POLYEDRICAL,-POLYEDROUS,
having many sides.
POLYEDRON, a solid figure or body consisting of many sides.
POLYGRAPHIE,Fr.SeePolygraphy.
POLYNOMIAL, (Polynôme,Fr.) an algebraical term, signifying a quantity made up of many others by means of the sign + ormore, and the sign - orless.
POLYORCETE,Fr.a term used among the french to distinguish great warriors. It literally signifies the taking of strong towns. Marshals Saxe and Lowendalh,les grands Polyorcetesof the last century.
POLYTECHNIQUE,-EcolePolytechnique,
a word derived from the Greek, and used by the French to distinguish an establishment in which allsciences are taught. The military school, which existed during the French monarchy, is comprised in this institution. SeeMilitary School.
POMADA, an exercise of vaulting the wooden horse, by laying one hand over the pommel of the saddle.
POMERIUM, in ancient architecture, that space of ground which lay between the walls of a fortified town and the inhabitants’ houses. The term is still used among modern architects, particularly by the Italians, as Peter Cataneo, and Alghiri, to describe the breadth of the terre pleine of rampart, its inward talus, and the vacant space which is usually left between this talus and the houses of the town.
POMMEL, (Pommeau,Fr.) a piece of brass or other substance, at top, and in the middle of the saddle bow, to which are fastened the holsters, stirrip leathers, &c.
POMMEL, the knob at the extremity of the handle that balances the blade of the sword; also the protuberance on the fore part of a saddle.
POMMES,Fr.round pieces of wood which are variously used for ornament, &c.
Pommesde Pavillon et d’enseigne,Fr.the piece of wood which is fixed at the top of the color staff, &c.
POMPE,Fr.SeePump.
Pompede mer,Fr.a sea pump, or a pump used on board a ship.
Pomper,Fr.to pump.
PONANT,Fr.the west. In the French sea-service,ponantsignifies that part of the ocean which is separated from the seas in the Levant by the streights of Gibraltar.
OfficierPonantin,Fr.one who serves upon the ocean.
ArméePonantine,Fr.the army of the west.
PONCEAU,Fr.a small bridge of one arch, which is thrown across a canal or rivulet.
PONCER,Fr.to rub, or pounce upon any thing.
PONIARD, a little pointed dagger, very sharp edged.
PONTd’or,Fr.a figurative expression which the French use, when they suffer an enemy, whom they have defeated, to retire without molestation. Hencefaire un pont d’or à son ennemi. To suffer your enemy to escape.
PONTE,Fr.covered in, as a vessel is which has a deck.
PONTON,Fr.A bridge; a machine made like a batteau or boat, of copper or tin, upon which planks are laid over which troops pass as on a bridge. SeePontoon.
Pontonier,Fr.Lighterman.
PONTSflottans,Fr.SeeFloating Bridge.
Pontlevis,Fr.SeeDrawbridge.
Ponttournant,Fr.a moveable bridge. It is of the nature of a drawbridge, with this difference, that it turns upon a pivot, and goes entirely round.
Pontde bois,Fr.a wooden bridge.
Pontde corde,Fr.a bridge of ropes.
Pontde jonc,Fr.a bridge of rushes.
Pontsuspendu,Fr.a hanging bridge.
Pontde sortie,Fr.a sally bridge.
Pontdormant,Fr.a wooden bridge, which is generally laid upon the fosse of a fortified town, for the purpose of maintaining a constant communication between the main body of the place and the outworks and country round. These bridges are not thrown entirely across the fosses, but terminate within twelve or fifteen feet of the revetement; the space from thence is supplied by drawbridges. When theponts dormansare very long, a swing bridge is constructed in the centre of it. When the ditches are wet, and so constantly supplied with water that the depth of it is generally the same, bridges of boats may be used instead ofponts dormans. And in cases of attack, floating bridges may be substituted in lieu of both.
PONTON,orPONTOON, a kind of flat bottomed boat, whose carcass of wood is lined within and without with tin: they serve to lay bridges over rivers for the artillery and army to march over. The French pontoons, and those of most other powers, are made of copper on the outside: though they cost more at first, yet they last much longer than those of tin; and, when worn out, the copper sells nearly for as much as it cost at first; but when that of tin are rendered useless, they sell for nothing. The British pontoons are 21 feet long, 5 feet broad, and depth within 2 feet 3 inches.
PONTOONS. Length at top, 21 feet 6 inches. Length at bottom, 17 feet 2 inches. Width, 4 feet 9 inches, or 5 feet. Depth, 2 feet 3 inches.
Equipage of one Pontoon.
Dimensions of colonel Congreve’s Wooden Pontoons.
The common pontoons will support a weight of 4 or 5000 pounds. They are generally placed, in forming a bridge, about their own width asunder. SeeBridge.
Pontooncarriage, was made with two wheels only, and two long side pieces, whose fore-ends are supported by a limber; and served to carry the pontoon, boards, cross timbers, anchors, and every other thing necessary for making a bridge; but better experience places them on four wheels.
Pontoonbridge, is made of pontoons, slipped into the water, and placed about five or six feet asunder; each fastened with an anchor, when the river has a strong current, or to a strong rope that goes across the river, running through the rings of the pontoons. Each boat has an anchor, cable, baulks, and chests. The baulks are about 5 or 6 inches square, and 21 feet long. The chests are boards joined together by wooden bars, about 3 feet broad, and 21 feet long. The baulks are laid across the pontoons at some distance from one another, and the chests upon them joined close; which makes a bridge, in a very short time, capable of supporting any weight.
POOLBUNDY,Ind.a dam to prevent inundations; an embankment; a dyke.
POONA,Ind.a day fixed for the Zemindars to bring in their balances for the year.
POONEA,Ind.the Indian name of a month.
POOR, indigent, necessitous, oppressed with want.
Poorin resources and expedients, of a limited conception; of a narrow understanding; unequal to an arduous enterprise.
POORorPORE,Ind.when it terminates a word, means town, or city; as Viziapore, &c.
POOSE,Ind.the name of a month followingAughun: it in some degree accords with December and January.
POOSHTAYBundee,Ind.embankments of rivers. It likewise means bridges thrown over rivers.
POOSKUT,Ind.a small weight, measuring eight koonchys, or sixty four handfuls; one koonchy being equal to eight handfuls.
PORSTICKmethod, in mathematics, is that which determines when, by what means, and how many different ways, any problem may be resolved.
PORPHYRE,Fr.porphyry. A fine red marble.
PORT,Fr.a harbor.
Fermer lesPORTS,Fr.to lay a general embargo upon shipping. During the French monarchy this practice frequently occurred for the purpose of securing able bodied seamen.
Port,Fr.This word is likewise used to express the tonnage of a vessel.
PORTAL, (portail,Fr.) the front or facade of a large building, where the principal gate stands.
ToPort, to carry.
Portarms, a word of command which has been adopted during the present war, and is practised in the British army. It consists in bringing the firelock diagonally across the chest from thecarry. This position of the musquet affords a great facility to the person who inspects the touch-hole, &c. In dismissing guards, preparing to charge, &c. soldiers are ordered toport arms. The French do not practise this method. Their word of command,haut les armes, corresponds with ourrecover.
PORTCLUSE,orPORTcullice, infortification, is an assemblage of several large pieces of wood, joined across one another like a harrow, and each pointed with iron at the bottom. They are sometimes hung over the gate-way of old fortified towns, ready to let down in case of a surprise, when the gates could not be shut.
Port-fire, inartillery, a composition put in a paper case to fire guns and mortars, instead of a lint-stock and match. SeeLaboratory Works.
PORTGLAVE,Fr.SeePorte-Epee.
Portde l’arme,Fr.the carriage of the firelock.
Portedrapeau,-Porteenseigne,
Fr.the person who carries the colors.
Portétendard,Fr.the standard bearer.
Portefeu,Fr.a machine made of wood or copper, by which fire is communicated to gunpowder in a shell, fuse, or piece of ordnance. It is sometimes made of pasteboard. Where there is any ground to apprehend that a cannon will burst, the priming made of a certain composition is put into the pasteboard case, by which means the cannoneer has time to retire before any accident can happen.
Portefeu,Fr.is likewise used among artificers to signify all sorts of fusees or matches, by which fire is communicated to many quarters at once. They last according to the nature of the composition with which they are made up.
Portefeu brisé,Fr.in artificial fireworks, a species of carriage which is bent into a curve by means of a sloping piece of wood.
Portevoix,Fr.a speaking trumpet.
Portemousqueton,Fr.a swivel.
Portearquebuse,Fr.the king’s gunbearer.
Porteepée,Fr.a sword bearer; It likewise means a sword belt.
Porte,Fr.a gate.Portes d’une ville.The gates of a fortified town.
Ported’ecluse,Fr.a flood gate.
Portede secours,Fr.the gate in a citadel, which has an outlet towards the country, is so called. By means of this gate the garrison can always receive succors or reinforcements, in cases of civil insurrection, or under circumstances of surprise.
PORTEEdu fusil,Fr.by this expression the French generally understand the distance which a musquet-shot goes to its ultimate destination. It is supposed to vary from 120 to 150 toises.
Porteedes piéces,Fr.the flight, range, or reach of cannon.
Porteeà toute volée.Fr.the flight of a cannon shot when it makes an angle of something under 45 degrees with the horizon, or level of the country. In this manner it completes the greatest possible range.
Porteede but en blanc,Fr.the forward direction and flight of a ball, constituting a straight line, which it describes from the mouth of the piece to its ultimate object. It has been generally found, by experience that the distance so described, could not exceed 300 toises. Beyond that, the ball has been known to deviate. According to Belidor, pieces of ordnance will carry farther in the morning and at night, when the weather is cool and rarefied, than in the middle of the day, or at noon, when the heat of the sun prevails. This circumstance is amply discussed in hisBombardier Francois; and his observations were proved to be correct by experiments made in June, 1744, at Essonne. These experiments commenced at seven o’clock in the morning, and lasted till twelve. It was remarked, that the shells, which were thrown out of three mortars, gradually fell short of their original range. Besides theportée a toute volée, and theportée de but en blanc, or the full range and the point blank shot, there is thericochet, which marshal Vauban invented. SeeRicochet.
PORTER,Fr.to carry. It is a marine term; asporter toutes ses voiles. To carry all her sails. It is likewise used as a word of command, viz.Portez vos armes.Carry arms.
Porterune botte,Fr.to make a thrust or pass.
PORTESd’une ville du guerre,Fr.openings which cross the ramparts of a fortified town or place, and are generally arched over. These openings are usually made in the middle of the curtain, between two bastions. They are from nine to ten feet broad, and from thirteen to fourteen feet high. The gates are mostly decorated with trophies of war: and in some instances a very superfluous magnificence is exhibited.
PORTEURSd’eau,Fr.Water carriers.In India they are calledBeestees. Amongst the Turks the Sakkas, or water-carriers, are taken from the lowest rank of soldiers belonging to the Capikuly infantry. The number of these men depends upon the nature of the service on which the turks are employed. They are under the orders of the officers who command companies; and although their situation is not only the most degrading, but the most laborious in the army, they may nevertheless become soldiers. Their dress consists of brown leather; and from the continual fatigue which they undergo, their appearance is wretched in the extreme.
PORTFIRE, a composition of meal powder, sulphur, and saltpetre, driven into a case of paper to serve instead of a match to fire guns.
Portfirecomposition. Saltpetre, 60 parts; sulphur, 40 parts; mealed powder, 20 parts. Length of each, 16¹⁄₂ inches.
One will burn from 12 to 15 minutes.
Weight of one dozen, 3 lbs. 12 oz.
Portfires were made at Gibraltar in the following manner; two ounces of nitre was dissolved in a gallon of water, and sheets of soft brown paper dipped in the solution: these when dry were rolled up to about the size of common portfires. See EnglishNew Annual Register, 1807, for an article on wooden portfires.
PORT-FOLIO, in a general acceptation of the term amongst us, is a species of large leathern case, made like a pocket book, and calculated to carry papers of any size. Among the French it not only signifies the same thing, but likewise a box, made of pasteboard, in which are contained the several papers that relate to any particular department. The adjutants, quarter-masters, &c. belonging to the staff, should be provided with port folios for the purpose of keeping their reports, &c. in regular order.
PORT-GLAIVE, from the Frenchporteurandglaive. One who carries the sword before a prince or magistrate.
PORT-HOLES, in a ship, are the embrasures or holes in the sides of a ship, through which the muzzels of cannon are run.
PORTIERES,Fr.Two pieces or folds of wood which are placed in the embrasure of a battery, and which close the instant the piece has been fired. They serve to cover the cannoneers from the aim of the enemy, and to resist the discharge of musquetry. They are, however, seldom or ever used except when the batteries stand close to the counterscarp.
PORTICO, (portique,Fr.) in architecture, a kind of ground gallery, or piazza, encompassed with arches supported by columns, without any immediate relation to doors or gates, where people walk under cover. The roof is commonly vaulted, sometimes flat. The ancients called itLacunar.
PORTMANTEAU, (Valise,Fr.) acloak bag to carry necessaries in a journey. It is sometimes made of leather.
PORTMOTE, a court held in port towns, as swanimote was in the forest.
PORTropes, in a ship, such ropes as serve to haul up and let down the ports on the port holes.
POSE, (grandepose,Fr.) a French military term, signifying the extraordinary centinels or guards, which after retreat beating are posted in a fortified town or place, for the safety of certain specific quarters. The corporals who post the centinels are directed to instruct them, not to suffer any person to go upon the ramparts, unless he belong to the night patrole or rounds, &c. These extraordinary guards are relieved at daybreak.
POSER,Fr.to lay down. It is used as a word of command in the French artillery, &c. viz.Poser vos leviers; lay down your levers.
POSERune sentinelle,Fr.to post a centry.
POSES,Fr.the centries that are posted.
PrimingPOSITION, in the old manual exercise. In firing three deep the priming position for the front rank is the height of the waistband of the breeches; for the centre rank about the middle of the stomach; and for the rear rank close to the breast. The firelock in all the positions is kept perfectly horizontal.
But in the modern exercise, the rear rank does not fire; but loads for the centre rank, whenever they form in three ranks, the whole are quarter faced to the left, so that the firelock of each has an interval; and all the firelocks are held equally high on the right hip.
Position, (Position,Fr.) This word is variously used in a military sense, both by the French and English. It is applicable to locality; as thearmy took an excellent position; or drew up upon very advantageous ground, and in a very advantageous manner. Frederic the great, of Prussia, has laid it down as a maxim, that no army should take up a position in rear of a forest, since it is thereby prevented from observing the movements of the enemy, and from counteracting their plans.
Positionof the soldier without arms. The equal squareness of the shoulders and body to the front is the first and great principle of the position of the soldier: the heels must be in a line, and two inches apart; the knees straight, without stiffness; the toes turned out, so that the feet may form an angle of about 60 degrees; the arms hang near the body, but not stiff; the flat of the hand, and middle finger, touching the seams of the pantaloons; the elbows and shoulders are to be kept back: The belly rather drawn in; and the breast advanced, but without constraint; the body to be upright, but inclining rather forwards, so that the weight may not bear so much on the heels as on the fore part of the feet: the head to be erect; and neither turned to the right nor to the left; the eyes alone will be glanced to the right.
Positionof the soldier with arms. The body of the soldier being in the position above described, the firelock is to be placed in his left hand, against the shoulder; the thumb alone to appear in front; the four fingers to be under the butt; and the left elbow a very little bent inwards, so as not to be separated from the body, or to be more backward or forward than the right one: the firelock must rest full on the hand, not on the end of the fingers; the knuckles of the middle finger to press so against the hip joint, as that on raising the left foot from the ground the motion of the joint be felt with the knuckles, and be carried in such manner as not to raise, advance, or keep back, one shoulder more than the other; the butt must therefore be forward, and as low as can be permitted without constraint; the fore part a very little before the front of the thigh; and the hind part of it pressed with the knuckles against the joint. It must be kept steady and firm before the hollow of the shoulder; should it be drawn back, or carried too high, the one shoulder would be advanced, the other kept back, and the upper part of the body would be distorted and not square with respect to the limbs.
The position in which a soldier should move, determines that in which he should stand still. Too many methods cannot be used to supple the recruit, and banish the air of the rustic. But that excess of setting up, which stiffens the person, and tends to throw the body backward instead of forward, is contrary to every true principle of movement, and must therefore be most carefully avoided. If the firelock be carried well in the hand, and against the hip joint, the barrel of the firelock will stand perpendicular, and this will guide the body which should be thrown against the uptight firelock, and will be found to agree with the balance of the body upon the fore part of the foot; and conduce to opening the chest and keeping an erect front.
Positionin marching. In marching, the soldier must maintain, as much as possible, the same position of the body. SeeMarch.
Change ofPosition, the positive or relative movement of a body of troops on any given point.
NewPositionsthat a regiment or line can take with respect to the old one, are:
ParallelPositions, or nearly so to the old one.
IntersectingPositionsby themselves, or their prolongation, some part of the old line or its prolongation.
New parallelPositionsbeing necessarily to the front, or rear of the old one, the regiment will, according to circumstances, take them up by the diagonal march; the flank match of divisions after wheeling intocolumn; or the movement in open column to the new line, and its subsequent formation in it.
New intersectingPositions, which themselves cut the regiment, will, in cavalry movements, be taken up by the diagonal march; or the flank march ranks by three’s of divisions. All other new positions, which themselves, or their prolongation, intersect the old line, or its prolongation, will in general be taken up by the march in open column, and its subsequent formations, when it arrives at the line; some such positions will, however, allow of, and require being made by the echellon march, or by the flank march of divisions. In general the regiment will break to the hand which is nearest to the new position, be conducted to its nearest point in the new line, and form on it as directed.
Positionof the officer. SeeSword.
Positiondu soldat sans armes,Fr.position of the soldier without arms.
Positiondu soldat avec les armes,Fr.position of the soldier with arms.
Positionde l’extension,Fr.in fencing, position of extension.
POSSEDER,Fr.to possess, to be in possession of.
POSSE, an armed power, called out on any particular emergency; as theposse comitatus; who may be called out by the sheriff, or marshal, to suppress outrages of the peace.
POSSESSION, to take possession, is the act of occupying any post, camp, fortress, &c. which might facilitate the operations of any army, or which previously belonged to the enemy.
POST, inwar, a military station; any sort of ground fortified or not, where a body of men can be in a condition of resisting the enemy.
AdvancedPost, a spot of ground, seized by a party to secure their front, and the post behind them.
Postof honor. The advanced guard is a post of honor: the right of the two lines is the post of honor, and is generally given to the eldest corps: the left is the next post, and is given to the next eldest, and so on. But the laws of military discipline forbid an inconvenient accordance with this practice, as the circumstances of the case may require a very different arrangement, which it would be wanton to oppose. The station of a centinel before the colors, and the door of a commanding officer, is a post of honor.
AdvantageousPOST. Every situation is so called which an enemy occupies in such a manner, that not only mere force of arms, but great military skill, and many stratagems, are required to dislodge him. We have various instances in history of how much may be done on both sides, when one army has taken up an advantageous post, and another finds it necessary to drive him from it. This subject has been amply discussed in a French work intituled,Stratagéms de Guerre, page 71, &c.
Postsof exercise in the rear, the relative situations which officers take in the rear; when the ranks of a battalion are opened for the purpose of going through the manual and platoon exercises. It is likewise a cautionary word of command, viz.The officers will take post in the rear.
ToPost. In the disposition of troops, to place the officers, music, drummers, fifers, and pioneers, according to their several ranks and appointments, either for inspection, or exercise in the field.
ToPost, to station, as, a sentry, &c.
To bePOSTED, in military tactics, to be formed ready for action. Thus when troops are brought up in column, and ordered to deploy, it frequently happens, that some part of the line is refused, in order to flank an enemy, or to cover a weak position, the part that is aligned is said to be posted.
ToPOSTup, (afficher,Fr.) To hold up to public censure or ridicule.
To bePOSTED, in a familiar sense, signifies to be publicly announced as an infamous or degraded character. Hence to post a man as a coward is to stick his name up in a coffee-house or elsewhere, and to accuse him of want of spirit, &c. The French use the phraseafficherin the same sense. They likewise say figurativelyafficher sa bonte; to publish or post up one’s own disgrace; meaning thereby, that some persons are so totally regardless of decency and decorum, as to express sentiments which are unbecoming the character of an officer, or a gentleman.
POSTAGEof Letters. In the British service, non-commissioned officers and private soldiers are privileged to send or receive letters, from any part of that country on payment of one penny only for the postage.
In the instructions to postmasters, (Feb. 4th, 1799,) concerning the exemptions granted to seamen in the navy, and privates in the army, in respect to the postage of their letters, it is specified, that
“No single letter, sent by the post from any seaman or private employed in his majesty’s navy, army, militia, fencible regiments, artillery, or marines, shall, whilst such seamen or private shall be employed on his majesty’s service, and not otherwise, be charged with an higher rate of postage than the sum of one penny for the conveyance of each such letter; such postage to be paid at the time of putting the same into the post office of the town, or place from whence such letter is intended to be sent by the post.
“Provided, that no such letter shall be exempted from postage, unless there shall be written thereon, in the hand-writing of, and signed by the commanding officer, for the time being, of the ship or vessel, or of the corps, regiment, or detachment to which such seamen or private shall belong, the name of such commandingofficer, and of the ship, vessel, corps, regiment, or detachment commanded by him.
“No single letter, directed to any such seamen, or private, upon his own private concerns, only whilst such seaman, or private, shall be employed on his majesty’s service, and not otherwise, shall be charged with a higher rate of postage than one penny for each such letter, which penny shall be paid at the time of the delivery thereof.
“Provided, that no such letter shall be exempted from the rates of postage chargeable upon letters, unless any such letter shall be directed to such seaman, or private, specifying the ship, vessel, regiment, troop, corps, company, or detachment to which he may belong: and provided also, that it shall not be lawful for the deputy postmaster of the town or place to which such letter shall be sent to be delivered, to deliver such letter to any person except to the seamen or private to whom such letter shall be directed, or to any person appointed to receive the same by the commanding officer of the ship, &c. to which the seaman, or private to whom such letter shall be directed, shall belong.
“The exemptions do not extend to letters sent to or received from countries independent of England: they do extend to the West India Islands and British America.
“All postmasters are desired to take particular notice that double letters to and from soldiers and sailors and their families, are liable to the full double rates, the same as letters in general; and some postmasters having conceived that letters containing money orders might pass under the exemptions of the act, they are desired to understand, that such letters are chargeable with full double rates also.
“Recruiting serjeants, who may carry on a correspondence with their officers on the recruiting service, cannot send or receive their letters on that service under the exemptions granted by this act.
“The above exemptions granted by the legislature do not extend in the navy to any other than seaman, and not to officers of any description whatever; and in the army, only the privates, with serjeants and serjeant-majors are included. Many officers, both in the army and navy, having construed the act to extend to their own correspondence, it is hereby publicly stated that such a construction is altogether inapplicable.”
The act in its literal meaning includes in this indulgence all non-commissioned officers, although they are excluded by this official interpretation.
According to a letter issued from the post office, dated the 18th Sept, 1799, to all postmasters, in addition to the rates above-mentioned, these letters are chargeable with inland postage to and from London, excepting single letters to and from soldiers and sailors, and it is to be left to the opinion of the writers to pay the postage or not on putting them into any post office.
POSTE,Fr.a word generally used in the plural number to signify small shot, viz.Son fusil étoit chargé de douze ou quinze postes; his gun or musquet was loaded with twelve or fifteen shot.
Poste,Fr.This word is always used in the masculine gender when it relates to war, or to any specific appointments; as,poste avancé, an advanced post.Poste avantageux, an advantageous post.Mauvais poste, an unfavorable post. The French say figuratively,un poste est jaloux; thereby meaning, that a post is extremely open to an attack, and that the troops in it may be easily surprised.
Postesde campagne,Fr.Every construction or groupe of buildings that will admit of being defended, and is consequently tenable, is called aposte de campagne, or field work. Of this description are churches, houses, country houses, farm houses, villages, redoubts, &c. in which a sufficient number of men may be stationed for the purpose of holding out against an enemy, until succours can arrive. Chevalier Folard has written upon this subject; and since him, F. Gaudi, with comments and illustrations by A. P. J. Belair, chief of brigade in the French army. We recommend the latter production, which appeared in 1793, to the perusal of every officer. The work is intituled,Instruction addressée aux officiers d’Infanterie pour tracer et construire toutes sortes d’ouvrages de Campagne. See likewise,Aide Mémoire pour les officiers d’artillerie. A late work, intituled,Duties of an Officer in the Field, &c. by Baron Gross, of the Dutch brigade, is very useful; the whole of this tract is incorporated in theAmerican Military Library.
Postavantageux,Fr.SeeAdvantageous Post.
PetitsPOSTESseparés,Fr.small detached posts.
Postesintermédiaires,Fr.intermediate posts, or men so stationed between different corps, that, in case of urgency, they may with ease advance to the support of that which is more immediately threatened by the enemy.
POSTERN, more frequent a sally-port, is a small door in the flank of a bastion, or other part of a garrison, to march in and out unperceived by an enemy, either to relieve the works, or make sallies.
POSTICHE,Fr.any thing fictitious put in room of something that has been real and natural. In military matters, among the French, it serves to distinguish supernumerary or auxiliary soldiers that are taken from one, or more companies; to strengthen any particular body of men.
POSTILION,Fr.an express boat which is kept in French seaports forthe purpose of carrying and bringing intelligence.
POT,Fr.a vessel used in the making of artificial fireworks, &c.
StinkPot, a vessel filled with combustible matter, which is thrown on various occasions, when men come into close action. The consequences of its explosion are sometimes fatal, and always dangerous.
Potà brai,Fr.an iron pot in which pitch or tar is melted.
Potd’une fusée volante,Fr.the carcase of a fusee.
Potà feu,Fr.a fire pot; a hand grenado.
Potà aigrette,Fr.an artificial firework, the centre of which contains a certain quantity of powder, which upon being inflamed, communicates itself to several other branches, and exhibits the appearance of an aigrette, or cluster of rays, such as issue from diamonds arranged in a particular manner. The aigrette takes its name from a bird so called, whose feathers serve to make up an ornament for the head.
Poten téte,Fr.a headpiece made of iron, which is proof against musquet shot. This headpiece is sometimes placed in the crown of the hat, and is otherwise used by sappers.
POTEAU,Fr.a stake, post.
POTEE,Fr.Putty.
POTENCE,Fr.Troops are rangeden potenceby breaking a straight line, and throwing a certain proportion of it, either forward or backward, from the right or left, according to circumstances, for the purpose of securing that line. An army may be posteden potenceby means of a village, a river, or a wood. The derivation of the word may be variously explained, viz. FromPotence, a gibbet.Potences, crutches or supports.Potencelikewise means a piece of wood which is thrown across two uprights; also a cross table, astable en potence; and a measure to ascertain the height of a horse or man.
POTENTAT,Fr.SeePotentate.
POTENTATE, a sovereign prince, whose power is rendered formidable by the various means of authority which are vested in him.
POTERNE,Fr.a postern gate, a sally port.
Poterne,Fr.Likewise signifies a secret gate. Gates of this description are made behind the orillons at the extremities of the curtain, in the angle of the flank, and in the middle of those curtains where there are no gates. The sewers generally run under the poternes. Belidor, in his Art of Engineering, recommends small arched magazines to be constructed on the right and left of the paths that lead to these gates.
POUCH, a case of black stout leather with a flap over it, worn by the infantry for the purpose of carrying their ammunition. The pouches in use among the cavalry are smaller.
Pouchflap, the outside covering of the pouch. It is made of the stoutest blackened leather and ought always to be substantial enough to turn the severest weather.
POUCE,Fr.An inch.
POUDRE,Fr.SeeGunpowder.
Poudremuette,poudre sourde,Fr.A species of gunpowder which is free from noise or detonation.
Poudrefulminante,Fr.A species of gunpowder which makes a greater noise than the common sort.
Poudreà gros grains,Fr.Gunpowder which is used for artillery pieces. It is likewise calledPoudre à Canon.
Poudreà musquet,Fr.Gunpowder used for musquets, and other firearms.
POUDRIER,Fr.a gunpowder maker. It also signifies an hour glass.
POVERTY, a goddess adored by the Pagans, and familiar to Christians. She was reverenced, as a deity, by the heathens, because they feared her, and was very justly considered as the mother of industry and the fine arts. Among military men, poverty is seldom felt whilst the active duties of the profession are executed with zeal and good sense, and the individuals entrusted with them, are not only paid with punctuality, but are secured in their honest hopes of promotion. Economy is the basis on which every soldier should build his views of personal comfort and security; and if he attend to the perpetual calls of service, he will not fail to realise them. For a life of real service affords no scope for extravagance; and when a good soldier becomes unequal to the hardships it imposes, the nation should provide for him.
POUF,Ind.a word used among the blacks to describe the explosion of firearms.
POULEVRIN,Fr.Pounded gunpowder.
POULIE,Fr.A pulley.
APOUNDsterling, a money in account, value 20s. in England, marked £.
POUNDAGE, a rate which is allowed for collecting money. Army agents, &c. are entitled to poundage, which consists in a certain deduction from the pay of officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers. Agents are not allowed any poundage on the pay of the privates in the militia.
POUNDER, a great gun or piece of ordnance, denominated according to the weight of the ball it carries, as a 6, 12, 24 pounder.
POWDERHorn, a horn flask, in which powder is kept for priming guns. Light infantry and riflemen have frequently a powder horn for carrying spare powder.
POURIE,Ind.a wooden sandal which is used in India during the wet season.
POURSUITE,Fr.Pursuit.
Poursuivansd’armes,Fr.SeePursuivants at arms.
POURSUIVRE,Fr.to pursue.
Poursuivrel’épée dans les reins,Fr.To pursue with unrelenting activity.
POURTOUR,Fr.in architecture, the circumference of any place.
POURVOIR,Fr.to provide, to lay in store, &c.
POURVEYEURSdes vivres,Fr.Purveyors.
POUSSER,Fr.to push, to press upon, to drive before you, viz.Pousser aux ennemis; to advance rapidly against the enemy. This expression is used in a neutral sense, and relates chiefly to the operations of cavalry.
Pousserun cheval,Fr.To make a horse go full speed.
POUSSIER,Fr.the dust which remains after the formation of gunpowder into grains.
POUTRE,Fr.a beam.
POUTRELLE,Fr.a small beam.
POWDER. SeeGunpowder.
Powder-magazine, a bomb-proof arched building to hold the powder in fortified places, &c. containing several rows of barrels laid one over another. SeeMagazine.
Powder-cart, a two wheeled carriage, covered with an angular roof of boards. To prevent the powder from getting damp, a tarred canvas is put over the roof; and on each side are lockers to hold shot, in proportion to the quantity of powder, which is generally four barrels.
Powder-mill, a building in which the materials are beat, mixed together, and grained: they are placed near rivers, and as far from any house as can be, for fear of accidents, which often happen. SeeMill.
POWER, a natural faculty of doing or suffering any thing. Mr. Locke, in his Essay on the Human Understanding, considers power under two heads. One he calls active and the other passive power.
Power, in military affairs as well as in all others, isknowlege—of human passions—of arms—of distances—of the skill and numbers of an enemy.
To be in thePOWERof any body, in a figurative sense, to have committed yourself in such a manner, as to be under the necessity of keeping upon good terms with a person who might injure you by a disclosure of your secrets. To avoid putting yourself in the power of any man,hear much,say little, andwrite less. These are maxims which every public character ought to attend to; and every general should cautiously follow during an active campaign, when there are frequent occasions to communicate with spies, &c. and he is not unfrequently obliged to hold intercourse with suspected persons.
To be in thePOWERof an enemy. To have taken up, injudiciously, such a position as to expose you to a defeat whenever the enemy may think proper to attack you.
Powersof lines and quantities, are their squares, cubes, &c. or other multiplications of the parts into the whole, or of one part into another.
SmallPOX. A disease to which most infants, adults, &c. are exposed; and which has been rendered less malignant by inoculation. The introduction of a humor, called theCow Pox, orVaccine Matter, into the human system, has lately been found extremely beneficial. When recruits join a regiment they should be examined respecting this disease; and no time should be lost tovaccinatethem.
GreatPox, commonly called the venereal disease. Few men are more likely to catch this cruel disorder than soldiers; and in no case ought the attention of the regimental surgeon to be more imperiously engaged than in the speedy cure of it. In the navy, where the disease is often prevalent, the surgeons are entitled to receive a certain sum of money, which is stopped out of the pay of their venereal patients, for extraordinary trouble and attendance. In the army of the U. States the soldiers are treated in this as in all other diseases. The soldier should be liable to stoppages. Every officer of a company, who has the welfare of his soldiers at heart, should examine their linen at the weekly inspections, as the disorder generally manifests itself, particularly in its first stages, in stains upon the shirt.
PRACTICABLE. A word frequently used in military matters to express the possible accomplishment of any object. Hence, “a practicable breach.”
PRACTICE, orgun-practice. In the spring, as soon as the weather permits, the exercise of the great guns begins, for the purpose of shewing the gentlemen cadets at the British military academy at Woolwich, and the private men, the manner of laying, loading, pointing, and firing the guns. Sometimes instruments are used to find the centre line, or two points, one at the breech, the other at the muzzle, which are marked with chalk, and whereby the piece is directed to the target: then a quadrant is put into the mouth, to give the gun the required elevation, which at first is guessed at, according to the distance the target is from the piece. When the piece has been fired, it is sponged, to clear it from any dust or sparks of fire that may remain in the bore, and loaded: then the centre line is found, as before; and if the shot went too high or too low, to the right or to the left, the elevation and trail are altered accordingly. This practice continues morning and evening for about six weeks, more or less, according as there are a greater or less number of recruits. In the mean time others are shown the motions of quick firing with field-pieces. There is no practice in the army of the U. States, in which there are officers of ten or twelve years standing who never sawa mortar loaded; but this is the effect of a total want of system.
MortarPractice, generally thus: a line of 1500 or 2000 yards is measured in an open spot of ground, from the place where the mortars stand, and a flag fixed at about 300 or 500 yards: this being done, the ground where the mortars are to be placed is prepared and levelled with sand, so that they may lie at an elevation of 45, or any required number of degrees; then they are loaded with a small quantity of powder at first, which is increased afterwards, by an ounce every time, till they are loaded with a full charge: the times of the flights of the shells are observed, to determine the length of the fuzes. The intention of this practice is, when a mortar-battery is raised in a siege, to know what quantity of powder is required to throw the shells in to the works at a given distance, and at what elevation, and to cut the fuzes of a just length, that the shell may burst as soon as it touches the ground.
PRACTICE-Book. SeeBook.
ToPRACTICE. In a military sense, to go through the manual and platoon exercises, or through the various manœuvres, &c. for the purpose of becoming thoroughly master of military movements. Practice is likewise used, in imitation of the French, to signify the act of effecting or executing any military operation, viz. to practise a mine beneath the covert way, &c.
PRAME,Fr.A sort of boat or barge which is used on the canals in France.
PRAME, inmilitary history, a kind of floating battery, being a flat bottomed vessel, which draws little water, mounts several guns, and is very useful in covering the disembarkation of troops. They are generally made use of in transporting the troops over the lakes in America. These vessels are well calculated for the defence of large havens and seaports. Belair, in his Elements de Fortification, page 397, strongly recommends the use of Prames in cases of inundation, &c. See the improvements proposed by him in page 316, where he speaks of “Bateaux insubmersibles.”
DiPRATICA,Ital.Free intercourse; admitted to pratique. Persons who, having performed quarantine, are permitted to land in Italy, and mix with the inhabitants.
PRACTICABLE,Fr.SeePracticable. This word is in general use among the French, viz.
Les chemins ne sont pasPracticables. The roads are not passable.
Le gué n’est pasPracticabledans se moment-ci. The river is not fordable at this moment; verbatim, the ford is not practicable at this moment.
PRATIQUE,Fr.Practice. The term likewise signifies, among the French, commerce, intercourse, traffic, &c.
AvoirPratiqueavec des insulaires,Fr.To trade, or have intercourse with the inhabitants of islands.
UnePratiqueeclairée,Fr.A project undertaken and put into execution upon solid principles.
UnePratiqueaveugle,Fr.A plan ill digested, and executed without discernment or ability.
Pratiques,Fr.In the plural, this term signifies the same as mal-practices, or secret intelligence with an enemy, viz.
Entrétenir desPratiquesavec le commandant d’une place. To hold communication, or keep up a secret correspondence with the commandant of a fortified place.
Pratiquerdes intelligences,Fr.To collect, to gather useful information.
Il avoitPratiquedans cette place des intelligences qui lui ont donné le moyen de la surprendre,Fr.He had gathered such information, by holding secret intelligence with the inhabitants, as to be able to surprise the place.
Pratiquer,Fr.In architecture, to contrive, to make, to render convenient.
DonnerPratiqueà un vaisseau,Fr.To allow a vessel to enter into port and unload. This expression is used in the Mediterranean under circumstances of quarantine, and comes fromPratica.
Pratiquer,Fr.To practice.Pratiquer une homme; to try a man; to put his abilities to the test. It likewise signifies to gain over, to suborn.
PRECEDENCE. Priority. Priority in rank or precedence in military life, arises from rank, or the date of an officer’s commission.
PRECEDENT. Any act which can be interpreted into an example for future times, is called a precedent. Persons in high official situations are extremely scrupulous with respect to precedence, especially in military matters.
PRECIPITER,Fr.To precipitate; to urge or hasten on; to do every thing prematurely. This word appears to be used by the French in almost all the senses to which we attach it, especially in military matters.
Precipitersa retraite,Fr.Literally signifies, to precipitate one’s retreat. It may be taken in a good or bad sense, to signify the act of flying away blindly or rashly, without judgment or discretion; or of urging your retreat under circumstances of imperious necessity, yet with proper caution and foresight. So that to precipitate, both in French and English, signifies, Fairetréspromptement outroppromptement; to do any thingverypromptly, ortoopromptly.
PRECISION, exact limitation, scrupulous observance of certain given rules.
Precisionof march. On the leading platoon officer of the column, much of the precision of march depends; he must lead at an equal, steady pace; he must lead on two objects either given to him,or which he himself takes up on every alteration of position; this demands his utmost attention; nor must he allow it to be diverted by looking at his platoon, the care of whose regularity depends on the other officers and non-commissioned officers, belonging to it. The second platoon officer must also be shewn, and be made acquainted with the points on which the first leads; he is always to keep the first officer and those points in a line, and those two officers, together with the guide mounted officers, thus become a direction for the other pivot officers to cover. In marching in open column, the covering serjeants or guides are placed behind the second file from the pivot officers, that the officers may the more correctly see and cover each other in column.