Chapter XIV: Part 14

=Diversion.= An attack upon an enemy in a place where he is weak and unprovided, in order to draw off his forces from making an irruption elsewhere; or a manœuvre, where an enemy is strong, which obliges him to detach part of his forces to resist any feint or menacing attempt of his opponent.

=Divest.= To strip of clothes, arms, or equipage.

=Divine Service.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 52.

=Division.= In military matters, is one section of an army, comprising 2 or more brigades, commanded by a general officer. In regimental formation, 2 companies of a regiment or battalion constitute a division, when in column.

=Dizier, St.= A town of France, on the Marne. The emperor Charles V. besieged and took this place in 1544; and in its neighborhood Napoleon defeated the allies in two battles fought January 27 and March 26, 1814.

=Djokjokarta.= A Dutch residency of Java, near the middle of the south coast of that island. The town of the same name is the seat of a Dutch resident and a native sultan, who has a body-guard of young females, completely armed and equipped, some of whom do duty on horseback. It was taken by the British in 1812.

=Dobrudscha= (anc. _Scythia Minor_). A name used to denote the northeastern portion of Bulgaria. The Dobrudscha has long been a famous battle-ground. Some of the earliest incidents of the Russian war of 1854-56 took place here.

=Dolabra.= A rude ancient hatchet. They are represented on the columns of Trajan and Antoninus, and abound in all museums. When made of flint, which was their earliest and rudest form, they are usually called _celts_.

=Dôle.= A town of France, in the department of Jura, on the right bank of the Doubs. In 1479 it was taken by Louis XI., when the greater part of the town was destroyed, and many of its inhabitants were put to the sword. It subsequently came into the hands of the Spaniards, and was fortified by Charles V. in 1530. In 1636 it was ineffectually besieged by the Prince of Condé. In 1668 it was taken by the French; and again in 1674, when its fortifications were destroyed.

=Dolphins.= Two handles placed upon a piece of ordnance with their centres over the centre of gravity, by which it was mounted or dismounted. They are no longer in use in the U. S. service.

=Domingo, San.= The capital of the Spanish part of the island of Hayti, in the West Indies. About the year 1586 the city was sacked by Sir Francis Drake.

=Dominica.= An island in the West Indies, belonging to the Leeward group, lying about 20 miles to the north of Martinique. This island was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and was claimed alternately by England, France, and Spain: it was finally ceded to Great Britain in 1763.

=Dommage= (_Fr._). In a general acceptation of the term, signified in the old French service, the compensation which every captain of a troop, or company, was obliged to make in consequence of any damage that their men might have done in a town, or on a march.

=Donabue.= A town in India, in the British province of Pegu. In 1825, during the Burmese war, it maintained a successful resistance against the assault of a British force under the command of Brigadier Cotton; and here in 1853, during the last war with the same nation, the British troops suffered a repulse in an encounter with a Burmese force, losing several officers.

=Donauwörth.= A town of Bavaria, situated at the confluence of the Wernitz and the Danube. Here Marlborough stormed and carried the intrenched camp of the Bavarians in 1704, and on October 6, 1805, the French under Soult obtained a victory over the Austrians under Mack.

=Donelson, Fort.= A position on a slight bend of the Cumberland River, in Tennessee, which was strongly fortified by the Confederates during the civil war. On the afternoon of February 14, 1862, Commodore Foote commenced with his gunboats an attack on this place, but met with a decided reverse. Meantime, Gen. Grant’s army, advancing from the capture of Fort Henry, gradually approached, and surrounded the fort, with occasional skirmishing on the line. Next day the Confederates attacked them, but were repulsed with loss, and finding all hope of reinforcements unavailing, they surrendered the fort on the 16th. About 10,000 prisoners, 40 pieces of artillery, and a large quantity of stores of all kinds fell into Gen. Grant’s hands.

=Dongola, New=, or =Maraka=. A town on the Nile, and capital of a province of the same name, in Nubia. Ibrahim Pasha took it from the Mamelukes in 1820.

=Donjon=, or =Dungeon=. The principal tower or keep of a castle or fortress. It was so called either from being placed on a _dun_ or elevation, natural or artificial, or because, from its position, it dominated or commanded the other parts of the fortress. From the circumstance that the lower or under-ground story of the donjon was used as a prison, has come the modern meaning of the word dungeon.

=Doolee.= A palanquin litter, used in Indian armies, to carry sick and wounded men.

=Dormans.= In Northeast France. The Huguenots and their allies under Montmorency were here defeated by the Duke of Guise, October 10, 1575.

=Dormant.= (_Fr._). Sleeping. In heraldic representation, an animal _dormant_ has its head resting on its fore-paws, whereas an animal _couchant_ has its head erect.

=Dornach.= A village of Switzerland, 20 miles northeast from Soleure, remarkable for the victory obtained by the Swiss over the Austrians, July 22, 1499, and which gave Switzerland her independence.

=Dorogoboozh=, =Dorogobush=, or =Dorogobouge=. A town of Russia, in the government of Smolensk. At this place the French were defeated by the Russians, October 12, 1812.

=Dosser.= In military matters, is a sort of basket, carried on the shoulders of men, used in carrying the earth from one part of a fortification to another, where it is required.

=Dossière= (_Fr._). Back-piece of a cuirass.

=Douai=, or =Douay=. A fortified town of France, on the small river Scarpe, 18 miles south from Lille. This place was taken from the Flemings by Philip the Fair in 1297; restored by Charles V. in 1368. It reverted to Spain, from whom it was taken by Louis XIV. in 1667. It was captured by the allies, under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugène, in 1710, but was retaken by the French, September 8, 1712.

=Double.= To unite, as ranks or files, so as to form one. _To double upon_, to inclose between two fires.

=Double-quick.= Performed in the time called double-quick; as, a double-quick step or march.

=Double-quick.= To move, or cause to move, in double-quick time.

=Double-rank.= A line formed of double files.

=Double-shell.= A shell used in the 7-inch English rifles. It is 27 inches long, and has a large cavity. To strengthen it against outside pressure it has three internal longitudinal ribs projecting about an inch into the cavity.

=Double-shotting.= Is an increase of the destructive power of ordnance by doubling the shot fired off at one time from a gun. Sometimes three shots are fired at once, in which case the piece is said to be _treble-shotted_.

=Double-time.= The fastest time or step in marching, next to the run, requiring 165 steps, each 33 inches in length, to be taken in one minute. The degree of swiftness may vary in urgent cases, and the number of steps be thus increased up to 180 per minute.

=Doubling.= The putting of two ranks of soldiers into one.

=Doublings.= The heraldic term for the linings of robes or mantles, or of the mantlings of achievements.

=Doullens.= A town of France, 15 miles northeast of Amiens. This place was taken by the allies in 1814.

=Doune.= A village of Perthshire, Scotland. The ruins of Doune Castle, a large and massive fortress built about the 14th century, are situated on the point of a steep and narrow elevation. Doune was held for Prince Charles in 1745, and here he confined his prisoners taken at Falkirk, among the rest the author of the tragedy of “Douglas.”

=Douro.= A large river in Spain and Portugal, which was crossed in 1809 by the British army under the Duke of Wellington, when he surprised the French under Marshal Soult, and won the battle of Oporto.

=Dover= (anc. _Dubris_). A city and seaport of England, in the county of Kent, on Dover Strait. The city is defended by Dover Castle, which is built on chalk-cliffs 320 feet high, and is a fortress of great strength and extent. The castle is said to have been founded by the ancient Romans. Near here Julius Cæsar is said to have first landed in England, August 26, 55 B.C., and here King John resigned his kingdom to Pandolf, the pope’s legate, May 13, 1213.

=Dowletabad.= A celebrated city and fortress of Hindostan, province of Hyderabad, deemed impregnable by the natives; but notwithstanding its strength, it has been frequently taken.

=Drabants.= A company of 200 picked men, of which Charles IX. of Sweden was captain.

=Draft.= A selecting or detaching of soldiers from an army, or any part of it, or from a military post; also from any company or collection of persons, or from the people at large for military service.

=Draft.= See DRAUGHT.

=Draft, To.= To draw from a military band or post, or from any company, collection, society, or from the people at large; to detach; to select. Written also _draught_.

=Dragon.= An old name for a musketoon.

=Dragon et Dragon Volant= (_Fr._). Some old pieces of artillery were anciently so called. The Dragon was a 40-pounder; the Dragon Volant a 32-pounder. But neither the name nor the size of the caliber of either piece is now in use.

=Dragonner= (_Fr._). According to the French acceptation of the term, is to attack any person in a rude and violent manner; to take anything by force; to adopt prompt and vigorous means; and to bring those people to reason by hard blows, who could not be persuaded by fair words.

=Dragoon.= From the old fable that the dragon spouts fire, the head of the monster was worked upon the muzzle of a peculiar kind of short muskets which were first carried by the horsemen raised by Marshal Brissac in 1600. This circumstance led to their being called dragoons; and from the general adoption of the same weapon, though without the emblem in question, the term gradually extended itself till it became almost synonymous with horse-soldier. Dragoons were at one time a kind of mounted infantry, drilled to perform the services both of horse and foot. At present, dragoon is simply one among many designations for cavalry, not very precise in its application. This term is not now used in the U. S. service.

=Dragoon, To.= Is to persecute by abandoning a place to the rage of the soldiers.

=Dragoon Guards.= In the British service, seven regiments of heavy cavalry bear this title.

=Drag-rope.= This is a 4-inch hemp rope, 28 feet long, with a thimble worked into each end, one of the thimbles carrying a hook. Six handles, made of oak or ash, are put in between the strands of the rope, and lashed with a marline. It is used to assist in extricating carriages from different positions by the men, for dragging pieces, etc.

=Drag-rope Men.= The men attached to light or heavy ordnance, for the purpose of expediting movements in action. The French _servans à la prolonge_ are of this description.

=Drain=, or =Drein=. In the military art, is a trench made to draw water out of a ditch, which is afterwards filled with hurdles and earth, or with fascines or bundles of rushes, and planks, to facilitate the passage over the mud.

=Drake.= A small piece of artillery, no longer used.

=Draught.= The act of drawing men from a military band, army, or post, or from any company or society; draft; detachment; also, formerly, a sudden attack or drawing upon an enemy.

=Draughted.= The soldiers of any regiment allotted to complete other regiments are said to be draughted, or drafted.

=Draught-hook.= Either of two large hooks of iron fixed on the cheeks of a gun-carriage, two on each side, used in drawing the gun backward and forward.

=Drawbridge.= A bridge of which the whole or part is made to be let down, or drawn or turned aside, to admit or hinder communication at pleasure, as before the gate of a town or castle. It is called _bascule_, _swivel_, or _rolling_ bridge according as it turns on a hinge vertically, on a pivot horizontally, or is pushed lengthwise on rollers.

=Drawing.= In a military sense, is the art of representing the appearances of all kinds of military objects by imitation or copying, both with and without the assistance of mathematical rules.

=Drawn Battle.= A fight from which the combatants withdraw without either side claiming the victory.

=Draw off, To.= In a military sense, means to retire; also to abstract or take away; as, to draw off your forces. To _draw on_ is to advance; also to occasion; as, to draw on an enemy’s fire. To _draw over_ is to persuade to revolt; to entice from a party. To _draw out_ is to call the soldiers forth in array for action. To _draw up_ is to form in battle array. To _draw out a party_ is to assemble any particular number of armed men for military duty. The French say, _faire un detachement_.

=Drayton-in-Hales=, or =Market Drayton=. A town of England, in Shropshire. Here the partisans of the house of York defeated the Lancastrians in 1459.

=Dresden.= The capital of the kingdom of Saxony, and one of the best built towns of Europe. Taken by Frederick of Prussia in 1756; by the Austrians in 1759; bombarded in vain by Frederick, July, 1760. On August 26-27, 1813, the allies were defeated in a terrible battle by the French under the walls of this city; and about a mile from it is a granite block, surmounted by a helmet, marking the spot where Moreau fell in the conflict, while conversing with the emperor Alexander.

=Dress.= A word of command for alignment of troops; also of the alignment itself.

=Dressers.= See GUIDES.

=Dress, Full.= Dress uniform. The French is _grande tenue_, or _grande uniforme_.

=Dress Parade.= Parade in full uniform; one of the ceremonies prescribed in tactics.

=Dress, To.= To cause a company or battalion to take such a position or order as will preserve an exact continuity of line in the whole front, or in whatever shape the command is to be formed. Soldiers dress by one another in ranks, and the body collectively by some given object. To _dress the line_ is to arrange any given number of soldiers, so as to stand perfectly correct with regard to the several points of an alignment that have been taken up.

=Dress Uniform.= The dress prescribed for occasions of ceremony.

=Dreux.= An old town of France, in the department of the Eure and Loire, on the Blaise. In 1188 this town was burned by the English; and in 1562 the Prince of Condé was taken prisoner in a severe action fought between the Huguenots and Roman Catholics in its neighborhood.

=Drift.= A tool used in driving down compactly the composition contained in a rocket, or like firework.

=Drift.= A deviation peculiar to oblong rifle projectiles. See PROJECTILES.

=Drill.= Is a general name for the exercises through which soldiers and sailors are passed, to qualify them for their duties. There are many varieties of drill,--that of the cavalry, infantry, and artillery,--all have different drills conformable to their different organizations.

=Drill-Sergeant.= A non-commissioned officer, whose office it is to instruct soldiers as to their duties, and to train them to military evolutions.

=Drogheda.= A seaport town of Ireland, in the counties of Meath and Louth, built on both sides of the Boyne. From the 14th to the 17th century, Drogheda was the chief military station in Ulster. In 1641 the town was besieged by O’Neal and the northern Irish forces, but was gallantly defended by Sir Henry Tichbourne, and after a long blockade relieved by the Marquis of Ormond, who also relieved it a second time when invested by the Parliamentary army under Col. Jones. In 1649, Cromwell was twice repulsed in besieging this town; but in the third attempt he was successful, when most of the garrison were slaughtered. This place surrendered to William III. the day after the battle of the Boyne, which was fought in 1690 at Oldbridge, 4 miles west of Drogheda.

=Drum.= A musical instrument of percussion, formed by stretching a piece of parchment over each end of a cylinder formed of thin wood, or over the top of a caldron-shaped vessel of brass; the latter is hence called a kettle-drum. The large drums which are beaten at each end are called _double drums_, or _bass drums_, and are used chiefly in military bands. Kettle-drums are always used in pairs; one of which is tuned to the key-note, the other to the fifth of the key. The drum is principally used for military purposes, especially for inspiring the soldiers under the fatigue of march or in battle. It is supposed to be an Eastern invention, and to have been brought into Europe by the Arabians, or perhaps the Moors. In the French army the drum is now, to some extent, abolished.

=Drum.= To execute on a drum, as a tune;--with _out_, to expel with beat of drum; as, to drum out a deserter, etc.; with _up_, to assemble by beat of drum; to gather; to collect; as, to drum up recruits, etc.

=Drumclog.= In Western Scotland; here the Covenanters defeated Graham of Claverhouse, June 1, 1679. An account of the conflict is given by Walter Scott, in “Old Mortality.”

=Drum-head.= The head or upper part of a drum.

=Drum-head Court-martial.= A court-martial called suddenly by the commanding officer to try offenses committed on the line of march, and which demand an immediate example. This method is not resorted to in time of peace.

=Drum-Major.= Is that person in a regiment of infantry who has command of the drummers and teaches them their duty. He also directs the movements of the regimental band, while on parade.

=Drummer.= The soldier who plays a drum. The majority of drummers are boys, generally the sons of soldiers. In former times it was the part of a drummer’s duty to flog men sentenced to corporal punishment.

=Drumming Out.= The ceremony of ignominiously discharging a soldier from the service. The culprit is marched out of the garrison at the point of the bayonet, the drummers or musicians playing the “Rogue’s March.”

=Drum-stick.= A stick with which a drum is beaten, or shaped for the purpose of beating a drum.

=Drunk on Duty.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 38.

=Druses.= A warlike people dwelling among the mountains of Lebanon, derive their origin from a fanatical Mohammedan sect which arose in Egypt about 996, and fled to Palestine to avoid persecution. They now retain hardly any of the religion of their ancestors. In 1860, in consequence of disputes, the Druses attacked their neighbors, the Maronites, whom they massacred, it was said, without regard to age or sex. This led to a general massacre of Christians soon after. But the Turkish troops, with French auxiliaries, interfering on behalf of the Christians, invaded Lebanon in August and September, when the Druses surrendered, giving up their chiefs, January, 1861.

=Dry Camp, To Make a.= Troops on the march are said _to make a dry camp_ when they are compelled by exhaustion, or other causes, to camp at a place where there is no water. For such camps water is usually transported with the troops.

=Dualin.= See EXPLOSIVES.

=Dubicza=, or =Dubitza=. A town and fort of European Turkey, in Bosnia, on the Unna. The Austrians took this town in 1738.

=Dublin.= The capital city of Ireland, on the Liffey, close to its entrance into Dublin Bay. It is alleged that this city has been in existence since the time of Ptolemy. In the earlier part of the 9th century, Dublin was taken by the Danes, who infested it for several centuries thereafter. In 1169 it was taken by storm by the English under Strongbow. From about this period the history of Dublin is that of Ireland.

=Ducenarius.= An officer in the Roman armies who commanded two centuries.

=Dudgeon.= A small dagger (rare).

=Duel.= Was the old form of a combat between two persons, at a time and place indicated in the challenge, cartel, or defiance borne by one party to the other. A duel generally takes place in the presence of witnesses, called seconds, who regulate the mode of fighting, place the weapons in the hands of the combatants, and enforce compliance with the rules which they have laid down. In the United States the practice of fighting duels, being declared illegal by statutes, is very seldom resorted to.

=Dueling.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 26, 27.

=Duffadar.= A rank in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with that of sergeant.

=Duffadar, Kot.= A non-commissioned officer in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with a troop sergeant-major.

=Duffadar Major.= A rank in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with that of regimental sergeant-major.

=Duke.= From the Latin _dux_, a “leader,” a title that first came into use when Constantine separated the civil and military commands in the provinces. This title was successively borrowed by the Goths and Franks, and since the time of the Black Prince, who was created first duke in England (Duke of Cornwall) in 1335, it has been a title of the nobility, ranking next below the blood royal.

=Dukigi-Bachi.= Second officer in the Turkish artillery, who commands the Topelas, or gunners and founders.

=Duledge.= A peg of wood which joins the ends of the felloes, forming the circle of the wheel of a gun-carriage; and the joint is strengthened on the outside of the wheel by a strong plate of iron, called the _duledge plate_.

=Dumdum.= The name of a town and of a valley in India, well known in the military history of the country; it is 8 miles to the northeast of Calcutta, having extensive accommodations for troops, and a cannon-foundry. The place is famous in connection with the mutiny of 1857, as the scene of the first open manifestation on the part of the Sepoys against the greased cartridges.

=Dumfries.= A royal burgh and parish of Scotland, the capital of Dumfriesshire, on the Nith. This town was exposed to repeated calamities from the invasions of the English during the border wars. In this town John Comyn, the competitor for the Scottish throne, was stabbed by Robert Bruce in 1305.

=Dünaburg.= A strongly fortified town of Western Russia, on the Düna. It is of great military importance, owing to the strength of its fortifications. It was founded by the Knights of the Sword in 1277.

=Dunbar.= A seaport town of Scotland, in Haddingtonshire, at the mouth of the Frith of Forth. On the high rocks at the entrance to the new harbor are a few fragments of the ruins of an old castle, which was once very strong, and an important security against English invasions. Edward I. took it, and Edward II. fled thither after the battle of Bannockburn; it was demolished in 1333, and rebuilt in 1336; it was successfully defended in a siege of six weeks against the Earl of Salisbury by Black Agnes, countess of Dunbar, in 1338; it sheltered Queen Mary and Bothwell in 1567; and in the same year it was destroyed by the regent Murray. In 1650, Cromwell, at the “Race of Dunbar,” defeated the Scottish army under Leslie.

=Dunblane=, or =Dumblane=. A town and parish of Scotland, in Perthshire, on the Allan. Not far from this place is Sheriffmuir, where, in 1715, a battle was fought between the royal troops and the followers of the Pretender.

=Dungan Hill= (Ireland). Here the English army, commanded by Col. Jones, signally defeated the Irish, of whom 6000 are said to have been slain, August 8, 1647.

=Dungeon= (originally _Donjon_, which see). A prison; a dark and subterraneous cell or place of confinement.

=Dunkirk.= A fortified seaport town in the extreme northern part of France, in the department of the North. In 1558 the English, who had for some time held possession of the town, were expelled from it by the French, who, in the ensuing year, surrendered it to the Spaniards. In the middle of the 17th century it once more passed into the hands of the French, who, after a few years’ occupation of it, again restored it to Spain. In 1658 it was retaken by the French and made over to the English. It was sold to the French king by Charles II. in 1662. In 1793 it was attacked by the English under the Duke of York, who, however, was compelled to retire from before its walls with severe loss.

=Dunnottar.= A parish of Scotland, in Kincardineshire. It contains the castle of Dunnottar, now in ruins. In the time of the civil wars, this was the fortress in which the Scottish regalia were deposited. After being besieged by Cromwell’s forces for six months, it capitulated; but, before this, the regalia were secretly conveyed from it.

=Dunsinane.= In Perthshire, Scotland. On the hill was fought the battle between Macbeth, the thane of Glammis, and Siward, earl of Northumberland, July 27, 1054. Macbeth was defeated, and it was said pursued to Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire, and there slain, 1056 or 1057.

=Durazzo= (anc. _Epidamnus_). A town of Albania, European Turkey. It is fortified, and is a place of considerable antiquity. Durazzo was founded about 627 B.C. by a conjoined band of Corcyræans and Corinthians under one Phaleus, a Heracleidan. It became a great and populous city, but was much harassed by the internal strifes of party, which ultimately led to the Peloponnesian war. Under the Romans it was called _Dyrrachium_ (whence its modern name). Here Pompey was for some time beleaguered by Cæsar. In the 5th century it was besieged by Theodoric, the Ostro-Goth; in the 10th and 11th centuries by the Bulgarians; and in 1081 it was captured, after a severe battle, by the Norman, Robert Guiseard of Apulia.

=Düren.= A town of Prussia, on the Roer. This was a Roman town, and is mentioned by Tacitus by the name of _Marcodurum_. Charlemagne held two diets here in 775 and 779, when on his way to attack the Saxons. It was taken by assault and burned by Charles V., after an obstinate resistance, in 1543. In 1794 it fell into the hands of the French, but was ceded to Prussia in 1814.

=Dürkeim.= A town of Rhenish Bavaria, 20 miles north from Landau. The summit of a height near this town is crowned by a rampart of loose stones 6 to 10 feet high, 60 to 70 feet wide at the base, and inclosing a space of about two square miles called the _Heidenmauer_ (“heathens’ wall”), which the Romans are said to have built to keep the barbarians in check, and where Attila is said to have passed a winter, after having wrested the fortress from the Romans, when passing on his way to Rome.

=Durrenstein.= A town of Austria, on the Danube. In the neighborhood, on a rock, are the ruins of the castle in which Richard Cœur de Lion was imprisoned in 1192. In 1805 the Russian and Austrian armies were defeated here by the French.

=Duties.= This word is used in military parlance to express the men paraded for any particular duty, such as guards, etc.

=Duty.= There is no word oftener used in military parlance than this. In the technical sense it refers to the various services necessary for the maintenance, discipline, and regulation of armies,--as _signal duty_, _staff duty_, _the duties of a sentinel_, etc. To be _on duty_ is to be in the active exercise of military functions; to be _off duty_ is to have these functions temporarily suspended; to be _put on duty_ is to be assigned to duty by order of a superior. Military duties are variously classed as _duties of detail_, which are recurring and governed by a roster, such as guard, fatigue, etc.; _special duties_ which are determined by appointment, selection, or order; _extra duty_, continuous special duty of enlisted men, entitling them to pay; _daily duty_, short terms of special service for enlisted men. In a higher and broader sense _duty_ is that which is due one’s country. It covers all the soldier’s obligations, and forms his simplest and sublimest rule of action.

=Dyer Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.

=Dynamite=, called in the United States “giant powder,” is formed by mixing nitro-glycerine with certain porous substances, and especially with certain varieties of silica or alumina, these substances absorbing the nitro-glycerine. It was invented in 1867 by the Swedish engineer Nobel, who proposed to prevent the frequent and unexpected explosions of nitro-glycerine, at the same time without sacrificing any of its power. This he effected by the use of certain silicious earths as a base for the absorption of the nitro-glycerine, the experiment resulting in the new compound which he called dynamite, its transportation and handling being no more dangerous than that of ordinary gunpowder. It is not liable to spontaneous explosion like pure nitro-glycerine, nor can it be exploded by moderate concussion; when unconfined, if set fire to, it will burn without explosion; it may be safely kept at any moderate temperature; is inexplosive when frozen, and acts effectively under water. Its effects are proportional to the quantity of nitro-glycerine held in absorption; but under circumstances where a sustained bursting pressure is required, not being as instantaneous in its action as nitro-glycerine, its effects are more powerful than those of an equal weight of the pure material. The best absorbent of nitro-glycerine for the formation of dynamite is a silicious earth found at Oberlohe, Hanover. During the siege of Paris, a scientific committee of investigation, engaged in experimenting on different substances as a substitute for this earth, selected as the best silica, alumina, and boghead cinders. Any of these, they declared, when combined with nitro-glycerine, formed a substance which possessed all the remarkable qualities attributed to the dynamite of Nobel. During the siege of Paris dynamite was used successfully by the French engineers to free a flotilla of gunboats caught in the ice on the Seine, below Charenton, by simply placing a quantity of it on the surface of the ice. The explosion dislodged the ice for a great distance, and the masses thus loosened, being directed into the current by the aid of a small steamer, floated down the stream, and left the river open. There are various other compounds of nitro-glycerine, such as dualin, glyoxiline, etc., all differing in the matter used as a base, they being generally some explosive substances; but none of them appears to have come into such general use or to be as reliable as dynamite. Many preparations of chlorate and picrate of potassium have also been used from time to time as explosive agents; but their great sensibility to friction or percussion renders them extremely dangerous; they are, therefore, not liable to come into general use. A preparation of potassium chlorate and sulphur, not liable to explode by concussion, but very sensitive to friction, is used with great effect as a charge for explosive bullets.

=Dynamometer.= An instrument for measuring the force of recoil in a small-arm, consisting usually of a spiral spring so arranged as to be compressed by the butt of the gun in firing. An index shows the number of pounds required to produce a similar compression. The instruments now used by the U. S. Ordnance Department are graduated to show the effect of the recoil in _foot-pounds_ or _units of work_. This sensible change was made at the suggestion of Lieut. Henry Metcalfe of that department.

E.

=Eagle.= In heraldry, is used as an emblem of magnanimity and fortitude. In the Roman armies the eagle was used as a military standard, and even previous to that time the Persians under Cyrus the Younger used the same military emblem. In modern times, France, Russia, Prussia, Austria, and the United States have adopted the eagle as a national military symbol. The Austrian eagle is represented as double-headed.

=Eagle, Black.= A Prussian order of knighthood, founded in 1701; united with the order of the Red Eagle, or order of Sincerity, instituted by the margraves of Bayreuth.

=Earl Marshal.= Of England, is one of the officers of state; is the head of the college of arms, which has jurisdiction in descents and pedigrees; determines all rival claims to arms; and he grants armorial-bearings, through the medium of the kings-of-arms, to parties not possessed of hereditary arms.

=Early Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, HISTORY OF.

=Earth-bag.= See BAGS.

=Earth-house=, or =Eird-house=. The name generally given throughout Ireland and Scotland to the underground buildings (which in some places are called also “Picts’ houses”) which served to hide a few people and their goods in time of war. The earth-house is a single irregularly-shaped chamber, from 4 to 10 feet in width, from 20 to 60 feet in length, and from 4 to 7 feet in height, built of unhewn and uncemented stones roofed by unhewn flags, and entered from near the top by a rude doorway, so low and narrow that only one man can slide down through it at a time. Implements of various kinds have been found in them,--such as bronze swords, gold rings, etc.

=Earthworks.= In fortification, is a general name for all military constructions, whether for attack or defense, in which the material employed is chiefly earth.

=East Indian Army.= In 1861 the British Secretary of State for India brought forward a measure for reorganizing the Indian army, which has been passed into a law. The British portion of the Indian army is to form part of the queen’s army generally, with certain honorary distinctions, and is to take its turn at home and in the colonies like the rest; but the expenses are to be paid out of Indian, not Imperial revenues. The native portion is to be wholly in India; in its reconstruction many improvements are made to lessen the chances of future revolt.

=Ebersberg=, or =Ebelsberg=. A town of Upper Austria, on the Traun, 8 miles northwest from Ens, remarkable for being the scene of the defeat of the Austrians by the French in 1809.

=Eboulement= (_Fr._). The crumbling or falling of the walls of a fortification.

=Ebro.= A river in Spain, the scene of a signal defeat of the Spaniards by the French under Lannes, near Tudela, November 23, 1808; and also of several important movements of the allied British and Spanish armies during the Peninsular war (1809-13).

=Eccentric.= A device applied to the truck wheels of top carriages and beds of mortars in sea-coast artillery to give either rolling or sliding friction at will. The wheels turn on axle-arms which project eccentrically from the ends of an axle passing through both cheeks; when the axle is turned the axle-arms carry the wheels up or down; when at the lowest point the weight of the carriage is borne by the wheels, and the system moves on rolling friction; the wheels are then said to be _in gear_; when _out of gear_, or at their highest points, the wheels do not touch the rails or platform plates, but the cheeks rest on them, and the carriage moves upon sliding friction. A similar device is attached to the chassis near the pintle to enable it to be readily traversed when _in gear_, and give it stability when _out of gear_.

=Eccentric Projectiles.= A spherical projectile in which the centre of inertia does not coincide with the centre of figure. Such projectiles are subject to great deviations, which can be predicted as to direction by knowing the position of the centre of inertia of the shot in the bore of the gun. (See PROJECTILES, DEVIATION OF.) The side of the ball upon which the centre of inertia lies can be found by floating it in a bath of mercury, and marking the highest point where it comes to a state of rest; the centre of inertia lies nearest the opposite side; its exact position is determined by a kind of balance called the _eccentrometer_; the ball is placed in the balance with the marked point nearest the fulcrum; the distance of the centre of inertia or gravity from the fulcrum is obtained by dividing the product of the counterbalancing weight and its distance from the fulcrum by the weight of the projectile.

=Echarge, Feu=, or =Feu d’Echarge=. Is employed to signify that a column of troops is struck at a very oblique angle.

=Echaugette.= In military history, signifies a watch-tower, or kind of sentry-box.

=Echelon.= A military term applied to a certain arrangement of troops when several divisions are drawn up in parallel lines, each to the right or the left of the one preceding it, like “steps,” or the rounds of a ladder, so that no two are on the same alignment. Each division by marching directly forward can form a line with that which is in advance of it. There are two sorts of echelon, _direct_ and _oblique_, the former of which is used in an attack or retreat.

=Eckmühl=, or =Eggmühl=. A small village of Bavaria, on the Great Laber. This place is celebrated for the important victory gained by the French over the Austrians on April 22, 1809, and which obtained for Davoust the title of Prince of Eckmühl.

=Eclaireurs= (_Fr._). A corps of grenadiers raised by Bonaparte in France, who from their celerity of movements were compared to lightning.

=Eclopes= (_Fr._). A military term to express those soldiers who, though invalids, are well enough to follow the army. Among these may be classed dragoons or horsemen whose horses become lame and cannot keep up with the troop or squadron. They always march in the rear of a column.

=Ecole Polytechnique.= A celebrated military school in Paris, established in 1794, chiefly for the artillery service. The examinations for the schools are public to all France. It not only furnishes officers of artillery, but also civil and military engineers of every description. The pupils of this school defended Paris in 1814 and 1830.

=Economy.= In a military sense, implies the minutiæ or interior regulations of a regiment, troop, or company. Hence regimental economy.

=Ecorcheurs= (_Flayers_). A name given to bands of armed adventurers who desolated France and Belgium during the 15th century, beginning about 1435, and they at one time numbered 100,000. They are said to have stripped their victims to their shirts, and flayed the cattle. They were favored by the English invasion and the civil wars.

=Ecoutes.= Small galleries made at equal distances in front of the glacis of the fortifications of a place. They serve to annoy the enemy’s miners, and to interrupt them in their work.

=Ecreter= (_Fr._). To batter or fire at the top of a wall, redoubt, epaulement, etc., so as to dislodge or drive away the men that may be stationed behind it, in order to render the approach more easy. _Ecreter les pointes des palissades_ is to blunt the sharp ends of the palisades. This ought always to be done before you attack the covert way, which is generally fenced by them.

=Ecu= (_Fr._). A large shield which was used by the ancients, and carried on their left arm, to ward off the blows of sword or sabre. This instrument of defense was originally invented by the Samnites. The Moors had _ecus_, or shields, sufficiently large to cover the whole of their bodies. The _clipei_ of the Romans only differed from the _ecu_ in shape; the former being entirely round, and the latter oval.

=Ecuador=, or =Equator=. A South American republic, founded in 1831, when the Colombian republic was divided into three; the other two being Venezuela and New Granada. Gen. Franco was here defeated in battle by Gen. Flores, August, 1860. Several insurrections have taken place in Ecuador since 1860.

=Edessa=, or =Callinhoe=. An ancient city of Mesopotamia. In 1144 the Edessenes were defeated by the Saracen chief Nur-ed-deen, and all who were not massacred were sold as slaves. After many vicissitudes, it fell successively into the hands of the sultans of Egypt, the Byzantines, the Mongols, Turkomans, and Persians; the city was finally conquered by the Turks, and has ever since formed a portion of the Turkish dominion. Its modern name is Oorfa.

=Edge.= The thin or cutting part of a sword or sabre.

=Edgehill.= An elevated ridge in Warwickshire, England, 7 miles northeast from Banbury. Here was fought, on Sunday, October 23, 1642, the first great battle of the civil war, between the royalist forces under Charles I. and the Parliamentarians under the Earl of Essex. Prince Rupert, who led the right wing, charged with his cavalry the left wing of the Parliamentarians, broke it, and pursued it madly to Keinton. Essex with his force defeated the right wing of the royalists.

=Edinburgh.= The metropolis of Scotland, situated about 1¹⁄₂ miles from the Firth of Forth. It was taken by the Anglo-Saxons in 482; retaken by the Picts in 695; city fortified and castle rebuilt, 1074; besieged by Donald Bane, 1093. The city was taken by the English in 1296; surrendered to Edward III. in 1356. It was burnt by Richard II., 1385, and by Henry IV., 1401. A British force landed from a fleet of 200 ships, in 1544, and burned Edinburgh. The castle surrendered to Cromwell in 1650. The young Pretender occupied Holyrood September 17, 1745, and the battle of Preston Pans took place September 21, 1745.

=Effective.= Fit for service; as, an army of 30,000 effective (fighting) men.

=Efficient.= A thoroughly trained and capable soldier. It is also a term used in connection with the volunteers. A volunteer is said to be efficient when he has performed the appointed number of drills and fired the regular number of rounds at the target, in the course of the year.

=Egham.= A village in the northwest of Surrey, 18 miles west of London. In the vicinity is Runnymede, a meadow on the Thames, where King John conferred with his barons before signing the Magna Charta in 1215.

=Egypt.= A country in Northeast Africa. On the division of the Roman empire (395 A.D.) Egypt became a part of the dominions of Arcadius, ruler of the Eastern empire. But, owing to religious feuds of the Jacobites and Melchites, it became a province of Persia (616) for twelve years. In 640 the governor, Makaukas, endeavored to make himself independent, and invited the arms of the Arabs, and Amrou easily conquered Egypt. Although Alexandria was retaken by Constantine III., the Arabs drove him out and maintained their conquest, and Egypt remained an appendage of the caliphate. It afterwards passed into the dynasty of the Turks, and was administered by pashas. Constant rebellions of the Mamelukes, and the violence of contending factions, distracted the country for more than two centuries. The most remarkable event of this period was the French invasion by Bonaparte in 1798, which, by the conquest of Alexandria and the battle of the Pyramids against the Mamelukes, led to the entire subjection of the country, from which the French were finally expelled by the Turks and British in 1801, and the country restored to the Ottoman Porte. The rise of Mohammed Ali in 1806 imparted a galvanic prosperity to Egypt by the destruction of the Mamelukes, the formation of a regular army, and the introduction of European civilization. He considerably extended its boundaries, even into Asia; but in 1840 he was dispossessed of his Asiatic conquests. The treaty of London, however, in 1841, confirmed the viceroyalty of Egypt as a fief of the Ottoman empire to him and his descendants.

=Ehrenbreitstein.= A town and fortress of Rhenish Prussia, situated on the right bank of the Rhine, directly opposite Coblentz, with which it is connected by a bridge of boats. The fortress of Ehrenbreitstein occupies the summit of a precipitous rock 490 feet high, and has been called the Gibraltar of the Rhine, on account of its great natural strength and its superior works. It is capable of accommodating a garrison of 14,000 men, and provisions for 8000 men for ten years can be stowed in its vast magazines. Ehrenbreitstein was besieged in vain by the French in 1688, but fell into their hands in 1799, after a siege of fourteen months. Two years after, the French, on leaving, at the peace of Lunéville, blew up the works. It was assigned, however, to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna in 1814, and under that country was restored and thoroughly fortified. It is now one of the strongest forts in Europe.

=Eighty-ton Gun.= A large Woolwich gun designed as an armament for the “Inflexible.” Its construction was authorized in March, 1874, and the gun was ready for proof in October, 1875. When first made it weighed 81 tons, having a caliber of 14¹⁄₂ inches. It was bored during the progress of the experiments to 16 inches, and was given an enlarged chamber. The experiments were conducted by the celebrated “Committee on Explosion.” See ORDNANCE, RECENT HISTORY OF.

=Eilau-Preussisch.= A town of Prussia, government of Königsberg. It is chiefly celebrated for the victory gained there by the French over the united Prussian and Russian armies, February 8, 1807.

=Einsiedeln.= A small town of Switzerland, in the canton of Schwytz. It contains a fine abbey, which was rifled by the French in 1798.

=Ejector.= The device used in breech-loading small-arms to throw out the metallic cartridge-case after it is fired.

=Ejector Spring.= The spring which operates an ejector.

=El Arish.= A village of Lower Egypt on the Mediterranean, on the route from Egypt to Syria. It is but little more than a fort and a few houses, and was taken by the French in 1799; and here the French general Kleber signed, in 1800, a convention with Sir Sydney Smith, engaging to leave Egypt with his troops.

=Elath=, or =Eloth=. A seaport situated at the head of that gulf of the Red Sea, to which it gave its name. It was a fortified port in the time of Solomon; revolted against Joram; was retaken by Azariah; and was eventually conquered by Rezui, and held by the Syrians till it became a Roman frontier town. Under the Mohammedan rule it rose for a while to some importance, but has now sunk into insignificance.

=Elba.= An island belonging to the kingdom of Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea, between Corsica and the coast of Tuscany, from the latter of which it is separated by a channel 5 miles in breadth. Elba has been rendered famous in history from having been Napoleon’s place of exile from May, 1814, till February, 1815.

=El Boden.= A mountain-range, near Ciudad Rodrigo, in Spain, where the British troops distinguished themselves against an overwhelming French force in 1811.

=Elbow-gauntlet.= An ancient piece of armor, a gauntlet of plate reaching to the elbow, adopted from the Asiatics in the 16th century.

=Elbow-piece.= An ancient piece of armor, a metal plate used to cover the junction of the rere-brace and rant-brace, by which the upper and lower half of the arm were covered.

=Elchingen.= A village of Bavaria, on the Danube, 7 miles northeast from Ulm. Here the Austrians were defeated by the French in 1805. For this victory Marshal Ney received the title of Duke of Elchingen.

=Electric light.= An intense light produced by passing an electric current between points of carbon forming electrodes of the circuit. There are many forms of the apparatus. It will be extensively used in future wars for lighting harbor channels, approaches to forts, etc.

=Elements.= In a military sense, signify the first principles of tactics, fortification, and gunnery.

=Elephant.= See PACK AND DRAUGHT ANIMALS.

=Elevate, To.= Is to raise the muzzle of the cannon or rifle so that the latter shall be directed at a point above that which it is intended shall be struck.

=Elevating Arc.= In gunnery, is an arc attached to the base of the breech parallel to the ratchets and graduated into degrees and parts of a degree. A pointer attached to the _fulcrum_ points to the zero of the scale when the axis of the piece is horizontal. Elevations and depressions are indicated by the scale. Besides the graduations on the arc, the ranges (in yards) and charges for shot and shell are given.

=Elevating Bar.= An iron bar used in elevating guns or mortars having ratchets at the breech.

=Elevating Screw.= The screw by means of which the breech of a cannon is raised, the result being to depress the muzzle.

=Elevating Sight.= See SIGHT, ELEVATING.

=Elevation.= In gunnery, is one of the elements of pointing, being the movement of the axis of a piece in a vertical plane as distinguished from _direction_ or its movement horizontally. The elevation is usually positive,--that is, the gun is pointed above the horizontal. When it is pointed below, it is said to be depressed. The word is also used to express degree, or as a synonym for _angle of elevation_. The sights or elevating apparatus of guns are graduated on the theory that the object is in the horizontal plane of the piece, or that the line of sight is horizontal, which is not always the case in practice. When the elevation is determined by sights the angle of elevation is the angle between the line of sight and the axis of the piece, when these lines are in the same vertical plane,--or the angle between the line of sight and a plane containing the axis of the piece and a horizontal line intersecting it at right angles, when they are not. The graduations of tangent scales and fixed breech-sights give this angle in degrees. The graduation of the pendulum hausse gives the angle correctly only when the line of sight is horizontal. When the elevation is given by elevating arcs or gunner’s quadrant, the angle of elevation becomes the angle of fire, or the angle which the axis of the piece makes with the horizontal. Elevation is necessary to overcome the effect of gravity on the projectile. The degree of elevation increases with the range. _In vacuo_ the elevation corresponding to the maximum range is 45°. In the air the angle of maximum range diminishes with the velocity and increases with diameter and density of the ball. It is greater in mortars than in howitzers, and greater in howitzers than in guns. In mortars it approximates to 42°; in guns it is about 37°.

=Ellisburgh.= A village of Jefferson Co., N. Y. In 1814 an engagement took place here between the Americans and British, in which the latter were defeated.

=Elmina.= A fortified town and seaport of West Africa, founded by the Portuguese in 1481; was the first European settlement planted on the coast of Guinea. It was taken by the Dutch in 1637, and was ceded by them to Portugal. It was burned by the British troops in 1873.

=Elsass= (Fr. _Alsace_). One of the old German provinces, having the Rhine on the east and the Vosges Mountains on the west. It was ceded to France in 1648; but after the Franco-German war was annexed by Prussia, under treaty of May 10, 1871.

=Elswick Compressor.= An arrangement for compressing friction plates used in the English navy to take up the recoil of gun-carriages upon their slides. The 7 friction plates arranged longitudinally under the carriage and attached to its lower part, have alternating between them 6 long flat bars attached at their ends to the slide by bolts passing through them, but allowing them a side motion. The plates and bars are tightly clamped by short rocking levers, the lower ends of which act on the outside plates. The levers are worked by collars on a threaded shaft, which catch their upper ends. The shaft is called the compressor shaft, and has a handle or crank on the outside of each cheek or bracket,--one is called the _adjusting lever_, the other the _compressor lever_. The first is used to give an initial compression to suit the charge, the other is operated by the recoil being forced down by a tripper on the slide. Two forms of the compressor are used,--one for the _single plate_, the other for the _double-plate carriage_. In the double-plate carriage the adjusting lever can be set to any degree of compression without causing any motion in the compressor shaft or lever.

=Elswick Gun.= Armstrong gun (which see).

=Elvas.= A strong frontier town of Portugal, in the province of Alemtejo, situated on a rocky hill, 10 miles northwest from Badajos. It is one of the most important strongholds in Europe. The arsenal and bomb-proof barracks are capable of containing 6000 or 7000 men. In 1808 it was taken and held for five months by the French.

=Emaum Ghaur.= In Scinde, was a strong fortress in the Thur or Great Sandy Desert, separating that province from the rajpoot state of Jessulmere. It was captured by Sir Charles Napier in January, 1843.

=Embark.= To put or cause to go on board a vessel or boat; as, to embark troops. To go on board of a ship, boat, or vessel; as, the troops embarked for Egypt.

=Embarkation.= The act of putting or going on board of a vessel.

=Embaterion.= A war-song of the Spartans, accompanied by flutes, which they sung marching in time, and rushing on the enemy. The origin of the embaterion is lost in antiquity.