
LETTER of _mark_, LETTER of _marque_, a letter granted to a ship
captain impowering him to make reprisals for what was formerly taken
from him, by ships of another state, contrary to the law of mart. See
MARQUE.
LETTER _of mark_, a commission granted the commander of a merchant ship
or privateer, to cruise against, and make prizes of the enemy’s ships
and vessels, either at sea, or in their harbors.
LETTER _of service_, a written order or authority issued by the
secretary at war, empowering any officer or individual to raise a given
body of men to serve as soldiers, within a certain time, and on special
conditions.
LETTER, in its general acceptation, a character such as forms the
alphabet, or any thing written, such as an epistle, &c.
LETTER _of attorney_, an instrument in writing, authorizing an
attorney, or any confidential person, to take the affairs of
another in trust. A letter or power of attorney is necessary to
empower a person to receive the half-pay of an officer. This should
be accompanied by a certificate sworn to by the officer before some
magistrate or justice of the peace.
LETTER _of credit_, a letter which is given from one merchant or banker
to another, in favor of a third person, enabling the latter to take
up money to a certain amount. Sometimes a letter of credit is given
without any specific limitation.
LETTER _of licence_, a deed signed and sealed by the creditors of a
man, by which he is allowed a given period to enable him to discharge
his debts by instalments, or by a certain proportion in the pound.
LETTER-_men_, certain pensioners belonging to Chelsea hospital, are so
called.
LETTON, _Fr._ a metal composed of molten copper, called rosette, and of
_lapis calaminaris_, or zinc. This is brass.
LETTON is used in cannon-foundries. The best practical mode of
digesting and mixing the materials, is to put 11 or 12,000 weight of
metal, 10,000 weight of rosette, or molten copper, 900 pounds of tin,
and 600 pounds of letton. There are various opinions respecting the
mixture of these several ingredients.
LETTRE _circulaire_, _Fr._ a circular letter.
LETTRE _de cachet_, _Fr._ an infamous state paper, which existed before
the French revolution, differing in this essential point from an order
of the British privy council, that the former was sealed, and the
person upon whom it was served, carried into confinement without even
seeing the authority by which he was hurried off in so peremptory a
manner, or being tried afterwards for any specific offence; whereas the
latter is an open warrant, which, (except when peculiar circumstances
occasions a suspension of the habeas corpus act,) has its object
closely investigated before a jury. The French _lettre de cachet_ was
written by the king, countersigned by one of his principal secretaries
of state, and sealed with the royal signet.
LETTRES _de service_, _Fr._ See LETTERS _of service_.
LETTRES _de passe_, _Fr._ a paper signed by the kings of France,
authorizing an officer to exchange from one regiment into another.
LETTRE _de créance, ou qui porte crêance_, _Fr._ A letter of credit. It
likewise signifies the credentials which an ambassador presents from
his government to a foreign court.
LETTRE _de récréance_, _Fr._ a letter which an ambassador receives from
his government, by which he is recalled from a foreign court.
LETTRES _en chiffre_, _Fr._ Cyphers. Baron Espagnac in the continuation
of his _Essai sur l’operation de la guerre_, tom. 1, page 269, gives
the following instructions relative to this acquirement. He observes
that writing in cypher may be practised in two different ways. First
by means of distilled vinegar, which is boiled with silver litharge,
one ounce of the latter to a pint of the former. When this mixture has
stood some time, it must be carefully poured off from the sediment,
and it will appear as clear as rock water. Intelligence or information
may be conveyed by writing with this water in the blank spaces of an
ordinary letter, on wrapping paper, or on the blank leaves of a book.
The instant the writing dries, not the least trace appears of what
has been marked. To render the writing legible, you must make use
of a water in which quick lime has been dissolved with a mixture of
orpiment. This water is as clear as rock water; and if you steep a
sheet of paper in it, and lay it upon the letter, book, &c. on which
any thing has been written, the different characters will instantly
appear.
The first of these distilled liquids is so powerful and searching,
that by putting the written letter upon several other sheets of paper,
after having rubbed the top sheet with the second water, the writing
will be clearly seen in almost all of them. The same circumstance will
occur, if you rub the leaf of a book or any piece of paper which you
may spread upon it. These waters, especially the last, should be kept
in bottles that are well corked up, to prevent the spirituous particles
from evaporating. A fresh composition must, indeed, be made, if the old
one should seem weakened. The letters that are written must likewise be
carefully penned, and kept free from blots, &c. The paper must not be
turned, nor rubbed with the hand until the writing be thoroughly dry.
This is the author’s first proposed mode of writing in cyphers, the
second may be seen in page 270 of the work already quoted.
LETTRES _de représailles_, _Fr._ Reprisals. See LETTERS _of marque_.
LETTRES _de santé, patentes de santé_, _Fr._ letters of health.
LEVANT, the countries bordering upon the Mediterranean are so called.
It appears to be derived from _le vent_, the wind, or country to
windward, in relation to Italy.
LEVANTIN, _Fr._ A word generally used among the French to distinguish
any person from the Levant.
LEVANTINE _nations_, (_Nations Levantines_, _Fr._) Nations belonging to
the East, or to those countries which border on the Mediterranean. The
French likewise say, _Peuples Levantines_.
LEVANTIS, _Fr._ The soldiers belonging to the Turkish gallies are so
called.
LEVEE _de troupes_, _Fr._ See LEVY.
LEVEE _en Masse_, _Fr._ a general rising of the people of any country,
either for the purposes of self defence, or to answer the intentions
of its governing powers.
LEVEE _d’une siege_, _Fr._ The raising of a siege. See SIEGE.
LEVEL, an instrument to draw a line parallel to the horizon, whereby
the difference of ascent or descent between several places may be
found, for conveying water, draining fens, &c.
_Air_-LEVEL, that which shews the line of level by means of a bubble
of air, inclosed with some liquor in a glass tube of an indeterminate
length and thickness, whose two ends are hermetically sealed. When
the bubble fixes itself at a certain mark, made exactly in the centre
of the tube, the plane or ruler wherein it is fixed is level; when it
is not level, the bubble will rise to one end. This glass tube may
be set in another of brass, having an aperture in the middle, whence
the bubble of air may be observed. There is one of these instruments
with sights, being an improvement upon the last described, which by
the addition of more apparatus, becomes more commodious and exact: it
consists of an air-level about eight inches long, and 7 or 8 lines in
diameter, set in a brass tube, with an aperture in the middle: the
tubes are carried in a strong straight ruler, a foot long, at whose
ends are fixed two sights, exactly perpendicular to the tubes, and of
an equal height, having a square hole, formed by two fillets of brass
crossing each other at right angles, in the middle whereof is drilled a
very little hole, through which a point on a level with the instrument
is described: the brass tube is fastened on the ruler by means of two
screws, one whereof serves to raise or depress the tube at pleasure,
for bringing it towards a level. The top of the ball and socket is
riveted to a little ruler that springs, one end whereof is fastened
with screws to the great ruler, and at the other end is a screw serving
to raise and depress the instrument when nearly level.
_Artillery foot_-LEVEL, is in form of a square, having its two branches
or legs of an equal length, at the angle of which is a small hole,
whence hang a line and plummet, playing on a perpendicular line in the
middle of a quadrant: it is divided into twice 45 degrees from the
middle.
_Gunner’s_-LEVEL, for levelling pieces of artillery, consists of a
triangular brass plate, about 4 inches, at the bottom of which is a
portion of a circle divided into 45 degrees; which angle is sufficient
for the highest elevation of cannons, mortars, and howitzers, and
for giving shot and shells the greatest range: on the centre of this
segment of a circle is screwed a piece of brass, by means of which it
may be fixed or screwed at pleasure; the end of this piece of brass
is made so as to serve for a plummet and index, in order to shew the
different degrees of elevation of pieces of artillery. This instrument
has also a brass foot, to act upon cannon or mortars, so that when
these pieces are horizontal, the instrument will be perpendicular. The
foot of this instrument is to be placed on the piece to be elevated, in
such a manner, as that the point of the plummet may fall on the proper
degree, &c.
The most curious instrument for the use of the artillerist, was lately
invented by the very ingenious colonel Congreve, of the British
artillery; having the following qualifications, viz. 1. It will find
the inclination of any plane, whether above or below the horizon.
2. By applying it either to the cylinder, or outside of any piece
of ordnance, angles of elevation or depression may be given to the
60th part of a degree, with less trouble than the common gunner’s
quadrant, which only gives to the 4th part of a degree. 3. It will
give the line of direction for laying either guns or mortars to an
object above or below the horizon. 4. It will find the centre of
metals of any piece of ordnance. 5. With it, a point may be found in
the rear of a mortar-bed, in the vertical plane of the mortar’s axis;
consequently a longer line of sight is given for directing them to the
object than the usual way. 6. It answers all the purposes of a pair of
callipers, with the advantage of knowing (to the 100th part of an inch)
diameters, whether concave or convex, without the trouble of laying
the claws upon a diagonal scale. 7. On the sides of the instrument are
the following lines, viz. equal parts, solids, plains, and polygons,
logarithms, tangents, versed sines, and numbers, plotting scales, and
diagonal scale of inches for cutting fuzes by. 8. In the lid of the
instrument-case is a pendulum to vibrate half seconds. It is likewise
of singular use in surveying; as, 1. It takes horizontal angles to the
60th part of a degree. 2. Vertical angles. 3. Levels. 4. Solves right
angled plane triangles. 5. Oblique-angled plane triangles. 6. Answers
all the purposes of a protractor, with the advantage of laying down
angles exactly as taken in the field. N. B. captain Jordane’s ingenious
instrument answers nearly the same purposes.
_Spirit_-LEVEL. See AIR LEVEL.
By the term _level_ is also to be understood the line of direction in
which any missive weapon is aimed.
LEVELLING, the finding a line parallel to the horizon at one or more
stations, and so to determine the height of one place in regard to
another.
A truly level surface is a segment of any spherical substance, which is
concentric to the globe of the earth. A true line of level is an arch
of a great circle which is imagined to be described upon a true level
surface.
The apparent level is a straight line drawn tangent to an arch or line
of true level. Every point of the apparent level except the point of
contact, is higher than the true level.
The common methods of levelling are sufficient for laying pavements of
walks, for conveying water to small distances, for placing horizontal
dials, or astronomical instruments; but in levelling the bottoms of
canals or ditches in a fortification, which are to convey water to the
distance of many miles, the difference between the apparent and true
level must be taken into the account.
Dr. Halley suggests a method of levelling, which is performed wholly by
the barometer, in which the mercury is found to be suspended to so much
the less height, as the place is more remote from the centre of the
earth. Hence it follows, that the different height of the mercury in
two places gives the difference of level.
Mr. Derham, from some observations at the top and bottom of the
monument in London, found that the mercury fell ¹⁄₁₀th of an inch at
every 82 feet of perpendicular ascent, when the mercury was at 30
inches. Dr. Halley allows of ¹⁄₁₀th of an inch for every 30 yards;
and considering how accurately barometers are now made, we think this
method sufficiently exact to take levels for the conveyance of water,
or any other military purposes, and indeed less liable to errors than
the common levels. Mr. Derham also found a difference of 3 inches
⁸⁄₁₀ths between the height of the mercury at the top and bottom of
Snowdonhill in Wales.
For the common occasions of levelling, set a pole upright in a spring,
pond, &c. and mark how many feet and inches are above water; then set
up another pole of equal length with the other, in the place to which
the water is to come. Place the centre of a quadrant on the top of this
last pole, the plummet hanging free; spy through the sights at the top
of the pole in the water, and if the thread cuts any degree of the
quadrant, the water may be conveyed by a pipe laid in the earth. If you
cannot see from one extreme to the other, the operation may be repeated.
LEVELLING.--_Table shewing the difference between the true and apparent
level._
+------+------+------+------+------+--------+------+-------+
| | Dif- | | Dif- | | Dif- | | Dif- |
| | fer- | | fer- | | fer- | | fer- |
| | ence | | ence | | ence | | ence |
| Dis- | of | Dis- | of | Dis- | of | Dis- | of |
|tance.|level.|tance.|level.|tance.| level. |tance.| level.|
+------+------+------+------+------+--------+------+-------+
| Yds. | Inch.| Yds. | Inch.| Mls. |Ft. in.| Mls. |Ft. in.|
| 100 | 0.026| 1000 | 2.570| ¹⁄₄ | 0 0¹⁄₂| 7 | 32 6 |
| 200 | 0.103| 1100 | 3.110| ¹⁄₂ | 0 2 | 8 | 42 6 |
| 300 | 0.231| 1200 | 3.701| ³⁄₄ | 0 4¹⁄₂| 9 | 53 9 |
| 400 | 0.411| 1300 | 4.344| 1 | 0 8 | 10 | 66 4 |
| 500 | 0.643| 1400 | 5.038| 2 | 2 8 | 11 | 80 3 |
| 600 | 0.925| 1500 | 5.784| 3 | 6 0 | 12 | 95 2 |
| 700 | 1.260| 1600 | 6.580| 4 |10 7 | 13 |112 2 |
| 800 | 1.645| 1700 | 7.425| 5 |16 7 | 14 |130 1 |
| 900 | 2.081| | | 6 |23 11 | 15 |150 |
| | | | | | | 16 |175 |
+------+------+------+------+------+--------+------+-------+
This table will answer several useful purposes.
First.--_To find the height of the apparent level above the true, at
any distance._--If the given distance be contained in the table, the
correction of level is found in the same line with it; but if the
exact distance be not found in the table, then multiply the square of
the distance in yards, by 2.57, and divide by 1,000,000, or cut off 6
places on the right for decimals; the rest are inches: or multiply the
square of the distance in miles, by 66 feet 4 inches, and divide by 100.
Second.--_To find the extent of the visible horizon, or how far can be
seen from any given height, on a horizontal plane, at sea_, &c.--The
height of the observer’s eye above the horizon being known, the extent
of his visible horizon is found in the column opposite, under the word
_Distances_.
Third.--_To find the distance of any object when it first comes in
sight, its height being known._--For the distance of any object will be
the extent of the visible horizon of the observer, added to the visible
horizon of the point he observes. It is necessary in this case for the
observer to know only the height of that part of the object which is
kept from his view, by the curvilinear figure of the globe.--Knowing
the distance of an object, its height may be found in the same manner.
If the height or distance exceed the limits in the table; then, first,
if the distance be given, divide it by 2, 3, or 4, till the quotient
comes within the distances in the table; then take out the height
answering to the quotient, and multiply it by the square of the divisor
for the height required. But when the height is given, divide it by
one of these square numbers, 4, 9, 16, 25, &c. till the quotient come
within the limits of the table, and multiply the quotient by the square
root of the divisor.
LEVELLING _staves_, instruments used in levelling, that carry the marks
to be observed, and at the same time measure the heights of those marks
from the ground. These usually consist of two wooden square rulers,
that slide over one another, and are divided into feet, inches, &c.
LEVELLING has two distinct applications in the art of war, in the one
case it implies the reduction of an uneven surface to that of a plane,
so that the works of a fortification may be of a correspondent height
or figure throughout. The other is the art of conveying water from one
place to another; in this process, it is found necessary to make an
allowance between the true and apparent level, or in other words, for
the figure of the earth, for the true level is not a straight line, but
a curve which falls below the straight line about 8 inches in a mile, 4
times 8 in 2 miles, 9 times 8 in 3 miles, 16 times 8 in 4 miles, always
increasing with the square of the distance.
LEVELLING _System_, a term which since the commencement of the French
revolution has been grossly misinterpreted, and cannot be found in any
civilized country to answer any other purpose than that of delusion;
such was the calumny raised by the patricians of Rome, when they having
plundered the soldiers of their lands and appropriated to themselves;
when the people complained they were thus reproached; the _agrarian
law_ which proposed only to restore the lands to the owners, was called
a levelling system; but the people were robbed and the consequence was
the ultimate ruin of Roman liberty, and Rome itself; the word Jacobin
in modern times has superseded leveller.
LEVER, a balance which rests upon a certain determinate point called a
fulcrum.
LEVER in _mechanics_, an inflective line, rod, or beam, moveable about,
or upon a fixed point, called the prop or fulcrum, upon one end of
which is the weight to be raised, at the other end is the power applied
to raise it; as the hand, &c.
Since the momentum of the weight and power are as the quantities of
matter in each, multiplied by their respective celerities; and the
celerities are as the distances from the centre of motion, and also
as the spaces passed through in a perpendicular direction in the same
time, it must follow, that there will be an equilibrium between the
weight and power, when they are to each other reciprocally as the
distances from the centre, or as the celerities of the motions, or
as the perpendicular ascent or descent in the same time; and this
universally in all mechanical powers whatsoever, and which is therefore
the fundamental principle of all mechanics. See MECHANICAL POWERS.
LEVET, the blast of a trumpet.
LEVIER, _Fr._ Lever. The French writers having been more explicit
on this head than any of our lexicographers, we shall extract the
following passages as conducive to general information. The levier
or lever is an instrument made of wood or iron, by whose means the
heaviest weights may be raised with few hands. When the lever is made
of iron, it is called pince or crow. The lever may be considered as
the first of all machines. Wheels, pullies, capstans, &c. act only by
the power it possesses. The lever must be looked upon as a straight
line, which has three principal points, namely, the one on which the
load is placed, and which is to be raised, the appui or rest which is
the centre round which it turns, and which the French mechanics call
_orgueil_, and lastly the human arm, which is the power that puts the
lever into motion. The different arrangements or disposition which is
given to these three points, or rather the unequal distances at which
they are placed, occasion the force that is collectively displayed.
Belidor makes the following remarks on this useful machine. It is an
inflexible bar which must be considered as having no weight in itself,
upon which three powers are made to act in three different points in
such a manner, that the action of two powers must be directly opposed
to the one that resists them. The point where the opposing power acts
is called the _point d’appui_.
LEVIER, in artillery, a wedge.
LEVIER _de pointage_, _Fr._ a wedge to assist in pointing pieces of
ordnance.
LEVIERS _de support_, _Fr._ a wedge by which cannon is raised to a
certain line of direction.
_To_ LEVY, has three distinct military acceptations, as to _levy_ or
_raise_ an army, to _levy_ or make war; and, to _levy_ contributions.
LEVY, the levying, or raising troops, by enregistering the names of
men capable of bearing arms, for the common defence and safety of a
country, has from time immemorial been a leading principle among men.
There are indeed some people still existing, who indiscriminately go to
war, leaving, for the immediate security of their huts or habitations,
only their old men, their wives and children.
Among the Romans, however, and in some other civilized countries, it
was a prevailing maxim never to employ above a certain proportion of
matured population, and that proportion consisted uniformly of men who
were expert at arms.
National assemblies were called together whenever the situation of the
country required, that the senate’s decree should be published and put
into effect.
The levying or raising of troops for service was regulated in the
following manner under two specific heads, called ordinary and
extraordinary levy. The ordinary levy took place in consequence of a
decree from the senate by which all males of a certain age were called
out to do military service: the extraordinary levy was enforced when
a deficiency was found in the ordinary levy to answer the immediate
exigencies of the state.
The extraordinary levy, which was further distinguished by the word
evocation, (See _Evocati_) was performed as follows. A public orator
mounted the rostrum, and after having expatiated upon the urgency of
the case, and paid a handsome tribute of commendation to all who should
voluntarily step forward to defend their country, he entrusted the
conclusion of the business to two superior officers who were to command
the new levies.
These officers instantly unfurled two flags, and emphatically
exclaimed, _let all those brave men who have the safety of the Republic
at heart flock to our standards!_ A red flag was the rallying mark
for all who were to serve on foot, and a blue flag pointed out the
rendezvous for cavalry. Every one was at liberty to chuse the service
he liked best.
With respect to the ordinary levy by which every citizen was liable to
be called upon for personal service, it was conducted in the following
manner.
All the different tribes into which the inhabitants of the country were
divided, assembled in places marked out for that purpose, and as soon
as a whole tribe, consisting of males only, had entered, the public
crier called over, in a distinct and audible manner, the names of four
persons, after which the first military tribune, from among those of
that rank who were to command the intended legion, selected one out of
the four, and had him enrolled.
The crier then called over the names of four others belonging to the
same class, and the second tribune selected one from the four in the
same manner as the first had done. This selection went on through the
different classes, until the whole tribe was drafted, and another tribe
was then subjected to the same rotation. Legions were formed out of
these levies, and completed to so effective a strength, that three of
them generally composed a Roman army. The Romans readily submitted to
these calls of the state; and they did so the more cheerfully, because
it was a fundamental rule amongst them, that no man could be provided
for in a military or civil way, unless he had served a prescribed
number of years.
Kennett, in his antiquities of Rome, gives the following account, which
the reader will perceive differs in some particulars from the former.
“At the same time of the year as the consuls were declared _elect_ or
_designed_, they chose the military tribunes; fourteen out of the body
of the Equites who had served in the army five years, and ten out of
the commonalty, such as had made ten campaigns. The former they called
_tribuni juniores_, and the latter _seniores_.
The consuls having agreed on a levy (as, in the time of the
commonwealth they usually did every year,) they issued out an edict,
commanding all persons who had reached the military age (about
seventeen years) to appear (commonly) in the capitol, or in the area
before the capitol, as the most sacred and august place, on such a
day. The people being come together, and the consuls who presided in
the assembly having taken their seat, in the first place, the four and
twenty tribunes were disposed of according to the number of legions
they designed to make up, which was generally four. The _junior_
tribunes were assigned, four to the first legion, three to the second
and last. After this, every tribe, being called out by lot, was ordered
to divide into their proper centuries; out of each century were
soldiers cited by name, with respect had to their estate and class; for
which purpose, there were tables ready at hand, in which the name, age,
and wealth of every person were exactly described. Four men, as much
alike in all circumstances, as could be pitched upon, being presented
out of the century, first the tribunes of the first legion chose one,
then the tribunes of the second another, the tribunes of the third
legion a third man, and the remaining person fell to the tribunes of
the fourth. Then four more were drawn out; and now the right of chusing
first belonged to the tribunes of the second legion; in the next four
to the tribunes of the third legion, then to the tribunes of the fourth
legion, and so round; those tribunes chusing last the next time,
who chose first the time before; the most equal and regular method
imaginable.
Cicero has remarked a superstitious custom observed in these
proceedings; that the first soldier pitched upon should for the omen’s
sake, be such as had fortunate names, as Salvius, Valerius, and the
like. Cic. de Divinat. lib. 1.
There were in those times, (as in the present with respect to the
militia) many legal excuses which might keep persons from the list; as,
in case they were fifty years old, for then they could not be obliged
to serve; or if they enjoyed any civil or sacred office, which they
could not conveniently relinquish; or if they had already made twenty
campaigns, which was the time required for every foot soldier; or if,
upon account of extraordinary merit, they had been by public authority,
released from the trouble of serving for such a time; or if they were
maimed in any part, and so ought not to be admitted into the legions;
as Suetonius tells us of a father who cut off the thumbs of his two
sons on purpose to keep them out of the army (Sueton. August. chap.
24.) and Valerius Maximus gives a relation of the like nature. (Val.
Max. lib. 6. cap. 3.)
Otherwise they were necessitated to submit, and in case of a refusal,
were usually punished either with imprisonment, fine or stripes,
according to the lenity, or severity of the consul. And therefore it
seems strange, that Machiavel should particularly condemn the Roman
discipline, upon account of forcing no one to the wars, when we have in
all parts of history, such large intimations of a contrary practice.
Nay, we read too of the _conquisitores_ or impress-masters, who were
commissioned upon some occasions, to go about, and compel the men to
the service of the state.
Valerius Maximus (lib. 6. chap. 3.) gives one example of changing this
custom of taking out every particular soldier by the tribunes, for
that of chusing them by lot. And Appianus Alexandrinus (in Iberic.)
acquaints us, that in the Spanish war, managed by Lucullus, upon
complaint to the senate of several unjust practices in the levies,
the senate thought fit to chuse all the soldiers by lot. Yet the same
author assures us, that within five years time the old custom returned
of making the levies in the manner already described.
However, upon any extraordinary occasion of immediate service, they
omitted the common formalities, and without much distinction, listed
such as they met with, and led them out on an expedition. These they
called _Milites Subitarii_. Kennett’s Ant. page 183, b. iv.
The French always followed the example of the Romans with regard to the
first principles of levying men, which was effected by a proclamation
from the court, called the _ban_. This ban was addressed to the
principal person belonging to a province, who, in pursuance to its
instructions, assembled his vassals, and got them fit and ready for
immediate service.
In England a similar rotation took place; and the balloting for
militia-men still exhibits some remains of that feudal system. But
when regular armies became necessary in Europe (necessary only from
the ambition of contiguous and rival nations!) a different system was
adopted, and the natural strength of the country was made a secondary
object. Disposable means of offence and defence were resorted to by
crowned heads; and as war was became a science, permanent bodies of
armed men were kept on foot to answer the purposes of prompt and
vigorous decision.
Charles VIII. was the first monarch among the French who dispensed
with the service of his noblemen, in themselves and vassals; these he
replaced by raising regular companies of gendarmes, who were paid out
of his privy purse; in process of time cavalry and infantry regiments,
with appropriate trains of artillery, &c. were formed into a military
establishment, and have continued ever since.
During the existence of the old government in France, it was customary
for the king to issue orders that a certain bounty should be offered
to all recruits who would inlist; and when regiments, in time of war,
suffered materially, men were frequently drafted out of the militia to
complete their establishment.
With respect to the standing or permanent army of England, the first
traces of it are to be found during the reign of Henry VII.; from that
period until the present time the military establishment of Great
Britain has been progressive. Levies have been made in various ways,
upon various principles.
The French system of conscription is the most profound and perfect that
has ever been devised; no man is exempted. And in this respect it is
the only system in its principle adapted to a free state, where all
individuals having equal rights, have also corresponding duties and
obligations.
LEVY likewise means inlisting money.
LICE, _Fr._ List for combats.
LICENCIEMENT _des troupes_, _Fr._ At the end of a campaign this
generally happened in France, when troops could not any longer keep
the field owing to the severity of the weather. In former times it was
usual, during the continuance of a war, for the French army to retire
into winter quarters about the latter end of October. But since the
revolution, hostilities have been carried on at all seasons, and under
the most disheartening pressure of the weather.
LICENCIEMENT _des equipages des vivres_, _Fr._ It was usual in the
old French army, for an order to be issued by which the contractors
and commissaries, for the time being, were discharged at the close of
a campaign. The director general of the stores always preserved this
order, as it formed the only final voucher, upon which the contractors
could receive any demand against government. The greatest attention
was paid to this important branch of military economy; and, if at the
conclusion of a campaign, it was found necessary to retain any part of
the establishment for the immediate subsistence of the troops in winter
quarters, that part was minutely noticed in the order.
LICENCIER, _Fr._ to discharge.
LIDE, _Fr._ a warlike machine, which was formerly used to throw large
stones against a fortified place, or upon an enemy.
_To_ LIE, in a military acceptation of the term, to be in quarters,
in cantonments, or to be in camp: the fourth regiment of foot, for
instance, LIES encamped between Fort Adams and Orleans: or it LIES at
Orleans. The light dragoons LIE along the frontier.
_To_ LIE _in ambush_, to be posted in such a manner as to be able to
surprise your enemy, should he presume to advance, without having
previously cleared the woods, hedges, &c.
_To_ LIE _under cover_, to be under the protection of a battery, or to
be sheltered by a wood, &c.
_To_ LIE _in wait_, to take a position unobserved by the enemy, and
to remain under arms, in the expectation of suddenly falling upon his
flanks or rear.
LIEU, _Fr._ League. There are three sorts of lieues or leagues in
France, the great, middling, and small. The great French league
contains three thousand geometrical paces, or two thousand five hundred
toises; and the small league two thousand geometrical paces, that is,
twice the extent of the Italian mile; which is so called, because it
contains one thousand geometrical paces. According to an old existing
regulation, the leagues of France were directed to contain two thousand
two hundred toises, and two thousand six hundred and forty geometrical
paces. See MEASURE.
_In_ LIEU. In the room, place, or stead of.
LIEUTENANT. This word is originally derived from the Latin
legatus, locum tenens, and comes immediately to us from the
French _lieu-tenant_, supplying or holding the place of another.
In a military sense it means the second person or officer in
command. _Lieutenant-general_, the next in command to a general;
_lieutenant-colonel_, the next to a colonel; _captain-lieutenant_, an
intermediate rank; and _lieutenant_, the next to a captain, in every
company of both foot and horse, and who takes the command upon the
death or absence of his superior officer. Fuzileer corps, grenadiers,
and light infantry, in the British service, have second lieutenants and
no ensigns, a very absurd distinction.
LIEUTENANT _of artillery_. In the British service each company of
artillery has 4; 1 first and 3 second lieutenants. The first lieutenant
has the same detail of duty with the captain, because in his absence
he commands the company: he is to see that the soldiers are clean
and neat: that their clothes, arms, and accoutrements are in good
and serviceable order; and to watch over every thing else, which may
contribute to their health. He must give attention to their being
taught their exercise, see them punctually paid, their messes regularly
kept, and visit them in the hospitals when sick. He must assist at all
parades, &c. He ought to understand the doctrine of projectiles and the
science of artillery, with the various effects of gunpowder, however
managed or directed. He should likewise be able to construct and
dispose batteries to the best advantage; to plant cannon, mortars, and
howitzers, so as to produce the greatest annoyance to an enemy. He is
to be well skilled in the attack and defence of fortified places, and
to be conversant in arithmetic, mathematics, and mechanics, &c.
_Second_ LIEUTENANT, in the _artillery_, is the same as an ensign in
an infantry regiment, being the youngest commissioned officer in the
company. It is his duty to assist the first lieutenant in the detail
of the company. His other qualifications should be the same as those
required in the first lieutenant.
LIEUTENANT _of engineers_. See ENGINEERS.
LIEUTENANT-_colonel_. See COLONEL.
LIEUTENANT-_general_. See GENERAL.
LIEUTENANT _du Roi_, _Fr._ During the monarchy of France there was a
deputy governor in every fortified place, or strong town, who commanded
in the absence of the governor, and was a check upon his conduct when
present. This person was called LIEUTENANT _du Roi_.
LIEUTENANT _Reduced_, (_Lieutenant Reformé_, _Fr._) he whose company or
troop is broke or disbanded, but who continued in whole or half pay,
and still preserves his right of seniority and rank in the army.
LIEUTENANT _de la Colonelle_, _Fr._ the second officer, or what was
formerly styled the captain lieutenant of the colonel’s company of
every infantry regiment, was so called in France.
LIEUTENANS _des Gardes Francoises et Suisses_, _Fr._ lieutenants
belonging to the French and Swiss guards. During the existence of the
monarchy in France they bore the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and took
precedence of all captains.
LIEUTENANS _Provinciaux d’Artillerie_, _Fr._ were certain officers
belonging to the old French service, and immediately attached to the
artillery, who bore the title or name of the particular province in
which they were stationed. The majority of this description were
employed in the ordnance department; another part superintended
different artillery departments upon the frontiers. Some were excused
from all duty on account of their age and seniority.
Several provincial lieutenants, who had military employments under the
board of ordnance, received the rank of lieutenant general in the army
from the king, and could rise to the most exalted stations in common
with other officers.
LIEUTENANT _Général_, _Fr._ The title and rank of lieutenant-general
was of a more desultory nature in France under the old government of
that country, than in other countries. High officers of justice were
distinguished by the name; and all governors of provinces, as far as
their jurisdiction extended, together with the persons who acted under
them, were called _lieutenants généraux_. There were likewise persons
who bore the title of lieutenant-general of the kingdom at large. Every
officer, moreover, that acted immediately under a general, and was
next to him in rank, was styled lieutenant-general. It is the same,
in this respect, in England. In both countries, however, (considering
the subjects as appertaining to a monarchical institution) the title
of general was only ostensible and honorary, as his functions were
delegated to him by his sovereign, the real general and head of the
army. So that intrinsically a general could only be considered as
lieutenant-general to the king; but the lieutenant-general who acts
under him, must be viewed as holding a relative rank inferior to both.
The words of the two commissions sufficiently explain our observation.
They are as follow for a lieutenant-general with the nominal rank of
general:--_We have made and constituted_ N. _our lieutenant-general,
&c._ and for those acting under him:--_We have made and constituted_
N. _one of our lieutenant-generals_. Which plainly indicates,
that of the first class there can only be one who represents his
sovereign; whereas there are and may be many of the other description.
Lieutenant-generals, in the French service, did not receive any pay,
in consequence of the rank they bore, unless they actually commanded
some part of the army, and received a commission from the king for
that purpose. This commission was renewed annually, according to his
majesty’s pleasure.
LIEUTENANT-_General d’Artillerie_. See _Lieutenant-general of the_
ORDNANCE.
LIEUTENANT-_General des Armèes Navales du Roi_. _Fr._ an officer in the
old French service, belonging to the naval department. He took rank of
all chefs d’escadre, or commodores, and issued orders through them to
inferior officers.
LIFE GUARDS.--See GUARDS.
LIGHT BOBS, a familiar term used for the light infantry.
LIGHT HORSE. All mounted soldiers, that are lightly armed and accoutred
for active and desultory service, may be considered under this term.
Thus light dragoons, hussars, mounted riflemen, &c. are strictly
speaking light horse.
LIGHT INFANTRY, an active, strong body of men, selected from the
aggregate of battalion companies, and made up of the most promising
recruits that are occasionally inlisted.
When the light infantry companies are in line with their battalions,
they are to form and act in every respect as a company of the
battalion; but when otherwise disposed of, they may loosen their files
to six inches
The open order of light infantry is usually two feet between each file.
The files may be extended from right, left, or centre; in executing it,
each front rank man must carefully take his distance from the man next
to him on that side from which the extension is made: the rear rank men
conform to the movement of their file leaders.
When light infantry men fire in extended order, it is to be a standing
rule, that the two men of the same file are never unloaded together;
for which purpose as soon as the front rank man has fired, he is to
slip round the left of the rear rank man, who will take a short pace
forward, and put himself in the other’s place, whom he is to protect
while loading.
The extended order of light infantry varies according to circumstances
and situations. They may sometimes loosen their files to three times
the distance of open order. But the general rule is to allow convenient
intervals for the rear rank men to slip by, and return after they have
fired.
All movements of light infantry, except when firing, advancing, or
retreating, are to be in quick time.
The officer commanding the company in line will be on the right,
covered by a serjeant; the next on the left also covered by a serjeant.
The youngest officer in the rear. In extended order the post of the
officers and serjeants is always in the rear at equal distances.
In marching by files the officer commanding leads: by divisions each
officer leads one. The supernumerary officer, if there be one, is in
both cases with the officer commanding, ready to obey any directions he
may receive from him.
The arms of light infantry in general are carried sloped, when the
bayonets are fixed. Flanking or advanced parties, however, or parties
in particular situations, may carry them trailed, and without bayonets,
for the purpose of taking a more cool and deliberate aim.
When the light infantry is ordered to cover the line to the front, the
divisions will move from their inner flanks round the flanks of the
battalions, and when at the distance of fifty paces, the leading flanks
will wheel towards each other, so as to meet opposite the centre of the
battalion, opening their files gradually from the rear, so as to cover
the whole extent of the battalion.
The files are not to wait for any word of command, but to halt and
front themselves. In this position, and in all positions of extended
order, the post of the officer commanding is in the rear of the centre,
and the movements are to be regulated by the company belonging to the
battalion, which governs those of the line. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
Light infantry men, like hussars, are frequently detached to act as
scouts on the flanks, in the front, or with the rear guard of the body
of troops to which they belong. They then acquire the appellation of
skirmishers, and being previously told off for that specific duty,
they advance and form in the front in rank entire; which is effected
by each man from the rear rank placing himself on the left of his file
leader. The rank entire may be resorted to for various purposes during
the movements of one or more battalions, since it may serve not only to
cover them from the enemy’s observation, but in some cases, especially
in foggy weather, will itself appear a larger body than it really is.
Too much attention cannot be given to the organization of light troops
on foot. They are very properly called the eyes of an army, and ought
always to be considered as indispensibly necessary.
LIGHT TROOPS. By light troops are generally meant all horse and foot
which are accoutred for detached service.
LIGNE, _Fr._ See LINE.
LIGNE _d’Eau_, _Fr._ a term used in aquatics. It is the hundredth and
fortieth portion of an inch of water, and furnishes or supplies one
hundred and four pints of water, Paris measure, in twenty four hours.
LIGNE _de moindre résistance_, _Fr._ is the line that being drawn
from the centre of the _fourneau_ or chamber of a mine, runs up in a
perpendicular direction to the nearest outward surface.
LIGNES _en forme de Crémaillère_, _Fr._ _Indented lines, or lines
resembling the teeth of a saw, or stairs_: they are connected with one
another like crotchets; or united by small flanks comprising fourteen
or fifteen toises each. M. de Clairac has given a particular account
of their construction in his _Ingenieur de Campagne_. The effect,
observes that writer, which is produced by the concentrated fire that
may be poured from these lines, is perhaps unexampled. One advantage
is certain, that of being able to increase your efforts of defence,
in proportion as the enemy advances; since it must be evident, that
constructed as the flanks are, and enchasing one another, the execution
becomes multiplied in every quarter. It may moreover be stated among
other advantages, that as the salient points are double in number, and
are flanked within half a distance of musquet shot, without stretching
far into the country, they must of course be less exposed to the
enemy’s approaches. From the figure of these lines the troops are
enabled to keep up an uninterrupted and regular direct fire; and it
is the only construction from which an equal discharge of ordnance or
musquetry may be served in every quarter at once.
LIMBER, in _artillery_, a two-wheel carriage with shafts to fasten the
trail of travelling carriages by means of a pintle or iron pin, when
travelling, and taken off on the battery, or when placed in the park of
artillery; which is called unlimbering the guns.
LIME, in _military architecture_, is made of all kind of stones, that
will calcine: that which is made of the hardest stone is the best, and
the worst of all that which is made of chalk.
Lime will not be sufficiently burnt in less than 60 hours. The signs
of well burnt lime are, that its weight is to that of the stone in a
sesquialterate proportion; that it be white, light, and sonorous; that
when slaked, it sticks to the sides of the vessel, sending forth a
copious thick smoke, and requires a great deal of water to slake it.
In some countries, as the East Indies and the United States, they make
good lime of shells of fish, which dries and hardens in a very short
time; and when it is mixed with Dutch terras, is fit for all kind of
aquatic works.
Lime should always be burnt with coals, and never with wood, the coals
being strongly impregnated with sulphureous particles, which, mixed
with the lime, make it more adhesive. See MORTAR.
LIMINARQUE, _Fr._ an office of distinction, which existed in the
Roman empire. The persons invested with it were directed to watch
the frontiers of the empire, and they commanded the troops that were
employed upon that service.
LIMITARY, a guard or superintendant, placed at the confines or
boundaries of any kingdom or state.
LIMITS, in a military sense, is that distance which a sentry is allowed
on his post, namely 50 paces to the right, and as many to the left.
LINCH-_pin_, in artillery, that which passes through the ends of the
arms of an axle-tree, to keep the wheels or trucks from slipping off
in travelling.
LINCH-_clout_, in artillery, the flat iron under the end of the arms of
an axle-tree, to strengthen them, and to diminish the friction of the
wheels.
LINDEN TREE. The wood used in artificial fire-works, &c.
LINE, in geometry, signifies length, without any supposed breadth or
depth. A _straight or right line_ is the shortest way from one point
to another. A _curved or crooked line_ is that which deviates from
the shortest way, and embraces a greater space between one point and
another. A _perpendicular line_ is a straight line, which falling
upon another line does not incline either to one side or the other.
_Parallel lines_ are lines which are at equal distances from one
another, in such a manner, that although they may be prolonged ad
infinitum, they never can meet.
Euclid’s second book treats mostly of lines, and of the effects of
their being divided, and again multiplied into one another.
_Horizontal_ LINE is that which is spread upon the plane of the
horizon; such, for instance, are those lines that may be supposed to
form the level surface of a plain.
_Inclined_ LINE, (_ligne inclineé_, _Fr._) is that line which leans
or is raised obliquely upon the plane of the horizon, and which might
resemble the sloping or declivity of a hillock.
_Oblique_ LINE, (_ligne oblique_, _Fr._) a straight line which leans
more to one side than another the instant it is brought into contact
with any other line.
LINE _tangent_, (_ligne tangente_, _Fr._) a straight line, which,
without intersecting it meets a curve at one point, and does not enter,
but barely touches it.
_Vertical_ LINE, (_ligne verticale_, _Fr._) a line which is raised
perpendicularly above or below the horizon. Of this description are all
lines that express height or depth.
_The_ LINE. This term is frequently used to distinguish the regular
army from other establishments of a military nature. All numbered or
marching regiments are called the line. The marines, militia, and
volunteers, do not come under the term. It is, however, a corruption
of the word, since the true import of line in military matters, means
that solid part of an army which is called the main body, and has a
regular formation from right to left. Thus in the seven years war, when
prince Ferdinand commanded the allied army, the British troops under
the marquis of Granby did not belong to the line, because they were
always detached and acted in front of the main body. Grenadiers and
light infantry, when from their several corps, cannot be called the
line, but the instant they are incorporated they become so. According
to this explanation, and we think it a correct one, the word is very
generally misapplied, as it cannot strictly be used to distinguish any
particular establishment from another.
LINE, or _line of battle_, is the arrangement or disposition of an army
for battle: its front being extended along a straight _line_ as far as
the ground will permit, in order that the several corps of cavalry and
infantry which compose it, may not be cut off or flanked by the enemy.
The Ottoman troops are generally drawn up on a curve line, or
half-moon, for the purpose of surrounding their enemies by superior
numbers. European armies are usually drawn up in three lines; the
first being named the _van_, (_avant-garde_, _Fr._) the second, _main
body_, (_corps de bataille_, _Fr._) and the third, which was formerly
the weakest, is called the _reserve_, or _rear-guard_. (_Corps de
réserve, ou arrière-garde_, _Fr._) Each of these lines is so drawn up,
that the wings or extremities are always composed of some squadrons of
horse, whose intervals are likewise supported by infantry platoons. The
battalions are posted in the centre of each line; sometimes they are
intermixed with squadrons of horse, when there is a considerable body
of cavalry attached to the army. The space of ground, which in each
line separates the different corps from one another, is always equal
in extent to the front that is occupied by them. These intervals are
left in order to facilitate their several movements, and to enable them
to charge the enemy without being exposed to confusion and disorder.
It must be observed, as a general rule, that the intervals or spaces
which are between each battalion and squadron belonging to the second
_line_ should invariably correspond with the ground that is occupied
by the battalions and squadrons, which constitute the first _line_; in
order that the first _line_, on being forced to fall back, may find
sufficient ground to rally upon, and not endanger the disposition of
the second _line_, by precipitately crowding on it.
Each line is divided into right and left wings. Each wing is composed
of one or more divisions. Each division is composed of one or more
brigades. Each brigade is formed of two, three, or four, or more
battalions.
Battalions are formed in line at a distance of twelve paces from each
other, and this interval is occupied by two or more cannon, which are
attached to each battalion. There is no increased distance betwixt
brigades, unless particular circumstances attend it. In exercise,
should there be no cannon betwixt the battalions, the interval may be
reduced to six paces.
LINE, _how regulated_. Its regulating body in movement is, in general,
the battalion of that flank which is nearest to, and is to preserve
the appui, or which is to make the attack. There are very few cases in
which the centre ought to regulate, although the direct march of the
line in front appears to be the easiest conducted by a battalion of the
centre. It is the flank, however, that must preserve the line of appui
in all movements in front, if the line is thrown backward or forward,
it is generally on a flank point.
It may not be superfluous to remark, that the term _line_, as
expressing a military disposition for battle, was not known until the
sixteenth century.--Before that period when armies were ranged in order
of battle upon three lines; the first _line_ was called _advanced
guard_, (_avant garde_,) the second, _main body only_, (_corps de
bataille_,) and the third, _rear guard_, (_arriére garde_.)--These
terms are never used in modern times, except when any army is on its
march; when drawn up for action, or in the field for review, _columns_,
or _lines_ are substituted.
LINES _of support_, are lines of attack, which are formed to support
one another. Where there are several, the second should outflank
the first, the third the second; the advanced one being thereby
strengthened and supported on its outward wing.
LINE _of march_. The regular and tactical succession of the component
parts of an army that is put in motion.
LINES _of march_, are bodies of armed men marching on given points
to arrive at any straight alignement on which they are to form. The
general direction of such alignement is always determined before the
troops enter it, and the point in that line at which their head is to
arrive, must next be ascertained. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
The line is said to be well dressed, when no part is out of the
straight alignement. That this may be effected, at the word _dress_,
which is given by the commander, it is immediately to commence from the
centre of each battalion, the men looking to their own colors, and the
correcting officers lining them upon the colors of their next adjoining
battalion.
LINE-_firings_, are executed separately and independently by each
battalion.
_Inversion of the line_, in formation. This is a manœuvre which ought
only to be resorted to on the most urgent occasions, as it is prudent
to avoid the inversion of all bodies in line. The inversion is effected
by facing a battalion or line to the right about, instead of changing
its position by a counter march; sometimes, indeed, it may be necessary
to form to a flank with its rear in front. The column with its line in
front may arrive on the left of its ground, and be obliged immediately
to form up and support that point, so that the right of the line
will become the left. Part of a second line may double round on the
extremity of a first line, thereby to outflank an enemy. These, and
various other movements, may be found necessary, and they can only be
practised with safety and expedition by the inversion of the line.
LINES _advancing to engage an enemy. Lignes marchant à l’ennemi_, _Fr._
According to Marshal Puységur, all lines should take the centre for
the regulating point of movement, and not the right, as others have
maintained. He grounds his opinion upon a known fact, that the more
extended a line is, the more difficult it must prove to march by the
right. By making the centre the directing portion of the line, more
than half the difficulty is removed. To which it may be added, that the
centre is more easily discernible from the right and left, than the
right is within the just observation of the left, or the left within
that of the right.
When the _line_ advances it must uniformly preserve a convexity from
the centre, so that when it halts, the right and left may have to
dress up; but this convexity must be scarcely perceptible. Were the
line to be concave on approaching the enemy, a necessity would occur
of throwing the wings back, perhaps even of putting several corps to
the _right_ about, during which operation the whole army might be
endangered.
When lines are marching forward they must be occasionally halted: in
which cases the centre halts first, and when the line is ordered to
advance again, the centre steps off though in an almost imperceptible
manner, before the right and left.
Each commanding officer must place himself in the centre of that
proportion of the line which he has under his immediate orders,
unless he should be otherwise directed. The centre is always the most
convenient point, from whence every thing that passes on the right and
left may be observed. When the line advances in charging order, he must
march at the head of his battalion or squadron, taking care, that he
is followed by his troops with an equal cadenced step, and regulating
his own movement by that of the divisions which are formed on his right
and left. The greater the extent of line proves, which is composed of
several battalions and squadrons that advance forward with the same
front, the more difficult will be the movement of the several bodies;
but as we have already observed, a great part of this difficulty is
overcome when the centre is made the directing body. The right and left
must be invariably governed by it.
_Retiring_ LINE, are bodies of armed men that have advanced against
an opposing enemy in order of battle, withdrawing themselves with
regularity from the immediate scene of action. On this occasion it is
of the greatest importance, that the line should be correctly dressed
before it faces to the right about; and the battalions will prepare for
the retreat in the manner prescribed for the single one by receiving
the caution, that the _line will retire_.
_To form the_ LINE, in land tactics, is to arrange the troops in order
of battle, or battle array.
_To break the_ LINE, to change the direction from that of a straight
line, in order to obtain a cross fire.
_Turning out of the_ LINE, in a military sense. The line turns out
without arms whenever the general commanding in chief comes along the
front of the camp.
In the British army the following is the usage:
When the _line_ turns out, the private men are drawn up in a line
with the bells of arms; the corporals on the right and left of their
respective companies: the piquet forms behind the colors, with their
accoutrements on, but without arms.
The serjeants draw up one pace in the front of the men, dividing
themselves equally.
The officers draw up in ranks, according to their commissions, in the
front of the colors; two ensigns taking hold of the colors.
The field officers advance before the captains.
The camp colors on the flanks of the parade are to be struck, and
planted opposite to the bells of arms; the officers espontoons are to
be planted between the colors, and the drums piled up behind them; the
halberts are to be planted between, and on each side the bells of arms,
and the hatchets turned from the colors.
_Full or close_ LINES, (_lignes pleines_, _Fr._) Marshal Puységur in
his _Art de la Guerre_ is a strong advocate for full or _close lines_,
in his disposition of the order of battle, provided the ground will
admit it. He proposes, in fact, that the battalions of infantry and the
squadrons of horse should form one continuity of line, without leaving
the least interval between them.
LINES _that are close and open_, (_lignes tant pleines que vuides_,
_Fr._) When troops are drawn up in order of battle with intervals
between the battalions and squadrons, the lines are said to be _close
and open_.
LINE, _or camp courts-martial_. These courts-martial are frequently
resorted to, and differ from regimental ones, in as much as they
are composed of the officers belonging to different corps, and the
ratification of the sentence is vested in the general or commanding
officer of the camp. So that no time is lost in waiting for the
commander in chief’s approbation, when he is delegated by him; nor
has the colonel or commanding officer of the regiment to which the
offender may belong, any power to interfere. The sentences of line or
camp, field, and garrison courts-martial, are confined to corporeal
punishments, but they can neither affect life, nor occasion the loss
of a limb. The proceedings are read by the adjutant of the day; the
surgeon is from the regiment to which the prisoner belongs, and the
punishment is inflicted in front of the piquet by the drummers of the
different corps under the direction of the drum-major, who is from the
regiment to which the adjutant of the day belongs. Field and drum-head
courts-martial, may be considered in the same light, when an army is
on its march; with this difference, that the prisoner is tried either
by officers belonging to his own corps, or by a mixed roster. A circle
is formed at a short distance from the men under arms, and the sentence
is written upon a drum-head; whence the appellation of drum-head
courts-martial is derived. When there are several regiments present,
the same forms are attended to in punishing prisoners as are observed
in line or camp courts-martial; and when there is only one regiment,
the examination and the punishment of the prisoner or prisoners take
place within itself.
LINES, in fortification, bear several names and significations; such as,
{_defence_ }
{_defence fichant_ }
{_defence razant_ }
LINE _of_{_circumvallation_ }See FORTIFICATION.
{_countervallation_ }
{_counter-approach_ }
{_defence prolonged_}
LINE, _Capital_ }
LINE _of communication_. (_Ligne de communication_, _Fr._) That space
of ground in a fortified place which joins the citadel to the town.
LINES _of communication_, are trenches that unite one work to another,
so that men may pass between them without being exposed to the enemy’s
fire: thence the whole intrenchment round any place is sometimes called
a _line of communication_, because it leads to all the works.
_Inside_ LINES, are a kind of ditches towards the place, to prevent
sallies, &c.
_Outside_ LINES, are a kind of ditches towards the field, to hinder
relief, &c.
_Capital_ LINE _of the half moon_. (_Ligne capitale de la demi-lune_,
_Fr._) That which is drawn from the flanked angle of a half moon, to
the rentrant angle of the counterscarp on which it is constructed.
LINE _of counter approach_. (_Ligne de contre-approche_, _Fr._) A sort
of trench which the besieged make, and push forward from the glacis,
for the purpose of counteracting the enemy’s works. See APPROACHES.
LINE _of defence_. (_Ligne de dèfense_, _Fr._) See FORTIFICATION.
LIGNE _magistrale_, _Fr._ See _Capital line_ in FORTIFICATION.
LINE _of circumvallation_. (_Ligne de circonvallation_, _Fr._) See
FORTIFICATION.
LINE _of direction_ in gunnery, is a line formerly marked upon guns, by
a short point upon the muzzle, and a cavity on the base ring, to direct
the eye in pointing the gun.
LINE _of distance_, the interval between two things, either in regard
to time, place, or quantity.
LINE _of gravitation_, of any heavy body, is a line drawn through its
centre of gravity, and according to which it tends downwards.
LINE _of swiftest descent_, of a heavy body, is the cycloid. See
CYCLOID.
LINE _of projectile_. See PROJECTILES.
LINE _of the least resistance_, (_ligne de moindre resistance_, _Fr._)
that line, which being drawn from the centre of the furnace or the
chamber of a mine, takes a perpendicular direction towards the nearest
superficial exterior.
LINE _of fire_, (_ligne de feu_, _Fr._) in fortification. This term
admits of two distinct acceptations; first, when it is found necessary
to give an idea of the manner in which a rampart, or an entrenchment
overwhelms and crosses any space of ground by the discharge of ordnance
or musquetry, lines must be drawn to express the distances which have
been traversed by the shot, &c. These lines are called lines of fire,
being an abbreviation of those lines of direction which have been given
to the shot.
In order to convey a more just and accurate conception of this species
of line of fire, it is recommended to give a profile, which shall not
only shew the curves of the trajectories, but likewise point out the
intersections and impressions which have been made by such fire upon a
rampart, entrenchment, ground, or fortification of any description.
In the second place, all that extent of a rampart or entrenchment, from
whence the shot of ordnance or musquetry is discharged, is understood
to be a line of fire.
If, for instance, it were to be said that a reserve or oblique
direction was taken against a long extent of rampart or entrenchment,
by means of a _jettée_ or any great work thrown up, so as to out-flank
or take it in the rear, it might be concluded that those points would
be supplied with a long line of fire.
LINE _of direction_, (_Ligne de direction_, _Fr._) In mechanics any
straight line down which a heavy body descends. There are likewise
lines of direction which relate to powers; they are then straight lines
by means of which a power draws or urges on a weight for the purpose of
supporting or moving it.
_Capital_ LINE _of the bastion_, (_Ligne capital du bastion_, _Fr._) a
line which is drawn from the centre angle of a bastion to its flanked
angle. In regular fortification this line cuts the bastion in two equal
parts.
LINES _of entrenchment_, (_Lignes retrenchées_, _Fr._) all lines which
are drawn in front of a camp, &c. to secure it from insult or surprize
are so called. Whenever an army is not sufficiently strong to run the
hazard of being attacked, the general who commands it, must have the
precaution to dig a ditch in front measuring three toises at least in
breadth and two in depth. He must likewise throw up a parapet with
redans, or have it flanked at intermediate distances by small bastions
two toises thick, made of strong close earth, and get it covered and
supported by fascines, with a banquette behind sufficiently high to
cover the soldiers tents. If water can be got into the ditch from a
neighboring stream or rivulet, an additional advantage will be derived
from that accession. When the _lines_ are constructed for any space of
time, it will then be proper to make a covert-way in the usual manner.
Other _lines_ are likewise constructed for the purpose of communicating
with different quarters; great care must be taken lest any of them be
exposed to the enemy’s enfilade. To prevent this they must be supported
by redoubts, or by works belonging to the neighboring forts; for the
enemy might otherwise make good his ground within them, and use them as
a trench.
If an army is so weak as to be within _lines_, you take care to have
communications between the villages, and small parties of light horse
patroling towards the enemy, and to have videttes and sentries posted
so near one another, that you may have intelligence of all their
transactions.
LINE _in fencing_, that part of the body opposite to the enemy, wherein
the shoulders, the right arm, and the sword, should always be found;
and wherein are also to be placed the two feet at the distance of 18
inches from each other. In which sense, a man is said to be in his
line, or to go out of his line, &c.
LINE, also denotes a French measure, containing ¹⁄₁₂th part of an inch.
It is of late frequently made use of in calculations.
LINE OF SCIENCE, is substituted for the old and awkward oblique step;
movements to a flank oblique are now by _half_ or _quarter facing_,
that is, the whole who are to move in the required direction are faced
on a line midway between a front and full faced position; so that
_quarter faced_ to the right, the right shoulder of the second man
is behind the left shoulder of the right file; and so on each along
each rank have their right shoulders behind the man on their right: so
if the movement is to be oblique to the left, they are quarter faced
to the left, and the files will stand successively with their left
shoulders in the rear of the right of those who stood on their left.
_To_ LINE, from the French _aligner_, is to dress any given body of
men, so that every individual part shall be so disposed as to form
collectively a straight continuity of points from centre to flanks.
_To_ LINE _men_. Officers, and non-commissioned officers, are said
to line the men belonging to their several battalions, divisions, or
companies, when they arrive at their dressing points, and receive the
word _dress_ from the commander of the whole.
When a single battalion halts, it is dressed or lined on its right
centre company, and must of course be in a straight line. When several
battalions dress from the centre of each on its next colors, the
general line will be straight, provided all the colors have halted
regularly in a line. On these occasions every thing will depend upon
the two centre guides of each battalion.
_To_ LINE _a Coast_. To line a coast well under the immediate pressure
of invasion, requires not only great ability and exertion in the
commanding officer of the particular district against which an insult
may be offered, but it is moreover necessary, that every individual
officer in the different corps should minutely attend to the particular
spot on which he may be stationed. The English coast, especially where
there are bays, is almost always intersected by narrow passes through
the rocks or sandhills. On this account, when any body of men receives
orders to line a specified extent of ground, the officers who are
entrusted with the several parts of a battalion or brigade, should take
care to make the most of their men, and to extend their files in such
a manner, as not only to present an imposing front from the crown of
the hill, but to be able, at a moment’s warning, to carry their whole
strength to prevent the enemy from getting upon the flanks by suddenly
rushing up the gap. Much coolness is required on these occasions.
_To_ LINE _hedges_, &c. to plant troops, artillery, or small arms,
along them under their cover, to fire upon an enemy that advances
openly, or to defend them from the horse, &c.
_To_ LINE _a street or road_, is to draw up any number of men on
each side of the street or road, and to face them inwards. This is
frequently practised on days of ceremony, when some distinguished
person is received with military honors on his way through places where
troops are stationed.
This is the usage also in funerals, when the corps under arms form a
lane, by the ranks being faced to the _right and left inward_; and the
party _rests on arms reversed_.
_To_ LINE, in a fortification, is nothing more than to environ a
rampart, parapet, or ditch, &c. with a wall of masonry or earth.
LINCE, _et chaussure du soldat_, _Fr._ necessaries belonging to a
soldier. During the monarchy of France, a sol or one English half-penny
per day, was added to the pay of each serjeant, and about six deniers
or three English farthings to that of each corporal, anspessade or
lance-corporal, grenadier, private soldier, and drummer, to enable
them to keep up a certain list of necessaries. On any deficiency
being discovered it was in the power of the commanding officer of the
regiment to reduce the soldier’s subsistence to four sols or two-pence
English per day, until the full complement was made up.
LINGERER, one who pretends to be indisposed, in order to avoid his tour
of duty--a skulker. Hence the term malingerer, or a soldier who avoids
duty in a disreputable manner.
_To_ LINK _together_, to tie together. Cavalry horses are frequently
linked together when it is found necessary for the men to dismount.
When the word of command _link your horses_ is given, the right hand
files are to move up into the intervals, slip their bridoons and
dress by the right, standing in front of their own horses’ heads; the
left files slipping the bridoons in their hands at the same time,
and stepping to the front of their horses’ heads. As soon as up and
dressed, the whole advance their left feet by a motion from the right,
and by another motion from the right, the whole go to the left about
together, and link; as soon as done linking, the left hand man of each
rank falls back, two paces from his horse, and the whole dress well to
him, with the carabine in the trailing position. But before they do
this they must put their belts and plates in order.
It ought to be recollected, that when the right hand files come up,
they must take care not to bring their horses past the others; and in
order to dress with the left files they must slip the bridoon to the
left hand, leaving the horse in his place in the rank.
When dragoons are ordered to dismount, and are to mount again
immediately, without moving from their horses, the word of command
_unlink your horses_ is made use of; in which case the dragoon drops
his carabine, which is then in a trailing position, on his left arm,
and unlinks: as soon as that is done, he takes his carabine in his left
hand, the horse in the right, by the right bridoon rein, waiting for
the word _prepare to mount_.
LINKS, in the art of war, are distinct reins, or thongs of leather used
by the cavalry to link their horses together, when they dismount, that
they may not disperse. Every tenth man is generally left to take care
of them.
LINS-_pins_. See LINCHPINS.
LINSTOCK. (_Boute-feu_, _Fr._) In gunnery, a short staff of wood, about
three feet long, having at one end a piece of iron divided into two
branches, each of which has a notch to hold a lighted match, and a
screw to fasten it there, the other end being shod with iron to stick
into the ground.
LIS, _Fr._ A warlike machine was formerly so called: it consisted of
a piece of wood or stake, about the size of the human body, which was
made smaller at the top than at the bottom, and resembled a lilly not
yet blown. Several of these were tied together with ozier or willow
twigs, and were used for the security of a camp. They were not unlike
the palisades of the present day.
_Fleur de_ LIS, _Luce_, _Fr._ A flower borne in the ancient arms of
France, and adopted by the English kings until the French insisted on
its abandonment, which was done on the consummation of the union with
Ireland. The electoral cap, as emblematic of Hanover, and the shamrock
for Ireland, have been substituted in their stead.
FLEUR-_de-Lis_, during the French monarchy signified also a mark of
infamy, which was made with a hot iron, upon the back of a malefactor.
LISSE, _Fr._ Any smooth and unornamented piece in architecture is so
called by the French.
LISSOIRE, _Fr._ from _lisser_ to smooth. This word was particularly
applied in France to an operation which gunpowder went through in order
to make coarse grains smooth and round. This was effected by tying
several barrels together and by means of a mill, turning them round, so
as to occasion considerable friction within.
LISTS, in a military sense, a place inclosed, in which combats are
fought.
_To enter the_ LISTS, is to contend with a person.
_To_ LIST _soldiers_, _To inlist_, to retain and enroll soldiers,
either as volunteers, or by a kind of compulsion.
LISTING. Persons listed, are to be carried before the next justice of
peace or magistrate of any city or town and sworn.
Persons, owning before the proper magistrate, that they voluntarily
listed themselves, are obliged to take the oath, or suffer confinement
by the officer who listed them, till they do take it.
The magistrate is obliged in both cases, to certify, that such persons
are duly listed; setting forth their birth, age, and calling, if known;
and that they had taken the oath.
Persons receiving inlisting money from any officer, knowing him to be
such, and afterwards absconding, and refusing to go before a magistrate
to declare their assent or dissent, are deemed to be inlisted to all
intents and purposes, and may be proceeded against as if they had taken
the oath. See ATTESTATION.
LIT _de_ CAMP, _Fr._ A camp bed, which takes to pieces, and is
portable. The French frequently call it _lit brisé_, or a bed which may
be taken to pieces. The Turks never use these beds; they always carry
mattrasses, which they spread upon sophas when they halt at night.
LITTER, a sort of hurdle-bed, on which wounded officers or men are
carried off the field.
LITTLE _fortification_. The first division of the first system of M. de
Vauban, and is so called when the exterior side of a fortification does
not exceed 175 toises, or 350 yards. It is used in the construction of
citadels, small forts, horn and crown-works.
LIVRE. An old French money of account, consisting of 20 sols, about
18_d._ English: each sol containing 12 deniers. The livre is of two
kinds, Tournois and Parisis.
LIVRE _Tournois_ contains 20 sols Tournois, and each sol 12 deniers
Tournois.
LIVRE _Parisis_, is 12 sols Parisis, being worth 12 deniers Parisis, or
15 deniers Tournois; so that a livre Parisis is worth 25 sols Tournois.
The word Parisis is used in opposition to Tournois, because of the rate
of money, which was one-fourth higher at Paris than at Tours.
LIVRER _bataille_, _Fr._ To deliver, give or join battle.
LIVRER _assaut_, _Fr._ To storm.
LIVRER, _une ville au pillage_, _Fr._ to give a town up to plunder.
LOAD, a word of command given, when men are to charge their guns or
musquets.
LOAD. Artillery carriages, or waggons, are frequently loaded with
14 cwt. for 3 horses, and 20 cwt. for 4 horses. This, however it
may answer on an English road, is a great deal too much for general
service. No doubt a carriage of one construction will travel easier
than of another, with the same weight; and where the mechanical
advantage thus gained is greatest, the heaviest weight may be put,
with the same number of horses; but in the carriages usually made for
the service of artillery, 4 cwt. per horse, beside the weight of the
carriage, is the utmost they ought to be allowed to draw.
The French ammunition waggons, which are drawn by 4 horses, are always
charged with 1200 pounds only.
The regulations for British home service in 1798 state the load for a
bread waggon at 2400 lbs. and for a cart of entrenching tools at 400
lbs. Men used to bear loads, such as porters, will carry from 150 to
250 pounds.
A horse will carry about 300 lbs. and a mule about 250 lbs. See also
the word HORSES.
LOCHABER-AXE, a tremendous Scotch weapon, now used by none but the town
guard of Edinburgh; one of which is to be seen among the small armory
in the tower of London.
LOCKS, in gunnery, are of various sorts; common for lockers in
travelling carriages, or for boxes containing shot, powder, or
cartridges. Also locks for fire arms, being that part of the musquet,
by which fire is struck and the powder inflamed.
LOCK-STEP. This step was first introduced into the British service
by the Elliot Lord Heathfield, when he commanded the garrison at
Gibraltar; and is the same that general Saldern (from whose works all
the British regulations have been almost literally selected) calls the
_deploy step_. This step consists in the heel of one man being brought
nearly in contact with the joint of the great toe of another, so that
when men step off together they constantly preserve the same distance.
The lock or deploy step was always practised when a battalion marched
in file or close column; and the great advantage to be derived from
it was, that the last file gained ground at the same time that the
front advanced. It is now exploded, and very properly, as an excessive
absurdity.
_To_ LOCK, is to fasten one or more of the wheels of a carriage from
going round, in going down a hill, &c.
_To_ LOCK _up_, to take the closest possible order inline or in file.
The expression is derived from the lock-step.
LOCK _up!_ a word of command which is frequently used in the British
service, to direct soldiers to take or preserve the closest possible
order, especially in _file-marching_.
LOCKER _hinges_, serve to fasten the cover of the lockers in travelling
carriages.
LOCKING _plates_, in artillery, are thin flat pieces of iron nailed on
the sides of a held carriage, where the wheels touch it in turning, to
prevent the wearing the wood in those places. See CARRIAGE.
LOCKSPIT, in field fortification, a small cut or trench made with a
spade, about a foot wide, to mark out the first lines of a work.
_To_ LODGE ARMS. A word of command which is used on guards and
pickets. When a guard has closed its ranks, and the men are to place
their arms in front of the guard-house or quarter-guard, according to
circumstances, the commanding officer gives the words _port arms_, _to
the right or right about_, (as the case may be) _face_. _Lodge Arms._
LODGMENT, in military business, is a work made by the besiegers in some
part of a fortification, after the besieged have been driven out, for
the purpose of maintaining it, and to be covered from the enemy’s fire.
It also means possession of an enemy’s works.
When a _lodgment_ is to be made on the glacis, covert way, or in a
breach, there must be a great provision made of fascines, sand bags,
gabions, wool packs, &c. in the trenches; and during the action, the
pioneers (under the direction of an engineer) with fascines, sand bags,
&c. should be making the lodgment, in order to form a covering, while
the grenadiers are storming the covert way, &c.
LOGARITHMS, the indexes of the ratios of numbers, one to another; of
which the following is a concise account.
_Of arithmetical progression._--By arithmetical progression is meant a
series of terms, each of which exceeds, or is exceeded by, that which
precedes it by the same given number.
For instance, the series 1 . 3 . 5 . 7 . 9 . 11 is in arithmetical
progression, since each of the terms exceeds that which precedes it by
the same number, which is 2. The series 11 . 9 . 7 . 5 . 3 . 1 is also
in arithmetical progression, since each of the terms is exceeded by
that which precedes it, and by the same number.
_Of geometrical progression._--Geometrical progression is that in
which each term of a series contains the preceding term, or is itself
contained in it, the same number of times throughout.
For instance, the series 1 . 3 . 9 . 27 . 81 . 243, &c. is in
geometrical progression, since each term contains that which precedes
it the same number of times, which is 3.
The series 243 . 81 . 27 . 9 . 3 . 1 is also in geometrical
progression, each of the terms being contained by the preceding the
same number of times.
_Of the formation of logarithms._--Logarithms are numbers in
arithmetical progression, corresponding, term by term, with a similar
series of numbers in geometrical progression. If, for instance, we have
a geometrical series and an arithmetical series as follows,
1 . 3 . 9 . 27 . 81 . 243
1 . 3 . 5 . 7 . 9 . 11
we shall call each term of the lower series the logarithm of the
corresponding term in the upper series.
Any given quantity may therefore have an infinite number of different
logarithms, since the same geometrical progression may be made to
correspond with an infinite diversity of series in arithmetical
progression.
In the formation, however, of tables of logarithms, it has been
found convenient to adopt a ten-fold progression, as the geometrical
progression, and the series of natural numbers as the arithmetical
progression. It will be remarked, that, in respect to the latter, the
ratio, or common measure of increase, is always unity, while the former
has the advantage of being adapted to the mode of notation which is in
universal use. The following, therefore, are the progressions chosen:
1 . 10 . 100 . 1000 . 10000 . 100000 . 1000000
0 . 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6
It follows from the nature and correspondence of these progressions,
that, as often as the ratio of the former may have been used as a
factor in the formation of any one of the terms of that progression,
so often will the ratio of the second progression have been added to
form the corresponding term of this identical second progression. For
instance, in the term 10000, the ratio 10 is 4 times a factor, and in
the term 4 the ratio is added 4 times.
If any two terms of the geometrical progression be intermultiplied, and
if the corresponding terms of the arithmetical progression be added,
the product and the sum will be two terms which will correspond with
each other in the same progressions.
Upon this principle it is, that, by the simple addition of any two
or more terms of the arithmetical progression, we can ascertain the
product of the corresponding terms of the geometrical progression.
For instance, by adding the terms 2 and 3 which answers to 100 and
1000, I have 5, which answers to 100000; whence I conclude that the
product of 100 by 1000 is 100000, which in fact it is.
It is always easy to ascertain the logarithm of unity followed by
any given number of ciphers; for such logarithm will invariably be
expressed by as many units as there may be ciphers in the given number.
In order to extend this practice to the formation of intermediate
logarithms, it may be conceived, that, although any given number,
for instance 3, may not apparently form any part of the geometrical
progression 1 . 10 . 100, yet if we were to insert a great number of
geometrical means, suppose 1,000,000, between the two first terms, we
should either find the number 3 itself, as one of such means, or a
number of very near approximation to it. The intermediate terms between
10 . 100 and between 100 . 1000 might be found in like manner, as
well as a corresponding number of intermediate terms, in arithmetical
proportion, between 0 and 1, and between 1 and 2, 2 and 3, &c. The
whole of the geometrical terms being then arranged upon the same line,
and the whole of the arithmetical terms upon another line, under the
former, it is obvious that the lower series would contain units, or
decimal fractions, corresponding with the numbers in the upper series,
or, in other words, the logarithmic relation of the two series would be
complete and exactly similar to that of the fundamental progressions.
It is thus, that, in the tables most in use, the number of decimal
places in the logarithmic quantities is 7, than which, however, many
more are used by men of science with a view to the attainment of a
corresponding degree of precision. Nevertheless, in certain tables
which were made a few years ago for the use of accompting houses, the
number of decimal places is reduced to 5, and the rather, as a greater
degree of precision is not necessary in those calculations of business
which do not require more than approximate results.
It should be remarked, in respect to the tables of logarithms,
that the first figure to the left of each logarithm is called _the
characteristic_; since it is that figure which denotes the class of
the geometrical progression which comprises the number to which the
logarithm relates. For instance, if the characteristic of a number be
2, I know that it relates to the second class, or the hundreds, the
logarithm of 100 being 2; and, as that of 1000 is 3, every number from
100 to 999 inclusively, cannot have any other logarithm than 2 and a
decimal fraction.
Thus, the characteristic of a logarithm is a number corresponding to
the natural numbers, namely, 1 to 10, 2 to 100, 3 to 1000, 4 to 10000,
&c. &c. The characteristic of the logarithm of any number under 10 is 0.
It happens by this progressive correspondence, that a number being
10 times, 100 times, or 1000 times greater than another number, has
the same logarithm as the lesser number, as far as relates to the
decimal fractions of each. The characteristic alone is susceptible of
variation, as will be seen by the logarithms of the following numbers:
Numbers Logarithms
3 0,47712
30 1,47712
300 2,47712
3000 3,47712
the characteristics of which are separated by a comma, being 0, 1, 2, 3.
It is this property by which the extraction of logarithms is
facilitated, since, if we know the logarithm of the number 30, and are
desirous of finding that of 300, of 3000, or of 3, it is requisite
merely to add to the characteristic of 30, or to deduct from it, as
many units as there may be more or less ciphers in the number whose
logarithm is sought.
LOGEMENT, _Fr._ means generally any place occupied by military men, for
the time being, whether they be quartered upon the inhabitants of a
town, or be distributed in barracks. When applied to soldiers that have
taken the field, it is comprehended under the several heads of huts,
tents, &c.
LOGIS, _Fr._ Quarters.
_Marquer les_ LOGIS, _Fr._ To mark the officer’s rooms according to
their respective ranks.
LOGEMENT _d’une attaque_, _Fr._ See _Lodgment_ in FORTIFICATION.
LONG BOAT, the largest boat belonging to a ship: it serves to bring
goods, provisions, &c. to or from the ship, to land men, to weigh the
anchor, &c.
_Le long de la Côte_, _Fr._ Along the coast.
_Tout du long de l’année_, _Fr._ All the year round.
_Long à la guerre_, _Fr._ An expression used in the French service.
_Faire long-bois_ signifies to leave a considerable opening between the
ranks.
_Prendre le plus long_, _Fr._ To go the furthest way about, as _L’armée
fut obligee de prendre le plus long pour éviter les défilés_, the army
was under the necessity of going the furthest way about in order to
avoid the defiles.
LONGER, _Fr._ A French military phrase. _Longer la riviere._ To move
up or down the river. It is frequently found necessary to attack an
enemy’s post, in order to have a free passage on the river, _pour
longer la riviere_.
_Longer le bois_, _Fr._ To march by the side of a wood.
_Faire une_ LONGUE _marche_, _Fr._ To make a long march.
_Epee de longueur_, _Fr._ A sword of a proper length to serve as a
weapon of defence. This term is used to distinguish it from the short
swords, which are worn for mere dress or parade.
_Longs-costes_, _Fr._ Those sides are so called, which belong to
places that are irregularly fortified, and contain indiscriminately
eighty toises and upwards. In which cases they are usually strengthened
by a flat bastion in the centre, or by several flat bastions, which
are constructed, according to the extent of the sides, at intermediate
distances.
LONGIMETRY, (_Longimetrie_, _Fr._) The art of measuring lands and
distances, whether the extent or space be accessible as in a road, or
inaccessible as in a river, or branch of the sea.
LONGITUDE _of the earth_, denotes its extent from west to east,
according to the direction of the equator.
LONGITUDE _of a place_, in _geography_, its distance from some first
meridian, or an arch of the equator intercepted between the meridian of
the place, and the first meridian. See GEOGRAPHY.
LONGITUDE _of motion_, according to some philosophers, is the distance
which the centre of any moving body runs through, as it moves on in a
right line. See MOTION.
LONGRINES, _Fr._ Pieces of wood or branches which are laid along the
extent of a sluice, and make part of its grating.
_To_ LOOK, a word frequently used in the British service to express the
good or bad appearance of a corps, &c. viz. such a regiment looks well
or ill under arms.
_To_ LOOK _at_. To go down the front of a regiment, &c. without
requiring that the troops should be put through the different
evolutions. A general officer frequently looks at a regiment in this
manner. Sometimes indeed the expression bears a more extensive meaning:
it is usual, for instance, to say--It would be ridiculous to think of
looking at a strong place for the purpose of attacking it, without
having sufficient force to carry its works.
_To be_ LOOKED _at_, in a military sense to be distantly observed by
an enemy who has a design of attacking you; or to be seen by a general
officer, whose duty is to enforce any established system. The latter
must be considered as a mere cursory inspection. It is common to
say--We are to be seen or looked at, but not regularly reviewed.
LOOP, in a _ship-carriage_, made of iron, fastened one on the front
of a fore axle-tree, and two on each side, through which the ropes or
tackle pass, whereby the guns are moved backwards and forwards on board
of ships.
LOOP, a small iron ring or staple, by which the barrel of a gun is
affixed to the stock.
LOOP is likewise used to signify an ornamental part of a regimental
hat.--Every officer in the British service, when dressed in his
uniform, is directed to wear a hat, the loop of which is made of scaled
silver or gold, if in the cavalry; and of gold lace if in the infantry.
General officers wear the scaled loop.
LOOP-_holes_, (_Crénaux_, _Fr._) In fortification, are small holes in
the walls of a castle or fort, through which the garrison may fire. In
field fortification, loop-holes are frequently resorted to.
_To_ LOOSEN, to separate, to make less coherent. In a military sense it
implies to open ranks or files from close order. In marching by files,
the officers and non-commissioned officers should be particularly
attentive to their men, especially when any particular manœuvre
requires a compact and solid movement. To loosen is, in fact, to
lose that firm continuity of line or perpendicular adherence, which
constitutes the true basis of military operations. The lock step was
introduced for the purpose of counteracting the mischievous effects
of loose marching, but it produced a greater inconvenience, and has
therefore been laid aside; and the equal pace and marked time corrects
both.
LOOT. Indian term for plunder or pillage.
LOOTIES or LOOTEES, _Ind._ A term in India to express a body of
irregular horsemen, who plunder and lay waste the country, and harass
the enemy in their march. They may be compared to the Hulans of Europe,
and other free-booters.
LOOTYWALLOW, _Ind._ A term Of the same import as Looties.
_To_ LOT _for men_, a phrase peculiar to military arrangements.
When recruits join they should be lotted for with the strictest
impartiality. If some troops or companies should be less effective than
others, they must be first completed to the strength of other troops or
companies, and then the whole must lot equally.
LOUIS, _or Knight of St. Louis_, the name of a military order in
France, instituted by Louis XIV. in 1693. Their collars were of a flame
color, and passed from left to right: the king was always grand master.
LOUIS d’OR. A French coin first struck in the reign of Louis XIII. in
1640; but laid aside since the revolution.
LOUP, _Fr._ literally signifies a wolf.
LOUP _des anciens_ was an iron instrument, made in the shape of a
tenaille, by means of which they grappled the battering rams and broke
them in the middle. See CROWS-FEET.
LOYAL. By a misapplication of terms has been perverted from its true
signification, a person faithful to the _law_, _loi_, is _loyal_; it is
made to signify, a person who, whether he regarded the _law_ or not,
was called loyal if he supported a king. Hence during the revolutionary
war a regiment was formed, called _Loyal American_.
LOYALISTS. During the American war several Americans who betrayed
their country, served in the British army; and at the conclusion of
it many went over to England and received compensations for their
perfidy to their country. The allowances made on this occasion were
not, however, confined to those that had served; several families had
their cases taken into consideration, and were provided for by the
British government. These compensations did not however give any right
to a military man to avail himself of the allowance on the score of
half-pay; many of these persons have been since used as spies.
LUMIERE, _Fr._ Vent, touch-hole, aperture.
LUMIERE _des pieces d’artillerie, des armes à feu, et de la plûpart
des artifices_, _Fr._ the vent or aperture through which fire is
communicated to cannon, fire-arms, and to almost every species of
artificial fireworks. In the making of cannon, it is of the utmost
consequence to pay minute attention to the vent or touch-hole. It is in
this part that pieces of ordnance are generally found defective, from
the vent being too much widened by repeated firing, and the explosion
of the gunpowder being necessarily weakened.
LUNETTE _d’approche_, _Fr._ a telescope. The French sometimes call them
_Lunettes de Galilèe_, from the perspective glass or telescope having
been invented by Galileo.
LUNETTE _à facettes_, _Fr._ a multiplying glass.
LUNETTE _polyèdre_. _Fr._ a magnifying glass.
LUNETTE _à puce_, _Fr._ a microscope.
LUNETTES, in _fortification_, are works made on both sides of the
ravelin: one of their faces is perpendicular to half or two thirds
of the faces of the ravelin; and the other nearly so to those of the
bastions.
LUNETTES, are also works made beyond the second ditch, opposite to the
place of arms: they differ from the ravelins only in their situation.
See FORTIFICATION.
LUNETTONS, are a smaller sort of _lunettes_.
LUNGER-CONNA. A poor-house or hospital is so called in India.
LUNT. The matchcord with which cannon, &c. are fired.
LUNULÆ. (_Lunules_, _Fr._) In geometry a half moon or crescent, which
is made by the arcs of two intersecting circles. If you inscribe a
triangle-rectangle within a half circle, the diameter of which becomes
the hypothenuse; and if upon each side that compresses the right angle,
as its diameter, you describe a half circle, the space in shape of a
half moon, closed in by the circumference of each of these two circles,
and by a part of the circumference of the great half circle, will form
the figure called Lunula.
LUTTE, _Fr._ Struggle. An exercise of the body, which consists in a
full exertion of all its muscular powers to overcome another body, that
resists with equal force and pertinacity. This sort of exercise was
much encouraged among the ancients. The wrestlers or _lutteurs_, were
distinguished by the name of athletics.
LUXHEBAR. The Indian name for Thursday.
LUZERNE, _Fr._ Spanish trefoil, called likewise in English _Lucerne_. A
species of hay, which is cultivated for the subsistence of horses. It
bears a violet colored flower.
LYCANIANS, (_Lycaniens_, _Fr._) A militia that was formerly raised in
Sclavonia, the troops of which resemble the _Pandours_ and _Warasdins_.
It derives its name from being quartered in the neighborhood of the
lordship of _Lyka_.
LYING, to be actually stationed or quartered in a given place.
_In_-LYING. This term is peculiarly applicable to pickets. A picket
is said to be an _In-lying picket_ when it is confined within the
immediate lines of entrenchments belonging to a camp, or within the
walls of a garrisoned town.
_Out_-LYING _picket_, is that which does duty without the limits of
a camp or garrisoned town; that is, beyond the immediate sentries
belonging to either. Those pickets are likewise called _In-line_ and
_Out-line_ pickets.
_Out_-LYERS, the same as faggots in the line, or among the regulars.
The term out-lyers was a term, however, peculiarly understood among the
guards; and consisted of a certain number of men from each company, who
were permitted to work, on condition that the whole of their pay was
left in the hands of the captain, for the time they were so employed.
This sum the officer appropriated to his own use, and was thereby
enabled not only to increase his pay, but to keep a handsome table
whenever he mounted guard. During the winter months the money arising
from out-lyers amounted to a considerable sum. This was allowed as a
sort of compensation for the expence the captain incurred by the dinner
he gave to his subalterns; and for his contribution to the support of a
regimental hospital. The custom is now abolished, as a table is kept by
the king, and copiously paid for out of the civil list. The following
anecdote, which is related to have occurred in the company that once
belonged to the British general Gansell, (whom Junius notices in his
letters) will shew the absurdity of the old custom, and the wisdom of
its abolition:--A general muster being ordered, it was remarked that
a soldier dressed in new regimentals, and perfectly unknown to every
man in the company, stood to have his name called over: on being asked
to whose company he belonged, he replied, to general Gansell’s: (it
must be here observed, that the general had quitted the guards for
some time.) Who is the present captain? was the next question, or who
are the other officers? To which he briefly replied, I only know the
pay-serjeant. The fact was, that he had been some years in the guards,
and had constantly been an out-lyer.
It was a common practice and continues to be, though not to so great
an extent as formerly, to place the names on the muster rolls of the
children of officers, often their illegitimate children, and instances
have occurred of girls, receiving men’s pay as _out-lyers_.
M.
MAALER, _Ind._ A certificate, which is attested by the principal
inhabitants of a town or village.
MACE. A heavy blunt weapon, having a metal head: a club.
MACHICOULIS, or _Masse-coulis_, _Fr._ In ancient, and sometimes in
modern fortification, that upper part of the wall which is sustained by
brackets or corbels, jets out and overlooks the gate or ditch.
When a place is besieged, detached parties of the garrison may be
posted in the several machicoulises. Through the intervals of the
corbels, or supporting brackets, they may easily observe every thing
that passes at the foot of the wall; and if the besiegers should be
hardy enough to penetrate as far, they may easily overwhelm them by
throwing down large stones, combustible materials, hand-grenades or
bombs. These brackets or supporters, which in ancient fortification
were of a slight construction, might be made of solid materials. The
machicoulis, in fact, is susceptible of great improvement; and in
many instances might be adopted in order to defend the lower parts of
angular forts or turrets.
MACHINES. _Machines_, _Fr._
MACHINES _used in war by the ancients_. Every species of instrument or
machine, which was employed before the invention of fire-arms, for the
purpose of demolishing the fortifications of an enemy, or of rendering
them accessible to the besieger, came under the denomination of
machine. For a full and elaborate explanation of the different machines
that were adopted by the ancients, we refer our military readers to the
second volume of the _Recueil Alphabetique_, page 73.
MACHINES _Infernales_, _Fr._ Infernal machines. Although the first
idea of these machines has been attributed to France, the invention,
nevertheless, is by no means new. Frederic Jambelli, an Italian
engineer, was the first that used them, when Alexander, of Parma,
besieged Antwerp. The prince of Orange likewise had recourse to the
destructive effects of an infernal machine, in order to bombard
Havre-de-Grace, and to set it on fire. The Dutch and English, in
conjunction, attempted to destroy St. Malo by the same means. The
first instance, however, upon record, in which the French made use of
this machine, was when Louis the XIVth ordered a vessel, carrying an
enormous shell, full of every species of combustible matter, to be
dispatched to Algiers, for the purpose of demolishing its harbor.
This, the English say, suggested to other nations the adoption of
fire-ships, and other destructive machines, which have frequently been
used against maritime places, although they had been in use a century
before.
The author of _Oeuvres Militaires_, tom. xxii. page 222, speaking of
the infernal machines, observes, that if he were to be in a situation
which required the use of so dreadful an explosion, especially to
destroy a bridge, he would prefer having the machine made simply with
different strong pieces of wood joined together, so as to be in the
shape of an egg, or of a cone reversed. The whole must then be made
compact with cords twisted round it. This method, in his opinion, is
not only the best, but can be executed in the most easy and expeditious
manner. He further adds, that in order to burn and blow up wooden
bridges, and even to destroy such as are constructed upon arches,
several sorts of barges or boats might be used, which should be filled
with fireworks, bombs, petards, &c. It would likewise be extremely easy
to construct these machines upon floating rafters, carrying several
thousand pounds weight of gunpowder, which might be confined within
strong pieces of wood, put together in the manner already described.
These machines should be piled one above the other, and long iron bars
must be thrown across the floats, or be fixed like masts, so that when
the whole of the combustible materials is beneath the centre of the
bridge, the rafters may be stopped. Great care must be taken to dispose
the matches in such a manner that no fire may be communicated to the
gunpowder before the machine reaches the exact spot which is to be
destroyed.
MACHINE, in _general_, whatever hath force sufficient to raise or stop
the motion of a heavy body.
MACHINES are either simple or compound: the simple ones are the seven
mechanical powers, viz. lever, balance, pully, axis, and wheel, screw,
and inclined plane. See MECHANICAL POWERS.
If the given power is not able to overcome the given resistance when
directly applied, that is, when the power applied is less than the
weight or resonance given; then the thing is to be performed by the
help of a _machine_, made with levers, wheels, pullies, screws, &c.
so adjusted, that when the weight and power are put in motion on the
_machine_, the velocity of the power may be at least so much greater
than that of the weight, as the weight and friction of the _machine_,
taken together, is greater than the power; for on this principle
depends the mechanism or contrivance of all mechanical engines used
to draw or raise heavy bodies, or overcome any other force; the whole
design of these being to give such a velocity to the power, in respect
of the weight, as that the momentum of the power may exceed the
momentum of the weight: for if _machines_ are so contrived, that the
velocity of the agent and resistant are reciprocally as their forces,
the agent will just sustain the resistant, but with a greater degree of
velocity will overcome it. So that if the excess of motion or velocity
in the power is so great as to overcome all that resistance which
commonly arises from the friction or attraction of contiguous bodies,
as they slide by one another, or from the cohesion of bodies that are
to be separated, or from the weights of bodies that are to be raised:
the excess of the force remaining, after all these resistances are
overcome, will produce an acceleration of motion thereto, as well in
the parts of the _machine_, as in the resisting body.
_Compound_ MACHINES, are formed by various combinations, and serve for
different purposes; in all which the same general law takes place, viz.
that the power and weight sustain each other, when they are in the
inverse proportion of the velocities they would have in the directions
wherein they act, if they were put in motion. Now, to apply this law to
any compound _machine_, there are four things to be considered: 1. The
moving power, or the force that puts the _machine_ in motion; which may
be either men or other animals, weights, springs, the wind, a stream of
water, &c. 2. The velocity of this power, or the space it moves over in
a given time. 3. The resistance, or quantity of weight to be removed.
4. The velocity of this weight, or the space it moves over in the same
given time.
The two first of these quantities are always in the reciprocal
proportion of the two last; that is, the product of the first two must
always be equal to that of the last; hence, three of these quantities
being given, it is easy to find the fourth; for example, if the
quantity of the power be 4, its velocity 15, and the velocity of the
weight 2, then the resistance, or quantity of the weight, will be equal
to
4 × 15 60
------ = -- = 30.
2 2
The following rules will direct the mechanic how he may contrive
his _machine_, that it may answer the intended purpose, to the best
advantage.
1. Having assigned the proportion of your power, and the weight to be
raised, the next thing is to consider how to combine levers, wheels,
pullies, &c. so that working together they may be able to give a
velocity to the power, which shall be to that of the weight something
greater than in the proportion of the weight to the power. This done,
you must estimate your quantity of friction; and if the velocity of
the power be to that of the weight still in a greater proportion than
the weight and friction taken together are to the power; then your
_machine_ will be able to raise the weight. And note, this proportion
must be so much greater, as you would have your engine work faster.
2. But the proportion of the velocity of the power and weight must
not be made too great: for it is a fault to give a _machine_ too much
power, as well as too little; for if the power can raise the weight and
overcome the resistance, and the engine perform its proper effect in a
convenient time and work well, it is sufficient for the end proposed;
and it is in vain to make additions to the engine to increase the power
any farther; for that would not only be a needless expence, but the
engine would lose time in working.
3. As to the power applied to work the engine, it may either be a
living power, as men, horses, &c. or an artificial power, as a spring,
&c. or a natural power, as wind, water, fire, weights, &c.
When the quantity of the power is known, it matters not, as to the
effect, what kind of power it is; for the same quantity of any sort
will produce the same effect; and different sorts of powers may be
applied in an equal quantity a great variety of ways.
The most easy power applied to a _machine_ is weight, if it be capable
of effecting the thing designed. If not, then wind, water, &c. if that
can be conveniently had, and without much expence.
A spring is also a convenient moving power for several _machines_:
but it never acts equally as the weight does; but is stronger when
much bent, than when but a little bent, and that in proportion to the
bending, or the distance it is forced to; but springs grow weaker by
often bending or remaining long bent: yet they recover part of their
strength by lying unbent.
The natural powers, wind and water, may be applied to vast advantage
in working great engines, when managed with skill and judgment.--The
due application of these has much abridged the labors of men; for
there is scarce any labor to be performed, but an ingenious artificer
can tell how to apply these powers to execute his design, and answer
his purpose; for any constant motion being given, it may, by due
application, be made to produce any other motions we desire. Therefore
these powers are the most easy and useful, and of the greatest benefit
to mankind. Besides, they cost nothing, and do not require any
repetition nor renewing, like a weight or a spring, which require to be
wound up. When these cannot be had, or cannot serve our end, we have
recourse to some living power, as men, horses, &c.
4. Men may apply their strength several ways in working a _machine_. A
man of ordinary strength, turning a roller by the handle, can act for
a whole day against a resistance equal to 30 pounds weight; and if he
works ten hours in a day, he will raise a weight 30lb. 3¹⁄₂ feet in a
second; or if the weight be greater, he will raise it so much less in
proportion.
But a man may act, for a small time, against a resistance of 50lb. or
more.
If two men work at a windlass or roller, they can more easily draw up
70lb. than one man 30lb. provided the elbow of one of the handles be
at right angles to that of the other: and with a fly or heavy wheel
applied to it, a man may do ¹⁄₃d part more work; and for a little while
act with a force, or overcome a continual resistance of 80lb. and work
a whole day when the resistance is but 40lb.
Men used to carrying weighty burdens, such as porters, will carry some
150lb. others 200lb. or 250lb. according to their strength.
A man can draw but about 70 or 80lb. horizontally; for he can but apply
half his weight.
If the weight of a man be 140lb. he can act with no greater force in
thrusting horizontally, at the height of his shoulders, than 27lb.
A horse draws to greatest advantage, when the line of direction is
a little elevated above the horizon, and the power acts against his
breast: and can draw 200lb. for eight hours in a day, at two miles and
an half an hour. If he draws 240lb. he can work but six hours, and not
quite so fast; and, in both cases, if he carries some weight he will
draw better than if he carried none. And this is the weight a horse
is supposed to be able to draw over a pully out of a well. In a cart
a horse may draw 1000lb. The most force a horse can exert is when he
draws something above a horizontal direction.
The worst way of applying the strength of a horse, is to make him draw
or carry up a hill: and three men with 100lb. on their backs, will
climb up a steep hill faster than a horse with 300lb.
A round walk for a horse to draw in at a mill, &c. should not be less
than 40 feet diameter.
5. Every machine should be made of as few parts, and those as simple as
possible, to answer its purpose; not only because the expence of making
and repairing will be less, but it will also be less liable to be put
out of order.
6. If a weight is to be raised but a very little way, the lever is the
most simple, easy, and ready machine; or, if the weight be very great,
the common screw is most proper; but if the weight is to be raised a
great way, the wheel and axle is a proper power, but blocks and pullies
render the labor still more easy: the same may be done by the perpetual
screw.
Great wheels, to be wrought by men or cattle, are of most use and
convenience when their axles are perpendicular to the horizon; but if
by water, &c. then it is best to have their axles horizontal.
7. As to the combination of simple _machines_ to make a compound one,
though the lever when simple cannot raise a weight to any great
height, and in this case is but of little service; yet it is of great
use when compounded with others. Thus the spokes of a great wheel are
all levers perpetually acting; and a beam fixed to the axis to draw
the wheel about by men or horses, is a lever. The lever also may be
combined with the screw, but not conveniently with pullies or with the
wedge. The wheel and axle is combined to great advantage with pullies:
but the perpetual screw, with the wheel is very serviceable. The
wedge cannot be combined with any other mechanical power; and it only
performs its effect by percussion; but this force of percussion may be
increased by engines.
Pullies may be combined with pullies, and wheels with wheels. Therefore
if any single wheel would be too large, and take up too much room, it
may be divided into two or three more wheels and trundles, or wheels
and pinions, as in clock work, so as to have the same power, and
perform the same effect.
In wheels with teeth, the number of teeth that play together in two
wheels, should be prime to each other, that the same teeth may not meet
at every revolution: for when different teeth meet, they by degrees
wear themselves into a proper figure: therefore they should so be
contrived that the same teeth meet as seldom as possible.
8. The strength of every part of the _machine_ should be made
proportional to the stress it is to bear: and therefore let every lever
be made so much stronger, as its length and the weight it is to support
are greater; and let its strength diminish proportionally from the
fulcrum, or point where the greatest stress is to each end. The axles
of wheels and pullies must be so much stronger as they are to bear
greater weight. The teeth of wheels, and the wheels themselves, which
act with greater force, must be proportionally stronger; and in any
combination of wheels and axles, make their strength diminish gradually
from the weight to the power, so that the strength of every part be
reciprocally as its velocity. The strength of ropes must be according
to their tension; that is, as the squares of their diameters: and, in
general, whatever parts a _machine_ is composed of, the strength of
every particular part of it must be adjusted to the stress upon the
whole; therefore in square beams the cubes of the diameters must be
made proportional to the stress they bear: and let no part be stronger
or bigger than is necessary for the stress upon it; not only for the
ease and well going of the _machine_, but for diminishing the friction;
for all superfluous matter in any part of it, is a dead weight upon the
machine, and serves only to impede its motion: hence he is the most
perfect mechanic, who not only adjusts the strength to the stress, but
who also contrives all the parts to last equally well, so that the
whole _machine_ may fall together.
9. To have the friction as little as possible, the _machine_ should be
made of the fewest and simplest parts. The diameters of the wheels and
pullies should be large, and the diameters of the arbors or spindles
they run on, as small as can be consistent with their strength. All
ropes and cords must be as pliable as possible, and for that end rubbed
with tar or grease: the teeth of wheels must be made to fit and fill
up the openings, and cut into the form of epicycloids. All the axles,
where the motion is, and all teeth where they work, and all parts that
in working rub upon one another, must be made smooth: and when the
machine goes, must be oiled or greased.
10. When any motion is to be long continued, contrive the power to move
or act always one way, if it can be done, for this is better and easier
performed than when the motion is interrupted, and the power is forced
to move first one way, and then another; because every change of motion
requires a new additional force to effect it. Besides, a body in motion
cannot suddenly receive a contrary motion, without great violence:
and the moving any part of the _machine_ contrary ways by turns, with
sudden jerks, tends only to shake the _machine_ to pieces.
11. In a _machine_ that moves always one way, endeavor to have the
motion uniform.
12. But when the nature of the thing requires that a motion is to be
suddenly communicated to a body, or suddenly stopped: to prevent any
damage or violence to the engine by a sudden jolt, let the force act
against some spring, or beam of wood, which may supply the place of a
spring.
13. In regard to the size of the _machine_, let it be made as large
as it can conveniently; the greater the machine, the more exact it
will work, and perform all its motions the better; for there will
always be some errors in the making, as well as in the materials,
and consequently in the working of the _machine_. The resistance of
the medium in some _machines_ has a sensible effect; but all these
mechanical errors bear a less proportion in the motion of great
machines, than in that of little ones; being nearly reciprocally as
their diameters, supposing they are made of the same matter, and with
the same accuracy, and are equally well finished.
14. For engines that go by water, it is necessary to measure the
velocity, drop in pieces of sticks, &c. and observe how far they are
carried in a second, or any given time.
But if it flows through a hole in a reservoir, or standing receptacle
of water, the velocity will be found from the depth of the whole below
the surface.
Thus let _s_ = 16¹⁄₁₂; _v_ = velocity of the fluid per second; _B_ =
the area of the hole; _H_ = the height of the water; all in feet.
Then the velocity of _v_ = √(2 _s H_); and its force = the weight of the
quantity
_v v_
-----_B_
2 _s_
or _H B_ of water, or =
62¹⁄₂
-----_H B_
112
hundred weight: because a cubic foot = 62¹⁄₂ lb. avoirdup. Also a
hogshead is about 8¹⁄₂ feet, or 531lb. and a tun is 4 hogsheads.
When you have but a small quantity of water, you must contrive it to
fall as high as you can, to have the greater velocity, and consequently
more force upon the engine.
15. If water is to be conveyed through pipes to a great distance, and
the descent be but small, much larger pipes must be used because the
water will come slow.
Water should not be driven through pipes faster than four feet per
second, by reason of the friction of the tubes; nor should it be too
much wire-drawn, that is, squeezed through smaller pipes, for that
creates a resistance, as water-way is less in narrow pipes.
16. When any thing is to be performed by a water-wheel, moved by the
water running under it and striking the paddles or ladle-boards, the
channel it moves in ought to be something wider than the hole of the
adjutage, and so close to the floats on every side as to let little
or no water pass; and when past the wheel, to open a little, that the
water may spread. It is of no advantage to have a great number of
floats or paddles; for those past the perpendicular are resisted by
the back water, and those before it are struck obliquely. The greatest
effect that such a wheel can perform, in communicating any motion, is
when the paddles of the wheel move with one-third the velocity of the
water; in which case, the force upon the paddle is four-ninths only;
supposing the absolute force of the water against the paddle, when
the wheel stands still, to be 1: so that the utmost motion which the
wheel can generate, is but ⁴⁄₂₇ths of that which the force of the water
against the paddles at rest would produce.
MADRAS. Fort St. George. A town and fort on the Coromandel coast,
in the East Indies, belonging to the English. The town is called
Madras by the inhabitants, but by the natives, Chilipatam. It is
divided into two towns, the one called the White, and the other the
Black town; the former being inhabited by Europeans, and the latter
by Gentoos. The diamond mines of Golconda are a week’s journey from
this place. The town is governed by a mayor and aldermen, with other
officers. It is 63 miles north of Pondicherry, lat. 13, 5, N. long.
80, 34, E. It may not be irrelevant to state, that the establishments
belonging to Great Britain, on the coast of Coromandel, is divided
into several governments, independent of each other. Bombay commands
the factories on the western side of the peninsula, commonly called
the Malabar coast; together with those in Guzzerat: the establishments
and possessions on the eastern or Coromandel coast, are under the
government of Madras; and those in Bengal depend on Calcutta.
MADRIERS, are long planks of broad wood, used for supporting the earth
in mining, carrying on a sap, making coffers, caponiers, galleries, and
various other purposes at a siege; also to cover the mouth of petards
after they are loaded, and are fixed with the petards to the gates or
other places designed to be forced open. When the planks are not strong
enough, they are doubled with plates of iron.
MAGAZIN, _Fr._ magazine.
_Petit_-MAGAZIN. _Fr._ This was a sort of intermediate building, called
entrepot, where stores, provisions, &c. to answer daily consumptions
were deposited.
MAGAZIN _d’approvisionnement_, _Fr._ magazine of stores.
MAGAZIN _d’artillerie_, _Fr._ gunpowder magazines.
MAGAZINE, a place in which stores are kept, or arms, ammunition,
provisions, &c. Every fortified town ought to be furnished with a large
magazine, which should contain stores of all kinds, sufficient to
enable the garrison and inhabitants to hold out a long siege, and in
which smiths, carpenters, wheel-wrights, bakers, &c. may be employed in
making every thing belonging to the artillery, as carriages, waggons,
&c.
_Powder_-MAGAZINE, is that place where the powder is kept in very
large quantities. Authors differ greatly both in regard to situation
and construction; but all agree, that they ought to be arched, and
bomb-proof. In fortifications they are frequently placed in the
rampart; but of late they have been built in different parts of the
town. The first powder magazines were made with gothic arches; but M.
Vauban, finding them too weak, constructed them in a semicircular form,
whose dimensions are, 60 feet long, within; 25 broad; the foundations
are eight or nine feet thick, and eight feet high from the foundation
to the spring of the arch; the floor is 2 feet from the ground, which
keeps it from dampness.
An engineer of great experience some time since, had observed, that
after the centres of semicircular arches are struck, they settle at
the crown and rise up at the hances, even with a straight horizontal
extrados, and still much more so in powder magazines, whose outside at
top is formed like the roof of a house, by two inclined planes joining
in an angle over the top of the arch, to give a proper descent to the
rain; which effects are exactly what might be expected agreeable to the
true theory of arches. Now, as this shrinking of the arches must be
attended with very ill consequences, by breaking the texture of the
cement, after it has been in some degree dried, and also by opening the
joints of the voussoirs, at one end, so a remedy is provided for this
inconvenience, with regard to bridges, by the _arch of equilibration_
in Mr. Hutton’s book on bridges; but as the ill effect is much greater
in powder magazines, the same ingenious gentleman proposed to find an
arch of equilibration for them also, and to construct it when the span
is 20 feet the pich or height 10, (which are the same dimensions as the
semicircle) the inclined exterior walls at top forming an angle of 113
degrees, and the height of their angular point above the top of the
arch, equal to seven feet: this very curious question was answered in
1775 by the Rev. Mr. Wildbore, to be found in Mr. Hutton’s _Miscellanea
Mathematica_.
_Artillery_-MAGAZINE, in a _siege_, the magazine is made about 25 or 30
yards behind the battery, towards the parallels, and at least 3 feet
under ground, to hold the powder, loaded shells, port-fires, &c. Its
sides and roof must be well secured with boards to prevent the earth
from falling in: a door is made to it, and a double trench or passage
is sunk from the magazine to the battery, one to go in and the other to
come out at, to prevent confusion. Sometimes traverses are made in the
passages to prevent ricochet shot from plunging into them.
MAGAZINES. The present practice is not to make large powder magazines
for batteries, but to disperse the barrels of powder, or cartridges
_here_ and _there_ in small magazines, about 6 or 7 fathoms, in the
rear of the battery; as it appears better to lose a small quantity
from time to time, than to run the risk of the whole being destroyed,
by a single shell falling into the magazine. These small magazines
or entrenchments, will hold about one or two tons of powder; and are
about eight or 9 feet square. They ought to be well covered from the
fire of the place, and always in the rear of one of the merlons. When
they cannot be sunk in the ground, they should be secured by sand
bags or gabions. They should be made with attention, as should the
communication from them to the battery. Two magazines of this kind will
be required for a battery of six pieces.
_Permanent powder magazines._ According to Vauban’s plan, powder
magazines are commonly made 10 fathoms long, and 25 feet wide, in the
clear. The foundation of the longest sides, is 9 or 10 feet thick,
and 6 feet or more deep, according to the nature of the ground. The
side walls raised upon these are 8 or 9 feet thick; and if there is
not to be an upper story, 8 feet will be sufficient height above the
foundation. By this means the flooring may be raised above the ground,
free from damp, and there will remain 6 feet from the floor to the
spring of the arch. The arch is formed of layers of bricks, arched one
over the other, and ought to be 3 feet thick at the top. The exterior
surface of the arch terminates with an angle at top, like a roof; which
angle must be of such magnitude as to make a thickness of 8 feet over
the key stone of the arch. The foundation at the gable ends is 5 feet
thick, and the same depth as the sides; these ends are built up 4 feet
thick, from the foundation to the top of the roof. The long sides are
supported by counterforts, 6 feet thick and 4 feet long; and placed 12
feet asunder. The ventilators are placed, one in the centre of each
space between the counterforts, and are made with a die across them of
1¹⁄₂ feet. These ventilators are also closed with plates of iron. The
magazine is lighted by a window in each end, high up, which are opened
and shut by means of a ladder. These windows are secured, each by two
shutters, made of plank 2 or 3 inches thick; and the outer one covered
with sheet iron, and both fastened with strong bolts. The entrance to
the magazine is closed by two doors, one of which opens inwards, and
the other outwards; the outward one is covered with sheet iron. The
entrance of the magazine should, if possible, be placed towards the
south. A wall of 1¹⁄₂ feet thick, and 10 feet high, is built round the
magazine at 12 feet distance. A magazine of the above dimensions will
contain about 94,800 lbs. of powder, in piles of 3 barrels each; for a
greater number piled above each other destroys the barrels, damages the
powder, and occasions accidents.
MAGNITUDE, or quantity, any thing locally continued, or that has
several dimensions. Its origin is a point, which though void of parts,
yet its flux forms a line, the flux of that a surface, and of that a
body, &c.
MAGNA CHARTA, the great charter of liberties granted to the people
of England in the 9th year of Henry III. and confirmed by Edward I.
It is so called on account of the supposed excellence of the laws
therein contained; or according to some writers, because another lesser
charter, called Charter de Foresta, was established with it; or because
it contained more than any other charter, &c. or in regard of the
remarkable solemnity in the denouncing excommunications against the
infringers of it. It is nevertheless a code of barbarity characteristic
of the age; and to which imposture has given it all the consequence
which ignorance ascribes to it.
MAHONNE, _Fr._ a species of galeas or double galley which the Turks
use. The Venetian galeasses are larger and stronger built.
MAIDEN, an edged instrument used at Edinburgh in former times for the
decapitation of criminals. The original invention is by some attributed
to an inhabitant of Halifax, in Yorkshire. The guillotine, so called
from a French physician of that name, and by which the unfortunate
Louis the Sixteenth was executed, January 21st, 1793, owes its origin
to the Maiden.
MAIL, primarily denotes the holes or meshes in a net: it likewise
signifies a round iron ring. Hence
_Coat of_ MAIL, a coat of armor or steel net-work, anciently worn for
defence.
MAILLET, _Fr._ a mallet. The French formerly made use of this
instrument as an offensive weapon in their engagements.
In 1351 the mallet was used at the famous battle _des Trente_ (of
thirty) which derived its name from the number of combatants that
fought on each side.
This extraordinary combat, holds a distinguished place in the history
of Britanny, and was entered into by the partisans of Charles of Blois,
and the king of France on one side, and by the count Montfort and the
king of England on the other.
Under the reign of Charles VI. a Parisian mob forced the arsenal, took
out a large quantity of mallets, with which they armed themselves for
the purpose of murdering the custom-house officers. The persons who
assembled on this occasion were afterwards called Maillotins.
In the days of Louis XII. the English archers carried mallets as
offensive weapons.
MAILLOTIN, _Fr._ an old French term; which signified, an ancient weapon
that was used to attack men who wore helmets and cuirasses. A faction
in France was distinguished by the appellation of Maillotins.
MAIN _Armée_, _Fr._ Armed force.--_Entrer a main armée dans un pays_,
is to enter into a country with armed men.
MAIN. _Venir aux mains_, _Fr._ To come to close action.
MAIN-BATTLE. See BATTLE-ARRAY.
MAIN-BODY _of the army_, the body of troops that march between the
advance and rear-guards. In a camp, that part of the army encamped
between the right and left wings.
MAIN-GUARD, or grand-guard, a body of horse posted before a camp for
the security of an army. In garrison, it is a guard generally mounted
by a subaltern officer and about 24 men. See GUARD.
MAIN-_Guard_. The French observed the following general maxims, with
respect to their _Grandes-Gardes_ or main-guards. In the first place,
every main-guard on foot or horseback, must be so posted as to remain
secure of not being surprised and carried off, nor easily forced to
abandon its position. In order to accomplish these two objects, it
must constantly be within the reach of the different piquets; and, if
necessary, those piquets should be readily supported by the army itself.
MAINTAIN, when any body of men defend a place or post, against the
attacks of an adverse party, they are said to _maintain_ it.
MAJOR. A superior officer in the army, whose functions vary according
to the nature of the service on which he is employed.
MAJOR _of a regiment of foot_, the next officer to the
lieutenant-colonel, generally promoted from the eldest captain: he is
to take care that the regiment be well exercised, to see it march in
good order, and to rally it in case of being broke in action: he is
the only officer among the infantry that is allowed to be on horseback
in time of action, that he may the more readily execute the colonel’s
orders.
_The_ MAJOR _of a regiment of horse_ as well as foot, ought to be a man
of honor, integrity, understanding, courage, activity, experience, and
address: he should be master of arithmetic, and keep a detail of the
regiment in every particular: he should be skilled in horsemanship, and
ever attentive to his business: one of his principal functions is, to
keep an exact roster of the officers for duty; he should have a perfect
knowlege in all the military evolutions, as he is obliged by his post
to instruct others, &c.
_Town_-MAJOR, the third officer in order in a garrison, and next to
the deputy-governor. He should understand fortification, and has a
particular charge of the guards, rounds, patroles, and centinels.
_Brigade_-MAJOR, is a particular officer appointed for that purpose,
only in camp: or attached to a brigade when an army is brigaded; he
goes every day to head quarters to receive orders from the adjutant
general: from thence he goes and gives the orders, at the place
appointed for that purpose, to the different majors or adjutants of
the regiments which compose his brigade, and regulates with them the
number of officers and men which each are to furnish for the duty of
the army; taking care to keep an exact roster, that one may not give
more than another, and that each march in their tour; in short, the
major of brigade is charged with the particular detail in his own
brigade, in much the same way as the adjutant-general is charged with
the general detail of the duty of the army. He sends every morning to
the adjutant-general an exact return, by battalion and company, of the
men of his brigade missing at the retreat, or a report, expressing that
none are absent: he also mentions the officers absent with or without
leave.
As all orders pass through the hands of the majors of brigade, they
have infinite occasions of making known their talents and exactness.
MAJOR _of Artillery_, is also the next officer to the
lieutenant-colonel. His post is very laborious, as the whole detail
of the corps particularly rests with him; and for this reason all the
non-commissioned officers are subordinate to him, as his title of
serjeant-major imports; in this quality they must render him an exact
account of every thing which comes to their knowlege, either regarding
the duty or wants of the artillery and soldiers. He should possess
a perfect knowlege of the power of artillery, together with all its
evolutions. In the field he goes daily to receive orders from the
brigade-major, and communicates them with the parole to his superiors,
and then dictates them to the adjutant. He should be a very good
mathematician, and be well acquainted with every thing belonging to the
train of artillery, &c.
MAJOR _of engineers_, should be very well skilled in military
architecture, fortification, gunnery, and mining. He should know how to
fortify in the field, to attack and defend all sorts of posts, and to
conduct the works in a siege, &c. See ENGINEER.
_Aid_-MAJOR, is on sundry occasions appointed to act as major, who has
a pre-eminence above others of the same denomination. Our horse and
foot guards have their guidons, or second and third majors.
_Serjeant_-MAJOR, is a non-commissioned officer, of great merit and
capacity, subordinate to the adjutant, as he is to the major. See
SERJEANT.
_Drum_-MAJOR, is not only the first drummer in the regiment, but has
the same authority over his drummers as the corporal has over his
squad. He instructs them in their different beats; is daily at orders
with the serjeants, to know the number of drummers for duty. He marches
at their head when they beat in a body. In the day of battle, or at
exercise, he must be very attentive to the orders given him, that he
may regulate his beats according to the movements ordered.
_Fife_-MAJOR, is he that plays the best on that instrument, and has the
same authority over the fifers as the drum-major has over the drummers.
He teaches them their duty, and appoints them for guards, &c.
MAJOR-_General_. See GENERAL.
MAJOR, _Fr._ The French considered this term, in a military sense,
under the following heads:--
MAJOR-_Général d’une Armée_, _Fr._ Major-general generally so called,
which see.
MAJOR-_Général de l’Infanterie Francoise_, _Fr._ Major-general of the
French infantry. This appointment was made under Francis the 1st in
1515.
MAJOR-_Général des Dragons_, _Fr._ a major-general of dragoons. His
functions were similar to those exercised by the _Maréchal-géneral
des logis de la Cavalerie_; and nearly the same as those of the
major-general of infantry.
MAJOR _de Brigade_, _Fr._ Brigade-major.
MAJOR _d’un Régiment de Cavalerie_, _Fr._ Major in a regiment of
cavalry.
MAJOR _d’un Régiment d’Infanterie_, _Fr._ Major of a regiment of
infantry. Under the old government of France all majors of infantry
regiments, were styled sergent-majors, or serjeant-majors in their
commissions. They were not permitted to have any company of their own:
because it was reasonably judged, that their own interest might render
them more partial to that company, and the service be thereby injured.
MAJOR _d’une Place de Guerre_, _Fr._ Town-major.
MAJOR, _des quatres compagnies des Gardes du corps_, _Fr._ A rank which
was exclusively given to an officer belonging to the old French guards.
This was an appointment of considerable trust under the old government
of France. He was lieutenant in each of the companies; and had the
right of seniority over all lieutenants younger than himself in date of
commission.
MAJOR _sur un vaisseau de guerre_, _Fr._ An officer on board a ship
of war, whose duty it was to see the guard regularly mounted, and the
sentries posted.
_Etat_-MAJOR, _Fr._ A comprehensive French term, in which is included
every thing that can be conveyed under the word staff, as applicable to
the British service. In a very recent publication, intituled, _Manuel
des Adjudans-Généraux et leurs Adjoints_, the particular duties of the
etat-major are accurately explained, of which an entire translation is
incorporated with the _American Military Library_. Another work on the
same subject, was published in 1809, by general _Grimoard_, entitled
_Traité sur le Service des Armées contenant son organisation, et ses
fonctions sous les rapports administratifs et Militaires_, with plates.
The author began this work in 1778, and part of it was published in
1797, in the _Encyclopédie Methodique_. This work has superceded the
work of Thiebault, only on account of its being more comprehensive;
their views and principles are the same.
MAJOR-_Dome_, _Fr._ An officer belonging to the gallies, who has the
chief superintendance of provisions.
MAJORITY, the office, charge, or appointment of a regimental major.
MAIRE, _Fr._ Under the old government of France the person so called
was invested with the first dignity of the kingdom. Charles Martel, of
whom so much is said in the history of the French kings, was _Maire_ of
the palace. He was, in fact, grand master of the king’s household, and
had an entire control over the officers belonging to that establishment.
The appellation of _Maire du Palais_, or mayor of the palace, was given
in lieu of _Maitre du Palais_, or master of the palace. This name was
borrowed from the Roman emperors, who had each a grand master of the
palace. Du Tillet, a French author, in page 12 of his book, pretends
that the word is derived from _Mer_, which signifies _Præfect_.
At first he had only the care and superintendance of the king’s
household, so that his functions were nearly similar to those that
were exercised by the grand master of the king’s household previous
to the Revolution. During the reign of Clotaire the Second, the power
of the _Maires_ increased very considerably. Their influence grew
greater through the weakness and effeminacy of the last kings of the
second race; so much so, that they maintained an uncontroled power
over the royal expenditure, and had the sole management of the king’s
affairs. Pepin added the dignity and functions or Maire to the royal
prerogative; but he did not suppress them wholly. He merely limited
his functions to what they were originally; which however were soon
restored, in consequence of the fall and extinction of the second
race. As the Maires possessed an unlimited control over the finances
and judicature of the country, and had more over the entire management
of the war department, they found little difficulty in assuming a
superiority over all the officers belonging to the crown. They took
precedence of all dukes and counts who were the governors of provinces.
On which account they were called _Ducs des Ducs_, or dukes of France.
Hugh Capet was duke of France at the time he proclaimed himself king of
the country; but the kings belonging to the third race, being convinced
that the authority which was thus vested in one person, must eventually
prove extremely dangerous, abolished the office of _Maire du Palais_,
or duke of France. They divided the functions, and created the four
great officers that were immediately attached to the crown. The command
and superintendance of the army, were entrusted to the constable; the
administration of civil justice was vested in the chancellor; the
management of the finances was given to the grand treasurer, and the
care of the king’s household devolved upon the seneschal, who was
afterwards styled grand master.
MAISON-_du-Roi_, _Fr._ The king’s household. Certain select bodies of
troops were so called during the monarchy of France, and consisted of
the _gardes du corps_ or body-guards, the _Gendarmes_, _Chevaux legers_
or light horse, _Mousquetaires_ or musqueteers, _la gendarmerie_,
_grenadiers à cheval_ or horse-grenadiers, the regiments belonging to
the French and Swiss guards, and the _cent Suisses_ or hundred Swiss
guards. The _Maison-du-Roi_ or king’s household, was not considered as
a separate establishment from the rest of the army, until the reign of
Louis IV. This establishment was successively formed by different kings
out of militia companies, which they took into their body guard.
MAISON _Meurtriere_, _Fr._ This term was formerly given to casemates.
MAITRE _des armes_, _Fr._ Master at arms. An officer, during the
existence of the Grecian empire, who took precedence of the _Maitre de
la milice_, or commander of the militia.
MAITRE _d’armes_, _Fr._ A term in general use among the French,
signifying a fencing master. Every regiment has a _maitre d’armes_
attached to it.
MAKE-_Ready_, a word of command in the firing, on which the soldier
brings his piece to the _recover_, at the same time cocking it ready
for firing.
MAL _d’armée_, _Fr._ A sort of contagious disorder which sometimes
rages in an army, and is occasioned by too much fatigue, or by bad food.
MAL-_de-Mer_, _Fr._ Sea-sickness.
MAL-_de-Terre_, _Fr._ The scurvy is so called by the French.
MALABAR GUNS, _Ind._ Heavy pieces of ordnance, which are made in the
Malabar country, and are formed by means of iron bars joined together
with hoops. They are very long, and extremely unwieldy.
MALADES, _Fr._ The sick.
_Soldats_-MALADES, _Fr._ Soldiers on the sick list.
MALANDRINS, _Fr._ a set of free-booters, who under the reign of
Charles V. infested France. During the 14th century, these plunderers
made their appearance twice in considerable bodies. They consisted
chiefly of discharged soldiers who formed themselves into marauding
parties, and pillaged with impunity all the travellers they met. _Abbé
de Choisi_, relates that it was extremely hazardous to oppose them
in their first onset. These pillagers, whom the inhabitants called
_Malandrins_, assembled in different cantons, chose their own leaders,
and observed a sort of discipline in their depredations.
They usually contrived to station themselves in such a manner, that it
was impossible to attack them.
They plundered or destroyed many places and buildings through which
they passed, and paid no regard to church or state. Their principal
and most notorious leaders, were the Chevalier de Vert, brother to
the count d’Auxerre, Hugues de Caurelée, Mathieu de Gournar, Hugues
de Varennes, Gauthier Huet, and Robert Lescot, who all belonged to
some order of knighthood. Bertrand du Guesclin cleared the country of
these dangerous and unprincipled men, by leading them into Spain under
a pretence of fighting the Moors, when in reality his object was to
attack Peter the cruel. See French Hist. de Charles V. liv. 1. page 86.
MALINGERER, (from the French) one who feigns illness to avoid his duty.
MALINGRE, _Fr._ peaking, sickly.
MALL. See MAUL.
MALLET, a wooden hammer, to drive the pegs into the ground, by which
a tent is fastened; it is likewise used on various other occasions,
especially in fortification and artillery.
MALLEABLE, in the art of founding, a property of metals, whereby they
are capable of being extended under the hammer.
MALTA. The strongest place in the Mediterranean, taken by the French
troops during the present war, from the knights of that order, and
since re-taken by the British. The island of Malta may be considered as
a key to the Levant. See MILITARY orders.
MAMMILLIARIA, (_Mammellieres_, _Fr._) a word corrupted from the Latin,
signifying a sort of armor, or that part of armor which formerly
covered the chest and nipples. _Etienne de la fontaine_, who was silver
smith to the French court, mentions among other articles two sets of
_Mammillieries_, in an account which was delivered in the year 1352.
MAMALUKES, (_Mammelucs_, _Fr._) Some writers assert that they were
Turkish and Circassian slaves, originally purchased from the wandering
tartars by Meliesaheh, and amounting in number to one thousand men.
They were trained and disciplined to war, and some were raised to
the first places of trust in the empire. Other writers say that the
mamelukes were generally chosen out of christian slaves, and may be
considered in the same light as the Turkish janizaries are; others
again assert, that they originally came from Circassia, and attracted
public notice by their valor, &c. in 869. See _D’Herbelot_, page 545.
The mamelukes have made a considerable figure during the present war,
especially in their contest against Bonaparte, for the defence of
Egypt. They afterwards joined the French, and formed a considerable
part of their cavalry.
MAN, to _man the works_, is to post the soldiers on the lines so as to
be ready for their defence, &c. In the plural number it means soldiers,
as an army consisting of 12,000 men.
_Flank-front-rank_-MAN. Each soldier upon the right and left extremity
of the first line or rank of any given body of troops is so called.
_Flank-rear-rank_-MAN. Each soldier upon the right and left extremity
of the last line or rank of any given body of troops.
When a company or battalion is drawn up three deep, the two men
who stand at the extremities of the centre line may be called
_flank-centre-rank-men_.
MANCELLE, _Fr._ a small chain which is fixed to the collars of carriage
or dray horses, and which terminates in a large iron ring, that is
attached to the shaft. It likewise means the ring itself.
MANCHE _d’un Bataillon_, _Fr._ literally means the sleeve of a
battalion.--This word originally signified any small body consisting of
40 or 60 men, which were drawn out of the main-body of a battalion, and
were posted by files upon the corners or angles of the same battalion.
At present the word _manches_ means the wings of a battalion, the
centre of which was composed of pikemen, whilst pikes were in use.
Thus there were right and left wings, which were again divided into
half-wings, quarter-wings, and half-quarter-wings.
Any battalion may defile or break off by wings, half-wings, or by the
other proportions.
The term _manche_, or wing, was undoubtedly adopted for the express
purpose of distinguishing several small corps, which, though at times
connected and standing together, could suddenly detach themselves, and
act against the enemy without occasioning the most trifling fluctuation
or movement in the main body. The Greeks and Romans must have had
a term synonimous to _manche_, in order to shew the several little
portions into which the phalanx of the former, and the legion of the
latter, were at times divided, when there was occasion for either to
manœuvre upon the same principles that we do by wings.
_Gardes de la Manche_, _Fr._ Men belonging to the old French body
guards, who on particular occasions, as at the Royal Chapel, &c.
stood on each side of the king, dressed in hoquetons, and armed with
pertuisanes or lances.
_La_ MANCHE, _Fr._ The channel.
_La_ MANCHE _Britannique_, _Fr._ The British channel.
_La_ MANCHE _de Bristol_, _Fr._ The Bristol channel.
MANCHE _d’outil_, _Fr._ The handle of any utensil.
MANDARIN. A name which the Portuguese originally gave to the Chinese
nobility. According to a French author, the Mandarins are divided into
nine orders, each having a peculiar mark of distinction to ascertain
its rank.
_Civil_ MANDARINS. (_Mandarins lettrés_, _Fr._) These were able and
scientific men who had the management of the different branches
belonging to civil government.
_Military_ MANDARINS. (_Mandarins militaires_, _Fr._) A certain
proportion of the body of mandarins is selected by the emperor of
China, to superintend and command the militia of the country, these are
called military mandarins.
The mandarins are considered as noblemen, but their rank is not
hereditary. Every mandarin undergoes a severe and close examination
respecting his natural and acquired talents, before he receives a civil
or military appointment; and there are public schools or seminaries
to which the natives of the empire may repair to obtain the requisite
qualifications for such important and honorable stations.
MANDILION, (_Mandille_, _Fr._) the soldier’s coat is so called by the
Italians. It does not, however, bear that meaning either amongst us
or among the French; _Mandilion_ and _Mandille_ signifying a footman’s
great coat.
MANEGE, in horsemanship, the exercise of riding the great horse, or
the ground set apart for that purpose; which is sometimes covered, for
continuing the exercise in bad weather; and sometimes open, in order to
give more liberty and freedom both to the horseman and horse.
MANGAN, _Fr._ This word is sometimes written MANGON, (See GUN). A
warlike machine which was formerly used. The term itself, indeed, was
generally adopted to signify any species of warlike machine. But it
more particularly meant the largest and most powerful machine that
could be used for warlike purposes; whether it was practised to throw
enormous stones against besieged places, or to cast javelins, &c. It
was likewise called _balista_, from the Greek; _tormentum_ from the
Latin _à torquendo_; and sometimes _petraria_, because stones weighing
upwards of three hundred and sixty pounds, were thrown from it. This
machine answered the double purpose of defending or attacking fortified
places, and it was sometimes used at sea. According to a French writer,
one of these machines may still be seen at Basle.
MANGANELLE, _Fr._ See MANGONNEAU.
MANGONNEAU, _Fr._ A word originally derived from the Greek, which,
according to Potter, seems to signify any engine designed to cast
missive weapons. With respect to that particular engine, which the
French have called _mangan_, _manganelle_, and _mangonneau_, there is
not any specific term for that famous engine, out of which, stones of
a size not less than mill-stones, were thrown with such violence, as
to dash whole houses in pieces at a blow:--it was called indeed by the
Romans, _balista_; but this name though of Grecian original, appears
not to have been used in Greece; this engine, however, was known there,
and was the same with that used by the Romans, the force of which is
thus expressed by Lucan:--
_At faxum quoties ingenti verberis ictu
Excutitur, qualis rupes, quam vertice montis
Abscidit impulsu ventorum adjuta vetustas;
Frangit cunctaruens, nec tantum corpora pressa
Exanimas, totos cum sanguine dissipat artus._
MANIEMENT _des armes_, _Fr._ manual exercise. Although it might be
thought superfluous to enter into a minute explanation of the manual
as practised by the French, it will not be deemed entirely useless
to the military man, to make him master of the different terms. With
this view, we shall likewise give the words of command used in the
platoon exercise &c. The French manual differed from the English in
many points; essentially so in the commencement of it, as, (extreme
bad weather excepted) the soldiers in the former service, regularly
appeared upon parade with fixed bayonets; so that the first word of
command was,
_Presentez vos armes._--Present arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
_Reposez sur vos armes._--Order arms.
_Posez vos armes à terre._--Ground arms.
_Relevez vos armes._--Take up arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
_L’arme au bras._--Support arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Carry arms.
_Presentez la baïonnette._--Charge bayonet.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
The other words of command which do not belong to the manual, but are
occasionally practised, consist of
_Baïonnette au canon._--Fix bayonet.
_Tirez la baguette._--Draw ramrod.
_Baguette dans le canon._--Spring ramrod.
_L’arme à volonté._--Slope arms.
_L’arme au bras gauche._--Secure arms.
_Armes au faisceau._--Pile arms.
_Repos._--Rest.
_Portez les armes comme sergent._--Advance arms.
_Remettez la baguette._--Return ramrod.
_Remettez la baïonnette._--Return or unfix bayonet.
_Ouvrez le bassinet._--Open pan.
_Fermez le bassinet._--Shut pan.
_Port arms_ is not practised among the Trench. When a guard is
dismissed, instead of _porting arms_, the soldier receives the
following word of command, _haut les armes!_ which is somewhat similar
to _recover arms_.
MANIEMENT _des armes_, _Fr._ The platoon exercise is so called in
the French service, and is distinguished from their manual by the
additional caution of _charge en douze tems_, or prime and load in
twelve motions.
_Chargez vos armes._--Prime and load.
_Ouvrez le bassinet._--Open pan.
_Prenez le cartouche._--Handle cartridge.
_Déchirez la cartouche._--Bite cartridge.
_Amorcez._--Prime.
_Fermez le bassinet._--Shut pan.
_L’arme à gauche._--Cast over.
_Cartouche dans le canon._--Load.
_Tirez la baguette._--Draw ramrod.
_Bourez._--Ram down cartridge.
_Remettez la baguette._--Return ramrod.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
FIRING AFTER THE MANUAL.
_Apprétez vos armes._--Make ready.
_Joue._--Aim.
_Feu._--Fire.
_Chargez._--Prime and load.
_Le chien au repos._--Half-cock firelock.
_Portez vos armes._--Carry arms.
_Presentez vos armes._--Present arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
_Reposez sur vos armes._--Order arms.
_Repos._--Rest.
INSPECTION D’ARMES.--INSPECTION OF ARMS.
_Baïonnette au canon._--Fix bayonet.
_Baguette dans le canon._--Spring ramrod.
In the British service the ramrod is rammed down the barrel without
any further word of command.
_Vos armes à terre._--Ground arms.
_Relevez vos armes._--Take up arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
_L’arme au bras._--Support arms.
_L’arme à volonté._--Slope arms.
_L’arme au bras._--Support arms.
_Portez vos armes._--Carry arms.
_L’arme sous le bras gauche._--Secure arms.
_Rortez vos armes._--Shoulder arms.
_Croisez la baïonnette._--Charge bayonet.
_Croiser la baïonnette_ likewise signifies to cross bayonet in such
a manner as to form a sort of cheval de frise to resist the attack
of cavalry from either flank. This has been adopted since the French
revolution, and consists in placing the shoulder of the bayonet of
the second man behind the shoulder of the first man’s bayonet; and so
of every succeeding two from right to left.
_Portez vos armes._--Carry arms.
_Charge précipitée._--Prime and load quick; in four motions.
_Chargez vos armes._--Load.
_Deux._--Two.
_Trois._--Three.
_Quatre._--Four.
_Charge à volonté._--Independent or running fire.
_Chargez vos armes._--Prime and load.
PLATOON FIRING.
_Peloton._--Platoon.
_Armes._--Ready.
_Joue._--Aim.
_Feu._--Fire.
_Charges._--Prime and load.
_Roulement._--Roll.
_Fin de roulement._--Cease to roll.
_Feu à volonté._--Independent firing.
_Peloton._--Platoon.
_Armes._--Ready.
_Commencez le feu._--Commence firing.
_Roulement._--Roll.
It is here necessary to explain to the English reader, that the words
of command _Roulement_ and _Fin de Roulement_ are only used in the
drill, or when there is not any drum to beat the prescribed roll.
MANIER, _Fr._ to handle. This word is generally used among the French,
in a military sense, whenever they speak of portable fire-arms, &c.
Hence _maniement des armes_.
MANIER _les armes_, _Fr._ To handle the fire-lock, or handle arms.
MANIER _la hallebarde_, _Fr._ To handle, or salute with the halbert.
MANIER _le sponton_, _Fr._ To handle, or salute with the spontoon.
MANIER _l’épée_, _Fr._ To be a swordsman.
MANIER _le drapeau_, _Fr._ To furl or unfurl the colors.
MANIER _l’épée à deux mains_, _Fr._ To be able to use your sword with
either hand.
MANIFESTO (_manifeste_, _Fr._) A public declaration which is made
by a prince or state, containing motives and reasons for entering
into a war. The formality of a _manifesto_ has been considerably
reduced in modern times. Among the ancients, on the contrary, it was
particularly attended to. Potter, in his Grecian Antiquities, observes,
that invasions without notice were looked upon rather as robberies
than lawful wars, as designed rather to despoil and make a prey of
persons innocent and unprovided, than to repair any losses, or damages
sustained, which for ought the invaders knew, might have been satisfied
for in an easier way. It is therefore no wonder, as Polybius (lib. iv.)
relates of the Ætolians, that they were held as common outlaws and
robbers in Greece, it being their manner to strike without warning,
and to make war without any previous and public declaration, whenever
they had an opportunity of enriching themselves, with the spoil and
booty of their neighbors. Yet there want not instances of wars begun
without previous notice, even by nations of better repute for justice
and humanity: but this was only done upon provocations so great and
exasperating, that no recompence was thought sufficient to atone for
them: whence it came to pass, that such wars were of all others the
most bloody and pernicious, and fought with excess of rage and fury;
the contesting parties being resolved to extirpate each other, if
possible, out of the world.
Before the Grecians engaged themselves in war, it was usual to publish
a declaration of the injuries they had received, and to demand
satisfaction by ambassadors; for however prepared, or excellently
skilled, they were in the affairs of war, yet peace, if to be procured
upon honorable terms, was thought more eligible: which custom was
observed, even in the most early ages, as appears from the story
of Tydeus, whom Polynices sent to compose matters with his brother
Eteocles king of Thebes, before he proceeded to invest that city, as
we are informed by Statius, (Thebaid. lib. ii. v. 368.) and several
others. See Potter, page 64 and 65.
The Romans, on the other hand, used abundance of superstition in
entering upon any hostility, or closing in any league or confederacy;
the public ministers who performed the ceremonial part of both these
were the Feciales, or heralds. The ceremonies were of this nature.
When any neighboring state had given sufficient reason for the senate
to suspect a design of breaking with them; or had offered any violence
or injustice to the citizens of Rome, which was enough to give them
the repute of enemies; one of the Feciales, chosen out of the college
upon this occasion, and habited in the vest belonging to his order,
together with his other ensigns, and habiliments, set forward for the
enemy’s country. As soon as he reached the confines, he pronounced a
formal declaration of the cause of his arrival, calling all the Gods
to witness, and imprecating the divine vengeance on himself, and his
country if his reasons were not just. When he came to the chief city of
the enemy, he again repeated the same declaration, with some addition,
and withal desired satisfaction. If they delivered into his power the
authors of the injury, or gave hostages for security, he returned
satisfied to Rome: if otherwise they desired time to consider; he
went away for ten days, and then came again to hear their resolution,
and this he did, in some cases, three times: but, if nothing was
done towards an accommodation in about thirty days, he declared that
the Romans would endeavor to assert their right by their arms. After
this the herald was obliged to return, and to make a true report of
his embassy before the senate, assuring them of the legality of the
war, which they were now consulting to undertake; and was then again
dispatched to perform the last part of the ceremony, which was to throw
a spear into (or towards the enemy’s country) in token of defiance,
and, as a summons to war, pronouncing at the same time a set form of
words to the like purpose. Kennett’s Roman Antiquities, book iv. page
229.
The British have within the last century totally changed the usages
of war; and appear to court the opprobrium bestowed by history upon
the Carthaginians for their perfidiousness and cruelty; and upon the
Ætolians for their treachery and rapacity; by making war first, and
issuing their manifesto afterwards; as in the attack on Copenhagen in
1806.
MANIGLIONS, the two handles on the back of a piece of ordnance. See
CANNON.
MANIPLE. See MANIPULUS.
MANIPULARIS (_manipulaire_,) _Fr._ from MANIPLE, a handful or bottle
of straw. The chief officer in a part of the Roman infantry called
manipulus, was so called. This officer was likewise ordinary,
_ordinaire_, _Fr._
MANIPULA, _Fr._. See MANIPULUS.
MANIPULE _Pyrotechnique_, _Fr._ a certain quantity of iron or brass
petards, which may be thrown by the hand upon an enemy. These petards
and the method of making them, are particularly described by Casini in
his work on artillery. See PETARDS.
MANIPULUS (_manipule_, _Fr._) A small body of infantry originally so
called among the Romans, during the reign of Romulus. Their ensign was
a hand on the end of a staff.
It consisted of one hundred men, and in the days of the consuls and
first Cæsars, of two hundred. Three manipuli constituted a Roman
cohort. Each manipulus was commanded by two officers called centurions,
one of whom acted as lieutenant to the other. A centurion among the
Romans, may be considered in the same light, as we view a captain of
a company in modern service. Every manipulus made two centuries or
_Ordines_. This, however, cannot be said to have been the uniform
establishment or formation of the manipulus; for according to Varro
and Vegetius, it was the smallest body of men employed in the Roman
armies, and composed the tenth part of a century. Spartian in his
life of Sexennius Niger, says, it consisted only of ten soldiers. We
have already observed, that it takes its name from manipulus, which
signifies a handful of straw; the latter having been fixed to a long
pole to serve as a rallying signal, before the eagles were adopted.
This circumstance has given rise to the modern expression, a handful of
men, _une poignée de gens_. Vegetius, on the other hand says, it comes
from _manus_, which signified a small body or handful of men collected
together, and following the same standard; and Modestus as well as
Varro, state it to have been so called, because, when they went into
action, they took one another by the hand, or fought all together. A
French writer conceives, that manipulus may be considered as one of
those parts of a modern battalion, which are distributed in different
rooms, &c. and which is called _une chambrée_, or a company that messes
together.
MANIPULUS, so called from its standard or flag, which was made of
cloth, and hung suspended on a staff with a hand. The manipulus was
distinguished in this manner from the chief standard of each legion,
which was an eagle of massive metal.
MANOEUVRE, (_Manoeuvre_, _Fr._) Manœuvres of war consist chiefly in
habituating the soldier to a variety of evolutions, to accustom him to
different movements, and to render his mind familiar with the nature
of every principle of offensive or defensive operation. The regular
manœuvres of the British army have been reduced to nineteen, though
these are not competent to every exigency of service the skilful
officer will know how to manœuvre as the ground he is upon requires.
The word manœuvre is frequently used in the French artillery to express
the method with which a piece of ordnance or mortar is raised and
placed upon its carriage by several hands, assisted by the crab or any
other machine. In a general acceptation of the term, _manœuvre_ means
that mechanical process by which any weight is lifted.
_To_ MANŒUVRE, is to manage any body or armed force in such a manner
as to derive sudden and unexpected advantages before the enemy, from
a superior talent in military movements. It consists in distributing
equal motion to every part of a body of troops, to enable the whole
to form, or change their position, in the most expeditious and best
method, to answer the purposes required of a battalion, brigade, or
line of cavalry, infantry, or artillery.
The use of all manœuvres and of all discipline is the same, to
habituate men to the word of command, to perform what is commanded,
and in the shortest time, in the best manner. The idea therefore of
reducing _manœuvres_ to 18 or 19, or any given number, manifests a
misconception of the military art, that is truly surprizing; for it
must be perceived by a practical man, that the principles of all
manœuvres are few and simple; although manœuvres are as susceptible of
infinite variety and of real use, as arithmetical numbers. The ability
of the officer is shewn in the choice of manœuvre, and its adaptation
to the ground manœuvred upon, the end proposed to be obtained by the
manœuvre, the position of the enemy, and the exactness and celerity
with which it is performed. The great perfection of manœuvre is when
troops at a single word of command perform movements of different kinds
at the same instant, but all to accomplish the same object; that is to
accomplish together the end proposed by the commander. Soldiers should
be so exercised as to be competent to move in any manner or direction
on the instant; a fixt number of manœuvres is calculated to defeat this
end. The Austrians have attempted to follow the French, and practise
their methods of manœuvre, which are not so much for parade as for
practice. In the United States, the prejudice against, or the ignorance
of manœuvre is excessive.
It has always been lamented, that men have been brought on service
without being acquainted with the uses of the different manœuvres
they have been practising; and having no ideas of any thing but the
uniformity of the parade, instantly fall into disorder and confusion
when they lose the step, or see a deviation from the straight lines
they have been accustomed to at exercise. It is a pity to see so much
attention confined to show, and so little given to instruct the troops
in what may be of use to them on real service.
Manœuvre when executed in the presence of the enemy, must be protected
by some light troops, riflemen or horse artillery.
_Grand_ MANŒUVRE _de Guerre_, _Fr._ This expression is peculiarly
French, and may be said to signify the dispositions of war upon a large
scale. According to marshal Saxe these dispositions consist chiefly
in drawing troops up in such a manner, that the cavalry and infantry
may support each other; but he objects to that arrangement by which
companies or platoons of infantry are intermixed with squadrons of
horse; for, as he justly observes, if the latter should be beaten,
the foot soldiers must unavoidably be thrown into confusion by the
enemy’s cavalry, and be cut to pieces. For further particulars on this
important article, see Saxe’s _Reveries_, where he treats of _La Grande
Manœuvre de Guerre_, and the supplement to them by baron d’Espagnac,
page 69.
_Warlike_ MANOEUVRES, (_Manoeuvres de Guerre_, _Fr._) Warlike
manoeuvres, or the different exercises, &c. by which men are taught
the military profession: these exercises, from the earliest periods of
history, have been infinitely diversified. Vegetius, an ancient writer,
remarks, that the Romans, in order to enure their raw troops to the
fatigues of war, had specific regulations drawn up, by which every
recruit was regularly practised in martial exercises. These regulations
were originally formed during the existence of their republic, and were
afterwards confirmed by the emperors Augustus and Adrian.
It was particularly ordained, that the cavalry as well as the infantry
should be _walked out_ (_être mené à la promenade_) three times every
month. The foot were obliged to go ten miles beyond the lines of their
encampment. On these occasions they were originally drawn up. But
their movements both in going and returning were frequently altered;
being sometimes obliged to march at a moderate rate, and at others to
increase their pace and run. The same regulation held good with respect
to the cavalry, which was armed and divided into certain proportions,
called turmæ. The troops on horseback went the same distance, and
practised different evolutions on the road. Sometimes advancing to
attack, and at others suddenly wheeling round, to return to the charge
with greater impetuosity. These exercises were not, however, confined
to open roads, or a level country: both horse and foot were frequently
ordered to make their way through intricate passes, over cragged hills,
&c. and to accustom themselves to every possible obstacle that might
occur in military movements.
This species of _manoeuvre_ or practising exercise, has at last
obtained in modern times. It was till lately thought sufficient to
teach a raw recruit the use of the firelock, and to make him master of
a certain number of movements, by the knowlege of which he was held fit
to make a part of a well disciplined corps. How to march against and
attack an enemy, or to meet his attack with skill and steadiness; these
principally constituted the system of modern manoeuvres, and are better
understood by the name of evolutions. In the British service there is
a specific number of manoeuvres or evolutions to which every regiment
must conform, and with the particular practice of which every officer
and soldier must be made intimately acquainted. See _Am. Mil. Library_.
MANOEUVRER, _Fr._ To manoeuvre. This verb in the French language may be
applied two ways; as, _manoeuvrer les voiles_, to manage the sails and
tackle of a vessel.
MANOEUVRER _des Troupes_, to make soldiers go through their different
manoeuvres. _Ces troupes ont bien manoeuvré_, those soldiers have ably
manoeuvred.
_Bien ou mal_ MANOEUVRER, _Fr._ signifies to manoeuvre well or ill;
as, _un tel gênéral ou officier a bien manoeuvré à tel passage, à tel
endroit_, such a general manoeuvred well at such a passage or quarter:
_mais un tel à mal manoeuvré à la defense ou à l’attaque de tel poste_,
but such an officer manoeuvred extremely ill in his defence or attack
of such a post. The word manoeuvre is originally derived from the Latin
_Manûs Opus_.
MANOEUVRIER, _Fr._ any officer who is perfectly acquainted with the art
of manoeuvring.
MANOEUVRIER, _Fr._ A sea phrase, which is frequently used among the
French, to signify that an officer not only understands all the
different words of command, but can thoroughly manoeuvre his ship. It
is common to say, _il est un des meilleurs manoeuvriers qui soient sur
mer_, he is one of the ablest sea officers in the service.
MANTEAU, _Fr._ This word, which literally signifies a cloak, is
frequently used among the French to express the covering that hussars
or light infantry troops carry for the double purpose of shielding
their bodies from the inclemencies of the weather in outposts, &c.
and for spreading over their heads, by means of poles, when they
occasionally halt, and take a position.
MANTELETS, in a military sense, are either single or double, composed
of great planks of wood, of about 5 feet high, and 3 inches thick. The
single ones are sometimes covered with tin, made musquet-proof, which
the pioneers generally roll before them, being fixed upon wheels, to
cover them from the enemy’s fire, in opening the trenches, or carrying
on the sap, &c. The double ones form an angle, and stand square, making
two fronts, which cover both the front and flank of the sappers, &c.
when at work: these have double planks with earth rammed in between
them: they are 5 feet high and 3 in breadth, sometimes covered with
plates of iron; they may with propriety be called a moving parapet,
having a shaft to guide them by.
MANTONET, _Fr._ A small piece of wood or iron, which is notched, for
the purpose of hanging any thing upon it. The pegs in soldier’s rooms
are sometimes so called.
MANUAL.--In a general acceptation of the word, means any thing done by
the hand.
MANUAL _Exercise_, in the British service, is the exercise of the
musquet, independent of powder and ball, and consists in seven motions
of the firelock; 5 of which are essentially different from each other,
viz. _order arms_, _fix bayonets_, _shoulder arms_, _present arms_,
_shoulder arms_, _charge bayonets_, and _shoulder arms_.
I. _Order Arms._ (3 _motions_.) Bring the firelock to the trail in two
motions as usual, seizing it at the first at the lower loop, just at
the swell, at the 2d, bring it down to the right side, the butt within
an inch of the ground: at the 3d, drop the butt on the ground, placing
the muzzle against the hollow of the right shoulder, and the hand flat
upon the sling; the thumb behind the barrel.
II. _Fix Bayonets._--At the word, _fix_, grip the firelock; as soon as
the word of command is fully out, push the firelock a little forward,
at the same time drawing out the bayonet with the left hand, and fixing
it with the utmost celerity. The instant this is done, return as quick
as possible, to the _order_, as above described, and stand perfectly
steady.
III. _Shoulder Arms._--As soon as the word _shoulder_ is given, grip
the firelock with the right hand, as in fixing bayonets, and, at the
last word, _arms_, the firelock must be thrown, with the right hand, in
one motion, and with as little appearance of effort as possible, into
its proper position on the left shoulder; the hand crosses the body in
so doing, but must instantly be withdrawn.
IV. _Present Arms._ (3 _motions_.)--1st. Seize the firelock with the
right hand, under the guard, turning the lock to the front, but without
moving it from the shoulder.
2d. Bring it to the _poize_, seizing it with the left hand, the fingers
easily round the stock, the wrist upon the guard, and the point of the
left thumb of equal height with the eyes.
3d. Bring down the firelock with a quick motion, as low as the right
hand will admit without constraint, drawing back the right foot at the
same instant, so that the hollow of it may touch the left heel. The
firelock in this position is to be totally supported in the left hand;
the body to rest intirely on the left foot; both knees to be straight;
the firelock in front of the left eye, and the butt in front of the
left thigh.
V. _Shoulder Arms._ (2 _motions_.)--1st. By a turn of the right wrist,
bring the firelock to its proper position on the shoulder, as described
above, the left hand grasping the butt.
2d. Quit the right hand, bring it briskly down to its place by the side.
VI. _Charge Bayonets._ (2 _motions_.)--1st. At one motion throw the
firelock from the shoulder across the body, to a low diagonal recover,
a position known by the name of _porting arms_, or _preparing for the
charge_, in which the lock is to be turned to the front, and at the
height of the breast; the muzzle slanting upwards, so that the barrel
may cross opposite the point of the left shoulder, with the butt
proportionally depressed; the right hand grasps the small of the butt,
and the left holds the piece at the swell, close to the lower pipe, the
thumbs of both hands pointing towards the muzzle.
2d. Make a half-face to the right, and bring down the firelock to
nearly a horizontal position, with the muzzle inclining a little
upwards, and the right wrist resting against the hollow of the thigh,
just below the hip.
N. B. The first motion of the _charge_ is the position which the
soldier will either, from the shoulder, or after firing, take, in
order to advance on an enemy, whom it is intended to attack with fixed
bayonets; and the word of command for that purpose is “_prepare to
charge_.” The second position of the charge is that which the front
rank takes when arrived at a few yards distance only from the body
to be attacked. The first motion of the _charge_ is also that which
sentries are to take when challenging any persons who approach their
posts.
VII. _Shoulder Arms._ (2 _motions_.)--1st. Face to the front, and throw
up the piece into its position on the shoulder, by a turn of the right
wrist, instantly grasping the butt, as before described, with the left
hand.
2d. Quit the firelock briskly with the right hand, bringing it to its
proper place by the side.
The men are taught likewise to _support arms_ at _three_ motions,
throwing the first and second nearly into one: at the first motion
they seize the small of the butt, under the lock, with the right hand,
bringing the butt in the front of the groin, and keeping the lock
somewhat turned out: at the second, they bring the left arm under the
cock: at the third, they quit the right hand. In _carrying arms_ from
the _support_, the motions are exactly reversed.
In marching any distance, or in standing at ease, when _supported_,
the men are allowed to bring their right hand across the body, to the
small of the butt, which latter must in that case, be thrown still
more forward; the fingers of the left hand being uppermost, must be
placed between the body and the right elbow; the right hands are to be
instantly removed when the division _halts_, or is ordered to _dress by
the right_.
_Time._--The motions in the manual exercise to be performed slow,
leaving three seconds between each motion, except that of _fixing
bayonets_, in which a longer time must be given.
The manual is not to be executed by one word, or signal, but each
separate word of command is to be given by the officer who commands the
body performing it.
In regard to the motions of _securing_, _grounding_, and _trailing_, as
well as those of _piling_, &c. it will be sufficient for the soldiers
to be taught to perform them in the most convenient and quickest
method. _Returning bayonets_ is to be done from the _order_; in the
same manner as _fixing_ them.
_Sentries._--Sentries posted with shouldered arms, are permitted
afterwards to _support_, but not to slope them. On the approach of
an officer, they immediately _carry_ their arms, and put themselves
into their proper position; which is not to be done at the instant he
passes, but by the time he is within twenty yards of their post, so
that they may be perfectly steady before he comes up.
_Corporals._--Corporals marching with reliefs, or commanding
detachments, or divisions, carry their arms _advanced_, as formerly:
for which purpose a soldier, when promoted to that rank, must be taught
the position of _advanced arms_.
_Explanation of the several Motions of the Platoon Exercise, as taught
at the drill in the British service._
I. _Make Ready._--As usual, bringing the firelock to the _recover_, and
instantly cocking.
II. _Aim._--1st. Slip the left hand along the sling, as far as the
swell of the firelock, and bring the piece down to the _present_,
stepping back about six inches to the rear with the right foot.
III. _Fire._--After firing drop the firelock briskly to the _priming_
position.
2d. Half cock.
IV. _Handle Cartridge._--1st. Draw the cartridge from the pouch.
2d. Bring it to the mouth, holding it between the fore finger and
thumb, and bite off the top of it.
V. _Prime._--1st. Shake some powder into the pan.
2d. Shut the pan with the three last fingers.
3d. Seize the small of the butt with the above three fingers.
VI. _Load._--1st. Face to the left on both heels, so that the right toe
may point directly to the front, and the body be a very little faced to
the left, bringing at the same time the firelock round to the left side
without sinking it. It should, in this momentary position, be almost
perpendicular (having the muzzle only a small degree brought forward),
and as soon as it is steady there, it must instantly be forced down
within two inches of the ground, the butt nearly opposite the left
heel, and the firelock itself somewhat sloped, and directly to the
front; the right hand at the same instant catches the muzzle, in order
to steady it.
2d. Shake the powder into the barrel, putting in after it the paper and
ball.
3d. Seize the top of the ramrod, with the fore finger and thumb.
VII. _Draw ramrods._--1st. Draw the ramrod half out, and seize it
back-handed exactly in the middle.
2d. Draw it entirely out, and turning it with the whole hand and arm
extended from you, put it one inch into the barrel.
VIII. _Ram down cartridge._--1st. Push the ramrod down, holding it as
before, exactly in the middle, till the hand touches the muzzle.
2d. Slip the fore finger and thumb to the upper end, without letting
the ramrod fall farther into the barrel.
3d. Push the cartridge well down to the bottom.
4th. Strike it two very quick strokes with the ramrod.
IX. _Return ramrod._--1st. Draw the ramrod half out, catching it
back-handed.
2d. Draw it entirely out, turning it very briskly from you, with
the arm extended, and put it into the loops, forcing it as quick as
possible to the bottom; then face to the proper front, the finger
and thumb of the right hand holding the ramrod, as in the position
immediately previous to drawing it, and the butt raised two inches from
the ground.
X. _Shoulder Arms._--Strike the top of the muzzle smartly with the
right hand, in order to fix the bayonet and ramrod more firmly, and at
the same time throw it nimbly up, at one motion to the shoulder.
N. B. Though the butts are not to come to the ground in casting about,
as accidents may happen from it, yet they are permitted, while loading,
to be so rested; but it must be done without noise, and in a manner
imperceptible in the front.
_Explanation of priming and loading quick._
_Prime and Load._--1st. Bring the firelock down in one brisk motion
to the priming position, the thumb of the right hand placed against
the pan-cover, or steel: the fingers clenched; and the elbow a little
turned out, so that the wrist may be clear of the cock.
2d. Open the pan by throwing up the steel, with a strong motion of the
right arm, turning the elbow in, and keeping the firelock steady in the
left hand.
3d. Bring your hand round to the pouch, and draw out the cartridge.
The rest as above described, excepting that, in the quick loading,
all the motions are to be done with as much dispatch as possible; the
soldiers taking their time, from the flugel man in front, for _casting
over and shouldering only_.
_Priming position._--In firing three deep the priming position for the
front rank is the height of the waistband of the breeches: for the
centre rank, about the middle of the stomach; and for the rear rank,
close to the breast: the firelock, in all these positions, is to be
kept perfectly horizontal.
_Explanation of the Positions of each Rank in the Firings._
_Front Rank, kneeling._--Bring the firelock briskly up to the
_recover_, catching it in the left hand; and, without stopping, sink
down with a quick motion upon the right knee, keeping the left foot
fast, the butt end of the firelock, at the same moment, falling upon
the ground; then cock, and instantly seize the cock and steel together
in the right hand, holding the piece firm in the left, about the middle
of that part which is between the lock and the swell of the stock: the
point of the left thumb to be close to the swell, and pointing upwards.
As the body is sinking, the right knee is to be thrown so far back that
the left leg may be right up and down, the right foot a little turned
out, the body straight, and the head as much up as if shouldered; the
firelock must be upright, and the butt about four inches to the right
of the inside of the left foot.
_Aim._--Bring the firelock down firmly to the _aim_, by sliding the
left hand, to the full extent of the arm, along the sling, without
letting the motion tell: the right hand at the same time springing up
the butt by the cock so high against the right shoulder, that the head
may not be too much lowered in taking aim; the right cheek to be close
to the butt; the left eye shut, and the middle finger of the right
hand on the trigger, look along the barrel with the right eye from the
breech-pin to the muzzle, and remain steady.
_Fire._--Pull the trigger strong with the middle finger, and, as soon
as fired, spring up nimbly upon the left leg, keeping the body erect,
and the left foot fast, and bringing the right heel to the hollow
of the left; at the same instant drop the firelock to the priming
position, the height of the right hip; _half cock_, _handle cartridge_,
and go on with the loading motions, as before described.
_Centre rank._--_Make ready._--Spring the firelock briskly to the
_recover_: as soon as the left hand seizes the firelock above the lock,
raise the right elbow a little, placing the thumb of that hand upon
the cock, with the fingers open on the plate of the lock, and then, as
quick as possible, cock the piece, by dropping the elbow, and forcing
down the cock with the thumb, step at the same time with the right foot
a moderate pace to the right, and keeping the left fast, seize the
small of the butt with the right hand: the piece must be held in this
position perpendicular, and opposite the left side of the face, the
butt close to the breast, but not pressed, the body straight and full
to the front, and the head erect.
_Aim._--As in the foregoing explanation for the front rank.
_Fire._--Pull the trigger strong with the middle finger, and, as soon
as fired, bring the firelock to the priming position, about the height
of the stomach: the rest, as in the explanation of _priming_ and
_loading_, with this difference only, that the left foot is to be drawn
up to the right, at the same time that the firelock is brought down to
the priming position, and that immediately after the firelock is thrown
up to the shoulder, the men spring to the left again, and cover their
file leaders.
_Rear rank._--_Make ready._--Recover and cock, as before directed for
the centre rank, and, as the firelock is brought to recover, step
briskly to the right a full pace, at the same time placing the left
heel about six inches before the point of the right foot. The body to
be kept straight, and as square to the front as possible.
_Aim._--As in explanation for the centre rank.
_Fire._--As in explanation for the centre rank; after firing and
shouldering, the men step as the centre rank does.
In firing with the front rank _standing_, that rank makes ready, &c. as
specified in the article relative to the _platoon exercise_.
_Officers._--In giving words of command, as well in as out of the
ranks, officers are to stand perfectly steady, and in their proper
position; their swords held firmly in the full of the right hand, with
the upper part of the blade resting against the shoulder, the right
wrist against the hip, and the elbow drawn back.
_Firing by platoons._--_Officers, &c._--The officers, instead of giving
the words _platoon_, _make ready_, _aim_, _fire_, are to pronounce the
words short, as for instance, _’toon_, _ready_, _aim_, _fire._
In firing by platoons, or divisions, the officers commanding them are
to step out one pace, on the close of the _preparative_, and face to
the left towards their men; they there stand perfectly steady till the
last part of the _general_, when they step back again into their proper
intervals, all at the same time. After a division has fired, the right
hand man of it steps out one pace, in front of the officer, but still
keeping his own proper front, and gives the time for _casting about_
and _shouldering_, after which he falls back again into his place in
the front rank.
The flugle man of a battalion is also to keep his front, in giving the
time of exercise.
In firing by grand divisions, the centre officer falls back, on the
_preparative_, into the fourth rank, and is replaced by the covering
serjeant.
MANUBALISTE, _Fr._ From the Latin manubalista. A cross bow.
MANUFACTURES _d’armes_, _Fr._ Places appropriated for the manufacturing
of arms. During the old government of France, three places were
appropriated for the manufacturing of arms; one at Maubeuge, one at
Charleville and Nourzon, and the third at St. Etienne en Foret. These
were called royal manufactories of arms for public service. A director
general superintended the whole, to whom every person concerned in
the undertaking was subject, and who was himself subordinate to those
artillery inspectors and comptrollers, that were severally appointed by
the grand master of the ordnance and the secretary at war.
The United States have manufactories of arms at Harpers ferry, on
Potomac; at Springfield, Massachusetts; at Washington City; and at
Rocky Mount, S. Carolina.
MAP, in a military and geographical sense, is a plane figure,
representing the surface of the earth, or a part thereof, according
to the laws of perspective; distinguishing the situation of cities,
mountains, rivers, roads, &c.
In maps these three things are essentially necessary. 1. That all
places have the same situation and distance from the great circles
therein, as on the globe, to show their parallels, longitudes, zones,
climates, and celestial appearances. 2. That their magnitudes be
proportionable to the real magnitudes on the globes. 3. That all places
have the same situation, bearing, and distance, as on the earth itself.
MAPS are either universal, which exhibit the whole surface of the
earth; or partial, which exhibit some particular part thereof: each
kind is called geographical or land-maps, in contradistinction to
hydrographical or sea-maps, representing the seas and sea-coasts,
properly called charts.
As a map is a representation of some part of the surface of the earth
delineated upon a plane, the earth, being round, no part of the
spherical surface of it can be accurately exhibited upon a plane; and
therefore some have proposed globular maps. For this purpose a plate of
brass might be hammered, or at a less expence a piece of paste-board
might be formed into a segment of a sphere, and covered on its convex
side with a map projected in the same manner as the papers of the
common globe are. A map made in this method would show every thing in
the same manner, as it would be seen upon a globe of the same diameter
with the sphere upon the segment of which it was delineated: and,
indeed, maps of this sort would in effect be segments of such a globe;
but they are not in common use.
The ancients described all parts of the known earth in one general map.
In this view one of them compares the shape of the earth to the leather
of a sling, whose length exceeds its breadth: the length of the then
known parts of the earth from east to west was considerably greater
than from north to south; for which reason, the former of these was
called the longitude, and the other the latitude.
The modern general maps are such as give us a view of an entire
hemisphere, or half of the globe; and are projected upon the plane
of some great circle, which terminates the projected hemisphere, and
divides it from the other half of the globe, at the equator, the
meridian, or horizon of some place. From the circle the projection is
denominated, and said to be equatorial, meridionial, or horizontal.
Particular maps are such as exhibit to us less than an hemisphere;
of this sort are maps of the great quarters into which the earth is
divided, as Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; or maps of particular
nations, provinces, countries, or of lesser districts.
A particular map is a part of a general one, and may be made upon the
same principles, as by projecting a large hemisphere, and taking
so much of it as the _map_ is designed to contain. When we are to
delineate a _map_ of the smaller part of the earth, if it be near the
equator, the meridians and parallels may be represented by equi-distant
straight lines; if at some distance from the equator, the parallels
may be equi-distant straight lines, and the meridian straight lines,
a little converging towards the nearest pole; or the meridians may be
straight lines, converging towards the nearest pole, and the parallels
circular.
When we are to make a _map_ of a very small district, as of a county or
town, whatever part of the earth it be in, the meridians and parallels
may be equidistant straight lines, drawn through every minute, &c. of
longitude, in proportion as the largeness of the _map_ will allow. See
PLOTTING and SURVEYING.
The use of _maps_ is obvious from their construction. The degrees
of the meridians and parallels shew the longitude and latitude of
places; their bearings from each other appear from inspection; and
their distance from each other may be measured by the divisions on the
meridian, equator, or scales. GEOGRAPHY.
MARAUDE, _Fr._ The act of marauding. This word specifically means the
theft or depredation which a soldier commits against the peasantry of
the country, and for which offence, he is punished with death in all
foreign services.
MARAUDEUR, _Fr._ A marauder. This term is now strictly English. Its
signification, however, is generally the same in all services. Any
soldier that steals out of camp, armed or unarmed, for the purpose of
pillaging the country, is a marauder, and is liable, upon conviction,
to be punished with death, or such other punishment as by a general
court-martial shall be awarded.
_Aller en_ MARAUDE, means to go out marauding.
MARAUDING, in a _military sense_, the act of plundering, which is
generally committed by a party of soldiers, who, without any order,
go into the neighboring houses or villages, when the army is either
in camp or in garrison, to pilfer and destroy, &c. Marauders are a
disgrace to the camp, to the military profession, and deserve no
better quarters from their officers than they give to poor peasants,
&c. Marauding is also applied to plundering at sea; thus the Barbary
Corsairs, and the British navy are systematic marauders.
MARC, _Fr._ A weight equal to eight ounces. In France, it is usual for
silversmiths and jewellers to take a marc at that standard, but when
articles of greater bulk and grosser quality than those they deal in,
are brought to the scale, the marc contains 16 ounces to the pound. All
stores and ammunition were appreciated by this measure.
_A_ MARCH, (_une Marche_, _Fr._) is the moving of a body of men from
one place to another. Care must be taken, in marching troops, that
they are not liable to be flanked or intercepted; for of all operations
none is more difficult, because they must not only be directed to the
objects they have in view, but according to the movements the enemy may
have made.
Of all the mechanical parts of war, none is more essential than that of
marching. It may be justly called the key which leads to all important
motions and manœuvres of an army; for they depend entirely on this
point. A man can be attacked in four different ways; in the front, on
both flanks, and in the rear: but he can defend himself, and annoy the
enemy, only when placed with his face towards him. Hence it follows,
that the general object of marching, is reduced to three points only;
to march forwards, and on both sides, because it is impossible to do
it for any time backwards, and by that means face the enemy wherever
he presents himself. The different steps to be made use of are three:
slow, quick, and accelerated. The first is used only at reviews, for
parade, or in mounting guard. The second is proper in advancing, when
at a considerable distance from the enemy, and when the ground is
unequal, that the line may not be broken, and that a regular fire may
be kept up without intermission. The third is chiefly necessary, when
you want to anticipate the enemy in occupying some post, in passing a
defile, and, above all, in attacking an intrenchment, to avoid being
a long while exposed to the fire of the artillery and small arms, &c.
Columns may be opened and formed into lines, and _vice versa_, lines
into columns, by all these steps. In coming out of a defile, you may
instantly form the line without presenting the flank to the enemy. The
line may be formed, though ever so near to the enemy, with safety,
because you face him, and can with ease and safety protect and cover
the motion of the troops, while they are coming out of the defiles and
forming. The same thing may be equally executed, when a column is to be
formed, in order to advance or retreat; which is a point of infinite
consequence, and should be established as an axiom.
The order of _march_ of the troops must be so disposed, that each
should arrive at their rendezvous, if possible, on the same day. The
quarter-master-general, or his deputy, with an able engineer, should
sufficiently reconnoitre the country, to obtain a perfect knowlege both
of that and of the enemy, before he forms his routes.
Before a _march_, the army generally receives several days
bread. The quarter-masters, camp-color men, and pioneers, parade
according to orders, and march immediately after, commanded by the
quarter-master-general, or his deputy. They are to clear the roads,
level the ways, make preparations for the march of the army, &c. The
_general_, for instance, beats at 2, the _assembly_ at 3, and the army
to march in 30 minutes after. Upon beating the _general_, the village,
and general officer’s guards, quarter and rear-guards, join their
respective corps; and the army pack up their baggage. Upon beating the
_assembly_, the tents are to be struck, and sent with the baggage to
the place appointed, &c.
The companies draw up in their several streets, and the rolls are
called. At the time appointed, the drummers are to beat a march, and
fifers play at the head of the line; upon which the companies _march_
out from their several streets, form battalions as they advanced to the
head of the line and then halt.
The several battalions will be formed into columns by the
adjutant-general, and the order of march, &c., be given to the general
officers who lead the columns.
The cavalry generally march by regiments or squadrons. The heavy
artillery always keep the great roads, in the centre of the columns,
escorted by a strong party of infantry and cavalry.--The field-pieces
move with the columns.
Each soldier generally marches with 60 rounds of powder and ball,
and three good flints; one of which is to be fixed in the cock of
his firelock. The routes must be so formed, that no column may cross
another on the march. See _American Military Library_.
MARCH! (_Marche!_ _Fr._) as a word of command, whenever it is given
singly, invariably denotes that _ordinary_ or _triple_ time is to be
taken; when the _slow time_ is meant, that word will precede the other.
The word _march_, marks the beginning of movements from the _halt_;
but it is not given when the body is in previous motion. It should be
sharp, clear, and distinct.
The usual rate of marching for cavalry is 17 miles in 6 hours; but this
may be extended to 21, or even 28 miles in that time.
_Rates paid for English carriages on the march._
{with 5 horses, or
One shilling _per_ mile for every carriage{with 6 oxen, or
{with 4 oxen & 2 horses;
nine pence _per_ mile for any cart with 4 horses, and so in proportion
for less carriages; or a further sum, not exceeding 4_d_ per mile for
every carriage with 5 horses, or with 6 oxen, or with 4 oxen and 2
horses; or 3_d_ _per_ mile for every cart with 4 horses; and so in
proportion for less carriages, as the same shall be fixed and ordered
by the justices of the peace. The waggons, &c. not to carry more than
30 cwt.
_Regular_ ferries in England are only to be paid for on the march at
half the ordinary rate.
_Marching money._--Innkeepers in the British dominions, are obliged to
furnish troops on the march with diet and small beer, for the day of
their marching in, and two days afterwards; unless one of the days be
a market day. For which the publican by the king’s warrant, 17th of
March, 1800, is to receive 16_d_, and which is paid in the following
manner:
Paid by government, Cav. 9_d._--Inf. 11_d._
-- by the soldier -- 6_d._ -- 4_d._
Soldiers beer money -- 1_d._ -- 1_d._
------ ------
Total 16 16
In MARCHING every soldier must be well balanced on his limbs: his
arms and hands, without stiffness, must be kept steady by his sides,
and not suffered to vibrate. He must not be allowed to stoop forward,
still less to lean back. His body must be kept square to the front, and
thrown rather more forward in marching than when halted, that it may
accompany the movement of the leg and thigh: the ham must be stretched,
but without stiffening the knee: the toe a little pointed, and kept
near the ground, so that the shoe-soles may not be visible to a person
in front: the head to be kept well up, straight to the front, and the
eyes not suffered to be cast down: the foot, without being drawn back,
must be placed flat on the ground.
The object so generally recommended, of keeping the body erect, and
the legs well stretched and pointed, would be effectually gained, were
recruits, when they are first placed under the moulding hand of the
drill serjeant, taught and gradually accustomed to step well out from
the haunches. This method is invariably practised among the French,
who are unquestionably not only the best dancers, but the most expert
movers on foot in the world.
_Quick_-MARCH. _Ordinary_ time. A movement by which troops advance at
the rate of 75 steps in the minute, each of 24 inches, making 150 feet
or 50 yards in a minute.
_Quick_-MARCH. As a word of command, signifies, that the troops should
move in quick time.
_Slow_-MARCH. A movement by which troops advance at the rate of 60
steps in the minute.
In order to teach a recruit the just length of pace, accurate distances
must be marked out on the ground, along which, he should be practised.
_Wheeling_-MARCH, _or_ accelerated pace is 120 steps of 24 inches each,
or 2880 inches, or 240 feet in the minute.
This is the most rapid movement by which men under arms, or otherwise
when formed, should go from line into column, or come from column
into line. This is applied chiefly to the purpose of wheeling, and is
the rate at which all bodies should accomplish their _wheels_, the
outward file stepping 30 inches, whether the wheel be from line into
column, during the march in column, or from column into line. In this
time also should divisions double and move up, when passing obstacles
in line; or when in the column of march, the front of divisions is
increased or diminished.
A MARCH, (_La Marche_, _Fr._) a certain tune or concord of notes,
which is adapted to the movement of any particular body of troops, as,
the grenadier’s march, the march of the Marseillois, _la marche des
Janizaires_, the march of the Janizaries.
MARCHING _to the front or rear_. This is one of the most difficult
operations in military movements.
The person instructing a platoon will, before he puts it in motion to
front or rear, indicate which flank is to direct by giving the word,
_mark time!_ and then _forward_ or _march_. Should the right be the
directing flank, the commander of the platoon himself, will fix on
objects to march upon in a line truly perpendicular to the front of
the platoon; and when the left flank is ordered to direct, he and his
covering serjeant will shift to the left of the front rank, and take
such objects to march upon.
The conductor of the platoon, before the word _march_ is given, will
endeavor to remark some distant object on the ground, in his own front,
and perpendicular to the directing flank, he will then observe some
nearer and intermediate point, in the same line, such as a stone,
tuft of grass, &c. these he will move upon with accuracy, and as he
approaches the nearest of these points, he must from time to time chuse
fresh ones in the original direction, which he will by these means
preserve, never having fewer than two such points to move upon. If
no object in the true line can be ascertained, his own squareness of
person must determine the direction of the march.
The same observations hold good in all movements to front or rear, or
from either flank; and the only way to execute them with accuracy, is
for the leader to look out for small intermediate points of march.
MARCH _of a battalion in file_, is to advance from the right, left, or
centre of any given number of men, for the purposes of countermarching,
or of closing, or opening an interval in line. On these occasions the
whole step off together at the word _march_, and dress at the word
_mark time_, the whole front, and the officers and serjeants, resume
their several posts in line and then receive the word _halt_. Whenever
more than one company march in file, the officers are out of the ranks
during the march, on the left of the leading file when the right is in
front, and on the right when the left is in front. They are of use in
preserving the line and step, as the rear officer necessarily keeps
the pace, and marches on the exact perpendicular line of his coverer.
When a company is marched off singly, or files into or out of column,
the officer is invariably to be in front. It sometimes happens, that
a battalion standing in narrow ground, may be obliged to form open
column from its leading flank, either before or behind that flank,
before or behind its other flank; or before or behind any central part
of the line.
_To_ MARCH _in file before the right flank_. When the right platoon or
company has moved on, the rest of the battalion face to the right, and
march in file: the divisions then successively front, following each
other, and taking the leading one for their regulating company.
_To_ MARCH _in file behind the right flank_.
The whole face to the right, and _march_ by word of command; at which
instant the right division countermarches to the rear, _fronts_, and
moves forward; whilst every other division successively moves on in the
same manner (having previously countermarched) and continues till the
whole is in column.
_To_ MARCH _before any central point or the left flank_. The battalion
makes a successive _countermarch_ from the right flank towards the
left, and when the right division is arrived at the point from
whence it is to advance in column, it again _countermarches_ to its
right, a space equal to its front, then faces, moves on, and is thus
successively followed by part of the battalion. The other part of
the battalion, beyond the point of advancing, _faces_ inwards, when
necessary makes a progressive march in file, and then _fronts_. Each
division belonging to this part of the battalion follows successively
till the whole stand in column.
_To_ MARCH _by files behind the centre or left flank_. The right
proportion of the battalion _countermarches_ from the right by files
successively by the rear, and the other proportion of the battalion,
according to circumstances, makes a progressive march by files from its
right to the central point, and there begins to countermarch; at that
point the leading or head division _fronts_ into column, and moves on,
each successive division doing the same. When the left of a battalion
is to be in front, the same operations take place by an inverse march
of the several divisions.
This method, however, of marching by files into open column, should
be resorted to as little as possible, and never when it can be
conveniently avoided. The formation of open column from battalion and
line is better done by the wheelings of companies, subdivisions, or
sections.
_To_ MARCH _up in charging order_, is to advance towards the enemy’s
line with a quick but firm and steady pace, till you get within a few
paces of the opposing body, when an increased rapidity must be given to
the whole, but not to run so as to lose breath, the officers on this
occasion must be particularly attentive to the several divisions in
their charge, keeping them well dressed to their centre, and thereby
preventing dangerous openings and consequent confusion. The French
call this the _pas de Charge_.--Which see under PAS. See _Am. Mil.
Lib._
_Points of_ MARCH, one or more objects which ought always to be
prepared for the direction of any considerable body, every leader of
which who moves directly forward in front, must take care to conduct it
in a line perpendicular to that front. But should a leader, either in
file or front, have only one marked point of march, ascertained to him,
he will himself instantly look out for small intermediate points.
_To_ MARCH _in file to a flank_, is to reduce a line by marching out
from its several divisions towards a given flank, there to remain
in close or open column, of brigades, regiments, grand divisions,
companies, &c. Nothing is more essential in all deployments into line,
and in the internal movements of the divisions of the battalion, than
the accuracy of the march in file. After facing, and at the word
_march_, the whole are directed to step off at the same instant,
each man replacing, or rather overstepping the foot of his preceding
comrade: that is the right foot of the second man comes within the left
foot of the first, and thus of every one, more or less overlapping,
according to the closeness, or openness of the files and the length of
step. The front rank will march straight along the given line, each
soldier of that rank must look along the necks of those before him,
and never to right or left. The centre and rear ranks must look to,
and regulate themselves by their leaders of the front rank, and always
dress in their file. File marching is always made in quick time.
MARCH _of a battalion in line_, is a regular continuity of files
advancing forward in two or three ranks, each rear file preserving
a perpendicular direction to its leader, and the ranks being kept
parallel to each other at given distances; so that the whole line shall
continue straight without being deformed by a concavity or convexity of
figure. The _march_ of the battalion in line, either to front or rear,
being the most important and most difficult of all movements, every
exertion of the commanding officer, and every attention of officers
and men, become peculiarly necessary to attain this end. The great and
indispensible requisites of this operation are, that the direction
of the march be perpendicular to the front of the battalion as then
standing; that the shoulders and body of each individual be perfectly
square, that the files touch lightly at the elbow only, and finally,
that an accurate equality of cadence and length of step be given by
the advanced guides or serjeants, whom the battalion in every respect
must cover, and which equality of cadence and length of step every
individual must follow and comply with. If these essential rules are
not observed, its direction will be lost, the different parts will
open and attempt to close, and by so doing, a floating of the whole
will ensue, and disorder will arise at a time when the remedy is so
difficult, and perfect order so imperiously wanted.
In order to ensure these essential requisites, and to produce perfect
correctness, the serjeants must be trained to this peculiar object, on
whose exactness of cadence, regularity of step, squareness of body, and
precision of movement, the greatest dependance can be placed, these
are the proper _guides of manoeuvre_. The habitual post of the two
principal directing serjeants, is to be in the centre of the battalion,
betwixt the colors. One of them is posted in the front rank, and one in
the rear, that they thereby may be ready to move out when the battalion
is to march; another also covers them in the supernumerary rank.
Whenever the battalion is formed in line and halted, the front
directing serjeant or guide, after having placed himself perfectly and
squarely in the rank, must instantly cast his eyes down the centre of
his body, from the junction of his two heels, and by repeated trials
endeavor to, take up and prolong a line perpendicular to himself,
and to the battalion; for this purpose he is by no means to begin
with looking out for a distant object, but if such by chance should
present itself in the prolongation of the line, extending from his own
person, he may remark it. He is therefore rather to observe and take
up any accidental small point on the ground within 100 or 150 paces.
Intermediate ones cannot be wanting, nor the renewal of such as he
afterwards successively approaches to in his march. In this manner
he is prepared, subject to the future correction of the commanding
officer, to conduct the march.
_To_ MARCH _forward or advance in line, when the battalion has been
halted and correctly dressed_--Is to step off, according to any
given word of command, in quick or ordinary time, and to march over
a perpendicular line of direction, without deviating to the right or
left, or unnecessarily opening or closing during the movement; the
commanding officer having previously placed himself 10 or 12 paces
behind the exact line of the directing serjeant, will, if such file
could be depended on, as standing truly perpendicular to the battalion,
(and great care must be taken to place it so) remark the line of its
prolongation, and thereby ascertain the direction in which it should
march; but, as such precision cannot be relied on, he will from his
own eye and from having the square of the battalion before him, with
promptitude make such correction, and observe such object to the right
or left, as may appear to him the true one; and in doing this, he will
not at once look out for a distant object, but will hit on it, by
prolonging the line from the person of the directing serjeant to the
front; or he will order the covering serjeant to run out 20 paces, and
will place him in the line in which he thinks the battalion ought to
advance. The directing serjeant then takes his direction along the line
which passes from himself, betwixt the heels of the advanced serjeant,
and preserves such line in advancing, by constantly keeping his object
in view.
When the commanding officer gives the _caution_, (_the battalion
will advance_) the front directing serjeant moves out 6 accurate and
exact paces in ordinary time, halts; the two other guides who were
behind him, move up on each side of him, and an officer from the rear,
replaces in the front rank, the leading serjeant. The centre serjeant,
in moving out marches and halts on his own observed points, and the
two other serjeants dress and square themselves exactly by him. If the
commanding officer is satisfied, that the centre serjeant has moved out
in the true direction, he will intimate as much; if he thinks he has
swerved to right or left, he will direct him to incline to that side,
the smallest degree possible, in order thereby to change his direction,
and to take new points on the ground, towards the opposite hand.
The line of direction being thus ascertained, at the word _march_,
the whole battalion instantly step off, and without turning the head,
eyes are glanced towards the colors in the front rank; the replacing
officer betwixt the colors, preserves, during the movement, his exact
distance of 6 paces from the advanced serjeant, and is the guide of
the battalion. The centre advanced serjeant is answerable for the
direction, and the equal cadence and length of step; to these objects
he alone attends, while the other two, scrupulously conforming to his
position, maintain their parallelism to the front of the battalion, and
thereby present an object, to which it ought to move square: they are
not to suffer any other considerations to distract their attention.
They must notice and conform to the direction of the commander
only, and if any small alteration in their position be ordered, the
alteration must be gradually and cooly made.
These are the essential points, which the guiding serjeants must be
rendered perfect in, and to which every commanding officer will pay
the most minute attention. With respect to the officers in the ranks,
they can only be observant of their own personal exactness of march,
and must consider themselves, as forming part with the aggregate of the
men, subject to the same principles of movement, and in no shape or
sense independent of them. They may attend to dress their companies by
looking along the front, or by calling to the individuals who compose
it. By so doing they must not destroy the exact parallelism of the rank
they stand in, nor derange the march: the care of correcting any errors
in the front line, belongs to the officers in the rear.
Well-trained soldiers, indeed, know the remedy that is required, and
will gradually apply it.
The colors, as far as their natural weight and casualties of the
weather will admit, must be carried uniformly and upright, thereby
to facilitate the moving and dressing of the line. But it frequently
happens in windy weather, and in movements over rough ground, that very
little dependence can be placed on the officer who carries them, for a
true direction, or an equal and cadence step. On these occasions, and
indeed on all others, the men must on no account turn their heads to
the colors. They must, on the contrary, keep their shoulders square
to the front, and depend principally on the light touch of the elbow,
together with an occasional glance of the eye, and the accuracy of
step, for their dressing. On the light touch of the elbow, and a
regular cadenced step, the chief dependence must be placed: for if the
men be often permitted to glance at the centre, they will, by so doing,
insensibly contract that habit, abandon the touch of the elbow, shorten
or perhaps lose the cadence step, and in proportion, as the files which
are removed from the centre, adopt that method, the line itself will
gradually assume a concave form, by the flanks bending inwards.
When any waving, or fluctuation in the march, is produced by an
inequality of step, the major and adjutant, who from their situation
are particularly calculated to correct the irregularity, will
immediately apprize the companies in fault, and cooly caution the
others that are well in their true line, not to participate of the
error.
When a company has lost the step, (a circumstance which frequently
happens) the supernumerary officer of that company must watch a
seasonable moment to suggest a change of step, in which operation, he
will be assisted by the supernumerary serjeants. For it must be an
invariable rule among officers in the ranks, never to deviate from
their own perpendicular line of march, to correct the errors of their
several companies. That business belongs entirely to the major and
adjutant, who are occasionally assisted by the supernumeraries, in the
manner just mentioned.
It very often happens, that a central division by bulging out, may make
a flank of a battalion appear to have lost ground, when the fault in
reality arises from that division, either stepping out too far, or from
it being warped towards the colors, and thereby preventing the flank
from being seen.
All changes and corrections that are judged necessary to be made, in
any part of a battalion, during its march in line, must be effected
gradually. Any abrupt alteration would unavoidably produce a waving,
which must be felt in every part. The mounted officers only, with the
imperceptible aid of the supernumeraries, can alone point out and
correct such faults.
The flanks are not, on any account, to be kept back; much less are they
to be advanced before the centre, since in either case, the distance
of files must be lost, and the battalion will not be covering its true
ground. The commanding officer of every battalion, will easily perceive
this defect, by casting his eye along the line, which must soon acquire
a concave or convex shape, unless the beginning of each inaccuracy be
studiously attended to, by the necessary officers.--The two officers
who are on the two flanks of the battalion, being unconfined by the
rank, and not liable to be influenced by any floating that may arise,
by preserving an accurate step, and having a general attention to
the colors, and to the proper line which the battalion should be in,
with respect to the advanced directors, will very much contribute
towards preserving the flanks in their due position. When either of
them observes that a line, drawn from himself, through the centre of
the battalion, passes considerably before the other flank, he may
conclude, that he is himself too much retired; when such line passes
behind that flank, he may be certain that he is too much advanced; he
will, therefore, regulate himself accordingly. When the battalion in
march is convex, the wings must gain the straight line of the centre,
by bringing up the outward shoulder; and it must be strongly impressed
upon the soldier’s mind, that in all situations of movement, by
advancing or keeping back the shoulder as ordered, the most defective
dressing will be gradually and smoothly remedied; whereas sudden jerks
and quick alterations break the line, and eventually produce disorder.
It must be generally remarked, that the rear ranks which were closed
up before the march began, are to move at the lock step, and not be
allowed to open during the march. The correct movement of the battalion
depends much on their close order.
In the march in line, arms are always to be carried _shouldered_.
Supported arms are only allowed when the battalion is halted, or
advanced in column; but if this indulgence were allowed in line, when
the most perfect precision is required, the distance of files would
not be preserved, and slovenliness, inaccuracy, and disorder, must
inevitably take place.
_To change direction on the centre in_ MARCH, is to correct any
floating of the line, occasioned by the opening or closing of the
flanks, by ordering a section or central platoon to quarter wheel to
right or left. At this command the guiding Serjeant making an almost
imperceptible change of his position, and of his points, and the colors
in the battalion, when they have advanced 6 paces to his ground,
conforming to it, the whole will, by degrees, gain a new direction.
Every change of direction made in this manner, must produce a kind of
wheel of the battalion, on its centre, one wing gradually giving back,
and the other as gradually advancing, an attention which the commander
must be careful to see observed.
When the battalion which has marched in perfect order, arrives on its
ground, it keeps the _marked time_ until it is dressed, and receives
the word _halt_, the step which is then taking is finished, and the
whole halt. Eyes are cast to the centre, and the commanding officer
places himself close to the rear rank, in order to see whether the
battalion be sufficiently dressed, and in a direction perfectly
parallel to the one it quitted.
When the battalion is advancing in line for any considerable distance,
or moving up in parade, the music may be allowed at intervals, to play
for a few seconds only, and the drums in two divisions to roll, but
the wind instruments are alone permitted to play. When the line is
retiring, the music are never to play.
_To march by any one face, the square or oblong having previously been
formed by the 4th, 5th, and 6th, companies of a regular battalion
standing fast._ Under these circumstances, the side which is to lead
is announced; the colors move up behind its centre; the opposite side
faces about: and the two flank-sides wheel up by sub-divisions, so
as to stand each in open column, The square marches, two sides in
line, and by their centre; and two sides in open column, which cover,
and dress to their inward flanks on which they wheeled up carefully
preserving their distances. The square halts, and when ordered to front
square, the sub-divisions in column immediately wheel back, and form
their sides, and the side which faced about again faces outwards.
_To_ MARCH _by the right front angle._ When the perfect square is to
march by one of its angles, in the direction of its diagonal, a caution
is given by which angle the movement is to be made, and the two sides
that form it stand fast, while the other two sides face about. The
whole then by sub-divisions, wheel up one-eighth of a circle, two
sides to the right, and two sides to the left, and are thus parallel
to each other, and perpendicular to the direction in which they are to
move, the pivot-flanks being in this manner placed on the sides of the
square, each side being thus in echellon, and the colors behind the
leading angle, the whole are out in march, carefully preserving the
distances they wheeled at, and from the flanks to which they wheeled.
When the oblong marches by one of its angles, its sub-divisions perform
the same operation of wheeling up, each the eighth of the circle; but
its direction of march will not be in the diagonal of the oblong, but
in that of a square, viz. of the line which equally bisects the right
angle.
It will be remembered, that the angular march of the square or oblong,
may be made in any other direction, to the right or left of the above
one; but in such case the sub-divisions of the two opposite sides,
will have to wheel up more than the eighth of the circle, in order to
stand as before, perpendicular to the new direction. The sum of these
two wheels will always amount to that of a quarter circle, and their
difference will vary as the new line departs, more or less, from the
equal bisecting line; this will be known by the first wheeling up the
two angular divisions, till they stand perpendicular with the new
direction, and then ordering all the others to conform accordingly.
This movement is very beautiful in the execution, but cannot be made
with any degree of accuracy, unless the perpendicular situation of the
division is correctly attained, and carefully preserved.
_To_ MARCH _in open ground, so as to be prepared against the attack
of cavalry_. In order to execute this movement, with some degree of
security, one or more battalions may move in column of companies at
quarter distances, one named company in the centre of each being
ordered to keep an additional distance of 2 files; in which shape a
battalion is easily managed, or directed upon any point. When the
column _halts_, and is ordered to _form the square_, the first company
falls back to the second, the last company closes up to the one before
it: the whole companies make an interval of 2 paces in their centre,
by their sub-divisions taking each one pace to the flanks; 2 officers
with their serjeants, place themselves in each of their front and rear
intervals; two officers with their serjeants, also take post in rear
of each flank of the company, from which the additional interval has
been kept; and a Serjeant takes the place of each flank front rank man
of the first division, and of each flank rear rank man of the last
division; all other officers, serjeants, the 4 displaced men, &c.
assemble in the centre of the companies, which are to form the flank
faces. Those last named companies having been told off, each in 4
sections, wheel up by sections, 2 to the right, and 2 to the left; (the
2 rear companies at the same time closing up, and facing outwards,)
the inner sections then close forward to their front ones, which dress
up with the extremities of the front and rear companies, and 4 on each
flank of the second companies, from the front and from the rear; _Face
outwards!_--The whole thus stand faced outwards and formed 6 deep, with
two officers and their serjeants in the middle of each face, to command
it; all the other officers, as well as serjeants, &c. are in the void
space in the centre, and the files of the officers in the faces, may be
completed from serjeants, &c. in the interior, in such manner as the
commandant may direct. The mounted field officers, must pass into the
centre of the column, by the rear face, if necessary, opening from its
centre 2 paces and again closing in.
When ordered only, the 2 first ranks all round the column, will kneel
and the front rank slope their bayonets, the 2 next ranks will fire
standing, and all the others will remain in reserve; the file coverers
behind each officer of the sides will give back, and enable him to
stand in the third rank.
MARCH _resumed under the same circumstances_. On receiving the
cautionary word of command, the several sections that had closed up,
fall to their distances; the sections then wheel back into column;
the officers, serjeants, &c. take their places on the flanks; and
when the column is again put in motion, the companies that closed up,
successively take their proper distances.
It will be remembered that unless the companies are above 16 file, they
cannot be divided into 4 sections; so that in this case, a section
may consist of 4 file or eight men, if therefore, they are under 16
file, and told off in sections of 5 or 3, the column will march at
the distance of a section; and in forming the square, the 2 outward
sections will wheel up, but the 3d one will stand fast, and afterwards,
by dividing itself to right and left, will form a 4th rank to the
others; in resuming column the outward sections wheel back, and the
rear of the centre sections easily recover their places: as to all
other circumstances, they remain the same.
_The_ MARCH, when applied to the movement of an army, consists in its
arrangement with respect to the number and composition of columns, the
precautions to be taken, the posts to be seized upon to cover it, &c.
which arrangement must depend upon circumstances. The following are
general rules:
The routes must be constantly opened to the width of 60 feet.
If the march be through an open country, without defiles, the cavalry
march by divisions of squadrons, and the infantry by platoons or half
companies.
In an inclosed country, or such as is intersected by hollow ways, or
other defiles, the march must be by sections of 6 (by the heads of the
section after facing to left, being wheeled to the right) or more files
in the infantry, and ranks by threes or by twos in the cavalry, and the
artillery must move in a single file, because the frequent breaking off
and forming up again, may retard the march, and fatigue the troops.
In marches made parallel to, or with a view of gaining the enemy’s
flank, divisions must preserve their wheeling distances, and the column
must cover the same length of ground which it would occupy in line of
battle; in marches directly perpendicular to the enemy’s position, the
column must be closed up to half or quarter distance, in order to move
in as compact a body as possible.
The pivot files must attend to preserve their distances exactly, each
following precisely the path pointed out by the one before him; and
keeping the regular marching step, by which means, upon a signal being
given, the division is in a moment in order. The leader or _guide_ of
the pivot file may be occasionally changed.
At the head of every column, whether composed of infantry or cavalry,
a well instructed non-commissioned officer must march as _guide_.
He must carefully keep the regular step of the march, to which the
troops are drilled, and upon this man the regular pace of the column
will depend; by this method two essential points are ensured; one,
that every column moves in exactly the same time, and of course
enables the officer commanding to calculate the march with certainty;
another that it ensures the troops not being over hurried, which they
are more especially liable to be when cavalry leads the column; two
non-commissioned officers should be appointed for this purpose, who
must relieve each other.
At the head of every column of march, there must be a considerable
number of pioneers to clear the rout.
Guns or carriages breaking down and disabled, are immediately to be
removed out of the line of march, so as not to interrupt its progress.
Officers are most positively enjoined at all times to remain with their
divisions, whether marching or halted.
The commanding officers of regiments must pay the greatest attention to
their corps whilst passing a defile, and proper officers should be left
to assist in this most essential part of the conduct of marches.
It is a standing rule in column, that every regiment should march with
the same front, that the regiment does which precedes it, right or left.
No alteration should be made in any circumstance of the march, which is
to be taken up from the regiment in front, until arrived exactly upon
the same ground upon which that regiment made the alteration.
No officer should ride between the divisions on a march, except general
and staff officers, the execution of whose duty renders it necessary
for them to pass in all directions.
When a battalion passes a defile, and there is no room for the officers
to ride on the flanks of their divisions, half of those who are mounted
pass at the head of the battalion, and half in the rear.
All breakings off to enter a defile, and all formations again when
passed through it, must be done extremely quick, by the parts that
double, or that form up.
A sufficient number of faithful and intelligent guides must always be
ready to march at the head of the battalions and columns.
MARCH _of the line_, in a collective sense of the word, is a military
movement, executed upon established principles, governed by local
circumstances, and influenced by the nature of the service for which it
is performed. After a general has obtained an accurate knowlege of the
country through which his army is to move, his next care must be the
arrangement of all its different component parts, with which he will
form his column of route.
MARCH _of the Column of Route_. The order in which a battalion should
at all times move; that the columns of an army should perform their
marches; that an enemy should be approached; and that safety can be
ensured to the troops in their transitions from one point to another is
in columns of divisions, and never on a less front than 6 files where
the formation is 3 deep, or 4 files where it is 2 deep, nor does any
advantage arise from such column, if it is an open column, exceeding 16
or 24 files in front, where a considerable space is to be gone over.
At no time whatever ought a column of manœuvre, or of route, to
occupy a greater extent of ground in marching than what is equal to
its front when in order of battle; no situation can require it as an
advantage. Therefore, the marching of great bodies in file, where
improper extension is unavoidable, must be looked upon as an unmilitary
practice, and ought only to be had recourse to when unavoidably
necessary. Where woods, inclosures, and bad or narrow routes absolutely
require a march in file, there is no remedy for the delay in forming,
and man may be obliged to come up after man; and if circumstances
admit, and there are openings for their passage, the divisions or
platoons may be faced to the left and wheeled to the right, and
severally marched to the same front; but these circumstances, which
should be regarded as exceptions from the primary and desired order of
march on a greater front, should tend the more to enforce the great
principle of preventing improper distances, and of getting out of so
weak a situation as soon as the nature of the ground will allow of the
front of the march being increased.
In common route marching, the battalion or more considerable column
may be carried on at a natural pace of about 75 steps in a minute, or
near two miles and an half in an hour: the attention of the soldier
is allowed to be relaxed, he moves without the restraint of cadence
of step, or carried arms; rear ranks are opened to one or two paces;
files are loosened but never confounded; in no situation is the ordered
distance between divisions ever to be increased, and the proper flank
officers and under officers remain answerable for them.
If the column is halted, the whole must be put in march at the same
time. The movement of the head division must be steady and equal; the
descending of heights must not be hurried, that the part of the column
ascending may properly keep up. Alterations occasioned by the windings
of the route are executed without losing distance. Soldiers are not
to break to avoid mud or small spots of water. The guides and pivots
must trace out such a path for themselves as will best avoid small
obstructions, and the men of the division will open from, and not press
upon their pivots. When platoon officers are permitted to be mounted,
each will remain on the flank of his division watching over its
exactness, and that the proper distance of march is kept by the flank
pivot and guide under the officer appointed to preserve it.
Where the arrival of a column at a given point is to be perfectly
punctual, in that case the distance being known, the head, must move
at an equal cadenced step, and the rear must conform; and a guide,
expressly appointed, will, at the head of the column, take such step as
the nature of the route shall permit the column to comply with.
Nothing so much fatigues troops in a considerable column, and is more
to be avoided than an inequality of march. One great reason is, that
the rear of the column frequently and unnecessarily deviates from the
line which its head traces out; and in endeavouring to regain that
line, and their first distances, the divisions must of course run or
stop, and again take up their march. It is unnecessary to attempt the
same scrupulous observances in common route marching, as when going
to enter into the alignement; but even a general attention to this
circumstance will in that case prevent unnecessary winding in the
march, which tends to prolong it, and to harass the soldier.
When the probable required formation of the line will be to a flank,
then the column of march is an open one, and except the cannon, no
impediment or circumstance whatever must be allowed betwixt the
divisions or in the intervals of battalions. When cannon can possibly
move on the flank of the battalion, they ought, and mounted officers or
bat horses must not be permitted between the divisions. If the probable
formation may be to the front, then distances are more closed up, and
bat horses, &c. may be allowed between the brigades of a column, but
not between the battalions of a brigade.
It is always time well employed to halt the head of a considerable
column, and enlarge an opening, or repair a bad step in the road,
rather than to diminish the front, or lengthen out the line of march.
No individual is to presume to march on a less front than what the
leader of the column directs, and all doublings must therefore come
from the head only. The preservation of the original front of march,
on all occasions, is a point of the highest consequence, and it is a
most meritorious service in any officer to prevent all unnecessary
doublings, or to correct them as soon as made; no advantage can arrive
from them, and therefore each commanding officer, when he arrives near
the cause, should be assured that it is necessary before he permits his
battalion so to double: on all occasions he should continue his march
on the greatest front, that, without crowding, the road or openings
will allow, although the regiment or divisions before him may be
marching on a narrower front.
All openings made for the march of a column should be sufficient for
the greatest front on which it is to march, they should be all of the
same width, otherwise each smaller one becomes a defile.
At all points of increasing or diminishing the front of the march, an
intelligent officer, per battalion or brigade, should be stationed
to see that it is performed with celerity; and the commandant of a
considerable column should have constant reports and inspections made
that the column is moving with proper regularity; he should have
officers in advance to apprize him of difficulties to be avoided, or
obstacles to be passed, and should himself apply every proper means to
obviate such as may occur in the march. (And at no time are such helps
more necessary than when regiments are acting in line on broken ground,
and when their movements are combined with those of others.) When the
column arrives near its object of formation or manœuvre, the strictest
attention of officers and men is to be required, and each individual is
to be at his post.
The great principle on all occasions of diminishing or increasing the
front of the column in march is, that such part as doubles or forms
up shall slacken or quicken its pace, as is necessary to conform to
the part which has no such operation to perform, but which continues
its uniform march, without the least alteration, as if no such process
was going on; and if this is observed, distances can never be lost,
or the column lengthened out. Unless the unremitting attention and
intelligence of officers commanding battalions and their divisions are
given to this object, disorder and constant stops and runs take place
in the column; the soldier is improperly and unnecessarily harassed;
disease soon gains ground in a corps thus ill conducted, which is not
to be depended on in any combined arrangement, is unequal to any effort
when its exertion may be required, and is soon ruined from a neglect of
the first and most important of military duties.
The most important exercise that troops can attend to is the march in
column of route. No calculation can be made on columns which do not
move with an ascertained regularity, and great fatigue arises to the
soldier. A general cannot depend on execution, and therefore can make
no combination of time or distance in the arrival of columns at their
several points. In many situations an improperly extended column will
be liable to be beat in detail, and before it can be formed. Troops
that are seldom assembled for the manœuvres of war, can hardly feel the
necessity of the modes in which a considerable body of infantry must
march and move.
The distance of columns from each other, during a march, depends on
the circumstances of ground, and the object of that march, with regard
to future formations. The more columns in which a considerable corps
marches, the less extent in depth will it take up, the less frequent
will be its halts, and the more speedily can it form in order of battle
to the front.
On the combinations of march, and on their execution by the component
parts of the body, does the success of every military operation
or enterprize depend. To fulfil the intentions of the chief every
concurrent exertion of the subordinate officer is _required_, and the
best calculated dispositions, founded on local knowlege, must fail, if
there is a want of that punctuality of execution which every general
must trust to, and has a right to expect from the leaders of his
columns.
The composition of the columns of an army must always depend on the
nature of the country and the objects of the movement. Marches made
_parallel_ to the front of the enemy will generally be performed by the
lines on which the army is encamped, each marching by its flank, and
occupying when in march the same extent of ground as when formed in
line. Marches made _perpendicular_ to the front of the enemy, either
advancing or retiring, will be covered by strong van or rearguards.
The columns will be formed of considerable divisions of the army, each
generally composed both of cavalry and infantry: they will move at half
or quarter distance, and the nature of the country will determine which
kind of force precedes.
During a march to the _front_, the separation of the heads of the
columns must unavoidably be considerable; but, when they approach the
enemy, they must be so regulated and directed as to be able to occupy
the intermediate spaces, if required to form in line. Some one column
must determine the relative situation of the others, and divisions must
be more closed up than in a march to a flank, and in proportion as
they draw near to the enemy must exactness and attention increase. The
general, in consequence of the observations he has made, will determine
on his disposition: the columns which are now probably halted and
collected will be subdivided and multiplied; each body will be directed
on its point of formation, and the component parts of each will in due
time disengage from the general column, and form in line.
The safety of marches to the _rear_ must depend on particular
dispositions, on strong covering or rear guards, and on the judicious
choice of such posts as will check the pursuit of the enemy. In these
marches to front or rear, the divisions of the second line generally
follow or lead those of the first, and all their formations are
relative thereto. The heavy artillery and carriages of an army form a
particular object of every march, and must be directed according to
circumstances of the day. The safety of the march, by the arrangement
of detachments and posts to cover the front, rear, or flanks of the
columns, depends also on many local and temporary reasons, but form an
essential part of the general disposition.
MARCH _in line_, must be uniformly steady, without floating, opening,
or closing.
MARCH _in file_, must be close, firm, and without lengthening out.
_To_ MARCH _past_, is to advance in open or close column, in ordinary
or slow time, with a firm and steady step, erect person, the eye
glanced towards the reviewing general.
_The ordered or cadenced_ MARCH.--The prescribed movements in military
tactics. All military movements are intended to be made with the
greatest quickness consistent with order, regularity, and without hurry
or fatigue to the troops. The uniformity of position, and the cadence
and length of step, produce that equality and freedom of march, on
which every thing depends, and to which the soldier must be carefully
trained, nor suffered to join the battalion, until he be thoroughly
perfected in this most essential duty. Many different times of march
must not be required of the soldier. These two must suffice.
_Ordinary_ or _quick time_, and _slow_ or _parade time_. The first 75
steps of 24 inches in a minute; the second of 60 steps of 24 inches in
a minute.
In order to accustom soldiers to accurate movements, plummets, which
vibrate the required times or march in a minute, have been recommended:
musquet balls suspended by a string which is not subject to stretch,
and on which are marked the different required lengths, will answer the
above purpose. The length of the plummet is to be measured from the
point of suspension, to the centre of the ball.
The several lengths are:--
_steps_ _in._ _hun._
Ordinary or quick time in a minute 75 -- 24 96
Accelerated time 108 -- 12 3
MARCHING _by files_, is to march with the narrowest front, except that
of rank entire or Indian file, which bodies of men are susceptible of.
The strictest observance of all the rules for marching, is particularly
necessary in marching by files, which is first to be taught at the
ordinary time, or 75 steps in the minute, and afterwards in accelerated
time, or 108 steps in the minute.
In file marching, particularly at the drill, the whole of a company
or squad, having been previously faced, are immediately to step off
together, gaining at the very first step 24 inches.
The first adoption of file marching has been attributed to the
Prussians, and the advocates for what is called the _Ordre mince des
Prussiens_, the _thin_ or _narrow_ order, have in contradistinction
named the _ordre profond_, the deep order, or column, the French order.
According to a very ingenious and lively writer, who has had frequent
occasions to see the practice of both orders, the _ordre mince_ or file
marching, may be very useful during a march, but the deep order or
column ought only to be depended upon in manœuvring before an enemy.
_To_ MARCH _according to time and measure_, (_marcher en cadence_,
_Fr._) Marshal Saxe, in page 23, art. 6. of the folio edition of
his _Reveries_ or _Memoires sur l’Art de la Guerre_, is of opinion,
that marching to time and measure constitutes one of the essential
requisites in war; he calls it indeed the principal one to be observed
by troops who are going into action. By marching according to time and
measure, we understand, that regular movement of a large body of men
whose steps are cadenced and uniformly the same, and which are kept so
by the artificial aid of music.
The marshal observes, that although military men will enter into much
desultory conversation respecting the tactic, (_la tactique_) of the
ancients, they seldom or ever understand the real definition of the
word. It is, in fact, so much corrupted in modern times, that what
really conveyed no more than a regular principle in marching, has since
been made to signify the exercise and evolutions of troops. All the
world know how to beat a march, without comprehending the real object,
and half the world imagine, that the noise of a drum or fife is nothing
more than military parade.
It is ridiculous to suppose, that martial sounds and military music,
were first invented for the sole purpose of confounding each other
on the day of battle. Let us indulge a better opinion of the good
understanding of the ancients, particularly of the Romans, and endeavor
to prove, that regularity in marching, (which depends wholly upon
the cadenced step,) is the ground-work of military operations, and
that nothing is more simple because it corresponds with nature. This
was, in fact, the military step which the Romans brought to so great
a perfection, and which has since been so closely followed by the
Prussians. It was upon this principle, that marches were first devised,
and that the drum was adopted to second the purposes. This is literally
nothing more than a certain beat or _tact_, as the marshal expresses
it, and which is evidently derived from the Roman word _tactum_, touch,
and by means of which men may be taught to move in quick or slow time.
As long as this principle can be followed up, the rear will never lag
behind, soldiers will preserve the same step and march with the same
foot; the wheelings will be made uniformly together, without confusion
or delay; and the men will be less fatigued than if they were suffered
to march or wheel at random. Every person of the least reflection or
observation, will be convinced of the truth of this last remark. Let
one man, for instance, be ordered to dance two hours, without the
assistance of any sort of musical instrument, and let another, with the
same bodily powers and activity, go through the same operation, during
double the time accompanied by music, and let it then be determined
which of the two has been most fatigued. It will evidently appear
that the former has: for it is an unquestionable fact, that sounds of
concord and harmony have a wonderful secret influence over the human
frame, and that they render the exercises and functions of the body
extremely easy. It is well known, that when the camel drivers wish to
make their camels get on, they never flog or strike them with sticks,
but sing, whistle, or repeat some humorous song.
Should it be asked what sort of music is best adapted to the human
organs in military movements? It may safely be replied all those
simple tunes which can be played by the fife and drum; I shall perhaps
be told, (observes the marshal) that many men have no ear for music;
this I deny, as far as the observation regards marching, which is
a movement so easy to the human frame, that it comes, as it were,
naturally to man. I have often remarked, that when the long roll has
beat, the men in repairing to their several parades, have insensibly
preserved the regular step, without knowing that they did so: nature,
in fact, and instinct go together. If marching according to time and
measure be considered in a mere superficial manner, the cadence step
will undoubtedly appear of little importance; but if it be considered
as an essential requisite to quicken or slacken the movement of troops
who are going into action, it must be found an important object.
No evolution, in fact, can be well done at close order without its
assistance. The military step of the Romans, was the cadence or
measured movement, and they were thereby enabled to march with ease
upwards of 24 miles in five hours. This, however, would be looked upon
as great exertion, if not fatigue, among some modern troops, although
it constituted a principal part of the Roman exercise. Hence some
opinion may be formed of the attention which they paid to that species
of training, by which men were habituated to long marches; and this
they accomplished by means of the _tact_ or cadenced movement.
In order to prove the validity of our observations, let us, for a
moment, imagine a thing which is scarcely possible to be accomplished
by troops that do not march according to time and measure. Let us
suppose, that two battalions, advancing to attack one another, should
march up without floating, overlapping, or breaking in the least; under
these circumstances, which would obtain the superiority? the one that
should imprudently have commenced firing, or that which should have
reserved its fire? Every intelligent and able officer will instantly
determine in favor of the latter; and his decision would unquestionably
be correct; for the former, besides being disheartened by seeing
men advance against them with a reserved fire, would necessarily be
retarded in their march in order to prime and load; and it must be
evident to every man, that their antagonists would completely overthrow
them by advancing with a rapid and cadenced step.
This was the plain and effectual method of the Romans. It may,
perhaps, be said, that their ignorance of the use of gunpowder alters
the case with respect to our manner of fighting. Let it, however, be
recollected, that they fought with missile weapons, which did full as
much mischief as our fire arms can produce. Gunpowder, in fact, is not
so destructive as most people are apt to imagine. Few men are killed
in regular fought actions, by the two armies engaging with musquetry
only. Marshal Saxe does not scruple to assert, that it is impossible
for a battalion of armed men to charge its enemy with vigor and effect,
unless it preserve the cadenced step. For the ranks must unavoidably
open during the march in line; and when the troops get within 50 or 60
paces of their opponents, the commanding officers see chasms, cry out
_serre_, or close into the centre: and in the hurry of so doing, one
rank overlaps another, and the centre itself becomes insensibly broken,
standing eight or ten deep, while the wings are at two, three, or four.
To remedy this defect, the whole line is halted, and if the enemy be
wise enough to advance in regular order, during this operation, it is
ten to one that he turns the flank of his opponent, and completely
routs him. With regard to the musquetry firing, it may be laid down as
a certain fact, that the mischief it does in pitched battles is more
imaginary than real. It has been acknowleged by the most experienced
officers, it is, indeed, positively asserted by marshal Saxe, (page 29
of the folio edition) that the closest vollies have produced little
or no effect against a line of determined steady troops. I have seen,
observes the marshal, a whole volley of cool directed musquetry,
occasion the loss of no more than four men; while the troops against
which it has been poured, have calmly marched up, reserved their fire
till they got in contact with the enemy, and then amply revenged the
deaths of their comrades by discharging their pieces and following up
with the bayonet.
It is at this stage of the battle, that a real carnage commences, and
its execution rests wholly with the victorious party; and we need
scarcely add, that its success must be attributed to that composed,
steady movement, or cadenced step, which enabled the troops to act
together, when they came to close action. The military reader will be
gratified by a perusal of two or three interesting anecdotes in pages
29, 30, 31, of the Reveries, fol. edit.
MARCH _in prolongation of the line_.--This operation is gone through
when a battalion standing in open column, with the pivot flanks of its
divisions on the line, and advanced points being ascertained, moves
forward at the word _march_, which is given by the commanding officer.
Whenever the battalion wheels into open column, in order to prolong
the line on which it was formed, and that no distant point in that
prolongation is previously given, the serjeant guide of the leading
company will advance 15 or 20 paces, and place himself in the line of
the pivot flanks, and the leading officer will thereby (taking a line
over his head) be enabled to ascertain the direction in which he is to
move.
MARCH _by the inversion of files, or countermarch_. A compound word
signifying retrocession, backward movement, change of measures or
conduct, any alteration, in fact, of an original conception or
undertaking. Thus the countermarch of ideas in the mind is the
precursor of the different changes made by the body. In a military
sense it is variously applicable; and as every countermarch or backward
movement necessarily implies a previous march, or forward movement,
we shall extract under this article the most material instructions
that have been published in good authors relative to the countermarch
of the component parts of a battalion, &c. observing generally that
the word countermarch may be applied to the most extensive scale of
military operations. Thus a whole army which has advanced into an
enemy’s country, is said to countermarch when it not only ceases to
make progress in a forward direction, but changes its whole plan of
manœuvre, and treads back the ground over which it had advanced. To
countermarch in a more desultory manner, means to quit different
positions by the countermarching of detached bodies, by changing their
relative fronts, without abandoning the field, or scene of general
operation. In order to execute such evolutions and inversions with
accuracy, every battalion should be well instructed in the prescribed
methods of changing front by the inversion of its files to right or
left, in front or in rear of a leading division, from and on its centre.
_The_ COUNTERMARCH _by files_.--According to the last printed
regulations, this movement is of two kinds. Either _successive_ (the
body being halted) by each file successively turning on its own ground,
the moment it is disengaged by the departure of its preceding file: or
_progressive_ (the body being in motion) by each file turning when it
arrives at the point from which the leading or head file first wheeled.
In the first case the body must shift its ground to a flank a space at
least equal to its front: in the second it will perform this operation
of the countermarch on its original ground, exchanging flanks and
fronts; so that what before stood as the leading or head division will
become the rear of the column; or, if in line, what was the right flank
fronting one way, will still remain the right flank fronting another.
In both cases the pivots are in a small degree moveable, but they must
be so as little as possible, since a solid and compact inversion of the
files is as requisite to a true and close formation in line or column,
as the lock-step is indispensible in every other movement by files.
COUNTERMARCH _by files in front of the battalion, &c._ In this case the
front men become the pivots, on which every successive file turns, till
the rear file gets upon the identical space of ground from whence the
front file first wheeled.
COUNTERMARCH _by files in rear of the Battalion_. In this case the rear
rank men become the pivots upon similar principles of movement. All
countermarches of a battalion or greater body, must be made in ordinary
time; of smaller divisions in general in quick time. The observations
which have already been made, under the head _files_, with respect to a
solidity and quickness of movement in each wheeling, and to an unity of
step, (allowing for an increased length of it in the wheeling men) are
especially applicable to the countermarch by files.
_The_ COUNTERMARCH _of a battalion from both flanks on its centre, by
files_. In order to effect this movement and change of formation, the
wings _face_ outwards from the colors, which stand fast, and a serjeant
remains at the point of each wing in order to mark the ground. At the
word _march_, the right wing files successively close behind the rear
rank, and the left wing before the front rank of the battalion, till
they arrive at the points where each other stood. They then halt,
cover, and front by word of command, looking to the colors which take
their places. The commanding officer dresses the line if necessary.
_The_ COUNTERMARCH _of the battalion, from its centre, and on its
centre, by files_. The wings face inwards to the colors, which stand
fast, and a serjeant remains to mark each flank. The whole then
take three side steps to the right, by word of command, in order to
disengage the centre. At the second word of command, the whole move
on, and each file successively wheels into the centre as it arrives
at and beyond the colors. As soon as each company is in the line from
the colors to the flank serjeant, its leading officer _fronts_ it.
When the whole is formed, the colors countermarch, and every company
dresses to the colors till otherwise ordered. It must be remembered,
as a general rule, that in the countermarch from both flanks, no
part of the battalion is fronted till the whole is on its ground. In
the countermarch from the centre, the battalion begins instantly and
successively to front by companies, as each is ready and on its ground.
_The_ COUNTERMARCH _by companies or subdivisions, on the centre of a
battalion or line_. Although this maybe done by files, it has been
allowed, that on account of the unavoidable openings which always
occur in file marching, a battalion, or larger body, will be best
enabled to execute that movement with quickness and rapidity, by the
march of columns of companies or subdivisions in front. To effect this
object, the battalion is cautioned to countermarch from its centre by
subdivisions; one or two central subdivisions having wheeled the half
circle upon their centre point, or countermarched into the new line,
so that the front rank stands precisely where the rear rank did: one
of the wings then faces to the right about, and both wheel inwards
by subdivisions: they march along the rear and front of the formed
division, and successively _wheel_ up into their respective places on
each side of those already arranged in the line. The subdivisions which
wheel up to the rear, successively _mark time_, when they reach their
ground. The officers who lead them must be particularly attentive to
their wheeling points, by being at their proper front rank when they
_halt_ their subdivisions. They would otherwise pass the rear, and
disfigure the formation.
If it be intended that the front rank of the directing company or
subdivision, should stand on the identical line which it occupied
before the countermarch, it will be placed in that direction. In that
case, after the subdivision has wheeled inwards, the wing which is to
march in rear of it, must shift a few paces to the flank, in order to
get clear of the rear ranks, and then proceed.
When one flank of a battalion or line is to occupy the spot where the
other one stands, its most expeditious movement to arrive at it, will
be along the prolongation of the line. If the flanks are to exchange
places with each other, the countermarch on the centre, or on a flank,
is the best method by which that exchange can be effected. The single
battalion may do it by files, if its ground be confined, but a line
must do it by countermarch of divisions in open column.
_The_ COUNTERMARCH _in column_, is the inversion of the different files
which constitute the several divisions, subdivisions, or sections
of which the column is composed. By which inversion the front of the
column is completely reversed.
To COUNTERMARCH _a column, the right in front_, is to change the front,
or aspect of the leading company, subdivision, or section, and to place
it in the rear of its perpendicular formation. After the caution has
been given to countermarch by files the whole will face to the right,
by word of command. Each company or leading officer or serjeant, will
immediately quit the pivot, and place himself on the right of his
company, subdivision, or section, whilst his covering serjeant advances
to the spot which he has quitted, and faces to the right about. At the
word _march_ the whole move. The leader in the first instance wheels
short round to the right, and proceeds, followed by his files of men,
until he has placed his pivot front rank man close to his serjeant,
who remains immoveable. As soon as the leading officer or serjeant of
each company, subdivision, or section, has countermarched the extent
of his front, he instantly gives the words _mark time_, so as to have
it squared and closed in to the right, which is now become the pivot
flank, and on which the officer or serjeant replaces the person that
had advanced to ascertain the exact point of perpendicular formation;
and who falls back behind the rear rank; and when dressed, _halt_. By
means of this inversion of the files, the column will face to its rear,
each company, subdivision, or section, having its original follower its
head or leading object.
_To_ COUNTERMARCH _a column, the left in front_, is to make the left
company, subdivision, or section, which is now in the rear of the
column, become the head of it. After the caution, to countermarch by
files, has been given, at the word _left face_, the whole face to
the left, the officer or serjeant moves to the left of his company,
subdivision, or section, and the person who has covered him, moves to
his place, and faces about. At the word _march_, the officer turns
short to the left, and proceeds as before until he is fixed on the
left, which is now become the pivot flank, as the column stands with
its right in front. In all countermarches, the facing is always to
that hand which is _not_ the pivot, but which is to become such. The
countermarch of each division, subdivision, or section, separately on
its own ground, is an evolution of great utility on many occasions.
It enables a column which has its right in front, and is marching in
an alignement, to return along that same line, and to take such new
positions in it as circumstances may require, without inverting or
altering the proper front of the line. In many situations of forming
from column into line, it becomes a previous operation which ought not
to be dispensed with.
When a column countermarches by divisions, each on its own ground,
unless the divisions be equal, the distances after the countermarch
will not be the true wheeling distances, but will be such as are
equal to the front of the preceding division, and therefore the true
distances must be regained before the divisions can wheel up into line
with the accuracy and completion of space which are required.
MARCHING _past by the cavalry_.--At a review, or inspection, regiments,
brigades, or lines, do not march past in column of squadrons, but in
column of half squadrons.
In passing by in half squadrons at open ranks, the commander of the
squadron will be in front of his leading half squadron, covered by the
standard, with which the other officers of the half squadron dress.
In the second half squadron all its officers are in front, and in one
line. The trumpets are all in front of the regiment, and when they have
passed, wheel quickly round, and remain posted opposite the general,
and sound till the regiment has passed; when they cease, (and those of
the succeeding regiments commence) follow their regiment, and regain
its front.
The half squadrons, or divisions, will dress, and cover to the passing
hand; after the successive wheel, which brings them on the line of
passing, they will open ranks, 60 or 70 yards, before they approach the
general, and close them about the same distance after passing, and they
will continue so to dress, and preserve the line, till each division
wheels at the point, where the head one has changed its direction:
there, and not before, the dressing and covering will be made to the
proper pivot flank of divisions.
The whole pass, (whether at open or close ranks) as one column; nor
is any division, squadron, or regiment, to increase, or alter the
distances it possessed, at the moment it wheeled from line into column.
In passing by half squadrons or divisions, at close ranks, the
standard may take the centre of the front rank of the leading one. The
commanding officer is before it, other officers are at their squadron
posts, and care is taken, that there shall be an officer on each
passing flank.
At the drawing of swords, and general salute, on the general’s
approach, the trumpets all sound the parade march. When the general
passes along the line, each regiment successively sounds its own march,
or such other as it shall be ordered, and the same is done by each
regiment when it passes the general.
The general orders and field regulations have prescribed the soundings
with which all generals, and other persons, are to be received;
when they pass along the line, or the line before them, the trumpet
soundings will be the same as when the president or governor of a state
appears.
The trumpet flourish, in drawing swords, is used regimentally on their
own ground, and is the sounding used in receiving a major general;
it is repeated twice for a lieutenant-general, and to all superior
generals the march is sounded.
In parade, to receive the president, or the commanding general, the
trumpets are assembled on the right of their regiments, (whether single
or in line) in two ranks, and the staff beyond them.--The staff does
not march past.
On all occasions of exercise, and manœuvre, trumpets are behind their
troops and squadrons, unless otherwise detached.
If the president sees a brigade, he will be received at the point of
his approach in the manner already directed, by the general commanding
it. If a single regiment, in the same manner by its commanding officer.
After passing in parade, and in movements, and exercise, it will
depend on the commanding officer of the regiment, to place the other
field officers at the head of squadrons, or to assign them the
superintendance of wings, in order the better to assist.
In general, regiments manœuvre at too great a distance from the person
inspecting them; they ought to terminate many of their movements and
formations within 20 or 30 yards of where he stands.
Cavalry regiments, when dismounted, and formed in line, will have an
interval of six paces between each.
When the regiments dismount, field officers, and adjutants, do not
dismount, but remain on horseback.
When the dismounted line advances in front, at close ranks, general
officers, and commanding officers of regiments, are behind the centre;
other field officers are behind the flanks of the battalion.
When the dismounted line is at open ranks, field officers are on the
flanks of the battalion, in a line with the men, and general officers,
and commanding officers of regiments, are in front.
In passing on foot, all mounted officers are in front of the regiment,
except the adjutant, who is in the rear.
_General principles in_ MARCHING.--Where a large body is marching in
column, or columns, through narrow ground, and when its parts are to
be assembled beyond the defile in several lines, in a compact manner
behind each other--such parts are not to begin to assemble when the
leading one does, but the head of each line is successively first to
come up to the ground on which it is to stand, and when it there halts,
its proper followers (and not before) move into line with it, and
thereby do not impede the bodies that are behind them, which are still
in the defile, and are to perform the same operation.
When a new line to be marched, or formed upon, is taken up by guides,
commanding officers of squadrons, of regiments, and all other persons
whatever, will take care that during such operation they do not stand
upon, or obscure the direction of that line. Too many guides should
not be thrown out. In movements in column, commanding officers of
squadrons, and regiments, should keep wide of the flanks, that the
pivot leaders may more correctly follow each other, and that they
themselves may the better see, and distinguish the relative situation
of the whole.
We shall conclude our remarks on the principles of marching, by quoting
a remarkable passage out of marshal Saxe’s Reveries, which may serve to
undeceive many with regard to the over-rated importance that is given
to the expert handling of the firelock.
He justly remarks, that the manual and platoon exercise does extremely
well to render the soldier easy under arms, but it should not engross
the whole of our attention on that account. It is, perhaps, of all
others, the least important branch in military acquirements, after the
soldier has been taught to carry his firelock on his left shoulder, to
prime and load with accuracy and dispatch, and to fire in platoon.
When once a soldier has been rendered master of these essential
requisites, (and it requires little to make him so) the full possession
of his legs and feet becomes the principal object of his attention.
The secret of all manœuvres, and the consequent issue of engagements,
depend upon the legs. Hence the necessity of moving to time and
measure, and the wise practice of teaching the cadenced step. Whoever
attempts to drill a recruit without paying attention to this important
object, must be ignorant of the first elements of war.
_Il n’en est pas seulement aux elemens a qu’on appelle le métier de la
guerre._--He does not even know the first rudiments of what is called
the art of war.
These observations ought to be strongly impressed upon the minds of
those persons who are too apt to devote all their time to the firelock,
and consequently to neglect the more necessary object of marching,
&c. Officers, in particular, should be taught to feel the justness
of those principles of movement, by which large bodies are enabled
to act together. The motions of the firelock are easily learned, but
the various changes to which the human frame must submit in marching,
require something more than mere mechanical operation.
MARCH _of a train of artillery_.--It has been observed in page 192, of
Muller’s Treatise of Artillery, that the French march their artillery
much in the same manner that the British do, with this difference, that
the French artillery is divided into brigades. In page 191 of Muller’s
treatise on Artillery, we find the following detail of a march of
English artillery:--
1. A guard of the army. 2. The company of miners, with their tumbrel
of tools, drawn by two horses. 3. The regiments of artillery front
guard. 4. The kettle drums, drawn by four horses, and two trumpeters on
horseback. 5. The flag gun drawn by 17 horses, and five twelve pounders
more, by 15 horses each. 6. Eleven waggons with stores for the said
guns, and one spare, by three horses each. 7. Six nine pounders, drawn
by eleven horses each. 8. Nine waggons with stores for the said guns,
and one spare, by three horses each. 9. Five long six pounders, by
seven horses each. 10. Seven waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare
one, drawn by three horses each. 11. Five long six pounders, drawn by
seven horses each. 12. Six waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare
one, by three horses each. 13. Four long six pounders, by seven horses
each. 14. Five waggons with stores for ditto, and a spare one, by three
horses each. 15. Two howitzers, by five horses each. 16. Four waggons
with stores for ditto, by three horses. 17. Six short six pounders,
by two horses each. 18. Three waggons with stores for ditto, by three
horses each. 19. Six royals, with their stores, in four waggons, by
three horses each. 20. One 12 pounder carriage, by seven horses; one
nine pounder carriage, by five; one long six pounder carriage, by five;
two short, by two; one short and one long limber, by one horse; and
two forges, by two each. 21. Twenty ammunition carts, by three horses
each. 22. Nineteen waggons with musquet cartridges, and one spare, by
three horses each. 23. Thirty waggons with powder, and one spare, by
three horses each. 24. Thirty waggons with musquet shot, and one spare,
by three horses each. 25. Twenty-five waggons with intrenching tools,
and one spare, by three horses each. 26. Twenty-five waggons with small
stores, and one spare, by three each. 27. Six waggons for artificers,
with four spare, each by three. 28. Thirty-two baggage waggons, nine
by four horses, and 23 by three. 29. Thirty pontoons, and three spare
carriages, each by seven. 30. The artillery rear guard. 31. The rear
guard from the army.
It must be observed that there are parties of gunners and matrosses
marching with the guns: there are likewise some parties of pioneers
interspersed here and there to mend the roads, when they are spoiled by
the fore carriages.
We shall now present our military readers with an extract from a
French work, which has appeared since the Memoires D’Artillerie, par
M. Surirey de Saint Remy, and which may put them more especially in
possession of the French manner of marching their artillery, than Mr.
Muller has afforded.--We must however, at the same time, refer them for
more copious information to the third volume of Saint Remy, page 187 to
201.
In the last edition of the Dictionnaire Militaire, the following
observations are made on this important operation.
When the troops in the advanced camp of the army begin to assemble,
the commanding officer of the artillery repairs to head-quarters,
and communicates with the commander in chief.--Utensils, stores, and
ammunition, are forwarded to the camp, and every soldier is provided
with ten or twelve rounds of ball cartridge, before he commences his
march against the enemy.--These articles having been distributed,
the waggons and horses return to the train of artillery, and proper
dispositions are made to connect the whole line of march.
The horses belonging to the train are narrowly inspected by the
lieutenant-general of artillery, who marks or rejects them according to
his judgment, and sends one report of their actual state to government,
and another to the master general of the ordnance. He gives directions
to the captain-general of the waggon-train to arrange matters in such a
manner with each provincial commissary belonging to the park, that the
different captains may know what brigades fall under their immediate
superinterdance. The latter must not on any account leave the brigades
with which they are entrusted during the march.
The ammunition waggons having been loaded, and the horses harnessed in,
they are distributed into different brigades, and put in motion to join
the main army, according to the following order:--
The first thing that precedes the march of a regular train of
artillery, is a waggon loaded with utensils, such as spades, pick-axes,
shovels, mattocks, wooden spades, with iron bottoms; grapples,
hatchets, &c. These are under the care of a waggon-master, who is
attended by forty pioneers to clear and point out the way.
In the rear of this waggon follow four four pounders, mounted on their
several carriages, with every necessary appendage on each side, loaded
with ball, and the cannoneers ready, each having a lighted match in
his hand, and two steel prickers or _dégorgeoirs_. Next to these is a
waggon loaded with different articles of ordnance, containing likewise
one barrel of gunpowder, one ditto of ball, a bundle of matches,
weighing together about fifty pounds, about fifty balls of the calibre
of the guns and five or six sets stout drag-ropes or bricoles.
The military chest, and the king’s or royal stores, generally accompany
this small train, when the army consists of one column only.
The pontoons, with every thing belonging to them, follow next; and
after them the crab with its appendages, accompanied by the captain of
artificers, with a certain number of carpenters.
Next follow the heavy ordnance.
Those pieces of artillery which are mounted, follow each other
according to their several calibres, with all their necessary
implements for service hanging on each side.
Then come the frames belonging to the pieces of heavy ordnance, with
their implements, &c. placed upon them. The mortars follow next.
After these follow the caissons belonging to the escorts of the park
of artillery, military chest, quarter-master general, and captain of
artificers or workmen, in which are contained the tools belonging to
the different workmen and miners, together with the forges, &c.
The baggage belonging to the commanding officer of artillery, and to
the several officers of the train, follow next, each waggon succeeding
the other according to the rank of the several officers. It frequently
happens, that the carriages with stores and provisions, and those
belonging to the royal regiment of artillery move together.
After these follow the tumbrels with gunpowder, matches, sand-bags,
ropes, fuses for bombs and grenades, proof-pieces, if there are any,
plummets, hand grenades, mining tools, mortar-carriages, bombs, balls,
according to the different calibres of cannon, tools, and instruments
for pioneers, with the spare carts.
In order to secure the regular progress and march of these different
classes, it has been usual among the French, to divide them into five
brigades, each brigade under the command of an artillery officer; and
the whole subject to the orders of the commandant of artillery. All
the equipage belonging to the train is distributed among these five
brigades, and each brigade takes care to bring up its proportion every
day to the park or spot of rendezvous. These are subject to a roster
among themselves, some leading, and others bringing up the rear,
according to its arrangement.
_Night_-MARCHES. Whenever marches are undertaken in the night, great
precaution should be observed on the part of the commanding officer
of the troops, to attach two or three faithful and intelligent guides
to each column or detachment; for it may very easily happen, that in
moving a considerable detachment during the night, some troops or
squadrons may lose themselves, especially where there are cross-roads,
and difficult passes.
The commanding officer at the head of the detachment must march slow,
provided the nature of his expedition will admit of it: and wherever
he finds any bye-roads on the march, he must post a few men there to
direct the succeeding squadron; which squadron is to repeat the same
caution, and so on throughout the whole.
As it is almost impossible for squadrons to keep constantly close
together; and as it almost always happens, that, in order to
conceal a march from the enemy, no trumpet must be sounded, (which
would otherwise serve for a direction in the night time) a good
non-commissioned officer, with four or six men, must be appointed to
the rear of every squadron, who are to divide themselves, and form a
chain in the interval, between it and the one succeeding, in order to
prevent any mistake of the road.
Before the detachment matches off, the officer commanding must be
careful to exhort the officers leading troops or squadrons, strictly to
observe all the above directions: he must also have several orderly men
to attend him; and, if possible, two or three guides in front.
The advanced guard must be reinforced in the night time, and march
at a small distance from the main body, and whenever it shall happen
unexpectedly to meet the enemy, it must instantly charge with all
possible vigor; on which account, and in order to be in continual
readiness, it must always march with advanced arms.
_Secret_ MARCHES, are made with a design to reconnoitre an enemy,
surprize his camp, secure a post, or seize a place. They are likewise
undertaken to succour troops that may be precariously situated, to
relieve a besieged town, &c. It is in this service that a commander has
occasion for his utmost sagacity and penetration, to prevent his being
discovered or betrayed. In order to ensure success, the person who
conducts the march, should have previously obtained good information
relative to the different roads through which he is to pass, the
disposition of the inhabitants, &c. He should also obtain correct
intelligence respecting the situation of the enemy’s out-posts, &c.
_To_ MARCH _for the direct purpose of fighting an enemy_. In order to
effect this important operation with confidence and safety, every army
that marches from a distant point towards the ground which is occupied
by an enemy, endeavors as much as possible, to preserve its regular
front, and to advance in order of battle. Whenever obstacles occur,
and the ground becomes so confined, that the march in line cannot be
preserved, the different squadrons and battalions must approach the
enemy in such a disposition of columns, as to be able to form line
in the quickest manner, and before the enemy could possibly attempt
to make an impression on the advancing columns, by charging with his
cavalry.
The general officers who command the several columns, in leading them
forward must attentively observe each other’s movement, so that their
heads, at least, be upon a line; and that when they reach the ground
where the whole are to deploy, this manœuvre may be accomplished with
dispatch and safety, and the order of battle be fully made, out of the
reach of the enemy’s horse.
The general or commander in chief, with his aids-de-camp, &c. takes his
ground in such a manner as to be able to see the effect of the first
fire. From being thus conveniently situated, he will know what orders
to send, whether to support that part of the line which has gained
ground, or to replace any particular one that may have given way. In
order to accomplish this double purpose, he either makes use of the
troops which have been drawn up between the two lines, as circumstances
may require, or detaches from the reserve, as he judges best for the
service.
The instant the line is formed, and the enemy appears in sight, every
general officer must be found at the head of his division, actively
employed either in leading on the troops, entrusted to his skill and
valor, or in speedily remedying every symptom of disorder which may
occur throughout the whole extent of his command.
The disposition of an army (to quote the words of mons. de Feuquieres)
which comes to close action, differs essentially from that it assumes
in a march, or previous movement. Were troops, indeed, to advance
over a wide space of open and unembarrassed ground, the formation
of them might be the same. But this is seldom or ever the case. The
intervention of hills, woods, rivers, villages, and narrow passes or
defiles, gives rise to so many obstacles, that a large body of men,
such as constitutes an army, must necessarily be divided into many
different corps, in order, that the collective force may arrive, at a
given time, within the lines of a new camp, or within sight of an enemy.
On these occasions the movements of an army are attended with
considerable risk, especially if the enemy has himself taken the field;
for by ably manœuvring he may take advantage of the divided state of
your army, and attack it piece-meal. The greatest precautions, however,
are observed in modern warfare, which were either unknown to, or
neglected by our ancestors. Most of these have already been discussed,
as far as the limits of our undertaking would admit. The following
additional observations may not, perhaps, be thought wholly superfluous.
In the first instance it will be necessary for the quarter master
general, and for the different officers who compose the staff or
etat-major of the army, to render themselves perfectly masters of the
country through which the troops are to march. The corps of guides,
especially if the march should be continued during the night, must be
well chosen on these occasions; and the different captains that have
the charge of them, are frequently to communicate with the principal
officers on the staff, to facilitate the several movements. All the
general officers must be in possession of correct topographical
sketches of the country; and their aids-de-camp, &c. must not only
know how to deliver orders, but they must themselves be able to
calculate, (from a cursory view of the chart,) time and distance, The
science of locality, has, indeed, become so manifestly useful in all
military operations, that the French have formed regular companies
of topographers, who accompany their armies; a new institution, at
High-Wycombe, England, pays much attention to this branch of necessary
knowlege.
Artificers and workmen with appropriate escorts, precede the several
columns, in order to clear the roads, and to remove obstacles that
occur. Light troops, and large detachments of cavalry, are pushed
forward for the purpose of keeping the enemy in awe, and to send the
earliest intelligence respecting his movements. Bridges are thrown
across rivers with astonishing activity and dispatch; every thing in
a word which relates to the movement of the army, is so well digested
before-hand, and subsequently so well executed, that all the different
corps co-operate, and readily succour each other should the enemy
attack. The natural formation of the battalion is preserved, whether
the grenadiers are disposed in front, or the light companies lead; and
the several piquets come regularly up with the rear during the march,
and are as readily stationed in the front when their corps halt.
When a forced march is undertaken for the specific purpose of rendering
some design of an enemy abortive, it is the duty of the commissariat
to have provisions ready at hand, during the transient halts which are
made in this harassing and fatiguing enterprise.
It is usual for great armies to march in several columns, in conformity
to the order of battle which has been laid down by the general or
commander in chief, at the beginning of the campaign. Those battalions
and squadrons which compose the right, take their line of march through
that direction of the country; those which compose the left, preserve
their relative time and distance in that quarter. The artillery and
heavy baggage are generally disposed of in the centre column.
When an army marches directly forward to attack or meet an enemy, the
artillery is almost always distributed in the centre: sometimes a
brigade of that corps, with a body of select troops in front, precedes
each column; but the heavy baggage invariably moves in the rear under
cover of the reserve.
When an army marches through a woody or close country, the heads of
the different columns are usually covered by a strong detachment of
riflemen, preceded by squadrons of horse. Should the enemy be in your
rear, when it is found expedient to make a movement, the hospital
stores, ammunition, baggage, and artillery, escorted by some squadrons
of horse, must be sent forward, and the best disciplined troops, with
a certain quantity of artillery, are in that case to make up the
rear guard. If the enemy should hang upon your flank (the right, for
instance,) the artillery, stores, and baggage, must be conducted by the
left: should the enemy direct his operations from the left, the same
movements must take place on the right.
A small army may march in one column, having its artillery and baggage
between the advanced and rear guards. Should it be brought to action,
the dragoons and light cavalry belonging to the advanced guard will
compose one wing, and the troops that are disposed of in the rear, will
form the other: the infantry will be distributed in the centre with the
artillery in its front.
The French seem to have paid the greatest attention to the various
details and incidental circumstances which attend the march of any
considerable body of troops. It was not, however, until the reign of
Louis XIII. that any sort of regular system began to prevail. There was
certainly less necessity for such an arrangement, because the baggage
was by no means so great, nor was the train of artillery half so
extensive. The only dangers, indeed, which were to be guarded against,
when the enemy was near, seemed confined to the loss of baggage and
artillery. These were, of course, provided against by every able
general, who naturally observed the greatest secrecy with respect to
his encampment, and practised various stratagems to conceal his march
from the enemy.
Some very sensible observations, relative to the manner in which
troops should be managed previous to an engagement, may be found in
the _Rêveries de M. le Maréchal de Saxe_; and considerable information
may be derived from _Les Reflexions de M. le Baron d’Espagnac_, on the
best method of forming the infantry for battle. See _Supplément aux
Rêveries_, page 19. See likewise _Oeuvres Militaires_, tom. 1. p. 124.
_General observations on the march of troops._ Observations from a
French work, applicable to general service. When troops are ordered
to march, four principal objects should be well considered, viz.
locality, time, possible ambuscades, and the ultimate end for which the
march is undertaken. In order to secure these important points, some
topographers (without whom no army can be said to be well constituted,
or its staff ably appointed) should be directed to give in plans of
the country, to shew where it is intersected, where hills with their
different incurvations appear, where the roads are narrow, where the
ground is soft or marshy, and unfavorable to the passage of artillery,
where intricate passes occur, where there are woods, hedges, rivers, or
marshes, and finally where the country becomes totally impervious.
When these different objects have been well ascertained, and thoroughly
digested at head quarters, the component parts of the army must be so
distributed with respect to the battalions of infantry, squadrons of
horse, artillery, and baggage, that the front of the leading column
shall invariably correspond with the extent of the road or defile which
is to be marched over.
When troops are ordered to march through an inclosed country, the whole
army is divided into a given number of columns, which successively
follow each other, and are encamped, cantoned, or quartered separately.
Sometimes the country is cleared, as much as circumstances will admit,
in order that the several columns may advance, while the artillery,
under an escort of infantry on each side, and with cavalry distributed
upon both wings of the army, makes the best of its way through the main
road. Small detachments, consisting of active, spirited young men,
headed by intelligent and enterprising officers, are sent forward to
take possession of the different defiles, woods, passes, and to post
themselves close to an enemy’s post, for the purpose of blocking it up
until the whole of the army has marched by.
The leading columns should always be composed of tried and steady
soldiers; and the front of each should invariably consist of the best
men in the army.
The advanced and rear guards must be well supported by infantry,
with the addition of some light field pieces. The order of battle is
so arranged, that the heavy ordnance, the baggage, and the greatest
part of the cavalry, which can be of little use on the wings, may be
distributed in the centre.
When it is necessary to cross a river, the artillery must be planted
directly opposite to the post which the army intends to occupy.
Considerable advantage will accrue should the river wind in such a
manner as to form a rentrant angle in that particular spot, which
advantage would be greatly increased by having a ford near.
In proportion as the construction of the bridge advances, some steady
troops must be marched forward, and a regular discharge of musquetry
must be kept up against the enemy on the opposite bank.
The instant the bridge is finished, a corps of infantry, with some
cavalry, some pieces of artillery, and a certain number of pioneers, to
fortify the head of the bridge, must be ordered over. Should there be
the least ground to suspect an attack upon the rear guard, the inside
tête de pont must also be fortified.
Proper precautions will have been taken to prevent any surprise during
the construction of the bridge, and while the troops are crossing. Each
side of the river above and below the bridge, will on this account
have been well reconnoitred, to ascertain that there are not any armed
barges or floating rafters with infernals upon them, kept ready to
blow up the bridge, when a considerable part of the army shall have
passed the river. If the preservation of the bridge be considered as an
object, both ends must be fortified, and adequate guards stationed to
defend them.
Each corps that marches separately, such as the advanced and rear
guards, and the main body, must be provided with shovels, pick-axes,
and a sufficient number of pioneers and guides, to clear the roads, and
to direct it on its march.
The following general rules in route marching have been laid down by
the celebrated Montecuculli:--
No officer or soldier is on any account to quit his post or rank. The
battalion companies must never intermix with the squadrons or troops
of cavalry. Squadrons or troops of cavalry must always take care not
to leave such wide intervals between them, as will expose them to be
suddenly cut off, or such contracted ones as might enable the enemy to
throw them into confusion.
In summer, troops should quit their ground or quarters at day-break.
In winter, great care should be taken by the commissariat, to see that
the troops are well supplied with fuel whenever they halt. During very
inclement weather the march of troops should be greatly contracted.
Some steady old soldiers must be stationed at the different cross
roads, to prevent the rear men from mistaking the line of march.
The leading columns of those troops that precede them, must instantly
fall upon any body of the enemy that may attempt to oppose their
progress.
Three things are always to be considered and well weighed, viz. whether
there be much ground to apprehend a serious attack from the enemy;
whether there be little ground to fear him; or whether there be no
ground at all.
In the latter case each corps of cavalry and infantry, marches
separately, and with its own baggage.
All convoys, containing stores and ammunition, move with the artillery
accompanied by an officer from the adjutant or quarter-master general’s
department, who has the direction of the march, as far as regards the
convoy itself; but cannot interfere with the artillery; the commanding
officer of the latter being presumed to know best, when and where his
park should halt, &c. A very sensible observation on this head may be
found in a recent French publication, intituled, _Manuel des Adjudans
Généraux_, by Paul Thiébault. The whole of which is published under the
article STAFF in the _Am. Mil. Lib._ On the evening preceding a march,
each corps is specifically furnished with the necessary orders in
writing.
At the hour which is named in general orders for the troops to commence
their march, the quarter-master general, and the captain of guides,
repair to the advanced guard.
If the army has been encamped, the lines of entrenchment are levelled
or cleared in such a manner, that the troops may move with an extended
front. As soon as the troops have marched off, the different guards
belonging to the camp will be withdrawn.
Pioneers must be sent forward to clear the roads, preceded by small
detachments of light and select troops, together with estaffettes or
mounted messengers and vedettes, who are to reconnoitre in front, rear,
and round the wings of the army. To these must be added appropriate
guards and escorts to accompany the artillery, and to protect the
baggage. It will belong to this latter description of troops, to
take possession of advantageous heights, to discover ambuscades,
and to send a faithful detail of all they observe to head quarters.
These communications will be made by the chief of the etat major who
accompanies them.
The advanced guard of the army will be composed of one half of
the cavalry, the main body will consist of the infantry, attended
by pioneers and detached corps of light artillery, which will be
preceded by an iron instrument made in the shape of a plough-share,
for the purpose of tracing out the paths, which must be kept by the
waggon-train. In the rear of the main body must follow the heavy
ordnance, the baggage-waggons belonging to the several regiments, and
the train of artillery. The other half of the cavalry will be disposed
of in the rear-guard, in which the army stores and ammunition are to be
escorted by a regiment of horse.
If the army should be divided, and march in different columns by
indirect roads, a rendezvous or place d’armes must be marked out in
writing, where the whole may conveniently meet on the line of march.
The utmost attention must be paid to the selection of this spot, by
the adjutant and quarter-master general, lest it should be exposed to
a surprise from the enemy; on which account it is kept as secret as
possible, lest any intelligence should be given to him by deserters
or spies. The hour and the manner in which the several columns are to
arrive, is specifically stated to the different leaders; and scouts,
&c. are sent round the country to discover the enemy’s movements.
If there should be any reason to apprehend an attack, the various
precautions must be increased in proportion to the alarm.
An army must always march, if it possibly can, in that order from which
it may easily and expeditiously deploy into line; that is, it should
invariably preserve the order of battle; every column bearing a natural
front towards the enemy. Montecuculli further adds, that an army must
invariably march the right or left in front, and not from its centre.
Field-pieces, with a sufficient quantity of ammunition, shovels,
spades, and pick-axes always at hand, must be disposed along the most
vulnerable part of the rendezvous; these must be guarded by a body of
cavalry and infantry, who are to be selected for that specific duty.
Care is likewise taken to lodge the baggage-waggons, &c. in the most
secure and best defended spot.
The two first lines of the army will consist of the mounted artillery
in front, next to which will stand the different squadrons of horse
that are posted in intervals between the infantry battalions: after
these will follow the train of caissons, &c. in as many files as the
road will admit; then the stores and baggage, and finally the reserve.
Whenever the leading columns have passed an obstacle, the front man
must be halted till the rear have completely cleared it likewise; and
when the whole enters an open country, the line must be formed, and the
march be continued in order of battle until a fresh obstacle occurs,
when the troops must be prepared to pass the defile, the advanced guard
leading, the main body following next, and the reserve bringing up the
rear.
When an army is thus advancing, the right or left flank (according to
circumstances) of its line of march, must be covered by rivers, and
banks, rising grounds, or eminences; and if these natural advantages
do not present themselves, artificial ones must be resorted to. These
may consist of waggons, chevaux de friezes or other temporary means of
defence; the quantity, &c. must depend upon the nature of the country,
and the number of troops that compose the columns.
It is, however, impossible to set down general rules for all cases;
these must vary with the manifold circumstances that occur, and the
different designs which are to be accomplished or pursued.
When the movements of an army are to be concealed, the march must be
undertaken at night through woods, vallies, and concealed ways; all
frequented and inhabited places must be carefully avoided; no loud
instruments must on any account be played; and if fires are made, they
must only be lighted on the eve of breaking up camp; in which case they
must be left burning, for the purpose of deluding the enemy into a
supposition, that the troops have not moved.
Small parties of cavalry are sent forward to seize all stragglers or
scouts from the enemy, or to take possession of the different passes.
In order to avoid being discovered in the object of the march, a
different road must be taken from the one which you really propose to
march through; and a fit opportunity must afterwards be embraced to get
into the real track. Before you march out of a town or fortified place,
the utmost care must be observed to prevent your intended route from
being conveyed to the enemy. On this account the troops must be first
marched out, and the gates immediately shut upon the rear, so that no
stranger, &c. may be able to slip out with the men.
During a march of this nature, the troops must be provided with
subsistence, stores, and ammunition, to last out until the object is
attained. No scout or vedette is sent forward, when an army, or any
part of it, advances to take possession of a post or place, to succour
a town, to surprize an enemy, in a close or woody country, by favor of
the night, or in hazy weather, or on any occasion when orders have been
given to oppose and fight every thing it meets.
When an army marches for the direct purpose of forcing a passage, which
is guarded by an enemy, a feint must be made in one quarter, whilst
the real object is vigorously pursued in another. Sometimes you must
appear suddenly disposed to make a retrograde movement, and then again
as suddenly resume your progress; sometimes march beyond the spot you
wish to occupy, insensibly drawing off the enemy’s attention; and
whilst the whole army is thus pushing forward and is closely watched by
its opponents, (who hang upon the flanks, and hug its line of march)
let detached parties of cavalry and foot, that have lain in ambush,
suddenly surprise the passage, and post themselves upon it.
When it is found expedient to advance rapidly into a country for
the purpose of surprising an enemy, getting possession of a town or
place, or avoiding superior forces, every species of baggage must be
left behind (even the common necessaries of the men: if circumstances
require,) the cavalry must be sent forward, and the infantry put in
carts, carriages, and chaises, or mounted behind the dragoons. If there
be spare horses enough in the different troops, or any can be procured
from the inhabitants of the country, they must be led in order to
relieve those that are double mounted, in the manner which is practised
by the Tartars. Marches of this description and urgency, must be kept
up night and day; and it is on such occasions that the value of a good
staff or etat-major will have all its weight.
It must be observed, as a general maxim, that whenever troops are
retiring from a weak position, or to avoid the approach of a superior
force, the retreat must be so managed, as not to bear the least
resemblance of a flight.
_Order of_ MARCH, _which is observed in the Turkish army_: this
order of march may be considered as the movement of an army that
combines its several operations according to some established system
of military art. The Turks usually divide this movement into time
distinct operations: the first comprehends that by which troops of
several denominations, and from different quarters, assemble together
at some given spot or rendezvous. Such, for instance, is the march of
various corps of militia, both in Asia and Europe, belonging to the
Ottoman empire, who must necessarily pass through several quarters,
and cross the sea, to form a junction. From the many inconveniences
which troops must unavoidably experience on these occasions, and from
the irregularity that always grows out of them, this _march_ cannot be
strictly called a systematic movement of the army.
The second order of march among the Turks is that which they call
_alay_; when the troops arrive, under the command of their several
bachas, at the camp or given spot of rendezvous, for the purpose of
being reviewed by the serasquier, the grand vizier or the sultan. This
order is observed likewise by the janizaries when they repair to a
similar place.
The third order of march must be considered as a real military
movement. It is that which is performed by the army that first takes up
its ground in a regular manner, and encamps. This is the commencement
or beginning of military marches, because from a situation or
arrangement of this sort, troops either leave one camp to pitch their
tents elsewhere, or return again to their old one after having made an
attempt against an enemy’s post, &c.
It is an established law in Turkey, whenever the sultan or grand
vizier takes the field, to have their magnificent tents, with seven
or five horse-tails displayed above them, regularly pitched on the
plains of Constantinople, or in those of Adrianople, accordingly as
the court happens to be in either of those imperial residences; which
circumstance is announced throughout the empire, that every province,
&c. may be made acquainted with the march of the sultan or grand vizier.
As soon as these pavilions or tents have been thus pitched, all the
different armed corps that have not yet commenced their march receive
their route: and those that are already on the march, advance with all
the expedition they can, to the spot of general rendezvous. The troops
from Egypt and Asia are particularly alert on these occasions, most
especially if the war should be carried into Hungary. All the points
from whence embarkations are to take place, appear conspicuously marked
along the coast of the Marmora, Propontides, and the Archipelago, in
order that the different bodies of troops may take the direct road to
Constantinople, Andrianople, Philipolis Sophia, Nissa, and Belgrade,
in which places was the general rendezvous of all the troops, when the
Ottoman empire flourished. Those, however, were not included which
were destined to act in Hungary and Bosnia. They met together, after
having passed the bridge of Osek, and formed a junction with the main
army. Kara-Mustapha followed these dispositions when he went to besiege
Vienna.
The second march of the Turkish or Ottoman army, is a business of mere
parade or ceremony. This movement is observed by all the different
corps, and it is executed with great magnificence by the Bachas,
particularly so when they repair the first time to the camp of general
rendezvous.
With respect to the third march, it is a real and essential movement,
and ought to be called the _military march_ or _route_. Four principal
branches or objects of service, constitute the nature of this march,
and form its disposition. These are the cavalry, infantry, artillery,
and baggage; in which latter are included the stores, &c. belonging
to the Turkish militia, the royal provisions, public stores, and
ammunition, comprehending gunpowder, shot, matches, spades, pick-axes,
&c.
There is, however, no invariable rule attached to this arrangement, it
alters according to circumstance and place.
The real or military march of the troops is entirely managed by the
grand vizier, or the seraskier. Written instructions are issued out for
this purpose; for the Turks never give out verbal orders, except in
matters of little or no importance, or in cases of extreme emergency,
when they cannot commit them to writing.
It is an invariable maxim among the Turks, whenever their troops are
upon the march, to throw new bridges over rivers, or to repair old
ones, to clear public or bye roads, to fill up ditches, and to cut down
trees, &c. so as to facilitate their movements, and to obviate delay.
They moreover throw up small heaps of earth, which they call _unka_,
at the distance of half a league from each other, and often nearer,
especially on high grounds. When the sultan marches at their head they
make two heaps of this description.
The Turks pay very particular attention to their movements or _marches_
on service: the whole of the army is under arms during the night,
in order to make the necessary dispositions; on which occasions the
soldiers make use of small vessels with fire lighted in them, and
tie them to the ends of long pikes or poles. The greatest silence
is observed during the march; neither drums, trumpets, nor cymbals
are heard. Sometimes, indeed, but this rarely happens, the drummers
belonging to the band of the grand vizier, accompany the salutes or
ceremonial compliments which are paid by the salam-agasi, or master of
ceremonies.
When they march through a country in which there is no cause to
apprehend surprise or hostility, the infantry generally takes the lead,
two or three days march, in front of the main army. The troops march
in the loosest manner, being neither confined to particular companies,
nor formed in columns. They chuse what roads they like best, halt
where they please, and reach the camp in detached parties; with
this injunction, however, that the whole must arrive at the spot of
rendezvous before evening prayers.
Next to these follow the cavalry, headed by a general officer. Their
march, notwithstanding his presence, is as irregular as that of the
infantry. The men frequently halt out of mere laziness, and under
pretence of refreshing their horses; and little or no attention is paid
to system and good order. The baggage and ammunition waggons, together
with such stores, &c. as are carried by beasts of burthen, move in the
same manner.
When the army enters an enemy’s country, the whole of the infantry
is collected together, and marches in one body. The capiculy and the
seratculy, for instance, form one column. There is this distinction,
however, observed, that every janizary marches under his own colors,
and every officer remains attached to his oda or company, for the
purpose of executing, in the speediest manner, the commander in chief’s
directions.
The cavalry is often divided into two wings; it is likewise frequently
formed in one body. Every man is ranged under his own standard. The
squadrons are commanded by the alay-begs, who receive orders through
the chiaous; and the other officers are near the bacha.
The baggage sometimes moves in the front, and sometimes in the rear
of the janizaries. A particular body of cavalry, called topracly, are
an exception to this arrangement: the men belonging to this corps are
obliged to furnish themselves with all the necessaries of life, and
consequently carry provisions, &c. with them in all their marches;
which circumstance unavoidably creates much confusion.
The artillery is generally attached to the infantry; sometimes,
however, it moves with the cavalry.
When the Turkish army marches through an enemy’s country, it is covered
by an advanced and a rear guard. The advanced guard is composed of
five or six thousand of the best mounted cavalry. This body is under
the immediate orders of a commanding officer, called _kialkagy-bacy_,
whose appointment lasts during the whole of the campaign. The advanced
guard usually moves six, seven, or eight leagues in front of the main
body; but it falls back in proportion as the enemy retires. When there
are bodies of Tartars or auxiliary troops from any of the rebellious
provinces with the army, they are detached in front of the advanced
guard, for the purpose of harassing the enemy’s rear, pillaging the
country, and committing those excesses which are not countenanced by
regular troops.
The rear-guard generally consists of one thousand horse. It is the
business of this body to escort the baggage safe into camp, and not
leave it until the whole be securely lodged.
The Turks, in all their movements on real service, display uncommon
activity; and their marches are generally so well managed, that an
enemy runs the greatest hazard of being surprised.
_Rogue’s_ MARCH. A tune which is played by trumpeters or fifers of
a regiment (as the case may be) for the purpose of drumming out any
person who has behaved disorderly, &c. in a camp or garrison. Thieves,
strumpets, &c. are frequently disgraced in this manner; being marched
down the front of a battalion, from right to left, and along the rear:
after which they are conducted to the gate of the garrison or entrance
of the camp, where they receive a kick on the posteriors from the
youngest drummer, and are warned never to appear within the limits of
either place, under pain of being severely punished.
MARCHANDS, _Fr._ Slop-sellers, petty-suttlers. Men of this description
always flock round and follow an army on its march. As they generally
deal in articles which are wanted by the officers and soldiers, it
is the business of every general to see them properly treated, to
ensure their safety, and to permit them, under certain regulations, to
have access to the camp. They should, however, be warily watched in
some instances, especially upon the eve of a retreat, or before any
advanced operation takes place. Spies frequently disguise themselves
as pedlars, and under the mask of selling trifling articles, pry into
the state of a camp, put indirect questions to the soldiers, and tamper
with those who may seem disposed to act in a traitorous manner. Yet as
armies cannot do without such men, they must be sanctioned, and it is
the particular duty of the provost-marshal, and of the waggon-master
general, to watch and superintend their motions.
MARCHE _accélérée, ou pas accéléré_, _Fr._ The time in which troops
march to the charge--we call it the accelerated pace, the English
formerly called it _double quick time_.
MARCHE _ordinaire, ou pas ordinaire_, _Fr._ Ordinary time.
MARCHE _precipitée, ou pas precipité_, _Fr._ Quickest time.
MARCHE _cadencée, ou pas cadencé_, _Fr._ March or step according to
time and measure. It is likewise called the cadenced step.
MARCHE _non-cadencée, ou pas non-cadencé_, _Fr._ This step is likewise
called _pas de route_, and signifies that unconstrained movement which
soldiers are permitted to adopt in marching over difficult ground, and
in columns of route.
MARCHE _de Flanc_, _Fr._ Flank movement or march.
MARCHE _forcée_, _Fr._ a forced march.
_Battre, sonner la_ MARCHE, _Fr._ To put troops into motion by the
beat of drum or sound of trumpet, &c.
_Gagner une_ MARCHE _sur l’ennemi_, _Fr._ To gain ground or time upon
an enemy, which signifies to get in his front or upon his flanks, so as
to harass or perplex him, or by any able manœuvre to get the start of
him.
_Dérober sa_ MARCHE, _Fr._ to steal a march.
_Couvrir une_ MARCHE, _Fr._ to conceal a march.
MARCHES _d’armées, et ce que les soldats ont à faire quand la générale
est battue_, _Fr._ column of route or general order of march which an
army observes when it takes the field. See CAMP.
MARCHE, _Fr._ This word is likewise used among the French, to express
the course or progress of a ship, or as we say, technically, the _way
she makes_: hence _marche d’un vaisseau_.
MARCHER _par le flanc_, _Fr._ To march from any given flank.
MARCHER _en colonne avec distance entiere_, _Fr._ To march in open
column at open distance.
MARCHER _en colonne à distance de section, ou en mass_, _Fr._ To march
in column, quarter distance, or in mass.
MARCHER _en bataille ou en colonne d’attaque_, _Fr._ To advance in
column for the purpose of attacking an enemy.
MARCHER _en bataille en ordre deployé_, _Fr._ To advance by the
echellon march in deployed order.
MARCHER _en rétraite_, _Fr._ To retreat.
MARCHER _en bataille par le dernier rang_, _Fr._ To march in line rear
rank in front.
MARCHER _au pas accêléré_, _Fr._ To march in quicker time.
MARCHER _le pas en arriére_, _Fr._ To take the back-step.
MARCHER _au pas ordinaire_, _Fr._ To march in ordinary time.
MARCHER _au pas précipité_, _Fr._ To march in quickest time, or
charging time.
MARCHER _par le flank, droit, ou gauche_, Fr. To march by the right or
left flank.
MARCHER _en colonne, la droit ou la gauche, en tête_, _Fr._ To march in
column, the right or left in front.
MARCHER _en colonne, serrée_, _Fr._ To march in close column.
MARCHER _en colonne ouverte_, _Fr._ To march in open column.
MARCHER, _en terme d’évolutions_, _Fr._ To march in line, &c. which see.
MARCHES. The limits or bounds between England, Wales, and Scotland,
have been so called.
MARCHING _regiments_. A term given to those corps who had not any
permanent quarters, but were liable to be sent not only from one end of
Great Britain to another, but to the most distant of her possessions
abroad. Although the word _marching_ is insensibly confounded with
those of _line_ and _regulars_, it was originally meant to convey
something more than a mere liability to be ordered upon any service;
for by marching the regular troops from one town to another, the
inhabitants, who from time immemorial have been jealous of a standing
army, lost their antipathy to _real_ soldiers, by the occasional
absence of regular troops. At present, the English guards, militia, and
fencibles, may be considered more or less as marching regiments.--The
marines and volunteer corps have stationary quarters.
_St._ MARCOU. Two rocks upon the coast of Normandy, lying in a bite
or bay between cape Barfleur and Point Percé, bearing south east from
La Hogue nine miles, from the mouth of the river Isigny, north, eight
miles, and distant from the body of the French shore about four miles.
The surface of each island, which is 18 or 20 feet above the level of
the sea at high water, comprises about an acre, and bear from each
other W. by N. and E. by S. distant 200 yards. On the abandonment of
an expedition to the islands of Chossé, in the year 1795, sir Sidney
Smith, whose active and comprehensive mind, justly concluded that the
contiguity of these posts to the continent, would materially facilitate
communications with the royalists, took possession of them; and having
drawn the Badger and Sandfly gun vessels on shore, gave to their
respective commanders the direction of the spot upon which he was thus
placed. These officers having constructed batteries, mounted in them
the guns belonging to their vessels, and in the year 1796 block houses,
with detachments of marines, invalids, and 12 artillery men, were
ordered out by government.
The extreme annoyance of these rocks to the coasting trade of the
enemy, at length determined them to employ a part of the division of
the army destined for the conquest of England, in their recovery, and
15,000 troops being assembled at the Hogue, 9000 were embarked on
the 6th of May, 1798, on board 52 gun-vessels; when so great was the
solicitude to partake in this conceived certain prelude to their glory,
that several of the fourth demi-brigade of the army of Italy, whose
tour of duty did not entitle them to be thus employed, gave four and
five crowns, each, to others to change with them. Perfectly acquainted
with the situation of the islands, the French flotilla rowed towards
them in the night of the 6th, and at the dawn of the morning of the
7th, the weather being perfectly calm, they were discovered in a body
between the islands and the shore. They soon separated into three
divisions, one of which, comprising the heavy gun brigs remained in
that position, while the other two, consisting of large flat boats,
carrying a long 18 pounder in the bow, and a 6 pounder in the stern,
took positions to the north and to the south of the islands, with an
intention to drop into the passage that separates them. An animated
and well directed fire was commenced from the islands, and warmly
returned by the enemy. The northern division having been driven by
the ebb tide within a short distance of the east island, soon became
disabled in their oars, and considerably increased its distance, while
the attention of the two islands was principally directed to the
southern division, which came with the tide, and with almost unexampled
gallantry pushed to the attack; being however by the severity of the
fire that was kept up, foiled in its intention of getting between the
islands, when each island would be exposed to the fire of the other,
it passed quickly to the westward of the west island, and pulling up
on the northern side of that island, the defence of which was almost
wholly dependent on the flanking fire of the east island, made another
determined effort to land. This appears to have been the critical
period of the day, and the discharge of grape shot from the islands
was proportionate to the danger; the entire side of the commodore of
this division’s vessel was battered in, and she sunk; the others of the
division beaten and disabled, retreated to their companions, and being
reduced to the number of 47, they all retreated to La Hogue, amidst
the deriding taunts and huzzas of the English, 400 of whom, with about
50 pieces of cannon, most of which were of a small calibre, and placed
in works constructed by themselves, by vanquishing the advanced guard
of the army of England, with the loss of 1100 killed, drowned, and
wounded, dissipated the terrors of a French invasion. The action lasted
two hours and ten minutes, during which time there were upwards of 100
pieces of cannon firing on the islands; notwithstanding which the loss
on our side was only one killed and two wounded. _English Mil. Dict._
MARDIKERS, _or Topasses_, a mixed breed of Dutch, Portuguese, Indians,
and other nations, incorporated with the Dutch at Batavia, in the East
Indies. Mardikers, in all probability, derive their name from some
original adventurers, who left a place, called _Mardike_, about four
miles from Dunkirk, and formerly subject to, or forming part of the
seventeen United Provinces. When the Dutch took possession of that
territory which is named Batavia, these adventurers were perhaps the
leading party, and from their being called Mardikers, the natives in
those quarters insensibly attached the term to all persons of European
descent, or connection. All, in fact, who wear hats are distinguished
among turban-nations by the appellation of Topasses, and Mardikers,
and from that circumstance are confounded in the term, with respect to
Batavia. _Eng. Dict._
There is a mistake in this--the word _tope_ signifies a _gun_, as
well as a hat; those who carried guns instead of spears, were called
_topasses_; the topasses of the Malabar coast, where in fact they were
first embodied by the Portuguese, wore no hats, but turbans, and
carried _matchlocks_ or _topes_; a house in which guns are kept is
called _tope kannah_.
MARECHAL _de camp_, _Fr._ a military rank which existed during the
French monarchy. The person invested with it was a general officer,
and ranked next to a lieutenant-general. It was his duty to see the
army properly disposed of in camp or quarters, to be present at all
the movements that were made; to be the first to mount his charger,
and the last to quit him. He commanded the left in all attacks. The
appointment, under this distinction, was first created by Henry the
fourth in 1598.
MARECHAL-_general des camps et armées du roi_, _Fr._ A post of high
dignity and trust, which, during the French monarchy, was annexed to
the rank of Maréchal de France. Military writers differ with respect
to the privileges, &c. which belonged to this appointment; it is,
however, generally acknowleged, that the general officer who held it,
was entrusted with the whole management of a siege, being subordinate
only to the constable, or to any other Maréchal de France, who was his
senior in appointment.
MARECHAL-_géneral des logis de l’armée_, _Fr._ This appointment, which
existed during the old French government, and has since been replaced
by the chef de l’etat-major, corresponds with that of quarter-master
general in the British service.
MARECHAL _de bataille_, _Fr._ a military rank, which once existed in
France, but was suppressed before the revolution, or rather confined
to the body guards. An officer, belonging to that corps, received it
as an honorary title. Its original functions, &c. with respect to
general service, sunk in the appointments of maréchal de camp, and
major-général. It was first created by Louis the XIIIth.
MARECHAL-_general des logis de la cavalerie_, _Fr._ This appointment
took place under Charles the IXth in 1594. He had the chief direction
of every thing which related to the French cavalry.
MARECHAL _des logis dans la cavalerie_, _Fr._ The quarter-master of a
troop of horse was so called in the French service. In the old system
every infantry regiment had one _marechal des logis_; two were attached
to each company of the gendarmes: each troop of light horse had
likewise two; and every company of musqueteers had eight.
MARECHAL _des logis de l’artillerie_, _Fr._ An appointment which
existed in France before the revolution, and which was in the gift of
the grand master of the ordnance. This officer always accompanied the
army on service, and was under the immediate orders of the commanding
officer of the artillery.
MARECHAL _des logis pour les vivres_, _Fr._ a person belonging to the
quarter-master general’s department, so called in the old French
service.
_La_ MARECHALE, _Fr._ Marshal’s lady _i. e._ wife, was so called in
France. We have already mentioned _la colonelle_, &c. This practice has
indeed, of late, obtained in England, but not in the unlimited manner
which prevailed among the French. We use it merely to distinguish two
ladies of the same name and family, or neighborhood, viz. Mrs. Johnson,
and Mrs. colonel Johnson; meaning thereby that the latter is the wife
or widow of colonel Johnson.
MARECHAUSSEES _de France_, _Fr._ A species of military police, which
has long existed in France. During the French monarchy there were 31
companies of _Maréchaussées à cheval_, or mounted police-men. After
twenty years service the individuals who belonged to this establishment
were entitled to the privileges of invalid corps, being considered as a
part of the gendarmerie.
These companies were first formed for the purpose of preserving public
tranquillity, and were distributed in the different provinces of the
kingdom. They consisted of provosts-generals, lieutenants, exempts,
brigadiers, sub-brigadiers, and horsemen. This useful body of men was
first formed under Philip the first, in 1060: they were afterwards
suppressed, and again re-established in 1720, as constituting a part of
the gendarmerie of France.
The uniform of the Maréchaussées, or mounted police men, consisted
of royal blue cloth for the coat, with red cuffs and linings; the
waistcoat of chamoy-color, lined with white serge; a cloak lined with
red serge, the buttons of plated silver placed in rows of three each,
with intervals between them; horseman’s sleeves, with six silver loops
with tassels. The brigadiers and sub-brigadiers, had silver lace one
inch broad upon their sleeves; their cloaks were made of blue cloth
with red cuffs, and they wore silver laced hats. The private horsemen
wore bandeleers.
There were other companies of Maréchaussées, who were particularly
distinguished from the thirty-one we have mentioned. Such, for
instance, as that of the constable, called the gendarmerie.
MARECHAUSSEES _de France, camps, et armées du roi_, _Fr._ That which
was under the immediate direction of the provost-general of the isle of
France, and that which belonged to the mint.
The first of these companies is said to have been formed under the
first race of French kings: the second by Francis the first; and
the third by Louis XIII. There were, besides, several small bodies
of troops, composed of officers, and soldiers who had served, that
remained stationary in the principal towns to assist the civil
magistrates. Those in Paris consisted of three companies; the
company belonging to the _lieutenant criminel de Robe-Courte_, or to
that particular court of judicature which was superintended by the
prevost de la Maréchaussée, and which Charles the IXth attached to
the gendarmerie: the independent company of mounted police, called
Guet à Cheval; and the company of the police or foot patrole, called
Guet à Pied, which was again subdivided into two companies, in order
that one might do the duty of the quays. These companies were under
the immediate direction of the secretary of state for the interior
department of Paris. The _guet de nuit_, or night patrole, seems to
have been first established by Clotaire the second. The commanding
officer of the patrole, or chevalier duguet, during the reign of St.
Louis was called _milesgueti_.
MARENGO, a plain and village in Italy, about one league distant from
Tortona, so called. These spots have been rendered memorable in
military history by the obstinate and decisive engagement which took
place on the 14th of June, 1800, between the Austrians, commanded by
general field marshal Melas; and the republican French army, under
the direction and personal guidance of Bonaparte, the first consul.
According to a very recent publication, translated from the French of
Joseph Petit, horse grenadier in the consular guard, the effective
number of each army was nearly as follows: the French army, at the
moment the battle commenced, was computed from forty to forty-five
thousand men, of which three thousand were cavalry: there were besides,
from twenty-five to thirty pieces of cannon, in which were included
two companies of light artillery: the Austrian army, according to
the accounts of the best informed persons, contained from fifty-five
to sixty thousand men, including the reinforcements which had just
arrived from Genoa. From 15 to 18,000 of these were cavalry. The cannon
amounted to fourscore pieces and upwards, two hundred ammunition
waggons, well provided, besides an immense train of army implements,
stores, and equipage. The French were extremely deficient in the latter
articles, having been obliged for want of caissons, to put their
ammunition upon tumbrils drawn by oxen.
The loss on both sides was enormous; that of the French was rendered
more serious to the republic, by the death of general Desaix, to whose
intrepidity, at a most critical juncture, the success of the day,
and even the personal safety of Bonaparte were unquestionably owing.
This admirable young officer, (for even his enemies pay homage to his
virtues and talents) was called by the French and Austrian soldiers,
_guerrier sans peur et sans rèproche_: an irreproachable and undaunted
warrior. Without entering into a minute detail of this memorable
action, we shall so far trespass upon the limited arrangements of our
work, as to extract a passage from another French publication, which
has been written by citizen _Foudras_, and may be found in the English
translation from which we have already quoted:--
“It has already been shewn with what obstinacy both armies fought,
(see page 64 of Petit’s narrative) four times were the French driven
back, four times did they return to the charge, and advance against
the Austrians. At the very instant when the consul, surrounded by
hostile shot, was reanimating his almost exhausted troops, general
Desaix darted with impetuosity amidst the Austrian battalions, when he
received his death wound from a musquet ball. He had only time to utter
the following words to the son of the consul Lebrun, in whose arms he
expired:--“Go and tell the first consul, that I die with regret in not
having done enough to live in the memory of posterity!” See page 192,
of Foudras’s Biographical Notice.
CHASSE-_Marée_, _Fr._ The term means literally a Ripier, or man who
brings fish from the sea-coasts to sell in the inland parts; but it
has frequently been used to signify the cart or carriage itself on
which he sits. According to the French construction of it, it may
serve for several purposes, particularly for the speedy conveyance of
small bodies of troops. It consists of a four wheel carriage, of equal
height with a common axle-tree, having a platform sufficiently elevated
to suffer the fore wheels to pass under it when on the lock. In the
centre of this platform is an upright back, with a seat on each side,
resembling the seat of an Irish car; so that about six soldiers might
sit on each side, back to back. On the platform, and attached to the
axle-tree, nearly at each corner, are four stout stumps on knee-hinges,
that allow them to turn down flat on the platform, or to be fixed
upright when they serve, by a crutch which fits into a hole as a rest
for rifles, or for a piece of horse light artillery; on the crutch
being taken out it fits into the hole after the manner of a swivel on
board ship.
MARGA SEERSHA, _Ind._ a month which partly agrees with October.
MARRIAGE. It is generally understood in the British service, that no
soldier can marry without the previous knowlege and consent of his
captain, or commanding officer. There is not, however, any specific
regulation on this head. The regulations respecting the marriages of
officers and soldiers in the old French service, were extremely rigid.
MARIN, _Fr._ Any thing appertaining to the sea. _Avoir le pied marin_,
to have sea-legs, or to be able to stand the motion of a vessel in
rough water, and to go through the different functions of navigation.
_Marin_ is likewise used to distinguish a sea-faring man, (_homme de
mer_) from _Marinier_, which literally means a sailor.
_La_ MARINE. The French navy is so called.
MARINE, implies, in general, the whole navy of a state or kingdom,
comprehending all the dock yards, and the officers, artificers, seamen,
soldiers, &c. employed therein, as well as the shipping employed by the
merchants for military or commercial purposes; together with whatever
relates to navigation, ship-building, sailors, and marines.
The history of the marine affairs of any one state is a very
comprehensive subject; much more that of all nations. Not only the
preservation of that share of commerce which the British possess, but
its future advancement, and even the very being of Britain, as an
independent nation, depend on the good condition and wise regulation of
the affairs of the marine, than on the superiority of its naval power.
The Delphic oracle being consulted by the Athenians, on the formidable
armament and innumerable forces of Xerxes, returned for answer, “that
they must seek their safety in wooden walls.” To which the British
affirm, that whenever their nation in particular has recourse to her
floating bulwarks for her security and defence, she will find wealth,
strength, and glory, to be the happy and infallible consequence.
MARINES, or MARINE FORCES, a body of soldiers, raised for the
sea-service, and trained to fight either in a naval engagement or in
an action on shore. Officers of marines may sit on courts-martial with
officers of the land forces. See British MUTINY ACT, Sect. 13.
The great service which this useful corps has frequently rendered,
entitles it to a fair record in every publication that treats of
military matters. In the course of former wars the marines have
distinguished themselves by great perseverance, strict attention to
duty, and unquestionable valor. At the siege of Belisle they rose into
considerable notice, although they had, at that period, been only
recently raised, and were scarcely competent to military discipline.
When the marines are at sea, they form part of the ship’s crew, and
soon acquire a knowlege of nautical tactics. Their officers are
directed by the admiralty, (under whose immediate control they serve,)
to encourage them in every disposition to become able seamen; but no
sea officer has the power of ordering them to go aloft against their
inclination. During an engagement at sea, they are of considerable
service in scouring the decks of the enemy, by firing musquetry from
the poop, round top, &c. and when they have been long enough out to
obtain good sea-legs, they are preferable to mere seamen, especially
when the enemy attempts to board; in which case the marines can fraise
the poop, quarterdeck, forecastle, &c. with their fixed bayonets, and
prevent the completion of their design. In making this observation,
we are necessarily led to recommend a more frequent use of the pike.
Not only the seamen, but the marines, should be well exercised in
the management of that weapon. The interior regulations for the
several marine corps, have been well digested, and do credit to the
establishment. If any fault can be found on that head, it must relate
to the slops, which are given in too large a quantity, considering
the little room that a marine must occupy on board. No commissions
are bought or sold in the marines; every individual rises according
to his seniority; but a marine officer never can arrive at the
highest rank or pay which exists upon the marine establishment; one
general, one lieutenant general, one major general, three colonels,
and one lieutenant colonel commandant, being naval officers with those
additional distinctions. It is not within our province to enter into
the wisdom or the injustice, not to say ignorance of that policy, which
with a series of indisputable claims to notice, still keeps the marine
establishment upon the lowest footing of military honor and reward.
The marine forces have of late years been considerably augmented;
and we make no doubt but they will continue to be so, from the many
confessed advantages which are derived from the peculiar nature of
their service. They at present consist of 140 companies, which are
stationed in the following manner in three principal divisions:
|| _Ports- || _Ply-
_Chatham_|| mouth_ || mouth_
companies|| companies|| companies
1st| 71st|| 2d | 72d || 3d | 73d
4th| 74th|| 5th| 75th|| 6th| 76th
7th| 77th|| 8th| 78th|| 9th| 79th
10th| 80th||11th| 81st||12th| 82d
13th| 83d ||14th| 84th||15th| 85th
16th| 86th||17th| 87th||18th| 88th
19th| 89th||20th| 90th||21st| 91st
22d | 92d ||23d | 93d ||24th| 94th
25th| 95th||26th| 96th||27th| 97th
28th| 98th||29th| 99th||30th|100th
31st|101st||32d |102d ||33d |103d
34th|104th||35th|105th||36th|106th
37th|107th||38th|108th||39th|109th
40th|110th||41st|111th||42d |112th
43d |113th||44th|114th||45th|115th
46th|116th||47th|117th||48th|118th
49th|119th||50th|120th||51st|121st
52d |122d ||53d |123d ||54th|124th
65th|125th||55th|126th||57th|127th
68th|128th||56th|129th||58th|130th
| ||59th|131st||60th|132d
| ||61st|133d ||62d |134th
| ||63d |135th||64th|136th
| ||66th|137th||67th|138th
| ||69th|139th||70th|140th
----+-----++----+-----++----+-----
40 comp. || 50 comp. || 50 comp.
The siege of St. Jean D’Acre, fabulous as the defence of it may
hereafter appear from the extraordinary means which were made use of to
reduce the place, and the more extraordinary exertions which succeeded
in preserving it, will long be remembered, by the two first rival
nations in Europe, and will form a brilliant part of the records of the
Turkish empire. When posterity shall read the account, it may doubt
the relation in its full extent of wonderful hardihood on both sides;
but it will rest satisfied, that the garrison of St. Jean D’Acre would
not have resisted the first approach of Bonaparte’s army, had not a
handful of British marines stood in each breach his soldiers made, and
communicated courage and perseverance to the natives of the place.
It has already been remarked, that the marines are nominally under the
command of three general officers, who are admirals, or vice-admirals
in the navy, and three colonels belonging to the sea service. The
marines themselves never rise beyond the rank of colonel commandant in
their own corps, but they may be general officers with respect to the
army at large. According to the last printed list there is one colonel
commandant, properly so called, with the rank of major general in the
army, three colonels commandant and captains, two of whom have the
rank of major general in the army; three second colonels commandant
and captains, two of whom have the rank of major general in the army;
nine lieutenant colonels and captains, six of whom have the rank of
colonel in the army, and three that of lieutenant colonel; nine majors
and captains, one of whom has the rank of major general in the army,
and eight that of lieutenant colonel; making together twenty-five
field officers, who are marines properly so called; and six superior
officers, who belong to the navy.
To these may be added 116 captains of companies, two of whom have
the rank of lieutenant colonel in the army, and one is lieutenant
colonel by brevet; 24 captain lieutenants, 256 first lieutenants, 276
second lieutenants, six adjutants, and three quarter masters. The
list of those field officers who have been permitted to retire upon
full pay, contains one colonel, one lieutenant colonel with the rank
of major general, one major with the rank of major by brevet, in the
army, 15 captains, 10 with the rank of major by brevet, and one with
that of lieutenant colonel by brevet; eight first lieutenants, and
three second lieutenants. There are four reduced field officers, two
of whom have the rank of major general in the army, and one that of
lieutenant colonel; 92 captains, one with the rank of captain in the
army, one as field officer in the India company’s service, and nine
with the rank of major by brevet; six reduced captain lieutenants, 162
reduced first lieutenants, four of whom have civil employments; 136
second lieutenants, one of whom has a civil employment; and one reduced
adjutant. There is one paymaster to the marine establishment, who does
not hold any military situation.
The American marine corps, like the British, is a separate
establishment; the true system for a military establishment, would
be to have the whole force consist only of horse and foot; and all
instructed alike in the uses of small arms and artillery; then a
selection of artillerists and marines could always be made by skill and
not as now by chance.
MARK, a note, character, &c. set upon a thing.
MARK also denotes money of account. The English mark is 13_s._ 4_d._;
among the Saxons it was equivalent to 7_s._ 6_d._ English money. It is
also a money of account in Scotland, and formerly a silver coin, being
equal to 13_d._ and one third English.
_Gunpowder_ MARKS. The different sorts of gunpowder are distinguished
by the following marks on the heads of the barrels. All gunpowder for
service is mixed in proportions according to its strength, so as to
bring it as much as possible to a mean and uniform force. This sort
of powder is marked with a blue L. G. and the figure ¹⁄₂, or with
F. G. and the figure 3, whose mean force is from 150 to 160 of the
eprouvette. This is the powder used for practice, for experiments, and
for service. The white L. G. or F. G. is a second sort of powder of
this quality. It is sometimes stronger, but not so uniform as the blue
L. G. It is therefore generally used in filling shells, or such other
things as do not require accuracy. The red L. G. F. G. denotes powder
entirely made at the king’s mills, with the coal burnt in cylinders,
and is used at present only in particular cases, and in comparisons,
and to mix with other sorts to bring them to a mean force. The figures
1, 2, or 3, denote that the powder is made from saltpetre obtained from
damaged gunpowder; 4, 5, or 6, from saltpetre obtained from the grough.
See pages 123, 124, of the Little Bombardier.
MARK _to shoot at_. A round or square piece of wood, which is
generally painted in red and white circles, and has a black spot
in the centre called the bull’s eye. Soldiers should be frequently
practised in shooting at a mark. At the commencement of the French
revolution, particularly in 1792, previous to the battle of Jemmappe,
the inhabitants of the different towns exercised themselves several
times during the course of the day, in firing at a mark. The national
guards did the same. By means of this laudable practice several expert
marksmen were formed. We need scarcely add, that the advantages which
the service in general derived from their skill, has been too manifest
to be denied. It must be evident to every military man that corps of
light cavalry, mounted light artillery, and numerous small bodies of
marksmen, capable of acting together, or on detached and desultory
duties, would answer all the purposes of home defence.
MARK _time_.--To mark time is to move each leg alternately in quick
or ordinary time, without gaining ground. This is frequently practiced
when a front file or column has opened too much, in order to afford the
rear an opportunity of getting up; and sometimes to let the head of a
column disengage itself, or a body of troops file by, &c.
_Knights of St._ MARK. An order of knighthood which formerly existed in
the republic of Venice, under the protection of St. Mark the evangelist.
_To be_ MARKED. Marshal Saxe, in his reveries, proposes that every
soldier should be marked in his right hand to prevent desertion. He
recommends the composition which is used by the Indians; and grounds
the propriety of his plan upon the custom which prevailed among the
Romans, who marked their soldiers with a hot iron. We mention this as a
suggestion grounded upon good authority: but we by no means recommend
it as an adoption which would be palatable.
MARKSMEN, men expert at hitting a mark.
_Light-armed_ MARKSMEN, men that are armed and accoutred for very
active and desultory service. See RIFLEMEN.
_Austrian volunteer_ MARKSMEN, a corps which has been formed in the
hereditary dominions of the emperor of Germany, and is daily increasing
by recruits and volunteers from the Tyrol, &c. The success which has
uniformly attended the French _Tirailleurs_ in all their actions,
has induced other nations to pay great attention to the formation of
similar corps.
MARLINS, in _artillery_, are tarred white skains, or long wreaths or
lines of untwisted hemp, dipped in pitch or tar, with which cables and
other ropes are wrapped round, to prevent their fretting and rubbing
in the blocks or pullies through which they pass. The same serves in
artillery upon ropes used for rigging gins, usually put up in small
parcels called skains.
MARON, _Fr._ a piece of brass or copper, about the size of a crown, on
which the hours for going the rounds were marked, in the old French
service. Several of these were put into a small bag, and deposited
in the hands of the major of the regiment, out of which they were
regularly drawn by the serjeants of companies, for the officers
belonging to them. The hours and half hours of the night were engraved
upon each _maron_ in the following manner--_Ronde de dix heures, de dix
heures et demie._ The ten o’clock rounds, or those of the half hour
past ten.
These pieces were numbered 1, 2, &c. to correspond with the several
periods of the nights; so that the officers for instance, who was to go
the ten o’clock rounds, had as many _marons_ marked 10, as there were
posts or guard-houses which he was directed to visit. Thus on reaching
the first, after having given the _mot_, or watchword to the corporal,
(who, whilst he receives it, must keep the naked point of his sword or
bayonet close to the chest of the person who gives it) he delivers into
his hands the _maron_ marked 1. These _marons_ being pierced in the
middle, are successively strung by the different corporals upon a piece
of wire, from which they slide into a box called _boîte aux rondes_, or
box belonging to the rounds. This box is carried next morning to the
major, who keeps the key: and who on opening it, can easily ascertain
whether the rounds have been regularly gone, by counting the different
_marons_, and seeing them successively strung. This is certainly a
most excellent invention to prevent a neglect of duty in officers, or
non-commissioned officers.
MARON _d’artifice_, _Fr._ a species of firework, which is made with a
piece of pasteboard in the shape of a parallelogram, one side of which
is as five to three, so that fifteen squares equal among themselves may
be made, three on one side, and five on the other; these are folded
into the form of a die or cube, and filled with gunpowder. The effect
produced by this firework is extremely beautiful.
MARQUE, or _Letters of Marque_, in _military affairs_, are letters of
reprisal, granting the people of one state liberty to make reprisals on
those of another. See LETTERS _of_ MARQUE.
MARQUEE, a word corrupted from the French _marquise_, signifying a tent
or cover made of strong canvas or Russia-duck, which is thrown over
another tent, and serves to keep out rain. Its primitive etymology may
be traced to _marquis_, or _marchio_, whence marchers, and marches.
The complete weight of a marquée is 1 cwt. 17lbs. ridge pole, 7 feet;
standard 8 feet.
MARQUER _le pas_, to mark time.
MARQUER _un camp_, _Fr._ to prick out the lines of an encampment.
MARQUIS, _marquess_, _marchio_, _margrave_, a title of honor given by
letter patent to a person who holds a middle rank between the dignity
of a duke and that of an earl. This word, like margrave, is derived
from the high Dutch, or from the French _marche_, a limit, as the
guard of the frontiers was entrusted to a marquis. The title itself is
originally French, and was first known under Charlemagne. King Richard
the second first introduced the dignity of marquis among the British,
by creating Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford, marquis of Dublin; but it
was a title without any office annexed to it.
MARQUISE, _Fr._ See MARQUEE.
_Tendre une_ MARQUISE, _Fr._ to pitch a marquée.
MARQUISE, _Fr._ This word likewise means a species of _fusée volante_,
which see.
MARS. According to the heathen mythology, the god of war was so
called. The French frequently use the word in a figurative sense, viz.
_Les travaux de Mars_, the labors or exploits of Mars; _le métier de
Mars_, the military profession.
MARSAGLIA; near Turin in Italy, at the battle of 24th September, 1693,
Catinat defeated prince Eugene and the duke of Savoy; this battle and
place are memorable for being the first at which bayonets were used at
the ends of musquets, and to this the French owed the victory.
_The_ MARSEILLOIS, or _Marseilles hymn_, a national march adopted by
the French during the course of their revolution, and since regularly
played in their armies when they go to battle. It is frequently
accompanied, or rather succeeded by the _Cá Ira_, a quick lively tune;
the former being calculated for slow or ordinary time, and the latter
for quick movements.
MARSHAL, _Field_-MARSHAL, in its primitive signification means an
officer who has the care and charge of horses; but it is now applied to
officers who have very different employments.--In a military sense, it
means the commander in chief of all the forces. It is likewise given as
an honorary rank to general officers who have no immediate command. See
GENERAL.
MARSHAL _of France_, was an officer of the greatest dignity in the
French army. It was first established by Philip-August, in the year
1185.
The French military institutions under the empire, has an establishment
of marshals, which is a title of military honor given to generals of
pre-eminent merit.
PROVOST-MARSHAL, an executive officer, whose duty is to see punishments
put in force, when soldiers are condemned to death, or are to be
otherwise chastised. Every army is provided with a provost-marshal
general, who has several deputies under him. By the last general
regulations it has been ordained, that in case the army should take the
field in Great Britain, a deputy provost-marshal will be appointed to
each district. The provost, under those circumstances, will frequently
make the tour of the camp, and its environs, and will have orders to
seize such persons as are committing disorders.
The provost-marshal will be particularly directed, in making his
rounds, to execute the awful punishment which the military law awards
against plundering and marauding.
And in order to assist him in the discovery of such persons as may be
guilty of those offences, the regiments encamped nearest villages, will
send frequent patroles into them, to apprehend such persons, as may be
there without passes, or who having passes, may behave improperly.
If any soldier is base enough to attempt to desert to the enemy, he
will suffer immediate death.
Any person forcing a safeguard will suffer death.
These punishments will attach equally to the followers of the camp, as
to soldiers, and must be explained to them by the officers commanding
the regiments by which such followers are employed.
The articles of war have decreed punishments for the following
offences:--
Death is the absolute punishment for cowardice, or misbehaviour before
an enemy, or speaking words inducing others to do the like.
For mutiny, or concealing a mutiny, desertion, sleeping on a post,
or quitting it before relieved, plundering after victory, quitting a
post in battle, compelling an officer to abandon or give up his post,
or persuading others to do the like, corresponding with an enemy, and
striking or refusing to obey any superior officer in the execution of
his duty, a court-martial may inflict death, or any other punishment it
may judge adequate to the offence.
The crimes of persuading others to desert, of concealing, assisting, or
relieving an enemy; of being absent from the troop or company a soldier
belongs to, absence from duty, drunkenness, and false alarms, are
punishable at the discretion of a general or regimental court-martial.
All officers in the command of guards or detachments are enjoined to
give assistance to the provost-marshal in the execution of his duty;
and any officer or soldier impeding him in the same, or offering him
any insult, will receive the most exemplary punishment.
MARSHY _ground_, _les marais_, _Fr._ As it may be frequently necessary
to convey heavy ordnance, &c. over marshy ground, and sometimes indeed
to erect batteries upon it, the following method has been recommended
for those purposes:--
In the first place, a firm and solid road must be made, in order to
convey, with safety, the different materials which may be wanted for
the construction of the battery, and along which the men may securely
drag the various pieces of ordnance. This road must be ten feet high at
least.
If the marsh or bog should not be very deep, let a bed or platform,
consisting of fascines, and disposed according to the direction of
the road, be constructed between two rows of thick saucissons, that
are secured and fixed in the earth with strong stakes. This platform
must be two thirds as thick as the bog is deep, and contain 12 feet
in breadth. Spread hurdles over the level surface of this platform,
and then make another bed or covering with fascines, ten feet long,
and disposed according to the breadth of the road, taking care to bind
their ends, &c. well together by means of stakes, which must be driven
through the hurdles and the lower bed. Let this second surface be
sufficiently covered with earth and straw, to secure the fascines, and
to render the road solid and compact.
If the road should appear unsafe after these precautions, it must be
made wider and deeper.
If the marsh or bog be very deep, you must construct several beds or
surfaces of fascines, in the manner already mentioned, taking care
to make the top equal to the breadth of the road, and capable of
supporting the weight of a waggon or carriage. The ground for the
epaulement belonging to the platforms, their recoil backwards, and the
path to the magazines, must be rendered firm and solid after the same
manner. On each side of this epaulement you must throw up a berm or
path, measuring three feet in front, and as much on the sides.
You will collect the earth, &c. in the usual way for the construction
of batteries on rocks, and mask your artificers in like manner.
MARTEAU _d’armes_, _Fr._ an offensive weapon, so called from its
resemblance to a hammer.
MARTIAL-_Law_, is the law of war, which entirely depends on the
arbitrary power of the commander of the army when martial law is
declared; and then the law of war is greatly influenced by the
situation where war is carried on; by the conduct of the people
in whose country the war exists: there are certain principles of
humanity and honor, which all nations observe in time of war, which
have the force of law; as the law of truces, the sacred character of
ambassadors, &c. The laws that relate to the army are also branches of
martial law.
MARTINET. A word frequently used to signify a strict disciplinarian,
who sometimes gives officers and soldiers unnecessary trouble. It is
supposed to have taken its origin from an adjutant of that name, who
was in high repute, as a drill officer, during the reign of Louis the
XIVth.
MARTINET, _Fr._ A small discipline, or cat o’ nine tails, fixed to the
end of a wooden handle, which schoolmasters use to punish refractory or
idle boys. This affords us another path, and perhaps a surer one, than
the surname already quoted, to find out the real origin of Martinet
in a military sense, more especially as it is particularly indicative
of the severity that is sometimes practised by what is, ridiculously
enough, called a _tip-top_ adjutant.
MARTINGAL, (_Martingale_, _Fr._) a thong of leather, which is fastened
to one end of the girths under the belly of a horse, and at the other
end to the mussroll, to keep him from rearing.
MASHKAWAR, _Ind._ Monthly accounts.
_A_ MASK, _Fr._ in field fortification, (_une masque_.) It sometimes
happens, that a ditch or fossé must be dug in an exposed situation;
in this case it will be absolutely necessary for the artificers and
workmen to get under cover by means of masking themselves in such a
manner as to answer the double purpose of executing their immediate
object, and of deceiving the enemy with respect to the real spot they
occupy.
To effect the latter purpose, several masks must be hastily thrown
up, whilst the men are employed behind one; by which means the enemy
will either mistake the real point, or be induced to pour his fire in
several directions, and thus weaken its effect.
A mask is generally six feet high. Bags made of wad or wool are too
expensive on these occasions; nor are gabions, stuffed with fascines,
seven or eight feet high to be preferred; for if the fascines be tied
together they will leave spaces between them in the gabions; and if
they are not bound together, they will be so open at top as to admit
shot, &c.
In order to obviate these inconveniences, the following method has
been proposed:--place two chandeliers, each seven feet high, and two
broad, between the uprights, after which fill up the vacant spaces with
fascines nine feet high, upon six inches diameter. One toise and a half
of epaulement will require two chandeliers, and 60 fascines, to mask it.
The engineer, or artillery officer places himself behind this mask, and
draws his plan.
As you must necessarily have earth, &c. to complete your work, these
articles may be brought in shovels, sacks, or baskets; and if the
quarter from whence you draw them should be exposed to the enemy’s
fire, cover that line, as well as the line of communication, between
the trenches, or the parallels, with a mask.
If you cannot procure earth and fascines, make use of sacks stuffed
with wool, &c. and let their diameters be three feet, and their length
likewise three, and let the outside be frequently wetted to prevent
them from catching fire. See pages 828, 829, 830, Vol. ii. of the
_Aide-Memoire a l’Usage des Officiers d’Artillerie de France_.
_To_ MASK, (_Masquer_, _Fr._) To cover any particular post or
situation, for the purposes of attack or defence. In ambuscade, a
battery is said to be masked, when its outward appearance is such
as not to create any suspicion or mistrust in a reconnoitring or
approaching enemy. A town or fortress, a battery, or the head of a
bridge, may likewise be said to be masked, when a superior force sits
down before them, and keeps the garrison in awe. This is frequently
done, in order to render the advantages of such a place or hold
ineffectual, while an army acts in its neighborhood, or marches by.
MASQUER _un passage_, _Fr._ To block up any road or avenue through
which an army might attempt to march.
MASSALGIES, _Ind._ Persons employed in India as porters or messengers.
Massalgies, coolies, and palankeen bearers, are allowed a certain batta
when they travel. _Mussal_ is a torch; and _mussalgee_ a torch bearer,
a person who carries a flambeau to give light.
MASSE, _Fr._ A species of stock-purse, which during the French monarchy
was lodged in the hands of the regimental treasurer or paymaster, for
every serjeant, corporal anspessade, drummer, and soldier. The sum
retained for each serjeant was vingt deniers per day; and ten deniers
for each of the other ranks, according to the establishment, not the
effective number of each battalion. Out of these stoppages a settled
and regular masse, or stock-purse, was made up, and at the end of every
month it was paid into the hands of the major or officer entrusted with
the interior management of the corps, and was then appropriated to
defray the expence of clothing the different regiments, and lodged in
the hands of the directors or inspector-general of clothing.
That part of the _masse_, or stock-purse, which remained in the major’s
hands, and which was destined for the dress of the recruits, as well as
for repairs of the regimental clothing, &c. could never be disposed of,
or appropriated, without the knowlege and concurrence of the colonels
commandant of regiments, the lieutenant-colonels, and other superior
officers of the corps.
To this end it was customary for the major to call the commanding
officers and oldest captains of the regiments together, in order to lay
before them the actual state of the corps, to select some officer who
should superintend the repairing of whatever was found necessary, and
defray the lodging-money, &c. After this statement has been examined,
the major must deliver in a faithful account of all the regimental
debts that have been incurred; he must further explain how the last
amount of the _masse_, or stock-purse, has been laid out, and specify
the actual sum in hand, that a proper arrangement may be made, and that
the repairs in the clothing, and the expences attending quarters, &c.
may be duly ascertained.
The major was, on these occasions, directed to give his advice, with
due respect and deference to his superior officers, and to suggest the
best and cheapest method of fitting out and embellishing the regiment,
carefully adhering to that system of œconomy which prevents it from
running into debt. The statement of the several articles, with their
appropriate expenditure, was specifically drawn out, and counter-signed
by the colonel-commandant, and two or three of the oldest captains of
companies. Their signatures served as vouchers for the major. By these
means all internal cavils and disputes were obviated; the interior
œconomy of the corps was well conducted, and a seasonable check was
kept upon those officers who had the management of the regiment. Every
thing, besides, came in a regular form before the inspector-general,
under whose eyes all the accounts were ultimately laid; whether they
regarded the recruiting service, or the clothing and distribution of
necessaries.
MASSE _du regiment Royal Artillerie_, _Fr._ This corps, like other
regiments in the old French service, had its masse, or stock-purse,
formed by a certain stoppage or allowance for each serjeant, and for
each master artificer in the corps of workmen; and for each corporal,
anspessade, cannonier, bombardier, sapper, miner, under-master,
artificer, apprentice, cadet, private artillery-man, and drummer. These
sums formed an aggregate masse, or stock-purse, which was regularly
submitted to the director general of the school of artillery, and was
laid out for the clothing of the different battalions, &c.
MASSE _des compagnies Franches d’infanterie_, _Fr._ The masse belonging
to these companies was formed in the same manner, and was under the
control of the director or inspector-general.
MASSE _de la cavalerie et des dragons_, _Fr._ Every brigadier,
horseman, carabineer, hussar, dragoon, trumpet and cymbal player,
and drummer, belonging to the old French cavalry, was subject to a
certain stoppage from the allowances that were made, over and above
their regular subsistence, for the purpose of forming their masse,
or stock-purse. This money remained in the hands of the regimental
treasurer, who accounted for its application at the end of every
month, and delivered a statement into the hands of the officer who was
entrusted with its distribution; the same having been vouched for by
the colonels-general of cavalry and dragoons.
In addition to these extracts from a French work, it may not be thought
superfluous to give the following more specific explanation of what was
comprehended under the term of regimental _masse_, or stock-purse, that
was made out of stoppages.
There were three sorts of _masses_, or regimental stock-purses in the
old French service; two of which were sanctioned by authority, or the
king’s order. The third was confined to the interior management of each
corps, but never appeared in any public regulation. On this account it
obtained the appellation of _masse noire_, or _dark_ and _unknown_.
The first _masse_ directed by government to be attended to in every
regiment, was called _masse_ de _linge et chaussure_, or stock of
necessaries, such as linen, shoes, &c. This masse was made up by means
of a certain proportion of the recruit’s bounty (amounting to 15
livres) which was kept in hand, and by the retention of a part of the
daily pay of each soldier. The money, thus stopped, was destined to
keep up the soldier’s regular stock of shoes and breeches, as the king
only allowed him one pair of each of those articles every year. He was
likewise enabled thereby to provide himself with stockings, shirts,
cravats or stocks, handkerchiefs, and gaiters; for every French soldier
was obliged to produce at each monthly inspection of necessaries, one
good pair of shoes, two shirts, two stocks or cravats, (one white and
the other black,) two handkerchiefs, three pair of gaiters; one of
which was to be white for parade duty, one of black worsted to mount
ordinary guards, and one of black canvas for marching.
At the expiration of three months a regular account was made out of
what remained unappropriated of the 15 livres, and of the masse in
general, after the soldier had been supplied with the above specified
articles. This statement was stuck up in every barrack-room, exhibiting
the balance due to each man, who, on his side, was obliged to have a
written counterpart, or schedule, of all the different articles, and of
the exact sum in hand. When the captain of the company inspected the
necessaries, each soldier was directed to produce this schedule, and to
repeat its contents by heart.
Whenever it so happened, that 15 livres could not be kept in hand out
of the soldier’s bounty, he was permitted to work, the instant he
could, with propriety, be dismissed the drill; for which indulgence,
and in order to keep his firelock and accoutrements in good condition,
he was obliged to pay six livres.
The second _masse_ was for purposes of cleanliness and military
appearance. This _masse_ grew out of the surplus of two or three
livres, which was stopped out of the pay of the men that were permitted
to work; and from a further stoppage of two deniers out of the daily
pay of each soldier. Out of this _masse_ the soldier was obliged
to supply himself with pipe-clay or whiting, clothes brushes, shoe
brushes, blacking, bees wax, emery, and hair powder, and powder bag,
and to defray the expence of washing. He was likewise enabled thereby
to pay a man for shaving. This man was attached to the company, and
was called _Frater_, or Brother. The same practice prevails in most
regiments belonging to the British service, with this difference, that
there is not any direct authority to enforce the observance of it as a
regulation.
In cavalry regiments, as in the infantry, the _masses_ were formed by a
stoppage of two or three livres out of the pay of those men that were
allowed to work, and by the produce of the dung which was valued at
two sols per day. There was likewise a further stoppage of two deniers
out of the daily subsistence of each dragoon, by means of which he
was regularly furnished with shovels, beesoms, and pitchforks for the
stables.
The third _masse_ (which, as we have already remarked, although
distinguished by the appellation of _masse noire_, or dark and unknown,
was still found indispensibly necessary for the interior management
of each regiment) grew out of the surplus money that was given for
discharges, (it being only required of each regiment to account to
government for 100 livres per man) out of deaths and other casualties,
and out of the money which had accumulated from men struck off the sick
list. The regiment by means of this fund, (which may in some degree be
considered in the same light that the stock-purse of a British regiment
is,) made up the deficiency of the king’s bounty, which was seldom or
ever found enough to answer the purposes of recruiting. The persons
employed upon this service were accordingly paid out of the _masse
noire_; which was further increased by certain contributions that the
men, who were permitted to work, voluntarily gave, in addition to the
six or seven livres already mentioned.
MASSE _d’armes_, _Fr._ a warlike weapon, which was formerly used. It
consisted of a long pole with a large iron head.
MASSELOTTE, _Fr._ A French term which is used in foundery, signifying
that superfluous metal which remains after a cannon or mortar has been
cast, and which is sawed or filed off, to give the piece its proper
form.
MASSIF, _Fr._ A short stick or rod, used by artificers in making
cartridges.
MASSOOLAS, _Ind._ The most common and slightest boats made use of on
the Coromandel coast.
MASSUE, _Fr._ a club.
MASTER _at arms_, in the _marine_, an officer appointed to teach the
officers and crew of a ship of war the exercise of small arms; to
confine prisoners, and plant centinels over them, and to superintend
whatever relates to them during their confinement. He is also to
observe, that the fire and lights are all extinguished, as soon as
the evening gun is fired, except those that are permitted by proper
authority, or under the inspection of centinels. It is likewise his
duty to attend the gangway, when any boats arrive aboard, and search
them carefully, together with their rowers, that no spirituous liquors
may be conveyed into the ship, unless by permission of the commanding
officer. In these several duties he is assisted by proper attendants,
called his corporals, who also relieve the centinels, and one another,
at certain periods.
MASTER _gunner_, in a _ship of war_, an officer appointed to take
charge of the artillery and ammunition aboard, and to teach the men the
exercise of the great guns. See GUNNER.
MASTER _general of the ordnance_. See ORDNANCE.
_Baggage_-MASTER _and inspector of roads_, an appointment in the
British service.
_Barrack_-MASTER-_general_, an officer with the rank of a major general
in the British army, vested with considerable powers. These powers were
formerly exercised by the board of ordnance, but they were transferred
to the barrack-master-general by the secretary at war on the 30th day
of May, 1794. In 1795 the two warrants, whereby all matters relative to
the government of barracks had been partially entrusted to the board of
ordnance, and a barrack-master-general, were revoked, and the following
rules, orders, powers, and directions were established in lieu thereof,
in as much as regards the duties of the department entrusted to the
barrack-master-general to the British forces.
It is the duty of the barrack-master-general to erect and keep in
repair all barracks that are not in fortified places; and all supplies
of barrack furniture, utensils, and other stores for the troops, are to
be furnished by him. The accommodation for royal artillery in barracks
is under the direction of the barrack-master-general, excepting
at Woolwich, or wherever there may be a separate barrack for the
artillery, or a fixed station for that corps.
The commanding officers in barracks are, in all matters relative to the
accommodation, disposition, and supply of the troops stationed therein,
to be under the direction of the barrack-master-general; and all
applications and requisitions are to be made to him.
Whenever any damage, except from fair wear and tear, has been done
to barrack buildings, or any of the furniture or utensils have been
injured, destroyed, or embezzled, a just estimate must be formed by
the barrack-master; and if his demand be not immediately paid by
the commanding officer, it shall be verified by affidavit of the
barrack-master, submitted to the commanding officer, and if the answer
be not satisfactory, the barrack-master-general is to certify the
amount of the expence of making good the said injury to the secretary
at war, in order that he may direct the same to be charged against the
regiment, or detachment concerned.
In order to prevent the inconveniencies and injury which might arise
from officers making alterations in the barrack-rooms, &c. the
barrack-master-general is directed to have the use, for which each room
is intended, lettered on the door; and if any officer shall attempt to
make any alteration in any room, or convert it to any purpose, other
than is so specified, or remove any of the furniture belonging thereto,
the barrack-master (who shall always be permitted to visit the rooms at
seasonable hours, whenever he desires so to do,) shall represent the
same to the commanding officer, and in case immediate attention is not
paid thereto, the barrack-master is strictly commanded immediately to
report it to the barrack-master-general. And when any room shall not be
occupied, the same shall be locked up, and no part of the furniture be
removed therefrom.
No officer, or barrack-master, is, upon any account, to make any
alteration or repairs at any barrack, or cause any expence to be
incurred in providing any article relative thereto, without the
direction of the barrack-master-general first obtained for that purpose.
On the 25th of March, 24th of June, 23d of September, and 24th of
December, in every year, regular returns are to be transmitted by the
barrack-masters to the barrack-master-general, of the state of the
barracks, and of the furniture and utensils, both in use and store,
specifying the actual condition of each, and the manner in which
the apartments of the barrack or barracks, under their care have
been occupied for the three months preceding; which return shall be
countersigned by the commanding officers, who are directed personally
and diligently to inspect the same.
The barrack-master-general is to take care, that a proper quantity of
good and sufficient firing, candles, and other stores, be provided
for each barrack every year. And the same is to be duly delivered out
to the troops by the respective barrack-masters, at such times, and
in such proportions, as are specified in the general regulations. The
deliveries are to be vouched, not only by certificates of the actual
amount, but also by accurate returns, stating the number in every
troop, company or detachment, present at each weekly delivery. The
said certificates and returns are to be given under the hand of the
commanding officer in the barracks, and to be transmitted with the
accounts. And a return thereof is without delay to be transmitted
by the several barrack-masters, who from thenceforth are to remain
accountable for the same to the barrack-master-general.
Half-yearly accounts of expenditures, with general returns of the
receipts and issues, and the necessary vouchers for the same, are to be
made up to the 24th of June, and 24th of December, in each year, and
to be transmitted, within fourteen days after the said periods, to the
barrack-master-general, who is to examine and settle the same without
delay.
The issue of forage to the cavalry, is to be made according to
a prescribed regulation. The officer commanding in each of the
cavalry barracks, where forage shall be issued, is to transmit to
the barrack-master-general a weekly return of the number of horses
for which it has been delivered; and also the name and rank of
each officer, with the number of horses for which he has received
rations of forage. And at such periods as shall be required, by the
barrack-master-general, the said commanding officer shall transmit
to him, a general statement of the quantity of forage received and
actually issued to the troops, the said certificate to be according to
such form as shall be prescribed by the barrack-master-general.
Whenever small beer is to be issued to troops in barrack, it can
only be supplied by such persons as shall have been approved by the
barrack-master-general; and the delivery is to be vouched by a weekly
return from the commanding officer, stating the number to whom it
has been issued. And at such periods as shall be required by the
barrack-master-general, the said commanding officer is to transmit to
him a general statement of the quantity of small beer actually issued
to the troops; the said certificate to be according to such form, as
shall be prescribed by the barrack-master-general.
Every instance of neglect or misconduct which may occur in the
management of barracks, must be reported to the barrack-master-general
by the several officers commanding in barracks; and on the
representation being judged sufficiently weighty, an inspector is to be
sent down for the specific purpose of seeing every matter of complaint
removed.
The barrack-master-general is authorised to take cognizance of all
matters relative to accommodation, disposition, and supply, of the
troops stationed in barracks, reporting thereupon, whenever it may be
requisite, to the secretary at war, for the king’s information. And
all officers, and barrack-masters, are directed and enjoined to obey
such orders and directions as the barrack-master-general shall find
necessary to be given thereon.
The barrack-master-general is from time to time to receive imprests of
money, for the current services of each year, upon estimates signed
by him, and delivered into the office of the secretary at war. And
at the end of each year, he shall make up and deliver into the said
office, a general account of barrack expenditures for the preceding
twelve months. The half-yearly accounts of the several barrack-masters,
and the accounts of other persons to whom monies shall have been
paid within the period on behalf of the barrack department (for
the propriety, justness, and accuracy of which, as also for their
strict conformity to the regulations, he shall be held responsible,)
together with their acquittances, shall be the vouchers upon which
the said general accounts shall be passed, and warrants shall be made
out according to the royal sign manual. See pages 69 to 80, General
Regulations.
_Quarter_-MASTER _of the victuals_. The person who had the chief care
and management of the provisions belonging to an army was formerly so
called. See PURVEYOR.
_Scout_-MASTER-_general_. A person, formerly so called, under whose
direction all the scouts and army messengers were placed. The
appointment does not exist at present.
MASULIT, a boat used in the East Indies, which is calked with moss.
MATCH, _in artillery_, a kind of rope slightly twisted, and prepared
to retain fire for the use of the artillery, mines, fireworks, &c.
Slow match is made of hemp or tow, spun on the wheel like cord, but
very slack; and is composed of three twists, which are afterwards
again covered with tow, so that the twists do not appear: lastly, it
is boiled in the lees of old wine. This, when once lighted at the end,
burns on gradually, without ever going out, till the whole be consumed.
It is mounted on a lint stock.
_Quick_ MATCH, used in _artillery_, made of three cotton strands drawn
into lengths, and put into a kettle just covered with white wine
vinegar, and then a quantity of saltpetre and mealed powder is put in
it, and boiled till well mixed. Others put only saltpetre into water,
and after that take it out hot, and lay it into a trough with some
mealed powder, moistened with some spirits of wine, thoroughly wrought
into the cotton by rolling it backwards and forwards with the hands;
and when this is done, they are taken out separately, drawn through
mealed powder, and dried upon a line. See LABORATORY.
MATCH.--The slow match used by the English is made by contract; one
yard of it will burn about 8 hours. The French slow match is usually
made by soaking light twisted white rope for three days in a strong
lye. It burns about 3 feet in 6 hours.
Slow match was made at Gibraltar, during the last siege, in the
following manner: eight ounces of saltpetre were put into a gallon of
water, and just made to boil over a slow fire; strong blue paper was
then wetted with the liquor, and hung to dry. When dry, each sheet
was rolled up tight, and the outward edge pasted down, to prevent its
opening: half a sheet, thus prepared, will burn 3 hours.
_Quick_ MATCH _Compositions_.
_Worsted Match._
Worsted 10 oz.
Mealed powder 10 lbs.
Spirits of wine 3 pints.
Water 3 do.
Isinglass ¹⁄₂ pint.
_Cotton Match._
Cotton 1 lb. 12 oz.
Saltpetre 1 8
Mealed powder 10 --
Spirits of wine 2 quarts.
Water 3 pints.
The worsted or cotton must be laid evenly in an earthen or other pan,
and the different ingredients poured over it, and about half the powder
being left a short time to soak, it is afterwards wound smoothly on a
reel, and laid to dry, the remaining half of the powder is then sifted
over it; and it is ready for use when dry.
The French have lately made their slow match by soaking the rope in a
solution of sugar of lead and rain water: in the proportion of ³⁄₄ths
of an ounce of sugar of lead to one pint of water; and this they
esteem as preferable to the old sort.
MATHEMATICS, originally signified any kind of discipline or learning;
but, at present, denotes that science which teaches, or contemplates,
whatever is capable of being numbered or measured; and accordingly
is subdivided into arithmetic, which has numbers for its object; and
geometry, which treats of magnitude.
MATHEMATICS are commonly distinguished into pure and speculative, which
consider quantity abstractedly; and mixed, which treat of magnitude as
subsisting in material bodies, and consequently are interwoven every
where with physical considerations.
_Mixed_ Mathematics are very comprehensive, since to them may be
referred astronomy, optics, geography, hydrography, hydrostatics,
mechanics, fortification, gunnery, projectiles, mining, engineering,
and navigation.
Pure mathematics have one peculiar advantage, that they occasion
no disputes among wrangling disputants, as in other branches of
knowlege; and the reason is, because the definitions of the terms are
premised, and every one that reads a proposition has the same idea of
every part of it. Hence it is easy to put an end to all mathematical
controversies, by shewing, that our adversary has not stuck to his
definitions, or has not laid down true premises, or else that he has
drawn false conclusions from true principles; and, in case we are able
to do neither of these, we must acknowlege the truth of what he has
proved.
It is true, that in mixed mathematics, where we reason mathematically
upon physical subjects, we cannot give such just definitions as the
geometricians; we must therefore rest content with descriptions; and
they will be of the same use as definitions, provided we are consistent
with ourselves, and always mean the same thing by those terms we have
once explained.
Dr. Barrow gives a most elegant description of the excellence and
usefulness of mathematical knowlege, in his inaugural oration upon
being appointed professor of mathematics at Cambridge.
The mathematics, he observes, effectually exercise, not vainly delude,
nor vexatiously torment studious minds with obscure subtleties; but
plainly demonstrate every thing within their reach, draw certain
conclusions, instruct by profitable rules, and unfold pleasant
questions. These disciplines likewise enure and corroborate the mind to
constant diligence in study; they wholly deliver us from a credulous
simplicity, most strongly fortify us against the vanity of scepticism,
effectually restrain us from a rash presumption, most easily incline
us to a due assent, perfectly subject us to the government of right
reason. While the mind is abstracted and elevated from sensible matter,
distinctly views pure forms, conceives the beauty of ideas, and
investigates the harmony of proportions; the manners themselves are
sensibly corrected and improved, the affections composed and rectified,
the fancy calmed and settled, and the understanding raised and excited
to nobler contemplations.
MATRAS, _Fr._ a sort of dart which was anciently used, and which was
not sufficiently pointed to occasion any thing more than a bruise.
MATRON, a woman, generally the wife of some well behaved and good
soldier, who is employed to assist in the regimental hospital. She is
under the direction of the surgeon, by whom she is originally appointed
to the situation. See NURSE.
MATROSSES, are properly assistants to the gunner, being soldiers in
the British regiments of artillery, and next to them: they assist in
loading, firing, and spunging the great guns. They carry firelocks, and
march along with the guns and store-waggons, both as a guard, and to
give their assistance on every emergency.
MATTER _of Deed_, in law, denotes something to be proved by witnesses,
in contradistinction from _matter of record_, which may be proved by
some process, &c. appearing in any court of record.
MATTER, in a military sense, especially with regard to courts-martial,
consists of the specific charges which are brought against a prisoner,
and to which the president and members most strictly confine
themselves. It has been very properly observed, in a small pamphlet
upon martial law, that unacquainted with the serious consequence of
a strict attention to the minutiæ of form in criminal proceedings,
general courts-martial have looked upon the first swearing in of the
court, as a sufficient authority to warrant their proceeding on the
trial of a variety of offences; whereas, in propriety, the court
should be sworn afresh at the commencement of every new prosecution:
for though, as judges, (in the manner of a court of common law) once
swearing would be sufficient; yet, as jurors, who are sworn on every
different trial, though identically the same men, so are the members
of general courts-martial to be considered, when a new criminal and
fresh _matter_ are brought before them. Lest, however, an established,
and therefore an undisputed practice, should have acquired a force
still difficult to be eradicated, we shall endeavor to point out those
reasons which induce us to maintain this opinion. In the oath which is
taken by each of the several members of a general court-martial, the
words _matter_ and _prisoner_, are cautiously inserted. These words,
therefore, being absolutely confined to a single matter, and a single
prisoner, and _matters_ and _prisoners_ not being subjected to their
jurisdiction, how is it possible that men, with propriety, can proceed
upon a trial which they are not warranted by law to decide upon? Were
the obligation in the Articles of War decisive as to the trial of all
matters, and all persons, and in all cases; or were the court possessed
of the authority of extending the meaning of the oath, once swearing
would undoubtedly be sufficient; but, as in every respect, the contrary
is evident, as the very words of the oath express that “_they shall
well and truly try and determine according to their evidence, in the
matter before them, &c._” How can it be otherwise than an unwarrantable
irregularity in them, to proceed upon the trial of offenders, who, in
the eye of the law, are not amenable to their authority? For, if the
_first_ prisoner to be tried, has a right to challenge an officer,
who may be appointed to sit on an investigation of his offence, as a
member of a court of enquiry, or who may be liable to any exceptions,
why shall not the _second_ and _third_ prisoner be entitled to the same
merciful indulgence? See Thoughts on Martial Law, pages 25, 26, 27, 28.
_Combustible_ MATTER, _and_ MATTER _of composition_. All solids and
fluids are so called which are of an inflammable nature themselves, and
can communicate fire to other substances.
MATTUCASHLASH, an ancient Scotch weapon, sometimes called armpit
dagger, which was worn there, ready to be used on coming to close
quarters. This, with a broad sword and shield, completely armed the
highlanders. Since the use of fire arms, this weapon has been laid
aside.
MATTOCK. An instrument somewhat resembling a pickax, but having two
broad sharp edges instead of points.
MATTRESS, a sort of quilted bed of straw, used by officers on service,
instead of the feather bed, differing from the paillasse in one
particular only; the straw in the latter being loose, whereas that of
the mattress is quilted in.
MAUG, _Ind._ The name of a month which partly agrees with our January
and February.
MAUL, a heavy beater or hammer, generally shod with iron, used in
driving piles, &c.
MAWANY, _Ind._ See KISTBUNDY.
MAXIMS, in _fortification_. See FORTIFICATION.
MEALED, pulverized, or reduced to powder.
MEAN _Fortification_. See FORTIFICATION.
MEANA, _Ind._ A machine or vehicle, a species of palankeen, but only
used for carrying one person. It is borne by four men, and supported by
means of a bamboo extended from the ends; being generally seven feet
long, and three wide, with Venetian blinds, which slide and act as
doors. Persons in India sometimes travel to a considerable distance in
these vehicles; the number of bearers being increased, and successively
relieved. It is computed that they will easily go at the rate of six
miles in the hour.
MEASURE, in _geometry_, any quantity assumed as one, to which the ratio
of other homogeneous or similar quantities is expressed.
MEASURE _of an angle_, the length of an arch described from the vertex
to any place between its legs: hence angles are distinguished by the
ratio of the arches between the legs to the peripheries. See ANGLE.
MEASURE _of a figure_, is a square, whose side is an inch, foot, yard,
or other determinate measure. Hence square measures.
Among geometricians it is usually a square rod, called _decempeda_,
divided into 10 square feet, and those into square digits, and those
again into 10 lines, &c.
MEASURE _of a line_, any right line taken at pleasure, and considered
as unity.
MEASURE _of the mass or quantity of matter_, in _mechanics_, is its
weight: it being apparent that all the matter which coheres with a
body, gravitates with it; and it being found by experiment, that the
gravities of homogeneal bodies are in proportion to their bulks: hence
while the mass continues the same, the absolute weight will be the
same, whatever figure it puts on; for as to its specific weight, it
varies as the quantity of its surface does.
MEASURE _of a number_, in _arithmetic_, such a number as divides
another without leaving a fraction: thus 9 is a measure of 27.
MEASURE _of a solid_, is a cube, whose side is an inch, foot, yard, or
other determinate length: in geometry, it is a cubic perch, divided
into cubic feet, digits, &c. Hence cubic measure, or measures of
capacity.
MEASURE _of velocity_, in _projectiles_, and _mechanics_, the space
passed over by a moving body in any given time. The space therefore
must be divided into as many equal parts, as the time is conceived to
be divided into: the quantity of space answering to such portion of
time, is the measure of the velocity.
_Measures_ then are various, according to the different kinds and
dimensions of things measured. Hence arise lineal and longitudinal
measures for lines or lengths; for square areas; and solid or cubic,
for bodies and their capacities: all which again are very different
in different countries and ages, and even many of them for different
commodities. Hence also arise other divisions, of domestic and foreign,
ancient and modern, dry and wet (or liquid) measures, &c.
_Long_ MEASURE. The English standard long measure, or that whereby the
quantities of things are ordinarily estimated, is the yard containing
three English feet, equal to three Paris feet one inch and ³⁄₁₂ths of
an inch, or ⁷⁄₉ths of a Paris ell. Its subdivisions are the foot, span,
palm, inch, and barley-corn: its multipliers are the pace, fathom,
pole, furlong, and mile.
TABLE, _which shews the length in English lines of the several long
measures, and the relation of foreign measures to 100 English feet_.
LONG MEASURE.
| | Length|Equiv.
| |of each|to 100
| |measure|feet
| | -- | --
| | Lines | num.
Places. | Measure. | 100 | 100
----------------------+-----------------------+-------+------
Aix la Chapelle |foot | 136,90|105,19
Amsterdam |foot | 134,25|107,26
Anspach |foot | 140,63|102,40
Antwerp |foot | 134,86|106,75
Augsburg |foot | 139,88|102,94
Basil |foot | 140,85|102,24
Bavaria |foot | 105,05|137,08
Bergen |palm | 41,87|343,92
Berlin |foot | 146,27| 98,45
Bern |foot | 138,50|103,97
Bologna |paso | 896, | 16,07
|foot | 179,20| 80,36
Bremen |foot | 136,58|105,43
Brescia |braccio | 221,06| 65,14
Breslaw |foot | 134,25|107,26
Briel |foot | 158,30| 90,97
Brunswick |foot | 134,77|106,86
Brussels |foot | 137,43|104,78
Cagliari |palmo | 95,67|150,52
Cairo |derah | 262, | 54,96
Carara |palmo | 115,20|125,
Castille |paso | 658,75| 21,86
|foot | 131,75|109,30
|palmo | 98,81|145,73
China |foot for merchants | 159,80| 90,11
|foot for mathematicians| 157,35| 91,51
|kongpu for architects | 152,45| 94,46
|foot land measure | 150,96| 95,39
Cleves |foot | 139,56|103,18
Cologne |foot | 129,97|110,80
Constantinople |foot | 334,50| 43,05
Cracow |foot | 168,33| 85,55
Dantzic |foot | 135,50|106,27
Denmark |faum | 889,32| 16,19
|foot | 148,22| 97,15
Dordrecht |foot | 170, | 84,71
Dresden |foot | 133,65|107,74
Egypt |derah | 262, | 54,96
Embden |foot | 139,88|102,94
England |foot | 144, |100,
Erfurt |foot | 133,28|108,05
Ferrol |codo | 263, | 54,75
|foot | 131,50|109,50
|palmo | 32,87|438,
Florence |braccio | 258,90| 55,62
France |toise | 920,46| 15,64
|pied de roi | 153,41| 93,86
|metre | 472,27| 30,49
Francfort on the Maine|foot | 135,30|106,43
Geneva |foot | 230,44| 62,49
Genoa |palmo | 118,58|121,44
Goes |foot | 141,60|101,70
Gottingen |foot | 137,43|104,78
Gotha |foot | 135,85|106,
Greece |foot | 144,68| 99,53
Groningen |foot | 137,97|104,37
Halle |foot | 140,63|102,40
Hamburgh |foot | 135,30|106,43
Hanover |foot | 137,43|104,78
Harlem |foot | 137,43|104,78
Hague |foot | 153,41| 93,88
Heidelberg |foot | 131,57|109,44
Hildesheim |foot | 132,26|108,88
Holland |foot | 134,25|107,26
Holstein |foot | 140,95|102,16
Inspruck |foot | 150, | 96,
Konigsberg |foot | 145,32| 99,09
Leghorn |palmo | 32,87|438,
|braccio | 258,90| 55,62
Leipsic |foot | 133,50|107,86
Leyden |foot | 148,08| 97,24
Liege |foot | 135,85|106,
Lisbon |foot | 159,92| 90,05
|palmo long measure | 106,62|135,06
|palmo short measure | 103,56|139,05
London |foot | 144, |100,
Louvain |foot | 134,86|106,75
Lubeck |foot | 137,43|104,78
Lunenburg |foot | 137,43|104,78
Lyons |foot | 161,40| 89,22
Magdeburg |foot | 133,92|107,53
Manheim |foot | 137, |105,10
Mantua |braccio | 219,70| 65,54
Mastrick |foot | 132,64|108,57
Mecklenburg |foot | 137,43|104,78
Mentz |foot | 142,23|101,25
Middleburg |foot | 141,70|101,62
Milan |foot | 187,50| 76,80
Munich |foot | 105,05|137,08
Muscovy |foot | 158, | 91,14
Naples |palmo | 124,54|115,62
Neufchatel |foot | 141,70|101,62
Nuremburg |foot | 143,50|100,35
Oldenburg |foot | 139,88|102,94
Osnaburg |foot | 131,90|109,17
Padua |foot | 167,25| 86,10
Palermo |palmo | 114,84|125,39
Paris |toise | 920,46| 15,64
|pied de roi | 153,41| 93,86
|metre | 472,27| 30,49
Parma |braccio | 258,15| 55,73
Persia |arisch | 459,20| 31,36
Placentia |braccio | 258,14| 55,78
Pomerania |foot | 137,97|104,37
Prague |foot | 142,55|101,02
Ratzeburg |foot | 137,43|104,78
Reggio |braccio | 250,20| 57,55
Revel |foot | 126,40|113,92
Rhine |foot | 148,23| 97,15
Riga |foot | 129,45|111,24
|foot of Holland | 134,25|107,26
Rimini |braccio | 256,75| 56,08
Rome |foot | 139,14|103,50
|palmo | 105,47|136,53
Rostock |foot | 136,58|105,43
Rotterdam |foot | 147,55| 97,59
Rouen |foot | 127,84|112,64
Russia |foot Rhenish | 148,23| 97,15
|foot English | 144, |100,
Samos |foot | 163,40| 88,13
Sardinia |palmo of Genoa | 118,58|121,44
|palmo of Cagliari | 95,68|150,50
Siam |ken | 453,85| 31,73
Stade |foot | 137,43|104,78
Stettin |foot | 133,50|107,86
Stockholm |foot | 140,20|102,71
Stralsund |foot | 133,50|107,86
Strasburg |foot | 136,66|105,37
Sweden |faum | 841,20| 17,12
|foot | 140,20|102,71
Switzerland |foot | 141,70|101,62
Turin |foot | 152,56| 94,39
Ulm |foot | 136,48|105,50
Utrecht |foot | 128,90|111,71
Valencia |foot | 142,72|100,90
Venice |foot | 164,07| 87,77
Verden |foot | 137,43|104,78
Verona |foot | 164,07| 87,77
Vienna |foot | 151,28| 95,18
Wirtemberg |foot | 137,43|104,78
Wismar |foot | 138,93|103,65
Zell |foot | 137,43|104,78
Ziriczee |foot | 146,60| 98,23
Zurich |foot | 141,70|101,62
The following examples will shew in what manner the proportion between
the long measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Examples._
It is required to reduce 100 metres new measure of France into feet of
Hamburgh.
The French metre measuring 472,27 English lines, and the Hamburgh foot
135,30, according to the table prefixed, I state the following equation:
100 metres = _x_
1 metre = 472,27 lines
135,30 lines = 1 foot
Result 349,05 feet.
Reduce 100 feet of Hamburgh into metres of France.
100 feet = _x_
1 foot = 135,30 lines
472,27 lines = 1 metre
Result 28,65 metres.
TABLE, _which shews the contents in English square feet of the several
land measures, and the relations of foreign measures to 100 acres
English measure_.
LAND MEASURE.
| | Con- |
| | tents |Equiv.
| |of each|to 100
| |measure|acres.
| | -- | --
| | squ. | num.
Places. | Measures. | feet.| 100
-----------------+---------------------------+-------+------
Amsterdam |morgen | 87630| 49,71
Basil |juchart | 34368|126,75
Berlin |great morgen | 61182| 71,20
|little morgen | 27531|158,22
Bern |juchart field measure | 28979|150,32
|juchart forest measure | 41729|104,39
Dantzic |morgen | 59927| 72,69
Denmark |tœnde-hart-korn | 118715| 36,69
England |acre | 43560|100,
Florence |soccate | 53461| 81,48
France |arpent _de Paris_ | 36865|118,16
|arpent _des eaux et forêts_| 55071| 79,10
|hectare | 107830| 40,40
Franconia |morgen | 39157|111,25
Geneva |journée | 55707| 80,02
Hamburgh |morgen | 135941| 32,04
Hanover |morgen | 28050|155,29
Ireland |acre | 70560| 61,73
Rhine |morgen land measure | 18354|237,33
|ditto for forests | 24472|178,
|ditto for vineyards | 16994|256,32
|thauen | 13767|316,40
|juchart | 9178|474,60
Russia |dessaetina | 124620| 34,95
Saxony |acker | 59450| 73,27
|morgen, Dresden measure | 29725|146,54
Schleswig |pfluge | 190350| 22,88
Scotland |acre | 55354| 78,70
Spain |fanegada | 48215| 90,35
|aranzada | 40514|107,52
Sweden |tuna land measure | 53218| 81,58
Switzerland |fauxe | 70818| 61,51
|morgen | 35409|123,02
Vienna |jochen | 63728| 68,35
Wirtemburg |great morgen | 61182| 71,20
|little morgen | 35849|121,51
Zurich |juchart | 34941|124,67
|ditto for forests | 38823|112,20
The following examples will shew in what manner the proportion between
the land measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Examples._
It is required to reduce 100 dessaetinas of Russia into fanegadas of
Spain.
The dessaetina measuring 124620 square feet of England, and the
fanegada 48215, according to the table prefixed, I state the following
equation:
100 dessaetinas = _x_
1 dessaetina = 124620 square feet
48215 square ft. = 1 fanegada
Result 258,47 fanegadas.
Reduce 100 fanegadas into dessaetinas.
100 fanegadas = _x_
1 fanegada = 48215 square feet
124620 square ft. = 1 dessaetina
Result 38,69 dessaetinas.
TABLE, _which shews the length in English feet of the several
itinerary measures, and the relation of those measures to 1 degree of
the terrestrial meridian, equal to 364420 English feet_.
ITINERARY MEASURE.
| | Length |Equiv.
| | of each| to 1
| | measure|degree
| | -- | --
| | | num.
Places. | Measures. | Feet. | 100
-----------+------------------+--------+------
Arabia |milla | 6441 | 56,58
Brandenburg|meile |34725 | 10,50
Denmark |mil |24704 | 14,75
England |mile by land | 5280 | 69,02
|mile by sea | 6073²⁄₃| 60,
|league marine |18221 | 20,
Flanders |mille |20587 | 17,70
France |lieue terrestre |14576⁴⁄₅| 25,
|lieue moyenne |16398 | 22,22
|lieue de poste |12784 | 28,50
|lieue marine |18221 | 20,
|myriametre |32797 | 11,11
Germany |meile |20587 | 17,70
|meile geographical|24294²⁄₃| 15,
Hamburgh |meile |24704 | 14,75
Holland |meile |19212 | 18,97
Hungary |meile |27378 | 13,31
India |parasang |12147¹⁄₃| 30,
Ireland |mile | 9110¹⁄₂| 40,
Italy |milla | 6073²⁄₃| 60,
Lithuania |meile |29336 | 12,42
Persia |parasang |16356 | 22,28
Poland |meile |18221 | 20,
Portugal |legua |20245⁵⁄₉| 18,
Prussia |meile |25409 | 14,34
Russia |werste | 3500 |104,12
Saxony |meile |29700 | 12,27
Scotland |mile | 5952 | 61,23
Silesia |meile |21250 | 17,15
Spain |legua of Castille |21958 | 16,60
|legua juridica |13724 | 26,55
|legua maritima |18221 | 20,
|milla maritima | 6073²⁄₃| 60,
Sweden |mile |35050 | 10,40
Switzerland|meile |27450 | 13,28
Turkey |berri | 5476 | 66,55
The following example will shew in what manner the proportion between
the itinerary measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
Reduce 1 myriametre new French measure into miles of England.
The length of the myriametre being 32797 English feet, and that of
the mile 5280, I state the following equation:
1 myriametre = _x_
1 myriametre = 32797 feet
5280 feet = 1 mile
Result 6,21 miles.
TABLE, _which shews the quantity of English cubic inches contained by
each of the corn measures, and the relation of foreign measures to 10
quarters Winchester measure_.
CORN MEASURE.
| |Contents | Equiv.
| | of each | to 10
| | measure |quarters
| | -- | --
| | cubic | num.
Places. | Measures. | in. | 100
----------------------+-----------------------+-------- +--------
Abbeville |setier | 9355 | 18,63
Agen |sac | 5332 | 32,68
Aire |raziere | 6136 | 28,40
Aix la Chapelle |fas | 1460 | 119,35
Alckmaar |sack | 4938 | 35,29
Alexandria |rebebe | 9578 | 18,19
|kisloz | 10407 | 16,74
Algiers |caffise | 19485 | 8,94
Alicante |caffise | 14901 | 11,69
Amersfort |mudden | 13986 | 15,68
Amiens |setier | 2003 | 87,
Amsterdam |last |177916 | ,98
|mudden | 6590 | 26,44
|sack | 4942 | 35,26
|scheepel | 1647 | 105,77
Ancona |rubbo | 16645 | 10,47
Antwerp |viertel | 4701 | 37,07
Apenrade |tonen | 8355 | 20,85
Archangel |ozetwer | 11888 | 14,66
Arensburg |last |187262 | ,93
Arles |setier | 3628 | 48,03
Arnheim |mouver | 8080 | 21,50
Augsburgh |schaf | 26787 | 6,50
Avignon |boisseau | 5612 | 31,05
Avila |fanega | 3311 | 52,62
Azores |alquier | 730 | 238,54
Barcelona |quartera | 4238 | 41,11
Basil |sack | 7866 | 22,15
Bautzen |scheffel | 6657 | 26,17
Bayonne |conque | 2503 | 69,61
Beaucaire |setier | 3703 | 47,05
Beauvais |tonneau |118529 | 1,47
Bergamo |staja | 1263 | 138,
Bergen op Zoom |fister | 2818 | 61,83
Berlin |scheffel | 3315 | 52,26
Bern |mutte | 9650 | 18,06
Bilboa |fanega | 3510 | 49,64
Bois-le-Duc |mouver | 8671 | 20,09
Bologna |corba | 4499 | 38,73
Bordeaux |boisseau | 4678 | 37,25
Boulogne |setier | 10525 | 16,55
Breba |viertel | 5306 | 32,84
Bremen |scheffel | 4336 | 40,19
Breslaw |scheffel | 4262 | 40,89
Brest |tonneau | 84200 | 2,07
Briel |sœcke | 4380 | 39,78
Bruges |hoeden | 10157 | 17,15
Brunswick |scheffel | 18963 | 9,19
Brussels |sack | 7110 | 24,51
Cadiz |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
Calabria |comolo | 3119 | 55,87
Calais |setier | 10134 | 17,19
Campen |mudden | 7137 | 24,41
Candia |carga | 9356 | 18,62
Cassel |viertel | 8702 | 20,02
Castille |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
Cleves |malter | 10939 | 15,93
Coburg |simmer | 5079 | 34,31
Colberg |scheffel | 3029 | 57,52
Cologne |malter | 9883 | 17,63
Concarneau |tonneau | 84200 | 2,07
Constantinople |kisloz | 2140 | 81,40
Copenhagen |tœnde | 8481 | 20,54
Corfu |moggie | 6091 | 28,61
Corsica |stajo | 6008 | 29,
Corunna |ferrado | 986 | 176,71
Creutznach |malter | 8874 | 19,63
Cyprus |medimno | 4448 | 39,17
Dantzic |last |187310 | ,93
|scheffel Berlin measure| 3315 | 52,26
Darmstadt |malter | 6107 | 28,53
Delft |sack | 6129 | 28,43
Denmark |tœnde | 8481 | 20,54
Deventer |mudden | 4938 | 35,29
Dieppe |raziere | 6237 | 27,94
Dixmude |raziere | 5828 | 29,90
Dordrecht |sack | 7406 | 23,53
Dresden |scheffel | 6455 | 27,
Dunkirk |sea raziere | 9875 | 17,64
|land raziere | 8887 | 19,61
Eckrenforde |tonnen | 8242 | 21,14
Edam |mudden | 6590 | 26,44
Elbing |last |187310 | ,93
Embden |tonnen | 11656 | 14,95
Enchuysen |mudden | 8080 | 21,56
England |quarter | 17424 | 10,
|bushel | 2178 | 80,
Erfurt |scheffel | 3430 | 50,80
Femeren |scheffel | 2294 | 75,95
Ferrara |staro | 1843 | 94,54
Ferrol |ferrado | 1104 | 157,83
Flensburg |tonnen | 8355 | 20,85
Florence |stajo | 1444 | 120,67
France |boisseau of Paris | 774 | 225,13
|décalitre[12] | 610 | 285,64
Francfort on the Maine|malter | 6584 | 26,46
Frederickstadt |tonnen | 7708 | 22,60
Gand |halster | 3175 | 54,89
Geneva |coupe | 4735 | 36,80
Genoa |mina | 7110 | 24,51
Gluckstadt |tonnen | 8716 | 20,
Goes |sack | 4444 | 39,21
Gorcum |mudden | 10305 | 16,91
Grouda |sack | 6348 | 27,45
Granada |sack | 5924 | 29,41
Gravelines |raziere | 8080 | 21,56
Grypswald |scheffel | 2375 | 73,36
Groningen |mudden | 5386 | 32,35
Haarlem |sack | 4678 | 37,25
Hamburgh |last |192720 | ,90³⁄₈
|sack | 12848 | 13,56
|scheffel | 6424 | 27,12
|tonnen salt measure | 11428 | 15,25
Hanau |malter | 6862 | 25,39
Hanover |himten | 1896 | 91,89
Harderwyck |mudden | 5954 | 29,26
Harlingen |mudden | 5386 | 32,35
Havre de Grace |boisseau | 2108 | 82,66
Heidelberg |malter | 6279 | 27,75
Heusden |mudden | 10305 | 16,91
Hildesheim |himten | 1581 | 110,23
Holstein |himten | 2007 | 86,82
Honfleur |boisseau | 2390 | 72,91
Horn |sack | 4039 | 43,13
Husum |tonnen | 8924 | 19,52
Kiel |tonnen | 7227 | 24,11
Königsberg |scheffel new measure | 3315 | 52,26
Laland |tonnen | 8380 | 20,79
Leghorn |sacco | 4332 | 40,22
|stajo | 1444 | 120,67
Leipsic |scheffel | 8473 | 20,56
Lewarden |mudden | 5386 | 32,35
Liebau |loof | 3819 | 45,02
Libourne |sac | 5079 | 34,31
Liege |setier | 1825 | 95,48
Lisbon |moyo | 49440 | 3,52
|alquier | 824 | 211,46
Lisle |raziere | 4334 | 40,20
London |quarter | 17424 | 10,
Lubec |last corn measure |195500 | ,89¹⁄₈
|scheffel rye measure | 2037 | 85,54
|scheffel malt measure | 2375 | 73,36
|scheffel oats measure | 2392 | 72,84
Lucca |stajo | 1495 | 116,55
Lunenburg |scheffel | 3793 | 45,94
Lyons |anée | 12538 | 13,90
Madeira |alquier | 683 | 55,11
Magdeburg |scheffel | 3315 | 52,56
Majorca |quartera | 4139 | 42,10
Malaga |fanega | 3642 | 47,84
Malta |salma | 16240 | 10,73
Manfredonia |carro |114634 | 1,52
Manhemia |malter | 6279 | 27,75
Mantua |stajo | 2124 | 82,04
Marans |tonneau | 84200 | 2,07
Marseilles |charge | 9636 | 18,08
Mastrick |setier | 1382 | 126,08
Meissen |scheffel | 6455 | 27,
Memel |scheffel | 3315 | 52,26
Middleburg |sack | 4284 | 40,67
Milan |moggio | 8436 | 20,66
Modena |stajo | 4284 | 40,67
Montpellier |setier | 3119 | 55,86
Montreuil |boisseau | 520 | 335,08
Morlaix |boisseau | 3229 | 53,96
Munich |schaff | 22109 | 7,88
Muyden |mudden | 8080 | 21,56
Nancy |carte | 2921 | 59,65
Nantes |tonneau |152510 | 1,14¹⁄₄
|setier | 15251 | 11,42¹⁄₂
Naples |tomolo | 3182 | 54,76
Narva |tonnen | 9883 | 17,63
Neda in Galicia |ferrado | 1104 | 157,83
Negropont |kisloz | 1849 | 94,23
Nieuport |raziere | 10157 | 17,15
Nimeguen |mouver | 8173 | 21,32
Nice |stajo | 2349 | 74,18
Nuremberg |summer | 20287 | 8,59
Oesel |last |187260 | ,93
Oporto |alquier | 1006 | 173,20
Osnaburg |scheffel | 1750 | 99,57
Ostend |raziere | 10706 | 16,27
Oudenwater |mudden | 8465 | 20,58
Oviedo |fanega | 4415 | 39,47
Paris |setier | 9288 | 18,76
|boisseau | 774 | 225,13
|decalitre | 610 | 285,64
Passau |sechsling | 19465 | 8,95
Patras |staro | 5006 | 34,81
Pernau |loof | 3974 | 43,85
Persia |artaba | 3974 | 43,85
Piedmont |sack | 6489 | 26,85
Poland |last |187260 | ,93
Prague |strick | 5755 | 30,28
Purmerend |mudden | 6590 | 26,44
Ratisbon |metzen | 2001 | 87,08
Ravenna |rubbo | 16984 | 10,26
Rendsburg |tonnen | 7558 | 23,05
Revel |tonnen | 7212 | 24,16
Riga |tonnen | 7948 | 21,92
|loof | 3974 | 43,85
Rimini |rubbo | 16984 | 10,26
Rochelle |tonneau | 84200 | 2,07
Romagna |staro | 5506 | 31,64
Rome |rubbo | 16684 | 10,44
Rostock |scheffel wheat measure | 2450 | 71,12
|scheffel oats measure | 2723 | 63,99
Rotterdam |hoed | 67755 | 2,57
|sakken | 6352 | 27,43
|achtendeelen | 2117 | 82,31
Rouen |setier | 10904 | 15,98
|boisseau | 1363 | 127,83
Russia |chetwer | 11888 | 14,66
|chetwerick | 1486 | 117,25
St. Ander |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
St. Gall |charge | 4443 | 39,22
St. Malo |tonneau | 84200 | 2,07
St. Omer |raziere | 7900 | 22,07
St. Petersburgh |chetwer | 11888 | 14,66
|chetwerick | 1486 | 117,25
St. Sebastian |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
St. Valery |setier | 9356 | 18,62
Sardinia |starello | 2988 | 58,31
Schiedam |sack | 6352 | 27,43
Schleswig |tonnen | 8012 | 21,75
Schonhoven |mudden | 8465 | 20,58
Scotland |firlot wheat measure | 2197 | 79,31
|firlot barley measure | 3207 | 54,33
Seville |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
Sicily |salma grossa | 20215 | 8,62
|salma generale | 16229 | 10,74
Smyrna |quillot | 2141 | 81,38
Spain |fanega | 3311 | 52,67
|celemine | 276 | 631,30
Stettin |scheffel | 2677 | 65,09
Stralsund |scheffel wheat measure | 2609 | 66,78
|scheffel oats measure | 2768 | 62,95
Strasburg |sester city measure | 1117 | 156,
|sester county measure | 1152 | 151,25
Sweden |tunna | 8932 | 19,51
|tunna wheat measure | 10050 | 17,34
|tunna malt measure | 10607 | 16,43
|tunna salt measure | 9491 | 18,36
|kappe | 279 | 624,53
|kanna | 59¹⁄₂|1092,42
Tarascon |charge | 3485 | 50,
Tarragona |setier | 3442 | 50,62
Tervere |sack | 4557 | 38,24
Tiel |mudden | 8465 | 20,58
Tonningen |tonnen | 7406 | 23,53
Tortosa |quartera | 5414 | 32,18
Toulon |emine | 6237 | 27,94
Tuscany |moggio | 32480 | 5,36¹⁄₂
Trieste |staro | 4517 | 38,57
Tripoli |caffise | 19920 | 8,75
Tunis |caffise | 21830 | 7,98
Turin |emine | 1168 | 149,18
Ulm |metzen | 584 | 298,26
Utrecht |mudden | 7110 | 24,50
Valencia |cahiz | 12227 | 14,25
|barchilla | 1019 | 171,
Valenciennes |mytur | 4380 | 39,78
Vannes |tonneau | 93556 | 1,86
Venice |staro | 4941 | 35,27
Verona |minella | 2248 | 77,51
Viana |alquier | 989 | 176,18
Vienna |metzen | 4277 | 40,74
Weimar |scheffel | 5430 | 32,09
Wetzlar |malter | 14275 | 12,20
Windaw |loof | 3819 | 45,62
Wirtemburg |scheffel | 3228 | 53,98
Wismar |scheffel | 2496 | 69,81
Wolgast |scheffel | 2609 | 66,78
Zante |bazzilo | 2165 | 80,48
Zell |scheffel | 18963 | 9,19
Ziriczee |sack | 4741 | 36,75
Zuric |mutte | 5043 | 34,55
Zwickau |scheffel | 4089 | 42,61
Zwoll |sack | 6836 | 25,49
[12] The litre, or the unit of French measures of capacity, is
therefore equivalent to 61 English cubic inches.
The following examples will shew in what manner the proportion between
the measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Examples._
It is required to reduce 100 alquiers of Lisbon into fanegas of Cadiz.
The alquier containing 824 cubic inches, and the fanega 3311, according
to the table prefixed, I state the following equation:
100 alquiers = _x_
1 alquier = 824 cubic inches
3311 cubic inches = 1 fanega
Result 24,89 fanegas.
Reduce 100 fanegas of Cadiz into alquiers of Lisbon.
100 fanegas = _x_
1 fanega = 3311 cubic inches
824 cubic inches = 1 alquier
Result 401,82 alquiers.
TABLE, _which shews the quantity of English cubic inches contained by
each of the measures used in the sale of liquids, and the relation of
foreign measures to 100 English gallons wine measure_.
LIQUID MEASURE.
| | Contents| Equiv.
| | of each | to 100
| | measure |gallons
| | -- | --
| | cubic | num.
Places. | Measures. | in. | 100
----------------------+----------------------+---------+-------
Alicante |cantara | 622 | 37,14
Altona |tonne of 32 stubgens | 7067 | 3,27
Amsterdam |steken | 1160 | 19,91
|virtel | 442¹⁄₂ | 52,20
|stoopen | 145 |159,31
|mingel | 72¹⁄₂ |318,62
Ancona |boccale | 87 |265,51
Antwerp |stoopen | 192¹⁄₄ |120,15
Arragon |cantara | 585 | 39,49
Augsburg |maas | 90¹⁄₃ |255,72
Barcelona |carga wine measure | 7599 | 3,04
|carga oil measure | 7394 | 3,12
Bari |salm oil measure |10086 | 2,29
Basil |pot new measure | 76¹⁄₅ |303,15
Berlin |nass or maas | 70¹⁄₂ |329,41
Bern |maas | 100¹⁄₂ |229,85
Bologna |corba | 4450 | 5,13
Bordeaux |velte | 453 | 51,
Bremen |stubgen | 193¹⁄₂ |119,38
Breslaw |quart | 42¹⁄₃ |545,67
Brunswick |stubgen | 223³⁄₄ |103,24
Cadiz |see Spain | |
Canary Islands |pipa |26794 | ,86
Canea |miscala oil measure | 686 | 33,67
Cassel |viertel | 499¹⁄₂ | 46,25
Cognac |velte | 447¹⁄₂ | 51,62
Cologne |viertel | 365 | 63,29
Constantinople |almud | 319¹⁄₄ | 72,36
Dantzic |stof wine measure | 104³⁄₅ |220,84
|stof beer measure | 140¹⁄₄ |164,70
Denmark |ahm | 9128 | 2,53
|kanne wine measure | 117³⁄₄ |196,18
|tœnde beer measure | 8011 | 2,88
|tœnde pitch measure | 7067 | 3,27
Dijon |quartaut | 6176 | 3,74
Dresden |anker regular measure | 2055 | 11,24
|tonne beer measure | 5993 | 3,85
|kanen great measure | 85³⁄₈ |269,79
|kanen small measure | 57 |405,27
Dunkirk |pot | 138 |167,39
England |gallon wine measure | 231 |100,
|gallon beer measure | 282 | 81,91
Ferrara |secchia | 624 | 37,02
Florence |barile oil measure | 1940 | 11,91
|barile wine measure | 2425 |953
|fiascho | 121 |190,90
|boccale | 60¹⁄₂ |381,80
France |hectolitre | 6100 | 3,79
|litre | 61 |378,69
Francfort on the Maine|viertel | 450 | 51,33
Gallipoli |salma | 9392 | 2,46
Geneva |pot | 58 |398,27
Genoa |rubbo oil measure | 521 | 44,34
|pinta wine measure | 105 |220,
Gotha |stubgen | 206³⁄₄ |111,73
Hamburgh |viertel | 442 | 52,26
|stubgen | 221 |104,52
|kanne | 110¹⁄₂ |209,05
|tonne beer measure |10594 | 2,18
|tonne fish oil measure| 7062 | 3,27
Hanover |stubgen | 237 | 97,47
|tonne beer measure | 6163 | 3,75
|tonne honey measure | 6044 | 3,82
Heidelberg |viertel | 562¹⁄₄ | 41,08
Hungaria |eimer | 4470 | 5,17
Königsberg |stof | 87¹⁄₂ |264,
Leghorn |barile oil measure | 1940 | 11,91
|barile wine measure | 2425 | 9,53
|fiascho | 121 |190,90
|boccale | 60¹⁄₂ |381,80
Leipsic |eimer | 4625 | 5,00
|kanne | 73²⁄₅ |314,71
Lisle |lot | 128 |180,47
Lisbon |almude | 1040 | 22,21
|alquier | 520 | 44,42
|canhada | 86²⁄₃ |266,54
Lubec |stubgen | 220³⁄₄ |104,65
Lucca |copa oil measure | 6088 | 3,79
Lyons |pot | 58¹⁄₁₀|397,62
Majorca |cortan oil measure | 251⁵⁄₈ | 91,80
Malaga |arroba | 947 | 24,39
Mantua |moggio oil measure | 6789 | 3,40
Marseilles |millerolle | 3640 | 6,35
|scandal | 910 | 25,38
Massa |barile oil measure | 2160 | 10,69
Mentz |maass | 113³⁄₄ |203,08
Messina |salma wine measure | 5270 | 4,38
|caffise oil measure | 527 | 43,83
Minorca |quartillo | 349¹⁄₂ | 66,09
Montpellier |pot wine measure | 64¹⁄₈ |360,23
|pot oil measure | 71³⁄₈ |323,64
Naples |stara oil measure | 3407 | 6,78
|barile wine measure | 2541 | 9,09
Narva |stof | 78³⁄₅ |293,90
Nice |rubbo oil measure | 515 | 44,85
North |barrel pitch measure | 7067 | 3,27
Nuremberg |maas tavern measure | 60¹⁄₂ |381,81
Oneglia |barile oil measure | 3783 | 6,11
Oporto |aliquer | 675³⁄₄ | 34,18
|canhade | 112⁵⁄₈ |205,10
Osnaburg |kanne | 74³⁄₈ |310,58
Ovieda |quartillo | 34¹⁄₂ |669,56
Paris |setier | 464⁴⁄₅ | 49,70
|pinte | 58¹⁄₁₀|397,62
|litre new measure | 61 |378,69
Pernau |stof | 78³⁄₅ |293,90
Pola |salma | 9196 | 2,51
Prague |pint | 116 |199,14
Puglia |staja | 940 | 24,57
Ratisbon |viertel | 216¹⁄₂ |106,70
Revel |stof | 72¹⁄₂ |318,62
Riga |stof | 75 | 308,
Rochelle |velt | 447¹⁄₂ | 51,62
Rome |boccale | 79⁴⁄₅ |289,47
Rotterdam |stoopen | 156 |148,08
Russia |wedra | 751 | 30,76
|kruska | 93⁷⁄₈ |246,07
Saragossa |cantara | 584 | 39,55
Schafhausen |maas | 79⁴⁄₅ |289,47
Scotland |pint old measure | 103²⁄₅ |223,40
Sicily |caffise | 695 | 33,24
Spain |moyo wine measure |15152 | 1,52
|cantara ditto | 947 | 24,39
|azumbre ditto | 118³⁄₈ |195,14
|quartillo ditto | 29³⁄₅ |780,40
|arroba oil measure | 740 | 31,22
|quartilla ditto | 185 |124,86
|libra ditto | 29³⁄₅ |780,40
Stettin |nœssel | 44³⁄₄ |516,20
Stralsund |stubgen | 237 | 97,47
Strasburg |schoppen | 29³⁄₅ |780,40
Sweden |kanna | 159⁵⁄₈ |144,71
Toulon |millerolle | 3927 | 5,88
Trieste |orna oil measure | 4003 | 5,77
|barile wine measure | 4158 | 5,56
Tripoli |mataro | 1375 | 16,80
Tunis |mataro oil measure | 1155 | 20,
|mataro wine measure | 577¹⁄₂ | 40,
Turin |pint | 95¹⁄₂ |241,89
Valencia |cantara | 775⁵⁄₈ | 29,78
Venice |miro oil measure | 962 | 24,
|secchia wine measure | 602¹⁄₄ | 38,36
Verona |basso | 275³⁄₄ | 83,77
Vienna |eimer | 3614 | 6,39
|maas | 90¹⁄₃ |255,72
Zell |stubgen | 237 | 97,47
Zurich |maas | 111¹⁄₄ |207,64
The following examples will shew in what manner the proportion between
the liquid measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Examples._
Let it be required to reduce 100 litres new French measure into Spanish
quartillos wine measure.
The French litre measuring internally 61 English cubic inches, and the
Spanish quartillo 29³⁄₅, according to the table prefixed, I state the
following equation:
100 litres = _x_
1 litre = 61 cubic inches
29³⁄₅ cubic inches = 1 quartillo
Result 206,08 quartillos.
Reduce 100 quartillos wine measure of Spain into litres new measure of
France.
100 quartillos = _x_
1 quartillo = 29³⁄₅ cubic inches
61 cubic inches = 1 litre
Result 48,52 litres.
TABLE, _which shews the length in English lines of each of the measures
used in the sale of cloths, linens, and silk stuffs, and the relation
of foreign measures to 100 yards and 100 ells English measure_.
CLOTH MEASURE.
| | Length|Equiv.|Equiv.
| |of each|to 100|to 100
| |measure| yards| ells
| | -- | -- | --
| | lines | num. | num.
Places. | Measures. | 100. | 100 | 100
----------------------+-------------------------+-------+------+------
Abbeville |aune | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
Aix la Chapelle |elle | 315,35|137, |171,25
Aleppo |pike | 319,40|135,25|169,06
Alexandria |pike | 319,60|135,17|168,96
Algiers |pike long measure | 294,05|146,91|183,64
|pike short measure | 220,53|195,89|244,86
Alicante |vara | 399,20|108,22|135,27
Altona |elle | 270,60|159,64|199,50
|elle Brabant measure | 326,54|132,30|165,37
Amberg |elle | 394,40|109,58|136,91
Amsterdam |elle | 326, |132,51|165,64
Ancona |braccio | 303,40|142,38|177,98
Anspach |elle | 289,80|149,07|186,34
Antwerp |aune long measure | 327,90|131,75|164,69
|aune short measure | 323,25|133,64|167,05
Archangel |archine | 336, |128,57|160,71
Arragon |vara | 364,13|118,64|148,30
Arras |aune | 329,65|131,05|163,81
Augsburg |elle long measure | 287,85|150,08|187,60
|elle short measure | 279,75|154,42|193,02
Avigon |canne | 918,80| 47,02| 58,77
|aune | 551,20| 78,37| 97,96
Basil |aune | 556,80| 77,58| 96,98
Bamberg |elle | 344,65|125,35|156,69
Barcelona |cana | 727,45| 59,39| 74,23
Bayreuth |elle | 283,60|152,33|190,41
Batavia |covid | 237,60|181,82|227,27
Bautzen |elle | 272, |158,82|198,53
Bayonne |aune | 417,40|103,50|129,38
Bengal |covid | 108, |400, |500,
Bergamo |braccio | 309,50|139,58|174,47
Bergen |elle | 296,45|145,72|182,15
Berg-op-Zoom |elle | 327,07|132,08|165,10
Berlin |elle | 314,90|137,19|171,48
Bern |elle | 255,80|168,89|211,10
Bielefeld |elle | 276,25|156,38|195,47
Bilboa |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Bologne |braccio for silk stuffs | 281,25|153,60|192,
|braccio for cloths | 299,90|144,05|180,06
Bolzano |elle | 373,20|115,75|144,69
|braccio | 259,60|166,40|208,
Bombay |cuz | 336, |128,57|160,71
|heat | 216, |200, |250,
Bordeaux |aune | 562,51| 76,80| 96,
Brabant |aune | 326,54|132,30|165,37
Breda |elle | 327,07|132,08|165,10
Bremen |elle | 273,15|158,15|197,69
Brescia |braccio | 221,06|195,42|244,28
Breslaw |elle | 259,65|166,38|207,97
|elle Silesia measure | 272, |158,82|198,53
Bretagne |aune | 636,25| 67,90| 84,87
Bruges |aune | 327,90|131,75|164,69
|aune for linens | 342,40|126,17|157,71
Brunswick |elle | 269,55|160,27|200,33
Brussels |aune long measure | 327,90|131,75|164,69
|aune short measure | 323,25|133,64|167,05
Burgos |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Cadiz |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
|ana Brabant measure | 327,90|131,75|164,69
Caën |aune | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
Cagliari |raso | 259,20|166,66|208,33
Cairo |pike | 319,60|135,17|168,96
Calais |aune | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
Calicut |covid | 216, |200, |250,
|guz | 338,40|127,66|159,57
Cambrai |aune | 338,35|127,68|159,60
Canary Islands |vara | 406,20|106,35|132,94
Candia |pike | 301, |143,52|179,40
Canton |covid | 175,50|240,15|307,70
Carthagena |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Cassel |elle | 265, |163, |203,75
Castille |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Chambery |raso | 271,35|159,20|199,
China |covid | 175,50|246,15|307,70
Christiania |elle | 296,45|145,72|182,15
Coblentz |elle | 263,55|163,91|204,84
Coburg |elle | 276,90|156, |195,
Cologne |elle long measure | 328,15|131,65|164,56
|elle short measure | 271,15|159,32|199,15
Constance |elle long measure | 351,05|123,06|153,82
|elle short measure | 326,33|132,38|165,48
Constantinople |pike long measure | 316, |136,70|170,88
|pike short measure | 306, |141,18|176,47
Copenhagen |alen | 296,45|145,72|182,15
Corfu |pike | 271, |159,41|199,26
Corsica |palmo | 118,15|365,64|457,05
Cracow |elle | 291,40|148,25|185,32
Cremona |braccio | 290,50|148,70|185,93
Cyprus |pike | 317,15|136,21|170,26
Damascus |pike | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Dantzic |elle | 271, |159,41|199,26
Delft |elle | 326, |132,51|165,64
Denmark |alen | 296,45|145,72|182,15
Dresden |elle | 267,30|161,61|202,02
Dublin |yard | 432, |100, |125,
|ell | 540, | 80, |100,
Dunkirk |aune | 319,40|135,25|169,06
Dusseldorf |elle | 254,80|169,54|211,93
Elbing |elle | 266,88|161,87|202,34
Embden |elle | 316,60|136,45|170,56
England |yard | 432, |100, |125,
|elle | 540, | 80, |100,
Erfurt |elle long measure | 259,60|166,40|208,
|elle short measure | 190,70|226,53|283,17
Erlang |elle | 311,50|138,62|173,35
Fermo |braccio | 310, |139,35|174,20
Ferrara |braccio for cloths | 316, |136,70|170,88
|braccio for silk stuffs | 297, |145,45|181,82
Flensburg |elle | 270,60|159,64|199,50
Florence |braccio for cloths | 278,90|154,90|193,62
|braccio for silk stuffs | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Forli |braccio | 290,50|148,70|185,93
France |aune of 528 lines | 562,51| 76,80| 96,
|netre | 472,27| 91,47|114,34
Francfort on the Maine|elle | 254,80|169,54|211,93
|elle Brabant measure | 326,54|132,30|165,37
|aune of Paris | 561,27| 76,97| 96,21
Francfort on the Oder |elle | 313,33|137,87|172,34
Freyberg |elle | 267,60|161,43|201,79
Gand |aune | 327,90|131,75|164,69
|aune for linens | 342,40|126,17|157,71
Geneva |aune | 540,13| 79,98| 99,97
|aune of France | 562,51| 76,80| 96,
Genoa |canna of 10¹⁄₂ palmi |1245,10| 34,70| 43,37
|canna of 10 palmi |1185,80| 36,43| 45,54
|canna of 9 palmi |1067,20| 40,48| 50,60
|braccio | 276,70|156,13|195,16
|palmo | 118,58|364,32|455,40
Gibraltar |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Glatz |elle | 276,80|150,07|195,08
Gombroon |gueze | 464,52| 93, |116,25
Gorlitz |elle | 266,25|169,90|212,37
Gottenburg |alle | 280,40|154,06|192,58
Gottingen |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Guastalla |braccio | 321,85|134,22|167,78
Gueldres |elle | 313,22|137,92|172,40
Guinea |jactam |1728, | 25, | 31,25
Halle |elle long measure | 314,90|137,19|171,48
|elle short measure | 269,75|160,15|200,18
Hamburgh |elle | 270,60|159,64|199,50
|elle Brabant measure | 326,54|132,30|165,37
Hanover |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Harburg |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Harlem |elle | 343,70|125,69|157,11
Havre de Grace |aune | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
Hague |elle | 326, |132,51|165,64
Heidelberg |elle | 394,25|109,57|136,97
Hildesheim |elle | 264,53|163,30|204,13
Hirchsberg |elle | 272, |158,82|198,53
Hoff |elle | 301, |143,52|179,40
Jagerndorf |elle | 268,50|160,90|201,12
Japan |inck | 897,60| 48,13| 60,16
Java |covid | 237,60|181,82|227,27
Jerusalem |pike | 324, |133,33|166,67
Ingolstadt |elle | 376,07|114,87|143,59
Inspruck |elle | 371,30|116,35|145,23
Kiel |elle | 271,70|159, |198,75
Kintzingen |elle | 281,60|153,41|191,76
Konigsberg |elle | 314,90|137,19|171,48
Krems |elle | 353,25|122,29|152,87
Lauban |elle | 266,25|169,90|212,37
Leghorn |canna for cloths |1115,60| 38,72| 48,40
|braccio | 278,90|154,90|193,62
|palmo | 139,45|309,80|387,24
|canna for silk stuffs |1099,40| 39,29| 49,12
|braccio | 274,85|157,17|196,47
|palmo | 137,42|314,34|392,94
Leipsic |elle | 267, |161,80|202,25
Leutkirch |elle | 331,87|130,17|162,72
Leyden |elle | 322,60|133,91|167,39
Liebau |elle | 267, |161,80|202,25
Liege |elle | 260,50|165,84|207,30
Lisbon |vara | 517,80| 83,43|104,29
|covado | 319,85|135,06|168,83
|palmo craveiro | 106,62|405,17|506,47
|palmo menor | 103,56|417,15|521,44
Lisle |aune | 332,40|129,96|162,45
London |yard | 432, |100, |125,
|ell | 540, | 80, |100,
Louvain |aune long measure | 327,90|131,75|164,69
|aune short measure | 323,25|133,64|167,05
Lubec |elle | 272,50|158,52|198,16
Lucca |braccio for cloths | 285,84|151,13|188,92
|braccio for silk stuffs | 273,25|158,10|197,62
Lunenburg |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Lyons |aune | 552,70| 78,16| 97,70
Madeira |vara | 517,80| 83,43|104,29
Madras |covid | 216, |200, |250,
Madrid |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Magdeburg |elle | 314,90|137,19|171,48
Mahon |cana | 756, | 57,14| 71,43
Majorca |cana | 810, | 53,33| 66,66
Malaga |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Malines |aune | 323,25|133,64|167,05
Malta |canna |1058,40| 40,82| 51,02
Manheim |elle | 263,45|163,98|204,97
Mantua |braccio | 219,70|196,63|245,79
Marseilles |canne | 948,20| 45,56| 56,95
|aune | 552,60| 78,18| 97,72
Mastrick |elle | 322,80|133,83|167,28
Mecca |covid | 324, |133,33|166,66
Memel |elle | 271, |159,41|199,26
Memmingen |elle | 331,33|130,38|162,98
Mentz |elle | 259,20|166,66|208,33
Messina |canna | 918,72| 47,02| 58,77
|palmo | 114,84|376,18|470,22
Middelburg |elle | 326, |132,51|165,64
Milan |braccio for cloths | 319,40|135,25|169,06
|braccio for silk stuffs | 253,34|170,52|213,15
Minden |elle | 273,40|158, |197,50
Minorca |cana | 756, | 57,14| 71,43
Mocha |guz | 300, |144, |180,
|covid | 216, |200, |250,
Modena |braccio | 302,35|142,88|178,60
Montpellier |canne | 946, | 45,66| 57,08
Morea |pike | 216, |200, |250,
Morlaix |aune | 636,25| 67,90| 84,87
Morocco |covado | 238,10|181,44|226,80
Munich |elle | 394,30|109,56|136,95
Munster |elle | 381,80|113,15|141,43
Munden |elle | 276,15|156,44|195,55
Namur |elle | 313,22|137,92|172,40
Nantes |aune of Bretagne | 636,25| 67,90| 84,87
Naples |canna | 996,32| 43,36| 54,20
|palmo | 124,54|346,88|433,60
Narva |elle | 279,66|154,47|193,09
|archine | 336, |128,57|160,71
Naumburg |elle | 267, |161,80|202,25
Negropont |pike | 291, |148,45|185,57
Neufchatel |elle | 525,45| 82,22|102,77
Nice |raso | 259,20|166,66|208,33
|palmo | 124,65|346,57|433,21
Nienburg |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Nimeguen |elle | 313,22|137,92|172,40
Nordlingen |elle | 288,40|149,80|187,24
Norway |elle | 296,45|145,72|182,15
Nuremberg |elle | 311,50|138,68|173,35
Oporto |vara | 517,80| 83,43|104,29
|covado | 313,62|137,75|172,18
|palmo craveiro | 104,54|413,25|516,54
|palmo menor | 103,56|417,50|521,44
Oran |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
|pike for cloths | 324, |133,33|166,66
Osnabruck |elle | 275,50|156,80|196,
|elle for linens | 284,20|152, |190,
Ostend |aune | 330,25|130,81|163,51
Osterode |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Oudenard |elle | 315,35|137, |171,25
Oviedo |vara | 407,50|106,02|132,52
Paderborn |elle | 254,80|169,54|211,93
Padua |braccio | 316,75|136,38|170,48
Palermo |canna | 918,72| 47,02| 58,77
|palmo | 114,84|376,18|470,22
Paris |aune of 528 lines | 562,51| 76,80| 96,
|aune of 526⁵⁄₆ lines | 561,27| 76,97| 96,21
|aune of 524 lines | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
|metre | 472,27| 91,47|114,34
Parma |braccio | 258,15|167,35|209,19
Patras |pike for cloths and | | |
|linens | 324, |133,33|166,66
|pike for silk stuffs | 300, |144, |180,
Pekin |peking | 168,33|256,64|320,80
Pernau |elle | 259,10|166,73|208,41
Persia |gueze | 297,50|145,21|181,52
|gueze monkelse | 446,40| 96,77|120,97
Perugia |braccio | 305,34|141,48|176,85
Piedmont |raso | 281,25|153,60|192,
Pisa |palmo | 140,95|306,50|383,12
Placentia |braccio | 306,30|141,04|176,30
Poland |elle | 291,40|148,25|185,32
Pondicherry |covid | 216, |200, |250,
Pontremoli |braccio | 326,10|132,47|165,59
Posen |elle | 269, |160,59|200,74
Prague |elle | 279, |154,84|193,55
Presburg |elle | 263,60|163,89|204,86
Queda |covid | 216, |200, |250,
Ragusa |ana | 242,40|178,22|222,78
Ratisbon |elle | 383, |112,80|141,
Ratzeburg |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Ravenna |braccio | 317,50|136,06|170,08
Ravensburg |elle | 324,60|133,08|166,36
Reccanati |braccio | 314,20|137,50|171,87
Reggio |braccio | 250,20|172,66|215,82
Revel |elle | 252,80|170,88|213,60
Rhodes |pike | 357, |121, |151,25
Riga |elle | 258,90|166,86|208,57
Rimini |braccio | 302,35|142,88|178,60
Rochelle |aune | 558,25| 77,38| 96,73
Rome |canna for linens | 987, | 43,77| 54,71
|braccio ditto | 299,80|144,10|180,12
|canna for cloths and | | |
|silk stuffs | 939,66| 45,97| 57,47
|braccio | 400,50|107,86|134,83
Rostock |elle | 273,15|158,15|197,69
Rotenburg |elle | 276,90|156, |195,
Rotterdam |elle | 326, |132,51|165,64
Rouen |aune for cloths | 549,75| 78,58| 98,23
|aune for linens | 659,68| 65,49| 81,86
Roveredo |braccio for cloths | 299,90|144,05|180,06
|braccio for silk stuffs | 351,80|122,80|153,50
Ruremonde |elle | 324, |133,33|166,66
Russia |archine | 336, |128,57|160,71
Saltzburg |elle for silk stuffs | 379,15|113,94|142,42
|elle for cloths | 474,95| 90,96|113,70
Sayd |pike | 285,50|151,31|189,14
St. Gall |elle for cloths | 291, |1?8,45|185,57
|elle for linens | 378,30|114,20|142,75
St. Malo |anne | 636,25| 67,90| 84,87
St. Petersburg |archine | 336, |128,57|160,71
St. Sebastian |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Saragossa |cana | 978,40| 44,15| 55,19
Sardinia |raso | 259,20|166,66|208,33
|palmo | 118,58|364,32|455,40
Schafhausen |elle | 285, |151,58|189,47
Schweinfurt |elle | 275,50|156,80|196,
Scio |pike long measure | 324, |133,33|166,66
|pike short measure | 311,80|138,55|173,19
Scotland |ell old measure | 446,40| 96,77|120,96
Seville |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Siam |ken | 453,85| 95,18|118,98
|covid | 216, |200, |250,
Sicily |canna | 918,72| 47,02| 58,77
|palmo | 114,84|376,18|470,22
Sienna |braccio for linens | 283,50|152,38|190,48
|braccio for cloths | 178,35|242,22|302,78
Silesia |elle | 272, |158,82|198,53
Smyrna |pike | 324, |133,33|166,66
Soleure |elle | 259,60|166,40|208,
Spain |vara | 295,25|109,30|136,62
Stade |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Stettin |elle | 307,36|140,55|175,69
Stockholm |elle | 280,40|154,06|192,58
Stralsund |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Strasburg |elle | 562,51| 76,80| 96,
|brache | 254,60|169,68|212,10
Surat |guz | 336, |128,57|160,75
|cobit | 216, |200, |250,
Sweden |elle | 280,40|154,06|192,58
Teneriff |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Thorn |elle | 269, |160,59|200,74
Toledo |vara | 395,25|109,30|136,62
Tortosa |cana | 751,75| 57,46| 71,83
Toulon |canne | 915,80| 47,17| 58,96
Toulouse |canne | 859,75| 50,25| 62,81
Tournai |aune | 292,45|147,72|184,65
Trente |elle for cloths | 319,60|135,17|168,96
|elle for silk stuffs | 289, |149,48|186,85
Treves |elle | 263,60|163,89|204,86
Trevigo |braccio | 316,75|136,38|170,48
Trieste |elle for cloths | 319,20|135,34|169,17
|elle for silk stuffs | 302,55|142,78|178,48
Tripoli in Barbary |pike | 260,90|165,58|206,98
Tripoli in Syria |pike | 324, |133,33|166,66
Troppau |elle | 268,50|160,90|201,12
Troyes |aune | 374,70|115,29|144,12
Tunis |pike for cloths | 317,80|135,93|169,92
|pike for silk stuffs | 297,93|145, |181,25
|pike for linens | 223,40|193,38|241,72
Turkey |pike long measure | 316, |136,70|170,88
|pike short measure | 306, |141,18|176,47
Turin |raso | 284,90|151,63|189,54
Ulm |elle | 268,50|160,90|201,12
Valencia |vara | 428,20|100,88|120,10
Valenciennes |aune | 311,10|138,86|173,58
Venice |braccio for cloths | 314,90|137,19|171,48
|braccio for silk stuffs | 296,40|145,75|182,18
Verden |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Verona |braccio | 296,40|145,75|182,18
Vicenza |braccio | 323,45|133,56|166,95
Vienna |elle | 367, |117,71|147,14
Waldenburg |elle | 272, |158,82|198,53
Warendorf |elle | 276,25|156,38|195,47
Warsaw |elle | 291,40|148,25|185,32
Windesheim |elle | 311,50|138,68|173,35
Wirtemburg |elle | 318, |135,85|169,81
Wismar |elle | 275,30|156,92|196,15
Wurtzburg |elle | 274,10|157,60|197,
Xativa |vara | 420,50|102,73|128,42
Ypres |aune | 330,25|130,81|163,51
Zell |elle | 274,85|157,17|196,47
Zittau |elle | 269,10|160,54|200,67
Zurich |elle | 283,40|152,43|190,54
The following examples will shew in what manner the proportion between
the measures of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Examples._
Let it be required to reduce 100 archines of Russia into varas of Spain.
The archine measuring 336 English lines, and the vara 395,25, according
to the table prefixed, I state the following equation:
100 archines = _x_
1 archine = 336 lines
395,25 lines = 1 vara
Result 85,01 varas.
Reduce 100 varas into archines.
100 varas = _x_
1 vara = 395,25 lines
336 lines = 1 archine
Result 117,63 archines.
English _Long_ MEASURE.
|inch |
+-----+
| 3|palm |
+-----+-----+
| 9| 3|span|
+-----+-----+----+
| 12| 4|1¹⁄₄|foot |
+-----+-----+----+-----+
| 18| 6| 2| 1¹⁄₂|cubit|
+-----+-----+----+-----+----++
| 36| 12| 4| 3| 2|yard|
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+
| 45| 15| 5| 3³⁄₄|2¹⁄₂|1¹⁄₄|ell |
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+
| 60| 20|6²⁄₃| 5|3¹⁄₂|1³⁄₄|1¹⁄₄|pace |
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+
| 72| 24| 8| 6| 4| 2|1³⁄₄| 1¹⁄₅|fathom|
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+-+
| 198| 66| 22|16¹⁄₂| 11|5¹⁄₂| 4|3¹⁄₁₀|2³⁄₄|pole|
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+---++
| 7920| 2640| 880| 660| 440| 220| 176| 132| 110| 40|furlong|
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+---+-+-----+
|63360|21120|7040| 5280|3520|1760|1408| 1056| 880|320|8|mile |
+-----+-----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----+----+---+-+-----+
Jewish _Long or Itinerary_ MEASURE.
_Eng._ _feet._
_miles._ _paces._ _dec._
|cubit 0 0 1.824
+-----+
| 400|stadium 0 145 4.6
+-----+---+
| 2000| 5|Sab. day’s journey 0 729 3.0
+-----+---+--+
| 4000| 10| 2|eastern mile 1 403 1.0
+-----+---+--+--+
|12000| 30| 6| 3|parasang 4 153 3.0
+-----+---+--+--+-+
|96000|240|48|24|8|a day’s journey 33 172 4.0
+-----+---+--+--+-+
Roman _long_ MEASURE, _reduced to_ English.
_Eng._ _dec._
_paces._ _ft._ _inch_
|digitus transversus 0 0 0.725¹⁄₄
+-----+
| 1³⁄₄|uncia 0 0 0.967
+-----+-----+
| 4| 3|palmus minor 0 0 2.901
+-----+-----+-----+
| 16| 12| 4|pes 0 0 11.604
+-----+-----+-----+----+
| 20| 15| 5|1¹⁄₄|palmipes 0 1 2.505
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+
| 24| 18| 6|1¹⁄₂|1¹⁄₅|cubitus 0 1 5.406
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-------+
| 40| 30| 10|2¹⁄₂| 2| 1²⁄₃|gradus 0 1 5.01
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-------+----+
| 80| 60| 20| 5| 4| 3¹⁄₂| 2|passus 0 4 10.02
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-------+----+----+
|10000| 7500| 2500| 625| 500| 416²⁄₃| 250| 215|sta- 120 4 4.5
| | | | | | | | |dium
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-------+----+----+-+
|80000|60000|20000|5000|4000|3333¹⁄₃|2000|1000|8|mil- 967 0 0
| | | | | | | | | |liare
+-----+-----+-----+----+----+-------+----+----+-+-----
_English square or superficial_ MEASURES, are raised from the yard of
36 inches multiplied into itself; and this producing 1296 square inches
in the square yard, the divisions of this are square feet and inches,
and the multipliers, poles, roods, and acres.
English _square_ MEASURE.
|inches
+-------+
| 144|feet
+-------+--------+
| 1296| 9 |yards
+-------+--------+-------+
| 3600| 25 | 2 |paces
+-------+--------+-------+-------+
| 39204| 272¹⁄₄| 30¹⁄₄| 10,89|poles
+-------+--------+-------+-------+---+
|1568160|10890 |1210 | 435,6 | 40|roods
+-------+--------+-------+-------+---+-+
|6272640|43560 |4840 |1743,6 |160|4|acres
+-------+--------+-------+-------+---+-+-----
_Long Measure._
12 Inches make 1 Foot.
3 Feet ---- 1 Yard.
5¹⁄₂ Yards ---- 1 Pole, or perch.
40 Poles ---- 1 Furlong.
8 Furlongs ---- 1 Mile.
4 Inches ---- 1 Hand.
6 Feet ---- 1 Fathom, or toise.
3 Miles ---- 1 League.
60 Nautical, or geographical miles, or 69¹⁄₂ statute miles
---- 1 Degree.
_Square Measure._
144 Square inches make 1 Square foot.
9 Square feet ---- 1 Square yard.
30¹⁄₄ Square yards ---- 1 Square pole.
40 Square poles ---- 1 Square rood.
4 Square roods ---- 1 Square acre.
_Solid, or Cubic Measure._
1728 Cubic in. make 1 Cubic foot.
27 Cubic feet ---- 1 Cubic yard.
251 Cubic in. ---- 1 Gal. wine measure.
281 do. ---- 1 Gal. beer measure.
168³⁄₅ do. ---- 1 Gal. dry measure.
_Dry Measure._
8 Pints make 1 Gallon.
2 Gallons ---- 1 Peck.
4 Pecks ---- 1 Bushel.
4 Bushels ---- 1 Coom.
2 Cooms ---- 1 Quarter.
5 Quarters ---- 1 Wey.
2 Weys ---- 1 Last.
_Avoirdupois Weight._
16 Drams make 1 Ounce.
16 Ounces ---- 1 Pound.
28 Pounds ---- ¹⁄₄ of a Hundred.
4 Quarters ---- 1 Hundred.
20 Hundred ---- 1 Ton.
14 Pounds ---- 1 Stone.
_French square_ MEASURES, are regulated by 12 square lines in the inch
square, 12 inches in the foot, 22 feet in the perch, and 100 perches
in the arpent or acre.
_French liquid_ MEASURES. At Paris, and in a great part of the
kingdom, the smallest measure is the possou, which contains six cubic
inches; 2 possous make the demi-septier; 2 demi-septiers the chopine;
2 chopines a pint; 2 pints a quart or pot; 4 quarts the gallon, or
septier of estimation; 36 septiers the muid; which is subdivided into
2 demi-muids, 4 quarter muids, and 8 half quarter muids. The queue in
Orleans, Blois, &c. contains a Paris muid and a half. The tun used at
Bayonne and Bourdeaux, consists of 4 bariques, and equal to 3 Paris
muids; at Orleans to 2: so that the first tun contains 864 pint, and
the second 576. The demi-queue in Champagne, 96 quarts; the pipe in
Anjou and Poictou, 2 bussards, equal to a demi-queues of Orleans,
&c. or a muid and a half of Paris. The millerolle used in Provence,
contains 66 Paris pints; and the poincon at Nantz, in Touraine, and the
Blessois, equal to half the Orleans tun. The poincou at Paris is the
same with the demi-queue.
_French Weights and Measures._
The toise is commonly used in France for military purposes, and is
divided into 6 feet: each foot 12 inches; each inch 12 lines; each line
12 points. The pace is usually reckoned at 2¹⁄₂ feet.
_Poids de Marc, ou de Paris._
24 Grains make 1 Den’r.
3 Den’rs. ---- 1 Gros.
8 Gros ---- 1 Ounce.
8 Ounces ---- 1 Marc.
2 Marcs ---- 1 Pound.
The French have lately formed an entire new system of weights and
measures: the following short account of them, and their proportion to
the old weights and measures of France, and those of English standard,
is extracted from _Nicholson’s Natural Philosophy_.
+------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|Proportions of the|First part of the| |
|measures of each |name which indi- | |
|species to its |cates the propor-| |
|principal measure |tion to the prin-|PRINCIPAL MEASURES, OR UNITIES.|
|or unity. |cipal measure or +---------------+---------------+
| |unity. |Length. |Capacity. |
+------------------+-----------------+---------------+---------------+
|10,000 |Myria} | | |
| 1,000 |Kilo } | | |
| 100 |Hecto} | | |
| 10 |Deca } | | |
| 0 |---- } |Metre. |Litre. |
| 0.1 |Deci } | | |
| 0.01 |Centi} | | |
| 0.001 |Milli} | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Proportion of the principal measures|10,000,000th |A Decimetre |
|between themselves, and the length |part of the |cube. |
|of the Meridian. |dist. from the | |
| |Pole to the | |
| |Equator. | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Value of the principal measures in |3 feet 11 lines|1 pint and ¹⁄₂₀|
|the ancient French measures. |and ¹⁄₂ nearly.|or 1 litron and|
| | |¹⁄₄ nearly. |
| | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Value in English measures. |Inches 39·383. |61.083 inch, |
| | |which is more |
| | |than the wine |
| | |and less than |
| | |the beer quart.|
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
+------------------+-----------------+-------------------------------+
|Proportions of the|First part of the| |
|measures of each |name which indi- | |
|species to its |cates the propor-| |
|principal measure |tion to the prin-|PRINCIPAL MEASURES, OR UNITIES.|
|or unity. |cipal measure or +---------------+---------------+
| |unity. |Weight. |Agrarian. |
+------------------+-----------------+---------------+---------------+
|10,000 |Myria} | | |
| 1,000 |Kilo } | | |
| 100 |Hecto} | | |
| 10 |Deca } | | |
| 0 |---- } |Gramme. |Are. |
| 0.1 |Deci } | | |
| 0.01 |Centi} | | |
| 0.001 |Milli} | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Proportion of the principal measures|Weight of a |100 square |
|between themselves, and the length |centimetre cube|metres. |
|of the Meridian. |of distilled | |
| |Water. | |
| | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Value of the principal measures in |18 grains and |Two square |
|the ancient French measures. |841,000 parts. |perches des |
| | |eaux et foret. |
| | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
|Value in English measures. |22·966 grains. |11·968 square |
| | |yards. |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+---------------+
+------------------+-----------------+---------------+
|Proportions of the|First part of the| PRINCIPAL |
|measures of each |name which indi- | MEASURES, |
|species to its |cates the propor-| OR |
|principal measure |tion to the prin-| UNITIES. |
|or unity. |cipal measure or +---------------+
| |unity. |For Firewood. |
+------------------+-----------------+---------------+
|10,000 |Myria} | |
| 1,000 |Kilo } | |
| 100 |Hecto} | |
| 10 |Deca } | |
| 0 |---- } |Stere. |
| 0.1 |Deci } | |
| 0.01 |Centi} | |
| 0.001 |Milli} | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+
|Proportion of the principal measures|One cubic |
|between themselves, and the length |metre. |
|of the Meridian. | |
| | |
| | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+
|Value of the principal measures in |1 demi voie or |
|the ancient French measures. |¹⁄₄ of a cord |
| |des eaux et |
| |foret. |
+------------------------------------+---------------+
|Value in English measures. | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
| | |
+------------------------------------+---------------+
By the new metrical system of the French, the geometrical circle
used in astronomical, geographical, and topographical calculations,
is divided instead of 360, into 400 equal parts, which are called
_grades_: each grade is divided into 100 equal parts which are called
_minutes_ of _grades_: and each minute into 100 _seconds_, of _grades_.
The proportion of the new to the old degree is 0.9; and the next
proportion or minute is 54′ of the old division; and the new second is
32″.4 of the ancient.
_Reduction of the old French Weights and measures to English; and the
contrary._
1st. To reduce English Avoirdupois to Paris weight:
The avoirdupois pound of 16}
ounces, or 7000 troy grains} = 8538 Paris grains
The ounce = 533.6250}
2d. To reduce Paris running feet or inches into English,}
multiply by }1.065977
---- English running feet or inches into Paris divide by }
3d. To reduce Paris cubic feet or inches into English, }
multiply by }1.211278
---- English cubic feet or inches into Paris, divide by }
4th. To reduce the Paris pint to the English, multiply by}2.0171082
---- To reduce the English pint to the Paris, divide by }
_German_ MEASURES. The Rhinland rood is the measure commonly used
in Germany and Holland, and in most of the northern states, for all
military purposes.
It is divided into 12 feet. The Rhinland rood is sometimes divided into
tenths, or decimal feet, and the pace is made equal to 2 decimal feet,
or ²⁄₁₀ of a rood.
_Proportions between the English Weights and Measures, and those of the
principal Places in Europe._
-----------+-------+--------
|Foot in|Pound in
Places. | Parts.| Parts.
-----------+-------+--------
London | 1000 | 100
Paris | 1068 | 108
Amsterdam | 942 | 93
Rhinland | 1033 | 96
Antwerp | 946 | 98
Lovaine | 958 | 98
Middleburgh| 991 | 98
Strasburgh | 920 | 93
Bremen | 964 | 94
Cologne | 954 | 97
Frankfort | 948 | 93
Leipsig | -- | 117
Hamburg | -- | 95
Venice | 1153 | 151
Prague | 1026 | 106
Copenhagen | 965 | 94
Nuremburgh | 1006 | 94
Bavaria | 954 | 40
Vienna | 1053 | 83
Madrid | 1001 | 99
Toledo | 899 | 100
Bologne | 1204 | 127
Naples | 861 | --
Florence | -- | 123
Genoa | -- | 142
Mantua | 1569 | 143
Turin | 1062 | --
Dantzig | 944 | 119
-----------+-------+--------
_Cubical_ MEASURES, or measures of capacity for liquors. English liquid
measures were originally raised from troy weight, it being ordained
that pounds troy of wheat, gathered from the middle of the ear, and
well dried, should weigh a gallon of wine measure; yet a new weight,
viz. the avoirdupois weight, had been introduced, to which a second
standard gallon was adjusted, exceeding the former in the proportion of
the avoirdupois weight to the troy weight. From this latter standard
were raised two measures, the one for ale, the other for beer.
The sealed gallon at Guildhall, London, which is the English standard
for wine, spirits, oil, &c. is supposed to contain 231 cubic inches;
yet by actual experiment made in 1688, before the lord mayor and
commissioners of excise, it only contains 224 cubic inches. It was
however agreed to continue the common supposed contents of 231: hence,
as 12 : 231 ∷ 14¹²⁄₂₀ : 281¹⁄₂ the cubic inches in an ale gallon;
but in effect, the ale quart contains 70¹⁄₂ cubic inches; on which
principles the ale and beer gallon will be 282 cubic inches.
_Dry_ MEASURE, is different from both the ale and wine measure, being
nearly a mean between both.
According to a British act of parliament, passed in 1697, every round
bushel with a plain and even bottom, being 18¹⁄₂ inches throughout,
and eight inches deep, is to be accounted a legal Winchester bushel,
according to the standard in the exchequer; consequently a corn gallon
will contain 268.8 inches, as in the following table.
|inches
+------+
| 2688|gallons
+------+--+
| 5376| 2|pecks
+------+--+-----+
| 21504| 8| 4¹⁄₂|bushels
+------+--+-----+-+
|172032|64|32 |8|quarters
+------+--+-----+-+--------
_Winchester Measure._
2 Pints make 1 Quart.
4 Quarts ---- 1 Gallon.
9 Gallons ---- 1 Firkin.
2 Firkins, or 18 Gallon ---- 1 Kilderkin.
2 Kilderkins, or 36 Gallons ---- 1 Barrel.
1 Barrel and half, or 54 Gallons ---- 1 Hogshead.
2 Hogsheads or 3 barrels, or 108 Gallons ---- 1 Butt.
2 Butts, or 216 Gallons ---- 1 Tun.
_Table Cloth Measure._
2 Inches and a Quarter make 1 Nail.
4 Nails ---- ¹⁄₄ of a Yard.
4 Quarters ---- 1 Yard.
³⁄₄ of a Yard ---- 1 Ell Flemish.
5 Quarters, or 1 Yard 1 Quarter ---- 1 Ell English.
6 Quarters ---- 1 French Ell.
MEASURE _of wood for firing_, is the cord, being four feet high, as
many broad, and the length of the wood is as by law established, it is
divided into two half cords.
MEASURE _for horses_, is the hand, which by statute contains 4 inches.
_Powder_ MEASURES, made of copper, holding from an ounce to 12 pounds,
are very convenient in a siege, when guns or mortars are to be loaded
with loose powder, especially in ricochet-firing, &c.
The French recommend measures that are made of block tin, such as are
used for measuring out salt, viz. 1 ounce, 2, 3, 4, 8, which make the
half pound; and lastly, of 16, which make the pound. These quantities
answer every sort of ordnance.
_Diameters and Heights of Cylindric Powder Measures, holding from 1 to
15 Ounces._
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Ounces| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| 0 | 0 |1·256|1·583|1·811|1·994|2·148|
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| 1 |2·706|2·793|2·876|2·953|3·027|3·098|
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
_Diameters and Heights of Cylindric Powder Measures, holding from 1 to
15 Pounds._
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Pounds| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| 0 | 0 |3·165|3·988|4·565|5·024|5·412|
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
| 1 |6·890|7·039|7·245|7·442|7·628|7·805|
+------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
The above are in inches and decimals.
MEASURE-_angle_, a brass instrument to measure angles, either saliant
or rentrant, for exactly ascertaining the number of degrees and
minutes, to delineate them on paper.
MEASURING, MENSURATION, in _military mathematics_, the assuming any
certain quantity, and expressing the proportion of other similar
quantities to the same; or the determining, by a certain known measure,
the precise extent, quantity, or capacity of any thing.
MEASURING, in _general_, constitutes the practical part of geometry;
and from the various subjects which it embraces, it acquires various
names, and constitutes various arts, viz.
LONGIMETRY, ALTIMETRY, LEVELLING, GEODESIA, or SURVEYING, STEREOMETRY,
SUPERFICIES, and SOLIDS, &c. which see.
MEASURING. See CHAIN.
MECHANICS, a mixed mathematical science, which considers motion and
moving powers, their nature and laws, with the effects thereof, in
machines, &c. The word is derived from the Greek. That part which
considers motion arising from gravity, is sometimes called statics, in
contradistinction from that part which considers the mechanical powers
and their application, properly called mechanics: it is, in fine, the
geometry of motion.
MECHANICS. The whole momentum or quantity of force of a moving body, is
the result of the quantity of matter, multiplied by the velocity with
which it is moved; and when the product arising from the multiplication
of the particular quantities of matter in any two bodies, by their
respective velocities are equal, their momentum will be so too. Upon
this easy principle depends the whole of mechanics; and it holds
universally true, that when two bodies are suspended on any machine,
so as to act contrary to each other; if the machine be put in motion,
and the perpendicular ascent of one body multiplied into its weight, be
equal to the perpendicular descent of the other, multiplied into its
weight, those bodies, how unequal soever in their weights, will balance
each other in all situations: for, as the whole ascent of the one is
performed in the same time as the whole descent of the other, their
respective velocities must be as the spaces they move through; and
the excess of weight in one is compensated by the excess of velocity
in the other. Upon this principle it is easy to compute the power of
any engine, either simple or compound; for it is only finding how much
swifter the power moves than the weight does, (_i. e._ how much further
in the same time,) and just so much is the power increased by the help
of the engine.
The simple machines usually called mechanic powers, are six in number,
_viz._ the _lever_, the _wheel and axle_, the _pulley_, the _inclined
plane_, the _wedge_, and the _screw_.
There are four kinds of _levers_: 1st, where the prop is placed between
the weight and the power. 2d, where the prop is at one end of the
lever, the power at the other, and the weight between them. 3d, where
the prop is at one end, the weight at the other, and the power applied
between them. 4th, the bended lever, which differs from the first in
form, but not in property.
In the first and 2d kind, the advantage gained by the lever, is as the
distance of the power from the prop, to the distance of the weight from
the prop. In the 3d kind, that there may be a balance between the power
and the weight, the intensity of the power must exceed the intensity of
the weight, just as much as the distance of the weight from the prop
exceeds the distance of the power from the prop. As this kind of lever
is disadvantageous to the moving power, it is seldom used.
_Wheel and axle._ Here the velocity of the power is to the velocity of
the weight, as the circumference of the wheel is to the circumference
of the axle.
_Pulley._ A single pulley, that only turns on its axis, and does not
move out of its place, serves only to change the direction of the
power, but gives no mechanical advantage. The advantage gained in this
machine, is always as twice the number of _moveable_ pullies; without
taking any notice of the _fixed_ pullies necessary to compose the
system of pullies.
_Inclined plane._ The advantage gained by the inclined plane, is
as great as its length exceeds its perpendicular height. The force
wherewith a rolling body descends upon an inclined plane, is to the
force of its absolute gravity, as the height of the plane is to its
length.
_Wedge._ This may be considered as two equally inclined planes,
joined together at their bases. When the wood does _not_ cleave at
any distance before the wedge, there will be an equilibrium between
the power impelling the wedge, and the resistance of the wood acting
against its two sides; when the power is to the resistance, as half
the thickness of the wedge at the back, is to the length of either of
its sides; because the resistance then acts perpendicular to the sides
of the wedge: but when the resistance on both sides acts parallel to
the back, the power that balances the resistance on both sides will
be, as the length of the whole back of the wedge is to double its
perpendicular height. When the wood cleaves at any distance before the
wedge, (as it generally does) the power impelling the wedge will be to
the resistance of the wood, as half the length of the back is to the
length of either of the sides of the cleft, estimated from the top, or
acting part of the wedge.
_Screw._ Here the advantage gained is as much as the circumference of
a circle described by the handle of the winch, exceeds the interval or
distance between the spirals of the screw.
There are few compound engines, but what, on account of the friction
of parts against one another, will require a third part more power to
work them when loaded, than what is required to constitute a balance
between the power and the weight.
MECHANICAL, something relating to mechanics.
MECHANICAL _philosophy_, that which explains the phenomena of nature,
and the operations of corporeal things, on the principles of mechanics;
namely, the motion, gravity, figure, arrangement, &c. of the parts
which compose natural bodies.
MECHANICAL _powers_. When two heavy bodies or weights are made by any
contrivance to act against each other, so as mutually to prevent each
other, from being put into motion by gravity, they are said to be in
equilibrio. The same expression is used with respect to other forces,
which mutually prevent each other from producing motion.
Any force may be compared with gravity, considered as a standard.
Weight is the action of gravity on a given mass. Whatever therefore
is proved concerning the weights of bodies will be true in like
circumstances of other forces.
Weights are supposed to act in lines of direction parallel to each
other. In fact, these lines are directed to the centre of the earth,
but the angle formed between any two of them within the space occupied
by a mechanical engine is so small, that the largest and most accurate
astronomical instruments are scarcely capable of exhibiting it.
The simplest of those instruments, by means of which weights or forces
are made to act in opposition to each other, are usually termed
_mechanical powers_. Their names are, the _lever_, the _axis_ or
_axle_, and _wheel_, the _pully_ or _tackle_, the _inclined plane_, the
_wedge_, and the _screw_.
_Of the Lever._
The lever is defined to be a moveable and inflexible line, acted upon
by three forces, the middle one of which is contrary in direction to
the other two.
One of these forces is usually produced by the re-action of a fixed
body, called the _fulcrum_.
If two contrary forces be applied to a lever at unequal distances
from the fulcrum, they will equiponderate when the forces are to each
other in the reciprocal proportion of their distances. For, by the
resolution of force it appears, that if two contrary forces be applied
to a straight lever, at distances from the fulcrum in the reciprocal
proportion of their quantities, and in directions always parallel to
each other, the lever will remain at rest in any position.
Since of the three forces which act on the lever, the two which are
applied at the extremes, are always in a contrary direction to that
which is applied in the space between them: this last force will
sustain the effects of the other two; or, in other words, if the
fulcrum be placed between the weights, it will be acted upon by their
difference.
On the principle of the lever are made, scales for weighing different
quantities of various kinds of things; the steelyard, which answers the
same purpose by a single weight, removed to different distances from
the fulcrum on a graduated arm, according as the body to be weighed is
more or less in quantity; and the bent lever balance, which, by the
revolution of a fixed weight, increasing in power as it ascends in the
arc of a circle, indicates the weight of the counterpoise.
On this principle also, depend the motions of animals; the overcoming
or lifting great weights by means of iron levers, called crows; the
action of nutcrackers, pincers, and many other instruments of the same
nature.
_Of the Axis or Axle, and Wheel, and of the Pulley or Tackle._
The axis and wheel may be considered as a lever, one of the forces
being applied at the circumference of the axis, and the other at the
circumference of the wheel, the central line of the axis being as it
were the fulcrum.
For if the semidiameter of the axis, be to the semidiameter of the
wheel, reciprocally as the power of A is to the power B, the first of
which is applied in the direction of a tangent of the axis, and the
other in the direction of the tangent of the wheel, they will be in
equilibrium.
To this power may be referred the capstan or crane, by which weights
are raised; the winch and barrel, for drawing water, and numberless
other machines on the same principle.
The _pully_ is likewise explained on the same principle of the lever.
Suppose the line A. C. to be a lever, whose arms A. B. and B. C. are
equidistant from the fulcrum B. consequently the two equal powers E.
and F. applied in the directions of the tangents to the circle in which
the extremities are moveable, will be in equilibrium, and the fulcrum
B. will sustain both forces.
But, suppose the fulcrum is at C. then a given force at E. will sustain
in equilibrium a double force at F. for in that proportion reciprocally
are their distances from the fulcrum. Whence it appears, that
considering E. as a force, and F. as a weight to be raised, no increase
of power is gained, when the pulley is fixed, but that a double
increase of power is gained, when the pulley moves with the weight.
A combination of pullies is called a tackle, and a box containing one
or more pullies, is called a block.
This is a tackle composed of four pullies, two of which are in the
fixed block A. and the other two in the block B. that moves with the
weight F. Now, because the rope is equally stretched throughout, each
lower pulley will be acted upon by an equal part of the weight; and
because in each pully that moves with the weight a double increase of
power is gained; the force by which F. may be sustained will be equal
to half the weight divided by the number of lower pullies: that is,
as twice the number of lower pullies is to _one_, so is the weight
suspending force.
But if the extremity of the rope C. be affixed to the lower block, it
will sustain half as much as a pulley; consequently the analogy will
then be, as twice the number of lower pullies, more 2 is to 1, so is
the weight suspended to the suspending force.
The pulley or tackle is of such general utility, that it would seem
unnecessary to point out any particular instance.
_Of the inclined Plane, and of the Wedge._
The inclined plane has in its effects a near analogy to the lever; and
the forces by which the same weight tends downwards in the directions
of various planes, will be as the sines of their inclinations.
The wedge is composed of two inclined planes joined together at their
common bases, in the direction of which the power is impressed.
This instrument is generally used in splitting wood, and was formerly
applied in engines for stamping watch plates. The force impressed is
commonly a blow, which is found to be much more effectual than a weight
or pressure. This may be accounted for on the principles which obtain
when resisting bodies are penetrated, as if the mass and velocity
vary, the depths to which the impinging body penetrates will be in the
compound ratio of the masses and the squares of the velocities.
All cutting instruments may be referred to the wedge. A chizel, or an
axe, is a simple wedge; a saw is a number of chizels fixed in a line: a
knife may be considered as a simple wedge, when employed in splitting;
but if attention be paid to the edge, it is found to be a fine saw, as
is evident from the much greater effect all knives produce by a drawing
stroke, than what would have followed from a direct action of the edge.
_Of the Screw, and of mechanical Engines, in general._
The _screw_ is composed of two parts, one of which is called the screw,
and consists of a spiral protuberance, called the thread, which is
wound round a cylinder; and the other called the nut, is perforated to
the dimensions of the cylinder, and in the internal cavity is cut a
spiral groove adapted to receive the thread.
It would be difficult to enumerate the very many uses to which the
screw is applied. It is extremely serviceable in compressing bodies
together, as paper, linen, &c. It is the principal organ in all
stamping instruments for striking coins, or making impressions on
paper, linen, or cards, and is of vast utility to the philosopher, by
affording an easy method of measuring or subdividing small spaces. A
very ordinary screw will divide an inch into 5,000 parts; but the fine
hardened steel screws, that are applied to astronomical instruments,
will go much farther.
It is easy to conceive, that when forces applied to mechanical
instruments are in equilibrium, if the least addition be made to one
of them, it will preponderate and overcome the effort. But the want of
a perfect polish or smoothness in the parts of all instruments, and
the rigidity of all ropes, which increases with the tension, are great
impediments to motion, and in compounded engines are found to diminish
about one fourth of the effect of the power.
The properties of all the mechanical powers depending on the laws of
motion, and the action or tendency to produce motion of each of the
two forces, being applied in directions contrary to each other, the
following general rule for finding the proportion of the forces in
equilibrium on any machine will require no proof.
If two weights applied to the extremes of any mechanical engine, be
to each other in the reciprocal proportion of the velocities resolved
into a perpendicular direction, (rejecting the other part) which would
be acquired by each when put in motion for the same indefinitely small
time, they will be in equilibrio.
Whence it may be observed, that in all contrivances by which power is
gained, a proportional loss is suffered in respect of time. If one man
by means of a tackle, can raise as much weight, as ten men could by
their unassisted strength, he will be ten times as long about it.
It is convenience alone, and not any actual increase of force, which we
obtain from mechanics. As may be illustrated by the following example:
Suppose a man at the top of a house draws up ten weights, one at a
time, by a single rope, in ten minutes: let him then have a tackle of
five lower pullies, and he will draw up the whole ten at once with
the same ease as he before raised up one; but in ten times the time,
that is, in ten minutes. Thus we see the same work is performed in the
same time, whether the tackle be used or not: but the convenience is,
that if the whole ten weights be joined into one, they may be raised
with the tackle, though it would be impossible to move them by the
unassisted strength of one man; or suppose, instead of ten weights, a
man draws ten buckets of water from the hold of a ship in ten minutes,
and that the ship being leaky, admits an equal quantity in the same
time. It is proposed that by means of a tackle, he shall raise a bucket
ten times as capacious. With this assistance he performs it, but in as
long a time as he required to draw the ten, and therefore is as far
from gaining on the water in this latter case as in the former.
Since then no real gain of force is acquired from mechanical
contrivances, there is the greatest reason to conclude, that a
perpetual motion is not to be obtained. For in all instruments the
friction of their parts, and other resistances, destroy a part of the
moving force, and at last put an end to the motion.
MECHANICAL, in _mathematics_, denotes a construction of some problem,
by the assistance of instruments, as the duplicature of the cube, and
quadrature of the circle, in contradistinction to that which is done in
an accurate and geometrical manner.
MECHE, _Fr._ See MATCH.
MEDECIN, _Fr._ Physician.
MEDIATOR. Any state or power which interferes to adjust a quarrel
between any two or more powers, is called a mediator.
MEDICINE-CHEST, is composed of all sorts of medicines necessary for a
campaign, together with such chirurgical instruments as are useful,
fitted up in chests, and portable. The army and navy are supplied with
these at the expence of government.
Specific regulations have been issued by the war and navy offices,
respecting the quantity and quality of the different medicines.
MEDIUM GUARD, a preparatory guard of the broad sword or sabre, which
consists in presenting the sword in a perpendicular line with the
centre of the opposed object, having the point upwards, the ward iron,
and the cutting edge next the object.
MEER BUKSHY, _Ind._ Chief paymaster.
MEER TOZUK, _Ind._ A marshal whose business is to preserve order in a
procession or line of march, and to report absentees.
MEGGHETERIARQUE, _Fr._ The commanding officer of a body of men, who
formerly did duty at Constantinople, and were called _Héteriennes_,
being composed of soldiers that were enlisted in the allied nations.
MELEE, _Fr._ a military term, which is used among the French to
express the hurry and confusion of a battle; thus, _Un Général habile
conserve sa tranquillité au milieu du combat, et dans l’horreur de la
mêlée_:--An able general preserves his presence of mind in the thickest
of the battle, and remains calm during the whole of the conflict.
_Mêlée_ corresponds with the English expression _thick of the fight_.
MEMOIRS, in _military literature_, a species of history, written
by persons who had some share in the transactions they relate,
answering, in some measure, to what the Romans call _commentarii_, i.
e. commentaries. Hence Cæsar’s Commentaries, or the Memoirs of his
Campaigns.
MEMOIR is the title given by military officers to those plans which
they offer to their government or commanders on subjects relating to
war or military economy.
MEMORIAL, an address to the government on any matter of public service.
BATTALION-MEN. All the soldiers belonging to the different companies
of an infantry regiment are so called, except those of the two flank
companies.
_Camp-Color_ MEN. Soldiers under the immediate command and direction
of the quarter-master of a regiment. Their business is to assist in
marking out the lines of an encampment, &c. to carry the camp colors
to the field on days of exercise, and fix them occasionally for the
purpose of enabling the troops to take up correct points in marching,
&c. So that in this respect they frequently, indeed almost always, act
as guides, or what the French call _Jalonneurs_. They are likewise
employed in the trenches, and in all fatigue duties.
_Drag-rope_ MEN. In the old artillery exercise, the men attached to
light or heavy pieces of ordnance, for the purpose of advancing or
retreating in action, were so called; the drag rope being exploded for
the bricole, the term is preserved merely for explanation. The French
_servans à la prolonge_ are of this description.
MENACE, an hostile threat. Any officer or soldier using menacing words
or gestures in presence of a court-martial, or to a superior officer,
is punishable for the same.--See the _Articles of War_.
MENSURATION, in _general_, denotes the act or art of measuring lines,
superficies, and solids.
MENSURATION, in _military mathematics_, is the art or science which
treats of the measure of extension, or the magnitude of figures;
and it is, next to arithmetic, a subject of the greatest use and
importance, both in affairs that are absolutely necessary in human
life, and in every branch of mathematics: a subject by which sciences
are established, and commerce is conducted; by whose aid we manage
our business, and inform ourselves of the wonderful operations in
nature; by which we measure the heavens and the earth, estimate the
capacities of all vessels and bulks of all bodies, gauge our liquors,
build edifices, measure our lands and the works of artificers, buy and
sell an infinite variety of things necessary in life, and are supplied
with the means of making the calculations which are necessary for the
construction of almost all machines.
It is evident that the close connection of this subject with the
affairs of men would very early evince its importance to them; and
accordingly the greatest among them have paid the utmost attention to
it; and the chief and most essential discoveries in geometry in all
ages, have been made in consequence of their efforts in this subject.
Socrates thought that the prime use of geometry was to measure the
ground, and indeed this business gave name to the subject; and most of
the ancients seem to have had no other end besides _mensuration_ in
view in all their labored geometrical disquisitions. Euclid’s elements
are almost entirely devoted to it; and although there be contained
in them many properties of geometrical figures, which may be applied
to other purposes, and indeed of which the moderns have made the
most material uses in various disquisitions of exceedingly different
kinds; notwithstanding this, Euclid himself seems to have adapted them
entirely to this purpose: for, if it be considered that his elements
contain a continued chain of reasoning, and of truths, of which the
former are successively applied to the discovery of the latter, one
proposition depending on another, and the succeeding propositions still
approximating towards some particular object near the end of each book;
and when at the last we find that object to be the quality, proportion
or relation between the magnitudes of figures both plane and solid;
it is scarcely possible to avoid allowing this to have been Euclid’s
grand object. And accordingly he determined the chief properties in the
mensuration of rectilineal plane and solid figures; and squared all
such planes, and cubed all such solids. The only curve figures which
he attempted besides, are the circle and sphere; and when he could not
accurately determine their measures, he gave an excellent method of
approximating to them, by shewing how in a circle to inscribe a regular
polygon which should not touch another circle, concentric with the
former, although their circumferences should be ever so near together;
and, in like manner, between any two concentric spheres to describe
a polyhedron which should not any where touch the inner one: and
approximations to their measures are all that have hitherto been given.
But although he could not square the circle, nor cube the sphere, he
determined the proportion of one circle to another, and of one sphere
to another, as well as the proportions of all rectilineal similar
figures to one another.
Archimedes took up _mensuration_ where Euclid left it, and carried
it a great length. He was the first who squared a curvilineal space,
unless Hypocrates must be excepted on account of his lunes. In his
times the conic sections were admitted in geometry, and he applied
himself closely to the measuring of them as well as other figures.
Accordingly he determined the relations of spheres, spheroids, and
conoids, to cylinders and cones; and the relations of parabolas to
rectilineal planes whose quadratures had long before been determined
by Euclid. He hath left us also his attempts upon the circle: he
proved that a circle is equal to a right angled triangle, whose base
is equal to the circumference, and its altitude equal to the radius;
and consequently that its area is found by drawing the radius into
half the circumference; and so reduced the quadrature of the circle to
the determination of the ratio of the diameter to the circumference;
but which however hath not yet been done. Being disappointed of the
exact quadrature of the circle, for want of the rectification of its
circumference, which all his methods would not effect, he proceeded to
assign an useful approximation to it: this he effected by the numerical
calculation of the perimeters of the inscribed and circumscribed
polygons; from which calculations it appears, that the perimeter of
the circumscribed regular polygon of 192 sides is to the diameter in
a less ratio than that of 3¹⁄₇ (3¹⁰⁄₇₀) to 1, and that the inscribed
polygon of 96 sides is to the diameter in a greater ratio than that
of 3¹⁰⁄₇₁ to 1; and consequently much more than the circumference of
the circle is to the diameter in a less ratio than that of 3¹⁄₇ to 1,
but greater than that of 3¹⁰⁄₇₁ to 1: the first ratio of 3¹⁄₇ to 1,
reduced to whole numbers, gives that of 22 to 7, for 3¹⁄₇ : 1 ∷ 22 :
7, which therefore will be nearly the ratio of the circumference to
the diameter. From this ratio of the circumference to the diameter he
computed the approximate area of the circle, and found it to be to the
square of the diameter as 11 to 14. He likewise determined the relation
between the circle and elipsis, with that of their similar parts. The
hyperbola too in all probability he attempted; but it is not to be
supposed, that he met with any success, since approximations to its
area are all that can be given by all the methods that have since been
invented.
Besides these figures, he hath left us a treatise on the spiral
described by a point moving uniformly along a right line, which at the
same time moves with an uniform angular motion; and determined the
proportion of its area to that of its circumscribed circle, as also the
proportion of their sectors.
Throughout the whole works of this great man, which are chiefly on
_mensuration_, he every where discovers the deepest design and finest
invention; and seems to have been (with Euclid) exceedingly careful
of admitting into his demonstrations nothing but principles perfectly
geometrical and unexceptionable: and although his most general method
of demonstrating the relations of curved figures to straight ones, be
by inscribing polygons in them, yet to determine those relations, he
does not increase the number and diminish the magnitude of the sides of
the polygon _ad infinitum_; but from this plain fundamental principle,
allowed in Euclid’s elements, viz. that any quantity may be so often
multiplied, or added to itself, as that the result shall exceed any
proposed finite quantity of the same kind, he proves that to deny his
figures to have the proposed relations, would involve an absurdity.
He demonstrated also many properties, particularly in the parabola, by
means of certain numerical progressions, whose terms are similar to the
inscribed figures: but without considering such series to be continued
_ad infinitum_, and then summing up the terms of such infinite series.
He had another very curious and singular contrivance for determining
the measures of figures, in which he proceeds, as it were, mechanically
by weighing them.
Several other eminent men among the ancients wrote upon this subject,
both before and after Euclid and Archimedes; but their attempts were
usually upon particular parts of it, and according to methods not
essentially different from theirs. Among these are to be reckoned
Thales, Anaxagoras, Pythagoras, Bryson, Antiphon, Hypocrates of Chios,
Plato, Apollonius, Philo, and Ptolomy; most of whom wrote of the
quadrature of the circle, and those after Archimedes, by his method,
usually extended the approximation to a greater degree of accuracy.
Many of the moderns have also prosecuted the same problem of the
quadrature of the circle, after the same methods, to greater lengths:
such are Viera, and Metius, whose proportion between the diameter
and circumference is that of 113 to 355, which is within about
³⁄₁₀₀₀₀₀₀₀ of the true ratio; but above all, Ludolph van Ceulen, who
with an amazing degree of industry and patience, by the same methods
extended the ratio to 20 places of figures, making it that of 1 to
3.14159265358979323846+.
The first material deviation from the principles used by the ancients
in geometrical demonstrations was made by Cavalerius: the sides of
their inscribed and circumscribed figures they always supposed of a
finite and assignable number and length; he introduced the doctrine
of indivisibles, a method which was very general and extensive, and
which with great ease and expedition served to measure and compare
geometrical figures. Very little new matter however was added to
geometry by this method, its facility being its chief advantage.
But there was great danger in using it, and it soon led the way to
infinitely small elements, and infinitesimals of endless orders;
methods which were very useful in solving difficult problems, and in
investigating or demonstrating theories that are general and extensive;
but sometimes led their incautious followers into errors and mistakes,
which occasioned disputes and animosities among them. There were now,
however, many excellent things performed in this subject; not only
many new things were effected concerning the old figures, but new
curves were measured; and for many things which could not be exactly
squared or cubed, general and infinite approximating series were
assigned, of which the laws of their continuation were manifest, and
of some of which the terms were independent on each other. Mr. Wallis,
Mr. Huygens, and Mr. James Gregory, performed wonders. Huygens in
particular must be admired for his solid, accurate, and very masterly
works.
During the preceding state of things several men, whose vanity seemed
to have overcome their regard for truth, asserted that they had
discovered the quadrature of the circle, and published their attempts
in the form of strict geometrical demonstrations, with such assurance
and ambiguity as staggered and misled many who could not so well judge
for themselves, and perceive the fallacy of their principles and
arguments. Among those were Longomontanus, and the celebrated Hobbes,
who obstinately refused all conviction of his errors.
The use of infinites was however disliked by several people,
particularly by sir Isaac Newton, who among his numerous and great
discoveries hath given us that of the method of fluxions; a discovery
of the greatest importance both in philosophy and mathematics; it being
a method so general and extensive, as to include all investigations
concerning magnitude, distance, motion, velocity, time, &c. with
wonderful ease and brevity; a method established by its great author
upon true and incontestible principles; principles perfectly consistent
with those of the ancients, and which were free from the imperfections
and absurdities attending some that had lately been introduced by the
moderns; he rejected no quantities as infinitely small, nor supposed
any parts of curves to coincide with right lines; but proposed it in
such a form as admits of a strict geometrical demonstration. Upon
the introduction of this method most sciences assumed a different
appearance, and the most abstruse problems became easy and familiar
to every one; things which before seemed to be insuperable, became
easy examples or particular cases of theories still more general
and extensive; rectifications, quadratures, cubatures, tangencies,
cases _de maximis & minimis_, and many other subjects, became general
problems, and delivered in the form of general theories which included
all particular cases: thus, in quadratures, an expression would be
investigated which defined the areas of all possible curves whatever,
both known and unknown, and which, by proper substitutions, brought out
the area for any particular case, either in finite terms, or infinite
series, of which any term, or any number of terms could be easily
assigned; and the like in other things. And although no curve, whose
quadrature was unsuccessfully attempted by the ancients, became by this
method perfectly quadrable, there were assigned many general methods of
approximating to their areas, of which in all probability the ancients
had not the least idea or hope; and innumerable curves were squared
which were utterly unknown to them.
The excellency of this method revived some hopes of squaring the
circle, and its quadrature was attempted with eagerness. The quadrature
of a space was now reduced to the finding of the fluent of a given
fluxion; but this problem however was found to be incapable of a
general solution in finite terms; the fluxion of every fluent was
always assignable, but the reverse of this problem could be effected
only in particular cases; among the exceptions, to the great grief of
the geometers, was included the case of the circle, with regard to all
the forms of fluxions attending it. Another method of obtaining the
area was tried: of the quantity expressing the fluxion of any area,
in general, could be assigned the fluent in the form of an infinite
series, which series therefore defined all areas in general, and
which, on substituting for particular cases, was often found to break
off and terminate, and so afford an area in finite terms; but here
again the case of the circle failed, its area still coming out an
infinite series. All hopes of the quadrature of the circle being now
at an end, the geometricians employed themselves, in discovering and
selecting the best forms of infinite series for determining its area,
among which it is evident, that those were to be preferred which were
simple, and which would converge quickly; but it generally happened,
that these two properties were divided, the same series very rarely
including them both: the mathematicians in most parts of Europe were
now busy, and many series were assigned on all hands, some admired
for their simplicity, and others for their rate of convergency; those
which converged the quickest, and were at the same time simplest, which
therefore were most useful in computing the area of the circle in
numbers, were those in which, besides the radius, the tangent of some
certain arc of the circle, was the quantity by whose powers the series
converged; and from some of these series the area hath been computed
to a very great extent of figures: Mr. Edmund Hally gave a remarkable
one from the tangent of 30 degrees, which was rendered famous by the
very industrious Mr. Abraham Sharp, who by means of it extended the
area of the circle to 72 places of figures, as may be seen in Sherwin’s
book of logarithms; but even this was afterwards outdone by Mr. John
Machin, who, by means described in professor Hutton’s _Mensuration_,
composed a series so simple, and which converged so quickly, that by
it, in a very little time, he extended the quadrature of the circle
to 100 places of figures; from which it appears, that if the diameter
be 1, the circumference will be 3.1415926535, 8979323846, 2643383279,
5028841971, 6939937510, 5820974944, 5923078164, 0628620899, 8628034825,
3421170679+, and consequently the area will be .7853981633, 9744830961,
5660849819, 857210492, 9234984377, 6455243736, 1480769541, 0157155224,
9657008706, 3355292669+.
From hence it appears, that all or most of the material improvements
or inventions in the principles or method of treating of geometry,
have been made especially for the improvement of this chief part of
it, _mensuration_, which abundantly shows, what we at first undertook
to declare, the dignity of this subject; a subject which, as Dr.
Barrow says, after mentioning some other things, “deserves to be more
curiously weighed, because from hence a name is imposed upon that
mother and mistress of the rest of the mathematical sciences, which is
employed about magnitudes, and which is wont to be called _geometry_
(a word taken from ancient use, because it was first applied only to
measuring the earth, and fixing the limits of possessions) though the
name seemed very ridiculous to Plato, who substitutes in its place that
more extensive name of _Metrics_ or _Mensuration_; and others after
him gave it the title of _Pantometry_, because it teaches the method
of measuring all kinds of magnitudes.” See SURVEYING, LEVELLING, and
GEOMETRY.
MERHAU, _Ind._ A deduction or abatement is so called in India.
MERIT. Desert, excellence, deserving honor or reward.
MERIT, _Order of_, a military distinction given to officers or
soldiers, for some signal service: the badge of which is generally
expressive of the service. Such was the medal, or order of merit,
presented by the Austrian emperor to the officers of the 15th British
light dragoons, for their bravery in the affair of _Villers en Couché_,
in 1794.
MERKIN. A mop to clean cannon.
MERLIN. Handspike.
MERLON. See FORTIFICATION.
MESS. It is usual and advantageous to discipline that the officers of a
camp or garrison form one or more messes.
MESSENGERS of state in England, are officers under the direction of
the secretaries of state, of whom there were 20 always in waiting, who
were relieved monthly, and distributed in the following manner: four
at court, five at each secretary’s office, two at the third office
for North Britain, three at the council office, and one at the lord
chamberlain’s office, who attended that office always in readiness
to be sent with dispatches, either domestic or foreign; either to
apprehend persons _accused_ or _suspected_ of high treason, or other
offences against the state, being empowered by warrant from the
secretaries; for the safe keeping of which, their houses are made a
sort of confinement or prison; and for the maintenance of the prisoners
they have a certain allowance from government. The number has been
increased with the system of espionage since 1794.
_Military_ MESSENGERS. Confidential persons that are sent to and from
head quarters, &c.
MESTRE _de_ CAMP, _Fr._ The commanding officer of a regiment of cavalry
was so called in the old French service. He was distinguished by
this appellation on account of there being a colonel-general in the
cavalry. The duty of a _mestre de camp_ was principally confined to
the following heads:--To see that the troops or companies were kept
complete, that the arms were in good state and condition, the horses of
a proper size, sound, and well trained. He had likewise the direction
of the different guards, &c.
MESTRE _de_ CAMP _général_, _Fr._ The next officer in rank, in the old
French cavalry service, to the colonel-general. This appointment was
created under Henry II. in 1552.
MESTRE _de_ CAMP _général des dragons_, _Fr._ An appointment which
first took place under Louis the XIVth. in 1684.
MESURES _à poudre_, _Fr._ Tin cases or vessels used in the artillery,
to measure out gunpowder, according to the size and calibre of each
piece of ordnance. See Powder MEASURES.
_Over_-METAL, (in gunnery,) when the mouth of a piece of ordnance, in
disparting it, lies higher than the breech, it is then said to be _laid
over metal_.
_Under_-METAL, (in gunnery) is when the mouth of a piece of ordnance
lies lower than her breech.
_Right with_ METAL, (in gunnery.) When a piece of ordnance lies truly
level, point blank, or right with the mark, she is said to lie _right
with her metal_.
_Superficies of_ METALS, (in gunnery.) The surface or outside of a gun.
METIER, _Fr._ Means, literally, any calling or business. In a military
sense, it is peculiarly applicable to those nations which keep up large
standing armies, and make war their principal object and pursuit.
In speaking of military matters, it is common among the French to
say--_Guerre sur terre est notre métier; Guerre sur mer est le métier
des Anglois_--The land service is our peculiar business or calling; the
sea service is the peculiar business or calling of the English; meaning
thereby to express their reciprocal superiority.
Chevalier Folard gives the following definition relative to the
question which is often discussed on the subject of war, namely,
whether war be a trade or a science? The English call it a profession.
Folard, however, distinguishes it in this manner:--_La guerre est un
métier pour les ignorans, et une science pour les habiles gens._ War
in the apprehension, and under the management of ignorant persons, is
certainly a mere trade or business, but among able men, it becomes an
important branch of science.
METTRE _à la main_, _Fr._ To grasp or take hold of any thing.
METTRE _l’épée à la main_, _Fr._ To draw swords. _Ils mirent l’épée à
la main_, a figurative expression, signifying, they took their ground,
and stood prepared to fight.
METTRE _les armes à la main de quelqu’un_, _Fr._ To teach a person the
first rudiments of war, or lead him for the first time into action.
_C’est lui qui m’a mis les armes à la main._ He first taught me how to
fight, or I fought the first campaign under his orders.
METTRE _aux arrêts_, _Fr._ To put under arrest.
METTRE _sur pied_, _Fr._ To arm, to equip, to put troops upon an
established footing.
MEURTRIERES, _Fr._ Small loop holes, sufficiently large to admit the
barrel of a rifle gun or musquet, through which soldiers may fire,
under cover, against an enemy. They likewise mean the cavities that are
made in the walls of a fortified town or place. See MURDRESSES.
MICHE. See MALINGERER.
MICROMETER, (_Micromêtre_, _Fr._) an instrument contrived to measure
small spaces, as in the divisions of the worm of a screw.
MIDI, _Fr._ the South.
MILE, in _geography_, a long measure, whereby the English, &c. express
the distance between places: it is of different extent in different
countries. The geometrical mile contains 1000 geometrical paces, or
_mille passus_, from whence miles are denominated.
We shall here give a table of the miles in use among the principal
nations of Europe, in geometrical paces, 60,000 of which, according to
the _English Military Dictionary_, make a degree of the equator.
Geometrical
paces.
Mile of Russia 750
Italy 1000
England 1200
Scotland and Ireland 1500
The old league of France 1500
The small ditto 2000
The great ditto 3000
Mile of Poland 3000
Spain and Portugal 3428
Germany 4000
Sweden 5000
Denmark 5010
Hungary 6000
Holland 3500
MILE. Comparison of the different miles, in geometric paces, each of
which is equal to 5 feet French royal, 5·6719 feet Rhinland, or 6·1012
English feet.
Geometric
paces.
The mile of Sweden 5761
Switzerland 4512
Denmark 4071
Common, of Germany 4000
Holland 3158
League of France 2400
Spain 2286
Scotland 1500
Mile of Italy 1000
England 868
Werste of Russia 575
MILICE, _Fr._ soldiery, but more particularly the militia or trained
bands.
MILICES _gardes-côtes_, _Fr._ A militia, somewhat similar to our sea
fencibles, which existed during the old French government, and whose
services were confined to the coast. Every province, contiguous to
the sea, was obliged to furnish a certain proportion of its male
inhabitants, from 16 to 60 years old. This militia was exempted from
the regulations which governed the land militia. It was under the
admiralty.
MILITANT, the state of warfare, or business of war.
MILITAR, MILITARY, something belonging to the soldiery or militia, &c.
MILITARY _architecture_, the same with fortification. See FORTIFICATION.
MILITARY _ways_, the large Roman roads which Agrippa procured to be
made through the empire in the reign of Augustus for the marching of
troops and conveying of carriages. They were paved from the gates of
Rome to the utmost limits of the empire. The British have constructed a
military road throughout India; with wells and other accommodations at
certain distances.
MILITARY _discipline_. Next to the forming of troops, military
discipline is the first object that presents itself to our notice: it
is the soul of all armies; and unless it be established amongst them
with great prudence, and supported with unshaken resolution, soldiers
become a contemptible rabble, and are more dangerous to the very state
that maintains them, than even its declared enemies. See DISCIPLINE.
MILITARY _execution_, the ravaging or destroying of a country or town
that refuses to pay the contribution inflicted upon them. Also the
punishment inflicted by the sentence of a court-martial.
MILITARY _first principles_, is the bodily training for a soldier,
to make him hardy, robust, and capable of preserving health amidst
fatigue, bad weather, and change of climate; to march at such possible
pace, and for such length of time, and with such burden, as, without
training, he would not be able to do.
MILITARY REGULATIONS. The rules and regulations, by which the
discipline, formations, field exercise, and movements of the whole
army, are directed to be observed in one uniform system. The American
military system is scarcely entitled to the name of a system; and as
to _regulation_ that requires yet to be established, the worst of all
is that there does not appear to be a suspicion in congress that any
regulation is required. See REGULATIONS.
MILITIA. A force whose services, in general, do not exceed the
boundaries of the nation, but which may volunteer beyond them. The
American militia has no coherent system, every state has power to
regulate its own, and the effect is, that there is either no regulation
at all, or what is worst, an imbecile mockery, the only use of which
is the preservation on the statute book that there is a power though
there is not a will to regulate the militia. The militia among the
Romans was frequently called Agrarian soldiers. The system of our
revolution though it was not complete in general was the most effectual
ever established; the French system of conscription was borrowed from
America, who borrowed it from the Romans.
MILL, properly denotes a machine for grinding corn, &c. but more
generally all such machines whose action depends upon a circular
motion. There are various kinds, though foreign to this work.
_Gunpowder_ MILL, is that used for pounding and beating together the
ingredients of which gunpowder is composed.
These ingredients being duly proportioned, and put into the mortars of
the mills, which are hollow pieces of wood, each capable of holding 20
pounds of paste, are incorporated by means of the pestle and spindle.
There are 24 mortars in each mill, where are made each day 480 pounds
of gunpowder, care being taken to sprinkle the ingredients in the
mortars with water, from time to time, lest they should take fire. The
pestle is a piece of wood 10 feet high, and 4¹⁄₂ inches broad, armed at
bottom with a round piece of metal. It weighs about 60 pounds.
MIM BASHY, _Ind._ A commander of one thousand horse.
MINE, in a _military sense_, implies a subterraneous passage dug under
the wall or rampart of a fortification, for the purpose of blowing it
up by gunpowder.
The excavation formed by the blowing up of a mine is found by
experiment to be nearly a paraboloid. It was formerly supposed that
the diameter of the entonnoir, or excavation, was always equal to only
double the line of least resistance; but experiments have proved, that
the diameter of the excavation may be increased to six times the line
of least resistance; and that the diameter of the globe of compression
may be increased to eight times that line; this is called the _maximum_
of a mine, or the greatest effect that can be produced by a globe of
compression. In any mine intended to produce an effect within this
extent, the effects will be nearly as the charges.
The globes are to each other as the cubes of their radii. Their radii
are the hypothenuse of rightangled triangles, of which the line of
least resistance, and the semi-diameter of the excavation, are the
other two sides. Therefore, to find the charge to produce any required
diameter of the excavation, the following will be the rule, the radius
being found as above:
As the cube of the radius of the globe of compression in the
following table, (having the same line of least resistance as the
required globe,)
Is to the cube of the radius of the required globe;
So is the charge corresponding in the following table,
To the charge required.
_Table for the Charges of Mines, according to Valliere._
-------------+----------++-------------+----------
Line of least|Charge for||Line of least|Charge for
Resistance. | the Mine.|| Resistance. | the Mine.
-------------+----------++-------------+----------
Feet. | lbs. oz.|| Feet. | lbs. oz.
1 | 0 2 || 21 | 868 3
2 | 0 12 || 22 | 998 4
3 | 2 8 || 23 |1140 10
4 | 6 -- || 24 |1296 --
5 | 11 11 || 25 |1558 9
6 | 20 4 || 26 |1647 12
7 | 32 2 || 27 |1815 4
8 | 48 -- || 28 |2053 --
9 | 68 5 || 29 |2286 7
10 | 93 12 || 30 |2530 4
11 | 124 12 || 31 |2792 4
12 | 162 -- || 32 |3072 --
13 | 205 15 || 33 |3369 1
14 | 257 4 || 34 |3680 12
15 | 316 4 || 35 |4019 8
16 | 384 -- || 36 |4374 --
17 | 460 9 || 37 |4748 11
18 | 546 12 || 38 |5144 4
19 | 643 -- || 39 |5561 2
20 | 750 -- || 40 |6000 --
-------------+----------++-------------+----------
This table is calculated upon a supposition that the excavation of the
mine is a paraboloid, having a base double the line of resistance;
and that 10 lbs. 10 oz. of powder is sufficient for raising one cubic
fathom of earth. By the rule above given may be found the charge
for any mine, that shall only shake the ground, without making any
excavation, by making the line of least resistance of the required
globe only equal to the radius of the globe of compression.
The charges thus found by means of this table, being only for one
nature of soil; _viz._, light earth and sand, (that for which the table
is calculated) must be augmented according to the following table of
Vauban’s, by one, four, five, seven, or nine elevenths of the charge
found.
_Table of the quantity of powder required to raise a cubic fathom,
according to the soil._
1 Light earth, mixed with sand 11 pounds.
2 Common earth 12
3 Strong sand 15
4 Clay, or fat earth 16
5 Old and good masonry 18
9 Rock 20
The following rule is however laid down by Belidor, and generally
adopted, if it be intended that the mine shall produce its maximum or
greatest effect: multiply the line of least resistance, expressed in
feet, by 300, the product will be the charge in pounds.
In making mines of any kind, the following remarks may be of service.
The best form for the chamber would be spherical; but from the
difficulty of its construction, it is always made a cube, of one inch
larger dimensions than the box to contain the powder.
The chamber must not be made in the prolongation of the branch of the
mine, but at one side, and lower than the level of the branch, if the
soil be dry; but higher if it be wet.
One cubic foot will contain 75 lbs of powder; upon which principle the
size of the case to contain the powder must be regulated. The auget is
generally one inch square interior dimensions, and the end of it must
reach the centre of the chamber; where the saucisson must be fastened,
to prevent its being easily pulled out.
The branch of the mine to be sprung must be closed in the strongest
manner by doors well secured by props, and must be stopped with earth
or rubbish to a distance, taken in a straight line, equal to 1¹⁄₂ times
the line of least resistance.
In proportioning the length of saucisson, in order that any number of
mines may be fired at the same instant, a return of a right angle is
generally reckoned equal to 4 inches in a right line.
The first step in making a mine, whether for attack or defence, is to
sink a shaft to the depth of the bottom of the gallery, having two of
its sides in the direction of the sides of the gallery. These shafts
should be where the galleries are to cross each other, or in the centre
of the length of gallery to be made. These shafts should never be
further apart than 40 or 50 fathoms; for it is found, that the air is
not fit for respiration in the larger galleries at a greater distance
from the shaft than 25 fathoms; at 20 fathoms in those of medium
dimensions; and at 15 in the smallest.
The rectangular frames used in sinking a shaft are commonly placed 4
feet asunder; and in the galleries they are only 3 feet. A gallery
intended to be lined with masonry, must be 7 feet high and 6 feet wide,
in order that it may be when finished, 6 feet high and 3 feet wide.
Temporary galleries are only made 4¹⁄₂ feet high, and 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet
wide.
The branches, at the ends of which the chambers are to be placed, are
only made 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet high, and 2 feet, or 2 feet 3 inches wide.
The first of these is dug on the knees; the second sitting or lying.
The miners are divided into squads of 4 each; and the rate of the work
for each squad is 3 feet of the temporary gallery in 4 hours. The first
squad is relieved by a second, after having worked 4 hours, or laid
one frame; which second squad is again relieved by the first, at the
expiration of the same time.
In the most easy ground to work, a miner may be heard to the distance
of 14 or 15 fathoms under ground; and the noise made by fixing the
frames of the galleries may often be heard as far as 20 or 25 fathoms.
A drum braced, standing on the ground, with a few peas or other
round substances on the head, will be very sensibly affected by an
approaching miner.
It is of the most essential consequence to place the entrances to the
countermines beyond the reach of any surprise from the enemy.
To prevent an enemy gaining possession of the galleries of the
countermines they should be well secured by strong doors, at every 15
fathoms. These should be musquet proof.
A glacis, properly countermined, and every advantage taken of it to
retard the besiegers, may, with proper management, prolong a siege at
least 2 months; and if the rest of the works are also countermined,
and properly defended, they may add another month to the siege. Every
system of countermines must depend upon the system of fortification
to which they are to be adapted; the general principle for their
regulation is, that the galleries should occupy situations, from
which branches can be most readily run out under the most probable
points of the besieger’s batteries and approaches. The general system
of countermines commonly used in a place prepared before hand, is
as follows: the principal or _magistral_ gallery runs all round the
work, under the banquette of the covert way, and across the places of
arms, having the entrances at the re-entering places of arms. Nearly
parallel to this at 20, 25 or 30 fathoms distance is another gallery,
called the _envellope_. These two galleries are connected by galleries
of _communication_, under the gutters of the re-entering parts of the
glacis, and under the ridges of the salient parts. From the envellope
are run out about 15 or 16 fathoms, galleries in directions parallel to
the capitals of the works, and at 23 fathoms distance from each other.
These are called _listeners_.
Sometimes, shafts are sunk from the end of these listeners, and by
connecting these shafts, a second envellope formed. Behind the escarps
of the different works, galleries are likewise made, about the level of
the bottom of the ditch; from whence branches may be run out into or
under the foundations of the walls; and if the ditch be dry, galleries
of communication may be made from these to the magistral gallery; and
from which communications branches may be run out for chambers to annoy
the besiegers in their passage of the ditch. The entrances to the
escarp galleries are by means of posterns, which descend from behind
the interior slope of the rampart.
If a place be not countermined before hand, a great deal may be done
even after the investment of the place, to prolong the siege by
countermines. In this case, the first thing to be done immediately that
the place is invested, is to sink a shaft in each of the places of
arms of the covert way; one in each branch of the covert way opposite
that part of the bastion where the breach will most probably be made;
and one in the flanked angle of each bastion. Those on the covert way
will be on the banquette, and sunk to about 18 inches below the bottom
of the ditch. Those in the bastions to about 12 feet below the bottom
of the ditch. Thus prepared, the moment the side on which the attack
is to be made can be ascertained, galleries must be carried on from
these shafts on the side attacked along the capitals, in the form of
trefles, or double T; and advanced as far into the country as the time
will admit. Communication galleries may likewise be driven between
these different works on the covert way, and from them to the work in
the bastion; which will prevent the enemy gaining possession of their
entrances. All these works may be carried on after the investment of
the place; and be in sufficient forwardness by the time the enemy gains
the third parallel.
The following rules are given by Vauban for fougasses, or small mines,
having the diameter of the excavation equal to double the line of least
resistance. The side of the chamber must be exactly a sixth part of the
depth of the shaft. The side of the box to hold the powder exactly a
ninth part of the depth of the shaft.
These remarks respecting mines are principally extracted from the
General Essay on Fortification before mentioned, written in French and
published at Berlin, 1799.
_Counter_-MINES, are those made by the besieged, whereas mines are
generally made by the besiegers. Both mines and counter-mines are made
in the same manner, and for the like purposes, viz. to blow up their
enemies and their works; only the principal galleries and mines of the
besieged, are usually made before the town is besieged, and frequently
at the same time the fortification is built, to save expence.
_Eventer la_ MINE, _Fr._ to spring a mine. When used figuratively,
this expression signifies to discover a plot, or make it known. It is
likewise used to express the failure of any expedition or undertaking.
_Definitions of_ MINES. A mine is a subterraneous cavity made according
to the rules of art, in which a certain quantity of powder is lodged,
which by its explosion blows up the earth above it.
It has been found by experiments, that the figure produced by the
explosion is a _paraboloid_, and that the centre of the powder, or
charge, occupies the _focus_.
The place where the powder is lodged is called the _chamber_ of the
mine, or _fourneau_.
The passage leading to the powder is called the _gallery_.
The line drawn from the centre of the chamber, perpendicular to the
nearest surface of the ground, is called the line of least resistance.
The pit or hole, made by springing the mine, is called the _excavation_.
The fire is communicated to the mines by a pipe or hose, made of
coarse cloth, whose diameter is about one and a half inch, called a
_saucisson_, (for the filling of which near half a pound of powder is
allowed to every foot) extending from the chamber to the entrance of
the gallery, to the end of which is fixed a match, that the miner who
sets fire to it may have time to retire, before it reaches the chamber.
To prevent the powder from contracting any dampness, the saucisson is
laid in a small trough, called an _auget_ made of boards, three and a
half inch broad, joined together, lengthwise, with straw in it, and
round the saucisson, with a wooden cover nailed upon it.
_Foyer_, _Fr._ _Focus_ or _centre of the chamber_, some authors call
the end of the saucisson that comes within the work, and which is to be
set fire to, the foyer, or focus: but by most people, this is generally
understood to be the centre of the chamber.
_Galleries and chambers of_ MINES. Galleries made within the
fortification, before the place is attacked, and from which several
branches are carried to different places, are generally 4 or 4¹⁄₂ feet
wide, and 5 or 5¹⁄₂ feet high. The earth is supported from falling in
by arches and walls, as they are to remain for a considerable time; but
when mines are made to be used in a short time, then the galleries are
but 3 or 3¹⁄₂ feet wide, and 5 feet high, and the earth is supported by
wooden frames or props.
The gallery being carried on to the place where the powder is to be
lodged, the miners make the chamber. This is generally of a cubical
form, large enough to hold the wooden box, which contains the powder
necessary for the charge: the box is lined with straw and sand-bags, to
prevent the powder from contracting dampness.
The chamber is sunk something lower than the gallery, if the soil
permits; but where water is to be apprehended, it must be made higher
than the gallery; otherwise the besieged will let in the water, and
spoil the mine.
_Quantities of powder to charge_, MINES. Before any calculation can
be made of the proper charge for a mine, the density and tenacity of
the soil in which it is to be made, must be ascertained, either by
experiment, or otherwise; for, in soils of the same density, that which
has the greatest tenacity, will require the greatest force to separate
its parts. The density is determined by weighing a cubic foot (or any
certain quantity) of the soil; but the tenacity can only be determined
by making a mine. The following table contains experiments in 6
different soils, which may be of some assistance to form a judgment of
the nature of the soil, when an actual experiment cannot be had.
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
| |Density.| Tenacity. |
| +--------+-------------+
| | Weight |Quantity of |
| | of |power to |
| | 1 cubic|raise 1 cubic|
| Nature of the soil. | foot. |fathom. |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|1. Loose earth or sand | 95 pds.| 8 pds. |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|2. Common light soil |124 | 10 |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|3. Loam, or strong soil |127 | 12¹⁄₄ |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|4. Potter’s clay, or stiff soil|135 | 13¹⁄₂ |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|5. Clay, mixed with stones |160 | 16 |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
|6. Masonry |205 | 21¹⁄₂ |
+-------------------------------+--------+-------------+
All the requisites in mining may be determined by the following
problems, which admit of 4 cases; for any 3 of the articles below being
given, the 4th may thence be found.
1. The nature of the soil,
2. The diameter of the excavation,
3. The line of least resistance,
4. The charge.
PROBLEM. I.
Given the nature of the soil, the diameter of the excavation, and the
line of least resistance, to find the charge.
RULES.
1. To the square of the diameter of the excavation, add the square of
double the line of least resistance, and reserve the said sum.
2. Multiply the square root of the reserved sum by double the line of
least resistance, and subtract the product from the same sum.
3. Multiply half the remainder by the line of least resistance, and
1.57 times the product, will give the solidity of the excavation.
4. The charge will then be determined from the nature of the soil, as
in the following example.
_Example_ I.
It is required to make a mine in the second sort of soil, mentioned in
the foregoing experiments, which shall have a line of least resistance
of 10 feet, and the diameter of its excavation 20 feet; what will be
the proper charge?
The nature of this soil, by the table, requires 10 pounds of powder to
216 cubic feet.
_Calculation._
1. The diameter of the excavation is 20, and its square 400
Double the line of least resistance is 20, and its square 400
---
Therefore the sum to be reserved is 800
2. The square root of 800 is 28.3
Double the line of least resistance is 20 566
---
Which leaves the remainder 234
---
3. Half the remainder is 117
Which multiplied by the line of least resistance, 10
---
Gives the product 1170
Which multiplied by 1.57
------
Gives the solidity of the excavation feet 1836.9
feet. lb. feet. lb.
4. If 216 : 10 ∷ 1836.9 : 85 which is the charge required.
_By Logarithms._
1. Diam. of excavation is = 20 1.301030
Diameter squared is 2.602060 400
Double the line of least resistance is = 20
and its square 400
---
The sum to be reserved is 2.903090 800
--------
2. Square root of sum is 28.3 1.451545
Double the line of least resistance is = 20 1.301030
--------
Product to be subtracted is 2.752575 566
-------- ---
Remainder is 2.369216 234
Line of least resist. = 10 1.000000
10 pounds of powder 1.000000
To 216 cubic feet, _compl. arith._ 7.665546
To which add the _const. log._ 9.894870
--------
And the sum is the logarithm charge required 1.929632 = 85 lb.
_Problem_ II.
Given the nature of the soil, the line of least resistance, and the
charge, to find the diameter of the excavation.
RULES.
1. Find the solidity of the earth to be raised, by a proportion from
the nature of the soil, and multiply it by 1.27.--Divide the product by
the line of least resistance, and to the quotient add the square of the
line of least resistance: reserve the sum.
2. Multiply the square root of the sum reserved by twice the line of
least resistance, and add the product to the said sum, and from the
result subtract 3 times the square of the line of least resistance; so
will the square root of the remainder be the diameter of the required
excavation.
_Example_ I.
Let a mine be charged with 100 pounds of powder in a soil which
requires 11 pounds of powder to raise 216 cubic feet, and let its
line of least resistance be 10 feet: what will be the diameter of the
excavation?
By the nature of the soil 11lb. : 216 feet ∷ 100lb. : 1964 feet, which
is the solidity of the earth to be raised.
1. Therefore multiply 1964
By 1.27
-------
The product is 2494.28
-------
Which divided by the line of least resistance, 10, is 249.428
To which add the square of the line of least resistance 100.000
-------
And the sum to be reserved is 349.428
2. The square root of 349.428 is 18.7, which multiplied by
twice the line of least resistance, 20, gives 374.
-------
This added to the sum reserved gives 723.428
From which subtract 3 times the square of least resistance 300.
-------
And there will remain 423.428
The square root of which is, 20.5 feet, being the required diameter of
the excavation.
_By Logarithms._
Numb. Logar. Numb.
Cubic feet = 216 2.334454
Powder 11lb. _co. ar._ 8.958607
Charge = 100 2.000000
Line of least resist. 10 _co. ar._ 9.000000
Constant logarithm 0.103804
--------
2.396865 249.4
-----
To which add the square of line of
least resistance 100.0
-----
Sum to be reserved is 2.543323 349.4
--------
Half of which logar. 1.271661
Twice line of least resistance, 20, 1.301030
--------
Product to be added is 2.572691 373.8
-----
The result is 723.2
From which subtract thrice the square
of the line of least resistance 300.0
-----
And there remains 2.626546 423.2
Half of which logar. is 1.313273 20.57 feet, the diameter of the
excavation required.
_Loading and stopping of_ MINES. The gallery and chamber being ready
to be loaded, a strong box of wood is made of the size and figure of
the chamber, being about ¹⁄₃d or ¹⁄₄th bigger than is required for
containing the necessary quantity of powder: against the sides and
bottom of the box is put some straw; and this straw is covered over
with empty sand bags, to prevent the powder from contracting any
dampness: a hole is made in the side next the gallery, near the bottom
for the saucisson to pass through, which is fixed to the middle of the
bottom, by means of a wooden peg, to prevent its loosening from the
powder: or that, if the enemy should get to the entrance, he may not
be able to tear it out. This done, the powder is brought in sand bags,
and thrown loose in the box, and covered also with straw and sand bags;
upon this is put the cover of the box, pressed down very tight with
strong props; and, to render them more secure, planks are also put
above them, against the earth, and wedged in as fast as possible.
This done the vacant space between the props are filled up with stones
and dung, and rammed in the strongest manner: the least neglect in this
work will considerably alter the effect of the mine.
Then the auget is laid from the chamber to the entrance of the gallery,
with some straw at the bottom; and the saucisson laid in it, with straw
over it: lastly, it must be shut with a wooden cover nailed upon it.
Great care must be taken, in stopping up the gallery, not to press
too hard upon the auget, for fear of spoiling the saucisson, which
may hinder the powder from taking fire, and so prevent the mine from
springing. The gallery is stopped up with stones, earth, and dung, well
rammed, 6 or 7 feet further from the chamber than the length of the
line of least resistance.
_Globe of compression in_ MINES, _from Belidor_. If you imagine a
large globe of earth homogeneous in all its parts, and, a certain
quantity of powder lodged in its centre, so as to produce a proper
effect without bursting the globe; by setting fire to the powder, it
is evident, that the explosion will act all round, to overcome the
obstacles which oppose its motion; and as the particles of the earth
are porous, they will compress each other in proportion as the flame
increases, and the capacity of the chamber increases likewise; but
the particles of earth next to the chamber will communicate a part of
their motion to those next to them, and those to their neighbors; and
this communication will thus continue in a decreasing proportion, till
the whole force of explosion is entirely spent; and the particles of
earth beyond this term, will remain in the same state as they were at
first. The particles of earth that have been acted upon by the force of
explosion will compose a globe, which Mr. Belidor calls the _globe of
compression_.
MINERS, in a _military sense_, are generally soldiers: most of the
European regiments of artillery have each a company of miners,
commanded by a captain and two lieutenants. When the miners are at work
in the mines, they wear a kind of hood, to keep the earth that falls
out of their eyes. In the English service the artificers are ordered
for that purpose.
MINERS _tools_, consist in several sorts of spades, wheel-barrows,
axes, hand-levers, chissels, sounding-augres, sledge-hammers, masons’
hammers, mattocks, augets, plummets, miner’s rule, and miner’s dial, &c.
_Different sorts of_ MINES, _are as follows_:
_Fougasses_, are a sort of small mines, frequently made before the
weakest parts of a fortification, as the salient angles and faces, not
defended by a cross fire.
_Treffle_ MINES, are mines with two chambers only.
T-MINES, so called from their great resemblance to that letter. They
are double mines, having four lodgments.
_Double_ T-MINES, have eight lodgments, and four doors.
_Triple_ T-MINES, have twelve lodgments, and six doors.
_Double Treffle_ MINES, have four lodgments, and eight doors.
_Triple Treffle_-MINES, have six lodgments, and twelve doors.
MINING, in the _art of war_, is become one of the most essential parts
of the attack and defence of places; so much artillery is used, that
nothing above ground can withstand its effects; the most substantial
ramparts and parapets can resist but a short time; the outworks, though
numerous serve only to retard for a time the surrender of the place.
History informs us, that mines were made long before the invention of
gun powder; for the ancients made galleries or underground passages,
much in the same way as the moderns, from without, under the walls of
the places, which they cut off from the foundation, and supported them
with strong props; then they filled the intervals with all manner of
combustibles, which being set on fire burnt their props and the wall
being no longer supported, fell, whereby a breach was made.
The besieged also made under-ground passages from the town under the
besieger’s machines, by which they battered the walls, to destroy them;
which proves necessity to have been the inventress of mines, as well as
of other arts.
The first mines, since the invention of gunpowder, were made in 1487,
by the Genoese, at the attack of Serezanella, a town in Florence; but
these failing, they were for some time neglected, till Peter Navarro,
being then engineer to the Genoese, and afterwards to the Spaniards
in 1503, against the French, at the siege of the castle del Ovo, at
Naples, made a mine under the wall, and blew it up. In consequence of
which the castle was taken by storm.
M. Valliere relates the same story, but differs in the name of the
engineer; he says it was Francis George, an Italian, who, serving at
Naples in quality of architect, proposed to Peter Navarro, the Spanish
governor to take this castle by mines.
_Names of every thing used in_ MINING.
_Auget_, a kind of small trough, made of strong inch boards, about 4
inches square, in which the saucisson is laid in straw, to prevent the
powder from contracting any dampness.
_Chamber_, the place where the powder is lodged, being first put in
cubical boxes made for that purpose.
_Excavation_, _Entonnoir_, the pit or hole made by a mine when sprung.
_Focus_, the centre of the chamber where the powder is lodged.
_Fougas_, a kind of small mine.
_Fourneau_, See CHAMBER.
_Miners’ Tools_, are augers of several sorts, levers of different
sorts, needles for working in rocks, rakes, spades, shovels,
sledge-hammers, masons’ hammers, pick-axes, picks, mattocks, chissels,
plummets, rules, a miner’s dial, &c.
_Line of least resistance_, is a line drawn from the centre of the
space containing the powder, perpendicular to the nearest surface.
_Gallery_, the passage leading to the powder.
_Saucisson_, is a pipe or hose made of coarse cloth, whose diameter
is about an inch, and filled with gunpowder; then laid in a trough or
auget, which extends from the chamber to the entrance of the gallery,
that the miner who sets fire to it, may have time to retire before it
reaches to the chamber.
MINING, in _military affairs_, is the art of blowing up any part of a
fortification, building, &c. by gunpowder. The art of _mining_ requires
a perfect knowlege both of fortification and geometry; and by these
previous helps, the engineer may be qualified to ascertain correctly
the nature of all manner of heights, depths, breadths, and thicknesses;
to judge perfectly of slopes and perpendiculars, whether they be such
as are parallel to the horizon, or such as are visual; together with
the true levels of all kinds of earth. To which must be added, a
consummate skill in the quality of rocks, earths, masonry, and sands;
the whole accompanied with a thorough knowlege of the strength of all
sorts of gunpowder
MINION, a piece of ordnance, of which there are two kinds, the large
and ordinary: the large minion has its bore 3¹⁄₄ inches diameter, and
is 1000 pounds weight; its load is 3¹⁄₄ pounds of powder; its shot
three inches in diameter, and 3³⁄₄ pounds weight; its length is eight
feet, and its level range 125 paces. The ordinary minion is three
inches diameter in the bore, and weighs about 800 pounds weight: it is
seven feet long, its load 2¹⁄₂ pounds of powder, its shot near three
inches in diameter, and weighs three pounds four ounces, and shoots
point blank 120 paces.
MINISTER, according to Johnson, is one who acts not by any inherent
authority of his own, but under another. Thus in England all ministers
act under a supreme authority, which is vested in the king, lords,
and commons, to whom they are responsible. In military matters, there
is not only a war minister, but a secretary at war, who likewise
acts conjointly with the secretary of state. All dispatches and
papers of consequence relating to the army must first pass through
the secretary of state, and the war minister, before they are laid
before parliament, or otherwise acted upon by the secretary at war.
The common arrangements of corps, directions with respect to marching,
&c. are transmitted to the secretary at war, and to the quarter-master
general’s office, without previously passing through the secretary of
state, or war minister.
MINISTRE _de la guerre_, _Fr._ Minister of the war department. The
appointment of minister and secretary at war, among the French, first
took place in the reign of Henry the II. in 1549. See WAR.
MINUTE, a hasty sketch taken of any thing in writing. Hence minutes of
a general or regimental court-martial.
MINUTES _of council in the military department_. The notification
of orders and regulations, which are directed to be observed by the
British army in India, is so called. These minutes receive the sanction
of the governor-general in council, and are the result of previous
communications from the court of directors in Europe. They answer
to the French word _Résultat_, which was prefixed to all orders and
regulations that were occasionally issued by the military boards, or
conseils de guerre, for the government of the army. The term, _jugement
d’un conseil de guerre_, corresponded with our minutes of a general or
regimental court-martial, and expressed not only the minutes but the
sentence of the court.
MINUTE, the 60th part of each degree of a circle; and, in computation
of time, the 60th part of an hour: it also denotes a short memoir or
hasty sketch taken of any thing in writing. See MEASURE.
_La_ MINUTE, _Fr._ The original of a sentence or decree.
_To_ MISBEHAVE, in a military sense, to act in any manner unbecoming
the character of an officer or soldier.
_To_ MISBEHAVE _before the enemy_, to abandon the colors, or shamefully
give way in action, &c. See WAR.
MIQUELETS, _Fr._ A banditti that infest the Pyrenean mountains, and are
extremely obnoxious to travellers.
MIQUELETTI. A small body of mountain fusileers, belonging to the
Neapolitan army.
MIRE, _Fr._ In the French artillery, a piece of wood about four inches
thick, one foot high, and two feet and a half long, which is used in
pointing cannon.
_Coins de_ MIRE, _Fr._ Wedges made of wood, which serve to raise or
depress any piece of ordnance. They are likewise used for the same
purpose in mortars.
MIRZA, _Ind._ Sir, lord, master.
MISCELLANEOUS, an item or charge in the estimates of the British
army, so distinguished as _miscellaneous services_; the same as our
contingent expenditures.
MISERICORDE, _Fr._ a short dagger, which the cavalry formerly used, for
the purpose of dispatching an enemy who would not ask quarter or mercy.
MISSILE, MISSIVE, any weapon which is either thrown by the hand, or
which strikes at a distance from the moving power.
MITRAILLE, _Fr._ small pieces of old iron, such as heads of nails, &c.
with which pieces of ordnance are frequently loaded.
_Tirer à_ MITRAILLE, _Fr._ To fire with grape shot. This term is
frequently used by the French, to express the bribery which is
practised in war time by one nation upon another, for the purpose of
fomenting civil insurrections. Hence _tirer à mitraille d’or_.
MITRE, MITER, a mode of joining two boards, or other pieces of wood
together at right angles.
MOAT, A wet or dry ditch, dug round the walls of a town, or fortified
place. When an enemy attacks a town, which has dry moats round it, the
rampart must be approached by galleries under ground, which galleries
are run beneath the moat; when the place is attempted through wet
moats, your approaches must be made by galleries above ground, that is
to say, by galleries raised above the surface of the water. The brink
of the moat next the rampart is called the scarp, and the opposite one
the counterscarp.
_Dry_-MOAT, that which has no water. It should invariably be deeper
than the one that is full of water.
_Flat bottomed_ MOAT, that which hath no sloping, its corners being
somewhat rounded.
_Lined_ MOAT, that whose scarp and counterscarp are cased with a wall
of mason work made aslope.
MODEL, a mould; also a diminutive representation of any thing. Thus
models of warlike instruments, fortifications, &c. &c. are preserved in
the British laboratory at Woolwich.
MODERN, something of our own times, in opposition to what is antique or
ancient.
MODERN _Tactics_, _and_ MODERN _Art of War_, That system of manœuvre
and evolution, which has been adopted since the invention of gunpowder,
and particularly the system improved by the French within twenty years.
See _Am. Mil. Lib._
_Ancient Tactics, and ancient art of War._ The system which was pursued
by the Greeks and Romans, &c. before the invention of gunpowder and
fire arms.
MOGNIONS, from the French Maignon, signifying the stump of a limb. A
sort of armor for the shoulders.
MOGUL, the emperor of India, from whom the nabobs (properly _Naib_,
a deputy,) originally received their appointments, as governors and
superintendants of provinces.
MOGUL _Tartars_, a nation so called that made considerable conquests in
India.
MOHUR, _Ind._ A golden coin, of which there are several values, but
generally goes for fifteen or sixteen rupees; a rupee half our dollar.
MOIENNE, _Fr._ A piece of ordnance, which is now called a four pounder,
and which is ten feet long, was formerly so called.
MOINEAU, a French term for a little flat bastion, raised upon a
re-entering angle, before a curtain which is too long, between two
other bastions. It is commonly joined to the curtain, but sometimes
separated by a fosse, and then called a detached bastion. They are not
raised so high as the works of the place.
MOIS _Romains_, _Fr._ a term used in Germany, to signify a particular
tax or contribution, which the emperors had a right to demand on
urgent occasions. This tax grew out of an old custom which originally
prevailed when the emperors went to Rome to be crowned, and which
served to defray their expences thither. Thus when the tax was
required, it was called for as a contribution of so many _Roman
months_; implying a certain sum for so many.
MOISSON, _Fr._ Harvest. This word is used in various senses by the
French, particularly in two of a poetical and figurative kind, viz. _Il
a vu cinquante moissons_; he has lived fifty years, literally, has seen
fifty harvests.
MOISSON _de lauriers_, _Fr._ a succession of victories, &c. literally a
harvest of laurels.
MOISSON _de gloire_, is taken in the same sense.
MOISSONNER _des lauriers_, _Fr._ To reap laurels.
MOISSONNER _les hommes_, _Fr._ To kill off, &c. To mow down men.
MOLLER, _Fr._ Literally means to wax soft. It is used figuratively
among the French to signify, in a military sense, the yielding or
giving way of armed men, viz. _les troupes mollisent_, the troops gave
way.
MOLLESSE, _Fr._ in a figurative sense, signifies want of firmness or
resolution. _Je crains la mollesse de vos conseils_; I mistrust the
pliant tendency of your advice or counsel.
MONDE, _Fr._ in a military sense, means men or soldiers, viz.
_Ce capitaine n’avoit que la moitié de son monde_; such a captain had
only half his complement of men.
_On a perdue beaucoup de monde_, _Fr._ They lost a considerable number
of men.
_Il a un monde d’ennemis sur les bras_, _Fr._ he is assailed by a
multiplicity of foes.
_Aller à l’autre monde_, _Fr._ This expression bears the same import in
English that it does in French, viz. to die--literally, to go into the
other world.
_Le Nouveau Monde_, _Fr._ This term is frequently used to denote
America. Hence _L’Ancien et le Nouveau Monde_, means the two continents.
MONEY-_matters_. An expression in familiar use to express all pecuniary
concerns. It cannot be too strongly recommended to every responsible
military man to be scrupulously correct on this head. More than half
the breaches of friendship and common acquaintance that occur in life,
may be traced to irregularity: but in no instance are its effects so
fatal, as when the soldier is wronged, or is induced to think so by the
omissions, &c. of officers or serjeants.
_Of the Monies, Weights, and Measures, of Foreign Nations respectively
with those of England._
In order to the attainment of a just comparison of foreign monies with
our own, the following tables are subjoined.
The first table contains the denominations of the principal foreign
monies of account, and their intrinsic value in English money,
calculated upon the existing proportion between gold and silver in the
respective countries.
The second table shews the names of the principal foreign coins in
gold, their weight, their fineness, their pure contents, and the
intrinsic value of each in relation to the gold coins of Great Britain.
The third table relates to silver coins, upon similar principles to
those of the second.
The comparison of the weights and measures of foreign nations with
those of England is established by the following tables.
The fourth table bespeaks the names of the weights used for precious
metals, the quantity which each contains in grains troy-weight, and the
relation of the several foreign weights to 100 pounds troy-weight.
The fifth table denotes the names of the weights used in the sale of
merchandize, the quantity which each contains in troy-weight, and the
relation of foreign weights to 100 and to 112 pounds avoirdupois-weight.
The sixth table relates to the measures used in the sale of corn, to
the number of English cubic inches of the internal measurement of each,
and to the relation of foreign measures to 10 quarters Winchester
measure.
The seventh table comprises the measures for liquids, the quantity of
English cubic inches which each contains internally, and the relation
of foreign measures to 100 gallons English.
The eighth table relates to cloth measures, to the length of each in
lines, and to the relation of foreign measures to 100 yards and to 100
ells.
The ninth table is descriptive of measures of length for measuring
masts, timber, and other solid bodies, of the number of lines contained
in each, and of the proportion between foreign measures of a similar
description and 100 feet English.
The tenth table refers to land measures, to the quantity of English
square feet which each contains, and to the proportion between foreign
measures of this description and 100 acres.
The eleventh and last table is founded upon itinerary measures, the
length of each in feet, and the proportion between the measures
severally adopted in different countries and a degree of the equator.
Independently of the facility which will be afforded by these tables in
the comparison of the monies, weights, and measures of foreign nations
with those of England, it will not be difficult to find the relation of
the monies, weights, and measures of foreign countries, in respect to
each other, by the guidance of the explanations at the foot of each of
the tables in question.
It will be observed, that in order to avoid the multiplicity of the
denominators of fractions, and to give to the several calculations a
greater degree of exactitude, the unit has constantly been divided, in
the following tables, into 100 parts.
TABLE, _which shews the intrinsic Value of the monies of account of
Foreign Nations expressed in pence sterling_.
MONIES OF ACCOUNT.
_Pence_ 100
Aix la Chapelle, the specie rixdollar 42, 75
the current rixdollar 32, 25
Amsterdam, the pound Flemish banco 132, 48
the florin banco 22, 08
the pound Flemish current 126, 36
the florin current 21, 06
Arragon, the libra jaquesa 47, 80
Augsburgh, the gulden exchange money 32, 51
the gulden currency 25, 60
the gulden white money 21, 33
Barcelona, the libra catalana 27, 32
Basil, the rixdollar of exchange 48, 25
the current rixdollar 43, 40
the current livre 14, 46
Bengal, the current rupee 21,
the sicca rupee 30,
Bergamo, the lira 5, 13
Berlin, the rixdollar gold currency 39, 66
the rixdollar silver currency 35, 97
the pound banco 48, 75
Bern, the current livre 14, 67
Bologna, the scudo di cambio 48, 09
the lira di cambio 11, 31
the current livre 11, 05
Bolzano, the gulden exchange money 35,
the gulden current money 25, 66
Bombay, the current rupee 23, 63
Bremen, the rixdollar 38, 40
Breslaw, the rixdollar gold currency 39, 66
the rixdollar silver currency 35, 97
the pound banco 48, 75
Brunswick, the current thaler 38, 40
Bussorah, the mamudi 5, 50
Calcutta, the sicca rupee 30,
the current rupee 21,
the arcot rupee 24,
Canary Islands, the current real 5, 82
Cassel, the thaler 38, 40
China, the tale 80,
Cologne, the specie rixdollar 31, 71
the current rixdollar 30, 92
Copenhagen, the specie reichsthaler 55, 85
the current reichsthaler 45, 46
Curacoa, the dollar 43, 09
Dantzic, the florin 9, 14
Dublin, the pound Irish 221, 54
Elsinore, the specie rixdollar 34, 75
the crown rixdollar 32, 18
the current rixdollar 30, 92
England, the pound sterling 240,
Flanders, the florin or exchange 20, 25
the current florin 17, 37
Florence, the scudo d’oro 62, 45
the ducato 58, 29
the pezza of 8 reals 47, 88
the lira moneta buona 8, 32
France, the livre tournois 9, 49
the franc 9, 61
Francfort, the thaler 38, 40
the gulden 25, 60
Geneva, the current crown 49, 20
the current livre 40, 16
the florin 4, 68
Genoa, the scudo d’oro marche 89, 50
the scudo d’argento 73, 13
the pezza fuori di banco 48, 12
the scudo di cambio 38, 50
the lira fuori di banco 8, 37
Germany, the reichsthaler constitution money 56, 84
the thaler ditto 42, 63
the gulden ditto 28, 42
the reichsthaler convention money 51, 20
the thaler ditto 38, 40
the gulden ditto 25, 60
Hamburgh, the pound Flemish banco 138, 37
the rixdollar banco 55, 35
the marc banco 18, 45
the rixdollar currency 45,
the marc currency 15,
Hanover, the current thaler 42, 63
Konigsberg, the gulden 12, 17
Leghorn, the pezza of 8 reals 47, 88
the lira moneta buona 8, 32
the lira moneta lunga 7, 97
Leipsic, the current thaler 38, 40
Liege, the gulden 12, 96
Lubec, the reichsthaler 45, 21
the marc 15, 07
Lucca, the scudo d’oro 56, 32
the lira 7, 51
Madras, the pagoda of 36 fanams 94, 75
the Carnatic rupee of 10 fanams 26, 32
Malta, the silver crown 40, 26
the copper crown 26, 84
Martinique, the livre currency 7, 12
Mexico, the dollar 52, 60
Milan, the scudo imperiale 64, 14
the current scudo 45, 33
the lira currency 7, 88
Modena, the lira 3, 81
Morocco, the ducat 105,
Munich, the current thaler 32, 04
the current gulden 21, 36
Naples, the ducato di regno 42, 50
Navarre, the ducado of 10⁸⁄₉ reals 53, 95
the libra of 60 maravedis 8, 25
the real of 36 ditto 4, 95
Nuremberg, the current thaler 38, 40
the thaler gold money 38, 95
the thaler white money 31, 97
Pegu, the silver tical 33, 70
Persia, the toman 289, 65
Poland, the florin of Great Poland 7, 10
Poland, the florin of Little Poland 14, 20
Pondicherry, the pagoda 93, 50
the current rupee 24, 20
Portugal, the milreis 67, 50
Prague, the current gulden 25, 60
Ratisbon, the gulden white money 25, 60
Riga, the albertus rixdollar 53, 29
Rome, the scudo di stampa d’oro 80, 92
the scudo moneta 53, 16
Rostock, the thaler 45, 20
the zweydrittel 30, 13
Russia, the ruble 33, 58
St. Eustatia, the dollar 38, 25
St. Gall, the gulden exchange money 27, 90
the gulden currency 24,
Sardinia, the lira 11, 50
Siam, the gold tical 465, 50
the silver tical 39, 25
Sicily, the onza 130, 77
Smyrna, the piastre 13, 50
Spain, the pistole of exchange 153,
the ducat of exchange 52, 73
the dollar of exchange 38, 25
the real of plate 4, 78
the real of vellon 2, 54
Sweden, the riksdahler 55, 35
Surat, the rupee 25,
Surinam, the florin 25, 25
Trieste, the gulden of 60 kreitzers 25, 60
the florin of 5 lire 24, 20
Turin, the scudo of 6 lire 69, 84
the lira 11, 64
Turkey, the piastre 13, 50
United States, the dollar _at par_ 54,
Valencia, the libra of 20 sueldos 38, 25
Venice, the lira piccoli _inclusive of the
agio_ on the zecchins 5, 12
Vienna, the current thaler 38, 40
the current gulden 25, 60
Zante, the real of 10 lire 41, 15
Zurich, the gulden exchange money 27, 50
the gulden currency 25,
The following example will shew in what manner the relation between the
monies of account of any two given countries may be ascertained.
_Example._
Let it be required to express, in pence Irish, the value of a marc
banco of Hamburgh.
The marc being worth 18,45 pence sterling, and the pound Irish 221,54,
according to the table prefixed, I state the following equation:
1 marc banco = _x_
1 marc ban. = 18,45 pence sterling
221,54 pence ster. = 1 pound Irish
1 pound Irish = 240 pence Irish
Result 19,99 pence Irish.
TABLE, _which shews the Weight, Fineness, and pure Contents of the
principal Gold Coin of foreign Nations, as well as their intrinsic
Value, expressed in English Money_.
GOLD COINS.
| | | Pure |
| Weight| Fineness|contents| Value
| ---- | ---- | ---- | ----
|Grs.100|Car. grs.|Grs. 100|_s._ _d._100
+-------+---------+--------+------------
Bavaria, the carl | 150,32| 18 2⁵⁄₆| 117,18 | 20 8,87
the max | 100,21| 18 2²⁄₃| 77,94 | 13 9,54
Bengal, the gold mohur | 176,50| 23 3 | 174,66 | 30 10,95
Brunswick, the carl | 102,36| 21 3 | 92,76 | 16 5,02
Denmark, the ducat of 12| | | |
marcs | 48,21| 21 0²⁄₃| 42,52 | 7 6,30
England, the guinea | 129,44| 22 | 118,65 | 21
the half guinea| 64,72| 22 | 59,33 | 10 6,
the 7s piece | 43,13| 22 | 39,55 | 7
Flanders, the double | | | |
souverain | 171,50| 22 | 157,20 | 27 9,79
the souverain | 85,75| 22 | 78,60 | 13 10,89
France, the louis of | | | |
1726 | 122,90| 21 2²⁄₃| 110,95 | 19 7,65
the louis of | | | |
1785 | 117,83| 21 2²⁄₃| 106,37 | 18 9,93
the 40 franc | | | |
piece | 199,25| 21 2²⁄₅| 179,32 | 31 8,85
the 20 franc | | | |
piece | 99,62| 21 2²⁄₅| 89,66 | 15 10,42
Geneva, the pistole of | | | |
1752 | 87,13| 22 | 79,87 | 14 1,63
Genoa, the zecchino | 53,80| 23 3¹⁄₂| 53,52 | 9 5,67
Germany, the ducat | 53,85| 23 2²⁄₃| 53,10 | 9 4,78
Hamburgh, the ducat | 53,85| 23 2 | 52,73 | 9 4,
Hanover, the georges | 103,03| 21 3 | 93,37 | 16 6,31
the gold gulden| 50,06| 19 0¹⁄₃| 39,80 | 7 0,54
Holland, the ryder | 153,54| 22 | 14,74 | 24 10,92
the ducat | 53,85| 23 2 | 52,73 | 9 4,
Hungary, the ducat of | | | |
Kremnitz | 53,85| 23 3 | 53,29 | 9 5,18
Madras, the star pagoda| 52,75| 19 2 | 42,86 | 7 7,05
Naples, the onza | 68,10| 21 | 59,59 | 10 6,56
Piedmont, the zecchino | 54, | 23 3¹⁄₂| 53,72 | 9 6,09
the pistole of | | | |
1741 | 110,10| 21 3 | 99,78 | 17 7,92
the doppia of | | | |
1755 | 148,50| 21 3 | 134,58 | 23 9,83
Portugal, the joanese | 221,87| 22 | 203,39 | 36
the moidore | 166, | 21 3³⁄₄| 151,30 | 26 9,35
Prussia, the frederick | 103,03| 21 3 | 93,37 | 16 6,31
Rome, the zecchino | 53,55| 23 2 | 52,43 | 9 3,36
Russia, the imperial of| | | |
1755 | 255,53| 22 | 234,23 | 41 5,49
the imperial of| | | |
1763 | 202,18| 22 | 185,33 | 32 9,62
the imperial of| | | |
1801 | 202,18| 23 2¹⁄₂| 199,90 | 35 2,70
Saxony, the august | 102, | 21 2²⁄₃| 92,08 | 16 3,57
Siam, the tical | 281,88| 19 0¹⁄₃| 224,13 | 39 8,04
Sicily, the onza | 67,94| 21 3 | 61,57 | 10 10,77
Spain, the doubloon | | | |
before 1772 | 416,65| 21 3³⁄₄| 380,85 | 67 4,87
the doubloon of| | | |
1772 | 416,65| 21 2²⁄₃| 376,14 | 66 6,88
the doubloon of| | | |
1785 | 416,65| 21 2 | 373,25 | 66 0,74
Sweden, the adolphus | 102,95| 15 1¹⁄₂| 65,77 | 11 7,70
Tuscany, the ruopono | 161,33| 23 3²⁄₃| 160,77 | 28 5,45
United States the eagle | 268,66| 22 | 246,27 | 43 7,05
Venice, the zecchino | 54, | 23 3¹⁄₂| 53,72 | 9 6,09
Wirtemberg, the carl | 150,32| 18 2⁵⁄₆| 117,18 | 20 8,87
In the first column of this table is shewn the weight of each foreign
coin in grains troy-weight; in the second column, the degree of the
fineness in carats and grains of a carat; in the third column, the
contents of fine gold in grains troy-weight; and in the fourth, the
intrinsic value expressed in shillings and pence sterling.
The following example will be of guidance to ascertain the value of
foreign coin in other money also foreign.
_Example._
It is required to express the value of a louis d’or of France coined
since 1785 in the money of Portugal.
As it is seen by the prefixed table that the louis of 24 livres
tournois contains 106,37 grains of fine gold, and that the joanese of
6400 reis contains 203,39 grains of fine gold, I state the following
equation:
1 louis = _x_
1 louis = 106,37 grains
203,39 grains = 1 joanese
1 joanese = 6400 reis
Result 3347 reis.
TABLE, _which shews the Weight, Fineness and pure Contents of the
principal Silver Coins of foreign Nations, as well as their intrinsic
Value, expressed in English Money_.
SILVER COINS.
| | | Pure |
| Weight|Fineness|contents| Value
| ---- | ---- | ---- | ----
|Grs.100|Oz. dwt.| Grs.100|_d._100
+-------+--------+--------+-------
Aix la Chapelle, the rathspræsentger| 95,68| 7 1 | 56,21 | 7,85
Arabia, the larin | 74,17|10 17¹⁄₂| 56,84 | 7,93
Basil, the reichsthaler | 436,89|10 10 | 382,28 | 53,38
Bengal, the sicca rupee | 179,55|11 18¹⁄₂| 178,43 | 24,92
Bern, the patagon | 417,63|10 | 348, | 48,59
Bombay, the rupee | 178,31|11 15 | 174,60 | 24,38
Denmark, the riksdahler | 449,87|10 10 | 393,64 | 54,97
the krohn | 344, | 8 1 | 230,77 | 32,23
England, the crown | 464,52|11 2 | 429,68 | 60,00
the shilling | 92,90|11 2 | 85,94 | 12,
Flanders, the ducaton | 513,29|10 8³⁄₄| 446,46 | 62,34
the croon | 456,91|10 8¹⁄₂| 395,71 | 55,26
the patagon | 433, |10 10 | 378,88 | 52,91
France, the ecu of 1726 | 452,50|10 18 | 411,03 | 57,40
the 5 franc piece | 386,14|10 16 | 347,52 | 48,53
Geneva, the patagon | 416,87|10 | 347,38 | 48,51
Genoa, the genovina | 593,10|11 9 | 565,93 | 79,03
the St. Gianbatista| 321,66|11 | 294,85 | 41,17
the giorgino | 91,25|10 6²⁄₃| 78,58 | 10,97
the double madonina| 140,19|10 1²⁄₃| 117,80 | 16,45
Germany, the reichsthaler | | | |
constitution money | 450,97|10 13¹⁄₃| 400,87 | 55,98
the gulden ditto | 225,48|10 13¹⁄₃| 200,43 | 27,99
the reichsthaler | | | |
convention money | 432,93|10 | 360,78 | 50,38
the gulden ditto | 216,46|10 | 180,39 | 25,19
the old zweydrittel| | | 229,05 | 31,98
the new zweydrittel| | | 200,42 | 27,98
Hamburgh, the rixdollar banco| 450,52|10 13¹⁄₂| 400,47 | 55,92
the marc banco | 150,17|10 13¹⁄₃| 133,49 | 18,64
the rix dollar lubs| 124,41| 9 | 318,30 | 44,43
the marc lubs | 141,47| 9 | 106,10 | 14,81
Holland, the ducatoon | 503,50|11 5 | 472,03 | 65,91
the three florin | | | |
piece | 488, |11 | 447,33 | 62,46
the rixdaler | 433,17|10 10 | 379,03 | 52,93
the leeuwendaler | 422, | 8 18 | 312,98 | 43,70
the gold florin | 307, | 7 7 | 188,04 | 26,26
the current florin | 162,70|10 19 | 148,46 | 20,73
Madras, the rupee | 178,88|11 16¹⁄₂| 176,28 | 24,61
Milan, the philip | 430,21|11 8¹⁄₂| 409,30 | 57,15
Naples, the ducat | 336, |10 19 | 306,60 | 42,81
Piedmont, the ducatoon | 491,03|11 8¹⁄₃| 467,17 | 65,23
the scudo of 1733 | 459,88|10 19¹⁄₆| 419,96 | 58,64
the scudo of 1755 | 542,95|10 17¹⁄₂| 492,05 | 68,71
Pondicherry, the rupee | 177,27|11 11 | 170,63 | 23,83
Poland, the tympfe | 89,75| 6 3¹⁄₂| 46,12 | 6,44
Portugal, the cruzade | 265,65|10 15¹⁄₂| 238,54 | 33,31
Prussia, the current | | | |
rixdollar | 343,42| 9 | 257,57 | 35,97
Rome, the scudo moneta | 408,70|11 | 374,64 | 52,31
the testono | 130,54|11 | 119,67 | 16,71
the papeta | 81,59|11 | 74,79 | 10,44
Russia, the ruble of 1755 | 402,76| 9 10 | 318,85 | 44,52
the ruble of 1763 | 369,88| 9 | 277,41 | 38,74
the ruble of 1801 | 77,48|10 8 | 240,48 | 33,58
the livonina of | | | |
1757 | 411,66| 9 1¹⁄₄| 310,99 | 43,41
the rixdollar | | | |
albertus | 433,17|10 10 | 379,03 | 52,93
Saxony, the old | | | |
reichsthaler | 450,97|10 13¹⁄₃| 400,87 | 55,98
the new | | | |
reichsthaler | 432,93|10 | 360,78 | 50,38
the | | | |
zweydrittelstucke | 212,14|11 6²⁄₃| 200,35 | 27,98
Spain, the hard dollar | | | |
before 1772 | 416,40|10 18¹⁄₃| 378,81 | 52,90
the hard dollar | | | |
since 1772 | 416,40|10 15 | 373,03 | 52,09
Sweden, the reichsthaler of| | | |
1764 | 451,56|10 10⁵⁄₆| 396,69 | 55,39
the ducatoon | 484, |11 1¹⁄₄| 446,18 | 62,30
the carolin | 160,51| 8 6²⁄₃| 111,47 | 15,56
the ten oere silver| | | |
piece | 108,30| 5 6²⁄₃| 48,13 | 6,72
Tuscany, the francescono | 422,75|11 | 387,52 | 54,11
the lanternina | 420, |11 1 | 386,75 | 54,
the livornina | 402, |11 1 | 370,18 | 51,69
United States, the dollar | 409,79|11 | 375,64 | 52,45
Venice, the ducat | 350,83| 9 18 | 289,44 | 40,42
the scudo | 489,54|11 | 448,75 | 62,66
the giustina | 433,17|11 | 397,07 | 55,45
In the first column of this table is shewn the weight of each foreign
coin in grains troy-weight; in the second column, the degree of
fineness in carats and grains of a carat; in the third column, the
contents of fine silver in grains troy-weight; and in the fourth, the
intrinsic value expressed in pence sterling.
The following example will shew in what manner the value of a foreign
coin in other money also foreign may be ascertained.
_Example._
It is required to express the value of a Spanish hard dollar in the
money of France.
As it is seen by the prefixed table that the hard dollar contains
373,03 grains of fine silver, and that the piece of 5 francs contains
347,52 grains of fine silver, I state the following equation:
1 hard dollar = _x_
1 hard dol. = 373,03 grains
347,52 grains = 5 franc piece
Result 5 francs 37 cents
MONIES, in a military sense, are such sums as are issued for public
service, and are more specifically distinguished by the appellation
of army estimates. It is usual for the secretary at war to move for
the estimates of the army. The following sums shew the amount of the
British military establishment on the 17th of February, 1801:--
1,615,878_l._ for guards and garrisons.
1,743,773_l._ for maintenance of troops abroad.
17,232_l._ for land forces for Ireland.
355,000_l._ for recruiting in Great Britain.
319,479_l._ for ditto in Ireland.
86,523_l._ for generals and staff officers in Great Britain.
48,197_l._ for ditto in Ireland.
973,433_l._ for militia in Great Britain.
1,338,000_l._ for ditto in Ireland.
57,000_l._ for fencibles in Great Britain.
34,451_l._ for contingencies in Ireland.
25,876_l._ for supernumerary officers.
11,628_l._ for officers’ clerks, &c. in Great Britain.
6,416_l._ for ditto in Ireland.
255,000_l._ for increased rates for subsistence to inn-keepers in Great
Britain.
115,384_l._ allowance for beer.
138,979_l._ for reduced officers in Great Britain.
148,382_l._ for the in and out pensioners of Chelsea.
35,923_l._ for ditto of hospital at Kilmainham, near Dublin.
455,000_l._ for volunteer cavalry in Great Britain.
425,139_l._ for ditto in Ireland.
33,394_l._ for foreign troops in British pay.
456,000_l._ for the augmentation of 10,000 in Great Britain.
21,332_l._ for contingencies in Ireland.
To be added, 1,033,750_l._ for the ordnance of the current year.
30,937_l._ for extraordinaries not provided for in 1799.
58,756_l._ for ditto not provided for in 1800.
_Regimental_ MONIES. All sums issued to paymasters for the subsistence,
&c. of the men belonging to a regiment, are so called; for the regular
distribution of which the paymasters and captains of companies are
responsible. _La comptabilité_, among the French, corresponds with this
explanation.
_Ley_-MONEY. The money which is paid for recruiting the army, is so
called.
_Smart_ MONEY. The money which was paid by the person who has taken the
enlisting money, in order to get released from an engagement entered
into previous to a regular enlistment.
_Bounty_ MONEY.--See RECRUITING.
MONOMACHY, (_Monomachie_, _Fr._) a single combat, or the fighting of
two, hand to hand. It is derived from the Greek. A duel may be properly
called Monomachy.
MONSON _ou_ MOUSON, _Fr._ a word derived from the Arabic, signifying
the wind of any particular season, or one that blows regularly. See
MONSOONS.
MONSOONS. In India the year is divided into two seasons. From the month
of October to March, the winds blow from the north-western, and during
the rest of the year from the south-eastern points of the compass:
these seasons are by mariners called monsoons; the change from the one
to the other is generally preceded by an interval of about twenty days,
in which calms, or light and uncertain winds prevail: the setting in
of the northern monsoons generally falls out some time in the month of
September, as that of the southern in the month of April. On the coast
of Coromandel the northern monsoon sometimes begins with a violent
tempest or hurricane; and if the monsoon sets in with moderation, it
is often productive of tempestuous weather at different intervals,
until the middle of December, and sometimes later; so that it is held
dangerous for any vessels to remain on the coast after the 15th of
October, or to return to it before the 20th of December.
MONTAGNES, _Fr._ Hills, mountains, &c. In a military sense, the term
is peculiarly applicable to that species of warfare which is carried
on in a mountainous and intersected country. We have already given
a general outline of this species of warfare under the head _Guerre
de Montagne_: nevertheless the following observations may not appear
superfluous or irrelevant in this place. The chevalier Folard has
written largely, and with no inconsiderable degree of method, on that
part of a war among hills, &c. where an army might run the risk of
being surrounded, or shut up. He observes, that a body of men may be
drawn into snares by the well concerted movements of an able and active
enemy, most especially in a country which is intersected by rivers, and
occasionally broken with hills and eminences. Although disasters of
this sort are manifest proofs of a want of ability in the person who
holds the chief command, they become infinitely more disgraceful when
a general runs headlong into a snare, as Euripidas did, without having
sufficient courage to attempt a daring enterprize; for it certainly
remains with ourselves to determine, whether we chuse to move into an
impracticable country; and it equally rests with us to avoid stratagems
and snares.
All this, however, depends upon a knowlege of the country into which
the war is carried; and as it is impossible to be in possession of the
requisite information without some extraneous means, every general
ought to lay it down as a maxim, not to advance into a mountainous
country without having a good number of intelligent and faithful
guides. These, in addition to some able topographers, will prevent the
possibility of being surprised, and make him thoroughly master of all
the passes, &c.
It is not, however, sufficient to be in possession of the heights
that immediately command a valley into which an army has moved; in
proportion as you advance, you must be certain, that the enemy who
retreats before, is not insensibly winding round a second range of
hills, to get upon your flanks, or ultimately fall upon your rear.
It moreover frequently happens, that some vallies have not any
outlets, and that others become so narrow, that an army is under the
necessity of marching by single files, in order to reach a more open
piece of ground, or to get at some important pass for the purpose of
intercepting or obstructing the march of an enemy.
When it is found necessary to retreat, or to march over a country,
as Hannibal did over the Alps, it is of little consequence what
steps or measures you take, with regard to those parts which you are
abandoning; but when you advance against an enemy, and are determined
to dispute his march through a valley or hollow way, you must adopt
every precaution to secure your rear and flanks, lest, as we have
already observed, your antagonist should take advantage of the various
passes and intricate bye-ways, which always exists in a mountainous
country; and it must always be remembered, that many coups de main, and
daring enterprises, may be undertaken by four or five hundred active
partisans, which an army would find impracticable.
An able general cannot have a better, or more favorable field to
exercise his military genius in, than that which is afforded by a
mountainous country. All the chicane and stratagem of war may be
resorted to; and however weak an army might be, yet such are the
manifold resources of this peculiar kind of contest, that there is
scarcely any thing which may not be attempted, provided the officer,
who commands, has a thorough knowlege of the country, is fertile in
expedients, and has a calm determined mind. Many instances might be
adduced to illustrate these observations; we shall be satisfied with
stating, that the prince of Conti, in the campaign of 1744, which he so
ably conducted, owes a considerable part of his reputation to the scope
afforded to his talents by the locality of Piedmont. This country,
indeed, as well as Switzerland, seems to have been cut out as the
peculiar theatre of great military talents. But neither the prince of
Conti, nor the first consul of France, Bonaparte, would have succeeded
in the brilliant manner, which they most unquestionably have done, had
not the science of topography seconded the natural advantages of that
mountainous part of Europe. Massena, Lecourbe, Ney, Lefebvre, Soult,
and Macdonald have immortalized themselves in mountain warfare.
MONTE, _Fr._ This word is used among the French to express what we mean
by _carry_; as, _un vaisseau monté de cinquante pièces de canon_: a
ship that carries fifty guns, or a fifty gun ship.
MONTER _la tranchée_, _Fr._ See To MOUNT THE TRENCHES.
MONTER _un Vaisseau_, _Fr._ To embark on board a ship.
MONTER, _Fr._ This word likewise means to rise from one rank to
another, in the way of promotion, as from cornet or ensign to become
lieutenant, from lieutenant to become captain, or from having the
command of the youngest company to be promoted to that of the oldest.
MONTH, considered as a military period, in the British service,
consists alternately of 30 and 31 days, commencing on the 24th, and
ending on the 25th day (inclusive) of each month, properly so called.
MONTHLY _Abstract_. See PAY.
MONTHLY _Return_. See RETURN.
MONTHLY _Report_. See REPORT.
MONTHLY _Inspection_. See REGIMENTAL INSPECTION.
MONT-_joie_, _Saint Denis_, _Fr._ a national exclamation, adopted by
the French in the reign of Louis, sirnamed Le Gros. See CRI DES ARMES.
MONT-_Pagnote ou Poste des invulnérables_, _Fr._ an expression which
is derived from _Pagnote_, a coward, a poltroon; and signifies any
eminence or place from whence the operations of a siege, or the actual
conflict of two armies, may be seen without personal danger to the
curious observer. It is a term of reproach, _C’est un Général qui voit
le combat du Mont-Pagnote_; he is one of those generals that look on
whilst others fight. During the American war a particular body of
refugees or tories who seemed to side with the British, were called
_invulnerables_.
MONT-_Pagnote_, in fortification, an eminence where persons post
themselves out of the reach of cannon, to see a camp, siege, battle,
&c. without being exposed to danger. It is also called the post of the
invulnerables.
MONTRE, _Fr._ The review, or muster of the men. _Le régiment a fait
montre devant le commissaire._ The regiment has passed muster before
the commissary. _Les officiers mirent leur valets dans les rangs, et
les firent passer à la montre._ The officers put their servants in the
ranks, and made them pass muster.
MONTRE likewise signified, in the old French service, the money which
was paid to soldiers every month, when they passed muster. _Il a reçu
sa montre_; he has received his monthly pay.
MONTURE, _Fr._ The complement of men, and number of cannon, on board a
French ship of war.
MONTURE _d’un fusil, d’un pistolet_, _Fr._ the stock of a gun or pistol.
MONUMENT, (_Monument_, _Fr._) In a military sense, any public edifice,
pillar, or mark of distinction, which is exhibited to perpetuate the
memory of some illustrious character.
MOOTIANA, _Ind._ Soldiers employed to collect the revenue.
MOQUA, MUCK, a frenzical riot of some mahomedans, who have returned
from Mecca, against those who have not professed mahomedanism. This
horrid custom has been lately practised by the Malays, both at the
island of Ceylon, and at the Cape of Good Hope. In the latter place
indeed, the fanaticism of one of these blind enthusiasts went so far,
that he stabbed a soldier who stood centinel at the governor’s gate.
His intention was to have destroyed the governor. He that runs the
_moqua_, or _muck_, gets intoxicated with bang, or opium, loosens his
hair, (which is generally bound up under a handkerchief) then takes a
dagger (called a _kreese_) in his hand, whose blade is usually half
poisoned, and in the handle of which there is some of his mother’s or
father’s hair preserved, and running about the streets kills all those
he meets, who are not mahomedans, till he is killed himself; pretending
to believe, that he serves God and Mahomed by destroying their enemies.
When one of these madmen is slain, all the mahomedan rabble run to him,
and bury him like a saint, every one contributing his mite towards
making a noble burial.
MORAILLE, _Fr._ Barnacles. An instrument made commonly of iron for
the use of farriers, to hold a horse by the nose, to hinder him from
struggling when an incision is made.
_Le_ MORAL, _Fr._ This word is frequently used among the French, as a
substantive of the masculine gender, to express the moral condition of
man. It likewise means the prepossession or assurance which we feel in
conscious superiority, viz. _Quand les Anglois se battent sur mer, ils
ont le moral pour eux, les Francois l’ont sur terre._
MORASS, in _military drawings_, denotes moor, marshy, or fenny low
grounds, on which waters are lodged.
MORATTOES, _Mahrattahs_, a considerable Hindoo tribe in Hindustan.
Their army is chiefly composed of cavalry and they excel in the
management of their horses. The weapon principally used by them in war
is a sabre, extremely well tempered, and carefully chosen. Their dress,
when accoutred for action, consists of a quilted jacket of cotton
cloth, which descends half way down their thighs, and of a thin linen
vest, which is fitted close to the body, and is always worn under the
jacket. They wear upon their head a broad turban, which is made to
reach the shoulders, for the double purpose of covering the neck from
the heat of the sun, and of shielding it against the enemy’s sabre.
Their thighs and legs are covered with a loose kind of trowsers, or
cotton overhose. They are extremely temperate, and pay the most minute
attention to their horses.
It is now more than a century that the Mahrattahs first made a figure,
as the most enterprising soldiers of Hindustan; as the only nation
of Indians, which seems to make war an occupation by choice; for the
Rajpouts are Hindus, soldiers by birth. The strength of their armies
consist in their numerous cavalry, which is more capable of resisting
fatigue than any in India; large bodies of them having been known to
march fifty miles in a day. They avoid general engagements, and seem to
have no other idea in making war, but that of doing as much mischief as
possible to the enemy’s country.
MOREAU, _Fr._ A species of bag which the drivers of mules use to carry
their hay. It is likewise the name of a celebrated French general, who
by his able retreat out of Germany, during the most disastrous period
of the French revolution, acquired a reputation, as a general, superior
to Xenophon.
MORGLAY, a deadly weapon.
MORTIER, _Fr._ See MORTAR.
MORION, _Fr._ _Donner sur le morion._ This was a species of punishment
which was formerly inflicted upon French soldiers for crimes that were
not capital. They were shut up in a guard-house, and received a certain
number of strokes with a halbert. The gantelope was substituted in its
stead; but neither one or the other are practised in the present French
army.
MORISON. See HELMET, CASQUE, &c.
MORT _d’Eau_, _Fr._ Low water.
MORTARS, are a kind of short cannon, of a large bore, with chambers:
they are made of stone, brass, or iron. Their use is to throw hollow
shells, filled with powder; which, falling on any building, or into
the works of a fortification, burst, and their fragments destroy
every thing within reach. Carcasses are also thrown out of them.
These are a sort of shells, with 5 holes, filled with pitch and other
combustibles, in order to set buildings on fire; and sometimes baskets
full of stones, the size of a man’s fist, are thrown out of them upon
an enemy, placed in the covert-way during a siege. The very ingenious
general _Desaguliers_ contrived to throw bags, filled with grape-shot,
containing in each bag, from 400 to 600 shot of different dimensions,
out of mortars; the effect of which is extremely awful and tremendous
to troops forming the line of battle, passing a defile, or landing, &c.
pouring down shot, not unlike a shower of hail, on a circumference of
above 300 feet. They are distinguished chiefly by the diameter of the
bore. For example, a 13-inch mortar is that, the diameter of whose bore
is 13 inches. There are some of 10 and 8-inch diameters; and some of a
smaller sort, as cohorns of 4.6 inches, and royals of 5.8 inches.
_Weight and Dimensions of English Mortars._
+--------------------+------------+--------+----------+-------+
| | | |[13]Powder| |
| | | | contained| |
| | | | in | Range |
| Kind. | Weight. | Length.| Chamber. |at 45°.|
+--------------------+------------+--------+----------+-------+
| |Ct. qr. lbs.|Ft. In. |lbs. oz. | Yds. |
| { Brass} Sea S. { | 82 -- 8 |5 3 | 32 -- | 4100 |
|13{ Iron } { | 82 1 -- | | 20 -- | |
| { Brass }Land. {| 25 -- 10 |3 7¹⁄₂| 9 12 | 2100 |
| { Iron } {| 36 2 12 | | 9 8 | |
| {Brass} Sea S. { | 33 -- -- |4 8 | 12 8 | 3800 |
|10 {Iron } { | 41 -- -- | | 10 -- | |
| {Brass }Land. {| 10 1 25 |2 9 | 4 10 | 1900 |
| {Iron } {| 16 -- 6 | | 4 8 | |
| 8{ Brass} Land. { | 4 1 8 |2 1³⁄₄| 2 -- | 1600 |
| { Iron } { | 8 -- 11 | | 2 4 | |
| 5¹⁄₂ Brass--Land. {| 1 -- 20 |1 4¹⁄₄| -- 9 | 1200 |
| 4²⁄₅ Brass--Land. {| -- 3 11 |1 1¹⁄₂| -- 4¹⁄₂| 1040 |
+--------------------+------------+--------+----------+-------+
[13] See the word _Chambers_, for experiments on the best form.
_Ranges with French Mortars, at 45 Degrees, in French Weights and
Measures._
+---------------++---------------++---------------++---------------+
| || 10 Inch, || 10 Inch, || |
| 12 Inch. || long Ranges. || short Ranges. || 8 Inch. |
+--------+------++--------+------++--------+------++--------+------+
| Charge.|Range.|| Charge.|Range.|| Charge.|Range.|| Charge.|Range.|
+--------+------++--------+------++--------+------++--------+------+
|lbs. oz.|Yards.||lbs. oz.|Yards.||lbs. oz.|Yards.||lbs. oz.|Yards.|
| 1 -- | 388 || 1 -- | 450 || 1 -- | 618 || -- 5 | 316 |
| 1 8 | 632 || 2 -- | 1080 || 1 8 | 964 || -- 10 | 794 |
| 2 -- | 862 || 3 -- | 1536 || 2 -- | 1280 || -- 15 | 1112 |
| 2 8 | 954 || 4 -- | 2070 || 2 8 | 1428 || 1 4 | 1280 |
| 3 -- | 1292 || 5 -- | 2206 || 3 -- | 1432 || | |
| 3 8 | 1390 || 6 2¹⁄₂| 2304 || 3 10¹⁄₄| 1920 || | |
+--------+------++--------+------++--------+------++--------+------+
_Ranges with a 10 Inch Sea Mortar, at 21 Degrees, on a Horizontal
Plane._
+--------------+---------+---------+----------+-------+------+
| Weight of | Weight | | | | |
| Mortar. |of Shell.| Charge. |Elevation.|Flight.|Range.|
+--------------+---------+---------+----------+-------+------+
|ct. qrs. lbs. |lbs. oz. | lbs. oz.| Deg. | Sec. |Yards.|
| 34 2 14 {| 86 -- |} 5 8 | 21 {| 14³⁄₄ | 2335 |
| {| 87 -- |} | {| 16 | 2510 |
+--------------+---------+---------+----------+-------+------+
_Ranges with Sea Service, Iron Mortars, at 45 Degrees, upon a
Horizontal Plane. 1798._
+-----------------------++-----------------------+
| 13 Inch. || 10 Inch. |
+--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------+
| Charge.|Flight.|Range.|| Charge.|Flight.|Range.|
+--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------+
|lbs. oz.| Sec. |Yards.||lbs. oz.| Sec. |Yards.|
| 2 -- | 13 | 690 || 1 -- | 13 | 680 |
| 4 -- | 18 | 1400 || 2 -- | 18 | 1340 |
| 6 -- | 21 | 1900 || 3 -- | 21 | 1900 |
| 8 -- | 24¹⁄₂ | 2575 || 4 -- | 24¹⁄₂ | 2500 |
| 10 -- | 26- | 2975 || 5 -- | 26 | 2800 |
| 12 -- | 29 | 3500 || 6 -- | 27 | 3200 |
| 14 -- | 29- | 3660 || 7 -- | 29 | 3500 |
| 16 -- | 30 | 3900 || 8 -- | 30 | 3800 |
| 18 -- | 30- | 4200 || 9 -- | 30¹⁄₄ | 3900 |
| 20 -- | 31 | 4400 || 9 8 | 30¹⁄₂ | 4000 |
+--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------+
_French Mortars, in their own Weights and Measures._
+------------------+----+----+--------+----+
| |lbs.| | | |
|12 Inches |2060| | 3 7 |2400|
|10 for long Ranges|2000| | 7 4 |2800|
|10 for short do. |1560| | 4 -- |2200|
| 8 for short do. | 595| | 1 4³⁄₄|1160|
|Stone Mortars.[14]|1100| | 2 8 | |
|12 Inch} |2750| |12 -- |2700|
|10 Inch}Gomers |2000| | 6 8 |2800|
| 8 Inch} | 600| | 2 -- |1400|
+------------------+----+----+--------+----+
[14] Stone Mortars should not be fired at a greater distance than 250
yards.
_Medium Ranges with Land Service Iron Mortars, at 45 Degrees, 1798._
-----------------------++-----------------------
13 Inch. || 10 Inch.
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
Ch’ge. |Flig’t.|Range.|| Ch’ge. |Flig’t.|Range.
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
lbs. oz.| Sec. | Yds. || lb. oz.| Sec. | Yds.
-- 14 | 6¹⁄₂ | 245 || -- 8 | 6¹⁄₂ | 235
1 -- | 7- | 318 || -- 10 | 8 | 358
1 4 | 8- | 412 || -- 12 | 9 | 464
1 8 | 9- | 523 || -- 14 | 10 | 534
1 12 | 10- | 613 || 1 -- | 10- | 638
2 -- | 11 | 697 || 1 2 | 11- | 749
2 4 | 12- | 840 || 1 4 | 13 | 873
2 8 | 13 | 906 || 1 6 | 13- | 956
2 12 | 14 | 1054 || 1 8 | 14 | 1028
3 -- | 15 | 1132 || 1 10 | 15 | 1123
3 4 | 16 | 1244 || 1 12 | 15 | 1226
3 8 | 16- | 1317 || 1 14 | 16 | 1325
3 12 | 17 | 1424 || 2 -- | 16- | 1357
4 -- | 17 | 1490 || 2 2 | 17 | 1480
4 4 | 17- | 1580 || 2 4 | 17- | 1532
4 8 | 18- | 1656 || 2 6 | 17- | 1571
4 12 | 19 | 1744 || 2 8 | 18- | 1700
5 -- | 19- | 1824 || 2 10 | 19 | 1780
5 4 | 19- | 1900 || 2 12 | 19- | 1825
5 8 | 20 | 1950 || 2 14 | 20 | 1880
5 12 | 20- | 2062 || 3 -- | 20 | 1916
6 -- | 21 | 2095 || 4 -- | 25 | 2485
7 -- | 24 | 2510 || 4 8 | 26 | 2536
8 -- | 25 | 2706 || | |
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
-----------------------++-----------------------
8 Inch. || 5¹⁄₂ Inch, Brass.
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
Ch’ge. |Flig’t.|Range.|| Ch’ge. |Flig’t.|Range.
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
lbs. oz.| Sec. | Yds. || oz. dr.| Sec. | Yds.
-- 5 | 6 | 225 || 1 8 | 5¹⁄₂| 155
-- 6 | 7¹⁄₂| 328 || 1 12 | 6 | 198
-- 7 | 8 | 428 || 2 -- | 6- | 255
-- 8 | 9- | 474 || 2 4 | 7- | 316
-- 9 | 10 | 560 || 2 8 | 8 | 380
-- 10 | 11 | 664 || 2 12 | 8- | 426
-- 11 | 12 | 762 || 3 -- | 9- | 470
-- 12 | 12- | 801 || 3 4 | 10 | 540
-- 13 | 13- | 859 || 3 8 | 10- | 590
-- 14 | 14 | 960 || 3 12 | 11 | 630
-- 15 | 14- | 1011 || 4 -- | 11- | 725
1 0 | 14- | 1119 || 4 4 | 12 | 746
1 1 | 15 | 1156 || 4 8 | 12- | 800
1 2 | 16 | 1262 || 4 12 | 13- | 910
1 3 | 16- | 1320 || 5 -- | 13- | 935
1 4 | 17 | 1380 || 5 4 | 14 | 1016
1 5 | 17- | 1446 || 5 8 | -- | --
1 6 | 18 | 1530 || 5 12 | -- | --
1 7 | 18- | 1600 || 6 -- | 15 | 1175
1 8 | 19 | 1660 || | |
1 9 | 19- | 1720 || | |
--------+-------+------++--------+-------+------
_Medium Ranges with Brass Mortars, at 45 Degrees. 1780._
--------------++--------------++--------------
13 Inch.[15] || 10 Inch. || 8 Inch.
-------+------++-------+------++-------+------
Ch’ge.|Range.|| Ch’ge.|Range.|| Ch’ge.|Range.
-------+------++-------+------++-------+------
lb. oz.| Y’ds.||lb. oz.| Y’ds.||oz. dr.| Y’ds.
2 12 | 862 || 1 10 | 823 || 10 8 | 580
2 14 | 939 || 1 11 | 852 || 11 -- | 635
3 -- | 998 || 1 12 | 783 || 11 8 | 711
3 2 | 1003 || 1 13 | 758 || 12 -- | 708
3 4 | 1090 || 1 14 | 823 || 12 8 | 701
3 6 | 1139 || 1 15 | 888 || 13 -- | 777
3 8 | 1165 || 2 -- | 892 || 13 8 | 825
3 10 | 1209 || 2 1 | 940 || 14 -- | 870
3 12 | 1270 || 2 2 | 941 || 14 8 | 853
3 14 | 1322 || 2 3 | 1041 || 15 -- | 860
4 -- | 1309 || 2 4 | 1128 || 15 8 | 899
4 2 | 1331 || 2 5 | 1103 || 16 -- | 921
4 4 | 1391 || 2 6 | 1221 || 16 8 | 987
4 6 | 1363 || 2 7 | 1258 || 17 -- | 987
4 8 | 1324 || 2 8 | 1215 || 17 8 | 1062
-------+------++-------+------++-------+------
[15] For the Ranges with the 5¹⁄₂ inch Brass, see the _Iron Mortars_.
_Ranges with a 5¹⁄₂ Inch Brass Mortar, at 15 Degrees._
-------+-------+------+------
| | First|Rolled
Charge.|Flight.|Graze.| to.
-------+-------+------+------
oz. dr.| Sec. |Yards.|Yards.
2 8 | 3 | 209 | 303
3 -- | 3¹⁄₂ | 256 | 330
3 8 | 4 | 375 | 443
4 -- | 4- | 457 | 501
4 8 | 5 | 530 | 600
5 -- | 5- | 561 | 627
5 8 | 6- | 667 | 715
6 -- | 7 | 709 | 780
-------+-------+------+------
_Medium Ranges with Land Service Iron Mortars, at 10 Degrees
Elevation....Powder in Cartridges._
------------------------------++------------------------------
10 Inch. || 8 Inch.
-------+-------+------+-------++-------+-------+------+-------
| | First|Extreme|| | | First|Extreme
Flight.|Charge.|Graze.| Range.||Flight.|Charge.|Graze.| Range.
--------+-------+-----+-------++-------+-------+------+-------
Sec. |lb. oz.| Yds.| Yds. || Sec. |lb. oz.| Yds. | Yds.
3 |-- 12 | 198 | 415 || 3 |-- 8 | 202 | 403
3¹⁄₂ | 1 -- | 278 | 458 || 3 |-- 10 | 266 | 461
4 | 1 4 | 366 | 564 || 3¹⁄₄ |-- 12 | 351 | 614
4¹⁄₂ | 1 8 | 451 | 685 || 4 |-- 14 | 413 | 630
4 | 1 12 | 432 | 686 || 4³⁄₄ | 1 -- | 468 | 754
4³⁄₄ | 2 -- | 559 | 938 || 5 | 1 2 | 562 | 811
5 | 2 4 | 602 | 798 || 6 | 1 4 | 664 | 950
4³⁄₄ | 2 8 | 597 | 976 || 6¹⁄₂ | 1 6 | 700 | 1028
5 | 2 12 | 664 | 1121 || 6 | 1 8 | 768 | 1064
5¹⁄₄ | 3 -- | 764 | 1169 || | | |
-------+-------+------+-------++-------+-------+------+-------
_Medium Ranges with the above Mortars, at 15 Degrees._
----------------------++----------------------
10 Inch. || 8 Inch.
-------+-------+------++-------+-------+------
Ch’ge.|Flig’t.|Range.|| Ch’ge.|Flig’t.|Range.
-------+-------+------++-------+-------+------
lb. oz.| Sec. |Yards.||lb. oz.| Sec. | Y’ds.
1 4 | 5 | 464 ||-- 11 | 4¹⁄₂ | 427
1 6 | 5¹⁄₂ | 543 ||-- 12 | 4- | 485
1 8 | 6 | 590 ||-- 13 | 5 | 513
1 12 | 6³⁄₄ | 685 ||-- 14 | 5- | 559
1 14 | 7 | 765 || 1 -- | 6- | 690
2 -- | 7 | 805 || 1 2 | 7 | 822
2 4 | 7¹⁄₂ | 884 || 1 4 | 7 | 827
2 8 | 7³⁄₄ | 960 || 1 6 | 7³⁄₄ | 1004
2 12 | 8 | 1070 || 1 8 | 8¹⁄₂ | 1012
3 -- | 8¹⁄₂ | 1154 || 1 10 | 8 | 1196
| | || 1 11 | 9 | 1337
-------+-------+------++-------+-------+------
All English mortars are erroneously fixed to an angle of 45 degrees,
and custom has prevailed to lash them strongly with ropes to that
elevation. In a siege, shells should never be thrown with an angle of
45 degrees, excepting in one case only; that is, when the battery is
so far off that they cannot otherwise reach the works: for when shells
are thrown out of the trenches into the works of a fortification, or
from the town into the trenches, they should have as little elevation
as possible, in order to roll along and not bury themselves; whereby
the injury they do, and the terror they cause to the troops, is much
greater than if they sink into the ground. On the contrary, when shells
are thrown upon magazines, or any other buildings, with an intention to
destroy them, the mortars should be elevated as high as possible, that
the shells may acquire a greater force in their fall, and consequently
do more execution. The British are the only nation that fix mortars
to an elevation of 45 degrees, the proper range is from 32¹⁄₂ to 35
degrees.
The use of mortars is thought to be older than that of cannon; for they
were employed in the wars of Italy to throw balls of red-hot iron, and
stones, long before the invention of shells. It is generally believed,
that the Germans were the first inventors, and that they were actually
used at the siege of Naples, in the reign of Charles the VIII., in
1435. History informs us, with more certainty, that shells were thrown
out of mortars at the siege of Wachtendonk, in Guelderland, in 1588,
by the earl of Mansfield. Shells were first invented by a citizen of
Venlo, who, on a festival, celebrated in honor of the duke of Cleves,
threw a certain number, one of which fell on a house, and set fire to
it; by which misfortune the greatest part of the city was reduced to
ashes. Mr. Malter, an English engineer, first taught the French the
art of throwing shells, which they practised at the siege of Motte, in
1634. The method of throwing red-hot balls out of mortars, was first
put in practice, with certainty, at the siege of Stralsund, in 1675, by
the elector of Brandenburg; though some say in 1653, at the siege of
Bremen.
_Land_-MORTARS, are those used in sieges, and of late in battles,
mounted on beds; and both mortar and bed are transported on
block-carriages. There is also a kind of land-mortars, mounted on
travelling carriages, invented by count Buckeburg, which may be
elevated to any degree; whereas the British as we have already stated,
are fixed to an angle of 45 degrees, and are firmly lashed with ropes.
_Partridge_ MORTAR, is a common mortar, surrounded by 13 other little
mortars, bored round its circumference in the body of its metal. The
centre one is loaded with a shell, and the others with grenades. The
vent of the large mortar being fired, communicates its fire to the
small ones; so that both shell and grenades go off at once. The French
used them in the war of 1701, and more especially at the siege of
Lisle, in 1708, and at the defence of Bouchain in 1702.
_Hand_-MORTARS, were frequently used before the invention of cohorns.
They were fixed at the end of a staff of 4¹⁄₂ feet long, the other end
being shod with iron to stick in the ground: while the bombardier, with
one hand, elevated it at pleasure, he with the other hand fired.
_Firelock_-MORTARS, _Bombards_, are small mortars, fixed at the end
of a firelock they are loaded as all common firelocks are; and the
grenade, placed in the mortar at the end of the barrel, is discharged
by a flint-lock; and, to prevent the recoil hurting the bombardier, the
bombard rests on a kind of halberd, made for that purpose. They were
first invented by major-general Siebach, a German, about the year 1710.
_Names of the several parts of a_ MORTAR.
Grand divisions exterior, viz.--The whole length, of the mortar,
muzzle, chace, reinforce, breech, trunnions.
Small divisions exterior. The vent, dolphins, vent astragal and
fillets, breech ring and ogee, reinforce ring and ogee, reinforce
astragal and fillets, muzzle astragal and fillets, muzzle ring and
ogee, muzzle moulding, shoulders.
Interior parts. Chamber, bore, mouth, vent.
_Chamber in_ MORTARS, is the place where the powder is lodged. There
are different sorts, and made variously by different nations. The
Spaniards use chiefly the spheric; the French, Germans, and Dutch,
the conic, cylindric, and the concave or bottled; the Portuguese at
present, the parabolic; and the English make them in the form of a
frustrum of a cone. Each nation has its reasons, good or bad, to
prefer their make before that of others: among which the English say
the concave and cylindric chambers are the best; the French say the
frustrum of a cone.
_Sea_-MORTARS; are those which are fixed in the bomb-vessels, for
bombarding places by sea: they are made somewhat longer, and much
heavier than the land-mortars.
_Land_-MORTAR-BEDS, are made of very solid timber, and placed upon very
strong timber frames, fixed in the bomb ketch; to which a pintle is
attached in such a manner, that the bed may turn round. The fore part
of these beds is an arc of a circle, described from the same centre as
the pintle-hole. Land-mortar-beds are now made of cast iron.
_Stone_-MORTARS, serve to throw stones into the enemy’s works,
when near at hand; such as from the town into the trenches in the
covert-way, or upon the glacis; and from these trenches into the town.
The bore is terminated by two quadrants of a circle, terminated by the
reinforce and lines drawn from the ends of the cylinder, made to lodge
the tompions parallel to the axis of the mortar. The bottom of the
conic chamber is terminated by an arc of 60 degrees, and the round part
of the outside is a semi-circle.
_Chambers in_ MORTARS, are of different sorts and dimensions. Mr.
Belidor mentions four; namely, the cylindric, the spheric, the conic,
and the concave or bottled; to which a fifth may be added, the
parabolic, invented by count de Lippe Buckeburg.
_Cylindric chambers._ Experience demonstrates, that concave chambers
will throw the shell farthest of any with the same charge, yet, in this
case, where but little powder is required, in the entrance would become
too narrow, and consequently inconvenient to clean; whereas, when they
are cylindric, the difference between the advantages of the one and the
other will be but little, and not attended with any inconveniences.
_Conic chambers_, are generally made in a circular form at the bottom,
so that the sides produced, meet the extremities of the diameter at the
mouth.
_Spheric chambers_, are much inferior to the cylindric or concave; for
it is well known by the properties of geometry, that when a cylinder
and a frustrum of a cone occupy equal spaces, the surface of the cone
is always greater than that of the cylinder. Hence, if the entrance
of these chambers be not made very narrow, contrary to practice, as
demonstrated by Mr. Muller, in his second edition of Artillery, page
38, of the introduction, and the examples that follow, we conclude that
these and the conic chambers are the worst.
_Concave chambers._ The advantage of these kinds of chambers consist in
this, that their entrance may be made narrower than that of any other
form; and practice has sufficiently proved it. Yet, when the entrance
is so small as not to admit a man’s hand, they are not easily cleaned:
for which reason it is supposed that all 13 and 10-inch mortars should
have concave chambers, and the others cylindric ones.
_Parabolic chambers._ These chambers, being the widest of any, may
therefore be included among the worst; as it is not the inward figure
of the chamber, but its entrance, which produces the effect; because
the smaller it is, the nearer it reduces the effect into the direction
of the shell. It has however one advantage, namely that the shells will
have no windage.
MORTAR, in _military architecture_, a composition of lime, sand, &c.
mixed up with water, that serves as a cement to bind the stones, &c. of
any building. Mine sand makes weak mortar, and the rounder the sand,
the stronger the mortar; and if the sand is washed before it is mixed,
so much the better.
The proportion of lime and sand for making mortar is extremely
variable. Some use three parts of pit-sand, and two of river-sand, to
one of lime; others, a proportion of sand to quick-lime as 36 to 35.
It should be well mixed, and beat every 24 hours for a week together,
letting it then lie for a week more; and when it is used, must be beat
and mixed again. By this means it will make good mortar, though the
lime is but indifferent.
MORTAR _for water-courses, cisterns_, &c. is made of lime and hog’s
lard; sometimes mixed with the juice of figs, and sometimes with liquid
pitch, which is first slaked with wine; and, after application, it is
washed over with linseed oil.
MORTAR _furnaces_, &c. is made with red clay wrought in water wherein
horse dung and chimney-soot have been steeped; by which a salt is
communicated to the water, that binds the clay, and makes it fit to
endure the fire. The clay must not be too fat, lest it should be
subject to chinks: nor too lean or sandy, lest it should not bind
enough.
MORTAR, made of terras, puzolana, tile-dust, or cinders, is mixed and
prepared in the same manner as common mortar; only these ingredients
are mixed with lime instead of sand in a due proportion, which is to be
in equal quantities. As this mortar is to be used in aquatic buildings,
the lime should be the very best.
In fortifications, docks, or piers of harbors, lay all the works under
water with terras-mortar, and the rest of the facings, both within and
without, with cinder or tile-dust mortar, for about two feet deep.
The _East India_ MORTAR for building and plaistering, is made with
shell lime, brick dust pulverized, (called _soorkee_) washed sand, and
the raw juice of the sugar cane, (called _jaggeree_.) The proportions
of different kinds of work are different; but well made and mixed,
surpasses all others; the roofs of houses, as well as the floors of
their chambers, and the walls are covered with this composition, which,
skilfully executed, bears a polish and smoothness like marble.
MORTES-_Payes_, _Fr._ Soldiers that were paid for the constant duty of
a town or fortified place, both in the time of peace and war. Infantry
regiments, which were occasionally stationed in citadels and garrisoned
towns, took the right of the _mortes-payes_, and had the precedence in
chusing lodgings.
MORTISE, a hole cut in wood, so that another piece may be fitted into
it.
MORTS, _Fr._ The dead on a field of battle are so called.
MOT, _Fr._ Parole, watchword.--This word bears the same import in
French that it does in English. See PAROLE.
_Donner le_ MOT, _Fr._ To give the parole, or watch-word.
_Aller prendre le_ MOT, _Fr._ To go for the parole or watch-word.
_On l’envoya porter le_ MOT, _Fr._ he was sent with the parole or
watch-word.
In the French service _parole_ and _countersign_ are frequently
comprehended under the word _mot_, viz. _Le mot qu’on avoit donné le
jour du combat, étoit Saint Louis et Paris_; which according to the
English method of giving out orders would have stood thus:--Parole St.
Louis, countersign Paris.
MOT _de ralliement_, _Fr._ Rallying word.
MOTHIR _al moolk_. In Indian fortification, barricadoes, intrenchments,
or breastworks, are so called.
MOTION, is defined to be the continued and successive change of
place.--There are three general laws of motion: 1. That a body always
perseveres in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line,
till by some external force it be made to change its place: for as
a body is passive in receiving its motion, and the direction of its
motion, so it retains them without any change, till it be acted on
by something external. 2. The second general law of motion is, that
the change of motion is proportional to the force impressed, and is
produced in the right line in which that force acts. 3. The third
general law of motion is, that action and re-action are equal, with
opposite directions, and are to be estimated always in the same right
line.
MOTION. A word bearing the same signification as _tems_ does in the
French. It is peculiarly applicable to the manual and platoon exercise;
as, _draw ramrod_, which is done in two motions:--_Tirez la baguette
en deux tems_. Motion, in a military sense, is distinguished from
movement, inasmuch as the former applies specifically to something
done by an individual, with an instrument of war, as handling the
firelock; whereas the latter is generally understood to mean the
different changes, &c. which are made in evolutions, &c. Motion is the
particular adjunct of the manual, and movement that of evolution. The
French make the same distinction with respect to _maniement_.
MOTION, _mouvement_, _Fr._ generally so called, a continual and
successive change of place.
MOTION, _equal or uniform_, (_mouvement égal, ou uniforme_) that by
which a body moves over _equal_ spaces in equal times; such are the
motions of celestial bodies.
MOTION _absolute_, (_mouvement absolu_, _Fr._) is a mutation or change
of absolute space, and its celerity is measured according to absolute
space.
MOTION _relative_, (_mouvement relatif_, _Fr._) is a change or mutation
of relative place, and its celerity is measured according to relative
space.
MOTION _equally accelerated_, (_mouvement uniformément accéléré_,
_Fr._) is such whose velocity equally increases in equal times.
MOTION, _equally retarded_, (_mouvement uniformément retardé_) is such
whose velocity equally decreases, in equal times, till the body comes
to rest.
MOTIONS _of an army_, (_mouvemens d’une armée_, _Fr._) are the various
changes which it undergoes in marching from one place to another; these
are more generally understood by the word movement.
MOTIONS _of the firelock during the manual and platoon exercise_.
Motion in this sense is expressed by _tems_ among the French. These
consist of those prescribed methods which have been explained under
_manual_.
The new mode of carrying, (which is with nearly extended arm) is
certainly less fatiguing than supporting arms; since the former leaves
the circulation of the blood free, and the latter binds the soldier’s
arm at the elbow. The French allow great latitude in the carrying
of the firelock, especially in marching and manœuvring. The men are
frequently permitted to slope arms.
MOTION _compound_, (_mouvement composé_, _Fr._) is the motion of one
body impelled by two different powers.
MOTION _of projection_, (_mouvement de projection_, _Fr._) that by
which bodies are impelled through the air, or through any other fluid.
A shell which is forced out of a mortar by means of inflammable
gunpowder has a _motion of projection_.
MOTION _of vibration, or vibrating motion_, (_mouvement de vibration_,
_Fr._) is the circular motion of a body, which is generally round or
spherical.
MOTION _of undulation, or undulating motion_, (_mouvement
d’ondulation_, _Fr._) a circular motion which is perceptible in water,
when any hard substance is thrown into it.
MOTIONS _of an enemy_, (_mouvemens d’un ennemi_, _Fr._) The different
marches, positions, &c. which an enemy takes are so called.
_To watch the_ MOTIONS _of an enemy_, (_guétter un ennemi_, _Fr._)
To keep a good look out by means of a regular communication between
head-quarters, and the outposts of your army. On a large scale, the
business of an army of observation is chiefly confined to this species
of service. On a more limited one, the duty is frequently entrusted to
partisans and light troops.
MOTION _of a bomb or ball_. The progress which a bomb or ball makes
through the air may be said to consist of three sorts, after it has
been delivered out of the mortar, or emitted from a gun or musquet.
These are:--
_The violent_ MOTION, or first explosion, when the powder has worked
its effect upon the ball, so far as the bomb or ball may be supposed to
move in a right line.
_The mixed_ MOTION, or yielding impulse, when the natural weight of
the bomb or ball begins to overcome the force which was given by the
gunpowder.
_The natural_ MOTION, or exhaustion of the first impulse. This occurs
when the bomb or ball is falling to the ground.
_To_ MOTION _a thing_, to propose it in a military or civil meeting.
MOTION, _Fr._ This word has been adopted by the French to convey the
same meaning that it does in English, namely, a proposition; hence
_appuyer la motion dans une assemblée_; to support a motion in a public
assembly or meeting. _Déliberer sur la motion_, to deliberate upon the
motion. _Retirer sa motion_, to withdraw one’s motion. _Rejeter la
motion_, to throw out the motion.
MOTS _d’ordre et de ralliement_, _Fr._ In a recent publication, written
by Paul Thiébault, adjutant-general, on the French staff, the following
explanation is given of paroles and countersigns, which may be
considered as the free translation of _mots_, with this exception, that
the _mot de ralliement_ seems peculiarly used in the French service.
The parole and countersign only are practised, and their distinct
import seems so little understood, that we shall not hesitate to give
the whole article from the French.
The MOTS _d’ordre et de ralliement_, consist of three distinct and
separate words, which are chosen for the specific purpose of enabling
the soldiers belonging to the same army, to be in perfect intelligence
with one another, especially during the night.
These words are composed in the following manner, viz. _Le_ MOT
_d’ordre_, or what we call the parole, must be taken from the name
of some deceased person, to which must be added that of some town or
country.
The _mot de ralliement_, must consist of a substantive, which does not
relate either to the name of a man, the name of a town, or the name of
a country.
These three words are given out every morning from head quarters, and
are delivered sealed up, to the officers of the different guards, and
to those persons who are entrusted with the command of an outpost, or
have the charge of a patrole.
The MOT _d’ordre_, or parole, must never be confided beyond officers
and non-commissioned officers; the _mot de ralliement_ may in some
cases be given to centries that are stationed at some distance from the
outposts; but these should invariably consist of old soldiers, whose
fidelity and courage can be depended on.
The _mot d’ordre_, or parole, as well as the _mot de ralliement_,
is always given out from head quarters; nor ought any general or
commanding officer to take upon himself to alter either, except under
circumstances so peculiarly urgent, that the good of the service would
justify the change. Among these circumstances may be considered, the
desertion of a centinel from the out post, and the strong presumption,
that the enemy has been made acquainted with the words, &c. Whenever
this necessity occurs, all the commanding officers who have any
communication with that quarter from whence the parole was issued,
should instantly be made acquainted with the alteration.
With respect to the manner in which these words are to be delivered
out, and the frequency of their circulation, the whole must depend upon
circumstances. When an army or body of troops lies at some distance
from the enemy, they are usually forwarded to the different quarters,
camps, or cantonments, for five, ten, or fifteen days together. When
close to the enemy, they are given out, as we have already observed,
every day. When there is no ground to apprehend a surprize or attack,
one word will be sufficient for each day: but, in critical cases, the
parole must be changed two or three times during the night. If several
corps are cantoned together, the _mot d’ordre_, or parole, must be
sent to the officer commanding in the cantonment. When the troops
are encamped, it is generally sent to the commanding officer of each
regiment, and seldom to the commandant of each brigade.
The MOT, or parole, must always be given out during the day, except
in cases of emergency; and it must never be delivered to any person,
unless the individual who is entrusted with it be fully convinced, that
he is authorised to receive it. It ought indeed to be given personally
to him only to whom it is addressed by name. See _Am Mil. Lib._ Art.
STAFF.
MOTTO. Any sentence, either with or without a badge by which any
regiment is particularly distinguished, as for example, the English 3d
foot, or old _Buffs_, have a griffin embossed as their badge, and the
motto, _Veteri frondescit honore_. The colors taken from this regiment
in the American revolution are in the war office at Washington.
MOUCHARD, _Fr._ a domestic spy, an informer. Among the French it more
particularly means a person who is employed to watch the motions of any
marked man. Creatures of this infamous, although perhaps necessary,
class, were constantly attached to the police of France. The term is
little known in the United States, unless it be those _mouchards_
established in the American coffee house, to give information to the
British consuls. These gentlemen have been called, humorously enough,
_reporters_. In a military sense, neither the term nor the practice can
be properly understood; at least we should hope so, as it is beneath
the high mind of a soldier to _fetch and carry_.
MOVEABLE PIVOT. When the _pivot flank_ of any body of men describe in
the wheel a smaller circle than the _wheeling flank_, the wheel is said
to be made on a moveable pivot.
MOVEMENT. Every inspecting general should notice minutely and
comparatively on the performance by each battalion of the great leading
points of movement. He is particularly to observe and specify
_Whether or not_
The original formation be according to order? The marches are made with
accuracy, at the required times and length of step, and on such objects
as are given.
The proper distances in column and echellon are at all times preserved.
The wheelings are made just, and in the manner prescribed.
The formations into line are made true, without false openings, or
necessity of correction.
The officers are alert in their changes of situation, exact in their
own personal movements, and loud, decided, and distinct, in their words
of command.
The march in line is uniformly steady, without floating, opening, or
closing.
The march in file, close, firm, and without lengthening out.
The officers, and under-officers, give the aids required of them with
due quickness and precision.
Hurry and unnecessary delay, are equally avoided.
In the firings the loading is quick, the levelling is just, the
officers animated and exact in their commands.
MOVEMENTS. In cavalry movements the following great leading points
should be attended to by every inspecting officer, independent of the
circumstances which relate to the dress and general appearance of man
and horse, the exercise on foot, &c. &c.
He must particularly observe and specify in his communications to the
commanding officer,
_Whether or not_
The original formation of squadrons and regiments be according to order?
The marches made with accuracy, at the paces required, and on such
objects as have been given?
The proper distance in column are at all times preserved?
The wheelings are made quick, just and in the manner prescribed?
The formations into line are made true in the intended directions,
without false openings, or necessity of correction; or that
corrections, when necessary are instantly made?
The changes of position are made with due celerity and justness?
The officers are alert in their changes of situation, exact in their
own personal movements, and loud, decided, and distinct in their words
of command?
The march in line is uniformly steady, without opening, floating, or
closing?
The flank march is compact, firm, and without improperly lengthening
out?
The officers and under officers give the aids required of them with due
quickness and precision?
Hurry and delay, in military movements, are two extremes which should
be equally avoided.
In the firings the loading is quick, the levelling is just, and the
officers firm in their commands.
The officers, non-commissioned officers, and men ride well, and the
horses are active, vigorous, and well broken.
Movements, in a general sense, may be considered under the following
heads, viz.--1st. Offensive movements; the great advantage which
attends this movement, consists in the measure having been previously
determined upon, and a consequent preparation made for rapid execution
before the design is obvious. Much however, will depend, upon the
justness of the distances, and of the march in column, having been so
taken as to allow of decisive operations. Manœuvre will chiefly operate
where an enemy is inferior in number, inexpert in movement, weakly
posted, and where the weak point is found out, and is attacked before
he can move to strengthen it.
_Counter_-MOVEMENTS _of defence_, are movements calculated to defeat
any premeditated attack. According to the regulations they may be
briefly explained by observing, that if the flank of one body be thrown
forward, that of the other may by similar means be thrown back. If one
body prolongs its line to outflank, the other may by the same movement
maintain its relative situation. Whatever change of position is made by
one body, the other may counteract it by a similar change. If the wing
of one body is refused, the wing of the others may be advanced to seize
an advantage.
MOVEMENTS _of previous formation_, are military dispositions which
every general must have carefully digested, before he advances upon
a direct line of offensive operations. A body of troops, which has
a considerable march to make previous to the _attack_, must always
approach an enemy in one, or more columns, at open or other distances,
according to circumstances. Some general knowlege of an enemy’s
situation, determines the manner in which he is to be approached, the
composition of the columns, the flank of each which leads, and their
combination in forming. A nearer view determines a perseverance in
the first direction, or a change in the leading flanks, and direction
of the columns, in order to form in the most speedy and advantageous
manner.
MOVEMENTS _of attack_, are made by bodies of men advancing in line or
column to attack an opposing enemy. When a considerable body of troops
is to act offensively, it must form in line at latest within 1200 or
1500 paces of a posted enemy, unless the ground particularly favor, and
cover from the fire of the artillery, the enfilade of which is what
chiefly prevents bodies in column from approaching nearer; and that
space, under the unceasing fire of their own artillery, troops in line
will march over in 18 minutes.
Movements of attack, when they are made from a parallel position, must
be either in line, or by a flank of the line in echellon, that flank
being reinforced, and the other refused; or from a new and advantageous
position taken up, and not provided against by the enemy. From an
_oblique_ position the attack is directed against a comparatively weak
point of the enemy. Attacks from the centre are more liable to be
enfiladed, and are sooner guarded against than from the flank.
MOVEMENTS _of retreat_, are combinations of columns of march, covered
by positions, and a strong rear guard. Troops are occasionally taken
out of the retiring columns of march, to occupy positions and heights;
they remain till the rear has passed, and then become the rear guard;
this they continue to be, till they find other troops in like manner
posted; these last in their turn become also the rear guard, and in
this way are the troops of columns in such situations relieved. A
rear guard will fall back by the _retreat in line_--the _chequered
retreat_--the _passage of lines_--the _echellon_ changes of position.
MOVEMENTS _in echellon of the line._ Echellon, or diagonal movements,
especially of a great corps, are calculated not only to disconcert an
enemy, but likewise to enable the army, which adopts them, either to
make a partial attack, or a gradual retreat. The attack may be formed
from the centre, or from either of the wings reinforced. If successful,
the divisions move up into line to improve the advantage: if repulsed,
they are in a good situation to protect the retreat. In advancing, the
several bodies move independent, act freely, and are ready to assist:
in retiring, they fall gradually back on each other, and thereby give
mutual aid and support. Echellon movements, in fact, comprise within
themselves all the essential principles of extension and compression,
which are found in close or open column, with the additional advantage
of being better adapted to throw a considerable line into an oblique
position, of presenting a narrow front, with the means of increasing it
at pleasure, unexposed to the enemy’s fire and of diminishing it with
the same facility and safety.
_Echellon_ MOVEMENTS _on an oblique line_, are best calculated to
outwing an enemy, or to preserve the points of appui of a wing;
possessing this advantage, that such movement may not be perceptible to
the enemy, as they are short and independent lines, and when seen at a
distance, appear as if a full line.
Echellon movements by half battalions or less, are made by their
directing flank, which is always the one advanced from, or wheeled to.
Echellon movements by whole battalions, are governed by their advanced
serjeants. Echellon movements by several battalions are made in line,
each by its own centre, and the whole by the directing flank.
MOVEMENTS _that are made in face of an enemy_. (_Mouvemens devant
l’ennemi_ _Fr._) There is no operation in war which requires so much
nicety, precision, and judgement, as that of retreating in the presence
of an enemy. Every movement from the direct line of battle is more or
less critical; but when a regiment is obliged to retire under the eye,
and perhaps the fire of a pursuing foe, the utmost presence of mind is
required in the officers who command, and the greatest steadiness in
the men. In a situation of this sort it becomes the peculiar duty of
the field officers, to see that every change of manœuvre, and every
movement, be made with promptitude and accuracy. For although they be
subordinate to others, and must of course, follow superior directions,
yet so much of the executive duty rests with them that their character
and abilities, as officers, will be more conspicuous on these occasions
than in any other. The movements of a corps which retreats, consist
in retrograde marches, in line, by alternate companies, in column, by
wings, or in square.
_Eventail or Fan_ MOVEMENT. This movement is performed on the march,
and must be begun at a distance behind the line, proportionate to
the body which is to oblique and form. It may be applied to one
battalion, but hardly to a more considerable body, which would find
great difficulty in the execution. It gives a gradual increase of
front during a progressive movement. With justness it can be made on
a front division only, not on a central or rear one: in proportion
as the leading platoon shortens its step, will the one behind it,
and successively each other come up into line with it. As soon as
the colors of the battalion come up, they become the leading point.
Although it is an operation of more difficulty, yet if the leading
division continues the ordinary, and the obliquing ones take the quick
step, till they successively are up with it, a battalion column which
is placed behind the flank of a line, may, in this manner, during the
march, and when near to the enemy, gradually lengthen out that line.
_Vourff or quick_ MOVEMENT. This movement is frequently resorted to
when the head of a considerable open column in march arrives at, or
near the point from which it is to take an oblique position facing to
its then rear, and at which points its third, fourth, or any other
named battalion, is to be placed.
The justness of the movement depends on the points in the new
direction being taken up quickly, and with precision. On the previous
determination that a certain battalion, or division of a battalion,
shall pass or halt at the point of intersection; and that every part
of the column which is behind that battalion, shall throw itself into
open column on the new line behind the point of intersection, ready to
prolong or to form the line whenever it comes to its turn.
This movement will often take place in the change of position of
a second line, and is performed by all those that are behind the
division, which is to stop at the point where the old and new lines
intersect. And at all times when the open column changes into a
direction on which it is to form, and that the division which is to be
placed at the point of entry can be determined, it much facilitates the
operation to make every thing behind that division gain the new line as
quick as possible, without waiting till the head of the column halts.
MOUFLE, _Fr._ a sort of stuffed glove. It is common among the French to
say, _Il ne faut pas y aller sans moufles_; figuratively meaning, that
no dangerous enterprise ought to be undertaken without sufficient force
to carry it into execution.
MOUILLAGE, _Fr._ Anchorage.
MOUILLER, _Fr._ To anchor. To let go the anchor.
MOULDS, for casting shot for guns, musquets, rifles, and pistols:
the first are of iron, used by the founders, and the others by the
artillery in the field, and in garrison.
_Laboratory_ MOULDS, are made of wood, for filling and driving all
sorts of rockets, and cartridges, &c.
MOULDINGS, _of a gun or mortar_, are all the eminent parts, as squares
or rounds, which serve for ornaments: such as the breech-mouldings. The
rings, &c. are also called mouldings.
MOULE. _Fr._ See MOULD.
MOULE _de fusée volante_, _Fr._ a piece of round wood used in fireworks.
MOULIN, _Fr._ a mill.
MOULIN _à bras portatif_, _Fr._ a species of hand-mill, which was
invented in France by le Sieur de Lavault, and which has been found
extremely useful to troops on service. Ten of these mills may be
conveniently placed on one waggon.
MOUND, in _old military books_, is a term used for a bunk or rampart,
or other defence, particularly that of earth.
MOUNTEE, an alarm to mount or go upon some warlike expedition.
_Half or small_ MOUNTING. The shirt, shoes, stock, and hose, or
stockings which were formerly furnished by the colonels or commandants
of corps every year. This mode of distribution, which engendered a
multiplicity of abuses, has been abolished in the British service:
in lieu of which, a regulation has taken place, that (if _honestly_
attended to) must be highly beneficial to the soldier.
In lieu of the small articles of clothing, which were annually given,
by the colonels of regiments, to non-commissioned officers and private
soldiers, and were called _small_ or _half_ mounting, two pairs of
good shoes, of the value of five shillings and sixpence each, have
been substituted. These shoes are to be provided in conformity to a
pattern lodged at the office of the comptrollers of the accompts of
the army; and patterns of the shoes are to be approved and sealed by
the general officers of the clothing board, at the same time, and in
like manner, as for the clothing: one pair is to be delivered out at
the annual period of clothing, and the other pair at the end of six
months from that time; and in order to prevent the injury that the
shoes might sustain, from remaining a long time in store in the East
and West Indies, they are to be forwarded to corps on those stations at
two different periods, instead of sending the whole quantity with the
clothing.
Should the price of good shoes at any time exceed five shillings and
sixpence per pair, the difference, which shall be declared by the
clothing board at their first meeting on, or after the 25th of April
in each year, is to be charged to the respective accompts of the
non-commissioned officers and soldiers receiving them, but with respect
to the 5th battalion of the 60th regiment, the difference is to be
taken between four shillings and sixpence paid by the colonel, and the
actual price declared as above mentioned.
The allowances, directed to be given by the colonels, in lieu of the
former small articles, called _half mounting_, are to be regularly
credited to the men, and to be expended for their use, in such articles
as are suitable to the respective climates in which they are serving.
Non-commissioned officers and soldiers of infantry, dying or discharged
before the completion of a full year, from the usual day of delivering
the annual clothing of their regiments, have no demand whatever on
account thereof.
A recruit, who comes into the regiment after the proper time of the
delivery of the clothing, is entitled to a pair of shoes at the next
delivery of that article.
The compensation money to be given to each servant in the
infantry in lieu of half-mounting is 0 14 0
To each corporal, drummer, and private, 0 11 0
_To_ MOUNT, is a word variously made use of in military matters, as
_To_ MOUNT _Cannon_. To place any piece of ordnance on its frame,
for the more easy carriage and management of it in firing. Hence to
dismount is to take cannon from any serviceable position.
_To_ MOUNT _a breach_, to run up in a quick, and determined manner to
any breach made in a wall, &c.
_To_ MOUNT _guard_, to do duty in a town of garrison, in a camp, or at
out quarters.
_To_ MOUNT, to place on horseback, to furnish with horses; as, twelve
thousand men have been well mounted, without any considerable expence
to the country. A cavalry regiment may be said to be well or ill
mounted; in either of which cases, the commanding officer is generally
blameable or praise-worthy.
To mount likewise signifies the act of getting on horseback, according
to prescribed military rules: as, to prepare to mount, is when the left
hand files move their horses forward in the manner described under
unlink your horses. The dragoons put their firelocks into the buckets,
and buckle them on, doubling the strap twice round the barrel, come to
the front of the horses, fasten the links, throw them over the horses’
heads with the left hand round the horses’ heads, take their swords,
and buckle them tight into the belt, take the bit reins up, then take a
lock of the mane, and put it into the left hand, the left foot into the
stirrup, and the right hand on the cantle of the saddle, waiting for
the word _mount_; when they spring smartly up, and look to the right
of the rear. At the next signal, they must throw the leg well over the
_valise_ and place themselves well in the saddle, with the right hand
leaning on the off holster. The men must be careful not to check the
horses with the bits in mounting. In mounting and dismounting, the
files that move forward must take care to keep their horses straight,
and at the prescribed distances from each other; and when mounting, as
soon as the gloves are on, belts right, &c. the left files must dress
well to the right, putting the horses straight, and leaving distance
enough for the right files to come in.
_To_ MOUNT _a gun_, is either to put the unit to its carriage, or else
when in the carriage, to raise the mouth higher.
MOUNTAINS, _called Great and Little St. Bernard_. A part of the
Alps, situated in the Glacieres of Switzerland, which has been
rendered famous in modern history by the passage of the French army
under Bonaparte. The following account is extracted from a French
publication, and cannot fail of being interesting to the military
reader, as it is told in the plain and simple language of a soldier,
who was present during the whole of this astonishing campaign. On
the 16th of May, 1800, the vanguard, commanded by general Lannes,
climbed up the mountain: the Austrians, although greatly inferior
in number, defended themselves step by step, and never disappeared
till they perceived another corps of the French army descending the
mountain of the Little St. Bernard, menacing their rear, and absolutely
interrupting their retreat.
The first division of the army, under general Watrin, followed the
movement of the vanguard.
Until this period of time, neither artillery nor ammunition had crossed
either eminence; the whole was collected at St. Peter, (a small
village at the foot of the mountain) where the park of artillery was
established. It appeared at first impossible to transport this heavy
and embarrassing ordnance across the mountain; however it was natural
to consider the question, _what is an army in the present day without
artillery?_ Its necessity in this respect was manifest and imperious.
The artillery corps immediately set about dismounting the cannons,
caissons, forges, &c. piecemeal. Gassendi, inspector of ordnance, gave
directions for hollowing a number of the trunks of trees in the same
manner that wood is hollowed for troughs. The pieces of cannon were
deposited in these machines, and after having been drawn up these
almost inaccessible heights, by five or six hundred men, according to
the weight of metal, were left to slide down the steep declivities. The
wheels were carried up on poles; and sledges made expressly for the
purpose at Auxonne, conveyed the axle trees, and the empty caissons,
and lastly, mules were loaded with ammunition in boxes made of fir.
The exertion of a whole battalion was requisite for the conveyance of
one field piece with its proportion of ammunition: one half of the
regiment could only draw the load, while the other half was obliged to
carry the knapsacks, firelocks, cartridge boxes, canteens, kettles, and
more especially five days provisions, in bread, meat, salt, and biscuit.
Such was the commencement of the march of the French army across the
Alps.
MOUNTING _and_ DISMOUNTING, _when the horses are to be led away_. It
frequently happens, especially in retreating or advancing, that it
may be necessary to cover the defiling of a regiment by dismounting
a squadron, or part of one, to flank the mouth of a defile. This is
generally effected by lining the hedges, &c. and keeping up a hot fire
upon the enemy. It follows, of course, that the horses cannot be
linked together, but they must be led away (in a retreat) to the most
convenient spot in the defile for the men to mount again. In advancing
they must be led to a spot where they will not impede the defiling of
the regiment, but where they will be at hand for the dismounted parties
to mount.
_Guard_ MOUNTING. The hour at which any guard is mounted obtains this
appellation, viz. _The officers will assemble at guard mounting._
MOURIR, _Fr._ To die.
MOURIR _d’un bel epée_, _Fr._ A French phrase, which signifies to fall
under the hands of an enemy of great skill and reputation.
MOURNE, that part of a lance or halbert to which the steel or blade is
fixed.
MOUSER. An ironical term, which is sometimes used in military sport
to distinguish battalion men from the flank companies. It is indeed
generally applied to them by the grenadiers and light bobs, meaning
that while the latter are detached, the former remain in quarters, like
cats to watch the mice, &c.
MOUSQUET, _Fr._ Musquet. This word, which signifies an old weapon of
offence that was formerly fired by means of a lighted match, has been
variously used among the French, viz. _gros mousquet_, a heavy musquet;
_un petit mousquet_, a short musquet; _un mousquet leger_, a light
musquet.
_Recevoir un coup de_ MOUSQUET, _Fr._ To receive a musquet shot.
_Porter le_ MOUSQUET _dans une compagnie d’infanterie_, _Fr._ To stand
in the ranks as a foot soldier.
MOUSQUETADE, _Fr._ a musquet shot. _Il fut tué d’une mousquetade_; he
was killed by a musquet shot. This term is generally used to express a
smart discharge of musquetry: _On a entendu une vive_ MOUSQUETADE; they
have heard a brisk discharge of musquetry.
MOUSQUETAIRES, Musqueteers, _Fr._ A body of men so called during the
old government of France. It consisted of two companies, selected
from the young men of noble extraction. The first company was formed
in 1622, by Louis XIII. out of another company, called his Majesty’s
Carabineers. The king was captain, so that the person who commanded had
only the rank of captain lieutenant. The company remained upon this
footing until 1640, when it was reduced at the instigation of cardinal
Mazarine, who from personal motives, had taken a decided aversion to
it. But Louis XIV. restored it in 1657, by the same appellation, and
increased the establishment to 150 musqueteers. They were commanded
by one captain-lieutenant, one sub-lieutenant, two ensigns, and two
quarter-masters.
The second company, when first created, was attached to cardinal
Mazarine as his personal guard; but the officers received their
commissions from the king. An alteration took place in the management
of this company in 1660, the men being incorporated with the rest of
the troops that were destined for the immediate protection of his
majesty’s person. In consequence of this change they did duty on foot,
but were again mounted, in order to accompany the expedition against
Marsal, which took place that year.
Louis XIV. named himself captain of this company, as well as of the
first; and from that period both companies became subject to the same
regulations, with no other difference, than that of precedency as first
and second company. From the year 1663, the establishment of each
company was 300, exclusive of the officers. They were subsequently
reduced to a lower establishment. Having originally been raised to
serve on foot or horseback, the mousquetaires were allowed drums and
fifes when they acted as infantry troops; and trumpets when they
acted as cavalry. In 1603 hautboys were substituted for fifes and
trumpets. It is supposed that mounted drummers were first used among
the mousquetaires du Roi. Previous to the revolution, each of these
companies consisted of one captain-lieutenant, two sub-lieutenants,
two ensigns, two cornets, two aid-majors, eight quarter-masters, four
brigadiers, sixteen sub-brigadiers, six standard-bearers, one ensign or
color-bearer, one hundred and eighty musqueteers, six drummers, four
hautboys, one commissary, one chaplain, one quarter-master serjeant,
one surgeon, one apothecary, one blacksmith, one saddler, and three
treasurers.
This corps was raised, not only for the purpose of attending his
majesty on foot or horseback, and of going on service, as circumstances
might require, but it was further intended to be a sort of military
school for the French nobility. Several princes, almost all the
general officers, and old marshals of France, were indebted to this
establishment for the first elements of military science.
The officers, belonging to these companies, clothed, armed, and mounted
themselves, without putting government to the expence of one shilling.
Their uniform was a scarlet coat faced with the same, and a scarlet
waistcoat. Those attached to the first company had gold buttons and
button-holes, and their coats were edged with gold. Those attached
to the second company, had the same ornaments in silver; their hats,
in which they wore a white feather, were laced according to the same
distinction, as were likewise their horse cloths and holsters. Instead
of the musquet, which they formerly carried, they were latterly armed
with a carbine, two pistols in the saddle-bow, and a sword calculated
for infantry or cavalry duty. The brigadiers and sub-brigadiers were
armed in the same manner. The quarter-masters, when mounted, had only
a sword and two pistols, but on foot they each carried a halbert or
pike, which they used as the sergeants belonging to infantry regiments
were directed to do.
The cloaks and great coats of the mousquetaires were made of blue cloth
laced with silver. The quarter-masters, brigadiers, and sub-brigadiers,
wore the same, with more or less lace according to the rank they held.
These cloaks, &c. were distinguished from those worn by the rest of the
army; having white crosses sewed before and behind with red streaks
running into the corners or rentrant angles. The first company was
marked with red, and the second with yellow streaks. The uniform of the
superior officers, (who were generally called _officiers a hausse-col_,
or officers wearing gorgets or breast plates) was embroidered in gold
or silver, according to the company which they commanded. The troop
horses of the first company, were of a white or dapple-grey color;
those of the second company were black. Each company had a flag and
two standards: so that when the mousquetaires served on foot, the flag
or color was unfurled, and the standards were cased; and when they
were mounted, the standards were displayed, and the colors cased. The
standards belonging to the first company represented a bomb falling
upon a besieged town, with this motto: _Quo ruit et lethum_: those of
the second company bore a bunch of arrows, with these words underneath:
_Alterius Jovis altera tela_. The mousquetaires received their colors
from the king’s hands.
The mousquetaires never served on horseback, except when the king
travelled: on those occasions they stood next to the light horse. Their
duty when on foot, was the same as that of the royal regiment of guards.
When they did duty on foot at the palace, they were provided with a
handsome table at the expence of the civil list. The two companies
always mounted guard without being mixed with any other troops; whereas
the rest of the household did duty by detachment.
The mousquetaires did not take rank in the army, but they enjoyed the
same privileges that were attached to the body guards, gensdarmes, and
light horse. They were frequently called _mousquetaires gris_, and
_mousquetaires noirs_, from the color of their horses.
MOUSSE, _Fr._ Moss.
MOUSSE, _garcon de bord_, _Fr._ a cabin boy. The _Powder Monkey_, on
board ships of war, corresponds with the term Mousse. According to a
French writer, these boys were so hardly used in the old French navy,
that, whether they deserved punishment or not, some captains of ships
directed them to be chastised regularly once a week.
MOUSTACHE, _Fr._ This word was originally derived from the Greek,
adopted by the Italians, subsequently by the French, and then used
generally. It literally means the hair which is allowed to grow upon
the upper lip of a man; and which is better known amongst us by the
familiar term whiskers. The French use it in a figurative sense, viz.
_Enlever sur la moustache, jusque sur la moustache de quelqu’un_, _Fr._
To seize or take possession of any thing under the very nose, or in
the presence of a person. _Les ennemis sont venus pour défendre cette
place, on la leur a enlevée sur la moustache._ The enemy drew near to
defend the town, but it was taken under their very whiskers.
_Donner sur la_ MOUSTACHE, _Fr._ To give a slap on the face.
MOUTARDE, _Fr._ means literally mustard. The word, however, is
frequently used by the French in a figurative sense, viz. _S’amuser à
la moutarde_. To be uselessly employed, or busy about nothing. It is
likewise used to express impatience: _La moutarde lui monte au nez_,
_Fr._ The mustard rises in his nose, that is, he grows restless and
impatient.
_C’est de la_ MOUTARDE _après diner_, _Fr._ This expression is in
general use among the French, and signifies, that assistance, &c. is
brought when there is no longer need of it. When commissaries, &c. make
up a lame account for monies received, it is common to say. _Et le
reste en moutarde._
MOUTH. See _Muzzle_.
MOUTH _of_ FIRE. The entrance into the garrison of Gibraltar by the
grand battery and the old Mole, is so called by the Spaniards, on
account of the formidable appearance of the ordnance from the lines.
MOUTONNIER, _Fr._ Sheep-like; gregarious.
MOUVEMENS _de Tête_, _Fr._ Motions of the head. For the English
explanation of these motions, see _eyes_. The French express them in
the following manner: _Tête à droite_, right dress.--_Tête à gauche_,
left dress.--_Fixe_, front dress.
MOUVEMENS _des troupes sous les armes_, _Fr._ By these are understood
the different changes of position, and the various facings which
soldiers go through under arms.
MOUVEMENS _de pied ferme_, _Fr._ That exercise, consisting of the
manual and facings, which a soldier performs, without quitting his
original ground. The left foot on this occasion becomes a standing
pivot.
MOUVEMENS _ouverts_, _Fr._ Movements, or evolutions, which are made at
open order.
MOUVEMENS _serrés_, _Fr._ Movements, or evolutions, which are made at
close order.
MOUVEMENS _opposés_, _Fr._ Opposite movements, or evolutions.
MOUVEMENT, _Fr._ See MOVEMENT.
MOUVEMENT, _Fr._ See MOTION for its general acceptation.
MOUVEMENS, _Fr._ Commotions, broils.
MOYENNE, _Fr._ A piece of ordnance formerly so called. See MINION.
MOYEN. The bastions which are constructed on the angles are called
royal bastions. Some engineers have distinguished those bastions by the
name of _moyens royaux_, or medium royals, whose flanks contain from
ninety to one hundred toises.
MOYENNE _Ville_, _Fr._ A term given by the French to any town in which
the garrison is equal to the third of the inhabitants, and which is not
deemed sufficiently important to bear the expence of a citadel; more
especially so, because it is not in the power of the inhabitants to
form seditious meetings without the knowlege of the soldiers who are
quartered on them.
MOYENS _côtés_, _Fr._ In fortification, are those sides which contain
from eighty to one hundred and twenty toises in extent: these are
always fortified with bastions on their angles. The _moyens côtés_, are
generally found along the extent of irregular places; and each one of
these is individually subdivided into small, mean, and great sides.
MUD-WALLS. The ancient fortifications consisted chiefly of mud or clay,
thrown up in any convenient form for defence against sudden inroads.
MUET, _Fr._ See MUTE.
_To_ MUFFLE. To wrap any thing up so as to deaden the sound, which
might otherwise issue from the contact of two hard substances. When the
French effected their passage over the march Albaredo, on their route
to the plain of Marengo, they were so much exposed to the Austrians,
that, in order to get their artillery and ammunition over, without
being betrayed by the noise of the carriage wheels, and the clattering
of the horses’ shoes, both were muffled with bands of hay and straw,
and dung was spread over the ground. In this manner they crossed that
stupendous rock. Thirty men were put to the drag ropes of each piece,
and as many were employed to draw up the caissons.
MUFFLED. Drums are muffled at military funerals or burials, and at
military executions, particularly when a soldier is shot for some
capital crime.
MUGS. An Indian nation, living on the borders of Bengal and Arracan.
MUHLAGIS, _Fr._ Turkish cavalry which is mounted by expert horsemen,
who generally attend the beglierbeys. They are not numerous.
MULATTOS, (_Mulâtre_, _Fr._) In the Indies, denotes one begotten by a
negro man on an Indian woman, or by an Indian man on a negro woman.
Those begotten of a Spanish woman and Indian man are called _metis_,
and those begotten of a savage by a _metis_, are called _jambis_. They
also differ very much in color, and in their hair.
Generally speaking, especially in Europe, and in the West Indies, a
Mulatto is one begotten by a white man on a negro woman, or by a negro
man on a white woman. The word is Spanish, _mulata_, and formed of
_mula_, a mule, being begotten as it were of two different species.
Mulattoes abound in the West Indies; so much so, that on the dangerous
symptoms of insurrection, which appeared among the blacks after the
success of Toussaint in St. Domingo, a proposal was made to the
British government by a rich planter, to raise a mulatto corps, as an
intermediate check upon the blacks. After six months suspence, the
memorial was rejected by the war-minister.
MULCT. A soldier is said to be mulct of his pay when put under fine or
stoppages for necessaries, or to make good some dilapidations committed
by him on the property of the people or government.
MULTANGULAR, is said of a figure, or body which has many angles.
MULTILATERAL, having many sides.
MULTIPLE, one number containing another several times: as 9 is the
multiple of 3, 16 that of 4, and so on.
MUNIMELL, a strong hold, fortification, &c.
MUNITION, _Fr._ This word is used among the French to express not only
victuals and provisions, but also military stores and ammunition.
MUNITIONS _de bouche_, _Fr._ Victuals or provisions, (such as bread,
salt, meat, vegetables, butter, wine, beer, brandy, &c. which may be
procured for soldiers) are so called by the French. Corn, oats, hay,
straw, and green forage, for cavalry, bear the same appellation. See
SUBSISTENCE.
MUNITIONS _de guerre_, _Fr._ Military stores, such as gunpowder, shot,
balls, bullets, matches, &c. See STORES.
MUNITIONNAIRE _ou entrepreneur des vivres_, _Fr._ Military purveyor,
or commissary of stores. Amaury Bourguignon, from Niort, a town of
Poitou, was the first _munitionnaire_ and _entrepréneur général_, or
purveyor-general, among the French. He was appointed in the reign of
Henry III. in 1574. See PURVEYOR.
MUNITIONNAIRE _pour la marine_, _Fr._ The head of the victualling
office was so called among the French. There was a person on board
every ship of war, called _commis_, or clerk, who acted under his
orders. The appointment of the latter was somewhat similar to that of a
purser in the British navy.
MUNSUBDAR, _Ind._ A title which gives the person invested with it, a
right to have the command of ten thousand horse, with the permission
of bearing amongst his ensigns that of the fish; neither of which
distinctions is ever granted, excepting to persons of the first note
in the empire. The office is called a _Munsub_, and it is generally
supported by a district named, on which the corps is quartered.
MUR, _Fr._ a wall.
MUR CRENELE, _Fr._ A wall which has small intervals or spaces at the
top, that serve more for ornament or ostentation than for real defence.
This method of building prevailed very much in former times.
MUR _de face_, _Fr._ Outside wall of any building.
MUR _de face de devant_, _Fr._ Front outside wall; it is likewise
called _mur anterieur_.
MUR _de face de derriére_, _Fr._ The wall which forms the backside of a
building is so called: it is likewise named _mur postérieur_.
MURS _lateraux_, _Fr._ The side walls of a building.
_Gros_ MURS, _Fr._ All front and partition walls are so called.
MUR _de pierres sèches_, _Fr._ A wall that is built of stone, without
mortar or cement. Walls or this construction are seen in several
counties in England, particularly in the west country.
MUR _en l’air_, _Fr._ Every wall is so called that does not rise
uniformly from a parallel foundation. Walls built upon arches are of
this description.
MUR _mitoyen_, _Fr._ Partition wall.
MUR _d’appui_, _Fr._ Wall of support. Any wall that is built to support
a quay, terrace, or balcony, or to secure the sides of a bridge, is so
called. _Mur de parapet_, or parapet wall, may be considered as a wall
of support.
MURAGE. Money appropriated to the repair of military works, was
anciently so called.
MURAILLE _de revêtement_, _Fr._ the wall which surrounds a fortified
place is so called.
_Charger en_ MURAILLE, _Fr._ To charge or attack an enemy, in a firm,
compact, and steady line.
MURAL-_Crown_. See CROWN.
_Couronne_ MURALE, _Fr._ See MURAL-CROWN.
MURDRESSES, in _ancient fortification_, a sort of battlement with
interstices, raised on the tops of towers to fire through.
_Ville_ MUREE, _Fr._ A walled town.
MURRION. See MORION.
MURTHERERS, or _murthering pieces_, small pieces of ordnance, having
chambers, and made to load at the breech. They were mostly used at sea,
in order to clear the decks when an enemy boarded a vessel.
MUSCULUS. Kennett in his Roman Antiquities, page 237, says, “the
Musculus is conceived to have been much of the same nature as the
_testudines_; but it seems to have been of a smaller size, and composed
of stronger materials, being exposed a much longer time to the force
of the enemy; for in these _musculi_, the pioneers were sent to the
very walls, where they were to continue, while with their dolabræ or
pick-axes, and other instruments, they endeavored to undermine the
foundations.” Cæsar has described the _muscalus_ at large in his second
book of the civil wars.
MUSIC, a general term for the musicians of a _regimental band_.
MUSICIANS. It has been often asked, why the dress of musicians,
drummers and fifers, should be of so varied and motley a composition,
making them appear more like harlequins and mountebanks, than military
appendages? The following anecdote will explain the reason, as far
at least as it regards the British service:--The musicians belonging
to the English guards formerly wore plain blue coats, so that the
instant they came off duty, and frequently in the intervals between,
they visited alehouses, &c. without changing their uniform, and thus
added considerably to its wear and tear. It will be here remarked, that
the clothing of the musicians then fell wholly upon the colonels of
regiments; no allowance being specifically made for that article by the
public. It is probable, that some general officer undertook to prevent
this abuse by obtaining permission to clothe the musicians, &c. in so
fantastical a manner that they would be ashamed to exhibit themselves
at public-houses, &c.
PHRYGIAN MUSIC. A martial sort of ancient music, which excited men to
rage and battle: by this mode Timotheus stirred up Alexander to arms.
_Modes of_ MUSIC. There were three modes among the ancients, which
took their names from particular countries, namely, the _Lydian_, the
_Phrygian_, and the _Doric_.
MUSKET, MUSQUET, the most serviceable and commodious fire-arm used by
an army. It carries a ball of 18 to 1 pound. Its length is 3 feet 6
inches from the muzzle to the pan. The Spaniards were the first who
armed part of their foot with musquets. At first they were made very
heavy, and could not be fired without a rest: they had match locks, and
did execution at a great distance. These kinds of musquets and rests
were used in England so late as the beginning of the civil wars.
MUSQUETS were first used at the siege of Rhege, in the year 1521.
MUSQUET BASKETS. These are about a foot, or a foot and an half high,
eight or ten inches diameter at bottom, and a foot at the top; so that,
being filled with earth, there is room to lay a musquet between them at
bottom, being set on low breast-works, or parapets, or upon such as are
beaten down.
MUSQUETEERS, soldiers armed with musquets; who, on a march, carried
only their rests and ammunition, and had boys to bear their musquets
after them. They were very slow in loading, not only by reason of the
unwieldiness of the pieces, and because they carried the powder and
ball separate, but from the time required to prepare and adjust the
match: so that their fire was not so brisk as ours is now. Afterwards a
lighter kind of matchlock musquet came in use; and they carried their
ammunition in bandeliers, to which were hung several little cases
of wood, covered with leather, each containing a charge of powder;
the balls they carried loose in a pouch, and a priming-horn, hanging
by their side. These arms were about the beginning of this century,
universally laid aside in Europe, and the troops were armed with flint
firelocks.
MUSQUETOONS, a kind of short thick musquet, whose bore is the 38th part
of its length: it carries five ounces of iron, or 7¹⁄₂ of lead, with an
equal quantity of powder. This is the shortest sort of blunderbusses.
MUSRAL. The noseband of a horse’s bridle.
MUSSUK, _Ind._ A skin in which water is carried.
MUSTACHES. Whiskers, worn by the Asiatics, Germans, Russians, and other
foreign troops.
MUSTER, in _a military sense_, a review of troops under arms, to
see if they be complete, and in good order; to take an account of
their numbers, the condition they are in, viewing their arms, and
accoutrements, &c.
MUSTER. This word is derived from the French _mustrer_, to shew. At
a muster every man must be properly clothed and accoutred, &c. and
answer to his name. The French call it _appel nominatif_. We call it an
_Inspection_.
MUSTERS. By sect. 4th of the British Articles of War, it is enacted,
that musters shall be taken of the regiments of life guards, horse
guards, and foot guards, twice at least in every year, at such times
as shall have been or may be appointed, and agreeably to the forms
heretofore used therein.
The musters of every other regiment, troop, or company, in the service,
are to be taken at such times, and in such manner, as is directed by
the late regulations touching regimental and district paymasters, and
the mode of mustering, paying, and settling the accompts of the army.
All commanding officers, and others concerned in the mustering, as well
of the regiments of life guards, horse guards, and foot guards, as of
the other forces, are enjoined to give the utmost care and attention to
the making up of the muster rolls with strict exactness and accuracy.
Every officer who shall be convicted before a general court-martial
of having signed a false certificate, relating to the absence of
either officer, non-commissioned officer, or private soldier, will be
cashiered.
Every officer who shall knowingly make a false muster of man or horse,
and every officer and commissary, or muster-master, who shall wittingly
sign, direct, or allow the signing of the muster rolls, wherein such
false muster is contained, shall, upon proof made thereof, by two
witnesses before a general court-martial, be cashiered, and suffer such
other penalty as he is liable to by the act for punishing mutiny and
desertion.
Any commissary or muster-master, who shall be convicted before a
general court-martial, of having taken money, by way of gratification,
on the mustering any regiment, troop, or company, or on the signing the
muster-rolls, shall be displaced from his office, and suffer such other
penalty as he is liable to by the said act.
Every colonel, or other field officer, commanding a regiment, troop,
or company, and actually residing with it, may give furloughs to
non-commissioned officers and soldiers, in such numbers, and for so
long a time, as he shall judge to be most consistent with the good of
our service; but no non-commissioned officer or soldier, shall, by
leave of his captain, or inferior officer, commanding the troop or
company, (his field officer not being present) be absent above twenty
days in six months; nor shall more than two private men be absent at
the same time from their troop or company, unless some extraordinary
occasion shall require it; of which occasion the field officer present
with and commanding the regiment is to be the judge.
It is strictly forbidden to muster any person as a soldier who does not
actually do his duty as a soldier, &c. See LIVERY.
MUSTER-_master-general_, _Commissary-general_ of the MUSTERS, one
who takes account of every regiment, their number, horses, arms, &c.
reviews them, sees that the horses are well mounted, and all the men
well armed and accoutred, &c.
MUSTER-ROLL, (_état nominatif_, _Fr._) a specific list of the officers
and men in every regiment, troop, or company, which is delivered to
the muster-master, regimental or district paymaster, (as the case
may be) whereby they are paid, and their condition is known. The
names of the officers are inscribed according to rank, those of the
men in alphabetical succession. Adjutants of regiments make out a
muster roll, and when the list is called over, every individual must
answer to his name. Every muster-roll must be signed by the colonel
or commanding officer, the paymaster and adjutant of each regiment,
troop, or company: it must likewise be sworn to by the muster-master or
paymaster, (as the case may be) before a justice of the peace, previous
to its being transmitted to government.
MUSTI. One born of a mulatto father or mother, and a white father or
mother.
MUTILATED. In a military sense, signifies wounded in such a manner as
to lose the use of a limb. A battalion is said to be mutilated, when
its divisions, &c. stand unequal.
MUTINE, _or_ MUTINEER, a soldier guilty of mutiny.
MUTINY, in a _military sense_, to rise against authority. Any officer
or soldier who shall presume to use traitorous or disrespectful words
against the president of the United States, against the vice president,
against the congress of the United States, or against the chief
magistrate or legislature of any of the United States, in which he may
be quartered, is guilty of mutiny.
Any officer or soldier who shall behave himself with contempt or
disrespect towards his commanding officer, or shall speak words tending
to his hurt or dishonor, is guilty of mutiny.
Any officer or soldier who shall begin, excite, cause, or join in
any mutiny or sedition, in the troop, company, or regiment, to which
he belongs, or in any other troop, or company, in the service of the
United States, or on any party, post, detachment, or guard, on any
pretence whatsoever, is guilty of mutiny.
Any officer or soldier who, being present at any mutiny or sedition,
does not use his utmost endeavors to suppress the same, or coming to
the knowlege of any mutiny, or intended mutiny, does not, without
delay, give information to his commanding officer, is guilty of mutiny.
Any officer or soldier, who shall strike his superior officer, or draw,
or offer to draw, or shall lift up any weapon, or offer any violence
against him, being in the execution of his office, on any pretence
whatsoever, or shall disobey any lawful command of his superior
officer, is guilty of mutiny. See WAR.
MUTINY-_Act_, an act which passes every year in the British house of
commons, to answer some specific military purposes; and by which the
army is continued on a peace or war establishment.
MUZZLE _of a gun or mortar_, the extremity at which the powder and ball
are put in.
MUZZLE-RING _of a gun_, that which encompasses and strengthens the
muzzle, or mouth of a cannon.
MYRIAD, denotes the number ten thousand.
MYRIARCH. The captain, or commander of ten thousand men.
MYRMIDONS. In antiquity, a people of Thessaly, of whom it is fabled,
that they arose from ants, upon a prayer put up to Jupiter, by Æacus,
after his kingdom had been depopulated by a pestilence. In Homer, and
in Virgil, the Myrmidons are Achilles’s soldiers. The term Myrmidon is
used in modern times to express any rude ruffian, or hireling assassin;
the same as _Hessian_.
MYRMILLONES. A sort of combatants among the Romans, who had on the top
of their cask or helmet, the representation of a fish; and in their
engagements with the Retiarii, if they were caught and wrapped in the
net, it was not possible for them to escape.
MYSORE. An extensive country in the East Indies, which borders on the
Carnatic to the S. W. bounded on the East by the south part of the
Carnatic, and the district of Tritchinopoly. It extends west within 30
miles of the sea coast of Malabar. Seringapatam was the capital. It was
wantonly attacked, taken, and partitioned twice, and at last completely
occupied and incorporated with the British conquests.
N.
NABOB, _Ind._ a corruption from Nawaub, the plural of naib. The title
means a deputy, but it is often assumed in India without a right to
it. As the real signification and import of this word is not generally
known, we shall extract a passage out of Mr. Orme’s History of the
Carnatic, that will place them in the clearest point of view:
“Most of the countries which had been conquered by the great Mogul in
the peninsula of India, are comprised under one viceroyalty, called
from its situation decan, or south. From the word soubah, signifying
a province, the viceroy of this vast territory is called soubahdar,
and by Europeans sometimes the subah. Of the countries under his
jurisdiction, some were entirely subjected to the throne of Delhi, and
governed by mahomedans, whom Europeans improperly call Moors; whilst
others remained under the government of their original Indian princes
or Rajahs, and were suffered to follow their ancient modes on condition
of paying tribute to the great Mogul. The Moorish governors depending
on the soubah, assumed, when treating with their inferiors, the title
of nabob, which (as we have already observed) signifies deputy:
but this in the registers of the throne (of Delhi) is synonimous
to soubahdar, and the greatest part of those who styled themselves
nabobs were ranked at Delhi under the title of phousdar, which is
much inferior to that which they assumed. The Europeans established
in the territories of these pseudo-nabobs (if we may be allowed the
expression) following the example of the natives with whom they have
most intercourse, have agreed to give them the title they so much
affect.
“A nabob ought to hold his commission from Delhi, and if at his death
a successor has not been previously appointed by the great Mogul, the
soubah has the right of naming a person to administer the nabobship,
until the will of the sovereign is known; but a nabob thus appointed
by a soubah was not deemed authentically established until he had been
confirmed from Delhi. The soubah received from the several nabobs the
annual revenues of the crown, and remitted them to the treasury of
the empire. The nabobs were obliged to accompany him in all military
expeditions within the extent of his viceroyalty, but not in any
without that extent. These regulations were intended to place them
in such a state of dependence on the soubah, as should render them
subservient to the interests of the empire, and at the same time leave
them in a state of independence, which would render it difficult for
the soubah to make use of their assistance to brave the throne.
Nabobs, however, often kept possession of their governments in
opposition both to the soubah and the throne; and what is more
extraordinary in the offices of a despotic state, both soubahs and
nabobs have named their successors, who have often succeeded with
as little opposition as if they had been the heirs apparent of an
hereditary dominion.” It is, perhaps, superfluous to observe, that the
British have taken the place of the mogul, and that nabobs are made and
unmade much more freely and frequently than European kings in modern
times.
NABOBSHIP. The office of a nabob. The Carnatic was one of the most
considerable nabobships dependent on the soubah of Decan. From its
capital it was likewise named the province of Arcot; but its present
limits are greatly inferior to those which bounded the ancient Carnatic
before it was conquered by the great Mogul; for we do not find that
the nabobs of Arcot ever extended their authority beyond the river
Gondegama to the north, the great chain of mountains to the west, and
the borders of the provinces of Tritchinopoly, Tanjore, and Mysore
to the south. The sea bounds it to the east. It was not before the
beginning of last century that this country was entirely reduced by the
Mahomedans. For further particulars respecting nabobs, see pages 27 and
28 in the Dissertation prefixed to the History of the Carnatic.
NACELLE, _Fr._ A small boat that has neither mast nor sail. It is
properly called a ferry-boat.
NADIR. In astronomy, is that point in the heavens which is directly
under our feet, and is diametrically opposite to the zenith, or point
over our heads. The word is pure Arabic, signifying the same thing. The
zenith and the nadir are the two poles of the horizon, each 90° distant
from it, and consequently each in the meridian.
NAGARA, _Ind._ The drum made from a hollow cylinder of teak wood, and
the ends covered with goat skin; it is suspended from the left shoulder
to the right side, and beat with a stick made of teak wood.
NAGER, _Fr._ to swim.
_Se sauver à la_ NAGE, to save oneself by swimming.
NAGGUR, _Ind._ The principal drum in Asiatic armies, commonly allowed
only to persons of high dignity. The _bass drum_.
NAIB, _Ind._ a deputy. The governor of a town under a nawaub or nabob
is so called in India.
NAIC, _or_ NAIK, a subaltern officer in the sepoys; a corporal.
_Drill_ NAIC, _or_ NAICK, a subaltern officer belonging to the native
infantry in India, answering to our drill corporal. Every battalion
of native infantry has two drill havildars or serjeants, and two
drill-naicks, called _non-effective_, attached to it.
NAILS of various sorts are used in artillery. See CARRIAGE.
_Garnish_ NAILS, in _travelling carriages_, have pointed heads
like diamonds, with a small narrow neck: they serve to fasten the
plates with roses, to cover the sidepieces from the ends of the
trunnion-plates to 5 or 6 inches beyond the centre of the carriage.
_Diamond headed_ NAILS, small nails, whose heads are made like a flat
diamond, and serve to fix the plates upon travelling carriages.
_Rose bud_ NAILS, are small round headed nails, driven in the centre of
the roses of the plates.
_Counter sunk_ NAILS, those that have flat round heads, sunk into the
iron plates, so as to be even with the outside of it.
_Streak_ NAILS, are those which fasten the streaks to the fellies of
the wheels.
_Box pin_ NAILS, small nails without heads, to pin the nave boxes, to
the naves.
_Stub_ NAILS, are driven on the outside of the nave hoops, to keep them
in their places.
_Flat headed_ NAILS, to fasten the locker or any sort of hinges.
_Dog_ NAILS, have flat round heads; and one part of the shank next to
the head is also round.
_To_ NAIL, _spike_, or _cloy_, cannon, _enclouer le canon_, _Fr._ When
circumstances make it necessary to abandon cannon, or when the enemy’s
artillery are seized, and it is not however possible to take them away;
it is proper to nail them up, in order to render them useless; which is
done by driving a large nail or iron spike into the vent of a piece of
artillery, to render it unserviceable. There are various contrivances
to force the nail out, as also sundry machines invented for that
purpose, but they have never been found of general use; so that the
best method is to drill a new vent.
One Gasper Vimercalus was the first who invented the nailing of cannon.
He was a native of Bremen, and made use of his invention first in
nailing up the artillery of Sigismund Malatesta.
NAIRS, a native military tribe of the Malabar coast. They affirm
that they are the oldest nobility in the world. Their pride on this
supposition is greater than that of Rajpoots. In 1755, the king of
Travancore, with the assistance of a French officer, called Launoy,
disciplined 10,000 Naires in the method of European infantry.
NAGARKANNA, _Ind._ the place where all the drums and war music are
kept.
NAUKODA. A native captain or pilot so called in India.
NANA, _Ind._ the title which is given to a chief of the Marattahs. It
more properly signifies the acting head of the government, and general
of the forces.
NAPPE _de feu_, _Fr._ See JETS DE FEU.
NARROW, of small breadth.
NARROW _Front_. A battalion, &c. is said to assume a narrow front, when
it goes from line into column, upon the safe principles of compression.
_The_ NARROWS, an important position on the entrance of the Hudson’s
river, N. York; strong works are erecting there, at the expence of that
state.
_The_ NARROW, a channel which runs between the Margate sands and the
Main.
NASIR-JUNG, _Ind._ victorious, or triumphant in war.
NATION, a people; also a country. As the American nation, the French
nation. It is more generally used in the first sense; as, _The nation
at large seems disposed to resist every attempt that the British may
make to reduce us to our former condition of colonies; and to maintain
the freedom of the seas_.
NATIONAL, that which concerns or belongs to a whole nation.
NATIONAL _troops_, are those raised under the authority of _Congress_,
in contradistinction to the _Militia_, which may be called _States
troops_, being organized by the several _States_.
NATIVE, in general, denotes a person born in a certain place, but more
particularly it refers to the proper residence of the parents, and
where the person has his education.
NATIVE _Cavalry_, a body of troops so called in India, in
contradistinction to the European regiments. According to the
regulations printed at Calcutta in 1797, each regiment was directed to
have six troops, consisting of two captains, one captain-lieutenant,
six lieutenants, three cornets, two serjeants, six subidars, six
jemidars, 18 havildars, 18 naicks, six trumpeters, 420 troopers, six
puckallies. The staff consists of one adjutant, one quarter-master, one
paymaster, one surgeon’s mate, one serjeant-major, one quarter-master
serjeant, one drill havildar, one drill naick, one trumpeter-major, six
pay-havildars, six farriers, and one native doctor.
Each regiment to be commanded by a· field officer.
NATIVE _Infantry_. A body of troops under the immediate direction of
the presidency of Bengal, composed of the natives of India. According
to the regulations published at Calcutta in 1797, it is directed, that
the battalions of native infantry should be formed into regiments
of two battalions each, with ten companies in each battalion, the
regiment to consist of one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two
majors, (junior lieutenant-colonel, and junior major, to be without
companies) seven captains, 1 captain-lieutenant, 22 lieutenants, 10
ensigns, two serjeants, 20 subidars, 20 jemidars, 100 havildars, 100
naicks, 40 drums and fifes, 1600 privates for Bengal, 1800 privates
for Madras and Bombay, 20 puckallies. The staff consists of two
adjutants, one paymaster, one surgeon, two mates, one serjeant-major,
one quarter-master serjeant, two native doctors, one drum-major, one
fife-major, two drill havildars, and two drill naicks.
The peace establishment of these corps was ordered to consist of four
regiments, to be commanded by two lieutenant-colonels to the two first,
and two majors to the 3d and 4th regiments; a brigade major to be
allowed to the cavalry. The whole, when raised, were to be commanded by
a colonel commandant. But, at the period mentioned, only two regiments
of native cavalry were raised, and twelve regiments of native infantry.
It was further directed, that upon the completion of the native
cavalry, the promotions of officers should proceed by seniority in
their respective regiments, until they arrived to the rank of captain,
and afterwards to rise in the whole corps to the rank of major, and
to the command of regiments. The promotion to major, and command of
regiments, was subjected to the same principle, as in the infantry, in
regard to being unfit. But if field officers of cavalry were superceded
in consequence of being unfit to command, they were to be allowed to
retire with the pay of lieutenant-colonel of infantry.
The promotions in the native infantry were to take place according
to seniority in their respective regiments, to the rank of
lieutenant-colonels, and afterwards to colonels, and command of
regiments, with the following proviso:
That should the senior lieutenant-colonels appear to the government at
the presidency, either upon representation of the commander in chief,
or by any other means, to be unfit for the command of regiments, they
were to be passed over, and junior officers promoted. But the reasons
for such supercession were to be entered on the records, for the
information of the court of directors.
The same principle was directed to be applied to the European infantry,
to the promotion of officers of artillery to the command of battalions,
and of corps; to the chief engineers, to the colonels commandants,
and officers to command regiments of cavalry, and to the rank of
major-generals from that of colonels.
It was further ordained, that should any captains or subalterns obtain
leave from that period to exchange from one regiment to another, they
were to come into the regiment to which they were removed as youngest
of their respective ranks, according to the practice in the British
establishment.
It was also ordered, that each regiment of native cavalry, and
native infantry, in the absence of the colonel, should be under
the general command of the senior lieutenant-colonel, who was to
have the particular command of the 1st battalion, and the junior
lieutenant-colonel that of the second battalion.
The same regulation prevails in the Indian, or native corps, with
respect to the appointment of paymasters, that exists in the royal
service.
About the same period, a very satisfactory regulation took place in
favor of the European and native or company’s troops, to prevent the
growth of much existing jealousy between them and the king’s troops. To
give every officer of the company a king’s commission, of the same date
with that which he received from the company, with a retrospect founded
on the date of the king’s commission they then held, so as to prevent
supercession by the various promotions which had recently taken place
by general brevet in the British army.
NATURAL FORTIFICATION, consists in those natural obstacles which are
found in some countries, and which impede or prevent the approach of an
enemy. Thus a place, the avenues to which are easily closed, or which
is surrounded by impassable rivers or marshes, is defended by natural
fortification.
NAUAB, _Ind._ See NABOB.
NAVAL, _Fr._ This word is used to convey the same meaning among the
French that it does with us, viz. _armée navale_, naval armament;
_combat naval_, sea fight, or naval combat; _forces navales_, naval
forces. It is remarked in the Dictionnaire de l’Academie Francoise,
that _naval_, when used in the masculine gender, is not susceptible of
the plural number.
NAVAL _armament_, the fitting out a fleet, with all kinds of provisions
and military stores, for actual service.
NAVAL _camp_, in _military antiquities_, a fortification, consisting
of a ditch and parapet on the land side, or a wall built in the form
of a semi-circle, and extended from one point of the sea to the other.
This was beautified with gates, and sometimes defended with towers,
through which they issued forth to attack their enemies. Towards the
sea, or within it, they fixed great pales of wood, like those in their
artificial harbors; before these the vessels of burthen were placed
in such order, that they might serve instead of a wall, and gave
protection to those without; in which manner Nicias is reported by
Thucydides to have encamped himself. When their fortifications were
thought strong enough to defend them from the assaults of enemies, the
ancients frequently dragged their ships on shore. Around these ships
the soldiers disposed their tents as appears every where in Homer: but
this seems only to have been practised in winter, when their enemy’s
fleet was laid up, and could not assault them; or in long sieges, and
when they lay in no danger from their enemies by sea, as in the Trojan
war, where the defenders of Troy never once attempted to encounter the
Grecians in a sea-fight.
NAVAL _crown_, in _Roman antiquity_, a crown conferred, among the
Romans, on persons who, in sea engagements, distinguished themselves.
A. Gellius says, in general, the naval crown was adorned with prows of
ships. Lipsius distinguishes two kinds; the first he supposes plain,
and given to the common soldiers; the other rostrated, and only given
to generals or admirals, who had gained some important victory at sea.
NAVAL _officers_, are admirals, captains, lieutenants, masters,
boatswains, midshipmen, gunners, &c.
NAVAL _engagement_, implies, in general, either a sea-fight between
single ships, or whole fleets of men of war, or gallies, &c.
NAVAL TACTICS, or the art of war carried on by ships at sea; this being
limited to the possibilities of navigation, is therefore much less
susceptible of that variety of stratagem which belongs to the hostility
of armies on land, and comprehends beside the knowlege of military
operation, that of the movement of ships under all circumstances of
wind, weather, and also of the structure of ships and rigging.
The tactics of the ancients consisted in the formation of position by
which they could bear down upon and pierce the sides, or board vessels,
and decide the conflict hand to hand; the invention of gunpowder has
had the same effect upon naval as upon land tactics, that they can
fight without coming to close quarters.
The Dutch, French, and British have been most distinguished for naval
tactics; but they have been principally reduced to fixed rules like
the armies of modern times, by the French and English. M. Morogues is
the most copious author on the subject in modern times. M. Bourde de
Villehuet, in his work called _La Manœuvrier_, has also published a
most valuable treatise. M. Girmoard has treated of the subject as a
science.
A Treatise has been published in English by Mr. Clerk, who was not a
professional seaman, in which new principles were introduced, and those
of the French adopted. The battles of April 1782, and of the Nile and
Trafalgar were fought upon the new principles.
NAVE, in _gun-carriages_, that part of a wheel in which the arms of the
axletree move, and in which the spokes are driven and supported. See
WHEEL.
NAVE-_hoops_, are flat iron rings to bind the nave: there are
generally three on each nave.
NAVE-_boxes_, were formerly made of brass; but experience has shewn
that those of cast iron cause less friction, and are much cheaper:
there are two, one at each end, to diminish the friction of the
axletree against the nave.
NAVIGATION, the theory and art of conducting a ship by sea, from one
port to another, or of disposing and influencing her machinery, by the
force of the wind, so as to begin and continue her motion at sea.
NAVIRE _de guerre_, a man of war.
NAVIRE _Merchand_, _Fr._ a merchantman. It is likewise called _vaisseau
marchand_.
NAULAGE, NAULIS, _Fr._ Freight or fare.
NAULISER, _Fr._ to freight or hire a vessel.
NAUMACHIÆ,or sea-fights, are described as early as the time of the
first Punic war, when the Romans first initiated their men in the
knowlege of sea affairs. After the improvement of many years, they were
designed as well for the gratifying the sight as for increasing their
naval experience and discipline; and therefore composed one of the
solemn shows, by which the magistrates or emperors, or any affectors
of popularity, so often made their court to the people. It will be
observed from this passage out of Kennett’s Roman Antiquities, page
269, that the necessity which Rome was under of fighting Carthage upon
her own element, gave rise to their naval manœuvres. But the overgrown
empire of the former, and the subsequent corruption of her people, soon
converted these powerful auxiliaries to the legions, by whom she had
conquered the universe, into instruments of pleasure and debauchery.
Lampridius, in the life of the emperor Heliogabalus, relates, that,
in a representation of a naval fight, he filled the channel where the
vessels were to ride with wine instead of water. A story scarcely
credible, though we have the highest conceptions of that wretch’s
prodigious luxury and extravagance. The frequent threats which the
French emperor has put forth, and the similitude which he draws between
France and Great Britain to Rome and Carthage, may probably lead to
great na- exertions.
NAUTICAL _planisphere_, a description of the terrestrial globe upon a
plane, for the use of mariners: but more usually called _chart_.
NAVY, implies, in general, any fleet or assembly of ships. It is,
however, more particularly understood of the vessels of war that belong
to a kingdom or state.
NAVY DEPARTMENT of the United States, has the charge of the naval
affairs, and of the military marine corps.
_Number and Kind of Ordnance for each of the Ships in the British Navy._
+------+-----++---------------------++-----------+
| | || No. of Guns || |
| | No. || of each Kind. ||Carronades.|
| | of ++--+--+--+--+--+--+---++--+--+--+--+
|Rates.|Guns.||42|32|24|18|12| 9| 6 ||32|24|18|12|
+------+-----++--+--+--+--+--+--+---++--+--+--+--+
|1st. | 100 ||28|--|28|--|30|--|18 || 2| 6|--|--|
|2d. | 98 ||--|28|--|30|40|--|--}|| 2|--| 6|--|
| { | 80 ||--|26|--|26|--|24| 4}|| | | | |
| { | 74 ||--|28|--|28|--|18|--}|| 2|--| 6|--|
|3d. { | 70 ||--|28|--|28|--|14|-- || | | | |
| { | 64 ||--|--|26|26|--|12|-- ||--| 2| 6|--|
|4th. {| 60 ||--|--|24|--|26|--|10 ||--|--|--|--|
| {| 50 ||--|--|22|--|22|--| 6 ||--| 6|--| 6|
| { | 44 ||--|--|--|20|22|--| 6 ||--|--| 8|--|
|5th.{ | 36 ||--|--|--|26| 2| 8|-- || 8|--|--|--|
| { | 32 ||--|--|--|--|26|--| 6 ||--| 6|--|--|
| {| 28 ||--|--|--|--|--|24| 4 ||--| 6|--|--|
|6th. {| 24 ||--|--|--|--|--|22| 2 ||--| 2| 6|--|
| {| 20 ||--|--|--|--|--|20|-- ||--|--|--| 8|
|Sloops| 18 ||--|--|--|--|--|--|18 ||--|--|--| 8|
+------+-----++--+--+--+--+--+--+---++--+--+--+--+
_Dimensions of Ships, Number of Men, and Draught of Water._
+------+---------+--------+----------------------+---------+
| | | | | Depth |
|Number| Length | | Complement of | of water|
| of | on the | Extreme+--------+-------------+ required|
| Guns.|Gun-deck.|Breadth.|Sailors.| Marines. |for each.|
+------+---------+--------+--------+-------------+---------+
| | Ft. In. |Ft. In. | N^{o.} | Officers. | Feet. |
| 110 | 190 -- | 53 -- |} 875 |} |} 24 |
| 100 | 186 -- | 52 -- |} |} |} |
| 98 | 180 -- | 50 -- | } 750 |} 1 Captain | } 23 |
| 90 | 177 6 | 49 -- | } |} 3 Subalt’s.| } |
| 80 | 182 -- | 49 6 |} |} |} |
| 74 | 182 -- | 48 7 |} 650 |} |} 18 |
| 74 | 169 -- | 46 11 |} |} |} |
| 64 | 160 -- | 44 6 |} |1 Cap. 2 Sub.|} |
| 50 | 146 -- | 40 6 | 420 |2 Lieuten’ts.| } |
| 44 | 140 9 | 38 8 |} |} | } 16 |
| 38 | 144 -- | 39 -- |} 300 |} | } |
| 36 | 142 -- | 38 -- |} |} | } |
| 32 | 126 -- | 35 4 |} |} 1 Subalt. | 15 |
| 28 | 120 -- | 33 6 | } |} | |
| 24 | 114 7 | 32 3 | } 200 |} | |
| 20 | 108 -- | 30 -- | } |} | |
| 18 | 110 -- | 29 6 |} 125 | }Serjeant. | 13 |
| 16 | 106 -- | 28 -- |} | } | |
+------+---------+--------+--------+-------------+---------+
| N. B. The usual complement of Marines is one for |
| every Gun in a British Ship of War. |
+----------------------------------------------------------+
NAVY-_board_, together with its civil and military departments, in
England, consists of a lord high admiral, or lords commissioners for
executing this office; one first lord commissioner, and six other lords
commissioners, with a number of inferior officers, and clerks.
NAVY, is also a collective body of officers employed in the military
sea-service.
NAWAUB, _Ind._ See NABOB.
NEABUT, _Ind._ a deputyship, or lieutenancy: from naib, a deputy.
NECESSARIES, in a military sense, are such articles as are ordered to
be given to every soldier.
NEESHUNGPAT, _Ind._ a violent assault without bloodshed.
NEGATIVE. This term is sometimes used to express the result of
measures or enterprizes, which though not entirely successful, are not
productive of serious or mischievous consequences. Hence the British
expeditions to Spain, and to Walcheren, may be considered as having had
_negative success_.
NEGATIVE _Penalties_. Certain laws whereby persons are secluded from
military rank, &c. without inflicting any positive pains.
NEGLECT _of_ DUTY. Officers or soldiers convicted of neglect of duty,
are punishable at the discretion of a court-martial.
NEGROES, blacks, moors. The people brought from Guinea, and other
parts of Africa, as slaves, and sent into the colonies of America, to
cultivate sugar, tobacco, indigo, &c. and to dig in the mines of Peru
or Mexico.
NELLI-COTAH, a fort situated about forty miles to the south of
Tinivelly, in the East Indies. This fort has been rendered memorable
by the manner in which it was carried by the English in 1755, and
the barbarity with which a garrison was treated which had not killed
a man and had called for quarter, and yet men, women, and children
were massacred. The detachment consisted of 100 Europeans, and 300
sepoys, with two field pieces. These troops (to quote Mr. Orme’s
words in his History of the Carnatic, page 386, book V.) set out at
midnight and performed the march in 18 hours: the polygar, startled
at the suddenness of their approach, sent out a deputy, who pretended
he came to capitulate, and promised that his master would pay the
money demanded of him in a few days; but suspicions being entertained
of his veracity, it was determined to detain him as a pledge for the
execution of what he had promised, and he was accordingly delivered
over to the charge of a guard. The troops were so much fatigued by the
excessive march they had just made, that even the advanced centinels
could not keep awake; and the deputy perceiving all the soldiers who
were appointed to guard him, fast asleep, made his escape out of the
camp, and returned to the fort; from whence the polygar had sent him
only to gain time, in order to make the necessary preparations for his
defence. This being discovered early in the morning, it was determined
to storm the place, of which the defences were nothing more than a
mud wall with round towers. The troops had not brought any scaling
ladders, but the outside of the wall was sloping, and had many clefts
worn in it by the rain, so that the assault, although hazardous, was
nevertheless practicable. It was made both by the Europeans and the
sepoys with undaunted courage, in several parties at the same time;
each of which gained the parapet without being once repulsed, when
the garrison retired to the buildings of the fort, where they called
out for quarter; but the soldiers, put all they met to the sword,
not excepting the women and children; suffering only six persons, out
of four hundred, to escape alive: shameful to relate, the troops and
officers who bore the greatest part in this shocking barbarity, were
the bravest of Englishmen, having most of them served under colonel
Lawrence, on the plains of Tritchinopoly: but those who contemplate
human nature will find many reasons, supported by examples, to dissent
from the common opinion, that cruelty is incompatible with courage.
NESHAUNBURDAR, _Ind._ an ensign.
NETHERLANDS, that part of modern France which lies next to the North
sea; it was once called the circle of Burgundy, and sometimes the Low
Countries, so called from being situated between France, Lorrain,
Germany, and the ocean.
They were formerly divided into 17 provinces, four of which were
dukedoms, viz. Brabant, Limburg, Luxemburg, and Guelderland; seven were
earldoms, viz. Flanders, Artois, Hainault, Holland, Zealand, Namur,
and Zutphen; and five Baronies, viz. West Friezland, Mechlin, Utrecht,
Overysell, and Groningen.
These were originally governed by distinct lords or princes, but were
all united under Philip the good, duke of Burgundy, who left them to
his son Charles, surnamed the Hardy, who being killed at Nancy, in
1477, the 17 provinces fell to his only daughter, Mary of Burgundy, who
by marrying with Maximilian the First, of Germany, carried them into
the house of Austria.
The kings of France claimed a right to Artois, Flanders, &c. In the
reign of king Philip II. of Spain, William of Nassau, prince of Orange,
and several other discontented noblemen, gave beginning to those
disturbances which terminated in the separation of Holland, and the
other countries known by the name of the _United Provinces_, occasioned
by the dread of the inquisition, the insupportable rigor of the
government of the Duke of Alva, and the violent encroachments of the
Spaniards upon the liberties and privileges of the countries.
The Netherlands, comprehending Holland, have undergone material
alterations during the progress of the French Revolution. Brabant and
Flanders, which belonged to the house of Austria, have been annexed
to France, and form several of its departments. Holland, upon the
expulsion of the Stadtholder, was allowed to call itself an independent
country, in alliance with France; but the British co-operating with the
adherents of the Stadtholder, exposed it to repeated invasions, to put
an end to these conspiracies, after twice expelling the English, the
government was changed, and it is now distinguished by the name of the
Batavian kingdom.
NETTOYER _les Magazins_, _Fr._ in artillery, signifies to remove the
different pieces of ordnance, for the purpose of having them carefully
examined, &c. and to have the stores and ammunition so arranged as not
to receive damage. This duty is generally performed by small parties
of solders, under the command of serjeants, who are detached from
the different guards of a garrison town. In the old French service
the _commissaire d’artillerie_ superintended the execution of this
necessary duty, and the soldiers who were employed, got relieved from
any further attendance as part of the guard, the instant their work was
done.
NETTOYER, _ou enfiler_, _Fr._ to scour or enfilade.
NETTOYER _la courtine_, _Fr._ to scour, or fire through the whole
extent of the curtain.
NETTOYER _le rampart_, _Fr._ to scour the rampart.
NETTOYER _le tranchée_, _Fr._ to scour or clear the trenches. This is
effected by means of a vigorous sally which the garrison of a besieged
place make upon the besiegers; when they beat in the guard, drive off
the artificers and workmen, level the parapet, break up and choak the
line of circumvallation, and spike or nail the cannon.
NEUTRAL, neither of the one nor the other.
NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ See NEUTRALITY.
_Garder la_ NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ To be neutral.
_Accorder la_ NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ To allow others to be neutral, or to
grant neutrality.
_Observer la_ NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ To observe a strict neutrality.
_Violer la_ NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ To violate the laws of neutrality.
_Demeurer dans la_ NEUTRALITE, _Fr._ To remain in a state of neutrality.
NEUTRALITY. The state or condition of one who is neuter, a middle
condition between a friend and an enemy. In a military sense, remaining
strictly indifferent, whilst other powers are at war, without assisting
any party with arms, ammunition, or men. When a country, calling
itself neutral, furnishes a quota or contingent to any nation that is
at war with another, it cannot be said to observe the strict laws of
neutrality. Of all precarious and difficult situations that perhaps
is the most so, in which a weak nation is placed when two powerful
nations wage war on each side, and the exact laws of neutrality are
expected to be observed by the intermediate country. Bayle speaking
of neutrality, humorously exclaims, _heureux les pacifiques quant a
l’autre monde, mais dans celui-ci, ils sont misérables_: happy are
the peaceable with respect to the next world, but they are miserable
in this! in trying to derive advantages from the dissensions and
broils of others, they insensibly become the victims of both parties.
The French writer humorously says, _Ils veulent être marteaux, cela
fait que continuellement ils sont enclumes à droite et à gauche_:
they would fain be hammers, instead of which they become anvils,
and get beaten both right and left. This happened to the Venetians
in 1701, who endeavored to remain neutral during the campaigns that
took place between the French and the Imperialists. The Danes afford
another illustration of the inefficacy of a neutrality without power
to resist, the destruction of Copenhagen, and the plunder of their
navy, is an atrocity unparalleled. The treatment experienced by the
United States, is only inferior to the barbarity exercised against
Denmark. Genoa, Florence, Holland, and Switzerland were all forced
from their neutrality by England, and fell victims. The observance of
a strict neutrality is unquestionably a matter of extreme difficulty,
and requires uncommon ability. Few princes possess those qualities of
the head and heart that distinguished Hieron king of Syracuse, who
so dexterously managed his neutrality in the war between Rome and
Carthage. His subjects were considerably benefited by the conduct he
observed, whilst his own reputation was not a little increased by the
sound policy that dictated it.
_Armed_ NEUTRALITY. The depredations committed by the naval force of
Great Britain, during the first years of the American revolution,
excited a general indignation among the maritime powers of the north
of Europe. A project said to be devised by Dr. Franklin, and suggested
to the count de Vergennes, was communicated to the courts of Russia
and Prussia, and taken up with the zeal of a patron by the empress
Katherine of Russia, the result was, that in the year 1780, Russia,
Prussia, Sweden, and Denmark, had entered into engagements to arm their
fleets, in order to support the neutrality of their commerce; Holland
was invited, and consented to engage, but was attacked by Great Britain
by surprize before she had ratified the agreement; the other neutral
nations were brought to engage in it, and Great Britain was under the
necessity of recognizing the principles of the armed confederacy. This
event, novel in history, was productive of signal advantages to neutral
nations; it formed a new epocha in maritime history, and wrested from
England the audacious usurpation of the sovereignty of the seas.
The principles of the armed neutrality were again resumed during the
French revolution; but the British, by employing corruption in the
northern cabinets, procured the assassination of the emperor Paul of
Russia, and at the same time brought a large fleet before Copenhagen
which they bombarded, in consequence of which Russia was brought into
the war, and Denmark obliged to bend to circumstances. Sweden was
already a party in the war.
During the progress of the French revolution, instances have occurred
in which a wise neutrality might have been made productive of great
national good. But, alas! there are few statesmen, who have ability
or political virtue enough, to resist the intrigues or views of those
cabinets, who being themselves involved in war, leave nothing untried
to drag their neighbors into the same troubled state. Montesquieu has
observed, with his usual good sense, that nations seldom know how to
avail themselves of natural advantages. What becomes a matter of hard
necessity in one country, is frequently found to exist in another, from
crooked and interested policy, or from ignorance in administration.
Some countries are calculated to be neutral; some to avail themselves
of insular situations; and to impose by maritime operations; and
others, to make up for the natural disadvantages of continental
position, by means of standing armies.
It has been remarked, (with what justice we leave politicians to
determine) that no power, being or affecting to be neuter, should
be allowed to arm itself, because it is impossible to have perfect
confidence in a quarter from whence hostilities may commence according
to the exigency of circumstances, (so properly called by the French,
_la force des circonstances_;) or the alluring prospects of ambition.
It is more than probable, that the armed confederacy of the north
sprung originally from a secret understanding with the agents of
France, and manifested itself more strongly on the declaration of
Russia. Great Britain of course took the alarm; and, as a French writer
very justly observes on the subject of armed neutrality, has sent her
fleets, to ascertain the point at the gates of Copenhagen.
The second expedition of the British against Copenhagen is one of the
most extraordinary in the annals of the world. The pretence set up
is best expressed in the language of _Jackson_, the agent of England
in this unprecedented outrage--these are his words. “In the present
disturbed state of the continent of Europe it was impossible to
distinguish any longer between a _neutral and an enemy_, but by her
becoming an ally or an open foe. That something therefore was required
beyond an ordinary presumption of the real disposition of every state;
and that whilst the influence of an implacable enemy predominated
over every power within his reach, (France is alluded to) and either
checked or converted into immediate hostility every engagement or
inclination unfavorable to his interest, it was impossible to consider
the _ordinary covenants_ (that is the law of nations and treaties,)
_of any neutral nation_ either as a sufficient security for her own
independence, or of those who confide in her neutrality. It becomes
the duty of England, therefore, to discriminate in these circumstances
between rights paramount and invariable, binding upon all states, and
rights which might be suffered to relax and yield to that state of
expediency in which a certain course of measures might involve the
existence of a nation.”
Such was the detestable and odious sophistry which might be as well
applied to cover and excuse any other species of atrocity, and which
was followed by the bombardment and conflagration of Copenhagen, the
murder of its citizens, and the seizure and plunder of its fleet and
naval arsenal. _La loi des plus forts_, or the law of the strongest,
so often tramples down national rights, that necessity drives those
to the adoption of questionable measures, who would otherwise remain
strictly neutral; whilst others again, from being contiguous to
contending armies, resort to various pretences, in order to remain in
an armed condition for the purpose of taking advantage at a critical
moment. Of this description was the system of armed neutrality which
Pope Leo X. is recorded to have pursued. When Francis I. king of
France, was engaged in a war with the Swiss Cantons, respecting the
Milanese, his holiness resolved to remain neuter, or at least affected
to be so, although he was strongly invited by both parties to take an
active and decisive part. He drew his troops towards the frontiers of
the Milanese, under a pretext of covering the ecclesiastical states,
but in reality for the purpose of being at hand when the two armies
should come to a decisive engagement, of unexpectedly falling upon
the victorious army at the close of an obstinate and bloody battle,
of driving it out of Italy, becoming master of Lombardy, and finally
establishing himself as the arbiter of the country. But all these
imaginary triumphs of the Pope soon disappeared. His troops, which
had already reached the frontiers of the Milanese, no sooner learned,
that the Swiss had been totally routed by the French, than they were
panic-struck, and dispersed in the greatest disorder, as if they were
conscious of being engaged in a crooked and illegal cause.
Ancient history affords us several examples of this species of
neutrality. During the civil wars between the adherents of Vespasian
and those of Otho and Vitellius, various means of duplicity were
resorted to. We likewise read of the same sort of conduct having been
observed by the inhabitants of Corcyrus when they went to war with
the Corinthians; and modern history is full of similar instances of
specious neutrality. For further particulars on this interesting
subject, especially on the conduct to be observed by neuters in war,
see from Page 531 to 533, of the English Translation of Hugo Grotius.
NICK-NAME, (_Sobriquet_, _Fr._) A surname, which is used in ridicule
or good humor, to distinguish an individual. Nicknames among military
men are familiarly used in a collective sense. Thus the light
infantry are called _Light Bobs_, the grenadiers _Tow Rows_, and the
battalion-men _Flat Foots_; and in many instances whole corps have been
particularized in this manner. The 28th of foot were familiarly called
the _Slashers_; and a general Sir C. Grey, an officer in the British
service, used to be nicknamed General _No-Flint_, from a circumstance
which occurred during the American war, when he commanded a party which
stole into an American camp at night, and instead of fighting like a
soldier, assassinated the Americans while asleep. During the campaigns
of 1793 and 1794, in Flanders, &c. the 15th regiment of light dragoons
were called _Young Eyes_ by the guards, who received or rather gave
themselves the nick-name of _Old Eyes_.
NIGHER, _Ind._ any fortified city, measuring at least eight coss, or
eight English miles, in length and breadth.
NIQUIBS, _Ind._ men whose military functions among the sepoys,
correspond with those of corporals in the king’s service.
NITHING, a coward, or poltroon.
NITRE, See _Salt Petre_, _Gunpowder_.
NIVEAU, _Fr._ A level.
NIVEAU _de la campagne_, _Fr._ the level surface of a country is so
called, in contradistinction to the talus or slope of any rising ground.
_De_ NIVEAU, _Fr._ level, even.
NIVEAU _d’eau_, _Fr._ a water level. This instrument is extremely
simple, and of great use to engineers in the construction of works.
NIVEAU _de charpentier_, _Fr._ a carpenter’s rule or level.
NIVEAU _de paveur_, _Fr._ a pavior’s level.
NIVELER, _Fr._ to level.
NIVELER _les eaux_, _Fr._ to find the true level for conveying water.
NIVELER _le terrein_, _Fr._ to find the true level of ground, and to
ascertain the relative elevations of places.
NIVELEUR _Fr._ a leveller: it is likewise sometimes used to express
a trifler; but it does not signify a leveller in the political sense
which we apply the English word in these days; nor does it mean a
_Leveller_ belonging to a set of people in Oliver Cromwell’s army, who
were for having an equal share in the administration of the government
between the nobility and the commons.
NIZAM, _Ind._ a title which was bestowed by the great Mogul on one
of his principal officers on his being appointed to the command and
administration of a province. It became the title of an independent
prince who ruled over Golconda about the year 1790; the British now
rule over him. The word means, an adjuster, a regulator, an arranger,
or manager, &c.
NIZAM _ul Moolc_, _Ind._ the protector of the country.
NIZAMUT, the office of Nizam.
NOBILITY, from the Latin, _Nobilitas_. This word has been variously
defined. It is, however, generally understood to signify _illustrious
descent_, and _conspicuousness of ancestors_, with a succession of
arms conferred on some one (and from him to his family) by the prince,
by law, or by custom, as a reward for the good and virtuous actions
of him that performed them. The only true purchase of nobility should
therefore consist of great and good actions, which in proportion as
they dignified and ennobled the original owner, become objects of
important trust with every descendant; who either reflected them
back by a laudable imitation, or shamefully abused the tenure by
dishonorable practices. The futility of hereditary nobility is now
universally acknowleged.
NOBILITY likewise means in Europe, a quality that dignifies, or renders
a person noble: particularly that raises a person possessed of it above
a peasant or a commoner. The quality or degree of a nobleman; also the
whole body of noblemen separated from the commons.
Nobility also means name, reputation, renown. N. Bailey in his fourth
edition of the New Universal Etymological Dictionary, has the following
curious passages on this word:--
NOBILITY. The Italians thus satyrised nobility: the dukes and earls of
Germany, (every son of a duke being a duke, and every daughter of a
dutchess being a dutchess) the dons of Spain, the monsieurs of France,
the bishops of Italy, (every city having a bishop) the nobility of
Hungary, the lairds of Scotland, the knights of Naples, and the younger
brethren of England, make all together a poor company. He then classes
nobility under five specific heads, viz.
_Divine_ NOBILITY, which is also called heavenly, or theological
nobility, and relates to the supposed original of the soul.
_Human or worldly_ NOBILITY, which regards blood, and a genealogy of
many ancestors. This nobility is purely accidental, and depends upon
the birth. This is called political or hereditary, and becomes the
right of individuals, be their merit, virtue, or capacity what they may.
_Moral_ NOBILITY, refers only to virtue, is purely personal, and
depends on our own free will. It is also called _philosophical_; but is
not hereditary, except by the influence of example, which render it the
general inheritance of all good men.
_Dative_ NOBILITY, is such as has been acquired by some merits, or
deeds, and has been conferred by the prince, &c.
_Native_ NOBILITY, is what passes from father to son, and makes the
son noble, because his father was so. Of this species of nobility
consists the British house of lords; to which occasional additions are
made by purchased peerages. The justly celebrated Thomas Paine has
characterised the futility of what is called _nobility_ by a happy pun,
calling them _no-ability_.
NOBLES, NOBLEMEN, are the grandees of any kingdom or nation, by
whatsoever title they are distinguished. Honorary distinctions have
been very ancient. The Greeks distinguished their people into three
ranks, viz. _Noblemen_, _land-holders_, or _farmers_, and _tradesmen_.
The first were indulged with great privileges, and wore the figure of a
grasshopper, as a badge of honor, in their hair. The Romans wore a half
moon upon their shoes.
Among the Romans, those persons were called nobles who preserved the
statues of their ancestors in their courts or cabinets. The faces of
these statues were painted to resemble life. But it was necessary to be
descended from the ancient magistrates, called curules, to be entitled
to have these statues. They were exhibited to the public on festival
days, and when any of the family died, they were carried in solemn
procession before the corpse: so that under these circumstances, an
individual might be a patrician without being actually of noble blood
or extraction.
That person was called noble in France, who first received a letter
patent constituting him such, and who thus gave rise to the nobility of
his descendants. Those born of him bore the title of _gentilhomme_, or
gentleman, _Un ancien gentilhomme_, or gentleman of some standing, was
stiled _homme de condition_, or a person of condition. Those gentlemen
who were descended from illustrious houses were called, _men of
quality_, _gens de qualité_.
In England those only are called nobles or noblemen, who have the title
of duke, marquis, earl, viscount, lord or baron; which titles either
descend to individuals from family-right, are gratuitously conferred
upon them by the prince, (who is called the fountain of honor) or are
obtained by the price of gold. The hereditary tenure becomes equally
solid in all these instances, though not equally estimable, unless
the title be itself ennobled by some great and good actions of the
possessor. By those, and those only, can a purchased title be converted
into sterling gold from base metal.
NOBLESSE. See NOBILITY.
NOBLESSE _militaire_, _Fr._ Military nobility. Although most of the
orders may be considered as appendages which confer a species of
military nobility, especially that of the British garter, which was
instituted by king Edward III. on the 19th of January, 1344, yet the
British cannot be strictly said to have among them, that species of
military nobility or distinction that was peculiarly known in France,
&c. under the immediate title of _noblesse militaire_. In order to
reward military merit, an edict was issued by the French court at
Fontainbleau, in November 1750, and enregistered on the 25th of the
same month by the parliament of Paris, whereby a _noblesse militaire_,
or military nobility, was created; the acquisition of which depended
wholly upon martial character, but did not require any letter patent
for the purpose of ennobling the individual.
By the first article of this perpetual and irrevocable edict, as it was
then stated, it was decreed, that no person, serving in the capacity
and quality of officer in any of the king’s troops, should be liable to
the land or poll tax, so long as he continued in that situation. 2dly.
That by virtue of this edict, and from the date thereof, all general
officers, not being otherwise ennobled, but being actually and bonâ
fide in the service, should be considered as noble, and remain so,
together with their children born, or to be born in lawful wedlock.
3dly. That in future the rank of general officer should of itself be
sufficient to confer the full right of nobility upon all those who
should arrive at that degree of military promotion; and that their
heirs and successors, as well as their children, actually born and
lawfully begotten, should be entitled to the same distinction; and that
all general officers should enjoy all the rights and privileges of
nobility from the date of their commissions. In articles IV. V. VI. and
VII. it was specifically provided upon what conditions those officers,
who were not noble, and were inferior in rank to that of maréchal de
camp, but who had been created chevaliers or knights of the royal and
military order of St. Louis, and who should retire from the service
after having been in the army during thirty years without intermission,
were to be exempted from the payment of the land or poll tax, and how
the same privileges was to be transferred to their sons, provided they
were in the service. By the eighth article it was enacted, that those
officers who had risen to the rank of captain and were chevaliers or
knights of the order of St. Louis, but who were disabled by wound, or
diseases contracted in the service, should not be obliged to fill up
the period of thirty years as prescribed in the recited articles. By
article IX. it was provided, that when any officer, not under the rank
of captain, died in the actual exercise of the functions, or bearing
the commission of captain, the services he had already rendered should
be of use to his sons, lawfully begotten, who were either in the
service or were intended for it.
It was specified in articles X. and XI. that every officer, born in
wedlock, whose father and grandfather had been exempted from the land
or poll tax, should be noble, in his own right, provided he got created
a chevalier or knight of St. Louis, had served the prescribed period,
or was entitled to the exemption mentioned in article VIII. that if he
should die in the service, he would be considered as having acquired
the rank of nobility, and that the title so obtained should descend, as
matter of right, to the children, lawfully begotten, of such officers
as had acquired it. It further specified, that even those who should
have been born previous to their father’s being ennobled, were entitled
to the same privilege.
Article XII. pointed out the method by which proofs of military
nobility were to be exhibited in conformity to the then existing edict.
Article XIII. and XIV. provided for those officers, who were actually
in the service at the promulgation of the edict, in proportion as the
prescribed periods were filled up. This provision related wholly to the
personal service of officers; as no proof was acknowleged or received,
relative to services done by their fathers or grandfathers, who might
have retired from the army, or have died prior to the publication of
the edict.
The XVth, or last article, was a sort of register, in which were
preserved the different titles that enabled individuals to lay claim to
military nobility.
The whole of this edict may be seen, page 206, in the 3d volume, _Des
Elémens Militaires_.
The French emperor Bonaparte has instituted an order of nobility called
the _legion of honor_, the political influence of which appears to be
greater than any order ever established, even than that of the Jesuits.
He has also adopted the ancient military title of _duke_; which he
has hitherto conferred only on men who have merited renown by their
military greatness. The title of _count_ is also established, and all
the members of the legion of honor hold a rank corresponding with the
knights of feudal institution. Private soldiers and tradesmen, for acts
of public virtue, have been created members of the legion of honor.
NOEUD _de l’artificier_, _Fr._ a particular knot which artificers or
fireworkers make use of to bind fusees together.
NOEUD _de charrue_, _Fr._ a particular knot or stress, which is used in
the artillery when ropes are passed under carriages, for the purpose of
raising any piece of ordnance that has been overturned. For the various
knots used in military service, see the _Am. Mil. Library_, Art.
ARTILLERY.
NOMADES, a tribe of wandering Arabs, so called in Asia.
NOMINAL, by name. Hence
NOMINAL _Call_ which corresponds with the French _appel nominatif_;
and, in a military sense, with our _roll call_.
NOURRICE, _Fr._ a nurse. A female who attends the sick. This word is
likewise used by the French to express the means of subsistence, &c.
which are supplied by the agricultural part of a kingdom. Hence _une
province est la nourrice d’une ville_; the town is fed by the country
round it. _La Sicile est la nourrice de Rome._ Sicily is the nurse of
Rome; meaning thereby that the latter was supplied with corn, &c. by
the former.
NOURRIR. To feed. The French say familiarly, _la soupe nourrit le
soldat_; broth feeds the soldier.
NOYAU, _Fr._ in English _mandril_, a long piece of iron, which is
placed in the middle of a cannon mould, in order that the liquid metal
may be poured round it, and the piece obtain an equal thickness on all
sides.
NOYAU, _Fr._ likewise means the whole of the vacant space or bore of
a cannon, under which are comprehended the diameter of the mouth, the
vacant cylinder, the breech, and the vent.
With respect to bombs, grenades, and hollow balls, that which is called
_noyau_ consists of a globular piece of earth, upon which the cover
of bombs, grenades, and hollow balls, is cast. The metal is poured in
between this cover and the _noyau_, after which the _noyau_ or core is
broken, and the earth taken out.
NOWARRA, _Ind._ An establishment of boats, which is kept at Dacca, for
a defence against the _Decoits_, _Mugs_, and other plunderers.
NUDDEE, _Ind._ The name for a rivulet.
NULLA, _Ind._ This term likewise signifies a rivulet, and means the
place which was once the bed of a river.
NUMEROS, _Fr._ round pieces made of brass, or other metal, which were
numbered and used in the old French service in the detail of guards.
See MARON.
NURSE. A person, generally a female, whose whole business is to
attend the sick in the general or regimental hospital. She is under
the immediate direction of the surgeon, whose duty will be to prepare
the slops and comforts for the sick, and occasionally to assist in
administering medicines, cooking the victuals, washing, &c. and
for every ten men confined to bed by fever, an additional nurse
and orderly-man should be allowed. All the patients, who are able,
are every morning and evening to assist in cleaning and airing the
hospital, carrying away dirt, &c., and by every means to assist the
helpless.
There are also serjeants, orderly-men, and nurses, in regiments of the
line.
In every regimental hospital, a room should be appropriated to the
accommodation of such convalescents, whose state of health will admit
of their being placed on full diet. This hospital to be regularly
visited by the surgeon once, twice, or oftener in the day, as
circumstances may require.
A non-commissioned officer should be appointed to the particular
charge of the convalescent hospital, with an orderly-man, and when the
convalescents are numerous, more orderly-men are to be attached to it,
to keep it clean.
It is particularly necessary that none of the hospital tables and
orders, which are to be hung up in a conspicuous place in every
regimental hospital, shall be defaced by any person whatever, nor taken
down, but by the surgeon or serjeant, the latter of whom will explain
the allowance ordered for those patients who are not themselves in a
situation to read the table for the distribution of diet.
O.
O. This letter is generally used in the orderly books to signify
orders, viz.
GL. O. General orders.
R. O. Regimental orders,
GN. O. Garrison orders.
B. O. Brigade orders.
OATH, a solemn asseveration made in the presence of a magistrate, and
taken on the Bible, whereby an individual binds himself to observe
certain conditions, or swears to specific facts which he knows of
his own knowlege. Soldiers from time immemorial have been accustomed
to take oaths of fidelity. These oaths were, however, observed with
greater solemnity among the ancients than they are administered in
modern armies, except upon very particular occasions. In the latter,
indeed, it seldom or ever happens, that oaths are taken by bodies of
soldiers, assembled for the purpose. Oaths are taken by men newly
enlisted, but those oaths are individually administered, and separately
taken. The military oath, on the contrary, among the Romans, was of a
more general and impressive nature. Kennett, in his Roman Antiquities,
page 188, gives the following account of it:--“The levies being
finished, the tribunes of every legion chose out one whom they thought
the fittest person, and gave him a solemn oath at large, the substance
of which was, that he should oblige himself to obey the commanders in
all things to the utmost of his power, be ready to attend whenever
they ordered his appearance, and never to leave the army but by their
consent. After he had ended, the whole legion, passing one by one,
every man, in short, swore to the same effect, crying, as he went by,
_Idem in me_. The same by me.”
OATH _of Allegiance_. See ALLEGIANCE.
OATS, a grain which constitutes a principal food of horses in Europe.
The distribution of this article ought to be narrowly watched by every
officer commanding a troop; since it is notorious, that government is
frequently charged for quantities which are not delivered, by which
means, the horse suffers, and the public are imposed upon.
OBEDIENCE, (_Obéissance_, _Fr._) Submission to the orders of a
superior. The first principle which ought to be inculcated and
impressed upon the mind of every officer and soldier is obedience to
all lawful commands. It is the main spring, the soul and essence, of
military duty.
_Preter obeissance_, _Fr._ To swear allegiance.
_Remettre dans l’obeissance_, _Fr._ To recall to duty.
OBEDIENCE _to orders_. An unequivocal performance of the several duties
which are directed to be discharged by military men. All officers and
soldiers are to pay obedience to the lawful orders of their superior
officers.
OBEIR, _Fr._ See OBEY.
_To_ OBEY, in a military sense, is without question or hesitation, to
conform zealously to all orders and instructions which are legally
issued. It sometimes happens, that individuals are called upon (by
mistake, or from the exigency of the service) out of what is called the
regular roster. In either case they must cheerfully obey, and after
they have performed their duty, they may remonstrate.
OBJECT, in a military sense, signifies the same as point, with respect
to mere movements and evolutions. Thus in marching forward in line, &c.
the leader of a squad, company, or battalion, must take two objects at
least upon which he forms his perpendicular movement, and by which the
whole body is regulated. In proportion as he advances he takes care to
select intermediate and distant objects or points by which his march is
governed. See MARCHING IN LINE.
OBLATE, any rotund figure flatted at the poles as a turnip, which is
properly an _oblate spheroid_.
OBLIQUATION, OBLIQUITY, a deviation from the parallel or perpendicular
line.
OBLIQUE, _or second flank_. The face of a bastion discovered from a
part of the curtain, is so called.
OBLIQUE _projection_, is that wherein the direction of the striking
body is not perpendicular to the body struck, which makes an oblique
angle with the horizontal line.
OBLIQUE _deployments_. When the component parts of a column that is
extending into line, deviate to the right or left, for the purpose
of taking up an oblique position, its movements are called oblique
deployments. This is thus executed, either by wheeling the line by
quarter or half wheels toward the point directed in single files,
sections, or platoons; so that the movement may be made perpendicular
to the newly wheeled front, and the sections will form echellons; if
files, they march by what is called the line of science.
OBLIQUE _fire or defence_, that which is under too great an angle, as
is generally the defence of the second flank, which can never be so
good as a defence in front. See _Oblique Firing_, at the word FIRINGS.
See _Am. Mil. Lib. plates_.
OBLIQUE _percussion_, is that wherein the direction of the striking
body is not perpendicular to the body struck, or is not in line with
its centre of gravity.
Oblique _position_. A position taken in an oblique direction from the
original line of formation. As described in oblique deployments.
OBLIQUE _radius_, a line extending from the centre to the exterior side
of a polygon.
OBLIQUE STEP. This absurd and awkward contortion is deservedly exploded.
_To_ OBLIQUE, in a military sense, is to move forward to the right or
left, in either of those directions, from a line.
_Pas_ OBLIQUE, _Fr._ Oblique step.
OBLIQUE _à droite_, _Fr._ Right oblique.
OBLIQUE _à gauche_, _Fr._ Left oblique.
_Feux_ OBLIQUES _à droite et à gauche_, oblique firings to the right
and left.
_Marcher_ OBLIQUEMENT, _Fr._ To oblique, or march in an oblique
direction.
OBLIVION. See AMNESTY.
OBLONG _Square_. See SQUARE.
OBSEDER, _Fr._ To besiege, to beset, to get possession of.
OBSEQUIES, (_Obséques_, _Fr._) See BURIALS.
OBSERVATION. See ARMY OF OBSERVATION.
_To be under_ OBSERVATION. To be carefully watched and looked after.
_Etre vu de prés; etre suivi de prés._
OBSERVATOIRE, _Fr._ See OBSERVATORY.
OBSERVATORY, a building, public or private, which is erected and
provided with all sorts of instruments, proper for astronomical
observations, &c. The most noted observatories in Europe, are:
1. That of Tycho Brahe, a nobleman of Denmark, at Uraineberg, in the
island of Wern, between the coasts of Schonen and Zealand, in the
Baltic.
2. The observatory at Paris, which was erected by Louis XIV. This
building stands in the Fauxbourg St. Germain, and is so constructed as
to answer the four cardinal points of the world, east, west, north and
south. The foundation is laid 80 feet below the ground, and the edifice
carried as much above it. It contains three stories in height, and
has a terrace at top, from whence the whole horizon appears flat. The
stair-case of this observatory deserves notice, from the singularity of
its construction, being in the form of a screw, and so contrived, that
from the bottom there is a full sight of the stars that pass the zenith
of this place.
3. The royal observatory at Greenwich, in England, which was founded by
Charles the second.
4. The observatory at Pekin in China, which was erected by the late
emperor, at the intercession of the Jesuits.
_To_ OBSERVE, to watch closely, &c. Hence, _to observe the motions
of an enemy_, is to keep a good look out by means of small corps of
armed men, or of intelligent and steady spies or scouts, and to be
constantly in possession of his different movements. No man can be said
to have the talents of an able general, who neglects to observe his
enemy in all directions; for if it be his intention to attack, you may
thwart him by previous manœuvres; and if you are liable to be attacked
yourself, you may assume the best possible position, and prevent
surprise, &c.
OBSESSION. The act of besieging.
OBSIDIONAL, belonging to a siege.
OBSIDIONAL _Crown_, (_couronne obsidionale_, _Fr._) a crown so called
among the ancient Romans, which was bestowed upon a governor or
general, who by his skill and exertions, either held out, or caused
the siege to be raised of any town belonging to the republic. It was
made from the grass which grew upon the spot, and was therefore called
_gramineus_, from the Latin word _gramen_, signifying grass.
_Monnoie_ OBSIDIONALE, _Fr._ any substitute for coin, which has a value
put upon it that is greater than its intrinsic worth; and a currency
given, to answer the convenience of the inhabitants of a besieged
place. _On a employé le cuir à faire des monnoies obsidionales._ The
inhabitants made use of leather as a substitute for coin.
OBSTACLES, in a military sense, are narrow passes, woods, bridges, or
any other impediments, which present themselves when a battalion is
marching to front or rear. These are passed, by the formation, march,
and deployment of the close column. Such parts as are not interrupted
still move on in front; such parts as are interrupted, double by
divisions, as ordered, behind and adjoining a flank or flanks, and
in this manner follow in close column in their natural order. As the
ground opens they successively deploy, and again perfect the line. The
columns are always behind the line, and march closed up. The formed
part of the battalion, whether advancing or retiring, continues to move
on at the ordinary pace, and in proportion as the obstacles increase
or diminish, will the formed or column parts of the line increase or
diminish.
The general attentions directed to be observed on these occasions
are, that the columns formed shall be of sub-divisions, if the ground
will admit. The first sub-division that is obliged to double, will be
directed to which hand by the commander of the battalion, the others,
as they successively double, will, in consequence, place themselves
behind it, and behind each other, and the hand first doubled to, will
be that which presents the opening most favorable to the subsequent
march, and formation, and which the commanding officer will always hold
in view, and order accordingly. The interrupted body will double to one
or both flanks, according to circumstances, and the order it receives.
Obstacles that impede a flank will occasion a single column to be
formed from the flank towards the centre. Obstacles that impede the
centre, or a central part of a wing, will, if considerable, occasion
two columns to be formed, from the centre towards the flanks. The
columns will follow a flank of such part of the line as is not impeded;
and either in doubling into column, or extending into line, the rear
divisions will conform to the movements of their then leading one. No
part less than the front of the column doubles or moves up, and when
half or more of a battalion must be thrown into one column, it will be
ordered by companies.
OBSTACLES _whose fronts are parallel to the line_. When such occur,
the divisions impeded must all at once double behind such one, or two,
other divisions as clear them of the obstacle.
OBSTACLES _whose first points continue to increase as the line
advances_. In these cases the doubling is successive, beginning with
that division which is first interrupted, and continuing as it becomes
necessary, till the column can advance in clear ground.
OBSTACLES _passed, or diminished_. When obstacles are of such a
nature as to permit of the complete extension at once into line: the
whole column performs it by the commands and deployments of the close
column on the front division, which then makes part of the line. But
when obstacles diminish by degrees only, then the divisions of the
column must come up into line successively as the ground opens, and
the remainder of the column must, in diminishing, shift toward the
obstacle, in the same manner as it before shifted from it in increasing.
OBSTACLES _that are passed in presence of an enemy_. Under these
circumstances if the battalion, in advancing, should be obliged to
fire, it halts in the situation it is then in, executes such firings as
are ordered, and again advances.
If the battalion, in retiring, is pressed by the enemy, the part in
line will _halt! front!_ the part in column will move on till the last
division arrives in line, and will then _halt, front_. The firing that
is ordered, will be executed; and when it is again proper to retire,
the whole will face about, the part in line will _march_, and the
columns will also be put in march when the line arrives at their head.
OBSTACLES _whose points of opening are narrow, and continue so, more
or less_. In such cases the interrupted division, will be ordered to
face either to one or both flanks, and closely to follow in file such
parts of the battalion as are not broken: the filing will increase as
the obstacles increase, but as they diminish, file after file will
successively and quickly move up to their place till the whole are
again formed; and during this operation the leading file will always
remain attached to the flank of the part in line.--The same rules that
direct the doubling in column, direct the doubling by files; when a
subdivision files, it will be from the flank only; when a company
files, it may be from both flanks; and if a larger front than two
companies is interrupted, it then doubles into column. Where the
obstacles are of small extent, but frequently occurring, this mode
is the readiest that can be applied in advancing; but in retiring it
cannot be of use, if the enemy be at hand to press upon the battalion;
and therefore the passing by column is to be looked upon as the general
method. For further explanations on the important operations of passing
obstacles, we refer our military readers to _Am. Mil. Lib._ Article
RECONNOITRING.
OBSTINATE, in a military sense, determined, fixed in resolution.--Hence
obstinate resistance.
OBSTINATELY. Persevering. The two armies fought so obstinately, that
night only could separate the combatants.
OBSTINEMENT, _Fr._ Obstinately. Stubbornly, inflexibly, with unshaken
determination.
S’OBSTINER, _Fr._ to persist in any thing.
OBSTRUCTION, any difficulty or impediment, opposing the operations of
an army, &c.
OBTUS, _Fr._ Obtuse.
_Angle_ OBTUS, _Fr._ Obtuse angle.
OBTUSANGULAR, having angles larger than right angles.
OBUS, _Fr._ _Hobits._ _Howitzer._ A species of small mortar, resembling
a mortar in every thing but the carriage, which is made in the form of
that belonging to a gun, only shorter. It has been frequently used at
sieges; and is well calculated to sweep the covert way, and to fire
ricochet shots. They were usually loaded with cartouches. Belidor
writes upon the subject at some length in his _Bombardier Francois_,
page 39. See HOWITZER.
OCCASIO, _L._, _Opportunity_, among the Romans, an allegorical
divinity, the goddess of time, who presides over the most favorable
moment for success in any enterprise. She is represented stark naked,
with a long lock of hair upon her forehead, and bald behind. And also
standing on a wheel, with wings on her feet, and is said to turn
herself very swiftly round; by which is intimated, that we should lay
hold of the present opportunity. Among modern nations no people pay
greater attention to the instruction which is conveyed by this allegory
than the French do. It is common among them to say:--_L’occasion
est chauve_. Occasion or opportunity is bald--Alluding to the Roman
allegory; and in the same figure, _il faut prendre l’occasion par
les cheveux_. You must seize time (by which is meant occasion or
opportunity) by the forelock; meaning the forelock of hair alluded to.
OCCASION, _Fr._ has the same signification, in military matters, that
affair bears among the French.
_Une_ OCCASION _bien chaude_, _Fr._ a warm contest, battle, or
engagement.--It further means, as with us, the source from whence
consequences ensue. _Les malheurs du peuple sont arrivés a l’occasion
de la guerre_. The misfortunes of the people have been occasioned by
the war, or the war has been the occasion of the people’s misfortunes.
The French make a nice distinction which may hold good in our language,
between cause and occasion, viz. _Il n’en est pas la cause--Il n’en
est que l’occasion, l’occasion innocente._--He is not the cause, he is
only the occasion, the innocent occasion of it. _Il s’est faché pour
une legére occasion_; he took offence, or grew angry on a very slight
occasion.
_Se servir de l’_OCCASION, _Fr._ to take advantage, or make a proper
use of time and opportunity. A French writer has very properly
observed, that to seize with dexterity occasions as they occur, is a
certain proof of courage and ability, especially in the general of an
army. Opportunity or occasion, according to Tacitus, is the mother of
events. _Opportunos magnis conatibus transitas rerum._ One complete and
decisive victory leads us to a multiplicity of enterprises and great
designs, all of which grow out of the first triumph.
A full and decisive victory, by which the country is left entirely at
the mercy of the conqueror, must necessarily throw the inhabitants into
confusion, and open fresh avenues to conquest; for one opportunity or
occasion well embraced and executed upon, becomes the source of many
others. There is not, perhaps, in human contingencies any thing which
spreads itself so rapidly, or ought to be so little neglected. An
enterprise which grows out of another, though it be in reality more
arduous to get through than the one which produced it, becomes more
easy in its execution: and yet, how many brave and skilful generals
have existed, who could not make a proper use of opportunity? In
reading over their gallant exploits, one would be led to believe,
that all their knowlege consisted in merely knowing how to fight. We
have seen them, with unexampled intrepidity, doing every thing that
man dares to do, in the field of battle: we have seen them make a
decisive blow, and place victory within their grasp; and when they were
in the actual possession of all they fought for, we have seen them
suddenly relax, give their enemies time to breathe, and finally lose
all the fruits of their victory. The courage and promptitude which
they manifested in a decisive battle, were the effects of a transitory
impulse which was soon wasted and extinguished.
Hannibal, so much celebrated for his bold enterprise against the
Romans, was guilty of this error. After the battle of Cannæ it rested
entirely with himself to march to Rome. He had only to follow up his
first blow, to take advantage of the consternation of the Romans, and
to pursue them to their capitol. By so doing he would have made use
of the glorious _occasion_ which fortune had thrown into his hands by
the first victory, and would not have been driven to the necessity
of endeavoring to obtain the original object of his enterprise, by
fighting several battles that proved abortive of it. Adherbal on this
account, after having failed in his attempt to persuade Hannibal to
pursue his first good fortune, and to march to the gates of Rome,
is recorded to have used the following expression: _Vincere scis,
Hannibal; sed victoriâ uti nescis_. Hannibal, thou knowest how to
conquer, but thou dost not know how to make use of a victory.
Gustavus Adolphus made the same mistake. Had he, after having won the
battle of Leipsic, hung upon the rear of the discomfited Imperialists,
pushed and harassed them to the gates of Vienna, there is little doubt
of the consequences which must have ensued.
The emperor Ferdinand was as weak in effective forces at the capital as
the Romans were at Rome, and the same consternation prevailed among the
inhabitants. Had Gustavus profited by his first success, and converted
the means, which so glorious an occasion offered, into prompt and
vigorous pursuit, he would not indeed have reaped additional laurels
in the plains of Outzen, where he fell at the head of his victorious
Swedes, but he must have reached Vienna, and there have dictated his
own terms.
Carthalon, among the ancients, was on the contrary, an instance of how
much may be done by acting up to circumstances, and by judiciously
making use of fortune as occasions offer. He was not satisfied with
having surprised the Roman fleet, taken off a considerable number of
ships, and burned others, but he instantly availed himself of his first
good fortune, attempted another enterprise, and succeeded.
The British generals who made war in the American revolution, were as
unfortunate in their never taking proper advantage of occasion; their
retreat from Princeton, and their subsequent stupor, while the American
army of only 4000 men lay hutted at Valley Forge; while they held
Philadelphia within 20 miles of them, with 17000 men, is a striking
instance. An important occasion was also lost by them after the battle
of Brandywine; where the American dispositions and subsequent retreat
were alike unsuited to the occasion. The campaign was a series of the
most extravagant blunders that can be conceived. The campaign that
ended with the capitulation at York Town, was as brilliant on the part
of the American arms, as on the English side eggregiously injudicious
and unsuitable to the occasion.
OCCASIONAL, (_elle_, _Fr._) This adjective is used in a different sense
among the French, to what it is with us, viz. _Cause occasionally_; any
thing that occasions an event.
OCCIDENT, _Fr._ The west.
OCCUPE, _Fr._ to be taken possession of. _Les environs furent occupés
par des troupes légéres_; the neighboring places were taken possession
of by some light troops.
_To_ OCCUPY, is to take possession of any work or post.
OCTAEDRE, _Fr._ _Octahedron_, one of the five regular bodies which is
terminated by eight equilateral equal triangles.
OCTAGON, (_Octogone_, _Fr._) a figure or polygon that has eight
equal sides, which likewise form eight equal angles. The octagon, in
fortification, is well calculated in its ground for the construction of
large towns, or for such as have the advantage of neighboring rivers,
especially if the engineer can so place the bastions, that the entrance
and outlet of the rivers may be in some of the curtains. By means of
this disposition no person could come in or go out of the garrison
without the governor’s or commandant’s permission, as the centinels
must have a full view from the flanks of the neighboring Bastions.
OCTAVION, (_one_, _Fr._) any male or female that is born of a quarteron
and a white woman, or of a white man and a quarterone.
OCTONS, _Fr._ a mathematical instrument, which contains 45 degrees or
the eighth part of a circle.
OCTOEDRICAL, having eight sides.
OCTOSTYLE, the face of a building containing eight columns.
ODA. The different corps or companies into which the janizaries are
divided, bear this appellation. The word itself means a room, and the
companies are so called from messing separately.
ODEN, ODIN, _or_ WODEN, a deity so called in ancient times among the
Swedes, and Goths. He was their god of war in the same manner that they
acknowleged _Thor_ to be their _Jupiter_, and _Freya_ their _Venus_.
ODOMETER, (_Odometre_, _Fr._) an instrument by which you may ascertain
how much ground you go over on foot, or in conveyance.
OEIL, _Fr._ in architecture, any round aperture, which is made in a
building.
OEIL _de dome_, _Fr._ an opening made at the top of an edifice.
OEIL _de bœuf_, _Fr._ a round window or aperture, which is made in a
wall or roof. The black spot in the centre of a target is likewise
called _œil de bœuf_, or bull’s eye.
OEIL _de pont_, _Fr._ the opening, or vacant space, under the arch of a
bridge.
OEUVRE, _Fr._ in architecture this word admits of various
significations in the French language, and may be connected with
different prepositions, all of which determine the signification, viz.
_Dans_ OEUVRE, _Fr._ Within. _Trente toises de long dans œuvre_;
signifies 30 toises in length within doors.
_Hors d’_OEUVRE, _Fr._ Without. _Un escalier hors d’œuvre_; a
stair-case without doors.
_Sous_ OEUVRE, _Fr._ From the bottom. _Reprendre un mur sous œuvre_; to
build up a wall from the foot or bottom.
_Dans_ OEUVRE _et hors d’_OEUVRE, within and without.
OIN, _or_ OING, _Fr._ Cart-grease, such as is used to the wheels of
ordnance carriages, &c.
OFF, an adverb, which is frequently conjoined with verbs; and, in a
military sense, is used as follows:
_To march_ OFF, to quit the ground on which you are regularly drawn up,
for the purpose of going upon detachment, relieving a guard, or doing
any other military duty.
_To tell_ OFF, to count the men composing a battalion or company, so
as to have them readily and distinctly thrown into such proportions as
suit military movements or evolutions.
OFFENCES. All acts, that are contrary to good order and discipline,
omissions of duty, &c. may be called military offences. The principal
ones are specified in the Articles of War. No officer or soldier can be
tried twice for the same offence; unless in case of an appeal from a
regimental to a general court-martial: nor can any officer or soldier
be tried for any offence committed more than two years before the date
of the warrant for trial; except in cases where the offenders were not
amenable to justice in that period, when they may be brought to trial
any time within two years after the impediment ceased.
OFFENSIVE _War_. Military acts of aggression constitute what is called
an offensive war. Those who assail an opposite or adverse army, or
invade the dominions of another power, are said to wage an offensive
war.
OFFENSIVE _Weapons_, are such as are fit for the purpose of carrying on
offensive war, as cannon, mortars, swords, pistols, musquets, &c.
OFFENSIVE _Fortification_. See APPROACHES, SIEGE, &c.
OFFICE, in a military sense, signifies any place or apartment which
is fixed or appointed for officers, clerks, &c. to attend in, for the
discharge of their respective employments; as war-office or office
of the war department--adjutant and inspector’s office--commander in
chief’s office--paymaster general’s office, &c. &c.
Department and board are sometimes synonymous terms. Sometimes the term
office is inapplicable to places where military business is transacted,
viz. Clothing department, board of general officers, &c. The word
_conseil_ is used by the French in the latter sense, the term _bureau_
in almost all others.
OFFICE of the inspector-general.
OFFICE of the commissary-general of stores, &c. to the forces at home.
OFFICE of the military agent.
OFFICE of the superintendant of military stores.
OFFICE of the advocate-general.
OFFICE of the physician-general.
OFFICE of the comptroller. Since the commencement of the coalition
wars, the whole system of conducting the extraordinary expences of
armies serving abroad has undergone a careful revision in the British
service. Among other wise suggestions it has been recommended, 1st.
That no military officer should himself have a property, or interest,
in any article which his duty obliged him to provide for the public
service. The object of this suggestion has in some instances been
fulfilled; but it still remains with the commander in chief, and with
those persons particularly concerned with army matters, to recommend
its adoption in the clothing of the different regiments, regular as
well as militia. The property which the colonels manifestly hold
in this article, exposes the most honorable character to unmerited
imputations, and affords ample means to the base and selfish of growing
rich at the expence of public virtue. 2. That no payment should be
made by the military officer belonging to any department (such as
quarter, or barrack master general, inspector of hospitals, commanding
engineers, &c.) but that every expence should be paid by the deputy
paymasters general, in pursuance of a warrant from the commander in
chief. 3. That all vouchers, proving any payment, should be subject to
a careful and speedy examination by persons appointed for the purpose,
on the spot where the expence was incurred.
In the present war, the whole of the extraordinary expences of an army
serving abroad, are conducted by the means of a commissary general, who
receives and has charge of all provisions and stores sent for the use
of the troops from this country; who purchases, or provides, under the
direction of, or in concurrence with, the commander in chief (without
whose authority no service can be performed, or expence incurred) such
articles as may be more conveniently obtained on the spot, and who is
responsible for all monies, provisions, or stores, whether actually
used, damaged, lost, destroyed, or plundered, with the condition of
procuring proper certificates to prove every mode of their consumption,
before he can be discharged therefrom.
A commissary of accounts also attends each army where the numbers are
of sufficient importance, with a proper establishment, for the purpose
of examining and controlling accounts on the spot; Both acting under
specific instructions.
All monies, for the ordinary services of the army, are obtained by the
means of bills drawn by the deputy paymaster abroad on the paymaster
general, which bills are negociated by the commissary general, who is
obliged to note the rate of exchange on the bill.
All monies, for extraordinaries, are obtained by drafts of the
commissary general on the treasury, which, on their arrival, are
accepted, if drawn conformably to the rules laid down, as being in
payment for services ordered by the commander in chief, and the
value of which have been previously examined and ascertained by the
commissaries of accounts on the spot.
The commissaries of accounts make returns of their examination; and on
these documents the comptrollers of the army accounts found the best
enquiry into the expenditure which the nature of the subject admits of.
The commissaries general and commissaries of accounts, are appointed
by warrant under the king’s sign manual, directing them to obey
all instructions given them for the execution of their duty by the
lords commissioners of the treasury; which instructions, since the
commencement of this war, have been prepared by the comptrollers of the
army accounts, under the orders, and subjected to the inspection of the
treasury. Instructions are also given by the secretary of state for
the war department, to all commanding officers abroad, to conduct the
service on which they are employed, with the utmost regard to public
economy, and punctuality in their accounts.
The present establishment of this office is composed in the following
manner:--
Two comptrollers at 1000_l._ per annum each.
One secretary, 700_l._ ditto.
_Civil Department._
One first accomptant and chief clerk 500_l._
One second ditto, 300_l._
One third ditto, salary not specified.
_Military Department._
One first clerk, one second clerk, one third clerk, salaries not
specified.
One chamber keeper, one messenger, one necessary woman, salaries not
specified.
OFFICE _of ordnance, or board of ordnance_ in the British service.--It
belongs to the office of ordnance to supply all military stores for
the army and navy; to defray the expence of the corps of artillery,
corps of engineers, and other military corps attached to the ordnance
service; and also the charge of repairing and building fortifications
at home and abroad; excepting field works abroad, and excepting also
those fortifications which commanders in chief may deem it expedient
to erect without previous instructions from home; in which two cases
the bills are paid by the treasury, and placed to account in the
extraordinaries of the army. All contingent expences, attending
ordnance stores, as well as camp equipage for the artillery, and the
article of tents for the privates of the whole army, included in the
payments of the ordnance.
The hire of vessels for the transportation of ordnance for foreign
service, has, since the establishment of the transport board, been
transferred to that office: and the building of barracks belongs now to
the barrack department, except when barracks are ordered to be built
within a fortification.
The master general, who, in his military character, is commander in
chief over the artillery and engineers, has, in his civil capacity,
the entire control over the whole ordnance department: he can alone do
any act, which can otherwise, if he does not interpose, be done by the
board. He can order the issue of money, but that order must be executed
in the usual mode, by three board officers.
The lieutenant general, who is second in command over the artillery
and engineers, is, in his civil capacity, the first in rank among the
members of the board; which comprehends four other principal officers;
the surveyor general, the clerk of the ordnance, the store-keeper, and
the clerk of deliveries. During the absence of the master general,
or the vacancy of the office, the whole executive power devolves on
the board; and it belongs to them, though they are subject to the
interposition of the master general, to make contracts for stores, and
for performance of services, and to direct the issue of stores and of
money. The signatures of three members of the board, of whom the clerk
of the ordnance must be one, are necessary for the payment of money.
Fortifications are erected by the commanding engineer, pursuant to an
order from the master general, for carrying a project into execution,
according to an approved plan and estimate. The estimate is usually
formed in the first place by the engineer, who is afterwards to execute
the work; and its accuracy is examined into by a committee of engineers
at home, the expediency of the measure being submitted to the master
general. All fortifications, works, and repairs are carried on by
measurement and by contract, except where the soldiers of the corps
of royal military artificers have been employed; and even in such
cases the materials worked up by the soldiers are usually supplied by
contract.
The sums voted for the ordnance, consist of the three following
heads:--1st. The ordinary, which comprehends the provision for the
ordinary establishment, civil and military, for the year ensuing,
2dly; The extraordinary, which comprehends every service known before
hand, of a temporary and contingent nature, being a provision for the
ensuing year also; and 3dly, the services unprovided for, consisting
of services which either have been actually paid in the past year, as
is generally the case, or which are supposed to have been paid, but
which were not foreseen when the estimate for the past year was made
up. Among these unforeseen expences are included various exceedings,
which have happened in the individual services voted in the past year’s
ordnance estimates; to which are added, such sums as may be necessary
to make up the deficiency of the sum directed to the ordnance use from
the naval service.
OFFICERS _belonging to the military branch of the ordnance_.
_Corps of Royal Engineers._
One master general, one lieutenant general, one chief engineer and
colonel, five colonels, six lieutenant colonels, fifteen captains,
thirteen captain lieutenants, twenty-seven first lieutenants.
OFFICERS _belonging to the royal military academy at Woolwich_.
One governor, one lieutenant governor, one inspector, one professor
of mathematics, one professor of fortification, one mathematical
master, one arithmetical master, two French masters, one assistant
fortification master, two drawing masters, one fencing master, one
dancing master, two model makers, one clerk.--Salaries unknown.
_Ship-Letter_ OFFICE. During the continuance of the British army
in Holland, a mail was made up every Tuesday and Friday night, and
forwarded to Yarmouth, where two packets, taken from the Cuxhaven
station, were appointed to convey them to the Helder. A gentleman
(the deputy comptroller of the foreign office) was sent to the head
quarters, as army post master, and in like manner made up two mails per
week, but they were sometimes detained for despatches.
On application from the duke of York the letters of soldiers (being
subscribed by the commanding officer) were suffered to pass at the
reduced charge of one penny, although that sum was not paid at the time
of the letter being put into the post-office, as the act of parliament
on the subject requires.
The following particulars, relative to this useful and humane
establishment, were issued from the general post-office, on the 20th of
September, 1799.
“Notice is hereby given, that letters addressed to persons serving with
the army under the command of field marshal his royal highness the duke
of York, will be received at the Ship-Letter office twice, instead of
once in the week, viz. on Tuesday and Friday from ten in the morning
until ten o’clock at night, and not on Thursday, as mentioned in the
advertisement from this office of the 10th instant.
“And that such letters will be regularly forwarded in vessels from
Yarmouth to the Helder Point on the same days as the mails are sent to
Cuxhaven.
“Letters by this conveyance will be chargeable with an half-rate of
postage, under the act of the 39th of his present majesty, of sixpence
each single letter, one shilling double, one shilling and sixpence
treble, and so on in proportion, excepting single letters to and from
private soldiers and sailors, which are chargeable with one penny
only, under the act of the 35th of his present majesty.
“And that newspapers will also be forwarded at a rate of three pence
upon each, provided such paper is sent without cover, or in covers open
at the sides.”
_Transport_ OFFICE, in the British service. The transport-office is a
newly created board, and was instituted in July, 1794, at first for the
superintendance of the transport service only; but to that employment
has since been added the management of the prisoners of war, in health,
at home, and abroad.
The immediate duty of this office, so far as related to the transport
service, used to be performed by the commissioners of the navy; except
in some instances, where the ordnance, or other departments hired the
transports wanted for their own immediate service; and the present
transport board have pursued the modes of engaging transports which
were practised by the navy board, when the transport service was under
its directions; but it was thought expedient to constitute a distinct
board, to transact the business of that extensive branch of the naval
service; and from the unparalleled extent to which that service has
been carried during the present war, it is highly proper that every
possible check and control should be put over so vast an expenditure of
money.
Since the institution of this board, which took place in July 1794, to
22d June 1797, the tonnage of vessels, hired as regular transports for
four or six months certain, amounted to 99,656 tons; the tonnage of the
vessels hired on freight for service amounted to 178,560 tons; making
the whole tonnage 278,216. The total expenditure for this service,
during this period, amounted to 4,088,524_l._, 3_s._ 5_d._
The total expence of this establishment for the year 1796, is stated to
have been as follows:
Salaries and allowances £. 8,838 12 0
Contingent expences 3,907 12 2
Travelling charges and extra pay to officers on
distant duty 583 15 6
-------------
Total paid by the public 13,329 19 8
-------------
The fees which were received from individuals
amounted, in the transport department, to £. 2,128 7 6
Ditto prisoners of war, to 114 7 6
Making together £. 2,242 15 5 out of which sum
there has been paid to clerks £. 1,650; and for
taxes on salaries £. 334 7 6, which is carried
forward to the account of the year 1797.
Deducting from the sum of 13,329 19 8
The taxes paid to government 334 7 6} 592 15 0
And the balance carried to 1797 258 7 6}
-------------
The expence to the public for the year 1796, appears
to have been 12,737 4 8
In a schedule of the fees paid at the war office, and a paper
describing the application thereof, it appeared, that (with the
exception of an occasional arrangement made in favor of two retired
principal clerks) they have been exclusively paid in certain
proportions to the following clerks and officers:--
1. Deputy secretary at war. 2. First clerk. 3. Principal clerk. 4.
Ditto. 5. Ditto. 6. Clerk for the entry of commissions. 7. Clerk for
accounts of deserters. 8. Clerk for business of widows’ pensions.
9. Examiner of army accounts. 10. Assistant to the examiner of army
accounts. It appeared on examination, that during the years 1792, and
1796, (being respectively periods of peace and war) the amount of all
fees received and distributed at the war office, was in the year 1792,
4,991_l._ 3_s._ 4_d._ In the year 1796, 42,731_l._ 11_s._ 11_d._
_War_ OFFICE, British service, the nature of the accounts which come
into the war office, the first head consists of the annual accounts
of the ordinary and incidental charges of established regiments;
the second regimental extraordinaries, or incidental expences more
properly belonging to established corps than to the army in general,
which latter are known by the term, “extraordinaries of the army.”
All claims made by the regimental agents come under the inspection of
the “examiner of army accounts,” to whose office they are transmitted
of course, in virtue of a general delegation of that duty to him by
the secretary at war: after his examination and report, the secretary
at war, in many instances, orders partial issues of money by letter
to the pay master general. No final payment is made, except under
the authority of a warrant countersigned by the secretary at war,
and in most instances by three lords of the treasury. The regimental
agents account finally to the secretary at war. They are likewise
accountable to him and to the commander in chief, for every species of
mismanagement or misconduct with respect to the officers and soldiers,
&c.
The forms under which all payments derived from the establishment are
conducted, consist of the following papers:
1. The establishment of a regiment.
2. The warrant from the war-office to make out debentures, with the
state of charges annexed.
3. The debenture made up at the pay-office.
4. The final or clearing warrant.
5. The pay-office state.
OFFICERS, in a _military sense_, are of several denominations and
ranks, viz.
_Commissioned_ OFFICERS, are those appointed by commission; such are
all from the general to the cornet and ensign, both inclusive.
_Warrant_ OFFICERS, those who have no commissions, but only warrants
from such boards, or persons, who are authorized by law to grant them.
_Non-commissioned_ OFFICERS, are Serjeant majors, quarter master
serjeants, serjeants, drum and fife majors, who are appointed by the
commanding officers of regiments, and by them may be reduced without a
court-martial. But it is not in the power of any captain of a company,
or other subordinate officer, to reduce a serjeant without the sentence
of a general or regimental court-martial.
_General_ OFFICERS, are those whose command is not limited to a single
company, troop, or regiment; but extends to a body of forces, composed
of several regiments: such are the general, lieutenant general, major
general, and brigadier general; on the United States establishment we
have three brigadier generals; and the territory of the United States
consists of three districts, over each of which a general presides.
_Field_ OFFICERS, are such as command a whole regiment; as the colonel,
lieutenant colonel, and major.
_Staff_ OFFICERS, are all those officers who are not attached to
companies in a regiment; whose duties extend over the whole; or a large
section, such as a brigade or division; such as the quarter master
general, and the adjutant and inspector general, brigade officers, and
aids-de-camp, also the quarter masters, adjutants, the physicians,
surgeons, and chaplains.
_Subaltern_ OFFICERS, are lieutenants, cornets, and ensigns.
_Flag_ OFFICERS, are admirals who hoist flags at the mast-heads.
_Sea_ OFFICERS, are, in general, all those who have any command in the
navy.
The following observations, are generally applicable to every other
military situation on service, that we recommend them to the serious
attention of every officer.
It is the duty of all officers, to take notice of any negligence,
or impropriety of conduct, in the men, whether on duty or off duty,
although the person, or persons offending, should not belong to their
particular regiments. All neglects of duty, they are immediately to
report to the officer commanding the guard; and they are enjoined to
confine, and to report to the commanding officer of the regiment to
which they belong, any non-commissioned officers or soldiers, they may
detect in disorderly practices, or who appear out of their quarters,
conducting themselves either in point of behaviour or appearance, in a
manner unbecoming soldiers.
_Brevet_ OFFICER, in the British service. One who in doing duty with
other corps takes rank according to the commission which he holds, and
which is superior to the one for which he actually receives pay, or by
which he can do duty in his own. A captain lieutenant, for instance,
in the 23d regiment of foot, who has the rank of brevet major in the
army, may, when that corps does brigade duty, command every captain
on service with him. The word _brevet_ is taken from the French, and
in the instance before us means rank without pay. During the French
monarchy there were various instances in which individuals held posts
of honor during the king’s pleasure, or during their own natural lives.
Hence _ducs à brevet_; dukes by brevet: or to use an expression more
familiar to us, persons who received the patent letter of a dukedom
during their natural lives. _Brevet_ likewise signified a sum attached
by order of the king to the sale of a commission or place for the
benefit of a deceased person’s wife, heirs, or creditors: this was
called _brevet de retenue_. So that the word _brevet_, though limited
to one sense amongst us, was applicable to rank and emolument among
the French. Hence _breveter_ signified to give a person a commission,
place, or employment; to invest him with honorary rank; or to authorise
him to receive a pension. _Brevet de capitaine_, signifies the
commission, or rank of a captain.
_Civil_ OFFICERS _belonging to the British laboratory at Woolwich_:--
One comptroller, one chief fire-master, one assistant fire-master, one
inspector of gunpowder manufactures, six clerks, one extra clerk, one
surgeon, one inspector of artillery, one assistant ditto, one clerk and
draftsman, one clerk, one proof master, one searcher, one instrument
keeper, one modeller, one assistant, one constructor of artillery
carriages, one assistant to ditto, one second assistant, and two clerks.
OFFICERS _belonging to the British military repository at Woolwich_:--
One superintendant, one modeller, one clerk, one draftsman, one
astronomical observer at Greenwich, salaries unknown. To these may be
added, the officers belonging to the different out ports and garrisons
that are subject to the British government.
_Commissioners and_ OFFICERS _of the British hospital at Chelsea_:--
The _civil department_ consists of:
The president of the council. First lord of the treasury. The two
secretaries of state. The paymaster general of land forces. The
secretary at war. The two comptrollers of army accounts. The governor
and lieutenant governor. Salaries unknown.
The _military department_ consists of:--
Governor. Lieutenant governor. Major. Adjutant. Treasurer, who is the
paymaster general for the time being. Deputy treasurer, one clerk, two
chaplains, one secretary and registrar, two clerks, one agent and
paymaster to the out pensioners, one physician, one comptroller, one
steward, one surgeon, two surgeon’s mates, one apothecary, one truss
maker, one whitster, one wardrobe keeper, one compter of coal-yard, one
organist, one clerk of the works, one master lamp-lighter, one master
butler, one master cook, one second cook, two under cooks, one scullery
man, one gardener, one master barber, one engine keeper, one clock
keeper, one canal keeper and turncock, one sexton, one usher of the
hall, one porter, one cellarman, two sweepers, one matron, one master
mason, one master smith, one master painter, and one plumber.
_Field_ OFFICERS _belonging to the several regiments of militia in
Ireland_.--By an act passed on the 24th of March 1801, the number of
field officers of this description has been increased by adding one
additional lieutenant colonel, and one additional major, to such of
the Irish regiments as consist of eight companies or upwards, and one
additional major to such of the said regiments as consist of seven
companies or under. The following counties consist of eight companies
and upwards:--_Antrim_, _Armagh_, _North Cork_, _South Cork_, _city of
Cork_, _Donegall_, _city of Dublin_, _Galway_, _Kerry_, _Kilkenny_,
_King’s County_, _County of Limerick_, _Londonderry_, _Louth_, _Meath_,
_Monaghan_, _Roscommon_, _Tipperary_, _Tyrone_, _Waterford_, and
_Wexford_. The _Carlow_, _Cavan_, _Clare_, _North Downshire_, _South
Downshire_, _County of Dublin_, _Fermanagh_, _Kildare_, _Leitrim_,
_city of Limerick_, _Longford_, _North Mayo_, _South Mayo_, _Queen’s
County_, _Sligo_, _Westmeath_, and _Wicklow_, regiments consist of
seven companies, or are under seven companies.
All such additional field officers, if qualified, in manner as field
officers of the same rank in the militia of Ireland are now by law
required to be, and not disapproved by the lord lieutenant, or other
chief governor or governors of Ireland, within fourteen days after
such certificate shall have been laid before him or them, shall, to
all intents and purposes, be deemed and taken as field officers of the
respective regiments in the respective ranks to which their commissions
shall respectively appoint them; and shall have the same powers
according to such commissions respectively, that other field officers
in the militia now have, and shall have rank, and receive pay according
to such rank from the dates of their respective commissions, in manner
and form as the field officers of the militia regiments of Ireland are
now entitled thereto.
OFFICER _in waiting_. The officer next for duty is so called. He is
always mentioned in orders, and ought to be ready for the service
specified, at a minute’s warning. He must not, on this account, quit
the camp, garrison, or cantonments.
OFFICER _of the day_. An officer whose immediate duty is to attend to
the interior œconomy and good order of the corps to which he belongs,
or of those with which he does mixed duty. The following regulations
will explain the nature of that duty when troops are encamped:--
The officers for daily duty in camp, independent of guards, will be
a general or generals of the day, according to the circumstances and
strength of the camp. In large camps there will be a lieutenant general
of the day, and a major general for each wing, or one major general
of cavalry, and one of infantry; and majors of brigade in the same
proportion: a field officer per brigade, and a captain and subaltern of
the day per regiment, and an adjutant and quarter master of the day per
brigade.
The general of the day is to superintend the regularity and discipline
of the camp, in every particular: he is to visit the guards of the camp
and the outposts (unless the latter are put under the command of some
particular officer): he is to call out and inspect the inlying piquets,
as often, and at such times as he thinks proper: he is to receive all
reports in camp, and make immediate communication of any extraordinary
occurrences, to the commander in chief.
The captain of the day of each regiment superintends the cleanliness
and regularity of the camp of the regiment: he attends the parading of
all regimental guards, orders the roll to be called frequently and at
certain hours, and reports every thing extraordinary to the commanding
officer.
The subaltern of the day assists the captain in his various duties, and
reports to him any irregularity, which may come to his knowlege.
The captain and subaltern of the day, are each to visit the hospital at
uncertain hours, the captain is to make his report of the state of the
hospital to the commanding officer of the regiment.
The regularity of the men’s messing is an object of primary importance.
The captain or subaltern of the day must visit, and inspect the
kettles, at the hour appointed for cooking, and no kettle is to be
taken from the kitchens till this inspection is made, and the signal
is given by the drum for the men to dine, which should be at the same
hour, throughout the camp. Independent of this regimental arrangement,
the officers of companies must daily and hourly attend to the messing
and every circumstance of the œconomy of their companies, in camp more
particularly than in quarters.
The adjutant of the day, of the brigades, is to assist the brigade
major in the various details of it, and in the absence of the brigade
major is to receive and execute all orders; it may frequently be
necessary for him likewise to attend for orders, at head-quarters.
It is the duty of the quarter master of the day, of the brigade, to
attend to the cleanliness of the camp; to take care that all broken
glass and filth of all kinds is removed, for which the quarter master
of each regiment is responsible, as far as the camp of his regiment is
concerned.
The officers on duty and those in waiting, as next for duty, who are
always to be mentioned in the orders of the day, are constantly to
remain in camp, or within their cantonments. No officer is, on any
account, to sleep out of camp, or cantonments, without leave.
Officers making written report, are to sign them, specifying their
rank, and the regiments to which they belong.
All orders relating to the men are to be read to them by an officer per
company, at the next parade after such orders are given out.
When there is a field officer of the day, it is his duty to visit all
guards frequently during the day and night; in the morning, on the
dismounting of the guards, he will collect the reports, and carry them
to the governor or commandant, together with any observations he may
himself have made, in the course of his duty in the preceding day. When
there is no field officer of the day, the reports will be collected,
and delivered to the governor, by the captain of the main guard. Each
regiment must have an alarm post assigned to it, to which it will
repair in case of fire, or any other extraordinary alarm either by day
or by night.
_Marine_ OFFICERS, all those who command in that body of troops
employed in the sea service, under the direction of the lords of the
admiralty.
OFFICIAL, all orders, reports, applications, memorials, &c. which pass
through the regular channels of communication, are called official.
OFFICIER, _Fr._ See OFFICER.
OFFICIER _sur terre_, _Fr._ a land officer, or any commissioned person
in the land service.
OFFICIER _du genie_, _Fr._ an engineer.
OFFICIER _sur mer_, _Fr._ a sea officer, or any commissioned person
in the sea service. The term, however, is not confined to this class
only, it likewise signifies the master, pilot, boatswain, &c. of a
ship, in which case the latter are called _officiers mariniers_, in
contradistinction to the former, who are stiled _officiers de la
marine_, or persons who have naval rank, and whose immediate business
is to fight their ships. These consisted, in the old French service, of
admirals, vice-admirals, lieutenant generals, commodores, captains of
ships, or post-captains, majors, captains of light frigates, captains
of fireships, captains of stores or ordnance vessels, port-captains,
to which may be added, _capitaines en second_, together with the
lieutenants and ensigns de vaisseau, whether actually employed, and
bearing rank, or being only _en second_. There were besides various
employments and situations under the old French government, which
entitled individuals to the appellation of _officier_. Those of a
military or naval nature were generally and specifically as follow:--
OFFICIER _de guerre_, _Fr._ a military man or officer.
OFFICIER _dans les troupes_, _Fr._ any person holding a military
situation in the army.
OFFICIER _général_, _Fr._ a general officer.
OFFICIER _subalterne_, _Fr._ a subaltern officer.
_Les hauts_ OFFICIERS, _Fr._ Commissioned officers.
_Les bas_ OFFICIERS, _Fr._ non-commissioned officers.
OFFICIER _de la garnison_, _Fr._ an officer belonging to the garrison
of a town, or fortified place.
OFFICIER _en garnison_, _Fr._ Any officer in garrison.
OFFICIER _au régiment des gardes_, _Fr._ an officer belonging to the
guards.
OFFICIERS _à la suite_, _Fr._ During the existence of the French
monarchy a certain number of individuals were permitted to wear the
uniform of a regiment, without being otherwise connected with it. These
were divided into two classes, viz.
OFFICIERS _à la suite d’un régiment_, _Fr._ Officers nominally attached
to a regiment. Of this description were the gentlemen appointed by the
German princes who were in alliance with France. It is mentioned, as
a fact, that before the French revolution took place, there were 42
lieutenant-colonels _à la suite du régiment Deux Ponts_. The prince of
that name having been permitted to extend this strange brevet to any
number, provided the officers so distinguished, never went into the
town where the regiment lay, or interfered with regard to quarters, &c.
The other class consisted of noblemen and gentlemen, who were
appointed by the court of Versailles, and received their brevets from
the war-minister. These were called _officiers à la suite de toute
l’armée_; or officers bearing brevet rank without being attached, even
nominally, to any specific corps.
This institution though extravagant, was nevertheless calculated to
maintain the preeminence of military passions, and to cherish those
military ideas which, by thus becoming national, conduced in a great
measure to the present military character and triumphs of the French.
OFFICIER _dans la marine_, _Fr._ an officer in the marine service.
OFFICIER _de marine_, _Fr._ a marine officer.
OFFICIER _marinier_, _Fr._ See OFFICIER _sur mer_.
OFF-_Reckonings_, a specific account so called, which exists
between government and the colonels of British regiments for the
clothing of the men. This account is divided into two parts, viz.
gross-off-reckonings, and net off-reckonings.
_Gross_ OFF-_reckonings_ consist of all the pay of the
non-commissioned officers and private men, above the subsistence.
_Net_ OFF-_reckonings_, are the produce of the gross off-reckonings,
reserved for the clothing of the men, after the warrant deduction of
one shilling in the pound, and one day’s pay of the whole regiment
for Chelsea hospital; and also the deduction of 2_d._ in the pound
for the agent, are made at the pay-office. The balance of the pay of
the officers, over and above their subsistence, after the warrant
deductions are made, and the respited pay, if there is any, is charged
to the officer, is called _clearings_; which are paid by the paymaster
to the agent, who pays them to the officers, and there finds his
twopences.
Colonels of regiments either pay the clothier ready money, or allow him
interest for forbearance. But no colonel can make a valid assignment
of the off-reckonings, till the clothier has exhibited to a board
of general officers, appointed by his majesty for that purpose, the
patterns of each species of cloathing he is to provide; which patterns
are left with the secretary to the clothing board, at the office of the
comptrollers of the army, and compared with sealed patterns, already
approved by the king; and if found conformable thereto, are sealed by
all the general officers, who compose that board, in testimony of their
approbation; and when the clothier has completed his clothing, ready to
be delivered, the inspector of clothing is directed to view the said
clothing, who certifies in writing, that he has found it conformable to
his majesty’s instructions in quantity and quality; which certificate,
together with the colonel’s assignment of the off-reckonings, is
produced by the clothier to the board of general officers, who pass
the assignment; but the contract between the colonel and clothier is
not laid before any officer whatsoever; nor is any account brought
afterwards of the expence of that clothing. Clothiers provide clothing
for complete regiments, as upon the establishment.
There are several other articles of expence defrayed out of the
clothing fund, as the charge of package, of carriage by land or
water, of insurance, when sent abroad, of interest, more or less, as
the off-reckonings are paid, of fees of offices, of clothing lost by
desertion, of small accoutrements, colors, drums, and other contingent
charges. The subsistence of the men, allowed for clothing lost by
deserters, is paid to the respective colonels; and the off-reckonings
only are included in the assignment. For the latest regulations on this
head, see a British work called _Military Finance_, page 196.
OFFUSQUER, _Fr._ literally means to darken; or conceal. _Ce bâtiment
est offusque par les maisons voisines._ This building is darkened or
concealed from the eye by the neighboring houses. It likewise signifies
in a figurative sense, to out-do or out-match. _Il se sent offusqué._
He feels himself out-done.
OGNON, _Fr._ literally means an onion. The word is sometimes used in
a familiar manner by the French to express persons standing in a row.
_Ils etoient tous en rang d’ognon._ They all stood, like a rope of
onions, in a row.
OGEE, OGIVE, in pieces of ordnance, an ornamental moulding, in the
shape of an S, taken from architecture, and used in guns, mortars, and
howitzers. See CANNON.
OGIVE, (_Ogive_, _Fr._) In Gothic vaults those arches are stiled
ogives, or ogees, which cross one another diagonally. The French
likewise call them _croisés d’ogives_.
OIL. Every soldier should be supplied with a given quantity of oil and
emery, for the purpose of cleaning his arms, accoutrements, &c.
OLYMPIAD, in _chronology_, the space of four years, for on the 5th
the Olympic games were celebrated in honor of Jupiter Olympius, near
Olympia. The Greeks began to use this epocha a little before the
building of Rome.
OLYMPIC _Games_, were instituted by Hercules, A. M. 2856, in honor of
Jupiter Olympius, at Olympia, a city of Elis, in Peloponnesus. They
were celebrated every four years, about the summer solstice. The design
of them was to accustom the young military men to running, leaping, and
every other military exercise.
OMBRE, (_sécher à l’ombre_, _Fr._) This term is in use among the French
founders of artillery, when they put the clay or putty, which serves
to form the cannon moulds, out to dry, without making any fire for the
purpose.
OMRA, _or_ OMHRA, _Ind._ plural of _ameer_, a lord. They were persons
of considerable consequence in the dominions of the great Mogul. Some
of them had command of 1000 horse, others 2000, and so on to 20,000:
their pay being regulated according to the number of their horses. The
governors and great officers of state were generally chosen out of this
body.
ON, a preposition frequently used in military exercise. It precedes
those words of command which direct the change or formation of bodies
of men upon points that are fixed, viz.
By companies _on_ the left backwards wheel. The left pivot man of each
company faces at this cautionary word, and remains a fixed point, _on_
which the rest wheel back when they receive directions so to do. When
the column of companies is to be wheeled into line, the word _on_
is equally understood to direct the moveable parts of each company
towards the given pivot which faces, and remains a fixed point. In the
British drill instructions, they say, _to the left wheel into line_;
but in the third part of the regulations _to_ is wholly omitted, and
the commanding officer uses the term _left wheel into line_, and vice
versa; the preposition _on_ is here understood: for it is evident, that
in breaking into column the component parts of a line wheel as much
_from_ a given point, as they do _to_ a given one, when the column
returns into line. Whereas by using _on_, or understanding it to be
used, when, for the sake of abbreviation, it is omitted, we preserve
the true meaning of the preposition, keep the men in the recollection
of the necessary adhesion, and shew, that whether you wheel backwards
or forwards, from line into column, or from column into line, there is
one invariable fixed point on which you move. It is more proper to say,
_on_ the right or left forwards wheel into line, in lieu of _to_.
ONAGRA, (_Onagre_, _Fr._) a warlike machine, which was used by the
ancients to throw stones of different sizes. It is mentioned by
Vegetius.
ONDECAGON, a figure of eleven sides and angles.
ONSET, assault, storm, attack.
OPEN, in military movements and dispositions is frequently used, but it
is seldom applicable to any operations in face of an enemy; the ranks,
&c. on such occasions being generally compact and close. In formation,
the word _open_ is opposed to _close_, viz. open column, open distance,
open order. It also constitutes part of a word of command; as _rear
ranks take open order_; in opposition to _rear ranks take close order_.
OPEN _distances in column_. (_Distances entieres en colonne_, _Fr._)
The intervals in these cases are always equal in depth to the extent in
front of the different component parts of the column.
OPEN _flank_, in _fortification_, that part of the flank, which is
covered by the orillon. See FORTIFICATION.
OPENING _of trenches_, the first breaking of ground by the besiegers,
in order to carry on their approaches towards the place.
OPERATIONS _de guerre_, _Fr._ See MILITARY OPERATIONS.
_Military_ OPERATION. Military operations consist in the resolute
application of preconcerted measures, in secrecy, dispatch, regular
movements, occasional encampments, and desultory combats, or pitched
battles.
_Line of_ OPERATION. All the forward movements of an army for the
purpose of attacking an enemy, penetrating into a country, &c. may
be properly called a line of operation. There is so intimate and so
necessary a connection between this line and the line of communication,
that no army can be in security, let its temporary successes be what
they may, without a strict and unremitting attention being given to
their relative points of continuity and correspondence. The line of
operation in a siege is partial and extremely limited, so is that of
communication; but upon the large scale of war these two lines are of
considerable extent and importance. No man, in fact, can be called a
good general, or even an officer, who carries his views so far forward
as to venture upon a long line of operation, without having previously
secured his line of communication, by a perfect knowlege of the
countries through which he moves, and having his flanks so thoroughly
covered, that he may fall back or retreat according to circumstances.
See _Amer. Mil. Lib._
OPINION. In military proceedings that regard the interior government of
an army, this word signifies decision, determination, judgment formed
upon matters that have been laid before a court-martial, or court of
enquiry. Hence, the court-martial having duly weighed the whole matter
before them, are of _opinion_, that ---- is not guilty of any part of
the charge preferred against him.
OPINION. Officers on courts-martial give their opinion by seniority,
beginning with the youngest in rank.
OPINION, abstractedly considered, may be defined an assent of the
understanding, with some doubt or distrust of the contrary. In a
political sense, it is the acquiescence of the mind to certain
principles. In some instances opinion and principle are synonymous
terms. Hence French revolutionary opinions, or revolutionary principles.
_A war of_ OPINION, (_Guerre d’opinion_, _Fr._) This expression
has grown into familiar use since the commencement of the French
revolution, and was never, perhaps, so strongly illustrated as by
the perseverance of the French people. Hence also the war commenced
against France, as fomented by Burke and the emigrants, was a war
against the _opinion_, which overturned the corrupt abuses of the old
French monarchy, to color its atrocity it was called a war against
jacobinism--a war in support of religion and order--a war in support of
regular government--at length a war of extermination; but experience
has shewn, that the influence of opinion is paramount to every
consideration in life. Friend, parent, and relation, have given way to
the superior calls of public duty, growing out of and sanctioned by
public opinion.
OPINION, _Fr._ This word is variously used among the French, and as
we have already observed, is now generally attached to the contest in
which they have been engaged for the maintenance of certain principles
that seem to have altered their character. The nation at large, in
fact, has taken up an opinion, grounded upon certain principles, which
are diametrically opposite to those their forefathers had implicitly
followed for 1400 years. When Great Britain formed a part of the well
known coalition, the preservation of the balance of Europe was the
ostensible cause for entering into hostilities against France; so that
the war in 1792, &c. might not improperly be called a war of policy
or political necessity, as far as it regarded the coalesced powers;
but it has unquestionably been, all along, a war of opinion on the
other side. The French familiarly say, _Il faut respecter l’opinion
publique; le pouvoir, l’empire, l’influence de l’opinion._ Public
opinion must be respected or attended to; the power, the dominion,
the influence of opinion. _L’opinion est la reine du monde._ Opinion
governs all the world. When the allied armies under the command of the
duke of Brunswick, in 1792, were within a few days march of Paris, it
was observed by a firm adherent to the royal cause: _Que malgré l’air
imposant d’une telle force, ou combinaison, on avoit tout a craindre
pendant qu’il existoit un ennemi a combattre, aussi terrible qu’etoit
l’opinion._ That notwithstanding so formidable a force or combination,
every thing was to be apprehended so long as that terrible enemy,
opinion, remained to be combated against.
OPIUM, a juice, partly of the resinous, partly of the gummy kind. It
is brought from Natolia, Egypt, and the East Indies, produced from the
white garden poppy, with which the fields of Asia are in many places
sown. The first effect of opium is making the person who takes it
cheerful; it removes melancholy, and dissipates the dread of danger.
The Turks always take it when they are going to battle: it afterwards
quiets the spirits, eases pain, and disposes to sleep. A remarkable
instance of the powerful influence of opium over the natives of the
East is related by Mr. Orme, in his history of the Carnatic, page 270.
His words are: the enemy remained quietly until noon, when having
sufficiently intoxicated themselves with opium, they began to swarm
out in great numbers; but the field pieces (which were served by
Europeans) kept them for some time at a distance, every shot doing
execution. During the cannonade a party of the nabob’s sepoys crossed
the river, and taking possession of a small choultry, (an open house
for the accommodation of travellers, so called in India) at a little
distance to the right of the other, began to fire from this untenable
post, upon which a body of 300 marattah horse galloped up to attack
them; but before they arrived the sepoys took flight; several of them
were cut to pieces, and the rest re-crossing the river ran into the
city: the marattahs encouraged by this success, (and still flushed
with the opium) now galloped up towards the entrenchment of the great
choultry, where they were suffered to come so near, that several of
them made use of their sabres across the parapet before the troops
within gave fire, which then began, and seconded by that of the four
pieces of cannon on the other side of the river, killed and wounded
a great number of men and horses, and obliged the enemy to retire in
confusion; in this instant an officer unadvisedly took the resolution
of quitting his post, and passed the river, in order to give captain
Dalton, (who commanded the detachment) some information concerning the
artillery; some of the soldiers seeing this, imagined that he went away
through fear, and concluding, that things were worse than appeared
to them, followed his example and ran out of the entrenchment; which
the rest perceiving, a panic seized the whole, and they left the post
with the greatest precipitation, notwithstanding they had the minute
before given three huzzas, on the retreat of the marattahs: a body of
3000 mysore horse, who were drawn up on the bank, immediately galloped
into the bed of the river, and charging the fugitives with fury, cut
down the whole party excepting 15 men: flushed with this success, they
made a push at captain Dalton’s division on the other side. All these
motions succeeded one another so rapidly, that he had hardly time
to put his men on their guard; more especially as many of them had
caught the panic, from having been spectators of the massacre of their
comrades; however, some of the bravest hearkening to his exhortations,
stood firm by the artillery: their behaviour encouraged the sepoys,
who made a strong fire from behind the low wall in their front, which
accompanied by the grape shot of the four field pieces, soon abated
the ardor of the enemy, and obliged them to retreat, leaving some
horses, whose riders fell within 20 yards of the muzzles of the guns:
captain Dalton then advanced a little way into the bed of the river,
where he remained until he had collected the dead and the wounded. Not
a man who escaped could give any reason why he quitted his post, all
of them acknowleging that at the time when they took flight, only one
man in the intrenchment was wounded, and that they had nine barrels of
ammunition.
OPPORTUNITY. In addition to what has been said respecting occasion,
which is nearly similar to opportunity in its import, we shall extract
the following account of the latter, which was also honored as a
goddess among the pagans. Opportunity was represented by them as a
naked woman, with a long lock of hair before, but bald behind, to
intimate, that opportunity if not laid hold on when it offers, soon
slips away; also standing with one foot on a wheel, and the other in
the air, holding a sail in one hand, and a razor in the other; her feet
also being winged, and the wheel in continual motion, to intimate that
opportunity is always inconstant and in motion.
_To_ OPPOSE, to act as an adversary against another, to resist, &c. It
likewise signifies to place as an obstacle.
OPPUGN, To oppugn, is to attack by force of arms.
ORANGE. A term applied to those persons who adhered to the Stadtholder.
Hence, orange party. The troops of the prince of orange were taken
into British pay in Sept. 1799.
ORANGE MEN. A title assumed by the members of certain clubs instituted
by the British government in Ireland; when the Irish or united Irishmen
meditated to rescue their country, in 1796, from British dominion, the
orange men were sworn to extirpate the catholics wherever found; and
their atrocities surpassed the cruelties of the British in India, and
the Spanish in South America.
ORB, in _tactics_, is the disposing of a number of soldiers in circular
form of defence. The _orb_ has been thought of consequence enough to
employ the attention of the famous marshal de Puysegur, in his _Art
of war_, who prefers this position, to throw a body of infantry in an
open country, to resist cavalry, or even a superior force of infantry;
because it is regular, and equally strong, and gives an enemy no reason
to expect better success by attacking one place than another. Cæsar
drew up his whole army in this form when he fought against Labienus.
The whole army of the Gauls were formed into an _orb_, under the
command of Sabinus and Cotta, when fighting against the Romans. The
_orb_ was generally formed six deep.
ORDER. The arrangement or disposition of things in their proper place;
custom or manner, rule or discipline, as order of march, &c.
ORDER _of battle_. The arrangement or disposition of the different
component parts of an army in one or more lines, according to the
nature of the ground, for the purpose of engaging an enemy, by giving
or receiving an attack, or in order to be reviewed, &c.
_Parade_ ORDER. When a regiment of horse or foot, a troop, or company
is drawn up with the ranks open and the officers in front, it is said
to be in parade order.
_Close_ ORDER. When a battalion or company is commanded to take close
order, at the word _march_, the ranks (supposing the men to stand
three deep) close within one pace, marching one and two paces and then
haulting. So that close order in ranks comprehends an interval of one
pace between each.
_Open_ ORDER. When a battalion or company is commanded to take open
order, on the word _march_, the dressers front, and the centre and
rear ranks fall back one and two paces, each dressing by the right the
instant it arrives on the ground. So that _open_ order comprehends an
interval of two paces between each rank.
_Extended_ ORDER, is preparatory to rank entire, and is frequently
practised in light infantry manœuvres. In order to execute this
movement the files of a battalion or company, standing two deep, open
from the given point, leaving just space enough for one man. Sometimes,
and indeed almost always, when the ground will permit, extended order
is taken by facing the battalion or company to the right or left, and
by marching to either flank until the whole has gradually doubled its
original front. This mode is extremely simple, and consists in nothing
more than open order of files from the right or left. The battalion
or company after it has obtained all its relative distances, and been
halted, is fronted, and each rear rank man springs into the vacancy on
the word of command--_Form rank entire_.
_Entire_, when applied to rank, means a straight line composed of half
files. See RANK ENTIRE.
_Extended order_ may likewise be taken, without facing to the right or
left. This is effected by every file moving sideways a given distance;
say one pace, or twenty four inches, which extent of ground a man
generally covers, from the centre file. The word of command in this
case would be, battalion or company, _mark time_, from the centre
by the _side step_ to the right and left. The centre file stands
fast--_march_--_halt_.
ORDER _Arms_, a word of command, on which the soldier brings the butt
of his musquet to the ground, the barrel being held perpendicular in a
line with the right side.
ORDERS, in a _military sense_, all that is lawfully commanded by
superior officers. Orders are given out every day, whether in camp,
garrison, or on a march, by the commanding officer; which orders are
afterwards given to every officer in writing by their respective
serjeants.
_Commander in chief’s_ ORDERS. Such orders as issue directly from the
commander in chief’s office for the government of the army at large, or
for any specific purpose. These orders are sanctioned by the king, and
are irrevocable elsewhere.
_General_ ORDERS, are such as are issued out by the general who
commands, who gives them in writing to the adjutant general, who first
sends exact copies to the general officers of the day, and distributes
them at his own quarters to all the brigade majors, who daily go to
head quarters for that purpose: where they write down every thing that
is dictated to them; from thence they go and give the _orders_, at the
place appointed for that purpose, to the different majors or adjutants
of the regiments which compose that brigade, who first read them to
their colonels and lieutenant colonels, or majors, and then dictate
them to the serjeants of companies (this is more frequently done by
the serjeant major) who write them correctly down in their respective
orderly books, and bring them to all the officers belonging to the
company.
_Garrison_ ORDERS, such orders and instructions as are given by the
governor or commanding officer of a town or fortified place.
_Brigade_ ORDERS, orders which are issued by the generals commanding,
through the brigade majors, to the several adju- corps that do duty
together, or are brigaded.
_Regimental_ ORDERS, such orders and instructions as grow out of
general or garrison orders, or proceed immediately from the commanding
officer of a regiment.
_Standing_ ORDERS, certain general rules and instructions which are
to be invariably followed, and are not subject to the temporary
intervention of rank; of this description are those orders which the
colonel of a regiment may judge fit to have inserted in the orderly
books, and which cannot be altered by the next in command without the
colonel’s concurrence.
_Sailing_ ORDERS, final instructions which are given to ships of war,
and the commander in chief.
_Beating_ ORDER, an authority given to an individual empowering him to
raise men, by beat of drum, for any particular regiment, or for general
service. It consists of a warrant which is signed by the secretary at
war, or issued in his name, by the adjutant general, or adjutant and
inspector of the army.
_Military_ ORDERS, are companies of knights, instituted by kings and
princes; either for defence of the faith, or to confer marks of honor
on their military subjects. They are as follow:
ORDER _of the Bear_, a military order in Switzerland, erected by the
emperor Frederic II. in 1213, by way of acknowlegement for the service
the Swiss had done him, and in favor of the abbey of St. Gall. To the
collar of the order hung a medal, on which was represented a _bear_,
raised on an eminence of earth.
_Amaranth_, an order of military knighthood, instituted in Sweden, by
queen Christina, in 1645, at the close of an annual feast, celebrated
in that country, and called _wirtschaft_. Their device was the cypher
of _amarante_, composed of two _A’s_, the one erect, the other
inverted, and interwoven together; the whole inclosed by a laurel
crown, with this motto, _Dolce nella memoria_.
_Argonauts of St. Nicolas_, was the name of a military order,
instituted by Charles III. king of Naples, in the year 1382, for
the advancement of navigation, or as some authors say, merely for
preserving amity among the nobles. They wore a collar of shells,
inclosed in a silver crescent, whence hung a ship with this device,
_Non credo tempori_.
ORDER _of Calatrava_, a Spanish military order. It was instituted in
1130 by don Santio, of Toledo. The habit of these knights is a black
garment, with a red cross upon the breast.
ORDER _of Alcantara_, a Spanish military order. It was established by
Ferdinand the second, king of Leon and Castile, in 1170. They wore a
green cross upon their garment.
ORDER _of St. James_, instituted by Ferdinand II. in 1175. These
knights had the privilege of wearing their hats in the chapter, in the
presence of their sovereign.
ORDER _of St. Michael_, instituted in 1469, by Lewis XII. in honor of
the important services done to France by that archangel at the siege
of Orleans, where he is supposed to have appeared at the head of the
French troops, disputing the passage of a bridge, and to have repulsed
the attack of the English, whose affairs ever after declined in that
kingdom. The order is a rich collar, with the image of that saint
pendent thereto; with this inscription: _Immensi tremor oceani_.
ORDER _of the Holy Ghost_, instituted by Henry II. of France, in 1578.
The number of knights are 100, besides the sovereign, who is always
grand-master.
ORDER _of St. Louis_, instituted by Louis XIV. in the year 1693. This
order has remained entirely in the possession of military men, ever
since its institution, and has been of singular use in keeping up the
spirit, and rewarding the services, of those who have distinguished
themselves. The number of knights is unlimited, being given to every
man of merit. The order is a golden cross, with eight points, which
hang pendent to a broad crimson riband. The motto is _Bellicæ virtutis
præmium_.
ORDER _of Mount Carmel_, instituted by Henry IV. in 1608.
ORDER _of St. Lazarus_, is of a very early institution, but has been
often neglected, and as often revived, till Louis XV. united the order
of St. Carmel and St. Lazarus in April 1722. The king was sovereign,
chief, founder, and protector.
ORDER _of the knights of Malta_. See MALTA.
ORDER _of the knights of the Garter_. See GARTER.
ORDER _of the knights of the Bath_. See BATH.
ORDER _of the golden fleece_, instituted by Philip duke of Burgundy,
surnamed the Good, in 1429. See FLEECE.
ORDER _of the Annunciation_, instituted by Amadeo, count of Savoy,
surnamed the Green, in memory of Amadeo, the first earl, who had
valorously defended the island of Rhodes against the Turks. The collar
belonging to this order is of gold, and on it are these four letters,
_F. E. R. T._ which means _Fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit_, with the
figure of the annunciation hanging to it.
ORDER _of knights templars_, instituted at Jerusalem about the year
1118. At first there were but nine of the order, and the two principal
persons were Hugo de Paganis, and Jeoffroy of St. Omer’s. This order,
after having performed many great exploits against the infidels, became
rich and powerful all over Europe; when, on the 22d of May, 1312, the
pope by his bull, pronounced the extinction of the order, and united
their estates to the order of St. John of Jerusalem. They took the name
of templars, because their first habitation stood near the temple
dedicated to our Saviour at Jerusalem.
ORDER _of the knights of St. Jago_, instituted by king Ramico, of
Spain, in commemoration of a victory obtained against the Moors, A. D.
1030. Their ensign is a red cross in form of a sword.
ORDER _of knights of the band_, erected by Alphonso, king of Spain,
in the year 1268. Their name proceeded from the knights wearing a red
scarf, or lace of silk, the breadth of three inches, which hung on
their left shoulder.
ORDER _of knights of the Redemption_, erected in the kingdom of
Arragon, by king James, who conquered the island of Majorca, in the
year 1212. Their garments are white, with a black cross thereon.
ORDER _of Teutonic knights_, established towards the close of the 12th
century, and thus called, as chiefly consisting of Germans, anciently
called Teutons.
ORDER _of the knights of St. Stephen_, instituted in the year 1561, by
Cosmo, duke of Florence. They wear a red cross with a border of gold.
ORDER _of merit_, instituted by Frederic III. king of Prussia, as
a reward to those officers whose behaviour deserved some marks of
distinction. The ensign of this order is a golden star of eight rays,
enamelled with blue, which is worn appendant to a black riband, edged
with silver: the motto, _Pour le mérite_.
ORDER _of St. Alexander Newski_, or the red riband, which was
instituted by Peter I. emperor of Russia; but the czarina Catharine I.
conferred it in the year 1725.
ORDER _of the stole_, an order of knights instituted by the kings of
Arragon.
ORDER _of the golden stole_, a Venetian military order, so called from
a golden stole, which those knights wore over their shoulder, reaching
to the knee, both before and behind, a palm and a half broad. None
are raised to this order but patricians, or noble Venetians. It is
uncertain when this order was instituted.
ORDER _of Maria Theresa_. This order was instituted in June, 1757, by
the empress queen of Hungary. In 1765, an intermediate class, styled
knights commanders, was added to the two classes that originally
composed the order. See THERESA.
ORDERLY _Officer_. See OFFICER OF THE DAY.
ORDERLY _serjeant_, ORDERLY _men_, are appointed to attend general, or
other officers that are entitled to have them.
ORDERLIES, the non-commissioned officers and private men who do orderly
duty are so called.
Orderly serjeants when they go for orders are sashed.
Orderly corporals and orderly men wear their side arms, and carry a
small osier switch or cane in their hands.
In the dragoons, orderly men, on foot, have their sword-belts and
bayonets; and on horseback, are dressed the same, only with gloves,
and boots, and spurs of course, with the sword-belt and sword. They
likewise have their pistols. When an orderly dragoon or foot soldier is
sent from one quarter to another, the time of his setting out must be
specified on the back of the letter which he carries; the dragoon must
take care to bring his horse in cool and properly (unless he has been
sent on any pressing occasion) and they must both return to quarters
perfectly sober.
ORDERLIES _in general_. It is the duty of the serjeant-majors to see
that the orderlies are properly dressed and accoutred, before they are
inspected by the adjutant, who parades them every morning in front of
the main guard, &c. When private soldiers are chosen for orderlies in
mixed duty, the credit of the corps from which they are taken requires,
that they should be the best set up and the best behaved men belonging
to it.
ORDERLY _non-commissioned officers_, are those who are orderly, or
on duty for that week; who, on hearing the drum beat for orders, are
to repair to the place appointed to receive them, and to take down
in writing, in the orderly book, what is dictated by the adjutant or
serjeant-major; they are then immediately to show those orders to the
officers of the company, and afterwards warn the men for duty.
ORDERLY _book_. Every company has such a book in which the serjeants
write down both general and regimental orders, for the specific
information of the officers and men. This book is provided by the
public.
ORDERLY _Drum_. The drummer that beats orders, and gives notice of the
hour for messing, &c. is so called.
ORDINAIRE, _Fr._ The soldier’s messing together is so called among the
French.
ORDINANCE, or ORDNANCE, a name given to all that concerns artillery,
or engineering: thus, the commander in chief is called master general
of the _ordnance_; and the next officer, lieutenant general of the
_ordnance_, instead of _artillery_.
ORDNANCE. The British value of all brass ordnance is at 84_l._ 17_s._
or 371 dollars _per_ ton, for the metal; that is, the weight of the
gun, and 12lbs. _per_ hundred weight for waste: to which is added for
casting, on the total weight of metal used, 64_l._ or 286 dollars _per_
ton for light pieces; 54_l._ or 240 dollars for medium; and 44_l._
195¹⁄₂ dollars for heavy.
Iron ordnance cost 20_l._ or 90 dollars _per_ ton. See also the words
GUNS, MORTARS, HOWITZERS, &c.
For the proof of all kinds of ordnance, see the word PROOF.
ORDINARY TIME. This in the British service is the slowest time in
marching that is permitted to be used by infantry, and consists of a
pace which is 30 inches from heel to heel, and of which only 75 are
to be taken in a minute. But there is a manifest absurdity in having a
different length of pace; in the American service the pace in all time
is 24 inches; and the ordinary time is what the British call _quick_
time; and is in fact gay and lively, or the time of country dances.
ORDONNANCE. _Fr._ A warrant. This word is variously used among the
French, viz.
_Compagnies d’_ORDONNANCE. Independent companies, or such bodies of
armed men as do duty by detached companies, and are not formed into
regular regiments. Of this description were the gendarmes, the light
horse, and the musqueteers, under the French monarchy.
ORDONNANCES, _Fr._ Orderly men, whether on foot or horseback.
ORDONNANCE, _Fr._ The disposition or arrangement of troops for battle.
ORDRE, _Fr._ Parole and countersign so called.
_Aller à l’_ORDRE, _Fr._ To go for the parole or countersign.
_Récevoir_ _l’_ORDRE, _Fr._ To receive or get the parole or countersign.
ORDRE _que l’on donne à la tranchée_, _Fr._ Parole and countersign
together with specific orders, which are given out every night in the
trenches.
ORDRES _Militaires_, _Fr._ Military orders.
_Nouveaux_ ORDRES, _Fr._ Fresh orders.
ORDRES _de mouvement_. Marching orders.
ORGANIZATION _of Troops_. The act of putting troops into such uniform
state of discipline, as may fit them to co-operate on any service.
ORGUES, thick long pieces of wood, pointed and shod with iron, clear
one of another, hanging perpendicular each by a rope, over a gate of a
strong place to be dropped in case of emergency.
Their disposition is such, that they stop the passage of the gate, and
are preferable to _horses_ or _portcullises_; because these may be
either broken by a petard, or stopped, by different contrivances, in
their falling down. But a petard is useless against an _orgue_; for if
it break one or two of the pieces, others immediately fall down and
fill up the vacancy.
ORGUE, (_un Orgue_, _Fr._) A term used to express that arrangement or
disposition of a certain quantity of musquet barrels in a row, which
by means of a priming train of gunpowder, may be subjected to one
general explosion. This machine has been found extremely serviceable
in the defence of a low flank, a tenaille, or to prevent an enemy from
crossing the ditch of a fortified place.
ORIENT, _Fr._ The east.
ORIFLAMME, _Fr._ The ancient banner belonging to the abbey of St.
Denis, which the counts du Vexin, who possessed the perpetual advowson
of the abbey, always bore in the different wars or contests that
formerly prevailed between the abbot and some neighboring lords. When
the Vexin country fell into the hands of the French kings, they made
the oriflamme the principal banner of their armies, in honor of St.
Denis, whom they chose for the patron and tutelary saint of France.
ORILLON. See FORTIFICATION.
ORME, _Fr._ Elm. This wood was considered of such consequence by the
old French government, (and perhaps is equally so by the present) that
a specific order was made out in 1716, enjoining all persons letting
or holding land in French Flanders, Artois, and Hainault, to plant elm
trees, in order that there might be a constant supply in future of
carriages and wainage for the artillery.
ORNAMENTS _Military_. Those parts of the dress of a soldier which are
more for appearance or distinction than for absolute use; as gorgets,
plates for cross-belts, pouch ornaments, &c.
ORTEIL. See BERM in FORTIFICATION.
ORTHOGON, any rectangular figure.
ORTHOGRAPHIE, _Fr._ See ORTHOGRAPHY.
ORTHOGRAPHY. The art of drawing or sketching out a work according to
its breadth, thickness, elevation, and depth.
OSIER, a young willow twig, with which hurdles are made.
OSTAGE, _Fr._ See HOSTAGE.
OTTOMAN. A name generally given to the Turks, and to the Turkish
empire, from Ottoman, who was one of their most celebrated emperors.
OVATION, (so called of a sheep, because the general who so triumphed,
offered only a sheep; whereas in the great triumph he offered a bull)
an inferior sort of triumph allowed by the Romans to the generals of
their armies for lesser victories, as over slaves, &c. or when the war
had not been declared pursuant to military usage. According to Kennett,
in his Roman Antiquities, page 224, the word ovation is said to have
derived its name from shouting _evion!_ to Bacchus; but the true
original is _ovis_. The shew generally began at the Albanian mountain,
whence the general, with his retinue, made his entry into the city:
he went on foot with many flutes or pipes, sounding in concert as he
passed along, wearing a garment of myrtle as a token of peace, with an
aspect rather raising love and respect than fear.
We have already observed, with Gellius, that this honor was then
conferred on the victor, when either the war had not been proclaimed
in due method, or not undertaken against a lawful enemy, and on a
just account; or when the enemy was but mean and inconsiderable.
But Plutarch has delivered his judgment in a different manner; he
believes that heretofore the difference betwixt the _ovation_ and the
triumph was not taken from the greatness of the achievements, but
from the manner of performing them: for they who, having fought a
set battle, and slain a great number of the enemy, returned victors,
led that martial, and, as it were, cruel procession of the triumph.
But those who without force by benevolence and civil behaviour, had
done the business, and prevented the shedding of human blood; to these
commanders custom gave the honor of this peaceable ovation. For a pipe
is the ensign or badge of peace; and myrtle the tree of Venus, who,
beyond any other deities, has an extreme aversion to violence and war.
_Vide Plut. in Marcell._ For a full account of this ceremony, as well
as of the Roman triumph, see _Kennett_, page 224.
OVENS. The modern improvements in the art of war, has beside making
biscuit, the common food of man and horse, also introduced in the
equipage of armies, ovens of _cast iron_, which travel with the waggon
train, and the bakers are classed and under military discipline, in the
performance of their important functions. The operations of dressing
food in military camps, have been also improved by the introduction of
count _Rumford’s_ process of boiling, roasting, and baking by steam;
all performed by the single fire which heats the oven.
OVERFLOW. See INUNDATION.
_To_ OVERLAP, to overspread any preceding object. In marching by
echellon, for the purpose of forming upon any given point, but
particularly in wheeling from column into line, troops may loose their
relative distances by not taking ground enough; when this occurs,
the rear division, company, or section, unavoidably crouds upon its
preceding one, and it is then said to _overlap_. When this happens
on service, the troops, so shut out, must remain as serre-files,
or reserve, to fill up the intervals that will necessarily present
themselves in action. But whether so or not, the line must, on no
account, be deranged by moving it to right or left.
OVERLANDRES, _Fr._ Small barges that ply upon the Rhine and the Meuse.
_To_ OVER-RUN. In a military sense, to ravage, to lay waste. A country
which is harassed by incursions, is said to be _over-run_.
OVERSEER, an officer in the ordnance department, who superintends the
artificer in the construction of works, &c.
OVERSLAGH, as a _military phrase_, which is derived from the Dutch,
to skip over, will be better explained by the following table.--For
instance, suppose 4 battalions, each consisting of 8 captains, are
doing duty together, and that a captain’s guard is daily mounted:
if in the first regiment the second captain is doing duty of deputy
adjutant-general; and the 4th and 7th captains in the second are
acting, one as aid-de-camp, the other as brigade major; the common duty
of these three captains must be _overslaghed_, that is _skipped_ over,
or equally divided among the other captains.
TABLE _of Explanation_.
------------+------+-----------------------+
|No. of| Heads of each column. |
------------+ cap- +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Regiments. |tains.| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8|
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Pennslvania.| 8 | 1| 5| 8|12|15|19|23|26|
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Georgia. | 8 | 2| 6| 9|13|16|20|24|27|
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Massachu’s. | 8 | 3| |10|14|17|21|25|28|
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Virginia. | 8 | 4| 7|11| |18|22| |29|
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Total. | 32 | | | | | | | | |
------------+------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
N. B. The three blanks shew where the overslaughs take place.
OVERTHROW, total defeat, discomfiture, rout.
OUEST _ou Occident_, _Fr._ One of the four cardinal points of the
world, or the west.
OURAGAN, _Fr._ A violent tempest.
OUTBAR, to shut out by fortification.
OUT-GUARD. See OUT-POSTS.
OUTILS, _Fr._ Tools of every description that are used by the
artificers and workmen belonging to the artillery, &c.
OUTILS _à mineur_. _Fr._ Tools used in mining.
OUTLINE, the line by which any figure is defined.
OUTPART, at a distance from the main body. See OUT-POSTS.
OUT-_posts_, a body of men posted beyond the grand guard, called
out-posts, as being without the rounds or limits of the camp. See POSTS.
OUTSIDE, in _fencing_, that part which is to the right of the line of
defence.
OUTSIDE _Guard_, a guard used with the broad sword and sabre, to defend
the outside of the position. See BROADSWORD.
OUTWALL. See REVETEMENT.
OUTWARD FACE, a word of command for troops to face to the right and
left from their centre.
_To_ OUTWING, to extend the flanks of an army or line in action, so as
to gain an advantageous position against the right or left wing of an
enemy. This manœuvre or evolution is effected by the _movement on an
oblique line_. See MOVEMENTS.
OUT-_works_, in _Fortification_, are works of several kinds, which
cover the body of the place, as ravelins, half-moons, tenailles,
horn-works, crown-works, counter-guards, envelopes, swallow-tails,
lunettes, covert-ways, &c.
These out-works, not only cover the place, but likewise keep an enemy
at a distance, and hinder his gaining any advantage of hollow or rising
grounds; as such cavities and eminences may serve for lodgments to the
besiegers, facilitate the carrying on approaches, and enable them to
raise their batteries against the town. When outworks are placed one
before another, you will find a ravelin before the curtain, a horn-work
before the ravelin, and a small ravelin before the curtain of the
horn-work; those works which are nearest to the body of the place must
be the highest, though lower than the body of the place, that they may
gradually command those without them, and oblige the enemy to dislodge,
if in possession of them.
OUVERTURE _des portes_, _Fr._ The opening of the gates in a fortified
town or place, according to specific military rules. The method in
all regular governments is too well known to require any particular
explanation.
OUVERTURE _et fermeture des portes chez les Turcs_, _Fr._ There are
certain laws and regulations among the Turks, by which the janizaries
are entrusted with the keys belonging to the gates of every fortified
town or place in which they do garrison duty. The gates are always
opened at day-break by two or four janizaries. There is a capigy or
porter stationed at each gate. Whenever he opens the gate he repeats,
in an audible tone of voice, certain words in the praise of God and the
sultan, after which he returns the key or keys to the janizaries, who
carry them to the governor or commandant or the place. The closing of
the gates is done with the same solemnity.
OUVERTURE _de la tranchée_, _Fr._ the opening of the trench or trenches.
OUVRAGES, _Fr._ Works. See FORTIFICATION.
OUVRAGE _à corne_, _Fr._ _Hornwork_. See FORTIFICATION.
OUVRAGE _à couronne_, _Fr._ _Crowned_ work. See FORTIFICATION.
OUVRAGES _detachés_, _pieces detachées_, _Fr._ See DEHORS.
OUVRIR, _Fr._ To open.
OUVRIR _les rangs_, _Fr._ To take open order.
_En arriére_, OUVREZ _vos rangs_, _Fr._ Rear ranks take open order.
_S’aligner à rangs_ OUVERTS, _Fr._ To aligne or dress in line at open
order.
_A jour_ OUVRANT. At break of day.
_A portes_ OUVRANTES. At the opening of the gates.
OUVRIERS, _Fr._ All sorts of artificers and workmen employed in
fortification, &c. are so called.
OXFORD _Blues_. See HORSE GUARDS.
OXYCRAT, _Fr._ A certain portion of vinegar to five or six times its
quantity of water. This mixture is frequently used on service, and in
hot weather, to allay the burning heat of any inflamed part. It is
likewise employed to cool cannon, during an engagement, in very hot
firing.
OXYGENE. The chemical base of vital air with which nitre is found to
abound, and to which gunpowder owes its rapid and perfect combustion.
_King’s_ or _queen’s Own_, a term which has been attached to some
British regiments since the revolution in 1688. Thus the 4th, which
landed with William III. was called the 4th, or King’s Own.
P.
PAAT, _Ind._ A promissory note.
PACE. The common pace is of no determined length; though made use of as
a measure by most military writers.
In Germany, and amongst most of the northern powers, the pace is
considered equal to ²⁄₁₀ of a Rhinland rood.
In France the pace is commonly reckoned at 2¹⁄₂ feet. The military pace
is 2 ft.
In England it is usually reckoned at 2¹⁄₂ feet.
The geometrical pace is equal to 5 French royal feet; 60,000 of which
make a degree of the equator. This makes the geometrical pace equal to
6.102 English feet, and 5.6719 Rhinland feet.
For the military pace, see MARCHING.
_To_ PACE, as a horse does: _aller à pas_, _Fr._ There are four kinds
of paces in the manége, the walk, trot, gallop, and amble. The last,
more particularly, is called a pace, or easy motion, wherein the horse
raises the two feet of the same side together.
PACHA. The captain pacha, among the Turks, is the chief admiral and
superintendant general of the marine. He generally commands in person.
The sailors and soldiers of the military marine were formerly called
_lavans_ or _lavantis_; the soldiers are now called _galiondjis_.--The
sailors are Turks from the maritime towns, or Greeks from the
Archipelago. They are in constant pay. The soldiers, or _galiondjis_,
are all mussulmen, and only receive pay when they are in actual
service. We recommend to our military readers an important work, which
has lately been published at Paris, and from which they will derive
considerable information respecting the Turks. It is intituled, Travels
in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Persia, by citizen Olivier, member of
the French National Institute.
PACKET-_Boats_, small vessels that sail from the different sea ports
and carry passengers, mails, &c. and keep up a regular intercourse with
different places.
PADDY, _Ind._ Rice in the husk whether dry or green.
PADSHA, _Ind._ A king.
PAGEANT, in _ancient military history_, a triumphal car, chariot, arch,
or other like pompous decoration, variously adorned with colors, flags,
&c. carried about in public shows, processions, &c.
PAGES, _mousses ou garcons_, _Fr._ Young lads of the description of
English cabin boys, who learn navigation, and do the menial offices on
board a French ship.
PAGOD, _Ind._ a general name given by the Portuguese to the temples in
the east. It also denotes a coin. See PAGODA.
PAGODA, _Ind._ The place of worship among the Hindoos. It is likewise
the name of a gold coin of the value of eight rupees. The English
and Dutch coin pagodas. There are also silver pagodas struck, at
Marsingua, &c. with the figure of some monstrous idol.
PAILS, made of wood, with iron hoops and handles, hold generally four
gallons, and serve in the field to fetch water for the use of artillery
works, &c.
PAILLASSES, _Fr._ Straw beds, commonly called _paillasses_. These are
furnished by the barrack-department for the accommodation of sick
soldiers.
PAILLE, _Fr._ Straw.
_Les soldats vont à la_ PAILLE, _Fr._ The soldiers are going to
the forge yard or depot. This term is likewise used to signify the
indulgence occasionally granted to soldiers for exercise or necessary
evacuations. Thus when a battalion has gone through its manual, &c. the
commanding officer gives the word _à la paille_.
_Rompre la_ PAILLE _avec quelqu’un_, _Fr._ a figurative term,
signifying to quarrel or fall out with any body, in an open and
unreserved manner.
PAILLE, _Fr._ likewise signifies any flaw in metals. _Cette lame est
fine, mais il y a quelques pailles_; this blade is finely tempered, but
there are some flaws in it. _La lame de son épée se cassa à l’endroit
ou il y avoit une paille._ The blade of his sword broke where there was
a flaw.
PAILLER, _Fr._ _Palearius._ An ancient body of French militia. The
soldiers belonging to it were probably so called either from the
circumstance of their wearing straw in their helmets, in order to know
one another in action, or because they were accustomed to set fire to
their enemy’s habitations, &c. with bundles of straw, which they always
carried with them for that purpose. The inquisitive may be more fully
satisfied on this subject by referring to _Ducange’s Glossary_.
PAIN _de Munition_, _Fr._ Ammunition bread. In the folio edition of
marshal Saxe’s reveries, page 16, we find the following important
observations on the subject of ammunition bread. He states that
bread never should be given to soldiers on active service, but
that they should be accustomed to eat biscuits, for the following
reasons:--Biscuits will keep a considerable number of years, and every
soldier can conveniently carry with him in his haversack a sufficient
quantity for seven or eight days. Those officers who have served
among the Venetians, will readily prove the justness of this remark.
But there is a species of biscuit, or hard baked bread, that never
crumbles, (called _soukari_ by the Russians) which is preferable to any
thing of the kind. It is square, and about the thickness of a nut, and
takes up less room than either bread or biscuits.
Purveyors, who are interested in the business, maintain a different
opinion. They tell you that bread is best for troops. Every man of
experience knows the contrary; for it is notorious, that contract, or
ammunition bread, is not only made of unwholesome ingredients, but that
it is seldom more than half baked; which together with the water it
contains, increases the weight, and consequently enhances the value.
Add to this, that purveyors must unavoidably increase the expence of
the army by being obliged to employ a great number of bakers, bakers’
men, waggons, and horses. Independent of the expence, it is evident,
that the operations of an army must unavoidably be clogged by the
necessity of providing quarters for these people, of having a quantity
of hand-mills, and of employing a certain number of effective men to
form detachments for their security.
It is impossible to calculate the train of robberies and inconveniences
which grow out of this system, the embarrassments it occasions to a
general; but above all the diseases, which bread, supplied in this
manner, will always engender, and the fatigue that the troops must
necessarily undergo to get their rations. Were all these mischiefs
obviated, there is still another evil in reserve, which no precaution
can set aside. This is the certainty that an enemy may be under,
with respect to your intentions and motions, by narrowly watching
the establishment and disposition of your ovens. Were I, continues
the marshal, to adduce instances and facts to corroborate these
observations, I might dwell considerably at large upon the subject. I
do not hesitate to say, that much ill success, which is attributed to
other causes, proceeds entirely from the provision and distribution of
ammunition bread. He even goes farther, for he asserts unequivocally,
that soldiers ought sometimes to be enured to almost every species of
privation, and instead of being provided with biscuit, occasionally to
receive grain, which they must be taught to bake upon iron pallets,
after having bruised and made it into dough.--Marshal Turenne has
observed upon the same subject in his Memoirs. Marshal Saxe, indeed,
does not scruple to say, that although there might be plenty of bread,
he would, in conformity to the opinion of many good officers, suffer
his men to feel the want of it. I have, adds the latter, been eighteen
months successively on service with troops who during the whole of that
period never tasted bread, and yet never once complained or murmured.
I have, on the contrary, been frequently with others that had never
familiarized themselves to that privation, and who, on the first
appearance of want, were disheartened. In consequence of which the very
nerve of enterprise and hardihood was broken, and nothing great could
be undertaken.
The modern French armies have carried this idea to an astonishing
extent and with success; not only their troops in the field are
supplied with biscuit, but their horses also.
PALADIN, _Fr._ A name given to those ancient knights who were either
what the French call _comtes du palais_, counts of the palace, or were
princes lineally descended from Charlemagne, and other old kings.
PALANKEEN, _Ind._ a vehicle carried on the shoulders of four men, by
means of a bamboo pole extending from each end: it carries one person
in a reclining posture: it has a canopy which is supported by a pole
raised along the centre, from whence it is pendent on either side.
The palankeens are of various kinds; some are shaped like a chair, in
which the person carried sits: in others they recline or sleep, and
frequently journies of 2000 miles are thus performed.
PALEAGAS, _Ind._ See POLYGARS.
PALANQUE, _Fr._ a kind of fortification, so called in Hungary. It is
made of stakes driven into the ground, interlaced with twigs, and
covered with earth, and serves to stop the progress of an advancing
enemy.
PALÆSTRA, in _Grecian antiquity_, a public building, where the youth
exercised themselves in the military art, wrestling, running, playing
at quoits, &c.
PALEE, _Fr._ The row of piles upon which a wooden bridge is
constructed, is so called.
PALESTRE, _Fr._ a wrestling place, or exercising ground. It comes from
the Latin, and was originally derived from the Greek.
PALIS, _Fr._ the rows of small pointed stakes, which serve for any
species of inclosure, are so called. The term _palissade_ is derived
from it.
PALISADES, _or_ PALISADOES, in _fortification_, stakes made of strong
split wood, about nine feet long, six or seven inches square, three
feet deep in the ground, in rows about 2¹⁄₂ or three inches asunder,
placed in the covert-way, at three feet from and parallel to the
parapet or side of the glacis, to secure it from surprise.
They are also used to fortify the avenues of open forts, gorges, half
moons, the bottoms of ditches, and, in general, all posts liable to
surprise. They are usually fixed perpendicularly, though some make an
angle inclining towards the ground next the enemy, that the ropes cast
over them, to tear them up, may slip off.
_Turning_ PALISADES, are an invention of Mr. Cohorn, in order to
preserve the palisades of the parapet of the covert-way from the
besiegers shot. They are so ordered, that as many of them as stand in
the length of a rod, or about ten feet, turn up and down like traps, so
as not to be in the sight of the enemy, till they just bring on their
attack; and yet are always ready to do the proper service of palisades.
PALISSADES, _Fr._ See PALISADES.
PALISSADES _de camp_, _Fr._ several pieces of wood so arranged and tied
together, that they may with great dispatch be fixed in the ground,
which is marked out for the encampment of an army.
PALISSADES _ferrèes_, palisades that are shod with iron. They are used
in shallow streams and marshes to prevent small craft from plying, or
persons from crossing them on foot.
PALKEE, _Ind._ See _Palankeen_.
PALL, a covering thrown over the dead. It is always used in military
burials.
PALLAS, a name in the Heathen mythology, which is given to Minerva, who
was looked upon as the goddess of war.
PALUDAMENTUM, (_Chlamys_) among the ancients, a garment worn in time
of war by the principal men of Rome, especially the generals, who were
called for that reason _paludati_. The soldiers, having only short
coats, called a _sagum_, were denominated _sagati_.
The _paludamentum_ was open on the sides, coming down no lower than
the navel, and had short sleeves. It was either of a white, purple,
or red color, and sometimes black. Kennett, in his Roman Antiquities,
page 313, says, the old _paludamentum_ of the generals was all scarlet,
only bordered with purple; and the _chlamydes_ of the emperors were all
purple, commonly beautified with a golden or embroidered border.
PAN, the side of a rectangle or irregular figure.
PAN, likewise means the distance which is comprized between the angle
of the epaule and the flanked angle in fortification. See FACE OF A
BASTION.
PAN, a name well known among the shepherds of antiquity, and frequently
used by modern writers in their rural fictions. In military history it
signifies a man who was lieutenant general to Bacchus in his Indian
expedition. He is recorded to have been the first author of a general
shout, which the Grecians practised in the beginning of their onset in
battle. See PANIC.
PAN, that part of the lock of a musquet, pistol, &c. which holds the
priming powder.
PANACHE, PANNACHE, _Fr._ a plume, a bunch of feathers.
PANACHES _flottans_, _Fr._ nodding plumes.
PANNACHES likewise signifies in architecture, the triangular part of
an arch that contributes towards the support of a turret or elevation
which is raised above the dome of any particular edifice.
PANCARTE, _Fr._ an ancient exercise or tournament, which was performed
in the Roman amphitheatre, when strong athletic men were opposed to all
sorts of enraged animals.
PANDOURS, are Hungarian infantry. They wear a loose garment fixed tight
to their bodies by a girdle, with great sleeves, and large breeches
reaching down to their ankles. They use firearms, and are excellent
marksmen: they also wear a kind of sabre, near four feet long, which
they use with great dexterity.
PANIC, PANIC _fear_, sudden consternation which seizes upon men’s
fancies without any visible cause; a needless or ill grounded fright.
The reason why these terrors are attributed to Pan, was, as some
say, because when Osiris was bound by Typho, Pan and the satyrs
appearing, cast him into a fright; or because he frightened all the
giants that waged war against Jupiter: or as others say, that when
Pan was Bacchus’s lieutenant general in his Indian expedition, being
encompassed in a valley, with an army of enemies, far superior to them
in number, he advised the god to order his men to give a general shout,
which so surprised the opposite army, that they immediately fled from
their camp. And hence it came to pass, that all sudden fears impressed
upon men’s spirits, without any just reason, were, by the Greeks and
Romans, called _panic terrors_. (See Polyænus Stratag. book I.) The
custom of shouting seems to have been used by almost all nations,
barbarous as well as civil; and is mentioned by all writers who treat
of martial affairs. Homer has several elegant descriptions of it,
particularly one in the fourth Iliad, where he resembles the military
noise to torrents rolling with impetuous force from the mountains into
the adjacent vallies. We have likewise had our war-hoops.
PANIER _à mine_, _Fr._ See BOURRIQUET.
PANIERS, _Fr._ Baskets. Figuratively, _un panier percé_, a leaky
vessel, or one who cannot keep a secret. A dangerous man in society:
and in military concerns, one who ought to be particularly guarded
against where discretion and confidence are necessary.
PANIQUE, _Fr._ See PANIC.
PANNE, _Fr._ literally means shag, plush, &c. and is properly a sea
term, signifying to _lie to_, _mettre en panne_. It is likewise used in
a military sense, to express the steady posture of troops who are drawn
up for battle, and wait an enemy’s attack. _La troupe est restée en
panne._ The squadron remained immoveable.
PANNEAU, _Fr._ Trap, snare.
_Donner dans le_ PANNEAU, _Fr._ to be ensnared, or outwitted.
PANNELS, in _artillery_, are the carriages which carry mortars and
their beds upon a march.
PANNONCEAU, _Fr._ an ancient term, which was used to signify _ensign_
or _banner_.
PANOPLY, complete armor or harness.
PANSEMENT, _Fr._ The dressing of wounds.
PANSER, _Fr._ to dress a wound.
PANSER, _Fr._ in farriery, signifies to rub down, and otherwise to take
care of a horse.
PANTHEON, in architecture, a temple of a circular form, dedicated to
all the gods. The name has been adopted among modern nations from the
Pantheon of ancient Rome, built by Agrippa in his third consulate, and
dedicated to Jupiter Ultor, or Jupiter the avenger. There is a chapel
in the Escurial in Spain, called Pantheon, of marble and jasper inlaid:
the whole inside is of black marble, excepting the luthern, and some
ornaments of jasper and red marble. The Pantheon at Paris during the
progress of the French revolution, has been appropriated to national
purposes; the names and busts of the most distinguished statesmen and
generals being preserved therein as marks of public gratitude, and
objects of public emulation. There is a building in London that bears
the name of Pantheon, but that is all. It is private property, and the
only public use to which it has been appropriated, has been that of
operatical speculation, masquerades, or frivolous entertainments.
PANTOGRAPHE, _Fr._ a mathematical instrument, which serves to copy
all sorts of drawings. The French have paid great attention to the
improvement of this instrument, of which a minute description may be
found in _Cours de Mathématiques_, by Pere Deschalles. But the sieur
Panglois brought it to such perfection in 1750, that it is become
universally useful.
PANTOMETER, an instrument used, to take all sorts of angles, distances
and elevations. It was invented by the ancients, but has been greatly
improved since.
PANTOMETRE, _Fr._ See PANTOMETER.
PAPIER _de cartouche_, _Fr._ Paper used for cartridges.
PAPIER _gris_, _ou_ PAPIER _brouillard_, _Fr._ Whited brown paper.
PAPIERS _et enseignemens_, _Fr._ All the papers and manuscripts which
are found on board a ship are so called.
PAQUEBOT, _Fr._ a modern French term, derived from packet-boat, which
see.
PARABOLA, in _geometry_, a figure arising from the section of the cone,
when cut by a plane parallel to one of its sides.
From the same points of the cone, therefore, only one parabola can be
drawn; all the other sections within these parallels being ellipses,
and all without hyperbolas.
_Properties of the_ PARABOLA. The square of an ordinate is equal to the
rectangle of the abscissa, and four times the distance of the focus
from the vertex.
The perpendicular on the tangent, from the focus, is a mean
proportional between the distance from the vertex to the focus, and the
distance of the focus from the point of contact.
All lines within the parabola, which are drawn parallel to the axis,
are called diameters.
The parameter of any diameter is a right line, of such a nature that
the product under the same, and the abscissa, are equal to the square
of the semi-ordinate.
The squares of all ordinates to the same diameter, are to one another
as their abscissas.
_Cartesian_ PARABOLA, is a curve of the second order, expressed by the
equation _xy_ = _ax³_ + _bx²_ + _cx_ + _d_ containing four infinite
legs, being the 66th species of lines of the third order, according to
sir Isaac Newton: and is made use of by Descartes, in the third book of
his geometry, for finding the roots of equations of six dimensions by
its intersections with a circle.
_Diverging_ PARABOLA, a name given by sir Isaac Newton to five
different lines of the third order, expressed by the equation _yy_ =
_ax³_ + _bx²_ + _cx_ + _d_.
PARABOLE, _Fr._ See PARABOLA.
PARABOLOIDE, _Fr._ See PARABOLIC CONOID.
PARADE, originally consisted of a square court before cathedrals,
surrounded with piazzas or porticoes for persons to walk under, being
supported with pillars. It is now used in a military sense, to signify
any place where troops assemble, and may be distinguished in the
following manner:
_General_ PARADE, the place where soldiers belonging to different
corps are drawn up, according to seniority, to mount guard, or to be
exercised, &c.
_Regimental_ PARADE, the place where any particular regiment or corps
is formed in line, &c.
_Private_ PARADE, any spot selected, in general by each captain of a
troop or company, for the inspection of his men, previous to their
being marched off to the regimental parade. This parade is likewise
called company or troop parade. When troops are encamped, the general
and regimental parades are usually in front of the line of tents; each
regiment having its quarter-guard opposite, and the space between
being sufficient to allow of the free exercise of the battalion. The
companies have their private parades in the several streets of the camp.
PARADE, _in camp_, is that spot of ground in the front of each
encampment, between the camp colors, on the right and left wings.
_Morning_ PARADE. In every garrison town, fortified place and camp,
as well as in every town through which soldiers pass, or occasionally
halt, a certain hour in the morning is fixed for the assembling of the
different corps, troops, or companies, in regular order.
_Evening_ PARADE. The hour generally fixed for the evening parade is
at sunset. When troops are encamped, the signal for evening parade
is given from the park of artillery, by the discharge of a piece of
ordnance, which is called the evening gun.
_To_ PARADE, to assemble in a prescribed regular manner, for the
purposes of being inspected, exercised, or mustered.
_To_ PARADE. This word is frequently used as an active verb, with
respect to military matters, viz. _to parade the guard_, &c. It has
likewise been adopted in Ireland to express the act of calling out a
person in an affair of honor. The Irish familiarly say--_I shall parade
the gentleman to-morrow morning in the Phœnix Park_.
PARADE, _Fr._ The French make use of this term in various ways.
PARADE, _Fr._ Show, ostentation.
_Lit de_ PARADE, _Fr._ Bed of state.
_Cheval de_ PARADE, _Fr._ a horse finely caparisoned, and kept for show.
PARADE, _Fr._ in fencing, the act of parrying a thrust or blow.
PARADE, _Fr._ the place or ground where soldiers parade.
_Se mettre en_ PARADE, _Fr._ to take one’s ground.
_Faire la_ PARADE, _Fr._ To do parade duty.
_Monter la_ PARADE, _Fr._ To take part in the regular line of parade.
_Manquer sa_ PARADE, _Fr._ in fencing, to miss one’s parry.
_Etre hors de_ PARADE, _Fr._ to parry wide, or stand exposed.
PARADIS, _Fr._ that part of a harbor in which vessels may ride with the
greatest safety.
PARALLELES, _Fr._ Parallel lines in fortification are so called. See
PARALLELS.
PARALLELS, at a siege, the trenches or lines made parallel to
the defence of the place besieged: they are also called lines of
communication, and boyeaus.
PARALLELS, or places of arms, are deep trenches 15 or 18 feet wide,
joining the several attacks together. They serve to place the guard of
the trenches in readiness to support the workmen when attacked. There
are usually three in an attack; the first, about 300 toises, or 600
yards, from the covert-way: the 2d and 3d, nearer to the glacis.
PARALLELEPIPED, (_Parallelepipede_, _Fr._) one of the regular bodies of
solids, comprehended under six rectangular and parallel surfaces, the
opposite ones whereof are equal.
_Tirer une_ PARALLELE, _Fr._ verbatim, to draw a parallel. To make a
direct communication between one trench and another.
PARALLELISM, the situation or quality whereby any thing is denominated
parallel.
PARALLELISM _of a march_. In order to preserve the parallelism
of a march in the movement of troops each battalion must be kept
perpendicular to the direction it marches upon, the whole of the
several battalions in one straight line, and their several marching
directions parallel to each other. The first battalion or line becomes
the regulating one, and must be regarded as infallible; and from the
moment that its direction is ascertained, the commander of each other,
and their directing serjeants, are to consider their movements as
subordinate to it, and to conform accordingly. It is the helm which
guides the line, and must not change cadence; nor will it increase or
diminish its speed, but from unavoidable necessity, and by particular
order.
The instant communication of the word march is particularly important,
that the advanced guides of the whole may step off together, and
thereby maintain their line parallel to the one they quitted, and which
becomes the principal guide for their battalions; each preserves its
six paces from its advanced guide; this distance is to be kept by, and
depends on, the replacing officer next to the color, who covers the
directing guide; and if these trained guides do step equally, and in
parallel directions to each other, they must be dressed themselves in
line, and of consequence the centres of their following battalions.
PARALLELISM _and distance_ to be observed in the formation and movement
of any considerable body of troops. It is laid down as a general maxim,
that no considerable body should ever be formed without a proportion
of it being placed in _reserve_ or in _second line_, and more or less
according to circumstances. The movements of such second line will
always correspond with those of the first, and it will always preserve
its parallelism and distance.
If the first line makes a flank or central change of position, the
second must make a change also on such point as will bring it into its
relative situation.
The march of the second line in front, is regulated by its own division
or battalion of direction, which moves relatively to that of the first
line. In forming in line it will march upon its own points which are
parallel to, and ascertained in consequence of those of the first.
When the lines break into columns to the front, the second will
generally follow those of the first. When the march is to the flanks,
the second line will compose a separate column, or columns. When the
march is to the rear, the second line will lead in columns.
The distance betwixt the lines, may be in general supposed equal to the
front of one or two battalions, and an interval.
The second lines are seldom composed of as many battalions as the
first: they are often divided into distinct bodies, covering separate
parts of the first line, and consequently preserving a relative
parallelism and distance.
Second lines should not always remain extended, they may often be
formed in column of battalions, or of greater numbers, ready to be
moved to any point where their assistance is necessary.
Whenever the first line breaks, and manœuvres by its right to face
to the left, or by its left to face to the right: the movements of
the second line are free and unembarrassed, and it may turn round the
manœuvring flank of the first line, and take its new position behind
it, by extending itself parallel to that direction, how oblique soever
it may be.
The central movement generally required from the second line to conform
to that of the first, is equivalent to that line marching in two
columns of platoons, from near the centre obliquely to the front, and
from that situation forming to both flanks.
The movements of the central columns being well understood, those of
the battalions of the wings, are similar in two lines.
The officer commanding the second line, must always be properly
informed of the nature of the change to be made by the first, that he
may readily determine his corresponding movements.
It requires much attention to conduct heads of battalion columns of
both lines nearly parallel to their lateral ones, and perpendicularly,
or diagonally to front or rear, according to the nature of the
movement. To determine with precision, and in due time, their points in
the new line, that wavering and uncertainty of march may be avoided. In
great movements to allow the soldier every facility of motion without
increasing the distances of divisions, and to require the most exact
attention on entering the new line, and in forming. To avoid obstacles
in the course of marching, but as soon as possible to re-enter the
proper path of the column, while out of that path, the colors of that
battalion column may be lowered, (as a mark for the neighboring column,
not to be then entirely regulated by it) and again advanced when it
regains its proper situation.
All the battalions of a second line, must at the completion of every
change of position, find themselves placed in the same relative
situation with respect to the first, as they were in before the
commencement of the movement.
All changes of position of a first line are made according to one of
the modes already prescribed: in general, in critical situations,
they are made on a fixed flank, or central point, and by the echellon
march of platoons or echellons of smaller sections than platoons,
where ground and other circumstances require it; and the echellons
may upon occasion be each marched in file, but keeping its position:
but the movements of a second line being protected, more complicated,
and embracing more ground, are made by the march of battalion columns
regulated by a certain determined division of the line.
In all cases where a change of position is made on a flank or central
point of the _first line_, the movement of its _corresponding_ point of
the second line determines the new relative situation of that second
line.
_Movements_ PARALLEL _with a line of fire_. Movements are said to be
parallel with a line of fire, when one or more lines march either in
the rear of troops engaged with an enemy, or in face of an enemy,
who is advancing to attack. The greatest accuracy and order are
required on both occasions, particularly on the latter; for if the
second line, which is the line of support, does not preserve its
perpendicular direction with respect to every leading point, and its
relative parallelism and distance with the line engaged, according
to circumstances, it will not only run the risk of becoming useless
itself, but will in all probability endanger the line it covers, should
any sudden necessity occur for a change of position.
PARALLELOGRAM, (_Parallelogramme_, _Fr._) a plain figure bounded by
four right lines, whereof the opposite are parallel one to the other.
It likewise means an instrument composed of five rulers of brass or
wood, with sliding sockets, to be set to any proportion, for the
enlarging or diminishing any map or draught.
PARALYSER, _Fr._ To paralyse. A term frequently used by the French
since the revolution, to express the bad effects of a factious spirit,
&c. _Un seul factieux quelque fois paralyse toute une administration_:
one factious man will sometimes render the designs of a whole
administration abortive.
PARAMETER. See GUNNERY and PROJECTILES.
PARAPET, in _fortification_, an elevation of earth, designed for
covering the soldiers from the enemy’s cannon, or small shot; its
thickness is from 18 to 20 feet; its height 6 on the inside, and 4
or 5 on that side next the country: it is raised on the rampart, and
has a slope called the superior talus, or glacis of the parapets, on
which the troops lay their arms to fire over. The slope renders it easy
for the soldiers to fire into the ditch. It has a banquette or two on
the inside for the troops who defend it, to mount upon, for better
discovering the country, the ditch, and counterscarp, to fire as they
find occasion.
PARAPET _of the covert-way_, is what covers that way from the sight of
the enemy; which renders it the most dangerous place for the besiegers,
because of the neighborhood of the faces, flanks, and curtains of the
place.
PARAPETS _en forme de crémaillere_, _Fr._ Parapets which are so
constructed within, in the form of a saw, that one of the faces of
the redans, or teeth, is perpendicular and the other parallel to the
capital. The chevalier Clariac, in his _Ingénieur de Campagne_, has
given a particular account of these parapets. But the merit of having
invented them does not entirely rest with him, since the Marquis de
la Fond, director of the fortified places upon the coast of French
Flanders, and M. de Verville, chief engineer at Rocroi, have likewise
mentioned them.
PARASANG, (_Parasange_, _Fr._) an ancient Persian measure, being
usually thirty, sometimes forty, and sometimes fifty stadia or furlongs.
PARC _d’artillerie_, _Fr._ See PARK OF ARTILLERY.
PARC, _Fr._ See PARK.
_Le Commissaire du_ PARC, _Fr._ The commissary belonging to the park.
_Le_ PARC _des munitions et des vivres_, _Fr._ The park of stores and
provisions.
PARC _d’Hôpital_. See HOSPITAL.
PARC _des vivres ou quartier des vivres_, _Fr._ Park of provisions,
which see.
PARCOURIR, _Fr._ in a military sense, to run over the ground during an
action. This word is particularly applicable to those movements which
are made by general officers, officers commanding brigades, &c. for the
purpose of encouraging their soldiers in the heat of an engagement.
PARCOURIR _de rang en rang_, _Fr._ to run up and down the ranks, or
from rank to rank.
PARDON, forgiveness, remission. In military matters this word must be
understood in two senses, viz. in a limited one, when it affects a
culprit who has been sentenced by a general court-martial, to receive
punishment; and in a more extensive one, when the punishment is the
consequence of a regimental decision. In the former case, the president
only, through the war department, can pardon or remit the punishment;
in the latter, the colonel, or commanding officer, has a discretionary
power.
PARER, _Fr._ to parry,
PARER _à toutes feintes_, _Fr._ To parry to all feints.
PARK _of artillery_, should always be placed if possible within a short
distance of water carriage; and have the most ready communication
with every part of the line of the army. Its form must depend on its
situation. Ten feet are usually allowed in front for one carriage and
its interval, and near 50 feet from the hind wheels of the front row to
the fore wheels of the second; this interval should allow sufficient
room for putting the horses to the carriages, and for a free passage
along the line. In parks not on immediate service, it is customary to
arrange the guns with their muzzles to the front; but where the guns
are likely to be wanted at a short notice, appearances must not be
studied, and the gun carriages must be parked with their shafts to
the front, ready to receive horses to them. A quarter guard is placed
in front of the park, and the non-commissioned officers and gunners’
tents on the flanks, at about 20 paces distance; and 40 paces to the
rear of the subaltern officers; at 10 more to the rear the captains,
and 10 more the commanding officer. The mess tent is 15 in the rear of
the officers. At a convenient distance, in the rear of the whole, are
the horses, picketed in one or more lines, with the drivers on their
flanks. The horses are sometimes picketed in lines perpendicular to
the front, and on the flanks of the carriages, between the men and the
carriages. See CAMP and ARTILLERY IN THE FIELD. _Am. Mil. Lib._
PARK _of provisions_, a place in a camp, on the rear of every regiment,
which is taken up by the sutlers who follow the army with all sorts of
provisions, and sell them to the soldiers.
PARLEMENTER, _Fr._ to parley. The French familiarly say, _Ville qui
parlemente est à demi rendue_; a town whose governor parlies may be
said to be half given up.
PARLEY, oral treaty, talk, conference, discussion by word of mouth.
_To_ PARLEY, in military matters, to enter into conference with your
enemy. This is done by means of a flag of truce. See TRUCE.
_To beat a_ PARLEY, is to give a signal for holding such a conference,
by beat of drum, or sound of trumpet. See CHAMADE.
PAROLE, in a _military sense_, the promise made by a prisoner of war,
when he has leave to go any where, of returning at a time appointed, or
not to take up arms, if not exchanged.
PAROLE, means also a word given out every day in orders by the
commanding officer, both in camp and garrison, in order to know friends
from enemies.
PARQUER, _Fr._ This word, which signifies to lodge and place any thing
in a convenient and safe manner, is used by the French both in an
active and passive sense.
_On_ PARQUERA _l’artillerie_, _ou l’artillerie fut parquée en tel
endroit_, _Fr._ you will park the artillery in such a quarter, or the
artillery will be parked in such a quarter.
_Les gens de l’artillerie se parquérent, ou furent parqués, du côté de
la rivière_, _Fr._ The train of artillery parked itself on the banks of
the river, or was parked upon the banks of the river.
_L’artillerie parquoit en tel lieu_, _Fr._ The artillery parked on such
ground.
PARRAIN, _Fr._ means, literally, a godfather. In a military sense, it
formerly signified a second or witness who attended at single combats
to see fair play. _Les combattants se trouvérent dans le lieu du
combat, chacun avec son parrain._ The combattants met upon the ground,
each attended by his second or witness.
PARRAIN, _Fr._ in military orders, the person who introduces, or
presents a newly elected knight. The term is also used to signify the
comrade who is selected by a soldier that has been condemned to be
shot, to bind the handkerchief over his eyes.
PARRYING, the action of warding off the push or blow aimed at one by
another.
_Etre à la Part_, _Fr._ a marine term among the French, signifying, to
share in the prizes which are made against an enemy.
PARTHENIÆ,a word derived from the Greek, signifying virginity. In
military history it refers to a particular circumstance which occurred
among the ancients. The Spartans having been at war with the Messenians
for 20 years, and having by that means very much depopulated their
country, and apprehending that if this war continued, it might
eventually strip Sparta of all its male inhabitants, they sent some
of their young men from the army into the city, with licence to be
familiar with as many unmarried women as they would; and the children
begotten by them in this manner were called Partheniæ, on account of
the uncertainty who were their fathers. At the end of the war this
brood were deemed bastards, and were denied the bearing of any office
in the government, &c. This unjust exclusion enraged them so much,
that they conspired with the slaves to destroy all the nobility; but
on the discovery of their plot, they were driven out of the city.
After which, being headed by Phalantus, a bold and enterprising son
of chance, they travelled into _Magna Grecia_ in Italy, and built
_Tarentum_.--_Bailey’s Dict._
PARTI, _Fr._ See PARTY.