Chapter XLV: Part 45

=Pizzo.= A city of Italy, in the Neapolitan province of Calabria Ultra II., situated on the Gulf of Santa Euphemia, 6 miles northeast from Monteleone. It was at Pizzo that Murat, the ex-king of Naples, landed with a few followers, October 8, 1815, with the view of recovering his kingdom, He was immediately taken prisoner and shot in the castle of Pizzo on the 13th. In 1860 it was taken by Garibaldi.

=Placage= (_Fr._). In fortification, a kind of revetment, which is made of thick plastic earth laid along the talus of such parapets as have no mason-work, and which is covered with turf.

=Place.= In fortification, signifies, in general terms, a fortified town, a fortress; hence we say it is a strong place.

=Place Basse= (_Fr._). In fortification, the lower flanks according to certain systems are so called.

=Placed, To be.= This expression is frequently used in military matters, to signify the appointment or reduction of officers. Hence, _to be placed_ upon full or half-pay. It is more generally applicable to the latter.

=Placentia.= See PIACENZA.

=Places of Arms.= This term has various significations, although it uniformly means places which are calculated for the rendezvous of men in arms, etc. When an army takes the field, every stronghold or fortress which supports its operations by affording a safe retreat to its depots, heavy artillery, magazines, hospitals, etc., is called a _place of arms_. In offensive operations, those lines are called _places of arms_, or parallels, which unite the different means of attack, secure the regular approaches, etc., and contain bodies of troops who either do duty in the trenches, protect the workmen, or are destined to make an impression upon the enemy’s outworks. There are _demi-places of arms_ between the _places of arms_. These are more or less numerous in proportion to the resistance made by the besieged. See RE-ENTERING PLACES OF ARMS.

=Plain.= A field of battle.

=Plan.= A scheme devised; a method of action or procedure expressed or described in language; a project. A plan of campaign (says Napoleon) should anticipate all that an enemy may do, and combine within itself the means necessary to baffle it. Plans of campaign are modified by circumstances, the genius of the chief, the nature of the troops, and topography. There are good and bad plans of campaign, but sometimes the good fail from misfortune or mismanagement, while the bad succeed by caprices of fortune.

=Plan of a Work.= A plan shows the tracing; also the horizontal lengths and breadths of the works; the thickness of the ramparts and parapets; the width of the ditches, etc. It exhibits the extent, division, and distribution of the works; but the depth of the ditches and the height of the works are not represented in a plan.

=Plane of Comparison.= In the plan of a fortress, and of the surrounding country, are expressed the distances of the principal points from a horizontal plane, imagined to pass through the highest or lowest points of ground, in the survey. This imaginary plane is called a _plane of comparison_.

=Plane of Defilade.= Is a plane supposed to pass through the summit or crest of a work, and parallel to the plane of site.

=Plane of Fire.= See POINTING.

=Plane of Sight.= See POINTING.

=Plane of Site.= The general level of the ground or ground line, upon which the works are constructed, is called the _plane of site_, whether that plane be horizontal or oblique to the horizon.

=Plane Table.= A surveying instrument, consisting of a table or board and arrangements for leveling and traversing it. It is much used in military surveys and in gunnery in getting the ranges of projectiles by the method of intersections.

=Plant, To.= In a military sense, to place; to fix; as, to plant a standard. It likewise signifies to arrange different pieces of ordnance for the purpose of doing execution against an enemy or his works; hence, to plant a battery. Some authors apply this word to the act of directing a cannon properly.

=Plantagenet.= The surname of a dynasty of English kings who ruled from 1154 to 1485. Henry II. was the founder, and Richard III., who was killed at Bosworth, the last of the line. They were generally warlike and ambitious rulers, being engaged in contests at home (see ROSES, WARS OF THE) and in France. The name belonged to the house of Anjou, and is said to have been derived from the circumstance of the first count of this house having caused himself to be scourged with branches of broom (_planta genista_) as a penance for some crime. The name passed to the English line of kings through the extinction of the old Norman dynasty in the male line in the person of Henry II., and the marriage of Matilda, his daughter, to Geoffrey, count of Anjou, their son succeeding to the throne.

=Plassey.= A village of British India, in the district of Nuddea, presidency of Bengal, on the left bank of the Hooghly, 96 miles north of Calcutta. It is memorable as the scene of the victory that laid the foundation of the British-Indian empire. On June 23, 1757, Clive, with a force of 900 Europeans and 2100 Sepoys, crossed the river to attack 68,000 men under Sooraj-oo-Dowlah, soubahdar of Bengal. After much cannonading on both sides, Meer Jaffier, who was in the interest of the British, advised the soubahdar to retreat. Clive immediately advanced, routed the army, and took the camp of the soubahdar, who was dethroned to make way for the traitor Meer Jaffier.

=Plastron= (_Fr._). Stuffed pad or cushion, formerly worn at the shoulder to sustain the recoil of heavy muskets and other fire-arms, still used by fencers upon the right side; also a breastplate or half cuirass. In the old French service, the gens d’armes, the heavy cavalry, the light horse, etc., were obliged to wear them on all occasions, at reviews, etc.

=Platæa= (more commonly _Platææ_). An ancient city of Bœotia, on the northern slope of Mount Cithæron, on the frontiers of Attica. At an early period, the Platæans deserted the Bœotian confederacy, and placed themselves under the protection of Athens; and when the Persians invaded Attica in 490 B.C., they sent 1000 men to the assistance of the Athenians, and had the honor of fighting on their side at the battle of Marathon. Ten years afterwards (480 B.C.) their city was destroyed by the Persian army under Xerxes at the instigation of the Thebans. It was the site of the battle between Mardonius, commander of the army of Xerxes of Persia, and Pausanias, commanding the Lacedæmonians and Athenians, 479 B.C.; the same day as the battle of Mycale. Of 300,000 Persians, scarce 3000 escaped with their lives. The Grecian army, about 110,000, lost but few men. The Greeks obtained immense plunder, and were henceforth delivered from the fear of Persian invasions. In the third year of the Peloponnesian war (429), the Thebans persuaded the Spartans to attack Platæa, and after a siege of two years at length succeeded in obtaining possession of the place (427). Platæa was then razed to the ground, but was again rebuilt after the peace of Antalcidas (387 B.C.). It was destroyed the third time by its inveterate enemies, the Thebans, in 374 B.C. It was rebuilt by Philip II. of Macedon, after his victory at Chæronea, 338 B.C.

=Plate.= Metallic armor composed of broad pieces, and thus distinguished from mail.

=Plate.= To arm with plate or metal for defense. “Why plated in habiliments of war?”

=Plate-armor.= Armor of strong metal plates for protecting fortifications and the like; also mail consisting entirely of metallic plates, formerly worn to protect the person.

=Platform.= Is a strong flooring upon which a piece of ordnance, mounted on its carriage, is manœuvred when in battery. Its object is to facilitate the service of heavy guns and mortars, and to insure accuracy of fire. Fixed platforms are used for casemate and barbette batteries in fortifications, and are constructed with the works; siege-platforms for guns and howitzers; and siege-platforms for mortars; the other kinds are the rail-platform, the ricochet-platform, and the platforms for sea-coast mortars. Platforms should possess strength and portability, and the pieces composing them should be constructed of the same dimensions, viz.: 9 feet long, 5 inches wide, and 3¹⁄₂ inches thick. The weight of each piece in a platform is about 50 pounds; and in a siege-platform for guns and howitzers, there are 49 pieces, 1 being used as a _hurter_ on the front part of the platform to prevent the carriage from running too far forward, and 12 for sleepers. The weight of this platform complete is 2601¹⁄₂ pounds. This platform is laid with an elevation to the rear, of 1¹⁄₂ inches to the yard, or 4¹⁄₂ inches in the whole length. This elevation is given to diminish the recoil of the piece and to permit the water to run off. The length of this platform is 15 feet by 9 feet. The platform for a siege-mortar is composed of only 6 sleepers and 21 deck-planks. It is laid level, and the front and rear deck-planks are connected by eye-bolts to every sleeper. This platform is about 9 feet deep by 9 feet wide, and weighs 1220 pounds. The rail-platform for siege-mortars consists of 3 sleepers and 2 rails for the cheeks of the mortar-bed to slide on, instead of the deck-plank, and is very strong, and easily constructed and laid. For method of laying platforms for siege-gun or howitzer, and for mortars, see “Hand-book of Artillery,” by Roberts, pages 143-47.

=Platform Wagon.= A sort of wagon used for transporting heavy ordnance.

=Platoon.= Probably from the French _peloton_, a “ball of thread,” a “knot,” was a term formerly used in the English service to designate a body of men who fired together. In U. S. tactics, it is now a recognized subdivision of a company, being one-half.

=Plattsburg.= A township and capital of Clinton Co., N. Y., situated on both banks of the Saranac River, at its entrance into Lake Champlain. In the bay was fought the naval battle of Champlain, in which the British flotilla, under Commodore Downie, was defeated by the American commodore McDonough, September 11, 1814; while the land forces amounting to 14,000 men, under Sir George Prevost, were defeated by Gen. Macomb.

=Play.= Is occasionally applied to a military action; as, the guns played upon the enemy.

=Plea.= That which is alleged by a party in support of his cause; in a stricter sense, an allegation of fact in a cause, as distinguished from a demurrer; in a still more limited sense, and in modern practice, the defendant’s answer to the plaintiff’s declaration and demand. That which the plaintiff alleges in his declaration is answered and repelled or justified by the defendant’s _plea_.

=Plevna.= A town of Bulgaria, which became important in a military sense through the battles which took place around it during the Russo-Turkish war. The first battle took place July 15-16, 1877, resulting in the capture of Nikopolis. The second took place July 30, with considerable loss to both sides, but without any decisive results. The third took place September 11.

=Plombée= (_Fr._). An ancient war-club, whose head was loaded with lead.

=Plongée.= In artillery and fortification, means a slope toward the front. Thus, in speaking of the course of a shell through the air, its plongée is from the point of greatest altitude to the point at which it strikes the earth. So, in fortification, the plongée is the top of the parapet, sloping gently toward the front. This depression varies from one-fourth to one-sixth of the thickness of the parapet.

=Ploy.= To form a column from a line of battle on some designated subdivision.

=Ployments.= A general term for all tactical movements by which a column is formed from line upon a designated subdivision.

=Pluck.= Spirit; perseverance under opposition or discouragement; indomitableness; courage.

=Plume.= A large and handsome feather worn as an ornament on a helmet, on a military hat, and the like.

=Plummet.= In gunnery, is a simple line and bob for pointing mortars. A plummet is also used for regulating the march of infantry. It is made by means of a musket-ball, suspended by a silk string, upon which the required lengths are marked; the length is measured from the point of suspension to the centre of the ball. The different lengths of these plummets are as follows: for common time, 90 steps in a minute, 17.37 inches; quick time, 110 steps in a minute, 11.6 inches; double time, 165 steps in a minute, 5.17 inches.

=Plunder.= To take the goods of another by force; to take from by robbery; to spoil; to strip; to rob; as, to plunder a place. Also to take by pillage or open force; as, the enemy plundered all the goods they found.

=Plunder.= That which is taken from an enemy; pillage; spoil.

=Plunging Fire.= See FIRE, PLUNGING.

=Pluteus.= A kind of wicker helmet covered with raw ox-hide, worn by the ancient Greeks when engaged in sapping walls. Others were made of hurdles, covered in the same way, running upon three wheels, and affording cover to 7 or 8 miners.

=Plymouth.= A seaport town in England, county of Devon, on the east side of a peninsula, between the rivers Plym and Tamar, at the head of Plymouth Sound, 37 miles southwest of Exeter. Prior to the time of the Norman conquest it was called _South Town_, or _Sutton_; under the Saxon dynasty it was called _Tamerweorth_. The growing prosperity of the town excited the jealousy of France; and in 1339 a force from thence landed, and attempted to burn it. They succeeded in burning a portion, but were ultimately repulsed, with the loss of 500 men, by Hugh Courtenay, earl of Devon, aided by a number of “knights and men of the countrie.” A similar attempt was made in 1377, but with no great result; and after each, the fortifications were extended and strengthened. In 1335 the Black Prince embarked from Plymouth for France, and on his return to England he landed here with his prisoner, King John of France, who had been captured at the famous battle of Poitiers. During the civil war between Charles I. and the Parliament, Plymouth was held by the troops of the latter party, who, though besieged, and almost reduced by famine, resisted for three years every effort of the royalists. After the restoration the citadel was erected, and in the reign of William III. the dock-yard and the naval arsenal were established toward the west, upon the eastern shore of Hamoaze.

=Plymouth.= A town of Washington Co., N. C., on the south bank of Roanoke River about 8 miles from its mouth, where it empties into Albemarle Sound. During the civil war it was held for some time by the Union troops as a key to the river, and was strongly fortified. On April 17, 1864, a Confederate force under Gen. Hoke attacked this place, and after four days’ severe fighting, being five times repulsed with great slaughter, succeeded in capturing it, by the powerful assistance of an ironclad ram and a floating sharpshooter battery.

=Pocket Ledger.= In the British service, is a small book in the possession of each soldier, containing the result of the monthly settlement of pay, the state of his savings-bank account, the date of his enlistment, his services, wounds, decorations, date of birth, next of kin, a summary of the regulations which affect him, and many other useful particulars.

=Podoll= (Bohemia). The site of a severe conflict between the Austrians and a part of the army of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia, June 26, 1866, in which the latter had the advantage.

=Point.= In heraldry, a triangular figure issuing from the dexter and sinister base of the shield. It is common in French and German heraldry, and occurs in the shield of Hanover, which was a part of the royal arms of Great Britain from the accession of George I. till that of the present sovereign. A shield charged with a point is in heraldic drawing hardly distinguishable from one parted per chevron.

=Point d’Appui.= Any particular given point or body, upon which troops are formed, or by which they are marched, in line or column. _Points d’appui_ also signify the different advantageous posts, such as castles, fortified villages, etc., which the general of an army takes possession of in order to secure his natural position.

=Point of Alignment.= The point which troops form upon and dress by.

=Point of Formation.= A point taken, upon which troops are formed in military order.

_Perpendicular points_, the points upon which troops march in a straight-forward direction.

_Relative points_, the points by which the parallelism of a march is preserved.

=Point of Honor.= See HONOR, POINT OF.

=Point of War.= A loud and impressive beat of the drum, the perfect execution of which requires great skill and activity. The point of war is beat when a battalion charges.

=Point-blank.= The second point at which the line of sight intersects the trajectory of a projectile. See POINTING.

=Point-blank.= Directed in a line toward the object aimed at; aimed directly toward the mark.

=Point-blank Range.= Is the distance from the muzzle of the piece to that point in a projectile’s trajectory where it cuts the prolongation of the natural line of sight, a second time, the natural line of sight being horizontal. The British define point-blank range as, “the distance from the muzzle to the first graze when the axis of the piece is parallel to the horizontal plane upon which the carriage stands.” This definition is being adopted in the U. S. service.--See POINTING.

=Point-blank Shot.= The shot of a gun pointed directly toward the object to be hit.

=Pointing.= To point or aim a fire-arm is, to give it such direction and elevation that the projectile shall strike the object.

_Definitions._--The _axis of the piece_ is the centre line of the bore.

The _line of fire_ is the axis of the piece prolonged.

The _plane of fire_ is a vertical plane through the line of fire.

The _line of sight_ is the right line from the eye to the object to be hit, passing through the front and rear sights.

The _plane of sight_ is a vertical plane through the line of sight.

The _angle of sight_, or the _elevation_, is the vertical angle included between the line of sight and the plane containing the axis of the piece and a horizontal line at right angles to it.

The _natural line of sight_ is the line of sight nearest to the axis of the piece. In guns without rear sights it is the right line through the highest point of the base-ring and swell of the muzzle or top of the front sight when there is one. It is sometimes called the _line of metal_, as in mortars. For convenience and accuracy the _natural line of sight_ is usually parallel to the axis of the piece. When special breech-sights are used, it passes through the zero of the scale, which in the _pendulum hausse_ and other vibrating scales coincides with the axis of vibration. All other lines of sight are called _artificial lines of sight_.

_Point-blank_, in small-arms, is the second point in which the natural line of sight (when horizontal) cuts the trajectory. In artillery, it is the point where the projectile first strikes the horizontal plane on which the gun stands, the axis of the piece being horizontal.

_Pointing Guns and Howitzers._--In pointing old model guns and howitzers under ordinary angles of elevation, the piece is first directed toward the object, and then elevated to suit the distance. The accuracy of the aim depends: (1) On the fact that the object is situated in the plane of sight; (2) That the projectile moves in the plane of fire, and that the planes of sight and fire coincide, or are parallel and near to each other; and (3) On the accuracy of the elevation. The first of these conditions depends on the eye of the gunner, and the accuracy and delicacy of the sights; the errors under this head are of but little practical importance. When the trunnions of the piece are horizontal, and the sights are properly placed on the surface of the piece, the planes of sight and fire will coincide; but when the axis of the trunnions is inclined, and the natural line of sight is oblique to the axis of the bore, the planes are neither parallel nor coincident, but will intersect at a short distance from the muzzle, and the aim will be incorrect. If the natural line of sight be made parallel to the line of fire, by making the height of the front sight equal to the dispart of the piece, the planes of sight and fire will be parallel. Field-guns of the present day have special breech-sights or pendulum-sights. The zero of the scale and top of front sight are in a line parallel to the axis of the piece, and in pendulum-sights this zero coincides with the pivot at which the scale vibrates. Siege and sea-coast cannon are generally fired from fixed platforms, which renders the axis of the trunnions horizontal; they are, therefore, not furnished with pendulum-sights, but usually with breech-sights set in sockets at the breech. In the absence of a breech-sight the piece can be pointed with a natural line of sight so as to strike objects not situated at point-blank distance. Owing to the shape and size of the reinforce of sea-coast cannon, the natural line of sight is formed by affixing a front sight to the muzzle, or to a projection cast on the piece between the trunnions. Although the latter arrangement does not give quite so long a distance between the sights as is desirable, it permits the use of a shorter breech-sight, and the front sight does not interfere with the roof of the embrasure, when the piece is fired under high elevation.

_Errors in Pointing._--When the platform or ground upon which the gun stands is not level there is an error in pointing (except when compensating sights such as the _pendulum hausse_ are used), which varies in direction with the circumstances of the pointing and in amount with the elevation of the piece.

If the _natural line of sight_ is pointed upon the object and the elevation then given by a gunner’s quadrant or other device, the shot will go to the side of the lower wheel. If the gun be depressed, it will go to the side of the upper wheel.

If the _tangent scale_ or old pattern _breech-sight_ is used with the ordinary fixed muzzle-sight, and it be placed on a chalk-mark just determined, the shot will fall on the side of the upper wheel. If the scale is placed on the permanent mark, the contrary will hold.

If a _socket or fixed breech-sight_ is used, the shot will fall on the lower or upper side according as the gun is elevated or depressed.

_Pointing Mortars._--In pointing mortars, the piece is first given the elevation, and then the direction necessary to attain the object. Mortars are generally fired from behind epaulements, which screen the object from the eye of the gunner. The elevation is first given by a gunner’s quadrant, and the direction is given by moving the mortar-bed with a handspike, so as to bring the line of metal into the plane of sight, which passes through the object and the centre of the platform. The plane of sight may be determined in several ways; the method prescribed is to plant two stakes, one on the crest of the epaulement, and the other a little in advance of the first, so that the two shall be in a line with the object, and the gunner standing in the middle of the rear edge of the platform; a cord is attached to the second stake and held so as to touch the first stake; a third stake is driven in a line with the cord, in rear of the platform, and a plummet is attached to this cord so as to fall a little in rear of the mortar. The cord and plummet determine the required plane of sight into which the line of metal of the mortar must be brought. With the 13-inch mortar mounted upon centre-pintle chassis, the plane of sight must be so determined as to pass through the pintle to obtain perfect accuracy. One of the best methods of pointing mortars so mounted, is to place on the crest of the parapet in line with the axis of the platform a goniometer, the alidade of which can be directed upon the object,--the angle is read from the vertical plane containing the axis of the platform. The traverse circle is similarly graduated from the axis of the platform. A pointer attached to the chassis enables the gunner to lay the mortar very nearly in the vertical plane passing through the object,--the error being the perpendicular distance from the pintle to the plane of sight. This is the method of Lieut. A. B. Dyer, 4th U. S. Artillery. Gen. Abbot of the U. S. Engineer Corps used a similar principle during the late war, 1861-65. The usual angle of fire of mortars is 45°, which corresponds nearly with the maximum range. The advantages of the angle of greatest range are: (1) Economy of powder; (2) Diminished recoil, and strain on the piece, bed, and platform; (3) More uniform ranges. When the distance is not great, and the object is to penetrate the roofs of magazines, buildings, etc., the force of fall may be increased by firing under an angle of 60°. The ranges obtained under an angle of 60° are about _one-tenth_ less than those obtained with an angle of 45°. If the object be to produce effect by the bursting of the projectile, the penetration should be diminished by firing under an angle of 30°. When the object is not on a level with the piece, the angle of greatest range is considered in practice to be 45° increased or diminished by one-half the angle of elevation or depression of the object. The angle of fire being fixed at 45° for objects on the same level with the piece, the range is varied by varying the charge of powder. Stone-mortars are pointed in the same manner as common mortars; the angle of fire for stones is from 60° to 72°, in order that they may have great force in falling; the angle for grenades is about 33°, in order that their bursting effect may not be destroyed by their penetration into the earth.

_Night-firing._--Cannon are pointed at night by means of certain marks, or measurements, on the carriage and platform, which are accurately determined during the day.

_Pointing Small-arms._--The rear-sights of small-arms are graduated with elevation marks for certain distances, generally every hundred yards; in aiming with these as with all other arms, it is first necessary to know the distance of the object. This being known and the slider being placed opposite the mark corresponding to this distance, the bottom of the rear-sight notch, and the top of the front-sight, are brought into a line joining the object and the eye of the marksman. The term _coarse-sight_ is used when a considerable portion of the front-sight is seen above the bottom of the rear-sight notch; and the term _fine-sight_, when but a small portion of it is seen. The graduation marks being determined for a fine-sight, the effect of a coarse-sight is to increase the true range of the projectile.

_Graduation of Rear-sights._--If the form of the trajectory be known, the rear-sight of a fire-arm can be graduated by calculation; the more accurate and reliable method, however, is by trial.

_Distance of Objects._--Various instruments have been devised to determine the distance of objects, based on the measurement of the visual angles subtended by a foot or cavalry soldier, of mean height, at different distances, and upon other principles. (See RANGE-FINDER.) The range being known, the proper elevation (or charge of powder in mortars) and length of fuze is given by tables of fire obtained from calculation or experiment. The ranges for guns of position are determined by thorough surveys of the surrounding country or harbor channels, by which the distances of all prominent points in the route of an approaching enemy are fixed beforehand. The ranges in field artillery are usually obtained by trial shots at the enemy. For small-arm and field-gun firing, the importance of at once getting the range cannot be overvalued; hence the importance of _estimating distances_ without instrumental aid. The soldier is guided by his experience of aerial perspective, by the apparent size of known objects, and numerous other aids too delicate for enunciation. The art can be acquired to a high degree of perfection by _practice_, which now forms a very important part of the soldier’s training.

=Pointing-board.= See BOARD, POINTING.

=Pointing-cord.= Cord used in pointing mortars (which see). See POINTING-STAKES.

=Pointing-rings.= See ORDNANCE.

=Pointing-stakes.= Are used in pointing mortars, and by them one of the fixed points is established upon the crest of the parapet or at the foot of the interior slope, and another in rear of the piece. Then by a cord called the _pointing-cord_, stretched between these two points, with the plummet suspended from it, a vertical plane is determined with which the line of metal is made to coincide. Mortars are also pointed by means of _pointing-wires_.

=Pointing-wires.= Are wires which are used in directing mortars. The two fixed points required in directing a mortar are determined by planting two wires upon the epaulement, one upon its crest, and the other about a yard in advance of it, both as nearly as possible in the vertical plane passing through the centre of the platform and the object. The points being thus established, the direction is thus given to the mortar, by causing a plummet held in rear of it to cover the wires and the line of metal. This method is defective both in accuracy of aim and the liability of the wires being deranged by the shots of the enemy or by other causes.

=Points of Passing.= The ground on which one or more bodies of armed men march by a reviewing general.

=Points of the Escutcheon.= In heraldry, in order to facilitate the description of a coat of arms, it is the practice to suppose the shield to be divided into nine points, which are known by the following names: The dexter chief point, the middle chief, the sinister chief, the collar, or honor point, the fess point, the nombril, or navel point, the dexter base point, the middle base point, and the sinister base point. The dexter and sinister sides of the shield are so called, not in relation to the eye of the spectator, but from the right and left sides of the supposed bearer of the shield.

=Poitiers=, or =Poictiers=. A town of France, capital of the department of Vienne, on the Clain, 58 miles south-southwest of Tours. In the vicinity of Poitiers, Alaric II., the Visigoth, was defeated and slain by Clovis in 507. Somewhere between Poitiers and Tours a great battle took place on October 10, 732, between the Franks under Charles Martel and the Saracens under Abder-Rahman. The Saracens were routed with enormous slaughter,--357,000 of them (according to one old chronicler, and supposed to be exaggerated) being left dead on the field. Near here was fought the battle between Edward the Black Prince and John, king of France, September 19, 1356, in which Edward, with some 12,000 or 14,000 Englishmen and Gascons, defeated 60,000 of the troops of King John, and took the monarch himself and one of his sons prisoners. See TOURS.

=Poitou.= A former province of Western France, now mainly comprised in the departments of Deux Sèvres, Vendée, and Vienne. It became an English possession in 1152. In 1204, Philip Augustus regained it by conquest from England, and in 1295 it was formally ceded to France. It again reverted to England in 1360 by the peace of Bretigny, but was retaken by Charles V., and incorporated with the French crown.

=Poitrel= (_Fr._). Armor for the breast of a horse.

=Pokanokets.= See MASSACHUSETTS INDIANS.

=Poland.= Called by the natives _Polska_, “a plain,” a former kingdom of Europe,--renowned, in mediæval history, as the sole champion of Christendom against the Turks, and more recently, and at present, an object of general and profound sympathy throughout Western Europe, from its unprecedented misfortunes. The natives belong to the great Slavonic family. The word Pole is not older than the 10th century. Poland first took rank as one of the political powers of Europe, when Micislas I. (962-992) occupied the throne and became a convert to Christianity. Boleslas I. (992-1025) surnamed “the Great,” reunited the separate portions of the kingdom (which had been divided by Micislas among his sons) and extended it beyond the Oder, the Carpathians, and the Dniester, and sustained a successful war with the emperor Henry II. of Germany, conquering Cracovia, Moravia, Lusatia, and Misnia. He also took part in the dissensions among the petty Russian princes. Boleslas was recognized as “king” by the German emperors. After a period of anarchy he was succeeded by his son, Casimir (1040-1058), whose reign, and that of his warlike son, Boleslas II. (1058-1081), though brilliant, were of little real profit to the country. Boleslas III. (1102-1139), an energetic monarch, annexed Pomerania, defeated the pagan Prussians, and defended Silesia against the German emperors. A division of the kingdom among his sons was productive of much internal dissensions, under cover of which Silesia was severed from Poland; ultimately, Casimir II. (1177-1194) reunited the severed portions, with the exception of Silesia. His death was the signal for a contest among the various claimants for the throne, which was speedily followed, as usual, by a division of the country, and during this disturbance Pomerania emancipated itself from Polish rule. About the same time the Teutonic Knights were summoned by the Duke of Masovia to aid him against the pagan Prussians, but they soon became as formidable enemies to Poland as the Prussians; and conquered a great part of Podlachia and Lithuania. The Mongols swept over the country in 1241, reducing it to the verge of ruin, and defeating the Poles in a great battle near Wahlstatt. From this time Poland began to decline; various districts were ceded to the markgrafs of Brandenburg, while many districts began to be colonized by Germans. Ladislaus (1305-1333), surnamed _Lokietek_, “the Short,” again restored unity to the country. In conjunction with Gedymin, grand duke of Lithuania, a vigorous war was carried on against the Teutonic Knights, on returning from which the aged monarch (he was now seventy years old) experienced a triumphant reception from his subjects, who hailed him as the “father of his country.” His son, Casimir III. the Great (1333-1370), greatly increased the power and prosperity of Poland. In the latter part of his reign he was compelled to defend sundry new acquisitions against the Tartars, Lithuanians, and Wallachians, which he did successfully. With Casimir, the Piast dynasty became extinct. Jagello (Ladislaus IV.), grand duke of Lithuania, the son-in-law of Louis the Great, king of Hungary, founded the dynasty of the Jagellons (1386-1572), and for the first time united Lithuania and Poland. Casimir IV. (1444-1492) recovered West Prussia from the Teutonic Knights. The Wallachian invaders carried off 100,000 Poles, and sold them to the Turks as slaves, 1498. Sigismund I. (1506-1548) surnamed “the Great,” raised the country to the utmost pitch of prosperity; he was forced into a war with Russia, in which he lost Smolensk. Sigismund II., Augustus, was a successor worthy of him; Lithuania was finally joined indissolubly to Poland. Livonia was conquered from the Knights Sword-bearers. (See SWORD-BEARERS, KNIGHTS.) Stephen Battory (1575-1586), voivode of Transylvania, the second elective monarch, a man of energy and talent, carried on war successfully against the Russians, pursued them into the very heart of their own country, and compelled the czar to sue for peace; he also subdued the semi-independent Cossacks of the Ukraine. His successor, Sigismund III. (1586-1632), who was succeeded by his sons, Ladislaus VI. (1632-1648) and John Casimir (1648-1672), was of the Vasa family, and was the crown prince of Sweden. These three monarchs were most unworthy successors of Poland’s ablest king. They were always quarreling with their neighbors, declaring war with Russia, Sweden, or Turkey, in the most imprudent and reckless manner, and often without valid pretext. But the Polish armies, though as little fostered and cared for as the other portion of the nation, were everywhere victorious; the Swedish and Muscovite armies were successively annihilated; Moscow was taken, and the Russians reduced to such an abject condition that they offered to make Sigismund’s son, Ladislaus, their czar. Sweden made a similar offer to another son of the Polish monarch; but the latter’s absurd behavior lost for Poland this rich result of her great victories; and the foolish policy of the whole three not only rendered fruitless all the lavish expenditure of Polish blood and treasure, but lost the country many of her richest provinces, and left her without a single ally. During the reign of this dynasty Wallachia and Moldavia were snatched by the Turks from under the Polish protectorate; Livonia with Riga was conquered (1605-1621), along with a part of Prussia (1629) by Sweden; and Brandenburg established itself in complete independence. The Cossacks rose in rebellion to a man, put themselves under the protection of Russia, and ever afterwards proved themselves the most inveterate enemies of the Poles. In the reign of John Casimir, Poland was attacked simultaneously by Russia, Sweden, Brandenburg, the Transylvanians and the Cossacks; the country was entirely overrun; Warsaw, Wilna, and Lemburg taken; but Czarniecki, after defeating Poland’s enemies in detail, ignominiously expelled them from the country. But in subsequent treaties Ducal or East Prussia was given up to Brandenburg; almost all Livonia to Sweden, and Smolensk, Severia, or Tchernigov, and the Ukraine beyond the Dnieper were given to Russia. During the reign of Michael Wisniowiecki (1668-1674) a war with Turkey, concluded by an ignominious peace, was the chief event. But the senate rejected the shameful treaty, the Polish army was reinforced, the Polish monarch resigned the command to John Sobieski, and the Turks were routed with great slaughter at Choczim (1673). After the reign of Sobieski, Augustus II. of Saxony entered Poland at the head of a Saxon army, and succeeded in obtaining the throne. His war with the Turks restored to Poland part of the Ukraine and the fortress of Kaminiec; but that with Charles XII. brought nothing but misfortune. Augustus returned after the battle of Poltava; his rival retired without a contest; a close alliance was formed with Russia, and the Russian troops which had campaigned in Poland against the Swedes were, along with his Saxon army, retained. The Poles demanded their extradition, but in vain; and the Russian cabinet interfered (1717) between the king and his subjects, compelling both parties to sign a treaty of peace. This was the commencement of Poland’s dependence on Russia and her consequent decline. By the instigation of Peter the Great, the Polish army was reduced from 80,000 to 18,000. For the massacre of Protestants at Thorn see MASSACRE. Civil war so weakened the kingdom that it fell an easy prey to Russia, Austria, and Prussia, in 1772, when the first partition was effected. Catherine II. of Russia, on various pretexts, advanced her army into Poland (1792), and the fruitless resistance to the united Prussians and Russians, headed by Joseph Antony Poniatowski and Kosciusko, was followed by a second partition (1793) between Russia and Prussia, which the diet were forced to sanction at the point of the bayonet. A general rising took place (1794); the Prussians were compelled to retreat to their own country; the Russians were several times routed; but an Austrian army advanced, compelling the Poles to retreat; and fresh hordes of the Russians arriving, Kosciusko at the head of the last patriot army, was defeated; and the sack of Praga, followed by the capture of Warsaw, finally annihilated the Polish monarchy. The third and last partition (1795) distributed the remainder of the country between Russia, Prussia, and Austria. King Stanislaus resigned the crown, and died broken-hearted at St. Petersburg in 1798. Napoleon I. established the duchy of Warsaw (1807), chiefly out of the Prussian share of Poland, with the elector of Saxony at its head. The division of Poland was re-arranged by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On November 30, 1830, Constantine (brother of the czar and military governor) and his Russians were driven out of Warsaw, and a general insurrection of the people, headed by the aristocracy, took place; and military leaders, as Radzivil, Dembinski, Bem, etc., were soon found. From January, 1831, till September 8 of the same year, a series of bloody conflicts were fought, in which the Prussians and Austrians, with pitiable subservience, aided the czar. At first, the Poles were successful; but the taking of the capital by Paskievitch soon ended the war, which was followed, as a matter of course, by imprisonment, banishment, confiscation, and enforced service in the Russian army. From this time, the independence of Poland was suppressed, and in 1832 it was declared to be an integral part of the Russian empire, and the most severe and arbitrary measures taken to Russianize the people. The outbreaks of 1833 and 1846 were punished by the gallows. Simultaneous disturbances (1846) in the Prussian and Austrian portions of Poland were summarily suppressed; their leaders in Prussia were imprisoned, and only saved from death by the revolution of March, 1848, at Berlin; and those in Austria were butchered by the peasantry, who preferred the Austrian to a national government. On November 6, 1846, the republic of Cracow was incorporated with Austria. In 1861 another insurrection broke out, and Poland was declared (in October) in a state of siege; the country continued in a state of commotion without any very decided outbreak; and on January 13, 1863, Lithuania and Volhynia were also put in a state of siege. In February, 1863, Mieroslavski raised the standard of insurrection in the northwest, on the Posen frontier, and many districts of Augustovo, Radom, Lublin, Volhynia, and Lithuania, were speedily in insurrection. It was a mere guerrilla war, and no great or decisive conflicts took place, but the whole populations of villages were put to the sword by the Russians; while murders and assassinations marked the reign of terror of the National Committee. At last, with the officious assistance of Prussia, and the secret sympathy and support of Austria, the czar’s troops succeeded in trampling out (1864) the last embers of insurrection. In 1868 the government of Poland was absolutely incorporated with that of Russia.

=Polans.= Knee-pieces in armor.

=Pole.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, NOMENCLATURE OF ARTILLERY CARRIAGE.

=Poleaxe.= An axe fixed to a pole or handle; or rather, a sort of hatchet with a handle about 15 inches in length, and often a point or claw bending downward, or projecting from the back of its head. It was formerly used by mounted soldiers.

=Polemarch.= In Grecian antiquity, was originally the commander-in-chief, but afterwards, a civil magistrate who had under his care all strangers and sojourners in the city.

=Pole-pad.= A pad placed on the end of the pole in field-gun carriages to prevent injury to the horses.

=Pole-prop.= A short stick attached to the under side of the pole in field-gun carriages.

=Pole-strap.= See ORDNANCE, LIMBER.

=Pole-yoke.= See ORDNANCE, LIMBER.

=Pole-yoke Branches.= See ORDNANCE, LIMBER.

=Polibole=, or =Palintonne= (_Fr._). A ballista which was capable of throwing both arrows and stones.

=Police.= The cleaning of a camp or garrison; the state of a camp in regard to cleanliness.

=Police Guard.= An interior guard having care of the arms, property, and prisoners of the regiment; also charged with the regulation of the camp in regard to order and cleanliness. A guard for prisoners occupied in cleaning the camp.

=Police, Military.= This word has two significations: (1) The organized body employed within an army to preserve civil order, as distinct from military discipline. (2) A civil police with a military organization. The police of an army commonly consists of steady intelligent soldiers, who act under the orders of the provost-marshal, and arrest all persons out of bounds, civilians not authorized to pass the lines, disorderly soldiers, etc.; they also attend to sanitary arrangements. As in all military matters, the police of an army possess summary powers, and a sentence of the provost-marshal is carried out immediately after it is pronounced. Of civil police with military organization may be instanced, as specimens, the gendarmerie of France, the sbirri of Italy, and, in an eminent degree, the Irish constabulary.

=Police Party.= A working party engaged in cleaning the camp or garrison.

=Police Sergeant.= A sergeant specially charged with cleaning the camp.

=Polkownick.= Colonel of a Polish regiment.

=Pollentia= (now _Polenza_, Northern Italy). A town of the Statielli in Liguria, at the continence of the Sturia and the Tanarus, and subsequently a Roman municipum. In its neighborhood Stilicho, the imperial general, defeated Alaric the Goth, March 29, 403.

=Polotzk=, =Polotsk=, or =Polock=. A town of Russian Poland, 60 miles west-northwest of Vitebsk, at the continence of the Dwina and the Polota. It was taken by the Russians from the Poles in 1579, and again in 1655. The French under Marshal Oudinot were here defeated by the Russians under Gen. Wittgenstein, July 30-31, 1812, the next day the Russians were defeated. After several smaller actions with various results, Polotzk was stormed by the Russians, and retaken October, 1812.

=Polron.= That part of the armor which covered the neck and shoulders.

=Poltava=, or =Pultowa=. A town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, situated on the Vorskla, about 934 miles south-southeast from St. Petersburg. Here Charles XII. of Sweden was defeated by Peter the Great of Russia, July 8, 1709.

=Polygars=, or =Paleagas=. Chiefs of mountainous and woody districts in the peninsula of India, who pay only a temporary homage.

=Polygon.= The name applied to the many-angled forms in which the outer walls of all fortified places are built.

=Polygon.= A school of practice for artillery is so called in Japan.

=Polyorcetes.= Taker of cities; a name applied by the Greeks to a very successful general.

=Polytechnic School.= See MILITARY ACADEMIES.

=Pomada.= An exercise of vaulting the wooden horse, by laying one hand over the pommel of the saddle.

=Pomerania.= A province of Prussia, bounded north by the Baltic, east by West Prussia, south by Brandenburg, and west by the Mecklenburg duchies. It was held by the Poles, 980, and by Denmark, 1210; made an independent duchy, 1479; occupied by the Swedes in the Thirty Years’ War, and divided between Sweden and Brandenburg, 1648. The Swedish part, awarded to Denmark in 1814, was given up to Prussia for Lauenburg, 1815.

=Pomerium.= In ancient architecture, that space of ground which lay between the walls of a fortified town and the inhabitants’ houses. The term is still used among modern architects, particularly by the Italians, to describe the breadth of the terre-plein of the rampart, its inward talus, and the vacant space which is usually left between this talus and the houses of the town.

=Pomfret.= See PONTEFRACT.

=Pomme.= In heraldry, a bearing or device representing, or in the form of, an apple.

=Pommee.= In heraldry, having the ends terminating in rounded protuberances resembling apples;--said of crosses.

=Pommel.= The knob on the hilt of a sword. Also the protuberant part of a saddle-bow.

=Pommeled=, or =Pommelled=. In heraldry, furnished or mounted, with one or more pommels, as a sword, dagger, or the like.

=Pommelion.= The cascabel, or hindmost knob of a cannon.

=Pompon.= A tuft of wool, sometimes worn by soldiers on the top of the hat in front, instead of a feather.

=Poncho.= A Spanish-American garment, consisting of a piece of woolen cloth, 5 to 7 feet long, 3 to 4 feet broad, having in the middle a slit through which the wearer passes his head, so that the poncho rests upon the shoulders and hangs down before and behind. In the U. S. army mounted troops are issued a waterproof poncho, consisting of painted cotton or rubber cloth.

=Pondicherry.= A maritime town, and the capital of the French settlements in India, on the Coromandel coast, 83 miles south-southwest from Madras. Pondicherry was first settled by the French in 1674, they having purchased the town two years before from the rajah of Bejapoor. The Dutch took the town in 1693; but by the treaty of Ryswick it was restored to the French in 1697. In 1748 it was besieged by the English under Admiral Boscawen, who, two months later, was compelled to raise the siege. In 1758, Count de Lally became governor-general, and attacked the English settlement of Fort St. David, which surrendered, and was totally destroyed. In 1761 it was taken by the English, under Col. Coote. By the peace of Paris, Pondicherry was restored to the French in 1763 with reduced territory. It was again taken by the English under Sir Hector Monro in 1778, and restored in 1783. In 1793 the English again repossessed themselves of Pondicherry, but the treaty of Amiens in 1802 again restored it, but only till the following year. From this time it was held by the English till, by the treaties of 1814 and 1815, it was for the last time restored to France, reduced to the narrow limits assigned by the treaty of 1783.

=Poniard.= A pointed instrument for stabbing; borne in the hand, or at the girdle, or in the pocket; a small dagger.

=Poniard.= To pierce with a poniard; to stab.

=Pont à Noyelles.= At this place near Amiens, France, took place a fierce indecisive conflict lasting from 11 A.M. to 6 P.M. between the Germans under Manteuffel and the French Army of the North under Faidherbe, December 23, 1870. Both sides claimed a victory.

=Pontefract=, or =Pomfret=. A town of England, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, near the river Aire, and 21 miles southwest from York. Its castle, which was finished in 1080, was taken after three successive and desperate sieges, by the Parliamentary army, and demolished by order of the Parliament.

=Pontia= (now _Ponza_). A rocky island off the coast of Latium, opposite Formiæ, which was taken by the Romans from the Volscians, and colonized, 313 B.C. Under the Romans it was used as a place of banishment for state criminals. There is a group of smaller islands round Pontia which are sometimes called Insulæ Pontiæ.

=Pontianak.= The capital of the kingdom of the same name on the west coast of Borneo, is situated near the junction of the Landak and Kapuas. There has been constant war on the southeast coast of the kingdom since 1859. The interior of the kingdom was very much disturbed in 1864.

=Pontifical States.= See PAPAL STATES.

=Pontones.= Ancient square-built ferry-boats for passing rivers, as described by Cæsar and Aulus Gellius.

=Pontonier=, or =Pontonnier=. A soldier having the charge of constructing bridges.

=Pontons.= A kind of portable boats specially adapted for the formation of floating bridges required by armies. They are constructed in various ways, of wood, metal, or prepared canvas, stretched over frames made for the purpose (the latter it is said are much in favor), and have the necessary gear placed with them for transport. The ponton used in the U. S. army is constructed as follows:

The _ponton frame_ is composed of two side frames, of twelve narrow and of two wide transoms. The former are strengthened at the ends by iron straps, which are countersunk and perfectly smooth; all the edges of the frame and transoms are well rounded to prevent chafing the canvas. The wide transoms are of 10-inch by 1¹⁄₂-inch plank, provided with tenons to fit the mortises in the frame. The narrow transoms are of 4-inch by 2¹⁄₂-inch scantling. The articles of each of the above classes are made exactly alike, so that they may be interchanged. Two of the narrow transoms are provided with an iron mooring becket.

The frame when assembled is held together by a rope passed through the rings in the ends of the side frame, and tightened with a rack-stick.

The _ponton cover_ is of 0000 cotton duck, double-seamed, with the border double for 1¹⁄₂ inches in width. The clew-line eyelets are of metal. The lashings are of 1-inch rope 18 feet in length, and looped at one end, and the cable used is of 3-inch Manilla rope, 30 fathoms long.

_Bridge Equipage._--The United States bridge equipage is composed of reserve and of advance-guard trains. The former are intended to accompany large bodies of troops in the field, and are provided with the material necessary for the construction of bridges of sufficient capacity to pass large armies with their heaviest trains over rivers of any size and rapidity.

The advance-guard equipage is intended for the use of light troops, such as advance-guards, cavalry expeditions, etc. It is organized, both as regards material and carriages, with a view to rapidity of movement. At the same time, it is capable of furnishing a bridge which will fulfill all the requirements of troops engaged on such service.

_Organization._--The reserve equipage is divided into trains, each of which is composed of four ponton divisions and one supply division. Each division is accompanied by tool-wagon and traveling-forge.

Each _ponton division_ is complete in itself, containing all the material necessary for constructing a bridge of eleven bays, or 225 feet in length.