PREDAL,or,-PREDATORY,
War, a war carried on by plunder and rapine; such as the British navy and the Algerines; the Buccaneers, also carried on a predal war, against all persons on the high seas.
PREDESTINARIAN. A person who believes in predestination. Every Turk, may be considered as a predestinarian. A Turkish soldier is taught to believe that it he falls in battle he will instantly go to heaven. This is a comfortable idea even for christian soldiers. How far it ought to be encouraged, doctors and able casuists must agree.
PREFECT, (Préfet,Fr.) a governor or commander of any place or body of men. Among the Romans this was a title of great importance, both in civil and military situations. During the existence of the republic the Præfectus Legio has had a considerable command. The two Alæ, wings, or great divisions of the allies, had each a præfect appointed them by the Roman consul, who governed in the same manner as the legionary tribunes. For a specific account see pages 193, 194, 195, of Kennett’s Roman Antiquities. There was likewise, during the time of the Roman emperors, an officer called the præfect of the pretorian band, or body guards. The French have adopted the word in their government. The functions of a modern French prefect correspond almost wholly with those of a governor of a province under the old regime or system.
PREFERMENT, the state of being advanced to a higher post.
PREJUDICE,PREJUGE,Fr.Prepossession, judgment formed beforehand, without examination. A celebrated French writer calls it an opinion taken up without judgment,Le préjuge est une opinion sans jugement.Voltaire.It is used in two instances, viz. for and against a person.
PRELIMINARY, (Préliminaire,Fr.) Previous, introductory, &c. Preliminary, as a substantive, signifies an introductory measure, a previous arrangement. Hence the “preliminaries of peace.”
PRENDRE,Fr.A French military term. It is variously used, and accords generally with our wordto take, viz.
Prendreune ville d’assaut;par famine, &c. To take a town by assault; by famine, &c.
Prendreà droite, ou à gauche,Fr.To go to the right or left.
Prendreà travers,Fr.To run across.
Prendreles devants,Fr.To anticipate, to get the start of any body.
Prendrele pas,Fr.To take precedence.
Prendrela droite,Fr.To take the right.
Prendreterre,Fr.To land.
Prendrele large,Fr.A term used figuratively to signify the act of running away.
Prendrela clef des champs,Fr.Literally, to take the key of the country, or to run over it.
Prendreson êlan,Fr.To dart forth, to spring forward.
Prendreun rat,Fr.A figurative expression used among the French when a musquet or pistol misses fire,Il voulut tirer, mais son pistolet ne prit qu’un rat. Literally, he would have fired, but his pistol only caught a rat.
Prendrelangue,Fr.To seek for information, to obtain intelligence.
Prendredu temps,Fr.To take time in executing a thing.
Prendreson temps,Fr.To do a thing with perfect convenience to one’s self.
Prendrela parole,Fr.To speak first.
Prendresa revanche,Fr.To make up for any past loss or disadvantage. We familiarly say, to take one’s revenge.
Prendreà partie,Fr.An expression peculiar to the French, in judicial matters, which signifies to attack a judge, for having prevaricated and taken the part of one side against another, without any regard to justice. It likewise means to impute misconduct or criminality, and to make a person responsible for it.
SePrendrede vin,Fr.To get drunk. Excess of drinking was so little known among the French officers and soldiers, that the greatest disgrace was affixed to the habit. It is recorded, that when marshal Richelieu had determined to storm a place in the Mediterranean, he gave out the following order—“any soldier who shall appear the least intoxicated, shall be excluded from the honor and glory of mounting the assault to-morrow morning.” Every man was at his post, and not a single instance of intoxication occurred. Such was theesprit de corpsand theamour proprewhich prevailed in all ranks, that the dread of corporeal punishment had less effect than the being deprived of an opportunity to shew courage and resolution.
VaisseauPRENEUR,Fr.A termpeculiarly applicable to a ship that has taken a prize.
PREPARATIFSde guerre,Fr.Warlike preparations. A French writer, under this article, very judiciously observes, that the necessary arrangements which must be made before an army takes the field, and sometimes before an open declaration of war takes place, ought to be managed with extreme caution and great secrecy; although it is impossible to prevent the neighboring powers from being totally ignorant of what is going forward. It is recorded that Henry the IVth of France, having conceived a vast military project, kept it a profound secret for several years, and made the necessary preparations with extreme caution, before he put it into execution.
When Louis the XIVth resolved to invade Italy, in 1663, he dispatched commissaries, purveyors, &c. the preceding year, under various pretences, to buy up corn, to secure forage for his cavalry, and to provide every thing that might be wanted in the train of artillery; and in 1667, when he formed the plan of entering Belgium in person, he arranged all matters relative to the interior government of France during his absence, examined into the state of the finances, filled his treasury with money, augmented, by insensible degrees, the different regiments of his army, and by means of these and other sage precautions, secured the conquest of his object. In fact, well digested plans and cautious arrangements previous to the execution of a military project, however apparently tedious, are the sure forerunners of a prompt and decisive victory. It was a maxim among the Romans, and it is still one among the Turks,De faire de grosses et courtes guerres. To make war upon a scale previously vast and heavy, that its issue may be ultimately short and effectual.
PREPARATIVE, having the power of preparing, qualifying, or fitting. This word is used in a military sense to give notice of any thing about to be done. Hence
PREPARATIVE. A beat of the drum by which officers are warned to step out of the ranks when the firings are to commence.
When the preparative is beat, for the firings, the officers in the front rank step out nimbly two paces from the vacancies between the divisions, platoons, companies, or sub divisions, face to the left without word of command, and look right of companies, &c. When the preparative has ceased, they severally commence the firing. When the general is beat they fall back into the front rank.
ToPREPARE. To take previous measures.
Preparefor action. A word of command used in the artillery.To battery, is a command of the same import.
PREPARATORY, antecedently necessary; giving that knowlege in any art or science which is necessary to qualify individuals for a superior class or branch. Hencepreparatoryschools.
PreparatoryAcademies. The junior department of the British military college, ispreparatoryto the senior. The first elements of military science are taught in the former, and officers get qualified in the higher branches of the profession when they enter the latter.
PRESENCEof mind. Ready conception of expedients, producing promptitude of action under difficult and alarming circumstances.
There is a very remarkable instance of that species of presence of mind which gives a sudden turn to public opinion, and, as it were, electrifies the human mind. When a dangerous mutiny broke out among the Roman legions, on a proposed expedition against the Germans, Cæsar suddenly exclaimed, “Let the whole army return ignominiously home if it think proper, the tenth legion and myself will remain and combat for the republic.” Having, as Plutarch observes, excited his troops to fresh ardor, he led them against the Germans; and being informed that the enemy had been warned by their soothsayers not to engage before the next moon, he took an immediate occasion to force them to battle, in which he as usual obtained victory. On a subsequent occasion this great man discovered a promptitude of conception and a presence of mind which have since been imitated on various occasions by a modern general, but have never been surpassed in ancient or modern history.
Having led his army against the Nervii, the most uncivilized, and the most fierce of all the nations bordering upon the Roman territory, he met a resistance, which as it was not expected, somewhat shook the firmness of his troops. The Nervii, by a sudden onset, at first routed his cavalry, but perceiving the danger to which his army was exposed, Cæsar himself snatched up a buckler, and forcing his way through his own men, he, with the assistance of his tenth legion, changed the fortune of the day, and cut the enemy almost entirely off. For, as Plutarch states, out of 60,000 soldiers, not above 500 survived the battle. The instances of presence of mind in modern wars are numerous, for several see Memoirs of Bonaparte’s first campaign: and several subsequent occasions.
EnPresence,Fr.In sight.
AllPRESENT. A term used when an officer takes his serjeant’s report, and makes the necessary enquiry respecting the state of his troops or company.
ToPresent,Presenter,Fr.This word is used in various senses. Those which are more immediately applicable to military usage are as follow:
ToPresent. To offer openly. Toexhibit. To give in ceremony; as to present the colors.
ToPresentarms. To bring the firelock to a certain prescribed position, for the purpose of paying a military compliment. SeeManual.
Presenterles armes,Fr.To present arms, to bring the firelock to any position that may be prescribed in military exercise. In the firings it signifiesmake ready, viz.Presentez les armes, make ready;Joue, aim;feu, fire. In the manual and other exercises of the piece, it corresponds with our term.
Presenterla baïonette,Fr.To charge bayonet.
PRESIDENCY. The seat of government, so distinguished in India. There are four presidencies, viz. Bombay, Calcutta, Fort St. David, and Madras.
PRESIDENTof the United States.
Presidentof the old congress.
Presidentof a general or regimental court martial. The officer, oldest in rank, who sits in conjunction with other officers, for the trial of military offences is so called. The court, consisting of an odd number of members, when their opinions are equal, the president has the casting vote.
PRESIDIAL, relating to a garrison or fortress.
PRESS-money, money given to the soldier when taken or pressed into the service: but as the entrance into the American army is a voluntary act, it is more properly called bounty or enlisting money.
PRESTATIONde serment,Fr.The taking an oath.
PRET,Fr.The subsistence or daily pay which is given to soldiers. The French say,
Payer lePret. To pay subsistence.
Recevoir lePret. To receive subsistence.
Toucher lePret. To touch subsistence or daily pay.
PRETENDER, one who pretends to any thing whether it be his own or the property of another.
PRETER,Fr.In military tactics, to expose, as
Preterson flanc à l’ennemi. To expose one’s flank to the enemy; to march in so unguarded a manner, or to take up one’s ground so disadvantageously as to stand in continual danger of being outflanked.
The French likewise say, figuratively,
Preterle flanc. To put one’s self in the power of another.
PRETOR, (Préteur,Fr.) Among the Romans, the governor of a province, who had served the office of pretor, or chief minister of justice in ancient Rome. The provinces so governed were called pretorian.
PRETORIAN, (Pretorien,ne,Fr.) appertaining to pretor; asPretorian Band, the general’s guard among the ancient Romans.
PRETORIUM, (Prétoire,Fr.) The hall or court wherein the pretor lived and administered justice. It also denoted the tent of the Roman general, in which councils of war were held. The place where the pretorian guards were quartered or lodged, was likewise called pretorium.
PREVARICATION. According to the laws of England is, where a lawyer pleads booty, or acts by collusion, &c. It also denotes a secret abuse committed in the exercise of a public office, or of a commission given by a private person. The word is unknown in military phraseology, and is only explained in this place to stand as a land mark to the open ingenuous character of a soldier.
PREVOST,Fr.Provost.
Prevostd’une armée,Fr.Provost-marshal belonging to an army.
PRICESof commissions. SeeRegulations.
PRICKER. A light horseman was formerly so called.
ToPRICKout. An expression used among engineers, &c. signifying to mark out the ground where a camp, &c. is to be formed.
ToPrickout the line of circumvallation. This is done by the chief engineer and chief of the staff, whenever an army entrenches itself before a town, or takes possession of any given lot of ground, and begins to hut.
PRICKING. Among marines, to make a point on the plan or chart, near about where the ship then is, or is to be at such a time, in order to find the course they are to steer.
PRIEST’s-cap. SeeFortificationandBonnet.
PRIME, a word of command used in the platoon exercise. SeeManual.
Primeand load, a word of command used in the exercise of a battalion, company, or squad. SeeManual.
PRIMEparade, in fencing, is formed by dropping the point of your sword to the right, bending your elbow, and drawing the back of your sword hand to within a foot of your forehead, in a line with your left temple, so that your blade shall carry the thrust of your antagonist clear of the inside or left of your position.
Primethrust, a thrust applicable after forming the above parade, and delivered at the inside of the antagonist. To obtain an opening for this thrust, it is necessary to step out of the line to the right as you parry, or else to oppose the sword of your antagonist with your left hand. The first method is most eligible.
PrimeHanging Guard, with the broadsword, a position in which the hand is brought somewhat to the left, in order to secure that side of the face and body. SeeBroadsword.
PRIMING, inGunnery, the train of powder that is laid, from the opening of the vent, along the gutter or channel, onthe upper part of the breech of the gun, which, when fired, conveys the flame to the vent, by which it is further communicated to the charge, in order to discharge the piece. This operation is only used on ship-board, at the proof, and sometimes in garrison; for on all other occasions, tubes are used for that purpose.
Priming, orprime of a gun, is the gunpowder put in the pan or touch-hole of a piece, to give it fire thereby.
Priming-case, a small tin case, about the size and shape of a cartridge, for the purpose of keeping a certain quantity of gunpowder, for priming, constantly ready and dry. This rational and econonomical invention, should be universally adopted.
Primingposition. SeePlatoon exerciseunderManual.
Priming-wire, ingunnery, a sort of iron needle employed to penetrate the vent or touch-hole of a piece of ordnance, when it is loaded, in order to discover whether the powder contained therein is thoroughly dry, and fit for immediate service; as likewise to search the vent and penetrate the cartridge, when the guns are not loaded with loose powder.
PRIMIPILARII,PRIMOPILARII,orPRIMIPILARES, among the Romans were such as had formerly borne the office of primipulus of a legion. The banner was entrusted to his care. Among other privileges which the primipilarii enjoyed, they became heirs to what little property was left by the soldiers who died in the campaign.
Primipilaire,Fr.SeePrimipilarii.
PRIMIPULUS, the centurion belonging to the first cohort of a legion. He had charge of the Roman eagle.
PRIMITIVES,Fr.Primitive colors are distinguished by this term among the French. They are, the yellow, the red, and the blue; white and black being the extremes.
PRINCIPES, (Princes,Fr.) Roman soldiers. They consisted of the strongest and most active men in the infantry, and were armed like the Hastati, with this difference, that the former had half-pikes instead of whole ones.
PRINCIPLE, according to the schools, is that from which any thing is done or known.
Principlealso denotes the foundations of arts and sciences.
MilitaryPrinciples, the basis or ground work upon which every military movement is made, and by which every operation is conducted.
PRISAGE, that share which belongs to the king or admiral out of such merchandises, &c. as are lawfully taken at sea.
PRIS,Fr.This word is variously used by the French, in a figurative and proverbial sense.C’est autant de pris sur l’ennemi. An expression signifying that some advantage, at least, has been gained.
Une VillePRISE,Fr.a town which has been taken.
Prisedes dehors d’une place,Fr.The taking possession of an enemy’s outworks.
PRISES,Fr.Prizes.
Prisessur l’ennemi,Fr.Every thing taken from the enemy is so called.
PRISONNIERSde guerre,Fr.prisoners of war.
PRISONERSof war, those of the enemy who are taken in or after a battle, siege, &c. They are deprived of their liberty at large, until exchanged, or sent on parole.
PRIVILEGE, is any kind of right or advantage which is attached to a person or employment exclusive of others.
Privileges.Among the different privileges which prevail in the British army, the life guards receive their promotions direct from the king, without passing through the commander in chief as all other corps do. The appointment of colonel in the life guards gives the honorary title of gold stick, and the field officer of the day is the silver stick, through whom all reports, &c. are conveyed to the king. Although there is a lieutenant general of the London district, the foot guards have the privilege of reporting to head quarters direct. The foot guards enjoy the privilege of ranking, from the ensign, one step higher than the line. A lieutenant, for instance, ranks as captain, and can purchase as such into any marching regiment without having waited the regulated period; and a captain, having the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel, may leap over all the majors of the line, by getting appointed to a marching regiment. The promotions of the guards,among themselves, are, however, extremely slow; and the only indemnification they have must beat the expence of the line. This preposterous pre-eminence which is not founded on any military principles or personal merit, has tended to destroy military emulation in England; and will every where when merit only is not the criterion of honor and promotion.
Privilegesdes régimens,Fr.Certain privileges attached to regiments, which are always abused, when not the reward of distinguished merit.
PRIVYCouncil, a council of state held by a king, with his counsellors, to concert matters for the public service; also called thecabinet.
PRIXdes emplois ou charges militaires,Fr.The price of commissions, or military employments. During the monarchy of France, a company in the French guards sold for 80,000 livres!
A company in the six first regiments of infantry, went for 75,000 livres. The six following, exclusive of therégiment du roi, went for 55,000 livres. One in the regiment of Poitou, and as far down as the Penthievre, 40,000 livres; in the Penthievre,and from that to the last regiment inclusive, 30,000 livres!
A company in the Scotch gendarmes cost 180,000 livres; in the Irish, the Bourguignon, and Flanders, 150,000 livres. The other companies of gendarmerie went for 135,000!
The sub-lieutenants in the gendarmerie paid 100,000 livres, and those in the light horse, 95,000 livres. The ensigns and first cornets, including the guidon belonging to the Scotch gendarmes, gave 62,000 livres!
The guidons, and second cornets, 30,000 livres!
There was no specific regulation for the purchase of a regiment of heavy cavalry or dragoons. Appointments in the état major or staff belonging to the cavalry and the royal regiments (les royaux) sold for 100,000l.in the dragoons, from 100,000 to 120,000 livres.
The troops or companies in cavalry regiments, in the royal corps, and in the état major or staff, were fixed at 10,000 livres, and the rest at 8000.
A troop of dragoons sold for 7000 livres. No company or other appointment in the infantry, was allowed to be bought or sold. It will strike the military reader, that although the purchase of commissions was, in some degree, sanctioned by the old French government, it was nevertheless extremely limited, and confined to the upper ranks. The efficient part of the army, which is certainly the infantry, received its commissions gratis.
PRIZE-FIGHTER. SeeGladiator.
PRIZE-money, officers and soldiers of the line doing duty on board ships of war, are entitled to prize-money as marines.
PROA,Ind.A sailing vessel is so called in India.
PROBABILITY, (Probabilité,Fr.) is nothing but the appearance of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas by the intervention of proofs, whose connection is not constant and immutable, or is not perceived to be so; but is, or appears for the most part to be so, and is sufficient to induce the mind to judge the proposition to be true or false, rather than the contrary.
PROBLEM, (Probléme,Fr.) In the general acceptation of the term, a doubtful proposition, which will admit of several solutions.
PROCEDURESmilitaires,Fr.Military process. It consists in the investigation of all crimes and offences committed by soldiers which come under the cognizance of a military tribunal; in contradistinction to the authority which is vested in the civil magistrates.
ToPROCLAIM, (Proclamer,Fr.) to promulgate or denounce by a solemn or legal publication. Hence, to proclaim peace, which is used in contradistinction to the termto declare, which denounces war. Both French and English say,Declarer la guerre, to declare war;proclamer la paix, to proclaim peace.
PROCLAMATION. An instrument which is published by the constituted authority of government, whereby the country at large is advertised of something, and whereby the people are sometimes required to do, or not to do certain things. A proclamation has all the efficacy of law, because it must be in concord with or founded upon the law already in being.
PROCLAMATIONof peace, a declaration of the cessation of war.
PROCONSUL, among the Romans, a magistrate who was sent to govern a province with consular authority.
PRODITION. SeeTreachery.
PRODUCE,-PRODUCT,
(Produit,Fr.) Effect, fruit. In arithmetic it is the quantity which grows out of the multiplication of two or more numbers or lines one by another: 5 for instance multiplied by 4, will give the produce 20; and the produce of two lines, multiplied one by the other, is called the rectangle of these lines.
PROFILE, in drawing, side-ways or side-view. A picture in profile represents a head or face set side-ways.
Profiler,Fr.the act of profiling, or designing with rule and compass.
Profile, (Profil,Fr.) in architecture, the draught of a building, fortification, &c. wherein are expressed the several heights, widths, and thicknesses, such as they would appear were the building cut down perpendicularly from the roof to the foundation. It serves to show those dimensions which cannot be represented in plans, but are yet necessary in the building of a fortification: they are best constructed on a scale of 30 feet to an inch. It is also called section, orthographical section, and by Vitruvius, sciagraphy. It is sometimes used in opposition to ichnography.
PROGRAM, (Programme,Fr.) a word derived from the Greek, signifying any public edict, notice, or declaration. The French make use or the word on occasions of national ceremony.
PROJECTILES, are such bodies as, being put in motion by any great force, are then cast off, or let go from the place where they received their quantity of motion; as a shell or shot from a piece of artillery, a stone thrown from a sling, or an arrow from a bow, &c. This line is commonly taken for a parabola, and the ranges are computed from the properties of the curves. The assumption would be just, in case the ball, in its motion, met with no resistance: but, the resistance of the air to swift motions being very great, the curve described by the shot is neither a parabola, nor near it: and by reason of the resistance, the angle which gives the greatest amplitude is not 45 degrees, as commonly supposed, but something less, probably 43¹⁄₂. Hence the sublime mathematicsare absolutely necessary in the investigation of the track of a shell or shot in the air, known by the name ofmilitary projectiles.
Gallileo having discovered that bodies projected in vacuo, and in an oblique direction to the horizon, do always describe a parabola, he concluded that this doctrine was not sufficient to determine the real motion of a military projectile: for, since shells and shot move with a great velocity, the resistance of the air becomes so great with respect to the weight of the projectile, that its effect turns the body very considerably from the parabolic tract; so that all calculations, grounded on the nature of this curve, are of little use on these occasions. This is not to be wondered at, since Gallileo, in his enquiry, paid no regard to any other force acting on bodies, than the force of gravity only, without considering the resistance of the air.
Every body, moving in a fluid, suffers the action of two forces: the one is the force of gravity, or the weight of the body; and it is to be observed, that this weight is less than the natural weight of the body, that being diminished by an equal bulk of the fluid in which the body moves. The other force is that of the resistance, which is known to be proportional to the squares of the velocity of the body; and when the body is a globe, as is commonly supposed, the direction of this force is diametrically opposite to that of the motion of the body. This force changes continually, both in quantity and direction; but the first force remains constantly the same. Hence, the point in question is, to determine the curve which a body projected obliquely, must describe when acted upon by the two forces just now mentioned.
Although this question is easily reduced to a problem purely analytical, the great Newton, notwithstanding his ingenious endeavors, did not arrive at a complete solution of it. He was the first who attempted it, and having succeeded so well in the supposition, that the resistance is proportional to the velocity, it is almost inconceivable that he did not succeed, when the resistance is supposed proportional to the squares of the velocity, after solving a number of questions incomparably more difficult. The late Mr. John Bernoulli gave the first solution of this problem, from which he drew a construction of the curve, by means of the quadratures of some transcendent curves, whose description is not very difficult.
This great problem was, therefore, very well solved long ago; yet the solution, however good in theory, is such as has hitherto been of no use in practice, nor in correcting the false theory grounded on the parabola, to which the artillerist is still obliged to adhere, notwithstanding he knows it to be insufficient. It is certain, that that solution has been of no real advantage towards improving the art of gunnery: it has only served to convince the student in that art, of the error of his principles, drawn from the nature of the parabola, although he is still to abide by them. It is indeed something to know, that the common rules are erroneous; but unless we know how much they err in any case, the advantage is very little.
One may think it a work of infinite labor to establish rules for the flight of cannon shot, agreeable to the real curve which a body describes in the air: for although, according to the hypothesis of Gallileo, we want only the elevation of the piece, and the initial velocity, and it is therefore not difficult to calculate tables to show the greatest height of the projectile, and the point where it must fall in any proposed case; yet in order to calculate similar tables according to the true hypothesis, care must be taken, besides the two particulars already mentioned, to have respect as well to the diameter of the projectile as to its weight: therefore the practitioner will be reduced to the necessity of calculating tables, as well for the diameter of each projectile, as for its weight; and the execution of such a work would be almost impracticable. We therefore refer the curious to Mr. Euler’sTrue Principles of Gunnery, translated, with many necessary explanations and remarks, by the very learned and ingenious Hugh Brown.
PROJECTION, (Projection,Fr.) in mathematics, the action of giving a projectile its motion. It is also used to signify a scheme, plan, or delineation.
PROJECT, (Projet,Fr.) a term generally used among French engineers, to express what works are required to be made for the inward or outward defence of a fortified town or place. It likewise signifies, in diplomacy, a plan or statement of terms and conditions which one country makes to another for a final adjustment of differences.
Contre-Projet,Fr.a receipt or answer to terms proposed, accompanied by a project from the other side.
PROLONGE,Fr.A long thick rope, which is used to drag artillery; but different from the bricole and drag rope; it is coiled round pins under the gun carriage travelling, it is loosed in action, and one end being attached to the limber, is of great use in moving the gun in action or in a retreat. SeeAm. Mil. Lib.
PROMOTION, (Promotion,Fr.) This word signifies, in military matters, the elevation of an individual to some appointment of greater rank and trust than the one he holds.
PROMOUVOIR,Fr.to promote.
PROMU,Fr.promoted.
PROOF, in arithmetic, an operation whereby the truth and justness of a calculation are examined and ascertained.
PROOFof artillery and small arms, is a trial whether they will stand the quantity of powder allotted for that purpose.
The British government allow 11 bullets of lead in the pound for the proof of musquets, and 29 in two pounds, for service; 17 in the pound for the proof of carabines, and 20 for service; 28 in the pound for the proof of pistols, and 34 for service.
When guns of a new metal, or of lighter construction, are proved, then besides the common proof, they are fired 2 or 300 times, as quick as they can be, loaded with the common charge given in actual service. British light 6 pounders were fired 300 times in three hours, 27 minutes, loaded with 1lb. 4oz. without receiving any damage.
Proofof ordnance. All natures of ordnance undergo several kinds of proof before they are received into the British service; viz. 1st, they are guaged as to their several dimensions, internal and external, as to the justness of the position of the bore, the chamber, the vent, the trunnions, &c.
2d, They are fired with a regulated charge of powder and shot, and afterwards searched to discover irregularities or holes produced by the firing.
3d, By means of engines an endeavor is made to force water through them; and,
4th, They are examined internally, by means of light reflected from a mirror.
Iron guns.The guns are first examined as to their proper dimensions, in which, in no case more than ³⁄₁₀ of an inch variation is allowed; and in the diameter of the bore only ¹⁄₃₀ from 42 to 18 pounders, and ¹⁄₄₀ from 12 to 4 pounders; but in the position of the bore ¹⁄₂ an inch out of the axis of a piece from a 42 to an 18 pounder, and ¹⁄₃ of an inch from a 12 to a 4 pounder is allowed. They are then fired twice with the charge in the following table, with one shot and two high junk wads; and examined with a searcher after each round. In this examination they must not have any hole or cavity in the bore of ²⁄₁₀ of an inch in depth, behind the first reinforce ring, or ¹⁄₄ of an inch in depth before this ring.
Iron guns are scaled with ¹⁄₁₂ the weight of the shot.
Brass guns.From 1 pounders to 12 pounders the diameter of the bore must not vary more than ¹⁄₄₀ of an inch, and in no dimensions more than ²⁄₁₀. The following are the established charges for their proof. The heavy and medium guns with a charge equal to the weight of the shot, except the medium 12 pounder, which is proved with only 9lbs. The light guns with half the weight of the shot. The brass ordnance have not however been proved of late with such heavy charges, but with the following:
3 Prs. light, 3 times, with 1 lb. each round.
6 Prs. light, 3 times, with 2 lbs. each.
12 Prs. light, 2 times, with 4 lbs. each.
12 Prs. med., 2 times, with 5 lbs. each.
Any hole ·15 of an inch deep upwards or sideways in the bore, or ·1 in the bottom, between the breach and first reinforce; or ·2 of an inch upwards or sideways, or ·15 in the bottom of the bore, before the first reinforce ring, will be sufficient to condemn them.
Brass Mortars and Howitzers.The exterior dimensions are in no respect to deviate more than ¹⁄₁₀ of an inch in an 8 inch howitzer, and ¹⁄₂₀ in the Cohorn mortars and howitzers. Their bores and chambers not to deviate from their true diameters or positions more than ¹⁄₄₀ of an inch.
The brass mortars and howitzers are fired twice with their chambers full of powder, and an iron shell. The mortars on their own beds, at about 75 degrees elevation; and the howitzers on their carriages, at about 12 degrees. Iron mortars are proved on their iron beds, with a charge equal to the full chamber, and an iron shot equal in diameter to the shell.
Cohorn mortars, having a hole ·1 of an inch in depth in the chamber, or ·15 in the chase, are rejected: royal howitzers the same. 8 inch howitzers having a hole ·15 of an inch in depth in the chamber, or ·2 in the chase, will be rejected.
Carronades.The diameter and position of their bore and chamber must not deviate ¹⁄₂₀ of an inch. They are proved with two rounds, with their chambers full of powder and 1 shot and 1 wad. A hole of ²⁄₁₀ of an inch in depth in the bore, or ¹⁄₁₀ in the chamber condemns the piece.
Proof Charges.
All ordnance, after having undergone this proof, and the subsequent searching, are subject to the water proof: this is done by means of a forcing pump, having a pipe or hose fixed to the mouth of the piece: after two or three efforts to force the water through any honeycombs or flaws which may be in the bore, they are left to dry; and generally the next day examined by the reflected light from a mirror. If the bore contains any small holes or flaws which have not been discovered by the former proofs, they are very readily found by this; the water will continue to weep, or run from the holes, when the solid parts ofthe bore are perfectly dry. Ordnance suspected of being bad are often subject to a more severe proof: that of firing 30 rounds quick, with the service charge and a shot; and in doubtful cases, where the purity of the metal is suspected, recourse has been had to chemical trials and analysis. A quantity of clean filings taken from a part of an iron gun free from rust, are dissolved in diluted sulphuric acid, and the quantity of gas disengaged during the solution accurately ascertained. The plumbago which remains after solution is also separated by filtration, and carefully weighed. Now it is well known that the purer the iron, the greater the quantity of inflammable gas obtained, and the less the proportion of plumbago which remains after the solution; from these two parts therefore a tolerable judgment may be formed of the quality of the metal. When the plumbago exceeds 4¹⁄₂percent. the iron will always be found deficient in strength; and there has been no instance of a gun bursting where the plumbago did not exceed 3percent.; that is, where 100 grains of the metal did not leave more than 3 grains of plumbago. The color of the plumbago is also to be attended to; when it is brown or reddish, it is an indication of hard metal, and when in quantities and mixed with coals, there can be no doubt but that the iron is too soft for cannon.
Proof of Iron Shells.After the shells are guaged and examined as to their dimensions and weight, they must be well scraped out, and the iron pin at the bottom of the inside must be driven down or broken off. They are then to be hammered all over, to knock off the scales, and discover flaws, and no hole, in the large shells is allowed, of more than ³⁄₄ of an inch deep. An empty fuze is then driven into the fuze hole, and the shell is suspended in a tub of water, in such manner that the shell be covered by the water, but that it does not run into the fuze: in this situation the nose of a pair of bellows is put in at the fuze hole, and several strong puffs given with the bellows; and if no bubbles rise in the water, the shell is concluded to be serviceable.
Ordnance condemned as unserviceable for any of the foregoing reasons, are marked as follows: ╳ D, or ╳ S, or ╳ W. The first signifies that they are found to be faulty in their dimensions, by Desagulier’s instrument; the second, by the searcher; and the third, by the water proof.
Proofof powder, is in order to try its goodness and strength. There have been different inventions proposed and put in practice heretofore, for the proof of powder. SeeGunpowder, andEprouvette.
Proofof cannon, is made to ascertain their being well cast, their having no cavities in their metal, and, in a word, their being fit to resist the effort of their charge of powder. In making this proof, the piece is laid upon the ground, supported only by a piece of wood in the middle, of about five or six inches thick, to raise the muzzle a little; and then the piece is fired against a solid butt of earth.
Tools toPROVEcannon are as follow, viz.Searcher, an iron socket with branches, from four to eight in number, bending outward a little, with small points at their ends: to this socket is fixed a wooden handle, from eight to twelve feet long, and 1¹⁄₂ inch in diameter. This searcher is introduced into the gun after each firing, and turned gently round to discover the cavities within: if any are found, they are marked on the outside with chalk; and then thesearcher with one pointis introduced, about which point a mixture of wax and tallow is put, to take the impression of the holes; and if any are found of ¹⁄₉th of an inch deep, or of any considerable length, the gun is rejected as unserviceable to government.
Reliever, an iron ring fixed to a handle, by means of a socket, so as to be at right angles: it serves to disengage the first searcher, when any of its points are retained in a hole, and cannot otherwise be got out. When guns are rejected by the proof masters, they order them to be marked ╳ which the contractors generally alter toW P, and after such alteration, dispose of them to foreign powers for Woolwich proof.
A most curious instrument for finding the principal defects in pieces of artillery, has been invented by lieutenant general Desaguliers, of the royal regiment of artillery. This instrument, grounded on the truest mechanical principles, is no sooner introduced into the hollow cylinder of the gun, than it discovers its defects, and more particularly that of the piece not being truly bored, which is a very important one, and to which most of the disasters happening to pieces of artillery, are in a great measure to be imputed; for, when a gun is not properly bored, the most expert artillerist will not be able to make a good shot.
Proofof mortars and howitzers, is made to ascertain their being well cast, and of strength to resist the effort of their charge. For this purpose the mortar or howitzer is placed upon the ground, with some part of their trunnions or breech sunk below the surface, and resting on wooden billets, at an elevation of about 70 degrees.
The mirror is generally the only instrument to discover the defects in mortars and howitzers. In order to use it, the sun must shine; the breech must be placed towards the sun, and the glass over against the mouth of the piece: it illuminates the bore and chamber sufficiently to discover the flaws in it.
PROOFarmor, armor hardened so asto resist the force of an arrow, a sword or other weapons in use before the discovery of gunpowder.
Proofcharge, the quantity of gunpowder which is used in trying the several pieces of ordnance.
PROPER, in military matters, stands as a reduplicative, serving to mark out a thing more expressly and formally, viz.
Properfront of a battalion. The usual continuity of line which is given to the formation of a battalion, and which remains unaltered by the countermarch or wheelings of its divisions; or if altered is restored by the same operation.
Properright, the right of a battalion, company, or subdivision, when it is drawn up according to its natural formation.
Properpivotflank in column, is that which, when wheeled up to, preserves the divisions of the line in the natural order, and to their proper front. The other may be called thereverseflank. In column, divisions cover and dress to the proper pivot flank; to the left when the right is in front; and to the right when the left is in front.
PROPLASM. SeeMould.
PROPORTION, (Proportion,Fr.) The relation which parts have among themselves, and to the whole.
PROPOSERune personne pour une charge,Fr.To recommend a person for a situation.
PROPOSITION, (Proposition,Fr.) in geometry, the declaration of a truth which is proved by demonstration. Such are the propositions in Euclid’s Elements. Propositions are divided intoProblemsandTheorems.
PROPREFECT, among the Romans, the prefect’s lieutenant, whom he commissioned to do any part of his duty in his place.
PROPRETEdes soldats,Fr.Cleanliness required in soldiers. SeeSerjeant.
PROPRETOR, the same in his relative capacity as proconsul among the Romans. He was a magistrate who, after having discharged the office of pretor at home, was sent into a province to act in the same capacity.
PROQUESTOR, among the Romans, the questor’s lieutenant, who discharged his office in his stead.
ToPROSECUTE, to carry on. Hence to prosecute the war.
PROSPECTIVE, appertaining to viewing.
PROSTYLE, any building having pillars in the front only.
PROTECTOR. This word sometimes denotes the regent of a kingdom. Oliver Cromwell assumed this title on the death of Charles I. of England; Bonaparte exercises the power of emperor over a great part of Germany, under the title ofProtectorof the confederation of the Rhine.
PROTESTANT, an appellation first given in Germany to all who adhered to the doctrine published by Luther.
PROVEDITOR, (Provediteur,Fr.) The Venetians had two appointments of this description before the revolution. One gave the supreme command of the armies on shore, the other that of the fleets.
Of these proveditors, there were three who had the direction of matters relating to policy throughout the signory.
Proveditor-general of the sea, an officer in Italy, whose authority extended over the fleet, when the captain-general was absent. He had particularly the disposal of the cash.
PROVET, an artillery machine used with howitzers. SeeEprouvette.
PROVISIONS, are properly those articles of food and sustenance which soldiers receive from the public, and which in the British service are payed for by deductions from their pay. There is taken a deduction ofsix pence a dayfrom the full pay of every Serjeant, corporal, trumpeter, drummer, fifer, private man of the life guards, horse guards, dragoon guards, dragoons, foot guards, infantry of the line, militia, fencible infantry, and companies of invalids, when serving out of Great Britain, on stations at which provisions are supplied by the public; also when embarked in transports, or other vessels; (except while serving as marines, or during their passage to and from India at the expence of the East-India company;) also when prisoners of war, and maintained at the expence of Great Britain; and likewise when in general hospitals, either at home or abroad. A deduction ofthree pence halfpennyis likewise to be made from the full pay of each serjeant, &c. when stationed in Jamaica, in New South Wales, at Gibraltar, (the loss by exchange at the latter place continuing as before) and while on their passage to and from India at the expence of the East-India company.
These deductions commenced, in regard to the troops in Europe, on the 25th of February, 1799; and in regard to the troops abroad, on the 25th of April, 1799.
Provisions.SeeRation.
PROVISIONAL, (Provisionel,Fr.) Temporarily established.
PROVISIONALLY, (Provisoirement,Fr.) by way of provision, or temporary arrangement. This adverb is frequently used both in French and English to distinguish the exercise of temporary functions from that of permanent appointments.
PROVOST-Marshal, of an army, is an officer appointed to secure deserters, and all other criminals: he is often to go round the army, hinder the soldiers from pillaging, indict offenders, execute the sentence pronounced, and regulate the weights and measures used in the army when in the field. He is attended by alieutenant’s guard, has a clerk, and an executioner.
PROWESS, valor, bravery in the field, military gallantry.
PSILOI, light armed men among the Greeks, who fought with arrows and darts, or stones and slings, but were unfit for close fight. They were in honor and dignity inferior to the heavy armed. Next to these were the peltasti, a middle sort of foot soldiers between the hoplitai and the psiloi, being armed with spears, but far inferior in bigness to those of the heavy armed; their name is taken from their narrow shields, calledPeltæ. Potter’s Greek Antiquities, vol. II. chap. 3.
PUBLICANS, persons who keep alehouses, &c. for the accommodation of travelers. In England, troops upon the march, or in quarters, may be billeted on them.
PUCKAfever,Ind.a putrid fever. The bilious fever of tropical climates.
PUCKALLIES,Ind.leathern bags for carrying water. They are placed on the backs of oxen. The word is also used for water-carriers.
PUDLAYS, pieces of stuff to do the office of levers or hand spikes.
PUHURDin,Ind.Watches kept in the day; of which there are four; a similar number is kept in the night, calledPuhurraat.
PUISANT,Fr.a well built of dry stones, or made in a wall to serve as a reservoir for water.
PUISSANCE,Fr.in algebra and geometry, powers of lines and quantities.
PUISOIR,Fr.a copper vessel which is used in making saltpetre.
PUITS,Fr.A well.
PUITSde mineur,Fr.a perpendicular opening, about four feet square, which is made in the earth for miners to let themselves down, as deep as may be judged expedient, in order to push the subterraneous galleries beneath the covert way, or under any other works constructed by the besieged or besieger.
PULK, a tribe, a particular body of men. This word is chiefly used in Russia; as aPulkof cossacks.
PULVERIN,Fr.priming powder.
PULVISfulminans, the thundering powder, a mixture of three parts of saltpetre, two of tartar, and one of brimstone; all finely powdered. A small part, even a single dram of this being put into a shovel over a gentle fire, till it melts by degrees and changes color, will go off or explode as loud as a musquet. But it will not do any injury, because its force tends chiefly downward.
PULLEY, inmilitary mechanics. SeeMechanics.
PULWAR,Ind.a light boat for dispatches.
PUMICE-stone, a spongy, light crumbling stone which is cast out of mount Ætna, and other burning mountains. It is used in graving, polishing, &c.
PUMMEL. SeePommel.
PUMP, (Pompe,Fr.) a well known engine used in the elevation of water.
PUNCH, (Poincon,Fr.) an instrument for making holes. Every serjeant of a company, at least, and indeed every corporal of a squad, should be provided with a punch, as there is frequent occasion to fit on the cross belts, &c.
PUNCTO. The point in fencing.
PUNISHMENT, in thearmy, in general, signifies the execution of a sentence pronounced by a court martial upon any delinquent. There are various methods in different countries which have been adopted for the punishment of officers and soldiers, without ultimately depriving the public of their services. Those in the British are simple, and in general very summary, especially with regard to officers. In some foreign services it is usual to send an officer from his regiment to do duty in a garrison town, during which period he loses all the advantages of promotion. Henceêtre envoyé en garnison, to be sent into garrison, implies a species of military chastisement. Perhaps the method which is adopted in the British navy, of putting an officer at the bottom of the list of his own rank, might be beneficial in the army. The barbarous and self-defeating punishment or whipping remains a disgrace to the British code, and we lament to say to the American also.
PUNITIONScorporelles,Fr.corporeal punishment. In the old French service, military punishments or chastisements, which were not of a capital nature, were of two kinds. The picket was for the cavalry, and the gauntelope, or passing through the rods, for the infantry. The rods, or baguettes, which properly means small sticks, or switches, were generally osier or willow twigs. Previous to the execution of the sentence, a corporal with two privates of the company, to which the culprit belonged, were sent to get the rods. These they brought in a bundle to the guard-house, or to any place of security which was near the spot where the punishment was to be inflicted. The criminal, under an escort of two serjeants and four grenadiers, with fixed bayonets, went for the bundle, and as he passed through the interval of the line which was faced inwards, each soldier drew out one twig. The grenadiers at the head of the line took off their slings, which they used instead of rods. When the culprit reached the end of the line, he undressed himself naked to the waist. The right and left openings of the double line faced inwards were closed by the grenadiers that had escorted the prisoner, viz. two with one serjeant at the head of the right, and two with ditto at the head of the left. It sometimes happened, that a serjeant or corporal marched backwards in ordinary time; keeping the point of his pike directed at the chest ofthe man who received the lashes. The culprit was, however, generally allowed to make the most of his legs. Whilst he was receiving his punishment, the drummers of the regiment, who were equally divided and stationed behind the grenadiers that had formed the escort, beat the charge. If a French soldier was convicted of theft, or any flagrant dishonorable practice that injured the military character, he not only underwent this punishment, but he was conducted in the most ignominious manner, to the outward gate of a frontier town; there expelled the country, and cautioned, never to be found within its limits under pain of suffering death. The nicety of military honor and reputation, among French soldiers, is proverbial. They never survive a blow, even among themselves, nor would a private soldier exist under the disgrace of having been struck by an officer.
When a girl of the town, or a notorious prostitute, was taken up, and ordered to be punished in a camp or garrison, she went through the same process; the drums beating themarionnetes, a sort of rogue’s march, during the execution of the sentence.
In offering a Military Dictionary to the American public, the editor cannot withhold his protest against the barbarous method of whipping, as not only inconsistent with every maxim adapted to military institution, but incompatible with the republican institutions of America, as well as those of ancient Rome. The subjection to such odious punishment is a fatal blow to the American militia, and one of the greatest obstacles to its respectability and efficiency; since in service the punishments must necessarily be and ought to be uniformly the same. A man who has been once punished by whipping, as practised in the military service in England, must be totally lost to every sentiment of feeling reconcilable with military spirit, or that sense of honor which can never exist but where there is self-respect. There can be no confidence between officers that flog and men that are flogged, and thus the fundamental spirit of all military institution is undermined, that is confidence reciprocal and earnest through every grade. It is sometimes said that discipline cannot be enforced without it; all Europe conquered at this moment, by an army in which even blows are not permitted, is a melancholy lesson contrasted with the brutal discipline of the cane and other ignominious practices, in the armies of Prussia, Austria, Russia, and England. Those who cannot enforce discipline without treating their fellow men as brutes, should distrust their own faculties or fitness, and examine into their own false pride, their petulance, perhaps too often their unacquaintance with the first principle of military discipline, that is a knowlege of mankind, or of the human mind; the springs by which the human character is most easily and effectually led on to acts of voluntary heroism and intrepidity, are never produced by the lash; but always to be commanded by generosity, by a kindness that costs nothing, and which if it were to cost something, if done with discrimination, is always repaid ten thousand fold by the affection, the gratitude, the attachment, and the devotion of the soldier. It is said that there are men who are not to be overcome by generosity, nor subdued even by the lash; then such men should be held up as an example for better men; they should not be suffered to mess, nor to associate with men of better temper; the good men should be noticed and those neglected, and if these courses failed, the public service would be benefitted by their discharge, more than by their continuance.
PURCHASE. The sale and purchase of commissions is countenanced by government, and the prices of those commissions are regulated by authority, yet there are various ways through which young men of fortune and connexions get over the heads of veteran officers in the British army. In 1809, the detection of a system of purchase from the concubines of the British commander in chief excited astonishment.
Purchase and sale are terms unknown in the British navy.
PURSE, (with the grand signor,) a gift, or gratification of 500 crowns.
Purseof money, (in the Levant) about 112l.sterling. It is so called, because all the grand signor’s money is kept in leather purses or bags of this value in the seraglio.