Cannon-Ball.SeeBalls.Shot.SeeShot.
CANNONIER, a person who manages a gun. SeeGunner.
Cannon-Baskets. SeeGabions.
To nailCannon. SeeNail.
CANNONADE, in artillery, may be defined the application of artillery to the purposes of a land war, or the direction of its efforts against some distant object intended to be seized or destroyed, as the troops in battle, battery, fortress, or outwork.
Cannonadingis therefore used from a battery, to take, destroy, burn, or drive the enemy from the defences, &c. and to batter and ruin the works or fortified towns.
CANON-Bit, that part of the bit which is let into the horse’s mouth.
CANTEENS, in military articles, are tin vessels used by the soldiers on a march, &c. to carry water or other liquor in, each holds about 2 quarts.
CANTONMENTSare distinct situations, where the different parts of an army lie as near to each other as possible, and in the same manner as they encamp in the field. The chief reasons for cantoning an army are, first, when the campaign begins early; on which occasion, in cantoning your troops, two objects demand attention, viz. the military object, and that of subsistence: the second is, whenan army has finished a siege early, the troops are allowed to repose till the fields produce forage for their subsistence: the third reason is, when the autumn proves rainy, and forage scarce, the troops are cantoned to protect them from the bad weather.
CANVAS-BAGS. SeeBags,Sand-Bags, &c.
CAPARISON, under this term is included the bridle, saddle, and housing, of a military horse.
CAPITAINEen pied,Fr.an officer who is in actual pay and does duty.
Capitainereformé,Fr.a reduced officer.
Capitainegeneral des vivres,Fr.the person who has the chief management and superintendance of military stores and provisions.
Capitainedes portes,Fr.a commissioned officer who resides in a garrison town, and whose sole duty is to receive the keys of the gates from the governor every morning, and to deliver them to him every night, at appointed hours.
CAPITAL, in fortification, is an imaginary line which divides any work into two equal and similar parts. It signifies also, a line drawn from the angle of a polygon to the point of the bastion, or from the point of the bastion to the middle of the gorge.
ToCAPITULATE, to surrender any place or body of troops to the enemy, on certain stipulated conditions.
CAPITULATION, in military affairs, implies the conditions on which the garrison of a place besieged agrees to deliver it up, &. This is likewise the last action, both in the attack and defence of a fortification, the conditions of which may be of various kinds, according to the different circumstances or situations in which the parties may be placed.
As soon as the capitulation is agreed on, and signed, hostages are generally delivered on both sides, for the exact performance of the articles; part of the place is delivered to the besiegers, and a day appointed for the garrison to evacuate the place. The usual and most honorable conditions are, with arms and baggage, drums beating and colors flying, matches lighted, and some pieces of artillery; waggons, and convoys for the baggage, sick and wounded, &c.
CAPONNIER, in fortification, is a passage made from one work to another, of 10 or 12 feet wide, and about five feet deep, covered on each side by a parapet, terminating in a glacis. Caponniers are sometimes covered with planks and earth. SeeFortification.
CAPS, in gunnery, are pieces of leather, or more commonly sheep-skins, to cover the mouth of mortars when loaded, till they are fired, to prevent damps, or rain getting in.
Cap-Squares. SeeCarriages.
Cap-a-pee, in military antiquity, implies being clothed in armor from head to foot.
CAPSTERN,-CAPSTAN,
in military machines, signifies a strong massy piece of timber, in the form of a truncated cone, having its upper part, called the drum-head, pierced with a number of square holes, for receiving the levers. By turning it round, several actions may be performed that require an extraordinary power.
CAPTAINis a military officer, who is commander of a troop of cavalry, or of a company of foot or artillery. The name of captain was the first term made use of to express the chief orhead(caput) of a company, troop, or body of men. He is both to march and fight at the head of his company. A captain of artillery and engineers ought to be master of the attack and defence of fortified places, and captains of infantry or cavalry should acquire some knowlege of those branches; artillerists should be good mathematicians, and understand the raising of all kinds of batteries, to open the trenches, to conduct the sap, to make mines and fougasses, and to calculate their charges. They ought further to be well acquainted with the power of artillery, the doctrine of the military projectile, and the laws of motion, together with the system of mechanics; and should be good draughtsmen. A captain has in most services the power of appointing his own serjeants and corporals, and may by his own authority reduce or break them; but he cannot punish a soldier with death, unless he revolts against him on duty.
The captains of artillery in the Prussian service, rank as majors in the army, and have an extraordinary pay, on account of the great qualifications demanded of them; and the captains of bombardiers, miners, and artificers, in the Portuguese service, have 9 dollars a month more than the captains of artillery in the same regiment.
Captain-General. The King iscaptain-generalof all the forces of Great Britain. This term implies the first rank, power, and authority in the British army. This power was delegated to the Duke of York, in 1799.
Captain-Lieutenant, the commanding officer of the colonel’s troop or company in the British army, in case the colonel is absent, or he gives up the command of it to him. He takes rank as full captain, by an order in 1772, and by a late regulation, succeeds to the first vacant troop or company; the price of a captain-lieutenancy being the same as that of a captaincy. This title is still used in foreign services.
Captainreformed, one who, upon a reduction of the forces, on the termination of war, loses his company, yet keeps his rank and pay, whether on duty or not.
Captainon half pay, is one who loses his company on the reduction of an army,and retires on half-pay, until seniority puts him into duty and full pay again.
Captainen second, or second captain, is one whose company has been broke, and who is joined to another, to serve under the captain of it.
In some armies thecaptain en seconde, is also a second captain to the same company, whose rank is above all the lieutenants, and below all the captains of the same corps.
CAPTUREde deserteurs,Fr.Under the old government of France, a particular order existed, by which every intendant de province or commissaire de guerre was authorised to pay one hundred livres, or twenty dollars, to any person or persons who should apprehend and secure a deserter; and three hundred livres, or seventy dollars for every man that could be proved to have enticed a soldier from the regular army or militia.
CAQUEde poudre,Fr.a term synonymous to a tun or barrel of powder.
CAR, in military antiquity, a kind of small carriage; figuratively, used by the poets for a chariot: it is mounted on wheels, representing a stately throne, used in triumphs and on other solemn occasions.
CARABINIERS,Fr.One complete regiment of carabineers was formed, during the monarchy of France, out of the different corps of cavalry. They were usually distributed among other bodies of troops, and it was their duty to charge the advanced posts of the enemy.
CARABINS,Fr.These were light-armed horsemen, who sometimes acted on foot. They were generally stationed in the out-posts, for the purpose of harrassing the enemy, defending narrow passes, &c. In action, they usually fought in front of the dragoons, or upon the wings of the first line. Their name is derived from the Arabian wordKarab, which signifies, generally, any warlike instrument.
CARAVAN;Caravanne,Fr.from a Turkish word, which signifies, a troop of travellers, who go armed by sea or land.
CARBINE, in military affairs, is a fire-arm somewhat smaller than the firelock of the infantry, and used by the cavalry. It carries a ball of 24 in the pound: its barrel is three feet long, and the whole length, including the stock, 4 feet.
Rifled-Carbines, are generally of the same dimensions with the above, and have their barrels rifled spirally from the breech to the mouth; so that when the ball, which is forced into it, is driven out again by the strength of the powder, it is lengthened about the breadth of a finger, and marked with the rifle of the bore. Fire-arms of this kind have a much greater range than any other, because the rifle of the barrel gives a spiral direction, instead of a rotatory direction to the ball, which by that means makes the greater resistance at the first inflammation of the powder, giving time for the whole charge to take fire, before the ball is out of the bore. These arms are used by horse-riflemen, the chasseurs, or light infantry.
CARBINEERS, orCarabineers. All regiments of light armed horse were formerly called so; but since the establishing of hussars and chasseurs, they have lost that denomination; and now all the cavalry are called carabineers, who carry the carabine.
CARACOLE, a semi-circular motion or half-wheel; chiefly applied to that used either by individuals or squadrons of cavalry, to prevent an enemy from discovering where they intend to make their attack.
CARBON, charcoal. It is the name in the new chemistry given to every body which has the properties or qualities of the carbonic acid or charcoal; impregnated in certain degrees, bodies are calledcarbonates. SeeAigremore.
Carbone.Pure charcoal is called carbone in the new chemical nomenclature. It is the black residuum of vegetables, which have suffered a complete decomposition of their volatile principles by fire. Charcoal is black, brittle, sonorous, and light. It is placed among simple bodies, because no experiment has hitherto shown the possibility of decomposing it. It exists in the animal, vegetable, and mineral regions. When it is required to procure carbone in a state of great purity, it must be dried by strong ignition in a closed vessel.
Carbonic acid.Carbonaceous acid. Fixed air. Mephitic gas. Aerial acid. The name of cretaceous acid appears to agree best with this substance, because it is contained in very large quantities in chalk; and there is no other body with which it has so strong an affinity, as with lime, which composes the base of this earthy salt. The carbonic acid possesses all the more obvious qualities of air, and exists in the atmosphere, of which it is a small part.
Atmospheric air.In 100 parts of atmospheric air there are 72 of azote, 27 of oxygene, and 1 of carbonic acid.
CARCASS, a composition of combustibles. Carcasses are of two sorts, oblong and round: the uncertain flight of the first sort has almost rendered them useless. They are prepared in the following manner: boil 12 or 15 lb. of pitch in a glazed earthen pot; mix with that 3 lb. of tallow, 30 lb. of powder, 6 lb. of salt-petre, and as many stopins as can be put in. Before the composition is cold, the carcass must be filled; to do which, smear your hands with oil or tallow, and fill the carcass 1-third full with the above composition; then put in loaded pieces of gun or pistol barrels, loaded grenades, and fill the intervals with composition; cover the whole over with coarse cloth, well sewed together, keepingit in a round form. Then put it into the carcass, having a hollow top and bottom, with bars running between them to hold them together, and composed of four slips of iron joined at top, and fixed at the bottom, at equal distances, to a piece of iron, which, together with the hoops, when filled, form a complete globular body. When quite finished and cold, the carcass must be steeped in melted pitch, and then instantly immerged in cold water. Lastly, bore three or four holes at top, and fill the same with fuze composition, covering the holes with pitch until used. Carcasses are thrown out of mortars, and weigh from 50 to 230 lb. according to the size of the mortars they are to be thrown out of. There are other carcasses for the sea-service, which differ from a shell only in the composition, and in the four holes from which it burns when fired.
Carcasseswere first used by the bishop of Munster, at the siege of Groll, in 1672, where the duke of Luxemburg commanded.
CARCASSES. Their dimensions and weight, 1796.
Note.—It being found at the siege of Quebec, that the quantity of powder requisite for throwing the carcasses into the town, always destroyed them, the method of filling the interval between the powder and carcass with turf was adopted; and found to preserve the carcass, and to produce every desired effect.
CARIPI, a kind of cavalry in the Turkish army, which to the number of 1000 are not slaves, nor bred up in the seraglio, like the rest, but are generally Moors, or renegado Christians, who have obtained the rank of horse-guards to the Grand Seignior.
CARMINE, a bright scarlet color, which is used in plans of fortification, and serves to describe those lines that have mason work.
CAROUSAL, in military history, signifies a magnificent entertainment, exhibited by princes or other great personages, on some public occasion, consisting of cavalcades of gentlemen richly dressed and equipped, after the manner of the ancient cavaliers, divided into squadrons, meeting in some public place, and performing justs, tournaments, &c.
CARRIAGES, in military affairs, are of various kinds, viz.
Garrison-Carriages, are those on which all sorts of garrison-pieces are mounted. They are made much shorter than field-carriages, and have generally iron trucks instead of wheels.
As the trucks of garrison-carriages are generally made of cast-iron, their axle-trees should have copper-clouts underneath, to diminish the friction of the iron against the wood. Travelling-carriages are in many respects very unfit for garrison service, though they are frequently used.
Travelling-Carriagesare such as guns are mounted on for sieges, and for the field; they are much longer, and differently constructed from garrison-carriages; having 4 wheels, 2 for the carriage, and 2 for the limber, which last are only used on marches.
Field-Carriagesare both shorter and lighter than those before-mentioned, bearing a proportion to the pieces mounted upon them.
Limbersare two-wheel carriages, sometimes made with shafts, and sometimes with beams for drawing double; they serve to support the trail offield carriages, by means of the pintle or iron bolt, when artillery is transported from one place to another, and are taken off again when the pieces are to be fired, unless upon a march, when harrassed by the enemy, &c.
Galloper-Carriagesserve for 1¹⁄₂ pounders. These carriages are made with shafts, so as to be drawn without a limber. In the war of 1756, the King of Prussia, mounted light 3-pounders on these carriages, which answered very well. The horse-artillery is an improvement of this method of the Prussian.
Howitz-Carriagesare for transporting howitzers; and those for the 6 and 5-8 inch howitzers, are made with screws to elevate them, in the same manner as the light 6 pounders; for which reason they are made without a bed, and the centre-transom must be 9 inches broad to fix the screw, instead of 4 for those made without: in the centre, between the trail and centre-transom, there is a transom-bolt, which is not in others, because the centre-transom must be made to be taken out; after which, the howitzer can be elevated to any angle under ninety degrees.
Tumbrel-Carriage. SeeTumbrel.
Block-Carriage, a carriage which is made from a solid piece of timber, hollowed out so as to receive the gun or howitzer into the cap-squares. The lower part of the cap-square is let into the solid wood, and the gun or howitzer is either elevated or depressed by a screw, as in other carriages. The limber for this carriage carries two large chests for ammunition, and takes four men. The pintle of the limber is so constructed as to receive the gudgeon of the carriage; by which means a greater relief is afforded when the carriage passes over rough ground.
Block-Carriagesare also used by the horse-artillery as curricles. They are particularly useful on mountain service. The original inventor of them, is the British Colonel Congreve, author of many other important military inventions.
Truck-Carriagesare to carry timber and other heavy burthens from one place to another, at no great distance: they serve also to convey guns or mortars upon a battery, whither their own carriages cannot go, and are drawn by men as well as horses.
Ponton-Carriage. Carriages of this kind are solely for transporting the pontons; they had formerly but two wheels, but are generally now made with four. The making use of two-wheel carriages for travelling a great way, is contrary to sense and reason; because the whole weight lying upon the two wheels, must make them sink deeper into the ground, than those of a four-wheel carriage.
Carriage.—Weight of Field Carriages at present in use.
Dimensions of certain parts of carriages, the knowlege of which may prevent many mistakes in arranging the different pieces for disembarkation, or in other similar situations.
Axletrees.—Most of the field carriages are now made withironaxletrees; the dimensions of which are as follows:
Dimensions and Weight ofStanding Gun Carriages.
Carriageson a march. SeeMarching.
The carriages for horse artillery guns, as 12, 9, and 4 pounders, are constructed lighter than formerly; the two first of these calibres have an additional trunnion plate; and indeed it does not appear why every travelling carriage should not have this important improvement since it eases the horses and saves the carriage; and by lessening the fatigue increases the celerity of the movements, and spares the cattle for service.
Diameter of the wheels of the Field Carriages at present in use:
For wood of which carriages are made, see the wordWood.
CARRIER, a kind of pigeon, so called from its having been used in armies, to carry orders from one division of an army to another, or intelligence to some officer commanding a post or army at a distance.
CARRONADES. Their weight and dimensions.
N. B. Carronades have not so much windage as guns. SeeWindage.
Rangeswith Carronades, 1798. The charge is ¹⁄₁₂th the weight of the shot; and with one shot and one wad. The line of fire from 6 to 9 feet above the level of the water.
Note.—The highest charge for carronades is ¹⁄₈th the weight of the shot; the lowest ¹⁄₁₆th.
Rangeswith 8 inch shells, from 68 Pr.
ToCarryon the trenches. SeeTrenches.
CART, in a military sense, is a vehicle mounted on two wheels, and drawn by one or more horses; of which there are several sorts, viz.
Powder-Carts, for carrying powder with the army; they are divided into 4 parts, by boards of an inch thick, which enter about an inch into the shafts. Each of these carts can only stow 4 barrels of powder. The roof is covered with an oil-cloth, to prevent dampness from coming to the powder.
Sling-Carts, used to carry mortars or heavy guns from one place to another at a small distance, but chiefly to transport guns from the water side to the proof-place, and from thence back again; as also to convey artillery to the batteries in a fortification; they have wheels of a very considerable diameter, and the guns or other heavy articles which they carry are slung in chains from the axle.
CARTE, is a thrust with a sword at the inside of the upper part of the body, with the nails of your sword hand upwards.Low carte, is a thrust at the inside of the lower half of the body; the position of the hand being the same as in the former.
Carte-blancheFr.a full and absolute power which is lodged in the hands of a general of an army, to act according to the best of his judgment, without waiting for superior instructions or orders. It likewise strictly means a blank paper; a paper to be filled up with such conditions as the person to whom it is sent thinks proper.
CARTEL, in military transactions, an agreement between two states at war for the exchange of their prisoners of war.
CARTOUCH, in military affairs, is a case of wood about 3 inches thick at bottom, bound about with marline, holding about 400 musquet balls, besides 8 or 10 iron balls of a pound each, to be fired out of a howitzer, for the defence of a pass, &c. SeeGrape Shot.
CARTOUCHESin artillery, are made of leather, to sling over the shoulder of the matross, who therein carries the ammunition from the magazine or waggon, for the service of the artillery, when at exercise or on real service.
Cartouchesou formules,Fr.military passes which were given to soldiers going on furlough.
CARTRIDGE, a case of paper, parchment, or flannel, fitted to the bore of a piece, and holding exactly its proper charge. Musket and pistol cartridges are always made of strong paper, between 30 and 40 of which are made from 1 pound of powder, including their priming. Ball cartridges should be made of a different coloured paper to what is used for blank. The French musquet ball-cartridges are all capped with flannel. Cannon and howitzer cartridges are sometimes made of parchment, though more generally of flannel: the charges they contain are adapted to the service they are intended for.
Cartridges for cannon, are made with the best effect, when the flannel does not admit the leakage of powder; to effect this the flannels are first sewed to the size of a mandril or wooden roller; and the sewing completed, the end is tied, and hammered on the end of the mandril, the whole is then smeared with a coat of paste made of wheat flour and gum; and then drawn over, so that the pasted side may be inward; then set to dry, before filling they must be examined.
The experiment is worth the trial of making cartridges of cotton saturated with alum; its cheapness, its abundance, and easy formation, all recommend it. The alum would render it fire proof.
Cartridge-Box, a case of wood, made in a circular form, to wear before the body of the soldier, holding 24 or more musket-ball cartridges in rows: it is covered with leather, and worn upon abelt, both on duty, and on the day of battle. SeePouch.
The light infantry in the French service carry a cartridge box in front which covers the abdomen; and contains several rounds; some carry the cartridges on the side one above the other.
Cartridgesfor guns.
Cartridgesfor small arms.