A military dictionary (part 3 of 8)

A military dictionary (part 3 of 8)

In general, the softer or rougher the bodies, the less or greater their friction.

2. As to particular cases: a cubic piece of soft wood of 8 pounds weight, moving upon a smooth plane of soft wood, at the rate of 3 feet per second; its friction is about ¹⁄₃d of the weight of it; but if it be rough, the friction is little less than one half the weight.

Upon the same supposition, other soft wood upon soft wood very smooth, the friction is bout ¹⁄₄th of the weight.

Soft wood upon hard, or hard wood upon soft, ¹⁄₅th or 1-half of the weight. Hard wood upon hard wood, ¹⁄₇th or ¹⁄₈th of the weight.

Polished steel moving upon steel or pewter, ¹⁄₄th of the weight; moving on copper or lead, ¹⁄₅th of the weight; on brass, ¹⁄₅th of the weight. Metals of the same sort have more friction than different sorts.

The friction, cæteris paribus, increases with the weight almost in the same proportion. The friction is also greater with a greater velocity, but not in proportion to it, except in very few cases. A greater surface also causes somewhat more friction, with the same weight and velocity; yet friction may sometimes be increased by having too little surface to move on; as upon clay, &c. where the body sinks.

3. The friction arising from the bending of ropes about machines, differs according to their stiffness, the temper of the weather, degree of flexibility, &c., but, cæteris paribus, the force or difficulty of bending a rope is as the square of the diameter of the rope, and its tension, directly; and the diameter of the cylinder or pulley it goes about, reciprocally.

A rope of 1 inch diameter, whose tension or weight drawing it is 5 pounds, going over a pully 3 inches diameter, requires a force of 1 pound to bend it.

4. The resistance of a plane moving through a fluid is as the square of the velocity; and putting v = velocity in feet in a second; it is equal to the weight of a column of the fluid, whose base is the plane, and height

vv ----. _b_4

And in a globe it is but half so much.

5. As to the mechanic powers, the single lever makes no resistance by friction; but if, by the motion of the lever in lifting the fulcrum, or place of support, be changed further from the weight, the power will be decreased thereby.

6. In any wheel of any machine, running upon an axis, the friction on the axis is as the weight upon it, the diameter of the axis, and the angular velocity. This sort of friction is but small.

7. In the pully, if p, q, be 2 weights, and q the greater; and

4_pq_ w = -----, pxq

then w is the weight upon the axis of the single pulley; and it is not increased by the acceleration of the weight q, but remains always the same.

The friction of the pullies is very considerable, when the sheaves rub against the blocks; and by the wearing of the holes and axles.

The friction of the axis of the pulley is as the weight w, its angular velocity, the diameter of the axis directly, and the diameter of the pully inversely. A power of 100 pounds, with the addition of 50 pounds, will only draw up 500 with a tackle of 5; and 15 pounds over a single pully will draw up only 14 pounds.

8. In the screw, there is a great deal of friction: those with sharp threads have more friction than those with square threads; and endless screws have more than either. Screws, with a square thread, raise a weight with more ease than those with a sharp thread.

In the common screw the friction is so great, that it will sustain the weight in any position given, when the power is taken off; and therefore the friction is at least equal to the power. From whence it will follow, that in the screw, the power must be to the weight or resistance, at least as twice the perpendicular height of a thread to the circumference described by one revolution of the power; if it be able to raise the weight, or only sustain it. This friction of the screw is of great use, as it serves to keep the weight in any given position.

9. In the wedge, the friction is at least equal to the power, as it retains any position it is driven into; therefore in the wedge, the power must be to the weight at least as twice the base to the height, to overcome any resistance.

10. To find the friction of any engine, begin at the power, and consider the velocity and the weight at the first rubbing part; and estimate its quantity of friction by some of the foregoing articles; then proceed to the next rubbing part, and do the same for it, and so on through the whole.

And note that something more is to be allowed for increase of friction by every new addition to the power.

FRILL. An ornamental appendage to the shirt which officers and soldiers generally wear with regimentals. A small aperture is usually made at the top to admit the hook and eye of the uniform coat. Detached frills for the privates are certainly preferable to those which are fixed to the shirts, as three per week, at the regular times allotted for a change of linen, would answer every purpose of cleanliness.

FRISE. Fr. See CHEVAUX de Frize.

FRISRUTTER. An instrument made of iron, and used for the purpose of blocking up an haven, or a river. The following description of it is among General Monk’s observations on political and military affairs.

The beams through which the upright bars pass must be twelve feet in length, and the upright bars that go through the beam must be of that length, so that when one of these iron frisrutters is let down into an haven or river, the perpendicular bars of this iron instrument shall be deep enough to reach at high water within five feet of the surface. See CHEVAUX-DE-FRIZE.

FROCK, the undress regimental coat is very often so called.

FRONDE, Fr. a sling. This weapon was used in France by the Huguenots at Sancerre, as late as the year 1572, in order to save their powder. There are two sorts, one which is used in throwing a stone from the arm, and the other that was fixed to a lever, and was so contrived, that a large quantity of stones might be thrown out of a machine, either from a camp into a besieged town, or from a town into the enemy’s camp. This machine has been used since the invention of cannon.

The fronde or sling was used by the Romans on three different occasions, viz. when they sent their light-armed men, called velites, forward to skirmish before a general engagement; when they wished to drive the enemy from under the walls of a town which they were preparing to storm, and finally to harrass and wound the men in the enemy’s works. This weapon, in fact, together with the bow and arrow, may be numbered among the primitive arms of mankind.

FRONT, a word of command signifying, that the men are to turn to their proper front; this movement is performed at once by revolving on the left heel, without first planting the right foot, as in the facings. If the battalion has been faced to the right, the men turn on this word a quarter circle to the left; if faced to the left, they turn a quarter circle to the right, if they have been faced to the right, or left about, they turn a half circle to the right. When the battalion is marching by files, or is put through its right or left facings, as, To the Right, Face, To the Left, Face, the word front is some times used to restore it to its natural situation in line. In displaying, or, to use the French term, in deploying, from close or open column, or in executing either of those movements from line, the word front precedes halt.

FRONT of a regiment, the foremost rank of a battalion, squadron, or any other body of men. To front every way, is when the men are faced to all sides.

Quatre hommes de front, four men in front.

FRONT of a fortification. See FACE.

Front d’un bataillon, Fr. The front of a battalion, consisting of the leading man of each file. This term is variously used in the French service, as Un battalion qui fait front de tous côtés, et presente les armes par tout. A battalion which is fronted towards every quarter and presents arms in every direction. Un battalion est sur son front signifies, that a battalion is drawn up so that it presents its natural front in line.

FRONT give-point, a movement of the sword used by the cavalry. See SWORD EXERCISE.

Rear-FRONT is the disposition of a body of men in line, or column, so that the natural formation of the battalion is changed with regard to aspect, but not to shape. Those files, which in the first telling off were leaders, become followers. It sometimes happens, that to save time a column is ordered suddenly to face about and retire; in this case the different companies march rear front. In the conversion of a regiment, and during the various manœvres, the divisions, &c. frequently appear rear front. They are restored to their natural order by the countermarch. Thus a battalion standing in open column, the right in front, when faced about stands rear front; when countermarched it resumes its original or natural formation, and stands left in front with its proper leading files. When a battalion retiring in line, fires by wings or alternate companies, every retrograde movement is made rear front.

FRONTIER, the limits, confines, or boundaries of any country. See BARRIER Towns.

FUEL, the matter or aliment of fire; any thing capable of ignition.

There is a certain and regulated allowance of fuel made by government, to regiments and companies.

When there is a sufficient number of rooms in a barrack to allow of one to a subaltern of infantry, a full allowance of fuel and candles may be issued for the same.

The weekly deliveries of fuel and candles for every room are not to exceed the given quantities.

FUGEL-MAN, (an incorrect method of pronouncing flugel-man) a well drilled intelligent soldier advanced in front of the line, to give the time in the manual and platoon exercises. The word flugel is derived from the German, and signifies a wing; the man having been originally posted on the right wing.

FUGITIVE, one who runs from his post, station or duty.

To FUMIGATE, in a general acceptation of the term, to medicate or heal by vapours; to correct any infected building, or limited circumference of atmosphere, by smoke, impregnated with antiputrescent particles of heat. Hospitals are strictly ordered to be attended to on this head; especially when any contagious disorder has prevailed. But in no instance ought this important precaution to be so scrupulously observed as when troops are embarked for any space of time.

FUMIGATION, the act of fumigating or conveying smoke into any confined place.

The frequent fumigation of every ship on which troops, or prisoners of war are embarked, is deemed highly material, in order to prevent mischief from confined air. The materials for fumigation may be brimstone with saw-dust; or the brimstone may be thrown over hot coals. Nitre, to which a little vitriolic acid is added; or common salt, with the same addition of vitriolic acid. Gun-powder wetted, or the heated loggerhead in the pitch pot.

This operation should always be performed under the immediate eye of the medical officer on board, to prevent improper quantities of the articles being used.

FUND. See STOCK PURSE.

FUNERALS. See BURIALS.

FUNNEL, any pipe or passage of communication from one place to another.

To FURL, in regard to military flags or colors, is opposed to their exposure; and is used, to express the act of folding them so as to be cased.

FURLOUGH, a leave of absence. Every non-commissioned officer and soldier who obtains leave of absence from his regiment must be provided with a proper voucher to satisfy the commanding officer of any place or party, that he has the sanction of his superiors to pass and repass within a given period.

The following is an eligible form:

According to the authority vested in me by law, I -------- lieutenant colonel -------- commanding the -------- quartered at -------- do issue the following.

“Permit the bearer ---- private -------- in the above regiment and in captain -------- -------- to pass to -------- in the state of -------- county of -------- for the space of -------- ending the -------- of -------- and then to return to -------- as no excuse will be taken but that of sickness, for his over-staying his furlough; and that to be certified by an officer of the army, or civil magistrate; he behaving as becometh. He is ---- feet ---- inches high, ---- years of age, -------- complexion, ---- hair, -------- eyes, &c.”

All soldiers found half a mile from a camp or garrison, going towards an enemy’s country, or quarters, without a pass, are deemed and treated as deserters.

FURNACE. In a general acceptation of the term, any vessel or utensil for maintaining a strong and searching fire, either of coal or wood.

FURNACE is sometimes applied, but improperly so, to that used in the melting of iron, and by some authors it is confounded with iron forges; although there is a considerable difference between them. See FOUNDRY.

FURNACE in mining, signifies a hollow, or excavation which is made in the earth and is charged with gun-powder, for the purpose of blowing up a rock, wall, or any part of a fortification.

Mine FURNACES must be made under that part of the glacis belonging to the covert way, which faces the quarter from whence the besiegers will make their principal attacks, the instant they can be ascertained by the opening of the trenches. Several small ones must likewise be sunk under the glacis of the outworks, in order to blow up the lodgments which the enemy may have made when he has carried the advanced posts. Mine furnaces are moreover extremely useful in the defence of the covert way, especially to overthrow the saps and lodgments, together with the batteries that may have been erected by the besieging enemy. For a scientific explanation of this article, see Foissac’s last edition of Traité de la défense des places par le Maréchal Vauban, tom. ii. pages 202, 224, 240.

FURNITURE. In a general sense means all sorts of moveables made use of for the comfort, or decoration of a house. In a military sense it applies to certain articles which are allowed in barracks, to which are added household utensils, according to the number of rooms.

By the British regulations, commissioned and warrant officers’ rooms of cavalry and infantry are to have a closet, 1 table, 2 chairs, a coal box, coal tray, bellows, fire irons and fender.

Non-commissioned officers and private mens’ rooms of cavalry and infantry are to be furnished with bedsteads, mattrasses, or paillasses, bolsters, blankets, sheets, rugs, round towel, closet or shelves, 1 table, rack for arms, set of fire-irons, a fender and three forms.

The following utensils are also allowed for each room: 2 iron pots with wooden lids, 2 pair of iron pot hooks, 2 iron trivets, 2 wooden ladles; an iron flesh-fork, and a frying-pan, 2 large bowls or platters; 8 small bowls or porringers, 8 trenchers and 8 spoons for cavalry rooms; 12 of each of the three last articles for infantry rooms; a water bucket, coal-tray, candlestick, tin can for beer, large earthen pan for meat, box or basket for carrying coals; 2 drinking horns; a wooden urinal, broom and mop.

The guard rooms of cavalry and infantry are furnished with a water bucket, candlestick, tin can for beer, drinking horns; also with fire irons and a coal-tray, from 1st Sept. to 1st May, when they are to be taken into store.

The rooms of the quarter masters and serjeants of cavalry, and the serjeant major, and quarter master serjeant of infantry, to be furnished with the necessary bedding and utensils, in the same manner as is allowed to the soldiers’ rooms.

Each stable of cavalry for 8 horses is provided with 2 pitchforks, 2 shovels, 1 lantern, 1 wheel-barrow, 2 water buckets; and allowed 4 brooms per month.

Horse FURNITURE, ornaments and embellishments which are adopted by military men when they are mounted for service or parade, consisting chiefly of housins, saddle cloth, &c. The following are the usual distinctions in the British service:

Field Marshal, } General, }Saddle cloth or covering leopard skin trimmed Lieutenant General, }with black bear skin. Major General, } Brigadier General, }

Colonel of Infantry, } Lt. Colonel of ditto,}White furniture. Major of ditto, }

Aid de Camp, }White do. trimmed with black. Brigade Major, }

Cavalry--cloth trimmed with silver, or gold. Privates in cavalry regiments--large saddle cloths, the centre of which is yellow, with a border to agree with the facings of the regiment. The tenth regiment of light dragoons is an exception to this general custom. The privates of that corps have a large piece of broad blue cloth which is thrown over the saddle, and covers the horse’s loins.

At the commencement of the present war, officers were dispensed from wearing furnitures at reviews, because it was judged very properly that the expence of 14 or 15 guineas for an article which was worn one day in the year, was at such a moment unnecessary.

FUSES, in artillery, are chiefly made of very dry beach wood, and sometimes of horn-beam taken near the root. They are turned rough and bored at first, and then kept for several years in a dry place. The diameter of the hole is about ¹⁄₄th of an inch; the hole does not go quite through, having about ¹⁄₄ of an inch at the bottom; and the head is made hollow in the form of a bowl.

The composition for fuses is, salt petre 3, sulphur 1, and mealed powder 3, 4, and sometimes 5. This composition is driven in with an iron driver, whose ends are capped with copper, to prevent the composition from taking fire; and to keep it equally hard; the last shovel-full being all mealed powder, and 2 strands of quick match laid across each other, being driven in with it, the ends of which are folded up into the hollow top, and a cap of parchment tied over it until it be used.

When these fuses are driven into the loaded shell, the lower end is cut off in a slope, so that the composition may inflame the powder in the shell. The fuze must be of such a length as to continue burning all the time the shell is in its range, and to set fire to the powder as soon as it touches the ground, which occasions the shell instantly to burst into many pieces.

When the distance of the battery from the object is known, the time of the shell’s flight may be computed to a second or two; which being ascertained, the fuse may be cut accordingly, by burning two or three, and making use of a watch, or of a string by way of a pendulum, to vibrate seconds.

FUSEE, according to the French acceptation of the word, is applied to various purposes, and belongs to various instruments of destruction which are used in war. The fusee is differently made by different artificers. Some make it consist of one pound of gunpowder, and two or three ounces of charcoal well mixed together; others of four pounds of gun-powder, two of saltpetre, and one of sulphur. It must be generally remarked, that the time a bomb, or grenade, will take to burst after it has been thrown out of the mortar, must depend entirely upon the length and quality of the fusee.

FUSEES à bombes, Fr. bomb fuses. The intent and object of these fuses, are to communicate fire to the gun-powder, with which the bomb is filled, in order to force it to burst and separate in broken pieces on any given spot. These fuses are usually made in the shape of a wooden pipe or tap, out of the linden tree, the alder, or any other dry and solid wood, and are afterwards filled with a slow combustible composition. The materials are increased, or diminished, according to the nature of their application. Fuses are sometimes made of copper, and they must not have the least aperture or fissure.

There are fuses for bombs of 12, of 10, and of 8 inches diameter. Fuses for bombs of 12 inches diameter, are 8 inches 4 lines long, being 1 inch 8 lines broad at the thick, and 1 inch 2 lines broad at the thin end; the breadth or diameter of the light, or aperture, is 5 lines. Fuses decrease nearly 1 inch in length and 2 lines in diameter, according to the calibre of the bomb. The diameters of the lights or apertures, only diminish one half line.

The composition for bomb fuses consists of seven parts of priming powder to four of salt-petre, and three of sulphur. These different materials are (each separately) first passed through a silk sieve; and after they have been well mixed together, the whole mass is thrown into a moderate sized hair sieve, and again passed through.

The fuse is gradually filled with this composition, each proportion being well pressed in, without violence. Iron ramrods, fitted to the bore of the fuse are used for this purpose. Every time the materials are poured in, the ramrod is inserted, and by means of a small mallet, with which it is struck 14 or 15 times, the composition is pressed into a hard consistency.

When fuses have been well loaded, and the materials have previously been properly mixed, they will naturally burn with an equal steady fire, preserving in general an even length of flame, without spitting or irregularly shaking.

In order to preserve fuses for a length of time, the composition, when thoroughly prepared, must be covered with a mastick or cement made of ²⁄₃ds bees-wax and ¹⁄₃d rosin, well mixed together. Bomb fuses prepared in this manner, will burn either in water, or in earth, nearly 70 seconds, without being extinguished.

The usual method of priming fuses, is to grate about one third of a French inch of composition. Two small matches about 5 or 6 inches long, with the ends bent inwards, are then well fixed with pounded composition to the eye of the fuse, by which last operation it is completely filled and closed. This part is finally covered over with cartridge paper that is tied, and remains so till there is occasion to use it. Before the fuse is driven into the bomb, the thin or small end must be cut off, in order that the fire may be easily communicated to the mass of gun-powder, which is lodged in the bomb.

FUSEES à bombes, à feu-mort, bomb fuses with dead light. There is a species of bomb-fuse, which is distinguished by the term feu mort, or dead-light. The difference between these fuses and the ordinary ones consists in this, that the eye instead of being pierced and hollow, is full and of a half spherical shape. In both cases, however, the composition is introduced through the small end.

The composition for fuses, à feu-mort, consists of 16 parts of pounded gunpowder and 9¹⁄₂ parts of ashes. The ashes must be baked over again, and run through a silk sieve. Potter’s earth or clay will produce the same effect as ashes.

In proceeding to charge a bomb-fuse that is made of ordinary wood, the eye, or aperture is first closed with pipe-clay, which is well beaten and pressed against the fuse in a small platter; the thin end of the fuse being held upwards. Three lines (or ³⁄₁₂ths of a French inch) of this earth will be sufficient to stop the communication of any fire. A tube, or trundle, filled with pounded gunpowder for the purpose of setting fire to the composition called feu mort, is thrust into the fuse, by which it is finally charged. If this charge of pounded gunpowder were to be omitted, the fuse might not be susceptible of ignition; but the quantity never ought to exceed 3 lines, as the fuse would split by the explosion.

When the grains of gunpowder have been well pounded, a trundle, or tube filled with the aforementioned composition must be applied, and it is finally loaded like the rest.

It must be recollected, that two inches of this composition will last as long as one of the quality with which common fuses are charged. Before the fuse is driven into the bomb, it must be pierced through with a gimblet of one line diameter, taking care, that the hole is made precisely through the charge of pounded gunpowder. One end of a priming match must be forced in, and three others be tied to it, which three are to fall upon the bomb when it lies in the mortar.

The particular object to be obtained from this sort of fuse, is to prevent the least trace of fire or light being visible in its projection; so that the enemy may remain ignorant of the range, or direction of the bomb, and not be able, of course, to get out of the way when it falls, or to avoid the effects of its explosion.

These fuses were made use of at the siege of Ham in 1761. The experiments which were made in 1792, with this composition, by an artificer belonging to the ordnance-board at Douay, have proved, that it answers every purpose for which it is invented.

The author of the Manual de l’Artilleur, from whose treatise these observations are taken, concludes this article by stating that the advantages to be derived from this invention are not so great as they at first appear.

He remarks that with respect to the real utility of the fuse à feu mort, if it be considered as tending martially to the defence of any besieged place, the argument cannot be very forcible, when we reflect, that to gain time constitutes one of the principal means of defence, and that the only way to obtain it is by regarding the besiegers’ operations. These ends are gained by various expedients. Among others, the common lighted fuse conduces not a little; since during the whole direction of the bomb against the works of the assailants, the attention of the workmen is diverted from their immediate labour, and as long as it continues in its range, much uneasiness is created, because its ultimate explosion and concomitant destruction are unknown.

Add to this, that independent of the confusion which is occasioned among the assailants by repeated projectiles, the bombadier by means of the lighted fuses, is enabled to correct his aim during the darkest night. The same principles must certainly hold good in attacks; and from a conviction of their solid utility in both instances, the common fuses have been hitherto adopted, although the kind in question has been known for several years.

FUSEES à grenades, Fr. fuses for grenades. These fuses are made of the same quality of wood as those adopted for bombs. Their length is 2 inches 6 lines; their diameter at the head is 10 lines; 7 lines in diameter 1 inch from the head, and 2 lines in diameter to the sight or aperture. The composition of these fuses consists of 5 parts of priming gunpowder, 3 parts of sulphur, and 2 of saltpetre: or 3 parts of priming powder, 2 of saltpetre, and one of sulphur.

These fuses must be loaded with the same care and precision as are required in bomb-charges; that is, the thick end of the fuse must be placed downwards, so that it stands upright; the composition must then be introduced by means of a trundle, which the French call lanterne, made for that specific purpose; the composition must, after that, be well pressed in with an iron ramrod fitted to the bore of the fuse, and gradually forced in by gentle taps with a mallet. Great precaution must be observed during this operation, as too much violence might split the fuse. When the fuse has been half filled, a shorter ramrod must be used, with which the charge is completed. In making bomb-fuses great care must be taken to strike equal blows with the mallet until you get to the three last, when the strength of each blow must be increased.

FUSEES d’obus, Fr. howitzer-fuses. These are generally made of the same composition and wood, as serve for bombs, and are loaded in a similar manner. They have the same dimensions when applied to calibres of 8 or 6 inches diameter; that is, they contain 5 inches 4 lines in length; 15 lines diameter at the small end, 3 lines diameter at the thick end; 13 lines diameter 1 inch from the head; the eye, or vent is 10 lines. These fuses do not exceed the vent of an howitzer, so much as bomb fuses do the vent of bombs. They are in fact, shorter.

FUSEES volantes, Fr. sky-rockets. These fuses are made of various dimensions, and serve for signals in times of war. They are sometimes 2 inches and more in diameter. The cartridges with which they are loaded, contain in thickness the sixteenth part, or more of the diameter.

The composition which is used for fuses of this description, consists of 16 parts of saltpetre, 7¹⁄₂ of charcoal, and 4 of sulphur; or of 16 parts of saltpetre, 6 of charcoal, 4 of sulphur, and 2 of priming gunpowder. The materials must be carefully pounded and well mixed together. Hollow rods of various lengths are used to charge these fuses. They must have cavity enough to admit the stick.

Fuses are tied to long sticks, or rods made of very light wood, such as hazel tree which must have been cut some time, and be perfectly dry. They must likewise be straight, and contain from 7 to 8 feet in length; the thick end of the rod, in which 2 notches are made to fix it to the fuse, must be 7 or 8 lines in diameter, and at the small end 3 to 4 lines diameter. When the rod is rather heavy, it takes a more upright direction than when it is light; but it does not acquire so many degrees of elevation.

It must be generally remarked, that as soon as a fuse is fixed to a grenade, which is not intended for immediate use, you must melt some pitch and immerse the head of the fuse, instantly dipping it into cold water, by which precaution the composition will remain unaltered; unless the wood be rotten.

FUSEE, FUSIL, or FUZEE, a light musquet.

FUSILS à l’épée, Fr. fusils with long bayonets, shaped like a cut and thrust sword. These weapons have been proposed by the writer of Melanges Militaires, as being extremely useful in the rear rank of a battalion, or in detached bodies that are stationed for the defence of baggage, &c.

Something similar to this invention has been adopted by the dismounted light horse volunteers in London, who have in addition temporary sword hilts made to fit the sockets of their bayonets.

FUSILS, mousquets, Fr. a sort of fusil which was invented by Marshal Vauban, and which was so contrived, that in case the flint did not strike fire, the powder might be inflamed by means of a small match which was fixed to the breech.

FUSILS à chevalets, a species of fusils upon rests, which is recommended by Marshal Vauban, to be used at the commencement of a siege, about 50 or 100 toises in front of the glacis, at the entrances of narrow passes, &c.

FUSILEERS, are soldiers armed like the infantry, with this difference only, that their musquets are shorter and lighter than those of the battalion and the grenadiers. They wear caps which are somewhat less in point of height, than common grenadier caps. There are three regiments in the English service: the royal regiment of Scotch Fusileers, raised in 1678; the royal regiment of Welch Fusileers, raised in 1685; and the royal regiment of Welch Fusileers, raised in 1688-9.

It is always presumed, that these corps, like the guards, possess an esprit de corps, which is peculiar to themselves.

As the fusileer regiments upon the British establishment are distinguished from other corps by some peculiarities, we shall briefly state what has occurred to us on the subject. In former times the officers of these regiments did not carry spontoons, but had fusils like the officers of flank companies throughout the line. At present they wear swords. It is necessary to remark, that there are not any ensigns in fusileer regiments; their junior officers rank as second lieutenants, taking precedence of all ensigns, and those of the 7th or Royal Fusileers, have no second lieutenants; so that they rank, with the rest of the army according to the dates of their several commissions, as lieutenants. On account of this difference, the first commission in the fusileers was, by a regulation issued from the War Office in 1773, rated fifty pounds higher than that of an ensign; whilst the first commission in the 7th having the pay of lieutenant attached to it, was rated at 500_l._ that of the other two, having only the pay of ensign annexed, was 450_l._

When the estimates of the British army were made out for the year 1755, the extra sum of 164_l._ 5_s._ per annum was charged against the 7th regiment. This surplus, however, was easily explained when it came to be understood, that that regiment, being a fusileer corps, had 20 lieutenants, instead of 11 lieutenants and 9 ensigns. The difference between these commissions amounted to 9_s._ per diem, and the sum total to 164_l._ 5_s._ per annum. The 23d, or royal regiment of Welch fusileers, wear helmets; and all officers belonging to fusileer corps have two epaulettes.

FUSILIERS, Fr. Fusileers are men armed with fusils or light musquets. When pikes were in use among the French, each regiment had only four fusileers, exclusive of ten grenadiers who carried the fusil or musquet. At present fusils or musquets are universally adopted in the European armies. Among the French there was a distinct regiment of fusileers under the immediate command of the grand master of the ordnance. The length of a French fusil was directed to consist of three French feet eight inches from the touch-hole to the muzzle, and the calibre to have the diameter of a ball taking twenty to the pound.

FUYARD, Fr. a run-a-way, a coward.

Un corps fuyard, Fr. a regiment that has been in the habit of running away.

FUZE. See FUSE.

FUZES. Composition.

Saltpetre 3 lbs. 4 oz. Sulphur 1 -- Mealed powder 2 12

+---------+-------------------+--------------------+------+ | | Fuse Diameter. | Composition. | Drove| | Kind. |below| at | at |Diam-|Length.|Time |by one| | | the | the | the |eter.| | it |man in| | |cup. |bottom.| cup.| | |burns.|1 day.| +---------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-------+------+------+ | Inches. | In. | Inch. |Inch.| In. | In. | ″ | No. | | 13 | 2.1 | 1.575 | 2.49| .5 | 8.4 | 35 | 25 | | 10 | 1.8 | 1.55 | 2.13| .438| 7.2 | 33 | 25 | | 8 | 1.3 | 1.25 | 1.78| .375| 6.37 | 29 | 30 | | 5¹⁄₂ | 1.1 | .825 | 1.3 | .275| 4.4 | 18 | 50 | | 4¹⁄₂ | 1.0 | .75 | 1.18| .25 | 3.5 | 15 | 703 | |Grenades.| 0.8 | .6 | .9 | .2 | 2.25 | | 1000 | +---------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-------+------+------+

Diameter inside the cup is 3 diameters of the bore.

Depth of the cup 1¹⁄₂ do.

Thickness of wood at bottom of the bore, 2 diameters.

To find the length of Fuzes for any Range.

The 13 and 10 inch fuzes of the same length burn so nearly equal, that one common length answers both, as do the 8 inch, 5¹⁄₂ and 4²⁄₅. Therefore, to find the length of fuze for any range, multiply the time of flight by 22 for the 13 and 10 inch, and by 24 for the 8, 5¹⁄₂ and 4²⁄₅; which is the decimal part of an inch a fuze burns in a second. Fuzes are thought to keep better by being painted; and for field service, are often marked off by black lines into seconds and ¹⁄₂ seconds.

G.

GABION, in fortification, is a kind of basket, made of ozier-twigs, of a cylindrical form, having different dimensions, according to what purpose it is used for. Some gabions are 5 or 6 feet high, and 3 feet in diameter: these serve in sieges, to carry on the approaches under cover, when they come pretty near the fortification. Those used in field-works are 3 or 4 feet high, and 2¹⁄₂ or 3 feet diameter. There are also gabions, about 1 foot high, 12 inches diameter at top, and from 8 to 10 at bottom, which are placed along the top of the parapet, to cover the troops in firing over it, they are filled with earth.

In order to make them, some pickets, 3 or 4 feet long, are struck into the ground, in form of a circle, and of a proper diameter, wattled together with small branches, in the manner of wattled fences. Batteries are often made of gabions. See BATTERY.

GABIONS.--Small gabions of 3 feet high, and 2 feet diameter, are made with least trouble, and are easiest carried. The pickets for them must be 1¹⁄₂ or 2 inches thick, and 4 feet long. Large gabions are 6 feet high, and 3 feet in diameter; and require two men to carry them. The smallest gabions or baskets are formed of pickets, 1 inch in thickness, and 1 foot long: they are 12 inches in diameter at top, and 10 at bottom. The small gabions have 7 or 8 pickets, the large ones 9 or 10.

To make them--The pickets are first to be fixed in the ground in a circle, the size or the bottom of the intended gabion; then a few twigs are to be wove through the upper ends, to keep them from flying out; afterwards the work must be begun at the bottom and continued upwards; and the whole being well driven down with a mallet, the edges must be secured by twigs, wattled up and down. The twigs of willow, birch, hazle, alder, poplar, and beech are proper for this purpose. The top of the gabion must be made very even, because that becomes the bottom when finished. Four men are usually employed on each gabion, with a billhook, a mallet, a spade, and two axes. Two collect the wood, while the other two form the gabion. A 3 foot gabion ought to be made in half an hour.

Stuft-GABIONS, in fortification, are made in the same manner as the former: they are only filled with all sorts of branches and small wood, and are 4 or 6 feet long: they serve to roll before the workmen in the trenches to cover them in front against musquet-shot.

GABION farci, Fr. a stuft gabion.

GABIONADE, Fr. a term made use of when a retrenchment is suddenly thrown up and formed of gabions, for the purpose of covering the retreat of troops, who may be obliged to abandon a work, after having defended it to the last extremity. Every parapet that is made of gabions is generally called gabionade.

GABIONNER, Fr. to cover or secure with gabions.

GAFFLES, the steel lever with which the ancients bent their cross-bows.

GAGES, Fr. wages. Among the French this phrase signified the fruits or compensations which were derived by individuals from appointments given by the crown, whether of a military, civil, or judicial nature, or for service done at sea or by land.

GAIN is frequently used in a military sense, as they gained the day, &c.

To GAIN ground. See GROUND.

GAINE de flamme, Fr. a sort of linen sheath or cover, into which the staff of a flag or pendant is put.

GAINE de pavilion, Fr. a cloth, or linen-band, which is sewed across the flag, and through which the different ribands are interlaced.

GAINES de girouettes, Fr. bands, or pieces of linen, with which the vanes are tied to the staff.

GAITERS, a sort of cover for the leg, usually made of cloth, and are either long as reaching to the knee, or short, as only reaching just above the ancle; the latter are termed half-gaiters.

GALERIES Capitales, Fr. are those galleries which lie under the capitals in works of fortification.

GALERIE tranversale, Fr. is a gallery in fortification which cuts the capital in a perpendicular direction.

GALERIE meurtriére ou de premiere envelope, Fr. a gallery which runs under the whole extent of the covert-way, and is frequently carried close to the counterscarp, in order to afford a circulation of air.

GALERIE d’envelope, Fr. a gallery which is constructed at the extremity of the glacis, and is commonly made parallel to the magistral or principal line of fortification. The envelope is the chief gallery in a fortress or garrison-town, and serves as a path of communication or covered way to all the rest.

It is of the utmost consequence to the besieged to secure this gallery from every approach of the enemy; and if any impression should be made, to repair the injury without delay. From this gallery the garrison always direct their attacks, whenever it is necessary to keep the assailants out of the covert-way.

GALERIE d’écoute, Fr. a gallery in front of the envelope. Ecouter, which signifies to listen, sufficiently explains the purpose for which these galleries are erected.

Petites GALERIES, ou rameaux, Fr. small galleries, branches, or arraignées, in fortification, which issue from the counter-mine, and at the extremities of which the furnace or chamber for the lodgment of gunpowder is constructed. There is not any established or fixed rule to direct the height to which small galleries, branches, or arraignées ought to be carried; in general they should have the least possible elevation.

When galleries are built of mason-work their height is from five to six feet, their breadth from three to four, and sometimes only three.

GALERIES de mines, Fr. galleries in mining differ from counter-mines, in as much as that they are supported by coffers resting upon frames, which are covered with earth three feet in depth; that is, two feet and a half from one frame to another. These galleries are usually built three feet and a half high, and two and a half broad; and whenever there is a necessity to work in the rameau or arraignée, the galleries in that case are reduced to smaller proportions.

GALERIE magistrale, Fr. in mining signifies any covered avenue or gallery which is parallel to the magistral or principal line of the place, and exists under the whole or part of the front of the fortifications. This gallery is usually as thick as the enemy’s mason-work against which the counter-mine is directed. By means of this work, the besieged generally endeavour to interrupt every attempt which the besiegers may make in the passage of the fossé or ditch.

GALERIE à passer un fossé, a gallery constructed for the purpose of crossing a ditch. It is a small passage made of timber-work, having its beams or supporters driven into the bottom of the ditch, and being covered at top with boards that are again covered with earth, sufficiently strong to bear the miner, and to withstand the effect of artificial fire, or the weight of stones which the enemy might direct against them. This sort of gallery is sometimes called the traverse, or cross way.

These galleries have been out of use for some years. The miner gets at the body of the place which is attacked, either through a subterraneous gallery that is dug beneath the ditch, when the nature of the ground will permit the attempt, or under cover of the epaulement, which covers the passage of the ditch. When the ditch is full of water, and the miner has made considerable progress under it, he instantly makes the best of his way to the breach, either by swimming, or by supporting his body on a raft of timber; as soon as he has reached the spot, he works into the earth among the ruins of the wall, and completes the object of his enterprize.

GALERIES de communication, Fr. are subterraneous galleries, by means of which, the garrison of a besieged town or place may, without being perceived by the enemy, communicate from the body of the place, or from the counterscarp, with the different outworks.

GALERIES souterraines des anciens, Fr. Subterraneous galleries as originally invented by the ancients. The author of the Dictionnaire Militaire in his last edition of that work enters upon the explanation of these galleries by the following curious assertion.

“I must, he observes, in this place, assert with the chevalier Folard, that it would be absurd to deny the superiority which the ancients possessed over us in the essential knowlege and requisites of war, and that they pushed the different branches of that science to as high a pitch of perfection as it was possible to raise it.

“The only inventions which the moderns can boast of, are those of fire-arms, mines, and furnaces. But then, on the other hand, we stand indebted to them for our lines of circumvallation and of contravallation, our approaches or trenches which are effected from a camp to its different batteries, together with the construction of those batteries; our parallel entrenchments or places of arms, the descent into, or the filling up of the ditch, our covered saps in mining, and our open galleries; we owe to them, in fact, the original art of throwing up works and of creating obstacles, by which we are enabled to secure ourselves, or by various stratagems to annoy our enemies. The ancients were indeed superior to us, in the means of defence.

“The origin of subterraneous galleries or passages in mining, is totally unknown to us; a circumstance which proves their antiquity. We read in the History of Josephus, that the Jews frequently made use of them; so that neither the Greeks nor the Romans, who, in many instances arrogate to themselves the exclusive glory of invention, were the authors of this discovery.

“The method which was pursued by the ancients in their passages of mines, resembled the one that is invariably followed by the moderns. But the latter possess a considerable advantage over the former, in this sort of attack and defence, which advantage consists wholly in the invention of gunpowder.

“The ancients, it is well known, could only undermine in one way; namely under the terraces or cavaliers, or under the towers and battering-testudo-machines (tortues bélieres,) and in order to do any execution, they were obliged, in the first place, to construct a spacious high subterraneous chamber, to carry away and raise the earth, to support the remainder by powerful props, and afterwards to fill the several chambers with dry wood and other combustible materials, which were set fire to in order to reduce the towers and various machines that were placed above, into one common heap of ruins. But this attempt did not always succeed; for owing to the magnitude of the undertaking and the time it required, the enemy might either trace the miners, cut off their communication with the main body of the place, or get into the chambers before they could be finished, or be properly prepared for inflammation.

“The ancients constructed their galleries on a larger scale than we adopt. They were wider, but less elevated; whereas those that we use require less trouble; our chamber mines being more contracted, and having an advantage of access by means of the different branches. One or two small chambers are sufficient with us to blow up the whole face of a bastion. But the ancients only sapped in proportion to the extent of wall which they were determined to demolish. This was a tedious operation; for when the besieger had reached the foot of the wall, it became necessary to run a gallery along the whole extent of what he proposed to demolish. Subsequent to this, he had to operate upon the entire front, during which the besieged found time and opportunities to open subterraneous passages, and to discover those which the assailants were practising against them. In the latter, indeed they seldom failed.

“The Romans were extremely partial to subterraneous galleries. By means of these secret passages they took Fidenæ, and Veiæ; and Darius, king of Persia, by the same method took Chalcedon. That species of gallery which is run out under the soil of an encampment, and pushed forward into the very body of a town, has been known from time immemorial. The Gauls were likewise very expert in their management of subterraneous galleries. Cæsar mentions the use of them in five or six places of his Commentaries.”

GALERIE de pourtour, Fr. in architecture, a sort of gallery which is raised either in the inside, or on the outside, and surrounds the whole or part of a building.

GALEA, GALIOT, a low built vessel for the conveyance of troops and stores, having both sails and oars.

GALION, Fr. a name which was formerly given to French ships of war that had three or four decks. The term, however, is in disuse, except among the Spaniards, who call vessels galions, that sail to Santa Marguerita, to Terra Firma, Carthagena, Porto-Bello, &c.

GALIOTE à bombes, Fr. a bomb-ketch. A vessel built of very strong timber, with flat ribs and half decks. It is used for the carriage of mortars, that are placed upon a false deck which is made in the hold. Chevalier Renau first invented this species of naval battery, and submitted it to the French government. The Dey of Algiers having declared war against France, this ingenious man naturally imagined, that the most effectual method which could be adopted to strike terror into the barbarians, would be to bombard their capital, and this, he knew, could not be done, except from the decks of ships. His proposal was at first treated with extreme neglect, and was considered in full council, as the project of a visionary madman.

This disheartening circumstance, however, (which as Monsieur Belidor has very justly remarked, almost always attends original plans and inventions) did not check the warm mind of Chevalier Renau. His known abilities had secured some powerful partisans in his favor, and the French government at last consented, that he should construct two galiotes à bombes at Dunkirk, and three at Havre de Grace. Having completed them, he sailed for Algiers; and after having braved the most tempestuous weather, got before the place with five vessels of that description. The town was bombarded during the whole of the night; and so great was the consternation of the inhabitants, that they rushed out of the gates, to avoid the dreadful effects of so unexpected an attack. The Algerines immediately sued for peace, and as M. de Fontenelle has shrewdly remarked, the Chevalier Renau returned to France with his galiotes à bombes, having obtained a complete triumph, not only over the Algerines, but over the petty cavillers against his invention.

Orders were instantly issued to construct others after the same model, and the king gave directions, that a new corps of artillery officers should be formed, for the specific purpose of doing duty on board the galiotes or bomb-ketches.

GALLERY, a passage of communication to that part of a mine where the powder is lodged. See GALERIE.

GALLET. Fr. See JALET.

GALLIVATS are large row-boats, used in India. They are built like the grab, but of smaller dimensions, the largest rarely exceeding 70 tons; they have two masts, of which the mizen is very slight; the mizen mast bears only one sail, which is triangular and very large, the peak of it, when hoisted, being much higher than the mast itself. In general the gallivats are covered with a spar deck, made for lightness of bamboos split, and these carry only patteraroes, which are fixed on swivels in the gunnel of the vessel; but those of the largest size have a fixed deck, on which they mount six or eight pieces of cannon, from two to four pounders; they have forty or fifty stout oars, and may be rowed four miles an hour.

GALLOPER, a piece of ordnance of small calibre.

GAMACHE, Fr. See GAITERS.

GAMBESON, Fr. a term which the French formerly applied to a coat of mail that was worn under the cuirass. It was likewise called cotte gamboisée. It was made of two strong cloths interwoven with pointed worsted.

GAMBLING. Every species of chance play, such as hazard, &c. should be strictly forbidden in the army. The non-commissioned officers and private soldiers are severely punished when found guilty of this mischievous practice; and in some services the officers are treated with equal severity.

GAMELLE, Fr. a wooden or earthen bowl used among the French soldiers for their messes. It generally contained the quantity of food which was allotted for three, five, or seven men belonging to the same room. The porridge-pots for the navy were made of wood, and held a certain allowance. During the monarchy of France, subaltern officers and volunteers were frequently punished for slight offences by being sent to the gamelle, and excluded their regular mess, and put upon short allowance, according to the nature of their transgression.

GANTELET, Fr. See GAUNTLET.

GANGES, a considerable river in India in Asia. It rises in the mountains which border on Little Thibet, in 82 degrees of east longitude, and 32 degrees 45 minutes of north latitude. According to the ingenious author of the History of Indostan, it disembogues itself into that country through a pass called the straights of Kupele, which are distant from Delhi, about 30 leagues, in the longitude of 96, and in the latitude of 30° 2′. These straights are believed by the Indians, who look very little abroad, to be the sources of the Ganges; and a rock 15 miles distant from them, bearing some resemblance to the head of a cow, has joined in the same part of the country two very important objects of their religion; the grand image of the animal which they almost venerate as a divinity, and the first appearance of that immense body of holy water, which is to wash away all their sins.

GANTLET, GAUNTLET, in ancient military history, a large kind of glove, made of iron, and the fingers covered with small plates: it was formerly worn by cavaliers, or single knights of war, when armed at all points, but is now in disuse.

GANTLET or gantelope, denotes a kind of military punishment, in which the criminal running between the ranks receives a lash from every man. See RUN THE GANTLET.

GAP. See BREACH.

GAR, the general term used by the Saxons, for a weapon of war.

GARCON-Major, Fr. an officer so called in the old French service. He was selected from among the lieutenants of a regiment to assist the aid-majors in the general detail of duty.

GARDE d’une Place, Fr. the garrison of a place. See GARRISON.

Garde du l’armée, Fr. the grand guard of an army. Guards in the old French service were usually divided into three sorts: Guard of Honor, Fatigue Guard, and the General’s Guard. That was called a guard of honor in which the officers and men were most exposed to danger; for the quintessence of military honor is to be often in peril, and either to fall courageously in the discharge of duty, or to return from the field after having exhibited proofs of valor, prudence and perseverance. A fatigue guard belonging to a garrison or to a camp. A general’s guard was mounted before the door or gate of the house in which the commanding officer resided. For a more specific account of guards in general see GUARD.

GARDES de corps, Fr. the body guards. Under the old government of France they consisted of a certain number of gentlemen or cavaliers whose immediate duty was to attend the king’s person. They were divided into four companies, under as many captains, whose tour of duty came every quarter. They took rank above the Gens-d’armes and the king’s light cavalry.

The first and most ancient of the four companies was called the Scotch company.

In 1423 Charles VII. of France established this body of gentlemen or cavaliers, for the purpose of shewing the great confidence which he placed in the Scots; who were not a little indebted for this mark of distinction to the service which their countryman Lord Buchan, eldest son to the Duke of Albany, rendered the French in 1421 at the battle of Bangé en Anjou, where the English army was completely routed. In order to preserve the remembrance of their behaviour, and in token of their gratitude to the Scotch nation, the French king gave orders that whenever the roll-call took place in the Scotch company, each individual instead of answering Me voila! should say I am here! or here!

GARDES-feux, Fr. wooden cases or boxes used to hold cartridges.

GARDES fous, Fr. the rails of a bridge.

GARDE imperiale, Fr. The only guard of honor which at present exists in France.

GARDES Francoises, Fr. the French Guards--In 1563 Charles IX. King of the French, raised a regiment for the immediate protection of the palace. The colonel or the gardes Francoises was on duty throughout the year, and was entitled to the baton de commandement in common with the four captains of the body guards. Peculiar privileges were attached to every officer belonging to this body. No stranger, not even a native of Strasburg, Savoy, Alsace, or Piedmont, could hold a commission in the French guards. The age at which men were enlisted was above 18 and under 50 years. The height 5 French feet 4 inches and upwards. The serjeants were strictly forbidden to exercise any trade or business, and many of them got the Croix de St. Louis.

In the revolution of 1789 the French guards took a very active and leading part.

GARDES-magazins, Fr. In the old French service there were two sorts of magazine guards:--one for the military stores and the other for the artillery. The first was subject to the grand master, and the second was appointed by the secretary at war.

GARDE-general d’artillerie, Fr. An officer was so called under the old government of France, who had charge of all the ordnance and stores belonging to his majesty for the land service. He gave receipts for all ammunition, &c. and his bills were paid by the treasurer general of the artillery.

GARDES provinciaux, Fr. Provincial guards, were persons appointed to superintend, take charge of, and be responsible, for the artillery belonging to Paris, Metz, Chalons, Lyons, Amiens, Narbonne, and Calais.

GARDES particuliers des magazins d’artillerie, Fr. Officers appointed by the grand master of the ordnance for the specific purpose of attending to the ammunition, &c. Their pay was in proportion to the quantity of stores with which they were entrusted. They enjoyed some particular privileges, and were lodged at the expence of government.

GARDE magazin d’un arsenal de marine, Fr. An officer in France appointed to take charge and to keep a register of all warlike stores, &c. for the service of the navy.

GARDES de la porte, Fr. A company so called during the monarchy of France, and of so ancient a date, indeed, with respect to original institution, that it appears to have been coeval with it. Mention is made of the gardes de la porte in the oldest archives or records belonging to the king’s household, in which service they were employed, without being responsible to any particular treasurer as other companies were.

This company consisted of one captain, four lieutenants, and fifty guards. The captain and officers received their commissions from the king. The first took an oath of fidelity to the king in person, and received the baton from his hands. The duty he did was purely discretionary, and depended on his own will. The lieutenants served by detachment, and took their tour of duty every quarter. Their specific service consisted in guarding the principal gate belonging to the king’s apartments. Their guard-house was within the palace, which they occupied from six o’clock in the morning until six in the evening; when they were relieved by the body guards. They delivered the keys to a brigadier belonging to the Scotch garrison.

GARDES Suisses, Fr. The Swiss guards. This body originally consisted of a certain number of companies which were taken into the French service in consequence of the close alliance that subsisted between the Swiss cantons and France; but they were not distinguished from other troops by the appellation of guards, until a considerable period had elapsed from their first establishment. The zeal, fidelity, and attachment which they uniformly evinced whenever they were entrusted with this distinguished part of the service, induced the crown in 1616 to bestow upon them this additional name.

The regiment was composed of twelve companies of two hundred effectives each. Some consisted of half companies complete in men. They were commanded by the three following officers, subordinate to each other, and created in 1689, viz. One colonel general of the nation, one particular colonel of the regiment, and one lieutenant colonel. The Swiss guards received double the pay which was given to the French guards. It is somewhat remarkable, that one hundred and three years after the regular establishment of the regiment under the three mentioned field officers, this brave body of men should have fallen victims to their attachment to the monarchy of France. On the 10th of August, 1792, they withstood the Parisian populace, and defended the palace in the Louvre until almost every man was killed. During the resistance which the Swiss guards made, Louis the XVIth, with his family escaped, and took shelter in the national assembly.

GARDES (cent) Suisses du corps du Roi, Fr. One hundred Swiss guards immediately attached to the king’s person. They were a select body of men who took an oath of fidelity to the king, and were formed into a regular troop. Louis XIV. during several sieges which he personally attended, gave directions, that the head of the trench should be guarded by a detachment of this troop; so that the hundred Swiss guards might properly be ranked as military men, although their officers did not wear any uniform, and in the last periods of the monarchy of France, the principal duties of the hundred Swiss guards consisted in domestic and menial attendance.

GARDE qui monte, Fr. The new guard.

GARDE qui descend, Fr. The old guard.

GARDES ordinaires des lignes, Fr. ordinary guards.

GARDE de la tranche, Fr. Guard for the trenches. Among the French, this guard usually consisted of four or six battalions. It was entrusted to three general officers, viz. one lieutenant general on the right, one major general on the left, and one brigadier general in the centre. All general officers, when on duty for the day in the trenches, remained the succeeding night, and never left them until they were regularly relieved by others of their own rank.

When it came to the tour of any particular battalion to mount the trench guard, it was the duty of the major of that battalion to examine the ground on which it was to be drawn up, to look at the piquets, and to see where the grenadiers were posted, in order to go through the relief with accuracy and expedition.

The battalion was drawn up in front of the camp; the grenadiers being stationed on the right, next to them the piquet, and on its left flank the body of the battalion. The latter was divided into different piquets, and formed in order of battle. So that instead of the several companies being posted together, the men were drafted out, and distributed in such a manner, that the whole battalion was separated into troops or companies, each consisting of forty eight men, promiscuously thrown together.

The advantage which was derived from this disposition of the battalion, and from its having been previously told off according to each company’s roster, is manifest; for when a second or third battalion piquet was wanted in the trenches, the different detachments were already formed without going into the small detail of companies. The officers in conformity to their roster were ordered to march, and the piquet moved out without a moment’s delay.

Add to this that whenever it was found necessary to make a sortie, the loss of men did not fall upon one company, but was divided among the whole battalion.

A general rendezvous or parade was fixed for all the regiments who were to do duty in the trenches; they assembled in that quarter, and were drawn up in line, with all the grenadiers on the right, and the whole of the piquets upon the same alignement. At the hour appointed the latter began to file off, and each regiment followed according to its seniority. The lieutenant general whose tour of command was in the trenches, placed himself at the head of those troops who were to attack from the right; the major general at the head of those belonging to the left, and the brigadier general took the centre; the oldest regiment headed the right, the next in seniority stood in front of the left, and the third preceded the centre.

As soon as the troops reached the tail of the trench, the men marched by Indian files, or rank entire, and each one took his post. Sentries were stationed, and the necessary detachments were made. The colors were planted upon the parapet of the trench. At night the adjutants of corps went to head quarters, to receive instructions relative to the projected attack, and got the parole and countersign from the general. The senior adjutant communicated his orders to the rest, who conveyed the same, first to their several colonels, and afterwards to the serjeants of each regiment.

When on duty in the trenches, soldiers must not, on any account, quit their firearms; and the instant the least noise is heard, it is their duty to throw themselves upon the back of the trench, and there remain till the order is given to march. When an attack is directed to be made, the execution of it is always entrusted to the grenadiers. These are supported by the different piquets, and the main body of the corps follows with the colors.

When the chamade was beat by the besieged with a view to capitulate, it was a rule among the French, that the battalions which were posted in the trenches, might refuse to be relieved, and could remain at their station until the garrison marched out. When the capitulation was signed, it fell to the oldest regiment belonging to the besieging army to take possession of the gate that was delivered up, and that corps remained in the town until a governor was named, and a regular garrison appointed.

GARDE du camp, Fr. See QUARTER GUARD.

GARDE avancée, Fr. a small body of cavalry, consisting of 15 or 20 horsemen, under the command of a lieutenant, whose station is beyond, but still in sight of the main guard. The particular duty of those men is to watch the motions of the enemy for the greater security of the camp.

During the famous crusade to the Holy Land, the Christians having taken the town of Damietta, and finding it impossible to make further progress, on account of the overflowings of the river Nile, effected a passage over, but neglected to entrench themselves according to the custom of those days. The consequence was, that the Arabs insulted them in their camp, and frequently murdered their sentries at their very tents. In order to prevent these incursions, advanced guards of the description just mentioned were resorted to. Vedettes were posted round the camp, and from hence most probably was derived their origin.

Many methods have been proposed by the military writers of all ages to secure advanced guards from surprise. Frochetta advises fires to be lighted during the night in one quarter, while the rendezvous and station of the guard are in another. His reason is this: if the enemy should approach the quarter which is lighted up, the soldiers belonging to the advanced guard may readily discover him, without being themselves exposed to a direct attack. Onosander is of the same way of thinking. Silence on these occasions is indispensably requisite. Xenophon, on the other hand, has proposed, that the station should be often changed, and that the guard should consist of different numbers. His object is to form a considerable ambuscade in front of the spot where the guard has been usually posted, so that when the enemy approaches towards it, he may be suddenly surprised by a larger body of men than he expected, and instead of carrying off the ordinary guard, be himself taken prisoner.

GARDE du pont, Fr. Guard for the security of a bridge. The same author (Frochetta) proposes that one or two sentries be posted at each end of the bridge, if it be of any length. His motive is to prevent too heavy loads from being conveyed upon it, and to check bodies of cavalry who might be disposed to gallop or trot across it. If the bridge be constructed upon barges or boats, there must always be a certain number of wooden scoops to drain off the water as it rises, or gets through small apertures upon the surface. The commanding officer of the guard must order frequent rounds to be made, both night and day, lest the enemy should send divers to get under the boats and pierce the bottoms.

Foresti, the historian, relates, that the Emperor Henry III. having ordered several barges to be constructed and stationed on the Danube for the purpose of storming Posonio, his project was defeated by the bold and desperate act of an individual. One Zormonde, a Hungarian, having provided himself with a gimblet, swam under the surface of the water, and got beneath the boats, which he bored in several places, without the least suspicion or knowlege of the mariners. The boats gradually filled, and were finally sunk, which circumstance obliged the emperor to raise the siege.

GARDE des travailleurs, Fr. A particular guard which is kept among the workmen and artificers during a siege. In France they had a particular roster among themselves; beginning from the eldest downwards, as well among the officers as among the men.

GARDE relevée, Fr. the guard that is relieved, commonly called the old guard.

GARDES de la marine, Fr. During the existence of the old French government, several young gentlemen received brevet commissions from the king, and were permitted to serve on board ships of war. They were distributed among the fleet, and when they had acquired a knowlege of their profession, were promoted to the rank of officers. Their duty was near the admiral, when he commanded in person; and during his absence they were placed on board the different vessels, in order to assist the several officers, particularly in the discharge of their functions at the batteries.

GARDES costes, Fr. from the Spanish guarda costa, signifying ships of war that cruize along the coast to protect merchantmen, and to prevent the depredations of pirates.

GARDES costes (capitaineries), Fr. The maritime divisions, into which France was formerly divided, were so called.

Each division was under the immediate superintendance of a captain, named capitaine gardes-costes, who was assisted by a lieutenant and an ensign. Their duty was to watch the coast, and to attend minutely to every thing that might affect the safety of the division they had in charge.

There were thirty-seven capitaineries gardes côtes in Normandy, four in Poitou, two in Guienne, two in Languedoc, and six in French Flanders, Picardy, Boulogne, Calais, &c.

The establishment of sea fencibles in Great Britain, which has taken place during the present war, most probably owes its origin to the gardes costes.

GARDE d’épée, Fr. Sword-hilt.

GARDE, Fr. Watch, guard, protection.

Corps de GARDE du guet, Fr. Watch-house or rendezvous for the street patroles.

GARDE bois, Fr. a forest-keeper.

GARDE du corps, Fr. life-guard.

GARDE chasse, Fr. a game-keeper.

GARDE pluie, Fr. literally means a fence, or cover against rain. This machine was originally invented by a Frenchman, who left his native country to avoid persecution or unmerited neglect, and submitted it to the Prussians, who adopted it for the use of their infantry. Other armies, however, either seem ignorant of the invention, or do not think it worthy of imitation. Belair, the author of Elemens de Fortification, in his military dictionary, (which forms a small part of that interesting work,) observes, that “these machines might be rendered extremely useful in the defence of fortresses, outposts, redoubts, or retrenchments. Under the cover of them, the besieged, or the troops stationed in the posts attacked, would be able to keep up a brisk and effectual discharge of musquetry during the heaviest fall of rain, and thereby silence, or considerably damp the fire of the enemy. The garde pluie is capable of being much improved. Light corps ought to be particularly anxious for its adoption, as the service in which they are generally employed, exposes their arms to every change of weather; and by means of this cover, both themselves, and their rifles, or musquets, would be secured against rain.”

Attaquer la GARDE, Fr. to make an attempt on the guard.

Une forte GARDE, Fr. a strong guard.

Un piquete de GARDE, Fr. a piquet guard.

La GARDE à pied, Fr. the foot guards.

La GARDE à cheval, Fr. the horse guards.

La GARDE Ecossoise, Fr. the Scotch guards.

La GARDE Irelandoise, Fr. the Irish guards.

Faire monter la GARDE, Fr. to set the guard.

Etre de GARDE, Fr. to be upon guard.

Monter la GARDE, Fr. to mount guard.

Descendre la GARDE, Fr. to come off guard.

Rélever ou changer la GARDE, Fr. to relieve guard.

La GARDE montante, Fr. the guard that mounts, or the new guard.

La GARDE descendante, Fr. the guard that comes off, or the old guard.

GARDE à vous, Fr. A cautionary phrase made use of in the French service. We formerly adopted the term, take care, or have a care--at present we use the word attention, which is usually pronounced ’tention.

GARDENS, in ancient military history, places of resort to practice military exercises.

GARGOUILLIS, Fr. the powder with which cannon is charged.

GARGOUSSE, Fr. a cartouch, a cartridge.

GARGOUSSIERE, Fr. a pouch for cartridges.

GARLAND, a sort of chaplet made of flowers, feathers, and sometimes of precious stones, worn on the head in the manner of a crown. The word is formed of the French guirlande, and that of the barbarous Latin garlanda, or Italian ghirlanda. Both in ancient and modern times it has been customary to present garlands of flowers to warriors who have distinguished themselves. Among the French the practice is still familiar. A beautiful young woman is generally selected for the purpose.

GARNIR d’artillerie, Fr. to line with artillery. Un rampart garni de grosse artillerie, a rampart covered or lined with heavy ordnance.

Se GARNIR, Fr. To seize.

GARNISH-nails. Diamond headed nails, formerly used to ornament artillery carriages.

GARNISON, Fr. See GARRISON.

GARNITURE. See EQUIPAGE, &c.

Garrison des Janissaires, Fr. The elite or flower of the Janissaries of Constantinople is frequently sent into garrison on the frontiers of Turkey, or to places where the loyalty of the inhabitants is doubted. The Janissaries do not indeed assist in the immediate defence of a besieged town or fortress, but they watch the motions of all suspected persons, and are subject to the orders of their officers, who usually command the garrison.

GARRISON, in the art of war, a body of forces, disposed in a fortress or fortified town, to defend it against the enemy, or to keep the inhabitants in subjection; or even to be subsisted during the winter season: hence garrison and winter-quarters are sometimes used indiscriminately for the same thing; while at others they denote different things. In the latter case a garrison is a place wherein forces are maintained to secure it, and where they keep regular guards, as a frontier town, a citadel, castle, tower &c. The garrison should always be stronger than the townsmen.

Winter-quarters signifies a place where a number of forces are laid up in the winter season, without keeping the regular guard. See WINTER-QUARTERS.

GARRISON-town, generally a strong place in which troops are quartered, and do duty, for the security thereof, keeping strong guards at each port, and a main-guard in, or near the market-place.

Order of the GARTER, an English order of knighthood, instituted by Edward III. This order consists of 26 knights companions, whereof the king of England is the sovereign or chief.

This piece of regal mummery is not strictly military, but is inserted here as matter of curiosity.

All these officers, except the prelate, have fees and pensions. The college of the order is in the castle of Windsor, with the chapel of St. George, and the chapter-house, erected by the founder for that purpose. The habit and ensign of the order are, a garter, mantle, cap, George, and collar. The 3 first were assigned the knights companions by the founders; and the George and collar by king Henry VIII. The garter challenges pre-eminence over all other parts of the dress, because from it the noble order is denominated; that it is the first part of the habit presented to foreign princes, and absent knights, who, together with all other knights elect, are therewith first adorned; and it is of such honor and grandeur, that by the bare investiture with this noble ensign, the knights are esteemed companions of the greatest military order in the world. It is worn on the left leg, between the knee and calf, and is enamelled with this motto, Honi soit qui mal y pense: that is, “Evil be to him, who evil thinks.” The meaning of which is, that king Edward having laid claim to the kingdom of France, retorted shame and defiance upon him that should dare to think amiss of the just enterprize he had undertaken, for recovering his claim to that crown; and that the bravery of those knights whom he had elected into this order, was such as would enable him to maintain the quarrel against those that thought ill of it.

The mantle is the chief of those vestments made use of upon all solemn occasions. The color of the mantle is by the statutes appointed to be blue. The length of the train of the mantle, only, distinguishes the sovereign from the knights companions. To the collar of the mantle is fixed a pair of long strings, anciently wove with blue silk only, but now twisted round, and made of Venice gold and silk, of the color of the robe, with buttons and tassels at the end. The left shoulder of the mantle is adorned with a large garter, and device Honi soit, &c. Within this is the cross of the order, which was ordained to be worn at all times by king Charles I. At length the star was introduced, being a sort of cross irradiated with beams of silver.

The collar is composed of pieces of gold in fashion of garters, the ground enamelled blue, and the motto gold.

The garter is of blue velvet bordered with fine gold wire, having commonly the letters of the motto of the same: it is, at the time of installation, buckled upon the left leg, by two of the senior companions, who receive it from the sovereign, to whom it is presented upon a velvet cushion by Garter king at arms, with the usual reverence, whilst the chancellor reads the following admonition, enjoined by the statutes. “To the honor of God omnipotent, and in memorial of the blessed martyr St. George, tie about thy leg, for thy renown, this noble garter; wear it as the symbol of the most illustrious order, never to be forgotten, or laid aside; that thereby thou mayest be admonished to be courageous, and having undertaken a just war, in which thou shalt be engaged, thou mayest stand firm, valiantly fight, and successfully conquer.”

The princely garter being thus buckled on, and the words of its signification pronounced, the knight elect is brought before the sovereign, who puts about his neck, kneeling, a sky colored riband, whereon is appendant, wrought in gold within the garter, the image of St. George on horseback, with his sword drawn, encountering the dragon. In the mean time the chancellor reads the following admonition: “Wear this riband about thy neck, adorned with the image of the blessed martyr and soldier of Christ, St. George, by whose imitation provoked, thou mayest so overpass both prosperous and adverse adventures, that having stoutly vanquished thy enemies both of body and soul, thou mayest not only receive the praise of this transient combat, but be crowned with the palm of eternal victory.”

Then the knight elect kisses his sovereign’s hand, thanks his majesty for the great honor done him, rises up, and salutes all his companions severally, who return their congratulations.

Since the institution of this order, there have been 8 emperors, and 28 kings, besides numerous sovereign princes, enrolled as companions thereof. Its origin is somewhat differently related: the common account is, that it was erected in honor of a garter of the countess of Salisbury, which she dropped dancing with king Edward, and which that prince picked up; but others think it was instituted on account of the victory over the French at Cressy, where the king ordered his garter to be displayed as a signal of the battle.

GASCONADE, a boast or vaunt of something very improbable. The term is originally derived from the Gascons, or people of Gascony in France, who it seems have been particularly distinguished for extravagant stories.

GASCONADE, Fr. pour menterie, ródomontáde, filouterie; a lie, a ródomontáde, an imposition.

GASCONNER, Fr. to gasconade, to repeat extravagant, wild stories.

GATE, an entrance, a large door, the passage into a walled place; in a military sense, is made of strong planks with iron bars to oppose an enemy. Gates are generally fixed in the middle of the curtain, from whence they are seen and defended by the two flanks of the bastions. They should be covered with a good ravelin, that they may not be seen or enfiladed by the enemy. The palisades and barriers before the gates within the town are often of great use. The fewer ports there are in a fortress, the more you are secured against the enemy. At the opening of a gate, a party of horse is sent out to patrole in the country round the place, to discover ambuscades or lurking parties of the enemy, and to see if the country be clear.

GAUCHE, Fr. The left.

A Gauche, Fr. On the left.

GAUGE. See STANDARD.

GAUGES, in gunnery, are brass rings with handles, to find the diameter of all kinds of shot with expedition.

GAULS, the name given by the Romans to the inhabitants of the country that now forms part of the kingdoms of Italy and France. The countries were called cisalpine, and transalpine Gaul, with reference to the position of Rome. The original inhabitants were descended from the Celtes or Gomerians, by whom the greatest part of Europe was peopled: the name of Galli or Gauls, being probably given them long after their settlement in that country.

GAUNTELOPE. GAUNTLET. See GAUNTELOPE. Run the GAUNTELOPE.

GAZETTE, a newspaper. The word is derived from gazetta, a Venetian coin, which was the usual price of the first newspaper printed there, and which name was afterwards given to the paper itself.

The first gazette in England was published at Oxford, the court being there, in a folio half sheet, November the 7th, 1665. On the removal of the court to London, the title was changed to the London Gazette. The Oxford Gazette was published on Tuesdays, the London on Saturdays. And these have continued to be the days of publication ever since that publication has been confined to London.

All commissions in the British army, militia, fencible, and volunteer corps must be gazetted. The dates specified in the gazette generally agree in every point with those of the original commissions. So that by referring to the gazette, an officer may always know the precise day on which he is entitled to receive subsistence from the agent, and to assume rank in the British army. Should an erroneous statement, however, get into the gazette, or a commission be wrong dated therein, a reference to the latter will always supersede any notification in the former.

GAZONS, in fortification, are pieces of fresh earth or sods, covered with grass, and cut in the form of a wedge, about a foot long, and half a foot thick, to line the outsides of a work made of earth; as ramparts, parapets, banquettes, &c. The first bed of gazons is fixed with pegs of wood: and the second bed is so laid as to bind the former, by being placed over its joints; and so continued till the works are finished. Betwixt those sods it is usual to sow all sorts of binding weed or herbs, in order to strengthen the rampart.

GEAR, furniture, equipage, or caparison.

GEAT, the hole through which the metal is conveyed to the mould in casting ordnance.

GEBEGIS. Armorers among the Turks are so called.

GEBELUS. Every timariot in Turkey, during a campaign, is obliged to take a certain number of horsemen, who are called gebelus, and to support them at his own expence. He is directed to take as many with him as would annually cost three thousand aspres (each aspre being equal to two-pence farthing English) for subsistence.

GELD, in the English old customs, a Saxon word signifying money, or tribute. It also denoted a compensation for some crime committed. Hence wergeld, in the old Saxon laws, was used for the value of a man slain; and orfgeld, for that of a beast.

GELIBACH. A sort of superintendant or chief of the gebegis, or armorers among the Turks. He is only subordinate to the toppi bachi, or the grand-master of the Turkish artillery.

GENDARMERIE, Fr. the gendarmerie was a select body of cavalry that took precedence of every regiment of horse in the French service, and ranked immediately after the king’s household. The reputation of the gendarmerie was so great, and its services so well estimated by the king of France, that when the emperor Charles V. in 1552, sent a formal embassy to the Court of Versailles to request a loan of money, and the assistance of the gendarmerie to enable him to repulse the Turks; Francis I. returned the following answer: “With respect to the first object of your mission, (addressing himself to the ambassador) I am not a banker; and with regard to the other, as my gendarmerie is the arm which supports my sceptre, I never expose it to danger, without myself sharing its fatigue and glory.”

The uniform of the gendarmerie, as well as of the light cavalry, under the old French government, was scarlet, with facings of the same color. The coat was formerly more or less laced with silver according to the king’s pleasure. A short period before the revolution, it was only laced on the cuff. The waistcoat of buff leather, and the bandouleer of the same, silver laced; the hat was edged with broad silver lace. The horse-cloths and holster-caps were red, and the arms of the captain embroidered on the corners of the saddle cloths, and on the front of the holsters. In 1762, a considerable body of men was raised by order of Louis XIV. The soldiers who composed it were called gensdarmes. And in 1792, the number was considerably augmented, consisting of horse and foot, and being indiscriminately called gens d’armes; but their clothing was altered to deep blue. Their pay was greater than what the rest of the army enjoyed, and when others were paid in paper currency, they received their subsistence in hard cash (en argent sonant.) They possessed these privileges on account of the proofs they were obliged to bring of superior claims to military honor, before they could be enlisted as gendarmes. It was necessary, in fact, that every individual amongst them should produce a certificate of six or eight years service.

GENDARMES (gens d’armes) de la garde, a select body of men so called during the old government of France, and still preserved in that country; but their services are applied to different purposes. They consisted originally of a single company which was formed by Henry IV. when he ascended the throne. He distinguished them from his other troops, by stiling them hommes d’armes de ses ordonnances; men at arms under his own immediate orders. They consisted of men best qualified for every species of military duty, and were to constitute a royal squadron at whose head the king himself might personally engage the enemy, as necessity might require. He gave this squadron to his son, the Dauphin, who was afterwards king of France, under the name and title of Louis XIII.

GENERAL, in a military sense, is an officer in chief, to whom the government of a country have judged proper to entrust the command of their troops. He holds this important trust under various titles, as captain-general, in England and Spain, feldt mareschal, in Germany, or mareschal, in France.

In the British service the king is constitutionally, and in his official right, captain-general. He has ten aids-de-camp; every one of whom enjoys the brevet rank of full colonel in the army. Next to the king is the commander in chief, whom he sometimes honors with the title of captain-general. During the expedition to Holland the Duke of York was entrusted with this important charge.

The natural qualities of a GENERAL, are a martial genius, a solid judgment, a healthy robust constitution, intrepidity and presence of mind on critical occasions, indefatigability in business, goodness of heart, liberality, a reasonable age; if too young, he may want experience and prudence; if too old, he may not have vivacity enough. His conduct must be uniform, his temper affable, but inflexible in maintaining the police and discipline of an army.

Acquired qualities of a GENERAL should be secrecy, justice, sobriety, temperance, knowlege of the art of war from theory and practice, the art of commanding, and speaking with precision and exactness; great attention to preserve the lives and supply the wants of the soldiers, and a constant study of the characters of the officers of his army, that he may employ them according to their talents. His conduct appears in establishing his magazines in the most convenient places; in examining the country, that he may not engage his troops too far, while he is ignorant of the means of bringing them off; in subsisting them, and in knowing how to take the most advantageous posts, either for fighting, retreating, or shunning a battle. His experience inspires his army with confidence, and an assurance of victory; and his good qualities, by creating respect, augment his authority. By his liberality he gets intelligence of the strength and designs of the enemy, and by this means is enabled to take the most successful measures. He ought to be fond of glory, to have an aversion to flattery, to render himself beloved, and to keep a strict discipline and regular subordination.

The office of a GENERAL is to regulate the march and encampment of the army; in the day of battle to choose out the most advantageous ground; to make the disposition of the corps; to post the artillery, and, where there is occasion, to send his orders by his aids-de-camp. At a siege he is to cause the place to be invested, to regulate the approaches and attacks, to visit the works, and to send out detachments to secure the convoy and foraging parties.

GENERALISSIMO, a supreme and absolute commander in the field. This word is generally used in most foreign languages. It was first invented by the absolute authority of cardinal Richelieu, when he went to command the French army in Italy.

GENERAL of the artillery. See ORDNANCE.

GENERALS of horse are officers next under the general of the army. They have an absolute command over the horse belonging to an army, above the lieutenant generals.

GENERALS of foot are officers next under the general of the army, having an absolute command over the foot of the army.

GENERAL officers. All officers above the rank of colonel in the line are so called.

GENERAL. In the German armies, and among the sovereigns of the North, there are certain generals of cavalry, and others of infantry, who take rank of all lieutenant generals. Those belonging to the infantry, in the imperial service, and who are of this description, are called general field zeugmeisters. In Russia they bear the title of generals in chief; of which class there are four belonging to the armies of that empire, two for the infantry and two for the cavalry. They are only subordinate to field marshals; which title or dignity is the same in Russia as was formerly that of marshal of France.

In the two imperial armies just mentioned, it is usual for generals, lieutenant generals, and major generals to take their routine of duty, and rise progressively in the infantry or cavalry corps, to which they were originally appointed, until they arrive at a chief command; whereas in France a major general might be employed to take charge of either infantry or cavalry, without any regard being paid to the particular line of service in which he was bred.

GENERAL chez les Turcs, Fr. Turkish generals.

The Turks have had brave generals. They possess experience, because from their earliest infancy they become inured to arms; because through the different stages of acknowleged service, they rise by degrees; and because their empire being very extensive, it is necessary that they should over-run several provinces for its protection, and be almost constantly engaged in skirmishes or battles. These, at least, were the original principles upon which the military code of that country was established. But abuses, the natural consequences of corruption, have since crept in amongst them; for there have been persons suddenly raised from subordinate employments under the Porte to the supreme command of armies. The primary cause of this abuse is to be found in the luxury and effeminacy of the grand signors, who are become heedless of the Mahomedan laws, and never go to war in person.

The acknowleged valor of the Turkish generals may be attributed to the following causes. To a constitution which is naturally robust, to a practical knowlege of war, and to habitual military exercises.

To these may be added the confidence with which they are inspired by the recollection of former victories; but they are influenced above all, by the secret dictates of a religion, which holds out eternal happiness to those who shall die in battle, and which teaches them to believe, that every Turk bears written on the forehead, not only the hour of his departure from this earth, but the manner of his removal.

A Turkish general possesses a power as absolute and uncontroled as that which was entrusted to the dictators of the Roman republic. He has no competitor, or equal in the charge he holds, no assistants or colleagues with whom he is directed to consult, and to whose assent or dissent, in matters of consultation, he is to pay the least regard. Not only the army under his command, but the whole country into which he marches, is subject to his orders, and bound implicitly to obey them. Punishments and rewards are equally within his distribution. If an authority so absolute as this be considered in the light of executive effect, nothing most unquestionably can so readily produce it; for the tardiness of deliberation is superseded at once by a prompt decision, before which all sorts of objections, and every species of jealousy, subside. When a project is to be fulfilled, secrecy is the natural consequence of this arbitrary system, and rational plans are not interrupted by a difference of opinion, by prejudice, or cabal.

GENERAL de bataille, GENERAL major, a particular rank or appointment, whose functions correspond with those of a ci-devant marshal of France. This situation is entrusted to a general officer, and is only known among the armies of Russia, and some other northern powers. He takes precedence in the same manner that our major generals do, of all brigadier generals and colonels, and is subordinate to lieutenant generals. The rank of brigadier general is known in France, Russia, England, Holland, and the United States. It does not exist in Austria or Sweden.

GENERAL des galéres, Fr. Superintendant officer, or general of the gallies. This was one of the most important appointments belonging to the old government of France. The officer to whom it was entrusted commanded all the gallies, and vessels which bore what the French call voiles latines (a triangle rectangular sail) in the Mediterranean. He had a jurisdiction, a marine police, and an arsenal for constructing ships under his own immediate command, without being in the least subordinate to the French admiralty board. When he went on board he was only inferior in rank to the admiral.

The privileges which were attached to his situation, and the authority he possessed with regard to every other marine, or sea officer, were specifically mentioned in the king’s regulations, and were distinguished by the respect and compliments that were paid to the royal standard, which this general bore, not only on board his own galley, but whenever he chose to hoist it in another.

During the reign of Louis XIV. in 1669, the Duke de Vivone, marshal of France, raised the reputation of the galley service, to a considerable degree of eminence, by gaining several hard fought engagements. His son the Duke de Mortemart succeeded him in the appointment; and the chevalier d’Orleans, grand prior of France, was general of the gallies at his decease.

GENERAL des vivres, Fr. a sort of chief commissary, or superintendant general of stores, whose particular functions were to provide ammunition, bread, and biscuit for the army. There were several subordinate commissaries who watched the distribution of these stores, and saw, that the bakers gave bread of the quality they contracted for. It was likewise within the department of the superintendant general to attend to the collection of grain and flour, and to see that proper carriages and horses were always at hand to convey them to the several depots or magazines. The different camps were also supplied from the same source. See MUNITIONNAIRE.

GENERAL and staff officers are all officers as above described, whose authority extends beyond the immediate command of a particular regiment or company, and who have either separate districts at home, or commands on foreign service.

Lieutenant GENERAL, this office is the first military dignity after that of a general. One part of the functions belonging to lieutenant generals, is to assist the general with counsel: they ought therefore, if possible, to possess the same qualities with the general himself; and the more, as they often command armies in chief, or succeed thereto on the death of the general.

The number of lieutenant generals have been multiplied of late in Europe, in proportion as the armies have become numerous. They serve either in the field, or in sieges, according to the dates of their commissions. In battle the oldest commands the right wing of the army, the second the left wing, the third the centre, the fourth the right wing of the second line, the fifth the left wing, the sixth the centre, and so on. In sieges the lieutenant generals always command the right of the principal attack, and order what they judge proper for the advancement of the siege, during the 24 hours they are in the trenches, except the attacks, which they are not to make without an order from the general in chief. Lieutenant generals are entitled to two aids-de-camp.

Lieutenant GENERAL of the ordnance. See ORDNANCE.

Lieutenant GENERAL of artillery, is, or ought to be, a very able mathematician, and a skilful engineer, to know all the powers of artillery, to understand the attack and defence of fortified places, in all its different branches; how to dispose of the artillery in the day of battle to the best advantage; to conduct its march and retreat; as also to be well acquainted with all the numerous apparatus belonging to the train, laboratory, &c.

Major GENERAL, the next officer to the lieutenant general. His chief business is to receive orders from the general, or in his absence from the lieutenant general of the day; which he is to distribute to the brigade-majors, with whom he is to regulate the guards, convoys, detachments, &c. On him the whole fatigue and detail of duty of the army roll. It is the major general of the day who is charged with the encampment of the army, who places himself at the head of it when it marches, who marks out the ground of the camp to the quarter-master-general, and who places the new guards for the safety of the camp.

The day the army is to march, he dictates to the field officers the order of the march, which he has received from the general, and on other days gives them the parole.

In a fixed camp he is charged with the foraging, with reconnoitring the ground for it, posting the escorts, &c.

In sieges, if there are two separate attacks, the second belongs to him; but if there be only one, he takes either from the right or left of the attack, that which the lieutenant general has not chosen.

When the army is under arms, he assists the lieutenant general, whose orders he executes.

If the army marches to an engagement, his post is at the head of the guards of the army, until they are near enough to the enemy to rejoin their different corps; after which he retires to his own proper post; for the major generals are disposed on the order of battle as the lieutenant generals are, to whom however, they are subordinate, for the command of their divisions. The major general has one aid-de-camp and one brigade major.

Brigadier GENERAL, is the next rank to that of major general, being superior to all colonels, and having frequently a separate command.

GENERAL of a district, a general officer who has the charge and superintendance of a certain extent of country, in which troops are encamped, quartered, or cantoned. He is entitled to have three aids-de-camp and one brigade major.

He receives reports, &c. from the major general, respecting the troops in his district; reviews and inspects them, likewise orders field days of the whole, brigaded, or by separate corps, when and in what part he pleases, making the necessary reports to the war-office, commander in chief, &c.

Colonel GENERAL, an honorary title, or military rank, which is bestowed in foreign services. Thus the prince of the peace in Spain was colonel general of the Swiss guards.

Brigade major GENERAL. As England and Scotland have been divided into different districts, each district under the immediate command of a general officer, it has been found necessary, for the dispatch of business, to establish an office, which shall be solely confined to brigade duties. The first brigade major general was appointed in 1797. Since which period all orders relative to corps of officers, which are transmitted from the commander in chief to the generals of districts, pass through this channel of intermediate communication.

By the British regulations, it is particularly directed, that all general officers commanding brigades, shall very minutely inspect the internal œconomy and discipline of the several regiments under their order. They are frequently to visit the hospitals and guards. On arriving in camp they are never to leave their brigades till the tents are pitched, and the guards posted; they must always encamp with their brigades, unless quarters can be procured for them immediately in the vicinity of their camp. General officers must not at any time change the quarters assigned them, without leave from head quarters.

All general officers should make themselves acquainted, as soon as possible, with the situation of the country near the camp, with the roads, passes, bridges, &c. leading to it; and likewise with the out-posts, that in case they should be ordered suddenly to sustain, or defend any post, they may be able to march without waiting for guides, and be competent, from a topographical knowlege of the country, to form the best disposition for the service. They should instruct their aids-de-camp in these particulars, and always require their attendance when they visit the out-posts.

All general officers, and others in considerable command, must make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the nature of the country, the quality of the roads, every circuitous access through vallies or openings, the relative height of the neighboring hills, and the course of rivers, which are to be found within the space entrusted to their care. These important objects may be attained by maps, by acquired local information, and by unremitting activity and observation. And if it should ever be the fate of a country, to act upon the defensive, a full and accurate possession of all its fastnesses, &c. must give each general officer a decided advantage over the commanding officer of an enemy, who cannot have examined the ground upon which he may be reduced to fight, and must be embarrassed in every forward movement that he makes. Although guides may serve, and ought always to be used in the common operations of marches, there are occasions where the eye and intelligence of the principal officers must determine the movements of troops, and enable them to seize and improve every advantage that occurs as the enemy approaches.

General officers on service abroad, or commanding districts at home, may appoint their own aids-de-camp and brigade majors. The latter, however, are to be considered as officers attached to their several brigades, not personally to the officers commanding them. The former are their habitual attendants and domestic inmates. In the selection of aids-de-camp and brigade majors, too much attention cannot be given to their requisite qualifications; and that general would not only commit an act of injustice against the interests of his country, but deserve the severest censure and displeasure of his sovereign, who through motives of private convenience, family connexion, or convivial recommendation, could so far forget his duty, as to prefer an unexperienced stripling, to a character marked by a knowlege of the profession, a zeal for the service, and an irreproachable conduct.

In the day of battle the station of a general is with the reserve, where he remains so situated that he can see every thing which is going forward; and by means of his own observation, or through the communications of his aids-de-camp, is enabled to send reinforcements, as the exigencies of the conflict may require.

The celebrated Marshal Saxe has made the following remarks on the necessary qualifications to form a good general. The most indispensible one, according to his idea, is valor, without which all the rest will prove nugatory. The next is a sound understanding with some genius; for he must not only be courageous, but be extremely fertile in expedients; the third is health and a robust constitution.

“His mind must be capable of prompt and vigorous resources; he must have an aptitude, and a talent at discovering the designs of others, without betraying the slightest trace of his own intentions. He must be seemingly communicative, in order to encourage others to unbosom, but remain tenaciously reserved in matters that concern his own army; he must, in a word, possess activity with judgment, be able to make a proper choice of his officers, and never deviate from the strictest line of military justice. Old soldiers must not be rendered wretched and unhappy, by unwarrantable promotions, nor must extraordinary talents be kept back to the detriment of the service, on account of mere rules and regulations. Great abilities will justify exceptions; but ignorance and inactivity will not make up for years spent in the profession.

“In his deportment he must be affable, and always superior to peevishness, or ill-humor; he must not know, or at least seem to know, what a spirit of resentment is; and when he is under the necessity of inflicting military chastisement, he must see the guilty punished without compromise or foolish humanity; and if the delinquent be from among the number of his most intimate friends, he must be doubly severe towards the unfortunate man. For it is better, in instances of correction, that one individual should be treated with rigor (by orders of the person over whom he may be supposed to hold some influence,) than that an idea should go forth in the army, of public justice being sacrificed to private sentiments.

“A modern general should always have before him the example of Manlius; he must divest himself of personal sensations, and not only be convinced himself, but convince others, that he is the organ of military justice, and that what he does is irrevocably prescribed. With these qualifications, and by this line of conduct, he will secure the affections of his followers, instil into their minds all the impulses of deference and respect; he will be feared, and consequently obeyed.

“The resources of a general’s mind are as various as the occasions for the exercise of them are multiplied and chequered; he must be perfectly master of the art of knowing how to support an army in all circumstances and situations, how to apply its strength, or be sparing of its energy and confidence; how to post all its different component parts, so as not to be forced to give, or receive battle in opposition to settled plans. When once engaged, he must have presence of mind enough to grasp all the relative points of disposition and arrangement, to seize favorable moments for impression, and to be thoroughly conversant in the infinite vicissitudes that occur during the heat of a battle; on a ready possession of which its ultimate success depends. These requisites are unquestionably manifold, and grow out of the diversity of situations, and the chance medley of events that produce their necessity.

“A general to be in perfect possession of them, must on the day of battle be divested of every thought, and be inaccessible to every feeling, but what immediately regards the business of the day; he must reconnoitre with the promptitude of a skilful geographer, whose eye collects instantaneously all the relative portions of locality; and feels his ground as it were by instinct; and in the disposition of his troops, he must discover a perfect knowlege of his profession, and make all his arrangements with accuracy and dispatch. His orders of battle must be simple and unconfused, and the execution of his plan be as quick as if it merely consisted in uttering some few words of command; as, the first line will attack! the second will support it! or such a battalion will advance and support the line.

“The general officers that act under such a general, must be ignorant of their business indeed, if, upon the receipt of these orders, they should be deficient in the immediate means of answering them, by a prompt and ready co-operation. So that the general has only to issue out directions according to the growth of circumstances, and to rest satisfied, that every division will act in conformity to his intentions; but if, on the contrary, he should so far forget his situation as to become a drill serjeant in the heat of action, he must find himself in the case of the fly in the fable, which perched upon a wheel and foolishly imagined, that the motion of the carriage was influenced by its situation. A general, therefore, ought on the day of battle to be thoroughly master of himself, and to have both his mind and his eye rivetted to the immediate scene of action. He will by these means be enabled to see every thing; his judgment will be unembarrassed, and he will instantly discover all the vulnerable points of the enemy. The instant a favorable opening offers, by which the contest may be decided, it becomes his duty to head the nearest body of troops, and, without any regard to personal safety, to advance against his enemy’s line. [By a ready conception of this sort, joined to a great courage, general Desaix determined the issue of the battle of Marengo.] It is, however, impossible for any man to lay down rules, or to specify, with accuracy, all the different ways by which a victory may be obtained. Every thing depends upon variety of situations, casualties of events, and intermediate occurrences which no human foresight can positively ascertain, but which may be converted to good purposes by a quick eye, a ready conception, and a prompt execution.

“Prince Eugene was singularly gifted with these qualifications, particularly with that sublime possession of the mind, which constitutes the essence of a military character.

“Many commanders in chief have been so limited in their ideas of warfare, that when events have brought the contest to issue, and two rival armies have been drawn out for action, their whole attention has devolved upon a straight alignement, an equality of step, or a regular distance in intervals of columns. They have considered it sufficient to give answers to questions proposed by their aids-de-camp, to send orders in various directions and to gallop themselves from one quarter to another, without steadily adhering to the fluctuations of the day, or calmly watching for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow. They endeavor, in fact, to do every thing, and thereby do nothing. They appear like men, whose presence of mind deserts them the instant they are taken out of the beaten track, or are reduced to supply unexpected calls by uncommon exertions; and from whence continues the same sensible writer, do these contradictions arise? from an ignorance of these high qualifications without which the mere routine of duty, methodical arrangement, and studied discipline must fall to the ground, and defeat themselves. Many officers spend their whole lives in putting a few regiments through a regular set of manœuvres; and having done so, they vainly imagine, that all the science of a real military man consists in that acquirement. When, in process of time, the command of a large army falls to their lot, they are manifestly lost in the magnitude of the undertaking, and from not knowing how to act as they ought, they remain satisfied with doing what they have partially learned.

“Military knowlege, as far as it regards a general or commander in chief, may be divided into two parts, one comprehending mere discipline and settled systems for putting a certain number of rules into practice; and the other originating a sublimity of conception, that method may assist, but cannot give.

“If a man be not born with faculties that are naturally adapted to the situation of a general, and if his talents do not fit the extraordinary casualties of war, he will never rise beyond mediocrity.

“It is, in fact, in war as it is in painting, or in music. Perfection in either art grows out of innate talents, but it never can be acquired without them. Study and perseverance may correct ideas, but no application, no assiduity will give the life and energy of action; those are the works of nature.

“It has been my fate (observes the Marshal) to see several very excellent colonels become indifferent generals. I have known others, who have distinguished themselves at sieges, and in the different evolutions of an army, lose their presence of mind and appear ignorant of their profession, the instant they were taken from that particular line, and be incapable of commanding a few squadrons of horse. Should a man of this cast be put at the head of an army, he will confine himself to mere dispositions and manœuvres; to them he will look for safety; and if once thwarted, his defeat will be inevitable, because his mind is not capable of other resources.

“In order to obviate in the best possible manner, the innumerable disasters which must arise from the uncertainty of war, and the greater uncertainty of the means that are adopted to carry it on, some general rules ought to be laid down, not only for the government of the troops, but for the instruction of those who have the command of them. The principles to be observed, are: that when the line or the columns advance, their distances should be scrupulously observed; that whenever a body of troops is ordered to charge, every proportion of the line should rush forward with intrepidity and vigor; that if openings are made in the first line it becomes the duty of the second instantly to fill up the chasms.

“These instructions issue from the dictates of plain nature, and do not require the least elucidation in writing. They constitute the A, B, C, of soldiers. Nothing can be more simple, or more intelligible; so much so, that it would be ridiculous in a general to sacrifice essential objects in order to attend to such minutiæ. His functions in the day of battle are confined to those occupations of the mind, by which he is enabled to watch the countenance of the enemy, to observe his movements, and to see with an eagle’s, or a king of Prussia’s eye, all the relative directions that his opponents take. It must be his business to create alarms and suspicions among the enemy’s line in one quarter, whilst his real intention is to act against another; to puzzle and disconcert him in his plans; to take advantage of the manifold openings, which his feints have produced, and when the contest is brought to issue, to be capable of plunging with effect, upon the weakest part, and of carrying the sword of death where its blows is certain of being mortal. But to accomplish these important and indispensible points, his judgment must be clear, his mind collected, his heart firm, and his eyes incapable of being diverted, even for a moment, by the trifling occurrences of the day.

“I am not, however, an advocate for pitched battles, especially at the commencement of a war. A skilful general might, I am persuaded, carry on a contest between two rival nations during the whole of his life, without being once obliged to come to a decisive action. Nothing harrasses and eventually distresses an enemy so much as this species of warfare. He must, in fact, be frequently attacked, and by degrees, be broken and unnerved; so that in a short time he will not be able to shew himself.

“It must not generally be inferred from this opinion, that when an opportunity presents itself, whereby an enemy may be crushed at once, the attack should not be made, or that advantage should not be taken of the errors he may commit; all I mean to prove is, that war can be carried on without leaving any thing to chance; and in this consists the perfection and highest point of ability belonging to a general. But when a battle is risked, the triumphant party ought well to know all the advantages which may be derived from his victory. A wise general, indeed, will not remain satisfied in having made himself master of the mere field of battle. This, I am sorry to observe, is too often the custom; and, strange to say, that custom is not without its advocates.

“It is too much the practice of some governments, and as often the custom of generals, to follow the old proverb, which says, that in order to gain your ends, you must make some sacrifices, and even facilitate the retreat of your enemy. Nothing can be more impolitic or more absurd. An able surgeon might as well tamper with a mortification, and by endeavoring to save an useless limb, run the hazard of destroying all the vital parts.

“An enemy, on the contrary, ought to be vigorously pushed, harrassed night and day, and pursued through every winding he can make. By a conduct of this sort, the advancing army will drive him from all his holds and fastnesses, and the conclusion of his brilliant retreat, will ultimately turn out a complete and total overthrow. Ten thousand well trained and disciplined troops, that are sent forward from the main army, to hang upon the rear of a retiring enemy, will be able to destroy an army of an hundred thousand men, when that army has once been forced to make retrograde movements. A want of confidence in their generals, added to many other disheartening circumstances, will naturally possess the minds of the latter, while implicit faith and warm affection must influence the former. A first defeat well followed up, almost always terminates in a total rout, and finishes the contest. But some generals do not wish to bring war to a speedy issue. Public misfortunes too frequently produce private emoluments, and the accumulation of the latter is too endearing to suffer itself to be superseded by the former.”

In order to substantiate what he thus advances with much good sense, the Marshal cites the following particular instance, from among an infinity of others.

“When the French army, at the battle of Ramillies, was retiring in good order over an eminence that was rather confined, and on both sides of which there were deep ravines, the cavalry belonging to the allies followed its track leisurely, without even appearing to wish to harrass or attack its rear. The French continued their march with the same composure; retreating upon more than twenty lines, on account of the narrowness of the ground.

“On this occasion, a squadron of English horse got close to two French battalions, and began to fire upon them. The two battalions, naturally presuming that they were going to be attacked, came to the right about, and fired a volley at the squadron. What was the consequence? the whole of the French army took to its heels; the cavalry went off full gallop, and all the infantry, instead of patiently retiring over the heights, threw itself into the ravines in such dreadful disorder, that the ground above was almost instantly abandoned, and not a French soldier was seen upon it.

“Let any military man consider this notorious event, and then praise the regularity of a retreat and the prudent foresight of those who, after an enemy has been vanquished in the field, relax in their exertions, and give him time to breathe. I do not, however, pretend to maintain, that all the forces of a victorious army should be employed to follow up the pursuit; but I am decidedly of opinion, that large bodies should be detached for that purpose, and that the flying enemy should be annoyed as long as the day lasts. This must be done in good order. And let it be remembered, that when an enemy has once taken to his heels in real earnest, you may drive him before you by the mere noise of empty bladders.

“If the officer who is detached in pursuit of an enemy, begins to manœuvre after prescribed rules and regulations, and operate with slowness and precaution, he had better be recalled; for the sole purpose of his employment is to push on vigorously, to harrass and distress the foe. Every species of evolution will do on this occasion; if any can be defective, the regular system might prove so.

“I shall conclude these observations by saying, that all retreats depend wholly upon the talents and abilities of generals, who must themselves be governed by circumstances and situations; but I will venture to assert, that no retreat can eventually succeed, unless it be made before an enemy who acts with extreme caution; for if the latter follow up his first blow, the vanquished army must soon be thrown into utter confusion.”

These are the sentiments of Marshal Saxe, as far as they relate to the qualifications which the general of an army should indispensibly possess. And no man we are persuaded was better enabled to form an opinion on so important a subject; for as baron Espagnac has justly observed in his Supplément aux Rêveries de ce Mar, p. 166, he possessed uncommon courage, was fertile in expedients and resources; he knew how to distinguish and to make use of the abilities of individuals, was unshaken in his determinations; and when the good of the service required chastisement or severity, was not influenced by private feelings, or hurried away by a sanguinary temper; he was uncommonly attentive to his men, watchful of their health, and provident to supply their wants; sparing of their blood in the day of battle, and always inspiring them, by the liveliness of his mind, tempered by experience, with confidence and attachment to his measures. He knew the cast of each man’s character, particularly so of his officers; and whilst he directed the former with consummate knowlege and consequent success, he never lost sight of the merits of the latter, when they co-operated with his designs. If the natural vivacity of his mind sometimes led him into temporary neglect, good sense and a marked anxiety to be just, soon made amends for apparent slights, by rendering the most important services; he was ingenious and subtle in all his manœuvres before an enemy, skilful in his choice of camps, and equally intelligent in that of posts; he was plain in his instructions previous to an engagement, simple in his disposition of the order of battle; and he was never known to lose an opportunity, through the want of prompt decision, whereby a contest might be ended by a bold and daring evolution. When it appeared necessary to give weight to his orders, and to turn the balance of fortune by personal exposure, no man became less fearful of his own destiny, than Marshal Saxe. On these occasions he was daring to an extreme, heedless of danger, but full of judgment, and a calm presence of mind. Such, in our humble opinion, are the outlines of a real general, how well they were exemplified and filled up by the subject of this article, time and the concurring testimony of events have proved.

GENERAL’S Guard. It was customary among the French, for the oldest regiment to give one captain, one lieutenant, one ensign, two serjeants, and fifty privates, as a general’s guard. Whenever the marshals of France were on service under the immediate orders of the king, or of the princes belonging to the royal household, they always retained the rank of general.

GENERAL d’armée, Fr. the commander in chief of any army.

Battre la GENERAL, Fr. to beat the general. See DRUM.

GENERAL court-martial. See COURTS MARTIAL.

GENERAL formations of the battalion, are from line into column, and from column into line by echellon; to either flank, to the front, or on a line oblique to any given point front or rear.

GENERAL, is also used for a particular beat of the drum. See DRUM.

GENETTE, Fr. a particular sort of snaffle, which is used among the Turks; it resembles a large ring, and serves to confine the horse’s tongue.

GENIE, Fr. The art of engineering. It consists in a knowlege of lines so as to be able to trace out all that is requisite for the attack or defence of places, according to established rules in fortification. Marshal Vauban and the marquis of Louvois, have particularly distinguished themselves in this art.

GENIUS, in a military sense, a natural talent or disposition to every kind of warlike employment, more than any other; or the aptitude a man has received from nature to perform well, and easily, that which others can do but indifferently, and with a great deal of pains.

From the diversity of genius, the difference of inclination arises in men whom nature has had the precaution of leading to the employment for which she designs them, with more or less impetuosity, in proportion to the greater or lesser number of obstacles they have to surmount, in order to render themselves capable of answering this occasion. Thus the inclinations of men are so very different, because they follow the same mover, that is the impulse of their genius. This is what renders one officer more pleasing, even though he trespasses against the rules of war; while others are disagreeable notwithstanding their strict regularity.

GENOUILLIERE, Fr. the lower part of the embrasure of a battery. The genouilliere is about 2¹⁄₂ or 3 French feet high from the platform to the opening of the embrasure. It lies immediately under the arch of the fortification. Its thickness, which usually consists of fascines well put together, is of the same dimensions that merlons bear; namely from 18 to 22 feet. The term genouilliere is derived from genou, signifying the knee, to the height of which it is generally raised.

GENS, Fr. a word in much desultory use among the French, signifying in a general acceptation of it, folks, people, servants, soldiers, &c.

GENS d’armes. See GENDARMES.

GENS de guerre, Fr. men attached to a military profession.

Mes GENS, Fr. an affected phrase, which was formerly used among the French, to signify their servants or attendants. It seems to have been an arrogant and foolish imitation of mon peuple, my people. During the monarchy of France, this term was in much vogue at Paris, and was afterwards adopted by almost all the petits maitres, or coxcombs belonging to the church, state, and army.

GENS de sac et de corde, Fr. an opprobrious term which the French apply to men that deserve chastisement. In former times, the cord or rope, and the sack, were the common instruments and means of punishment. The ropes served to hang up malefactors: and the sack was used to contain their bodies when it was ordained that they should be thrown into a river.

GENS de mer, Fr. sea-faring men.

GENS de l’équipage, Fr. men belonging to the train of artillery.

GENT. Fr. Nation. It is only used in poetry, viz. La gent, qui porte le Turban. The Turkish Nation. In the plural number it is only accepted according to the following significations.

Le droit des GENS, Fr. the rights of nations.

Violer le droit des GENS, Fr. to infringe or violate the rights of nations.

Respecter le droit des GENS, Fr. to respect the rights of nations.

Un traité du troit des GENS, Fr. a treatise on the rights of nations.

The following phrases are in familiar use among the French, viz.

GENS de marque, Fr. men of distinction.

GENS de condition, Fr. men of condition.

GENS d’honneur, Fr. men of honor.

GENS de qualité, Fr. men of fashion, or quality.

GENS de coeur, Fr. men of spirit.

GENS d’epée, Fr. this term is used among the French, to distinguish officers, gentlemen, &c. who wear swords, from those who do not, particularly so in opposition to gens de la robe, or lawyers.

GENS de main, Fr. executive characters.

GENS de service, Fr. useful men, persons of exertions.

GENS de pied, Fr. The same as fantassins, foot soldiers, or men who serve on foot.

GENS de cheval, Fr. cavalry, or men who serve on horseback.

Mille GENS, cent mille gens, Fr. signifies any considerable number of men.

GENS, Fr. this word is likewise used to distinguish bodies of men that are in opposition to each other, viz.

Nos GENS ont battu les ennemis, Fr. our men, or people have overcome the enemy.

Nos GENS ont été battus, Fr. our men or people have been beaten.

Je craignois que ce ne fussent des ennemis, et c’étoient de nos GENS, Fr. I was apprehensive that they were our enemies, but they proved to be our own people.

Nos GENS battirent les vôtres, Fr., our men beat your’s.

GENS, Fr. when followed by the preposition de, and by a substantive, which points out any particular profession, trade, &c. signifies all those persons that belong to one nation, one town, &c. or who are of one specific profession or calling, as

LES GENS d’église, Fr. churchmen.

LES GENS de robe, Fr. lawyers or gentlemen of the long robe.

Les GENS de finance, Fr. men concerned in the distribution of public money.

Les GENS de loi, Fr. means generally all persons who have any connection with the law in the way of profession.

Les GENS du roi, Fr. Crown lawyers.

GENTILHOMMES de la garde, commonly called Au bec de corbin, or the battle axe. This company went through many alterations during the monarchy of France. During the last years of that government, it consisted of 200 guards under the command of a captain, a lieutenant, and an ensign. The captain had the power of giving away the subaltern commissions, and had moreover the entire management of the rest; every vacancy being in his gift. They marched in file, each holding his battle-axe, before the king on days of public ceremony. These were chiefly at the coronation, and the marriage of the king, or at the reception of the knights of the Holy Ghost.

When the company was first raised, its particular duty was to attend the king’s person, and to be constantly near him on the day of battle.

GENTILHOMME à drapeau établie dans chaque compagnie des gardes Francoises, Fr. under the old French government, this person ranked as officier en second. He did duty in common with the ensigns of the French guards, and took precedence immediately under them. His name always stood upon the muster roll, but his appointment was purely honorary, as he did not receive any pay; his tour of duty in mounting guards, went with that of the ensigns, he was obliged to be present at all field days, and could not absent himself without leave.

GENTILSHOMMES pensionnaires, Fr. Gentlemen pensioners. See PENSIONERS.

GEODOESIA, GEODESIE, Fr. that part of practical geometry, which contains the doctrine or art of measuring surfaces and finding the contents of all plain figures. Among the French géodesie means likewise the division of lands. See SURVEYING.

GEOGRAPHY is the doctrine or knowledge of the terrestrial globe; or the science that teaches and explains the state of the earth, and parts thereof that depend upon quantity; or it is rather that part of mixed mathematics, which explains the state of the earth, and of its parts depending on quantity, viz. its figure, magnitude, place, and motion, with the celestial appearances, &c. In consequence of this definition, geography should be divided into general and special, or universal and particular.

By universal GEOGRAPHY, is understood that part of the science which considers the whole earth in general, and explains its properties without regard to particular countries. This division is again distinguished into three parts, absolute, relative, and comparative. The absolute part respects the body of the earth itself, its parts and peculiar properties; as its figure, magnitude, and motion; its lands, seas, and rivers, &c. The relative part accounts for the appearances and accidents that happen to it from celestial causes; and lastly, the comparative contains an explanation of those properties which arise from comparing different parts of the earth together.

Special or particular GEOGRAPHY is that division of the science which describes the constitution and situation of each single country by itself; and is twofold, viz. chorographical, which describes countries of a considerable extent; or topographical, which gives a view of some place, or small tract of land. Hence the object or subject of geography is the earth, especially its superficies and exterior parts.

The properties of GEOGRAPHY are of three kinds, viz. celestial, terrestrial, and human. The celestial properties are such as affect us by reason of the apparent motion of the sun and stars. These are 8 in number.

1. The elevation of the pole, or the distance of a place from the equator.

2. The obliquity of the diurnal motion of the stars above the horizon of the place.

3. The time of the longest and shortest day.

4. The climate and zone.

5. Heat, cold, and the seasons of the year; with rain, snow, wind, and other meteors.

6. The rising, appearance, and continuance of stars above the horizon.

7. The stars that pass through the zenith of a place.

8. The celerity of the motion with which, according to the Copernican hypothesis, every place constantly revolves.

The terrestrial properties are those observed in the face of the country, and are 10 in number.

1. The limits and bounds of each country. 2.} {figure; 3.} {magnitude; 4.}Its{mountains; 5.} {waters, viz. springs, rivers, lakes, and bays; 6.} {woods and deserts. 7. The fruitfulness and barrenness of the country, with its various kinds of fruits. 8.} {minerals and fossils; 9.}The{living creatures there; 10.} {longitude and latitude of the place.

The third kind of observations to be made in every country is called human, because it chiefly regards the inhabitants of the place. It consists of 10 specific branches.

1. The stature, shape, color, and the length of their lives; their origin, meat and drink. 2. Their arts, and the profits which arise from them, with the merchandize they barter one with another. 3. Their virtues and vices, learning, capacities, and schools. 4. Their ceremonies at births, marriages, and funerals. 5. The language which the inhabitants use. 6.} {political government. 7.}Their{religion and church government. 8.} {cities and famous places. 9.} {remarkable histories and antiquities. 10. Their famous men, artificers, and inventions of the natives.

These are the three kinds of occurrences to be explained in special geography.

The principles of GEOGRAPHY, or those from which arguments are drawn for the proving of propositions in that science, are, according to the best authors, of three sorts.

1. Geometrical, arithmetical, and trigonometrical propositions.

2. Astronomical precepts and theorems.

3. Experience, being that upon which the greatest part of geography, and chiefly the special is founded.

In proving geographical propositions, we are to observe, that several properties, and chiefly the celestial, are confirmed by proper demonstrations; being either grounded on experience and observation, or on the testimony of our senses: nor can they be proved by any other means. There are also several propositions proved, or rather exposed to view, by the terrestrial globe, or by geographical maps.

Other propositions cannot be so well proved, yet are received as apparent truths. Thus, though we suppose all places on the globe, and in maps, to be laid down in the same order as they are really on the earth; nevertheless, in these matters, we rather follow the descriptions that are given by geographical writers.

GEOGRAPHY is very ancient, at least the special part thereof; for the ancients scarce went beyond the description of countries. It was a constant custom among the Romans, after they had conquered or subdued any province, to have a map or printed representation thereof, carried in triumph and exposed to the view of the spectators. Historians relate that the Roman senate, about 100 years before Christ, sent geographers into divers parts to make an exact survey and mensuration of the whole globe; but they scarcely ever saw the 20th part of it.

Before them, Necho, king of Egypt, ordered the Phœnicians to make a survey of the whole coast of Africa, which they accomplished in 3 years. Darius procured the Ethiopic sea, and the mouth of the Indus, to be surveyed; and Pliny relates, that Alexander, in his expedition into Asia, took two geographers to measure and describe the roads; and that from their itineraries, the writers of the following ages took many particulars. Indeed this may be observed, that whereas most other arts and sciences are sufferers by war, geography, artillery, mining, and fortification, alone have been improved thereby. Geography, however, must have been exceedingly defective, as a great part of the globe was then unknown, particularly all America, the northern parts of Europe and Asia, with the Australasia, and Magellanica; and they were also ignorant of the earth’s being capable to be sailed round, and of the torrid zone being habitable, &c.

The honor of reducing geography to art and system, was reserved for Ptolemy; who, by adding mathematical advantages to the historical method in which it had been treated of before, has described the world in a much more intelligible manner: he has delineated it under more certain rules, and by fixing the bounds of places from longitude and latitude, has discovered other mistakes, and has left us a method of discovering his own.

GEOLIER des prisons militaires, Fr. the superintendant or head jailor of military prisons. Under the old French government, this person had a right to visit all prisoners that were not confined in dungeons. He could order provisions, wood, and coal to be conveyed to them; but he had not the power of permitting women to visit or have any intercourse with the soldiers; and when their period of imprisonment expired, he could not detain them on account of debts contracted for food, lodging, or fees, &c. Half of the prisoner’s subsistence for one day, according to his rank, was given on his release.

GEOMETRICAL elevations, just dimensions of ascent proportionate to a given scale, &c. See ORTHOGRAPHY.

GEOMETRIE, Fr. Geometry.

GEOMETRIE composée, Fr. compound geometry, which consists in the knowlege of curved lines, and of the different bodies produced by them. The immediate object or intent of compound geometry is confined to conic sections, and to lines of that species.

GEOMETRIE sublime et transcendante, Fr. these terms have been applied by the French to the new system of geometry, which was produced by Leibnitz, and Newton, when they found out the method of calculating ad infinitum.

GEOMETRY, originally signified no more than the art of measuring the earth, or any distance or dimensions in it; but at present it denotes the science of magnitude in general; comprehending the doctrine and relations of whatever is susceptible of augmentation or diminution, considered in that light. Hence, to geometry may be referred the consideration not only of lines, surfaces, and solids; but also of time, velocity, number, weight, &c.

Plato thought the word geometry an improper name for this science, and accordingly substituted in its place the more extensive one of mensuration; and after him, others gave it the name of pantometry, as demonstrating not only the quantities of all manner of magnitudes, but also their qualities, ratios, positions, transformations, relations, &c. and Proclus calls it the knowlege of magnitudes and figures, and their limitations; also of their motions and affections of every kind.

Origin and progress of GEOMETRY. This science had its rise in Asia, the invention, which at first consisted only in measuring the lands, that every person might have what belonged to him, was called geometry, or the art of measuring land; and it is probable, that the draughts and schemes which they were annually compelled to make, helped them to discover many excellent properties of these figures; which speculation has continued gradually to improve to this day.

From Asia it passed into Egypt, and thence into Greece, where it continued to receive improvement from Thales, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Euclid, &c. The elements of geometry, written by Euclid in 15 books, are a most convincing proof to what perfection this science was carried among the ancients. However, it must be acknowleged, that it fell short of modern geometry, the bounds of which, by the inventions of fluxions, and the discovery of the almost infinite order of curves are greatly enlarged.

Division of GEOMETRY. This science is usually distinguished into elementary, and higher or sublime geometry. The first, or elementary geometry, treats of the properties of right lines, and of the circle, together with the figures and solids formed by them. The doctrine of lines comes first, then that of surfaces, and lastly that of solids. The higher geometry comprehends the doctrine of conic sections, and numerous other curves.

Speculative and practical GEOMETRY. The former treats of the properties of lines and figures, as Euclid’s Elements, Apollonius’s Conic Sections, &c. and the latter shews how to apply these speculations to the use of mensuration, navigation, surveying, taking heights and distances, gauging, fortification, gunnery, &c.

Usefulness of GEOMETRY. Its usefulness extends to almost every art and science. By the help of it, astronomers turn their observations to advantage: regulate the duration of times, seasons, years, cycles, and epochs; and measure the distance, motion, and magnitudes of the heavenly bodies. By it geographers determine the figure and magnitude of the whole earth; and delineate the extent and bearings of kingdoms, provinces, harbors, &c. It is from this science also that architects derive their just measure and construction of public edifices, as well as of private houses.

It is by the assistance of geometry that engineers conduct all their works, take the situation and plans of towns, the distances of places, and the measure of such things as are only accessible to the sight. It is not only an introduction to fortification, but highly necessary to mechanics. On geometry likewise depends the theory of gunnery, mining, music, optics, perspective, drawing, mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics, &c.

We may distinguish the progress of geometry into three ages; the first of which was in its meridian glory at the time when Euclid’s Elements appeared; the second beginning with Archimedes, reaches to the time of Descartes; who by applying algebra to the elements of geometry, gave a new turn to this science, which has been carried to its utmost perfection by our learned countryman Sir Isaac Newton, and by the German philosopher Leibnitz.

GEORGE, or knight of St. George, has been the denomination of several military orders. See GARTER.

GERBE, Fr. means literally a sheaf, but it here signifies a sort of artificial firework, which is placed in a perpendicular manner, and resembles a sheaf. See JETS de feu.

GERBE likewise means the tithe which was formerly paid to the French curates.

Faire GERBE de foarre à dieu, Fr. a figurative expression, signifying, that the farmer made up the worst sheaf he could for the parson; filling it principally with straw instead of good ears of corn.

GERMS, small coasting vessels employed by the French, to keep up an intercourse with Egypt.

GESE, Fr. a weapon used in former times.

GESES and Materes were adopted by the Allobroges (a body of ancient Gauls so called) independently of the broad cut and thrust sword, which the Swiss still wear. These instruments were only one cubit long; half the blade was nearly square, but it terminated in a round point that was exceedingly sharp. Virgil in his Æneid calls this species of blade, alpin, meaning, no doubt, to convey, that it was in general use among the neighboring inhabitants of the Alps. Not only the Romans, but the Greeks received it into their armies. The former retained the full appellation and called it gése, but the latter corrupted it into ysse. This is the only weapon with which those soldiers were armed that escorted malefactors, who were condemned to death, to the place of execution. The term gese was also applied to a sort of a javelin.

GESSATES, a people of whom Polybius speaks in his history of the ancient Gauls, and who inhabited the countries lying adjacent to the alps, and to the river Rhone. According to some writers, they were so called because they constantly wore geses. The gese is said to have been a dart which the ancient Gauls exclusively used, and which some authors since confounded with the pertuisane or partisan, a sort of halbert, called by others a javelin. This word was used in Provence, as late as the year 1300; for in the inventory which was taken of the goods, furniture, &c. appertaining to the Templars, we find gessus or gesus particularly specified in the list of weapons and iron instruments, which was understood to mean gese, and under that appellation was deposited in the king’s archives at Aix. See BOUCHER, Hist. Prov. Liv. ii. c. 4. p. 82. This same author further asserts, that the Gési, and the Gessates took their names from that weapon. He quotes Julius Cæsar’s account of the word gesi in confirmation of his own opinion. Many authors have mentioned the same term: among others, Justus, Lipsus, Hugo, Cheves, Vossius, &c.

GESSATE ou GESATE, Fr. a knight among the ancient Gauls, who took delight in war, and frequently volunteered his services beyond the boundaries of his native country. Whenever a neighboring country made a levy of men, it was usual for the gessates to accompany the troops, from a conviction that it would be dishonorable in them to remain inactive at home. These adventurers, or knights-errant, were called gessates, either on account of the gessus or large dart, which they carried, or, as Polybius imagines, on account of the subsistence which was paid them, and was called by that name.

GESTURE, a motion of the body intended to signify some idea, or passion of the mind. All officers and soldiers who make use of any menacing gesture before a commanding or superior officer, or before a court-martial, are liable to be punished by the laws of war.

GEZE, Fr. a rentrant angle, which is made with slate or lead, and forms a gutter between two roofs. It is likewise called noue, or pantile.

GHERIAH, a port on the Malabar Mahrattah coast of Hindustan, the capital part of Angria’s dominions, which consisted of an extent of coast, from whence this warlike state was a perpetual source of uneasiness to the trading ships of all the European nations in India. It cost the English East-India company 50,000_l._ annually to protect their own ships. Eight or ten grabs, and forty or fifty gallivats, crowded with men, generally composed Angria’s principal fleet in 1754, destined to attack ships of force or burthen. The vessel no sooner came in sight of the port or bay where the fleet was lying, than they slipped their cables and put out to sea. If the wind blew, their construction enabled them to sail almost as fast as the wind; and if it was calm, the gallivats rowing towed the grabs: when within cannon shot of the chace, they generally assembled in her wake, and the grabs attacked her at a distance with their prow guns, firing first only at the masts, and taking aim when the three masts of the vessel just opened all together to their view; by which means the shot would probably strike one or other of the three. As soon as the chase was dismasted, they came nearer, and battered her on all sides until she struck: and if the defence was obstinate, they sent a number of gallivats, with two or three hundred men in each, who boarded sword in hand from all quarters in the same instant.

The English trusting to the report of the natives, had until the year 1756, believed Gheriah to be at least as strong as Gibraltar, and like that situated on a mountain which was inaccessible from the sea, for this reason it was resolved to send vessels to reconnoitre it; which service commodore James, in the Protector, with two other ships, performed. He found the enemy’s fleet at anchor in the harbor, notwithstanding which, he approached within cannon shot of the fort, and having attentively considered it, returned at the end of December to Bombay, and described the place, such as it truly was, very strong indeed, but far from being inaccessible or impregnable. This place was taken by the English troops under the command of colonel Clive. There were found in it 200 pieces of cannon, six brass mortars, and a great quantity of ammunition, and military and naval stores of all kinds; the money and effects of other kinds, amounted to 1,200,000_l._ sterling. All this booty was divided amongst the captors, without any reserve either for the nation, or the company. In less than a month the English, with their allies the Mahrattas got possession of all the territories wrested from the latter by Angria’s predecessors, and which they had for seventy years despaired of ever being able to recover.

GIBERNE, Fr. a sort of bag in which the grenadiers held their hand-grenades. It was worn like a powder flask. They likewise carried, independent of this bag, a cartouch box containing 18 or 20 charges.

GIBRALTAR, a strong fortress of Andalusia, in Spain. Gibraltar was formerly thought to be impregnable; but it was taken by Sir George Rooke in 1704, and has remained in the hands of the English ever since. It has been several times attacked by the Spaniards, who have always been unsuccessful. Their last effort to recover it was made September 13th, 1782, with floating batteries, in which were mounted 212 brass cannon and mortars. The French united with the Spaniards on this memorable occasion; and the brother to the last king of the French, (then Count D’Artois) commanded the camp of St. Roche, from whence the offensive operations were directed. General Elliot, (afterwards called lord Heathfield) had prepared a great number of red-hot balls against the attack; and these so effectually destroyed the floating batteries, that the Spaniards were greatly annoyed, and relinquished the enterprize. For particulars, see Drinkwater’s siege of Gibraltar.

GIN, in military mechanics, is a machine for raising great weights: it is composed of 3 long legs, 2 of which are kept at a proper distance by means of 2 iron bars fixed on one of the legs by a staple passing through a hole at one end: the other end has a hook which enters into a staple fixed into the other leg so as to be taken off or put on at pleasure.

At 3 feet from the bottom is a roller, upon which the cable was wound; and the 3 legs are joined together with an iron bolt, about which they move: to this bolt, is also fixed an iron half-ring to hook on a windlass: when the gin stands upright, so as the legs stand at a proper distance, one end of the cable is fastened to a gun, mortar, or other weight; and the other passes through the pullies and about the roller, which is turned round by means of hand-spikes passing through the holes in the ends of the roller: whilst a man holds the cable tight, the gun is raised to the height required, so that the carriage may be put under it.

GIN Triangle--Length of arms of the gin 16 feet 4¹⁄₂ inches. Roller, 6 feet long. Tackle fall, 78 feet of 3 inch white rope. Sling, 6 inch white rope.

The newly constructed gin, by having one half of the roller of a greater diameter than the other, gives a new power, that of elevating or lowering the object in a greater or lesser proportion, according to the end of the cylinder upon which the cable is fixed.

For the different exercises of the gin, see the word EXERCISE.

GINCE, a place in India, situated 35 miles N. W. of Pondicherry.

GINJAULS or GINGAULS, an East Indian name, signifying large musquets used with a rest, somewhat similar to those invented by Marshal Vauban, for the defence of forts.

GIRANDE, Fr. the chief cluster, or assemblage of an artificial firework, with which a shew or illumination is generally concluded.

A girande may be made by uniting several chests or clusters together, and securing with a match of communication, a regular inflammation.

GIRANDOLE, Fr. literally, a chandelier; a cluster of diamonds.

GIRANDOLES, Fr. circles ornamented with fusees. They are used in fireworks. See SOLEILS tournans.

GIROUETTES, Fr. Weathercocks, vanes. They are seldom or ever used on shore, except as weathercocks on tops of church-steeples, &c.

GIROUETTE in the singular number, likewise means figuratively light, inconstant, not to be depended upon. As ce jeune officier est aussi girouette que ce coutume. This young officer is as light as usual.

GISTES, pieces of wood which are made use of in the construction of platforms to batteries, and upon which the madriers or broad planks are placed.

GLACIS. See FORTIFICATION.

GLACIS d’une corniche, Fr. a waterfall, or insensible slope which is made upon the cymatium (a member of architecture, whereof one half is convex, and the other concave) of a cornish.

GLADIATOR, GLADIATEUR, Fr. a sword player, a prize fighter. The old Romans were accustomed to make their slaves fight with one another at their public festivals, and the only weapon they used, was a gladine or sword. This barbarous usage was abolished by the emperor Theodoric in the year of Christ 500; but it prevailed among the ancient Britons, and in England to a much later date.

GLAIS militaire, Fr. a military compliment which was paid to the remains of a deceased general. It consisted in a discharge of ordnance. In a civil sense, it means the chiming of bells at the death of a parish priest.

GLAISE, Fr. clay, or potter’s earth.

GLAISER, Fr. to do over with potter’s earth, or clay.

GLAIVE, a broad sword, or falchion, anciently so called.

Le GLAIVE de la justice, the sword of justice.

GLAIZE, a kind of halbert, so called by the Saxons.

GLAS, Fr. knell.

GLIB act, a very ancient act of parliament which directed that the Irish nobility and gentry who were of English or Norman extraction, should forfeit the privileges of their original country, if they did not shave the upper lip. This act took place when Ireland was first conquered, and its object was to distinguish the descendants of the invaders; from the old Irish nobility that traced its origin to Milesius, who wore their hair and their beards very long; hence glib, means loose, flowing.

GLIPHE ou GLYPHE, Fr. signifies generally every species of canal, or hollow, which constitutes any part of ornamental architecture.

GLOBES ou ballons d’artifices, Fr. globes or balloons, which are filled with artificial fire. They are used to set fire to an enemy’s town or works, &c.

GLOBES de feu, Fr. a cartouch made of mashed paper, which is laid upon a wooden bowl and made perfectly round. It is afterward perforated in several places, and filled with the inflammable composition that is used in the making up of lances à feu. The instant it catches, a very bright and lively fire issues out of the several holes.

GLOBE. See GEOGRAPHY.

GLOIRE, Fr. an artificial fire-work, which resembles a large sun. It is made by means of an iron wheel containing four circles, each circle diminishing towards the centre, and kept at equal distances from one another. Forty eight jets de feu, or fire spouts, are tied to these circles; each jet is twenty French inches long, and there are twelve of them fixed to each of the four circles. The gloire or soleil is placed in the middle of the principal fire-work.

Military GLORY, honor, reputation and fame, acquired by military atchievements. That precarious splendor, which plays round the brows of a warrior, and has been collected by hard service, extraordinary genius, and unblemished integrity; but which may desert the greatest hero through one unfortunate failure.

GO. The verb to go is variously used in a military sense, as to march in a hostile, or warlike manner.

To GO off, implies to depart from any post.

To GO on, to make an attack.

To GO over, to revolt.

To GO out, to go upon any expedition, &c.

To GO out is likewise frequently used to signify the act of fighting a duel, as he went out with a brother officer, and was slightly wounded.

GOA, a strong town on the Malabar coast, belonging to the Portuguese. The chief trade is in arrack. This fort was taken by the English April 2d, 1756.

GOLADAR or GOLDAR, an East Indian term, signifying a store-keeper, or store-house-keeper.

GOLANDAAZEE, the Indian term for an artillery man.

GOLCONDA, a province in India, formerly comprehending the nabobships of Arcot, Canoul, Cudapa, Rajamandry, and Chicacole.

GOLCONDA, formerly a city and the capital of the province. It stood at the foot of the rock and fortress of the same name; but the city has long since been deserted; and its inhabitants removed to Hyderabad: nevertheless its name is still frequently used in Indostan, when in reality the city of Hyderabad is meant.

GOLDEN Rock, a spot near Tritchinopoly in East India, which has been renowned by the victory that was gained by the British troops over the French and their allies in 1753.

GONDECAMA, Gondegama, a river in India, which makes the northern boundary of the province of Arcot; Condavir extends between this and the river Kristna.

GONDOLA, Gondole, Fr. this word may be taken in two senses, viz. to signify a cup; or a small barge which is flat and long in its construction, and is only moved, or worked by oars. Gondolas are much used upon the canals in Venice; they are extremely remarkable for their shape, and the great swiftness with which they glide through the water. The middle sized ones are about thirty feet long, and are only four feet broad across the middle, gradually tapering towards each end, and rising in two sharp and narrow points to the ordinary height of a man. Upon the prow is fixed an iron of uncommon length, which does not exceed half a finger’s breadth in thickness; but which is four fingers broad, and is so disposed as to cut the air. The upper part of this iron which is flatter than the rest, stretches out in the shape of a large hatchet a full foot in length: so that when the gondola is on her way, it seems to menace every thing before it, and to force its passage.

GONDOLIERS, Gondoliers, Fr. the men who have the management of the gondolas at Venice, are so called. The equipment of a gondola seldom exceeds two persons, even on board of those barges that belong to the foreign ambassadors.

It sometimes happens that there are four, when persons of distinction go to their country houses. The gondoliers never sit down but row the barge standing upright and push forward. One man always plies in the fore part of the gondola, and the other is at the poop.

GONFALON, GONFANON, an ensign or standard.

GONG, the Persian word for a village.

GONG WALLAS, villagers, the militia in India so called; from gong, a village, and wallas, a man.

GORGE. See FORTIFICATION.

GORGE, Fr. likewise means any hollow between a chain of mountains, that affords a passage into an open country.

Gorge, Fr. a sort of concave moulding belonging to ornamental architecture.

GORGERIN, Fr. in ancient times, that part of the armor which covered the neck of a man. Hence our word gorget.

GORGONS, in military antiquity, a warlike female nation of Libya, in Africa, who had frequent quarrels with another nation of the same sex, called Amazons.

GOTHIC, (Gothique Fr.) any thing constructed after the manner of the Goths. Various works and buildings that appear to have been constructed without any particular regard to the rules of art, are so called. All the old cathedrals are in the Gothic taste.

Monsieur de Fenelon has said, that gothic architecture can support an immense vault upon the slightest pillars. The elevation of it is so wonderful, that although it seems ready to tumble, is perforated and full of windows in every part, and stands as it were suspended in the skies, it nevertheless lasts out centuries, and almost always proves more durable than the most regular buildings.

Fronton GOTHIQUE, Fr. a gothic pediment. In modern architecture, all circular or triangular gable ends are so called, when they are sculptured, or three leaved.

GOUDRON ou GOUDRAN, Fr. pitch and tar.

GOUDRONS, Fr. small fascines, or faggots which are well steeped in wax, pitch, and glue, and then are lighted for the purpose of setting fire to beams, planks, traverses, galleries, pontoons, &c. They are likewise used in various shapes and ways, to convey light into the ditches, or upon the ramparts.

GOVERNOR of a fortification, is, or should be, a person of great military knowlege; and is a very considerable officer, whose authority extends not only over the inhabitants and garrison, but over all troops that may be there in winter quarters, cantonments, or quarters of refreshment.

Duty of a GOVERNOR in time of peace, is to order the guards, the rounds, and the patroles; to give the parole and countersign every night after the gates are shut; to visit the posts, to see that both officers and soldiers do their duty, and that every thing goes on regularly and in good order.

Duty of a GOVERNOR in time of war. He should consider the place in such a manner, as if the enemy were going to besiege him, not omitting the least thing that may contribute to a long and obstinate defence; he should therefore take particular care to keep the fortifications in good repair; clearing the country round of all hedges, ditches, trees, hollow roads, caverns, and rising grounds, within the reach of cannon shot; not suffering any houses to be built within that distance, nor in general any thing to be done that may favor the approach of an enemy.

He should consider well with himself every minute circumstance that may be of advantage to him during the siege: he should thoroughly examine the several works, and canvas all the different stratagems that may be used, either to defend them, or to give way upon occasion, when overpowered, with an intent to return and dislodge the enemy, after he has got possession of them; in short, how to defend the place entrusted to his care, inch by inch, with the best advantage.

He should consider how, and in what manner, the works defend each other; whether their communications are safe, or liable to be interrupted by the besiegers; how to incommode the enemy when he is at a distance, or to dislodge him when near; whether the ground be proper for mines, and where they should be made; whether any part of the country may not be laid under water, by means of dykes or sluices: if there are any already made, how to keep them in constant repair, or to make new ones if they are wanted; taking care to construct them so that the enemy may not have it in his power to destroy them, either with his cannon or mortars.

If the governor be not sufficiently skilled in the systems of attack and defence, he should frequently converse with the officers of engineers and artillery who understand them; examine the works together, see what may be done to render the defence of the place as long as the circumstances and nature of the works will admit of; and to make it familiar to himself, he should set down a project of defence on paper, and have it canvassed by the most skilful officers of artillery and engineers about him. This must be done in private; that spies or deserters may not discover the weak parts to the enemy. In short, nothing should be neglected on the part of the governor.

He should see that the place be well supplied with ammunition, and wholesome provisions; that the hospitals are in good order, and provided with able physicians and surgeons, as likewise with every thing wholesome and necessary, that the sick and wounded may be well taken care of.

The powder magazines above all things, require his most special care: for though they are built bomb-proof, yet, when a great number of shells fall upon them, they seldom resist their shock; for which reason they should be covered 8 or 10 feet thick with earth, and a layer of fascines, dung and strong planks, laid over them.

GOUJAT, Fr. A soldier’s boy. It likewise signifies an ignorant good-for-nothing fellow.

GOUINE, a woman of infamous character.

GOURDIN, Fr. a flat stick, two fingers in breadth, which was used by the french to punish galley slaves.

GOURGANDINE, Fr. a strumpet of the lowest species, a soldier’s trull.

GOUVERNAIL, Fr. a rudder.

GOUVERNEMENT, Fr. anciently meant a certain specific allotment of provinces, towns, &c. under the superintendence and government of one person who received his powers from the king, and had subordinate officers under him. There were twelve governments in France, at the first institution of monarchy, called grands gouvernemens généraux, which were specifically noticed in all the general sittings of the kingdom. They were first formed by Hugues Capet, in 987. Previous to the revolution in 1789, they were subdivided into 39 general provincial governments with inferior officers, subject to their jurisdiction; such as governors of towns, and commandants of fortified places. Each governor general was entitled to a guard of cavalry, a certain number of halberdiers and armed men on foot.

GOUVERNEUR d’une place de guerre, Fr. the governor of a fortified town or place. See governor of a FORTIFICATION.

GOWA. A witness is so called in India.

GRABS. Vessels peculiar to the Malabar coast. They have rarely more than two masts, although some have three; those of three are about 300 tons burthen; but the others are not more than 150 tons; they are built to draw very little water, being very broad in proportion to their length, narrowing from the middle to the end, where instead of bows they have a prow, projecting like that of a Mediterranean galley, and covered with a strong deck level with the main deck of the vessel, from which, however, it is separated by a bulk head, which terminates the forecastle. As this construction subjects the grab to pitch violently when sailing against a head sea; the deck of the prow is not enclosed with sides as the rest of the vessel is, but remains bare, that the water which dashes upon it may pass off without interruption. On the main deck under the forecastle are mounted two pieces of cannon nine or twelve pounders, which point forwards through the port holes cut in the bulk head, and fire over the prow; the cannon of the broadside are from six to nine pounders.

GRAFF. See DITCH or MOAT.

GRAIN, Fr. A word used in the repairing of damaged cannon.

Mettre un GRAIN a une piece, to fill up the touch-hole of a piece of ordnance, the heating it in such a manner, that the metal which is poured in may assimilate and mix. When it becomes cold, a fresh aperture is made or bored.

GRAIS, Fr. large stones resembling Scotch pebbles. They are used to pave the high-roads, and streets.

GRAM, the grey peas are called by this name in Hindustan, and is the common food of horses, for which purpose it is previously steept in water.

GRAMEN, grass, in botany.

GRAMINE, couronne gramine, Fr. a grass or gramineous crown, which was made among the Romans. See OBSIDIONAL.

GRANADE. False orthography. See GRENADE.

GRANADIER, false orthography. See GRENADIER.

GRAND. This word is frequently used both in French and English as a word of title or distinction; it means great. In French it also means large.

GRAND division. The battalion being told off by two companies to each division, is said to be told off in grand divisions; hence grand division firing is, when the battalion fires by 2 companies at the same time, and is commanded by 1 officer only.

GRAND maitre d’artillerie, Fr. grand master of the ordnance, &c. &c. &c.

GRAND soleil brillant, Fr. a sun exhibited in artificial fireworks. See GLOIRE.

GRAND Vizir. See VIZIR.

GRANITE, (granit, Fr.) a sort of hard stone which is variegated by spots and streaks, and is rather encrusted. It is very common in Egypt. There is a species of granite, that is of a white and violet color; and another which is green mixed with white. The most ordinary kind has grey and green spots scattered over a greyish white.

Columns 40 feet high have been seen in Egypt which consisted wholly of one piece of granite. The Egyptian Pyramids are made of that marble; such indeed is the quantity said to exist about the country, that some authors imagine the whole extent of its foundation to be a solid rock of granite. The French distinguish this sort of stone by calling it marbre granit and marbre granitelle. In natural history it is generally called granita, being a distinct genus of stones composed of separate and very large concretions rudely compacted together, of great hardness and capable of receiving a very fine and beautiful polish.

GRANOIR, Fr. a term used in the French artillery, to signify a sort of sieve, in which there are small round holes for moist powder to be passed through, in order to make the grains perfectly round.

GRAPE shot. See SHOT.

GRAPHOMETER, (graphometre, Fr.) among surveyors, an instrument for taking angles, and generally called a semi-circle. In mathematics it serves to measure heights and elevations, to raise plans, &c.

GRAPPLING. The French call it grapin, herisson, risson, or harpeau; it is a sort of small anchor, with four or five flukes or arms, commonly used to ride a boat.

GRAPPLING-irons, in the art of war, are composed of 4, 5, or 6 branches, bent round and pointed, with a ring at the root, to which is fastened a rope to hold by, when the grapple is thrown at any thing, in order to bring it near, so as to lay hold of it.

Fire GRAPPLING, an instrument which nearly resembles the above, only that it is fitted with strong barbs instead of flukes, and is fixed at the yard arms of a fire-ship to grapple her adversary, and set her on fire. The French call this instrument grapin de brulôt.

GRAS-bois, Fr. in carpentry, a term to signify any piece of wood which is too large to fit the place it was intended to fill, and which must necessarily be diminished. Hence the expression dêmaigrir, to thin.

GRASS, (gramen,) in botany a general name for most of the herbaceous plants used in feeding cattle.

GRASS plats, green walks which for the most part are made by laying turfs or green sods.

GRATICULER, Fr. to divide with a pencil on a sheet of paper, any design or drawing into small equal squares, in order to reduce the original sketch or picture, or to enlarge it by the same process. This word is derived from the Italian, graticola, a gridiron.

GRATIFICATION, Fr. In a general acceptation of the term, this word meant, among the French, certain rewards which generals gave to the troops, after a severe engagement, in testimony of their valor and good conduct. These rewards were distributed according to rank. This custom was prevalent in the most ancient times. According to Vegetius, all monies distributed by the Romans, as military gratifications or rewards, were deposited in the ensign or standard-bearer’s hands, to be occasionally given to the soldiers. Sometimes the generals gave directions, that a certain proportion should be sequestered or put apart. By degree, a fund was collected; and the temptations to desert lost their influence in the superior attachment which every soldier felt to his standard, whose bearer was the trustee of his little property, and to whom he was consequently bound by one of the most powerful ties of the human heart--self interest.

By gratification was likewise meant the accumulation of a certain sum, which was deposited for the specific purpose of burying a deceased soldier.

Gratification signified, among the French, in a more extended sense of the word, a public reward given to a body of soldiers on the recommendation of a general, for some signal act of bravery in the day of battle. When this happened the soldiers had a certain sum of money distributed amongst them, and the officers received annual pensions.

GRATIFICATION likewise means a certain allowance in money which is made to prisoners of war. The British officers in France have been allowed 6_d._ per day, and the non-commissioned and soldiers 1¹⁄₂_d._ the officers have also 1_s._ 6_d._ in lieu of rations.

GRATTER un Vaisseau, Fr. to clean or careen a ship.

GRATTER en maconnerie, Fr. to restore the original appearance of a wall or building by grating the superficies with a trowel, or any other iron instrument.

GRAVEURS, Fr. Persons employed and paid by the founders of cannon for repairing damaged pieces of artillery. Some individual, however, was distinguished by the name of Graveur de l’Artillerie, Engraver to the Artillery, and was permitted, by the Grand Master of the Ordnance, to exhibit over his shop-door the arms of the royal artillery.

GRAVITY.--Table of the Specific gravity of several Solid and Fluid bodies.

Platina 23400 Fine gold 19640 Standard gold 18888 Quick silver 11325 Fine silver 11091 Standard silver 10535 Copper 9000 Copper halfpence 8915 Gun metal 8784 Cast brass 8000 Steel 7850 Iron 7645 Cast iron 7425 Tin 7320 Crystal glass 3150 Marble 2700 Common green glass 2600 Flint 2570 Common stone 2520 Clay 2160 Brick 2000 Common earth 1984 Nitre 1900 Ivory 1825 Brimstone 1810 Solid gunpowder 1745 Sand 1520 Coal 1250 Boxwood 1030 Sea water 1030 Common water 1000 Oak 925 Gunpowder, close stacken 937 Do. in loose heap 836 Ash 800 Maple 755 Elm 600 Fir 550 Charcoal Cork 240 Air 1.232

The several sorts of wood are supposed dry.

This table also contains the weight of a cubic foot of each body in avoirdupois ounces; from whence results the following rules:

1. To find the magnitude of any body from its Weight.

As the tabular specific gravity of the body,

Is to its weight in avoirdupois ounces.

So is one cubic foot, or 1728 cubic inches,

To its contents in feet or inches respectively.

2. To find the weight of a body from its magnitude.

As one cubic foot, or 1728 cubic inches,

Is to the content of the body,

So is the tabular specific gravity

To the weight of the body.

GRAVOIS, Fr. rubbish.

GREAT fortification. One of the divisions of the first system of M. de Vauban.--It consists in a fortification whose exterior side is from 185 to 260 toises, or from 370 to 520 yards, and is seldom adopted but towards a river or a marsh.

GREAT radius. The whole oblique radius. See FORTIFICATION.

GRECIAN fire, feu Gregeois, Fr. a sort of artificial fire, which insinuates itself beyond the surface of the sea, and which burns with increased violence when it mixes with that element. Its directions are contrary to the course of natural fire; for the flames will spread themselves downwards, to the right or left, agreeably to the movement that is given. It is composed or made up of naphtha, sulphur, bitumen, gum and pitch; and it can only be extinguished by vinegar mixed with urine and sand, or with undressed leather or green hides. Some writers assert, that it was invented by an engineer (belonging to Heliopolis, a town in Syria,) whose name was Gallinicus, and who used it with so much skill and effect during a naval engagement, that he destroyed a whole fleet belonging to the enemy, upon which were embarked 30,000 men. This combustible matter has retained the name of Grecian fire, because the Greeks first practised the invention. It is asserted indeed, that the secret of making Grecian fire, which should be unextinguishable, has been long since lost; we say unextinguishable, because the ancients did nor know, as we do, how to repress or put out the flame.

According to the author of Oeuvres Militaires, a powerful composition, which could only be extinguished by strong vinegar (a secret unknown to the ancients) might be made of the following combustible materials: viz. pitch, rosin, tallow, camphor, turpentine, salt of nitre, liquid varnish, oil of sulphur, linseed, rock oil, flax, charcoal finely pulverized; the whole of which being boiled together, and before it grows cold, mixed with quick lime: a consistence is formed that will be susceptible of the most subtle and destructive fire.

GRENADES, GRANADES or GRENADOES, in the art of war, are hollow balls or shells of iron or other metal, about 2¹⁄₂ inches diameter, which being filled with fine powder, are set on fire by means of a small fuse, driven into the fuse-hole, made of well seasoned beech wood, and formerly thrown by the grenadiers into places where men stood thick, and particularly into the trenches and other lodgments made by the enemy. As soon as the composition within the fuse gets to the powder in the grenade, it bursts into many pieces, greatly to the injury of all who happen to be in its way. Grenades were first made about the time shells were invented (which see) and first used in 1594. Grenades have much sunk into disuse; but nothing is more effectual than grenades thrown into the midst of the enemy, who have jumped into the ditch. During the siege of Cassel, under the Count de Lippe, in the campaign of 1762, a young engineer undertook to carry one of the outworks, with a much smaller detachment than had before attempted it without success. He gained his object with ease, from the use of grenades; which is a proof that they should not be neglected, either in the attack or defence of posts.

GRENADE, grenade, Fr. There is a sort of grenade which is thrown out of a mortar.

It is sometimes used for the purpose of annoying the besieging enemy; in which case quantities are rolled down the rampart into the fossé, or ditch, upon the workmen or miners.

A grenade resembles a bomb or shell, with this only difference, that the grenade has not any handles to it.

There are some grenades, called grenades à main hand-grenades, whose calibre is equal to that of a four pounder. The charge is from five to six ounces of gunpowder, or thereabouts. They are extremely serviceable on many occasions: but particularly so to throw among the men that are working in the trenches; numbers of whom they must inevitably wound. The vent of a hand-grenade contains about six lines, or half an inch.

The following proportions belonged to grenades, according to their several diameters in former times; they have been much improved.

Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 33 pounder, contain about 6 French inches or more diameter, 8 lines in thickness, and 16 pounds in weight.

Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 24 pounder, contain 5 French inches 5 lines diameter, six lines in thickness, and 12 pounds in weight.

Grenades whose calibre is equal to that of a 16 pounder, contain 4 French inches 9 lines diameter, 5 lines in thickness and 8 pounds in weight.

Those that weigh 6 pounds, have 3 French inches 5 lines diameter, and are 5 lines thick.

Those that weigh 5 pounds, have 3 French inches 2¹⁄₄ lines diameter, and are 5 lines thick.

Those that weigh 3 pounds, have 2 French inches 8 lines diameter, and are 4¹⁄₂ lines thick.

Those that weigh 2 pounds, have 2 French inches 4 lines diameter, and are 4 lines thick.

Those that weigh 1 pound, have 1 French inch ten lines diameter, and are 3 lines thick.

Those that weigh three quarters of a pound, have 1 French inch 8 lines diameter, and are 3 lines thick.

Those that weigh half a pound, have 1 French inch 8 lines diameter, and are 3 lines thick.

Those that weigh a quarter of a pound, have 1 French inch 6 lines diameter, and are 2¹⁄₂ lines thick.

These proportions were formerly attended to in the old French service, with occasional deviations from the strict measurement of the lines; as it was supposed to be of little consequence whether the grenades fitted the mortars exactly. It was, indeed, generally thought advisable to adapt their sizes, so that they might be thrown out without the least resistance or compression.

Grenades were directed to be thicker at the breech than elsewhere, in proportion to their several diameters.

Durtubie, in his Manuel de l’Artilleur, gives the following succinct account of grenades. That writer observes, “that besides bombs or shells, and howitzers, hollow vessels made of iron in globular shapes, which are called grenades, are frequently used; gunpowder is poured in through the cavity or vent, called in French lumiere, into which a fuse loaded with a composition of combustible materials is introduced.”

There are two sorts of grenades. Those distinguished by the name of grenades de rampart, are rolled from the top of the parapet into the ditch; they are equal in calibre to that of a 33 and a 16 pounder; and they weigh 16, 11, and 8 ounces.

The other species is called grenades à main. These are thrown into the covert way, and the trenches, &c. Their calibre is that of a 4 pounder, and they weigh 2 pounds. The ordinary thickness of grenades is four lines throughout.

It will occur to our military readers, that by this account a considerable alteration has taken place in the casting of grenades, as the intermediate differences have been consolidated; hand-grenades, instead of being thicker at the breach, are uniformly of the same consistency. It cannot, however, be thought superfluous to preserve an account of the original dimensions.

GRENADES--Hand grenades may be thrown to the distance of 13 fathoms. For their dimensions see the word SHELL.

GRENADES Turques. Fr. Turkish grenades. A sort of grenade which is made by the Turks. Their grenades are extremely defective, and do little execution.

GRENADIER, GRANADIER, a foot soldier armed with firelock, bayonet, and in some services with a hanger; grenadiers carry, besides their arms, a cartridge box that will hold 36 rounds. They are always the tallest and stoutest men, consequently the first upon all attacks. Every battalion of foot in the British army has generally a company of grenadiers belonging to it, which takes the right of the battalion. Grenadiers were first instituted in France in 1667, by having 4 or 5 to each company; but in the year 1670, they were formed into companies, and in 1685, were first known in the British service.

Horse GRENADIERS, called by the French grenadiers volans, or flying grenadiers, are such as are mounted on horseback, but fight both on foot and horseback. They were first established in France by Lewis XIV. in 1676, and formed into squadrons.

GRENADIERS auxiliaries, Fr. Auxiliary grenadiers. During a siege, and when a place was closely invested, a certain number of grenadiers were chosen out of the battalions belonging to the trenches, for the purpose of making head against the besieged, whenever they might risk a sally, or insult the works. It was the peculiar duty of these men to stand forward on every occasion, to set fire to the gabions attached to the batteries, and to crush every attempt which might be made by the garrison to annoy the men that were posted in the trenches, &c.

It was customary among the French to increase the number of those grenadiers, who went first into danger and did the duty of the trenches. These were called grenadiers postiches, or extra grenadiers.

GRENADIERES, ou GIBERNES, the bags or haversacks which hold the grenades. They were worn like powder-flasks.

GRENIER, Fr. (mettre en grenier.) To stow any thing loosely.

GRENOIR. Fr. (Une espece de crible.) A sort of sieve through which gunpowder was passed, and formed into grains of different sizes.

GREVE, Fr. Any flat space of ground on the bank of a river, or near the sea. A place in Paris is so called, where during the old government of France, all criminals were executed. Greve is also used to signify the gallows.

GREVE, Fr. armor, or covers for the legs. They were anciently worn by the French; and generally consisted of a piece of steel or stiff leather, which protected the front part of the leg.

GRIFFE, Fr. means literally a claw, but in a military sense, as accepted by the French, it signifies an iron instrument which is made like a hook, and is used by miners to pick out the small stones that are incorporated with cement, &c.

GRIGNON, Fr. broken biscuit.

GRISONS, a people formerly in alliance with the British but since annexed to Swisserland. They inhabit the mountainous parts of the Alps in Italy, and supported a well organised army, called the army of the Grisons, under general Macdonald during the war.

GROS, Fr. A body of soldiers; a detachment. The French frequently say--Un gros de cavalerie, a body of cavalry; un gros d’infanterie, a body of infantry.

GROUND. The field or place of action.

GROUND-work, in military architecture. See FOUNDATION.

GROUND arms, an old word of command on which the soldiers laid down their arms upon the ground.

This word of command has been exploded since the introduction of the new exercise. Soldiers are now ordered to pile or stack arms.

To take GROUND. A battalion or company is said to take ground when it extends in any given direction. This term is likewise used in duelling, as--They took their ground at eight or ten paces from one another.

GRUE, Fr. A crane. It is frequently used in the embarkation and debarkation of cannon, &c.

GUARANTEE. Any person or power who undertakes for the performance of any stipulations agreed on between two other powers or parties.

GUARD, in the military art, is a duty performed by a body of men to secure an army or place from being surprised by an enemy. In garrison the guards are relieved every day; hence it comes that every soldier mounts guard once every three or four days in time of peace, and much oftener in time of war. See HONORS.

GUARDS, also imply the troops kept to guard generals and other public officers, and sometimes consist of both horse and foot.

Horse-grenadier GUARDS. The first troop was raised in the year 1693 in England; the second in 1702. Each troop had a colonel, lieutenant colonel, 1 guidon or major, three exempts and captains, 3 lieutenants, 1 adjutant, 3 cornets, and 60 private men, they have been abolished.

British life GUARDS. In consequence of the reduction of the horse grenadier guards, two regiments have been raised for the specific purpose of guarding the metropolis, and of royal escorts. They are generally called the first and second life-guards. Each regiment consists of six troops of 53 men and 1 kettle drum.

Royal Regiment of Horse GUARDS. This regiment which is commonly called the Oxford Blues, from having originally been raised by the earl of Oxford, consists of nine troops.

Yeomen of the GUARDS, a kind of foot guards to the British king’s person, and are generally called by a nick-name--the beefeaters. They were first raised by Henry VII. in the year 1485, consisting of 250 men of the first rank, under gentry, and of a larger stature than ordinary, each being required to be 6 feet high. At present there are but 100 on constant duty, and 70 more not on duty; and when any one of the 100 dies, his place is supplied out of the 70. They go dressed after the manner of Henry VIII.’s time. Their pay is 2 shillings and 6 pence per day.

Foot GUARDS, are regiments of foot appointed for the guard of the British king and his palace, and for general service. There are three regiments of them, called the 1st, 2d, and 3d regiment of foot-guards. They were raised in the year 1660. The first regiment is at present commanded by 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 3 majors, 27 captains, 1 captain-lieutenant, 62 lieutenants, 24 ensigns, and 3 adjutants, and consists of 3 battalions. The second regiment, or Coldstream, has 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 2 majors, 16 captains, 1 captain lieutenant, 42 lieutenants, 14 ensigns, and 2 adjutants, and consists of two battalions. The third regiment is the same as the second. The first regiment of French guards was raised in the reign of Charles IX. in the year 1563.

Imperial GUARDS, the name of a body of select troops organised by the French emperor, which greatly distinguished themselves at the battle of Austerlitz.

Trench GUARD only mounts in the time of a siege, and consists sometimes of 3, 4, or 6 battalions, according to the importance of the siege. This guard must oppose the besieged when they sally out, protect the workmen, &c.

Provost GUARD, is always an officer’s guard that attends the provost in his rounds, to prevent desertion, marauding, rioting, &c. See PROVOST.

GUARD-magazine. See STORE-KEEPER.

Advanced GUARD, is a party of either horse or foot, or both, that marches before a more considerable body, to give notice of any approaching danger. These guards are either made stronger or weaker, according to the situation or danger that may be apprehended from the enemy, or the country you are to march through.

Van GUARD. See ADVANCED GUARD.

Artillery GUARD, is a detachment from the army to secure the artillery when in the field. Their corps de garde is in the front of the artillery park, and their sentries distributed round it. This is generally a 48-hours guard; and upon a march this guard marches in the front and rear of the artillery, and must be sure to leave nothing behind. If a gun or waggon breaks down, the officer that commands the guard is to leave a sufficient number of men to assist the gunners and aids in getting it up again.

Artillery quarter-GUARD, is frequently a non-commissioned officer’s guard from the regiment of artillery, whose corps de garde is always in the front of their encampment.

Artillery rear-GUARD, consists in a corporal and 6 men, posted in the rear of the park.

Corps de GUARD, are soldiers entrusted with the guard of a post, under the command of one or more officers. This word also signifies the place where the guard mounts.

Counter GUARD. See FORTIFICATION.

Grand GUARD. A guard composed of three or four squadrons of horse, commanded by a field officer, posted about a mile, or a mile and a half from the camp, on the right and left wings, towards the enemy, for the better security of the camp.

Forage GUARD, a detachment sent out to secure the foragers, who are posted at all places, where either the enemy’s party may come to disturb the foragers, or where they may be spread too near the enemy, so as to be in danger of being taken. This guard consists both of horse and foot, who must remain on their posts till the foragers are all come off the ground.

Main GUARD, is that from whence all other guards are detached. Those who are for mounting guard assemble at their respective private parades, and march from thence to the general parade in good order, where, after the whole guard is drawn up, the small guards are detached to their respective posts: then the subalterns cast lots for their guards, who are all under the command of the captain of the main guard. This guard mounts in garrison at different hours, according to the pleasure of the governor.

Picquet GUARD, a good number of horse and foot, always in readiness in case of an alarm: the horses are generally saddled all the time, and the riders booted.

The foot draw up at the head of the battalion, frequently at the beating of the tat-too; but afterwards return to their tents, where they hold themselves in readiness to march upon any sudden alarm. This guard is to make resistance, in case of an attack, until the army can get ready.

Baggage GUARD, is always an officer’s guard, who has the care of the baggage on a march. The waggons should be numbered by companies, and follow one another regularly; vigilance and attention in the passage of hollow-ways, woods, and thickets, must be strictly observed by this guard.

Ordinary GUARDS, such as are fixed during the campaign, or in garrison towns, and which are relieved daily.

Extraordinary GUARDS, or detachments, such as are only commanded on particular occasions; either for the further security of the camp, to cover the foragers, or for convoys, escorts, or expeditions.

Soldiers are sometimes ordered to take extraordinary guards, as a punishment for slight misconduct.

Quarter GUARD, is a small guard commanded by a subaltern officer, posted in the front of each battalion, at 200 feet or more before the front of the regiment.

Rear GUARD, that part of the army which brings up the rear on a march, generally composed of all the old grand-guards of the camp.

The rear guard of a party is frequently 8 or 10 horse, about 500 paces behind the party. Hence the advanced guard going out upon a party forms the rear guard in a retreat.

Rear GUARD, is also a corporal’s guard placed in the rear of a regiment, to keep good order in that part of the camp.

Standard GUARD, a small guard under a corporal, which is taken out of each regiment of horse, and mounts on foot in front of each regiment, at the distance of 20 feet from the streets, opposite to the main street.

To be upon GUARD. See Mounting GUARD.

To relieve GUARD. See RELIEVE.

Turn out the GUARD. A phrase used when it is necessary for the guard to form for the purpose of receiving a general or commanding officer; on the approach of an armed party; on the beat of drum or sound of trumpet, or any alarm.

Port GUARD. A guard detached from the main guard. All officers on port or detached guards are to send a report, night and morning, to the captain of the main guard, and at all other times, when any thing extraordinary occurs. Those who command at the ports are to draw up the bridges, or shut the barriers, on the approach of any body of armed men, of which they are to give notice to the officer of the main guard, and not to suffer any of them to come into the garrison, without leave from the governor or commander.

Out GUARDS. Under this head may not improperly be considered outposts, advanced picquets, and detachments. The duties of outposts are so various as usually to require detailed instructions according to circumstances. The following directions are generally applicable, and must be strictly attended to should there be any occasion for it to act upon home-service. The duty of outposts, &c. is chiefly confined to light troops, who are occasionally assisted and relieved by the line. They are always, in that case, under the immediate direction of some general. But when circumstances render it necessary, that this duty should be done from the line, the outposts fall under the command of the officers of the day, unless some particular officer be put in orders for that specific command.

All outguards march off without trumpets sounding, or drums beating. They pay no compliments of any kind; neither do their sentries take any complimentary notice of officers passing near their posts. No guards are to presume to stop any persons coming to camp with provisions (unless they be particularly ordered so to do,) and are on no account to exact or receive any thing for their free passage.

Any officer, trumpeter, or other person, who comes from an enemy’s camp, is to be secured by the first guard he arrives at, till the commander in chief’s, or the general’s pleasure is known. When a deserter comes in from the enemy, the officer commanding a post, or guard, at which he arrives, is immediately to send him under a proper escort, (without permitting him to be delayed or examined, or any questions asked him) to the officer commanding the outposts, who, after inquiring whether he brings any intelligence immediately relating to his own post, will forward him to head-quarters.

The sentries on the outposts are always to be doubled. No officers, soldiers, or followers of the camp, are on any account to be suffered to pass the outposts, without they are on duty, or present a regular pass from head-quarters.

The men on advanced picquets are to carry their provisions with them, ready cooked, when circumstances will permit. The cavalry to carry sufficient forage for the time they are to be out.

It is the duty of officers on all guards to inspect every relief of sentries, both when they go on, and come off their posts; to call the rolls frequently, and by every means in their power to keep the men under their command in the most perfect state of vigilance and preparation.

Officers commanding outposts are to send guides, or orderly men, to the major of brigade of the day, or to the brigade-major of their own brigades, as circumstances require, in order to conduct the new guards, and to carry such orders as may be necessary.

When the army is on a march, the officers must apprize the brigade-majors of the situation of their posts, as soon as they arrive at them. All detachments of brigades, which are ordered to march immediately, are to be taken from the picquets, and replaced directly from the line.

Whenever detachments exceed 200 men, or upwards, a surgeon or surgeon’s mate is to be sent from the corps of the officer who commands. On particular duties, the attendance of a surgeon or mate may be requisite with smaller detachments. Detachments of cavalry, of 50 or upwards, will be attended by a farrier.

As soon as an officer commanding an outpost, or advanced picquet, (whether of cavalry or infantry) arrives on his ground, he must endeavor to make himself master of his situation, by carefully examining, not only the space he actually occupies, but the heights within musquet-shot; the roads and paths leading to or near his post, ascertaining their breadth and practicability for cavalry and cannon. He should examine the hollow ways that cover the approach of an enemy; and, in short, consider all the points from which he is most likely to be attacked, either by cavalry or infantry. He will, by these means, be enabled to take measures to prevent the possibility of being surprized; and should he be attacked during the night, from the previous knowlege he has obtained of the ground, he will at once form a just estimate of the nature of the attack, and make his arrangements for defence with promptitude and decision. In order to convey the same alacrity to his men, and to prepare the most inexperienced for sudden and unexpected attacks, an officer upon an outpost will do well to put them upon the alert, by skilfully occasioning false alarms. But these must not be often repeated, nor when practised be made known to his men as having proceeded from himself; since supineness and inactivity might by degrees be the consequence of such a discovery.

An intelligent officer upon an outpost, even unprovided with entrenching tools, will materially strengthen his post, when the unobserver would remain inactive.

A tree felled with judgment; brushwood cut to a certain distance; pointed stakes, about breast high, placed on the points most assailable by an enemy, may be attended with the greatest advantages, and can be effected with the common hatchets, which the men carry to cut fire-wood. In short, every impediment which an officer, acting on the defensive, can throw in an enemy’s way, ought to be scrupulously attended to. Independently, therefore, of the means which he adopts for the immediate protection of his posts, he must look beyond that point; and as nothing checks the ardour of troops more than an unexpected obstacle, within an hundred yards, more or less, of the place attacked, he must, on his arrival at the outpost, throw up some temporary impediment at that distance. See AM. MIL. LIBRARY.

Mounting GUARDS. It is indispensibly necessary, that every officer should know how to mount and come off guard.

All guards parade with ordered arms, and unfixed bayonets, without any intervals between them, the ranks open. The officer brings the guard to a shoulder; and the officers with their swords drawn, and non-commissioned officers commanding guards, are formed about forty paces in front of the centre, in two ranks, facing the line, where they are to receive the old parole and such orders as may be given them.

The major or commanding officer gives the word of command.

“Officers and non-commissioned officers--Take post in front of your respective guards!--Outward face--March!”

As soon as they have taken post, fronting their respective guards, the word of command will be given--

“Officers and non-commissioned officers--to your guards--March!--Front!--Halt!”

“Officers and non-commissioned officers, inspect your guards!”

The several officers and non-commissioned officers then inspect their guard as quick as possible. When there is a captain’s guard, each officer is to take a rank, the serjeants accompanying them.

As soon as the inspection is over, the adjutant goes down the line and receives the report of each guard; the officers return to their posts; and the major, or commanding officer, commands--“Fix bayonets!--Shoulder!”

When the colours are brought on the parade, the drum is beat; and the drummer’s call on the right.

The captain will face inwards, and the lieutenant and ensign will face to the right, and march, quick time, to the head of the grenadiers. The captain goes to the head of the right of his remaining men. The field officer then orders the grenadiers to close their ranks, and to march off in quick time, the lieutenant being three paces advanced in front of his men, and the ensign one. The colours are received as usual. And the color party on their arrival on the left flank of the guards, will file at the slow time, through the ranks: the lieutenant, and the colors, in front of the front rank. The guards are to march off at the slow time, and by divisions, taking care, that when they open their ranks, the front rank of each keeps its exact distance from the front rank preceding it. When there are more officers than one belonging to the same guard, the second in rank is to take post, and to march past the commanding officer on the parade, at the head of the last division, instead of being in the rear of it. When there is an officer, senior to the field officer of the day, on the parade, the guards are to march by and salute him: the field officer of the day, in that case, marching at their head.

GUARD-rooms. The following articles should properly come under the heads of furniture and utensils.

Cavalry and infantry GUARD-rooms are allowed a water bucket, candlestick, tin can for drink, and drinking cups; they are also allowed fire irons, and coal tray.

The rooms of the quarter-masters and serjeants of cavalry, and the serjeant-major and quarter-master serjeant of infantry, to be furnished with the necessary bedding and utensils in the same manner as is allowed to the soldiers’ rooms.

GUARD, in fencing, implies a posture proper to defend the body from the sword of the antagonist.

The word guard is seldom applied among small swordsmen to any position but those of carte and tierce, the other motions of defence are stiled parades. See FENCING.

GUARDS of the broad sword. The positions of defence adopted with that weapon are generally termed guards, and may be comprised under the inside guard, half-circle guard, hanging guard, half-hanging guard, medium guard, outside guard, St. George’s guard, and spadroon guard. See BROAD-SWORD.

Prepare to GUARD, in the cavalry sword exercise, is performed by bringing the extremity of the sword-hilt up to the pit of the stomach, with the back of the hand outwards; the blade of the sword to be carried perpendicularly, with the flat in front of the left eye. From this position the guard is taken by darting the sword hand smartly forward towards the left ear of the antagonist.

GUARD, in the cavalry sword exercise, is used to denote one particular position, which consists in homing the sabre nearly horizontal across the face, the point rather higher than the hilt, the sword-hand directed towards the left ear of the antagonist. Although this be peculiarly denominated guard, yet it is not to be considered as a position calculated to meet every sort of attack, or an eligible position to charge an enemy; but as the central point from which the requisite change for attack or defence may be effected. The other position of defence in the cavalry exercise are stiled PROTECTS.

GUASTADOURS, Fr. Turkish pioneers. Armenians and Greeks are generally employed in the Turkish armies, to do the fatigue-work that is necessary for the formation of a camp, or for conducting a siege.

GUDDA, an Indian term for a fool, a small fort erected upon a hill or eminence; it means literally an ass, metaphorically a fool.

GUDGE, an Indian measure 24 inches long.

GUERITE, Fr. Centry box, small turret. In fortified towns there are several small turrets of this denomination, which are sometimes made of wood and sometimes built with stone. They are generally fixed on the acute points of bastions and centinels are posted within them, for the purpose of watching the ditch, and of preventing any surprize in that quarter.

Those used upon the continent of Europe, particularly in France, contain from 3 to 4 French feet diameter within, and are 7 or 8 feet high. Their general shape or figure is round, pentagonal, hexagonal, &c.

There are apertures made on every side, through which the centinel can observe every thing that passes in the ditch. A path about 2 or 3 feet broad is cut through the parapet and the banquette, up to the entrance of the guerite. Wooden guerites are generally used where the rampart is lined with turf only.

The spots best adapted for guerites, are at the flanked angles of bastions, and at the angles of epaulements. Sometimes indeed, they are placed in the centre of the curtains. They must jut out at the point of the angle, and the ground floor should be upon a line with the cordon, which is a sort of fillet or trace that marks the separation of the rampart from the parapet. They must likewise project far enough to afford the centinel who is within, a full view of the faces, the flanks and the curtains, and, if possible, a thorough command of all the ditches.

Gagner la GUERITE, Fr. A familiar phrase to express the escape of a person.

Enfiler la GUERITE, Fr. To avoid the pursuit of another.

GUERRE, Fr. War; which see.

The word guerre is indeed so frequently used among the French, that we shall not be thought too minute in specifying some general terms under that head. The principal ones are,

GUERRE civile, Fr. See CIVIL WAR.

Homme de GUERRE, Fr. a military man.

Nom de GUERRE, Fr. a war name; a borrowed name; it was formerly common to assume a nom de guerre on entering the French army.

Petite GUERRE, Fr. a harrassing species of warfare. A contest for plunder.

Place de GUERRE, Fr. a fortified town or place.

Faire la GUERRE à l’œil, in a figurative sense, signifies to watch stedfastly, and without taking off the eye from a particular object.

A la guerre comme á la GUERRE. A familiar expression among the French, which implies, that things must be taken as they come.

On ne fait la GUERRE que pour faire enfin la paix. War, after all, must end in peace.

La guerre nourrit la GUERRE, figuratively means, that an army always subsists at the expence of the country in which it lies.

GUERRE de Secours, Fr. war of alliance or confederacy. This term is more especially applicable to that species of contest in which neighboring princes or countries embark to defend those with whom they are in alliance, against the aggression or exorbitant demands of a conqueror.

If such a contest or war be entered into upon the faith of settled treaties, the parties are bound not only to supply the stipulated number of soldiers, but even to augment their quota, if necessity should require, and sometimes to march in person against the common enemy.

If the object be to prevent any adjacent country from falling into the hands of a conqueror, who might afterwards molest the contracting party, the latter should observe many precautions before he withdraws from the contest; the principal one is to demand the possession of some strong places upon the frontiers, to prevent the inhabitants of the country that is attacked from making a separate peace.

The general selected to command an auxiliary army must be endued with wisdom and foresight. He must be wise and intelligent in order to preserve discipline and good order among his troops: and have foresight to provide for the wants of his army in a strange country, and to see that the men are not sent more into action than they ought, and that nothing is done contrary to the interest of his country.

GUERRE de montagne, Fr. a war which is chiefly carried on in a mountainous part of the country. This species of warfare is extremely hazardous, as it cannot be pursued without a thorough knowlege of the country, and by means of able stratagems. Marshal Saxe, in his Reveries, lays it down as a rule, that no army or detachment must venture into passes or narrow ways, without having first secured the eminences round them; and if the enemy should defend the gorges or outlets, false attacks must be resorted to, in order to divert his attention from a real one which is made against a weak quarter. It frequently happens that bye-ways are found out, which have escaped the enemy’s observation, and through which detached bodies may penetrate for the purpose of turning his flanks. In a guerre de montagne, or mountain-contest, it is essentially necessary, that the advancing body should keep up a regular and safe communication with its rear, as well to secure a retreat if necessary, as to have a free intercourse with its convoys. See AM. MIL. LIB.

GUERRE de chicane, Fr. See WAR of chicane or stratagem.

GUERRE Sainte, Fr. a romantic expedition which was made by the Christians, against the Infidels in Palestine, for the purpose of re-conquering the Holy Land, from whence it was called holy war, or guerre sainte. See CRUSADE.

Foudre de GUERRE, a figurative expression among the French, to mark the character of a man who has distinguished himself in battle, and is acknowleged to possess a superior degree of valor.

Flambeau de la GUERRE, Fr. the torch of war. Any person who causes war to be carried on with violence and animosity is so called.

Aller à la petite GUERRE, Fr. to go out in detached parties for the direct purpose of plundering an enemy’s country.

Faire bonne GUERRE, Fr. to carry on hostilities with as much humanity as the laws of war will permit.

Faire bonne GUERRE, à quelqu’un, Fr. to treat with a man decently, but vigorously, on matters that require explanation and final arrangement.

GUERRE et pitié ne s’accordent pas ensemble, Fr. a French proverb, signifying war and commiseration seldom go hand in hand.

GUERRE juste, Fr. a just and necessary war, that is a war of defence, such as the war of resistance against the British, from 1775 to 1783; the war of the French against the first coalition, in 1792.

GUERRE injuste, Fr. an unjust war.

Longue GUERRE, Fr. a long war.

GUERRE étrangère, Fr. a foreign war.

GUERRE d’outre mer, Fr. a war beyond the seas.

Gens de GUERRE. See GENS.

Le metier de la GUERRE, Fr. the profession of arms. Hence it is figuratively said, les Francois sont au fait du métier de la guerre de terre, et les Anglois sont au fait du métier de la guerre de mer. Frenchmen are at the top of the profession of arms on land, and Englishmen are unrivalled at sea.

Les lois de la GUERRE, Fr. The laws of war.

Le droit de la GUERRE, Fr. the rights of war.

Ruse de GUERRE, Fr. a warlike stratagem.

En temps de GUERRE, Fr. in time of war.

Munitions de la GUERRE et de bouche, Fr. warlike stores, and provisions.

Préparatifs de GUERRE, Fr. warlike preparations.

Place de GUERRE, Fr. a fortified place.

Machine de GUERRE, Fr. a warlike instrument or machine.

Conseil de GUERRE, Fr. a council of war. It likewise means a court martial.

Vaisseau de GUERRE, Fr. A ship of war.

Vaisseau armé en GUERRE, Fr. an armed vessel.

C’est un grand homme de GUERRE, Fr. he is a warlike character.

Les malheurs de la GUERRE, Fr. the misfortunes of war.

Avoir GUERRE, Fr. to commence hostilities.

Avoir la GUERRE. Fr. to be in a state of warfare.

Les fruits de la GUERRE, Fr. the fruits, or consequences of war.

Entreprendre la GUERRE, Fr. to enter into a war.

Déclarer la GUERRE, Fr. to declare war.

Soutenir la GUERRE, Fr. to maintain the war.

Entretenir la GUERRE, Fr. to support the war.

Ces deux princes sont en GUERRE, Fr. these two potentates are at war.

Etre en GUERRE ouverte, Fr. to be at open war.

Se faire la GUERRE, Fr. to make war with one another.

Aller à la GUERRE, Fr. to go to war.

Allumer la GUERRE dans un ètat, Fr. to light up a war, or excite troubles in any state or country.

Porter la GUERRE dans le cœur d’un pays, Fr. to carry war into the heart of a country.

GUERRE entre les puissances egales, Fr. war between two powers which are nearly equal in point of strength, and do not act with auxiliary troops.

Qui terre a GUERRE a, Fr. a French proverb, signifying, every man who has landed property is exposed to feuds and litigation.

GUERRIER, Fr. Warrior.

Un grand GUERRIER, Fr. a great warrior.

Les plus fameux GUERRIERS, the most celebrated warriors.

It is also used as a substantive in the feminine gender, when speaking of an amazon; as, la vaillante guerriere.

GUERRIER, Fr. as an adjective is variously used, viz. warlike, any thing appertaining to war.

Actions GUERRIERES, Fr. warlike actions.

Travaux GUERRIERS, Fr. works of a military or warlike nature.

Exploits GUERRIERS, Fr. warlike exploits.

Courage GUERRIER, Fr. a warlike disposition.

Humeur GUERRIERE, Fr. a warlike spirit or temper.

Nation GUERRIERE, Fr. a warlike nation.

Il a l’air GUERRIER, Fr. he has a warlike look or appearance.

Il a la mine GUERRIERE, Fr. he has a warlike aspect.

GUERROYER, Fr. to make war.

GUERROYEUR, Fr. a warrior.

GUET, Fr. This term was particularly attached to those persons belonging to the French body-guards, that did duty during the night.

GUET de la mer, Fr. the watch which the inhabitants belonging to parishes, towns, or fortified places, situated on the sea coast, were bound to keep for its security. On occasions of this sort, the signal of alarm was made during the day by smoke, and during the night by lighted combustibles.

GUET, Fr. in a military sense, signifies rounds, or those duties of a soldier, or patroling party, which are prescribed for the security of a town, &c. and to prevent surprises.

Faire le GUET au haut du belfroi, Fr. to be put upon duty, or stand watch at the top of a church belfry.

Asseoir le GUET, Fr. to set the watch.

Poser le GUET, to post the watch.

Etre au GUET, Fr. to be upon the watch.

GUET à pied, Fr. foot patrole.

GUET à cheval, Fr. horse patrole.

Ce sont les bourgeois qui font le GUET, Fr. the inhabitants of the place go the rounds.

Cri au GUET, Fr. the hue and cry.

Le GUET vient de passer, the patrole has just passed.

Avoir l’œil au GUET, Fr. to be minutely watchful and observing.

Avoir l’oreille au GUET, Fr. to be listening for the direct purpose of acquiring information.

Maison de GUET, Fr. round-house.

Mot du GUET, Fr. watch-word.

Donner le mot de GUET, to give the watch-word.

Se donner le mot de GUET, Fr. to understand one another. In familiar intercourse it means likewise to play booty together.

GUET apens, Fr. Ambush; any premeditated design to injure another in a clandestine manner. The French frequently use this expression; as

Ce n’est point un rencontre ni un duel, c’est un GUET apens, Fr. it is neither an accidental meeting, nor a duel, it is a downright plot to murder him.

Droit du GUET et garde, Fr. a right which was formerly enjoyed in feudal France, by some lords of the manor, and by which they were authorised to call upon their vassals to watch and patrole for the security of their castles, and to silence the frogs.

GUETRE. See GAITER.

Tirer vos GUETRES, Fr. Go about your business: a familiar phrase which is used among the french, when a person is discarded, or turned away in a summary manner.

Il y a laissé ses GUETRES, Fr. a figurative expression among French soldiers, signifying that a person died in such a place.

GUETRER, Fr. to put on gaiters.

GUETTE, Fr. a name given by the French carpenters to a stake that is fixed sideways and which serves for various purposes.

GUETTER, Fr. a familiar phrase, signifying to watch the motions of any body, for the purpose of circumvention or surprize.

GUETTER likewise means to watch for a fit opportunity to get access to any person.

Il y a des sergens qui le GUETTENT, Fr. he is closely watched by some serjeants.

Le soldat GUETTOIT sou colonel pour lui presenter un placet, Fr. the soldier watched his colonel, in order to lay his petition before him.

GUEUSE, Fr. a rough piece of iron, which has been melted, and has not gone through any further process or purification.

GUICHET, Fr. a small door or outlet, which is made in the gates of fortified towns. It is generally four feet high, and two broad; so that a man must stoop to get through. In 1669, the high town of the city of Albuquerque, in Spain, escaped being surprized by means of one of these outlets. In garrison towns, the guichet is left open for the space of one quarter of an hour after the retreat, in order to give the inhabitants time to enter.

GUICHET d’une porte d’écluse, an opening which is made in the gate of a sluice, and which closes by means of a flood-gate. It serves to let in water when wanted.

GUIDES, (guides, Fr.) are generally the country people in the neighborhood where an army encamps: they are to give you intelligence concerning the country, the roads by which you are to march, and the route by which the enemy may approach you. Guides should be faithful, because, in giving you false intelligence, or guiding you wrong, they may greatly endanger the army. Several guides are requisite, as every corps that marches by night should have one at least. There is sometimes a captain, or chief of the guides, who should be a man of intelligence, active, and attentive to the diligence and fidelity of his people. He should always have a sufficient number with him, and who are well acquainted with the country.

In time of war, particularly in the seat of it, the guides invariably accompany head-quarters, and a certain number is allotted not only to general officers, but to all detachments made from the main body, either for the purpose of combating the advanced posts of an enemy, of protecting escorts, or securing convoys. Guides, in an army, may be justly called its principal outsets. They are to a body of men what the eyes are to the human frame. They cannot, however, be too jealously watched.

GUIDES, the name given to the non-commissioned officers who take positions to mark the pivots, marches, formations, and alignements in modern discipline; it is expressed in French by the word jaloneur, from jalon a post. See JALON.

GUIDES of manœuvre, the name given to those which the French call jaloneur, and the British markers. The use of guides, is perhaps one of the best conceived and ingenious methods which could be devised to perfect the art of manœuvring troops; and one of its happiest advantages is its fitness for raw or undisciplined troops, which by the aid of guides of manœuvre, may be brought to comprehend and execute every species of movement in company, platoons, divisions, or battalions, in one third of the time formerly required; and in a manner much more perfect than was formerly considered as the utmost excellence. See Am. Mil. Lib.

GUIDES, corps of, under the new French dynasty have a new organization of which we hear only by some decisive effects.

Corps des GUIDES, Fr. The corps of guides. This body was originally formed in France in the year 1756, and consisted of one captain, one 1st lieutenant, one 2d lieutenant, two serjeants, two corporals, one anspessade, and twenty privates, called fusiliers-guides.--Twelve out of the twenty-five (which was the effective number) were mounted. These consisted of one Serjeant, one corporal, and ten fusiliers. Their particular duty was to carry orders that required dispatch; and on this account they were always attached to head-quarters. The twelve fusiliers were mounted on small active horses, about four French feet, five or six inches high. They were supplied with a saddle, blue saddle-cloth trimmed with white, holster-caps the same; and they were armed with a fusil and cut-and-thrust bayonet, a pistol, sabre, with a cartouch-box, containing 20 rounds. They wore half-boots, or bottines.--Each man carried, moreover, one field utensil out of the twelve belonging to the company. These utensils consisted of four hatchets, four shovels, and four pick-axes. The thirteen fusilier guides on foot were armed with a fusil six inches shorter than the regular musquet, with a blade-bayonet and a cartouch-box, holding twenty rounds of ball cartridges. Their uniform was a blue coat, waistcoat, and breeches, with flat white metal buttons. The hat was bordered with common white lace for the soldiers, and of a superior quality for the serjeants; which latter had three silver brandenburgs hanging from each shoulder. The corporals had three made of white worsted, and the anspessade two ditto. The daily pay of the captain was 4 livres, or 6s. 8d., the 1st lieutenant 1 livre, 7 sols and 6 deniers, equal to 2s. 4d., the 2d lieutenant 1 livre, or 10d., each serjeant 13 sols, or 6¹⁄₂d., each corporal 10 sols, or 6d., each anspessade 8 sols, 6 deniers, or 4¹⁄₂d. and each private 6 sols, 6 deniers, or 3¹⁄₂d.

GUIDON, Fr. See SIGHT.

GUIDON, in ancient military history, the name of a sort of standard broad at one extreme and almost pointed at the other, and slit or divided into two.

GUIDON also implies the officer who carries the guidon or standard.

GUIDONS, in the French service, were exclusively attached to the Gendarmerie; and among them the word formerly meant not only the standard but likewise the officer who carried it.

GUIGNEAU, Fr. This word means the same thing as chevétre. It is a piece of wood which joins the joists of a floor, that are cut to make room for the hearth of a chimney-piece.

GUILLAUME, Fr. a tool somewhat like a plane which is used by carpenters, and of which there are several sorts according to the nature of the work.

GUINDAS, Fr. All machines which by means of a wheel and its axis serve to raise heavy loads, are so called by the French.

GUINDER, Fr. to draw up any weight. Hence the term guindage, which is applied to the movement of loads that are raised and let down.

GUISARMIERS, Fr. a body of free archers, or bowmen, who took their name from an offensive weapon called guisarme, or jusarme, somewhat similar to the voulgue, a sort of javelin, which was used in hunting the wild boar. Its length was equal to that of the halbert, and it had a broad piece of sharp iron fixed to one end.

GULLY. Any hollow which has been made by running water. Ambuscades are frequently laid in such places.

GUN, a fire-arm, or weapon of offence, which forcibly discharges a bullet through a cylindrical barrel by means of gunpowder. The term is chiefly applied to cannon.

Somnerus derives gun from mangon, a warlike machine, which was used before the invention of guns. He establishes his derivation by taking away the first syllable.

Curricle GUNS are small pieces of ordnance, mounted upon carriages of two wheels, and drawn by two horses. The artillery-man is seated on a box, and the whole can be moved forward into action with astonishing rapidity. The tumbrils belonging to curricle guns carry 60 rounds of ball cartridges. Great improvements are daily making in this machine on account of its acknowleged utility.

Great GUN. See CANNON.

Evening GUN, Morning GUN is generally a 6 or 12-pounder, which is fired every night about sun-set, and every morning at sun-rise, to give notice to the drums and trumpets of the army, to beat and sound the retreat and the reveille.

Morning and evening, and other signal guns, by the United States regulations, are not to be fired from larger calibres than 6 or 12 pounders; which calibres are seldom mounted on permanent works.

GUN-fire. The time at which the morning or evening gun is fired.

GUN-boat, a boat which is generally used to form a kind of floating battery, to cover the landing of troops.

GUNNEL, or GUNWALE, the lower part of any port where ordnance is planted. It likewise means that beam in a pontoon which supports the main waste.

GUNNER, in the artillery, is the title of the first and second artillerist at a gun in battery; all the rest are called aids.

GUNNERY, the art of determining the motions of bodies shot from cannon, mortars, howitzers, &c. See the article PROJECTILE.

The late ingenious Mr. Robins, having concluded from experiments, that the force of fired gunpowder, at the instant of its explosion, is the same with that of an elastic fluid of a thousand times the density of common air, and that the elasticity of this fluid, like that of the air, is proportional to its density, proposes the following problem.

The dimensions of any piece of artillery, the weight of its ball, and the quantity of its charge being given; to determine the velocity which the shot will acquire from the explosion, supposing the elasticity or force of the powder at the first instant of its firing to be given.

In the solution of this important problem, he assumes the two following principles: 1. That the action of the powder on the shot ceases as soon as it is got out of the piece. 2. That all the powder of the charge is fired, and converted into an elastic fluid, before the shot is sensibly moved from its place.

These assumptions, and the conclusions above mentioned, make the action of fired gunpowder to be entirely similar to that of air condensed a thousand times; and from thence it will not be difficult to determine the velocity of the shot arising from the explosion: for the force of the fired powder diminishing in proportion to its expansion, and ceasing when it is got out of the piece; the total action of the powder may be represented by the area of a curve, the base of which represents the space through which the ball is accelerated, while the ordinates represent the force of the powder at every point of that space; and these ordinates being in reciprocal proportion to their distance from the breech of the gun, because when the spaces occupied by the fired powder are as 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. the ordinates representing it will be as 1, 1-half, ¹⁄₃d, ¹⁄₄th, &c. It appears that the curve will be a common parabola, and that the area intercepted between is an asymptote; and that the two ordinates representing the force of the powder at the first explosion, and at the muzzle of the piece, will represent the total action of the powder on the shot; but if the shot were urged through the same space by an uniform force equal to its gravity, the total action of this force would be represented by a rectangle, the base of which would be the base of the curve or intercepted portion of the asymptote above mentioned, and the height of which would represent the uniform force of gravity. Hence the square of the velocity of the shot resulting from gravity is given, being the velocity it would acquire from a height equal to the space through which the powder accelerates it; and the proportion between the hyperbola and the rectangle is given from the analogy between the hyperbolic paces and logarithms; therefore the velocity of the ball arising from the action of the fired gunpowder will be given.

Mr. Robins has also given us an ingenious way of determining, by experiments, the velocity with which any shot moves at any distance of the piece it is discharged from.

This may be effected by means of a pendulum made of iron, having a broad part at bottom, covered with a thick piece of wood, which is fastened to the iron by screws; then having a machine like a common artillery-gin, on two of its poles, towards their tops, are screwed sockets, on which the pendulum is hung by means of a cross piece, which becomes its axis of suspension, and on which it should vibrate with great freedom. Somewhat lower than the bottom of the pendulum there should be a brace, joining to which the pendulum is suspended; and to this brace there is fastened a contrivance made with two edges of steel, something in the manner of a drawing-pen; the strength with which these edges press on each other, being diminished or increased at pleasure by means of a screw. To the bottom of the pendulum should be fastened a narrow riband, which, passing between the steel edges, may hang closely down by means of an opening cut in the lower piece of steel.

The instrument being thus fitted, if the weight of the pendulum, the respective distances of its centre of gravity, and of its centre of oscillation from the axis of suspension, be known, it may from thence be found what motion will be communicated to this pendulum by the percussion of a body of a known weight, moving with a known degree of velocity, and sinking it into a given point; that is, if the pendulum be supposed to rest before the percussion, it will be known what vibration it should make in consequence of such a blow; and if the pendulum, being at rest, is struck by a body of a known weight, and the vibration which the pendulum makes after the stroke is known, the velocity of the striking body may from thence be determined.

Now the extent of the vibration made by the pendulum may be increased by the riband: for if the pressure of the steel edges on the riband be regulated by the screw, so as to be free and easy, though with some minute resistance to hinder it from slipping itself; then setting the pendulum at rest, let the part of the riband between the pendulum and the steel edges be down straight, but not strained, and fixing a pin in the part of the riband contiguous to the edges, the pendulum, swinging back by means of the impulse of the ball, will draw out the riband to the just extent of its vibration, which will be determined by the interval on the riband between the edges and the space of the pin.

The computation by which the velocity of the shot is determined from the vibration of the pendulum, after the stroke, is founded on the principle of mechanics; that if a body in motion strikes another at rest, and they are not separated after the stroke, but move on with one common motion, then that common motion is equal to the motion with which the first body moved before the stroke; whence, if that common motion and the masses of the two bodies are known, the motion of the first body before the stroke is thence determined. On this principle it follows, that the velocity of a shot may be diminished in any given ratio, by its being made to impinge on a body of weight properly proportioned to it.

It is to be observed, that the length to which the riband is drawn, is always near the chord of the arc described by the ascent; it being so placed, as to differ insensibly from those chords which must frequently occur: and these chords are known to be in the proportion of the velocities of the pendulum acquired from the stroke. Hence it follows, that the proportion between the lengths of the riband, drawn out at different times, will be the same with that of the velocities of the impinging shots.

Now from the computations delivered by Mr. Robins, it appears, that the velocity of the bullet was 1641 feet in one second of time, when the chord of the arc described by the ascent of the pendulum, in consequence of the blow, was 17¹⁄₄ inches, the proportion of the velocity with which the bullets impinge, to the known velocity of 1641 feet in one second, will be determined.

Mr. Robins was (till of late) the only author who attempted to ascertain the velocity of a military projectile by experiment; yet his conclusions seem to be unsatisfactory. Perhaps he was too much attached to the forming of a system, and warped his experiments a little in favor of it. The resisting power he assigns to the air is probably too great; and his notion of the tripling of this power when the velocity of the projectile exceeds that of sound, seems to be rather an ingenious theory than a well-grounded fact. However, experiment alone must decide these points.

The great importance of the art of gunnery is the reason that we distinguish it from the doctrine of projectiles in general; for in truth it is no more than an application of those laws which all bodies observe when cast into the air, to such as are put in motion by the explosion of guns or other engines of that sort: and it matters not whether we talk of projectiles in general, or of such only as belong to gunnery; for, from the moment the force is impressed, all distinction, with regard to the power which put the body first in motion is lost, and it can only be considered as a simple projectile.

Every body cast into the air moves under the influence of two distinct forces. By the one it is carried forward with an equal motion, and describes equal spaces in equal times, in the direction in which it was projected; and by the other, which we call gravity, is drawn downwards in lines perpendicular to the surface of the earth, with a motion continually accelerated, or whose velocity is always increasing. If either of these forces were destroyed, the body would move according to the direction of the other alone, so far as its motion was not hindered by the interposition of other bodies; but as both continue to act, the course of the projectile must be determined by a power compounded of those two forces.

GUNNERY is also the province of the artillerist, and comprehends, in an active sense, the perfect knowlege of the power of the machine, and the proportions of powder to be employed in order to produce any required effect. It also comprehends a knowlege of the properties and composition of gunpowder, and the various kinds of shot, which are employed in the practice of gunnery; the metal best adapted to make guns, the proper weight and corresponding proportions between the calibre of the gun and the shot fired from it, and also the dimensions fitted for the various services in which gunnery is employed: for batteries of permanent works, for ships, for field service, and the light or flying artillery. Gunnery indeed comprehends all the duties of the able artillerist and bombardier.

GUNNERY. By the assistance of good tables of practice, and the tables of amplitudes, sines, tangents, and secants, all the cases in gunnery in a nonresisting medium may be easily solved; and perhaps the solution may be sufficiently correct for practice, if the initial velocity of the projectile be not so great as to make the air’s resistance considerable.

For the tables of ranges with ordnance, see the different natures, as Gun, Mortar, &c. and for the tables of amplitudes, sines, tangents, and secants, see pages 247 and 248.

Upon Horizontal Planes.

1. The greatest range is at 45° nearly.

2. The ranges with different elevations with the same charge, are as the double sines of the angles of elevation.

3. Any angle and its complement give the same range nearly.

4. The times of flight are as the sines of the angles of elevation.

5. The altitude of the curve, at any elevation is found by this proportion: as Radius : tangent of angle of elevation ∷

range ----- : altitude. 4

6. The time of flight at 45° is equal the square root of the range in feet, divided by 4, or more nearly = √(quotient²) of the range in feet, divided by 16.1, or the space passed through in the first second by gravity.

Having the first graze with a given elevation and charge, to determine the charge for any other first graze and elevation, multiply the known charge and elevation into the proposed first graze; also the proposed elevation into the known first graze, and divide the first product by the last, for the charge required.

Upon inclined Planes, at 45° Elevation. Case 1st. Given the charge and inclination of the plane, to find the range.

Multiply the horizontal range with this given charge, (found in the tables of ranges) by the number found opposite the angle of inclination of the plane, in the first column of multiplyers, in the table of amplitudes, under the head Ascents, if it be inclined above the horizon; and Descents, if below the horizon, for the range required.

Case 2d. Given the range and inclination of the plane, to find the charge.

Multiply the number found in the above mentioned table opposite the angle or inclination of the plane, in the second column of multipliers, under the head Ascents, or Descents, according as it is above or below the horizon, by the given range; for the range on a horizontal plane at 45°, the charge for which may be found from the tables of ranges.

Upon inclined planes, at any elevation.

There are always two elevations with which any range, (less than the greatest) may be made; and these elevations are always the complements of each other. The greatest range upon a horizontal plane is at 45°; or when the direction bisects the angle formed by the horizontal and vertical plane; also the greatest change upon any plane is made with that direction which bisects the angle between the plane and the zenith; and all other directions which make equal angles with this direction, (on each side of it) will also make equal ranges on the said plane; for the direction that bisects the angle between any plane and the zenith is the same with respect to that plane as the direction at 45° is with respect to the plane of the horizon.

Rules.--1st. The elevation which gives the greatest range on a given ascent is equal to half the sum of 90° added to the ascent.

2d. The elevation which gives equal ranges on a given ascent, are the complements of each other added to the ascent.

3d. The elevation which gives the greatest range on a descent, is equal to half the complement of the descent.

If the range and inclination be given, the least charge that will reach the object, may be found as follows: multiply the tangent of the proper elevation into the proposed range, for the horizontal range whose charge is required.

Table of Amplitudes.

+--------+----------------++----------------+ |Degrees.| Ascents. || Descents. | | | Multip’rs. || Multip’rs. | +--------+--------+-------++--------+-------+ | |1st. cl.|2d. cl.||1st. cl.|2d. cl.| | 1 | .983 | 1.02 || 1.02 | .983 | | 2 | .966 | 1.03 || 1.04 | .966 | | 3 | .949 | 1.06 || 1.05 | .950 | | 4 | .932 | 1.07 || 1.07 | .932 | | 5 | .916 | 1.09 || 1.09 | .916 | | 6 | .900 | 1.11 || 1.11 | .900 | | 7 | .884 | 1.13 || 1.13 | .884 | | 8 | .868 | 1.15 || 1.15 | .868 | | 9 | .852 | 1.18 || 1.17 | .853 | | 10 | .836 | 1.20 || 1.19 | .836 | | 11 | .821 | 1.22 || 1.22 | .821 | | 12 | .805 | 1.24 || 1.24 | .805 | | 13 | .789 | 1.27 || 1.27 | .789 | | 14 | .774 | 1.29 || 1.29 | .774 | | 15 | .758 | 1.32 || 1.31 | .763 | | 16 | .742 | 1.35 || 1.34 | .745 | | 17 | .726 | 1.38 || 1.37 | .730 | | 18 | .711 | 1.40 || 1.39 | .720 | | 19 | .693 | 1.45 || 1.42 | .704 | | 20 | .677 | 1.48 || 1.45 | .690 | | 21 | .660 | 1.52 || 1.48 | .675 | | 22 | .643 | 1.56 || 1.52 | .662 | | 23 | .625 | 1.60 || 1.55 | .645 | | 24 | .607 | 1.64 || 1.58 | .633 | | 25 | .589 | 1.70 || 1.62 | .617 | | 26 | .570 | 1.76 || 1.66 | .603 | | 27 | .550 | 1.82 || 1.69 | .592 | | 28 | .530 | 1.86 || 1.73 | .578 | | 29 | .510 | 1.96 || 1.78 | .562 | | 30 | .488 | 2.05 || 1.82 | .549 | | 31 | .466 | 2.14 || 1.87 | .534 | | 32 | .442 | 2.26 || 1.92 | .526 | | 33 | .418 | 2.41 || 1.97 | .508 | | 34 | .393 | 2.55 || 2.02 | .495 | | 35 | .366 | 2.73 || 2.08 | .488 | | 36 | .338 | 2.96 || 2.13 | .470 | | 37 | .309 | 3.24 || 2.20 | .455 | | 38 | .278 | 3.60 || 2.26 | .443 | | 39 | .245 | 4.09 || 2.33 | .430 | | 40 | .210 | 4.80 || 2.40 | .417 | | 41 | .173 | 5.78 || 2.48 | .404 | | 42 | .134 | 7.46 || 2.56 | .390 | | 43 | .092 | 10.90 || 2.64 | .380 | | 44 | .045 | 22.22 || 2.73 | .370 | | 45 | .000 | infi- || 2.88 | .360 | | | | nite. || | | +--------+--------+-------++--------+-------+

Table of Natural Sines, Tangents, and Secants.

--------+------+---------+-------- Degrees.|Sines.|Tangents.|Secants. --------+------+---------+-------- 1 | .018 | .018 | 1.000 2 | .035 | .035 | 1.000 3 | .052 | .052 | 1.001 4 | .070 | .070 | 1.002 5 | .087 | .087 | 1.004 6 | .105 | .105 | 1.006 7 | .122 | .123 | 1.008 8 | .139 | .141 | 1.010 9 | .156 | .158 | 1.012 10 | .174 | .176 | 1.015 11 | .191 | .194 | 1.019 12 | .208 | .213 | 1.022 13 | .225 | .231 | 1.026 14 | .242 | .249 | 1.031 15 | .259 | .268 | 1.035 16 | .276 | .287 | 1.040 17 | .292 | .306 | 1.046 18 | .309 | .325 | 1.051 19 | .326 | .344 | 1.058 20 | .342 | .364 | 1.064 21 | .358 | .384 | 1.071 22 | .375 | .404 | 1.079 23 | .391 | .424 | 1.086 24 | .407 | .445 | 1.095 25 | .423 | .466 | 1.103 26 | .438 | .488 | 1.112 27 | .454 | .510 | 1.122 28 | .469 | .532 | 1.133 29 | .485 | .554 | 1.143 30 | .500 | .577 | 1.155 31 | .515 | .601 | 1.167 32 | .530 | .625 | 1.179 33 | .545 | .649 | 1.192 34 | .559 | .675 | 1.206 35 | .574 | .700 | 1.221 36 | .588 | .727 | 1.236 37 | .602 | .754 | 1.252 38 | .616 | .781 | 1.269 39 | .629 | .810 | 1.287 40 | .643 | .839 | 1.305 41 | .656 | .869 | 1.325 42 | .669 | .900 | 1.346 43 | .682 | .933 | 1.367 44 | .695 | .966 | 1.390 45 | .707 | 1.000 | 1.414 46 | .719 | 1.036 | 1.440 47 | .731 | 1.072 | 1.466 48 | .743 | 1.111 | 1.494 49 | .755 | 1.150 | 1.524 50 | .766 | 1.192 | 1.556 51 | .777 | 1.235 | 1.589 52 | .788 | 1.280 | 1.624 53 | .799 | 1.327 | 1.662 54 | .809 | 1.376 | 1.701 55 | .819 | 1.428 | 1.743 56 | .829 | 1.483 | 1.788 57 | .839 | 1.540 | 1.836 58 | .848 | 1.600 | 1.887 59 | .857 | 1.664 | 1.942 60 | .866 | 1.732 | 2.000 61 | .875 | 1.80 | 2.063 62 | .883 | 1.881 | 2.130 63 | .891 | 1.963 | 2.203 64 | .899 | 2.050 | 2.281 65 | .906 | 2.145 | 2.366 66 | .914 | 2.246 | 2.459 67 | .921 | 2.356 | 2.559 68 | .927 | 2.475 | 2.669 69 | .934 | 2.605 | 2.790 70 | .940 | 2.747 | 2.924 71 | .946 | 2.904 | 3.072 72 | .951 | 3.078 | 3.236 73 | .956 | 3.271 | 3.420 74 | .961 | 3.487 | 3.628 75 | .966 | 3.732 | 3.864 76 | .970 | 4.011 | 4.134 77 | .974 | 4.331 | 4.445 78 | .978 | 4.705 | 4.810 79 | .982 | 5.145 | 5.241 80 | .985 | 5.671 | 5.759 81 | .988 | 6.314 | 6.392 82 | .990 | 7.115 | 7.185 83 | .993 | 8.144 | 8.206 84 | .995 | 9.514 | 9.567 85 | .996 | 11.430 |11.474 86 | .998 | 14.301 |14.336 87 | .999 | 19.081 |19.107 88 | .999 | 28.636 |28.654 89 | .999 | 57.290 |57.299 90 |1.000 |infinite.| ---- --------+------+---------+-------

GUNS.--Calibres of European Guns, expressed in inches.

+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+---------+ | English.| French. | Spanish.| Dutch. | Russian.| Portug. | +---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+ |pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.|pr.|inch.| | 42|7.018| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | 36| 6.86| 48| 7.49| | 32|6.41 | 36|6.9 | 36| 6.84| 32| 6.4 | 30| 6.47| 36| 6.8 | | 24|5.823| 24|6.03 | 24| 6.03| 24| 5.92| 24| 6. | 24| 5.93| | 18|5.292| 16|5.26 | 18| 5.52| 18| 5.45| 18| 5.45| 18| 5.4 | | 12|4.623| 12|4.78 | 12| 4.8 | 12| 4.76| 12| 4.76| 12| 4.7 | | 9|4.200| 8|4.18 | 9| 4.2 | 8| 4.13| 8| 4.17| 9| 4.3 | | 6|3.668| --| -- | --| -- | 6| 3.78| 6| 3.78| 6| 3.75| | 4|3.204| 4|3.315| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | | 3|3.913| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | | 1|2.019| --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | --| -- | +---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+---+-----+

Length and weight of English Brass guns.

-------------------+--------------+----------- Kind. | Length in | Weight. -------------------+------+-------+----------- |Calib.|ft. in.|ct. qr. lb. 42 Pounders |16.244| 9 6 |66 -- -- 32 ---- |18.721|10 0 |55 2 -- {Heavy |19.574| 9 6 |53 0 9 24 {Medium |16.483| 8 0 |41 3 2 {Light |10.302| 5 0 |16 3 13 {Do. new |13.000| 6 3 |24 0 -- 18 Light do. |13.000| 5 9 |18 0 -- {Heavy |24.659| 9 0 |31 2 8 {Desagulier’s |19.468| 7 6 |22 1 21 12{Medium, old |16.872| 6 6 |21 3 -- {Medium, new |16.872| 6 6 |18 -- -- {Light |12.978| 5 0 | 8 3 4 * {Do. new |13.000| 5 0 |12 -- -- {Heavy |26.112| 8 0 |19 1 6 * {Desag’s. Med. |22.876| 7 0 |12 -- 24 6 { {new |18.500| 6 0 | 8 3 27 {Med.{reduced |17.000| 5 6 | 8 0 22 * {Gen. Belford’s|16.342| 5 0 | 5 2 21 {Light, common |14.706| 4 6 | 5 - 18 {Heavy |28.836| 7 0 |11 3 19 * {Desagulier’s |24.717| 6 0 | 6 -- -- *3 {Light, common |14.418| 3 6 | 2 2 27 {Light infantry |12.358| 3 0 | 1 3 16 {Gen. Pattison’s|12.358| 3 0 | 1 2 19 1 Pr. Amuzette |29.7 | 5 0 | 2 2 12 Do. |35.6 | 6 0 | 3 0 11 Do. |41.5 | 7 0 | 3 1 12 -------------------+------+-------+----------

The guns marked (*) are the only ones used by the British since 1795, on general service.

Length and weight of French brass guns, in their old weights and measures.[9]

-----------------+------------------+---- Kind. | Length in |W’t. -----------------+------+-----------+---- |Calib.|ft. in. li.|lbs. 24 Prs.}Siege {| -- | 9 11 5|5628 16 -- } {| -- | 9 7 --|4111 | | | 12 -- }Garrison{| -- | -- -- --|3184 8 } {| -- | -- -- --|2175 | | | 12 -- } {| 18.0 | 6 6 --|1808 8 -- }Field {| 18. | 5 8 --|1196 4 -- } {| 18. | 4 6 --| 590 1 -- | -- | -- -- --| 266 -----------------+------+-----------+----

[9] The French weights and measures have assumed new names, and are reduced to strict proportions since the revolution. The weights here referred to are the old. For the new French system of weights and measures, see the word WEIGHTS.

Length and weight of English iron guns.

---------+--------------+-------+-------- | | |[10]Pro- | | |portion | | |between | | |shot and Kind. | Length in | Wt. |gun. ---------+------+-------+-------+-------- |Calib.|ft. in.|ct. qr.| 42 Prs.{ |17.098|10 -- |67 -- | { |16.244| 9 6 |65 -- | 170 32 -- {|18.721|10 -- |58 -- | {|17.725| 9 6 |55 -- | 193 { |20.604|10 -- |52 -- | 24 -- { |19.574| 9 6 |49 2 | 231 { |18.542| 9 -- |47 2 | 18 -- {|21.542| 9 6 |42 -- | {|20.408| 9 -- |40 -- | 249 { |24.659| 9 6 |34 -- | 12 -- { |23.361| 9 -- |32 -- | { |22.063| 8 6 |31 2 | { |19.468| 7 6 |29 1 | 294 {|21.4 | 7 6 |24 2 | 305 9 -- {|19.9 | 7 -- |23 -- | { |26.2 | 8 -- |22 -- | 6 -- { |19.6 | 6 -- |16 2 | 411 {|22.4 | 6 -- |22 1 | 343 4 -- {|20.6 | 5 6 |11 1 | 3 -- |18.6 | 4 6 | 7 1 | 270 ---------+------+-------+-------+--------

[10] This column expresses the number of English pounds of metal in the guns, to each pound in the shot.

French iron guns, in English weights, &c.

------------+----------------+------------ Kind. | Length in | Weight. ------------+------+---------+------------ |Calib.|ft. in. |ct. qr. lbs. 36 Pounders | 16.18| 9 8 | 74 3 -- 24 ---- | 18.18| 9 1¹⁄₂| 51 -- -- {| 21.01| 9 7 | 42 -- -- 16 ---- {| 18.45| 8 4 | 43 2 -- {| 16.92| 7 8¹⁄₂| 35 -- -- {| 21.54| 8 7 | 31 2 -- 12 ---- {| 20.5 | 8 2 | 20 3 -- {| 17.14| 6 10 | 28 -- -- 8 ---- {| 24.64| 8 7 | 24 1 -- {| 17.22| 6 -- | 16 -- -- 4 ---- | 17.19| 4 9 | -- -- -- ============+======+=========+============

Ranges of brass guns, with one shot. 1793.

------------------+--------+----------------------------- | | To the first graze of | | the shot. Kind. | Charge.| PB | 1° | 2° | 3° | 4° | 5° ------------------+--------+----+----+----+----+----+---- |lbs. oz.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds.|yds. Heavy | 8 0 | 473| 781|1032|1405|1585|1710 24 Medium | 8 0 | 488| 757|1103|1425|1557|1745 Light | 3 0 | 162| 364| 606| 722| |1399 Heavy | | | | | | | 12 Medium | 4 0 | | 705| 973|1189| | Light | 3 0 | | 601| 816|1063| | {Desagulier’s | 2 0 | | 646| 966|1325| | {6 Feet | 2 0 | | 683| 948|1327| | 6{5 : 6 Med. | 2 0 | | 775|1003|1444| | {5 : 6 Red’d. | 2 0 | | 642| 976|1150| | {5 Feet | 1 8 | | 587| 825| 950| | {4 : 6 Feet. | 1 8 | | 628| 804| 991| | 3 Desagulier’s | 1 0 | | 679| 883| 918| | Amuzette of 5 feet| 0 8 | | 604| 800| | | Do. 7 feet | 0 8 | | 656| 830|1000| | ------------------+--------+----+----+----+----+----+----

Ranges from Brass Guns, with Two Shot. 1793.

+------------------+--------+------+------------------+ | | |Eleva-|Medium first Graze| | Kind. | Charge.| tion.| in yards. | +------------------+--------+------+---------+--------+ | |lbs. oz.|1° 30′|1st Shot.|2d Shot.| |12 Pounder, Medium| 4 -- |1 30 | 607 | 706 | | 6 : Desagulier’s | 2 -- |1 30 | 621 | 739 | | 6 : of 5 feet | 1 8 |1 30 | 586 | 732 | | 3 : Desagulier’s | 1 -- |1 30 | 523 | 638 | +------------------+--------+------+---------+--------+

Ranges from Brass Field Guns, with small charges. 1798.

+------+-------+----------------------------------+-----------------+ | | | First Graze | | | Kind.|Charge.| with different elevations. | Extreme range. | |------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+ | Pr. | | 1°| 2°| 3°| 4°| 5°| 6° | 7° | 8° | | | 12 {| 10 oz.|199|290|390|385|597| 716| 695| 788|from 800 to 1000| | {| 1 lb.|280|416|729|777|966|1090|1054|1295|from 1200 to 1500| +------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+ |6 Pr.{| 5 oz.|111|222|376|432|618| 625| 650| 788|from 800 to 1000| | {| 8 oz.|277|401|754|826|925| 980|1103|1100|from 1000 to 1300| +------+-------+---+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+-----------------+

N. B. The above was a 12 Pr. Medium, and a 6 Pr. Desagulier’s. The distances are given in yards.

Effects of case shot from a battalion gun--Light 6 Pr. length 5 feet--Weight 5 cwt. 3 qrs. 21 lbs. against a target 8 feet high, and 90 feet long.

--------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+----------------- | | |No. put into the |No. put into the Distance| Kind | |height of 6 feet,|height of 8 feet, of | of | Ele- |or the height of |or the height of Target.| charge. |vation.| Infantry. | Cavalry. --------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+----------------- Y’ds. | | deg. | | 500 {|12 balls, 8 oz. }| 1 | 3 | 3 {|each, 3 in a }| 1¹⁄₂ | 3 | 4 {|tier, 1¹⁄₄ lb. }| 2 | 3 | 4 {|powder. }| | | { | { | 1 | 6 | 6 400 { |same ch’ge { | 1¹⁄₂ | 4 | 5 { | { | 2 | 4 | 5 {| {| ¹⁄₂ | 6 | 7 300 {|same ch’ge {| 1 | 3 | 3 {| {| 1¹⁄₂ | 4 | 6 { |34 balls. 3 oz.} | P B | 10 | 12 400 { |each, 7 in a } | ¹⁄₂ | 9 | 10 { |tier, 1¹⁄₄ lb. } | 1 | 6 | 8 { |powder } | | | {| {| P B | 11 | 13 300 {|same ch’ge {| ¹⁄₂ | 12 | 15 {| {| 1 | 7 | 9 --------+-----------------+-------+-----------------+-----------------

N. B. There were three rounds fired at each charge, but they were all so nearly alike, that it has been thought necessary to put down only one of them. 1802.

Ranges with sea service iron guns. 1796.

---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kind of Guns, 32, 24, and 18 Pounders. ------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------ |Proportion| | Eleva-| of | | tion.| powder. | Kind of shot. |Range. ------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------ deg. | | |Yards. 2 | ¹⁄₃ |With single shot to the first graze | 1200 2 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. Do. | 1000 2 | ¹⁄₄ |2 shot, ranged close together, to | 500 4 | ¹⁄₃ |Single shot | 1600 4 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. | 1500 7 | ¹⁄₃ |Do. | 2150 7 | ¹⁄₄ |Do. | 2020 2 | ¹⁄₄ |1 round shot and 1 r’d. of grape range with | | |effect together, to | 600 4 | ¹⁄₄ |One round of grape shot, alone, to | 1000 2 | ¹⁄₄ |One double headed, or bar shot will range to| | |the first graze | 800 ------+----------+--------------------------------------------+------

Ranges with 5¹⁄₂ inch shells, from a 24 Pr. iron Gun. Length of Gun 9¹⁄₂ ft. Wt. 49 ct. 26lb.

+-----+------------------++------------------++------------------+ | | 2 Pounds. || 2 lbs. 8 oz. || 3 Pounds. | | +-------+----------++-------+----------++-------+----------+ | |Flight.| ||Flight.| ||Flight.| | | Ele-| +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to | | va- | | First| Ex- || | First| Ex- || |First | Ex- | |tion.| | Graze| treme|| | Graze| treme|| |Graze | treme| +-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+ | deg.|Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.| | 1 |1 | 213 | 1139 ||2³⁄₄| 562 | 1456 ||1 | 277 | 1424 | | 2 |1³⁄₄| 384 | 1267 ||1¹⁄₂| 442 | 1413 ||1³⁄₄| 526 | 1464 | | 3 |2³⁄₄| 565 | 1413 ||2 | 647 | 1553 ||2¹⁄₄| 740 | 1600 | | 4 |2¹⁄₄| 750 | 1479 ||3³⁄₄| 896 | 1639 ||3¹⁄₂| 880 | 1679 | | 5 |3³⁄₄| 836 | 1670 ||4 | 915 | 1510 ||5 | 1182 | 1733 | | 6 |4 | 896 | 1495 ||5 | 1140 | 1657 ||6¹⁄₄| 1384 | 1787 | | 7 |6¹⁄₂| 1180 | 1492 ||6 | 1205 | 1481 ||6¹⁄₄| 1410 | 1749 | | 8 |6³⁄₄| 1305 | 1526 ||6¹⁄₂| 1259 | 1544 ||7 | 1520 | 1744 | | 9 |7¹⁄₂| 1329 | 1527 ||7 | 1341 | 1561 ||7³⁄₄| 1722 | 1938 | | 9¹⁄₂|6³⁄₄| 1229 | 1453 ||----| ---- | ---- ||8¹⁄₂| 1748 | 1881 | +-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+

Ranges with 4²⁄₅ Shells from a 12 Pounder, Medium.

+-----+------------------++------------------++------------------+ | | 8 Ounces. || 12 Ounces. || 1 lb. 8oz. | | +-------+----------++-------+----------++-------+----------+ | |Flight.| ||Flight.| ||Flight.| | | Ele-| +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to || +--+ Range to | | va- | | First| Ex- || | First| Ex- || |First | Ex- | |tion.| | Graze| treme|| | Graze| treme|| |Graze | treme| +-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+ | deg.|Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.||Sec.|Yards.|Yards.| | 1 |1¹⁄₂| 156 }| || | | || | | | | 2 |2 | 293 }| ||2¹⁄₂| 350 }| || | 707 }| | | 3 |2¹⁄₂| 363 }| From ||3¹⁄₂| 355 }| From || | 758 }| From | | 4 |3¹⁄₂| 462 }| 800 ||4 | 679 }| 1100 || | 849 }| 1400 | | 5 |4 | 587 }| to ||3¹⁄₂| 641 }| to || |1075 }| to | | 6 |4 | 621 }| 1200 ||5 | 941 }| 1300 || |1150 }| 1600 | | 7 |4¹⁄₂| 898 }| ||6 |1020 }| || |1300 }| | | 8 |5 | 781 }| || | | || | | | +-----+----+------+------++----+------+------++----+------+------+

Ranges with French brass field guns, with round shot.

------+------------+-------------------+------- | | Elevation. | | +-----------+-------+ Range | | Lines of | | in Kind.| Charge. |Tan. Scale.|Deg. M.|Toises. ------+------------+-----------+-------+------- | {| L. M. |-- 58| 300 | {| 2 | 1 3| 350 12 Pr.| 4 lbs. {| 10 | 1 39| 400 | {| 14 | 1 49| 450 | {| 16 | 1 56| 480 | { | L. M. |-- 58| 300 | { | 6 | 1 24| 350 8 Pr.| 2¹⁄₂ lbs.{ | 12 | 1 51| 400 | { | 16 | 2 8| 450 | { | 20 | 2 24| 480 | {| L. M. |-- 58| 250 | {| 4 | 1 20| 300 4 Pr.| 1¹⁄₂ lbs. {| 8 | 1 40| 350 | {| 12 | 2 --| 400 | {| 16 | 2 20| 450 | {| 18 | 2 40| 480 ------+------------+-----------+-------+-------

The above are in old French weights and measures.

Definitions of GUNNERY. 1. The impetus at any point of the curve is the perpendicular height to which a projectile could ascend, by the force it has at that point; or the perpendicular height from which a body must fall to acquire the velocity it has at that point.

2. The diameter to any point of the curve is a line drawn through that point perpendicular to the horizon.

3. The points where the diameters cut the curve are called vertexes to these diameters.

4. The axis is that diameter which cuts the curve in its highest or principal vertex, and is perpendicular to the tangent at that point or vertex.

5. The ordinates to any diameter are lines drawn parallel to the tangent at the point where that diameter cuts the curve, and intercepted between the diameter and curve.

6. The absciss is that part of the diameter which is intercepted between the ordinate and the curve.

7. The altitude of the curve is the perpendicular height of the principal vertex above the horizon.

8. The amplitude, random, or range, is the distance between the point of projection and the object aimed at.

9. The elevation of the piece is the angle its axis (produced) makes with the horizon, and the axis itself is called the direction.

10. The horizontal distance to which a mortar, elevated to a given angle, and loaded with a given quantity of powder, throws a shell of a given weight, is called the range of that mortar, with that charge and elevation.

11. The inclination of a plane is the angle it makes with the horizon either above or below.

12. The directrix is the line of motion, along which the describing line or surface is carried in the genesis of any plane or solid figure.

Laws of motion in GUNNERY.

1. Spaces equally run through with equal velocities, are to one another as the times in which they are run through, and conversely.

2. Spaces equally run through in the same or equal times, are to one another as the velocities with which they are run through, and conversely.

3. Spaces run through are in the same proportion to one another, as their times multiplied into their velocities, and conversely.

4. A body urged by two distinct forces in two different directions, will in any given time be found at the point where two lines meet that are drawn parallel to these directions, and through the points to which the body could have moved in the same time, had these forces acted separately.

5. The velocities of bodies, which by the action of gravity begin to fall from the rest, are in the same proportion as the times from their beginning of their falling.

6. The spaces run through by the descent of a body which began to fall from rest, are as the squares of the times, from the beginning of the fall.

7. The motion of a military projectile is in a curve.

GUN-powder, a composition of nitre, sulphur, and charcoal, well mixed together and granulated, which easily takes fire, and expands with amazing force, being one of the strongest propellents known.

Gun-powder.--Proportions of the different ingredients for making gunpowder, by different powers in Europe:

+--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+ | |Eng.| Fran.|Sweden.|Poland.|Italy.|Russia.| +--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+ |Nitre | 75| 75 | 75 | 80 | 76¹⁄₂| 70 | |Sulphur | 10| 9¹⁄₂| 9 | 8 | 12¹⁄₂| 11¹⁄₂| |Charcoal| 15| 15¹⁄₂| 16 | 12 | 12¹⁄₂| 18¹⁄₂| +--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+ | Pounds| 100|100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | +--------+----+------+-------+-------+------+-------+

GUNPOWDER. This well known powder is composed of seventy five parts, by weight, of nitre, sixteen of charcoal, and nine of sulphur, intimately blended together by long pounding in wooden mortars, with a small quantity of water. This proportion of the materials is the most effectual. But the variations of strength in different samples of gunpowder are generally occasioned by the more or less intimate division and mixture of the parts. The reason of this may be easily deduced from the consideration, that nitre does not detonate until in contact with inflammable matter; whence the whole detonation will be more speedy, the more numerous the surfaces of the contact. The same cause demands, that the ingredients should be very pure, because the mixture of foreign matter not only diminishes the quantity of effective ingredients which it represents, but likewise prevents the contacts by its interposition.

The nitre of the third boiling is usually chosen for making gunpowder, and the charcoal of light woods is preferred to that of those which are heavier, most probably because this last, being harder, is less pulverable. An improvement in the method of making the charcoal has lately been adopted, which consists in putting the wood, cut into pieces about nine inches long, into an iron cylinder laid horizontally, closed at one end, and furnished with small pipes at the other, that the pyroligneous acid and carburetted hidrogen may escape, and thus exposed to the heat of a fire made underneath. It is said, this charcoal improves the strength of gunpowder so much, that only two thirds of the old charge of gunpowder for ordnance are now used in our navy. The requisite pounding of the materials is performed in the large way by a mill, in which wooden mortars are disposed in rows, and in each of which a pestle is moved by the arbor of a water-wheel: it is necessary to moisten the mixture from time to time with water, which serves to prevent its being dissipated in the pulverulent form, and likewise obviates the danger of explosion from the heat occasioned by the blows. Twelve hours pounding is in general required to complete the mixture; and when this is done, the gunpowder is in fact made, and only requires to be dried to render it fit for use.

Proofs of powder.--The first examination of powder in the British mills, is by rubbing it in the hands to find whether it contains any irregular hard lumps. The second is by blasting 2 drams of each sort on a copper plate, and in this comparing it with an approved powder; in this proof it should nor emit any sparks, nor leave any beads or foulness on the copper. It is then compared with an approved powder, in projecting an iron ball of 64 lbs. from an 8 inch mortar, with a charge of 2 ounces. The best cylinder powder generally gives about 180 feet range, and pit 150; but the weakest powder, or powder that has been redried, &c. only from 107 to 117 feet.

The merchants’ powder, before it is received into the government service, is tried against powder of the same kind made at the royal mills; and it is received if it gives a range of ¹⁄₂₀ less than the king’s powder with which it is compared. In this comparison both sorts are tried on the same day, and at the same time, and under exactly the same circumstances.

The proof of fine grained, or musquet powder, is with a charge of 4 drams from a musquet barrel, to perforate with a steel ball a certain number of ¹⁄₂ inch wet elm boards, placed ³⁄₄ inch asunder, and the first 39 feet 10 inches from the barrel: the king’s powder generally passes through 15 or 16, and restoved powder from 9 to 12. The last trial of powder is by exposing about 1 pound of each sort, accurately weighed, to the atmosphere for 17 or 18 days; during which time, if the materials are pure, it will not increase any thing material in weight, by attracting moisture from the atmosphere.

In this exposure 100 lbs. of good gunpowder should not absorb more than 12 oz. or somewhat less than one per cent.

Different modes of trying gunpowder have been adopted. A ready one is, to lay two or three small heaps on separate pieces of writing paper, and fire one with a red hot wire. If the flame ascend quickly, with a good report, leaving the paper free from white specks, and not burnt into holes; and at the same time the other heaps be not fired by the sparks, the powder is well made, and the ingredients are good.

There are experiments which seem to show, that gunpowder is stronger in the fine impalpable form, than when granulated. This appears to be true with regard to gunpowder originally made, or pounded till it assumes that form; but it may be doubted, whether it have any foundation in general, or indeed that the greater strength depends at all upon this form.

British Powder Marks.--The different sorts of powder are distinguished by the following marks on the heads of the barrels.

N^{o.} ¹⁄₂} } L G }Cylinder} ----- } } N^{o.} 2} } S G } Cylinder}Marked in Red. ----- } } N^{o.} 3 } } F G } Cylinder} ----- } }

~S A~--The dust from N^{o.}3, and F G cylinder.

~R A~--For rifle arms.

⁴⁄₇ Cylinder}mixed--Marked white L G. ³⁄₇ Restoved}

L G or F G in blue, is powder made of pitcoal.

/ \ / \ {N^{o.} ¹⁄₂ L G}Marked in yellow, is restoved. |R S| {N^{o.} 3 F G} \ / \ /

This red L G, F G, or S G, denotes powder entirely made of the cylinder charcoal, and is that which is now always used on service. The white L G being a mixed powder, is not so uniform as the other, and is therefore generally used in filling shells, or for such other purposes as do not require much accuracy. All powder for service is mixed in proportions according to its strength, so as to bring it as much as possible to a mean and uniform force.

French Gunpowder.--The French proof ball is of brass, and weighs 60 lbs. French: the diameter of the mortar 7 inches 9 points, or ³⁄₄ of a line, and has one line of windage. The chamber holds exactly 3 ounces; and their best powder must give a range of 90 toises, and their restoved powder a range of 80 toises, to be received into the service. But the powder they now make, when new, will give range of 100 and 120 toises; and Mr. Lombard calculates all his tables from experiments made with powder giving 125 toises with the eprouvette. The above dimensions and weights are all of old French standard.

Invention of GUN-powder, is usually ascribed to one Bartholdus Schwartz, a German monk, who discovered it about the year 1320; it is said to have been first used in war by the Venetians against the Genoese in the year 1380. Thevel says its inventor was one Constantine Anelzen, a monk of Friburg. Peter Mexia says it was first used by Alphonsus XI. king of Castile, in the year 1342. Ducange adds, that there is mention made of this powder in the registers of the chambers of accounts of France, so early as the year 1338; and friar Bacon, expressly mentions the composition in his treatise De Nullitate Magiæ, published at Oxford in the year 1216. Some indeed are of opinion, that the Arabians or the latter Greeks were the first inventors of gunpowder, about the middle ages of our æra; because its Arabic name is said to be expressive of its explosive quality.

Considerable improvements have lately been made in the composition of gunpowder by the Chinese.

Method of making GUNPOWDER. Take nitre, sulphur, and charcoal; reduce these to a fine powder, and continue to beat them for some time in a stone mortar with a wooden pestle, wetting the mixture occasionally with water, so as to form the whole into an uniform paste, which is afterwards reduced to grains, by passing it through a sieve; and in this form, being carefully dried, it becomes the common gunpowder. For greater quantities mills are used, by means of which more work may be performed in one day than a man can do in a hundred. See MILL.

This destructive powder is composed of 75 parts nitre, 9 sulphur, and 16 of charcoal, in the 100.

The granulation of gunpowder is performed by placing the mass, while in the form of a stiff paste, in a wire sieve, covering it with a board, and agitating the whole: by this means it is cut into small grains or parts, which, when of a requisite dryness, may be rendered smooth or glossy by rolling them in a cylindrical vessel or cask. Gunpowder in this form takes fire more speedily than if it be afterward reduced to powder, as may be easily accounted for from the circumstance, that the inflamation is more speedily propagated through the interstices of the grains. But the process of granulation does itself, in all probability, weaken the gunpowder, in the same manner as it is weakened by suffering it to become damp; for in this last case, the nitre, which is the only soluble ingredient, suffers a partial solution in the water, and a separation in crystals of greater or less magnitude; and accordingly the surfaces of contact are rendered less numerous.

The detonation of gunpowder has been always an interesting problem in chemistry. Numerous theories have been offered, to account for this striking fact. But it is now very well settled, that the nitric acid is decomposed by the heat of ignition; that is oxigen, combines with the charcoal, and forms carbonic acid, while the nitrogen, or other component part, with steam from the water of crystallization, becomes disengaged in the elastic form. Berthollet found, that the elastic product, afforded by the detonation of gunpowder, consisted of two parts nitrogen gas, and one carbonic acid gas. The sudden extrication and expansion of these airs are the cause of the effects of gunpowder.

The muriat afforded by combining the oxigenized muriatic acid and potash, affords gunpowder of much greater strength than the common nitre, but too dangerous for use. For the method of making this salt, See ACID (MURIATIC, OXIGENIZED).

How to refine nitre. Put into a copper, or any other vessel, 100 weight of rough nitre, with about 14 gallons of clean water, and let it boil gently for half an hour, and as it boils take off the scum; then stir it about in the copper, and before it settles put it into your filtering-bags, which must be hung on a rack, with glazed earthen pans under them, in which sticks must be laid across for the crystals to adhere to: it must stand in the pans for two or three days to shoot; then take out the crystals and let them dry. The water that remains in the pans boil again for an hour, and strain it into the pans as before, and the nitre will be quite clear and transparent; if not, it wants more refining; to effect which proceed as usual, till it is well cleansed of all its earthy parts.

How to pulverize nitre. Take a copper kettle, whose bottom must be spherical, and put into it 14lb, of refined nitre, with 2 quarts or 5 pints of clean water; then put the kettle on a slow fire; and when the nitre is dissolved, if any impurities arise, skim them off; and keep constantly stirring it with 2 large spattles till all the water exhales; and when done enough, it will appear like white sand, and as fine as flour; but if it should boil too fast, take the kettle off the fire, and set it on some wet sand, by which means the nitre will be prevented from sticking to the kettle. When you have pulverised a quantity of nitre, be careful to keep it in a dry place.

Different kinds of GUNPOWDER. It being proper that every one who makes use of gun-powder should know of what it is composed, we shall give a brief account of its origin and use. Gunpowder, for some time after the invention of artillery, was of a composition much weaker than what we now use, or than that ancient one mentioned by Marcus Græcus: but this, it is presumed, was owing to the weakness of their first pieces, rather than to their ignorance of a better mixture: for the first pieces of artillery were of a very clumsy, inconvenient make, being usually framed of several pieces of iron bars, fitted together lengthways, and then hooped together with iron rings; and as they were first employed in throwing stone shot of a prodigious weight, in imitation of the ancient machines, to which they succeeded, they were of an enormous bore. When Mahomed II. besieged Constantinople in the year 1453, he battered the walls with stone bullets, and his pieces were some of them of the calibre of 1200lb. but they never could be fired more than four times in the 24 hours, and sometimes they burst by the first discharge. Powder at first was not grained, but in the form of fine meal, such as it was reduced to by grinding the materials together; and it is doubtful, whether the first grain of it was intended to increase its strength, or only to render it more convenient for the filling it into small charges, and the loading of small arms, to which alone it was applied for many years, whilst meal-powder was still made use of in cannon. But at last the additional strength, which the grained powder was found to acquire from the free passage of the fire between the grains, occasioned the meal-powder to be entirely laid aside. The coal for making gunpowder is either that of willow or hazle; but the lightest kind of willow is found to be the best, well charred in the usual manner, and reduced to powder. Corned powder was in use in Germany as early as the year 1568; but it was first generally used in England in the reign of Charles I.

Government powder, Ordnance-powder, such powder, as having undergone the customary proof, is so called, and received into the public magazines.

It has been recommended by a French writer to preserve gunpowder at sea by means of boxes, which should be lined with sheets of lead. M. de Gentien, a naval officer tried the experiment by lodging a quantity of gunpowder, and parchment cartridges, in a quarter of the ship which was sheathed in this manner. After they had been stowed for a considerable time, the gunpowder and cartridges were found to have suffered little from the moisture; whilst the same quantity, when lodged in wooden cases, became nearly half rotted.

Proof of Gunpowder, first take out of the several barrels of gunpowder a measure full, of about the size of a thimble, which spread upon a sheet of fine writing paper, and then fire it, if the inflammation be very rapid, the smoke rise perpendicular, and the paper be neither burnt nor spotted, it is then to be judged good powder.

Then 2 drams of the same powder are exactly weighed, and put into an eprouvette; which if it raises a weight of 24 pounds to the height of 3¹⁄₂ inches, it may be received into the public magazine as proof.

GUN-powder prover. See EPROUVETTE.

GUNSHOT, the reach or range of a gun. The space through which a shot can be thrown.

GUNSHOT-wound. Any wound received from the discharge of cannon or fire-arms.

GUNSMITH, a man who makes fire-arms.

GUNSTICK. The rammer or stick with which the charge is driven into the gun.

GUNSTOCK. The wood to which the barrel of the gun is fixed.

GUNSTONE. Such materials, chiefly stone, as were formerly discharged from artillery.

GUR, a house or dwelling in India.

GURRIES, mud forts made in India are so called. These forts are sometimes surrounded with ditches.

GURRY, an indian term to express a certain division of time, comprehending 24 minutes; but the word among the Europeans is generally understood to mean an hour. A watch is called a gurry.

GUALIOR, a stupendous military fortification on the summit of a rocky eminence in India, south of Jumma, 28 coss, or 56 English miles, from Agra. It was once taken by a daring enterprize by Col. Popham.

GHYRETTY, cantonments seven coss (14 English miles) from Calcutta. It is a palace built by Mr. Dupleix, which the British took by force in 1797, and imprisoned the principal French colonists of Chandernagore there. This was two years before the war in Europe.

GYMNASTIC, (gymnastique, Fr.) pertaining to athletic exercises, such as leaping, wrestling, drawing the cross bow, fencing, &c. The Greeks, among whom the art originated, were accustomed to strip whenever they performed any part of it.

H.

HABERGEON, a small coat of mail, or only sleeves and gorget of mail, formed of little iron rings or meshes linked together.

HABILIMENTS of war, in ancient statutes, signify armor, harness, utensils, or other provisions, without which it is supposed there can be no ability to maintain a war.

HABILLEMENT des troupes, Fr. properly means the regimental clothing or the uniform of soldiers. The clothing of the French army was not reduced to any regular system before the reign of Louis the 14th. The following observations relative to this important object are too appropriate, and suit all countries too well, to be left unnoticed.

The dress of a soldier should be plain, and made up so as to facilitate every movement of his person, to guard him against the inclemency of the weather, and to be remarkable for its collective uniformity of appearance. Next to these general requisites, the ease of each individual should be consulted; particularly with regard to the breeches, trowsers, or pantaloons. Regimental surgeons will certainly say, that in some instances men have suffered as much from an inattention to this part of their dress, as from the most harrassing service in the face of an enemy. The loins should invariably be covered, the stride be made easy, and the bend of the knee be left unembarrassed. Under the old French government, the whole infantry was clothed in white, with facings of various colors; but both the officers and the men were extremely plain in every part of their dress. Since the revolution, the national color, which was white, has been changed to blue. Not only the soldiers, but the waggon-drivers, &c. had a particular dress to distinguish them from other people. See UNIFORM.

Un HABIT d’ordonnance, Un HABIT d’uniforme, Fr. regimental coat; or clothing.

HACHE, Fr. a hatchet.

HACHE d’armes, Fr. a hatchet or battle-axe.

In ancient times this weapon was frequently resorted to by whole armies when they engaged. At present it is only used on particular occasions, in sorties, &c. or boarding ships.

HACHE, Fr. A term which was formerly used among the French to express a certain punishment that military delinquents were obliged to undergo. It consisted in being loaded with a pack or saddle, which the guilty person was under the necessity of carrying a specified distance, and which entailed disgrace upon the bearer.

HACHER, Fr. to cut to pieces. This word is very frequently used among the French in a military sense, viz.

Un bataillon, ou un escadron s’est fait HACHER en pièces, a battalion, or a squadron has suffered itself to be cut to pieces.

They likewise make use of the expression in familiar discourse, as speaking of truth, viz

On se feroit HACHER en pièces pour la verite; one would be cut to pieces for the support of truth.

HACHEREAU, Fr. a small hatchet.

HACKERY, an Indian two wheel carriage or cart, drawn by oxen.

HACQUETON. See HATCHET.

HACQUET-WAGEN, a four-wheeled waggon, which is used in the Prussian service to convey pontoons. The under-frame of this carriage is built like that of a chariot, by which means it can turn without difficulty.

HAIL-SHOT. See GRAPE-SHOT.

HAIR-CLOTH, a stuff made of hair. It is laid on the door of powder-magazines and laboratories, to prevent accidents of fire from the shoes of the men treading or rubbing upon nails, sand, or gravel.

HAIR-CLOTH--Weight 30 lbs.--length 15 feet--breadth 11 feet.

HAKIM. A term used in India to signify a master, the governor of a city, a judge, or a king. It sometimes means the government, and power.

HALBERD, HALBERT, a weapon formerly carried by the serjeants of foot and artillery. It is a sort of spear, the shaft of which is about 6 feet long, generally made of ash. Its head is armed with a steel point edged on both sides. Besides this point, which is in a line with the shaft, there is a cross piece of iron, flat and turned down at one end, but not very sharp, so that it serves equally to cut down or thrust with. This weapon has of late been exchanged for the half-pike.

HALBERDIER, a soldier armed with a halbert.

HALEBARDE, Fr. halbert. This weapon, as well as the pike, was first adopted by the French, in imitation of a similar one which was carried by the Swiss troops. It was not known in that country before the reign of Louis XI. and when it fell into disuse among the rank and file, it was confined to the serjeants of infantry. The length of a French halbert was six of their feet from one extremity to the other. The handle or shaft was a long stick, with a strong, sharp, iron ferrel at the end, and the upper part had a flat sharp blade, with a cross bar attached to it.

HALF, is frequently used in military terms. Thus,

HALF-BRIGADE, (demie brigade, Fr.) which signifies half the number of men of which a whole brigade is composed. A brigade of infantry in the French army, consists of six battalions, each of one thousand men, making together six thousand men. Three thousand of course constitutes a demie-brigade, or half-brigade. In the British service, a brigade is various, according to the number of regiments that may be encamped, or lie contiguous to each other. Sometimes two, three, or four regiments form a brigade; so that half the recited number of men which composes a brigade, whether of cavalry or infantry, makes a half-brigade.

HALF-COMPANIES. The same as subdivisions, and equal to a platoon.

HALF DISTANCE, signifies half the regular interval or space between troops drawn up in ranks, or standing in column.

HALF FILES, half the given number of any body of men drawn up two deep.

Half-files are so called in cavalry, when the men rank off singly.

HALF-FILE leader, (Chef de demi-file, Fr.) the foremost man of a rank entire.

HALF-BATTA. An extra allowance which has been granted to the whole of the officers belonging to the British east Indian army, except in Bengal, when out of the company’s district in the province of Oude. In the upper provinces double batta is allowed. All above full is paid by the native princes, as the troops stationed in that quarter are considered as auxiliaries. The full batta is an allowance granted to both officers and men whenever they are under canvas. Batta is equal to full pay.

HALF-CIRCLE guard, one of the guards used with the broad-sword to parry an inside cut below the wrist, formed by dropping the point of the sword outward in a semicircular direction, with the edge turned to the left, and raising the hand to the height of the face.

HALF-CIRCLE parade, a parade of the small sword, used against the thrust in low carte.

HALF-HANGER, or HALF-HANGING-GUARD, a position of defence in the art of broad-sword; differing from the hanging-guard, in the sword-hand not being raised so high, but held low enough to see your opponent over the hilt. See BROADSWORD.

HALF-MOON, or demi-lune, Fr. See FORTIFICATION.

HALF-PAY, a certain allowance which is made to officers in the British service who have been reduced, in consequence of some general order that effects whole corps, supernumerary companies or individuals.

It may likewise be considered as a compensation to individuals, who have been permitted to retire from the active functions of military life.

HALF-PAY officers are, to all intents and purposes, out of the reach of military cognizance. They cannot be tried by martial law; nor are they liable to be called upon either as members of a court martial, or for the purpose of actual service.

HALF-PIKE, (demi pique, Fr.) a small pike, which was formerly carried by officers.

HALF-SWORD, close fight, within half the length of a sword.

HALT [French halte], is a discontinuance of the march of any body of men, armed or unarmed, under military direction. It is frequently practised for the purpose of easing troops during their progress through a country, or to render them fresh and active previous to any warlike undertaking.

Frequent halts are made during the passage of obstacles, and in an intersected country, in order to obviate the inconvenience and danger which must attend a column whose head is advanced too far to preserve the regular succession of all its component parts. Nothing, indeed, can be more pregnant with mischief than such a chasm; for, if the enemy be in the neighborhood, both front and rear are exposed. The best way in the passage of defiles, &c. is to proceed to a distance beyond it which shall be sufficiently extensive to admit of the whole number; there to halt, and not to march forward until the rear has completely cleared the obstacle.

HALT, is likewise a word of command in familiar use when a regiment is on its march from one quarter to another. The men are permitted to refresh themselves half-way. It should be generally observed, that to prevent soldiers from straggling about, or getting among persons who might entice them to be disorderly, a strict order ought to be given by the commanding officer of every battalion not to allow any division or detachment to halt in or near a town or village. A convenient midway spot should be chosen for the purpose, and when the men have piled their arms (which may be done in line or in column), a few steady soldiers should be detached to guard the ground, and to prevent others from straggling beyond certain limits. Among the French it was usual for the commanding officer of a battalion, division, or detachment, in hot weather, to send a sergeant and a few steady grenadiers forward, in order to secure good water for the troops. This practice ought to be avoided as much as possible; for men are more exposed to suffer from drinking when overheated, than they would be by patiently enduring the thirst until they reached the spot where the day’s march is to terminate.

To HALT in open column for the purpose of wheeling up into line. When the several companies of one or more battalions have entered the alignement, and marched with their guides of manœuvre, or pivot flanks along the line, covering each other at their due distances (for which company officers are answerable), the open column is then in a state to be wheeled into line.

As soon, therefore, as the head or rear division, according to circumstances, arrives at the given point where it is to form line, the commander of the battalion gives the word mark time, in order to afford the several ranks time to correct their dressing and distance by their guides and pivots: on the delivery of this word, the foot which is then off the ground, finishes its proper step, and the other is brought up to it; and when the whole are dressed the word is given to halt. The instant the halt is ordered, the commanding officer from the head division of each battalion (taking care that an adjutant is placed in the true line) makes any small correction on a near point in that line that the pivots may require, although no such correction ought to be necessary.

To HALT after having wheeled from open column. The officers commanding companies, &c. having during the wheel turned round to face their men, and inclined towards the pivot of the preceding company, as they perceive their wheeling men make the step which brings them up to their several pivots, they give the word mark time--halt. The men, on receiving this last word of command, halt with their eyes still turned to the wheeling flank, and each officer being then placed before the preceding guide or pivot, to which his men are then looking, corrects the interior of his company upon that pivot, his own pivot, and the general line of the other pivots. This being quickly and instantaneously done, the officer immediately takes his post on the right of his company, which has been preserved for him by his serjeant. Thus the whole line, when halted, is imperceptibly dressed.

In cavalry movements, when the open column halted on the ground on which it is to form, wheels up into line, the following specific instructions must be attended to:

Distances being just, guides and pivot leaders being truly covered, the caution is given, Wheel into line! when the then pivot-flank leaders place themselves each on the reverse flank of such divisions, as by its wheel up brings them to their true place in the squadron. The leading division of each squadron sends out a guide to line himself with the pivot files. At the word march! the whole wheel up into line, which is marked by the guides or pivots, and also bounded by the horses’ heads of the faced guides of it.--Dress--halt! is then given (as well as the other words by each squadron leader) the instant before the completion of the wheel; the eyes are then turned to the standing flank (to which the correction of the squadron is made), and remain so till otherwise ordered; so that a line formed by wheels to the left, will remain with eyes to the right; and one formed by wheels to the right will remain with eyes to the left.

During the wheel up, the standard moves to its place in squadron, and at the halt every individual must have gained his proper post.

HALTE, Fr. See HALT.

HALTER-CAST. In farriery, an excoriation or hurt in the pastern, which is occasioned by the horse endeavoring to scrub the itching part of the body near the head and neck, and thus entangling one of his hinder feet in the halter. The consequence of which is, that he naturally struggles to get free and sometimes receives very dangerous hurts in the hollow of his pastern.

HALTING, in farriery, a limping, or going lame; an irregularity in the motion of a horse, arising from a lameness in the shoulder, leg, or foot, which obliges him to tread tenderly.

HAMLET, a small village.

Tower HAMLETS. The militia raised in the district of the Tower of London, is so called, and is divided into two battalions.

HAMMER, well-known instrument with an iron head, for driving nails, &c. The artillery aids each carry one in his belt, in order to clear the vent from any stoppage.

HAMMER, a piece of iron which stands in a perpendicular direction above the cover of the pan, being a part of the same, and serving to produce those sparks of fire that ultimately occasion the explosion of the gunpowder. The Germans call it pfannen deckel, the cover of the pan; but this expression does not convey a distinct and clear idea of the use that is made of it. Nothing, however, can be less appropriate than the term appears amongst us. We call the part which is struck against to produce sparks of fire the hammer; and the part which strikes, the cock; whereas that part of the cock which holds the flint is, in fact, the hammer, and the other is without a proper name. The Germans call the cock hahn. It is not within our province to propose new terms; we are therefore satisfied in having pointed out the contradiction.

HAMMER-SPRING, the spring on which the hammer of a gun-lock works. It is also called feather-spring.

HAMMOCK, (hamac, Fr.) a sort of bed made of cotton or canvas. Those used in America consisted of a broad piece of canvas which was suspended between two branches of a tree, or between two stakes, and in which the savages are accustomed to sleep.

Among sailors the hammock is about six feet long and three feet broad, and drawn together at the two ends, and hung horizontally under the deck for the sailors to repose in. In time of battle, the hammocks are strongly fastened and laid above the rails on the quarter-deck and forecastle, to barricade, and to prevent the execution of small shot.

HAMPE, ou HANTE, Fr. a shaft; a long stick to which any thing else is attached; as a sharp blade to form a halbert or pike.

HANCES, the ends of elliptical arches.

HAND. Among the Mysoreans the print of a hand is reckoned a form equivalent to an oath. The hand is one of their military ensigns, and always carried by their princes to war.

HAND, a measure of four inches, or of a clinched fist by which the height of a horse is computed. Thus horses are said to be so many hands high.

The sizes of military horses should run from 15 hands and 1 inch to 16 hands high, and the age 4 or 5 off, if possible.

Hand is also used for the division of a horse into the fore and hind parts. The parts of the fore-hand are the head, neck, and fore-quarters; and those of the hind-hand include all the other parts of his body.

HAND is likewise used for the horseman’s hand. Thus spear-hand, or sword-hand, is the horseman’s right hand, and bridle-hand is his left hand.

HAND-BARROW, a machine made of light wood, of great use in fortification for carrying earth from one place to another; or in a siege, for carrying shells or shot along the trenches.

HAND-BARROW. Weight 13 pounds, length 5 feet 4 inches.

HAND-BREADTH, a measure of three inches, or a space equal to the breadth of the hand, the palm.

HAND-GALLOP, a slow and easy gallop, in which the hand presses the bridle to hinder increase of speed.

HAND-GRENADES, small iron shells, from 2 to 3 inches diameter, filled with powder which being lighted by means of a fuse, are thrown by the grenadiers amongst the enemy; until lately out of use. See GRENADES.

HAND-GUN, a gun held in the hand.

HAND-MALLET, a wooden hammer with a handle, to drive fuses, or pickets, &c. in making fascines or gabion batteries.

HAND-SCREW, is composed of a toothed iron bar, which has a claw at the lower end and a fork at the upper: the bar is fixed in a stock of wood, about 2.5 feet high, and 6 inches thick, moved by a rack-work, so that this claw or fork being placed under a weight raises it as far as the bar can go.

HAND-SPIKE, in gunnery, a wooden lever 5 or 6 feet long, flattened at the lower end, and tapering towards the other, useful in moving guns to their places after being fired and loaded again, or for moving other heavy weights.

HAND-SPIKES. Common, weight 10 pounds, length 6 feet.

HAND-TO-HAND, close fight; the situation of two persons closely opposed to each other.

HANDFUL, used figuratively, in a military sense, to denote a small quantity or number, as a handful of men.

To HANDLE, to manage, to wield.

HANDLE arms, a word of command (when the men are at ordered arms) by which the soldier is directed to bring his right hand briskly up to the muzzle of his musquet, with his fingers bent inwards. This word of command is frequently used at the private inspection of companies, and always precedes--Ease arms.

This term was formerly used in the manual from the support to the carry. It is now however used only in the instance just mentioned.

To HANG-FIRE. Fire-arms are said to hang-fire when the flame is not speedy in communicating from the pan to the charge. This defect may arise from the powder being damp or the touch-hole foul.

To HANG upon. To hover, to impede.

To HANG upon the rear of a retreating enemy. To follow the movements of any body of men so closely as to be a constant annoyance to them.

It requires both judgment and activity in the commanding officer of a pursuing army to execute this business without endangering his troops. For it might happen that the retreating enemy, seeing an opportunity to make a retrograde flank movement from its front, would practice a feint in its rear, and suddenly appear upon the right or left of his pursuers. To prevent a surprize of this sort, constant vedettes and side-patroles must be detached, and the pursuer must never attempt to follow through any considerable length of defile, or cross rivers, without having secured the neighboring eminences, and been well informed as to the nature of the stream, for some extent on his right and left. Without these precautions he might himself be taken in flank and rear.

To HANG upon the flanks of an enemy, is to harass and perplex him in a more desultory manner than what is generally practised when you press upon his rear.

Hussars, light dragoons, mounted riflemen, and light infantry detachments are well calculated for this service. Light pieces of artillery are likewise extremely useful, but they should be cautiously resorted to, as ambuscades might be laid, and their removal would require too much time. A perfect knowlege of the country in which you fight, aided by intelligent guides and faithful scouts, will be one of the best safeguards in all operations of this kind.

HANGER, a short-curved sword.

HANGING-GUARD, a defensive position in the art of broad-sword; it is formed by raising the sword-hand high enough to view your antagonist under your wrist, and directing your point towards his ribs. See BROADSWORD.

HANNIBAL, a celebrated general among the Carthagenians, who crossed the Alps, and threatened Rome. This able man lost all the fruits of his uncommon exertions and military talents by relaxing from that active conduct, by which he had thrown the Roman legions into confusion. He is a striking example of the propriety of marshal Saxe’s observations on the necessity of vigorous and unremitting operations against a retreating enemy. See GENERAL.

HANOVERIANS, troops belonging to Hanover, formerly subject to the king of Great Britain, and of which a considerable body were employed to subjugate America, for which forty pounds sterling a head were paid out of the British treasury to the elector of Hanover; they are now subjects of France.

HANSE, or HANS, (Hans Teutonique, Fr.) a body or company of merchants united together for the promotion of trade.

HANS towns, (villes Hanseatiques, Fr.) Certain towns and places in Germany and the north of Europe in which a commercial compact, or agreement, for the benefit of commerce was entered into by merchants of respectability. The four towns that first united for this purpose were Lubec, Brunswick, Dantzic, and Cologne, and on that account they bore the distinguishing title of mother-towns. After the original establishment of this company had taken place, several towns became anxious to belong to so respectable and useful a company. They were accordingly adopted, and obtained the denomination of god-daughters. The number of these associated places amounted to 81, and they were generally called the Hanseatic or Anseatic towns. In the year 1372, a treaty of alliance was entered into between Denmark and the Hans towns. Amsterdam and other Dutch cities were included, as may be seen in a copy of that treaty which has been preserved by Boxhoorn.

HAQUET, Fr. a dray; a species of waggon formerly used in the artillery; they differed in their sizes and dimensions according to the nature of the service.

Military HARANGUES, (harangues militaires, Fr.) It was usual among the ancients for generals, &c. to harangue their soldiers previous to an engagement. This custom, however, is too old to be traced to its origin. Short harangues, if any are adopted, will always prove the best; for that natural impulse by which the aggregate of mankind are driven into acts of peril and possible destruction, is of too subtile and too volatile a nature to bear suspence.

We find among the ancient historians various instances in which the generals of armies have judged fit to harangue their troops. It must, however, be acknowleged, that the greater part of these harangues have been studiously made out by ingenious writers, and put into the lips of the heroes they have thought proper to celebrate. Those which contain most common sense, and are conveyed in short pithy sentences, will always produce the best effects.

Eloquence is certainly a qualification which every general of an army should possess; but, it is not, in our days, the most essential requisite in his character. Cæsar was naturally endowed with a most bewitching talent in the exercise of words; and he used it on many occasions to considerable advantage. The manner in which he was accustomed to address his men became so celebrated, that several persons belonging to the army he commanded carefully selected his military harangues; and, if we may believe the Chevalier Folard, the emperor Augustus was particularly pleased and entertained in having them read to him.

In Chevalier Folard’s opinion, those speeches which are enlivened by expressions of humor and by occasional raillery, will always have the most influence over the minds of common soldiers. War although apparently dictated by the laws of nature (for war and bloodshed seem to have been the concomitants of man from his first creation) cannot be so far congenial to the feelings of civilized mortality, as to mingle with sober sense and rational reflection. Consequently, those discourses which lead the common mind to think, and which induce the common heart to feel, are ill adapted to acts of violence and mutual rancour. A witticism or humorous expression has sometimes the most happy effect. The answer which Hannibal the Carthaginian made to one of his generals, whose name was Gisco, produced a fortunate emotion among the soldiers. The latter observed, that the enemy’s great numbers somewhat surprized him; Hannibal, as Plutarch relates the story, immediately said, with a sort of indignant look--But there is another circumstance, Gisco, which ought to surprize you much more, and which you do not seem to know. Gisco requested to know what it might be. It is, replied Hannibal, that in so large a multitude there should not be one man whose name is Gisco. This sarcastic observation created a loud laugh among all who surrounded the general, and the humor of the saying was instantly conveyed through the ranks.

Antigonus, according to the same authority, never adopted any other mode of conveying his sentiments to the troops. The Lacedemonians were even more laconic; but every thing they uttered was full of sound sense and energy of thought. Thucydides, who was not only a good historian, but likewise an able general, makes his heroes speak in a very emphatic and eloquent manner. Tacitus does not appear to possess much excellence that way; and the speeches which we find in Polybius, are copied after what was spoken by the several generals, whom he celebrates. Titus Livius is too ornamental and too flowery. An active and intelligent general must be a perfect stranger to that species of oratory.

We read in Varillas, a French historian, who was born in 1624, and wrote a history of France beginning with Louis XI. and ending with Henry III. &c. that Zisca (or Ziska) a gentleman and soldier of Bohemia (who was so called because he happened to lose an eye,) made a remarkable speech to his followers. We refer our inquisitive readers to that writer’s works for one of the most energetic, most soldier-like, and persuasive pieces of military eloquence that perhaps is extant. Zisca succeeded Huss, who had armed the peasantry of Bohemia to resist the oppressions of the emperor and the Roman pontiff; and although he lost his other eye at the siege of Rabi, his influence and courage were so great, that he obliged the emperor Sigismund to send an embassy to him, and to offer him the government of Bohemia. Such was his power of persuasion, that he could not only animate his men to the most desperate feats of valor, but likewise check them in the full career of victory, to prevent plunder and unnecessary bloodshed. A remarkable instance of this sort may be found in Varillas, where he relates, that nothing but the influence which Zisca possessed over the minds of his followers could have saved the city of Prague from utter destruction.

Several specimens of military eloquence may be found in Procopius. They possess the happy quality of being very short, full of good sense and strength of expression. Since the time of Henry the IVth, of France, we find few instances in which the generals of armies have thought it expedient to harangue their troops, unless we except the battle of Nerva, previous to which Charles the XIIth, king of Sweden, addressed his little army.

It frequently happens, however, that the commanding officers of corps and of detached parties, feel it necessary to encourage their men by short and appropriate speeches after the manner of the Lacedemonians. At the famous battle of Tory, Henry the IVth, of France, rode down the front of the line, and pointing to the white feather which he wore in his hat, spoke in the following emphatic manner to his soldiers: My children, (mes enfans) cried he, should any mistake or irregularity occur among the standard bearers, and your colors by any accident be misled, recollect, that this feather will shew you where you are to rally; you will always find it on the road to honor and victory!

At Fleurus, general Jourdan rode along the line with this short speech, “no retreat to-day.” At Marengo Bonaparte addressed the soldiers, “remember we always sleep the night after victory on the field of battle.” At Jena he told them--“There is Rosbach and a column commemorating French defeat, we must retrieve the honor of France, and plant a column dedicated to French glory.” Admiral Nelson’s address before the battle of Trafalgar, merits perpetual record,--“England expects every man to do his duty.” The English ladies very significantly embroidered it on their garters.

HARASS, (harceler, Fr.) In a military sense, signifies to annoy, to perplex, and incessantly turmoil any body of men, to hang upon the rear and flanks of a retreating army, or to interrupt its operations at a siege by repeated attacks. The troops best calculated for this duty are hussars, mounted riflemen, and light dragoons. The general most celebrated among the ancients for this kind of warfare was Sertorius. By means of the most subtile and ingenious manœuvres, aided by a thorough knowlege of military tactics, he disconcerted all the plans, and finally defeated all the attempts which were made by Pompey and Metellus to subdue him. It has been shrewdly remarked by the commentator on Polybius, that had there been one Sertorius within the walls of Lisle, when that city was besieged in 1708, the whole combined force of the allies that was brought before it would have been rendered ineffectual. This wise and sagacious officer was constantly upon the watch; no movement of the enemy escaped his notice; and by being master of his designs, every measure which was attempted to be put in execution, was thwarted in its infancy.

When he received intelligence that a convoy was on its way to the enemy, such was his activity, that no precautions could save it from his attack; and however seemingly advantageous a temporary position might appear, every possible peril or surprize crouded upon his mind, and the instant he judged it necessary to decamp, such was his sagacity and shrewdness, that no foresight or information of the enemy could circumvent him on his march. He was full of expedients, master of military feints, and indefatigably active. When pursued in his retreats, he had always the ingenuity to avoid his enemy by getting into inaccessible places, or by disposing of his troops in such a manner, as to render it extremely hazardous to those who might attempt to harrass or perplex him.

HARBOR, in military architecture, a port or haven for shipping. The making and inclosing harbors with piers, so as to resist the winds and waves, for the preservation of ships in stormy weather, is one of the most useful and necessary works that can be made in a trading nation; since the security of their wealth and power depends greatly upon it. Hence it should be the particular study of every young engineer, who is desirous of being useful to his country, or of distinguishing himself, to render himself master of this branch of business. The works principally recommended to his attention are L’Architecture Hydraulique, par M. Belidor; Essai sur la Resistance des Fluides, par M. d’Alembert, Maclaurin, and Muller.

HARCARRAH. In India, a messenger employed to carry letters, and otherwise entrusted with matters of consequence that require secrecy and punctuality. They are very often Bramins, well acquainted with the neighboring countries; they are sent to gain intelligence, and are used as guides in the field.

HARDI, Fr. In French architecture, an epithet which is frequently attached to those sorts of works that, notwithstanding their apparent delicacy of construction, their great extent and wonderful height, remain uninjured for a succession of years. Gothic churches are of this description.

HARE, an old Saxon term for an army.

HARNESS, armor, or defensive furniture of war. Also the traces for horses of draught.

HARNESS. For men in the light artillery, one set, 26 lbs. length 12 feet. Wheel harness for a pair of horses, such as was used in the service of artillery, about 1 cwt.

HARNOIS, Fr. harness. This word was formerly used among the French to signify the complete armor or equipment of a horseman, including the cuirass, helmet, &c. The term, however is still adapted in a figurative sense: as, Cet ancien officier a blanchi sous le harnois--This old officer has grown grey beneath his harness, or equipment; signifying that he has grown old in the service.

HARNOIS du Cheval, Fr. Military equipment for a horse. There are some curious remarks on this subject in the Reveries de Mareschal Saxe.

HARO, Fr. hue and cry.

HAROL. An indian term signifying the officer who commands the van of an army. It sometimes means the vanguard itself.

HARPE, Fr. a species of draw-bridge, which was used among the ancients, and which obtained the name of harp from its resemblance to that instrument. This bridge, which consisted of a wooden frame, and hung in a perpendicular direction against the turrets that were used in those times to carry on the siege of a place, had, like the harp, a variety of ropes attached to it, and was let down upon the wall of a town by means of pullies. The instant it fell the soldiers left the turret and rushed across the temporary platform upon the rampart.

HARQUEBUS, a kind of fire-arm, of the length of a musquet, usually cocked with a wheel. It carried a ball of about 3 ounces. Not used at present.

HARQUEBUSIER, a soldier carrying a harquebus.

HARROW, to lay waste, to ravage, or destroy.

HASTAIRES, Fr. soldiers armed with spears. See HASTATI.

HASP, a flat staple to catch the bolt of a lock.

HASTATI, from the Latin word hasta, a spear; so that they may literally be called spearmen. A body of Roman soldiers who were more advanced in age, and had acquired a greater reputation in arms than the Velites possessed, were distinguished by this appellation. They wore a complete set of armor, and always carried a buckler, made convex, measuring two feet and a half in breadth and four in length. The longest contained about four feet nine inches, or a Roman palm. The buckler was made of two boards glued together. These were covered, in the first instance, with a broad piece of linen, which was again covered over with sheep’s skin. The edges, both at top and bottom, were fenced with iron, to enable them to meet the broad sword and sabre, and to prevent them from rotting when planted on the ground. The convex part was further covered over with iron plates to resist the impression of hard blows, and to withstand the violent concussion of stones, &c.

The hastati likewise wore a sword, which they carried girted to their right thigh, and which was called the Spanish sword. This weapon was calculated both to cut and thrust, the blade being very broad, thick, and pointed. Each had moreover two pikes, a brass helmet, and half boots. One of the pikes was thick, and the other of a middling size, and they were in general either round or square. The round ones were four fingers diameter, and the square ones contained the breadth of a side. The small pikes were not unlike to the darts which the hastati, or spearmen, were still obliged to carry.

The pole or staff of these pikes, whether large or small, was nearly five cubits long. The iron which was made somewhat in the shape of a fish-hook and was fixed to the pole, contained the same length. It reached beyond the middle, and was so well nailed that nothing could loosen it without at the same time breaking the pole. This iron was one finger and a half thick, both at the bottom, and at the part where it was joined to the wood.

The hastati or spearmen wore upon their heads a red or black plume, consisting of three straight feathers, each measuring one cubit in height. These, added to their other accoutrements, made them appear uncommonly tall, and gave them a bold and formidable look. The lowest class of hastati, or spearmen, had their chests protected by a piece of brass, containing twelve fingers’ breadth every way. This plate was called a breast-plate. All that were worth 10,000 drachmæ wore a coat of mail, instead of a breast-plate.

Kennet, in his R. Ant. p. 190, gives a similar account of the hastati; and adds, that the spears were afterwards laid aside as incommodious.

_Armes d’_HASTE, Fr. long-hafted weapons.

HASTE, Fr. The piece of wood or long pole to which the standard is fixed, was formerly so called in France.

HASSEIN and HOUSSEIN, two brothers, and Mahomedan saints, whose feast is celebrated with great pomp and much enthusiasm in Asia. This festival is kept on the 14th of November, in commemoration of the murder of those two brothers. The Mahomedans of Hindostan observe it with a kind of religious madness, some acting and others bewailing the catastrophe of their saints with so much energy, that several die of the excesses they commit. They are likewise persuaded that whoever falls in battle against unbelievers, during any of the days of this ceremony, shall be instantly translated into the higher paradise, without stopping at any of the intermediate purgatories. On these occasions, to the enthusiasm of superstition is added the more certain efficacy of inebriation; for the troops eat plentifully of bang, a vegetable substance something like hemp which yields an intoxicating juice.

HAT. Hats are no longer used by the non commissioned officers or privates; in the European armies all the infantry wear caps of leather, &c.

HATCHET, used in the army, a small light sort of an axe, with a bazil edge on the left side, and a short handle, used by the men for cutting wood to make fascines, gabions, pickets, &c.

To take up the HATCHET, among the Indians to declare war, to commence hostilities, &c.

HAUBERGEON, Fr. See HABERGEON.

HAUBERGIER, Fr. an individual who held a tenure by knight’s service, and was subject to the feudal system, which formerly existed in France, and by which he was obliged to accompany the lord of the manor in that capacity whenever the latter went to war. He was called fief de haubert, and had the privilege of carrying a halbert. All vassals in ancient times served their lords-paramount as squires, haubergiers, lance-men, bow-men, &c.

HAUBERJON, Fr. See HABERGEON.

HAUBERT. See HAUTBERT.

HAVERSACK, a kind of bag made of strong coarse linen, to carry bread and provisions on a march. It is only used in the field and in cantonments, each soldier having one.

HAVILDAR, or HAVILDAUR, a non-commissioned officer or serjeant among the East India sepoys. He ranks next to the Jemidar.

HAVOCK, carnage, slaughter.

HAVRESAC, Fr. See HAVERSACK.

HAUSSE-col, Fr. an ornamental plate similar to the gorget. It is worn by infantry officers only.

Un HAUSSE-cou, Fr. a neck piece.

HAUT-LE-PIED, Fr. a term used to distinguish such persons as were formerly employed in the French armies without having any permanent appointment. Commissaires hauts-le-pied were known in the artillery during the monarchy of France. They were usually under the quarter-master general.

Le HAUT Rhin, Fr. the Upper Rhine.

Le HAUTE Saxe, Fr. Upper Saxony.

HAUTBERT, Fr. a coat of mail, which covered the neck and arms, formerly worn by the seigneurs de haubert, or lords-paramount, in France, in lieu of the hausse-col, brassarts, and cuissarts.

HAUTBOY, (hautbois, Fr.) a wind-instrument, now almost universally adopted by the European armies, and which forms a part of the regimental bands.

HAUTES-payes, Fr. were soldiers selected by the captains of companies to attend them personally, for which service they received something more than the common pay. Haute-paye became afterwards a term to signify the subsistence which any body of men superior to, or distinguished from the private soldier were allowed to receive.

HAUTEUR, Fr. in geometry, signifies elevation.

HAUTEUR, Fr. in architecture, the extreme height of any building. Thus, un bâtiment est arrivée à hauteur signifies that the last stones or bricks are laid ready for the roof to be covered in.

HAUTEUR d’appui, Fr. breast-height.

HAUTEUR de marche, Fr. The usual height which a man takes in stepping, being about six or seven inches above ground.

HAUTEUR d’un escadron, ou d’un battaillon, Fr. the depth of a squadron of horse, or battalion of foot. The word hauteur in the French service is equivalent to depth in the English: as--an army consisting of many squadrons of horse and battalions of foot, one in front of the other and forming several columns, is said to stand that number of columns deep; the term being applicable in all services to the army collectively or separately considered from several columns to a mere rank and file.

HAUTS-officers, Fr. superior officers.

With respect to an army composed of several regiments, the following fall under the description of hauts officiers according to the old French system: generals, lieutenant-generals, colonels, and lieutenant-colonels. The hauts-officiers, or superior officers in distinct corps, were majors, aid-majors, captains, lieutenants, sub-lieutenants, and ensigns.

HAYE, Fr. a military disposition in which soldiers stood aside one another on a straight line. Se mettre en haie, is to stand rank entire. Faire un double haie, to stand two deep. Border la haie, is a disposition to which infantry has recourse when attacked by cavalry. See BORDER LA HAYE.

HAZAREE, an East Indian term signifying a commander of armed men.

HEAD, in gunnery, the fore part of the cheeks of a gun or howitz carriage.

HEAD of a work, in fortification, is the front next to the enemy, and farthest from the place; as the front of a horn-work is the distance between the flanked angles of the demi-bastions: the head of a double tenaille is the salient angle in the centre, and the two other sides which form the re-entering angles. See FORT.

HEAD of an army, or body of men, is the front, whether drawn up in lines, or on a march.

HEAD of a double tenaille, the salient angle in the centre, and the two other sides which form the re-entering angle.

HEAD-piece, armor for the head; an helmet, such as the light dragoons wear.

HEAD-of a camp, the ground before which the army is drawn up.

HEAD-QUARTERS, the place where the officer commanding an army or independent body of troops takes up his residence.

HEADSTALL, that part of the bridle which goes over the horse’s head.

HEAUME, Fr. A word derived from the German, which formerly signified casque, or helmet. The heaume has been sometimes called among the French salade, armet, and celate from the Latin word which means engraved, on account of the different figures which were represented upon it. The heaume covered the whole of the face, except the eyes, which were protected by small iron bars laid cross-ways.

The heaume was not only worn by the chevaliers or knights when they went to war, but also at tilts and tournaments. It serves as an ornament or helmet in coats of arms and armorial bearings. Various appellations have been given to this piece of armor, such as habillement de tête, covering for the head, casque, helmet; and under Francis I. it was distinguished by the name of armet. It does not resemble the morion, the salade, or headpiece, the pot, or bourgignote, burganet, which were worn only in the infantry. The heaume, as we have observed above, covered the face. There was an opening opposite to the eyes which was guarded by small iron bars, or latice-work, and was a kind of visier. The heaume, or helmet, is still preserved in heraldry, and is a distinguishing mark of nobility. In tournaments, the helmet was presented as a prize of honor to the most active champion, because it was the principal piece of defensive armor; but a sword was given to the assailants, as that was an offensive weapon.

HEBDOMADIER, Fr. The person whose week it is to be on duty.

HELEPOLIS, in the ancient art of war, a machine for battering down the walls of a place besieged. The invention of it is ascribed to Demetrius the Poliorcetes. Diodorus Siculus says, that each side of the helepolis was 450 cubits broad, and 90 in height; that it had 9 stages or floors, and was carried on four strong solid wheels, 8 cubits in diameter; that it was armed with huge battering rams, and had 2 roofs capable of supporting them; that in the lower stages there were different sorts of engines for casting stones; and in the middle, they had large catapulta’s for lancing arrows.

HELICOMETRY, an art which teaches how to draw or measure spiral lines upon a plane, and shew their respective properties.

HELIOID parabola, is a curve arising from the supposition of the axis of the Apollonian parabola, being bent into the periphery of a circle, and is then a line passing through the extremities of the ordinates, which converge toward the centre of the circle.

HELIOSCOPE, a prospect glass to view the sun. The glass is colored in order to weaken the radiance of light.

HELIX, a spiral line.

HELM, or HELMET, an ancient defensive armor worn both in war and tournaments. It covered both the head and face, only leaving an aperture in the front, secured by bars, which was called the visor. The Carians first invented the boss of shields and the crest of helmets. In remembrance of this, a small shield and a crest were always buried with them.

HELMET-CAP, HELMET-HAT, a cap, or hat, the crown of which is shaped like the dragoon helmet.

HELVE, or HAFT, the wooden handle of a hatchet, hammer, or pick-axe.

To HEM in, to surround.

HEMERODROMES, Fr. a French term taken from the Greek, signifying sentries or guards, which were employed among the ancients to protect and watch over fortified towns and places. As soon as the gates were opened they went out, and continued to patrole round the skirts of the town during the whole of the day. Frequently, indeed they advanced considerably into the country, in order to discover whether any hostile body of men was approaching in order to surprize the garrison.

HENDECAGON, a figure that has 11 sides and as many angles, each capable of a regular bastion.

HINDOO, or HINDU, the name by which the natives of Hindustan distinguish themselves from the inhabitants of other countries.

HEPTAGON, a figure consisting of seven sides and as many angles. If the sides be all equal, it is called a regular heptagon.

HEPTAGONAL numbers, are a sort of polygonal numbers, wherein the difference of the terms of the corresponding arithmetical progression is = 5. One of the properties of these numbers is, that if they be multiplied by 40, and 9 be added to the product, the sum is a square number.

HEPTARCHY, a government which consisted of 7 kings or sovereign princes. Such was the government under which England was ruled by the Saxon kings.

HERALD, an officer at arms, whose duty is to declare war, to proclaim peace, or to be employed in martial messages. The heralds in England are judges and examiners of that ridiculous jargon called heraldry, or coats of arms; they marshal all solemnities at the coronations, and funerals of their princes, &c. The origin of heralds is extremely ancient. It is reported that the Greek herald, Stentor, possessed such a powerful voice that it exceeded the united clamor of fifty men.

There are three heralds called kings at arms in England, each bearing a name peculiar to himself, and six heralds. The first king at arms is that of Garter, created by Henry V., that of Clarencieux, created by Edward IV. and that of Norroy, so called from the exercise of his functions north of the river Trent.

The heralds extraordinary are those of Windsor and Chester, created by Edward III., those of Somerset by Henry VIII. and those of York and Lancaster, created by the children of Edward III. They are pageants and sinecures.

HERALDS College, a corporation in England which consists of kings at arms, heralds, and pursuivants, in which the nonsense of heraldry is recorded.

HERAUT, Fr. herald. During the old monarchy of France there were thirty heralds each distinguished by the name of some particular province. The first of these who was king at arms, bore the title of Montjoy St. Denis: he had the privilege of wearing a royal coronet over the fleur de luce. On solemn occasions the king and the heralds at arms appeared in their coats of arms made of violet colored crimson velvet, with three golden fleurs de luces before and behind, and as many on each sleeve where the name of the province stood, to which the herald belonged. They wore a black velvet cap ornamented with golden strings, and half boots, when they appeared on peaceable occasions, with whole boots on warlike or martial ones. In solemn funerals they had a long robe of black velvet. The only difference between the king at arms and the heralds with respect to dress, consisted in the richness of the embroidery, that of the former being more expensive. The coats of arms which were peculiar to the heralds were called Plaques, those of the kings at arms were distinguished by the name of Tunics. They carried a stick called Caduceus (such as Mercury is represented to have borne in ancient mythology.) But this stick was not ornamented by a crown with fleurs de luce, it was only covered with crimson velvet, having a few fleurs de luce scattered here and there.

There was likewise a herald, whose particular functions were to carry the king’s orders. He was entitled to a coat of arms upon violet colored velvet, interspersed with fleurs de luce and gold embroidered flammes or pendants, together with the arms and collars both before and behind. He likewise wore the cross belonging to the order which was attached to a black silk cord borne cross-ways.

The author of the Dictionnaire Militaire derives the French term Heraut from the German Hérald, which signifies a man at arms, un Gendarme. Verstegan derives it from the Saxon. Other French writers derive it from an old Gallic word harou, or hara, which was used as a challenge, a notification of fresh hostilities, a ban or general assembling of the people, a loud and public proclamation of battles fought and victories obtained; on which account heralds, according to Ducange, were formerly called Clarigarvis as well as Heraldus.

HERCOTECTONIQUE, Fr. a term in fortification signifying that branch of Military architecture which specifically points out the best means of defence and the surest method of providing stores. This word is derived from the Greek.

HEREFARE, an old term from the Saxon, signifying the same as warfare.

HEREGELD, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tax which was formerly levied for maintaining an army.

HERESLITA, HERESILIA, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a soldier who abandons his colors, or leaves the army without leave.

HERETEQ, HERETOQ, HERTZOG, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying the leader of an army, a Duke, the same as dux in the Latin.

HERETUM, a court in which the guards or military retinue that usually attended the old British nobility and bishops were accustomed to parade or draw up.

HERISSON, Fr. a turnpike which is made of one stout beam that is fenced by a quantity of iron spikes, and which is fixed upon a pivot, in the manner that turnstiles are, so that it can turn in every direction.

HERISSON, (foudroyant, Fr.) a sort of artificial firework which has several sharp points attached to it on the outside, and is filled with inflammable composition within. It is frequently used in breaches and retrenchments.

HERGATE, a term derived from the Saxon, signifying a tribute which was paid in ancient times to the lord of the soil, to enable him to carry on a war.

HERO. This name was given by the ancients to those men who became illustrious in war, and who were stiled Demi-Gods, from a general notion, that their actions entitled them to a place in heaven immediately after their decease.

The heroes of antiquity were divided into two classes, the one of mortal genealogy, the other of heavenly descent, being the offspring of some god or goddess who had connexion with the human species.

Modern authors make a distinction between a hero and a great man; the former appellation being given to one who distinguishes himself by feats of hardihood in military enterprize, and the latter to a person eminent for his virtues and extraordinary talents in civil life.

HEROINE, a term generally applied to women who have given exemplary proofs of courage and virtue.

HERRISON. See HERISSON.

HERSE, in fortification, a grated door formed by strong pieces of wood, jointed cross-ways like a lattice or harrow, and stuck full of iron spikes. It is usually hung by a rope and fastened to a molinett, which is cut in case of a surprise, or when the first gate is forced by surprise or with a petard, to the end that it may fall and stop the passage of a gate or other entrance of a fortress.

These herses are also often laid in the roads, with the points upwards instead of the chevaux-de-frize, to incommode the march of both horse and foot. Common harrows are sometimes made use of in cases of emergency, with their points upwards.

HERSILLON, a strong beam, whose sides are stuck full of spikes, which is thrown across the breach made by an enemy to render it impassable.

HESSIAN, a substitute, a deputy, one employed to do base or dirty work for another.

HESSIANS, troops belonging to the country of Hesse-Cassel in Germany. They have been frequently hired by Great Britain, particularly in the war of American independence, when they were sold at 40_l._ sterling a head; nine pounds of which was to be repaid if they returned alive. Hesse has been since made subject to France, forming part of the kingdom of Westphalia.

HETMAN, Fr. sometimes called Atteman, a word derived from the German, which signifies the head-man, the chief of a troop. The chief general or grand general in Poland is called Hetman Wielki, and the second general Hetman Polny.

The chief or general of the Cossacks is likewise invested with this title by the sovereigns of Russia.

HEURTEQUINS, Fr. two pieces of iron resembling a knocker, which are placed over the trunnions, or axis of a cannon.

HEXAEDRON, (Hexaedre, Fr.) a solid geometrical figure, consisting of six equal sides.

HEXAGON, a figure of 6 sides and as many angles, capable of being fortified with 6 bastions. If the sides and angles be equal, it is called a regular hexagon. The side of a regular hexagon inscribed in a circle, is equal to the radius of that circle; hence a regular hexagon is inscribed in a circle, by setting the radius of 6 times upon the periphery: as 1 to 1.672, so is the square of the side of any regular hexagon to the area therefore, nearly.

Tanned HIDES, are always carried along with an army, especially in the laboratory’s stores, to protect powder or shells from rain; they are also used in batteries and in laboratories.

HIERARCHY, church government.

HIEROGLYPHICKS, (hieroglyphes, Fr.) certain mysterious characters of creatures or letters used among the Ægyptians, by which they explained to one another the principles of their religion and their maxims of philosophy, without divulging them to strangers. Arbitrary signs which represent things: the signs used in almanacs for the planets and other phenomena are hieroglyphicks.

HIGHLANDER, any person from a mountainous country.

HIGHLANDERS, the people of the north of Scotland, who wear a dress peculiar to themselves.

HILT, the handle of a sword.

HINGES, are two iron bands, with a joint, nailed to the doors or lockers of gun carriages to fasten them and move them backwards and forwards.

HINGUET, Fr. See GINGUET.

HIPPODROME, Fr. a French term derived from the Greek, signifying a spot where horses used to run, properly speaking a race-ground. The Hippodrome or course at Constantinople was much celebrated in ancient days. The spot still exists under that name.

HIRCARRAH, or HIRCARRA, an Indian term for a messenger, guide, footman, or spy.

HISTORY, a narration or description of the several transactions, or events of a state, king, or private person, in the order in which they happened.

Military History, a narrative of military transactions, campaigns, battles, sieges, marches, &c. of an army: likewise a relation of the heroic actions of great generals, &c.

HIVERNER, Fr. a sea phrase among the French signifying to winter.

HOCHEBOS, Fr. certain soldiers among the ancients, who were so called from their brandishing the pike. This word has likewise been applied to the pike itself.

HOGSHEADS, filled with earth, sand, &c. are sometimes used in lieu of gabions, to cover men.

HOLD. See FASTNESSES.

To HOLD out, to maintain any place, ground, &c. resolutely against an enemy.

HOLLOW square, the form in which a body of foot is drawn up, with a vacant space in the middle for the colors, drums, baggage, &c. See SQUARE.

HOLLOW tower, a rounding made of the remainder of two brisures, to join the curtain to the orillon, where the small shot are played, that they may not be so much exposed to the view of the enemy.

HOLLOW way, any pass or road, both sides of which are commanded by heights.

HOLSTERS, cases for a horseman’s pistols, affixed to the pommel of the saddle.

Order of the HOLY-GHOST, formerly the principal military order in France, instituted by Henry III. in 1569. It consisted of 100 knights, who were to make proof of their nobility for three descents.

HOME-SERVICE consists in military operations and arrangements for the immediate defence of our own country, should it be threatened by invasion, or by domestic broils or insurrections.

As there is a great affinity between the following general regulations for home-service, and those that are generally prescribed for foreign, we have thought it right to class the whole, including carriages, baggage, &c. under one head.

The carriages allowed, if circumstances will permit, to be with each regiment of infantry, of 10 companies at 80 each, are

3 Bread waggons; each to carry 4 day’s bread for 400 men, or 2400lb.

2 Ammunition caissons.

2 Battalion guns.

1 Waggon spare.

1 Cart with entrenching tools.

2 Sutler’s carts.

1 Waggon for sick; or more as may be permitted.

The carriages allowed to be with each regiment of cavalry, of 10 troops of 76 each, are

3 Bread waggons; each to carry 4 day’s bread for 400 men, or 2400lb.

2 Ammunition caissons.

2 Sutler’s carts.

2 Forage carts.

2 Carriages for sick.

Regiments on lower establishments to be allowed carriages in proportion to their effective strength.

The carriages of the general officers allowed with or near the column of the army will be: for lieutenant-generals, 1 chaise and 2 carts--for major-generals, 1 chaise and 1 cart.

The carriages of head quarters will be exceedingly limited by the commander in chief.

All other private carriages whatever to be considered as belonging to the heavy baggage of the army, and ordered to a great distance in the rear, and if at any time found near the army, to be ordered to be destroyed by the baggage-master general.

All other baggage therefore, whether tents, blankets, or necessaries for the officers, to be carried on bat horses.

The number of horses which officers of each rank may have in common situations in the field, to be specified by regulation. But as it is impossible in any service that may occur, to calculate for the carriage or use of large tents, or other conveniences which officers are generally allowed when in the field; it is always recommended to each officer to make his arrangements for moving in the lightest manner possible.

The personal baggage of each officer must be contained in a small portmanteau. One small tent is all that the officers of each company or troop should calculate upon. To carry the above, blankets, provisions, 3 or 4 days grain and other useful necessary articles, 2 bat horses per troop or company will be sufficient.

The bat horses of each regiment of infantry of 10 companies, at 80 each, should therefore be,

For the tents and poles of the regiment 20 For the company officers 20 Field officers and staff 4 Surgeon’s chest 1

Regiments on a lower establishment, allowed bat horses in proportion.

The bat horses of each regiment of cavalry of 10 troops of 75 each, will therefore be,

For the tents and poles of the regiment 20 For the troop officers 20 Field officers and staff 6 Entrenching tools 2 Surgeon’s chest 1

and in proportion for regiments on a lower establishment.

The infantry to carry tents at the rate of 16 men per new tent, and the cavalry 12 men per tent. The necessary outlying guards and detachments, and the readiness of hutting and other cover that a woody country affords, will make this a sufficient number. The troop and company bat horses can therefore easily carry the tents, poles, and pins. The blankets of the cavalry may be divided and carried under the men’s saddles. The blankets of the infantry must be divided and carried by the men, unless some other provision be made.

The picket ropes of the cavalry to be carried on the bat horses. Half the usual number of pickets must be considered as sufficient, and be carried by the men. The camp kettles will be carried by the men, if horses are not provided for that purpose.

A reduction and critical inspection of what every soldier should carry as his baggage should be made in time, and every thing superfluous destined to be lodged with the heavy baggage, which should remain in the last quarters of the regiment, till otherwise ordered to be disposed of. Three shirts, 2 pair of shoes 2 pair of pantaloons, 2 pair of socks, a fatigue frock and cap, combs, brushes, (and a horseman what is necessary for the care of his horse) is all a soldier ought to carry.

The heavy baggage of the army, including every thing not mentioned above, under a proper escort, should be ordered to some place of security. Each regiment of infantry will be allowed to send a serjeant and 6 men, and each regiment of cavalry 1 corporal and four dismounted men as a guard; such men must be the least fit for marching duties, but should be fully adequate to the service, and by no means convalescents recovering from long indisposition. Proper officers should be ordered to command the whole, and no part of this baggage will be allowed to join the army but by public orders. If at any time carriages not allowed in this regulation should be found in the army, they must be conducted to head quarters, and there destroyed or confiscated to the advantage of those who make the discovery.

Four battalion guns with two waggons will be attached to each regiment of infantry. Should it be necessary, two bat horses will be allowed for the artillery detachment.

Such artillery as remains in the park to be limited as to the number of guns, carriages, and according to the specification given to the commanding officer of the artillery.

The bat men allowed are two for each company and troop, also two for the surgeon and staff of each regiment.

Each battalion to give a non-commissioned officer and 8 men; each regiment of cavalry to give a non-commissioned officer and 6 men, as a guard to their bat horses.

The following number of men on the several after-mentioned duties of the regiment will never exceed

Infantry. Cavalry. Non-com. Men. Non-com. Men. Camp color-men 2 10 2 8 Bat horse guard 1 4 1 3 Bread carriage guard 1 4 1 2 Heavy baggage 1 6 1 4 Regimental carriages 1 4 1 3 Allowed bat men 0 22 0 18 --------- --------- 6 52 6 48 --------- ---------

Each regiment of infantry will receive 20 pick-axes, 20 spades, 20 shovels, 40 bill-hooks, 10 axes, amounting in weight to about 400lb. These tools to be carried in the cart allotted for that purpose, and that cart at all times, and in all situations, to march at the head of the regiment.

Each regiment of cavalry will receive 10 pick-axes, 10 spades, 10 shovels, 16 bill-hooks, and 10 axes. These tools will be carried on horseback, and on a horse with hampers allotted for that purpose, and will at all times march at the head of the regiment.

These tools are meant to be ready at all times for making the openings so necessary in an embarrassed country, consequently should be kept in the front of each regiment or column.

Spare appointments and arms of every kind must of course remain with the heavy baggage.

The battalion guns will always march at the head of the regiment, which ever flank leads. The ammunition waggons and carts will immediately follow the troops of the column.

The place of march of the artillery of the park and carriages will be specified in the order of march.

It is to be wished, that at all times each soldier be provided with 4 days bread in his haversack, and 4 days more carried in the regimental carriages. When this is delivered out, those carriages, under the guard of a serjeant and 4 men per battalion, and a corporal and 2 men per regiment of cavalry, will be sent to the bakery to be again loaded.

Each infantry soldier will always carry 20 rounds in his pouch, and 40 in his knapsack or magazine. Each horseman his cartouch box full.

The cavalry will always carry 2 days grain if it can be got, and hay according to circumstances.

Order of March.

When a corps moves in one column, the following will in general be the order of march, if not otherwise ordered, and exclusive of the more particular van or rear guards.

Advancing.

Advanced guard consisting of the picquets of the infantry and cavalry, and new grand guard, followed by the camp-color men.

Pioneers.

1 Reg. light dragoons.

Infantry.

Cavalry.

Regimental ammunition waggons and carts.

Bat horses in the order of their regiments, artillery of the park.

General officers’ carriages, bread carriages.

Cavalry forge cart and ammunition cart.

Sutlers’ carts.

Sick carriages.

Squadron of cavalry.

Old grand guard and small out-posts and detachments which will be ordered to join it, will form the rear guard.

Retreating.

Advanced guard consisting of the new grand guard, guard for head quarters, one infantry picquet, camp color-men.

Pioneers.

Sick carriages.

Sutlers’ carriages.

Cavalry forge carts and ammunition cart.

Bread carriages.

General officers’ carriages.

Artillery of the park.

Bat horses in the order of their regiments.

Regimental ammunition waggons and carts.

Cavalry.

Infantry.

1 Squadron light dragoons.

Rear guard consisting of the infantry and cavalry picquets, old grand guard, out-posts of cavalry or infantry ordered to join.

Two or more pieces of cannon will always march with the advanced guard when retiring.

When the tents are ordered to be struck, the advanced guard and camp color-men will always assemble at the head of the regiment of infantry in advancing, or of the cavalry in retiring, which leads the columns, or of such regiment as will be specified when marching in more columns than one. The general officers will each send a proper person with the camp color-men, to take possession of quarters when they can be marked.

When the army marches in more than one column, the columns will generally be composed of both cavalry and infantry; the particulars of rear and advanced guards will be specified, the generals who command them will be named, and the particular corps in the manner they follow in each column. It is always the business of general officers leading columns, to take care that every part of that column falls properly into its place of march.

When the army marches from its left, every regiment marches from its left; and when the army marches from its right, every regiment marches from its right.

When the army retires, the carriages, except such artillery ones as are specified, will in general be ordered under a proper escort to precede the march of the army.

When the army is to march, the particular detail and disposition of march will not always be given out in public orders. Should the only notice given be, the army will march the ---- exactly at ---- o’clock; an hour before the time fixed for the march, the tents must be struck; the regiments will then form, and the baggage be loaded and ready in the rear of each.

Guides will be sent to the head of the regiments that lead columns and a sealed disposition of march, there to be opened by the general or oldest field officer present. In consequence of which, by him the advanced guard will be ordered to form; the regiments and carriages to close in to the leading regiments, according to the order of march, and when the whole are ready, the column, or columns, will move off in the manner then prescribed, and at the appointed hour.

In general a rendezvous will be appointed for the bat horses and carriages, that they may the more readily be directed into the line of march.--One subaltern per brigade will attend the bat horses; one subaltern per brigade will attend the carriages.

The aids-de-camp and majors of brigade will always regulate their watches by head quarters, at orderly time, that regularity of movement in the troops may be observed.

Commanding officers of battalions, squadrons, and brigades of artillery, will be responsible that they are formed, tents struck, and the baggage loaded in half an hour, from the time that the signal for the march was given them, and for this purpose it is necessary that they should exercise their men to it where they have opportunities.

The battalions are to march by subdivisions, and the cavalry by subdivisions, or ranks by three’s or two’s. If the narrowness of the route obliges them to diminish this front, they must be ordered to form up again as soon as the route permits.

Every officer must remain with his division, and never quit it on any account. No soldier to be permitted to leave his rank. No horses or carriages suffered to interrupt the march of the column. The distance between divisions never to exceed the front of divisions. Commanding officers of brigades will take care that the battalions and squadrons march at their proper ordered distance. When the formation in order of battle may be expected to the flank, the divisions will march at wheeling up distance; when the formation may be expected to the front, the divisions will march at half or quarter distance. Officers on command will remain with their brigades, and punctually observe the order of march, and the execution of every article prescribed.

If a carriage breaks, it must be drawn aside, the road cleared, and a proper escort left with it, that the march of the column be not interrupted. If it can be repaired in time, it will follow; if not, the loading must be divided among the nearest carriages, who are hereby ordered to give this reasonable assistance.

The troops at most may march three miles in an hour and a quarter.

The guides serve only to shew the way for the columns; pioneers ordered must make the necessary openings and repair the roads. But the generals must not trust to those precautions, they must gain the most exact knowlege of the route they are to march, and themselves reflect on the most proper means to avoid all difficulties that may embarrass the march.

It is always time well employed to halt the head of a column, and enlarge an opening or repair a bad step in the road, rather than to diminish the front and lengthen out the line of march.

No individual is ever to presume to march on a less front than what the leader of the column directs, and all doublings therefore must come from the head only; and the proper closeness of the march on all occasions, is a point of the highest consequence, and it is a most meritorious service in any officer to prevent all unnecessary doublings, or to correct them as soon as made, and on all occasions whatsoever, in an inclosed country, when in column, to march on the greatest, front the roads or openings will allow, although the regiments or divisions before them may be marching on a narrower front.

The carriages must be obliged to march two a breast when the roads will allow, and the bat horses to be as connected, and take up as little space as possible. In short, it should be the study and attention of every one to contract the line of march to its just length, for notwithstanding every possible exertion it will be much too extended.

Whenever the baggage is ordered to be sent away, all carriages whatever are comprehended, except such as are particularly specified.

The instant that a regiment comes to its ground, it must make openings of communication both to its front and flanks.

The line of carriages must at no time stop, whatever accident may happen to any individual one, but such carriage must instantly be drawn on one side, and repaired if possible, while the rest proceed. The officers commanding the several divisions of carriages will be answerable for the strict observance of this article, a failure of which might stop and endanger the whole army.

Whenever the regiments encamp, or take up any extended position in front, it will always be the business of commanding officers to find out, and to make the most convenient passages to the great routes by which the column is afterwards to march. And on many occasions, where there will not be time to open and occupy an extensive front, the army will encamp parallel to and along the great route, covered by an advanced corps on the flank next the enemy.

At all times when commanding officers see, that there are likely to be impediments from the nature of the ground to the movements or march of their regiments, they should always detach officers in advance to reconnoitre and point out the means and passages by which such obstacles are to be avoided, and at no time are such helps so necessary as when regiments are acting in line in broken ground, and when their movements are combined with those of others.

Whenever the army moves, the majors of brigade are made responsible, that all advanced and detached posts are called in at the proper times to their places in the column of march.

It must be observed that this is the old British system of march; the war of the French revolution has brought this part of the art of war to a degree of perfection, which would have rendered the insertion of this unnecessary if their system were published.

HOMME, Fr. a man.

HOMME de mer, Fr. a seaman.

HOMME d’armes, Fr. a military phrase among the French, signifying a gentleman or cavalier who belonged to one of the old companies, was armed cap-a-pied, and always fought on horseback. In ancient times every man of this description was accompanied by two horsemen independent of his servants. One of the mounted attendants was armed with a cross-bow, and the other with a common bow or battle-axe; so that one hundred hommes d’armes composed a body of three hundred horse. It was a species of cavalry which existed from the reign of Louis XI. until the reign of Henry II. Charles VII. had begun to form the French nobility into regular corps of cavalry, dividing them into different troops. Out of these he established a body of fifteen hundred hommes d’armes or armed bowmen, and he gave the troops or companies according to their sizes, to the princes and most experienced captains in his kingdom. For particulars we refer the curious to Le Gendre and Gaia, Traité des armes, L. 14, and to Fauchet, L. 2. C. 1. de son Traité de la milice et des armes.

Etre HOMME de Cheval, Fr. a term in French equitation, signifying, that a man is completely master of his horse, or knows how to manage him thoroughly and according to prescribed rules and regulations. Thus Il est suffisamment homme de cheval pour d’etre point embarrassé de celui qu’il monte en commandant sa troupe--He is sufficiently master of his horse, or he is horseman enough, not to be in the least embarrassed by the one he rides in exercising his troop.

HONDEAAN or HUNDYVEAAN, an Indian term signifying commission on bills of exchange.

HONEY-Combs, in cannon, flaws in the metal, a fault in casting, which renders it extremely dangerous in firing. The British board of ordnance rejects all guns (on proof) having an honey-comb of ¹⁄₉th of an inch deep, as being unfit for service.

HONI soit qui mal y pense, Fr. evil be to him that evil thinks. The motto of the English order of the Garter.

HONNEUR, Fr. honor.

HONNEURS Militaires, Fr. military honors. It was directed by a general instruction in the French service, that whenever an officer saluted or paid a military honor to a general officer, he should make his troop or company invariably face towards the enemy. The same practice prevails in our service.

HONNEURS funebres. Fr. funeral honors. See BURIALS.

HONOR, in a military sense, is an expression, to which custom has given different meanings. Honor consists in the constant practice of virtue. Aristotle calls it the recompence of virtue; the testimony of the excellence of a man who distinguishes himself by virtue. An Italian writer calls it a state of inviolable dignity, above all calumny, and all suspicion. Honor gives many advantages: it procures us the consideration of the public; it advances our fortunes. The best recompence of a brave action is, undoubtedly, the satisfaction of having done it; but nevertheless the honor resulting to us from it is a real good, which should be dear to us.

HONOR, in a general acceptation may be properly called a consciousness of worth and virtue in the individual, and a lively desire to preserve the reputation of virtue. As a term it is variously used in military life, and frequently misunderstood by young and unexperienced officers in their first outset. As a quality of the mind, it cannot be too much encouraged or too much cultivated among military men of all ranks and descriptions. The possession of it is a guarantee for good conduct, a bond of fidelity, and a certain barrier against military corruption. Men are excited to deeds of valor and enterprize by a sense of honor, who would otherwise remain inactive, or only perform the mere drudgery of service. This species of honor, is in fact, the root of that Esprit de corps which makes the whole body of an army tenacious of reputation, and solicitous to preserve it unsullied from the colonel down to the lowest drum boy.

This term may likewise be considered as esteem, reputation, the glory which is attached by mankind to talents and the virtues.

Affair of HONOR. We have already given a general outline of this term under DUELLING. The propriety or impropriety, as well as the legality or illegality of which mode of terminating human differences is thus explained by the celebrated English lawyer John Selden. His words are under the head Duel; we shall quote them under that of affair of honor.

“A Duel may still be granted in some cases by the law of England, and only there. That the church allowed it anciently appears by this, in their public liturgies there were prayers appointed for the duellists to say, the judge used to bid them go to such a church and pray, &c. But whether this is lawful? If you make any war lawful, I make no doubt but to convince you of it. War is lawful, because God is the only judge between two, that is supreme. Now if a difference happen between two subjects, and it cannot be decided by human testimony, why may not they put it to God to judge between them, by the permission of the prince? Nay, what if we should bring it down for argument’s sake, to the sword men; one gives me the lie: it is a great disgrace to take it the law has made no provision to give remedy for the injury, (if you can suppose any thing an injury for which the law gives no remedy) why am not I in this case supreme, and may therefore right myself.

“A duke ought to fight with a gentleman; the reason is this: the gentleman will say to the duke, it is true you hold a higher place in the state than I; there is a great difference between you and me, but your dignity does not privilege you to do me an injury; as soon as ever you do me an injury, you make yourself my equal; and as you are my equal I challenge you; and in sense the duke is bound to answer him.”

In addition to what Selden has said upon duelling, we shall quote a passage from Dr. Robertson’s History of the reign of Charles the V. which will shew that this mode of determining private disputes is extremely ancient.

“It is evident” observes that author, “from Velleius Paterculus, lib. ii. c. 118, that all questions which were decided among the Romans by legal trial, were terminated among the Germans by arms. The same thing appears in the ancient laws and customs of the Swedes, quoted by Jo. O. Stiernhook de jure Sueonum et Gothorum vetusto, 4to Holmiæ 1682, lib. i. c. 7. It is probable, that when the various tribes which invaded the empire were converted to Christianity, their ancient custom of allowing judicial combats appeared so glaringly repugnant to the precepts of religion, that for some time, it was abolished, and by degrees, several circumstances which I have mentioned led them to resume it.

“It seems likewise to be probable from a law quoted by Stiernhook in the treatise which I have mentioned, that the judicial combat was originally permitted in order to determine points respecting the personal character or reputation of individuals, and was afterwards extended not only to criminal cases, but to questions concerning property. The words of the law are ‘If any man shall say to another these reproachful words ‘You are not a man equal to other men’ or, ‘You have not the heart of a man,’ and the other shall reply ‘I am a man as good as you,’ let them meet on the highway. If he who first give offence appear, and the person offended absent himself, let the latter be deemed a worse man even than he was called; let him not be admitted to give evidence in judgment either on man or woman, and let him not have the privilege of making a testament. If he who gave the offence be absent, and only the person offended appear, let him call upon the other thrice with a loud voice, and make a mark upon the earth, and then let him who absented himself be deemed infamous, because he uttered words which he durst not support. If both shall appear properly armed, and the person offended shall fall in the combat, let a half compensation be paid for his death. But if the person who gave the offence shall fall, let it be imputed to his own rashness. The petulance of his tongue hath been fatal to him. Let him lie in the field, without any compensation being demanded for his death. Lex Uplandica ap. Stiern, p. 76. Martial people were extremely delicate with respect to every thing that affected their reputation as soldiers. By the laws of the Salians, if any man called another a hare, or accused him of having left his shield in the field of battle, he was ordained to pay a large fine. Leg. Sal. tit. xxxii, § 4. 6. By the law of the Lombards, if any one called another arga, i. e. a good-for-nothing fellow, he might immediately challenge him to combat. Leg. Longob. lib. i. tit. v. § i. By the law of the Salians, if one called another cenitus, a term of reproach equivalent to arga, he was bound to pay a very high fine, tit. xxxii. § i. Paulus Diaconus relates the violent impression which this reproachful expression made upon one of his countrymen, and the fatal effects with which it was attended. De Gestis Longobard. lib. vi. c. 24. Thus the ideas concerning the point of honor, which we are apt to consider as a modern refinement, as well as the practice of duelling, to which it gave rise, are derived from the notions of barbarians.” See Robertson’s History of Charles V. pages 271, 272.

We shall not take leave of our learned author without giving two or three instances out of his proofs and illustrations relative to the termination of private feuds by judicial or private combat.

This mode of trial was so acceptable, that ecclesiastics, notwithstanding the prohibitions of the church, were constrained not only to connive at the practice, but to authorize it. A remarkable instance of this is produced by Pasquier, Recherches, lib. iv. ch. i. p. 350. The abbot Wittikindus considered the determination of a point of law by combat as the best and most honorable mode of decision.

In the year 978, a judicial combat was fought in the presence of the emperor. The archbishop Aldebert advised him to terminate a contest which had arisen between two noblemen of his court, by this mode of decision. The vanquished combatant, though a person of high rank, was beheaded on the spot. Chronic. Ditmari. Episc. Mersb. chez Bouquet Recueil des Hist. tom. x. p. 121. Questions concerning the property of churches and monasteries were decided by combat. In the year 961, a controversy concerning the church of St. Medard, whether it belonged to the abbey of Beaulieu or not was terminated by judicial combat. Bouquet Recueil des Hist. tom. ix. p. 729. ibid. p. 612, &c. The emperor Henry I. declares that this law, authorizing the practice of judicial combats, was enacted with consent and the applause of many faithful bishops. Ibid. p. 231. So remarkable did the martial ideas of those ages prevail over the genius and maxims of the canon law, which in other instances was in the highest credit and authority with ecclesiastics. A judicial combat was appointed in Spain by Charles V. A. D. 1522. The combatants fought in the presence of the emperor, and the battle was conducted with all the rites prescribed by the ancient laws of chivalry. The whole transaction is described at great length by Pontus Heuterus Rer. Austrica. lib. viii. C. 17. p. 205.

The last instance which occurs in the history of France, of a judicial combat authorized by the magistrate, was the famous one between M. Jarnac and M. de la Chaistagnerie, A. D. 1547. A trial by combat was appointed in England, A. D. 1571, under the inspection of the judges in the court of Common Pleas; and though it was not carried to the same extremity with the former, queen Elizabeth having interposed her authority, and enjoined the parties to compound the matter, yet in order to preserve their honor, the lists were marked out, and all the forms, previous to the combat, were observed with much ceremony. Spelm. Gloss. Voc. Campus, p. 103. In the year 1631, a judicial combat was appointed between Donald lord Rea, and David Ramsay, Esq. by the authority of the lord high constable and earl marshal of England; but that quarrel likewise terminated without bloodshed, being accommodated by Charles I. Another instance occurs seven years later. Rushworth in Observation on the Statutes, &c. p. 266.

It manifestly appears from these extracts, that in former times not only the property of individuals was considered, but their feelings, as men of honor, were consulted. Law, however, soon obtained the entire ascendancy, and judicial or private combats were not only laid aside, but were moreover strictly forbidden. The military character alone seems to have retained a sort of tacit privilege to make appeals to the sword, in cases where the nice sensibility of the heart breaks through the trammels of legal disquisition, and establishes points of honor which can only be determined by personal exposure. Thus we find that although premeditated duels were severely punished in France, Rencontres or accidental quarrels were always overlooked, whatever their issue might be. Frederic the Great of Prussia seems to have set his face against duelling altogether. Yet it is singular, that notwithstanding his severe prohibition, a Prussian officer was under the necessity either of vindicating his wounded honor by an appeal to the sword or pistol, or was disgraced for having suffered a personal affront. In England the same hardship exists. Lord Kenyon declared from the bench, that he would personally interfere as expounder of the British laws, should any minister recommend mercy to his majesty on the conviction of an individual who had murdered his fellow creature in a duel. See DUEL.

Word of HONOR, (parole d’honneur, Fr.) A promise or engagement that is made or entered into by word of mouth, the breach of which entails disgrace upon the violator.

Point of HONOR, (point d’honneur, Fr.) A delicacy of feeling, which is generally acquired by education, and strengthened by an intercourse with men of strict integrity and good conduct. It is likewise very frequently the offspring of peculiar habits, received notions, and established etiquettes. The French familiarly say, Ils se sont battus pour un point d’honneur, they fought for a point of honor; they likewise say, Il y va de son honneur, his honor is at stake.

To die upon the bed of HONOR, (mourir au lit d’honneur, Fr.) is a term particularly applied to military men, who die in battle fighting in their country’s cause.

A court of HONOR. Although a court of honor may be said, in some degree, to resemble a court of inquiry, nevertheless it cannot be strictly so; for a court of honor has not only the power of ascertaining the degree of guilt which may be attached to misconduct, but it can entail ignominy upon the guilty person; whereas a court of inquiry only investigates the matter and circumstances, and determines whether there be sufficient ground to try the accused before a general court martial; which is the last resort of military jurisdiction, and unites within itself all the qualities and powers of the other two courts.

A debt of HONOR, an obligation which among honorable men, especially officers, is more binding than those engagements or contracts that are guaranteed by law. The reason is manifest.

HONORS by Guards, as a compliment to general officers, &c. with the detail of officers and men they are entitled to in the English army:

The commander in chief, if a field-marshal or captain-general, has 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 ensign, 2 serjeants, 2 drummers, 2 fifers, and 50 privates, with colors.

A general of horse and foot has 1 captain, 1 subaltern, 2 serjeants, 2 drummers, 2 fifers, and 50 privates.

A lieutenant-general of horse and foot has 1 lieutenant, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 1 fifer, and 30 privates.

A major-general of horse and foot has 1 ensign, 1 serjeant, 1 drummer, 1 fifer, and 20 privates.

A brigadier has 1 serjeant and 12 privates.

A quarter-master general has 1 serjeant and 12 privates.

Majors of brigade encamped together, have 1 serjeant and 2 privates.

A judge advocate has 1 serjeant and 7 privates.

A provost-marshal has 1 serjeant and 18 privates.

A provost-marshal, when he has prisoners, has 1 lieutenant, 2 serjeants, 1 drummer, 1 fifer, and 48 privates.

Military HONORS. A field-marshal in the British service is to be saluted with the colors and standards of all the forces, except the horse and foot guards, and excepting when any of the royal family shall be present; but in case a field-marshal is colonel of any regiment, or troop of horse or foot guards, he is to be saluted by the colors or standards of the regiment or troop he commands.

Generals of cavalry and infantry, upon all occasions, are to have the march beat to them, and to be saluted by all officers, those bearing the colors excepted.

Lieutenant-generals of cavalry and infantry are, upon all occasions, to be saluted by all officers. They are to have three ruffles given them, with presented arms.

Major-generals are to have two ruffles with presented arms.

Brigadier-generals are to have one ruffle with presented arms.

To colonels their own quarter-guards in camp turn out, and present their arms, once a day, after which they only turnout with ordered arms.

To majors their own guards turn out with ordered arms once a day; at other times they stand by their arms.

When a lieutenant-colonel or major commands a regiment, their own quarter-guards pay them the same compliment as is ordered for the colonel.

Honors to be paid by the cavalry.--A general of cavalry or infantry is to be received with swords drawn, kettle drums beating, trumpets sounding the march, and all the officers to salute, except the cornet bearing the standard.

A lieutenant-general is to be received with swords drawn, trumpets sounding twice the trumpet flourish, as in drawing swords, and all the officers to salute except the cornet bearing the standard; but the kettle drums are not to beat.

A major-general is to be received with swords drawn, one trumpet of each squadron sounding once the trumpet flourish, as in drawing swords; no officer to salute, nor kettle drum to beat

A brigadier-general is to be received with swords drawn; no trumpet to sound, nor any officer to salute, nor kettle drum to beat.

All officers in the command of forts or garrisons, have a right to the complimentary honors from the troops under their command, which are due to the rank one degree higher than the one they actually possess.

Manner of paying honors.--In the British service the king’s standard or color in the guards, is never carried by any guard except that which mounts on his majesty’s person.

The first standard, guidon, or color of regiments, which is the union color, is not carried by any guard but that on the king, queen, prince of Wales, or commander in chief being of the royal family; and, except in those cases, it always remains with the regiment.

When general officers, or persons entitled to a salute, pass in the rear of a guard, the officer is only to make his men stand shouldered, and not to face his guard to the right about, or beat his drum.

All sentries are to pay a due respect to every officer who passes by their posts, but are to keep their proper front while paying the compliment.

All governors, whose commissions in the army are under the degree of general officers, shall have, in their own garrisons, all the guards turn out with rested arms, and beat one ruffle; and though the main guard turns out with rested arms every time he passes, yet they give him the compliment of the drum but once a day; but all the other guards beat as often as he appears near them.

If they are general officers likewise, they are then to have the further compliments paid them, by the several beatings of the drum, as practised in the army.

Regulation of honors to be paid to admirals.--Admirals, with their flags on the main-top, are to have the same respect from the troops as generals of cavalry and infantry; that is, upon all occasions to have a march beat to them, and to be saluted by all the officers, those bearing the colors excepted.

Vice admirals are to have the same respect as lieutenant generals of cavalry and infantry; that is, upon all occasions be saluted by all the officers in the garrison, the drummers beating 3 ruffles.

The rear admirals are to have the same respect as major generals, who have two ruffles, and not to be saluted by any officer.

Commodores with broad pendants have the same respect as brigadier-generals; which is, to have one ruffle.

Rank and precedence between sea and land officers.--The admiral or commander in chief of his majesty’s fleet is to rank with a field-marshal of the army.

The admirals with their flags on the main-top mast-head, are to have rank with generals.

Vice admirals are to have rank as lieutenant-generals.

Rear admirals are to have rank as major-generals.

Commodores with broad pendants are to have rank as brigadier-generals.

Captains commanding post ships, after three years from the date of their first commission for a post ship, are to have rank as colonels.

All other captains commanding post ships, are to have rank as lieutenant-colonels.

Captains of his majesty’s ships or vessels, not taking post, are to have rank as majors.

Lieutenants of his majesty’s ships are to have rank as captains.

The rank and precedence of sea officers, in the classes above-mentioned, are to take place according to the seniority of their respective commissions.

Post captains commanding ships or vessels that do not give post, rank only as majors during their commanding such vessels.

No land officer is to command on board any of his majesty’s squadrons or ships, nor any sea officer to command on land; nor shall either have a right to demand military honors due to their respective ranks, unless they are upon actual service.

All guards and centinels are to pay the same compliments to the officers of the navy, as are directed to be paid to the officers of the army, according to their relative ranks.

The compliments above directed are to be paid by the troops, to officers in the service of any power in alliance with the British king, according to their respective ranks.

Turning out of the line. The line turns out without arms, whenever the general commanding in chief comes along the front of the camp.

When the line turns out, the private men are to be drawn up in a line with the colors and standards; the corporals on the right and left of their respective companies, the picquet forms behind the colors, accoutred, but without arms.

The officers and non-commissioned officers are to be drawn up with their respective companies. The field officers in their proper posts in battalion, two ensigns taking hold of the colors.

When the commander in chief comes along the line, the camp colors on the flanks of the parade are to be struck, and planted opposite to the bells of arms, and the drums piled up behind the colors; the halberts are to be planted between, and on each side of the bells of arms, the hatchets turned from the colors.

HONORS of war, in one sense are stipulated terms which are granted to a vanquished enemy, and by which he is permitted to march out of a town, from a camp or line of entrenchments, with all the insignia of military etiquette. In another sense they signify the compliments which are paid to great personages, military characters, &c. when they appear before any armed body of men; or such as are given to the remains of a deceased officer. The particular circumstances attending the latter are well known, and depend greatly upon the usages of different countries; those which regard our own service may be seen under Burials.

With respect to the former we think it necessary to observe, that it is extremely difficult, and much beyond the limits of this work, to describe them specifically; as much, indeed almost every thing, depends upon the disposition of the general who grants the capitulation. In some instances, the troops of a besieged garrison are permitted to march out with drums beating, colors flying, &c. others are only allowed to advance silently in front of their works, ground or pile their arms, face to the right and return within their line of entrenchments. Others again (as was the case with earl Cornwallis, at York Town, in Virginia) are permitted to march out, with drums beating, to a given spot, there pile their arms, face to the right about, and march back to their works. In the instance quoted, the officers retained their side arms and baggage, with such horses as they had lawfully obtained by purchase, &c. A sloop of war was allowed to proceed to New York with dispatches from the British general to sir Henry Clinton, who was commander in chief of the forces acting against America: which vessel passed and repassed without being searched. This indulgence proved extremely fortunate to a small number of American refugees, who were peaceably transported into the British lines, instead of being sacrificed to the just fury of their countrymen in arms.

When the town of Valenciennes surrendered to the coalition army, the garrison under the orders of general Ferrand was permitted to march out by the gate of Cambray with the honors of war. It was, however, specifically stated, that the troops should lay down their arms at a named spot, viz. at a house called le Briquet, where they were to leave their colors and field-pieces without damaging them in the least. They were likewise directed to leave their troop horses, artillery, provisions, and other military effects. Those belonging to the officers were restored to them, with their swords. It was further agreed, that the garrison should march out on the 1st of August, in the manner mentioned; and as the troops were prisoners of war, their route to return into France was to be communicated to them 24 hours previous to their departure, in order to receive their parole of honor. The officers and soldiers engaged not to serve during the whole course of the present war against the armies of his majesty the emperor, and of his allies, without having been exchanged conformably to the cartels, under pain of military punishment.

General Ferrand had demanded that the garrison should march out from the place on the 6th day after the signature of the capitulation, to repair to such part of the French republic as he should judge proper, with arms and baggage, horses, drums beating, matches lighted at both ends, colors flying, and with all the cannon they could carry away. These articles were refused by the duke of York; and on the 28th of July, 1793, Valenciennes surrendered to the British arms, in trust for the emperor of Germany.

As soon as the capitulation was signed, hostages were sent into the town, namely, a colonel, a major, and a captain, who were exchanged against officers of an equal rank of the garrison; which hostages were restored immediately after the execution of the articles of capitulation.

When Mantua surrendered to Bonaparte, the veteran general Wurmser, in consideration of his brave defence of the place, was allowed to leave the place with all the honors of war.

Several emigrants on this occasion, escaped in the covered waggons.

When Saragossa was taken by marshal Lannes in 1809, it was refused the honors of a capitulation, but ordered to surrender peremptorily at a given hour on several points, which was obeyed.

HONORABLE, noble, high spirited, full of rectitude, and beyond the least approach of meanness or corruption. This term is frequently attached to surnames from false and vain courtesy.

HOOKS. Pieces of bent iron fixed to the transom plates of a field-carriage are so called. They serve to fix the bricoles or ropes for drawing it occasionally backwards or forwards.

HOOKS and EYES. It is directed in all well-disciplined corps, that every officer, non-commissioned officer, and soldier, when regimentally dressed, should have the uniform coat hooked across the chest. This regulation has, in some degree, been dispensed with during the winter months, as far as it regards the officers who have been permitted to button their coats. In some corps the indulgence is rendered nugatory, as the facings are sewed to the coat. The dressing of a line is certainly rendered more perfect by the use of the hooks and eyes, as they prevent any intermediate obstacle along the line of sight. This nicety is indispensible in parade business, and the propriety of some general rule being established is manifest, since every soldier knows, that the slightest deviation from the laudable system of uniformity almost always leads to gross neglect.

HOOKUM, an Indian word, signifying order or command.

HOOKUMNAUMEH, in India, signifies a letter of instructions, or the paper that contains orders.

HOOP of iron, a circular iron band. Several sorts of hoops are used in the construction of artillery carriages, as nave and axle tree hoops, &c.

HOPITAL, Fr. hospital. During the old French government, there existed 80 military hospitals under the immediate sanction of the king. These hospitals were subject to the war-minister, from whom they received instructions, and they were all originally built for the benefit of sick and disabled soldiers. The chief appointments in each hospital consisted of a comptroller of accounts, a physician, a surgeon major, and a contractor, whose sole duty was to provide for the wants and necessities of the invalid troops. These were permanent establishments. In time of war, every army had a certain number of hospitals attached to its component parts. There were likewise other hospitals, which were under the care of the intendant of each province. They chiefly consisted in those erected on the frontier and in garrison towns.

HOPITAL sur mer, Fr. hospital-ship. A particular vessel, which is always attached to a naval armament, and is provided with the necessary accommodations for the sick and wounded belonging to the ships of war. The same precautions (indeed greater if possible) are indispensably necessary to prevent the dreadful consequences of contagion, that are directed to be observed in the fumigation, &c. of transports. During the old government of France, hospital-ships were of a particular construction. Independently of the equipage, tackle, &c. belonging to every other navigable ship, these vessels were directed to have their decks extremely high, to have large port-holes, and to have the space between the decks constantly clear, so that the cots and bedding of the sick might be conveniently placed, and a constant circulation of free air be preserved.

HOPLITAI, foot soldiers among the Greeks, who bore heavy armor, and engaged with broad shields and long spears. These took precedence of all other foot soldiers.--Potter’s Greek Ant. vol. ii. c. 3.

HOQUETON, Fr. a sort of garment, which was worn during the old government of France by gentlemen belonging to the king’s body guard, who were called gardes de la manche. It sometimes signifies a serjeant; but the term is obsolete.

HORD, (horde, Fr.) a crowd or assemblage of people, who have not any fixed or certain habitation. The term was originally applied to a body of Tartars, who followed a roving life, encamped in different countries, and chiefly lived with their flocks.

HORION, Fr. a term which formerly signified a helmet, and which in the vulgar acceptation of it now, among the French, means a blow upon the head.

HORIZONTAL, parallel to the horizon; on a level.

HORIZONTAL superficies, the plain field lying upon a level, without any rising or falling.

HORIZONTAL plane, that which is parallel to the horizon of the place.

In levelling, the chief object to be considered is, whether two points be in the horizontal plane; or whether they deviate; and in what degree?

HORIZONTAL range, or level range of a piece of ordnance, is the line it describes, when directed parallel to the horizon.

The following useful theorems come from the pen of the ingenious Dr. Halley:

1. A shot being made on an inclined plane, having the horizontal distance of the object it strikes with the elevation of the piece, and the angle at the gun between the object and the perpendicular, to find the greatest horizontal range of that piece loaded with the same charge of powder, that is, half the latus rectum of all the parabolas made with the same impetus.--Take half the angle contained between the object and the nadir, and the difference of the given angle of elevation from that half; subtract the versed sine of that difference from the versed sine of the angle made by the object and zenith. The difference of those versed sines will be to the sine of the angle last mentioned, as the horizontal distance of the object struck to the greatest range at 45 degrees.

2. Having the horizontal range of a gun, the horizontal distance and angle of inclination of an object to the perpendicular, to find the two elevations necessary to strike that object.--Take half the angle contained between the object and nadir; this half is equal to half the sum of the two angles of elevation sought. Then say, as the horizontal range is to the horizontal distance of the object, so is the sine of the angle of inclination to a fourth proportional; which fourth, being subtracted from the versed sine of the angle formed by the object and zenith, leaves the versed sine of half the difference of the angles of elevation, whose half sum was before obtained; therefore, by adding and subtracting half the difference of the angles of elevation to and from the said half sum the elevations themselves will be found.

HORN. See BUGLE horn.

HORN-work. See FORTIFICATION.

HORS de Combat, a French military phrase, signifying that an individual or body of men, are so completely beat by superior skill, &c. as not to be able to maintain the field of battle; thus a wounded man is hors de combat.

Mettre HORS de Combat, to drive your opponent before you; to press him so closely that he cannot make a stand against you--To put him out of the lists of contest.

HORS de portée, Fr. (in fencing,) out of distance.

HORS de mesure, Fr. (in fencing,) out of measure.

HORSE, in a military sense, a body of horse. See CAVALRY.

ASSOCIATED HORSE--a body of cavalry so called in the days of Cromwell. At the famous battle of Nasbie (fought on the 14th of June, 1645) which decided the fate of Charles the First, the associated horse were posted in the rear of the right wing of the Republican army, and formed part of the reserve--There were troops of the association stationed in the rear of the left. Oliver Cromwell commanded the cavalry on the right of the whole, and the associated horse were under his immediate orders.

HORSE near-side protect, a guard used in the cavalry sword exercise. See SWORD Exercise.

HORSE off-side protect. See SWORD Exercise.

HORSES--An allowance of 3 feet is generally made for the breadth of each horse standing at picket; and about 9 feet for the length of a horse.

A light dragoon horse, mounted and accoutred complete, carries about 2 cwt. 1 qr. and 14 lbs. without forage.

Horses in the service of artillery should not be made to draw above 3 cwt. each, besides the weight of the carriage.

Horses for this service should never be lower than 14³⁄₄ hands. The contractor is obliged to furnish them of this height for government.--A horse is generally supposed equal to five men.

Military horses walk about 400 yards in 4¹⁄₂ minutes.

Trot the same distance in 2 minutes 3 seconds, and gallop it in about 1 minute.

With great burthens, less weight must be allowed for each horse to draw, than with medium burthens; as it cannot be supposed that, of a team of 8 horses, the leaders can draw so much as the horses nearer the carriage; and this disadvantage must increase as the team lengthens. A team of

4 horses may draw 6 cwt. each. Tot. 24 cwt. 6 Do. 5 do. do. 30 do. 8 Do. 4¹⁄₂ do. do. 36 do. 12 Do. 4 do. do. 48 do.

including the carriages. See also the word Load.

It is usual in heavy carriages to reckon all their weight exceeding 12 cwt. as part of the load.

Horses allowed for drawing Field Artillery Carriages.

All the horse artillery carriages are drawn by 4 horses each, except 12 prs. which have 6 each. Park Carriages.--12 pr. medium, and 6 pr. heavy, 6 horses each--6 pr. light, and 5¹⁄₂ howitzer, upon the new construction, are allowed each 4 horses, but upon the old only 3 each.

Ammunition waggon, com. pat. 3 horses. Do. -- Flanders pat. 4 do. Forge cart, 2 horses.--Am. cart, 2 do.

HORSES falsely mustered are by the 27th section of the British mutiny act to be forfeited, if belonging to the person who lent them for that purpose, if not, the person lending them to forfeit 20_l._ When officers belonging to the cavalry regiments purchase horses for public service, they are to make the best bargain they can for government, and to account for every saving which has been made, within a limited sum.

HORSE, a wooden machine, which soldiers ride by way of punishment. See CHEVAL DE BOIS.

HORSE. See PORTCULLIS.

HORSEMAN. See CAVALRY.

HORSE SHOE. See FORTIFICATION.

HOSE, breeches or stockings. It is generally taken in the latter sense when mentioned as part of a soldier’s necessaries.

Over-HOSE, mens breeches and stockings together, or leggings. Dragoons generally wear them when they appear in their watering dresses.

HOSPITAL, a place appointed for the sick and wounded men, provided with physicians, surgeons, nurses, servants, medicines, beds, &c.

HOSPITALS with military superintendants--There are four British general hospitals of this description, viz. at Plymouth, Deal, Gosport, and Portsmouth, and Chelsea.

The surgeons at Portsmouth and Deal have not any rank attached to the situation, but they receive five shillings per-day extra allowance in addition to their nett pay of ten shillings. At Plymouth a physician has charge of the hospital; he receives twenty shillings per day, but has no extra allowance. York hospital at Chelsea is attended by an assistant surgeon, being under the immediate direction of the surgeon general.

The military superintendants have five shillings over and above their nett pay, according to the rank they hold in the army.

At Gosport the military superintendant has one guinea allowed per week for lodging money, together with coals, candles, &c.

A fifth military superintendant was appointed in 1800 to take charge of the temporary hospital at Colchester.

The cause of humanity has lately been espoused by the belligerent powers of Europe in a manner which reflects credit on the enlightened age we live in. The following two articles which have been agreed upon between the Austrians and the French are illustrative of our observations.

Hospitals ought to be considered as inviolable.

Art. 1. The military hospitals shall be considered as so many inviolable asyla, where valor shall be respected, shall be assisted, and shall be free, whatever the army may be to which these hospitals belong, and upon whatever ground they may be established.

Art. 2. These hospitals shall be marked out by writings placed on the adjacent roads, in order that the troops may not approach, and that in passing they may observe silence and cease beating the drums, or sounding the trumpets.

Camp-HOSPITALS are either general or regimental. The general hospitals are of two kinds, viz.

Flying-HOSPITAL, Stationary HOSPITAL. The first attends the camp at some convenient distance, and the latter is fixed at one place. In the choice of both Dr. Pringle thinks it better to have them in towns than villages, as the former will afford larger wards, besides more of other conveniencies. These wards should be as airy as possible.

Regimental-HOSPITALS, are frequently in barns, stables, granaries, and other outhouses; but above all, churches make the best hospitals from the beginning of June to October; these hospitals are solely for the use of the regiments they belong to.

Every regiment on the British establishment has an hospital for the reception of the sick belonging to it. This hospital is under the immediate care of the regimental surgeon, who is subordinate to the general medical board.

Officers commanding brigades are enjoined frequently to visit the hospitals of the regiments composing their brigades, and minutely to investigate the economy and order therein established; to enquire into the state of the patients, their diet, and attendance of every kind, and to enforce the strictest observance of the hospital regulations.

These attentions are required still more in detail, from commanding officers of regiments, who from personal observation have opportunities of checking every abuse, and whose duty it is to extend to the hospitals the same system of order, regularity, and discipline, which should prevail in their regiments.

The captain and subaltern of the day of each regiment are to visit the hospital at different and uncertain hours, to observe the cleanliness of the wards, the regularity of messing and the appearance of the men, who while they are in the hospital, are by no means to be permitted to contract habits of slovenliness in their dress, but are expected to appear perfectly clean in every particular.

Every species of gaming is strictly forbidden. Any patient convicted of swearing, disorderly behaviour, insolent and provoking conduct towards the attendants, or of any deviation from the hospital regulations, will be severely punished.

The captain of the day is to report any irregularities, he may observe, to the commanding officer of the regiment.

The surgeon is to make a daily report of the sick to the commanding officer, who will make a weekly report to the officer commanding the brigade, who will make a general report of the sick of his brigade once a week to head quarters.

Regimental hospitals are under the immediate direction of their respective surgeons, subject to the general instructions and superintendance of the inspector of regimental hospitals, or other professional persons, having authority for that purpose, from the war department, or the commander in chief. It is the duty of the inspector of regimental hospitals, and of such other officers of the medical staff as shall be ordered for that purpose to visit regimental hospitals from time to time; to observe whether the hospital regulations are strictly adhered to, to enquire whether any causes of complaint exist among the patients, and to submit to the generals commanding in districts, such local observations as he conceives may tend to the benefit of the sick.

When a regiment is stationed in a barrack, where no detached building is appropriated for the hospital, or in camp and cantonments, it is the business of the surgeon to procure an airy, and commodious hospital, taking particular care, that it is amply supplied with wholesome water.

In camp, a tent will be allowed, which must be pitched upon the best dry piece of ground in the vicinity of the regimental hospital, to which it is granted as an aid, but must not, except in cases of absolute necessity, be itself considered as the hospital.

The responsibility for the order, regularity, and cleanliness of the regimental hospital, for the diet and care of the patients, and for the general conduct and economy of the whole establishment, rests entirely with the surgeon; but commanding officers are enjoined to furnish such military assistance, as may be necessary for the attainment of those objects, and all non-commissioned officers and others placed in the hospital, in aid of the surgeon, are commanded to yield the most implicit obedience to the instructions they may receive from him, and to enforce in every instance, the most minute observance of the hospital regulations, which are to be fairly written, and fixt on a board in the most conspicuous part of the entrance of the regimental hospital.

The surgeon should be consulted in the selection of the serjeant to be appointed to assist him in the hospital; and it will tend materially to the benefit of the sick, that this non-commissioned officer, and the orderly men acting in the hospital, should be considered as being in a permanent situation, and not liable to be removed except in case of misdemeanor.

A guard is to be constantly furnished to the hospital, and the surgeon must signify to the commanding officer of the regiment, the particular orders which he wishes to be given to the non-commissioned officer commanding it, and to the sentries.

When a soldier comes into the hospital, his arms and accoutrements are to be taken in charge by the non-commissioned officer attending the hospital, but his ammunition is to be left with his troop or company, and is in no instance to be taken with him to the hospital.

Regimental surgeons are enjoined to take under their care any non-commissioned officers and soldiers of other regiments, (upon the commanding officer’s authority for so doing being obtained) who from the absence of the corps to which they belong, from there being no general hospital in the neighborhood, or from other unavoidable circumstances, are under the necessity of applying to them for relief and assistance.

It cannot be superfluous to remark in this place, that in the French service there was, and we believe there still is, a specific regulation, which directs, that all soldiers who have contracted a venereal disorder should be received into one of the public hospitals, without exception or distinction. They are attended to in a particular quarter or ward without expence to themselves or to their corps. Particular care is taken not to mix their linen or clothes with others, and they are always washed apart. No soldier, whose disorder has been pronounced incurable was or is received into any of the public hospitals. The physician or surgeon only gives the incurables a certificate of their state and condition.

It is very desirable that in every regimental hospital, there should be an apartment appropriated to convalescents, whose diet and mode of living must remain under the direction of the surgeon, and who must themselves be in every respect, subject to the hospital regulations. A trusty non-commissioned officer must be appointed to the superintendance of the messing, and conduct of this particular ward.

Convalescents, on coming out of the hospital are not to be put on duty, till the surgeon certifies to the adjutant, that they are perfectly recovered; for which purpose the surgeon, or assistant surgeon, must make a particular inspection of these men, at morning parade, to prevent any remaining longer exempted from duty, than the state of their health renders absolutely necessary. On a march, when circumstances will permit, the packs of such convalescents, as have not yet received certificates of their being fit for duty, should be carried for them.

Convalescents, when discharged from the hospitals should not be put immediately on public duties, but should be employed for a certain time, on regimental guards only, where they are not liable to be so much exposed to the weather, or to fatigue.

It is most positively ordered that the surgeon or assistant surgeon shall attend all parades and field days. No punishment is to be inflicted, but in the presence of the surgeon or assistant surgeon.

In cantonments and barracks the quarters of the surgeon must be near the hospital; and the assistant surgeon’s tent must be pitched in its vicinity when a regiment is in camp.

The instructions for the economy and management of regimental hospitals, are framed by the war office.

Chelsea HOSPITAL. See CHELSEA.

Greenwich HOSPITAL. A magnificent building originally instituted by king Charles II. for decayed seamen and mariners. It stands upon the banks of the river Thames, has a delightful park annexed to it, with an astronomical observatory. It is situated five miles east of London, in the county of Kent.

HOSPITAL-mate, in recruiting districts. An hospital mate should be placed under the orders of each field officer, to examine the recruits when brought for inspection, and to give such medical assistance as may be in his power, to the several recruiting parties in the district he belongs to. The actual disbursements of the said mate for medicines, when not supplied from the public stores, will be reimbursed to him by the district military agent upon a certified account thereof, vouched by the approving signature of the inspector of the district.

HOSPITAL-fever, a name given to the malignant catarrhal fever, as being the most frequent in hospitals.

HOSPODAR, a dignitary title which is given to the prince of Walachia, who is tributary to the Grand Seignor, and from whom he receives the investure.

HOST, an army; any large body of men assembled together in arms.

HOSTAGE, in the art of war, a person given up to an enemy, as a security for the performance of the articles of a treaty. When two enemies enter into a treaty or capitulation, it is common for them mutually to give hostages as a security for their reciprocally performing the engagement they have entered into. An hostage becomes either an accessary, or principal according to the state of things. Thus, for example, he is accessary when a prince promises fidelity to another prince, and gives either his son or some great lord, as a security for his performance, without any further capitulation; for then these hostages are only an additional engagement of the prince; and if he violates his word, they are not in any manner responsible. An hostage becomes a principal when it is stipulated that he shall be answerable for the event of things. For instance, if a city promise to surrender within a certain time, in case it is not succoured, and, for the security of this article, give hostages (which are in the same nature as bail given to a creditor to secure a debt); so that if the succour arrives in time, the promise becomes void, and the hostages are discharged; but if the succours do not arrive, and the city is guilty of a breach of faith by refusing to surrender, then the hostages become principal, and may be punished for a breach of faith.

HOSTILE, inimical; suitable to an enemy.

HOSTILITES, Fr. See HOSTILITIES.

HOSTILITIES, in a military sense, may imply a rupture between the inhabitants of the same country, town, or place, and the first outrage that is committed by either party, as in general matters of warfare, is considered to be the first commencement of hostilities. Between nations, the first act of hostility is taken as a declaration of war. There are, however, certain established laws and regulations by which acts of hostility formerly were governed; without the intervention of these restrictions, war is conducted upon the most brutal and ferocious principles. Every wise and good general will exert his influence and authority to soften the fury of his victorious men, let the contest be ever so obstinate and bloody. Self-preservation, indeed, suggests this natural precaution; for if soldiers were permitted to ill-treat their prisoners, the sanguinary system of retaliation must prevail.

HOSTILITY, denotes a state of war or enmity between two nations. During a truce all acts of hostility are to cease on both sides.

HOSTING. An obsolete term, formerly signifying the mustering of men in arms.

HOTEL des invalides, Fr. a spacious building which was erected by Louis XIV. in Paris, at the extremity of the Fauxbourgh, St. Germain, upon the river Seine, as a public monument of his charity and magnificence. All disabled, infirm, and wounded officers and soldiers were received, lodged, and subsisted, during the remainder of their lives within its walls. The established number upon the foundation was 4000, including officers and soldiers. All exceeding that number, and who were less incapable of bearing arms, were distributed among the different garrison towns upon the frontiers of the kingdom, in detached and separate companies.

During the old government of France, a particular staff was appointed to superintend the duty at the Invalides, and a guard was regularly mounted every morning. Officers and soldiers, entitled to this charity, were first received in 1670. M. de Louvois, minister and secretary at war, was the first director and administrator general, and M. Dormoy was the first governor commandant.

The staff consisted of one director and administrator general, one governor commandant, one lieutenant du Roi, one major, two adjutants, one garcon major, one director and superintendant of the hospital, and one inspector and comptroller general, who did the duty of commissary at the different inspections.

No person could be admitted into the royal hospital of invalids unless he had served twenty years successively and without interruption, or had been dangerously wounded in the service of his country. The necessary certificates were signed by the commanding officers and majors of regiments, which were afterwards examined by the directors or inspectors.

No officer was received with the rank of officer, unless he had served two years in that capacity, and had been dangerously wounded, or was otherwise rendered incapable of doing duty.

The persons belonging to the Hotel des-Invalides were divided into three classes:

The first class was composed of officers belonging to the king’s troops, to the body-guards, gens d’armes, light-horsemen, musqueteers, serjeants of companies in the horse grenadiers, after having served five years in that capacity; of serjeants of the French and Swiss guards, after ten years service in that capacity; of officers attached to the constable’s jurisdiction, exempts and maréchaussés, after having been ten years with the rank of officers; and of gens d’armes and light horsemen belonging to established companies; of quarter-masters from cavalry and dragoon corps, and of infantry serjeants, who bore the brevet rank of lieutenant, after having served five years in the last capacity.

The second class was composed of gens d’armes, light horsemen belonging to established companies, quarter-masters belonging to cavalry and dragoon corps, and of serjeants from the infantry, after having served ten years in that capacity; of those likewise who, having left the cavalry to enter into the body-guards, had again returned to the cavalry. Within this class were also comprehended the gardes magasins, the captains and conductors of artillery, after thirty years service, ten of which were to be in the last mentioned capacities. All belonging to this class wore an uniform distinguished from the dress of the soldier, and were permitted to wear a sword. They received at the commencement of every month 15 sols, or 7¹⁄₂d. English, for ordinary expences; they were lodged in a particular quarter of the building, which was allotted to their use; they had a separate room to mess in; and they were fed like the common soldier, with this only exception, that each of them was allowed every morning a demi-septier, or an English pint, of wine. Those belonging to established garrisons in forts or citadels composed companies which were called compagnies de bas-officiers, companies of non-commissioned officers.

The third class was composed of private soldiers, heavy horsemen, and dragoons archers attached to the constable’s jurisdiction and marèchaussées, or patroles belonging to the police, masters or common workmen and artillery drivers.

HOTTE, Fr. a sort of hand-basket, which is often made use of in the construction of batteries and other works, and serves to carry earth from one part to another. Hence the word hod a well known machine for carrying bricks.

HOTTENTOTS, the Aborigines, or native inhabitants of our present settlement at the Cape of Good Hope.

HOULLIER, Fr. an obsolete French term, which meant what is now expressed by Picoreur des armées, or a free-booter.

HOUN, a gold coin of the Mysore country, value about four rupees, or two dollars.

HOURDEYS, Fr. an old French term which signified, first, hurdles with which the tops of the walls belonging to a fortified town were covered, in order to shield them against the concussion of warlike machines; and secondly, a machine formerly used, which was called in Latin hordacium.

HOUSEHOLD troops. The Life-Guards, Royal Regiment of Horse-Guards, and the three regiments of Foot-Guards are so stiled. It is a ridiculous privilege of these regiments, in the British service, that no officer of the line, fencibles or militia, can sit upon a court martial which may be assembled for the trial of any person belonging to them.

HOUSING, or saddle-HOUSING, cloth, skin, or other ornaments added to saddles, by way of distinction; frequently embroidered with gold or silver, or edged with gold or silver lace.

HOUSS. See HOUSING.

HOWITZ, a kind of mortar, mounted upon a field-carriage like a gun: the difference between a mortar and a howitz is, that the trunnions of the first are at the end, and of the other in the middle. The invention of howitzes is of much later date than mortars, as from them they had their origin.

The constructions of howitzes are as various and uncertain as those of mortars, excepting the chambers, which are all cylindric. They are distinguished by the diameter of the bore; for instance, a 10 inch howitz is that, the diameter of which is 10 inches; and so of the larger or smaller ones.

Howitz battery is made the same as a gun battery, only the embrasures are made at least a foot wider, on account of the shortness of the howitz. See BATTERY.

Field HOWITZER. The modern French use 6-inch howitzers in the field, which can throw a grenade at 6 degrees elevation, to a distance of 600 toises. The 6-inch howitzer can likewise throw to a smaller distance, a cartridge with 61 balls, of seventeen lines diameter. In both instances the effects are extremely fatal. The cavalry, in particular, can be annoyed by the former, in so galling a manner, as to be rendered almost useless.

These howitz are used very numerously by the light or horse artillery; for which their form and weight admirably fit them.

HOWITZERS.--Dimensions and weight of brass Howitzers.

+-----------+---------+--------------+-------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Length| | | | | of | | Kind. | Length. | Weight. | bore. | +-----------+---------+--------------+-------+ |Inch. diam.|Ft. Inch.|cwt. qrs. lbs.|Inches.| |10 | 3 11¹⁄₂| 25 3 14 | 29.9 | | 8 | 3 1 | 12 3 12 | 24.7 | | 5¹⁄₂ Heavy| | 10 0 0 | | | 5¹⁄₂ Light| 2 2³⁄₄| 4 0 2 | 18.47 | | 4²⁄₅ | 1 10 | 3 0 13 | 15.21 | +-----------+---------+--------------+-------+

+-----------+--------------------------------+ | | Chamber. | | +-------+---------------+--------+ | | | | Powder | | | | Diameter. | con- | | | +-------+-------+ tained | | Kind. |Length.|at top.|bottom.| in. | +-----------+-------+-------+-------+--------+ |Inch. diam.|Inches.|Inches.|Inches.|lbs. oz.| |10 | 12.6 | 5.776| 4.12 | 7 0 | | 8 | 8.61 | 4.6 | 3.40 | 3 8 | | 5¹⁄₂ Heavy| | | | 3 0 | | 5¹⁄₂ Light| 6.02 | 3.2 | 2.45 | 1 0 | | 4²⁄₅ | 4.52 | 2.73 | 2.24 | 0 8 | +-----------+-------+-------+-------+--------+

French Howitzers, in their own old weights and measures.

Ft. In. lbs. lbs. oz. 8 inches}diameter.| }length.|1110}weight.| 1 12}charge. 6 inches} | 2 3} | 670} | 1 12}full.

Table containing the kinds of Howitzers used by different powers in Europe.

+---------+------------------+-------+ |Nations. | Kinds. |Shells.| +---------+------------------+-------+ | | | Wt. | | {|25 Pr.[11] |62 lbs.| |Prussian{|10 -- |27 | | {| 7 -- |14 | |Danish { |18 -- |36 | | { |10 -- |20 | |Saxon {|16 -- |32 | | {| 8 -- |16 | |Hanover{ |30 -- |61 | | { |16 -- |33 | | {|4²⁄₅ inch or 4 Pr.| 8 lb. | |English {|5¹⁄₂ inch or 8 Pr.|16 | | {|8 inch or 23 Pr. |46 | |French { |6 inch or 12 Pr. |23 | | { |8 inch or 22 Pr. |43 | +---------+------------------+-------+

[11] See the word SHELL for the principle on which the Germans class them in pounders.

Ranges with a light 5¹⁄₂ inch Howitzer. 1798.

+-----+---------------------+---------------------+ | | 4 Ounces. | 8 Ounces. | | +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | | | Range| | |Range | | | Ele-| | to | Ex- | | to | Ex- | | va- | | first| treme| |first | treme| |tion.|Flight.|graze.|range.|Flight.|graze.|range.| +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | Deg.| Sec. |Yards.| | Sec. |Yards.| | | P B | | | | 1 | 96 | | | 1 | 1 | 66 | | 1¹⁄₂ | 143 | | | 2 | 1 | 85 | | 1- | 184 | | | 3 | 1¹⁄₂ | 100 | | 2 | 258 | | | 4 | 1- | 110 | From | 2- | 307 | From | | 5 | 2 | 115 | 400 | 2- | 376 | 700 | | 6 | 2 | 168 | to | 3 | 408 | to | | 7 | 2 | 194 | 600 | 3- | 529 | 1000 | | 8 | 2- | 226 |yards.| 4- | 630 |yards.| | 9 | 2- | 282 | | 5 | 645 | | | 10 | 2- | 279 | | 5 | 642 | | | 11 | 2- | 260 | | 5- | 797 | | | 12 | 3 | 315 | | 5- | 715 | | +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+

+-----+---------------------+---------------------+ | | 12 Ounces. | 1 Pound. | | +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | | |Range | | |Range | | | Ele-| | to | Ex- | | to | Ex- | | va- | |first | treme| |first | treme| |tion.|Flight.|graze.|range.|Flight.|graze.|range.| +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | Deg.| Sec. |Yards.| | Sec. |Yards.| | | P B | 1¹⁄₂ | 140 | | 1¹⁄₂ | 159 | | | 1 | 2 | 334 | | 1 | 325 | | | 2 | 2 | 351 | | 2 | 490 | | | 3 | 2- | 506 | | 3 | 668 | | | 4 | 3 | 500 | From | 4 | 728 | From | | 5 | 3 | 509 | 1000 | 5- | 918 | 1100 | | 6 | 3- | 581 | to | 5 | 823 | to | | 7 | 5 | 872 | 1350 | 6 | 975 | 1400 | | 8 | 6- | 975 |yards.| 7 | 1044 |yards.| | 9 | 7 | 911 | | 8 | 1049 | | | 10 | 7 | 1021 | | 8 | 1104 | | | 11 | 7- | 1177 | | 8 | 1173 | | | 12 | | | | | | | +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+

Ranges with a heavy 5¹⁄₂ inch Howitzer. 1793.

+-----+---------------------+---------------------+ | | 2 Pounds. | 3 Pounds. | | +-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | Ele-| | | Ex- | | | Ex- | | va- | | First| treme| | First| treme| |tion.|Flight.|Graze.|range.|Flight.|Graze.|range.| +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+ | Deg.| Sec. | Y’ds.|Yards.| Sec. | Y’ds.|Yards.| | 1 | 2 | 453 | | 3 | 479 | | | 2 | 4 | 595 | | 5 | 722 | | | 3 | 4 | 666 | | 5 | 921 | | | 4 | 5 | 847 | | 5 | 1000 | | | 5 | 5 | 957 | From | 7 | 1325 | From | | 6 | 7 | 1173 | 1400 | 8 | 1530 | 1400 | | 7 | 9 | 1449 | to | 9 | 1577 | to | | 8 | 8 | 1355 | 1900 | 9 | 1721 | 2000 | | 9 | 8 | 1585 | | 9 | 1801 | | | 10 | 10 | 1853 | | 9 | 1791 | | | 11 | 9 | 1793 | | 12 | 1013 | | | 12 | 10 | 1686 | | | | | +-----+-------+------+------+-------+------+------+

HUE AND CRY, an English official Gazette so called, which is published at the expiration of every third week in the year, and serves to advertise deserters. That part which immediately relates to desertions is divided into seventeen columns, viz names, corps, age, size, coat, waistcoat, breeches, hair, complexion, eyes, marks, and remarks, trade, &c., parish born, county born, time, from whence, agent’s names, agent’s abode.

HUGHLY WACCA, Ind. a newspaper or chronicle which is kept by the officers of the native governments in India.

HUISSIER d’armes, Fr. tipstaff; an officer formerly so called in France, who was attached to the royal household. They were at first distinguished by the name of Sergens d’armes, or serjeants at arms. Some were directed to bear the mace before the king during the day, and obtained on that account the appellation of Huissiers d’armes; in later times while the monarchy subsisted, they were called the Huissiers, or tipstaffs of the king’s chamber. Others kept watch in the king’s bed-chamber during the night, and were sworn to expose their lives for the safety of his person, whence they obtained the name of archers de la garde, which term was changed into gardes-du-corps, or body-guards.

Death HUNTERS, followers of an army, who, after the engagement look for dead bodies, in order to strip them. They generally consist of soldiers’ wives, &c.

HUNGARIAN battalion, a body of men belonging to the Austrian army, whose dress consists in a white jacket, the buttons straight down to the waist, with blue colored collar, cuffs and skirts before and behind, like the rest of the Austrian infantry, with this difference, that the latter have white breeches and long black gaiters, and the former wear light blue pantaloons and half-boots.

HUNS, GOTHS, and VANDALS, barbarous tribes that inhabited the various provinces of Germany which had never been subdued by the Romans, or were scattered over those vast countries in the north of Europe, and north west of Asia which are now occupied by the Danes, the Swedes, the Poles, the subjects of the Russian empire, and the Tartars.

HURDLES, in fortification, are made of twigs of willows or osiers, interwoven close together, sustained by long stakes. They are made in the figure of a long square; the length being 5 or 6 feet, and breadth 3 or 3¹⁄₂. The closer they are wattled together, the better. They serve to render batteries firm, or to consolidate the passage over muddy ditches; or to cover traverses and lodgments for the defence of the workmen against the fireworks, or the stones, that may be thrown against them.

HURDLE Battery. See BATTERY. These are the invention of colonel Congreve of the British Artillery, and are admirably adapted for temporary fortifications. They consist of hurdles fixed in the ground in a triangular form, the intermediate space being filled with sand or earth, &c. are constructed in a few minutes, and in any figure.

HURTER, a flatted iron fixed against the body of an axle-tree, with straps to take off the friction of the naves of wheels against the body.

HURTOIR, a piece of timber about 6 inches square, placed before the wheels of a carriage, against the parapet of a battery, to prevent the wheels from doing damage to the parapet.

HURTLE. See SKIRMISH.

HUSB ul hookum, or HASSAB ul hookum, Ind. a patent or order, under the seal of the Vizier, with these initial words, which signify, always to command.

HUSSARDS, Fr. hussars. They were first introduced into the French service in 1692, and owed their origin to the Hungarian cavalry which was subsidized by France before the reign of Louis XIII.

HUSSARS, are the national cavalry of Hungary and Croatia, they never encamp, consequently are not burthened with any kind of camp equipage, saving a kettle and a hatchet to every six men. They always lie in the woods, out-houses, or villages, in the front of the army. The emperor of Austria and the king of Prussia, had many troops under this name in their service. See CAVALRY.

Death’s-Head HUSSARS, a regiment of Hussars in the Prussian service, so called from the emblems of death being exhibited on their caps. They were dressed in black, faced with yellow, and rode small active horses.

In the seven years war they obtained considerable reputation under the command of the brave and intrepid general Ziethen.

HUT. The ancient mode of encamping was in little huts. In the American war, hutted camps were not uncommon. The French armies have encamped in huts from 1793, as in that years campaign they lost all their tents.

HUTTE, Fr. Hut.

HUZZOOR NAVEIS, Ind. a secretary who resides at an Indian court, and keeps copies of all firmauns, records, or letters. Huzzoor, is the court, Naveis, a writer.

HYDER, the Arabic term for lion. This title is often given to men of rank in India.

HYDER ALI, the sultan of Mysore; was known under the name of Hyder Naik; his son Tippoo succeeded him, and was killed at the storming of Seringapatam by the British forces.

HYDER COOLY, a term of subjection used in India, meaning literally the slave; but not so understood; it is a proud assertion of humility, such as the pope used, in calling himself the fisherman.

HYDERABAD, HYDRABAD, a city in Asia, which arose from the desertion of Golconda. This name is often used in Indostan when Hyderabad is meant. Hyderabad became the principal rendezvous of the Mahomedans opposed to the Marattahs whose country lies between Guzzerat and Golconda. See MARATTAHS.

HYDRAULIC, (Hydraulique, Fr.) the name of a particular science, which points out the method of conducting and raising bodies of water.

Colonnes HYDRAULIQUES, Fr. columns ornamented by sheets of water or water spouts.

HYDROMETER (Hydrometre, Fr.) the name of an instrument which serves to ascertain the dryness or moisture of the atmosphere.

HYDROSTATIC, (Hydrostatique, Fr.) the name of a science whose principal object is to ascertain the weight of fluids, particularly of water, and of all bodies that are either borne upon the surface or immersed beneath it.

HYPERBOLA, the section of a cone made by a plane, so that the axis of the section shall incline to the opposite leg of the cone.

HYPOTHENUSE, that line which subtends the right angle of a right angled triangle.

J.

JACK. See GIN.

JACK-boots. Boots formerly worn by cavalry, made of thick firm leather, hardened in a peculiar manner, that is by a mixture of rosin, pitch, and oil, applied before a fire until they become stiff and impervious to water. They were sometimes lined with plates of iron. The best infantry caps are jacked leather.

JACK wambasium, a sort of coat armor, formerly worn by horsemen, not of solid iron but of many plates fastened together, which some persons by tenure were bound to find upon any invasion.

JACKET, a short coat. See CLOTHING.

JACOB’S staff, a mathematical instrument for taking heights and distances, called also a cross staff.

JACQUE, ou JAQUE, Fr. a sort of close jacket, which was formerly worn by the francs-archers, or free archers, and reached down to the knee. These jackets were stuffed underneath the linen or cloth with which they were made. They sometimes consisted of leather, lined with 20 or 30 pieces of old cloth, rather loosely put together. The ancient horsemen wore these jackets under their coats of mail, and they were called gobison.

JADE, Fr. a very hard stone, of an olive color, with which the handles of swords and sabres are made in Poland and Turkey. This stone is said to possess wonderful virtues for the removal of the gravel or nephritic cholic; in these cases it is simply applied to the loins.

JAFFURNAPATAM. The town of Ceylon is so called by the Indians. The port of Jaffur.

JAGURNHAUT, Ind. a Hindoo pagoda, on the Balasore coast, bay of Bengal.

JAGHIRDAR, the person in possession of a jaghire.

JAGHIRE, an Indian term, signifying the assignment of the revenues of a district to a servant or dependant of government, who is hence called a jaghirdar. Jaghires are either mushroot, which means conditional, or belashurt, which signifies unconditional. Jaghires are frequently given in India to persons as a reward and compensation for their military services. The British obtained footing in Bengal first as traders by courtesy; they then got a Jaghire mushroot.

JAGHIRE ASHAM, Ind. land granted for the support of the troops.

JAGHIRE ZAT, Ind. lands granted for private maintenance.

JAM, Fr. which is sometimes written jamb, is a thick bed of stone, by which the operations of the miners are suddenly interrupted when they are pursuing the veins of ore.

JAMBEUX. An obsolete word, which formerly signified boots, covers, or armor for the legs.

JAMBS, sometimes written jaumbs, Fr. The side posts of a door.

JALET, Fr. a name given to certain round stones which are cast out of a bow called arbalête à jalet, or cross-bow. These stones are more generally called galet.

JALONS, Fr. long poles with a wisp of straw at the top. They are fixed at different places and in different roads, to serve as signals of observation to advancing columns, when the country is inclosed, &c. They are likewise used as camp-colors to mark out the ground on days of exercise.

JALONNEMENT d’une colonné, Fr. is the designation of certain points by which a column is governed on its march.

JALONNEURS, Fr. are the men selected from a battalion to mark out the ground, or, to take up relative points towards which the columns may march. We call them guides of manœuvre.

St. JAMES, Knights of, a military order in Spain, first instituted in the year 1170, by Ferdinand II. king of Leon and Galicia. The greatest dignity belonging to this order was that of grand master, which had been united to the crown of Spain. The knights were obliged to make proof of their descent from families that had been noble for four generations on both sides; they must also make it appear that their said ancestors had neither been Jews, Saracens, nor heretics, nor have ever been called in question by the Inquisition! The novices were obliged to serve six months in the gallies, and to live a month in a monastery. They observed the rules of St. Austin, making no vows but of poverty, obedience, and conjugal fidelity.

JANIBAR, Ind. an advocate; a defender; it likewise signifies a partial person.

JANISSAIRES, Fr. See JANIZARIES.

JANIZARIES. The first establishment of this body of armed men took place when the sultan Amurat obtained such wonderful success in the inroads that were made into Thrace, and a part of Macedonia, by the Bachas Lala, Saim, and Auranos. Nor was the sultan satisfied with this good fortune; he pushed his successes into Europe, and took an immense number of prisoners of all ages, but principally children. These were put under military tuition, with the view of hereafter converting them to some useful purpose for the Ottoman state.

Amurat took advice of one Agis Bictas, who by the dint of hypocrisy had obtained the character and reputation of a very virtuous man. Agis Bictas gave directions in the first instance, that these children should put several christians to death. He did this with the view of accustoming their young minds to scenes of slaughter, and to inure them to cruelty, as they were hereafter to compose the groundwork of the Turkish infantry, under the appellation of janizaries, or new militia. He next instructed them to observe an austere and barbarous outside appearance, and to become emulous of acquiring peculiar fame whenever they should be engaged in battle. In order to impress them with ideas of grandeur, he took off a part of his muslin sleeve, and twisted it in the shape of a turban, put it round the head of one of the children, when the corps were first established. This turban or cap was the model which the rest were to imitate. The Janizaries wear the same sort to this day, with the addition of some gold lace.

The body of janizaries has been considerably augmented since their first establishment. According to a late account they have been increased to 54,222; these have been divided into three separate corps, viz. into jajabeys, bolykys, and selmanys. These were moreover distinguished among themselves by the following names; corigys, oturakys, and fodlahorans.

They are under chiefs appointed for the specific purpose of superintending their conduct and behaviour, and are subordinate to particular officers, whose charge is confined to corps or companies that are called odas, a Turkish word, which properly signifies chamber or room, being thus called from the place in which they were ordered to mess. At Constantinople these chambers are covered with a sort of china ware; and there are recesses, called sophas, on which the men may sit or sleep. A kitchen is attached to each room, with every other convenience. When they take the field the same arrangement is attended to. The different companies being distributed in large round tents that are distinguished by the figures of beasts and Arabic words.

All the janizary companies consist of 196 men each. There are 101 companies of jajabeys, who form the garrisons of the most important places upon the frontiers. The officers belonging to these companies are permitted to ride in the presence of their general, which is a privilege peculiar to themselves. On this account they wear yellow half boots.

The bolykys consist of 61 companies; the commanding officers are obliged to wear red half boots, which is to shew, that they are not permitted to go through their duty on horseback.

The selmanys amount to 34 companies. The officers belonging to them are subject to the same regulations by which the bolykys are governed. They must march by their general in red half boots on foot, with this exception, that 30 supernumerary young men, who are seconded, and in expectation of commissions through the influence of their parents, are allowed to ride until they get companies.

A select body of men is indiscriminately chosen out of these three sorts of janizaries; this chosen body is called corigys, and amounts to 930 men. Their particular duty is to protect the three imperial mansions of Constantinople, Adrianople, and Bursa.

Every janizary is obliged to give one and a half per cent. of all the money he receives in time of peace to the treasurer of his room, or to the treasurer general of the corps, and seven per cent. in time of war. In consideration of this sum he is allowed a space of ground, six feet in length and three in breadth to spread his mattrass; and he is moreover entitled to have every day at dinner and supper one plate of rice, a piece of mutton, and bread and water; so that a janizary may easily save the greatest part of his pay.

The uniform or clothing of a janizary is a dolimaun, or long robe with short sleeves. It is tied round the middle with a striped girdle of different colors, fringed at the ends with gold or silver. They wear over the dolimaun, a saphi, or blue surtout, in the same loose manner that Europeans wear great coats or cloaks.

Instead of a turban the janizaries have their heads covered with a zarcola, or cap made of felt, from which hangs a long hood of the same stuff, that reaches to their shoulders, and is worn on parade days. The zarcola is decorated with a quantity of long feathers, that are fixed in a small tube, and stand in the front of the cap. The janizaries in Constantinople usually carry a long stick or Indian cane, without any other arms or weapons; but when they are equipped for the field against any European power, they have a sabre and fusil or musquet. They likewise carry a powder horn, which hangs on the left side suspended from a leathern string that is thrown across the body.

In Asia, the janizaries always go armed with a bow and a quiver full of arrows. They are thus equipped on account of the scarcity of gunpowder.--They have besides a sort of poniard or large knife, which they draw against every person from whom they wish to extort any thing. The bows and arrows are regularly delivered out to the janizaries by the alkitef-ter-dars or vice treasurers general.

The janizaries seldom marry, or if they do it is at an advanced age; for the Turks as well as other countries imagine that a married man cannot be so determined and careless of danger, as he must be who has no concerns to attend to besides his own. Matrimony, however, is not forbidden amongst them. On the contrary, when the ceremony is performed with the consent of their officers, they are permitted to take private lodgings, and are only required to appear every Friday at their rooms, and to parade before the Wekilbarg, or treasurer to the chamber, under pain of forfeiting their subsistence. When they get children, their pay is increased some aspres per day, by order of the grand Signor.

The body of janizaries is by no means, however, so considerable as it formerly was. In 1648, they were so formidable, that they assumed a dangerous influence over the government of the Empire. They even went so far as to dethrone the sultan Ibrahim, and afterwards to strangle him in the castle called the Seven Towers. Since that period the grand viziers have made a point to lower the pride and arrogance of the janizaries, in order to preserve the authority of their sovereigns, and to maintain their own: on this account they adopted the barbarous policy of sending the bravest on a forlorne hope at the siege of Candia; and they permitted the rest to marry, and to embrace various trades, contrary to the established rules of the corps, for the sole purpose of enervating the individuals belonging to it. By degrees persons without experience and addicted to the loosest effeminacy, were entrusted with commands; so that the janizaries soon came not to possess either the character or the bravery of their predecessors.

The remedy has been as fatal as the disease; they have had a profligate rabble in place of their hardy and enterprizing corps; and in the year 1808, deposed and put to death the grand Signor, for a bribe from a foreign ambassador.

The janizaries consist chiefly of Christian children that have been taken in war, or of debauched Turks who are ignorant of their birth or connexion. Whenever any one dies, he leaves what little property or clothing, &c. he possesses to his messmen; even the Turks, from a species of social piety, always bequeath something to their particular oda, or chamber. The consequence of which is, that the chambers become extremely rich, and their wealth is frequently put out to interest at 25 per cent. Add to this, that the grand Signor directs that every thing which is supplied to the janizaries should be rated lower than to the rest of his subjects, which circumstance easily explains why the janizaries can live cheaper than other people in Turkey.

JANIZAR AGASI, a name or military title which is attached to the person who has the chief command of the janizaries. It corresponds, in some degree, with the rank of colonel general of infantry in old France, when that body was under the command of the duke of Epernon, and afterwards under the duke of Orleans in 1720. This Aga takes precedence of all the infantry officers belonging to the Ottoman empire. The name is derived from Aga, which, in the Turkish language, signifies a staff, or baton. On public occasions the Aga always bears a staff in his hand; so indeed do all the janizaries when they appear in any large town or place, as an emblem of service.

This general was originally promoted to the rank of Aga out of the corps of janizaries. But as this was the occasion of much jealousy, and gave rise to various cabals, which frequently rendered the Aga contemptible in the eyes of his followers, the grand Signor at present appoints him from the Ichnoglans belonging to the seraglio.

The daily pay of the Aga amounts to one hundred aspres, which are equal to 20 ecus, or French half-crowns, making 55 cents of our money; independent of which he receives from 7 to 10 thousand French ecus or English half-crowns, on account of the Timars who are attached to his appointment. He moreover gets constant presents from the Sultan, especially when the janizaries have conducted themselves to his satisfaction on any critical emergency. The douceurs which are lavished upon the Aga, whenever he has the good fortune to stand well with the grand Signor, are innumerable; for it is through him, that every application is made for places of emolument. It is customary, however, in Turkey to bestow rank and advantageous posts not according to merit, but in proportion to the number of purses, (in which manner all large sums are counted) that are produced by the several candidates. A purse in Turkey contains about 250 crowns, or 300 of our dollars.

The Aga seldom appears in the streets of Constantinople without being followed by a large body of janizaries, most especially when any convulsion or disastrous event has happened in the empire. In these moments of public disturbance and consternation, the janizaries take occasion to demand an increase of pay threatening, in case of refusal, to pillage the town; which threat they have often put in execution. Whenever these mutinous proceedings take place, the Aga marches at the head of 30 or 40 mungis or provost-marshals belonging to the janizaries, together with 5 or 600 of this militia, in order to seize the mutineers, and to have them safely conveyed to some prison. He has the power of life and death over every individual of the corps; but he never gives directions to have a janizary executed in open day, lest the sight of their suffering comrade should create a disturbance among the rest. Small crimes and misdemeanors among the janizaries are punished by the bastinado, which is exercised by striking repeated blows upon the sole of the foot; but when the guilt is capital, the Aga orders the culprit either to be strangled, or to be sewed up in a sack and thrown into a pond or river.

When the Janizar-Agasi dies, from disease or by violence, the whole of his property devolves to the treasury belonging to the corps of janizaries; nor can the grand Signor appropriate one aspre to his own use.

JAVELIN, a sort of spear 5¹⁄₂ feet long, the shaft of which was of wood with a steel point. Every soldier in the Roman armies had seven of these, which were very light and slender.

The Velites or light armed troops among the Romans were armed with javelins. They were two cubits long and one inch thick.

There were several sorts of javelins or darts used among the ancients; some of which were projected by the help of a short strap girt round their middle.

There was likewise another species of javelin, the bottom of which was ornamented with three feathers, in the same manner that arrows and darts are. These javelins have been used by the Poles and other nations, but principally by the Moors, who call them zogaies. In the early days of France, the javelin was likewise adopted in imitation of the Gauls; but it disappeared, with many other missile weapons, on the invention of fire-arms.

JAVELINE, Fr. See JAVELIN.

JEVELOT, Fr. Javelin. A term used among the ancients to express every thing that was missile; it is derived from the Latin, jacutum à jaculando.

JAZERAN, Fr. an obsolete term which was formerly applied to an able veteran.

ICH DIEN, I serve. A motto belonging to the badge of the arms of the British prince of Wales, which was first assumed by Edward surnamed the Black Prince, after the battle of Cressy in 1346. Dieu et Mon Droit, in the badge of the British king’s arms, was used by Richard I. on a victory over the French in 1194.

ICHNOGLANS. It has been a singular maxim of policy among the Turks to prefer Christian slaves, as confidential servants, to their own countrymen. Their motive originates in an idea, that the former having lost all recollection of their native spot, and of the tenderness which is innate between child and parent, would have no other interest at heart but that of their employers; whereas freemen in general measure their attachment to their masters by the rule of self accommodation and personal emolument. From these principles the grand Signor has established a body of Ichnoglans, in order that they may be devoted to his service; and as a security for their affection he frequently raises individuals amongst them to the highest posts of trust and dignity in the empire. The rank of Sepaler Agasi, or general of cavalry, has been conferred upon them; which appointment, next to that of grand vizir, of Mufti or of Bostangi, is the most considerable belonging to the Ottoman empire.

ICHNOGRAPHIE, Fr. Ichnography.

ICHNOGRAPHY, in fortification, denotes the plan or representation of the length and breadth of a fortification; the distinct parts of which are marked out either on the ground itself, or on paper. By this we are at once acquainted with the value of the different lines and angles which determine the exact breadth of fossés, the depth of ramparts, and of parapets. So that, in fact, a plan, upon the correct principles of ichnography, represents a work as it would appear if it were levelled to its foundations, and shewed only the expanse of ground upon which it had been erected. But the science of ichnography does not represent either the elevation or the depth of the different parts belonging to a fortification. This properly comes under profile, which does not, however, include length. See PLAN.

JEE, Ind. a title of respect which is used in India, and signifies sir, master, worship.

JEE POTR, Ind. a statement and decree.

JEHAUNDER, Ind. a term used in India, signifying the possessor of the world.

JEHAUN GEER, Ind. a term used in India, signifying the conqueror of the world.

JEHAUN SHAH, Ind. king of the world.

JEHOULDAR, Ind. Treasurer.

JELOUDAR, Ind. belonging to the train or equipage.

JEMADE, Ind. the Indian word for month.

JEMIDAR or JEMMADAR, Ind. means a captain or chief of a company; it is the title of a black officer who has the same rank as a white lieutenant in the E. India company’s service. The author of the history of the Carnatic calls Jemidars or Jemmadars, captains either of horse or foot.

JENIZER-EFFENDI, an appointment among the Turks, which in some degree resembles that of provost-marshal in European armies. The only functions which this officer is permitted to exercise are those of judge to the company. He sits on particular days for the purpose of hearing the complaints of the soldiers, and of settling their differences. If a case of peculiar difficulty should occur, he reports the same to the Aga, whose opinion and determination are final.

JERSEY, an island on the coast of Normandy in France, which has belonged to the English ever since the Norman conquest. Although this island, as well as that of Guernsey, is still governed by the ancient Norman laws, it is nevertheless subject to the British mutiny act in many particulars.

JERUMONA, Ind. Mulct, fine, or penalty.

JETH, Ind. the name of a month which in some degree coincides with our month of May.

JET, Fr. a term signifying the motion of any body that is urged forward by main force; it likewise means the space which is gone over by any propelled body.

JET des bombes, Fr. This word has been adopted instead of Tir, which formerly expressed the course that a shell took when it was thrown out of a mortar by the power of gunpowder.

We sometimes use the words flight and range, to express the same action and progress.

The jet or flight of a bomb usually forms a curved line; but many engineers assert, that when the mortar is placed horizontally, it describes the three movements that are made by a cannon ball, viz. The violent or strait forward one, the mixed or curved, and the natural one, which is perpendicular.

It is particularly incumbent upon the officers who superintend the mortar duty, to ascertain, by a correct observation of the eye, the exact distance to which he means to throw the bomb. With this view he must give as many degrees of elevation as may be found necessary by the judgment he has formed.

In order to obtain some degree of certainty he first throws a bomb, by way of experiment, and he increases or diminishes his degrees of elevation according to the distance it runs, and from the spot on which it falls.

These are the only rules which are generally followed by those officers who have the direction of mortars. However, according to St. Remi the French bombardiers frequently make use of tables in order to calculate precisely the different lines of extent according to the different elevations of the mortar, particularly with respect to the degrees of the square rule from 1 to 45·

Although this method has been sanctioned by various and innumerable experiments, it has nevertheless been exposed to some censure. Mr. Blondel has written a treatise on the subject. This engineer asserts, that he has discovered a way of firing true, which exceeds all former inventions.

We are of opinion, that the best method must be that which is founded upon practical and daily experience. Those men who are in the continual habit of exercising in mortar duty, and who can form just calculations, especially with regard to the quality and quantity of gunpowder, will always be esteemed in preference to the most profound theorists.

According to the experiments which have been made by bombardiers with respect to the flight of bombs, a mortar is said to propel or urge forward in proportion to the quantity and quality of the gunpowder, by which it is charged.

A mortar, for instance, which has twelve inches calibre, and which is loaded with two pounds of mealed gunpowder gives a difference in its flight of 48 feet from one degree to another; and 2160 feet in its greatest extent under the elevation of 45 degrees.

The same mortar gives a difference, from one degree to another, of 60 feet, provided there be two pounds and a half of the same powder in its chamber, and it gives 2700 feet, for its greatest flight.

It finally gives 72 feet difference from one degree to another, if the charge consists of three pounds of mealed gunpowder, and the elevation be taken at 45 degrees, which in the opinion of bombardiers, is the greatest flight, taking a range of 3240 feet.

Among the French bombardiers there are tables put out according to this calculation, which may be found in Blondel or St. Remi. These tables are adapted to mortars of 12 inches calibre, which weight we have taken for example.

JET, among the French is likewise applied to the range taken by a fusee, as jet de la fusee, the flight of a fusee.

In cannon founderies it is further used to express the different pipes or hollows which are made of clay or wax, in order to convey the liquid metals into their moulds. In this sense it means cast, so that jet may be properly called a vent or aperture which is made at the extreme end of the mould and through which the metal is poured.

Un beau JET, Fr. a fine cast.

JETTER, Fr. to pour metal into a mould.

JETTEE, Fr. a pier. It usually consists of a projection, made with stone, brick or wood at the extreme ends of a harbor, for the purpose of resisting the impetuosity of the waves.

JEU de hazard, Fr. chance play. It was our intention to have entered fully into this subject, as far as it concerns the military system, under the head hazard; but as the matter has been more particularly adverted to in a French author, we judge it best to quote from that authority, and to shew, that, corrupt as the old government of France most unquestionably was, the character of its army was not neglected. Every species of chance play was strictly forbidden in the French camps and garrisons, and throughout their armies. The prohibitions on this head bear the most ancient dates. On the 24th of July, 1534, Francis I. issued an order, which was again confirmed by Henry II. on the 22d of May, 1557, that no comrade should, under any pretext whatever, obtain money from a brother soldier by play. It was further ordained, that in case of foul play, the persons who should be discovered were, for the first offence, to be publicly flogged, and for the second to be punished in the like manner, to have their ears cut off, and to be banished for ten years. The delinquents were committed to the charge and custody of the provost, who was authorized to confiscate every farthing that was played for. Dice and cards were rigorously forbidden under the same penalties, as well as all sorts of games which might create animosities and dissentions among individuals.

On the 15th of January, 1691, Louis XIV. issued an order from the privy council, by which he expressly forbade not only the officers belonging to his army, but likewise all other persons of whatever sex or denomination to play at Hoca, Pharoah, Barbacole, Basset, and Pour et Contre. The penalties for every infraction or breach of this order were as follows. Those persons who played were fined 1000 livres or 200 dollars, and the master or mistress of the house where games of the above description were allowed, stood fined in 6000 livres, or 1200 dollars for each offence. One third of these penalties was applied to his majesty’s use, one third to the relief of the poor of the place where the offence was committed, and the other third was paid to the informer. It was further ordained, that in case the persons so discovered were unable to pay the fines, their persons should be taken into custody. Those subjected to the penalty of 1000 livres were imprisoned four months, and those who incurred the fine of 6000 livres, without having the means to pay it, were imprisoned one year. The intendants, or lord-lieutenants of the provinces and armies, the police magistrates, and the military provosts, were all and severally directed to see this edict put into execution; and by a circular letter, which in 1712, was written, in the king’s name, by M. Voisin, to the different governors and lords-lieutenants of provinces, the prohibitions were extended to the lansquenet, or private soldier.

On the 25th of August, 1698, Louis XIV. issued out an order, by which he rigorously forbade, under pain of death, every individual belonging to the French cavalry or infantry, (suttler and private soldier included) to keep any gaming table in camp or quarters. In consequence of these regulations, and with the view of introducing the strictest principles of honor and regularity in a profession which must be tarnished even by the breath of suspicion, on the 1st of July, 1727, Louis the XVth ordained by the 43d article of war, that whatsoever soldier, horse or foot, was convicted of cheating at play, should be punished with death. He further directed, that in case any hazard table should be set up in a camp, or garrison, the commanding officer or governor was to order the same to be broken forthwith, and to commit all persons concerned therein to prison.

JEWAER KHANNA, Ind. The jewel office.

IHTIMAMDAR, Ind. A person appointed by the Hindoo magistrate, who has the superintending agency over several towns.

IJELAS, Ind. The general assembly of the court of justice in Bengal, so called.

To IMBODY, in a military sense, implies to assemble under arms, either for defence or offence. This term is particularly applied to the meeting of the militia.

IMPETUS, in mechanics, the force with which one body impels or strikes another. See GUNNERY. MOMENTUM.

IMPOSTS, that part of a pillar in vaults or arches, on which the weight of the whole rests.

IMPREGNABLE. Any fortress or work which resists the efforts of attack, is said to be impregnable.

To IMPRESS, to compel any body to serve.

IMPRESS-Service, A particular duty which is performed by persons belonging to the navy. Soldiers, that behave ill, in the British service, and from repeated misconduct are deemed incorrigible on shore, get frequently turned over to a press gang. This does not, however, occur without some sort of concurrence on the part of the soldier, who is left to chuse between the execution or continuance of a severe military punishment, or to enter on board one of the ships of war.

IMPRESS-Money. All sums which are paid to men who have been compelled to serve are so called.

IMPRESSION, the effect of an attack upon any place, or body of soldiers.

IMPREST of Money. A term not strictly grammatical, but rendered familiar by its official adoption, signifying sums of money received from time, to time, by persons in public employment, for the current services of the year.

To IMPUGN, to attack, or assault.

IMPULSE, hostile impression.

INACCESSIBLE, not to be approached, in contradiction to accessible.

INCAPABLE. A term of disgrace, which is frequently annexed to military sentences; as, such an officer has been cashiered by the sentence of a general court-martial, and rendered incapable of ever serving his majesty in either a civil or military capacity.

INCH, a well known measure in length, being the 12th part of a foot, and equal to three barley-corns in length. See MEASURE.

INCIDENCE, the direction with which one body strikes another; the angle made by that line and the plane of the body struck, is called the Angle of Incidence, which see.

INCLINAISON, Fr. See INCLINATION.

To INCLINE, in a military sense, means to gain ground to the flank, as well as to the front. Inclining is of great use in the marching of the line in front, to correct any irregularities that may happen. It is equivalent to the quarter facing and to the oblique marching of the infantry. It enables you to gain the enemy’s flank without exposing your own, or without wheeling or altering the parallel front of the squadron.

Right (or left) INCLINE. A word of command in cavalry movements, when each man makes a half-face on his horse’s fore feet, by which means each will appear to be half a head behind his flank leader; and the whole will look to the hand to which they are to incline. It must be generally observed, that the leading officer on the flank, with a glance of his eye ascertaining his points, marches steadily upon them, at whatever pace is ordered: every other man in the squadron moves in so many parallel lines, with respect to him, and preserves the same uniformity of front and files, as when he first turned his horse’s head.

At no time of the incline ought the former front of the squadron, or distance of files to be altered.

In the incline, the rear rank moves in the same manner, and is of course regulated by the front rank, which it takes care to conform to.

Whenever a squadron inclines it must not pass an angle of 34° with respect to its former direction, unless it should be required to gain as much or more ground to the flank as to the front. The distance of files at six inches allows the squadron to incline in perfect order, while its new direction does not go beyond the angle specified. When more is required to be taken, the squadron must either wheel up, and march upon the flank point, or it will fall more or less into file, according to the degree of obliquity required, by moving each horse retired, half neck, or head to boot.

INCLINED Plane. See GUNNERY.

INCLUSIVE, comprehended in the sum or number; thus when the abstracts were made out for 60 and 61 days, they generally ran from the 24th of one month to the 24th of the second month, including the last 24th only. Since the new British regulation, the muster, as also the abstract, is taken from the 25th of one month to the 24th of the following month, both days inclusive.

INCOMMENSURABLE. That cannot be measured, or be reduced to any proportion or equal measure with another.

INCOMPETENT. Incapable, unfit, unequal. No officer, be his situation what it may, (from a general inclusive to the lowest non-commissioned) can be said to be competent to command, who is not only willing and able to follow orders himself, but will likewise see them strictly adhered to by others; whose mind is not superior to partialities, and whose judgment is not equal to discern real merit from ignorant assumption. Every soldier is incompetent to his profession who does not possess a spirit of subordination, and cool determined bravery.

INCOMPLETE, opposed to complete, which see.

To INCORPORATE. In a military sense, is to add a smaller body of forces to a large, and to mix them together. Independent companies are said to be incorporated, when they are distributed among different regiments, regiments among brigades, &c. &c. So that any lesser body may be incorporated in a greater.

INCURSION, invasion without conquest; inroad; ravage.

INDEMNIFICATION, any reimbursement or compensation which is given for loss or penalty.

Military INDEMNIFICATION, a regulated allowance which is made by the British for losses sustained by officers or soldiers on actual service, viz.

Infantry.

1st. The whole of the personal baggage of a subaltern officer to be valued at 60_l._ and the camp equipage between two subalterns, 35_l._

2d. The baggage of a captain to be valued at 80_l._ and the camp equipage, at 35_l._

3d. Field officer’s baggage, 100_l._ and the camp equipage 60_l._

4th. Colonel’s baggage, 120_l._ and camp equipage, 80_l._

Cavalry.

5th. The whole of the personal baggage of a subaltern officer to be valued at 70_l._ and the camp equipage at 45_l._

6th. Captain’s baggage, 90_l._ and camp equipage 45_l._

7th. Field officer’s baggage, 120_l._ and camp equipage 90_l._

8th. Colonel’s baggage, 140_l._ and camp equipage, 90_l._

9th. Officers giving certificates signed by themselves and the commanding officer of their regiments, that they have lost the whole of their baggage and camp equipage, and that at the time it was lost, they were in no respect deviating from the orders of the general officer commanding in chief relative to baggage, shall receive the whole of the sums above allotted, according to their ranks.

10th. Officers losing any part of their baggage, are to give in similar certificates, according to the best of their belief and judgment, without entering into particulars, but estimating their loss at one-fourth, one-half, or three-fourths of the whole value, according to which they shall be paid the like proportion of the above sums.

11th. The whole baggage of a quarter-master of cavalry shall be estimated at 40_l._ A quarter-master losing the whole or any part of his baggage, must produce certificates from the officer commanding, and from his captain, as to the quantity of his baggage, which to the best of their belief and judgment has been lost, according to which he will receive the whole or a proportion, of the above sum of 40_l._

12th. The baggage and camp equipage of all staff officers of both cavalry and infantry, are to be valued as those of subaltern officers, except for such as are allowed a tent to themselves, whose camp equipage in that case will be valued as that of a captain.

13th. A serjeant of cavalry losing his necessaries, without any fault of his own, shall receive 2_l._ 15_s._

14th. Corporal, trumpeter, or private, 2_l._ 10_s._

15th. Serjeant of infantry, 2_l._ 10_s._

16th. Corporal, drummer, or private, 2_l._ 2_s._

17th. A servant, not being a soldier, 3_l._ 8_s._

The certificates in these five cases to be the same as in the case of the quarter-master.

Officers on actual service, whose horses shall be killed or taken by the enemy, or shall be shot for the glanders, receive allowances by way of indemnification for them, according to the following rates; viz.

Cavalry.

Heavy dragoons, first charger, 47_l._ 5_s._

Light dragoons, first ditto. 36_l._ 15_s._

Heavy or light ditto, second ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._

Quarter-master’s horse, 29_l._ 8_s._

Infantry.

Field officer’s charger, 31_l._ 10_s._

Adjutant’s ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._

Chaplain’s and subaltern’s horses, each 18_l._ 18_s._

Bat horses, (both cavalry and infantry) 18_l._ 18_s._

General officer’s first charger, 47_l._ 5_s._

Second ditto, 31_l._ 10_s._

Aids de camp, brigade majors, and other staff officers, whose situations require their keeping good horses, receive as the light dragoons.

Staff officers, for whom inferior horses are deemed sufficient, 18_l._ 18_s._

Certificates, stating the particular circumstances and causes of the loss of the horses, are to be signed by the officers themselves, and by the commanding officers of their regiments.

And the general officers commanding in chief on the different foreign stations, are to decide on the claims preferred in their respective districts of command upon the ground of this regulation, and to grant payment accordingly.

INDEMNITY, a security or exemption from penalty, loss, or punishment. It is sometimes connected with amnesty. Thus Charles the second on his restoration, endeavored to conciliate the minds of his subjects, by promising amnesty and indemnity to the different parties that had been directly active, indirectly instrumental, or passively the means of his father’s death.

To INDENT, a word particularly made use of in India for the dispatch of military business. It is of the same import and meaning as to draw or set a value upon. It likewise means an order for military stores, arms, &c. As an indent for new supplies, &c.

INDENTED line, in fortification, is a line running out and in like the teeth of a saw, forming several angles, so that one side defends another. They are used on the banks of rivers, where they enter a town; the parapet of the covert-way is also often indented.--This is by the French engineers called redans. Small places are sometimes fortified with such a line, but the fault of such fortifications is, that the besiegers from one battery may ruin both sides of the tenaille of the front of a place, and make an assault without fear of being enfiladed, since the defences are ruined.

INDEPENDENT, in a military sense, is a term which distinguishes from the rest of the army, those companies that have been raised by individuals for rank, and were afterwards drafted into corps that were short of their complement of men.

INDEPENDENT COMPANY, INDEPENDENT TROOP, is one that is not incorporated into any regiment.

INDIAN Camp. An Indian camp may be considered as one of the loosest assemblages of men, women, and children, that can perhaps, be imagined.

Every common soldier in the army is accompanied with a wife, or concubine; the officers have several, and the generals whole seraglios; besides these the army is encumbered by a number of attendants and servants, exceeding that of the fighting men; and to supply the various wants of this enervated multitude, dealers, pedlars, and retailers of all sorts, follow the camp, to whom a separate quarter is allotted, in which they daily exhibit their different commodities, in greater quantities, and with more regularity, than in any fair in Europe; all of them sitting on the ground in a line, with their merchandise exposed before them, and sheltered from the sun by a mat supported by sticks.

INDIAN Engineer. Mr. Orme, in his history of the Carnatic, affords an instance of the art of engineering being known, and cultivated by the native Indians. In page 265, he gives the following account of a place called Chinglapet, which had been fortified by an Indian engineer. Chinglapet is situated about 30 miles west of Covelong, 40 south-west of Madras, and within half a mile of the northern bank of the river Paliar. It was, and not without reason, esteemed by the natives, a very strong hold. Its outline, exclusive of some irregular projections at the gateways, is nearly a parallelogram, extending 400 yards from north to south, and 320 from east to west. The eastern and half the northern side, is covered by a continued swamp of ricefields, and the other half of the north, together with the whole of the west side, is defended by a large lake. Inaccessible in these parts, it would have been impregnable, if the south side had been equally secure; but here the ground is high, and gives advantages to an enemy.--The Indian engineer, whoever he was that erected the fort, seems to have exceeded the common reach of his countrymen in the knowlege of his art, not only by the choice of the spot, but also, by proportioning the strength of the defences, to the advantages and disadvantages of the situation: for the fortifications to the south are much the strongest, those opposite to the rice-fields, something weaker; and the part that is skirted by the lake, is defended only by a slender wall: a deep ditch 60 feet wide, and faced with stone; a fausse braye, and a stone wall 18 feet high, with round towers, on, and between the angles, form the defences to the land: nor are these all, for parallel to the south, east, and north sides of these outward works, are others of the same kind, repeated within them, and these joining to the slender wall, which runs to the west along the lake, form a second enclosure of fortification.

INDIAN Fortification. The entrance into an Indian fortification is through a large and complicated pile of buildings, projecting in the form of a parallelogram from the main rampart; and if the city has two walls, it projects beyond them both: this building consists of several continued terraces, which are of the same height as the main rampart, and communicate with it; the inward walls of these terraces, form the sides of an intricate passage about 20 feet broad, which leads by various short turnings at right angles, through the whole pile to the principal gate, that stands in the main rampart. We have extracted this passage, from the History of the Carnatic, as affording a general outline of Indian fortification. In the same place may be seen, (page 320) the following description of a battery; which was built by the English in 1753, and contributed to the preservation of Tritchinopoly, when the French attempted to storm that place.

This battery was called Dalton’s battery, from an officer of that name, who, when intrusted with the command of the garrison, had converted that part of the gateway which projected beyond the outward wall, into a solid battery, with embrasures; having the part between the two walls, as it stood with its windings and terraces: an interval was likewise left between the backside of the battery and the terrace nearest to it, which lay parallel to each other; so that an enemy who had gained the battery, could not get to the terrace, without descending into the interjacent area, and then mounting the wall of the terrace with scaling ladders: the battery, however, communicated with the rampart of the outward wall of the city, but being, as that was, only eighteen feet high, it was commanded by the terraces behind it, as well as by the rampart of the inner wall, both of which, were thirty feet high; upon one of the inward cavaliers, south of the gateway, were planted two pieces of cannon, to plunge into the battery, and scour the interval between the two walls, as far as the terraces of the gateway; and two other pieces, mounted in the north-west angle of the inward rampart, commanded in like manner, both the battery and the interval to the north of the terraces.

INDIAN Guides. According to the ingenious author of the history of the Carnatic, these men are not to be depended upon. In page 217 he relates, that on the 1st of April, 1752, at night, a captain Dalton was ordered with 400 men to march, and, by taking a large circuit, to come in at the eastern extremity of the enemy’s camp, which he was to enter, beat up, and set fire to. The English troops, from their long inactivity, knew so little of the ground about Tritchinopoly, that they were obliged to trust to Indian guides; and these being ordered to conduct them out of the reach of the enemy’s advanced posts, fell into the other extreme, and led them several miles out of their way, and through such bad roads, that when the morning star appeared, they found themselves between Elimiscram and the French rock, two miles from Chunda Saheb’s camp, and in the centre of all their posts.

INDIAN princes and their troops. Their military character may be collected from the following curious account, which is given of a circumstance that occurred in the Tanjore country, when the English obtained a signal victory over the French and Mysoreans, in 1753. The presence of the nabob being thought necessary to facilitate a negociation that was then judged expedient to undertake, he prepared to march with the English army; but on the evening he intended to quit the city, his discontented troops assembled in the outer court of the palace, and clamoring, declared, that they would not suffer him to move, before he had paid their arrears; in vain were arguments used to convince this rabble, more insolent because they had never rendered any effectual service, that his going to Tanjore was the only measure from which they could hope for a chance of receiving their pay: they remained inflexible, and threatened violence; upon which captain Dalton, a British officer, sent a messenger to the camp, from whence the grenadier company immediately marched into the city, where they were joined by 100 of the garrison of Tritchinopoly, and all together forcing their way into the palace, they got the nabob into his palanquin, and escorted him to the camp, surrounded by 200 Europeans with fixed bayonets; the malcontents not daring to offer him any outrage as he was passing, nor on the other hand, was any injury offered to them: for notwithstanding such proceedings in more civilized nations rarely happen, and are justly esteemed mutiny and treason; yet in Hindustan they are common accidents, and arise from such causes as render difficult to ascertain whether the prince or his army be most in fault. The nabob had certainly no money to pay his troops; so far from it, that the English had now for two years furnished all the expences of their own troops in the field, but it is a maxim with every prince in India, let his wealth be ever so great, to keep his army in long arrears, for fear they should desert. This apprehension is perhaps not unjustly entertained of hirelings collected from every part of a despotic empire, and insensible of notions of attachment to the prince or cause they serve; but from hence the soldiery, accustomed to excuses when dictated by no necessity, give no credit to those which are made to them, when there is a real impossibility of satisfying their demands; and a practice common to most of the princes of Hindustan, concurs not a little to increase this mistrust in all who serve them; for on the one hand, the vain notions in which they have been educated, inspire them with such a love of outward shew, and the enervating climate in which they are born, renders them so incapable of resisting the impulses of fancy; and on the other hand, the frequent reverses of fortune in this empire, dictate so strongly the necessity of hoarding resources against the hour of calamity, that nothing is more common than to see a nabob purchasing a jewel or ornament of great price, at the very time that he is in the greatest distress for money to answer the necessities of the government. Hence, instead of being shocked at the clamors of their soldiery, they are accustomed to live in expectation of them, and it is a maxim in their conduct to hear them with patience, unless the crowd proceed to violence; but in order to prevent this, they take care to attach to their interest some principal officers, with such a number of the best troops, as may serve on emergency to check the tumult, which is rarely headed by a man of distinction. But when his affairs grow desperate by the success of a superior enemy, the prince atones severely for his evasions, by a total defection of his army, or by suffering such outrages as the Nabob Mahomed-Ally would in all probability have been exposed to, had he not been rescued in the manner we have described.

Military INDICATIONS. (Indices, Fr.) Marshal Saxe very judiciously observes, that there are indications in war which every officer should attend to, and from which deductions and conclusions may be drawn with some degree of certainty. A previous knowlege of your enemy’s national character and customs, will contribute not a little towards the attainment of this object. Every country indeed has customs and usages which are peculiar to itself. Among various indications that we might adduce, let us suppose these leading ones by which the intentions of an enemy may be discovered by the garrison of a besieged town. If, for example, towards the close of day groupes or loose parties of armed men should be discovered upon the neighboring heights which overlook and command the town, you may remain assured, that some considerable attack is in agitation. Small detachments from the different corps are sent forward for this purpose, and the besieging army is thereby apprized of the business; as the heights are occupied in the evening by the parties in question, in order that they may be thoroughly acquainted with the leading avenues, &c.

When much firing is heard from an enemy’s camp, and another army lies encamped near, the latter may conclude, that an engagement will take place the following day; for it must be evident, that the soldiers are cleaning and trying their musquets.

Marshal Saxe further remarks, that a considerable movement in an enemy’s army may be discovered by any large quantity of dust, which is a sure indication of it. The reflection of the sun upon the firelocks of an army will likewise lead to some knowlege of its position. If the rays are collected and perpendicular, it is a certain indication, that the enemy is advancing towards you; if they disappear at times and cast a broken radiance, you may conclude, that he is retreating. If the troops move from right to left, their line of march is towards the left; if from left to right, the line of march is towards the right. Should considerable clouds of dust be seen to rise from an enemy’s camp, and it be ascertained, that he is in want of forage, it may fairly be inferred, that the train of waggoners and purveyors, &c. are moving, and that the whole will follow shortly.

If the enemy, observes the same writer, has his camp-ovens on the right or left, and you are covered by a small rivulet, you may make a flank disposition, and by that manœuvre, suddenly return and detach ten or twelve thousand men to demolish his ovens; and whilst you are protected by the main body of the army which is ordered to support the first detachment, you may seize upon all his flour, &c. There are innumerable stratagems of this sort which may be practised in war, and by means of which, a victory may be obtained without much bloodshed on your part, and at all events with considerable disadvantage to the enemy.

INDIES (EAST). According to the geographical description of the East Indies, they must be considered as being divided into two principal parts, viz. India within the river Ganges, and India beyond the river Ganges.

INDIA, within the river Ganges. This division consists of a country, which is situated between the latitudes of 6 and 34 degrees north, and between 53 and 91 degrees of east longitude. A great part of this space is covered with the sea. India within the Ganges is bounded on the north by Usbec Tartary, and part of Thibet, by the Indian ocean on the south; by Great Thibet, India beyond the Ganges, and the bay of Bengal on the east, and by Persia and the Indian ocean on the west. The chief mountains are those of Caucasus, Naugracut, and Balahaut, which run almost the whole length of India from north to south.

INDIA beyond the Ganges. This division consists of a country, which is situated between the latitudes of one and 30 degrees north, and between the longitudes of 89 and 109 degrees east. Great part of these limits is covered by the sea. It is bounded on the north by Thibet and China, by China and the Chinese sea on the east; by the same sea and the streights of Malacca on the south, and by the bay of Bengal and part of India on the west.

To enter into the extent of the British possessions in this quarter of the globe, would be to exceed the limits of our undertaking in a considerable degree, without materially aiding its principal object, which is military information. We shall therefore content ourselves with giving, in a brief and succinct manner, a view of those establishments which constitutes the Indian army.

According to the last printed oriental register, the army in India is composed of one corps of engineers, two artillery regiments, eight regiments of cavalry, two regiments of European infantry, and forty regiments of native infantry, divided into brigades of 6 regiments each.

The military board consists of one lieutenant-general, two major-generals, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, two captains and one lieutenant.

The military offices and departments are superintended by one military auditor-general, one deputy military auditor-general, one first assistant and accomptant, one military pay-master general, one deputy pay-master general, one adjutant-general, one deputy adjutant-general, one secretary to the military board, one first assistant, one quarter-master general, one deputy quarter-master general, one surveyor general, one assistant to ditto, one judge-advocate general, one deputy judge-advocate at Dinapore and Chunar, one ditto at Cawnpore and Futtygur, one superintendant of powder-works, one assistant ditto.

The army stations in India, with their appropriate public staffs are;--

Fort-William, under one major-general commanding at the presidency, who has one aid-de-camp, one head surgeon, one chaplain, one pay-master; and we presume, one brigade-major.

Barrackpore, under one captain commandant, who has one brigade-major, and one chaplain.

Berhampore, under one major-general, who commands the station, and has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one chaplain, and one deputy pay-master.

Dinapore, under one major-general, who has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one pay-master, one head surgeon, and one chaplain.

Chunar, under one major-general officer, who commands the station, and has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one head surgeon, one deputy pay-master, and one chaplain.

Cawnpore, under one major-general who commands the station, and who has one secretary and Persian interpreter in the field, one aid-de-camp, one head surgeon, one brigade-major, one deputy pay-master, and one chaplain.

Futty Ghur, under one major-general commanding, who has one aid-de-camp, one brigade-major, one surgeon, one chaplain, and one pay-master.

Hydrabad detachment, under the command of one lieutenant-colonel, one major of brigade, one deputy commissary of ordnance, one deputy pay-master, and one Persian interpreter.

Prince of Wales’s Island, under one captain commandant, one captain subordinate to him, one lieutenant, who is deputy commissary of ordnance, one pay-master, one engineer, having the rank of lieutenant, one surgeon, and one assistant-surgeon.

The cantonments and garrisons consist of the following:--

Barrackpore, where there is one barrack-master.

Berhampore, where there is one barrack-master, and one engineer.

Dinapore, with one barrack-master, and one engineer.

Midnapore, with one adjutant and quarter-master.

Fort-William, with one fort-major, one barrack-master, one fort-adjutant, one garrison store-keeper, one surgeon, and one assistant surgeon.

Monghyr, under one major-general, who commands; one fort-adjutant, one engineer, and one surgeon.

Buxar, under one major-general commandant, one fort-adjutant, and one assistant surgeon.

Chunar, with one fort-adjutant, and barrack-master, one engineer, and one garrison store-keeper.

Allahhabad, with one lieutenant-colonel commandant, one fort adjutant, and one barrack-master.

There is likewise, an establishment for European invalids at Chunar, consisting at present, of one captain from the first company of artillery, two captains from the third company of infantry, two lieutenants, two ensigns, one adjutant, and one quarter-master.

The medical department of India consists of an hospital board, under one first member and director of the hospitals, one second member of the hospital board, one secretary, one surgeon and apothecary, one assistant surgeon and deputy apothecary, one purveyor and contractor for bedding and clothing, one head surgeon at head quarters, and six hospital mates.

The armed force of the East Indies independent of the troops sent from Europe, consists in a marine battalion which has six companies stationed at Bengal, one company at Fort-Marlborough, and one at the Prince of Wales’s Island. There is likewise a battalion distinguished by the name of the Ramghur battalion, and a corps of hill rangers. To which must be added the Calcutta native militia, the Hindustan cavalry, and three volunteer battalions serving in the Carnatic.--The Calcutta militia, properly so called, is commanded by the right honorable the governor general. This establishment consists of one troop of cavalry; one infantry battalion, one Armenian corps, and one Portuguese corps.

The general staff of India in 1800, consisted of one commander in chief, one military auditor general, one military paymaster general, one adjutant general, one quarter-master general, one judge-advocate general, two deputies at Dinapore and Chunar, and Cawnpore, and Futtyghur, one surveyor general, one military secretary to the governor general, four aids-de-camp to the governor general, two aids-de-camp to the commander in chief, one secretary to the commander in chief, one surgeon to the commander in chief, one Persian translator to the commander in chief.

INDOSTAN. This word properly spelled Hindustan; from Stan a country, and Hindus the people; usually called India.

INEXPUGNABLE. See IMPREGNABLE.

INFAMOUS behaviour, (infamie, Fr.) a term peculiarly applicable to military life when it is affected by dishonorable conduct. Hence the expression which is used in the Articles of War, relative to scandalous infamous behaviour; on conviction of which, an officer is ordered to be cashiered. Infamy may be attached to an officer or soldier in a variety of ways; and some countries are more tenacious than others on this head. Among European nations it has always been deemed infamous and disgraceful to abandon the field of action, or to desert the colors, except in cases of the greatest emergency. In Germany, a mark of infamy was attached to the character of every man that was found guilty of misbehaviour before the enemy. He could not assist at the public sacrifices, nor be present at a court-martial. Many destroyed themselves in consequence of the ignominy they suffered on these occasions. According to the old French salique law, any person who should upbraid another with having fled from the field of battle, and not be able to prove it, was heavily fined.

Among the Romans the punctilious nicety of military fame was carried to a much higher pitch. It was considered as infamous and disgraceful to be taken prisoner, and a Roman soldier was impressed with the idea, that he must either conquer or die in the field. Regulus, the Roman general, was so much influenced by these high sentiments, that when the Carthagenians by whom he had been taken prisoner, sent him to Rome, in order to arrange certain conditions of peace, he deemed himself unworthy to appear in the senate, notwithstanding that his fellow citizens invited him to the sitting. The advice which he gave his countrymen, and the punishment he suffered on his return to Carthage are well known.

Although these notions have considerably degenerated among the moderns, the military character is nevertheless so far elevated above every other profession in life, that the slightest imputation of cowardice or dishonor is sufficient to affect it. Among the French the most punctilious nicety is observed; so much so, that the common soldier considers himself superior to the lower orders of mankind, and will resent a blow or a lie with a pertinacity of honor, that puts him upon a level with the most scrupulous duellist. How far this sense or honor ought to be encouraged in the ranks we will not pretend to determine. But we shall scarcely be found fault with, or run the hazard of contradiction, when we assert, that no officer ought to hold a commission in any service, who can either take or give the lie, or receive a blow without resenting the insult in the most summary manner. For we may pronounce, that man incapable of doing justice to the service, who can be insensible himself. Nor does the term infamous apply in this instance only. There are various cases, in which the conduct of an officer may render him unworthy of the situation he fills: such as cheating at play, taking unfair advantages of youth, imposing upon the credulity or confidence of a tradesman, habitual drunkenness, flagrant breaches of hospitality, &c.

INFANTRY, (Infanterie, Fr.) This term being little understood with respect to its derivation, and having by some writers been either vaguely interpreted, or erroneously traced, we think it our duty to give the best, and we presume, the only correct explanation of the word. In so doing we should be unthankful to one of the most acute observers in life, and one of the closest reasoners, were we to omit acknowleging that we have been favored by the ingenious and learned author of the Diversions of Purley, with the following account of its derivation.

Johnson generally states, that infantry are foot soldiers belonging to the army; and the compilers of other dictionaries content themselves with assimilating the term infantry to the name of a Spanish princess, who marched at the head of a body of Spaniards on foot, and defeated the Moors. She was called Infanta. Our learned friend, on the contrary, traces it to the source of genuine etymology, and grounds his opinion upon the best authorities. His first root is from the Greek phe-mi, Latin, Fa-ri, participle Fans--In-fans; Italian, Infante, by abridgment, Fante; Infanteria, by abridgment, Fanteria; French, Infanterie; English, Infantry.

It is still in French and in English a common expression to soldiers, allons mes enfans, come on my lads, (or my boys). So a servant is called a lad or a boy (and formerly a knave or a page), although a full grown man.

The military profession is still called service; and a soldier is said to serve in the army.

Skinner says well;--“The infantry, Fr. G. infanterie; Italian, fanteria, peditatus: fante, pedes et famulus; quia scilicet olim pedites equitum famuli, vel pedissequi fuerunt.--fante autem a Lat. Infans, manifeste ortum ducit. Et nos Boy, non tantum pro puero sed et pro famulo, secundario sensu usurpamus.”

After which he refers us to Lansquenet.

A Lansquenet, a Fr. G. Lansquenet, pedes, miles, gregarius, utr. a Teut. Lance, lancea, et Knecht, servus: olim enim pedites equitum lanceariorum quasi servi erunt; et quilibet eques quatuor vel quinque pedites, tanquam famulos circumduxit. Exercitus autem numero equitum, non peditum censebantur.

Vide Comineum et alios illorum seculorum Scriptores.

It appears, that Machiavelli, in his Arte della Guerra, sufficiently points out what, and how considered, the infantry were in his time, when he says (libro primo) “Venuta la pace, che i gentil huomini alla loro particolare arte.”

It is plain, the fanti were huomini bassi, e soldati gregarii, i. e. hired servants, and therefore called fanti, and the corps fanteria. The term infantry was given to them when they were considered merely as lads attending on the army: and the term has continued, though their condition is altered.

From these sensible observations, it is evident that although the primary sources of infantry are in the Greek and Latin languages, its modern derivation is from the Italian word fante, which signifies a follower. In the first stages of modern warfare, battles were chiefly fought by cavalry or horsemen; but in Italy, and afterwards in Spain, the bodies of horse were always attended by a certain number of squires or armed men on foot, who marched in the rear and assisted their leaders.

Boccacio mentions the latter under the term fanteria, and other Italian writers, one of whom we have already quoted, call it infanteria, both being derived from fante. Nothing can be more out of date, out of place, and superficial than to imagine that because the Spaniards have recorded a gallant action, which was performed by an infanta of that nation, the rest of Europe should bury the real etymology of infantry beneath the flimsy texture of court adulation. It is, besides, extremely erroneous to state, that until that period men did not fight on foot. It is well known that the Greeks and Romans frequently placed the greatest confidence in men of that description. The former had their Hoplitai, their Psiloi, and their Peltastai; and the latter their Celeres, Velites, Hastati, Principes, and Triarii, or Pisarii. The French word Fantassin which signifies a foot soldier, is manifestly derived from fante.

Until the reign of Charles the VIIth. the French infantry were extremely defective; so much so, that Brantome says in one part of his works, the infantry could not be considered as essentially useful to the security of the state. For it consisted in those days, of marauts, belistres mal armés, mal complexionnés; fenéans, pillards et mangeurs du peuple: which may be thus rendered in plain English: lads, rascals, and vagabonds, scoundrels ill equipped and ill looking, filchers, plunderers, and devourers of the people.

Europe however is unquestionably indebted to the Swiss for a total change in the military system particularly so with regard to foot soldiers.

Dr. Robertson in the first volume of his history of Charles V. p. 105, observes that the system of employing the Swiss in the Italian wars, was the occasion of introducing a total innovation in the military custom. The arms and discipline of the Swiss were different from those of other European nations. During their long and violent struggles in defence of their liberties against the house of Austria, whose armies, like those of other considerable princes, consisted chiefly of heavy-armed cavalry, the Swiss found that their poverty, and the small number of gentlemen residing in their country, at that time barren and ill cultivated, put it out of their power to bring into the field any body of horse capable of facing the enemy. Necessity compelled them to place all their confidence in infantry, and in order to render it capable of withstanding the shock of cavalry, they gave the soldiers breast-plates and helmets, as defensive armor, together with long spears, halberts, and heavy swords, as weapons of offence. They formed them into large battalions, ranged in deep and close array, so that they could present on every side a formidable front to the enemy. (See Machiavel’s Art of War, b. ii. chap. ii. p. 451.) The men at arms could make no impression on the solid strength of such a body. It repulsed the Austrians in all their attempts to conquer Swisserland. It broke the Burgundian gendarmerie, which was scarcely inferior to that of France, either in number or reputation; and when first called to act in Italy, it bore down by its irresistable force, every enemy that attempted to oppose it. These repeated proofs of the decisive effect of infantry, exhibited on such conspicuous occasions, restored that service to reputation, and gradually re-established the opinion which had been long exploded, of its superior importance in the operations of war. But the glory the Swiss had acquired, having inspired them with such high ideas of their own prowess and consequence, as frequently rendered them mutinous and insolent, the princes who employed them became weary of depending on the caprice of foreign mercenaries, and began to turn their attention towards the improvement of their national infantry.

The German powers having the command of men, whom nature has endowed with that steady courage and persevering strength which form them to be soldiers, soon modelled their troops in such a manner, that they vied with the Swiss both in discipline and valor.

The French monarch, though more slowly, and with greater difficulty, accustomed the impetuous spirit of their people to subordination and discipline; and were at such pains to render their national infantry respectable, that as early as the reign of Louis XII. several gentlemen of high rank had so far abandoned their ancient ideas, as to condescend to enter into their service.

The Spaniards, whose situation made it difficult to employ any other than their national troops in the southern parts of Italy, which was the chief scene of their operations in that country, not only adopted the Swiss discipline, but improved upon it, by mingling a proper number of soldiers, armed with heavy musquets, in their battalions; and thus formed that famous body of infantry, which, during a century and a half, was the admiration and terror of all Europe. The Italian states gradually diminished the number of their cavalry, and, in imitation of their more powerful neighbors, brought the strength of their armies to consist in foot soldiers. From this period the nations of Europe have carried on war with forces more adapted to every species of service, more capable of acting in every country, and better fitted both for conquests, and for preserving them. See Robertson’s View of the State of Europe, book I., pages 105 and 107.

INFANTERIE aventuriere, Fr. a species of French infantry, which succeeded to the legions that were established under Francis I. in imitation of the Roman legions. This infantry was kept up as late as during the reign of Henry IV. when the whole of the foot establishment was reduced into regiments.

Heavy-armed INFANTRY, among the ancients, were such as wore a complete suit of armor, and engaged with broad shields and long spears. They were the flower and strength of the Grecian armies, and had the highest rank of military honor.

Light-armed INFANTRY, amongst the ancients, were designed for skirmishes, and for fighting at a distance. Their weapons were arrows, darts, or slings.

Light INFANTRY have only been in use since the year 1656. They have no camp equipage to carry, and their arms and accoutrements are much lighter than the common infantry, or battalion men. Wherever there is light cavalry, there should be light infantry to act in conjunction.

Foreign INFANTRY (Infanterie étrangere, Fr.) Foreign troops were taken into pay, during the old monarchy of France, at a very early period. In the reign of Philip surnamed le Bel or the handsome, treatises and agreements were severally entered into for this purpose, with John Bailleul king of Scotland, Eric king of Norway, Albert duke of Austria, and many other German princes, and with Humbert duke of Viennois.

Philip of Valois likewise made use of foreign troops, and under Louis XI. the Swiss were taken into French pay; since that period and until the revolution, which was accomplished on the 10th of August, 1792, several regiments were maintained under the different denominations of Swiss, German, Italian, Catalonian, Scotch and Irish corps or brigades. During the present war the same system has been more or less adopted by the British government. Independent of foreign subsidies, it has been judged expedient to admit foreigners of rank, and we presume, of military merit, within those native limits, from whence heretofore every stranger was jealously excluded. A reference to the official army list will readily point out the corps that come under this description. With respect to the 60th or loyal American, it is necessary to observe, that the original principles upon which those battalions were established, have been totally altered. One battalion in particular, instead of being called American, should be named German. For the colonel is a German by birth and education, and the majority of the corps are from that country.

In thus adverting to the 60th regiment, we think it right to explain away an absurd and contradictory opinion, which has prevailed of late years to the prejudice of that gallant corps. It has been called the condemned regiment, from an idle, and unfounded notion, that the different battalions, though forming a considerable part of the British infantry, were excluded from home service, on account of some imputed misconduct. Their uniform good behaviour is a sufficient refutation to the latter supposition; and when we state that at the close of the American war, the battalions of the 60th were formed for the express purpose of garrisoning the British possessions in Canada, and as the means of providing for those Americans who had suffered by their attachment to the royal cause, we may leave the subject without further explanation; merely adding, that instead of being exiled from Europe, they have during the present war, done duty in Ireland and at the Isle of Wight. With respect to foreign troops in the pay of and actually serving in Great Britain; there are five Dutch regiments under two Dutch generals, which in every sense of the word, come under the description of foreign infantry. Indeed from the general convulsed state of Europe, and the gradual introduction of coercive measures, the business of arms seems necessarily to have taken an ascendancy over every other calling or profession.

The foreign infantry, in the service of Great Britain, according to the returns delivered in on the 1st of November 1800, consisted of loyal French emigrants, Castries, Mortemart, Roll, and Dillon; Meuron ditto; four ditto Dutch, each having a company of artillery attached, and one Dutch rifle with a company of pioneers; Lowenstien’s corps, which was not completed, and one corps of foreign invalids. Staff to a foreign hospital. There were besides sixteen unattached foreign officers who received full pay, 166 ditto on half pay, 504 aged and wounded ditto, 46 foreign officers widows, 44 children of foreign officers who died in the king’s service. There was also a small corps of estafettes, which were attached to the waggon train, and consisted wholly of foreigners.

The Turkish INFANTRY (Infanterie Turque, Fr.) is generally composed of regiments that are chosen or select. This body is first divided into two parts called Capikuli and Serratkuli. The militia, which is named Capikuli, is subdivided into Janizaries, Agemolans, Topeys, Gebegys and Sakkas. The agemolans constitute the military school, in which young men, destined for the corps of Janizaries, are educated; The Topeys are Turkish cannoniers, the Gebegys are armorers, and the Sakkas are water carriers.

The Serratkuli infantry is composed of Azapes, Izarelys, Seimenys, Lagumgys and Musellims. Count de Marsilly in his Etat militaire de l’Empire Ottoman, gives the following account of these corps.

The Porte being convinced, that the body of Janizaries was not sufficiently strong to garrison all the frontier places belonging to the Turkish empire, established in the different provinces new corps of infantry, whose duty was similar to that of the Janizaries, in camp and garrison. These corps were maintained at the expence of each Beglerbey or principality. Some writers have inconsiderately confounded this corps with that of the Janizaries, merely distinguishing it by the name of Capikuli. It differs, however, very materially from them, being superior in the formation of its divisions, more celebrated for the valor of its troops, and in every respect better disciplined.

This corps is not upon the same footing as the militia called Capikuli. It is, in general under the direction of the Bachas of the different provinces, the command of which is given to those persons who are either the particular friends of the Bachas, or have the means of bribing handsomely for the appointments. This militia does not receive any pay, unless it be actively employed, and its subsistence in that case is drawn from the provinces, much in the same manner as British militia is from the different counties, at the monthly meetings. With regard to its institution, the principal object of it is to support the Janizaries, and to replace them, when vacancies occur.

The Serratkuli infantry, is divided into Azapes, Izarelys, Seimenys, Lagumgys, and Musellims.

The number of the Azapes is not particularly fixed. They consist chiefly of independent companies, which are distributed among the different departments of the Turkish empire. They are distinguished among their own people by the different names of the week, and are divided into as many odas or companies.

These odas or companies are indiscriminately subject to the orders of two general officers, viz. the Azape-Agasi who is commander in chief of the Azapes, and the Azape-Kiatiby their commissary general, who keeps a register of their names and countries.

They obey subordinate officers called derys, oda-baschys, and bairactars. There are ten derys attached to each company, who may be properly considered as corporals, entrusted with the discipline of the soldiers. The bairactars are the standard-bearers. Each standard belonging to an oda or company consists of a horse’s tail, which hangs from the end of a lance, that is capped with a gilt ball. The officers are moreover directed to superintend the messes belonging to their different companies.

It is usual for each azape to be a native of the province, in which he serves, and he is generally clothed after the fashion of the country. At Buda the azapes were ordered to be dressed in the Hungarian manner, which consisted in a cloth cap bordered with skin, a sabre, an arquebus or fusil: which similarity of dress and accoutrement has frequently confounded the azapes with Hungarian christians.

The isarelys are chiefly employed in the frontier towns, and have charge of the artillery in the room of the topeys or cannoniers. They are under the direction and command of an artillery officer, who is sent from Constantinople and is called Topey-Agasi.

Their number is uncertain, and they are not subdivided, as their employment depends wholly upon the quality and quantity of artillery that are used. One man is attached to small field pieces, and two to those of larger calibre; so that instead of being distributed by companies, they are ordered upon duty according to the nature and number of the ordnance.

They have no other officer, besides the one already mentioned, attached to them, which officer is subordinate to the Bacha of the province, as their service does not require subaltern officers. The Bolukys-Baschys are officers merely employed to bring orders from the general officers, but they cannot interfere in the direction or management of the artillery.

The Seimenys are the least respected body belonging to this national militia, being composed wholly of peasants, that are called out and enrolled like the supplementary militia of Great Britain, in cases of extreme necessity. They are only in fact considered as a mass of people serving to increase the number of troops, without having any credit for military skill or valor. They consist of Turks, Greeks, and even of Roman Catholics, who enrol themselves in order to be exempted from the annual tax.

Their only chief or commanding officer, is the bacha of the province. The seimenys belonging to Natolia are all Mahomedans. They are called Jajas, or men on foot, and although they do not receive any pay, except when embodied, they are nevertheless divided into Bairacts or standards, which are similar to the Odat, and they obey their Seimeny-Boluk-Beschy, who commands sixty men that are attached to his standard, and to the Bairactar, who escorts the standard, which is generally red and of a moderate size.

The seimenys usually do duty in camp and garrison. For although the Turks place little confidence in christians, yet there have been instances wherein their services have been required on very important occasions. At the siege of Vienna they employed Christian troops, and increased their infantry by those means very considerably; they even formed a reserve from troops of that description; and their conduct was such, that they acquired a marked reputation by the obstinate resistance which they made at Colemberg.

These troops, however, are in general ill-armed; having only rough polished sabres, and very indifferent arquebusses with locks, or bad fusils of different sizes, and consequently of little use in the hands of such men.

The Lagumgys are what we call miners: This body is chiefly composed of Armenians and christians, out of Greece or Bosnia, who being in the habit of mining, are extremely serviceable in that line, and act under the immediate direction of some old officers called lagumgys-baschys or chiefs of the miners. Some particular privileges are annexed to these appointments.

The Musellims are christian tributaries, whose duty is to march before the advanced guard of the army, to clear the roads and to construct bridges for the passage of the troops. On this account they are called pioneers.

The bachas of the different Turkish towns pay great attention to these musellims or pioneers. They not only exempt them from all taxes, but even give them lands and freeholds. By a particular privilege which is attached to this corps, only five out of thirty are obliged to do duty on a march, and they are then joined to the carpenters, which renders the service less fatiguing. Their number is not fixed. It depends indeed, more or less, upon the population of the different provinces, and on the extent of land which may be disposed of in their favor.

They are commanded by a bas-musellim or principal person belonging to the exempts, whose only duty is to superintend the regular discharge of their functions.

Those, however, belonging to Natolia are subject to the bey or sangiah, who superintends the distribution of their subsistence, &c. in the same manner that he does that of the cavalry which is attached to his department.

The only weapon they carry is a hatchet; but the neighboring villages or the public magazines belonging to the artillery, are obliged to supply them with pickaxes and other tools that may be wanted in their profession. They are strictly forbidden the use of a sabre or fusil.

Whenever the Turkish army is on its march, the musellims are obliged to go forward every preceding day, in order to prepare the way for its progress.

During a siege they are frequently attached to the garrison guns, which they work in the best manner they can; and when a town is besieged by the Turks, the musellims are employed in the trenches, from which duty they derive considerable profit; so much so, that the Janizaries are extremely jealous of them on these occasions. They are, in a word, the most formidable body of infantry which the Turks possess; for the groundwork of every species of attack or defence, and the management of all warlike machines rest upon their exertions.

The INFERNAL. Strada gives a very curious and interesting account of this machine, in his history of the Belgic war.

The infernal was tried by the English at Dunkirk and St. Maloes, and by the Dutch and English under king William. It is likewise mentioned by Grose in his history of the English army.

The only time during the present war at which its dreadful powers have been attempted, was in the month of December, 1800, when a conspiracy was formed and emissaries under the direction of one Jackson, sent from London to destroy Bonaparte. It failed as to its immediate objects, but proved by its collateral effects, that the invention is as destructive as the most sanguine destroyer of the human race could wish.

To INFEST, infester, Fr. This word is more strictly applicable to places than to things.

To INFEST a place (infester un lieu) signifies to frequent any particular spot for the evident purpose of doing damage, to create uneasiness and to commit depredations. Thus free-booters or thieves are said to infest places.

INFINIMENT PETIT, Fr. Infinitely small. Modern calculators call, by this name, every thing which is so exiguous that it cannot be compared to any other quantity, or which is smaller than any other assignable quantity. The new calculation which has been adopted among geometricians respecting quantities that are infinitely small; is called the calculation of infinitesimals.

INFIRMARY. See HOSPITAL.

INFLUENCE of example. In a military sense the influence of example is of the greatest consequence. We have already spoken generally on the necessity of good example (see EXAMPLE); we think it proper further to observe, that the influence which every action of a commanding officer bears, is of so much importance to the service, as to render it incumbent upon every superior person to consider its effects upon the mind and conduct of an inferior. A circumstance once occurred, which is frequently quoted. It was briefly this: an officer happening to appear upon the parade without being strictly uniform as to dress, was ordered to fall out. Some little time after the commanding officer (by whom the subaltern had been noticed) was himself irregularly dressed; the latter availed himself of an opportunity to mention the circumstance in a familiar and good-humored manner; upon which the former very shrewdly replied--It is true, sir, that I am not strictly in uniform to-day, but you will be pleased to recollect, that I have the commanding officer’s leave. The repartee was not amiss, as it conveyed at the same time a sound piece of advice to every inferior officer; but it did not justify the deviation. An admiral, from motives, we conceive, of duty, as well as principles of economy, was so tenacious of regularity, that rather than appear not strictly correct, he has been known to have a second naval uniform, made of coarse flannel, which he constantly wore on board. Notwithstanding this laudable instance, it is well known, that both in the army and navy, the repartee of the commanding officer has been frequently used.

INFORMERS. Soldiers who give information of false musters, or of pay illegally detained, are entitled to their discharge. See MUTINY ACT, sections 27 and 69.

INGINEER. See ENGINEER.

INGENIEUR, Fr. Ingineer. See ENGINEER.

INGENIEUR par rapport à l’architecture civile, Fr. An engineer who may be properly called an adept in civil architecture. A person of this description was always employed among the French. He was a skilful and intelligent man, perfectly master of mechanics; by which means he could invent machines for the purpose of increasing propellents, so as either to draw or to raise heavy loads with facility, or to elevate and direct the course of waters.

INGENIEUR en architecture militaire, Fr. An engineer who is perfectly master of military architecture. The term itself points out, that the requisite qualifications are ingenuity, skill, and an apt talent at invention. The French, in former times, made use of the word ingeigneur instead of ingenieur; deriving the former from engin, which originally signified a machine amongst them, and has since been adopted by us. All warlike machines, such as cannons, &c. were, in fact, called engines, because they were, for the most part, invented by engineers. So that even the word engin, Fr. and engine comes from the Latin engenium, or invention. These machines were, indeed, frequently called in bad Latin ingenia. Hence the etymology of ingenieur. The situation of ingenieur, among the French, has always been deemed extremely honorable. They have always risen to the highest posts in the army, and their skill and judgment have always been thought indispensibly necessary in all the operations of war. We have already pointed out, under the article ENGINEER, the outlines of this important character. We only regret, that the limits of our undertaking will not admit the very sensible observations which are to be found under the head INGENIEUR in several French publications.

The French, and after them several other nations, have formed their engineers into select corps; the French call them corps de Genie.

INGENIEUR Directure, Fr. A responsible person in the old French service, whose duty was to superintend and take charge of a certain number of fortified towns or places, and to transmit a regular account of the actual state of the works, and to represent whatever might appear defective, or stand in need of repair.

INGENIEUR en Chef, Fr. chief engineer. It was the business of this officer to superintend the construction of all sorts of military works, having several subordinate engineers under him to assist and put his plans into execution. In order to make some distinction between the man of skill and genius, and the mere pretenders to knowlege in this great branch of military acquirements, it was usual, during the monarchy of France, to call all engineers that were acknowleged by government, ingenieurs ordinaires du roi, engineers in ordinary to the king.

The usual pay of the French engineers was, from vingt ecus or two pounds ten shillings up to one hundred ecus or 4_l._ 10_s._ English, per month, according to each individual’s length of service, peculiar talents, or appointment. Persons were received as engineers by the superintendant of the board of ordnance, after having passed a mathematical examination; and the situation was the more eagerly sought after, inasmuch as it led to the highest military post; as that of marshal of France, to which the celebrated Vauban was promoted.

In 1755, the French engineers were formed into one corps, under the name of the royal corps of artillery and engineers; the principal officers of which communicated with the secretary of war, and received through him the king’s orders.

No country has ever paid so much attention to the art of engineering, as France has under all her vicissitudes; and this has arisen not so much from a natural predilection to that peculiar study, as from a conviction of its utility in all warlike operations, but most especially in sieges. This class of military men was, however, extremely neglected, until the reign of Louis the XIVth. Few ever saw, or were present at above five or six sieges; being either wounded at the beginning, or during the operations of a siege. They seldom indeed, witnessed the termination of it; and from the want of engineers, the investment of a town or fortified place became tedious, and many lives were unnecessarily lost. Louis the XIVth, by his personal appearance and attention gave fresh life to his army, and instilled into every part of it a spirit of subordination, which had been hitherto unknown. He was actuated by a thorough conviction, that in every species of offensive and defensive operation the use of artillery, under the guidance of scientific men, was essentially requisite. In no instance however, does the skill of an able engineer appear so much to advantage as in the attack of a fortified place. This the king witnessed himself, and on that account he considerably increased the number of engineers. Persons of the first distinction became candidates for situations in that honorable body.

Whenever there was a deficiency during a siege of subordinate engineers or ingénieurs en second, it was usual among the French to select lieutenants or sub-lieutenants from the different infantry corps to superintend the works, and to see that the workmen did their duty. They received an additional pay of ten ecus, or one pound five shillings per month, in consideration of this extra service, and their being selected in this manner was a sure step to the rank and emoluments of an engineer. It has been very justly observed by a French writer, that every infantry officer should be acquainted with field fortification at least; for a thousand instances occur, in which the immediate assistance of an engineer is required, and to which in actual service, it is impossible for the regularly bred officer of that establishment to pay personal attention. We allude among other cases, to the temporary defence of out-posts, to the laying and springing of fougasses, &c.

Before the revolution, the frontier towns and other fortified places belonging to France were under the direction of 350 engineers, called ingénieurs du roi, who were subordinate to one director general.

All instructions relative to the fortifications passed through the latter officer to the king.

All engineers were subject to the orders that the commissary general thought proper to issue, with respect to the attack or defence of places, the construction of works, &c. and they were further directed to see, that all the necessary implements for a siege were duly provided. They gave in a weekly report to the director general of the progress and state of the works, and had authority to draw upon the treasury for whatever sums were wanted to pay the contractors. Every engineer was particularly enjoined to see that the contractors furnished good materials.

INGLEZ, Ind. The English are so called by the natives of Bengal: they are frequently called Feringhees, that is strangers, Wullaget, which signifies to the country. Americans are called Nia-Feringhees, or new strangers, or foreigners.

INHIBITION. See EMBARGO.

INN-HOLDERS. In England, persons who have a licence to enable them to sell spirituous liquors, beer, &c. and who are obliged by the conditions specified in that license, to provide victuals and beer for military men, under certain restrictions. See 39th and 40th Geo. III. Cap. 27. Art. XLI. XLII. XLIII.

INIMICAL, hostile.

INLISTING, the act of engaging soldiers, to serve either in the cavalry, infantry, or artillery. For the regulations respecting the inlisting soldiers, see RECRUITING.

INNONDER, Fr. See INUNDATE.

INQUIRY. See COURTS of.

INROAD, incursion, sudden and desultory invasion.

INSCONSED, in the military art. When any part of an army has fortified itself with a sconce, or small work, in order to defend some pass, &c. it is said to be insconsed.

INSIDE guard, a guard with the broad sword, to secure the face and front of the body, from a cut made at the inside of the position above the wrist. See BROADSWORD.

INSPECTEUR, Fr. Inspector. Military inspectors were originally instituted among the French, after the peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1668. Two persons at that epoch occupied this important situation; one being called inspector general of cavalry, and the other inspector general of infantry. Louis XIV. under whom France assumed over the rest of Europe a preponderance of military character, increased the number of inspectors, and ordered them to be distributed in the different departments for the purpose of reviewing the troops every month, and of transmitting to him a regular statement of their effective force, &c.

It was the duty of these inspectors to examine minutely at the commencement of every month the state of each regiment, to look at the books belonging to the several companies, and to mark out such men as did not appear fit for the service. Each inspector had a separate dwelling-house allotted to him in the garrison town of his department, and he had the power, on giving previous notice to the governor, of ordering the men under arms. A brigade major delivered to him every evening the orders of the day.

Inspectors general of this description ranked with the army, without bearing any direct commission, and in time of war, they were acknowleged as general officers, brigadiers, or colonels.

Their inspection did not extend to the troops of the household, the French, or Swiss guards, nor to the regiment du Roi infanterie. The artillery were also out of their superintendance.

Previous to the French revolution, there were eleven inspectors of infantry, and eleven of cavalry attached to the French army. There was likewise one inspector general of infantry, and one inspector general of cavalry.

INSPECTEUR de construction, Fr. an officer in the French army, in whose presence all plans and profiles for fortification, &c. were drawn, before any work could be undertaken. An accurate estimate was made of the wood which would be required to complete it. It was likewise a part of his duty to point out to the carpenters the precise method by which ground, plans, and elevations, forts, batteries, and bridges, &c. were to be conducted. It was his business, in a word, to attend to the construction and repair of every part of a fortification.

INSPECTING officer of a district, a responsible character, selected from the line, who is nominated by the war-office, to superintend the troops, stations, and recruiting parties, within the limits of his station.

Field officers of districts may order detachment courts-martial, to be composed of the recruiting officers in their districts, in the usual number and ranks, and they may approve of every such court martial, and to direct the punishment awarded thereby to be executed, mitigated or remitted, as they shall think expedient. They are to receive orders from the adjutant general respecting the nature of their returns; and all returns and reports are to come to the inspector general through them. Each district field officer in the British service has an allowance of ten shillings a day, in addition to the full pay of his respective regimental rank, and he is to be reimbursed for the actual expence he incurs for stationary and postage of letters; which charge must be accompanied by a certificate upon honor.

Each district field officer is allowed to appoint a subaltern officer (not employed upon the recruiting service) to act as adjutant in the district. The pay or allowance of such subaltern is three shillings a day in addition to his full regimental pay; he is also authorised to nominate two serjeants, with the additional pay of sixpence each, one to act as serjeant major, and the other as clerk to the district.

Each field officer may moreover give directions to the hospital mate, who is placed under his orders, to examine the recruits when brought for inspection, and to give such medical assistance as may be in his power, to the several recruiting parties in the district he belongs to.

When colonels of regiments take upon themselves the whole direction of the recruiting service for their own corps, they must conform to the regulations which require returns to be made to the inspector general of the recruiting service; and they must instruct their officers to send weekly returns to the regulating field officer, in whose district they are stationed, of all the casualties that have occurred.

INSPECTION, a strict examination, a close survey. It likewise signifies superintendance. In a military sense it admits of both interpretations, and may be considered under two specific heads, each of which branches out into a variety of general, regimental, and company duties.

A general INSPECTION is made annually by the reviewing generals of districts. Every regiment, on this occasion, is minutely looked into, and a faithful account must be delivered by each commanding officer of the actual state of his regiment, together with all the casualties that have occurred during the current year. The interior economy of the corps is not only investigated to the bottom, but the discipline of the men is likewise examined. For a more particular explanation of the latter, see REVIEW.

Regimental INSPECTION is made once a month by the commanding officer. The clothing, the necessaries, arms, and accoutrements belonging to the different companies are examined by the lieutenant colonel or major of the corps. Specific returns are made by the officers commanding troops or companies, by whom the debts and credits of the men, which have been made up and accounted for on the 24th day in each month, in infantry regiments, and on the 24th day in each second month in cavalry corps, are exhibited for examination at head quarters. This forms the groundwork or basis of the general inspection, at which the troop or company book should always be produced.

Private INSPECTION of companies is the first step towards the other two, and ought to be made every Monday morning, by each officer commanding a troop or company, or by his subaltern.

INSPECTION of necessaries is an examination of the different articles which every soldier is directed to have in good repair. The regular or established proportion of necessaries that each soldier of cavalry and infantry is to be in possession of on the 24th day of each month, to entitle him to receive the balance that may be then due to him, consists of the following articles.

Cavalry.--3 shirts, 2 pair of shoes, 3 pair of stockings, one pair of gaiters, 1 forage cap, 1 saddle-bag, one pair of canvas, or woollen over-hose, 1 canvas, or woollen frock or jacket, 1 stock, 1 black-ball, 2 brushes, 1 curry-comb and brush, 1 mane comb and spunge, 1 horse-pricker.

Infantry.--3 shirts, 2 pair of shoes, 2 pair of stockings, or 2 pair of socks, 1 pair of gaiters, 1 forage cap, 1 pack, 1 stock, 1 black-ball, 2 brushes.

Private INSPECTION of arms. Twenty minutes or more before the general parade, every troop or company should be drawn up on its troop or private parade, and each man be narrowly inspected by an officer. When the dress and accoutrements have been looked at, the troop or company standing at open ranks, and with shouldered arms will receive the following words of command from the senior officer.

Open-pans--slope, or port arms--The pans and locks will be narrowly inspected. Carry arms--shut pans--order arms--draw ramrods--at which word the men draw and put them in the pieces, springing them successively as the officer comes up to them, but not returning them until the whole troop or company has been examined. The officer will carefully examine the nob of each ramrod, and determine from its appearance whether the inside of the barrel be clean. On some particular occasions, especially when a party is ordered upon immediate duty with ball cartridges, a more minute examination of the musquet should take place. The pricker is not always sufficient to ascertain the state of the interior part of the touch-hole, as it can only enter in one direction; it is therefore recommended to order the men Buts to the front, after which they are to blow down the barrels. By applying his hand to the touch-hole, the officer will be able to know the real state of the vent. When the arms have been examined, the men will be ordered to handle arms--fix bayonets.--When the bayonets and slings will be inspected--unfix bayonets--ease arms--stand at ease.

INSPECTOR of cavalry, an officer whose particular duty is to inspect all cavalry regiments, to report the state of the horses, and to receive specific accounts from the different corps of their actual state; he communicates with the commander in chief, and whenever a cavalry regiment is ordered to be disbanded, it must be looked at by the inspector general, before it is finally broken.

INSPECTOR of the recruiting service, an officer of rank through whom the field officers of districts, and colonels of regiments (when they personally manage the recruiting service of their own corps) transmit their several returns to the adjutant general’s office.

INSPECTOR of clothing. These inspectors, or the inspectors for the time being, are directed to view and compare with the sealed patterns, the clothing of the several regiments, as soon as the same shall have been prepared, and if the said clothing appear to be conformable to the sealed patterns, they are authorized to grant two certificates of their view and approval thereof; one of which certificates is to be delivered to the clothier, to be sent with the clothing to the head quarters of the corps, and the other to be lodged with the general clothing board, as the necessary voucher for passing the assignment of the allowance for the said clothing.

All clothing must be viewed, and certificates be signed by both inspectors, except in cases where the absence of one of them shall be unavoidable; in all which cases the cause of such absence is to be stated by the other inspector, in his certificate of the view of the clothing.

Inspectors of clothing are to follow all instructions which may be transmitted to them from the commander in chief, or the secretary at war.

INSPECTOR of hospitals, the next on the staff to the surgeon general.

INSTALLATION, the act of investing any one with a military order.

INSTRUCTION des procés criminel, Fr. A military form or process in criminal matters. In the old French service when troops were in garrison, it was the duty of the town-major to issue out the regular form of proceeding against all officers, serjeants, and soldiers who were accused of crimes or misdemeanors. The majors of corps exercised this function when troops were encamped. There was a specific form, subject only to a few alterations with respect to terms and expressions, by which all sorts of military crimes were investigated. Desertion was the chief and most prevalent crime among French soldiers. It became the peculiar business of the major, whether in garrison or in the field, to explain and bring forward every thing that might establish the truth of the accusation; and he acted on this occasion, as an attorney general does in civil matters; only with this difference, that the latter explained the grounds of his indictment before a judge, whereas the former not only exposed the nature of the case, but drew his own conclusions, and bounded his verdict.

Those officers who may be disposed to enter more largely into the subject of French military process, as conducted before the revolution, may be satisfied by perusing Le Code Militaire, ou deuxieme volume du service de l’Infanterie, page 123; and we refer all British officers in general to M. Tytler’s late publication on English military law.

Major Macomb of the United States engineers has published a very judicious and concise tract adapted to the military service of the Union; and it is adopted by the war office.

Military INSTRUMENTS (instrumens militaires.) Fr. By the sound of military instruments the troops belonging to the several armies in Europe, &c. are directed in their various movements.

The instruments which are peculiar to the cavalry of most nations are the trumpet and the cymbal. In France, dragoon regiments in general formerly adopted the drum in common with the infantry, they now use the trumpet for garrison, and the bugle for the field service. A certain number of fifers are likewise allowed in foot regiments. Hautboys and clarinets do not form any part of the music which is sanctioned and paid for by the public. Colonels of corps, however, frequently entertain a band either at their own expence, or out of what is called the stock-purse.

The principal military instruments which were used among the ancients, whether for cavalry or infantry, consisted of the trumpet, the cornet, and the buccina or French horn.

Warlike INSTRUMENTS used by the Turks. The Turks make use of wind and clashing instruments of different shapes and sizes; all, except one wind instrument, are better calculated for pomp and ceremony, than adapted to military service.

The clashing instruments, which the French call instrumens à choc, consist of two sorts of drums, and an instrument which is made of two plates of metal, such as the cymbals we have adopted from the Asiatics.

Their wind-instruments consist of a winding or crooked trumpet, and of a wooden fife.

The big drum which they call daul, stands three feet high. It is carried by a mounted drummer, who makes use of a thick stick with which he strikes the upper part, and a small one, with which he plays upon the under one; these he applies alternately with much ingenuity of hand, and great gravity of countenance. This is the only instrument which the Turks use in military exercises or manœuvres. The big drums are constantly beat when the enemy is near, and round all the out-posts, in order to keep the sentinels upon the alert. On these occasions the drummers exclaim with a loud voice: Jegda Allah! that is, God is good! or as the French interpret it--Dieu Bon.

The two small drums, or the kettle drums serve as marks of distinction for the bacha’s family, and likewise as signals when the troops are to march. They contribute greatly to the general harmony of a concert. The Turkish name for them is Sudar Nagara. The bachas, or bashaws with three tails are entitled to three kettle drums, which are fixed on each side of the saddle, and are beat in the same manner that those in other services are.

There is likewise another sort of Turkish instrument called zill, which consists of two hollow brass plates, on whose convex side is fixed a ring sufficiently large to contain the grasp of three fingers. By clashing them seasonably together, an agreeable silvery sound is extracted. The bashaws with three tails are each intitled to two sets of these instruments.

There are two sorts of wind-instruments used among the Turks, they differ very much both with regard to the manner in which they are played, and to the materials with which they are made. The first is the trumpet, which is made of the same metal that ours are, but are somewhat longer; they are called bori. The man who blows this trumpet is always mounted on horse back, and every bashaw with three tails is intitled to have seven.

The second instrument is made of wood; it is a sort of pipe or flute with five holes; the Turks call it zurnader. The person who plays this instrument is on horseback, and every bashaw with three tails is intitled to five.

The sounds which issue from these different instruments would be extremely harsh to the ear, were they not in some degree harmonized by the great drum: when the whole is played together, the effect is both martial and pleasant.

Surgical INSTRUMENTS directed to be provided for the use of regimental hospitals. An amputating saw, with spare blade, 1 metacarpal saw, with ditto, 24 curved needles, 2 amputating knives, 1 catlin, 2 tenaculums, 1 bullet forceps, 1 pair of bone nippers, 2 screw tourniquets, 4 field tourniquets with handle, 2 callico compresses, 2 trephines, with sliding keys, 1 trephine forceps, 1 elevator, 1 lenticular, a brush, key instruments for teeth, to fit trephine handle, 8 scalpels, 2 silver catheters, 1 trocar with spring and introductory canula, 1 do. do. and canula for hydrocele, probang, 1 long silver probe, 1 large bougie.

Surgical INSTRUMENTS directed to be provided for the field. An amputating saw, 1 metacarpal saw, 12 curved needles, 1 amputating knife, 1 catlin, 1 screw tourniquet, 1 silver catheter, 1 elastic ditto, 2 trephines to fit one handle, 1 trephine forceps, 1 elevator, 2 scalpels, 1 bullet forceps, 1 trocar with spring and introductory canula, 1 trocar with spring canula for hydrocele, a brush, a tenaculum, thread for ligatures.

To INSULT, in a military signification, is to attack boldly and in open day, without going through the slow operations of opening trenches, working by mines and saps, or having any recourse to those usual forms of war, by advancing gradually towards the object in view. An enemy is said to insult a coast when he suddenly appears upon it, and debarks with an immediate purpose to attack. The British forces under the command of sir Ralph Abercrombie, insulted the Dutch coast when they took possession of the Helder, in consequence of a bold descent. The British fleet which entered the Chesapeake bay, and on the 22 June, 1807, attacked the United States frigate Chesapeake, insulted the nation; they had the baseness to deny it, and to make an apology afterwards; but they did not punish their officers; and afterwards fled from the engagements made by their ambassador to the U. S. In attacking fortified places it is usual to insult the counterscarp, in order to avoid the destruction which would naturally follow, if the besieged had time enough allowed them to give effect to the different mines that must necessarily have been prepared beneath it. The grenadiers are always employed on these occasions, accompanied by workmen and artificers to secure the post, after it has been taken by assault.

INSULTER, Fr. See TO INSULT.

INSURGENTS. All vassals in Hungary when assembled together in consequence of the general proclamation by Ban and Arriere Ban are so called. This, however, does not happen except in cases of great emergency, when they are headed by the prince Palatine of Hungary, and march to the defence of their frontiers. The Hungarians have sometimes indeed gone beyond them, in order to support their sovereign’s right, and have acted offensively in the neighboring countries.

INSURGENTS is a term used to signify persons who have made inroads into a country; or who rise in revolt against the established laws.

INTELLIGENCE, in a military sense may be variously applied, and of course has different significations. No general can be said to be in any degree qualified for the important situation which he holds, unless, like an able minister of state, he be constantly prepared with the requisite means to obtain the best intelligence respecting the movements and the designs of the enemy he is to oppose. On the other hand, it is not possible to conceive a greater crime than that of affording intelligence to an enemy, and thereby bringing about the overthrow and destruction of a whole army. A French military writer, (to whose work we have the satisfaction of being frequently indebted for much general and useful knowlege) makes the following observations respecting the latter species of intelligence, which he classes under two specific heads.

He justly remarks, that to hold correspondence, or to be in intelligence with an enemy, (étre d’intelligence avec l’Ennemi) is to betray your country. Armies and fortified places are almost always surprized and taken by means of a secret intelligence, which the enemy keeps up with domestic traitors, acting in conjunction with commissioned spies and delegated hirelings. Arnold had nearly effected the destruction of the American army by the intelligence which he kept up through the British major André, with the British.

A garrison town may be taken by surprize, under the influence of secret intelligence, in two different ways. The one is when the assailant to whom the place has been surrendered, is not bound to join his forces to those troops by whom he has been admitted; the other when it is necessary, that an assault should be made by openly storming, by throwing shells and petards, or by stratagem.

The first species of intelligence may be held with a governor who has influence enough to direct the will and actions of the garrison; with a garrison which is indisposed towards the governor and the officers that command the troops; with the inhabitants who have undertaken to defend a place where no garrison is stationed, and lastly with the prevailing faction, where there are two parties that govern in a free town.

The other species of intelligence may be practised with a governor who either wants power, or is afraid to tamper with the fidelity of the garrison; with some particular officer, serjeants, or soldiers; with the body of inhabitants who think differently from the armed force that overawes them, or with active and shrewd individuals, who have access to the ruling party, and can skilfully combine affected loyalty with secret disaffection.

There is not, however, in human nature perhaps a more insidious, or a more dangerous ground to tread on than that of secret intelligence; nor are the faculties of the mind ever so much put to the test, as when it is necessary to listen to the report of an individual, who whilst he is betraying one side, may be equally disposed to dupe the other. A wise general will consequently hear every thing, and say nothing; and a wise man, let his secret wishes be what they may, will warily consider, whether the person who insinuates to him even the possibilities of a plot, does not at that instant endeavor to get into his confidence, for the sole purpose of acting contrary to his supposed views, and of betraying the man who has unfolded other schemes. It is certainly justifiable policy, either in the governor of a town or in a general, to affect to give into the views of any man or party of men whom he has cause to suspect, and whose ultimate object he is determined to defeat. But he should be equally cautious, how he listens to the communications of spies or informers. The veil of honesty is often assumed to cover a deep-laid scheme of villainy; and apparent candor is the surest path to unguarded confidence. When villains voluntarily unfold themselves in such a manner as to convince an able and penetrating officer, that their treachery can be depended upon, much blood may be spared by making a proper use of their intelligence. This axiom has prevailed in every civilized country; and should be well attended to by thinking men. For when a battle has been gained, it avails little to ask, whether the enemy owed his success to force or treachery? No treachery, however, is admissible, or should be sanctioned by belligerent powers, which militates against those laws of nations which are founded upon the wise basis of humanity. Private assassinations, the use of poison, or the disregard of paroles of honor, must be generally reprobated: and whatever general obtains his ends by any of these dark means, his name should be stamped with infamy, and himself exposed to all the melancholy casualties of retaliation.

INTENDANT d’Armée, Fr. under the old government of France, the intendants d’armées or superintendants of the army, were principal inspectors of all sorts of stores, &c. that were necessary for the troops. The French general officers and governors of fortified towns, held continual intercourse with the intendants or supervisors who directed every branch of the commissariat.

When the intendant d’armée was not likewise intendant de province, he was directed to accompany the troops, to visit their line of encampment or cantonment, and to require of all the subordinate intendants the regular proportion of stores and provisions, and to see that they were supplied according to contract, and with punctuality.

INTERIOUR Flanking Angle, is formed by the curtain and line of defence.

INTERIOUR Radius, the part of an oblique radius extending from the centre of the polygon to the centre of the bastion.

INTERIOUR Side. The line of the curtain, produced to the two oblique radii of the front; or a line drawn from the centre of one bastion to that of the next.

INTERIOUR Slope. See TALUS.

INTERMEDIATE (intermediare, Fr.) any thing that is, or lies between. See Intermediate POSTS.

INTERSECTION, the point where two lines cross each other.

INTERVAL, (Intervalle, Fr.) any space between. A word variously applied in military dispositions and manœuvres, to denote any given distance or space.

INTERVAL between two battalions. The space which separates them when they are drawn up for action, or when they are encamped. This space is generally wide enough to admit the march of another battalion, that is to say, it is equal to the extent of its front when in line. When troops are encamped for the purpose of investing a town or fortified place, the interval is much greater, and seldom or ever less.

INTERVAL between the line and the camp. This comprehends the space which lies between the camp and the line of entrenchments. It is generally from one hundred and eighty to two hundred toises in breadth; so that the different battalions and squadrons which are necessary for the security of the camp may have room to move in, while sufficient ground is left in the rear for troops to pass and repass as occasion may require. The same observation holds good with respect to contravallation.

INTERVALLE du Camp à la ligne, Fr. See INTERVAL between the line and the camp.

To INTRENCH, to secure against the attack of an enemy, by digging a ditch or trench.

To INTRENCH upon. To invade, to make incroachments upon the property or territories of another.

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