Chapter XLIX: Part 49

Rafts are sometimes constructed for flying-bridges in the form of a lozenge, the acute angles being about 55°,--so that when two of the sides are parallel to the action of the current, the up-stream side, which in this form is the only one acted on by the current, is in the most favorable position.

=Raguled=, or =Ragguld=. In heraldry, jagged or notched in an irregular manner.

=Raguled, Cross.= One made of two trunks of trees without their branches, of which only the stumps appear.

=Raguly.= In heraldry, a term applied to an ordinary whose bounding lines are furnished with serrated projections.

=Ragusa.= A town of Austria, formerly the capital of an independent republic which now forms part of the kingdom of Dalmatia, on a peninsula on the east side of the Adriatic, and built in terraces on the side of Mount Sergio, the upper streets communicating with the lower by a flight of steps. It is strongly fortified with citadels, forts, and walls. It was taken by the Venetians in 1171, but became an independent republic, 1358; was taken by the French in 1806, and given up to Austria in 1814.

=Rahmanieh.= A town of Lower Egypt, situated at the junction of the Nile with the canal of Alexandria, 25 miles southeast from Rosetta. The French, during their occupation of Egypt, made it a fortified station. It was taken from them by the British in 1801.

=Raid.= A hostile or predatory incursion, especially an inroad or incursion of mounted men; a sudden and rapid invasion by a cavalry force.

=Raillon= (_Fr._). A quarrel; a short arrow.

=Rail-platform.= See PLATFORM.

=Rails.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, SEA-COAST CARRIAGES.

=Rain=, or =Rhain=. A town of Bavaria, 22 miles north from Augsburg, where the Austrian general Tilly received his mortal wound in 1632.

=Raise.= Armies are _raised_ in two ways: either by voluntary engagements, or by lot or conscription. The Greek and Roman levies were the result of a rigid system of conscription. The Visigoths practiced a general conscription; poverty, old age, and sickness, were the only reasons admitted for exemption. “Subsequently” (says Hallam), “the feudal military tenures had superseded that earlier system of public defense, which called upon every man, and especially upon every land-holder, to protect his country. The relations of a vassal came in place of those of a subject and a citizen. This was the revolution of the 9th century. In the 12th and 13th another innovation rather more gradually prevailed, and marks the third period in the military history of Europe. Mercenary troops were substituted for the feudal militia. These military adventurers played a more remarkable part in Italy than in France, though not a little troublesome to the latter country.” A necessary effect of the formation of mercenaries was the centralization of authority. Money became the sinews of war. The invention of fire-arms caused it to be acknowledged that skill was no less essential for warlike operations than strength and valor. Towards the end of the Middle Ages, the power of princes was calculated by the number and quality of paid troops they could support. France first set the example of keeping troops in peace. Charles VII., foreseeing the danger of invasion, authorized the assemblage of armed mercenaries called _compagnies d’ordonnance_. Louis XI. dismissed these troops but enrolled new ones, composed of French, Swiss, and Scotch. Under Charles VIII., Germans were admitted in the French army, and the highest and most illustrious nobles of France regarded it as an honor to serve in the _gens d’armes_. Moral qualifications not being exacted for admission to the ranks, the restraints of a barbarous discipline became necessary, and this discipline divided widely the soldier from the people. The French revolution overturned this system. “Now” (says Decker) “mercenary troops have completely disappeared from continental Europe. England only now raises armies by the system of _recruiters_. The last wars of Europe have been wars of the people, and have been fought by nationalities. After peace armies remain national, for their elements are taken from the people by legal liberations. The institution of conscription is evidently the most important of modern times. Among other advantages, it has bridged the otherwise impassable gulf between the citizen and soldier, who, children of the same family, are now united in defense of their country. Permanent armies have ceased to be the personal guard of kings, but their sympathies are always with the people, and their just title is that of skillful warriors maintained as a nucleus for the instruction of their countrymen in the highest school of art.”

=Raise a Blockade, To.= To remove or break up a blockade, either by withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving them away or dispersing them.

=Raise a Purchase, To.= To dispose instruments or machines in such a manner as to exert any mechanical force required.

=Raise a Siege, To.= To relinquish an attempt to take a place by besieging it, or to cause the attempt to be relinquished.

=Rajah=, or =Raja=. A hereditary prince among the Hindus belonging to the warrior caste, or the Kshattriya. In later times it became a title given by the British government to Hindus of rank, and is now not uncommonly assumed by the zemindars, or land-holders; the title of Maharajah, or “great Rajah,” being in these days generally reserved to the more or less independent native princes.

=Rajpoots=, or =Rajputs=. Is the name of various tribes in India which are of Aryan origin, and either descended from the old royal races of the Hindus, or from their Kshattriya, or warrior caste. They attained a high degree of power and renown just before the Mohammedan conquests in the 12th century. In 1193 and 1194 the Rajpoot chiefs sustained more than one defeat at the hands of the Mohammedans, and were deprived of all their possessions except the regions they now occupy. They came under the protection of the English, from about the beginning of this century, when the Rajpoots proved unable to defend their country against the Mahrattas.

=Rake.= To enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of; as, to rake the enemy’s ranks.

=Rally.= To bring back to order troops that may have been dispersed, or have retreated in a panic.

=Rally.= To come into orderly arrangement; to renew order, as troops scattered or put to flight; to assemble; to unite.

=Ram.= To push home the charge of a gun; also, the corresponding word of command.

=Ram, Battering-.= See BATTERING-RAM.

=Ram Home, To.= To drive home the ammunition in a gun.

=Ramillies.= A village of Brabant, Belgium, 28 miles southeast of Brussels, is memorable as the place near which one of the most important battles of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought, May 23, 1706. In this conflict the French forces were under the command of Marshal de Villeroy and the elector of Bavaria, while the Duke of Marlborough led the troops of the allies. Villeroy, after a battle of three hours and a half, was defeated, with the loss of all his cannon, the whole of his baggage, and 13,000 men in killed and wounded. The great result of this victory was that the French were compelled to give up the whole of the Spanish Netherlands. About 4000 of the allies were slain in the engagement.

=Rammer.= See IMPLEMENTS, and INSPECTION OF CANNON.

=Rammer-head.= See IMPLEMENTS, and INSPECTION OF CANNON.

=Ramnuggur.= A walled town of the Punjab, on the Chenaub, 62 miles northwest of Lahore. Here the Sikh army was defeated by the British, October, 1848.

=Ramp.= An oblique or sloping interior road to mount the terre-plein of the rampart.

=Rampant= (_Fr._, literally, “raging”). In heraldry, an epithet applied to a lion or other beast of prey when placed erect on the two hind-legs, with only one of the fore-legs elevated, the head being seen in profile. When the face is turned toward the spectator, the attitude is called _rampant gardant_, and when the head is turned backwards, _rampant regardant_. A lion _counter-rampant_ is one rampant towards the sinister, instead of towards the dexter, the usual attitude. Two lions rampant contrariwise in saltire, are sometimes also said to be _counter-rampant_.

=Rampart.= To fortify with ramparts.

=Rampart-grenades.= Grenades used to defend a rampart. Shells of large size may be used, being rolled down the parapet. See GRENADE.

=Rampart-gun.= A large gun fitted for rampart use, and not used for field purposes.

=Ramparts.= In fortification, are broad embankments or masses of earth which surround fortified places. A rampart forms the _enceinte_, or body of the place, and on its exterior edge the parapet is placed, while towards the place it is terminated by the interior slope of the rampart, on which _ramps_ are made for the easy ascent of the troops and material. See BULWARK.

=Rampier.= The same as rampart.

=Rampire.= The same as rampart,--seldom used except in poetry.

=Ramps.= Are inclined planes of earth serving as a means of communication between two levels. A ramp for a field-gun is 8 feet wide, and for short distances it has a slope of one-fourth to one-sixth. When the distance is long the slope is increased to as much as one-twelfth.

=Ramrod.= The rod of iron formerly used in loading a piece to drive home a charge; but now used to clean the rifle.

=Ram’s Horns.= In fortification, a kind of low works made in the ditch of a circular arc, which serves instead of tenailles.

=Rancheros= (from the Spanish _rancho_, “comradeship”). Is the name given in Mexico to a mixed breed of Spanish and Indian blood, who inhabit the country, and may almost be said to live in the saddle from their youth; are splendid riders and hunters, and form the bravest part of the Mexican army,--its irregular cavalry. The importance of their services was seen in the wars between Mexico and the United States. The rancheros are lank in frame, with brown, weather-stained faces and muscular limbs, hardy, temperate, and always ready for the boldest enterprises.

=Rancon= (_Fr._). The name of an old weapon, consisting of a long stake with a sharp iron point at one end, and two blades or wings bent backwards, and extremely keen.

=Random.= Distance to which a missile is thrown or projected; range; reach; as, the farthest random of a missile weapon.

=Random Shot.= A shot not directed or aimed towards any particular object, or when the piece is elevated at an angle of 45° upon a level plane.

=Range.= In artillery, is the horizontal distance from the muzzle of the piece to the first graze of the projectile. The extreme range is the distance from the muzzle to where the projectile finally rests. The range of a projectile may be extended without increasing the charge of powder, in the modes, viz.: 1st, by raising the piece to a higher level; 2d, by giving its axis greater elevation; 3d, by _eccentric_ projectiles. Experiments have shown that if the centre of gravity be placed directly above the centre of figure, the range is greatly increased. The range increases with the angle of fire up to a certain limit, beyond which it diminishes. The greatest range in _vacuo_ is at an angle of 45°. A mortar is usually fired at an angle of 45°, and the charge is varied according to the range required. Mortars are sometimes fired at an angle of 60°, when the battery is situated very near the object assailed, and it is desired that the shells may fall upon the magazines of the besieged. It is evident that the higher projectiles are thrown, the greater the velocity they acquire in falling; besides, they strike the object more directly and with increased violence. Stone-mortars were sometimes fired at an angle of 75°, that, in falling from a great height, the stone might have the maximum force of percussion. Grenades should be thrown from mortars at an angle of 33°; otherwise they will be buried in the earth, and their fragments will not be sufficiently destructive. For tables of ranges, see Roberts’s “Hand-book of Artillery.”

=Range, Point-blank.= See POINT-BLANK RANGE.

=Range-finder.= An instrument for determining ranges. There are several different principles which may be used. The distance may be measured, 1st, by the visual angle subtended by objects of known height; 2d, by the velocity of sound; 3d, the instrument may furnish a base-line in itself and solve a triangle in which the base and two adjacent angles are given. The term is also applied to instruments used to solve a triangle, the base of which is obtained by outside means. Range-finders constructed on the visual angle principle have been known for many years. _Boulanger’s_ instrument uses the 2d principle. It consists of a glass tube closed at both ends filled with a liquid in which a small umbrella-shaped piece of metal is submerged. The tube is held vertically in the hand, the metal slowly sinks to the bottom. When the flash of the enemy’s gun is seen, the tube is inverted and the metal moves towards the other end. When the sound is heard, the tube is brought to the horizontal. The distance through which the piece of metal has moved gives the range by means of a scale on the side of the tube. _Berdan’s range-finder_ is an expensive instrument using the 3d principle. It is mounted on a wagon, and intended to accompany either foot-troops or artillery. It has found great favor in Germany. _Nolan’s range-finder_ consists of an instrument for automatically solving triangles. A similar thing was devised about 1870 by two American officers, Maj. Morgan of the 4th Artillery, and Capt. Lorain of the 3d Artillery. The most ingenious, complete range-finder has been proposed by Lieut. Gordon of the 4th Artillery. He uses two fixed angles and a variable base-line supplied by the instrument itself. The principal parts of Nolan’s range-finder are: Two instruments for measuring angles, one tape-line, and one reckoning cylinder. Each of the two instruments consist of two telescopes, which lie crosswise one above the other under an angle of about 90°; the smaller of the two has a long arm, with a vernier at one end; to the other a sector is fastened, which is divided up into degrees. By means of a screw, an angle of about 20° can be described by the upper or smaller telescope. The reckoning cylinder consists of a solid body and two rotating rings. The lower ring and the lower edge of the body are divided into 100 equal parts. On the upper ring are the logarithms of the figures, and on the upper edge of the body are the logarithms of the signs, from 6″ up to 2° 15′.

To find the range, the instruments on their tripods are arranged at the end of the assumed base-line, which is perpendicular to the range; or the instruments may be attached to the right and left guns of a battery. The long telescopes are turned toward the object whose distance is to be found; the smaller ones upon each other, and the cross-threads of each made to cover the cross-lines on the leather disk through which each small telescope points. The coincidence obtained by directing the longer telescope on the object, the two angles at the base are determined; the base-line being measured, one side and two angles of the triangle are obtained. With this data recourse is then had to the reckoning cylinder. The arrow marked “band” is set on the figure that corresponds with the distance between the instruments or base-line,--say 34 yards; then set the arrow on the lower ring on the figure corresponding with the angle found through the instrument,--say 18°; then find the figure for the number of degrees of the other angle,--say 42° on the lower ring. Just above that is the figure 60 on the other division of the lower ring; coinciding with this on the lower edge of the upper ring is the distance, 1320 yards. The bases used are from 30 to 40 yards for a range of 2000 yards and over.

_Watkins’s range-finder_ and _Gautier’s telemeter_ are instruments which require a measured base-line. See TELEMETER.

=Ranger.= One of a body of mounted troops, who were formerly armed with short muskets, and who ranged over the country around, and often fought on foot.

=Ranging.= The disposal of troops in proper order for an engagement, manœuvres, or march, etc.

=Rank.= Range of subordination, degree of authority. The relative situations which officers hold with respect to each other, or to military things in general. Questions as to the positive or relative rank of officers may often be of the greatest importance at law, in consequence of the rule, that every person who justifies his own acts on the ground of obedience to superior authority must establish, by clear evidence, the sufficiency of the authority on which he so relies. There may also be many occasions on which the propriety of an officer’s assumption of command, or his exercise of particular functions, or his right to share with a particular class of officers in prize-money, bounties, grants, and other allowances, may depend on the correctness of the view taken by himself or others of his rights to a specific rank or command; and an error in this respect may expose him to personal loss and damage in suits before the civil tribunals. The regulation of military rank is vested absolutely in Congress, which confers or varies it at pleasure. The will of Congress in this respect is signified by the creation of different grades of rank; by making rules of appointment and promotion; by other rules of government and regulation; or is by fair deduction to be inferred from the nature of the functions assigned to each officer; for every man who is intrusted with an employment is presumed to be invested with all the powers necessary for the effective discharge of the duties annexed to his office. Rank and grade are synonymous, and in their military acceptation indicate rights, powers, and duties, determined by laws, creating the different degrees of rank, and specifying fixed forms for passing from grade to grade and when rank in one body shall give command in another body; and also when rank in the army at large shall not be exercised. Rank is a right of which an officer cannot be deprived, except through forms prescribed by law. When an officer is on duty, the rank itself indicates his relative position to other officers of the body in which it is created. It is not, however, a perpetual right to exercise command, because the President may, under the 62d article of war, at any time relieve an officer from duty; or an officer may be so relieved by arrest duly made according to law; or by inability to perform duty from sickness, or by being placed by competent authority on some other duty. But whenever an officer is on duty his rank indicates his command.

=Rank.= A line of soldiers; a row of troops reckoned from side to side, or in breadth;--opposed to _file_. _The ranks_, the order of common soldiers; as, to reduce a non-commissioned officer to the ranks. _To fill the ranks_, to supply the whole number, or a competent number. _To take rank of_, to enjoy precedence over, or to have the right of taking a higher place than.

=Rank and File.= The body of soldiers constituting the mass of the army, and including corporals and privates. In a more extended sense, it includes sergeants also, excepting the non-commissioned staff.

=Rank, Brevet.= See BREVET.

=Rank, Double.= A rank composed of front and rear files.

=Rank, Honorary.= That which merely gives a title and precedence, without any command being attached to that rank.

=Rank, Insignia of.= Are badges or distinguishing marks of office of honor. In the army of the United States the rank of officers is determined by the insignia on the epaulettes and shoulder-straps, and is as follows:

“For the general commanding the army, two gold-embroidered stars of five rays, one on each side equidistant between the centre and the outer edge of the strap, and a gold-embroidered shield in the centre. For the lieutenant-general, three silver-embroidered stars of five rays, one star on the centre of the strap, and one on each side equidistant between the centre and outer edge of the strap; the centre star to be the largest. For the major-generals, two silver-embroidered stars, the centre of each star to be one inch from the outer edge of the gold embroidery on the outer ends of the straps, both stars of the same size. For a brigadier-general, the same as for a major-general, except that there will be but one star instead of two. For a colonel, the same as for a major-general, omitting the stars and introducing a silver-embroidered eagle; cloth of the strap as follows: for the general staff and staff corps--dark blue; artillery--scarlet; infantry--light or sky-blue; cavalry--yellow. For a lieutenant-colonel, the same as for a colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing a silver-embroidered leaf at each end. For a major, the same as for a colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing a gold-embroidered leaf at each end. For a captain, the same as for a colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing at each end two gold-embroidered bars. For a first lieutenant, the same as for a colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing at each end one gold-embroidered bar. For a second lieutenant, the same as for a colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle. For a brevet second lieutenant, the same as for a second lieutenant.”

=Rank, Local.= See LOCAL RANK.

=Rank, Relative.= See RELATIVE RANK.

=Rank, Single.= A rank of single files.

=Rank, Substantive.= Is genuine rank, with all the command and authority, as well as precedence, attaching to the title. For instance, a regimental major possesses the substantive rank of major, while a captain and brevet major is only a substantive captain. It may be briefly described as being the reverse of brevet rank.

=Ranker.= One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; and one who arranges.

=Ransack.= To plunder; to pillage completely; to ravage; as, to ransack a city.

=Ransom of Prisoners.= A prisoner of war, being a public enemy, is the prisoner of the government, and not of the captor. No ransom can be paid by a prisoner of war to his individual captor, or to any officer in command. The government alone releases captives, according to rules prescribed by itself.

=Rapier.= Is said to have had distinct meanings at different times, and in ancient fencing to have been a long cutting broadsword; but for the last century, at least, the rapier has been a light, highly-tempered, edgeless, thrusting weapon, finely pointed and about 3 feet in length. At present, it is worn only on occasions of court ceremonial, and answers no other purpose than to incommode the wearer. In war a rapier could never have been of any service.

=Rapine.= The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder. Violence; force; also, to plunder.

=Rappahannock.= A river of Virginia, formed by the union of the North Fork and the Rapidan, 40 miles above Fredericksburg. On the Rappahannock and the Rapidan occurred some of the most sanguinary battles of the war of Secession, at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness.

=Rapparee.= A wild Irish plunderer, so called from his being generally armed with a _rapary_, or half-pike. The term was in common use in the 17th century.

=Rappel.= The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.

=Rarefaction.= The extension of the parts of a gas, by which it is made to take up more room than it did before.

=Rasaldar.= In the East Indies, the name applied to the commander of _rasallah_, which is 10,000 armed horsemen.

=Rasante.= A French term, applied to a style of fortification in which the command of the works over each other, and over the country, is kept very low, in order that the shot may more effectually sweep or graze the ground before them.

=Ras-el-Kyma.= A fortress in the Persian Gulf, and formerly the principal stronghold of the Joasmee pirates. This fortress was destroyed and the pirates thoroughly subdued by an English force under Sir W. Kier Grant in 1817.

=Rasgrad=, or =Hesarorad=. A town of Turkey in Europe, in Bulgaria, and about 215 miles northwest from Constantinople. The Turks were defeated here by the Russians in 1810.

=Rassova.= A fortified town of Turkey in Europe, on the right bank of the Danube, 38 miles east by north of Silistria. Rassova was occupied by the Russians for a short time in 1854.

=Rastadt=, =Radstadt=, or =Rastall=. A fortified town of the grand duchy of Baden, on the Murg, not far from its confluence with the Rhine. The peace of 1714, which put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession, was signed in the palace by Prince Eugène and Marshal Villars. A congress was held here in 1797-99, to negotiate a peace between France and the empire, after which the French ambassadors, Roberjot and Bonnier, were murdered on their return, only a short distance from the town. At Rastadt the insurrection in Baden in 1849 first broke out; and the insurgents, after a three weeks’ siege, were obliged to surrender at discretion to the Prussians.

=Ratchet-post.= A cast-iron post at the head of large Rodman guns to serve as a fulcrum for the bar used in elevating the gun. See FULCRUM.

=Ratchet-wheel.= A wheel with pointed and angular teeth, against which a ratchet abuts, used either for converting a reciprocating into a rotatory motion on the shaft to which it is fixed, or for admitting of its motion in one direction only.

=Rate of March.= See HORSES, PACK AND DRAUGHT HORSES, and QUICK TIME.

=Rathenow=, or =Rathenau=. A town of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg, 45 miles west of Berlin. A victory was gained here in 1675 by the troops of Brandenburg under the elector Frederick William, over the Swedes.

=Rathlin, Island of.= An island off the north coast of Ireland, 3 miles northwest of Fairhead. It was the scene of more than one struggle in the Danish wars, and it afforded shelter, after his defeat in Scotland, to Robert Bruce. In 1558, the Scottish colony which then inhabited the island was attacked by the lord-deputy Sussex, and expelled from it with much slaughter.

=Rathmines.= A suburb of Dublin, on its south side, 1¹⁄₂ miles south of Dublin Castle. It is the site of a battle-field, where Col. Jones, governor of Dublin Castle, making a sally out, routed the Marquis of Ormond, killed 4000 men, and took 2517 prisoners, with their cannon, baggage, and ammunition, August 2, 1649.

=Ration.= A portion or fixed allowance of provisions, drink, and forage, assigned to a soldier in the army, or a sailor in the navy, for his daily subsistence, and for the subsistence of horses, etc.

The soldier’s ration in Europe is as follows:

AUSTRIA.

_Peace Ration._

Bread 31. ounces.
Meat without bone 6.6 „
Suet .62 ounce.
Vegetables 2.48 ounces.
Salt .6 ounce.
22.37 ounces anhydrous food.

_War Ration._

Fresh pork 6.5 ounces.
Or salt pork 6. „
Or fresh beef 6. „
Or bacon 6. „
Butter .14 ounce.
Biscuit 3.5 ounces.
Flour 25.2 „
Fresh vegetables 2.1 „
Beans 1.5 ounce.
Beer and wine variable.
38.6 ounces anhydrous food.

ENGLAND.

In the home service the soldier receives from the government:

Bread 1 pound.
Meat ³⁄₄ „

The soldier buys

Potatoes 16. ounces.
Other vegetables 8. „
Milk 3.25 „
Sugar 1.33 ounce.
Salt .25 „
Coffee .33 „

The whole being equivalent to 23.4 ounces of anhydrous food.

In time of war the ration is varied according to location, climate, and kind of service.

FRANCE.

During peace the soldier buys from the government his ration, paying 43 out of the 48 centimes which he receives per day, except in Paris, where he pays 51 out of 58 centimes. Meat is furnished 35 per cent. below market rates.

Munition bread 26.5 ounces.
White bread 8.8 „
Meat 10.6 „
Vegetables, green 3.5 „
Beans 1.1 ounce.
Salt and pepper .43 „
If meat is salt beef 8.8 ounces.
If meat is salt pork 7. „
Biscuit in lieu of bread 19.4 „
Being equal to 24 ounces of anhydrous food.

_War Ration._

Meat without bone 8.4 ounces.
Bread 35.3 „
Or biscuit 26.5 „
Beans 2.12 „
Salt .5 ounce.
Sugar .7 „
Coffee .6 „
Or in lieu of coffee, wine 9. ounces.
Or brandy 2.2 „
Being 24.56 ounces of anhydrous food.

PRUSSIA.

About one-half the daily pay is retained by the government for the soldier’s food.

_Peace Ration._

Garrison. Marching or Fatigue.
Bread 26.5 ounces 26.5 ounces.
Meat 6. „ 8.2 „
Rice 3.2 „ 4.22 „
Or groats 4.21 „ 5.28 „
Or peas or beans 8.22 „ 10.6 „
Or potatoes 53.8 „ 70.5 „
Salt .87 ounce .87 ounce.
Coffee .468 „ .468 „
26.57 oz. of anhydrous food. 28.26 oz. of anhydrous food.

_War Ration._

Bread 26.5 ounces.
Or biscuit 17. „
One { Fresh beef 13. „
of { Salt beef 9. „
these. { Bacon 5.75 „
Rice 4.4 „
One { Groats 4.4 „
of { Beans 8.8 „
these. { Flour 8.8 „
Potatoes 50. „
Salt 8.7 „
Coffee, pure .7 ounce.
Coffee, roasted 1. „
40.2 ounces anhydrous food.

RUSSIA.

169 Fast Days.
196 Meat Days 117 days 52 days
with schtschi schtschi and peas and
and gruel. gruel. gruel.
Meat 7. oz.
Bread 42. oz. 42. oz. 42. oz.
Sour-krout 14.5 fl. oz. 14.5 fl. oz.
Chervil 1.1 oz.
Peas 2.33 oz.
Buckwheat 1.87 fl. oz. 1.87 fl. oz. 1.87 fl. oz.
Oats .5 fl. oz. .7 fl. oz. .28 fl. oz.
Flour .7 fl. oz. .7 fl. oz.
Onions .2 fl. oz. .3 fl. oz. .5 fl. oz.
Vegetable oil .25 fl. oz.
Butter .6 oz.
Lard .5 oz. .5 oz.
Salt 1.86 oz. 1.86 oz. 1.86 oz.
Pepper .07 oz. .07 oz. .07 oz.
Bay leaves .07 oz. .07 oz. .07 oz.
Water 70. fl. oz. 70. fl. oz. 70. fl. oz.
(Buckwheat cooked into gruel.)

_Sepoy Ration._

Flour 16. ounces.
Rice 16. „
Butter or vegetable oil 2. „
Peas 4.25 „
Salt 1.33 ounce.
34.9 ounces of anhydrous food.

=Ratisbon=, or =Regensburg=. A town of Bavaria, on the right bank of the Danube, 67 miles north-northeast of Munich. In 1524 the Roman Catholic powers of Germany assembled here, and formed a league against the Protestants; and near it, in 1809, Napoleon I. was wounded in a battle in which he forced the Austrians to retreat.

=Raucoux= (Belgium). Here Marshal Saxe and the French army totally defeated the allies, October 11, 1746.

=Ravage.= Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction; devastation; havoc; waste; ruin; as, the ravages of an army. Also, to lay waste by force; to desolate violently; to commit havoc or devastation upon; to plunder.

=Ravelin.= In fortification, is the work constructed beyond the main ditch, opposite the curtain, composed of two faces, forming a salient angle, and two demi-gorges, formed by the counterscarp. It is separated from the covered way by a ditch which runs into the main ditch. See DEMI-LUNE.

=Ravenna= (anc. _Ravenna_). An important city of Central Italy, 43 miles east-southeast from Bologna, 4¹⁄₂ miles from the Adriatic. Augustus made it a first-class seaport and naval station. It was taken by Odoacer, then by Theodoric, and by Totila; was subdued by the Lombards in 752, and their king, Astolphus, in 754, surrendered it to Pepin, king of France. In 1275, Guido da Polenta conquered it. Ravenna was afterwards taken by the Venetians, who kept it till 1509. Under the walls of Ravenna a battle was fought between the French under Gaston de Foix (duke of Nemours and nephew of Louis XII.) and the Spanish and Papal armies. The confederate army was cut to pieces. De Foix perished in the moment of his victory, and his death closed the good fortune of the French in Italy. Ravenna became a part of the kingdom of Italy in 1860.

=Ravine.= In field fortification, a deep hollow, usually formed by a great flood, or long-continued running of water; frequently turned to advantage in the field.

=Raw.= Unseasoned, unripe in skill, wanting knowledge in tactics.

=Raw Troops.= Are inexperienced soldiers, or men who have been little accustomed to the use of arms.

=Razant.= See RASANTE.

=Razed.= Works or fortifications are said to be razed when they are totally demolished.

=Razzia.= A plundering and destructive incursion.

=Readiness.= A state of alertness or preparation; thus, to hold a corps in readiness, is to have it prepared in consequence of some previous order to march at a moment’s notice.

=Reading.= A town of England, in Berkshire, on the Kennet, 36 miles west by south from London. In 871 it was in possession of the Danes, who, after resisting an assault of the West Saxons, were in the following year obliged to evacuate it. In 1006 they again made their appearance, and burned the town. In the civil war of the 17th century Reading was at different times in the possession of both parties, and suffered much during the contest.

=Ready.= In tactics, a word of command in firing, being a contraction of _make ready_.

=Reamer.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, BORING.

=Rear.= In general acceptation, anything situated or placed behind another.

=Rear.= The direction opposite the enemy. The opposite of front.

=Rear Assembling-bar.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.

=Rear Foot-board.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.

=Rear Open Order.= An open order taken by moving the rear rank backwards.

=Rear-chest.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.

=Rear-front.= The rear rank of a body of troops when faced about and standing in that position.

=Rear-guard.= A detachment of troops whose duty it is to protect the rear of an army.

=Rear-line.= The line in the rear of an army.

=Rearward.= The last troop; the rear-guard.

=Rebel.= One who rebels; one who revolts from the government to which he owes allegiance, either by openly renouncing the authority of that government, or by taking arms and openly opposing it; one who defies and seeks to overthrow the authority to which he is rightfully subject; a revolter; an insurgent.

=Rebel.= Acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops.

=Rebel.= To revolt; to take up arms traitorously against the state or government; to renounce the authority of the laws and government to which one owes allegiance.

=Rebellion.= The act of rebelling; open and avowed renunciation of the authority of the government to which one owes allegiance; the taking of arms traitorously to resist the authority of lawful government; revolt; insurrection.

=Rebellious.= Engaged in or marked by rebellion; traitorously renouncing the authority and dominion of the government to which allegiance is due; violently resisting government or lawful authority; as, rebellious troops.

=Rebounding-lock.= A gun-lock in which the hammer rebounds to half-cock after striking the cap; specially used in sporting arms.

=Rebuffo= (_Fr._). A bastard cannon, or three-fourth carthoum (or karthaune), a 36-pounder of 15 calibers long; according to Ufano a 45-pounder.

=Recall.= A call on the trumpet, bugle, or drum, by which the soldiers are recalled from duty, labor, etc.

=Recaptor.= One who retakes; one who takes a prize which had been previously taken.

=Recapture.= The act of retaking; especially the retaking of a prize or goods from a captor. That which is captured back; a prize retaken.

=Recast.= To mold anew; to cast anew; to throw into a new form or shape; to reconstruct; as, to recast cannon.

=Receipt.= A voucher or acknowledgment, which should always be given when official papers are received. When flags of truce are the bearers of a parcel or a letter, the officer commanding an outpost should give a receipt for it, and require the party to depart forthwith.

=Receive.= In a military sense, to await the approach of a friend or foe. _To receive an enemy_, is to make the best disposition possible of your troops, for the purpose of meeting the attack of an advancing enemy.

=Recharge.= A renewal of the charge or attack.

=Rechaud= (_Fr._). A chafing-dish, or pan used for various purposes, particularly during a siege. Rechauds are filled with burning materials and hung in different parts of the walls, so as to throw light into the ditches, and to prevent surprises.

=Rechute= (_Fr._). Literally means a second fall; but in fortification it signifies a greater elevation of the rampart in those parts where it is likely to be commanded.

=Recoil.= In gunnery, is the retrograde motion impressed upon cannon by the discharge. The gas produced by the ignition of the charge in the bore, expanding with equal force in every direction, finds only two ways of escape (the muzzle and the vent); the pressure upon these points will therefore cease while it will be proportionally increased upon the parts directly opposite, that is, the bottom of the bore and that portion directly opposite the vent, producing in the first case the recoil, and in the other, indirectly, the dipping of the muzzle. The distance of the recoil depends entirely upon the nature and inclination of the ground upon which the carriage stands, the situation of the trunnions, angle of elevation, comparative weight of the gun and carriage, and upon the strength of the charge. The recoil has no appreciable effect upon the flight of a projectile, the latter being expelled from the gun before it has recoiled a fraction of an inch.

The recoil of heavy guns fired with large charges is a serious consideration in gunnery. The recoil must be checked in a comparatively short space, and yet checked too suddenly the shock destroys the carriage as well as platform. Various methods have been tried. The truck-wheels upon which the top carriage runs in and out of battery are provided with eccentrics, which are thrown out of gear to produce sliding friction,--but this alone is not sufficient in most cases. Counter-mortars are sometimes clamped on the chassis-rail against the carriage, but this is objectionable, as it tends to destroy the chassis. Friction-plates, with clamping attachments to the carriage between them, and extending full length of the chassis, have also been tried, but the buckling of the plates soon ruined them. This plan has been recently revived, and the buckling prevented by interposing india-rubber between the rear ends of the plates and the transom of the chassis. For the most approved methods, see AIR-CYLINDERS and HYDRAULIC LOADING APPARATUS.

=Recommend.= To commend to the favorable notice of another. Non-commissioned officers of companies are appointed by the colonel upon the recommendation of company commanders. Recommendation of members of a court-martial in favor of the person being tried, is introduced after the finding and sentence are closed and authenticated. The recommendation should distinctly set forth the reasons which prompt it.--_Hough._

=Reconnoissance.= The reconnoitring or examination of any tract of country preparatory to the march of an army, in order either to take up quarters for the season, or commence operations against an opposing enemy.

The _military reconnoissance_ of a country is generally performed under the protection of an armed force. It is considered as one of the most essential operations connected with the tactics of the field, and serves as the basis of every movement or combination which it may be proposed to make. Those who are charged with this duty should be habituated to the performance of topographical surveys; in the first place, by the most accurate methods, and with the best instruments; and, secondly, by such methods as admit of being practiced rapidly, on foot or on horseback. In these cases a compass held in the hand must be used for observing the angles, and the distances must be obtained by pacing, or be merely estimated by the eye. The nature of the roads should be described with indications denoting that they are passable for artillery, for cavalry, or merely for infantry; and if defective, estimates should be made of the materials and time requisite for repairing them. In contemplating rivers and marshes as means of retarding an advance of the enemy, it should be ascertained and reported whether by being dry in summer, or frozen in winter, they may not at times cease to be obstacles. It should be also stated how, on a retreat, the roads may be blocked up, the fords rendered impassable, or the bridges destroyed.

=Reconnoitre.= To make oneself acquainted by personal inspection, as far as may be practicable, with the enemy’s position and movements; also, to survey, and draw in a rapid manner, ground of importance to operations of war, not represented in existing maps, with sufficient accuracy or minuteness; and likewise to particularize the banks of rivers, canals, streams, mountains, passes, positions, villages, forts, and redoubts.

=Record.= To preserve by committing to writing; to make official note of; as, to record the proceedings of a court.

=Record.= An authentic copy; a statement of the proceedings of a court or board; a written history; an official account or register.

=Recorder.= One who keeps a record; specifically, the officer who registers the proceedings of a board or minor court.

=Recover.= In tactics, a word of command in firing whereby the piece is brought from the position of aim to that of ready.

=Recreant.= Crying for mercy, as a combatant in the trial of battle; yielding; cowardly. Also, one who yields in combat, and cries craven; one who begs for mercy; a mean-spirited, cowardly wretch.

=Recruit.= To supply with new men, as an army; to fill up or make up by enlistment. Also, a person enlisted to make up deficiency in an army; a newly-enlisted soldier.

=Recruiting.= The act of obtaining men for service. The people of the United States and Great Britain resemble each other in their jealousy of large standing armies and their abhorrence of a system of universal service, as well as in their warlike spirit and self-sacrificing patriotism. The organization of the English army, based upon voluntary enlistment, has been pronounced by foreign officers of thorough education and acute observation as unworthy of scientific study,--that is, for home application, although the United States have borrowed a great deal from it,--in the writer’s opinion, to their detriment. In Great Britain the whole recruiting has been placed under the immediate direction of the adjutant-general since 1802. For this purpose, the country has been divided into recruiting districts, at the head of which is placed an inspecting field-officer with the duty of superintending all recruiting parties in his district, and of approving the recruits brought. Staff-officers and sergeants of the Pensioner Force are also occasionally intrusted with the obtaining of recruits. The United States recruiting service is conducted by the adjutant-general, under the direction of the Secretary of War. Recruiting officers consist generally of captains and lieutenants of the line, who must not permit any man to be deceived or inveigled into the service by false representations. If the recruit is a minor, his parents or guardians must, if possible, be informed of the minor’s wish to enlist, and their written consent obtained therefor. Any male person above the age of eighteen, and under thirty-five years, being effective, able-bodied, sober, free from disease, of good character and habits, with a competent knowledge of the English language, may be enlisted. No man having a wife or child can be enlisted in time of peace without special authority from the adjutant-general’s office. The Prussian system is based upon the theory that military service is not a trade or craft, to be followed by a portion of the population, but a duty owed by every male citizen to his country. For further particulars of this system, see LANDWEHR. The Prussian system has been adopted by all other states of the German empire, and also by most of the other European nations.

=Recruiting Flag.= See FLAG, STORM.

=Recruitment.= The act or business of recruiting or raising new supplies of men for an army.

=Recursant.= In heraldry, moving or coursing backward;--said of an eagle displayed with the back towards the spectator’s face.

=Red Hand.= In heraldry, a sinister hand erect, open, and couped, or the wrist gules, being the arms of the province of Ulster, was granted to the baronets of England and of Ireland as their distinguishing badge, on the institution of that order in 1611, and is borne by the baronets of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom. It is assumed into the armorial coat, and may be borne upon a canton, or on an escutcheon, which may be placed either in the middle chief or in the fess point, so as least to interfere with the charges composing the family arms.

=Red River Settlement.= Is in British North America, between Lakes Superior and Winnepeg. While the proposed transfer to the crown (1869-70) of the rights of the Hudson’s Bay Company was pending, it was the scene of much contention and violence. The hasty action of the Canadian authorities incensed the French-speaking population, who, led by Louis Riel, organized a force, imprisoned their opponents (English and Scotch), seized on Fort Garry, established a provisional government, robbed the strong-box, and dictated terms to the governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who was obliged to submit to them. In July, 1870, a military force suddenly appeared in the province, and Riel fearing capture, escaped, and thus closed the insurrection.

=Red Tape.= The tape used in public offices for tying up documents, etc.; hence, official formality.

=Redan.= Is the simplest work in field fortification. It consists of two parapets whose faces join in forming a salient angle toward the enemy, like a letter V, in which the apex is to the front. Regarded by itself, the redan is a work of very little strength, since there is no flanking fire to protect its faces, and nothing to prevent an enemy from forcing an entrance at the gorge; but redans are useful in many positions, and the rapidity with which they may be constructed renders them favorites with engineers and generals. A row of redans along an exposed front of an army adds much to its strength, the troops behind protecting the gorge, and the redans flanking each other. It forms an excellent defense for a bridgehead, the gorge being covered by the river. Redans figured largely in Wellington’s works for defending Lisbon in 1810. The redan of Sebastopol in 1855 was the principal point of the English attack, and the scene of two bloody repulses by the Russians in June and September.

=Redcoat.= A soldier who wears a red coat; an English soldier.

=Red-hot Shot.= Are cannon-balls heated to redness, and fired from cannon at shipping, magazines, wooden buildings, etc., to combine destruction by fire with battering by concussion. In modern warfare, shells containing molten iron are intended to be used in lieu of red-hot shot; but they have not yet been tested in actual practice, although a similar device was attempted unsuccessfully in 1863 by the U. S. forces when besieging Charleston.

=Redinha.= A village of Portugal, province of Estremadura, the scene of an affair between the British under Lord Wellington, and the French retreating army under Marshal Masséna, in 1811.

=Redoubt.= Is a small fort of varying shape, constructed for a temporary purpose, and usually without flanking defenses. The term is vague in its acceptation, being applied equally to detached posts and to a strong position within another fortress. Redoubts are made square, pentagonal, and even circular. Each redoubt has parapet, ditch, scarps, banquette, etc., as in regular fortification; but it is commonly rather roughly constructed, haste and unprofessional labor precluding mathematical accuracy. The entrance may be by a cutting through the parapet, the cutting being covered within by a traverse, or, preferably, by an excavated gallery leading into the ditch, and thence by a ramp through the counterscarp. For the sake of flanking the ditch, and preventing an assaulting party from forming in it, caponnières of timber, loop-holed, are sometimes formed; or, if the soil be stiff or chalky, a gallery may be cut behind the counterscarp, and loop-holed towards the ditch. In some modern redoubts, the line of each side is broken to afford flanking defense. Redoubts have the weak feature of not defending their own ditches, and of being approached at their salient angles with comparative impunity. They are therefore not adapted to a protracted defense, but as temporary field-works, or in war of posts, they are often of incalculable importance. Troops whose stability in open field is doubtful are especially strengthened by redoubts in their line. Redoubts are particularly useful in fortifying the tops of hills, or commanding passes, or where the object is to occupy a hostile territory, or to feel the way gradually through a wooded country.

=Redoubtable.= Formidable; to be dreaded; terrible to foes; as, a redoubtable hero; hence, valiant; often in contempt or burlesque.

=Redout Kalé=, or =Redoot Kalé=. A flourishing, fortified seaport of Russia, in Trans-Caucasia, stands on the eastern shore of the Black Sea, about 15 miles north of Poti. During the Crimean war, the Russian garrison at Redout Kalé, finding the fort invested by Sir Edmund Lyons, with several men-of-war, set fire to the town, May 19, 1854.

=Redressing Wrongs.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 29, 30.

=Reduce a Place.= Is to oblige the commander to surrender it to the besiegers, by capitulation. _To reduce the square_, is to restore or bring back a battalion or battalions, which have been formed in a hollow or oblong square, to their natural situation in line or column. _To reduce to the ranks_, is to degrade, as to reduce a non-commissioned officer, for misconduct, to the station of a private soldier.

=Reduce, To.= To degrade to a lower rank.

=Reduced.= In a military sense, is to be taken off the establishment, and to cease to receive pay as soldiers. When a regiment is reduced, the officers are generally put upon half-pay. Sometimes the corps are reduced, and the officers remain upon full pay. This happens at the close of a war, when the standing army of the country is confined to a certain number of battalions. Hence is derived the expression, _in_ and _out_ of the _break_. _In the break_, is the liability of being reduced. _Out of the break_, is the certainty of being kept upon the establishment.

=Reduit.= In fortification, is a central or retired work within any other work, intended to afford the garrison a last retreat, whence they may capitulate. It is commonly of masonry, loop-holed, and often circular. Many engineers doubt the use of reduits altogether, as blocking up the working space, being themselves inconvenient for the men, and incapable of protracted defense, while they frequently mask the fire of other works more to the rear.

=Re-embark.= To embark or go aboard of a ship again.

=Re-embattle.= To array again for battle; to arrange again in the order of battle.

=Re-engage.= To engage again; to enlist a second time.

=Re-enlist.= To enlist again. In the U. S. army any non-commissioned officer, musician, or private soldier, who re-enlists within one month after the date of discharge from first enlistment, receives $2 per month in addition to the monthly pay he was receiving prior to discharge; and also $1 per month additional after each subsequent re-enlistment so long as he shall remain continuously in the army.

=Re-enlistment.= A renewed enlistment.

=Re-entering Angle.= See ANGLE.

=Re-entering Place of Arms.= In fortification, is an enlargement of the covered way of the fortress, between a bastion and a ravelin; its rear coinciding with the counterscarp of the ditch, and its front consisting usually of two faces of the glacis, which are disposed at angles of about 100° with the glacis before the neighboring bastion and ravelin. It serves as a place for assembling troops previously to making sorties; and the fire from its faces serves to defend the approaches to the salient parts in front of the collateral works.

=Rees.= A town of Rhenish Prussia, 12 miles southeast from Cleves. This town was taken by the Dutch in 1614, and by the French in 1678.

=Reflection, Angle of.= Whether the instance be a ray of light or a cannon-ball, the angle of reflection will always be found equal to the angle of incidence.

=Re-form, To.= In a military sense is, after some manœuvre or evolution, to bring a line to its natural order by aligning it on some given point. Also, to restore order among broken troops.

=Reformado.= An officer was formerly so called, who for some disgrace was deprived of his command, but retained his rank, and perhaps his pay.

=Reformed Officer.= In the British army, one whose troop or company being broken up, is continued on full or half-pay. He preserves the right of seniority, and continues in the way of preferment by brevet.

=Re-fortification.= A fortifying anew, or a second time.

=Re-fortify.= To fortify anew.

=Refusal to Receive Prisoners.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 67.

=Refuse, To.= In a military sense, is to refuse a wing, to throw it back, or to keep it out of that regular alignment which is formed when troops are upon the point of engaging an enemy. _To refuse any part of the line in battle_, as the centre or a wing, to keep that part retired, while the remainder is advanced to fight.

=Regardant.= A term used in heraldry, with reference to an animal whose head is turned backwards. See PASSANT and RAMPANT.

=Regensburg.= See RATISBON.

=Reggio= (anc. _Rhegium_, which see). A city in Southern Italy which was taken by Garibaldi, August, 1860.