solution, however good in theory, is such as has hitherto been of
no use in practice, nor in correcting the false theory grounded on
the parabola, to which the artillerist is still obliged to adhere,
notwithstanding he knows it to be insufficient. It is certain, that
that solution has been of no real advantage towards improving the art
of gunnery: it has only served to convince the student in that art,
of the error of his principles, drawn from the nature of the parabola,
although he is still to abide by them. It is indeed something to know,
that the common rules are erroneous; but unless we know how much they
err in any case, the advantage is very little.
One may think it a work of infinite labor to establish rules for
the flight of cannon shot, agreeable to the real curve which a body
describes in the air: for although, according to the hypothesis of
Gallileo, we want only the elevation of the piece, and the initial
velocity, and it is therefore not difficult to calculate tables to
show the greatest height of the projectile, and the point where it
must fall in any proposed case; yet in order to calculate similar
tables according to the true hypothesis, care must be taken, besides
the two particulars already mentioned, to have respect as well to the
diameter of the projectile as to its weight: therefore the practitioner
will be reduced to the necessity of calculating tables, as well for
the diameter of each projectile, as for its weight; and the execution
of such a work would be almost impracticable. We therefore refer the
curious to Mr. Euler’s _True Principles of Gunnery_, translated, with
many necessary explanations and remarks, by the very learned and
ingenious Hugh Brown.
PROJECTION, (_Projection_, _Fr._) in mathematics, the action of giving
a projectile its motion. It is also used to signify a scheme, plan, or
delineation.
PROJECT, (Projet, _Fr._) a term generally used among French engineers,
to express what works are required to be made for the inward or
outward defence of a fortified town or place. It likewise signifies,
in diplomacy, a plan or statement of terms and conditions which one
country makes to another for a final adjustment of differences.
_Contre_-PROJET, _Fr._ a receipt or answer to terms proposed,
accompanied by a project from the other side.
PROLONGE, _Fr._ A long thick rope, which is used to drag artillery; but
different from the bricole and drag rope; it is coiled round pins under
the gun carriage travelling, it is loosed in action, and one end being
attached to the limber, is of great use in moving the gun in action or
in a retreat. See _Am. Mil. Lib._
PROMOTION, (_Promotion_, _Fr._) This word signifies, in military
matters, the elevation of an individual to some appointment of greater
rank and trust than the one he holds.
PROMOUVOIR, _Fr._ to promote.
PROMU, _Fr._ promoted.
PROOF, in arithmetic, an operation whereby the truth and justness of a
calculation are examined and ascertained.
PROOF _of artillery and small arms_, is a trial whether they will stand
the quantity of powder allotted for that purpose.
The British government allow 11 bullets of lead in the pound for the
proof of musquets, and 29 in two pounds, for service; 17 in the pound
for the proof of carabines, and 20 for service; 28 in the pound for the
proof of pistols, and 34 for service.
When guns of a new metal, or of lighter construction, are proved, then
besides the common proof, they are fired 2 or 300 times, as quick as
they can be, loaded with the common charge given in actual service.
British light 6 pounders were fired 300 times in three hours, 27
minutes, loaded with 1lb. 4oz. without receiving any damage.
PROOF _of ordnance_. All natures of ordnance undergo several kinds of
proof before they are received into the British service; viz. 1st, they
are guaged as to their several dimensions, internal and external, as to
the justness of the position of the bore, the chamber, the vent, the
trunnions, &c.
2d, They are fired with a regulated charge of powder and shot, and
afterwards searched to discover irregularities or holes produced by the
firing.
3d, By means of engines an endeavor is made to force water through
them; and,
4th, They are examined internally, by means of light reflected from a
mirror.
_Iron guns._ The guns are first examined as to their proper dimensions,
in which, in no case more than ³⁄₁₀ of an inch variation is allowed;
and in the diameter of the bore only ¹⁄₃₀ from 42 to 18 pounders, and
¹⁄₄₀ from 12 to 4 pounders; but in the position of the bore ¹⁄₂ an
inch out of the axis of a piece from a 42 to an 18 pounder, and ¹⁄₃
of an inch from a 12 to a 4 pounder is allowed. They are then fired
twice with the charge in the following table, with one shot and two
high junk wads; and examined with a searcher after each round. In this
examination they must not have any hole or cavity in the bore of ²⁄₁₀
of an inch in depth, behind the first reinforce ring, or ¹⁄₄ of an inch
in depth before this ring.
-------+--------
Nature.| Proof
|charge.
-------+--------
Prs. |lbs. oz.
42 | 25 --
32 | 21 8
24 | 18 --
18 | 15 --
12 | 12 --
9 | 9 --
6 | 6 --
4 | 4 --
3 | 3 --
2 | 2 --
1¹⁄₂| 1 8
1 | 1 --
Iron guns are scaled with ¹⁄₁₂ the weight of the shot.
_Brass guns._ From 1 pounders to 12 pounders the diameter of the bore
must not vary more than ¹⁄₄₀ of an inch, and in no dimensions more than
²⁄₁₀. The following are the established charges for their proof. The
heavy and medium guns with a charge equal to the weight of the shot,
except the medium 12 pounder, which is proved with only 9lbs. The
light guns with half the weight of the shot. The brass ordnance have
not however been proved of late with such heavy charges, but with the
following:
3 Prs. light, 3 times, with 1 lb. each round.
6 Prs. light, 3 times, with 2 lbs. each.
12 Prs. light, 2 times, with 4 lbs. each.
12 Prs. med., 2 times, with 5 lbs. each.
Any hole ·15 of an inch deep upwards or sideways in the bore, or ·1 in
the bottom, between the breach and first reinforce; or ·2 of an inch
upwards or sideways, or ·15 in the bottom of the bore, before the first
reinforce ring, will be sufficient to condemn them.
_Brass Mortars and Howitzers._ The exterior dimensions are in no
respect to deviate more than ¹⁄₁₀ of an inch in an 8 inch howitzer, and
¹⁄₂₀ in the Cohorn mortars and howitzers. Their bores and chambers not
to deviate from their true diameters or positions more than ¹⁄₄₀ of an
inch.
The brass mortars and howitzers are fired twice with their chambers
full of powder, and an iron shell. The mortars on their own beds, at
about 75 degrees elevation; and the howitzers on their carriages, at
about 12 degrees. Iron mortars are proved on their iron beds, with a
charge equal to the full chamber, and an iron shot equal in diameter to
the shell.
Cohorn mortars, having a hole ·1 of an inch in depth in the chamber,
or ·15 in the chase, are rejected: royal howitzers the same. 8 inch
howitzers having a hole ·15 of an inch in depth in the chamber, or ·2
in the chase, will be rejected.
_Carronades._ The diameter and position of their bore and chamber must
not deviate ¹⁄₂₀ of an inch. They are proved with two rounds, with
their chambers full of powder and 1 shot and 1 wad. A hole of ²⁄₁₀ of
an inch in depth in the bore, or ¹⁄₁₀ in the chamber condemns the piece.
_Proof Charges._
-------+--+--+--+--+--
68 Prs.|42|32|24|18|12
-------+--+--+--+--+--
13 lbs.| 9| 8| 6| 4| 3
-------+--+--+--+--+--
All ordnance, after having undergone this proof, and the subsequent
searching, are subject to the water proof: this is done by means of a
forcing pump, having a pipe or hose fixed to the mouth of the piece:
after two or three efforts to force the water through any honeycombs
or flaws which may be in the bore, they are left to dry; and generally
the next day examined by the reflected light from a mirror. If the
bore contains any small holes or flaws which have not been discovered
by the former proofs, they are very readily found by this; the water
will continue to weep, or run from the holes, when the solid parts of
the bore are perfectly dry. Ordnance suspected of being bad are often
subject to a more severe proof: that of firing 30 rounds quick, with
the service charge and a shot; and in doubtful cases, where the purity
of the metal is suspected, recourse has been had to chemical trials
and analysis. A quantity of clean filings taken from a part of an iron
gun free from rust, are dissolved in diluted sulphuric acid, and the
quantity of gas disengaged during the solution accurately ascertained.
The plumbago which remains after solution is also separated by
filtration, and carefully weighed. Now it is well known that the purer
the iron, the greater the quantity of inflammable gas obtained, and the
less the proportion of plumbago which remains after the solution; from
these two parts therefore a tolerable judgment may be formed of the
quality of the metal. When the plumbago exceeds 4¹⁄₂ _per_ cent. the
iron will always be found deficient in strength; and there has been no
instance of a gun bursting where the plumbago did not exceed 3 _per_
cent.; that is, where 100 grains of the metal did not leave more than
3 grains of plumbago. The color of the plumbago is also to be attended
to; when it is brown or reddish, it is an indication of hard metal, and
when in quantities and mixed with coals, there can be no doubt but that
the iron is too soft for cannon.
_Proof of Iron Shells._ After the shells are guaged and examined as to
their dimensions and weight, they must be well scraped out, and the
iron pin at the bottom of the inside must be driven down or broken off.
They are then to be hammered all over, to knock off the scales, and
discover flaws, and no hole, in the large shells is allowed, of more
than ³⁄₄ of an inch deep. An empty fuze is then driven into the fuze
hole, and the shell is suspended in a tub of water, in such manner that
the shell be covered by the water, but that it does not run into the
fuze: in this situation the nose of a pair of bellows is put in at the
fuze hole, and several strong puffs given with the bellows; and if no
bubbles rise in the water, the shell is concluded to be serviceable.
Ordnance condemned as unserviceable for any of the foregoing reasons,
are marked as follows: ╳ D, or ╳ S, or ╳ W. The first signifies that
they are found to be faulty in their dimensions, by Desagulier’s
instrument; the second, by the searcher; and the third, by the water
proof.
PROOF _of powder_, is in order to try its goodness and strength. There
have been different inventions proposed and put in practice heretofore,
for the proof of powder. See GUNPOWDER, and EPROUVETTE.
PROOF _of cannon_, is made to ascertain their being well cast, their
having no cavities in their metal, and, in a word, their being fit to
resist the effort of their charge of powder. In making this proof, the
piece is laid upon the ground, supported only by a piece of wood in
the middle, of about five or six inches thick, to raise the muzzle a
little; and then the piece is fired against a solid butt of earth.
_Tools to_ PROVE _cannon are as follow_, viz. _Searcher_, an iron
socket with branches, from four to eight in number, bending outward
a little, with small points at their ends: to this socket is fixed
a wooden handle, from eight to twelve feet long, and 1¹⁄₂ inch in
diameter. This searcher is introduced into the gun after each firing,
and turned gently round to discover the cavities within: if any
are found, they are marked on the outside with chalk; and then the
_searcher with one point_ is introduced, about which point a mixture of
wax and tallow is put, to take the impression of the holes; and if any
are found of ¹⁄₉th of an inch deep, or of any considerable length, the
gun is rejected as unserviceable to government.
_Reliever_, an iron ring fixed to a handle, by means of a socket, so as
to be at right angles: it serves to disengage the first searcher, when
any of its points are retained in a hole, and cannot otherwise be got
out. When guns are rejected by the proof masters, they order them to be
marked ╳ which the contractors generally alter to _W P_, and after such
alteration, dispose of them to foreign powers for Woolwich proof.
A most curious instrument for finding the principal defects in pieces
of artillery, has been invented by lieutenant general Desaguliers,
of the royal regiment of artillery. This instrument, grounded on
the truest mechanical principles, is no sooner introduced into the
hollow cylinder of the gun, than it discovers its defects, and more
particularly that of the piece not being truly bored, which is a very
important one, and to which most of the disasters happening to pieces
of artillery, are in a great measure to be imputed; for, when a gun is
not properly bored, the most expert artillerist will not be able to
make a good shot.
PROOF _of mortars and howitzers_, is made to ascertain their being well
cast, and of strength to resist the effort of their charge. For this
purpose the mortar or howitzer is placed upon the ground, with some
part of their trunnions or breech sunk below the surface, and resting
on wooden billets, at an elevation of about 70 degrees.
The mirror is generally the only instrument to discover the defects
in mortars and howitzers. In order to use it, the sun must shine; the
breech must be placed towards the sun, and the glass over against the
mouth of the piece: it illuminates the bore and chamber sufficiently to
discover the flaws in it.
PROOF _armor_, armor hardened so as to resist the force of an arrow, a
sword or other weapons in use before the discovery of gunpowder.
PROOF _charge_, the quantity of gunpowder which is used in trying the
several pieces of ordnance.
PROPER, in military matters, stands as a reduplicative, serving to mark
out a thing more expressly and formally, viz.
PROPER _front of a battalion_. The usual continuity of line which is
given to the formation of a battalion, and which remains unaltered
by the countermarch or wheelings of its divisions; or if altered is
restored by the same operation.
PROPER _right_, the right of a battalion, company, or subdivision, when
it is drawn up according to its natural formation.
PROPER _pivot_ flank in column, is that which, when wheeled up to,
preserves the divisions of the line in the natural order, and to their
proper front. The other may be called the _reverse_ flank. In column,
divisions cover and dress to the proper pivot flank; to the left when
the right is in front; and to the right when the left is in front.
PROPLASM. See MOULD.
PROPORTION, (_Proportion_, _Fr._) The relation which parts have among
themselves, and to the whole.
PROPOSER _une personne pour une charge_, _Fr._ To recommend a person
for a situation.
PROPOSITION, (_Proposition_, _Fr._) in geometry, the declaration of
a truth which is proved by demonstration. Such are the propositions
in Euclid’s Elements. Propositions are divided into _Problems_ and
_Theorems_.
PROPREFECT, among the Romans, the prefect’s lieutenant, whom he
commissioned to do any part of his duty in his place.
PROPRETE _des soldats_, _Fr._ Cleanliness required in soldiers. See
SERJEANT.
PROPRETOR, the same in his relative capacity as proconsul among the
Romans. He was a magistrate who, after having discharged the office of
pretor at home, was sent into a province to act in the same capacity.
PROQUESTOR, among the Romans, the questor’s lieutenant, who discharged
his office in his stead.
_To_ PROSECUTE, to carry on. Hence to prosecute the war.
PROSPECTIVE, appertaining to viewing.
PROSTYLE, any building having pillars in the front only.
PROTECTOR. This word sometimes denotes the regent of a kingdom. Oliver
Cromwell assumed this title on the death of Charles I. of England;
Bonaparte exercises the power of emperor over a great part of Germany,
under the title of _Protector_ of the confederation of the Rhine.
PROTESTANT, an appellation first given in Germany to all who adhered to
the doctrine published by Luther.
PROVEDITOR, (_Provediteur_, _Fr._) The Venetians had two appointments
of this description before the revolution. One gave the supreme command
of the armies on shore, the other that of the fleets.
Of these proveditors, there were three who had the direction of matters
relating to policy throughout the signory.
PROVEDITOR-_general of the sea_, an officer in Italy, whose authority
extended over the fleet, when the captain-general was absent. He had
particularly the disposal of the cash.
PROVET, an artillery machine used with howitzers. See EPROUVETTE.
PROVISIONS, are properly those articles of food and sustenance which
soldiers receive from the public, and which in the British service are
payed for by deductions from their pay. There is taken a deduction
of _six pence a day_ from the full pay of every Serjeant, corporal,
trumpeter, drummer, fifer, private man of the life guards, horse
guards, dragoon guards, dragoons, foot guards, infantry of the line,
militia, fencible infantry, and companies of invalids, when serving
out of Great Britain, on stations at which provisions are supplied
by the public; also when embarked in transports, or other vessels;
(except while serving as marines, or during their passage to and from
India at the expence of the East-India company;) also when prisoners
of war, and maintained at the expence of Great Britain; and likewise
when in general hospitals, either at home or abroad. A deduction of
_three pence halfpenny_ is likewise to be made from the full pay of
each serjeant, &c. when stationed in Jamaica, in New South Wales, at
Gibraltar, (the loss by exchange at the latter place continuing as
before) and while on their passage to and from India at the expence of
the East-India company.
These deductions commenced, in regard to the troops in Europe, on the
25th of February, 1799; and in regard to the troops abroad, on the 25th
of April, 1799.
PROVISIONS. See RATION.
PROVISIONAL, (_Provisionel_, _Fr._) Temporarily established.
PROVISIONALLY, (_Provisoirement_, _Fr._) by way of provision, or
temporary arrangement. This adverb is frequently used both in French
and English to distinguish the exercise of temporary functions from
that of permanent appointments.
PROVOST-_Marshal_, of an army, is an officer appointed to secure
deserters, and all other criminals: he is often to go round the army,
hinder the soldiers from pillaging, indict offenders, execute the
sentence pronounced, and regulate the weights and measures used in the
army when in the field. He is attended by a lieutenant’s guard, has a
clerk, and an executioner.
PROWESS, valor, bravery in the field, military gallantry.
PSILOI, light armed men among the Greeks, who fought with arrows and
darts, or stones and slings, but were unfit for close fight. They were
in honor and dignity inferior to the heavy armed. Next to these were
the peltasti, a middle sort of foot soldiers between the hoplitai
and the psiloi, being armed with spears, but far inferior in bigness
to those of the heavy armed; their name is taken from their narrow
shields, called _Peltæ_. Potter’s Greek Antiquities, vol. II. chap. 3.
PUBLICANS, persons who keep alehouses, &c. for the accommodation of
travelers. In England, troops upon the march, or in quarters, may be
billeted on them.
PUCKA _fever_, _Ind._ a putrid fever. The bilious fever of tropical
climates.
PUCKALLIES, _Ind._ leathern bags for carrying water. They are placed on
the backs of oxen. The word is also used for water-carriers.
PUDLAYS, pieces of stuff to do the office of levers or hand spikes.
PUHUR _Din_, _Ind._ Watches kept in the day; of which there are four; a
similar number is kept in the night, called _Puhurraat_.
PUISANT, _Fr._ a well built of dry stones, or made in a wall to serve
as a reservoir for water.
PUISSANCE, _Fr._ in algebra and geometry, powers of lines and
quantities.
PUISOIR, _Fr._ a copper vessel which is used in making saltpetre.
PUITS, _Fr._ A well.
PUITS _de mineur_, _Fr._ a perpendicular opening, about four feet
square, which is made in the earth for miners to let themselves down,
as deep as may be judged expedient, in order to push the subterraneous
galleries beneath the covert way, or under any other works constructed
by the besieged or besieger.
PULK, a tribe, a particular body of men. This word is chiefly used in
Russia; as a _Pulk_ of cossacks.
PULVERIN, _Fr._ priming powder.
PULVIS _fulminans_, the thundering powder, a mixture of three parts of
saltpetre, two of tartar, and one of brimstone; all finely powdered. A
small part, even a single dram of this being put into a shovel over a
gentle fire, till it melts by degrees and changes color, will go off or
explode as loud as a musquet. But it will not do any injury, because
its force tends chiefly downward.
PULLEY, in _military mechanics_. See MECHANICS.
PULWAR, _Ind._ a light boat for dispatches.
PUMICE-_stone_, a spongy, light crumbling stone which is cast out
of mount Ætna, and other burning mountains. It is used in graving,
polishing, &c.
PUMMEL. See POMMEL.
PUMP, (_Pompe_, _Fr._) a well known engine used in the elevation of
water.
PUNCH, (_Poincon_, _Fr._) an instrument for making holes. Every
serjeant of a company, at least, and indeed every corporal of a squad,
should be provided with a punch, as there is frequent occasion to fit
on the cross belts, &c.
PUNCTO. The point in fencing.
PUNISHMENT, in the _army_, in general, signifies the execution of a
sentence pronounced by a court martial upon any delinquent. There are
various methods in different countries which have been adopted for
the punishment of officers and soldiers, without ultimately depriving
the public of their services. Those in the British are simple, and
in general very summary, especially with regard to officers. In some
foreign services it is usual to send an officer from his regiment
to do duty in a garrison town, during which period he loses all the
advantages of promotion. Hence _être envoyé en garnison_, to be sent
into garrison, implies a species of military chastisement. Perhaps the
method which is adopted in the British navy, of putting an officer at
the bottom of the list of his own rank, might be beneficial in the
army. The barbarous and self-defeating punishment or whipping remains a
disgrace to the British code, and we lament to say to the American also.
PUNITIONS _corporelles_, _Fr._ corporeal punishment. In the old French
service, military punishments or chastisements, which were not of a
capital nature, were of two kinds. The picket was for the cavalry, and
the gauntelope, or passing through the rods, for the infantry. The
rods, or baguettes, which properly means small sticks, or switches,
were generally osier or willow twigs. Previous to the execution of the
sentence, a corporal with two privates of the company, to which the
culprit belonged, were sent to get the rods. These they brought in a
bundle to the guard-house, or to any place of security which was near
the spot where the punishment was to be inflicted. The criminal, under
an escort of two serjeants and four grenadiers, with fixed bayonets,
went for the bundle, and as he passed through the interval of the line
which was faced inwards, each soldier drew out one twig. The grenadiers
at the head of the line took off their slings, which they used instead
of rods. When the culprit reached the end of the line, he undressed
himself naked to the waist. The right and left openings of the double
line faced inwards were closed by the grenadiers that had escorted the
prisoner, viz. two with one serjeant at the head of the right, and
two with ditto at the head of the left. It sometimes happened, that a
serjeant or corporal marched backwards in ordinary time; keeping the
point of his pike directed at the chest of the man who received the
lashes. The culprit was, however, generally allowed to make the most of
his legs. Whilst he was receiving his punishment, the drummers of the
regiment, who were equally divided and stationed behind the grenadiers
that had formed the escort, beat the charge. If a French soldier was
convicted of theft, or any flagrant dishonorable practice that injured
the military character, he not only underwent this punishment, but he
was conducted in the most ignominious manner, to the outward gate of a
frontier town; there expelled the country, and cautioned, never to be
found within its limits under pain of suffering death. The nicety of
military honor and reputation, among French soldiers, is proverbial.
They never survive a blow, even among themselves, nor would a private
soldier exist under the disgrace of having been struck by an officer.
When a girl of the town, or a notorious prostitute, was taken up, and
ordered to be punished in a camp or garrison, she went through the same
process; the drums beating the _marionnetes_, a sort of rogue’s march,
during the execution of the sentence.
In offering a Military Dictionary to the American public, the editor
cannot withhold his protest against the barbarous method of whipping,
as not only inconsistent with every maxim adapted to military
institution, but incompatible with the republican institutions of
America, as well as those of ancient Rome. The subjection to such
odious punishment is a fatal blow to the American militia, and one of
the greatest obstacles to its respectability and efficiency; since in
service the punishments must necessarily be and ought to be uniformly
the same. A man who has been once punished by whipping, as practised
in the military service in England, must be totally lost to every
sentiment of feeling reconcilable with military spirit, or that sense
of honor which can never exist but where there is self-respect. There
can be no confidence between officers that flog and men that are
flogged, and thus the fundamental spirit of all military institution
is undermined, that is confidence reciprocal and earnest through every
grade. It is sometimes said that discipline cannot be enforced without
it; all Europe conquered at this moment, by an army in which even blows
are not permitted, is a melancholy lesson contrasted with the brutal
discipline of the cane and other ignominious practices, in the armies
of Prussia, Austria, Russia, and England. Those who cannot enforce
discipline without treating their fellow men as brutes, should distrust
their own faculties or fitness, and examine into their own false pride,
their petulance, perhaps too often their unacquaintance with the first
principle of military discipline, that is a knowlege of mankind,
or of the human mind; the springs by which the human character is
most easily and effectually led on to acts of voluntary heroism and
intrepidity, are never produced by the lash; but always to be commanded
by generosity, by a kindness that costs nothing, and which if it were
to cost something, if done with discrimination, is always repaid ten
thousand fold by the affection, the gratitude, the attachment, and the
devotion of the soldier. It is said that there are men who are not to
be overcome by generosity, nor subdued even by the lash; then such men
should be held up as an example for better men; they should not be
suffered to mess, nor to associate with men of better temper; the good
men should be noticed and those neglected, and if these courses failed,
the public service would be benefitted by their discharge, more than by
their continuance.
PURCHASE. The sale and purchase of commissions is countenanced by
government, and the prices of those commissions are regulated by
authority, yet there are various ways through which young men of
fortune and connexions get over the heads of veteran officers in the
British army. In 1809, the detection of a system of purchase from the
concubines of the British commander in chief excited astonishment.
Purchase and sale are terms unknown in the British navy.
PURSE, (with the grand signor,) a gift, or gratification of 500 crowns.
PURSE _of money_, (in the Levant) about 112_l._ sterling. It is so
called, because all the grand signor’s money is kept in leather purses
or bags of this value in the seraglio.
PURSEVANT, from the French _poursuivant_, a sort of serjeant at arms,
who is ready to go upon any special occasion, or to carry any special
message. His general office is to apprehend a person who has been
guilty of an offence.
PURSUIT, the act of following with hostile intention.
PURVEYOR OF PUBLIC SUPPLIES, a civil officer whose duty it is to
purchase what is required for public service, as military clothing,
medicine, equipments; the troops of the United States have for a few
years became worse clad than formerly, owing to the scandalous abuse of
economy in the purveyor; and overlooked in the military department; a
few years since no troops in the world were better provided for.
PURVEYOR, a person employed in the quarter-master or commissary
general’s department in the British service. Likewise one belonging to
a military hospital, whose duty it is to provide food and necessaries
for the sick.
_To_ PUSH, to make a thrust.
_To_ PUSH _back_, to force an enemy to retreat.
_A_ PUSH, a force impressed. As a push of the bayonet. This word
is peculiarly applicable to the use that ought to be made of this
formidable weapon.
PUSILLANIMOUS, cowardly, wanting spirit.
_To_ PUT _a horse_, in horsemanship, signifies to break or manage him.
_To_ PUT _a horse upon his haunches_, to force him to bend them in
galloping in the manege, or upon a stop.
PUTTING-STONE, a great stone, which formerly was laid at the gate of a
laird in Scotland, and by which he tried the bodily strength of each
man in his clan.
PYKE, _Ind._ a person employed as a guard at night.
PYRAMID, (_Pyramide_, _Fr._) This word is originally derived from the
Greek, and takes its name from a resemblance to the spiral ascendancy
of fire. It is the same as obelisk.
_Geometrical_ PYRAMID, a solid standing on a square basis, and
terminating at the top in a point; or a body whose base is a polygon,
and whose sides are plain triangles, their several tops meeting
together in one point.
PYRAMID, (in architecture,) a solid, massy edifice, which from a
square, triangular, or other base, arises in gradual dimension to a
vertex or point.
PYRAMIDAL _numbers_, (in arithmetic,) the sums of polygonal numbers,
collected after the same manner as the polygon numbers themselves are
extracted from arithmetical progression.
PYRAMIDAL, PYRAMIDICAL, Appertaining to, like to a pyramid.
PYRAMIDOID, from the Greek, is what is sometimes called a parabolic
spindle, and is a solid figure formed by the revolution of a parabola
round its base, or greatest ordinate.
PYRAMIDS, of Egypt, are enormous piles of building, within three
leagues of Grand Cairo, and are ranked among the seven wonders of the
world.
The pyramids of Giza, the largest of which was originally built by
Cheops, are supposed to have been erected about 14 years after the
building of Solomon’s temple, about 2665 years ago. The pyramids are
known by various names, viz.
PYRAMIDS _of Giza_, (five in number) which are those already mentioned,
and near which the French established a camp in 1799.
PYRAMIDS _of Saccara_, (three in number.) These stand in the plain of
Mummies, and are about 600 feet high.
_Dashour_ PYRAMIDS, (six in number,) stand in the same plain, and
appear somewhat lower. The French general Friant, in 1799, pursued
Murad Bey across this plain, leaving the pyramids on his left.
_The Southern, or Great_ PYRAMID. This pyramid has been called by
Bruce, the traveller, the false pyramid. It stands in the plain of
Mummies, and appears to be about 600 feet high.
PYRAMIDS, in ruins. Two pyramids of smaller size, which stand near the
Fiume mountains, close to Joseph’s canal.
_Battle of the_ PYRAMIDS, so called from having taken place close to
the large pyramids in the plain of Mummies, at Waardam, within a few
miles of Grand Cairo. A previous engagement had been fought on the 15th
of July, 1799, between the Mamalukes under Murad Bey, and the French
army, commanded by Bonaparte in person. The second battle, called the
battle of the pyramids, put the French in possession of lower Egypt.
The following short extract from the Epitome of Military Events, may
not be uninteresting.
“The French army, which during its last marches had suffered excessive
fatigue, halted at Waardam, in order to recruit its strength, remount
the artillery, and clean the musquets that were so subject to take
rust from the moist vapors of the Nile. On the 21st of July, 1799,
the second battle called the battle of the pyramids, was fought.
General Desaix, with his advanced guard, at first made a corps of
Mamalukes fall back; the order of battle of the other divisions was
nearly the same as on the 13th, being drawn up by echellons of square
columns, so as to flank themselves between each other; and the line
of battle, which was itself flanked by two villages. Each division
was concentrated into a compact body, and formed a square having
its baggage in the centre, and the artillery in the intervals of
the battalions. This formidable disposition presented a double fire
in flank and in front, and opposed an invincible obstacle to the
impetuous, but unconnected charges of Murad Bey’s cavalry. To return to
the action of the 21st, general Desaix’s advanced guard, and Regnier’s
division, formed the right wing of the army, and were at first charged
with the greatest impetuosity, by one half of the Mamaluke cavalry; the
other half having remained to support the intrenchments of the village
of _Embabé_.
“Notwithstanding this determination to anticipate the attack of the
French columns, the rash valor of the Mamalukes again failed against
those compact bodies, bristling with bayonets, and keeping up, within
half musquet shot a most galling fire. While these charges were
taking place against his right, and the Mamalukes were retreating in
disorder, Bonaparte directing the two divisions of his centre against
the intrenchments, ordered the village of _Embabé_ to be turned by
means of a ditch which masked this movement, and thus cut to pieces,
or rather drove into the Nile, 1500 of the enemy’s cavalry.” In a
map lately published by _Heathes_, the number is stated to have been
2000. The attack, which was extremely warm, was conducted by general
Marmont. Forty pieces of cannon, the camp of the Mamalukes, their rich
spoils, together with upwards of 400 camels, fell into the hands of the
conquerors. See pages 119 and 120, of the Epitome of Military Events.
In the year 1801, a large army of Turks with a detachment of the
British forces in Egypt, defeated the French close to the pyramids, and
took possession of Grand Cairo. This battle eventually decided the fate
of Egypt.
PYROBOLY, the art of gunnery, &c.
PYROBOLIST, (_Pyroboliste_, _Fr._) a maker of fire-balls, &c.
PYROETS, in horsemanship, are motions either of one tread or pist, or
of two treads or pists.
PYROETS of one tread, or what the French call _de la tête à la queue_,
from the head to the tail, are entire and very narrow turns made by
a horse upon one tread, and almost at one time, so that his head is
placed where his tail was, without putting out his haunches.
PYROETS of two pists, are turns of two treads upon a small compass of
ground almost of the length of the horse.
PYROTECHNIE, _Fr._ See PYROTECHNY.
PYROTECHNY, in military matters, the doctrine of artificial fireworks,
and firearms, teaching the structure and service, both of those used
in war, for the attacking of fortifications, &c. as cannons, bombs,
grenadoes, gunpowder, wildfire, &c. and those made for diversion, as
serpents, St. Catherine’s wheel, rockets, &c.
PYROTECHNIC, of or appertaining to pyrotechny.
Q.
QUADRANGLE, QUADRANGULAR, a square figure having four right angles.
QUADRANT, in _gunnery_, an instrument made of brass or wood, divided
into degrees, and each degree into 10 parts, to lay guns or mortars to
any angle of elevation.
The common sort is that whose radii project the quadrant about 12
inches, and whose plummet suspends in its centre, by means of a fine
piece of silk; so that, when the long end is introduced into the piece,
the plummet shows its elevation.
The best sort has a spiral level fixed to a brass radius; so that, when
the long end is introduced into the piece, this radius is turned about
its centre till it is level: then its end shews the angle of elevation,
or the inclination from the horizon; whereas the first shows that angle
from the vertical. See LEVEL.
QUADRAT, or _to quadrat a gun_, is to see it duly placed on its
carriage, and that the wheels be of an equal height.
QUADRATE, a square, having four equal and parallel sides.
QUADRATICK _Equations_, are such as retain, on the unknown side, the
square of the root, or the number sought.
QUADRATRICE, _Fr._ See QUADRANT.
QUADRATURE, _Fr._ Quadrature.
QUADRILATERAL, (_Quadrilatére_, _Fr._) having four sides.
QUADRILLE, _Fr._ This word is pronounced _Cadrille_. Small parties of
horse, richly caparisoned, &c. which used formerly to ride, &c. in
tournaments and at public festivals. The Quadrilles were distinguished
from one another by the shape or color of the coats which the
riders wore. This word is derived from the Italian _Quadriglia_, or
_Squadriglia_, being a diminutive of _Squadra_, a company of soldiers
drawn up in a square.
QUADRIVIAL, having four roads or ways, meeting in a point.
QUAI, _Fr._ See QUAY.
QUAICHE, or CAICHE, _Fr._ A decked vessel, a ketch.
QUAKER-GUNS. See PASSE VOLANS.
QUALIFICATION. That which makes any person or thing fit for any thing.
_To_ QUALIFY. To fit for any thing. To give in the necessary
qualifications for the exercising of a civil or military employment. In
a general acceptation of the term, _to qualify_ does not mean to give
proofs of mental ability.
QUANTIEME, _Fr._ a term used among the French to signify, not only
the day of the month, as _quel quantiéme du mois avons nous?_ what is
the day of the month? but likewise the numerical order in which an
individual stands upon a muster-roll, &c. viz. _Le quantiéme êtes vous
dans votre campagnie?_ How do you rank in your company? or of what
standing are you?
QUANTITY, the amount; bulk; weight; that property of any thing which
may be increased or diminished.
QUARANTINE, (_Quarantaine_, _Fr._) The time which persons, suspected of
having any contagious disorder, are obliged to remain without mixing
with the inhabitants of the seaport or town at which they arrive. It
takes its name from _quarantaine_, the term of 40 days.
QUARRE, _Fr._ See SQUARE.
_Bataillon_ QUARRE _d’hommes_, _Fr._ A square battalion.
QUARREAUX, _Fr._ Darts or arrows which the bowmen anciently used, and
which were so called from the iron at the end being square, with a
sharp point.
QUARRELS, in a military sense, are disagreements between individuals
of that serious nature, as to produce challenges, duels, &c. by the
Articles of War, it is specified, that all officers, of what condition
soever, have power to 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 to prison, until their proper superior officers
shall be made 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.
QUARREL, QUARRY, an arrow with a square head.
QUART, _Fr._ Quarter.
QUART _de Cercle_, _Fr._ A quadrant such as bombardiers use when they
take the angles, and give what inclination they think necessary to a
mortar.
QUART _de Conversion_, _Fr._ Quarter-wheeling, or quarter-facing. The
terms are used in military evolutions.
DEMI-QUART _de Conversion_, _Fr._ Half-quarter-wheel.
QUARTE, _Fr._ In fencing. See CARTE.
QUARTER, in _war_, signifies the sparing of men’s lives, and giving
good treatment to a vanquished enemy. Hence, _to give quarter_, _to
take quarter_, &c. _donner quartier_, _Fr._ _prendre quartier_, _Fr._
_To_ QUARTER UPON. To oblige persons to receive soldiers, &c. into
their dwelling houses, and to provide for them.
QUARTERS. Military stations are so called; as head quarters, home
quarters, regimental quarters, &c.
QUARTERS, at a _siege_, the encampment upon one of the most principal
passages round a place besieged, to prevent relief and convoys.
_Head_ QUARTERS _of an army_, the place where the commander in chief
has his quarters. The quarters of generals of horse are, if possible,
in villages behind the right and left wings; and the generals of foot
are often in the same place: but the commander in chief should be near
the centre of the army.
QUARTERS _of refreshment_, the place or places where troops that have
been much harrassed are put to recover themselves, during some part of
the campaign.
QUARTER _of assembly_, the place where the troops meet to march from in
a body, and is the same as the place of rendezvous.
_Intrenched_ QUARTERS, a place fortified with a ditch and parapet to
secure a body of troops.
_Winter_ QUARTERS, sometimes means the space of time included between
leaving the camp and taking the field; but more properly the places
where the troops are quartered during the winter.
The first business, after the army is in _winter quarters_, is to form
the chain of troops to cover the quarters well: which is done either
behind a river, under cover of a range of strong posts, or under the
protection of fortified towns. Hussars are very useful on this service.
It should be observed, as an invariable maxim, in _winter quarters_,
that your regiments be disposed in brigades, to be always under the
eye of a general officer; and, if possible, let the regiments be so
distributed, as to be each under the command of its own chief.
_In_ QUARTERS. Within the limits prescribed.
_Out of_ QUARTERS. Beyond the limits prescribed. Officers,
non-commissioned officers and soldiers who sleep out of quarters,
without leave, are liable to be tried by a general or regimental court
martial, according to the rank they severally hold.
QUARTER-_master_, is an officer, whose principal business is to
look after the quarters of the soldiers, their clothing, bread,
ammunition, firing, &c. Every regiment of foot, and artillery, has a
quarter-master, and every troop of horse one.
QUARTER-_master_-_general_, is a considerable officer in the British
army, and should be a man of great judgment and experience, and well
skilled in geography: his duty is to mark the marches, and encampments
of an army: he should know the country perfectly well, with its rivers,
plains, marshes, woods, mountains, defiles, passages, &c. even to the
smallest brook. Prior to a march he receives the orders and route from
the commanding general, and appoints a place for the quarter-masters
of the army to meet him next morning, with whom he marches to the
next camp, where after having viewed the ground, he marks out to the
regimental quarter-masters the space allowed each regiment for their
camp: he chuses the head quarters, and appoints the villages for the
generals of the army’s quarters: he appoints a proper place for the
encampment of the train of artillery: he conducts foraging parties, as
likewise the troops to cover them against assaults, and has a share in
regulating the winter quarters and cantonments.
QUARTER _staff_, an old military weapon, made of strong even wood,
bigger and heavier than a pike: it is 6¹⁄₂ feet long between the
ferrules that keep fast the two pikes of iron stuck into the ends of
the staff.
QUARTER, in the _manége_, as to work from quarter to quarter, is to
ride a horse three times in upon the first of the four lines of a
square; then, changing your hand, to ride him three times upon the
second; and so to the third and fourth; always changing hands, and
observing the same order.
QUARTER-_facing_, is in the new discipline substituted for the old
aukward _oblique marching_; it is also called the _line of science_; in
ranks _every man_ turns to the right or left as ordered, and if ordered
to march, the lines or ranks thus keep parallel to their former front,
but march on a line oblique to it.
QUARTER-_Wheeling_, in the old discipline, was the motion by which the
front of a body of men was turned round to where the flank stood, by
taking a quarter of a circle; but in the new discipline which reduces
all principles to the strictest simplicity, the wheelings take all
their proportions from _half a circle_; and for obvious causes, since
the wheeling of any number of men on a whole circle, would be only
moving them to bring them into the place in which they stood before
they were wheeled or moved; now the purpose of wheeling is to change
from one position to some other required position, and hence _quarter
wheeling_ means a quarter wheel of half a circle; thus wheeling
_about_, is changing the front to the rear; and this wheeling is simply
half the half circle, or placing the ranks on the same line from which
they were moved; the quarter wheel is a movement of ¹⁄₄ of the half
circle, or in a line oblique to the line from which they were moved; a
regiment quarter wheeled by companies display the regiment in echellon.
QUARTERING _troops_, is to provide them with quarters.
QUARTERON, _one_, _Fr._ A quarteron; one born of a white man and a
mulatto woman, or of a mulatto man and a white woman.
QUARTIER, _Fr._ For its general acceptation see QUARTERS.
QUARTIER _d’un Siége_, _Fr._ A station taken, or an encampment made
in one of the leading avenues to a besieging town or place. When the
_Quartier d’un Siége_ was commanded by a general officer, during the
French monarchy, it was called _Quartier du Roi_. The king’s quarters.
QUARTIER _des Vivres_, _Fr._ The park of stores, provisions, &c.
QUARTIER _d’Hiver_, _Fr._ Winter quarters. Count de Turpin has written
largely upon this subject. See _Essai sur l’Art de la Guerre_;
likewise, _Suite de la Science de la Guerre_, tom. iv. p. 170.
QUARTIER _de Rafraîchissemens_, _Fr._ Those places are so called in
which troops are permitted to halt and take up their quarters for any
period, during a campaign.
QUARTIER _de Fourrage_, _Fr._ Foraging quarters. When the active
operations of a campaign are necessarily interrupted by the inclemency
of the season, means are adopted to lessen the heavy expences of
winter quarters, by remaining a certain time in foraging quarters. A
wise general will take care to live as long as he can upon his enemy’s
country, in order to draw as little as possible from his own.
QUARTIER _du Roi_, ou _du Général_, _Fr._ Head quarters, or the spot
where the king or the commander in chief resides. When an army takes
up its ground in low marshy places, &c. the royal or head quarters are
marked out in the most advantageous manner, so as to have the king’s
or general’s person secure. When an army went into action or stood in
battle array, it was customary, among the French, to say, _Le Quartier
du Roi est partout_. The king’s station is every where. Nevertheless,
it was always judged prudent, not to expose the royal person or the
commander in chief too much. On this principle, head quarters were
always established in a place which was surrounded by the best troops,
and was supported by epaulements on the right and left, with the
addition of a rear guard. Since the revolution, these arrangements
have been much changed. It cannot, however, be uninteresting to give
a general outline of what was practised during the monarchy. The
_Quartier du Roi_ or head quarters, when a town was besieged, were
always fixed out of the reach of ordnance, and in a village that was
well secured by entrenchments. Before the cannonade commenced, it was
usual for the besieged to ascertain the exact station of head quarters,
that their fire might not be directed towards them; nor did the real
assault of the town take place from that direction. Wherever the king,
or, in his absence, the commander in chief took up his quarters, the
camp assumed its name from that particular spot or village.
QUARTIER _géneral de la tranchée_, _Fr._ Head quarters or principal
station of the trenches. That spot is so called in which the commanding
officer of the trenches takes post, and to which all reports of
progress, &c. are, from time to time, conveyed. When the siege is
somewhat advanced, it is usual to fix this quarters, near the outlet of
the last parallel which leads to the head of the saps, in the principal
line of attack.
QUARTIER _d’Assemblee_, _Fr._ The ground on which troops assemble to
commence their military routes, or to be otherwise prepared for active
operations.
_Un_ QUARTIER _bien Retranche_, _Fr._ A quarter that is well entrenched.
_Un_ QUARTIER _Enleve_, _Fr._ Quarters taken possession of by force.
_Officiers de_ QUARTIER, _Fr._ Officers who were upon duty for three
months, or during the space of one quarter of a year. This term was
used in the old French service, to distinguish such officers from those
who did duty throughout the year.
_Etre de_ QUARTIER, _Fr._ To be upon duty for three months.
QUARTIER _Generaux_, _Fr._ General head quarters.
QUARTIER-_Maitre_, _Fr._ Quarter-master. This term, with respect to
foreign troops, corresponds with _maréchal des logis_ in a French
infantry corps.
QUARTIER-_Mestre General_, _Fr._ Quarter-master-general. Among other
armies the same as _marechal général des Logis_ in the old French
service. There is a quarter-master-general in the Turkish service,
whose immediate duty is to mark out the ground of encampment, the
instant he has received orders to that purpose from the grand vizir,
or, in his absence, from the seraskier, who is the general in ordinary,
and who is always with the army, whether the grand vizir be present or
not.
QUATRE, _Fr._ Four.
_To_ QUELL. To crush, to subdue. Military force is sometimes resorted
to by the civil magistracy to quell riots, &c. In England, the riot
act must be read by a justice of the peace, and if the rioters or
insurgents do not disperse, the magistrate may order the officer to
do his duty, by firing, &c. upon them. When military law has been
proclaimed, there is not any necessity for this preliminary caution.
QUERELLES, _Fr._ quarrels, feuds, &c.
QUERELLE _d’Allemand_, _Fr._ An expression used among the French, to
signify a drunken quarrel.
QUERRY. See EQUERRY,
QUEUE. From the French, which signifies tail; an appendage that every
British soldier is directed to wear in lieu of a club. Regimental tails
were ordered to be nine inches long.
QUEUE D’ARONDE, a corruption of _Queue d’Yronde_. It signifies a piece
of wood which is so made that it resembles at each end a swallow’s tail.
QUEUE _d’Yronde_, _ou d’Yrondelle_, _Fr._ See SWALLOW’S TAIL.
QUEUE _du Camp_, _Fr._ Literally means the tail or extremity of the
camp. It is the line which is drawn in the rear of the camp, and which
is directly opposite to the one in front, called the head of the camp.
QUEUE _de Paon_, _Fr._ Literally means a peacock’s tail. It is used
in architecture, to signify the different compartments or spaces
which, in a circular figure, spread gradually from the centre to the
circumference.
QUEUE _à Queue_, _Fr._ one after another.
_Etre à la_ QUEUE, _Fr._ To be behind, or in the rear.
_Avoir l’ennemi en_ QUEUE, _Fr._ To have the enemy close at your heels.
_To go in_ QUEST _of an enemy_. To send out vedettes, patroles, &c. for
the purpose of ascertaining an enemy’s motions.
QUIBERON, _or Quibron_. A small peninsula of France, in Bretagne, in
the bishoprick of Vannes, and to the north of Belleisle; as also a
small island called the point of Quiberon, separated from the peninsula
by a channel, and the sea next it is called the bay of Quiberon. This
spot has been rendered remarkable by the expedition which took place
in June, 1795. Upwards of 3000 regular troops (composed mostly of
French emigrants that had served abroad, with the ill judged addition
of some French prisoners, taken out of English gaols) were landed
upon the coast. This force was intended as a co-operation with the
insurgents of La Vendee, and was afterwards to have been increased by
the descent of an English army, under the command of the earl of Moira;
who had, indeed, already been instructed to detach a covering body for
that purpose; but the British did not land, having been driven from
the French coast by stress of weather. The French emigrants were all
sacrificed.
QUICK, with celerity. It forms the cautionary part of a word of command
when troops are ordered to move in quick time; as quick-march.
QUICK-_Step_, or _Quick-Time_, is 100 steps of 24 inches each, or 200
feet in a minute, and is the step used in all marchings but guard
marching and reviews, when the slow march may be used.
QUICKEST-_Step_, or _Quickest-Time_, is 120 steps of 24 inches each,
or 240 feet in a minute. In this step, all wheelings are performed, as
also the doublings up of divisions, and their increase or diminution in
front.
QUICK-_match_, in _laboratory-works_. See LABORATORY.
QUIETISM. Apathy. Indifference.
QUIETISME, _Fr._ The state of those persons who did not take an active
part in the French revolution.
QUIETISTE, _Fr._ A man who did not meddle with the revolution.
QUILTING _grape-shot_, in _gunnery_. See LABORATORY, and TO MAKE
GRAPE-SHOT.
QUINQUANGULAR. Having five corners or angles.
QUINTAIN, QUINTIN, An instrument used in the ancient practice of
tilting. It consisted of an upright post, on the top of which a cross
post turned upon a pivot; at one end of the cross-post was a broad
board, and at the other a bag of sand. The practice was to ride against
the board with a lance, and at such speed, as to pass by before the
sand-bag could strike the tilter on the back.
QUINTAL, _Fr._ one hundred weight. The _Quintal_ varies in different
places, according as the pound consists of more or fewer ounces. The
English _Quintal_ is 112 pounds, and is divided into quarters.
QUINTE, _Fr._ a low thrust in fencing, delivered at the outside of
the position, with the nails turned up, as in low carte. When this
thrust is forced over the blade from the guard in carte, it is termed
flanconade.
QUINTUPLE. Five fold.
QUIRITES. In ancient Rome, the common citizens were so called, as
distinguished from the soldiery.
_To_ QUIT, to leave, to abandon. This word is variously used in
military phraseology, viz.
_To_ QUIT _your post_, _To_ QUIT _your ranks_, To retire, without
having received any previous order for that purpose, from a station
entrusted to your care. Any officer or soldier, who, during the heat
of an engagement, shall quit his ranks, may be shot, or otherwise
dispatched upon the spot. A sentry who quits his post before he
is regularly relieved, is ordered to suffer death, or such other
punishment as may be inflicted by a general court-martial.
QUIT _your arms_. A word of command which was formerly given in
infantry regiments, but is now laid aside.
QUITTANCE, _Fr._ receipt, acquittance.
QUITTANCE _de finance_, _Fr._ A term formerly used among the French, to
express any sum paid into the king’s treasury, for an appointment or
place.
QUITTER, _Fr._ to quit.
QUITTER _l’epée_, _Fr._ Figuratively to leave the profession of arms.
QUIVER. A case for arrows.
QUI _vive?_ QUI _va là?_ QUI _est là?_ _Fr._ Who comes there? terms
used by the French sentries when they challenge.
_Etre sur le_ QUI _vive_, _Fr._ To be upon the alert.
QUILLON, _Fr._ the cross-bar of the hilt of a sword
_A_ QUIZ. This cant word is frequently used as a substantive to
describe a strange, out of the way character. It is a term of ridicule.
_To_ QUIZ. A cant word much in use among fashionable bucks or blades,
as certain creatures are called. It signifies to turn another into
ridicule, by some allusion to his dress or manners, some ironical
word or quaint expression. In other terms, to take unwarrantable
liberties with the natural defects, or harmless habits of unoffending
individuals. This absurd and childish practice, (which grows out of
ignorance, is supported by privileged assumption, and ought to be
discouraged by every sensible man) has sometimes found its way into
the British army. We need scarcely add, that it has frequently been
the cause of the most serious quarrels, and is always contrary to good
order and discipline. Commanding officers should, on all occasions,
exert their authority, whenever there appears the least tendency to
this unmanly, unofficer like, and ungentleman like custom. It ought
constantly to be remembered, that the influence of evil is much
stronger upon the commonality of mankind, than that of good. If an
officer suffer himself to be quizzed by a brother officer, he will,
by degrees, become ridiculous to the soldiers; and if he resent it,
as he ought to do in _primo limine_, by a manly explanation with the
weak fool who attempts to be witty, without possessing one spark
of real wit, it is more than probable, that much ill blood will be
engendered between them. The British Articles of War have, in some
degree, provided against this evil. It is there specifically stated,
that no officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier, shall use any
reproachful or provoking speeches or gestures to another, upon pain, if
an officer, of being put in arrest (or if a non-commissioned officer,
or a soldier, of being imprisoned) and of asking pardon of the party
offended, in the presence of his commanding officer.
_A_ QUIZZER. A creature, who without possessing any real wit or humor,
affects to turn others into ridicule, by an insolent affectation of the
talent. The _thing_ is generally found among those calling themselves
fashionable young men, which, (to use a very apposite expression)
has more money than wit, plumes itself upon wealth or connexion,
and endeavors to make up by noise, turbulence, and privileged
contradiction, what it wants in real knowlege and solid understanding.
It is sometimes seen at a military mess, and about the purlieus of
taverns and gaming tables.
QUOIL, in _gunnery_, a rope laid round in a ring, one turn over another.
QUOINS, in architecture, denote the corners of brick or stone walls.
QUOIN, (_Coin_, _Fr._) a wedge used to lay under the breech of a gun,
to raise or depress the metal.
QUOIT, the ancient discus--an Olympic game, still practised in all
parts of the world. It consists in throwing a large _iron ring_ to a
considerable distance, at a wooden peg, driven into the ground.
QUOTIENT. In arithmetic, the number resulting from the division of a
greater number by a smaller, and which shews how often the smaller, or
the divisor, is contained in the greater or dividend.
R.
RABINET, formerly a name given to a small sort of ordnance between a
falconet and a base, about one inch and a half diameter in the bore,
five feet six inches long, and 300 pounds in weight, loaded with six
ounces of powder, and carrying a shot one inch and three-eighths in
diameter.
RACHAT _du pain_, _Fr._ a certain pecuniary allowance which was made in
the old French service to the officers of each company, for the surplus
rations of ammunition bread that were left in the purveyor’s hands. The
same rule exists in the British service, when troops are in camp or
barracks.
RACINE, _Fr._ See ROOT.
RACLOIR, _Fr._ A scraper. It is used in the artillery to cleanse out
mortars.
RACOLER, _Fr._ To entice men to inlist.
RACOLEUR, _Fr._ a crimp, a bringer of recruits, one who entices others
to inlist. Men of this description are to be found in all countries
where military establishments prevail.
RACORDEMENT, _Fr._ This word is derived from _racorder_, which, in
French architecture, signifies to join two pieces of building on one
surface, or to unite an old building with a new one.
RADE, _Fr._ Road for ships to ride in.
RADEAUX, _Fr._ Rafters. They are frequently used in sieges, for the
purpose of crossing ditches, &c. Chevalier Folard enters largely into
the nature of these rafters, particularly in his 4th volume, page 67.
RADIOMETER, (_Radiomètre_, _Fr._) This instrument is sometimes called
Jacob’s staff, _bâton de Jacob_. It is used by some to take the sun’s
altitude, and by others to ascertain elevations at sea.
RADIUS, the semi-diameter of a circle. In fortification, the radius
is distinguished into _exterior_, _interior_, _oblique_, and _right_
_radius_. The three former are noticed each under its initial letter.
The latter is a perpendicular line drawn from the centre of a polygon
to the exterior side.
RAFFINAGE, _Fr._ a term used by the French to express the operation
through which saltpetre passes after it has been boiled once. The
literal meaning is _refining_; the act of cleansing any thing from
recrementitious matter.
RAFFINER, _Fr._ To refine.
RAFFINOIR, _Fr._ a wooden cask, or copper vessel, in which saltpetre
is deposited after it has been boiled once. It usually remains thirty
minutes, after which it is let out through a cock fixed for that
purpose at the bottom of the vessel.
RAFRAICHISSEMENS, _Fr._ Provisions. See QUARTIER.
RAFRAICHIR, _Fr._ To cool; to spunge; as _rafraichir le canon_; to
spunge a cannon.
RAFRAICHIR _une place_, _Fr._ to succor a place by sending in fresh
troops and provisions.
RAFRAICHIR _des troupes_, _Fr._ to allow troops to repose; likewise to
supply them with fresh provisions.
RAFTS, a kind of frames or floats made by laying pieces of timber
together, or across each other, to serve as bridges for troops to pass
over rivers.
RAFTERS, are pieces of timber, which, standing by pairs on the transom,
wall plate, or raising piece, meet in an angle at the top, and form the
roof of a building.
It is a rule in building, that no rafters should stand farther than 12
inches from one another: and as to their sizes and scantlings, that
principal rafters, from 12 feet 6 inches to 14 feet 6 inches long, be 5
inches broad at the top, and 8 at the bottom, and 6 inches thick: those
from 14 feet 6 inches, to 18 feet 6 inches long, to be 9 inches broad
at the foot, 7 inches at the top, and 7 inches thick: and those from
18 feet 6 inches, to 21 feet 6 inches, to be 10 inches broad at the
foot, 8 at the top, and 8 thick. Single rafters, 8 feet in length, must
have 4¹⁄₂ inches, and 3³⁄₄ in their square. Those of 9 feet long, must
be 5, and 4 inches square.
RAJPUTES, _or_ RAUJPOOTS, _Ind._ The second tribe of the four great
classes of Hindus; the priests or _Bramins_ are the first. Both classes
may be soldiers, and none but members of one or other of these classes
can be kings or princes. Rauj means great, and poot means arms, that is
great in arms; they are the descendants of the military tribe of Hindus.
RAJAH, _Ind._ This word means an authority equivalent to that of a
king. The Rajahs became generally tributary to the Mogul, but were
suffered to follow their own modes of government.
RAIE, _Fr._ properly means a seam, furrow, streak.
RAINURE, _Fr._ a grove.
RAIS, _Fr._ a spoke of a wheel.
_To_ RAISE _Troops_. See LEVY.
_To_ RAISE _a plan of a fortress_, is to measure with cords and
geometrical instruments, the length of the lines, and the capacity of
the angles, that by knowing the length, breadth, and thickness, of all
the different parts of a fortification, it may be represented upon
paper, so as to find out its advantages and disadvantages.
RAISON, _Fr._ this word is used by the French, in a mathematical
sense, to express the relation which one number has to another, and in
general, that which exists between one quantity and another. The term
is distinguished into _raison arithmétique_, or arithmetical reasoning;
and _raison géométrique_, or geometrical reasoning. French carpenters
likewise use the term, to shew that pieces of wood, &c. are properly
laid, viz. _Des pieces de bois en leur raison_.
RALLIEMENT, _Fr._ Rallying point. It is sometimes written raliment.
_Mot de_ RALLIEMENT, _Fr._ a word or countersign, which is given to out
posts, and to sentries that are stationed beyond the lines.
RALLUMER, _Fr._ To light up again, to rekindle, to renew.
RALLY, one of the bugle horn soundings.
_To_ RALLY, (_Rallier_, _Fr._) To bring troops back to order that have
been dispersed.
RALLYING, in _war_, re-establishing, or forming together again, troops
broken and put to flight.
_To_ RAM, to drive with violence, as with a battering ram.
_To_ RAM down, to force anything downwards, or to fill with any thing
driven hard together, as in the charge of firearms.
RAM _down cartridge_, a word of command used in the platoon exercise.
See MANUAL.
_Battering_ RAM, in _antiquity_, a military engine used to batter and
beat down the walls of places besieged.
The battering ram was of two sorts, the one rude and plain, the other
compound. The former seems to have been no more than a great beam,
which the soldiers bore on their arms and shoulders, and with one end
of it, by main force, assailed the walls. The compound ram is thus
described by Josephus: it is a vast beam, like the mast of a ship,
strengthened at one end with a head of iron, something resembling that
of a ram, whence it took its name. This was hung by the middle with
ropes to another beam, which lay across two posts, and hanging thus
equally balanced, it was by a great number of men drawn backwards and
pushed forwards, striking the wall with its iron head.
Plutarch informs us, that Mark Antony, in the Parthian war, made use of
a ram 80 feet long: and Vitruvius tells us, that they were sometimes
106, and 120 feet long: to this perhaps the force and strength of the
engine was in a great measure owing. The ram at one time was managed by
a whole century of soldiers; and they, being exhausted, were seconded
by another century; so that it played continually, and without any
intermission.
The momentum of a battering ram 28 inches in diameter, 180 feet long,
with a head of cast iron of one ton and a half, the whole ram with
its iron hoops, &c. weighing 41,112 pounds, and moving by the united
strength of 1000 men, will be only equal to that of a ball of 36
pounds, when shot point blank from a cannon.
RAMMER, an instrument used for driving down stones or piles into the
ground in military works; or for beating the earth, in order to render
it more solid for a foundation.
RAMMER, _or_ RAMROD _of a gun_, the ramrod or gunstick; a rod used
in charging a gun, to drive home the powder and shot, as also the
wad, which keeps the shot from rolling out. The rammer of a piece of
artillery, is a cylinder of wood, whose diameter and length are each
equal to the diameter of the shot, with a handle fixed to it, at the
end of which is another cylinder, covered with lamb-skin, so as to fit
the gun exactly, and called a sponge: it is used to clean the piece
before and after it is fired. The ramrod of a musquet is one entire
piece of iron.
_Return_ RAMROD. See PLATOON EXERCISE, under MANUAL.
RAMPART, in _fortification_, or, as some call it, but improperly,
_rampire_; the great massy bank of earth raised about a place to resist
the enemy’s shot, and to cover the buildings, &c. On it is raised a
parapet towards the country. It is not above 18 feet high, and about 60
or 70 thick, unless more earth be taken out of the ditch than can be
otherwise disposed of. The rampart should be sloped on both sides, and
be broad enough to allow the marching of waggons and cannon, besides
the parapet which is raised on it. The rampart of the half moons is
better for being low, that the small arms of the besieged may the
better reach the bottom of the ditch; but it must be so high, as not
to be commanded by the covert-way. The rampart is encompassed with a
ditch, and is sometimes lined with a fausse-bray and a berme.
RAMPS, (_Rampes_, _Fr._) in _fortification_, are sloping
communications, or ways of very gentle ascent, leading from the inward
area, or lower part of a work, to the rampart or higher part of it.
RAMS-_horns_, in _fortification_, are a kind of low works made in the
ditch, of a circular arc; they were invented by M. Belidor, and serve
instead of tenailles.
RAMADAN, _Fr._ a month so called among the Turks, during which period
they observe fast days.
RAMASSE, _Fr._ a sort of sledge, in which travellers are conveyed from
the tops of mountains that are covered with snow.
RAMASSER, _Fr._ to collect, to get together. _On a ramassé tout ce
qu’on a pu trouver de soldats._ They got as many soldiers together as
they could.
RAMASSE, _Fr._ Gathered together, collected. This word is likewise used
to distinguish men that are hastily raised and embodied, from soldiers
who have been regularly disciplined, viz. _Ce ne son pas des troupes
reglées, ce sont des gens ramassés._ They are not regular troops, but
persons hastily got together.
RAMASSE, _Fr._ strong, vigorous. _Un homme ramasse._ A strong
athletic man. _Ramasse_, in this sense, agrees with the English word
tight-built, thickset, &c.
RAMAZAN. See RAMADAN.
RAMBERGE, _Fr._ an advice boat.
RAME, _Fr._ an oar. It is likewise called _Aviron_.
_Balle_ RAMEE, _Fr._ Cross-bar shot.
RAMEAUX _de la mine_, _Fr._ Branches belonging to a mine. See GALLERY.
RAMPE _au Pente extrêment douce qu’ont fait le long des talus des
ramparts_, _Fr._ a slope, or declivity which is extremely gradual along
the talus of ramparts. These slopes contain two toises in breadth,
and are cut upon the interior talus. They are made, according to
circumstances and the exigencies of the place, sometimes within the
angle of the rampart, opposite to the entrance into the bastion, when
the latter is full; sometimes along the flanks, or at the flanked angle
when the bastion is empty. Pieces of ordnance, ammunition, &c. are
conveyed up these slopes to the embrazures of the ramparts.
RANCHER, _Fr._ a sort of ladder which is made of wooden pegs, and is
used on various occasions.
RANÇON, _Fr._ Ransom. It was likewise the name of an old French
weapon, consisting of a long stake with a sharp iron point at the end,
and two blades or wings bent backwards, and extremely keen.
RANCONNER, _Fr._ to ransom.
RANDOM _shot_, in _artillery_, when the piece is elevated at an angle
of 45 degrees upon a level plane. See RANGE.
RANG, _Fr._ Rank.
RANG _d’un escadron_ ou _d’un bataillon_, _Fr._ Rank in a squadron of
horse, or battalion of infantry. Any straight line which is formed by
soldiers standing by the side of each other, is so called.
_Doubler les_ RANGS, _Fr._ to form from rank entire, or to throw one
rank into two, and thereby encrease the depth of any given number of
men, by diminishing their front. Hence to _double up_, or diminish the
front of any leading line.
RANG, _Fr._ the relative rank which is observed in military corps with
regard to precedence, tour of duty, &c. In some instances _rang et
grade_ mean the same thing.
_De_ RANG, _Fr._ abreast, side by side.
_Paroitre sur les_ RANGS, _Fr._ to enter the list.
_Etre sur les_ RANGS, to be numbered amongst any particular set of men.
_Mettre au_ RANG, _Fr._, to class with, to associate.
_Vaisseau du premier_ RANG, _Fr._ a first rate ship of war.
_Vaisseau du second, ou troisième_ RANG, _Fr._ a second or third rate.
RANGER _la côte_, _Fr._ to sail along the coast.
_Placer par_ RANG _de taille_, _Fr._ To size.
RANGE, in _gunnery_, the distance from the battery to the point where
the shot or shell touches the ground.
_Point blank_ RANGE, when the piece lies in a horizontal direction, and
upon a level plane, without any elevation or depression, the shot is
said to take a point blank range. See POINT BLANK.
RANGEE, _Fr._ a series of things placed upon the same line.
RANGE, EE, _Fr._ the participle of _Ranger_, drawn out or placed in
regular order.
_Bataille_ RANGEE, _Fr._ a pitched or set battle, in which two armies
are drawn up opposite to one another.
RANGER, _Fr._ to place in a certain line or order.
RANGEZ _vous_, _Fr._ a term in general use among the French when any
number of persons are ordered to clear the way, by drawing up on one
side or the other of a street or road.
RANGING, in _war_, disposing the troops in proper order for an
engagement, manœuvres, or march, &c.
RANK. Range of subordination, degree of authority. The relative
situations which officers hold with respect to each other, or to
military things in general. Hence _regimental rank_, _local rank_,
_rank in the army_, &c.
One of the egregious errors of the British military institutions is,
that the officers belonging to the life guards are entitled to the
rank of lieutenant colonel, when they obtain, or purchase a majority,
provided they have been seven years. Their commissions in this case
run major and lieutenant colonel. But if an officer should not have
completed either of those periods, he obtains the rank of major only,
until its completion. A lieutenant colonel receives the rank of full
colonel if he has been seven years major, or twenty one years in the
British service. Cornets in the life guards rank as sub-lieutenants
in their own corps, and as first lieutenants in the army. The English
fuzileers enjoy the same privilege. Sub-lieutenants in the Welsh
fuzileers rank only as second lieutenants in the army. Marines do the
same.
With respect to rank in general, the following are the rules of the
British army, by which the relative rank of the officers of the
regulars, militia, fencibles, yeomanry cavalry, and volunteer corps, is
to be determined.
Officers of the regular forces command the officers of equal degree,
belonging to the other services; with the exception after mentioned.
Officers of the militia, fencibles, yeomanry cavalry, and volunteer
corps, rank together according to the dates of their respective
commissions.
Notwithstanding this regulation, such officers of fencibles as have
commissions dated on or before the 25th July, 1798, continue to rank
with the officers of the regular forces of equal degree, according
to the dates of their respective commissions: unless when acting in
conjunction also with officers of the militia; in which case, if the
commission of the fencible officer be of a junior date to that of a
militia officer, of the same degree, the regular officer of equal rank,
although his commission be of a junior date to that of the fencible
officer, commands both.
It will further be observed, that 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. Should it happen, as it possibly may, that the original
commissions interfere, it must be decided by lot.
In page 49 of the Articles of War, it is laid down, that the eldest
officer is to command when any troops of the horse guards, and the
regiment of horse guards, shall do duty together; or when any of the
life guards, horse or foot guards, shall do duty with any other corps.
The regiments of life guards, doing duty unmixed, are to be considered
as one corps; and the officers are to take rank according to the
dates of their commissions. The same holds good with respect to the
foot guards. Regular officers with whom militia officers take rank as
youngest, command officers of equal degree in the fencibles, yeomanry
cavalry, and volunteer corps, who are to rank together according to the
dares of commissions.
_To_ RANK _with_, to hold the same relative situation with regard
to others. Thus post captains of three years standing in the royal
navy rank with colonels in the army; and lieutenants in the guards
rank with captains in the line or regulars. Officers in the militia
rank generally with the regular forces as junior of their respective
commissions. An ensign in the guards ranks no higher than an ensign in
the regulars.
_To_ RANK _with_, in a figurative sense, to be in equal estimation,
to bear the same character for skill and valor, &c. viz. lord Nelson
ranks with the bravest seaman that England, or any other country,
has ever produced; Bonaparte with the greatest general in ancient or
modern history; Washington with Cincinnatus; and Montgomery with Wolfe,
Decatur with Desaix, or Lannes.
_Brevet_-RANK. Rank without pay, nominal distinction, which sometimes
entitles the holder of it to command in mixed service.
Brigade majors rank with captains, provided they have that rank in the
army, independent of their staff appointment. But aids-de-camp do not
possess any rank in that capacity with regard to the army. The latter
constitutes a part of the general’s family, and are paid out of his
allowance; they are in fact the mere carriers of his orders in the
field, and his domestic inmates at home, &c. The former belonging to
the brigade, and are a necessary part of its effective force.
There is likewise a sort of brevet rank which exists in the several
regiments belonging to the British service, and is confined to the rank
and file, or corporals and private soldiers. Thus a lance serjeant is
a corporal who does the duty of serjeant without the pay or emoluments
of the latter; and a lance corporal is a private soldier who does the
duty of corporal. So that _lance_, which comes from _lansquenet_, which
signifies a private soldier, and is derived from the German, and when
put before serjeant or corporal, points out that a private soldier
has the brevet rank of one of those situations. Captains of companies
appoint or reduce lance serjeants or corporals, according to their
judgment.
RANK, _and precedence in the army and navy_, are as follow:
_Engineers_ RANK. Chief, as colonel; director, as lieutenant colonel;
sub-director, as major; engineer in ordinary, as captain; engineer
extraordinary, as captain lieutenant; sub-engineer, as lieutenant;
practitioner engineer, as ensign.
_Navy_ RANK. Admiral, or commander in chief of the British fleet, has
the rank of a field marshal; admirals, with their flags on the main
top-mast head, rank with generals of horse and foot; vice-admirals,
with lieutenant generals; rear-admirals, as major generals; commodores,
with broad pendants, as brigadier generals; captains of post ships,
after three years from the date of their first commission, as colonel;
other captains, as commanding post ships, as lieutenant colonels;
captains not taking post, as majors; lieutenants as captains.
The rank and precedence of sea officers in the classes abovementioned,
are to take place according to the seniority of their respective
commissions in the sea service. Post captains commanding ships or
vessels that do not give post, rank only as majors during the time they
command those vessels.
Nothing in this shall give any pretence to land officers to command any
of his majesty’s squadrons; nor to any sea officer to command on shore;
nor shall either have right to demand the military honors due to their
respective ranks, unless upon actual service.
RANK, is a straight line made by the soldiers of a battalion, or
squadron, drawn up side by side: this order was established for the
marches, and for regulating the different bodies of troops and officers
which compose an army.
_Doubling of the_ RANKS, is the changing one rank to two, by telling
off the files, _one_, _two_, _one_, _two_, &c. and by the word, _even
files to the rear double_; this method is frequently used in the
manœuvres of a regiment.
RANK _and file_, men carrying the firelock, and standing in the ranks,
are called rank and file. Thus corporals are included in the return
which is made under that head.
RANKS _and files_, are the horizontal and vertical lines of soldiers
when drawn up for service, &c.
RAPE, _Fr._ a rasp, a file.
RAPIDES, _Fr._ Falls in a river are so called; as the falls in the
rivers Ohio and St. Laurence, &c.
RAPIER, (_Rapiére_, _Fr._) formerly signified a long, old fashioned
broadsword, such as those worn by the Scotch regiments; but now is
understood only to mean a small sword, in contradistinction to a broad
sword.
RAPINE, _Fr._ Rapine, plunder,
RAPPORT, _Fr._ Report.
RAPPORT, _Fr._ in mathematics, a term frequently used among the French.
It bears the same import as _raison_, and signifies the relation which
two quantities have one with another. Thus the _rapport_ or relation
between twelve and six is the same as between six and three.
RAPPORTEUR, _Fr._ in geometry, an instrument made in the figure of
a half-circle, and divided into one hundred and eighty degrees. We
call it a _protractor_. It is used for the purpose of ascertaining the
openings in angles, and to take plans upon paper.
RAREFACTION, the extension of the parts of a body, by which it is made
to take up more room than it did before. It is essentially connected
with gunnery; for in proportion to the rapid combustion and consequent
rarefaction of air, produced by the ignition of gunpowder confined in
the chamber of a gun, so will be the force of expulsion with which the
charge is propelled.
RAS, _Fr._ Every barge and vessel, &c. which is without any deck or
upward covering, is called by the French _batiment ras_.
RASANTE, _Fr._ See LIGNE RASANTE.
RASANT, RAZANT, in _fortification_, rasant flank, or line, is that part
of the curtain or flank whence the shot projected raze or glance along
the surface of the opposite bastion.
RASE, _Fr._ Pitch and tar mixed with tow for the purpose of caulking a
ship.
RASLE, _Fr._ This word is used in some parts of France to signify
rafter, and means the same as chevron.
RASALDAR, _Ind._ the commander of _Rasallah_, which is ten thousand
horsemen armed.
RASSEMBLER, _Fr._ to collect together.
RASSEMBLER _des troups_, _Fr._ to call troops or forces together.
RASSEMBLER _les debris d’une armée_, _Fr._ to collect together the
broken parts, or scattered remnants of an army. It is likewise used
with the personal pronoun, viz. _Tous les soldats dispersés se
rassemblerent autour du drapeau._ All the soldiers or troops that had
been dispersed, gathered together round the standard or colors.
RASSEMBLER _les forces d’un cheval_, to put a horse well upon his
haunches.
RASSIS, _Fr._ Stale; as _pain rassis_, stale bread.
RASSURER, _Fr._ to restore confidence, to encourage, to invigorate.
_Quelques soldats commencionent à s’ébranler, quand l’exemple de leur
capitaine les rassura._ Some soldiers began to give way, when the
example of their captain inspired them with fresh confidence.
RAT, _Fr._ literally means rat. It is used in a figurative sense, viz.
_Une arme à feu a pris un rat._ A musquet has missed fire.
RAT. _Fr._ a sort of floating platform made of planks which are tied
together upon two or three masts. It is used in caulking ships, &c.
RATAN, a cane used by serjeants of companies, in the British service
in drilling the men, and with which, in other countries, the
non-commissioned officers and privates, are beaten for slight offences;
the Austrian discipline was thus conducted, till they have been beaten
out of their manhood and self-respect. The Prussians abolished this
barbarous custom after the battle of Jena.
RATELIER, _Fr._ a rack used in armories, &c. for the purpose of keeping
firearms arranged in proper order.
RATER, _Fr._ to miss fire. _Son pistolet a rate._ His pistol has missed
fire.
RATER likewise means, figuratively, to be unsuccessful in an
application. _Il a rate sa charge._ He did not get the commission.
RATES _of subsistence_, See PAY.
RATION, a certain allowance which is given in bread, &c. or forage when
troops are on service, for an officer or soldier in the British service.
_Complete Ration of the small species._
Flour, or bread 1¹⁄₂ lbs.
Beef 1
Or pork ¹⁄₂
Peas ¹⁄₄ pint.
Butter, or cheese 1 oz.
Rice 1 oz.
When the small species are not issued, 1¹⁄₂ lbs. of flour or bread,
with 1¹⁄₂ lbs. of beef, or 10 oz. of pork, forms a complete ration: or
3 lbs. of beef; or 2 lbs. of cheese; or half a pound of rice, forms a
complete ration.
At sea the ration is different. The following table contains the
allowance for six soldiers, or four seamen on board of ship, for each
day in the week. Women are provisioned at a half and children at one
fourth of a soldier’s allowance, but receive no rum.
+----------+------+--------------+--------------------+
| | |Beer, gallons,| |
| | |or half pints | |
| Days of | |of spirits, or| Beef, |
| the Week.|Bread.|pints of wine.| pieces of 8 lbs. |
+----------+------+--------------+--------------------+
| | lb. | | |
|Sunday, | 4 | 4 | -- |
|Monday, | 4 | 4 | -- |
|Tuesday, | 4 | 4 | 1 |
|Wednesday,| 4 | 4 |or 6lbs. of flour |
|Thursday, | 4 | 4 |or ¹⁄₂lb. of suet |
|Friday, | 4 | 4 |and 1lb. of raisins.|
|Saturday, | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| | | | or as above. |
+----------+------+--------------+--------------------+
+----------+------+-----+--------+-------+-------+--------+
| | | | | | | |
| | Pork,|Pints| | lbs. | lbs. | |
| Days of |pieces| of | Do. | of | of | |
| the Week.| 4 lb.|peas.|oatmeal.|butter.|cheese.|Vinegar.|
+----------+------+-----+--------+-------+-------+--------+
| | | | | | | |
|Sunday, | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | 1 |
|Monday, | -- | -- | 4 | ¹⁄₂ | 1 | quart |
|Tuesday, | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | per |
|Wednesday,| -- | 2 | 4 | ¹⁄₂ | 1 | week. |
|Thursday, | 1 | 2 | -- | -- | -- | |
|Friday, | -- | 2 | 4 | ¹⁄₂ | 1 | |
|Saturday, | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| | | | | | | |
+----------+------+-----+--------+-------+-------+--------+
The above are served out by full weights and measures.
When flour, suet and raisins are put on board, they are to be served
out in equal proportions with beef, viz. half in beef; the other half
in flour, suet, and raisins, on each beef day.
4 lbs. of flour, or 3 lbs. of flour with ¹⁄₂ lb. of raisins, (or ¹⁄₄
lb. of currants) and ¹⁄₄ lb. of suet, are equal to 4 lbs. of beef, or 2
lbs. of pork with peas, but are not to be issued in lieu of the latter,
except unavoidable, and then the quantities must be certified.
¹⁄₂ lb. of rice is equal to a pint of oatmeal; ¹⁄₂ lb. of sugar is
equal to ¹⁄₂ lb. of butter; and 1 lb. of rice is equal to 1 lb. of
cheese; 1 pint of oil is equal to 1 lb. of butter, or 2 lbs. of cheese,
that is, a pint of oil for the proportion of butter and cheese.
A pint of wine, or half a pint of brandy, rum, or arrack, is equal to a
gallon of beer; 1 lb. of fresh beef is equal to 1 lb. of salt beef; and
1¹⁄₂ lb. of fresh beef is equal to 1 lb. of pork.
No wine or spirits are to be issued to the troops while in port, nor at
sea, till after all the beer is expended.
The masters of transports are to produce a certificate from the
commanding officer of the troops on board, of the quantity expended. If
any doubt be entertained of the provisions being full weight, a cask
must be weighed in the presence of the commanding officer, the master,
and the mate, and the master may upon the certificate of the commanding
officer, and the oath of the mate, issue as much beef and pork as will
make up the deficiency.
The weight of each must be as follows: 14 pieces of beef, cut for 8
pound pieces taken out of the cask as they rise, and the salt shaken
off, are to weigh 112 lbs. avoirdupois. 28 pieces of pork cut for 4 lb.
pieces, are also to weigh, under like circumstances, 112 lbs.
The deductions to be taken for provisions from the pay of officers,
non-commissioned officers, or men, are the same for all ranks, and in
all corps, under the like circumstances of service, when serving out of
Great Britain, on stations where provisions are supplied by the public:
also, when embarked in transports or other vessels, (except when
serving as marines;) also when prisoners of war, are maintained at the
expence of Great Britain; also when in general hospitals, whether at
home or abroad, a deduction of _sixpence per day_.
A deduction of _three-pence halfpenny_ from the pay of every
non-commissioned officer and private in Jamaica, in New South Wales, or
Gibraltar. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers serving as marines
shall not be liable to any deduction from their full pay on account of
provisions.
Ration for a horse on home service in 1796: 14 lbs. of hay, 10 lbs. of
oats, 4 lbs. of straw; for which a stoppage is made of _sixpence_.
The French use the same term, viz. _Ration de foin_, a ration of hay.
_Double ration_, double ration. _Demi-ration_, a half ration.
RATION _d’un fantassin_, _Fr._ the ration or allowance which is
given to a foot soldier. During the French monarchy it consisted of
twenty-four ounces of ammunition bread, one pint of wine or beer, Paris
measure, one pound of beef, veal, or mutton.
RATION _pour les troupes de la maison du roi_, _Fr._ the ration for the
household troops, during the French monarchy, consisted of two brown
loaves of 22 ounces each, two pints of wine, or two pints of cyder or
beer, Paris measure, and two pounds and a half of beef, veal, or mutton.
RATION _de cavalrie_, _Fr._ Each man belonging to the old French
cavalry, received daily one ration, consisting of thirty-six French
ounces of ammunition bread, one pint and a half of wine, cyder, or
beer, Paris measure, and two pounds of beef, veal, or mutton.
RATION _de dragons_, _Fr._ the ration allowed to each dragoon in
the old French service, consisted of twenty-four French ounces of
ammunition bread, one pound and a half of meat, one pint of wine, Paris
measure, or one pot of cyder or beer, ditto.
RATION _de fourrage_, _Fr._ A ration of forage in the old French
service, consisted of one pound of hay, and one bushel of oats, Paris
measure.
RATIONS _des officiers du regiment des gardes Francoises_, _Fr._
rations allowed in a regiment of French guards during the monarchy.
These rations differed very considerably from those already stated.
The particulars may be found in the third volume of the Dictionnaire
Militaire, page 255.
RATISSOIRS, _Fr._ Graters used by the men employed in making saltpetre.
RAVAGES _of War_, the spoil, plunder, or waste, made by contending
armies in the theatre of war.
RAVELIN, _Fr._ See FORTIFICATION.
RAVELINS, in _fortification_, are works raised on the counterscarp
before the curtain of the place, and serve to cover the gates of a
town, and the bridges. They consist of two faces, forming a saliant
angle, and are defended by the faces of the neighboring bastions. They
are the most in use of all out-works, and are by the soldiers most
commonly called half moons, or _demi-lunes_. They should be lower
than the works of the place, that they may be under the fire of the
besieged. Their parapets, as those of all other out-works, should be
cannon proof; that is, about 18 feet thick.
RAVINE, in _field fortification_, a deep hollow, usually formed by a
great flood, or long continued running of water; frequently turned to
advantage in the field.
RAVITAILLER _une place_, _Fr._ To throw stores, ammunition, and
provisions into a fortified place.
RAY See ARRAY.
RAYE, _Fr._ rifled.
_Canon_ RAYE, _Fr._ rifle barrel.
RAYON, _Fr._ in geometry, _Radius_.
RAW, in a military sense, unseasoned, unripe in skill, wanting knowlege
in military tactics, &c.
RAW _troops_, unexperienced soldiers; men who have been little
accustomed to the use of arms. This term is generally used in
opposition to _veteran troops_. A cool and wise general will always
know how to make the most of that part of his army which is composed
of raw troops; and a rash intemperate one will equally miss the proper
application of the spirit and manhood, which ignorance of danger, and
confidence of success, almost always give. Some of the most brilliant
actions, and some of the greatest victories have been achieved and won
by means of that daring impetuosity, which hurries _raw_ troops into
the thickest of an enemy. A thousand instances might be adduced from
ancient and modern history, to prove the correctness of this remark.
It may, perhaps, be sufficient for our purpose, to refer the curious
reader to the bold and unexampled charge which was made against the
French troops in Germany, by Elliot’s new raised light horse in the
seven years war. The laurels of Emsdorff, are still the glory of
the 15th regiment of dragoons. The battle of Jemappe and Fleurus,
were won by raw troops; but they had officers who knew how to lead
them. Bunker’s hill battle was fought by raw troops, as was that of
Germantown; bad generalship alone lost the advantage to the American
troops at Germantown.
RAZED, any works or fortifications when demolished, are said to be
_razed_.
READY, a word of command in platoon firing, being a contraction of
_make ready_. See MANUAL.
REALE, _Galére_ REALE, _Fr._ The largest or principal galley used in
Catholic countries, is so called. The first galley belonging to the
pope is called _Réale_, because it takes precedence of all vessels, in
the service of the different Roman Catholic powers.
REAR, in a general acceptation, any thing situated or placed behind
another. The term is variously used in military matters, viz.
REAR _of an army_, signifies in general the hindermost part of an army,
battalion, regiment, squadron, or company, &c. Generally the third
component part of a large body of forces, which consists of an advanced
guard, a main body, and a rear guard.
REAR _guard_. A certain proportion of an army or regiment, which acts,
in various capacities, according to circumstances, and the extent of
military operations. The rear guard of an army is often the reserve,
&c. The rear guard of a regiment is usually appointed for the purpose
of picking up stragglers, &c. The old grand guards of the camp, always
form the rear guard of the army, and are to see that every thing comes
safe to the new camp. See GUARD.
_Forming to the_ REAR. An alignment may be formed to the rear of any
given battalion or platoon; either by posting guides, or moving a
battalion to the required position; each battalion or platoon to be
then marched to its relative place in the original line. So columns
may be formed upon a given section or platoon marched or pivoted in a
required position.
REAR _line_, of an army encamped, is usually 1200 feet at least from
the centre line; both of which run parallel to the front line, as also
the reserve.
REAR _rank_. When a regiment, troop, or company is drawn up two or
three deep, the last line of men is called the rear rank.
REAR _ranks_, all the ranks of a line, regiment, troop, or company,
which are ranged in order behind the front rank.
REAR _rank, take open order_. A word of command which is given in the
manual and other parade exercises. It is likewise used in marching by
the general at a review, or on guard mounting, &c. See OPEN ORDER.
REAR _half files_, are the three hindermost ranks of the battalion,
when it is drawn up six deep.
REAR _front_. When a battalion, troop, or company is faced about, and
stands in that position, it is then said to be rear front. It sometimes
happens, that through oversight, forgetfulness, or ignorance, and
confusion, troops are so clubbed, that, on the deployment of a column,
the different troops and companies not only lose their stations in the
line of original formation, but the rear rank men stand where the front
rank men ought to be; in the latter case, they appear rear front. This
error might be easily remedied, by counter-marching the several troops
or companies.
REAR _rank lengthening out a line_. Although a single battalion may,
by opening its companies and files, _from 3 deep form 2 deep_, by
introducing its rear rank into the other two, yet a considerable line
posted, which is to be lengthened out to one or both flanks by its
rear rank, must, to greater advantage, perform such operation, by each
company quarter wheeling the sub-divisions of its rear rank and facing
to the hand they are to march to; the last rank of each company closes
up to its first; the sub-divisions, of each battalion, move up to
open distances from their respective head ones, and from each other;
officers from the rear are appointed to command them; those of each or
of every two battalions, being considered as a battalion, they march
on in column, and prolong the line. By this mode of lengthening out
the line, the two front ranks remain undisturbed, and they protect the
movement which is made unseen behind them.
REARWARD, the last troop or company.
RUBEEWAR, _Ind._ Sunday.
REBEL, any one guilty of rebellion.
REBELLION, a traitorous taking up of arms against the liberties of a
people, or the established constitution of government and laws.
REBOUND, the act of flying back in consequence of motion impressed and
resisted by a greater power.
_To_ RECEIVE, in a military sense, to wait the approach of a friend or
foe.
_To_ RECEIVE _an enemy_. To make the best disposition possible of your
troops, for the purpose of meeting the attack of an enemy that is
advancing against you.
_To_ RECEIVE _a general or reviewing officer_. To be drawn up according
to specific regulations which are laid down, for the purpose of paying
the compliments that are due to the rank of a superior, or commanding
officer.
RECEPTION _d’un officier dans un corps_, _Fr._ A ceremony which was
performed in the old French service, when an officer first joined. This
was done by beat of drum in front of the company. The officer, being
dressed, accoutred, and armed according to regulation, faced towards
his men, and as soon as the drums had ceased, took off his hat to his
commanding officer, who did the same to him, and then addressed the
company in the following terms:
_De par le roi, soldats, vous reconnoîtrez M. .... pour votre
capitaine, ou pour lieutenant, de la campagnie, et vous lui obéirez en
tout ce qu’il vous ordonnera pour le service du roi en cette qualité._
From the king! or pursuant to the king’s will. Soldiers, you will
acknowlege M. ...... to be captain, or lieutenant, of the company,
and you will obey whatever orders or commands he may issue, in that
capacity, for the good of the king’s service.
When a colonel or major was received at the head of a corps, the word
_soldats_, _soldiers_, was altered into _messieurs_, _gentlemen_; the
latter term including both officers and men. On this occasion, the
corps of captains and subalterns formed a circle; round them stood the
serjeants drawn up in the same manner, and beyond the serjeants, the
drummers, &c. The different circles being concentrical to each other.
The field officer, who was to be admitted or to take command, stood in
the centre of the whole, surrounded by the principal officers of the
regiment.
RECETTE, _Fr._ a trough, which persons employed in preparing saltpetre,
&c. place beneath tubes filled with broken rubbish, ashes, &c., for the
purpose of receiving the liquid that is filtered through.
RECHARGE, a renewal of the charge or attack.
RECHAUD, _Fr._ a chaffing dish, or pan used for various purposes,
particularly during a siege. They are filled with burning materials and
hung in different parts of the walls, so as to throw light into the
ditches, and to prevent surprizes.
RECHUTE, _Fr._ literally means a second fall; but in fortification it
signifies a greater elevation of the rampart in those spots where it is
likely to be commanded.
RECIPIANGLE, _Fr._ recipient angle. A geometrical instrument, which
is much used among the French, for taking the quantities of angles,
especially in drawing plans of fortification. It consists of two
moveable rules, made in the shape of a square rule. The centre of one
of its hands is marked by a semi-circle, which is divided into 180
degrees.
RECIPIENDAIRE, _Fr._ One who offers himself for any office or
appointment.
RECOIL, (_recul_, _Fr._) a falling back. The retrograde motion made by
any piece of firearms on being discharged, which is a consequence of
the rarefied air pressing on all sides, in order to expand itself with
freedom. This term is generally applicable to firearms, especially to
pieces of ordnance, which are always subject to a recoil, according
to the sizes and the charge they contain, &c. Guns whose vents are a
little forward in the chase, recoil most. To lessen the recoil of a gun
the platforms are generally made sloping towards the embrasures of the
battery.
_To_ RECOIL, _reculer_, _Fr._ To fall back, to run back in consequence
of resistance or repercussion.
RECOIL _of Field Guns on travelling carriages, upon Elm Planks_.
+-------------+--------+----------+----------+----------+
| | | 1 shot, | 2 shot, |Case shot,|
| Kind. | Charge.|at 1° 30′ |at 1° 30′ | at 3° 45′|
| | |Elevation.|Elevation.|Elevation.|
+-------------+--------+----------+----------+----------+
| |lbs. oz.| Feet. | Feet. | Feet. |
|12 Pr. Medium| 4 -- | 12 | 25 | 8¹⁄₂ |
| 6 Pr. Heavy | 2 -- | 7 | 11 | 7¹⁄₂ |
| 6 Pr. Light | 1 8 | 12 | 21 | 10 |
| 3 Pr. Heavy | 1 -- | 7 | 5 | 3¹⁄₂ |
+-------------+--------+----------+----------+----------+
_Recoil of Sea Service, Iron Guns, on Ship Carriages, upon a horizontal
platform._
+------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+
| Charges of powder |Eleva-| | | |
| and shot. | tion.| 32 pr.| 24 pr.| 18 pr.|
+------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+
| | deg. |ft. in.|ft. in.|ft. in.|
|¹⁄₃ of powder and 1 shot| 2 | 11 -- | 11 -- | 10 6 |
|¹⁄₃ of powder and 2 shot| 4 | 19 6 | 18 6 | 18 -- |
|¹⁄₄ of powder and 2 shot| 7 | 11 -- | 12 6 | 12 -- |
+------------------------+------+-------+-------+-------+
RECOIL _of Land Service, Iron Mortars, on Iron beds_.
Ft. In.
13 Inch, with a charge of 6 lbs. 4 2¹⁄₂
10 Inch, 3 lbs. 2 10
8 Inch, 1 lb. 9 oz. 3 10
RECOLLECTION. A mode of thinking, whereby those ideas sought after
by the mind, are brought again to view. A retentive memory, and a
cool collected presence of mind, are necessary qualities in every
good officer; and military men should often exercise the faculty of
thinking, in order to become instantly familiar with what they have
formerly studied and occasionally practised. For memory, like every
thing else, acquires strength, and is increased by cultivation.
_Memoria, ut in cæteris rebus, colendo augetur._
_Necessary_ RECOLLECTIONS for the exercise of a battalion.
It appears, that the front of any division or body is, in ordinary
paces of 24 inches, nearly ³⁄₄ths of the number of files of which
it is composed. That the circumference of the quarter circle which
it describes, is equal in number of paces to the same as the number
of files of which it is composed, counting the paces of the centre
man of the front rank at 24 inches, allowing 6 inches in addition to
the military pace of 24 inches. That the number of files being once
ascertained in each division, the officer commanding it must, on all
occasions, recollect the number of paces that are equal to his front,
by finding the centre man of the front rank.
The field officers and adjutants must always recollect the number of
paces the front of the battalion and its divisions occupy, in order to
take up ground exactly in all formations; and this is done by counting
the number of men from one flank to the centre, which gives the number
of military paces.
_To_ RECOMMEND. When a young gentleman wishes to enter into the army,
his first object is to get well recommended for that purpose. There is
no regulation to determine fitness, and on this account a great many
are appointed who are afterwards found unfit.
RECOMMENDATION, in a military sense, is a letter from some influential
character, member of congress, or other citizen, stating an individual
to be properly qualified for a situation in the army.
RECOMPENSES _militaires_, _Fr._ See MILITARY REWARDS.
RECONNOITRE, _Fr._ To reconnoitre.
RECONNOITRE _une place_, _Fr._ To reconnoitre a fortified town or place.
RECONNOITRE, in _military affairs_, implies to view and examine the
state of things, in order to make a report thereof.
Parties ordered to reconnoitre, are to observe the country and the
enemy; to remark the routes, conveniences, and inconveniences of
the first; the position, march, or forces of the second. In either
case, they should have an expert topographer, capable of taking plans
readily: he should be the best mounted of the whole, that in case the
enemy happen to scatter the escort, he may save his works and ideas.
All parties that go for reconnoitring only, should be but few in
number. I would never chuse more than twelve or twenty men. An officer,
be his rank what it will, cannot decline going with so few under
his command: the honor is amply made up by the importance of the
expedition, frequently of the most interesting consequence, and the
properest to recommend the prudence, bravery, and address of an officer
that has the fortune to succeed.
It is previously necessary that the officer ordered on this duty should
be well acquainted with the country, the roads, and the distance of
the enemy. His party must consist of men of approved fidelity, part
of whom should be disguised. This detachment must march off in the
night. The men must have strict orders neither to smoke tobacco, make
a noise, nor speak. The officer must be provided with two guides, who
are to be strictly interrogated, but are to remain ignorant of the
route you intend to take. A detachment of this kind should be furnished
with subsistence for two or three days. The horses are to be fed every
ten or twelve miles, for it is absolutely necessary that they should
be always fresh and fit for duty. The officer will take care never to
halt, but at a distance from any road, and also take every precaution
to prevent his being surprised, whilst his horses are feeding, &c.
RECONNOITRING. The following necessary observations to be made in
examining a country in a military point of view, are principally
translated from the _Aide Memoire_, but improved by some judicious
remarks from Mr. Landman’s introduction to reconnoitring.
Before an officer sets out to reconoitre a country, he should trace out
from the best map he can procure, its principal features, which will
serve him as a guide in his progress through the principal parts which
are to be the subject of his observations, and enable him to connect
the whole into one grand plan.
His observations should be expressed by written remarks, and by
sketches. For this purpose he must be provided with a sketch book, on
the right hand page of which, he may express the appearance of the
country by sketches, and on the left the remarks made on particular
parts, with the names of the towns, their distances asunder, &c. with
proper references to the sketches. The scale most proper for this
purpose is 2 inches to a mile; if therefore, the sketch book be made 6
inches wide, and the leaves divided by lines into three equal parts,
each division will be one mile, which will be a sufficient scale for
the purpose.
1st. _Roads._ The principal points to be attended to in examining
roads for military purposes, are, their direction; the villages,
countries, and rivers, which they pass through; the roads which cross
them; their names and the seasons in which they are in best condition;
and if ever impassable; their breadth, whether variable or constant;
their bottoms, of what principally formed; their ascents and descents,
whether practicable for all kinds of carriages. The enclosures may be
hedges, ditches, walls, or fences. If the roads require repair for
the transport of artillery and other heavy carriages, observe if the
necessary materials are at hand. If they pass over rivers, remark
whether by bridges or fords; if through marshes, whether by causeways
or otherwise. If 2 or more roads pursuing the same route, and by which
different columns may march, at any part join or cross each other,
it will be necessary to observe, whether the march of the columns
will be thereby impeded. If they only cross each other, it will be
sometimes possible in hollow ways, to throw a temporary bridge across
the deepest, by which one column may pass over and the other under the
bridge, without interrupting each others march.
2. _Fords._ A ford for cavalry ought not to be deeper than four feet;
for infantry not more than three feet. Observe the banks of the ford at
each side; their form, steepness, and height; their situation as to the
turnings of the river. Their bottom, whether passable for carriages.
Observe marks by which the ford may be readily found; points from which
it may be protected. Notice the rapidity of the water; whether its
height be variable; its direction, its breadth, and the means by which
the ford may be destroyed or rendered impassable.
3. _Inundations._ Learn the manner of working the sluices; the time in
which the inundation may be effected; its extent and depth. Observe how
the dam may be protected; its height and solidity; whether it can be
easily raised, or easily destroyed; whether it is commanded by distant
positions, and whether the inundation can be otherwise drained. Notice
the adjacent country.
4. _Springs and wells._ Attend to the quality and quantity of the
water; whether it will serve for the cavalry, as well as infantry, and
the manner of its being drawn. Observe the situation of the spring, and
of its source, whether it can be protected, and the enemy prevented
from cutting it off.
5. _Lakes, marshes, and swamps._ Learn their cause; if arising from
a moist soil, the overflowing of rivers or from springs. Observe
their situation, and the appearance of the surrounding country; the
best means of crossing them. If they are divided by causeways, notice
their breadth and condition; it not, remark if causeways can be easily
established, and whether the swamp can be drained, and whether it is
passable at any season of the year. Observe the points from which the
causeways can be defended against the passage of an enemy’s column.
Learn whether or not the swamps are subject to fogs; and at what
seasons they are most hurtful.
6. _Of woods and forests._ Remark their extent; their situation; their
thickness; whether the trees are lofty or low: whether there is much
underwood. Observe if the different clumps form openings or passes; and
their extent; whether their sides are formed of thick wood or brush;
whether their breadth is uniform, or widens at particular parts. Remark
whether the ground of the forest be level or hilly, swampy or dry.
Observe the nature and condition of the roads (for remarks to be made
on these, see the article _roads_;) observe also the means the forest
affords of intrenching; of making fascines, abbatis, &c. Attend to
the face of the country round the forests, whether cultivated fields
or meadows: whether it affords positions; is intersected by rivulets,
swamps or ravines.
Remark the castles, villages, towns, &c. in the neighborhood; and their
distances from the skirts of the wood.
Go round the wood and examine its principal debouches; observe the
ravines, rivulets, roads, &c. issuing from it, and learn their
direction.
7. _Heaths._ Notice for what nature of troops they are best calculated.
The nature of hedges and brush wood; some form a good breast work.
Observe the directions of the rivulets, roads, and ravines. When the
ground of a heath is of the common color, the roads are usually good:
but when it is blackish and mixed with white sand, the roads are
generally impassable in winter seasons.
8. _Canals._ For this article see also the observations on _rivers_.
Observe their intention; the nature of the soil in which they are dug,
their breadth and depth; their locks; the craft found upon them; the
best means of protecting or destroying them: learn the countries they
pass through.
9. _Rivers._ Learn in what country they arise, and where empty
themselves; the nature of the countries they run through, and whether
they belong to us or the enemy. Learn the extent to which they are
navigable; and if they ever freeze over, whether strong enough to bear
troops and carriages. Notice the quality of the water, its course,
currents, depths, and breadths. The banks and the beds of the rivers.
Observe the nature and number of craft that navigate them; and the
mills upon their banks, whether of wind or water. Visit the bridges and
fords; and make the proper remarks on their nature and situation. Learn
whether the rivers ever overflow their banks, and at what seasons; and
whether or not this causes inundations. Observe the most favorable
points for crossing, and the roads leading to these points. The
turnings and windings of the rivers, the form of their peninsulas; and
the most favorable situations for throwing over bridges. If there are
any wharves on the banks, observe what craft can lie along side of them.
If there are islands in the rivers, note their size, their banks;
whether inhabited, cultivated, woody, or barren; and whether they
command the channel.
Observe the mountains and high grounds near the rivers; remark their
distance from the banks, and the advantages, or disadvantages which
they offer. Learn what branches or confluence of other rivers there
are either above or below, the best situations for crossing. Examine
the positions which the adjoining country affords an army to protect
the passage of the river; and whether in a perpendicular or parallel
direction; and the routes by which three or four columns may arrive at
the place.
10. _Passes._ Observe their breadth, their length, and their situation;
the nature of the adjacent country; the best positions to occupy to
cover a retreat; or to dispute the pass. How the troops would be best
arranged; and the number that would be required for this purpose.
11. _Ravines, vallies._ Observe the nature of the soil; whether rocky,
or of loose flints. If the sides are rugged and steep, whether they can
be easily scarped off. The points that command them: whether storms or
floods are to be apprehended; and at what seasons most expected.
12. _Cultivated lands._ Notice their state of cultivation: their
productions; their time of harvest. Learn what quantity of wheat, rye,
barley, oats, maize, or other grain they produce, over and above the
necessary subsistence of the inhabitants. How much grain or hay they
yield _per_ acre.
13. _Orchards._ Observe whether they are thick planted and afford a
good cover; their enclosures, whether wood fences, hedges, ditches,
walls, &c.
14. _Bridges._ Remark their situation; their length and breadth; the
materials of which they are built; their strength, whether sufficient
to bear artillery; the roads leading to them; their situation, as to
the turnings of the river: their purpose; if to connect towns and
villages, the nature, direction, and breadth of the streets leading to
them. Observe the country around, whether flat or commanding: study the
best means of fortifying the bridge head; and observe the best and most
expeditious mode by which the bridge may be destroyed, if necessary.