D.
DAGGER, in military affairs, a short sword, or poinard, about 12 or 13 inches long. It is not long since, that duellists fought with sword and dagger.
DAGUE,Fr.dagger, a short thick poniard which was formerly used when individuals engaged in single combat.
DAM. SeeDyke.
DAME,Fr.among miners any portion of earth which may remain after the explosion of a mine has taken place. It likewise means a piece of wood with two handles used to press down turf or dirt in a mortar.
DARE, a challenge or defiance to single combat.
DARRAIN. SeeBattle-array.
DART, in ancient military history, implies a small kind of lance, thrown by the hand.
DAY, in a military sense implies any time in which armies may be engaged, from the rising of one day’s sun to that of another. According to Johnson it signifies the day of contest, the contest, the battle.
DAYSMAN, an umpire of the combat was so called.
DEBANDADE.A la débandade, helter-skelter.
Se battre à la débandade, to fight in a loose, dispersed manner.
Laisser à la débandade, to leave at random, or in disorder.
DEBARK, SeeDisembark.
DEBAUCHER,Fr.to debauch or entice a soldier from the service of his country. During the reign of Louis the XV. and in former reigns, it was enacted, that any person who should be convicted of havingdebauchedor enticed a soldier from his duty should suffer death. By a late act of the British parliament it is made a capital offence to entice or seduce a soldier from any regiment in the British service.
By the 23d section of the articles of war of the United States, the advising or persuading any officer of the United States army to desert, subjects the adviser to the punishment of death, or such other punishment as a court martial may inflict.
DEBENTURE, is a kind of warrant, given in the office of the British board of ordnance, whereby the person whose name is therein specified, is intitled to receive such a sum of money as by former contract had been agreed on, whether wages, or otherwise. Debenture, in some of the British acts of parliament, denotes a kind of bond or bill, first given in 1649, whereby the government is charged to pay the soldier, creditor, or his assigns, the money due on auditing theaccount of his arrears. The payments of the board of ordnance for the larger services at home are always made by debentures; and the usual practice has been to make those payments which are said to be in course of office, at a period which is always somewhat more than three months after the date of each debenture, and which can never exceed six: to pay, for instance, at once for the three months of January, February, and March, as early as possible after the 30th of June.
Debentures were generally made up at the Pay-Office by virtue of warrants from the War-Office, with the state of regimental charges annexed, after which is issued the final, or clearing warrant. SeeWarrant.
DEBLAYERun Camp,Fr.To evacuate a camp for the purpose of cleaning and purifying the ground.
DEBTSandCredits. Every captain of a troop or company in the British service is directed to give in a monthly statement of thedebts and creditsof his men; and it is the duty of every commanding officer to examine each list, and to see, that no injustice or irregularity has been countenanced or overlooked in so important an object, as every money matter between officer and soldier most unquestionably is.
DECAGON, in fortification, is a polygon figure, having 10 sides, and as many angles; and if all the sides are equal, and all the angles, it is called a regular decagon, and may be inscribed in a circle. The sides of a regular decagon are, in power and length, equal to the greatest segment of an hexagon inscribed in the same circle, and cut in extreme and mean proportion.
DECAGONE.Fr.SeeDecagon.
ToDECAMP, to march an army or body of men from the ground where it before lay encamped. It also signifies to quit any place or position in an unexpected manner. SeeCamp.
DECANUS, in Roman military history, an officer who presided over ten other officers, and was head of the contubernium, or serjeant of a file of Roman soldiers; hence ourDeacons.
DECHARGEURS,Fr.are men appointed to attend the park of artillery, and to assist the non commissioned officers, &c. who are employed on that service. It is the duty of the former to keep a specific account of articles received and consumed, in order to enable the latter to furnish their officers with accurate statements.
ToDECIMATE, to divide any body of men into as many tenths as the aggregate number will afford, and to make them cast lots for the purpose of being punished.
DECIMATION, in Roman military history, a punishment indicted upon such soldiers as quitted their post, or behaved themselves cowardly in the field. The names of all the guilty were put into an urn or helmet, and as many were drawn out as made the tenth part of the whole number: the latter were put to the sword and the others saved.
DECIMER,Fr.SeeDecimate.
DECLARATIONof war, a public proclamation made to the citizens, or subjects of a state, declaring them to be at war with any foreign power, and forbidding all and every one to aid or assist the common enemy, at their peril.
DECLIVITY, as opposed to acclivity, means a gradual inclination, or obliquity reckoned downwards.
DECOMPTE,Fr.signifies a liquidation, or balance, which from time to time was made in the old French service, between the captain of a company and each private soldier, for monies advanced, or in hand. In the British service every infantry soldier is settled with on the 24th day in each month. The cavalry is paid every second month. In the American army the soldiers are required to be paid every two months at least.
DECOUVERTE,Aller à la découverte,Fr.To patrole. In the old French service, the party ordered to perform this duty, when in a garrison, usually went three miles round the fortifications to pick up stragglers who could not account for themselves, and to secure spies, should any be lurking about.
Aller à laDecouverte, when applied to any party that is detached from the army, signifies to reconnoitre the enemy. Cavalry are usually employed upon this duty.
DECOY, a stratagem to carry off the enemy’s horses in a foraging party, or from the pasture; to execute which, you must be disguised, and mix on horseback in the pasture, or amongst the foragers on that side on which you propose to fly; you must then begin, by firing a few shots, which are to be answered by such of your party as are appointed to drive up the rear, and are posted at the opposite extremity of the pasture, or foraging ground; after which they are to gallop from their different stations towards the side fixed for the flight, shouting and firing all the way: the horses being thus alarmed, and provoked by the example of others, will break loose from the pickets, throw down their riders and the trusses, and setting up a gallop, will naturally direct their course to the same side; insomuch that, if the number of them was ever so great, you might lead them in that manner for several leagues together: when you are got into some road, bordered by a hedge, or ditch, you must stop as gently as possible; and without making any noise; the horses will then suffer themselves to be taken without any opposition. It is called in FrenchHaraux; and marshal Saxe is the only author that mentions it.
DECOYED, an enemy is said to bedecoyed when a small body of troops draws them into action, whilst the main body lies in ambush ready to act with the greatest effect.
DECURIO, in Roman military history, a commander of ten men in the army, or chief of a decury.
DECURY, ten Roman soldiers ranged under one chief, or leader, called the Decurio.
DEEP, troops are told off in ranks of two, or 3 deep, and on some occasions in 4 or more.
DEFAULTER. SeeDeserter.
DEFEAT, the overthrow of an army.
DEFECTION. SeeMutiny.
DEFENCE, in fortification, consists of all sorts of works that cover and defend the opposite posts; as flanks, parapets, casemates, and fausse-brays. It is almost impossible to fix the miner to the face of a bastion, till the defences of the opposite one are ruined; that is, till the parapet of its flank is beaten down, and the cannon, in all parts that can fire upon that face which is attacked, is dismounted. SeeFortification.
ActiveDefence, generally considered, means every species of offensive operation which is resorted to by the besieged, to annoy the besiegers. Such for instance, is the discharge of heavy ordnance from the walls, the emission of shells, and the firing of musquetry. A mass of water may likewise be understood to mean active defence, provided it can be increased according to the exigency of the service, and be suddenly made to overflow the outworks, or entrenchments of the besieging enemy. Mines which are carried beyond the fortifications may likewise be included under this head.
PassiveDefenceis chiefly confined to inundations, and is effected by letting out water in such a manner, that the level ground which lies round a fortified town or place may be entirely overflowed and become an inert stagnant pool. Meresubmersionis, in fact, the distinguishing character of this species of defence, which does not afford any other movement than what naturally arises from the greater or lesser elevation of the waters, without the means of urging them beyond a given point.
DistantDefence, consists in being able to interrupt the enemy’s movements by circuitous inundations; to inundate, for instance, a bridge, when a convoy is passing, or to insulate batteries, the heads of saps or lodgments which have been made in the covert way is to act upon a distant defence. By this species of defence an enemy’s communications may be perpetually intercepted, and his approaches so obstructed as to force him to leave dangerous intervals.
See Belidor’s treatise on Hydraulic Architecture.
Line ofDefence, represents the flight of a musquet ball from the place where the musqueteers stand, to scour the face of the bastion. It should never exceed the reach of a musquet. It is either fichant or razant: the first is when it is drawn from the angle of the curtain to the flanked angle; the last, when it is drawn from a point in the curtain, razing the face of the bastion.
Line ofDefenceis the distance between the salient angle of the bastion, and the opposite flank; that is, it is the face produced to the flank. SeeFortification.
Defenceof rivers, in military affairs, is a vigorous effort to prevent the enemy from passing; to effect which, a careful and attentive officer will raise redoubts, and if necessary join curtains thereto: he will place them as near the banks as possible, observing to cut a trench through the ground at the windings of the river, which may be favorable to the enemy, and to place advanced redoubts there, to prevent his having any ground fit to form on, &c. SeeRivers.
To be in a posture ofDefence, is to be prepared to oppose an enemy, whether in regard to redoubts, batteries, or in the open field.
ToDEFEND, to fortify, secure, or maintain a place or cause.
DEFENSE,Fr.SeeLigne deDefense.
Defense,Fr.être en défense, technically signifies to be in a state of defence, or able to resist. The French usually say:Cette redoute est en défense. This redoubt is in a state of defence.
Defensesd’une place,Fr.SeeDefenceinFortification.
DEFENSIVE, serving to defend; in a state or posture of defence.
Defensive-war. SeeWar.
DEFIANCE. SeeChallenge.
DEFICIENT, wanting to complete, as when a regiment, troop, or company has not its prescribed number of men.
DEFILE, in military affairs, a strait narrow passage, or road, through which the troops cannot march, otherwise than by making a small front, and filing off; so that the enemy may take an opportunity to stop, or harrass their march, and to charge them with so much the more advantage, because the rear cannot come up to the relief of the front.
ToDefile, is to reduce divisions or platoons into a small front, in order to march through a defile; which is most conveniently done by quarter facing to either the right or left, and then covering to either right or left, and marching through by files, &c. It has been mentioned by a writer on military manœuvres, that defiling should be performed with rapidity, for this obvious reason, that a body of men which advances towards, or retires from an approaching enemy, may get into line, or into columns prepared for action, without loss of time. There may, however, be exceptions to this generalrule. For instance, if the regiment is passing a bridge, either retreating or advancing, and the bridge is not firm, the pressure upon it must be as little as possible; because if it should break down, the regiment is suddenly separated, and the remainder may be cut to pieces. In passing a common defile the pace must be proportioned to the nature of the ground.
DEFILINGa lodgment. SeeEnfilade.
DEFORMER,Fr.in a military sense, signifies to break: asdéformer une colonne, to break a column.
DEFY. SeeChallenge.
DEGAST,Fr.the laying waste an enemy’s country, particularly in the neighborhood of a town which an army attempts to reduce by famine, or which refuses to pay military exactions.
DEGORGEOIR,Fr.a sort of steel pricker used in examining the touch-hole of a cannon; called a priming wire.
DEGRADATION, in a military life, the act of depriving an officer for ever of his commission, rank, dignity, or degree of honor; and taking away, at the same time, title, badge, and every other privilege of an officer.
DEGRADER,Fr.To degrade. The character of a soldier in France was formerly, and we presume still is, so scrupulously watched, that criminals were never delivered over to the charge of the civil power, or sent to be executed, without having been previously degraded; which was done in the following manner:
As soon as the serjeant of the company to which the culprit belonged, had received orders from the major of the regiment, to degrade and render him incapable of bearing arms; he accoutred him cap-a-pied, taking care to place his right hand upon the but-end of the musquet, while the soldier remained tied. He then repeated the following words:finding thee unworthy to bear arms, we thus degrade thee. “Te trouvant indigne de porter les armes, nous t’en dégradons.†He then drew the musquet from his arm backwards, took off his cross-belt, sword, &c. and finally gave him a kick upon the posteriors. After which the serjeant retired, and the executioner seized the criminal. SeeDrum-out.
DEGRE. SeeDegree.
DEGREE. Though this term properly belongs to geometry, nevertheless it is frequently used both in fortification, and gunnery. Hence it will not be improper to state, that it is a division of a circle, including a 360th part of its circumference. Every circle is supposed to be divided into 360°, parts called degrees, and each degree into 60′, other parts, called minutes; each of these minutes being divided into 60″ seconds, each second into thirds, and so on.
DEHORS, in the military art, are all sorts of out-works in general, placed at some distance from the walls of a fortification, the better to secure the main places, and to protect the siege, &c. SeeFortification.
DELINEATION, an outline or sketch. SeeDesign.
DELIVER. SeeSurrender.
DEMI-BASTION, orhalf-bastion, is a work with only one face and one flank. SeeFortification.
DEMI-CANNON. SeeCannon.
DEMI-CULVERIN. SeeCannon.
DEMI-DISTANCEdes polygones,Fr.is the distance between the exterior polygons and the angles.
Demi-Distances,Fr.half distances: asserrez la colonne à demi-distances, close to the column at half distances.
DEMI-FILE,Fr.is that rank in a French battalion, which immediately succeeds to theserre-demi-file, and is at the head of the remaining half of its depth.
DEMI-LANCE, a light lance or spear.
DEMI-LINE, in fortification, is a work placed before the curtain to cover it and prevent the flanks from being discovered sideways. It is made of two faces, meeting in an outward angle. SeeFortification.
DEMI-GORGE, in fortification, is half the gorge, or entrance into the bastion, not taken directly from angle to angle, where the bastion joins the curtain, but from the angle of the flank to the centre of the bastion; or the angle which the two curtains would make, by their prolongation. SeeFortification.
DEMISSION,Fr.Resignation.
DEMOLITION, the act of overthrowing buildings.
DENIZEN, a free man, residing in a country or state, and owing allegiance, as opposed to Alien, which means a person not a citizen, and who owes or acknowleges a foreign allegiance.
DENONCIATEURd’un déserteur,Fr.During the old government of France, a military regulation existed by which any person who discovered a deserter, was entitled to his full discharge, if a soldier: and to one hundred livres, or eleven dollars reward.
Denonciateur, in a general sense, may not improperly be called a military informer. So rigid indeed, were the regulations (even in the most corrupt state of the French government) against every species of misapplication and embezzlement, that if a private dragoon gave information to the commissary of musters of a troop horse that had passed muster, having been used in the private service of an officer, he was entitled not only to his discharge, but received moreover one hundred livres in cash, and became master of the horse and equipage, with which he retired unmolested. It is not mentioned in the publication from which we extract this remark, whether the officerwas cashiered, &c. but we presume he was.
One hundred and fifty livres were likewise paid to any dragoon, or soldier who should give information of a premeditated duel; he obtained moreover his discharge.
DENSITYof bodies. SeeMotion.
DEPASSER(orDeborder),Fr.To over-run. In oblique movements, particular care should be taken not to afford an enemy that advances on the same points with yourself, the means of outflanking you; which must inevitably happen, should any part of your troops over-run their proper ground. For the instant such an error occurs, your antagonist will only have to form a retired flank, oppose you in front on that part, and charge the remainder in flank, after having cut off all the troops that had over-run.
Se laisserDepasser, to suffer yourself to be overtaken.
DEPENSES,Fr.In a military sense, implies secret service money.
DEPLOY, to display, to spread out; a column is said to deploy, when the divisions open out, or extend to form line on some one of those divisions.
DEPLOYMENT, orflank march, in a military sense, the act of unfolding or expanding any given body of men, so as to extend their front. Adeploymentmay be made in various ways. The principal one is, from the close column into line. A battalion in close column may form in line on its front, on its rear, or on any central division, by thedeployment, or flank march, and by which it successively uncovers and extends its several divisions.
In the passage of an obstacle, parts of the battalion are required to form in close column, and againdeployinto line; although the division formed upon, continues to be moveable. This, however, depends wholly upon the nature of the ground or country, over which the battalion is marching.
Deploymentinto line on a front division, the right in front, is effected by halting that division in the alignement, and all the others in their true situations, parallel and well closed up to it; and then by taking a point for forming upon, and dressing by it in the prolongation of that division. For a minute explanation of the deployments on a rear and central division. SeeAmerican Military Library.
Oblique Deploymentsdiffer from those movements, which are made when a battalion stands perpendicular to the line on which it is to form. Thesedeploymentsare frequently made on an oblique line advanced, on an oblique line retired: and when the close column halted is to form in line in the prolongation of its flank, and on either the front, rear, or central division. SeeAm. Mil. Lib.
DEPOT, any particular place in which military stores are deposited for the use of the army. In a more extensive sense, it means several magazines collected together for that purpose. It also signifies an appropriated fort, or place, for the reception of recruits, or detached parties, belonging to different regiments. During hostilities, the greatest attention should be given to preserve the severaldepotswhich belong to the fighting army. Hence the line of operation should be invariably connected with them; or rather no advance should be made upon that line, without the strictest regard being paid to the one of communication.
Depotis also used to denote a particular place at the tail of the trenches, out of the reach of the cannon of the place, where the troops generally assemble, who are ordered to attack the out-works, or support the troops in the trenches, when there is reason to imagine the besieged intend making a vigorous sally.
Depot, likewise means a temporary magazine for forage, for fascines, gabions, tools, and every other thing necessary for the support of an army, or for carrying on a siege.
DEPOUILLE,Fr.mettre en dépouille, is an expression made use of in casting of cannon, and signifies to strip it of the matting, clay, &c.
Depouillesde l’ennemi,Fr.SeeSpoils.
DEPRESSION, the placing of any piece of ordnance, so that its shot be thrown under the point blank line.
DEPRESSEDgun, any piece of ordnance having its mouth depressed below the horizontal line.
Depthof a battalion or squadron, in military affairs, the number of ranks, or the quantity of men. Infantry were formerly drawn up 6 or 8 deep, that is, it consisted of so many ranks; but now the line of infantry are generally drawn up only 3 deep, and in defence of a breastwork but two deep. When infantry is drawn up 3 deep, the first rank is called the front rank; the second, the centre rank; and the third, the rear rank; and the files which bind the right and left, are called the flanks. The cavalry is drawn up 2 deep.
DEPTH, a technical word peculiarly applicable to bodies of men drawn up in line or column.
Depthof formation. The fundamental order of the infantry in which they should always form and act, and for which all their various operations and movements are calculated, isthree ranks. The formation intwo ranksis regarded as an occasional exception that may be made from it, where an extended and covered front is to be occupied, or where an irregular enemy, who deals only in fire, is to be opposed. The formation in two ranks, and at open files, is calculated only for light troops in the attack and pursuit of a timid enemy, but not formaking an impression on an opposite regular line, which vigorously assails, or resists.
Depthis not only applicable to men drawn up in line, and standing at close, or open files two or threedeep, but it may likewise signify the relative depth of an army marching towards any given object, in desultory columns.
DEPUTY, a term given to persons employed in the civil departments of the army, and subject to superior trusts.
Deputypay-masters.
Deputymuster-masters.
Deputycommissaries.
Deputyjudge-advocate.
DEROUTE,Fr.The total overthrow of an army, battalion, or of any armed party. SeeDefeat.
ToDESCEND, signifies to leave any position on an eminence for immediate action.
ToDescendupon, to invade. When an enemy from surrounding heights suddenly marches against a fortified place, he is said to descend upon it. The term is also applied to troops debarking from their ships for the purpose of invasion.
DESCENT. Hostile invasion of any state or kingdom.
DESCENTES,dans le fossé,Fr.SeeDescentsinto the ditch.
Descentsinto the ditch, are cuts and excavations which are made by means of saps in the counterscarp beneath the covert way. They are covered with thick boards and hurdles, and a certain quantity of earth is thrown upon the top, in order to obviate the bad effects which might arise from shells, &c.
When the ditch or fossé is full of water, thedescentmust be made to its edge, after which the ditch must be filled with strong fascines covered with earth. When the ditch is dry, the saps are carried on to the bottom, and traverses are made in order to secure a lodgment, or to render the approaches of the miner more practicable. When the ditch or fossé which is full of water, has little or no bank, thedescentis simply made over it, care being taken to cover its enfilade or range with blinds and chandeliers, or to execute it as much out of that line as possible.
Descents, in fortification, are the holes, vaults, and hollow places, made by undermining the ground.
DESCRIPTION,Signalement,Fr.The description of a man’s person, his appearance, &c. It not only signifies the figure, but an exact and specific detail of such marks and prominent features, that by comparing the copy taken on paper with the original, the latter may be instantly recognised. It is the custom in all well regulated armies for every regiment to have an exact description of each man that belongs to it, specifically drawn out in the adjutant’s books. So that when a soldier deserts, a copy is instantly taken, and forwarded to those places to which he is most likely to resort.
DESERTER, in a military sense, a soldier who, by running away from his regiment, troop, or company, abandons the service.
Deserters.A prudent officer will always be cautious of what he entrusts to a deserter; the judgment of the officer and his knowlege of human character, are the only guides which he has in his conduct; the motives of the deserter are therefore to be considered, whether it was the result of depravity in himself or of causes which might affect a generous mind. In this case, however, he should be as cautious as if it proved to be depravity only. A deserter on reaching the lines is put under arrest and conducted to the commanding officer, where he is examined, and it is usual to notify him he will be punished with death as a spy if he gives false information. Though great caution is required in regard to the information given by deserters, great advantage may be derived from their information, as attacks premeditated, the positions of officers, corps, and magazines, and head quarters, of discontents in the army, or disagreements among the superior officers.
Desertersfrom the militia may be apprehended by any person in the same manner, that deserters are from the regular army. Persons apprehending a deserter are entitled to 10 dollars.
Penalty ofDesertion. All officers and soldiers, who having received pay, or having been duly enlisted in the U. S. service, shall be convicted of having deserted the same, shall suffer death or such other punishment as by a court-martial shall be inflicted.Art. War, § 20, 21, 22, 23.
Any non commissioned officer or soldier, who shall, without leave from his commanding officer, absent himself from his troop or company, or from any detachment with which he shall be commanded, shall, upon being convicted thereof, be punished according to the nature of the offence, at the discretion of a court-martial.
No non commissioned officer or soldier shall inlist himself in any other regiment, troop, or company, without a regular discharge from the regiment, troop, or company in which he last served, on the penalty of being reputed a deserter and suffering accordingly: and in case any officer shall knowingly receive and entertain such non commissioned officer or soldier, or shall not, after his being discovered to be a deserter, immediately confine him, and give notice thereof to the corpse in which he last served, he, the said officer so offending, shall by a court-martial be cashiered.
Whatsoever officer or soldier shall be convicted of having advised any other officer or soldier, to desert our service, shall suffer such punishment as shall be inflictedupon him by the sentence of the court-martial.
Penalty for concealingBritish Deserters, orbuying their arms, clothes, &c. Provided always, that if any person shall harbor, conceal, or assist any deserter from his majesty’s service, knowing him to be such, the person so offending shall forfeit for every such offence, the sum of 5l.or if any person shall knowingly detain, buy, or exchange, or otherwise receive, any arms, clothes, caps, or other furniture belonging to the king, from any soldier or deserter, or any other person, upon any account or pretence whatsoever, or cause the color of such clothes to be changed; the person so offending, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of 5l.and upon conviction by the oath of one or more credible witness or witnesses, before any of his majesty’s justices of the peace, the said respective penalties of 5l.and 5l.shall be levied by warrant under the hands of the said justice or justices of the peace, by distress and sale of the goods and chattels of the offender; one moiety of the said first mentioned penalty of 5l.to be paid to the informer, by whose means such deserter shall be apprehended; and one moiety of the said last mentioned penalty of 5l.to be paid to the informer; and the residue of the said respective penalties to be paid to the officer to whom any such deserter or soldier did belong: and in case any such offender, who shall be convicted, as aforesaid, of harboring or assisting any such deserter or deserters, or having knowingly received any arms, clothes, caps, or other furniture belonging to the king or having caused the color of such clothes to be changed, contrary to the intent of this act, shall not have sufficient goods and chattels, wherein distress may be made, to the value of the penalties recovered against him for such offence, or shall not pay such penalties within 4 days after such conviction; then, and in such case, such justice of the peace shall and may, by warrant under his hand and seal, either commit such offender to the common gaol, there to remain without bail or mainprise for the space of three months, or cause such offender to be publicly whipped at the discretion of such justice.
Deserteur,Fr.SeeDeserter.
DESIGN, in a general sense, implies the plan, order, representation, or construction of any kind of military building, chart, map, or drawing, &c. In building, the termichnographymay be used, when by design is only meant the plan of a building or a flat figure drawn on paper: when some side or face of the building is raised from the ground, we may use the termorthography; and when both front and sides are seen in perspective, we may call itscenography.
DESIGNING, the art of delineating or drawing the appearance of natural objects, by lines on a plane.
DESORDRE,Fr.SeeDisorder.
DESTINATION, the place or purpose, to which any body of troops is appointed in order to do or attempt some military service.
ToDETACH, is to send out part of a great number of men on some particular service, separate from that of the main body.
DETACHEDpieces, in fortification, are such out-works as are detached, or at a distance from the body of the place; such as half-moons, ravelines, bastions, &c.
DETACHEMENT,Fr.SeeDetachment.
DETACHMENT, in military affairs, an uncertain number of men drawn out from several regiments or companies equally, to march or be employed as the general may think proper, whether on an attack, at a siege, or in parties to scour the country. A detachment of 2000 or 3000 men is a command for a general officer; 800 for a colonel, 500 for a lieutenant-colonel, 200 or 300 for a major, 80 or 100 for a captain, 40 for a lieutenant or ensign, 12 for a serjeant, and 6 for a corporal. Detachments are sometimes made of intire squadrons and battalions. One general rule in all military projects that depends upon us alone, should be to omit nothing that can insure the success of our detachment and design; but, in that which depends upon the enemy, to trust something to hazard.
DETAIL,Fr.faire le détail d’une armée, d’une compagnie, ou d’une corps de gens de guerre; is to keep a strict eye upon every part of the service, and to issue out instructions or orders, that every individual belonging to a military profession may discharge his trust with accuracy and fidelity.Faire le détail d’une compagnié, likewise means to make up a company’s report, &c.
DETAILof duty, in military affairs, is a roster or table for the regular and exact performance of duty, either in the field, garrison, or cantonments. The general detail of duty is the proper care of the majors of brigade, who are guided by the roster of the officers, and by the tables for the men, to be occasionally furnished. The adjutant of a regiment keeps the detail of duty for the officers of his regiment, as does the serjeant-major that for the non-commissioned, and the latter that for the privates.
DEVASTATION, in military history, the act of destroying, laying waste, demolishing, or unpeopling towns, &c.
DEVELOPPER,Fr.to unfold, to unravel; asSe développer sur la tête d’une colonne, to form line on the head of a column.
DEVICE, the emblems on a shield or standard.
DEUILmilitaire,Fr.military mourning.
DEVUIDER, in themanege, is appliedto a horse that, upon working upon volts, makes his shoulders go too fast for the croupe to follow.
DIABLE.Fr.SeeChat.
DIAGONAL, reaching from one angle to another; so as to divide a parallelogram into equal parts.
Diagonal Movements.SeeEchellon.
DIAMETER, in both a military and geometrical sense, implies a right line passing through the centre of a circle, and terminated at each side by the circumference thereof. SeeCircle.
The impossibility of expressing the exact proportion of the diameter of a circle to its circumference, by any received way of notation, and the absolute necessity of having it as near the truth as possible, has put some of the most celebrated men in all ages upon endeavoring to approximate it. The first who attempted it with success, was the celebrated Van Culen, a Dutchman, who by the ancient method, though so very laborious, carried it to 36 decimal places: these he ordered to be engraven on his tomb-stone, thinking he had set bounds to improvements. However, the indefatigable Mr. Abraham Sharp carried it to 75 places in decimals; and since that, the learned Mr. John Machin has carried it to 100 places, which are as follows:
If the diameter of a circle be 1, the circumference will be 3.1415926535,​8979323846,​2643383279,​5028841971,​6939937510,​5820974944,​5923078164,​0528620899,​8628034825,​3421170679,​+ of the same parts; which is a degree of exactness far surpassing all imagination.
But the ratios generally used in the practice of military mathematics are these following. The diameter of the circle is to its circumference as 113 is to 355 nearly.—The square of the diameter is to the area of the circle, as 452 to 355. The cube of the diameter is, to the solid content of a sphere, as 678 to 355.—The cubes of the axes are, to the solid contents of equi-altitude cylinders, as 452 to 355.—The solid content of a sphere is, to the circumscribed cylinder, as 2 to 3.
How to find theDiameterof shot or shells. For an iron ball, whose diameter is given, supposing a 9-pounder, which is nearly 4 inches, say, the cube root of 2.08 of 9 pounds is, to 4 inches, as the cube root of the given weight is to the diameter sought. Or, if 4 be divided by 2.08, the cube root of 9, the quotient 1.923 will be the diameter of a 1-pound shot; which being continually multiplied by the cube root of the given weight, gives the diameter required.
Or by logarithms much shorter, thus: If the logarithm of 1.923, which is .283979, be constantly added to the third part of the logarithm of the weight, the sum will be the logarithm of the diameter. Suppose a shot to weigh 24 pounds: add the given logarithm .283979 to the third part of .460070 of the logarithm 1.3802112 of 24, the sum .7440494 will be the logarithm of the diameter oi a shot weighing 24 pounds, which is 5.5468 inches.
If the weight should be expressed by a fraction, the rule is still the same: for instance, the diameter of a 1¹â„â‚‚ pound ball, or ³â„â‚‚, is found by adding the logarithm .2839793, found above, to .0586971 ¹â„₃ of the logarithm of ²â„₃, the sum .3426764 will be the logarithm of the diameter required,i. e.2.2013 inches.
As the diameter of the bore, or the calibre of the piece, is made ¹â„â‚‚â‚€ part larger than that of the shot, according to the present practice, the following table is computed for this proportion.
Diametersof the shots and calibres of English guns.