Whenever it becomes absolutely necessary to quit the head or side of

a work, the whole of it must, on no account, be abandoned. On the

contrary, whilst some determined troops keep the enemy in check,

others must be actively employed in throwing up _retirades_, which may

flank each other, and in cutting a ditch in front. It is particularly

incumbent upon the engineer officer to assist in works of this sort,

and every officer and soldier should zealously co-operate with him. A

slight knowlege of field fortification will on these occasions give

a decided advantage. The body of a _retirade_ should be raised as

high as possible, and several fougasses should be laid beneath it,

for the purpose of blowing up the ground on which the enemy may have

established himself.

RETIRADES _as practised by the ancients_: these were walls hastily

run up behind breaches that were made by the battering rams. The able

commentator upon Polybius observes, that in no instance, did the skill

of the great men of antiquity appear in so conspicuous a light, as in

the various chicanes to which they resorted for the preservation of a

town. Their ingenuity and resolution increased in proportion as the

danger approached. Instead of offering to capitulate as the moderns

generally do, when a practicable breach has been opened by a besieging

enemy, the ancients, in that emergency, collected all their vigor, had

recourse to various stratagems, and waited behind the retirades or

temporary retreats to give the enemy a warm and obstinate reception.

Cæsar, in his Commentaries, has given a minute description of the

manner in which these retirades were constructed; and we find them

mentioned by Josephus, in his history of the war of the Jews against

the Romans.

The intermediate periods, since the days of the Greeks and Romans,

and before the modern era furnish various examples on this head. In

1219, Genghis Khan set all his battering rams to work, for the purpose

of effecting a breach in the walls of Ottrar; but, to his great

surprise, he no sooner entered the town, than he found a fresh line of

entrenchments that had been thrown up in the very heart of the city.

He saw every street cut asunder with temporary ditches, and every

house presented fresh obstacles: so much so, that he experienced more

difficulty in subduing the inhabitants after he had forced the walls,

than had occurred in practising the breach.

When the emperor Charles V. laid siege to Metz in 1552, the duke de

Guise, who was governor of the town, instantly adopted the necessary

precautions to defend it to the last. He built a new wall behind

the one against which the principal attack was directed; and when

the breach was made, the besiegers found themselves obstinately

opposed afresh, within a short space of the ground they had carried.

In consequence of this unexpected check, the enemy’s troops grew

disheartened; and their want of confidence soon convinced the emperor

that the place could not be taken. The siege was unexpectedly raised,

and the preservation of the town was entirely owing to the wise

precautions that had been adopted by the duke de Guise.

In 1742, marshal Broglio, being closely besieged in the city of Prague,

threw up retrenchments within the walls, and prepared to make a most

vigorous resistance. An occasion, however presented itself, of which he

took advantage, that rendered any further precautions useless. He made

a vigorous sortie and forced the enemy to raise the siege.

RETIRED _List_, a list on the British marine establishment upon which

superannuated officers are placed.

_Officers who_ RETIRE _in the East India company service_. The India

company have resolved, that an officer, (in his military capacity)

after twenty years actual service in India, coming to Europe on leave,

will be allowed to retire on the pay of his rank, provided he signifies

his intention of so doing, within twenty months after his arrival.

Officers on leave who are desirous of retiring, and who declare their

intention to that effect, within twelve months from their arrival, will

be permitted to retire on the pay of the rank they may be entitled to

at that period. An officer having completed 22 years actual residence

in India, will be allowed to retire on the full pay of his rank,

directly on his leaving India.

RETOURS _de la mine_, _Fr._ returns of a mine. See GALLERY.

RETOURS _de la tranchée_, _Fr._ returns of a trench. In fortification,

the several windings and oblique deviations of a trench which are

drawn, in some measure, parallel to the sides of the place attacked, in

order to avoid being enfiladed, or having the shot of the enemy scour

along the length of the line. On account of these different returns

a considerable interval is opened between the head and the tail of

the trench, which, were the lines directed, would not be at any great

distance from each other.

RETRAITE, _Fr._ See RETREAT.

RETRAITE _dans les montagnes_, _Fr._ The act of fading back or

retreating among the mountains.

_Faire_ RETRAITE, _Fr._ To retire, to fall back.

_Battre la_ RETRAITE, _Fr._ To beat the tap-too.

_Se battre en_ RETRAITE, _Fr._ To maintain a running fight.

RETRAITE, _Fr._ certain appointments which were given during the French

monarchy to infantry officers, when they retired from the active duties

of their profession, to afford them means of support. The pensions

which were settled upon cavalry officers were likewise distinguished by

the same term.

RETRAITE, _Fr._ See RELAIS.

RETRANCHEMENS. _Fr._ See RETRENCHMENTS.

RETRANCHEMENS _particuliers qu’on fait sur la tête des brèches d’une

place assiègèe_, _Fr._ Particular retrenchments, which are made in

front of breaches that have been effected in the walls of a besieged

town.

It is always necessary, that retrenchments of this description should

have the figures of rentrant angles, in order, that they may not only

flank the breaches, but be capable of defending themselves.

A besieging enemy, seldom or ever, attempts a breach at the flanked

angle of a bastion, because it must be seen by the two flanks of the

neighboring bastions, and be perpetually exposed to the fire of the

casemates of the town. Nevertheless should the breach be actually

effected, retrenchments might be thrown up, in the same manner that

horn-works are constructed, for the purpose of flanking it.

If the breach should be made in the face of the bastion, (which usually

happens, because that quarter can be seen by the garrison from one side

only) retrenchments in the shape of rentrant angles must be constructed.

Breaches are seldom attempted at the angle of the epaulement, because

that part of the bastion is the most solid and compact, and the most

exposed to the fire from the curtain to that of the opposite flank, and

to the reverse discharge, or fire from the rear. Add to this, that the

storming party would be galled in flank and rear, not only from the

simple bastion, but likewise from the casemates. If, however, a breach

should be effected in that quarter, it would become necessary to throw

up retrenchments of a saliant and rentrant nature.

In constructing these different retrenchments it must be an invariable

rule, to get as near as possible to the parapets of the bastions and

to their ruins, in order to batter those in flank and rear, who should

attempt to scale, and at the same time to be out of the reach of the

besieger’s ordnance.

When the head of the breach is so much laid open, that the besieger’s

cannon can scour all above it, small mines must be prepared beneath,

and a retrenchment be instantly thrown up in the body of the bastion.

_To_ RETREAT. To make a retrograde movement. An army or body of men

are said to retreat when they turn their backs upon the enemy, or

are retiring from the ground they occupied: hence, every march in

withdrawing from the enemy is called a retreat.

That retreat which is done in sight of an active enemy, who pursues

with a superior force, is the one we particularly allude to in this

place; being with reason, looked upon as the glory of the profession.

It is a manœuvre the most delicate, and fittest to display the

prudence, genius, courage, and address, of an officer who commands:

the records of all ages testify it, and historians have never been so

lavish of eulogiums as on the subject of the brilliant retreats of

their heroes. If it be important, it is no less difficult to regulate,

on account of the variety of circumstances, each of which demands

different principles, and an almost endless detail. Hence a good

retreat is esteemed, by experienced officers, the master-piece of a

general. He should therefore be well acquainted with the situation

of the country through which he intends to make it, and careful that

nothing is omitted to make it safe and honorable. General Moreau’s

retreat in 1796, has rendered his name immortal. The three most

celebrated modern retreats have been--the one already mentioned, that

of Prague, and that of general Macdonald in Italy.

RETREAT, is also a beat of the drum, at the firing of the evening gun;

at which the drum-major, with all the drums of the battalion, except

such as are upon duty, beats from the camp colors on the right to those

on the left, on the parade of encampment: the drums of all the guards

beat also; the trumpets at the same time sounding at the head of their

respective troops. This is to warn the soldiers to forbear firing, and

the sentinels to challenge till the break of day, when the reveille is

beat. The retreat is likewise called setting the watch.

_Chequered_ RETREAT, _rétraite en échequier_, _Fr._ It is so called

from the several component parts of a line or battalion, which

alternately retreat and face in the presence of an enemy, exhibiting

the figure of the chequered squares upon a chess board.

All manœuvres of a corps retiring, are infinitely more difficult to

be performed with order, than those in advancing. They must be more

or less accomplished by chequered movements; one body by its numbers

or position, facing and protecting the retreat of another; and if the

enemy presses hard, the whole must probably front in time and await

him: as the ground narrows or favors, different parts of the corps must

double; mouths of defiles and advantageous posts must be possessed;

by degrees the different bodies must diminish their fronts, and throw

themselves into column of march when it can be done with safety.

The _chequered retreat_ by the alternate battalions or half battalions

of a line going to the rear, while the others remain halted, cover

them, and in their turn retire in the same manner, is the quickest

mode of refusing a part of a corps to the enemy, and at the same time

protecting its movement, as long as it continues to be made nearly

parallel to the first position.

_In the chequered retreat_, the following rules must be observed: the

battalions of the division nearest to the enemy, will form flanks as

soon as there is nothing in their front to cover them; but the other

divisions will not have any flanks except to the outward battalion of

each. The battalions always pass by their proper intervals, and it

is a rule in retiring, that the left of each shall always pass the

right of the neighboring one.--Whatever advantage the ground offers,

those advantages must be seized, without too critical an observance

of intervals, or minute adherence to the determined distance of each

retreat. The division next the enemy must pass in front, through

the intervals of the division immediately behind, and any battalion

that finds it necessary, must incline for that purpose. The retiring

division must step out, and take up no more time than what is

absolutely required to avoid confusion. The division nearest the enemy

_fires_; the flanks of its battalions only fire when the enemy attempts

to push through the intervals. When that division retires it fires on,

skirmishes by its riflemen, and if they have none, by men detached from

the light companies, if any, or from platoons formed of rear rank men

of one or two of the companies, and placed behind the flanks of the

battalions. But should any of its battalions be obliged to halt and to

fire, a shorter step must then be taken by the line; and should the

enemy threaten to enter at any of its intervals, besides the fire of

its flanks, such platoons of the line behind it, as can with safety,

must give it support.

RETRENCHMENT, in the _art of war_, is any work raised to cover a

post, and fortify it against an enemy; such as fascines loaded with

earth, gabions, barrels, &c. filled with earth, sand bags, and

generally all things that can cover the men, and stop the enemy;

but it is more applicable to a ditch bordered with a parapet; and a

post thus fortified, is called a _retrenched post_, or _strong post_.

_Retrenchments_ are either general or particular.

_General_ RETRENCHMENTS, are a kind of new defence made in a place

besieged, to cover the defendants, when the enemy becomes master of

a lodgment on the fortification, that they may be in a condition of

disputing the ground inch by inch, and of putting a stop to the enemy’s

progress, in expectation of relief; as, if the besieger’s attack a

tenaille of the place, which they judge the weakest, either by its

being ill flanked, or commanded by some neighboring ground; then the

besieged make a great _retrenchment_, inclosing all that part which

they judge in most danger. These should be fortified with bastions and

demi-bastions, surrounded by a good ditch countermined, and higher than

the works of the place, that they may command the old works, and put

the besiegers to infinite trouble in covering themselves.

_Particular_ RETRENCHMENTS, _or retrenchments within a bastion_,

(_retrenchemens dans un bastion_, _Fr._) Retrenchments of this

description must reach from one flank to another, or from one

casemate to another. It is only in full bastions that retrenchments

can be thrown up to advantage. In empty bastions you can only have

recourse to retirades, or temporary barricadoes above the ramparts.

The assailants may easily carry them by means of hand grenades, for

these retrenchments never flank each other. It is necessary to raise a

parapet about five or six feet thick before every retrenchment. It must

be five feet high, and the ditches as broad and as deep as they can be

made. There must also be small mines run out in various directions, for

the purpose of blowing up the assailants should they attempt to force

the retrenchments.

RETURNS, in a _military sense_, are of various sorts, but all tending

to explain the state of the army, regiment, troop, or company; namely,

how many capable of doing duty, on duty, sick in quarters, barracks,

infirmary, or hospital; prisoners, absent with or without leave; total

effective; wanting to complete the establishment, &c. See REGULATIONS

and _Amer. Mil. Lib._

RETURNS _of a mine_, are the turnings and windings of the gallery

leading to the mine. See GALLERY.

RETURNS _of a trench_, the various turnings and windings which form the

lines of the trench, and are, as near as they can be, made parallel to

the place attacked, to avoid being infiladed. These _returns_, when

followed, make a long way from the end of the trench to the head,

which going the straight way is very short: but then the men are

exposed; yet, upon a sally, the courageous never consider the danger,

but getting over the trench with such as will follow them, take

the shortest way to repulse the enemy, and cut off their retreat if

possible.

Any officer who shall knowingly make a false return to any his superior

officer authorised to call for such returns, shall, upon being

convicted thereof before a general court-martial, be cashiered.

Whoever shall be convicted of having designedly, or through neglect,

omitted sending such returns, shall be punished according to the nature

of the offence by the judgment of a general court-martial.

_To_ RETURN, in a military sense, to insert the names of such officers,

as are present or absent on the stated periods for the identification

of their being with their regiments, on detachment, or absent with or

without leave.

_To be_ RETURNED. To have one’s name inserted in the regular

monthly, fourteen days, or weekly state of a regiment, according to

circumstances; as _to be returned absent without leave_; to be reported

to the commander in chief, or to any superior officer, as being absent

from the duty of the corps; either from having exceeded the leave

given, or from having left quarters without the necessary permission.

To be returned upon the surgeon’s list as unfit for duty, &c. from

illness, &c.

Commanding officers of regiments or posts, in the British service,

are regularly to transmit to the adjutant and inspector’s office the

following returns:

A monthly, on the 1st of each month.

A return of officers, on the 14th of each month.

A weekly state, to arrive on Mondays.

To the war office.

A monthly return, on the 1st of each month.

A return of absent officers, on the 14th of each month.

Every officer commanding a regiment, or detachment, on embarking

for a foreign station, will transmit an embarkation return to the

adjutant-general’s office, and to the war office, a duplicate of which

he will deliver to the general or officer commanding at the port from

which he embarks.

On a regiment embarking, the commanding officer is to transmit to

the adjutant-general’s office, a return of the recanting parties

he purposes to leave in Great Britain, or Ireland, specifying

their strength, their stations, and the officers by whom they are

commanded; a duplicate of this return is to be transmitted to the

inspector-general of the recruiting service in the Isle of Wight.

All officers belonging to regiments on foreign stations, not actually

employed on the recruiting service, are to report their arrival from

abroad, and the cause of their absence, at the adjutant-general’s

office, and are to leave their addresses with their respective

agents, and in case of their changing their places of residence, are

immediately to notice the same to their agent: any officer whose

address is not with his agent, will be considered as absent without

leave, and guilty of disobedience of orders.

Officers upon half pay are, in like manner, to leave their addresses

at the war office; particularly so if they should leave the united

kingdoms; and officers belonging to the militia are to leave their

names, &c. with the several adjutants of regiments.

Commanding officers of regiments or posts, are to transmit to the

adjutant and inspector an half yearly return of quarters, on the 1st of

December, and the 1st of May, agreeable to the printed form; like wise

a report of any march performed by the corps under their orders.

All returns, reports, and papers, purely of a military and public

nature, which are to be sent to the war office of the United States,

are to be addressed, “To the adjutant and inspector, Washington.”

All official letters, intended for the secretary at war, should be

transmitted, under covers, addressed as above, to the adjutant and

inspector.

To prevent an improper expence of postage, all official letters and

returns sent to the adjutant and inspector, are to be sent, under

covers, addressed “To the officer by name, with the title of adjutant

and inspector, at Washington,” and on the outside of the covers is to

be written in legible characters, “public service, and then the name

and rank of the writer.”

RETURN _pistol_. See PISTOL.

RETURN _bayonet_. This term is sometimes used, but it is not

technically correct, as the proper word of command is _unfix_ bayonet.

RETURN _ramrod_. See MANUAL.

RETURN _swords_. See SWORD.

REVEILLE, is the beat of a drum, about break of day, to advertise the

army that it is day light, and that the sentinels forbear challenging.

REVERS, _Fr._ Behind, in rear, at the back of any thing.

_Etre vu de_ REVERS, _Fr._ To be overlooked by a reverse commanding

ground. When a work, for instance, is commanded by some adjacent

eminence, or has been so badly disposed, that the enemy can see its

terre-pleine, or rampart, that work may be said to be overlooked, _être

vu de revérs_. The same term is applicable to a trench when the fire of

the besieged can reach the troops that are stationed within it.

REVERS _de la tranchée_, _Fr._ Literally means the back part of the

trench. It is the ground which corresponds with that proportion of the

border of the trench that lies directly opposite to the parapet. One or

two banquettes are generally thrown up in this quarter, in order that

the trench guard may make a stand upon the reverse when it happens to

be attacked by a sortie of the enemy.

REVERSE. A contrary; an opposite; as, the reverse, or outward wheeling

flank; which is opposite to the one wheeled to or upon. See PIVOT.

REVERSE likewise signifies _on the back_, or _behind_: so we say, _a

reverse commanding ground_, _a reverse battery_, &c.

REVERSED _arms_. Arms are said to be reversed when the butts of the

pieces are slung or held upwards.

REVERSED. Upside down; as arms reversed.

REVETEMENT, (_revêtement_, _Fr._) in _fortification_, a strong wall,

built on the outside of the rampart and parapet, to support the earth,

and prevent its rolling into the ditch.

REVETEMENT _du rampart_, _Fr._ Revetement belonging to the rampart.

REVETIR, _Fr._ To line, to cover, to fortify.

REVIEW, (_revue_, _Fr._) In the military acceptation of the term, an

inspection of the appearance, and regular disposition of a body of

troops, assembled for that purpose, is called a _review_.

At all _reviews_, the officers should be properly armed, ready in

their exercise, salute well, in good time, and with a good air; their

uniform genteel, &c. The men should be clean and well dressed; their

accoutrements well put on; very well sized in the ranks; the serjeants

expert in their duty, drummers perfect in their beatings, and the

fifers play correct. The manual performed in good time, and with life;

the men carry their arms well; march, wheel, and form with exactness;

manœuvres performed with regularity, both in quick and slow time. The

intention of a _review_ is, to know the condition of the troops, to see

that they are complete, and perform their exercise and evolutions well.

See MOVEMENTS, likewise INSPECTION.

_To_ REVISE, (_réviser_, _Fr._) To review; to re-examine; to

re-consider. This term is used in military matters, which relate to

the proceedings of a general or regimental court-martial. It sometimes

happens that the members are directed to re-assemble for the purpose

of _revising_ part of the whole mass of the evidence that has been

brought before them, and of maturely weighing afresh the substance of

the proofs upon which they have formed their opinion and judgment.

Great delicacy and discretion are required in those who have authority

to order a revision of this sort. A court-martial ought to be the most

independent court on earth. Interest, prejudice, or partiality, has no

business within its precincts. An honest regard to truth, a sense of

the necessity of good order and discipline, and a stubborn adherence

to facts, constitute the code of military laws and statutes. Quirks,

quibbles and evasions, are as foreign to the genuine spirit of martial

jurisdiction, as candor, manliness, and resolute perseverance in

uttering what he knows to be the fact, are familiar to the real soldier.

REVOCABLE, (_révocable_, _Fr._) That may be recalled. Nominations for

appointments in the army, are made by the president of the United

States, subject to the concurrence of the senate, who, if they

disagree, revoke the appointment.

REVOLT, (_révolte_, _Fr._) Mutiny; insurrection.

REVOLTER. One who rises against lawful authority; a deserter, &c.

REVOLTES, _Fr._ Rebels.

REVOLUTION, (_révolution_, _Fr._) A change in government, as

the throwing off the tyranny of Britain, by the declaration of

independence, in 1776, and as the French revolution.

REVOLUTIONNAIRE, _Fr._ A friend to the revolution.

REVOLUTIONNAIRE, _Fr._ An adjective of two genders. Anything belonging

to the revolution. Hence

_Armée_ RÉVOLUTIONNAIRE. A revolutionary army; such as appeared in

France.

REVOLUTIONNER, _Fr._ To revolutionize. To propagate principles in a

country which are subversive of its existing government.

REWARD, (_récompense_, _Fr._) A recompence given for good performed.

Twenty shillings are allowed by the mutiny act, as a reward for

apprehending deserters.

_Military_ REWARDS, (_récompenses militaires_, _Fr._) The original

instances of military rewards are to be found in the Grecian and Roman

histories. The ancients did not, however, at first recompence military

merit in any other way than by erecting statues to the memory, or

presenting them with triumphal crowns. The warriors of that age were

more eager to deserve public applause by extraordinary feats of valor,

by temperance and moral virtue, than to become rich at the expence

of the state. They thirsted after glory; but it was after a species

of glory which was not in the least tarnished by the alloy of modern

considerations.

The services which individuals rendered were distinguished by the kind

of statue that was erected, and its accompanying decorations, or by the

materials and particular formation of the crowns that were presented.

In process of time, the state or civil government of a country, felt

the propriety and justice of securing to its defenders something

more substantial than mere show and unprofitable trophies. It was

considered, that men who had exposed their lives, and had been wounded,

or were grown infirm through age, &c. ought to be above want, and not

only to have those comforts which through their exertions millions were

enjoying, but to be placed in an independent and honorable situation.

The most celebrated of their warriors were consequently provided for

at the public expence, and they had regular claims made over to them,

which were answered at the treasury.

Triumphal honors were likewise reckoned among the military rewards

which the ancients voted to their best generals. Fabius Maximus, Paul

Emilius, Camillus, and the Scipios were satisfied with this recompense

for their services. With respect to old infirm soldiers, who were

invalided, they were provided for by receiving, each a lot of ground,

which they cultivated and improved. Lands, thus appropriated, formed

part of the republican or national domains, or were divided amongst

them in the conquered countries.

The Roman officer was rewarded for his services, or for particular

acts of bravery in three ways: 1st. By marks of honor or distinction,

which consisted of two sorts, viz. Of that which was merely ornamental

to their own persons, or limited to the investiture for life; and of

that which may be called _rememorative_, such as statues, &c. The

latter descended to their posterity, and gave their families a certain

rank in the republic. 2dly. By pensions or allowances, and 3dly. By

a grant of lands which exceeded the lots given to private soldiers.

These lands, the property of the veteran soldier, in process of time

became objects of solicitude among the Patricians and rich men; they

encroached upon them, and often excited foreign wars, in order to take

away the citizens, and in their absence, engross their lands; this

rapacity of the senators, was the true cause of the _agrarian laws_,

which has generally been held up as a reproach to the injured and not

to the oppressors, and the people in republics have been held forth as

turbulent and inimical to personal property, because the people of Rome

sought to recover the lands of which they had been despoiled by the

avarice of the senate, and by an inordinate spirit of speculation.

The Franks, who got possession of the country which was formerly

occupied by the Gauls, had, at first, no other method of recompensing

their generals than by giving them a certain proportion of land. This

grant did not exceed their natural lives, and sometimes it was limited

to the time they remained in the service.

These usages insensibly changed, and by degrees it became customary for

the children of such men as had received grants of national territory,

to continue to enjoy them; upon condition, however, that the actual

possessors of such lands should be liable to military service. Hence

the origin of _fiefs_ in France, and the consequent appellation of

_milice des fieffés_, or militia, composed of men who held their lands

on condition of bearing arms when called upon. The French armies were

for many years constituted in this manner; and the custom of rendering

military service in consideration of land tenure, only ceased under

Charles the VIIth.

In process of time, those lands which had been originally bestowed

upon men of military merit, descended to their children, and were

gradually lost in the aggregate mass of inheritable property. Other

means were consequently to be resorted to by the state, in order to

satisfy the just claims of deserving officers and soldiers. The French,

therefore, returned to the ancient custom of the Romans, and rewarded

those, who distinguished themselves in war, by honorary marks of

distinction.

Under the first race of French kings may be found several instances of

men of obscure condition having, by their valor, obtained the rank and

title of count, and even those of duke. These dignities, of themselves,

entitled the bearers to places of high command in the armies. The title

of knight, most especially of _knight banneret_, gave very high rank

during the reign of Philip Augustus: and in the reigns of one or two

of his predecessors, it was bestowed upon individuals who behaved in a

distinguished manner in the field.

This species of reward did not cost the public any thing. It was

bestowed upon the individual by the general of the army, and consisted

in nothing more than a salute given by the latter on the field of

battle, by which he became _knight banneret_, and was perfectly

satisfied with the honor it conferred.

This mode of rewarding individuals for great actions or long services,

continued until men inlisted themselves for money, and the army was

regularly paid, according to the several ranks of those who composed

it. At this period, however, it became expedient to have recourse

to the second method which was adopted by the Romans to compensate

individuals for services rendered to the state. The royal treasury was

either subjected to the annual claims of individuals, or to the payment

of a specific sum, for having eminently distinguished themselves under

arms. Notwithstanding this, honorary rewards continued to be given,

and the knighthood conferred in the field by the kiss or salute of a

general, which the French style _accolade_, was practised until the

16th century:

It was usual, even during that century, to reward a soldier, who did a

brave action, by some mark of distinction, that was given on the spot

by a crown made of grass or other verdure, which was placed upon his

head by his comrades, or by a gold ring, which his commanding officer

put upon his finger in the presence of the whole troop or company to

which he belonged. It sometimes happened, as in the reign of Francis

the first, that this mark of distinction was given by the general of

the army.

Several brave men have been distinguished with titles of nobility and

armorial bearings, which were conferred by princes, in consequence of

some singular feat or exploit. There have been instances recorded

in the French history of extraordinary actions having been rewarded

upon the spot by kings who commanded in person. A soldier of merit was

peculiarly honored by Louis the XIth, for bravery and good conduct in

the field. That monarch took the collar of a military order off his own

neck, and placed it round the neck of Launay Morvillier, as a reward

for great prowess and intrepidity.

Besides the gramineous crown and gold ring, which were thus given as

marks of honor and distinction, the private soldiers were frequently

rewarded by small sums of money when they performed any particular feat

or act of bravery. They were likewise promoted from the ranks, and made

serjeants or corporals.

Honorary rewards and compensations for service were not confined

to individual officers and soldiers. Whole corps were frequently

distinguished in the same manner. When several corps acted together,

and one amongst them gave signal proofs of gallantry and good conduct,

that one frequently took precedence of the others in rank, or was

selected by the sovereign to be his personal guard. Sometimes, indeed,

the king placed himself at the head of such a corps on the day of

battle, thereby testifying his approbation of their conduct, and giving

a proof of his confidence in their bravery.

It is now usual, in most countries, to confer marks of distinction on

those corps, that have formed part of any army that has signalized

itself. Thus the kettle drums, under the appellation of _nacaires_,

were given to some regiments, as proofs of their having behaved

gallantly on trying occasions.

The military order of St. Louis, which was created by Louis the XIVth

in 1693, and that of Maria Theresa. The modern French _legion of

honor_, instituted by Bonaparte, adopts and organizes into a most

influential and comprehensive military and political system, all the

usages of pre-existing military orders; and fixes degrees of rank under

various denominations, those thus decorated are preferred for other

trusts and honors. There are many other orders in different countries,

were only instituted for the purpose of rewarding military merit.

The Greeks and Romans satisfied themselves with honorary rewards, or

occasional compensations. The moderns, particularly the French and

English, have placed military claims upon a more solid footing. The

gratitude of the public keeps pace with the sacrifices of individuals,

and permanent provisions are made for those who are wounded or rendered

infirm in the service.

The Athenians supported those who had been wounded in battle, and the

Romans recompensed those that had served during a given period. The

French kings reserved to themselves the privilege of providing for

individuals who had been maimed in action, by giving them certain

monastic allowances and lodging, &c. in the different convents of royal

institution. Philip Augustus, king of France, first formed the design

of building a college for soldiers who had been rendered infirm, or

were grown old in the service. Louis, surnamed the great, not only

adopted the idea, but completed the plan in a grand and magnificent

style. Charles the second, on his restoration to the crown of Great

Britain, established Chelsea, and James the second added considerable

improvements to this institution.

REZ, _Fr._ A preposition which signifies close to, adjoining, level

with. _Rez le metal_ in a right line with the metal, a phrase used in

pointing guns, to discriminate between the real and artificial point

blank; it means on a level with the tops of the base-ring and swell of

the muzzle. As _rez pied_, _rez-terre_. _Démolir les fortifications,

rez-pied, rez-terre._ To level the fortifications with the ground.

REZ-_de-chaussée_, _Fr._ The ground floor. This term properly means the

surface or floor of any building which is even with the ground on which

it is raised. It would be incorrect to say _Rez-de chaussée d’une cave,

ou du premier étage d’une maison_; the ground floor of a cellar, or of

the first story of a house.

RHAGOON, _Ind._ The twelfth month which, in some respect, corresponds

with February. It follows the month Magh, which agrees with January.

RHINELAND _rod_, is a measure of twelve feet, used by all the Dutch

engineers.

RHOMBUS, (_Rhombe_, _Fr._) in _geometry_, an oblique angled

parallelogram, or a quadralateral figure whose sides are equal and

parallel, but the angles unequal; two of the opposite ones being

obtuse, and the other two acute.

RIBAND, _Rubande_, _Ruban_, _Fr._ This word is sometimes written

_Ribbon_. A narrow web of silk which is worn for ornament.

RIBAND _cockade_. The cockades which are given to recruits, and is

commonly called _the colors_.

RIBAUDE, _Fr._ Irregular, noisy, ill-mannered. This term is likewise

used as a substantive, viz.

_Un_ RIBAUD, _Fr._ A noisy, ill-mannered fellow. It is an old French

word, which at present is seldom spoken in the polished circles of

life. In former times, as late indeed as during the reign of Philip

Augustus, king of France, it was current without carrying along with

it any particular reproach or mark of infamy. The foot guards, who did

duty at the palace, were generally called _ribauds_, from the looseness

of their morals; which by degrees grew so very corrupt, that the term,

(harmless perhaps at first) was insensibly applied to persons guilty of

dishonorable acts. Hence pick-pockets, thieves, cheats, &c. were called

_ribauds_. On which account the provost of the hotel or town house in

Paris, was popularly stiled _roi des ribands_, or provost of _ribauds_.

This phrase prevailed until the reign of Charles the VIth.

RIBAUD, _Fr._ _adj._ likewise means lewd, debauched, &c.

_Un homme_ RIBAUD, _Une femme_ RIBAUDE, _Fr._ A licentious man; a

licentious woman.

RIBAUDEQUIN, _Fr._ A warlike machine or instrument, which the French

anciently used. It was made in the form of a bow, containing twelve or

fifteen feet in its curve, and was fixed upon the wall of a fortified

town, for the purpose of casting out a prodigious javelin, which

sometimes killed several men at once.

According to Monstrelet, a French writer, _ribaudequin_, or

_ribauderin_, signified a sort of garment which was worn by the

soldiers when they took the field.

RIBLEURS, _Fr._ Vagabonds, debauched fellows that run about the

streets, or spend their nights in disorderly houses. Soldiers who

give themselves up to pillage &c. in war time, are likewise called

_ribleurs_, by way of reproach.

RIBLER, _Fr._ To ramble, &c. was formerly the verb, and _riblerie_,

the act of rambling, &c. the substantive. Both terms are now obsolete,

except among the lower orders.

RICOCHER, _Fr._ To ricochet, to batter or fire at a place with ricochet

shots. The author of a very valuable work entitled, _Essai Général de

Fortification, et d’Attaque et Defense des places_, observes in a note

to page 89, vol. I, that in strict analogy, we should say _ricocheter_;

but use, which is above all rules, has made _ricocher_ a technical

term, whenever we speak of the ricochets of cannon shot.

_Une face_ RICOCHEE, _Fr._ The face of a fortification, which is fired

at with ricochet shots.

RICOCHET, literally means a bound, a leap, such as a flat piece of

stone or slate makes when it is thrown obliquely along the surface of a

pool.

RICOCHET, (_ricochet_, _Fr._) in _gunnery_, is when guns, howitzers,

or mortars, are loaded with small charges, and elevated from five to

twelve degrees, so that when fired over the parapet, the shot or shell

rolls along the opposite rampart. It is called _ricochet-firing_, and

the batteries are likewise called _ricochet-batteries_. This method of

firing out of mortars, was first tried in 1723, at the military school

of Strasburgh, and with success. At the battle of Rosbach in 1757,

the king of Prussia had several 6-inch mortars made with trunnions,

and mounted on travelling carriages, which fired obliquely on the

enemy’s lines, and amongst their horse, loaded with eight ounces of

powder, and at an elevation of one degree fifteen minutes, which did

great execution; for the shells rolling along the lines, with burning

fuzes, made the stoutest of the enemy not wait for their bursting. See

BATTERY.

RICOCHET firing is not confined to any particular charge or elevation;

each must vary according to the distance and difference of level of

the object to be fired at; and particularly of the spot on which it is

intended the shot shall make the first bound. The smaller the angle is

under which a shot is made to ricochet, the longer it will preserve its

force and have effect, as it will sink so much the less in the ground

on which it bounds; and whose tenacity will of course present so much

less resistance to its progress. In the ricochet of a fortification

of any kind, the angle of elevation should seldom be less than 10°,

to throw the shot over a parapet a little higher than the level of

the battery. If the works should be of an extraordinary height, the

piece must be removed to such situation, and have such charge, that

it can attain its object at this elevation, or at least under that of

13° or 14°, otherwise the shot will not ricochet, and the carriages

will suffer very much. The first gun in a ricochet battery should be

so placed as to sweep the whole length of the rampart of the enemy’s

work, at 3 or 4 feet from the parapet, and the rest should form as

small an angle with the parapet as possible. For this purpose the guns

should be pointed about 4 fathoms from the face of the work towards the

interior. In the ricochet of ordnance in the field, the objects to be

fired at being principally infantry and cavalry, the guns should seldom

be elevated above 3 degrees; as with greater angles the ball would be

apt to bound too high, and defeat the object intended. For ricochet

practice, see the different pieces of ordnance, as GUN, MORTAR, and

HOWITZER.

_Battre en_ RICOCHET, _Fr._ To put a sufficient quantity of gunpowder

in a piece of ordnance to carry the ball, with effect, into the works

that are enfiladed. This sort of firing is generally practised along

the whole extent of a face or flank. The celebrated marshal Vauban

first invented the mode of firing _ricochet_-shots. He tried the

experiment at the siege of Ath, in 1679.

_Battre un rempart à_ RICOCHET, _Fr._ To batter a rampart with ricochet

shots.

RIDEAU is a rising ground, or eminence, commanding a plain, sometimes

almost parallel to the works of a place: it is a great disadvantage to

have rideaus near a fortification, which terminate on the counterscarp,

especially when the enemy fire from afar: they not only command the

place, but facilitate the enemy’s approaches.

RIDER, in _artillery carriages_, a piece of wood somewhat higher than

broad, the length equal to that of the body of the axle-tree, upon

which the side pieces rest, in a four-wheel carriage, such as the

ammunition waggon, block carriage, and sling waggon.

_Rough_ RIDER. See ROUGH.

RIDING-_Master_. In the cavalry, an officer whose duty it is to

instruct the officers and soldiers in the management of their horses.

_To_ RIFLE, to plunder; to rob.

RIFLE, the thread, ray, or line made in a rifled barrel.

RIFLED _gun_, RIFLED _piece_, RIFLED _barrel_, _Arquebuse rayée_,

_Fr._ a fire arm which has lines or exiguous canals within its barrel

that run in a vermicular direction, and are more or less numerous, or

more indented, according to the fancy of the artificer. With respect

to the word itself, it does not appear to bear any other analogy to

our common acceptation of the verb, than what may be vulgarly applied

to the common practices of riflemen. It is, on the contrary, more

immediately connected in sense and signification with an old obsolete

word _to ray_; to streak: which comes from the French _rayer_. The

rifled barrel possesses many advantages over the common one; which

advantages are attributed to the threads or rays with which it is

indented. These threads are sometimes cut in such a manner, that the

line which commences on the right side at the breech, terminates on the

left at the muzzle; by which means the ball acquires a rotary movement,

revolving once and a half round its own axis before it quits the piece,

and then boring through the air with a spiral motion. It is well known,

that cannon balls and shot out of common barrels are impelled in a line

formed by the centre of the ball, and a compound of the projectile

force of the explosion acted upon by the air and by gravitation in its

course; the ball has a tendency to rise upward to a certain extent

after leaving the muzzle of the gun; its particular motion is as if

the ball had a transverse axis, and rolled forward in that axis, in

the manner that the wheels of a carriage roll; and at the same time

continue their progression forward. See _Amer. Mil. Lib._

The rifled barrels of America, during the revolution, contained from

10 to 16 rays or threads; some had as few as four. Some persons have

imagined, that those of 16 rays were the best, from a supposition that

by the air collapsing in the several grooves, the ball obtained more

velocity. Mr. Robins, however, seems to differ in opinion, particularly

with respect to the depth of the grooves. He observes, page 339 and

340, in his Tracts on Gunnery, that whatever tends to diminish the

friction of these pieces, tends at the same time to render them more

complete; and consequently it is a deduction from hence, that the less

the rifles are indented, the better they are; provided they are just

sufficient to keep the bullet from turning round the piece. It likewise

follows, that the bullet ought to be no larger than to be just pressed

by the rifles, for the easier the bullet moves in the piece, supposing

it not to shift its position, the more violent and accurate will its

flight be. It is necessary, that the sweep of the rifles should be in

each part exactly parallel to each other. See _Robins on Gunnery_, page

328.

Paradés, a gunsmith at Aix-le-Chapelle, who was reputed to be very

ingenious in the construction of rifled barrels, used to compress his

barrels in the centre.

RIFLEMEN, experienced marksmen, armed with _rifles_. They formed the

most formidable force of the United States in the revolution, being

posted along the American ranks, and behind hedges, &c. for the purpose

of picking off the British officers. They have proved equally fatal

in the hands of the French during their revolution. Considerable

improvements are daily made; and light infantry battalions, like the

chasseurs of the French, should form a considerable portion of every

army, and all infantry and cavalry should be taught to act as riflemen,

as well as artillerists.

_Mounted_ RIFLEMEN, are no other than good riflemen, accustomed to

horsemanship, mounted.

RIGHT, that which is ordered; that which justly belongs to one.

RIGHTS, certain unalienable claims and privileges, which every

individual, civil as well as military, possesses in regulated

community. See WRONGS.

RIGOL. See CIRCLE.

RING. A circle, an orbicular line.

RING _of an Anchor_. That part of the anchor to which the cable is

fastened.

RINGS, in _artillery_, are of various uses; such as the lashing-rings

in travelling-carriages, to lash the sponge, rammer, and ladle, as

well as the tarpauling that covers the guns; the rings fastened to the

breeching-bolts in ship-carriages; and the shaft-rings to fasten the

harness of the shaft-horse by means of a pin.

RINGS _of a Gun_. Circles of metal, of which there are five, viz.

_Base-ring_, _reinforce-ring_, _trunnion-ring_, _cornice-ring_, and

_muzzle-ring_. See _Am. Mil. Lib._

RINGLEADER. The head of any particular body of men acting in a riotous

or mutinous manner.

_To_ RING. To make a sharp reverberating noise.

RING _Ramrod!_ A word of command which is sometimes used at private

inspections, to try the bottom of the barrel of a musquet.

RINGROD, _Fr._ A strong iron bar which is used in forges. It likewise

means a thick pole with an iron ferrel.

RINGRAVE, _Fr._ Pantaloon breeches.

RIOT and _Tumult_. Sedition, civil insurrection, disturbance, &c. A

breach of the peace committed by an assembled multitude.

RIOTERS. Disturbers of the public peace; persons acting in open

violation of good order; raising or creating sedition, &c.

RIPOSTE, _Fr._ A parry and thrust. It likewise signifies in a

figurative sense, a keen reply, a close retort.

RIPOSTER, _or_ RISPOSTER, _Fr._ In fencing, to parry and thrust,

RISBAN, _Fr._ In fortification, a flat piece of ground upon which a

fort is constructed for the defence and security of a port or harbor.

It likewise means the fort itself. The famous _Risban_, of Dunkirk, was

built entirely of brick and stone; having within its walls excellent

barracks, a large cistern well supplied with water, magazines for

stores, provisions, and ammunition. A ready communication was kept up

with the town by means of the jetée, which corresponded with the wooden

bridge that joined the entrance into the fort. The rampart was capable

of receiving forty-six pieces of ordnance, which were disposed in three

different alignements or tiers, owing to the triangular figure of the

fort; so that a fire could be kept up on all sides.

_To_ RISE. To break into commotions; to make insurrections.

_To_ RISE. In a military sense, to make hostile attack: as the military

rose against their government.

_To_ RISE. To obtain promotion.

_To_ RISE _from the ranks_. To obtain promotion by degrees after having

been in the ranks as a private soldier; a circumstance which has

happened to some of the best generals in the world.

RISE. Increase of price; as the rise of commissions in the army upon

the prospect of peace.

RISSALA, _or_ RASSAULA, _Ind._ An independent corps of cavalry.

RISSALDAR, _Ind._ The commander of an independent corps of cavalry.

RIVAL, one who is in pursuit of the same thing which another pursues. A

competitor.

RIVAL _Powers_. Nations are so called when their relative situation and

resources in men and money, &c. enable them to oppose each other.

RIVERAINS, _Fr._ Persons who inhabit the banks of rivers. By a

regulation which was in force during the French monarchy, all persons,

so situated, were obliged to leave a space 20 feet broad at least,

between their houses or huts, and the bank, for the convenience of

navigation. A set of men, called _baliseurs_, were paid to see this

regulation strictly complied with.

RIVER, (_Riviére_, _Fr._) a land current of water bigger than a brook.

_Fordable_ RIVER. A river which may be passed without the assistance of

any floating machines. In order to sound the ford, and to ascertain the

state of it, men on horseback are first ordered to cross. By that means

you will be able to know whether any obstacles have been thrown in the

way by the enemy; for nothing is more easily effected. The passage of

a ford may be rendered impracticable by throwing whole trees in, by

tables or platforms covered with nails, and by stakes. The two latter

impediments are the most dangerous. But stakes are not easily fixed,

and are consequently seldom used. When fords are embarrassed by them,

it requires some time and trouble to clear the river; and it is equally

difficult to get rid of the inconvenience that arises when wells have

been sunk. Whenever there is reason to apprehend such obstacles, it is

always best to reach the ford at dusk. A good resource in such cases,

is to collect a great number of empty casks or hogsheads, and lay over

them either platforms of boards or faggots of underwood and boards

over them, upon which either cavalry or artillery may pass. Intervals

sufficient for the passage of the water must be left. The banks should

be lined with riflemen to cover the passage; light guns and grape might

be employed upon suitable ground.

When the prince of Condé in 1567, resolved to cross the river Seine,

the royalists who were on the opposite side, endeavored to prevent

his passage by throwing quantities of madriers or thick planks that

were nailed together, iron hoops and water-cats into the ford. The

Hugonots or Protestants, however, were not diverted from their purpose.

Aubigné, a French writer, says, that on that occasion they placed 400

arquebusiers upon the bank to protect the men that raked the ford.

This was certainly a singular method which was used to clear a ford,

nor could it be done without much difficulty, and no inconsiderable

share of danger. The chevalier Folard has proposed a much safer, and a

much easier way, by means of grappling hooks, tied to long ropes, which

might be thrown into the ford. Yet even in this case, observes the

writer, the object could not be accomplished if the river were broad,

unless the persons employed in the undertaking, be under the cover of

so heavy a discharge of ordnance and musquetry, that the enemy would

not be able to interrupt them, even from an intrenched position on the

opposite bank.

With respect to caltrops, the removal of them, when properly

distributed at the bottom of a ford, must be attended with great

difficulty; for they must render the passage absolutely impracticable,

unless they were to sink very deep into the mud and sand, and thus

become useless. The men that first enter are in this case the only

persons incommoded, but the rest may follow without much hazard.

It sometimes happens, that the bottom of a stream or rivulet is firm

and gravelly; when this occurs, the greatest precautions must be taken

to escape the effects of caltrops, which would be extremely hurtful to

any persons that might attempt to cross. In order to obviate their

mischievous consequences, and to render them in a manner useless, a

good stock of hurdles must be provided. The soldiers will hand these to

one another, force them into the water, and then cover them with stones.

When one or two fords in a river are so situated, that several

battalions cannot cross them upon one front, it is then highly prudent

to throw a bridge over, either above or below the ford; for a swell may

intervene and render it otherwise impassable; and to which, you have

the advantage of getting a greater number of troops over at once.

In order to effect a passage for his army over the river Segre, Cæsar

gave directions that ditches, thirty feet broad, should be dug in

such parts of the banks as might with ease receive the water out of

the stream, and render it fordable. Having accomplished this object,

he found no difficulty in reaching Petréius, who, being in the daily

fear of wanting provisions and forage for his men, was on the eve of

quitting his position and marching forwards.

The passage of the Granicus by Alexander the great, is likewise

mentioned in history, as an instance of bold enterprise. But however

celebrated that act may be in ancient records, we shall not be thought

partial to the moderns when we state, that the passage of the river

Holowitz by Charles XII. of Sweden, was equally bold and well managed.

The passage of the Tagliamento by Bonaparte during his campaign in

Italy, would be the most celebrated of modern times, had not the

passage of the Danube in 1809, eclipsed all similar achievements by

the magnitude of the difficulties to be overcome, and the astonishing

success of the means by which they were overcome.

RIVET, a fastening pin clenched at both ends, so as to hold an

intermediate substance with more firmness.

RIVETING-_plates_, in _gun carriages_, small square thin pieces of

iron, through which the ends of the bolts pass, and are riveted upon

them.

RIZAMEDAR, _Ind._ An officer commanding a small body of horse.

RO, _Ind._ In Indian music means quick.

ROBE-_courte_, _Fr._ literally means a short gown. Provost-marshals,

under-bailiffs, vice-seneschals, then lieutenants, and various other

persons, occasionally employed in camps and garrisons, to assist the

military in maintaining internal good order and discipline, were

formerly called in France _officiers de robe-courte_.

ROC, _Fr._ A rock.

ROC _de lance_, _Fr._ In tournaments the wooden part of a lance is so

called.

ROCHER, _Fr._ a large rock; derived from _roc_, and generally bearing

the same import.

ROCHE _à feu_, _Fr._ a solid composition, which gradually consumes when

it has been lighted, but which emits a very broad and lively flame,

and is not extinguished by water.

ROCKETS. _Composition._

_Old proportion._ _New proportion._

lbs. oz. lbs. oz.

Saltpetre 4 0 -- 4 4

Sulphur 1 0 -- 0 12

Charcoal 1 8 -- 2 0

_Composition for the Stars._

Mealed powder 0 lb. 8 oz.

Saltpetre 8 0

Sulphur 2 0

Antimony 2 0

Isinglass dissolved 0 3¹⁄₂

Spirits of wine 1 pint.

Vinegar 1 quart.

Composition for rain to head sky rockets, is the same as the above for

the rockets.

_General Table of Sky Rockets._

+------------------------------+------+-------+------+------+

| | 2 | 1 | ¹⁄₂ | ¹⁄₄ |

| |Pound.| Pound.|Pound.|Pound.|

+------------------------------+------+-------+------+------+

| | Inch.| Inch. | Inch.| Inch.|

| {Exterior diameter | 2.13 | 1.69 | 1.34 | 1.06 |

|Case{Interior diameter | 1.529| 1.214 | 0.961| 0.761|

| {Length before driving |15.97 |12.67 |10.05 | 8.25 |

|Length of guage for the choke | 1.5 | 1.25 | 1.0 | 0.75 |

|Cylinders for heading{Diameter| 2.84 | 2.25 | 1.79 | 1.39 |

| {Length | 4.26 | 3.38 | 2.68 | 2.12 |

|Cones for heading { Diameter| 2.84 | 2.25 | 1.79 | 1.39 |

| { Height | 4.36 | 3.38 | 2.68 | 2.18 |

|Mallet for driving--Weight | 1lb. | 3 8oz.| 2 1 | 1 10 |

|No. of Strokes | 31 |21 |18 |13 |

+------------------------------+------+-------+------+------+

_Copper Ladles for filling Sky Rockets._

_Length_, 1¹⁄₂ the exterior diameter of the case.

_Diameter_, equals the interior diameter of case.

_Circumference_, ³⁄₄ the interior calibre of the case.

Sky rockets are driven with composition up to 4¹⁄₂ exterior diameters

of the case from the choke; and ¹⁄₅ of a diameter above the composition

with good clay. They are bored and reamed up to 3¹⁄₂ diameters.

_Dimensions of Sticks for Rockets._ General rules.

For rockets from ¹⁄₂ an ounce to one pound, the stick must be 60

diameters of the rocket in length: for rockets from one pound and

upwards fifty or fifty-two diameters. Their thickness at top about ¹⁄₂

a diameter, and their breadth very little more. Their square at bottom

equal to ¹⁄₂ the thickness at top.

+------------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+

|Kind of | | | | | | | |

|Rockets. | 6 Pr. | 4 Pr.| 2 Pr.| 1 Pr.| ¹⁄₂ Pr.|¹⁄₄ Pr.|¹⁄₈ Pr.|

+------------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+

| |ft.in. |ft.in.|ft.in.|ft.in.|ft.in. | ft.in.| ft.in.|

|Distance of | | | | | | | |

|poise from | | | | | | | |

|the point of| | | | | | | |

|the cone | 4 1¹⁄₂| 3 9 | 2 9 | 2 1 | 1 10¹⁄₂| 1 8 | 1 3 |

+------------+-------+------+------+------+--------+-------+-------+

Rockets of between 3 and 4 inches diameter have been observed to ascend

as high as 1000 or 1200 yards; but the height of common rockets is

between 450 and 600 yards; and their flight usually short of 7 seconds.

ROCKET _as used in India_. A most formidable weapon against cavalry;

they are made of the hollow tube of the bamboo, of a very large size,

filled with the usual composition of rockets. The rod is only a part of

the same bamboo, the six eighths or seven eighths of which is cut away,

leaving the rod. See FOUGETTE.

ROCKETS. See LABORATORY.

ROD. See MEASURING.

RODS, or _rammers_, either of iron or wood, to drive home the charges

of musquets, carabines, and pistols.

RODS, or _sticks_, fastened to sky-rockets, to make them rise in a

straight line.

RODOMONT, _Fr._ A bully. An unmilitary character.

_Raire le_ RODOMONT, _Fr._ To bully, to talk loudly without possessing

the real spirit of a man or soldier.

RODOMONTADE, _Fr._ Rodomontade. The act of bullying, vain boasting or

arrogating to ourselves qualities which we do not possess. A French

writer has very justly observed, that there cannot be a greater defect

in the character of an officer than an overweening display of real or

fictitious talents. The word is derived from one Rodomont, the hero or

principal character in an old romance, who makes himself conspicuously

ridiculous in this way. Sir John Falstaff and Bobadil in English

comedy, are specimens of this character.

ROGUE’S _March_. See MARCH.

ROHILLAS, _Ind._ A tribe of Afghans inhabiting the country north of the

Ganges, as tar as Oude to the eastward.

ROI, _Fr._ King.

ROI _d’armes_, _Fr._ See KING AT ARMS.

ROKER, _Ind._ Cash.

ROLE, _Fr._ A muster roll, state, or return. The word _Role_ is used

among the French indiscriminately, to signify either the effective

force of an army, or the actual quantify of stores and ammunition which

the magazines contain.

_To_ ROLL _in duty_, is when officers of the same rank take their

turns upon duty pursuant to some established roster, as captains with

captains, and subalterns with subalterns, and command according to the

seniority of their commissions.

_To_ ROLL. To continue one uniform beat of the drum, without

variations, for a certain length of time. When a line is advancing in

full front, or in echellons, for any considerable distance, the music

of one regulating battalion may, at intervals, be permitted to play for

a few seconds at a time, and the drums of the other battalions may be

allowed occasionally to _roll_; drums, likewise _roll_ when troops are

advancing to the charge.

_Long_ ROLL. A beat of drum by which troops are assembled at any

particular spot of rendezvous or parade.

_Muster_-ROLL, is a return, given by the muster-master, on which are

written the names of both officers and soldiers of the regiment, troop,

or company, with their country, age, and service.

_Squad_ ROLL. A list containing the names of each particular squad.

Every non-commissioned officer and corporal, who is entrusted with the

care and management of a squad, must have a roll of this kind.

_Size_-ROLL. A list containing the names of all the men belonging to

a troop or company, with the height or stature of each specifically

marked. Every serjeant keeps a regular size-roll, and every captain of

a troop or company ought to have one likewise.

ROLL-_Call_. The calling over the names of the several men who compose

any part of a military body. This necessary duty is done by the

serjeants of companies morning and evening, in every well regulated

corps. Hence _morning roll-call_, and _evening roll-call_. On critical

occasions, and in services that require promptitude and exertion,

frequent roll-calls should be made.

ROLLER. A small wheel placed at the foot of the hammer of a gun, or

pistol lock, in order to lessen the friction of it against the hammer

or feather spring.

ROLLER likewise means a long piece of wood which is rounded and made

taper to suit the regulated size of a military trail.

ROLLER. In surgery, a long and broad ligature, usually made of linen

cloth, for binding, surrounding, and containing the parts of the human

body, and keeping them in their proper situation, thereby disposing

them to a state of health and redintregation.

ROLLERS, are round pieces of wood of about nine inches diameter, and

four feet long, used in moving pieces of artillery from one place to

another.

ROMAINE, _Fr._ A steelyard or balance for weighing things of various

weights by one single weight, as from one single pound to 112 pounds.

ROMPRE, _Fr._ To break.

ROMPRE _un battaillon_, _Fr._ In military evolutions to break a

battalion into a given number of parts for the purpose of defiles, &c.

ROMPRE _en colonne_, _Fr._ To break into column.

RONDACHE, _Fr._ A sort of shield which the French formerly used, and

which is still carried by the Spaniards.

RONDEL, in _fortification_, a round tower, sometimes erected at the

foot of a bastion.

RONDES, _Fr._ See ROUNDS.

RONDE _Major_, _Fr._ Town-majors round. So called from the town-major

visiting the different quarters of a garrison during the night. This

round, in some degree, corresponds with our grand round.

RONDES _roulantes_, _Fr._ Rounds that are made by officers, serjeants,

or corporals, over a certain part of the ramparts. These agree with

our visiting rounds. The French say, _qui va la?_ Who goes there?

technically with us, Who comes there?

RONDE _d’officier_. Officer’s round.

_Chemin des_ RONDES, _Fr._ A path marked out for the convenience of the

rounds.

RONDE _de gouverneur_, _Fr._ The governor’s rounds.

The French method of ascertaining the nature of the several rounds is

by challenging in the same manner that we do, viz. _qui va la?_ Who

comes there? This must be said sufficiently loud for the main guard

to hear. He is instantly answered: _ronde de gouverneur_, governor’s

rounds; _ronde major_, major’s round, or grand round, and so on,

according to the nature of the rounds. The sentry, who stands posted

near the guard-house, after having cried out--_Demure là_; stop there:

or as we say, stop round; cries out again, _Caporal hors de la garde_,

corporal turn out the guard. The corporal or officer of the guard with

his sword drawn, according to the French custom, repeats, _qui va la?_

Who comes there? He is answered ronde, round. He then says, _avance qui

a l’ordre_; let him advance who has the parole or countersign; or, as

we say, advance one, and give the countersign.

RONDE _des officiers de picquet_, _Fr._ Piquet rounds.

RONDES _chez les Turcs_, _Fr._ See TURKISH ROUNDS.

RONDELLE, _Fr._ a small round shield, which was formerly used by light

armed infantry. It likewise means a part of the carriage of a gun.

RONDELIERS, _Fr._ Soldiers who were armed with rondelles, or small

wooden shields, covered with leather, were anciently so called.

ROPE. A cord; a string; a halter; a cable; a haulser.

Rope is always distinguished by its circumference: thus a two inch rope

means a rope of 2 inches in circumference.

_Rule for finding the weight of Ropes._

Multiply the square of the circumference in inches, by the length in

fathoms; and divide the product by 480 for the weight in cwt. See also

DRAG ROPES.

ROPE _of sand_. A phrase in familiar use to signify disunion, want

of adhesion and continuity. Thus the colonel and the captains of a

regiment disagreeing may be called a _rope of sand_.

ROPES, of various lengths and thickness, according to the uses they are

made for; such as drags for the gin, for the sling cart and waggon, &c.

_Drag_-ROPES, according to the old practice in the _artillery_, by

which the soldiers pulled the guns backwards or forwards, both at

practice and in an engagement, were of the following dimensions,

viz.--For a 24-pounder, 54 feet long, with the loop-holes for the pegs

included, and 5³⁄₄ inches in circumference; for 18 and 12-pounders,

48 feet long, and four inches in circumference; for 6 and 3-pounders,

39 feet long, and 1⁷⁄₈ inches in circumference. For 13 and 10-inch

howitzers, 45 feet long, and 6³⁄₄ inches in circumference; for 8-inch

howitzers, 48 feet long, and four inches in circumference; for all

other howitzers, 35 feet long, and two inches in circumference. These

awkward and cumbersome ropes are now superceded by the more improved

and powerful method, of the _bricoles_, which instead of drag ropes

held each by several; there is attached a single bricole or rope with a

hook and belt to each of several artillerists; the number of bricoles

is in proportion to the calibre. See BRICOLES and PROLONGE, See _Amer.

Mil. Lib._

ROSETTE, an ornamental bunch of ribands, or cut leather, which was worn

both by officers and soldiers in the British service, on the upper part

of their cues.

ROSETTES. Two small bunches of ribands that are attached to the loops

by which the gorget of an officer is suspended upon his chest. The

color of the riband must correspond with the facing of the uniform. The

French use the same word.

ROSE-_buds_. See NAILS.

ROSTER, in _military affairs_, is a plan or table, by which the duty

of officers, entire battalions, squadrons, or parts of a company are

regulated.

ROOM. Space; extent of space, great or small. Any part of a building

for the accommodation of individuals; as barrack room, orderly room;

viz. the orderly room, mess room, guard room, soldier’s rooms, and

store-room, for the duty of the regiment.

ROOMS. In a military sense are those parts of a building or barrack

which by specific instructions, the different barrack masters must

provide, and furnish for the accommodation of the troops. A schedule

as published by authority describes the number of rooms allowed in

barracks for the commissioned, warrant, and non-commissioned officers,

and private men, in the British service, to be as follows:

_Cavalry rooms._ Field officers, each two rooms; captains, each one

ditto; subalterns, staff and quarter-masters, each one ditto; the

serjeants of each troop of dragoons, and the corporals of each troop of

horse, one ditto; eight rank and file, one ditto; officer’s mess, two

ditto.

_Infantry rooms._ Field officers, each two ditto; captains, each

one ditto; two subalterns, one ditto; staff, each one ditto; twelve

non-commissioned officers, and private men, one ditto; officer’s mess,

two ditto; serjeant-major, and quarter-master serjeant, one ditto. When

there are a sufficient number of rooms in a barrack, one may be allowed

to each subaltern of infantry. See REGULATIONS.

ROSTRAL _Crown_, _Couronne Rostrale_, _Fr._ A crown which was bestowed

upon that Roman sailor who should first leap on board an enemy’s ship.

ROSTRUM. A Latin word which literally means the beak or bill of a bird,

and figuratively the prow of a vessel. There was in a public place in

ancient Rome, a tribunal ornamented with various prows of ships, which

the Romans had taken from the Antiati. The orators who harangued the

people in public, mounted this _rostrum_. Hence the Roman phrase: To

speak from above the rostra or prows.

ROUAGE, _Fr._ The wheel-work of a carriage, &c.

_Bois de_ ROUAGE, _Fr._ Timber to make wheels with.

ROUANNE, _Fr._ A concave iron instrument, which is used for the purpose

of enlarging the hollow of a pump. It likewise signifies a mark. An

auger.

ROUANNER, _Fr._ To bore; also to make casks.

ROUE, _Fr._ a licensed libertine. One whose principles of morality

are considerably relaxed, but who is not sufficiently vitiated in his

manners to be excluded from society. The French make a familiar use of

the term, and do not affix any degree of stigma to it. They say, on the

contrary, _c’est un aimable roué_, he is an agreeable gay fellow.

ROUE, _Fr._ Wheel.

ROUE _de feu_, _Fr._ An artificial firework. See SOLEIL TOURNANT.

ROUET, _Fr._ A small solid wheel made of steel, which was formerly

fixed to the pans of blunderbusses and pistols, for the purpose of

firing them off.

_Arquebuses et Pistolets à_ ROUET, _Fr._ Blunderbusses and pistols to

which a small wheel was attached. These firearms are very little known;

some, however, are still to be found in European arsenals, kept merely

for curiosity.

ROUGES, _boulets Rouges_, _Fr._ Red-hot balls.

ROUGH _Rider_. A person who is indispensably necessary in every cavalry

regiment. He is a sort of non-commissioned officer, and should always

associate with the serjeants in preference to the private men.

_Rough Riders_ are the assistants of the riding master, and one should

always be appointed to each troop. The necessary qualifications,

for every _Rough Rider_ (independently of a thorough knowlege of

horsemanship) are activity, zeal, and good conduct.

Every _rough rider_ must provide himself with a proper jacket for the

riding school business, according to the pattern fixed upon in the

regiment.

_To_ ROUGH _horses_, a word in familiar use among the dragoons to

signify the act of breaking in horses, so as to adapt them to military

purposes.

_To_ ROUGH _it_, a cant word used among military men, signifying to

face every sort of hardship.

ROULEAU, _Fr._ A cylindrical piece of wood with iron ferrels at both

ends, and with mortises fitted to the end of the lever.

ROULEAU _de cartouche_, _Fr._ A cylindrical solid piece of wood, which

is used in making cartridges; by us called a FORMER, as it give the

form to the cartridge.

ROULEAUX, _Fr._ Round bundles of fascines which are tied together. They

serve to cover men, when the works are pushed close to a besieged town,

or to mask the head of a work.

ROULEMENTS, _Fr._ The several rolls which are beat upon a drum, as

preparations for exercise, &c.

ROULER, _Fr._ To be subject to a fixed roster according to rank and

precedence.

ROUND. From the French _ronde_. In _military matters_, a visitation; a

personal attendance through a certain circuit of ground, to see that

all is well. A round consists, in the ordinary way, of a detachment

from the main-guard, of an officer or a non-commissioned officer and 6

men, who go round the rampart of a garrison, to listen if any thing be

stirring without the place, and to see that the sentinels be diligent

upon their duty, and all in order. In strict garrisons the rounds go

every half hour. The sentinels are to challenge at a distance, and to

port their arms as the _round_ passes. All guards turn out, challenge,

exchange the parole, and present arms, &c.

ROUNDS, are ordinary and extraordinary. The ordinary rounds are three:

the _town major’s round_, the _grand round_, and the _visiting round_.

_Manner of going the_ ROUNDS. When the town major goes his _round_, he

comes to the main-guard, and demands a serjeant and four or six men to

escort him to the next guard; and when it is dark, one of the men is to

carry a light.

As soon as the sentry at the guard perceives the _round_ coming, he

shall give notice to the guard, that they may be ready to turn out when

ordered; and when the round is advanced within about 20 or 30 paces

of the guard, he is to challenge briskly; and when he is answered by

the serjeant who attends the round, _town major’s round_, he is to

say, _stand, round!_ and port his arms: after which he is to call out

immediately, _serjeant, turn out the guard! town major’s round_. Upon

the sentry calling the serjeant to turn out the guard, he immediately

draws up the men in good order with shouldered arms, and the officer

places himself at the head of it, with his sword drawn. He then orders

the serjeant and four or six men to advance towards the _round_, and

challenge: the serjeant of the _round_ is to answer, _town major’s

round_; upon which the serjeant of the guard replies, _advance,

serjeant, with the parole!_ at the same time ordering his men to rest

their arms. The serjeant of the _round_ advances alone, and gives the

serjeant of the guard the parole in his ear, that none else may hear

it; during which period, the serjeant of the guard holds the point of

his bayonet or sword at the other’s breast. The serjeant of the _round_

then returns to his post, whilst the serjeant of the guard, leaving

his men to keep the _round_ from advancing, gives the parole to his

officer. This being found right, the officer orders his serjeant to

return to his men; says, _advance, town major’s round!_ and orders the

guard to port their arms; upon which the serjeant of the guard orders

his men to wheel back from the centre, and form a lane, through which

the town major is to pass (the escort remaining where it was) and go up

to the officer and give him the parole, laying his mouth to his ear.

The officer holds the point of his sword at the town major’s breast

while he gives him the parole.

_Grand_ ROUNDS. The rounds which are gone by general officers,

governors, commandants, or field officers. When there are no officers

of the day on piquet, the officer of the main guard in garrison may go

the grand rounds.

_Visiting_ ROUNDS. Rounds gone by captains, subalterns, and the town

majors of garrisons.

The grand rounds generally go at midnight; the visiting rounds at

intermediate periods, between sunset and the reveille. The grand rounds

receive the parole, and all other rounds give it to the guards.

There is also a species of subordinate rounds which are performed by a

corporal and a file of men; and which are in reality nothing more than

a _patrole_. When challenged they answer _patrole rounds_.

The governor of a garrison can order the rounds to go as often as he

may judge expedient. Extraordinary rounds are resorted to when any

particular event or occurrence is expected, and in cases of tumult, &c.

The going the rounds, though generally considered among the inferior

duties of military discipline, ought to be most scrupulously attended

to.

_Turkish_ ROUNDS. The Turks are in the habit of going the rounds like

other nations, for the purpose of ascertaining, whether sentries are

alert and vigilant on their posts. They call the rounds _rol_. They

start from the guard-house, and the person who goes them has no other

weapon of defence than a stick in his hand. He is accompanied by a

corporal who carries a lantern. He observes whether at his approach

the sentry instantly cries out, _jedger Allah_, which signifies _good

God!_ If any sentry should be found asleep, or be backward in crying

out _jedger Allah_, good God, he is put in prison, and there severely

bastinadoed. The Turks never give a parole or countersign, in camp or

in garrison.

The design of _rounds_ is not only to visit the guards, and keep the

sentinels alert, but likewise to discover what passes in the outworks,

and beyond them.

ROUND _Robbin_. The term is a corruption of _ruban rond_, which

signifies a round riband. It was usual among French officers, when they

signed a remonstrance, to write their names in a circular form, so that

it was impossible to ascertain who signed first. Hence to sign a _round

robbin_ against any person, is for any specific number of men to sign,

one and all, a remonstrance against him. This usage has been perverted

to the most seditious purposes of insubordination; and of itself should

cause the immediate dismission of every officer concerned.

ROUND _Parade_. See PARADES.

ROURA, _Ind._ A term used to express lord, sir, master, worship.

ROUSE. One of the bugle horn soundings for duty. It is derived from the

German word which signifies _to turn out_.

ROUT. Confusion of an army or body of men defeated or dispersed.

_To_ ROUT, _to put to the_ ROUT. To defeat, to throw into confusion, &c.

ROUTE, (_Route_, _Fr._) in _military matters_, an order to direct

troops to march, the road they are to take, and an authority to the

magistrates to provide quarters for them.

_Pas de_ ROUTE, _Fr._ Stepping at ease, or marching with the least

possible restraint.

_Marche_ ROUTE, _Fr._ Route of march. The French use this term in

contradistinction to _marche manœuvre_; march in manœuvring.

ROUTIER, _Fr._ A ruttier. The French say figuratively _c’est un vieux

routier_; he is an old stager.

ROUTINE, _Fr._ This word has been adopted by us in the same sense that

it is familiarly used by the French. It signifies capacity, or the

faculty of arranging; a certain method in business, civil or military,

which is as much acquired by habit and practice as by regular study and

rule. We say familiarly the routine of business.

ROUVERIN, _Fr._ Brittle iron, such as easily breaks when it is

committed to the forge.

ROWANNA, _Ind._ A passport or certificate from the collector of the

customs; or any other passport.

ROWEL. The pointed part of a horseman’s spur, which is made in a

circular form, with rays or points like a star.

ROXANA, _Ind._ An Indian term expressive of great magnificence,

resplendence.

ROY, _Ind._ A Hindoo name for an officer of the finances.

ROYAL _parapet_, in _fortification_, a bank about three toises broad,

and six feet high, placed upon the brink of the rampart, towards the

enemy: its use is to cover those who defend the rampart.

ROYAL _academy_. See ACADEMY.

ROYAL _Military College_. See SCHOOL.

ROYALS, in _artillery_, are a kind of small mortars, which carry a

shell whose diameter is 5.5 inches. They are mounted on beds the same

as other mortars.

ROZEENDAR, _Ind._ A person holding a yearly pension.

ROZENADAR, _Ind._ One who receives an allowance daily.

ROZENAMA, _Ind._ A day-book.

RUBBY, _Ind._ A division of the year, containing the months of _Chaite_

or 3d month, from the 11th of March to the 10th of April. _Bysac_ or

4th month, from the 11th of April to the 11th of May. _Jeet_ or 5th

month. _Assaf_ or 6th month, from the 12th of June to the 13th of July.

_Savan_ or 7th month, in some manner, agrees with July and August.

_Baudhoon_, or the same as _Jeet_, from the 11th of May to the 12th of

June. The other half of the year is called _Kureef_.

RUDIMENTS. The first principles, the elements of any particular

science. Hence--

RUDIMENTS _of War_. The first principles or elements of war; as

marching, facing, wheeling; the drill, manual, and platoon exercises,

manœuvres, &c. &c.

RUE, _Fr._ Street.

RUFFLE. A term used among the drummers to signify a sort of vibrating

sound, which is made upon a drum, and is less loud than the roll.

_To beat a_ RUFFLE. To make a low vibrating noise upon the drum. It

is generally practised in paying a military compliment to a general

officer, and at military funerals.

In the British army a lieutenant-general is entitled to three ruffles.

A major-general to two ruffles.

A brigadier-general to one ruffle.

RUG, (_couverture velue_, _Fr._) A coarse nappy coverlet used for mean

beds. Each set of bedding which is provided for regimental hospitals

has one rug.

RUILLER, _Fr._ To establish marks for the purpose of rendering surfaces

and places correct.

RUINE, _Fr._ Literally signifies ruin. It is used by the French in a

warlike sense.

_Battre en_ RUINE, _Fr._ To defeat an enemy in such a manner as to

destroy all means of taking the field again.

RUINES, _Fr._ Ruins.

RULE, in a general sense, government, sway, empire. In a more confined

one, canon, precept, direction. Hence rules and regulations for the

government of the army.

_To_ RULE. To govern, to command.

RULE, RULER, an instrument by which lines are drawn.

RULES _and Articles_. Under this term may be considered the military

code or laws of the United States, and the regulations issued by the

War Office.

RULES _and Regulations_. See REGULATIONS.

RUMB _de vent_, _Fr._ Point of the compass.

RUMB _or Rum_, _Fr._ The hold of a ship.

RUMOR, a desultory, loose report of what may, or may not be.

_To spread false_ RUMORS, to circulate things without the foundation

of reality. Reports, &c. are sometimes circulated by means of spies,

deserters, &c. for the purpose of covering some particular design, or

intended operation. Rumors of this kind should be cautiously listened

to by the commanding officer of the army through which they are spread.

It sometimes happens that individuals, through wantonness, or from some

other motive, create alarms among their own people, by anticipating

some looked for or dreaded event. This offence is not only punishable

by the civil law, but, being contrary to good order and discipline, is

rigidly so in every army. A singular circumstance of this kind occurred

at Colchester, England, in 1797. During the alarm which universally

prevailed at that time, especially along the coast of Essex, a serjeant

belonging to a militia regiment, unwittingly, for it is not supposed he

did it wilfully, said in the hearing of some soldiers, that the _French

would dine at Ipswich on the Sunday following_! This expression soon

spread among the inhabitants of the place, and a formal complaint was

made to the general of the district. The offender having originally

belonged to the line, and bearing the best of characters, was so far

considered, as not to be tried by a general court-martial; but, for the

sake of example, he was ordered to be escorted to the church nearest to

the coast, and on a Sunday to appear in the porch, and there ask pardon

of the inhabitants for the alarm he had created.

_To_ RUN _the gantlope_, (that is the _gauntlet_) to undergo a

punishment which has been allotted for considerable offences in some

foreign countries. When a soldier is sentenced to run the gantlope, the

regiment is drawn out in two ranks facing each other: each soldier,

having a switch in each hand, lashes the criminal as he runs along

naked from the waist upwards. While he runs, the drums beat at each

end of the ranks. Sometimes he runs 3, 5, or 7 times, according to the

nature of the offence. The major is on horseback, and takes care that

each soldier strikes the culprit.

RUNNING-_fire_. See FIRE.

RUPEE, a silver coin which varies in its value according to the part

of India in which it is current. _Rupees_ struck by the English, are

generally worth half a dollar.

RUPTURE, a disease which disqualifies a man from being admitted as

a soldier; but as some men are capable of producing and reducing a

rupture with great ease, they should not be discharged in slight cases,

as by the use of a truss they may be enabled to do duty for a long time.

RUPTURE. This word also signifies the commencement of hostilities

between any two or more powers.

RUSE, _Fr._ Cunning, trick, ingenuity. It is applied to military

matters, and signifies stratagem.

RUSER, _Fr._ To make use of stratagems: _Il est permis de Ruser à la

guerre_; it is lawful to make use of stratagems in war.

RUSES _de guerre_, _Fr._ Stratagems of war. See STRATAGEMS.

RUSSOOT, _Ind._ A tribe of Hindoos, whose particular duty is the care

of horses.

RUSSUMDAR, _Ind._ A person deriving a particular perquisite.

RUSTRE, _Fr._ A lance so called, which was formerly used in tournaments.

RUTTIER. A direction of the road or course at sea.

RYET _or Ryot_, _Ind._ The general name given in India to cultivators

of the ground.

RYET _or Ryot Lands_, _Ind._ Lands farmed out and cultivated by a

tenant.

S.

SABLE, _Fr._ Sand.

SABLONIERE _ou_ SABLIERE. Any spot from which sand is drawn. It

likewise means a sand-pit.

SABORD, _Fr._ a port-hole.

SABRE, (_Sabre_, _Fr._) a kind of sword, or scimetar, with a very

broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and of a shape falcated, or

curved, but sharp at the point. It is generally worn by heavy cavalry

and dragoons. The grenadiers, belonging to the whole of the French

infantry, are likewise armed with sabres. The blade is not so long as

that of a small sword, but it is nearly twice as broad. French hussars

wear the curved sabres somewhat longer than those of the grenadiers.

The broad straight sword is best adapted for infantry of every kind.

SABRE-_Tasche_. From the German _sabel_, sabre, and _tasche_, pocket.

An appointment or part of accoutrement of hussars, which consists of

a pocket which is suspended from the sword-belt on the left side, by

three slings to correspond with the belt. It is usually of an oblong

shape, scolloped at the bottom, with a device in the centre, and a

broad lace round the edge. The color of it always corresponds with that

of the uniform.

SABRER, _Fr._ To cut to pieces.

SAC _d’une ville_, _Fr._ The storming and plunder of a town.

_Mettre une ville à_ SAC, _Fr._ To give a town up to the plunder of the

soldiers.

SAC, _Fr._ a bag

SAC _à poudre_, _Fr._ A bag of gunpowder. These bags are frequently

used in war, for the purpose of intimidating an enemy, and of setting

fire to places. They are of different sizes and dimensions; some to

be thrown by the hand, and others out of a mortar. A French work,

intituled _le Bombardier Francois_, gives a full account of both.

SAC _à terre_, _Fr._ Sand-bags, or bags filled with earth.

SAC _à amorce_, _Fr._ A small leathern bag which is used for the

purpose of carrying gunpowder to the different batteries to prime the

pieces.

SAC _à laine_, _Fr._ A bag made of or stuffed with wool and other soft

materials. It is larger than a sand-bag. Every army should be provided

with a certain quantity of these bags, in order to supply the want of

soil on critical occasions.

_Un havre_ SAC. A knapsack. See HAVRESACK.

_Cul de_ SAC, _Fr._ A street or passage that has no outlet.

SACCADE, _Fr._ In the manege, a violent check or jirk, which the

horseman gives his horse by drawing both the reins very suddenly. This

is practised when the horse bears too heavy on the hand; but it ought

to be done with great caution, as the frequency of it must eventually

spoil the horse’s mouth.

SACHET, _Fr._ A pouch. It likewise signifies a bag in the diminutive

sense. A satchel.

SACHETS _de mitrailles_, _Fr._ Small bags filled with grape-shot, which

are afterwards fired from cannon, or thrown out of mortars.

SACHETS _de balles de plomb_, _Fr._ Bags of bullets.

SACKS. See BAGS.

SACKERS. They who sack a town.

SACRE _ou Sacret_, _Fr._ A name formerly given to pieces of ordnance

that carried balls of 4 to 5lb. weight. Each piece weighed from two

thousand five hundred to two thousand eight hundred pounds. The same as

Saker.

SADDLE. The seat which is put upon a horse for the accommodation of the

rider.

SAFE-_guard_, in _military affairs_, a protection granted by a general,

for some of the enemy’s lands, houses, persons, &c. to preserve them

from being insulted or plundered. See GUARD.

SAFYNAMA, _Ind._ A certificate or writing, specifying any matter of

dispute, which it is found necessary to have settled or cleared up.

SAGITTAL, belonging to an arrow.

SAGITTARIUS, _or_ SAGITTARY. See ARCHER, BOWMAN.

SAGO, _Ind._ A tree of the palm species. A flour is made from this

tree, which formed into bread and fresh baked, eats like hot rolls;

when it grows stale it becomes hard, and requires to be soaked in water

before it can be used. Three of the trees are found sufficient to

give sustenance for one man during a whole year; and an acre properly

planted, will supply food for one hundred for that period.

SAGUM. A woollen garment, which was formerly worn by the Roman soldiers

when they took the field. It is said that the Gauls adopted the use of

it.

SAH, _Ind._ A banker.

SAHEB, _Ind._ (pronounced _Saib_.) Master, sir.

SAHOOKER, _Ind._ A merchant.

SAIGNEE _du fossé_, _Fr._ The act of drawing off the water which is in

the ditch or fosse of a town or fortified place. When this has been

executed, clays or hurdles covered with earth, or bridges made with

reeds, must be thrown upon the mud, to establish a firm footing.

SAIGNEE _de saucisson_, _Fr._ The act of cutting off a part of a

linen saucisson, which is filled with gunpowder, for the purpose of

introducing the moine or cylindrical tube, in order to set fire to a

mine.

SAIGNER _une piéce_, _Fr._ An expression used in artillery when a piece

of ordnance, which is mounted on a carriage, has its breech carried

away by the violence of the explosion. This sometimes happens when the

discharge is made directly downwards, or from top to bottom.

SAIGNER _une Riviére_, _Fr._ To turn the current of a river, by

partially drawing off some of its water.

SAILLANT, _Fr._ Salient. See SALIENT ANGLE. This word, as well as

_Saillie_, signifies generally any part of a building that does not run

up perpendicularly from its base, but projects or slopes out.

_St._ GEORGE’s _Guard_, a guard of the broadsword or sabre, used in

warding off blows directed against the head. See BROADSWORD.

_La_ SAINTE _barbe_, _Fr._ The gunner’s room.

SAKER, an old word for _cannon_. It carried a shot of five pounds and a

quarter weight: the diameter of the bore was three inches and ⁹⁄₁₆ths;

the length eight or nine feet. See CANNON.

SALADE, _Fr._ This word literally means sallad. It likewise signifies a

head piece. The French use it frequently in a figurative sense, viz.

_Donner une_ SALADE _à quelqu’un_, _Fr._ To give any one a good

dressing.

_Régiment de_ SALADE, _Fr._ A term of ridicule which the French

frequently applied to small new-raised corps; such as independent

companies which were levied for rank only.

SALE. State of being venal; price.

SALE _of Commissions_. The sale and purchase of commissions is of

general usage in the British service. Commissions in the British army

are sold for various purposes; sometimes to indemnify individuals for

their original purchase; sometimes, as was shewn in 1809, as the fund

for paying princely prostitutes.

SALIENT _angle_, in _fortification_, that whose points turn from the

centre of the place. See FORTIFICATION.

SALLE _d’armes_, _Fr._ A fencing school.

SALLE _d’armes dans un magazin_, _Fr._ An armory or particular room

where fire-arms, &c. are regularly disposed. Of this description is the

armory in the Tower.

SALLESEE, _Ind._ Arbitration.

SALLIS, _Ind._ An arbitrator.

SALLY. See SIEGE.

SALLY-_ports_, or _postern-gates_, as they are sometimes called, are

those underground passages, which lead from the inner to the outward

works; such as from the higher flank to the lower, to the tenailles,

or the communication from the middle of the curtain to the ravelin.

When they are constructed for the passage of men only, they are made

with steps at the entrance and outlet. They are about six feet wide,

and 8¹⁄₂ feet high. There is also a gutter or sewer made under the

_sally-ports_ that are in the middle of the curtains, in order that the

water which runs down the streets may pass into the ditch; but this can

only be done when they are wet ditches. When _sally-ports_ serve to

carry guns through them for the out-works, instead of making them with

steps, they must have a gradual slope, and be eight feet wide.

SALA-MA-NAZEER, _Ind._ The salutation of victory.

SALOOTER, _Ind._ A farrier.

SALOOTEREE, _Ind._ The business of a farrier.

SALTING-_boxes_, in _artillery_, are boxes of about four inches high,

and 2¹⁄₂ in diameter, for holding mealed powder, to sprinkle the fuzes

of shells, that they may take fire from the blast of the powder in the

chamber; but it has been found that the fuze takes fire as well without

this operation, so that these _boxes_ are now laid aside.

SALTPETRE, _Fr._ See NITRE.

SALTPETRE, or nitre, the principal ingredient for making gunpowder; it

is found in great plenty in some of the East-India provinces, and in

some parts of Europe. The necessities of the French revolution, when

attacked by all Europe, forced the French to have recourse to their

chemists, to supply nitre which could not be obtained from abroad;

they scraped the walls and floors of their cellars and vaults, and out

of the washed earth extracted nitre; they also extracted nitre from

vegetable substances, such as the horse chesnut. In some natural caves

discovered in _Kentucky_, vast quantities, sufficient for every demand

of war and commerce can be procured. See GUNPOWDER, NITRE, &c.

SALPETRIERE, _Fr._ A particular spot in an arsenal where there are

pits, &c. for the purpose of making saltpetre.

SALPETRIERS, _Fr._ Men employed in making saltpetre.

SALVE, _Fr._ A salute, a volley. It generally means a discharge of

heavy ordnance and other firearms in concert.

SALUER _de la mousqueterie_, _Fr._ To fire a volley, or discharge of

musquetry only.

SALUER _du canon_, _Fr._ To salute by the discharge of ordnance.

SALUER _de la voix_, _Fr._ To huzza. To cry out, as _vive le roi!_

God save the king! _vive la république!_ long live the republic! This

manner of saluting generally appertains to the mob of a country, which

lavishes its applause upon every man that happens to be in power. It

has, however, been customary, both in Rome, Greece, France, and other

countries, for whole battalions of soldiers to salute _à vive voix_; in

which case they generally take off their hats, and give three huzzas.

SALUER _du pavillon_, _Fr._ To salute with the colors.

SALUER _à boulet_, _Fr._ To salute with ball.

SALUT, _Fr._ The salute.

SALUT _du sponton_, _Fr._ The spontoon salute.

SALUT _de l’épée_, _Fr._ The sword salute.

SALUT _de mer_, _Fr._ The deference and respect which are shewn at sea

by ships of inferior force to those of superior rate. This is done

by lowering the flag. The British flag claims to be paramount to all

others, and requires to be saluted by foreign ships at sea. This salute

has been made the subject of clauses in treaties.

SALUTE, a discharge of artillery, or small arms, or both, in honor

of some person; the men presenting their arms. The colors salute

chief magistrates, and generals commanding in chief; which is done by

lowering the point within one inch of the ground. In the field, when

a regiment is to be reviewed by a general, the drums beat a march as

he passes along the line, and the officers salute one after another,

pointing their swords downwards. The ensigns salute together, by

lowering their colors. When the word of command _to shoulder_, is

given, the officers recover their swords, and the ensigns raise the

colors.

SAMBUCUS, (_Sambuque_, _Fr._) An ancient musical instrument of the wind

kind, resembling a flute. It probably derives its name from Sambucus,

the Elder tree; being made of that wood.

SAMBUCUS was also the name of an ancient engine of war used by

Marcellus in besieging Syracuse. Plutarch relates that two ships were

required to carry it. A minute description of this engine may be seen

in Polybius.

SAMPODAR, _Ind._ A treasurer or cashkeeper.

SAND, _in military architecture_. The best sand for good mortar, is

that whose grain is not too small, and must be clear of the earthy

particles. Sand found in rivers is esteemed the best, as having a

coarse grain, and being free from earth and mud. See MORTAR.

SAND _bags_. See BAGS.

SAND BAGS are made about 27 inches long, and 15 diameter; 250 of these

are required for each fathom of battery, or about 1680 for two guns or

mortars. See TONNAGE.

SANGIAC. A situation or appointment of dignity in Turkey. The Sangiacs

are governors of towns or cantons, and take rank immediately after the

_Beglerbeys_, who are viceroys in that country, and give the name of

_Beglerbat_ or _Beglerbey_ to a militia which they support at their own

expence.

SANS-_Culotte_, _Fr._ A revolutionary term which was first given by

the French to the national guards; it was an unfortunate effusion of

contempt expressed by the queen as the militia passed along; it soon

became known, and was calculated to increase popular antipathy against

her. It means, literally, a man without breeches.

SAP, (_Sappe_, _Fr._) in _sieges_, is a trench, or an approach made

under cover, ten or twelve feet broad, when the besiegers come near

the place, and the fire from the garrison grows so dangerous, that they

are not able to approach uncovered.

There are several sorts of _saps_: the single, which has only a single

parapet; the double, having one on each side; and the flying, made with

gabions, &c. In all _saps_, traverses are left to cover the men.

The sap generally commences about the second parallel, and sometimes

sooner; and if the fire of the besieged is much slackened, may proceed

both day and night. The sappers are usually divided into brigades of

8, and sub-divided into divisions of 4 each; being the greatest number

that can work at the sap at the same time. The leading sapper excavates

18 inches deep, and as much wide; the second, third, and fourth deepen

the trench, each in succession 6 inches, and widen it as much; so that

the four make a trench of 3 feet wide and three feet deep; after which

the common workmen follow, and increase it in breadth and depth equal

to the other trenches. The sap may proceed at the rate of 80 fathoms

in 14 hours. As this work is very hard, the half brigades relieve each

other every hour, and each sapper in his turn takes the lead. The whole

brigade is relieved at the end of 6 hours. It is always customary in

this dangerous work, to give the pay of those that are killed to the

survivors. Sappers are generally armed with a helmet and breast plate.

See TRENCHES, PARALLELS.

SAPPERS, (_Sappeurs_, _Fr._) are soldiers belonging to the artificers

or engineers, whose business it is to work at the saps, and for which

they have an extraordinary pay. A brigade of _sappers_ generally

consists of eight men, divided equally into two parties. Whilst one

of these parties is advancing the sap, the other is furnishing the

gabions, fascines, and other necessary implements; they relieve each

other alternately.

SARISSA, the Pike.

SAROT, _Fr._ A sort of frock which was worn by the drivers of mules,

and other persons employed in the French armies.

SARRAZINE, _Fr._ See HERSE.

SARDAR, _Ind._ A chief, a leader.

SARAT. The breaking up or ending of the rains, is so called in India.

SASCE, _Ind._ The moon.

SASH. A mark of distinction, generally made of crimson silk for the

officers, and of crimson mixed with white cotton for the serjeants.

It is worn round the waist. Sashes are erroneously said to have been

invented for the convenience and ease of wounded officers, in case any

of them were so badly wounded, as to render them incapable of remaining

at their posts, they might be carried off with the assistance of two

men; but though they may have been so used, they are only an ancient

remnant of military ornament, and correspond with the _kummerbaund_,

worn by all Asiatics even to this day; they are of considerable use to

the soldier during fatigues or marches; and the “girding up the loins,”

as noted in scripture, would be found now not an unwise practice for

the soldier in action. The American cavalry tie the sash on the left;

the infantry on the right side. The sashes for the Austrian army are

of crimson and gold; the Prussian army, black silk and silver; the

Hanoverian were yellow silk; the Portugueze, crimson silk, with blue

tassels. The modern French have their sashes made of three colors, viz.

white, pink, and light blue, to correspond with the national flag.

SATELLITE, (_Satellite_, _Fr._) A person who attends on another, either

for his safety, or to be ready to execute his pleasure.

SATELLITES, _Fr._ Certain armed men, of whom mention is made in the

history of Philip Augustus, king of France. The word satellite itself,

which we frequently find in ancient historians, signifies a guard or

attendant about the person of a prince. It is derived from the Latin

word _satelles_, which comes from the Syriac term for a companion. The

Satellites of Philip Augustus were men selected from the militia of the

country, who fought on foot and horseback. The servants or batmen who

attended the military knights when they went into action, were likewise

called _satellites_, and fought in their defence mounted or on foot.

SATISFACTION. When an officer or other person goes out to fight a duel

with one whom he has offended, or by whom he has been offended, he is

said to _give_ or _take_ satisfaction!

SAUCISSE, SAUCISSON, in _mining_, is a long pipe or bag, made of cloth

well pitched, or sometimes of leather, of about 1¹⁄₂ inch diameter,

filled with powder, going from the chamber of the mine to the entrance

of the gallery. It is generally placed in a wooden pipe, called an

_auget_, to prevent its growing damp. It serves to give fire to mines,

caissons, bomb chests, &c.

SAUCISSON, is likewise a kind of fascine, longer than the common ones;

it serves to raise batteries, and to repair breaches. Saucissons are

also used in making epaulements, in stopping passages, and in making

traverses over a wet ditch, &c.

SAUCISSON _de brulot_, _Fr._ A machine made use of to set fire to the

different compartments in a fire-ship.

SAUCISSONS _d’artifice_, _Fr._ Saucissons used in artificial fireworks.

SAUCISSONS _volans_, _Fr._ Flying saucissons; a species of sky-rocket.

SAUF-_conduit_. A pass.

SAUT, _Ind._ An hour.

SAUT, _Fr._ This word is used in hydraulics to signify a considerable

fall of water, such as the falls of Niagara, &c.

SAUTER, _Fr._ To leap.

SAUTER _a l’arbordage_, _Fr._ To leap upon the deck, or on any part of

an enemy’s ship, for the purpose of boarding her.

SAUTER _en selle_, _Fr._ To get on horseback. To jump upon your saddle.

SAUVE-_garde_, _Fr._ Safe-guard. Protection.

_Accorder des_ SAUVE-_gardes_, _Fr._ To grant protections.

_Envoyer une garde en_ SAUVE-_garde_, _Fr._ To send out a party for the

purpose of escorting persons, or of protecting any particular quarter.

SAUVE _qui peut!_ _Fr._ Let those escape that can. This expression

is familiar to the French, it was employed in an early part of the

revolution, by the royalists to produce panic in the ranks of the

revolutionary army; and was used with success particularly in the corps

under gen. Dillon in Flanders.

SAVAN, _Ind._ The name of an Indian month, which corresponds with July.

SAW. A dentated steel instrument with which wood or metal is cut by

attrition. Each pioneer is provided with one.

SAYON, _Fr._ A kind of coarse habit in which soldiers were formerly

clothed among the French.

SCABBARD, (_Fourreau_, _Fr._) A case commonly made of black leather,

with a ferrel at the end, in which a sword, sabre, &c. may be sheathed.

_Bayonet_ SCABBARD. A leathern sheath made in a triangular form to

correspond with the shape of the bayonet.

SCABBARD-_button_. A brass button or hook by which the scabbard is

attached to the frog of the belt.

The word _scabbard_ has been sometimes used in a figurative sense to

distinguish those persons who have obtained rank and promotion in the

army without seeing much hard service, from those who have fought their

way through all the obstacles of superior interest, &c. Hence the

favourite expression of the late sir William Erskine--_Some rise by

the scabbard, and some by the sword!_ Which means _more_ than we are

at liberty to illustrate, but which may be easily applied to _cases in

point_.

SCALADE, from the French _Escalade_, a furious attack upon a wall or

rampart, contrary to form, and with no regularity, frequently carried

on with ladders, to insult the wall by open force.

SCALE, a right line divided into equal parts, representing miles,

fathoms, paces, feet, inches, &c. used in making plans upon paper;

giving each line its true length, &c. See also BALANCE, ESCALADE, &c.

SCALENE, _Fr._ A term used in geometry to express a triangle whose

three sides and three angles are unequal to one another.

SCALING-_ladder_. See LADDERS.

SCALLOP, any segment of a circle.

_To_ SCALP. To deprive the scull of its integuments. A barbarous custom

in practice amongst the Indian warriors, of taking off the tops of

the scalps of the enemies sculls with their hair on. They preserve

them as trophies of their victories, and are rewarded by their chiefs,

according to the number they bring in.

_To_ SCAMPER, (_Escamper_, _Fr._) To run away precipitately.

SCARF, See SASH.

SCARLET, the national color for the dress of the British. The British

artillery, cavalry, and some of the light infantry, are clothed in

blue; rifle corps in green; and the cavalry for foreign service in

light blue. See UNIFORM.

SCARPE. See ESCARPE.

SCENOGRAPHY, (_Scenographe_, _Fr._) The representation of a building,

town, &c. as it appears in prospective or from without, with all its

dimensions and shadows.

SCHEDULE, an inventory, a list; also something referred to by numbers

or letters; as the oaths of the recruit and magistrate, marked A and B

at the end of the mutiny act.

SCHOOL, (_école_, _Fr._) A house of discipline and instruction; a

place of literary education; an university. It is a more general and

comprehensive term than college or academy. The French have made

a great distinction on this head with respect to their military

institutions. Thus the great receptacle for military genius was called

_L’école Militaire de Paris_; the military school of Paris; whereas

the subordinate places of instructions and the preparatory houses,

were termed colleges, viz. colleges de Soreze, Brienne, Tivon, Rebais,

Beaumont, Pont-le-roy, Vendome, Effiat, Pont-a-Mousson, Tournon.

_British Royal Military School or College._

A new institution under the direction of the commander in chief, for

the time being.

This establishment consists of two departments:--

The first, or senior department, is calculated to instruct officers,

who have already acquired a sufficient knowlege of regimental duties,

&c. in the higher branches of their profession. Their attention

is particularly directed to those functions which relate to the

quarter-master-general’s department in the field.

The second, or junior department, is meant for the education of young

men, who have not yet received any commissions in the army, but who are

intended from early life for the profession of arms.

The following particulars constitute the general outline of this

praise-worthy institution:--

The commander in chief for the time being is always to be considered

as the chief governor of the establishment. He is president of the

supreme board of the college; the members of which are the secretary

at war, and such general and staff officers as the king may, from time

to time, nominate. It is their peculiar province to see, that the

regulations of the institution be duly observed, and unequivocally

fulfilled, and that the whole be conducted with economy and credit to

the country.

There is constantly resident in the college a governor and a

lieutenant-governor, who must both be military officers. The former

not under the rank of major-general, and the latter not under that of

lieutenant-colonel in the line. These are the immediate functionaries

of the place, and to them is intrusted the entire direction of the

establishment; subject only to the instructions and orders that may

occasionally be issued from the supreme board of the college.

At the head of each department are placed a commandant and a director

of instruction. These must likewise be military men, and bear the

king’s commission. They are at all times accountable for their

respective departments, being under the immediate control of the

governor and lieutenant-governor of the college.

The commandants of departments, in conjunction with the directors of

instruction, form a collegiate board, at which the resident governor,

or, in his absence, the lieutenant-governor constantly presides.

Public examinations are made, at stated periods, by this board, in

order to ascertain the progress of learning, and the degrees of

improvement. The president and members of it likewise enter into

the interior economy of the place, control the expenditure of the

establishment, and maintain the statutes of the college; subject

nevertheless to the control and occasional direction of the supreme

board, to which the collegiate one is in every respect subordinate.

The staff and other officers of each department are under the immediate

orders of their respective commandants, who are enjoined to conduct

their departments in strict conformity to the existing rules and

discipline.

The establishment is founded upon principles of the strictest economy;

and the expence of being at the institution, with all the advantages of

theoretical instruction and practical improvement, does not exceed the

necessary charges and disbursements to which every officer is subject

when he lives with his regiment.

It is a standing order of the institution, that officers must

constantly appear in uniform; and they must in all respects conform to

the rules and regulations.

Leave of absence is granted, during the months of December and January,

to officers studying in the senior department of the college; but at

no other season of the year, except for a few days, and then only under

circumstances and in cases of urgent necessity.

_Senior department._

The number of officers which can be admitted, at a time, to the studies

of the senior department, is limited to 30; and it is required, as

indispensibly necessary, that they should be perfectly conversant in

all the details of regimental duty.

They must likewise have made themselves masters of the French language,

be versed in mathematics, and in the science of field fortification

and castrametation; and be well instructed in the drawing of military

plans, &c.

Every thing which relates to the different branches belonging to the

senior department, is conveyed in French, in order that officers may

be enabled to improve the knowlege they acquire at the establishment,

by reading with facility, the military writers that are most in

estimation. The majority of such authors being found among the French,

that language is, of course, most cultivated; by which means the first

object of acquirement will not only be obtained, but will ensure to the

general staff of the army a disposable body of intelligent officers,

that are conversant in a continental tongue.

The instruction is not elementary or given upon first principles only.

The attention of the officers is directed to higher branches, and the

lessons they receive are exemplified by practice in the field; by

taking ground, &c.

The particular and more immediate duties, appertaining to the general

staff, to which the faculties of the mind are principally applied,

consist in taking (_à coup d’œil_, or at sight) military surveys of

ground without any mechanical process, or aid of instruments; and to

express the same on paper with the most accurate perspicuity.

It is, therefore, necessary that the officers of the senior department

should be able to judge of the advantages and disadvantages of ground

relative to offensive and defensive operations; to employ geometrical

and trigonometrical operations on the ground; to chuse the scite or

position of entrenchments and batteries, by which every part of a

camp may be defended, and its leading avenues, &c. put _à l’abri de

surprises_. They must likewise be masters of a theory which may be

adapted to every case in which field fortification can be employed: to

trace camps on the ground, and to prick out the lines of entrenchments,

&c. with dispatch and accuracy, in conformity to the strict rules

of castrametation: to be thoroughly conversant in the theory of

camp out-duties, and of the grand guards of armies: to know how to

reconnoitre ground for a given number of columns moving in route of

march, and to place or distribute the same with attention to the

conveniences of forage and water, and to the security of the magazines.

To reconnoitre the route of a column in _advancing_, to estimate the

labor of opening the several communications, to calculate the number

of artificers that are requisite, and the time that is necessary to

clear the route for the march of a column, and to detail the same in an

accurate manner upon paper.

To reconnoitre the route of a column in _retreat_, specifying, in a

clear and succinct manner upon paper, the several points in retreat

that are favorable to each arm composing the rear guard, when they may

halt, and act as covering parties to the retreating column.

To reconnoitre and take up ground for a given number of troops on a

_defensive_ position, and to place the same; to establish a chain of

posts, to construct batteries, throw up abbatis, and other means of

defence, adapted to the particular circumstances of the ground made

choice of for the position.

To reconnoitre the ground upon which any given number of troops might

be encamped under circumstances of aggression. In taking this position

for the purpose of acting _offensively_, particular attention must be

paid to the future movements of the army, by providing the readiest

means of directing and supporting its operations.

Marches and movements constitute so essential a branch in military

tactics, that on them almost wholly depends the issue of a campaign. It

is consequently expected, that every officer belonging to the senior

department, should be able to calculate the march of a column under

all the various and desultory circumstances which are attendant on

the movements of troops. He must accurately ascertain the ground, the

defiles, the width of roads, &c. the length of the several columns. The

hours occupied in marching, defiling, passing obstacles, &c. must come

within this calculation.

It must be remarked, that this is a route of march which has in view

only to convey a body of troops from one position to another, without

being connected with military operations relative to the enemy.

To calculate the march of several columns with respect to each other.

To reconnoitre routes for the march of several columns _in advancing_;

to form the columns of march so as to correspond with the field of

battle which they are to occupy, and to point out the routes by which

they are severally to arrive. The remark which we have already made

applies to this part likewise.

To regulate an order of march, and to ascertain the arrival of several

columns on the field, with regard to the appropriate manner of

deploying, and their relative dispositions, whether with a view to

their encamping, or to forming in order of battle.

To reconnoitre routes for the march of several columns in _retreat_,

for the purpose of forming columns of march according to the

circumstances of the retreat, and in conformity to the ground to which

they retire.