Chapter L: Part 50

=Regillus Lacus.= A lake in Latium, memorable for the victory gained on its banks by the Romans over the Latins, 498 B.C.

=Regiment.= In all modern armies, is a colonel’s command, and the largest permanent association of soldiers. Regiments may be combined into brigades, brigades into divisions, and divisions into corps and armies; but these combinations are but temporary, while in the regiment the same officers serve continually, and in command of the same body of men. The strength of a regiment may vary greatly even in the same army, as each may comprise any number of battalions. French and Austrian regiments have ordinarily four to six battalions. Among British infantry the smallest regiments are those numbered from the 26th upwards (except the 60th), which, unless serving in India, have 1000 men each, composing one battalion. Regiments in India have 1200 to a battalion. The largest regiment is the Royal Artillery, comprising 34,713 officers and men. The strength of a regiment, however, is changed from time to time; usually by the addition or withdrawal of private soldiers. In the U. S. service the strength of cavalry regiments is about 1200 men each, artillery about 600, and infantry about 500 each. The regimental system could only exist where standing armies were maintained. Accordingly the Macedonian syntagmata and the Roman cohorts were evidently regiments in a strict sense. During the Middle Ages, feudal organization precluded the system, and its first appearance was in France. Francis I. formed legions of 6000 men each, which were divided into independent companies, the latter being, in fact, battalions, and each legion a regiment. The word regiment began to be applied to bodies of British troops in Elizabeth’s reign; regiments are spoken of at the time of the Armada, 1588, and as composing the force in Ireland, 1598. From that time forward the army and militia of Britain have been organized in regiments.

=Regimental.= Anything belonging to a regiment.

=Regimental Colors.= See COLORS.

=Regimental Court-martial.= Is a legal tribunal convened for the punishment of offenders in the army. It is composed of three members and a judge-advocate. See COURT-MARTIAL, JUDGE-ADVOCATE, and TRIAL.

=Regimental Courts-martial.= See COURT-MARTIAL.

=Regimental Inspection.= See INSPECTION.

=Regimental Necessaries.= See NECESSARIES.

=Regimental Orders.= See ORDERS, REGIMENTAL.

=Regimental Schools.= In Great Britain, are educational establishments maintained by the state in every regiment, for the instruction of soldiers and soldiers’ children. There is a schoolmaster for the soldiers and elder boys, and a trained schoolmistress--usually the schoolmaster’s wife--to teach the girls and infants of both sexes. Attendance at the schools is compulsory for the soldiers and optional for the children. Religious instruction takes place on Monday mornings, when children can be kept from school if their parents object to the instruction imparted. The girls’ school comprises an “industrial” section for needle-work, etc.

In France, _écoles primaires_ or _regimentaires_, “primary or regimental schools,” were founded in 1818, in which the soldiers were taught writing, reading, and arithmetic.

In Prussia, there are established garrison schools (_Garnisons Schulen_) for the instruction of soldiers’ children; and battalion schools (_Bataillons Schulen_), in which non-commissioned officers and privates are instructed in writing, reading, orthography, and arithmetic; also in making out reports and other official papers.

=Regimentals.= The uniform worn by the troops of a regiment.

=Register.= A list or roll; as, the army register; which is a list of the officers, with rank and date of commission, etc.

=Regulars.= Are those troops whose conditions of enrollment are not limited to time or place, in contradistinction to militia or volunteer corps; troops permanently in service.

=Regulation Sword.= A sword of the kind or quality prescribed by the official regulations. Also regulation cap, uniform, etc.

=Regulations.= Under the Constitution of the United States, rules for the government and regulation of the army must be made by Congress. Regulation implies regularity; it signifies fixed forms; a certain order; method; precise determination of functions, rights, and duties. (See MILITARY REGULATIONS.) A “regulation” of an executive department is a rule by the head of such department for its action, under a statute conferring such power, and has the force of law; a mere order of the President, or of the Secretary of the department, is not a regulation. The power of the Executive to establish rules and regulations for the government of the army is undoubted. The power to establish implies necessarily the power to modify or repeal, or to create anew. The Secretary of War is the regular constitutional organ of the President for the administration of the military establishment of the nation; and rules and orders publicly promulgated through him must be received as the act of the Executive, and as such be binding upon all within the sphere of his legal and constitutional authority. Such regulations cannot be questioned or defied, because they may be thought unwise or mistaken. But as it sometimes occurs that rights of rank, command, and pay, concerning which Congress has legislated, are subjects of dispute, and variable expositions of laws regulating those essentials of good government have been by different Executives, with an increasing tendency to invalidate rank created by Congress; there should be a law passed by Congress to enable cases to be brought before the Federal civil courts, in order that the true exposition of military statutes and authorities in dispute may be determined. With such a remedy, laws, however defective they may be, would at least be known, and rights, powers, and duties, established by law would be well determined.

=Regulators.= The popular name of a party in North Carolina, which arose in 1768, and had for its object the forcible redress of public grievances.

=Reigate.= A town of England, in the county of Surrey. Its castle was destroyed in 1648. Its church contains the tomb of Lord Howard, who commanded the English fleet against the Armada.

=Reign of Terror.= A term applied to a period of anarchy, bloodshed, and confiscation, in the history of the French revolution, during which the country was under the sway of the actual terror inspired by the ferocious measures of its governors, who had established it avowedly as the principle of their authority. It commenced after the fall of the Girondists, May 31, 1793, and extended to the overthrow of Robespierre and his accomplices, July 27, 1794. Thousands of persons were put to death during this short time.

=Reims.= See RHEIMS.

=Rein.= A crack or vein in a musket-barrel.

=Reinforce.= In gunnery, is the thickest part of the body of the gun, in front of the base-ring or base-line; if there be more than one reinforce, that which is next the base-ring or base-line is called the _first reinforce_; the other the _second reinforce_. See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, MOLDING.

=Reinforce.= To strengthen with new force, assistance, or support; especially, to strengthen, as an army or a fort, with additional troops, or a navy with additional ships.

=Reinforce Band.= Is at the junction of the first and second reinforces.

=Reinforcement.= The act of reinforcing. That which reinforces; additional force; especially additional troops or force to augment the strength of an army, or ships to strengthen a navy.

=Reitres= (_Fr._). A body of armed horsemen, who came out of Germany and entered the French service during the reign of Henry III. They were incorporated with the carabineers.

=Rejoin.= To join again; to return; as, the officer rejoined his regiment.

=Rejoinder.= In military law, the defendant’s answer to the plaintiff’s replication. The weight of authority is against permitting a rejoinder on the part of the prisoner, unless evidence has been adduced in the reply of the prosecutor. But such evidence should not be permitted in reply, and there should be no rejoinder.--_Hough’s “Military Law Authorities.”_

=Relais= (_Fr._). A term used in fortification to signify a space, containing some feet in breadth, which is between the foot of the rampart and the scarp of the fosse. It serves as a convenient receptacle for the earth that occasionally crumbles off.

=Relative Rank.= Signifies the comparative rank, as regards precedence, etc. The following is the relative rank of officers in the army and navy of the United States:

Army. Navy.
General Admiral.
Lieutenant-general Vice-admiral.
Major-general Rear-admiral.
Brigadier-general Commodore.
Colonel Captain.
Lieutenant-colonel Commander.
Major Lieut.-commander.
Captain Lieutenant.
First lieutenant Master.
Second lieutenant Ensign.

The officers of the marine corps are of rank corresponding to that of those of the same titles in the army.

=Release of Prisoners.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 69.

=Relief.= A fresh detachment of troops, ordered to replace those already upon duty. Also, the body of men proceeding to take the places of, or _relieve_, the existing sentinels. Guards are usually divided into three _reliefs_. See GUARD, RUNNING.

=Relief.= In fortification, is the height to which works are raised above the bottom of the ditch. If the works are high and commanding, they are said to have a bold _relief_; but if the reverse, they are said to have a low _relief_. The _relief_ should provide the requisite elevations for the musketry and artillery, to insure a good defense.

=Relieve, To.= Is to take a man or a body of men off any kind of duty; as, to relieve a sentinel; to relieve the guard, etc.; also to succor, to deliver; as, to relieve a besieged town.

=Reliever.= An iron ring fixed to a handle, by means of a socket, so as to be at right angles to it. It serves to disengage the searcher of a gun, when one of its points is retained in a hole, and cannot be extracted otherwise.

=Relieving the Enemy.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 45.

=Reload.= To load anew, as a gun, etc.

=Reloading Implements.= Are implements used in reloading cartridge-shells,--to perform the various operations of measuring the powder, setting home the bullet or charge, removing exploded primer, recapping, etc.

=Remaining Velocity.= In gunnery, is the velocity of the projectile at any point of the flight.

=Remand.= To send back; as when a soldier who has been discharged from prison or the guard-house, for the purpose of being examined or tried, is sent back to await the final decision of his case.

=Remarks.= Army returns, regimental returns, guard reports, etc., have a column allotted for observations relative to extraordinary occurrences, and these are headed “remarks.” The word is also applied with reference to a reviewing officer’s observations on the verdict of a court-martial.

=Remblai.= Is the quantity of earth in the mass of rampart, parapet, and banquette.

=Remedy.= The rules and articles for the government of the army are defective in not providing sufficient remedies for wrongs. The army of the United States is governed by law. The law should therefore provide a sufficient remedy for cases in which the rights of officers are wrested from them by illegal regulations, purporting to interpret the true meaning of acts of Congress. In cases arising in the land and naval forces of the United States, where the true construction of any act of Congress is in dispute, legislation is wanted to enable an officer who thinks himself wronged by an illegal executive decision, to bring the matter before the Federal civil courts to determine the true exposition of the statute or authority in dispute.

=Remi=, or =Rhemi=. One of the most powerful people in Gallia Belgica. They formed an alliance with Cæsar when the rest of the Belgæ made war against him, 57 B.C.

=Remington Rifle.= See SMALL-ARMS.

=Remit.= To lessen; as, to remit a part of a soldier’s sentence.

=Remonstrate.= To make a representation of a case or cases wherein one or more may consider themselves to be aggrieved. Military men may remonstrate through their superior officers; but where the duty of the service is concerned, that duty must be first performed with cheerfulness and fidelity.

=Remount.= A supply of good and serviceable horses for the cavalry. _To remount the cavalry_, is to furnish them with horses in the room of those which have been either killed, disabled, or cast.

=Renchen.= A town of Baden, on the Rench, 8 miles northeast from Offenburg. The French defeated the Austrians here in 1796, and entered Suabia.

=Rendezvous.= A place appointed for a meeting; especially, the appointed place for troops, or for the ships of a fleet, to assemble; sometimes a place for enlistment. Also, to assemble or meet at a particular place, as troops, ships, etc.

=Rendsburg.= A fortified town of Holstein, on an island in the Eyder, at the commencement of the Kiel Canal. It was taken by the Imperialists in 1627; by the Swedes in 1643; and by the Prussians and confederate troops in 1848. It was reoccupied by the Danes in 1852, and taken by the Prussians after a serious conflict, July 21, 1864.

=Renegade.= One who deserts from a military or naval post; a deserter.

=Rennes= (anc. _Condate_). A town of France, capital of the department of Ille-et-Vilaine, 60 miles north of Nantes. After the fall of the Roman empire it fell into the hands of the Franks. In 1357, Rennes was unsuccessfully besieged by the Duke of Lancaster; and at the time of the revolution was the scene of some conflicts, being always firmly attached to the popular cause.

=Reorganize.= To organize anew; to reduce again to an organized condition; to cause to assume wonted or regular functions; as, to reorganize an army.

=Repair of Arms.= The keeping in constant good order the different fire-arms belonging to a troop or company, such as rifles, etc. In the British army, a half-yearly allowance is made to captains of troops and companies for this purpose. In the U. S. service the cost of repairs of damage done to arms, equipments, etc., through negligence of an officer or soldier, is deducted from the pay of said officer or soldier.

=Repeater.= A fire-arm that may be discharged many times in quick succession; especially, a form of fire-arm so constructed that the charges are successively introduced, by an action of the lock, from a chamber containing them, into the breech, and fired or are discharged from a revolving chamber at the breech. See REVOLVER and MAGAZINE GUN.

=Repel.= To drive back; to force to return; to check the advance of; to repulse; as, to repel an enemy or an assailant.

=Reply.= It is the duty of a court to prevent new matter from being introduced into the prosecution or defense, but a prisoner may urge in his defense mitigating circumstances, or examine witnesses as to character or services, and produce testimonials of such facts, without its being considered new matter. If any point of law be raised, or any matter requiring explanation, the judge-advocate may explain. No other reply to be admitted.--_Hough._

=Report.= Sound; loud noise, as that made by the discharge of a rifle or a cannon.

=Report.= A specific statement of any particular occurrences. Officers making written reports are required to sign them, specifying the regiment to which they belong, and their rank.

=Reporting Prisoners.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 68.

=Repose, In= (Fr. _en repos_). This term, which is manifestly taken from the French, applies to troops that are allowed to be stationary for any given period during an active campaign, either through sickness or from some other cause. Thus, the 5th regiment being in repose, the 24th was ordered to the front.

=Repository.= A place, or repertory, in which anything is preserved. Thus, the British repository at Woolwich contains models of every sort of warlike stores, weapons, and fortifications; whether invented by officers of the army or civilians, as well of other nations as of Britain, receipts being given to preserve the title to the inventor.

=Repress.= To press back or down effectually; to crush down or out; to quell; to subdue; as, to repress rebellion.

=Reprimand.= A reproof for some error or misconduct. A reprimand is sometimes publicly conveyed to officers, either in orders or at the head of a regiment, by direction of the President or a general officer in command. Non-commissioned officers and privates are sometimes reprimanded. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 52.

=Reprisal.= Is the retaking, from an enemy, goods which he has seized, or the capture from him of other goods, as an equivalent for the damage he has wrought.

=Reproachful or Provoking Speeches.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 25.

=Repulse.= To repel; to beat or drive back. The condition of being repelled or driven back. Also, the act of repelling or driving back.

=Requisitions.= Are forms prescribed for the demand of certain allowances, as forage, rations, etc. It also signifies the act of exacting either men or things for the public service. Requisitions are, however, an uncertain and unequal means of supply and only enable an army to live from hand to mouth, and although practicable in offensive wars, are only justifiable in rapid movements, where time does not admit the employment of more certain means of supply. The system is less odious than pillage. Bonaparte skillfully adopted another method, in harmony with the spirit of wars of invasion, and also more reliable as a means of support. He substituted himself in place of the supreme authorities of the invaded country, and exacted _pecuniary contributions_, paying, or promising to pay, for all provisions and other supplies needed for his army. This system was well executed by Marshal Suchet in Spain, and a similar system was also matured and published in orders by Gen. Scott while in Mexico. A treaty of peace, however, soon after was made, which put an end to military operations, and the system was therefore only partially executed. But with a sufficient army in a fertile country, the experience of the world has shown that if the inhabitants are protected from injuries, they will very generally sell to the best paymasters. It is therefore the interest of an invading army not to interfere with the ordinary avocations of citizens, and such is the modern usage.

=Rereward.= The part of an army that marches in the rear, as the guard; the rear-guard.

=Resaca de la Palma.= A ravine which crosses the Matamoras road about 3 miles north of that place; the position taken by the Mexican general Arista to resist the further advance of Gen. Taylor’s army. Although the latter was outnumbered three to one, the Mexicans were routed after a short conflict (May 9, 1846) and driven across the Rio Grande.

=Rescue.= The retaking by a party captured of a prize made by the enemy.

=Reservation, Military.= Land set aside from the public domain by the President of the United States for military purposes.

=Reserve.= In army affairs, is a body of troops held somewhere in the rear, generally out of fire, and kept fresh, in order that they may interfere with decisive force at any point where yielding troops require support, or an advantage gained needs powerful following up. The reserve of ammunition is a magazine of warlike stores, situated between an army and its base of operations, sufficiently retired from the front to be safe from sudden raids of the enemy, and at the same time advanced enough to allow of the supply actually in the field being speedily replenished.

=Reserve, Army.= In Great Britain, is divided into first and second class reserves. The first class consists of men who are serving or have served in the regular army, and whose past service has not exceeded their first term of enlistment. These men are liable to be called out for training for a period not longer than twelve days in a year, and to be permanently embodied for general service in case of imminent national danger or great emergency. The second class consists of out-pensioners of Chelsea Hospital, and persons enrolled in the force under the provisions of the 6th, 7th, 9th, and 10th Victoria. The members of this force may be called out for training as if they were in the first class, but can only be permanently embodied in case of national danger or great emergency, for service in the United Kingdom. For army reserve in Prussia, see LANDWEHR.

=Reserve Equipage.= See PONTONS, BRIDGE EQUIPAGE.

=Ressaldar.= In the East Indies, is a native officer in a native cavalry regiment. He commands the right troop of a squadron, and on parade leads the squadron.

=Ressaldar Major.= In the East Indies, is the native commandant of a native cavalry regiment.

=Rest.= In tactics, a word of command whereby the men are brought to a position of rest; as, parade rest, in place rest.

=Rest on Arms.= A word of command which is used at military funerals.

=Retained Pay.= In the U. S. army, is pay that is retained from the soldier until the expiration of his term of service.

=Retainers.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 63.

=Retaliation.= This should never be resorted to as a measure of mere revenge, but only as a means of protective retribution, and, moreover, cautiously and unavoidably; that is to say, retaliation is only to be resorted to after careful inquiry into the real occurrence and the character of the misdeeds that may demand retribution.

=Retiarius.= A kind of gladiator who fought in the amphitheatre during the time of the Romans. He was dressed in a short coat, having a _fuscina_, or trident, in his left hand, and a net, from which he derived his name, in his right. With this he endeavored to entangle his adversary, that he might then with his trident easily dispatch him. On his head he wore only a hat tied under his chin with a broad ribbon.

=Retinue.= Applied strictly to the admiral’s suite or followers, though it means an accompanying train in general; whether military, naval, or civil.

=Retirade.= In fortification, a retrenchment, which is generally made with two faces, forming a re-entrant angle, and is thrown up in the body of a work, for the purpose of receiving troops, who may dispute the ground inch by inch.

=Retire.= Signifies to fall back a short distance. Also, a bugle-sound intimating to skirmishers that they are to fall back. This bugle-sound in the U. S. service is termed “to the rear.”

=Retired Flank.= In fortification, a flank having an arc of a circle with its convexity turned toward the place.

=Retired Full Pay.= See FULL PAY, RETIRED.

=Retired List.= Is a list of officers retired from the army or navy. In every service, to maintain a reasonably low age among the persons actively employed, it is essential that some scale should be fixed for retirement of old and worn-out officers. In the British army, medical officers are allowed to retire after twenty-five years full-pay service; other officers after thirty years on full pay, or twenty-five years on half-pay. In the navy, officers are placed on the retired list at sixty years of age, with the rank they then hold. In most cases, in both services, the retiring officer is allowed a step of honorary rank; but this higher rank carries neither present nor prospective advantage. Officers of the U. S. army may be retired on their own application after thirty years’ service. If an officer has been borne on the army register for forty-five years, or if he has attained the age of sixty-two years, he may be retired at the discretion of the President. Officers retired from active service receive 75 per cent. of the pay of the rank upon which they were retired. Retired officers of the army may be assigned to duty as professors of colleges and at the Soldier’s Home, and shall not be assignable to any other duty. Any officer may be retired on account of disability contracted in the line of duty. When an officer has served forty years as a commissioned officer he shall, if he makes application therefor, be placed on the retired list. Officers retired shall be withdrawn from command and promotion. Officers may be wholly retired for disability not incident to the service and dropped from the rolls of the army with one year’s pay. Officers of the marine corps shall be retired in the same manner and with the same relative conditions as are provided for officers of the army.

=Retreat.= The retrograde movement of any army or body of men who retire from the enemy. It signifies a more prolonged and systematic movement to the rear than retire. _Full retreat_ is when an army retires with all expedition before a conquering enemy. The retreat is also a beat of the infantry drums, or sounding of the bugles or trumpets, which takes place every day at sunset, and at which troops fall in and the roll is called; the details for duty the following day, and orders, are published. _To retreat_ is to make a retrograde movement. An army or body of men are said to retreat when they turn their backs upon the enemy, or are retiring from the ground they occupied; hence, every march in withdrawing from an enemy is called a retreat.

=Retreat of the Ten Thousand Greeks.= The 10,000 Greeks who had joined the army of the Younger Cyrus in his revolt against his brother, Artaxerxes Mnemon, were victors, but Cyrus was defeated and slain at Cunaxa, 401 B.C. Artaxerxes having enticed the Greek leaders into his power and killed them, Xenophon was called to the command of his countrymen. Under continual alarms from sudden attacks, he led them across rapid rivers, through vast deserts, over the tops of mountains, till he reached the sea. The Greeks returned home after a march of 1155 parasangs, or leagues (3465 miles), which was performed in 215 days, after an absence of fifteen months.

=Retrench.= To furnish with a retrenchment; as, to retrench bastions.

=Retrenchment.= In fortification, is a defensive work, comprising at least ditch and parapet, within some other work of a fortress, and intended as a place of retreat for the defenders, whence they may prolong the defense, or capitulate after the faces of the work itself have fallen into the enemy’s hands. The retrenchment bears a considerable resemblance to the _reduit_, except that it is almost always of earth. Retrenchments are made in ravelins, and the re-entering _place d’armes_ at the time of constructing the works. A retrenchment is thrown across the gorge of a redan or bastion, or from shoulder to shoulder, when it is apprehended that the salient angle will fall into the possession of the besiegers; these retrenchments are usually made when wanted. Such a retrenchment across the interior of the Redan at Sebastopol caused the sanguinary repulse of the British on September 8, 1855.

=Return.= An official account, report, or statement, rendered to the commander or other superior; as, the return of men fit for duty; the return of the number of the sick; the return of provisions, etc. For punishment of officers making false returns, see APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 8.

=Returns of a Mine.= Are the turnings and windings of the gallery leading to the mine.

=Returns of a Trench.= Are the various turnings and windings which form the lines of the trench, and are, as near as they can be, made parallel to the place attacked, to avoid being enfiladed.

=Reveille.= The beat of the drum about break of day, to give notice that it is time for the soldiers to rise, and for the sentinels to forbear challenging.

=Reveil-matin= (_Fr._). A double cannon; an ancient 96-pounder.

=Revel=, or =Reval=. A strongly fortified seaport town of Russia, government of Esthonia, on a small bay on the south side of the Gulf of Finland, 200 miles west-southwest from St. Petersburg. It was long held by the Teutonic Knights; was made over to Sweden in 1562; bombarded by the Danish and Lübeck fleets in 1569; besieged by Peter the Great, and annexed to the Russian empire in 1710. In 1713 a naval harbor, in addition to the commercial harbor, was founded.

=Reverse.= A change for the worse, or partial defeat.

=Reverse Fire.= See FIRE, REVERSE.

=Reverse Flank.= See FLANK, OUTWARD.

=Reversed.= Upside down; as, arms reversed. Arms are said to be reversed when the butts of the pieces are slung, or held upwards.

=Reversed.= In heraldry, a term applied to a charge turned upside down.

=Revet.= In fortification, to face with masonry, wood, or material, as an embankment.

=Revetment.= In permanent fortification, is a retaining wall of masonry built for the purpose of holding back the earth of which works are composed. The most ordinary position of revetments is for the escarp and counterscarp of the ditch. The most important of these two is the escarp, which has to hold back the great mass of earth represented by the rampart, parapet, banquette, etc. It is usually of solid brick-work or stone, 5 feet thick at the top, and sloping outwards as it descends (on the ditch side only) to the extent of 1 in 6. Prior to Vauban’s time, the escarp revetment was commonly raised to the top of the parapet; but as in this case the artillery of a besieger played on the top of the wall, and ruined it soon after the siege commenced, that engineer adopted the principle--thenceforth followed--of raising it no higher than the crest of the glacis, or about 7 feet above the natural ground, leaving the parapet above of sloped earth only. When the main ditch is 24 feet deep, the scarp revetment will be about 30 feet high. Additional strength is imparted to the revetment wall by massive buttresses at every 15 feet, called _counter-forts_, and these again are sometimes connected and strengthened by masonry arches outside the revetment. The revetment forms a terrible barrier to an assaulting party. In field-works temporary revetments may be made of timber, turf, hurdles, or any other materials on hand.

=Review.= An examination or inspection of troops under arms, by a general or commander, for the purpose of ascertaining the state of their discipline, equipments, etc.

=Revision.= A re-examination for correction. Where an officer, who orders a court-martial, does not approve their proceedings, he may, by the custom of war, return them to the court for revision, and no additional evidence can be taken on such revision.--_Hough._

=Revocable.= That may be recalled. Nominations for appointments in the army are made by the President of the United States, subject to the concurrence of the Senate, who, if they disagree, revoke the appointment.

=Revolt.= To renounce allegiance or subjection; to rise against the government in declared rebellion.

=Revolution.= In politics, any extensive change in the constitution of a country suddenly brought about. The most important events in history known under this name are: The destruction of the Assyrian empire, and the foundation of that of the Medes and Persians by Cyrus the Great, 536 B.C.; the foundation of the Macedonian empire on the destruction of the Persian, by the defeat of Darius Codomanus, by Alexander the Great, 331 B.C.; the establishment of the Roman empire on the ruins of the republic by Julius Cæsar, 47 B.C.; the establishment of the empire of the Western Franks under Charlemagne, 800; the revolution in Portugal, by which the Portuguese threw off the Spanish yoke and placed John, duke of Braganza, on the throne, 1640; the English revolution of the 17th century, which began in the early part of the reign of Charles I., with the struggle between that king and his Parliament. In 1642, the struggle became a civil war, in which the Parliament obtained the ascendency, and brought Charles to the block in 1649. A republic followed, under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, which was succeeded in 1660 by the restoration of monarchy in the person of Charles II.; but the arbitrary rule of James II. brought the king and people again into antagonism, and James having fled the country, William III. was called to the throne under such conditions and safeguards as secured the balance of the constitution. The revolutions in Russia, 1730 and 1762. The French revolution was a violent reaction against that absolutism which had come in the course of time to supplant the old feudal institutions of the country. It began with an outbreak of insurrectionary movements at Paris in July, 1789, including the destruction of the Bastile. On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI. was beheaded. A disastrous reign of terror followed (see REIGN OF TERROR), which was brought to an end in 1794. The revolution in Sweden, 1772 and 1809; in Holland, 1795, and counter-revolution in 1813; in Poland, 1704, 1795, and 1830. The American Revolution of 1775, by which the United States threw off their dependence on Great Britain. The French revolution of 1830, which drove Charles X. into exile, and raised Louis Philippe, duke of Orleans, to the throne by the will of the people; as also the revolution of 1848, when France rose against Louis Philippe and adopted for a time a republican form of government; which was followed by the revolution of 1851. The revolutions in the Netherlands, and in Brunswick, 1830; in Brazil, 1831; in Hungary, 1848; in Rome, 1798 and 1848; in Italy, 1859-60, when the various minor sovereigns were driven into exile, and the whole of the peninsula, with the exception of the Roman and Venetian territory, became subject to the constitutional sway of Victor Emmanuel; in the United States, 1860-65; in the Danubian principalities, 1869; and the Papal States, suppressed, October, 1867.

=Revolutionary.= Tending or pertaining to a revolution in government; as, a revolutionary war.

=Revolutionary Tribunal.= The name specially given to the infamous court of judgment--the most extreme republican will scarcely affirm that it was a court of justice--instituted by the French Convention in March, 1793, on a motion made by Danton, who considered that such a court had become necessary, inasmuch as the recent disasters that had befallen the national armies on the frontiers had led to dangerous conspiracies against the revolutionary government. Its members were chosen from the various departments, and their appointment was ratified by the Convention. Their function was to sit in judgment on all persons accused of crimes against the state, and from their sentence, delivered with appalling promptitude, there was no appeal. During the “Reign of Terror” (which see), when Fouquier-Tinville was “public accuser,” it acquired a horrible notoriety, abolishing soon almost all forms of justice, neither hearing witnesses on behalf of the accused, nor allowing him an opportunity of defense, but blindly executing the orders of the “Committee of Public Safety,” which was merely a tool in the hands of Robespierre. In the provinces, similar tribunals, under the name of “Revolutionary Committees,” were established, the commissaries-general of which, as, for instance, Carrier, shot or drowned _suspects_ in crowds.

=Revolvers.= See SMALL-ARMS, REVOLVER.

=Revolving Light.= A light or lamp in a light-house so arranged as to appear and disappear at fixed intervals, either by being turned about an axis so as to show light only at intervals, or by having its light occasionally intercepted by a revolving screen.

=Reward.= A recompense given for the performance of a meritorious or gallant act; as, the soldiers were rewarded with medals for their gallantry. In the U. S. service a reward of $30 is paid for the apprehension of a deserter.

=Rezonville.= See GRAVELOTTE.

=Rhagæ= (ruins at _Rai_, southeast of _Tehran_). The greatest city of Media, lay in the extreme north of Great Media, at the southern foot of the mountains (Caspius Mons) which border the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. It was destroyed in the Parthian wars, but rebuilt by Arsaces; it was finally destroyed by the Tartars in the 12th century.

=Rhegium= (now _Reggio_). A celebrated Greek town on the coast of Bruttium, on the south of Italy, was situated on the straits which separate Italy and Sicily. Rhegium was founded about the beginning of the first Messenian war, 743 B.C., by Æolian Chalcidians from Eubœa, and by Doric Messenians, who had quitted their native country on the commencement of hostilities between Sparta and Messenia. Even before the Persian war Rhegium was sufficiently powerful to send 3000 of its citizens to the assistance of the Tarentines. Dionysius carried on war against the city for a long time, and after two or three unsuccessful attempts he at length took the place, which he treated with the greatest severity. The Rhegians having applied to Rome for assistance when Pyrrhus was in the south of Italy, the Romans placed in the town a garrison of 4000 soldiers, who had been levied among the Latin colonies in Campania. These troops seized the town in 279, killed or expelled the male inhabitants, and took possession of their wives and children. When Pyrrhus was driven out of Italy, the Romans took signal vengeance upon these Campanians, and restored the surviving Rhegians to their city.

=Rheims=, or =Reims=. A town of France, in the department of Marne, 82 miles east-northeast from Paris. The town was taken by the Russians in 1814, but before they had been in possession many hours Napoleon came down upon them, and gained here one of his last successes before victory deserted his standards. Gen. MacMahon was at Rheims with his army, including the remains of the corps of Failly and Canrobert, and marched from here in hopes of joining Bazaine; the crown-prince of Prussia started in pursuit, August 23, 1870. It was occupied by the Germans and the king, September 5, 1870.

=Rhin, Bas= and =Haut= (Lower and Upper Rhine). Recently departments of France, which formed the former French province of Alsace. See ELSASS.

=Rhine= (anc. _Rhenus_, Ger. _Rhein_). An important river in Germany, and one of the most noted in Europe, takes its rise in the Swiss canton of Grisons, and after a north-northwest course of about 800 miles, falls in the German Ocean. Cæsar was the first Roman general who crossed the Rhine; he threw a bridge of boats across it. It was fortified as the frontier of the Roman empire 298 and 369, and became the boundary of the French republic in 1776.

=Rhode Island.= One of the original thirteen United States of America, and the smallest, on the southern coast of New England, is about 47 miles from north to south, and 37 miles from east to west. It is bounded north and east by Massachusetts, south by the Atlantic, and west by Connecticut. Rhode Island is believed to have been the Vineland of the Norsemen, who are supposed by some antiquarians to have explored this coast in the 10th century. It was settled in 1636 by Roger Williams and his companions, Baptists, who were expelled for their religious opinions from the Puritan colony of Plymouth. The colony suffered from the Indian wars until the defeat and death of Philip, king of the Wampanoags. Rhode Island took a prominent part in the Revolutionary war, and in the late civil war (1861-65) she filled her quotas cheerfully for the cause of the Union, her soldiers winning distinction and honor in the field.

=Rhodes= (Lat. _Rhodus_, Gr. _Rhodos_.). An island of Asiatic Turkey, in the Mediterranean, off the southwest coast of Asia Minor, long an important, wealthy, and independent state of ancient Greece. At the beginning of the Peloponnesian war, Rhodes was one of those maritime states which were subject to Athens; but in the twentieth year of the war (412), it joined the Spartan alliance, and the oligarchal party, which had been depressed, and their leaders, the Eratidæ, expelled, recovered their former power under Dories. In 408 the capital, called Rhodus, was built. The history of the island now presents a series of conflicts between the democratical and oligarchal parties, and of subjection to Athens and Sparta in turn, till the end of the Social war, 355, when its independence was acknowledged. Then followed a conflict with the princes of Caria, during which the island was for a time subject to Artemisia. At the Macedonian conquest, they submitted to Alexander; but upon his death they expelled the Macedonian garrison. In the ensuing wars they formed an alliance with Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, and their city, Rhodus, endured a most famous siege by the forces of Demetrius Poliorcetes, who at length, in admiration of the valor of the besieged, presented them with the engines he had used against the city, from the sale of which they defrayed the cost of the celebrated Colossus. The state now for a long time flourished with great maritime power. At length they came into connection with the Romans, whose alliance they joined in the war against Philip III. of Macedon. In the ensuing war with Antiochus, the Rhodians gave the Romans great aid with their fleet. A temporary interruption of their alliance with Rome was caused by their espousing the cause of Perseus, for which they were severely punished, 168; but they recovered the favor of Rome by the important naval aid they rendered in the Mithridatic war. In the civil wars they took part with Cæsar, and suffered in consequence from Cassius, 42. They were at length deprived of their independence by Claudius. In 1309 the island came into the possession of the Knights of St. John (see SAINT JOHN OF JERUSALEM), who baffled every effort made by Mahomet II., the conqueror of Constantinople, to drive them from the island, and held it until they were compelled to evacuate it by Solyman the Great in 1522, after one of the most memorable sieges recorded in history.

=Rhoxolani=, or =Roxolani=. A warlike people in European Sarmatia, on the coast of the Palus Mæotis, and between the Borysthenes and the Tanais, usually supposed to be the ancestors of the modern Russians. They frequently attacked and plundered the Roman provinces south of the Danube; and Hadrian was even obliged to pay them tribute. They are mentioned as late as the 11th century. They fought with lances, and with long swords wielded with both hands; and their armies were composed chiefly of cavalry.

=Ribadoquin.= An ancient 1- or 1³⁄₄-pounder gun. Also, a powerful cross-bow for throwing long darts.

=Ribaud= (_Fr._). A soldier of the foot-guards of Philip Augustus of France; but afterwards this term was applied only to the most infamous characters.

=Ribaudaille= (_Fr._). A term of reproach formerly applied to cowardly soldiers. Philip of Valois thus called his Genoese mercenaries, who he thought had betrayed him.

=Ribaudequin= (_Fr._). A warlike machine or instrument which the French formerly used. It was made in the form of a bow, containing 12 or 15 feet in its curve, and was fixed upon the wall of a fortified town, for the purpose of casting out a prodigious javelin, which sometimes killed several men at once. According to Monstrelet, a French writer, _ribaudequin_, or _ribauderin_, signified a sort of garment which was worn by the soldiers when they took the field.

=Ribbon.= In heraldry, a diminutive of the ordinary called the _bend_, of which it is one-eighth in width.

=Ribbon Cockades.= In the British service, the cockades which are given to recruits, and are commonly called the _colors_.

=Richmond.= The capital of Virginia, on the left bank of the James River, at the head of the tide-water, 150 miles from its mouth, and 100 miles south of Washington. In June, 1861, it was selected as the Confederate capital, and from that period was the objective-point of a series of formidable military expeditions for its capture, under Gens. McDowell, McClellan, Burnside, Hooker, Meade, and Grant, and defended by Gen. Lee with a large army and formidable lines of fortifications, until the seizure of the lines of supply by Gens. Grant and Sheridan compelled its evacuation after a series of sanguinary battles, April 3, 1865. A considerable portion of the city was destroyed by the retreating Confederates.

=Rickarees=, =Arickarees=, or =Rees=. A tribe of Indians of the Pawnee stock living at Fort Berthold agency, on the Upper Missouri River; they warred with the Dakota tribes for a number of years, and were hostile to the whites; but were defeated and dispersed by U. S. troops in 1823; made a treaty in 1825; were driven up the Platte Valley, 1831; returned to the Missouri some years later. They numbered in 1876 about 700 souls.

=Ricochet.= In gunnery, the repeated rebounding of round-shot. By firing at a slight elevation, with small charges, in a direction enfilading the face of a work, shot are pitched over the parapet, and bound along the rampart from end to end, with most destructive effect on the guns and gunners occupying it.

=Ricochet Battery.= See BATTERY.

=Ricochet Firing.= See FIRE, RICOCHET.

=Rideau.= Is a rising ground, or eminence, commanding a plain, sometimes almost parallel to the works of a place. It is a great disadvantage to have rideaus near a fortification, which terminate on the counterscarp, especially when the enemy fire from afar; they not only command the place, but facilitate the enemy’s approaches.

=Rider.= In artillery carriages, a piece of wood, which has more height than breadth; the length being equal to that of the body of the axle-tree, upon which the side-pieces rest in a four-wheel carriage, such as the ammunition-wagon, block-carriage, and sling-wagon.

=Ridge.= In fortification, is the highest part of the glacis proceeding from the salient angle of the covered way.

=Riding-Master.= In the British service, in cavalry, artillery, and the army service corps, is an officer whose duty it is to instruct the officers and men in the management of their horses. He is most commonly selected from the ranks. The riding-master has the relative rank of lieutenant, and, after an aggregate service of thirty years, including at least fifteen years as riding-master, he has the right to retire on 10 shillings a day, with the honorary rank of captain. He is assisted in his duties by rough riders. (See ROUGH RIDER.)

=Riff, The.= A portion of the coast of Morocco which extends from Tangier on the west, to near the western frontier of Algeria. The name in the Berber language, which is that of the inhabitants, signifies a mountainous and rugged coast. The inhabitants of the Riff were formerly engaged in piracy. On account of the injuries inflicted by them on merchant vessels, most of the maritime states of Europe agreed to pay an annual sum of quit-money. However, in 1828, Austria declined further payment of the tax. A Venetian vessel was seized by the pirates in the harbor of Rabat, but the arrival of an Austrian fleet off the port produced restitution of the ship and its cargo, as well as the formal renunciation of all further claims. France followed the same course by declaring war against the sultan of Morocco, and obtained compensation in 1844, since which period piracy has much diminished. Its example was followed by the Spaniards in 1859.

=Rifle.= A fire-arm having a number of spiral grooves cut into the surface of its bore, for the purpose of giving the projectile a motion about a line coinciding with the direction of its flight. See ORDNANCE, SMALL-ARMS, MAGAZINE GUNS, and LYMAN’S MULTI-CHARGE GUN.

=Rifle Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.

=Rifled Cannon=, or =Rifle-cannon=. A cannon of which the bore is rifled.

=Rifled Musket.= A musket of which the bore is rifled.

=Riflemen.= A peculiar kind of light infantry, consisting of experienced marksmen, armed with the most improved rifles. In the British army there are two battalions of the rifle brigade and of the 60th Rifles, the Ceylon Rifles, and the Cape Mounted Riflemen.

=Rifle-pit.= A pit dug for the shelter of sharpshooters.

=Rifling.= The yielding nature of lead renders the application of the rifle principle of easy accomplishment in the case of rifle-muskets, but such is not the case with rifle-cannon where the projectiles are made of iron. The object of the most recent experiments is to determine the safest and surest means of causing the projectile to follow the spiral grooves as it passes along the bore of a rifled piece. For description of the manner of doing this, see PROJECTILE.

_Form of Groove._--The form of a rifle groove is determined by the angle which the tangent at any point makes with the corresponding element of the bore. If the angles be equal at all points the groove is uniform. If they increase from the breech to the muzzle, the grooves are called increasing; if the reverse, decreasing. The inclination of a rifle groove at any point is measured, accurately, by the tangent of the angle which it makes with the axis of the bore, which is always equal to the circumference of the bore divided by the length of a single revolution of the spiral, measured in the direction of the axis. Grooves are of two kinds,--_uniform_ and _variable_.

_Uniform Groove._--The comparative advantages of uniform and variable grooves depend on the means used to connect them with the projectiles. If the bearing of the projectile in the grooves be long, and the metal of which it is made be unyielding, it will be unsafe, if not impracticable, to employ variable grooves, and if the metal be partially yielding, a portion of the force of the charge will be expended in changing the form of that part of the projectile which projects into the grooves, as it moves along the bore.

_Variable Groove._--The variable groove may be used to advantage when the portion of the projectile in the grooves is so short that its form will undergo but slight alteration; the variable groove diminishes the friction of the projectile when it is first set in motion, and thereby relieves the breech of the piece of a portion of the enormous strain which is thrown upon it. If the twist be too rapid towards the muzzle there will be danger of bursting the piece in the chase.

_Width of Groove._--The width of a groove depends on the diameter of the bore and the peculiar manner in which the groove receives and holds the projectile. Wide and shallow grooves are more easily filled by the expanding portion of the projectile than those which are narrow and deep; and the same holds true of circular-shaped grooves when compared to those of angular form.

_Number of Grooves._--An increase in the number of grooves increases the firmness with which a projectile is held, by adding to the number of points which bear upon it. A large number of grooves, however, increase the difficulties of loading. For expanding projectiles an odd number of grooves is generally employed, for as this places a groove opposite to a land, less expansion will be required to fill them.

_Inclination of Grooves._--Experience has shown that, as the velocity of rotation depends upon the form and initial velocity of the projectile, the causes which retard it, and the time of flight, there is a particular inclination of grooves which is best suited to each caliber, form of projectile, charge of powder, and angle of fire. The farther the centre of gravity of a projectile is in rear of the centre of figure, or resistance of the air, the greater must be the inclination of the grooves to resist deviation. It therefore follows that a conical projectile of the same length and diameter, requires a greater inclination of grooves than a cylindrical projectile, and the same will hold true for other forms as they approach one or the other of these extreme cases. The friction of the projectile as it passes along the grooves, increases with their inclination; its effect will be to diminish the range and increase the strain on the piece, and the inclination may be carried so far as to break the projectile, or rupture the piece.

_Centring._--In consequence of the windage necessary in all muzzle-loading guns, the axis of the projectile does not always coincide with that of the bore in firing. This leads to inaccuracy of fire. A projectile is said to be centred when the grooves of the rifling are so constructed as to bring the axis of the projectile on a line with that of the bore when the piece is fired. There are several ways of accomplishing this, among them Armstrong’s method called “Shunt rifling.” See ARMSTRONG GUN under ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, the KRUPP, and others.

=Riga.= An important seaport of Russia, capital of Livonia, on the Düna, 312 miles southwest from St. Petersburg. Riga was founded in the beginning of the 13th century. The Teutonic Knights possessed it in the 16th century. In 1621 it was taken by Gustavus Adolphus, and in 1710, after a vigorous resistance, by Peter the Great. On the latter occasion more than half of the town was destroyed. In 1812 a French force was repulsed from the town.

=Rigodon= (_Fr._). Formerly a beat of drum while men who were shelled (a French punishment, the severest next to death) were paraded up and down the ranks previous to their being sent to their destination.

=Rimbases.= In gunnery, are short cylinders uniting the trunnions with the body of the gun. The ends of the rimbases, or the _shoulders_ of the trunnions, are planes perpendicular to the axis of the trunnions. Rimbases are for the purpose of strengthening the trunnions at their junction with the piece, and by forming shoulders, to prevent the piece from moving sideways in the trunnion-beds.

=Rimer.= A palisade in fortification.

=Rimini= (anc. _Ariminum_). A city of Central Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, about 28 miles east-southeast from Forli. It was founded by the Umbri; was conquered by the Romans; sacked by Sulla; plundered and destroyed several times by the barbarians; then given by Charlemagne to the church.

=Rimnik.= A town of Wallachia, on the Rimnik, 66 miles northeast from Bucharest. Here the Austrians and Russians, under Prince Coburg and Gen. Suwarrow, gained a great victory over the Turks, September 22, 1789.

=Ring-armor.= Armor composed of rings of metal.

=Ringleader.= The leader of a ring; especially, the leader of an association of men engaged in violation of law or an illegal enterprise, as rioters, mutineers, and the like.