Towton.A township of England, county of York, West Riding. Here a sanguinary battle was fought, March 29, 1461, between the houses of York (Edward IV.) and Lancaster(Henry VI.), to the latter of whom it was fatal, and on whose side more than 37,000 fell. Edward issued orders to give no quarter, and the most merciless slaughter ensued. Henry was made prisoner, and confined in the Tower; his queen, Margaret, fled to Flanders.
Traband.A trusty brave soldier in the Swiss infantry, whose particular duty was to guard the colors and the captain who led them. He was armed with a sword and a halbert, the blade of which was sharpened like a pertuisan. He generally wore the colonel’s livery, and was excused from all the duties of a sentinel.
Tracing, orOutline. Is the succession of lines that show the figure of the works, and indicate the direction in which the defensive masses are laid out, in order to obtain a proper defense.
Tracing-pickets.These are short pickets, 18 inches long, and about 1 inch in diameter, which are useful in marking out the details of field-works. They are made rather more expeditiously than fascine-pickets, and should be tied up in bundles of 25 each. Every bundle weighs about 8 pounds when the wood is dry.
Track.In gunnery, by track is understood the distance between the furrows formed by the wheels of artillery carriages in the ground. It is important that the track should be the same for all carriages likely to travel the same road, in order that the wheels of one carriage may follow in the furrows formed by those of its predecessor, and thereby prevent a loss of tractile force. The track of artillery carriages is 5 feet, and the extreme length of the axle-tree is 61⁄2feet for field-, and 63⁄4feet for siege-carriages.
Trail.In tactics, to carry, as a fire-arm, with the butt near the ground, and the muzzle inclined forward, the piece being held by the right hand near the middle.
Trail.In gunnery, the end of a traveling-carriage, opposite to the wheels, and upon which the carriage slides when unlimbered. SeeOrdnance, Carriages for.
Trail Hand-spike.SeeHand-spike.
Trail-handles.SeeOrdnance, Carriages for.
Trail-plate.SeeOrdnance, Carriages for.
Trail-bridge.SeePontons.
Train.To teach and form by practice; to exercise; to discipline; as, to train the militia to the manual exercise; to train soldiers to the use of arms.
Train.A line of gunpowder, laid to lead fire to a charge, or to a quantity intended for execution.
Train, Artillery-.SeeArtillery-train.
Train, Ponton-.SeePontons, Bridge Equipage.
Train-Bands(or more properly,Trained Bands). A force of militia, and not differing essentially from that force substituted by James I. for the old English Fyrd, or national militia. The train-bands of London were chiefly composed of apprentices; and their unruly doings formed the subject for many facetious plays and tales. In the civil wars, the train-bands sided with the Parliament; and Charles II. restored the militia on its old local footing.
Trainer.In the United States, a militia-man when called out for exercise or discipline.
Training-day.In the United States, a day on which a military company assembles for drill, especially in public.
Traitor.One who violates his allegiance and betrays his country; one guilty of treason; one who, in breach of trust, delivers his country to its enemy, or any fort or place intrusted to its defense, or who surrenders an army or body of troops to the enemy, unless when vanquished; or one who takes arms and levies war against his country; or one who aids an enemy in conquering his country.
Traitorous.Guilty of treason; treacherous; perfidious; faithless; as, a traitorous officer or subject. Also, consisting of treason; partaking of treason; implying breach of allegiance; as, a traitorous scheme or conspiracy.
Trajan’s Wall.A line of fortifications stretching across the Dobrudscha from Czernavoda, where the Danube bends northwards, to a point of the Black Sea coast near Kustendji. It consists of a double, and in some places a triple, line of ramparts of earth, from 83⁄4to 11 feet in height on the average (though occasionally it attains an altitude of 191⁄2feet), bounded along its north side by a valley, which being generally marshy, and abounding in small lakes and pools, serves admirably the purpose of a fosse. During the war of 1854, Trajan’s wall became an important line of defense on the invasion of the Dobrudscha by the Russians, and the invaders were twice defeated in their attempts to pass it,—at Kostelli, (April 10), and Czernavoda (April 20-22).
Trajectory.The increasing curve described by a projectile in its flight through the air. SeeProjectile,Projectiles, Theory of.
Tralee.A town of Ireland, chief town of the county of Kerry, on the river Lea, 59 miles northwest from Cork. Tralee was destroyed in the rebellion of 1641.
Trani.A maritime city of Southern Italy, in the province of Terra di Bari, 25 miles northwest of the town of Bari. Trani submitted to the Normans in 1053. It was then the chief town of a vast country, and was an important harbor in the time of the crusades.
Transfers.Soldiers taken out of one troop, or company, and placed in another are so called. Non-commissioned officers or soldiers will not be transferred from one regiment to another without the authority of the commanding general. The colonel of a regiment may, upon the application of the captains, transfer a non-commissioned officer orsoldier from one company to another of his regiment,—with consent of the department commander in case of a change of post. The transfer of officers from one regiment or corps to another will be made only by the war department, on the mutual application of the parties desiring the exchange.
Transfixed.An ancient term used to express the state of being desperately wounded by some pointed instrument, as being run through by a spear, javelin, or bayonet; pierced through so that the weapon is fixed in another body.
Transfluent.In heraldry, passing or flowing through a bridge,—said of water.
Transfuge.A turncoat, a deserter, a runaway; one who abandons his party in time of war, and goes over to the enemy.
Transit-compass.A species of theodolite, consisting of a telescope revolving in a vertical plane on a horizontal axis, as in a transit-instrument, combined with a compass, a graduated horizontal limb, etc., used for running lines, observing bearings, horizontal angles, and the like; called alsosurveyor’s transit.
Transoms.In gunnery, are pieces of wood or iron which join the cheeks of gun-carriages and hold them together; they are known as the front and rear transoms.
Transportation.The act of transporting, carrying, or conveying from one place to another; as, the transportation of troops, munitions of war, etc.
Transportation of Artillery.In transporting artillery by sea, divide the total quantity to be transported among the vessels, and place in each vessel everything necessary for the service required at the moment of disembarkation, so that there will be no inconvenience should other vessels be delayed. If a siege is to be undertaken, place in each vessel with each piece of artillery its implements, ammunition, and the carriages necessary to transport the whole or a part; the platforms, tools, instruments, and materials for constructing batteries; skids, rollers, scantling, and plank. If a particular caliber of gun is necessary for any operation, do not place all of one kind in one vessel, to avoid being entirely deprived of them by accident. Dismount the carriages, wagons, and limbers, by taking off the wheels and boxes, and, if absolutely necessary, the axle-trees. Place in the boxes the linch-pins, washers, etc., with the tools required for putting the carriages together again. Number each carriage, and mark each detached article with the number of the carriage to which it belongs. The contents of each box, barrel, or bundle, should be marked distinctly upon it. The boxes should be made small for the convenience of handling, and have rope handles to lift them by. Place the heaviest articles below, beginning with the shot and shells (empty), then the guns, platforms, carriages, wagons, limbers, ammunition, boxes, etc.; boxes of small-arms and ammunition in the dryest and least exposed part of the vessel. Articles required to be disembarked first should be put in last, or so placed that they can be readily got at. If the disembarkation is to be performed in front of the enemy, some of the field-pieces should be so placed that they can be disembarked immediately, with their carriages, implements, and ammunition; also the tools and materials for throwing up temporary intrenchments on landing. Some vessels should be laden solely with such powder and ammunition as may not be required for the immediate service of the pieces. On a smooth sandy beach, heavy pieces, etc., may be landed by rolling them overboard as soon as the boats ground, and hauling them up with sling-carts.
Transylvania.Is the most easterly crownland of Austria, and is bounded on the north by Hungary and Galicia, east by Bukovina and Moldavia, south by Wallachia, and west by the Military Frontier, the Banat, and Hungary. Transylvania is little noticed in history till the Christian era, when part of it was occupied by the warlike Dacians, soon after whom the Sarmatian tribes of the Jazyges and Carpi settled in it. The conquest of the Dacians by Trajan, however, did not include that of the other two peoples, who proved very troublesome to the Roman settlers along the Danube, till they were conquered by Diocletian, and the Carpi carried away to Pannonia and other districts. In the middle of the 4th century, the Goths overran the country, defeating the Sarmatians in a great battle on the Maros, in which the monarch and the chief of his nobility perished; and they in their turn were forced in 375 to retire before the Huns and their confederates. The Gepidæ next took possession of Transylvania, till their almost complete extirpation, in 566, by the Lombards and Avars. It was conquered by the Hungarians about 1000, and was governed by woivodes till 1526, when the death of the Hungarian monarch at Mohacs prepared the way for the union of the two countries under the woivode John Zapolya; but the war which thence arose with the Austrians caused their complete severance, and Zapolya’s sway was, in 1535, confined to Transylvania, of which he became sovereign lord, under the protection of the Turks. The Saxons were summoned by the Hungarian monarchs to act as a counterpoise to the increasing power of the nobles; the firm protection and generous treatment accorded to the Saxons by the Hungarian monarchs were rewarded by steadfast loyalty and succor in men and money whenever required. During the rest of the 16th century the country was distracted by the bitter strife between the Catholic party, who were supported by Austria, and the Protestant party, who were allied with the Turks; the latter party, headed successively by princes of the houses of Zapolya and Bathory, generally maintaining the superiority. The next chief of the Protestant party was thecelebrated Botskay, whose successes against Austria extorted from the emperor an acknowledgment of the independence of Transylvania in 1606. To him succeeded Bethlem Gabor, the determined foe of Catholicism and Austria, who did important service during the Thirty Years’ War. Between his son and successor, Stephen, and Ragotski arose a contest for the crown, in which the latter prevailed; but on Ragotski’s death, the civil war was resumed, till the complete rout of the Austrians by the Turks, under Kiupruli, placed the sceptre in the hands of Michael Abaffi, who reigned till his death, in 1690, as a vassal of the Porte. The Austrians now again possessed themselves of Transylvania, despite the heroic resistance of Ragotski; and though Tekeli succeeded for a brief period in rolling back the invaders, the peace of Carlowitz, in 1699, again put them in possession; and in 1713 Transylvania was completely incorporated with Hungary. During the insurrection in 1848 the Hungarians and Szeklers (one of the races inhabiting Transylvania) joined the insurgents and forced Transylvania to reunite with Hungary, despite the opposition of the Saxons; and the Wallachs, still little better than a horde of savages, were let loose over the land, to burn, plunder, and murder indiscriminately; the prostration of the country being completed in the following year during the bloody conflict which took place here between Bem and the Russian troops. In the same year Transylvania was again separated from its turbulent neighbor and made a crownland, the portions of it which had, in 1835, been annexed to Hungary being restored, as well as the Transylvanian Military Frontier, in 1851.
Trapani.SeeDrepanum.
Trapezus(nowTarabosan,Trabezun, orTrebizond). A colony of Sinope, at almost the extreme east of the northern shore of Asia Minor. It was strongly fortified. It was taken by the Goths in the reign of Valerian.
Trappings.SeeHousing.
Trasimenus Lacus.The ancient name of an Italian lake (Lago Trasimeno, orLago di Perugia), lying between the towns of Cortona and Perugia. Trasimenus Lacus is memorable chiefly for the great victory obtained by Hannibal in 217B.C., during the second Punic war, over the Romans, under their consul, C. Flaminius. Hannibal leaving Tæsulæ passed close by the camp of Flaminius at Arretium, laying waste the country as he proceeded in the direction of Rome. This, as the Carthaginian general intended, induced the consul to break up his encampment and follow in pursuit, Hannibal in the mean time taking up a strong position on the hills on the north side of the lake, along which he was passing. The consul, coming up early next morning, when the whole place was enveloped in mist, saw only the troops in front on the hill ofTuoro, with whom he was preparing to engage, when he found himself surrounded and attacked on all sides. The Carthaginians thus had the Romans completely in their power, and took such advantage of the opportunity, that 16,000 Roman troops are said to have been either massacred or drowned in the lake; Flaminius himself being among the first who fell; 6000 troops who had forced their way through the enemy, surrendered next day to Maharbal. It is said both by Livy and Pliny that the fury on both sides was so great as to render the combatants unconscious of the shock of an earthquake which occurred during the battle.
Trautenau.A town of Bohemia, 25 miles north-northeast from Königgratz. On June 27, 1866, the 1st Corps of the army of the crown-prince of Prussia seized Trautenau, but was defeated and repulsed by the Austrians under Gablenz; on the 28th, the Prussians defeated the Austrians with great loss.
Traveling Allowance.Is an allowance made to officers when traveling under proper orders. An officer who travels not less than 10 miles from his station, without troops, escort of military stores, and under special orders in the case from a superior, or summons to attend a military court, shall receive 8 cents per mile. Whenever a soldier shall be discharged from the service, except by way of punishment for any offense, or on his own application, or for disability prior to three months’ service, he shall be allowed his pay and rations, or an equivalent in money, for such term of time as shall be sufficient for him to travel from the place of his discharge to the place of his residence, computing at the rate of twenty miles to a day.
Traveling Forge.SeeOrdnance, Carriages for.
Traveling Kitchen.Marshal Saxe, it is believed, first suggested the idea of cooking while marching, so as to economize the strength of soldiers, have their food well cooked in all weather, and avoid the numerous diseases caused by bad cooking and want of rest. Col. Cavalli, of the Sardinian artillery, has with the same laudable motive embraced a kitchen-cart in the improvements suggested by him to replace the wagons now in use, and an attempt is here made to elaborate the same idea of atraveling-kitchen, designed for baking, making soup, and other cooking, while on a march. The cart is 121⁄2feet long, mounted on two 6-feet wheels covered with a very light canvas roof with leather-cloth curtains. A large range or stove forms the body of the vehicle; its grate is below the floor, its doors opening on a level with it. APapin’s digesteris inclosed above the grate, in a flue whence the heat may pass around the double oven in the rear, or straight up the chimney, as regulated by dampers. At the side of the digester, over the grate, is a range, suited to various cooking vessels. The topof the oven forms a table nearly 5 feet square, at which three cooks may work, standing upon the rear platform. A foot-board passes from this platform to the front platform, where the driver and cook may stand. Stores may be placed in the lockers at the side of the range, and under the rear foot-board. The chimney may be turned down above the roof, to pass under trees, etc., and may be of any height to secure a good draught. By bending the axle like that of an omnibus, the vehicle may be hung without danger of top-heaviness. Cooking vessels more bulky than heavy may be suspended from the roof, over the range, when not in use. The digester may have a capacity of 100 gallons, and an oven of 60 to 75 cubic feet would be quite adequate to the cooking for 250 men; or the dimensions of the cart may be smaller, and each company of 100 men might have its own traveling-kitchen, which would also furnish oven and cooking utensils for a camp.
Traveling Trunnion-beds.SeeOrdnance, Carriages for, Siege-carriages.
Traverse.The turning a gun so as to make it point in any desired direction.
Traverse Circles.In gunnery, are circular plates of iron, fastened to a bed of solid masonry, on which the traverse wheels, which support the chassis, roll.
Traverses.In fortifications, are mounds of earth, above the height of a man, and 18 feet thick, placed at frequent intervals on a rampart, to stop shot which may enfilade the face of such rampart. A fire of this nature, in the absence of traverses, would dismount the guns, and prove altogether ruinous. The traverses also give means of disputing the progress of an assailant who has gained a footing on the wall, for each traverse becomes a defensible parapet, only to be taken by storm.
Traversing-plates.In gun-carriages, are two thin iron plates, nailed on the hind part of a truck-carriage of guns, where the hand-spike is used to traverse the gun.
Traversing-platform.An elevation on which the guns are mounted for the defense of the coast, and generally for all sea-batteries, as affording greater facility of traversing the gun, so as to follow, without loss of time, any quick-moving object on the water.
Travois.A rude but efficient mode of transportation for conveying the wounded over a level or rolling country, when ambulances are not at hand. It consists of two poles about 16 feet long and 4 inches in diameter; two stretcher bars or poles, 21⁄2inches in diameter and 3 feet long; and a canvas or rawhide bottom, 51⁄2feet long and 21⁄2feet broad; and if of canvas, with eyelet-holes at the sides and ends, which are to be lashed to the poles with rope. The rear ends of the travois-poles rest on the ground, while the front ends are attached to each side of a mule, which draws the travois. Thelitteris better adapted to a rough country. (SeeLitter.) The ordinary teepe-poles with which the Indians pitch their tents when in villages are also used in constructing the travois. The Dakota and Montana Sioux, who use mountain-pine or ash-poles, select straight, well-proportioned saplings of those woods, trim them down to the proper size and taper, and lay them aside to season. The dressed poles are about 30 feet long, 2 to 21⁄2inches at the butt, and 11⁄2inches at the other extremity. The couch is oval, and the rim is made exclusively of ash, bent into the desired shape when the wood is green. A net-work of rawhide is afterwards lashed to the rim and completes the bed. The bed is 31⁄2to 4 feet in its transverse, and 21⁄2to 3 feet in its conjugate diameter. Two or three of the teepe-poles are lashed together, butts to butts, with rawhide, and then lashed to the pack-saddle on the mule, the small ends of the poles trailing the ground. The bed with the longer diameter is then laid transversely on the poles and lashed about 1 foot in rear of the animal. A blanket, piece of canvas, or buffalo-robe lashed to the lower half of the oval rim of the bed completes the outfit. This latter travois is claimed by some officers of the army to be well adapted for transporting wounded even over a rough country.
Tread.In fortification, the tread of a banquette is the upper and flat surface on which the soldier stands whilst firing over the parapet.
Treason.A general appellation to denote not only offenses against the king and government, but also that accumulation of guilt which arises whenever a superior reposes confidence in a subject or inferior, between whom and himself there subsists a natural, a civil, or even a spiritual relation; and the inferior so abuses that confidence, so forgets the obligations of duty, subjection, and allegiance, as to destroy the life of any such superior or lord. It is, according to English law, a general name, in short, for treachery against the sovereign or liege lord. High treason (thecrimen læsæ majestatisof the Romans) is an offense committed against the security of the king or kingdom, whether by imagination, word, or deed. In the United States, treason is confined to the actual levying of war against the United States; or an adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.
Treaty.An agreement, league, or contract, between two or more nations or sovereigns, formally signed by commissioners properly authorized, and solemnly ratified by the several sovereigns or the supreme power of each state; an agreement between two or more independent states.
A treaty of guarantyis an engagement by which one state promises to aid another when it is disturbed, or threatened to be disturbed, in the peaceable enjoyments of its rights by a third power. Treaties of alliance may be offensive or defensive; in the former the ally engages generally to co-operate in hostilities against a specifiedpower, or against any power with which the other may be at war; in the latter, the engagements of the ally extend only to a war of aggression commenced against the other contracting party. The execution of a treaty is occasionally secured by hostages; as at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, when several peers were sent to Paris as hostages for the restoration of Cape Breton by Great Britain to France. For celebrated treaties, see appropriate headings in this work.
Trebbia.A small but famous stream of Northern Italy, which joins the Po 2 miles west of Piacenza. On its banks Hannibal decisively defeated the Roman consul Sempronius, 218B.C.; the French were also defeated here by Suwarrow in 1799.
Trebuchet, orTrebucket. A machine used in the Middle Ages for throwing stones, etc., acting by means of a great weight fastened to the short arm of a lever, which, being let fall, raised the end of the long arm with great velocity, and hurled stones with much force.
Trefle(Trefoil). A term used in mining, from the similarity of the figure to trefoil. The simple trefle has only two lodgments; the double trefle, four; and the triple one, six.
Trefoil.In heraldry, is a frequent charge, representing the clover-leaf, and is always depicted asslipped,—i.e., furnished with a stalk.
Trench-cavalier.In fortification, an elevation constructed, by a besieger, of gabions, fascines, earth, and the like, about half-way up the glacis, in order to discover and enfilade the covert way.
Trenches.The communications, boyaux, or zigzags, as well as the parallels or places of arms opened by besiegers against a fortification are trenches. They are from 6 to 10 feet wide and about 3 feet deep. (SeeParallels, andSiege.)To mount the trenches, is to mount guard in the trenches, which is generally done in the night.To relieve the trenches, is to relieve the guard of the trenches.To scour the trenches, is to make a vigorous sally upon the guard of the trenches, force them to give way, and quit their ground, drive away the workmen, break down the parapet, till up the trenches, and spike their cannon.
Trenches, Opening of.SeeOpening of Trenches.
Trench-shelter.A trench hastily thrown up to give cover to troops on a field of battle. It is always 1 foot 3 inches deep, and the parapet is from 11⁄4to 11⁄2feet high. A trench 2 feet broad can be made in from 10 to 20 minutes; one 4 feet wide in from 20 to 40 minutes; and one 7 feet broad in from 30 to 60 minutes. There are also small trenches in rear for the supernumeraries.
Trenton.The capital city of the State of New Jersey, on the left bank of the Delaware River, at the confluence of Assunpink Creek. In the war of the Revolution, Trenton was the scene of a night attack by Washington upon the British troops—chiefly Hessians—whom he surprised by crossing the Delaware, when the floating ice was supposed to have rendered it impassable, on the night of December 25 and morning of the 26th, 1776.
Trepied.In ancient times, a ballista was so called when supported on three legs.
Tressure.In heraldry, a subordinary, generally said to be half the breadth of the orle, and usually borne double, and flowered and counterflowered with fleurs-de-lis. It forms part of the royal insignia of Scotland. The tressure is held in great honor in Scottish heraldry.
Trestles.A trestle is composed of a cap about 15 feet by 9 inches by 9 inches, of four legs, of two upper and two lower traverses, and of four braces. The cap is notched 18 inches from the end, to receive the legs; the notch is 5 inches wide and 1 deep. The legs should be from 5 to 6 inches square; a shoulder is made to tit the notch in the cap; the spread is quarter the height. The inclination in the other direction about one-sixteenth. The leg is spiked, pinned, or bolted to the cap. The lower traverse is 5 inches by 11⁄2inches, and is dovetailed into the legs at about one-quarter their height from the ground. The upper traverse, which is nailed on the outside of the legs and against the cap, is 6 inches wide and 11⁄2inches thick. The braces are 4 inches wide by 11⁄2inches thick, and are spiked to the cap and legs. When trestles are to be placed on a soft bottom, a flat sill may be spiked under the legs of each side.
Trestle Bridge.—When the water is less than 4 feet deep, the trestles may be carried to their places by men wading in the stream; an abutment is formed as for an ordinary bridge; the trestles are placed with their caps parallel to the abutment sill and about 13 feet apart. When the water is too deep or too cold to allow this method to be pursued, the bridge may be constructed as follows:
The abutment sill being placed, the first trestle can usually be placed by hand; the balks are laid and covered with chesses to within 1 foot of the trestle, a roller is laid on the bridge; on this are laid two beams, from 30 to 40 feet long and 6 or 7 inches square. The trestle is placed upright, with its cap resting on these beams, to which it is firmly lashed. The pontoniers bear down on the other ends of the beams, at the same time pushing until the trestle is rolled out to the proper distance; then they suddenly release the beams, dropping the trestle into its place. The flooring balks are slid out on the two beams, adjusted, and covered with chesses.
When a boat or raft can be procured, the trestles are placed with much less labor. The boat is brought alongside the last trestle placed; two balks are laid from the bridge, resting on a saddle, or the outer gunwale ofthe boat; the side of the trestle-cap is laid on the balks, the legs extending over the outer gunwale of the boat. The boat is pushed off by means of the balks until it arrives at the proper position for placing the trestle, which is then righted. If it has not good bearing on the bottom, it is hauled into the boat and the legs are cut to the proper length.
The bridge may be entirely built of round timber. The caps should be from 10 to 12 inches in diameter, the legs at least 6 inches, the balks 7 or 8 inches, and faced on the lower side where they rest on the trestles, so as to bring their upper surfaces on the same plane. The covering may be of strong hurdles.
Treves, orTrier(anc.Augusta Trevirorum). A town of Rhenish Prussia, on the right bank of the Moselle, 65 miles southwest from Coblentz. Treves derives its name from theTreviri, orTreveri(which see). Their capital,Augusta Trevirorum, became a Roman colony in the time of Augustus, and ultimately became the headquarters of the Roman commanders on the Rhine, and a frequent residence of the emperors. Under the Franks, into whose hands it fell in 463, it continued to flourish. In 843 it passed to Lorraine; in 870 to Germany; in 895 back to Lorraine, and finally was united to Germany by the emperor Henry I. Since 1814, Treves has belonged to Prussia.
Treviri, orTreveri. A powerful people in Gallia Belgica, who were faithful allies of the Romans, and whose cavalry was the best in all Gaul.
Treviso.A fortified town of Italy, in Venice, 17 miles northwest from Venice. Treviso, the ancientTrevisium, was a free town under the Romans; and after the fall of the empire was conquered in turn by the Huns, Ostrogoths, and Lombards. Thereafter it was for a time independent, and at length, in 1344, voluntarily submitted itself to the republic of Venice.
Tria Juncta in Uno(three joined in one). The motto of the knights of the military order of the Bath, signifying “faith, hope, and charity.”
Trial.The formal examination of the matter in issue in a cause before a competent tribunal; the mode of determining a question of fact in a court of law; the examination, in legal form, of the facts in issue in a cause pending before a competent tribunal, for the purpose of determining such issue. Military trials shall be carried on only between the hours of eight in the morning and three in the afternoon, except in cases which, in the opinion of the officer ordering the court, require immediate example (Art. 94). No officer, non-commissioned officer, or soldier shall be tried a second time for the same offense (Art. 102); and no person shall be liable to be tried and punished by a general court-martial for any offense which shall appear to have been committed more than two years before the issuing of the order for such trial, unless the person, by reason of having absented himself, or some other manifest impediment, shall not have been amenable to justice within that period (Art. 103). All trials before courts-martial, like those in civil courts, are conducted publicly; and in order that this publicity may in no case be attended with tumult or indecorum of any kind, the court is authorized, by the Rules and Articles of War, to punish, at its discretion, all riotous and disorderly proceedings or menacing words, signs, or gestures, used in its presence (Art. 86). The day and place of meeting of a general court-martial having been published in orders, the officers appointed as members, and parties and witnesses, must attend accordingly. The judge-advocate, at the opening, calls over the names of the members, who arrange themselves on the right or left of the president, according to rank. The members of the court having taken their seats and disposed of any preliminary matter, the prisoner, prosecutor, and witnesses are called into court. The prisoner is attended by a guard, or by an officer, as his rank or the nature of the charge may dictate; but during the trial should be unfettered and free from any bonds or shackles, unless there be danger of escape or rescue. Accommodation is usually afforded at detached tables for the prosecutor and prisoner; also for any friend or legal adviser of the prisoner or prosecutor, whose assistance has been desired during the trial; but the prisoner only can address the court, it being an admitted maxim, that counsel are not to interfere in the proceedings, or to offer the slightest remark, much less to plead or argue. The judge-advocate, by direction of the president, first reads, in an audible voice, the order for holding the court. He then calls over the names of the members, commencing with the president, who is always the highest in rank. He then demands of the prisoner whether he has any exception or cause of challenge against any of the members present, and if he have, he is required to state his cause of challenge, confining his challenge to one member at a time (Art. 88). After hearing the prisoner’s objections, the president must order the court to be cleared, when the members will deliberate on and determine the relevancy or validity of the objection; the member challenged retiring during the discussion. When the prisoner and prosecutor decline to challenge any of the members, or where the causes of challenge have been disallowed, the judge-advocate proceeds to administer to the members of the court the oath prescribed by the84th Article of War. The oath is taken by each member holding up his right hand and repeating the words after the judge-advocate. After the oath has been administered to all the members, the president administers to the judge-advocate the particular oath of secrecy to be observed byhim, as prescribed by the85th Article of War. No sentence of a general court-martial is complete or final until it has been duly approved. Until that period it is, strictly speaking, no more than an opinion, which is subject to alteration or revisal. In this interval, the communication of that opinion could answer no ends of justice, but might, in many cases, tend to frustrate them. The obligation to perpetual secrecy, with regard to the votes or opinions of the particular members of the court, is likewise founded on the wisest policy. The officers who compose a military tribunal are, in a great degree, dependent for their preferment on the President. They are even, in some measure, under the influence of their commander-in-chief,—considerations which might impair justice. This danger is, therefore, best obviated by the confidence and security which every member possesses, that his particular opinion is never to be divulged. Another reason is, that the individual members of the court may not be exposed to the resentment of parties and their connections, which can hardly fail to be excited by these sentences which courts-martial are obliged to award. It may be necessary for officers, in the course of their duty, daily, to associate and frequently to be sent on the same command or service, with a person against whom they have given an unfavorable vote or opinion on a court-martial. The publicity of these votes or opinions would create the most dangerous animosities, equally fatal to the peace and security of individuals, and prejudicial to the public service. The court being regularly constituted, and every preliminary form gone through, the judge-advocate, as prosecutor for the United States, desires the prisoner to listen to the charge or charges brought against him, which he reads with an audible voice, and then the prisoner is asked whether he is guilty or not guilty of the matter of accusation. The charge being sufficient, or not objected to, the prisoner must plead either: (1st) Guilty; or (2d) Specially to the jurisdiction, or in bar; or (3d) The general plea ofnot guilty, which is the usual course where the prisoner makes a defense. If from obstinacy and design the prisoner stands mute, or answer foreign to the purpose, the court may proceed to trial and judgment, as if the prisoner had regularly pleadednot guilty(Art. 89); but if the prisoner pleadguilty, the court will proceed to determine what punishment shall be awarded, and to pronounce sentence thereon. Preparatory to this, in all cases where the punishment of the offense charged is discretionary, and especially where the discretion includes a wide range and great variety of punishment, and the specifications do not show all the circumstances attending the offense, the court should receive and report, in its proceedings, any evidence the judge-advocate may offer, for the purpose of illustrating the actual character of the offense, notwithstanding the party accused may have pleaded guilty; such evidence being necessary to an enlightened exercise of the discretion of the court, in measuring the punishment, as well as for the approving authority. If there be any exception to this rule, it is where the specification is so full and precise as to disclose all the circumstances of mitigation or aggravation which accompany the offense. When that is the case, or when the punishment is fixed, and no discretion is allowed, explanatory testimony cannot be needed. Special pleas are either to the jurisdiction of the court or in bar of the charge. If an officer or soldier be arraigned by a court not legally constituted, either as to the authority by which it is assembled, or as to the number and rank of its members, or other similar causes, a prisoner may except to the jurisdiction of the court-martial. Special pleas in bar go to the merits of the case, and set forth a reason why, even admitting the charge to be true, it should be dismissed, and the prisoner discharged. A former acquittal or conviction of the same offense would obviously be a valid bar, except in case of appeal from a regimental to a general court-martial. Though the facts in issue should be charged to have happened more than two years prior to the date of the order for the assembling of the court-martial, yet it is not the province of the court, unless objection be made, to inquire into the cause of the impediment in the outset. It would be to presume the illegality of the court, whereas the court should assume that manifest impediment to earlier trial did exist, and leave the facts to be developed by witnesses in the ordinary course. A pardon may be pleaded in bar. If full, it at once destroys the end and purpose of the charge, by remitting that punishment which the prosecution seeks to inflict; if conditional, the performance of the condition must be known; thus a soldier arraigned for desertion, must plead a general pardon, and prove that he surrendered himself within the stipulated period. No officer or soldier, being acquitted or convicted of an offense, is liable to be tried a second time for the same. But this provision applies solely to trials for the same incidental act and crime, and to such persons as have, in the first instance, been legally tried. If any irregularity take place on the trial rendering it illegal and void, the prisoner must be discharged, and be regarded as standing in the same situation as before the commencement of these illegal proceedings. The same charge may, therefore, be again preferred against the prisoner who cannot plead the previous illegal trial in bar. A prisoner cannot plead in bar that he has not been furnished with a copy of the charges, or that the copy furnished him differed from that on which he had been arraigned. It is customary and proper to furnish him with a correct copy, but the omission shall not make void, though it may postpone the trial. If the special plea in bar be suchthat, if true, the charge should be dismissed and the prisoner discharged, the judge-advocate should be called on to answer it. If he does not admit it to be true, the prisoner must produce evidence to the points alleged therein; and if, on deliberation, the plea be found true, the facts being recorded, the court will adjourn and the president submit the proceedings to the officer by whose order the court was convened, with a view to the immediate discharge of the prisoner. The ordinary plea isnot guilty, in which case the trial proceeds. The judge-advocate cautions all witnesses on the trial to withdraw, and to return to court only on being called. He then proceeds to the examination of witnesses, and to the reading and proof of any written evidence he may have to bring forward. After a prisoner has been arraigned on specific charges, it is irregular for a court-martial to admit any additional charge against him, even though he may not have entered on his defense. The trial on the charges first preferred must be regularly concluded, when, if necessary, the prisoner may be tried on any further accusation brought against him. On the trial of cases not capital, before courts-martial, the deposition of witnesses not in the line or staff of the army may be taken before some justice of the peace, and read in evidence, provided the prosecutor and person accused are present at the same, or are duly notified thereof. The examination of witnesses is invariably in the presence of the court; because the countenance, looks, and gestures of a witness add to, or take away from, the weight of his testimony. It is usually by interrogation, sometimes by narration; in either case, the judge-advocate records the evidence, as nearly as possible, in the express words of the witness. All evidence, whatever, should be recorded on the proceedings, in the order in which it is received by the court. A question to a witness is registered before enunciation; when once entered, it cannot be expunged, except by the consent of the parties before the court; if not permitted to be put to the witness, it still appears on the proceedings accompanied by the decision of the court. The examination-in-chief of each particular witness being ended, the cross-examination usually follows, though it is optional with the prisoner to defer it to the final close of the examination-in-chief. The re-examination by the prosecutor, on such new points as the prisoner may have made, succeeds the cross-examination, and finally, the court puts such questions as in its judgment may tend to elicit the truth. It is customary, when deemed necessary by the court, or desired by a witness, to read over to him, immediately before he leaves the court, the record of his evidence, which he is desired to correct if erroneous, and, with this view, any remark or explanation is entered upon the proceedings. No erasure or obliteration is, however, admitted, as it is essentially necessary that the authority which has to review the sentence should have the most ample means of judging, not only of any discrepancy in the statements of a witness, but of any incident which may be made the subject of remark, by either party in addressing the court. Although a list of witnesses, summoned by the judge-advocate, is furnished to the court on assembling, it is not held imperative on the prosecutor to examine such witnesses; if he should not do so, however, the prisoner has a right to call any of them. Should the prisoner, having closed his cross-examination, think proper subsequently to recall a prosecutor’s witness in his defense, the examination is held to be in chief, and the witness is subject to cross-examination by the prosecutor. Although either party may have concluded his case, or the regular examination of a witness, yet should a material question have been omitted, it is usually submitted by the party to the president, for the consideration of the court, which generally permits it to be put. The prisoner being placed on his defense, may proceed at once to the examination of witnesses: firstly, to meet the charge; and, secondly, to speak as to character, reserving his address to the court until the conclusion of such examination. The prisoner having finished the examination-in-chief of each witness, the prosecution cross-examines; the prisoner re-examines to the extent allowed to the prosecutor, that is, on such new points as the cross-examination may have touched on, and the court puts any questions deemed necessary. The prisoner having finally closed his examination of witnesses, and selecting this period to address the court, offers such statement or argument as he may deem conducive to weaken the force of the prosecution, by placing his conduct in the most favorable light, accounting for or palliating facts, confuting or removing any imputation as to motives; answering the arguments of the prosecutor, contrasting, comparing, and commenting on any contradictory evidence; summing up the evidence on both sides where the result promises to favor the defense, and finally, presenting his deductions therefrom. The utmost liberty consistent with the interest of parties not before the court and with the respect due to the court itself should, at all times, be allowed a prisoner. As he has an undoubted right to impeach, by evidence, the character of the witnesses brought against him, so he is justified in contrasting and remarking on their testimony, and on the motives by which they, or the prosecutor, may have been influenced. All coarse and insulting language is, however, to be avoided, nor ought invective to be indulged in, as the most pointed evidence may be couched in the most decorous language. The court will prevent the prisoner from adverting to parties not before the court, or only alluded to in evidence, further than may be actually necessary to his own exculpation. It may sometimes happen that the party accusedmay find it absolutely necessary, in defense of himself, to throw blame and even criminality on others, who are no parties to the trial; nor can a prisoner be refused that liberty, which is essential to his own justification. It is sufficient for the party aggrieved that the law can furnish ample redress against all calumnious or unjust accusations. The court is bound to hear whatever address, in his defense, the accused may think fit to offer, not being in itself contemptuous or disrespectful. It is competent to a court, if it think proper, to caution the prisoner as he proceeds, that, in its opinion, such a line of defense as he may be pursuing would probably not weigh with the court, nor operate in his favor; but, to decide against hearing him state arguments, which, notwithstanding such caution, he might persist in putting forward, as grounds of justification, or extenuation (such arguments not being illegal in themselves), is going beyond what any court would be warranted in doing. It occasionally happens that, on presenting to the court a written address, the prisoner is unequal to the task of reading it, from indisposition or nervous excitement; on such occasions, the judge-advocate is sometimes requested by the president to read it; but, as the impression which might be anticipated to be made by it may, in the judgment of the prisoner, be effected more or less by the manner of its delivery, courts-martial generally feel disposed to concede to the accused the indulgence of permitting it to be read by any friend named by him, particularly if that friend be a military man, or if the judge-advocate be the actual prosecutor. Courts-martial are particularly guarded in adhering to the custom of resisting every attempt on the part of counsel to address them. A lawyer is not recognized by a court-martial, though his presence is tolerated, as a friend of the prisoner, to assist him by advice in preparing questions for witnesses, in taking notes and shaping his defense. The prisoner having closed his defense, the prosecutor is entitled to reply, when witnesses have been examined on the defense, or where new facts are opened in the address. Thus, though no evidence may be brought forward by the prisoner, yet should he advert to any case, and, by drawing a parallel, attempt to draw his justification from it, the prosecutor will be permitted to observe on the case so cited. When the court allows the prosecutor to reply, it generally grants him a reasonable time to prepare it; and, upon his reading it, the trial ceases. Should the prisoner have examined witnesses to points not touched on in the prosecution, or should he have entered on an examination impeaching the credibility of the prosecutor’s evidence, the prosecutor is allowed to examine witnesses to the new matter; the court being careful to confine him within the limits of this rule, which extends to the re-establishing the character of his witnesses, to impeaching those of the defense, and to rebutting the new matter brought forward by the prisoner, supported by evidence. He cannot be allowed to examine on any points which, in their nature, he might have foreseen previously to the defense of the prisoner. The prosecutor will not be permitted to bring forward evidence to rebut or counteract the effect of matter elicited by his own cross-examination; but is strictly confined to new matter introduced by the prisoner, and supported by his examination-in-chief. A defense resting on motives, or qualifying the imputation attaching to facts, generally lets in evidence in reply; as, in such cases, the prisoner usually adverts, by evidence, to matter which it would have been impossible for the prosecutor to anticipate. The admissibility of evidence, in reply, may generally be determined by the answer to the questions: Could the prosecutor have foreseen this? Is it evidently new matter? Is the object of the further inquiry to re-establish the character of the witnesses impeached by evidence (not by declamation) in the course of the defense, or is it to impeach the character of the prisoner’s witnesses? Cross-examination of such new witnesses, to an extent limited by the examination-in-chief, that is, confined to such points or matter as the prosecutor shall have examined on, is allowed on the part of the prisoner.
Triangles.A wooden instrument consisting of three poles so fastened at the top that they may spread at bottom in a triangular form, and by means of spikes affixed to each pole, remain firm in the earth. An iron bar, breast-high, goes across one side of the triangle. The triangles were used in some regiments for the purpose of inflicting military punishment when corporeal chastisement was much in vogue.
Triarii.In the Roman legions, consisted of veteran soldiers, who formed the third line in the order of battle.
Triballi.A powerful people in Thrace, a branch of the Getæ dwelling along the Danube, who were defeated by Alexander the Great in 335B.C., and obliged to sue for peace.
Tribune.In Roman antiquity, an officer or magistrate chosen by the people, to protect them from the oppression of the patricians or nobles, and to defend their liberties against any attempts that might be made upon them by the senate and consuls. The tribunes were at first two, but their number was increased ultimately to ten. There were also military tribunes, officers of the army, of whom there were from four to six in each legion.
Tribute.An annual or stated sum of money or other valuable thing, paid by one prince or nation to another, either as an acknowledgment of submission, or as the price of peace and protection, or by virtue of some treaty; as the Romans made their conquered countries pay tribute.
Trichinopoly.Capital of the district of the same name, of British India; in the presidency of Madras. It is pretty strongly fortified by walls about 2 miles in circuit, lofty, thick, and in some places double. There is also a fort built on a sienite rock about 600 feet high. Two or 3 miles southwest of the town is a large cantonment, containing barracks for a large number of troops. Trichinopoly was subject to a Hindoo rajah until 1732, when the nabob of Arcot gained possession of it; and in 1741 he was in turn dispossessed by the Mahrattas. During the wars between the French and English, the place was much contested; and in 1757, when besieged by the former, it was relieved by the rapid march of an English force under Capt. Calliaud.
Trick.A term used in heraldry to denote a mode of representing arms by sketching them in outline, and appending letters to express the tinctures, and sometimes numerals to indicate the repetition of changes.
Trident.In Roman antiquity, a three-pronged spear used in the contests of gladiators by the retiarius.
Triest, orTrieste(anc.Tergeste, orTergestum). The principal seaport city of the Austrian empire, in Illyria, on the Gulf of Triest at the northeast extremity of the Adriatic Sea, 73 miles east-northeast of Venice. The ancientTergestefirst received historical mention in 51B.C., when it was overrun and plundered by neighboring tribes. It owes its prosperity chiefly to the emperor Charles VI., who constituted it a free port, and to Maria Theresa. In 1797 and in 1805, it was taken by the French.
Trigger.A steel catch, which being pulled disengages the cock of a gunlock, and causes the hammer to strike the nipple in percussion-muskets, and the firing-pin in breech-loaders. The difference between a hair and common trigger is this: the hair-trigger, when set, lets off the cock at the slightest touch, whereas the common trigger requires a greater degree of force, and consequently its operation is retarded.
Trim.The chief town of the county of Meath, Ireland, on the Boyne, 27 miles northwest from Dublin. It was taken by Cromwell in 1649.
Trincomalee.A seaport town and magnificent harbor on the northeast coast of Ceylon. It is a place of great antiquity; it was here that the Malabar invaders of Ceylon built one of their most sacred shrines,—the “Temple of a Thousand Columns,” which was demolished by the Portuguese, who fortified the heights with the materials derived from its destruction, 1622. It was next held by the Dutch; but in 1672, during the rupture between Louis XIV. and the United Provinces, the French took Trincomalee, which was abandoned by the Dutch in a panic. In 1782, the French admiral Suffrein, in the absence of the British commander, took possession of the fort, and the English garrison retired to Madras. It was restored to the Dutch in the following year, and they retained it till the capture of Ceylon by the British in 1795. It was finally ceded to Great Britain, by the treaty of Amiens, in 1802.
Trinidad.An island belonging to Great Britain, and the most southerly of the West India Islands. It is separated from the mainland (Venezuela) by the Gulf of Paria. Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498; and first colonized by the Spaniards, in 1588. In 1676, the French possessed it for a short time, but it was speedily restored to Spain; and in 1797, it was captured by the British, who have retained it ever since.
Trinobantes.A British tribe, which occupied Middlesex and Essex, and joined in opposing the invasion of Julius Cæsar, 54B.C.; but they soon came to terms with the Romans.
Trinomalee.A town and fortress of India, in the Carnatic, where Col. Smith greatly distinguished himself against the united forces of Hyder Ali and Nizam Ali, subahdars of the Deccan, with an army of 43,000 horse and 28,000 foot; while the British commander had only 10,000 foot and 1000 horse. The result of this victory was that the Nizam detached himself from Hyder, and in February, 1768, concluded a treaty with the British.
Triparted.In heraldry, parted in three pieces; having three parts or pieces; as, a cross triparted.
Tripartite.Being of three parts, or three parties being concerned; hence, tripartite alliance, or treaty.
Triple Alliance.The name by which two different treaties are known in history, viz.: (1) A treaty concluded in 1668 at the Hague, between England, Holland, and Sweden, having for its object the protection of the Spanish Netherlands, and the checking of the conquests of Louis XIV. (2) An alliance concluded in 1717 between Britain, France, and Holland, against Spain, which included among its stipulations that the Pretender should quit France, and that the treaty of Utrecht should be carried into effect as regards the demolition of Dunkirk. The Protestant succession was guaranteed by this treaty in England, and that of the Duke of Orleans in France.
Tripoli, orTripolis(in its modern Arabic form,Tarabulus). A seaport and one of the chief commercial towns of Syria, near the coast of the Mediterranean, on both sides of the river Kadisha. On the left side stands the castle built by Count Raymond of Toulouse, in the 12th century, when the city was taken by the Crusaders. It was conquered by the Egyptians in 1832; restored to the Porte, 1835, and it surrendered to the British in 1841.
Tripoli.A regency of the Ottoman empire, and the most easterly of the Barbary States, North Africa. The governor-general has the title, rank, and authority of a pasha of the Ottoman empire. The militaryforce of the country consists of a body of Turkish soldiers, some 10,000 in number, whose business is to keep down insurrections, but who were formerly wont to vary it by creating them. In ancient times, Tripoli seems to have been tributary to the Cyrenæans, from whom, however, it was wrested by the Carthaginians. It next passed to the Romans. Like the rest of Northern Africa, it was conquered by the Arabs, and the feeble Christianity of the natives was supplanted by a vigorous and fanatical Mohammedanism. In 1552 (1551), the Turks got possession of it, and have ever since been the rulers of the country, though the authority of the sultan, up till 1835, had been virtually at zero for more than a century. In that year, however, an expedition was dispatched from Constantinople; the ruling dey, Karamanli, was overthrown and imprisoned; a new Turkish pasha, with viceregal powers, was appointed, and the state made an eyalet of the Ottoman empire. Several rebellions have since taken place (notably in 1842 and 1844), but they have always been suppressed.
Tripolitza(“three cities”). A town of Greece under the Turkish rule, 39 miles southwest from Corinth. In 1821 it was stormed by the Greek insurgents; and in 1828 razed to the ground by the troops of Ibrahim Pasha; it has since, however, been rebuilt.
Tripping.In heraldry, having the right fore foot lifted, the others remaining on the ground, as if he were trotting;—said of an animal, as a hart, buck, and the like, represented in an escutcheon.
Triumph(Lat.triumphus). Was the name given in ancient Rome to the public honor bestowed on a general who had been successful in war. It consisted in a solemn procession along theVia Sacraup to the Capitol, where sacrifice was offered Jupiter. The victor sat in a chariot, drawn by four horses,—his captives marching before, his troops following behind. Certain conditions had to be fulfilled before a triumph could be enjoyed, and it was the business of the senate to see that these were enforced. Under the empire, generals serving abroad were considered to be the emperor’s lieutenants, and therefore, however successful in their wars, they had no claim to a triumph. They received insteadtriumphal decorations, and other rewards. The oration, or lesser triumph, differs from the greater chiefly in these respects; that the imperator entered the city on foot, clad in the simpletoga prætextaof a magistrate, that he bore no sceptre, was not preceded by the senate and a flourish of trumpets, nor followed by victorious troops, but only by the equites and the populace, and that the ceremonies were concluded by the sacrifice of a sheep instead of a bull. Theovation, it is scarcely necessary to add, was granted when the success, though considerable, did not fulfill the conditions specified for a triumph.
Triumph.To obtain victory; to meet with success.
Triumphal.Of or pertaining to triumph; used in triumph; indicating, or in honor of, a triumph or victory; as, a triumphal crown; a triumphal arch.
Triumphal Column.SeeColumn, Triumphal.
Triumphal Crown.SeeCrown, Triumphal.
Triumphant.Celebrating victory; expressive of joy for success; as, a triumphant song.
Triumpher.One who was honored with a triumph in ancient Rome. One who triumphs or rejoices for victory; one who vanquishes.
Trojæ Ludus.Among the Romans was a species of mock fight, similar to the tournaments of the Middle Ages, performed by young noblemen on horseback, who were furnished with arms suitable to their age.
Trojan War.In classical history, a celebrated epoch, which occurred nearly thirteen centuries before the Christian era, and which has formed the subject of the two finest poems in the world,—Homer’s “Iliad” and Virgil’s “Æneid.” This war was undertaken by the states of Greece to recover Helen, whom Paris, the son of Priam, king of Troy, had carried away from the house of Menelaus. (SeeTroy.)
Tromblon.A fire-arm which was formerly fired from a rest, and from which several balls and slugs were discharged. An ancient wall-piece.
Trombone.Formerly a species of blunderbuss for boat-service, taking its name from its unseemly trumpet mouth.
Troop.A company of cavalry. It is the same, with respect to formation, as a company in the infantry.
Troop Corporal-Major.The chief non-commissioned officer of a troop in the British Household Cavalry.
Troop Sergeant-Major.In the British service, is the chief sergeant of a troop.
Trooper.A private or soldier in a body of cavalry; a horse-soldier.
Trooping the Colors.Is a ceremony performed in the British service, at the public mounting of garrison guards.
Troop-ship.A merchant ship “taken up,” as it is called, for the conveyance of soldiers by sea.
Trophy.Was a memorial of victory erected on the spot where the enemy had turned to flight. Among the Greeks (with the exception of the Macedonians, who erected no trophies) one or two shields and helmets of the routed enemy placed upon the trunk of a tree served as the sign and memorial of victory. After a sea-fight the trophy consisted of the beaks and stern-ornaments of the captured vessels, set up on the nearest coast. It was considered wrong to destroy such a trophy, and equally wrong to repair it when it had fallen down through time, for animosity ought not to be perpetual.In early times the Romans never erected trophies on the field, but decorated the buildings at Rome with the spoils of the vanquished. In later times pillars and triumphal arches were employed to commemorate victories. Besides these, in modern times, the humiliation of an enemy is rendered lasting by such devices as the bridge of Jena, of Waterloo, and by the distribution of captured cannon. Morally considered, this practice is no improvement upon the simple and perishable trophies of the ancient Greeks.
Trophy-money.Was certain money formerly raised in the several counties of the kingdom of Great Britain, towards providing harness and maintaining the militia.
Trossulum(nowTrusso). A town in Etruria, 9 miles from Volsinii, which is said to have been taken by some Roman equites without the aid of foot-soldiers; whence the Roman equites obtained the name of Trossuli. Some writers identify this town with Troilium, which was taken by the Romans 293B.C.; but they appear to have been different places.
Trou de Loup(Wolf-hole). In field fortification, is a round hole, about 6 feet deep, and pointed at the bottom, like an inverted cone, with a stake placed in the middle.Trous de loupare frequently dug round a redoubt to obstruct the enemy’s approach. They are circular at the top, of about 41⁄2feet in diameter.
Trou de Rat(Fr.). Literally, a rat-hole, or rat-catch; figuratively, any disadvantageous position into which troops are rashly driven.
Trowel Bayonet.So called from its shape. A bayonet intended to serve also as an intrenching tool; invented by Lieut. Rice, 5th U. S. Infantry. It is used by part of the U. S. troops at the present time (1880).
Troy.The earliest traditions of the Greek people represent the country on both sides of the Ægean as peopled by various races, either of genuine Hellenic, or of closely affiliated tribes. Among those who peopled the eastern Asiatic coast were the Trojans. The story of the Trojan war is extremely simple. The Trojans, in the person of Paris, or Alexander, the son of the reigning monarch, Priam, are represented as having had certain dealings with the Achæans, or Greeks of the Peloponnesus, in the course of which the gay young prince carries off from the palace of Menelaus, king of Sparta, his spouse Helen, the greatest beauty of her age. To revenge this insult, the Greeks banded themselves together and sailed against Troy with a large fleet. The most notable of the tribes who took part in this expedition were the Argives, or Achæans, the Spartans, the Bœotians, and the Thessalians. Of the Thessalians, the most prominent captain was Achilles; and the general command of the whole expedition was committed to Agamemnon, king of Mycenæ. This well-appointed European army is represented as having spent nine years in besieging the god-built walls of the city of Priam without making any impression on its strength. A violent quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, breaking out in the tenth year, so weakened the invading force that the Trojans, under Hector, pushed the Greeks back to the very verge of the sea, and almost set their ships on fire. At the critical moment, however, the Thessalian captain was reconciled to the head of the expedition; and with his return to the field the fortune of war changed; Hector, the champion of Troy, fell, and the impending doom of the city was darkly foreshadowed; it was finally captured and sacked, 1184B.C.(the date generally accepted).
Troyes.A town of France, capital of the department of Aube, on the left bank of the Seine. It occupies the site of the ancient Augustobono, the chief town of the Tricasses. It suffered severely in the civil wars of the 15th century, and was taken by Joan of Arc in 1429. A treaty was concluded here between England, France, and Burgundy, May 21, 1420, whereby it was stipulated that Henry V. should marry Catherine, daughter of Charles VI., be appointed regent of France, and after the death of Charles should inherit the crown. Troyes was taken by the allied armies February 7; retaken by Napoleon February 23; and again taken by the allies March 4, 1814.
Truce.An agreement between belligerent parties, by which they mutually engage to forbear all acts of hostility against each other for some time, the war still continuing. Truces are of several kinds:general, extending to all the territories and dominions of both parties; andparticularly, restrained to particular places; as, for example, by sea, and not by land. They are alsoabsolute,indeterminate, andgeneral; orlimited and determinedto certain things, for example, to bury the dead. During a truce, it is dishonorable to occupy more advanced ground, or to resort to any act which would confer advantage. A truce requires ordinarily to be confirmed by the commander-in-chief to become binding. It is lawful to break it before the prescribed period, on notice previously agreed on being given to the opposite party. This is called denouncing a truce.