MILITARYDICTIONARY.A.
MILITARYDICTIONARY.
ABATIS, in a military sense, is formed by cutting down many entire trees, the branches of which are turned towards an enemy, and as much as possible entangled one into another. They are made either before redoubts, or other works, to render the attacks difficult, or sometimes along the skirts of a wood, to prevent an enemy from getting possession of it. In this case the trunks serve as a breast-work, behind which the troops are posted, and for that reason should be so disposed, that the parts may, if possible, flank each other.
ABLECTI,in military antiquity, a choice or select part of the soldiery in the Roman armies, picked out of those calledextraordinarii.
ABOLLA,in military antiquity, a warm kind of garment, generally lined or doubled, used both by the Greeks and Romans, chiefly out of the city, in following the camp.
ABORD,Fr.attack, onset.
S’ABOUCHER,Fr.to parley.
ABOUT, a technical word to express the movement, by which a body of troops changes its front or aspect, by facing according to any given word of command.
RightAbout, is when the soldier completely changes the situation of his person, by a semi-circular movement to the right.
LeftAbout, is when the soldier changes the situation of his person by a semi-circular movement to the left.
ABREAST, a term formerly used to express any number of men in front. At present they are determined by Files.
ABRI,Fr.shelter, cover.Etre à l’abri, to be under cover, as of a wood, hillock, &c.
ABSCISSA,in military mathematics, signifies any part of the diameter or axis of a curve, contained between its vertex or some other fixed point, and the intersection of the ordinate.
In the parabola, theabscissais a third proportional to the parameter and the ordinate.
In the ellipsis, the square of the ordinate is equal to the rectangle under the parameter andabscissa, lessened by another rectangle under the saidabscissa, and a fourth proportional to the axis, the parameter, and theabscissa.
In the hyperbola, the squares of the ordinates are as the rectangles of theabscissaby another line, compounded of theabscissaand the transverse axis.
But it must be remembered, that the two proportions relating to the ellipsis and hyperbola, the origin of theabscissas, or point from whence they began to be reckoned, is supposed to be the vertex of the curve, or, which amounts to the same thing, the point where the axis meets it; for if the origin of theabscissabe taken from the centre, as is often done, the above proportions will not be true.
ABSENT, a term used in military returns. It forms a part of regimental reports, to account for the deficiency of any given number of officers or soldiers; and is usually distinguished under two principal heads, viz.
Absentwith leave, officers with permission, or non-commissioned officers and soldiers on furlough.
Absentwithout leave. Men who desert are frequently reportedabsent without leave, for the specific purpose of bringing their crime under regimental cognizance, and to prevent them from being tried capitally, for desertion.
ABSOLUTEGravity, in philosophy, is the whole force by which a body, shell, or shot, is impelled towards the centre. SeeGravity.
AbsoluteNumber, in Algebra, is the known quantity which possesses entirely one side of the equation. Thus, in the equation,xx+ 10x, = 64, the number 64, possessing entirely one side of theequation, is called theabsolute number, and is equal to the square of the unknown rootx, added to 10x, or to 10 timesx.
ABUTMENT. SeeBridges.
ACADEMY, in antiquity, the name of a villa situated about a mile from the city of Athens, where Plato and his followers assembled for conversing on philosophical subjects; and hence they acquired the name ofAcademics.
The termAcademyis frequently used among the moderns for a society, of learned persons, instituted for the cultivation and improvement of arts or sciences. Some authors confoundacademywith university; but, though much the same in Latin, they are very different things in English. An university is, properly, a body composed of graduates in the several faculties; of professors, who teach in the public schools; of regents or tutors, and students who learn under them, and aspire likewise to degrees; whereas anacademywas originally not intended for teaching, or to profess any art, but to improve it; it was not for novices to be instructed in, but for those who were more knowing; for persons of distinguished abilities to confer in, and communicate their lights and discoveries to each other, for their mutual benefit and improvement. The firstacademywe read of, was established by Charlemagne, by the advice of Alcuin: it was composed of the chief wits of the court, the emperor himself being a member.
MilitaryAcademy. There are in England two royal military academies, one at Woolwich, and one at Portsmouth. The first was established by king George II. in 1741, endowed, and supported, for the instructing of the people belonging to the military branch of ordnance, in the several parts of mathematics necessary to qualify them for the service of the artillery, and the business of engineers. The lectures of the masters in theory were then duly attended by the practitioner-engineers, officers, serjeants, corporals, private men, and cadets. At present the gentlemen educated at this academy are the sons of the nobility and military officers. They are called gentlemen cadets, and are not admitted under 14 and not above 16 years of age. They are taught writing, arithmetic, algebra, Latin, French, mathematics, mechanics, surveying, levelling, and fortification, together with the attack and defence; gunnery, mining, laboratory works, geography, perspective, fencing, dancing, &c. The master-general of the ordnance is always captain of the company of gentlemen cadets, and some officer of merit is always captain-lieutenant. There is, besides, a first lieutenant, and two second lieutenants. They are further under the immediate care of a lieutenant-governor, and an inspector, who are officers of great abilities and experience; and the professors and masters are men of known talents and capacity. That at Portsmouth was founded by George I. in 1722, for teaching of the branches of the mathematics which more immediately relate to navigation.
For the American and FrenchMilitary Academies, seeSchool.
ACANZI, in military history, the name of the Turkish light-horse that form the van-guard of the Grand Signior’s army on a march.
ACCELERATEDMotion on oblique or inclined-planes. SeeMotion.
AcceleratedMotion of pendulums. SeePendulums.
AcceleratedMotion of Projectiles. SeeProjectiles.
ACCENDONES, in military antiquity, a kind of gladiators, or supernumeraries, whose office was to excite and animate the combatants during the engagement.
ACCENSI, in antiquity, were officers attending the Roman magistrates; their business was to summon the people to the public games, and to assist the prætor when he sat on the bench.
Accensi, in military antiquity, was also an appellation given to a kind of adjutants appointed by the tribune to assist each centurion and decurion. According to Festus, they were supernumerary soldiers, whose duty it was to attend their leaders, and supply the places of those who were either killed or wounded. Livy mentions them as irregular troops, but little esteemed. Salmasius says, they were taken out of the fifth class of the poor citizens of Rome.
ACCESSIBLE, that which may be approached. We say, in a military stile, that place, or that fortress, isaccessiblefrom the sea, or land, i. e. it may be entered on those sides.
An accessible height or distance, in geometry, is that which may be measured by applying a rule, &c. to it: or rather, it is a height, the foot whereof may be approached, and from whence any distance may be measured on the ground.
Heights, both accessible, and inaccessible, may be taken with a quadrant. SeeAltitude; and the article on Field Fortifications in theAmerican Military Library, Theorem 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.
One of the objects of surveying, is the measuring both accessible and inaccessible distances.
ACCLIVITY, in a military sense, is the steepness or slope of any work, inclined to the horizon, reckoned upwards. Some writers on fortification use acclivity as synonymous withtalus; thoughtalusis commonly used to denote all manner of slopes, either in its ascendent or descendent state.
ACCONTIUM, in ancient military writers, a kind of Grecian dart or javelin, somewhat resembling the Romanpilum.
ACCOUTREMENTS, in a military sense, signify habits, equipage, or furniture,of a soldier, such as belts, pouches, cartridge-boxes, saddles, bridles, &c. Accoutrements should be made of stout leather, not of the spongy kind, which is always stretching, and difficult to clean. The belts are about 2¹⁄₄ inches broad, with two buckles to fix them to the pouch. Pouches are made of the stoutest blackened leather, especially the outside flaps, which are of such a substance as to turn the severest rain. Cartridge-boxes are made as light as possible, with holes in each, to hold cartridges. SeeCartridge.
ACLIDES, in Roman antiquity, a kind of missive weapon, with a thong fixed to it, whereby it might be drawn back again. Most authors describe theaclidesas a sort of dart or javelin: but Scaliger makes it roundish or globular, with a wooden stem to poise it by.
ACOLUTHI, in military antiquity, was a title in the Grecian empire, given to the captain or commander of thevarangi, or body-guards, appointed for the security of the emperor’s palace.
ACTIANgamesin antiquity, were games instituted, or at least restored, by Augustus, in memory of the famous victory, at Actium, over Mark Antony.
Actianyears, in chronology, a series of years, commencing with the epocha of the battle of Actium, otherwise called the æra of Augustus.
ACTION, in the military art, is an engagement between two armies, or any smaller body of troops, or between different bodies belonging thereto. The word is likewise used to signify some memorable act done by an officer, soldier, detachment or party.
ACTIVITY, in a military sense, denotes laboriousness, attention, labor, diligence and study.
ACUTEangle. SeeAngle.
ADACTEDapplies to stakes, or piles, driven into the earth by large malls shod with iron, as in securing ramparts or pontoons.
ADDICE, a sort of axe which cuts horizontally. It is sometimes called an Adze.
ADIT, a passage under ground, by which miners approach the part they intend to sap. SeeGallery.
ADJUTANT-GENERALis a staff officer, who aids and assists a general in his laborious duties: he forms the several details of duty of the army, with the brigade-majors, and keeps an exact state of each brigade and regiment, with a roll of the lieutenant-generals, major-generals, colonels, lieutenant-colonels, and majors. He every day at head quarters receives orders from the general officer of the day, and distributes them to the majors of brigades, from whom he receives the number of men they are to furnish for the duty of the army, and informs them of any detail which may concern them. On marching days he accompanies the general to the ground of the camp. He makes a daily report of the situation of all the posts placed for the safety of the army, and of any changes made in their posts. In a day of battle he acts as aid to the general. In a siege he visits the several posts and guards of the trenches, and reports their situation, and how circumstanced: he gives and signs all orders for skirmishing parties (if time permit) and has a serjeant from each brigade to carry any orders which he may have to send. SeeAmerican Mil. Lib.ArticleStaff.
ADJUTANT, an officer who aids the major in part of his duty, and performs it in his absence. He receives orders from the brigade-major, if in camp; and when in garrison, from the town-major: after he has carried them to his colonel or officer commanding the regiment, he then assembles the serjeant-major, drum-major and fife-major, with a serjeant and corporal of each company, who write the orders in an orderly book, to shew to their respective officers. If convoys, parties, detachments, or guards, are to be furnished, he gives the number which each company is to furnish, and hour and place for the assembling: he must keep an exact roster and roll of duties, and have a perfect knowlege of all manœuvres, &c. This post is usually given to an active subaltern.
ADMIRAL, on the European establishiments, when on shore, are entitled to receive military honors, and rank with generals in the army.
ADVANCE. SeePayin Advance.
ADVANCEDsignifies some part of an army in front of the rest, as inadvanced guards, which always precede the line of march or operations of a body of troops; again, as when a battalion, or guns of a second line are brought up in front and before the first line. This term also applies to the promotions of officers and soldiers.
ADVANCEMENT, in a military sense, signifies honor, promotion, or preferment, in the army, regiment or company.
ADVANTAGEGround, a ground that gives superiority, or an opportunity of annoyance or resistance.
ADVICE-Boat, a vessel employed for intelligence.
ADVOCATEGeneral. SeeJudgeMartial.
ÆNEATORES, in military antiquity, the musicians in an army; including those who sounded the trumpets, horns,litui,buccincæ, &c.
AFFAIR, in the military acceptation of the word, means any slight action or engagement.
Affairof Honor, a duel.
AFFAMER,une Place,Fr.to besiegea place so closely as to starve the garrison and inhabitants. SeeBlockade.
AFFIDAVIT, in military law, signifies an oath taken before some person who is properly authorised to administer it; as first, when a soldier is inlisted, when it is stiled an attestation; secondly, by all officers appointed on a court-martial; thirdly, by the commissaries, or muster-masters.
AFFRONTER,Fr.to encounter or attack boldly.
AFFUT, the French name for a gun-carriage, and for which we have no appropriate name; the only distinction from all other carriages is, that it belongs to a gun. SeeCarriage.
AGA, in the Turkish army, is the same as a general with us.
AGE. A young man must be 14 years old before he can become an officer in the English army, or be entered as a cadet at Woolwich, in the English academy.
Persons are enlisted for soldiers from 17 to 45. After the latter age, every inhabitant is exempted from serving in the British militia.
By a late regulation in England, growing boys may be enlisted under 16 years of age. These recruits are chiefly intended for the East-India service.
In the United States 18 to 45 is the legal age for militia and regulars.
The Romans were obliged to enter themselves in the army at the age of 17 years; at 45 they might demand their dismission. Amongst the Lombards, the age of entry was between 18 and 19; among the Saxons, at 13.
AGEMA, in the ancient military art, a kind of soldiery chiefly in the Macedonian armies. The word is Greek, and literally denotes vehemence, to express the strength and eagerness of this corps. Some authors will haveagemato denote a certain number of picked men, answering to a legion among the Romans.
AGENCY, a certain proportion of money which is ordered to be subtracted from the pay and allowances of the British army, for transacting the business of the several regiments composing it.
AGENT, a person in the civil department of the British army, between the paymaster-general and the paymaster of the regiment, through whom every regimental concern of a pecuniary nature must be transacted. He gives security to government for all monies which pass through his hands in the capacity of an Agent—and by the Mutiny Act, it was provided, That if an Agent shall withhold the Pay of Officers or Soldiers for the Space of one Month, he should be dismissed from his Office and forfeit 100l.
The army agency has since been incorporated with the British war office, and forms a special department.
MilitaryAgentin the United States is a civil officer whose duty is the transporting of clothing and other articles; and the expenditures for other services attached to the military department; they act under direct orders from the War Department.
AGGER, in ancient military writers, denotes the middle part of a military road, raised into a ridge, with a gentle slope on each side, to make a drain for the water, and keep the way dry.
Aggeris also used for the whole road, or military way. Where highways were to be made in low grounds, as between two hills, the Romans used to raise them above the adjacent land, so as to make them of a level with the hills. These banks they calledaggeres. Bergier mentions several in theGallia Belgica, which were thus raised 10, 15, or 20 feet above ground, and 5 or 6 leagues long. They are sometimes calledaggeres calceati, or causeways.
Agger, also, denotes a work of fortification, used both for the defence and the attack of towns, camps, &c. in which senseaggeris the same with what was otherwise calledvallum, and in later times,agestum: and among the moderns,lines; sometimes,cavaliers,terrasses, &c.
Theaggerwas usually a bank, or elevation of earth, or other matter, bound and supported with timber; having sometimes turrets on the top, wherein the workmen, engineers, and soldiery, were placed. It had also a ditch, which served as its chief defence. The height of theaggerwas frequently equal to that of the wall of the place. Cæsar tells us of one he made, which was 30 feet high, and 330 feet broad. Besides the use ofaggersbefore towns, they generally used to fortify their camps with them; for want of which precaution, divers armies have been surprised and ruined.
There were vastaggersmade in towns and places on the sea-side, fortified with towers, castles, &c. Those made by Cæsar and Pompey, at Brundusium, are famous. Sometimesaggerswere even built across arms of the sea, lakes, and morasses; as was done by Alexander before Tyre, and by M. Antony and Cassius.
The wall of Severus, in the north of England, may be considered as a grandagger, to which belong several lesser ones. Besides, the principalaggerorvallum, on the brink of the ditch, Mr. Horsley describes another on the south side of the former, about 5 paces distant from it, which he calls the southagger; and another larger one, on the north side of the ditch, called the northagger. This latter he conjectures to have served as a military way; the former, probably, was made for the inner defence, in case the enemy should beat them from any part of the principalvallum, or to protect the soldiers against any sudden attack from the provincial Britons.
AggerTarquinii, was a famous fence built by Tarquinius Superbus, on the east side of Rome, to stop the incursionsof the Latins, and other enemies, whereby the city might be invested.
Aggeris also used for the earth dug out of a ditch or trench, and thrown up on the brink of it: in which sense, the Chevalier Folard thinks the word to be understood, when used in the plural number, since we can hardly suppose they would raise a number of cavaliers, or terrasses.
Aggeris also used for a bank or wall, erected against the sea, or some great river, to confine or keep it within bounds; in which sense,aggeramounts to the same with what the ancients calledtumulusandmoles; the Dutch,dyke; and we,dam,sea-wall; the Asiatics call thembunds, &c.
AGIADES, in the Turkish armies, are a kind of pioneers, or rather field engineers, employed in fortifying the camp, &c.
AGUERRI,Fr.an officer or soldier experienced in war; a veteran.
AIDE-DE-CAMP, an officer appointed to attend a general officer, in the field, in winter-quarters, and in garrison; he receives and carries the orders, as occasion requires. He is taken from the line, and all aids-de-camp have extra pay allowed for their duty. This employment is of greater importance than has been generally believed: it has been, however, too often entrusted to young officers of little experience, and of as little capacity; but in the French service they bestow great attention on this article. Marshal de Puysegur mentions the loss of a battle through the incapacity of an aide-de-camp. On the English establishment, generals, being field marshals, havefour, lieutenant-generalstwo, and major-generals and brigadier-generalsone.
In the United States the number is established by law; though on service the number must necessarily be equal to the exigency, or the various points to which orders must be sent. SeeAmerican Mil. Lib.ArticleStaff.
AIDEdu Parc des Vivres,Fr.an officer in France, acting immediately under the commissary of stores and provisions.
AID-MAJOR. SeeAdjutant.
AIGREMORE, a term used by the artificers in the laboratory, to express the charcoal in a state fitted for the making of powder.
AIGUILLE, an instrument used by engineers to pierce a rock for the lodgement of powder, as in a mine; or to mine a rock, so as to excavate and make roads.
AILE,Fr.a wing or flank of an army or fortification.
AIM, the act of bringing the musquet, piece of ordnance, or any other missive weapon, to its proper line of direction with the object intended to be struck.
AIM FRONTLET, a piece of wood hollowed out to fit the muzzle of a gun, to make it of an equal height with the breech, formerly made use of by the gunners, to level and direct their pieces. It is not used at present.
AIR-GUN, a pneumatic machine for exploding bullets, &c. with great violence.
The common air-gun is made of brass, and has two barrels: the inside barrel is of a small bore, from whence the bullets are exploded; and a large barrel on the outside of it. There is likewise a syringe fixed in the stock of the gun by which the air is injected into the cavity between the two barrels through a valve. The ball is put down into its place in the small barrel with the rammer, as in any other gun. Another valve, being opened by the trigger, permits the air to come behind the bullet, so as to drive it out with great force. If this valve be opened and shut suddenly, one charge of condensed air may be sufficient for several discharges of bullets; but if the whole air be discharged on one single bullet, it will drive it out with uncommon force. This discharge is effected by means of a lock placed here, as usual in other guns; for the trigger being pulled, the cock will go down and drive the lever, which will open the valve, and let in the air upon the bullet: but as the expansive power of the condensed air diminishes at each discharge, its force is not determined with sufficient precision for the purposes of war. Hence it has been long out of use among military men.
In the air-gun, and all other cases where the air is required to be condensed to a very great degree, it will be necessary to have the syringe of a small bore, viz. not exceeding half an inch in diameter; because the pressure against every square inch is about 15 pounds, and therefore against every circular inch about 12 pounds. If therefore the syringe be one inch in diameter, when the atmosphere is injected, there will be a resistance of 12 pounds against the piston; and when 10 are injected, there will be a force of 120 pounds to be overcome; whereas 10 atmospheres act against the circular half-inch piston (whose area is only ¹⁄₄ part so large) with only a force equal to 30 pounds; or 40 atmospheres may be injected with such a syringe, as well as 10 with the other. In short, the facility of working will be inversely as the squares of the diameter of the syringe.
AIR-SHAFTS, in mining. SeeMining.
ALARM, is a sudden apprehension upon some report, which makes men run to their arms to stand upon their guard; it implies either the apprehension of being suddenly attacked, or the notice given of such an attack being actually made; generally signified by the firing of a cannon, or rocket, the beat of a drum, &c.
Alarm-Post, in the field, is the ground appointed by the quarter-master general for each regiment to march to, in case of an alarm.
Alarm-Post, in a garrison, is the place allotted by the governor for the troops to draw up in, on any sudden alarm.
False-Alarms, are stratagems of war, frequently made use of to harrass an enemy, by keeping them perpetually under arms. They are often conveyed by false reports, occasioned by a fearful or negligent sentinel. A vigilant officer will sometimes make a false alarm, to try if his guards are strict upon duty.
AlarmBell, the bell rung upon any sudden emergency, as a fire, mutiny, approach of an enemy, or the like, called by the French, Tocsin.
ALCANTARA, knights of a Spanish military order, who gained a great name during the wars with the Moors.
ALERT, originally derived from the French wordalerte, which is formed ofaandairte. The French formerly saidairteforair; so thatalertemeans something continually in the air, and always ready to be put in action. A general is said to bealertwhen he is particularly vigilant.
To be kept upon the alert, is to be in continual apprehension of being surprised.Alerte, among the French, is an expression which is used to put soldiers upon their guard. It is likewise used by a post that may be attacked in the night, to give notice to the one that is destined to support it; and by a sentry to give warning when any part of the enemy is approaching.We have had an alert, is a military phrase.
ALGEBRA, a peculiar kind of arithmetic, in which every military man ought to be versed, but which is indispensibly necessary for officers in the ordnance department.
ALIEN, in law, implies a person born in a foreign country, in contradistinction to a natural born or naturalized person.
ALIGNEMENT, implies any thing strait—For instance, thealignementof a battalion means the situation of a body of men when drawn up in line. Thealignementof a camp signifies the relative position of the tents, &c. so as to form a strait line, from given points.
ALLAY. SeeAlloy.
ALLÆ, in the ancient military art, the two wings or extremes of an army ranged in order of battle.
ALLEGIANCE, in law, implies the obedience which is due to the laws.
Oath ofAllegiance, is that taken by an alien, by which he adopts America and renounces the authority of a foreign government. It is also applied to the oath taken by officers and soldiers in pledge of their fidelity to the state.
ALLEGIANT, loyal, faithful to the laws.
ALLEZER, to cleanse the mouth of a cannon or other piece of ordnance, and to increase the bore, so as to produce its determined calibre.
ALLEZOIR, a frame of timber firmly suspended in the air with strong cordage, on which is placed a piece of ordnance with the muzzle downwards. In this situation the bore is rounded and enlarged by means of an instrument which has a very sharp and strong edge made to traverse the bore by the force of machinery or horses, and in an horizontal direction.
ALLEZURES, the metal taken from the cannon by boring.
ALLIAGE, a term used by the French to denote the composition of metals used for the fabrication of cannon and mortars, &c.
ALLIANCE, in a military sense, signifies a treaty entered into by sovereign states, for their mutual safety and defence. In this sense alliances may be divided into such as are offensive, where the contracting parties oblige themselves jointly to attack some other power; and into such as are defensive, whereby the contracting powers bind themselves to stand by, and defend one another, in case of being attacked by any other power.
Alliances are variously distinguished, according to their object, the parties in them, &c. Hence we read of equal, unequal, triple, quadruple, grand, offensive, defensivealliances, &c.
ALLODIAL, independent; not feudal. The Allodii of the Romans were bodies of men embodied on any emergency, in a manner similar to our volunteer associations.
ALLOGNE, the cordage used with floating bridges, by which they are guided from one side of a river to the other.
ALLONGE,Fr.a pass or thrust with a rapier or small sword; also a long rein used in the exercising of horses.
ALLOY, is the mixture of metals that enter into the composition of the metal proper for cannon and mortars.
ALLY, in a military sense, implies any nation united to another—under a treaty, either offensive or defensive, or both.
ALMADIE, a kind of military canoe, or small vessel, about 24 feet long, made of the bark of a tree, and used by the negroes of Africa.
Almadie, is also the name of a long-boat used at Calcutta, often 80 to 100 feet long, and generally six or seven broad, they row from ten to thirty oars.
ALTIMETRY, the taking or measuring altitude, or heights.
ALTITUDE, height, or distance from the ground, measured upwards, and may be both accessible, and inaccessible.
Altitudeof a figure, is the distance of its vertex from its base, or the length of a perpendicular let fall from the vertex to the base. SeeAmerican Mil. Lib.Art.Field Fortification.
Altitudeof a shot or shell, is the perpendicular height of the vertex above the horizon. SeeGunneryandProjectiles.
Altitude,in optics, is usually considered as the angle subtended between aline drawn through the eye, parallel to the horizon, and a visual ray emitted from an object to the eye.
Altitude,in cosmography, is the perpendicular height of an object, or its distance from the horizon upwards.
Altitudesare divided intoaccessibleandinaccessible.
AccessibleAltitudeof an object, is that whose base you can have access to, i. e. measure the nearest distance between your station and the foot of the object on the ground.
InaccessibleAltitudeof an object, is that when the foot or bottom of it cannot be approached, by reason of some impediment; such as water, or the like. The instruments chiefly used in measuring ofaltitudes, are the quadrant, theodolite, geometric quadrant, cross, or line of shadows, &c.
Altitudeof the eye, in perspective, is a right line let fall from the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical plane.
Altitudeof motion, a term used by some writers, to express the measure of any motion, computed according to the line of direction of the moving force.
AMAZON, one of those women who are fabled to have composed a nation of themselves, exclusive of males, and to have derived their name from their cutting off one of their breasts, that it might not hinder or impede the exercise of their arms. This term has often by modern writers been used to signify a bold daring woman, whom the delicacy of her sex does not hinder from engaging in the most hazardous attempts. The recent and former wars with France have furnished several instances of females who have undergone the fatigue of a campaign with alacrity, and run the hazards of a battle with the greatest intrepidity. Several cases occurred also in the American Revolution.
AMBIT, the compass or circuit of any work or place, as of a fortification or encampment, &c.
AMBITION, in a military sense, signifies a desire of greater posts, or honors. Every person in the army or navy, ought to have a spirit of emulation to arrive at the very summit of the profession by his personal merit.
AMBUSCADE, in military affairs, implies a body of men posted in some secret or concealed place, ’till they find an opportunity of falling upon the enemy by surprise; or, it is rather a snare set for the enemy, either to surprise him when marching without precaution; or by posting your force advantageously, and drawing him on by different stratagems, to attack him with superior means. An ambuscade is easily carried into execution in woods, buildings, and hollow places; but requires a more fertile imagination, and greater trouble, in a level country.
AMBUSH, a place of concealment for soldiers to surprise an enemy, by falling suddenly upon him.
AME, a French term, similar in its import to the wordchamber, as applied to cannon, &c.
AMENDEhonorable, in the old armies of France, signified an apology for some injury done to another, or satisfaction given for an offence committed against the rules of honor or military etiquette; and was also applied to an infamous kind of punishment inflicted upon traitors, parricides, or sacrilegious persons, in the following manner: the offender being delivered into the hands of the hangman, his shirt stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; then he was led into court, where he begged pardon of God, the court, and his country. Sometimes the punishment ended there; but sometimes it was only a prelude to death, or banishment to the gallies. It prevails yet in some parts of Europe.
AMMUNITION, implies all sorts of powder and ball, shells, bullets, cartridges, grape-shot, tin, and case-shot; carcasses, granades, &c.
Ammunition, orgun-powder, may be prohibited to be exported.
Ammunition,for small arms, in the British service, is generally packed in half barrels, each containing 1000 musket, or 1500 carbine cartridges. An ammunition waggon will carry 20 of these barrels, and an ammunition cart 12 of them: their weight nearly 1 cwt. each.
The cartouch boxes of the infantry are made of so many different shapes and sizes, that it is impossible to say exactly what ammunition they will contain; but most of them can carry 60 rounds. See the wordCartridges; and for artillery ammunition, see the wordArtillery, for the field, for the siege, and the defence of a fortified place.
The French pack all their ammunition in waggons without either boxes or barrels, by means of partitions of wood. Their 12 Pr. and 8 Pr. waggons will contain each 14,000 musket cartridges, but their 4 Pr. waggons will contain only 12,000 each.
Ammunitionbread, such as is contracted for by government, and served in camp, garrison, and barracks.
Ammunitionshoes,stockings,shirts,stacks, &c. such of those articles as are served out to the private soldiers, by government. SeeHalf-Mountings.
Ammunitionwaggon, is generally a four-wheel carriage with shafts; the sides are railed in with staves and raves, and lined with wicker-work, so as to carry bread and all sorts of tools. It is drawn by four horses, and loaded with 1200 pound weight. SeeWaggon.
Ammunition-cart, a two-wheel carriage with shafts; the sides of which, as well as the fore and hind parts, are inclosed with boards instead of wicker-work. SeeCaisson.
AMMUZETTE. See the wordGuns.
AMNESTY, in a military or political sense, is an act by which two belligerent powers at variance promise to forget and bury in oblivion all that is past.
Amnestyis either general and unlimited, or particular and restrained, though most commonly universal, without conditions or exceptions: such as that which passed in Germany at the peace of Osnaburg in the year 1648, and between the United States and Great Britain, in 1783.
Amnesty, in a more limited sense, denotes a pardon to persons rebellious, usually with some exceptions; such as was granted by Charles II. at his restoration.
AMNISTIE,Fr.SeeAmnesty.
AMORCE, an old military word for fine-grained powder, such as is sometimes used for the priming of great guns, mortars or howitzers; as also for small-arms, on account of its rapid inflammation. A port fire, or quick match.
AMPLITUDEof the range of a projectile. SeeProjectile.
AMPOULETTE, an old military term used by the French to express the stock of a musket, &c.
AMUSETTE, a species of offensive weapon which was invented by the celebrated Marshal Saxe. It is fired off in the same manner as a musquet, but is mounted nearly like a cannon. It has been found of considerable use during the war of the French revolution, especially among the French, who armed some of their horse artillery with it, and found it superior to the one adopted by the Prussians from Marshal Saxe.
ANABASII, in antiquity, were expeditious couriers, who carried dispatches of great importance, in the Roman wars.
ANACLETICUM, in the ancient art of war, a particular blast of the trumpet, whereby the fearful and flying soldiers were rallied and recalled to the combat.
ANCIENT, a term, used formerly to express the grand ensign or standard of an army.
ANCILE, in antiquity, a kind of shield, which fell, as was pretended, from heaven, in the reign of Numa Pompilius; at which time, likewise, a voice was heard, declaring, that Rome would be mistress of the world as long as she should preserve this holy buckler.
Authors are much divided about its shape: however, it was kept with great care in the temple of Mars, under the direction of twelve priests; and lest any should attempt to steal it, eleven others were made so like it, as not to be distinguished from the sacred one. TheseAnciliawere carried in procession every year round the city of Rome.
ANDABATÆ, in military antiquity, a kind of gladiators, who fought hoodwinked; having a sort of helmet that covered the eyes and face. They fought mounted on horse-back, or on chariots.
St.ANDREW,or the Thistle, a nominally military order of knighthood in Scotland. The occasion of instituting this order is variously related.
In 819, Achaius, king of Scotland, having formed a league, offensive and defensive, with Charlemagne, against all other princes, found himself thereby so strong, that he took for his device theThistleand theRue, which he composed into a collar of his order, and for his motto,Pour ma defense; intimating thereby, that he feared not the powers of foreign princes, seeing he leaned on the succour and alliance of the French. And though from hence may be inferred, that these two plants, the Thistle and the Rue, were the united symbols of one order of knighthood, yet Menenius divides them into two; making one whose badge was the thistle, whence the knights were so called; and the motto,Nemo me impune lacessit; another vulgarly calledSertum rutæ, or the garland of rue; the collar of which was composed of two branches or sprigs thereof, or else of several of its leaves: at both these collars hung one and the same jewel, to wit, the figure of St Andrew, bearing before him the cross of his martyrdom.
But though the thistle has been acknowleged for the badge and symbol of the kingdom of Scotland, even from the reign of Achaius, as the rose was of England, and the lily of France, the pomegranate of Spain, &c.; yet there are some who refer the order of the thistle to later times, in the reign of Charles VII. of France; when the league of amity was renewed between that kingdom and Scotland, by which the former received great succour from the latter, at a period of extraordinary distress. Others again place the foundation still later, even as low as the year 1500; but without any degree of certainty.
The chief and principal ensign of this order is a gold collar, composed of thistles, interlinked with annulets of gold, having pendent thereto the image of St Andrew with his cross, and this motto,Nemo me impune lacessit.
Knights of St.Andrew, is also a nominal military order instituted by Peter III. of Muscovy, in 1698; the badge of which is a golden medal, on one side whereof is represented St. Andrew’s cross; and on the other are these words,Czar Pierre monarque de toute la Russie. This medal, being fastened to a blue ribbon, is suspended from the right shoulder.
ANGARIA, in ancient military writers, means a guard of soldiers posted in any place for the security of it. Vide Vegetius, lib. i. c. 3. lib. ii. c. 19. lib. iii. c. 8.
Angaria, in civil law, implies a service by compulsion, as furnishing horses and carriages for conveying corn or other stores for the army.
ANGE, a term used by the French to express chain shot.
ANGELShot. SeeChain-Shot.
ANGLE, in geometry, is the inclination of two lines meeting one another in a point.
Sometimes angles are denoted by a single letter placed at the point of intersection; but when several lines meet at the same point, each particular angle is denoted by three letters, whereof the middle letter shews the angular point, and the other two letters the lines which form that angle.
The measure of an angle is the arch of a circle, described on the angular point, intercepted between the two lines which form the angle, and as many degrees, &c. as are contained in that arch, so many degrees, &c. the angle is said to consist of.
Anglesare eitherright,acute, orobtuse.
A RightAngle, is that whose two legs are perpendicular to each other; and consequently the arch intercepted between them is exactly 90° or the quarter of a circle.
An AcuteAngle, is that which is less than a right angle, or 90°.
An ObtuseAngle, is that which is greater than a right angle.
AdjacentAngles, are such as have the same vertex, and one common side contained beyond the angular point. The sum of the adjacent angles is always equal to two right angles (13.Eucl.1.) and therefore, if one of them be acute, the other will be obtuse; and the contrary: whence, if either of them be given, the other is also given, it being the complement of the former to 180°.
HomologousAnglesin similar figures are such as retain the same order, reckoning from the first in both figures.
VerticalAngles, are the opposite angles made by two lines cutting or crossing each other. When two lines cut or cross each other, the vertical angles are equal (15Eucl.1.)
AlternateAngles, are those cut or obtuse angles made by two lines cutting or crossing each other, and formed by a right line cutting or crossing two parallel lines. Alternate angles are always equal to each other (18.Eucl.1.)
A rectilineal or right linedAngle, is made by strait lines, to distinguish it from the spherical or curvilineal angle.
Anglesof contact. Angles of contact may be considered as true angles, and should be compared with one another, though not with right lined angles as being infinitely smaller.
Angleof elevation, in gunnery, is that which the axis of the hollow cylinder, or barrel of the gun, makes with a horizontal line. SeeElevation.
Anglesobliqueare those which are greater than right angles.
SphericalAngle, is an angle formed by the intersection of two great circles of the sphere. All spherical angles are measured by an arch of a great circle described on the vertex as a pole, and intercepted between the legs which form the angle.
Anglelunularis an angle formed by the intersection of two curves, the one concave and the other convex.
Mixed-lineAngle, is that comprehended between a right line and a curved line.
Curved-lineAngle, is that intercepted between two curved lines meeting each other in one point, in the same plane.
Angleof a semi-circleis that which the diameter of a circle makes with the circumference.
Angleof Incidence, is that which the line of direction of a ray of light, &c. makes at the point where it first touches the body it strikes against, with a line erected perpendicular to the surface of that body.
Angleof intervalbetween two places is that formed by two lines directed from the eye to those places.
Angleof Reflection, is the angle intercepted between the line of direction of a body rebounding, after it has struck against another body, and a perpendicular erected at the point of contact.
Angleat the centre, in fortification, is the angle formed at the middle of the polygon, by lines drawn from thence to the points of the two adjacent bastions.