Chapter I: DO HEREBY CERTIFY, upon my word and honor, as an officer and (10)

The sutlers attending head-quarters are licensed by the quarter-master general. In order to distinguish them from adventitious travellers or pedlars, &c. it is wisely recommended by Paul Thiebault, author of a treatise upon the duties of an etat major, or staff in general, that they should have a particular number, which is to be engraved upon a tin plate, and constantly worn by them, as a mark of their being licensed by the quarter-master general.

When an army moves, the sutlers accompany the baggage. As many irregularities must naturally grow out of this necessary evil, the conduct of sutlers ought, at all times, to be narrowly watched, and severe penalties to be announced in general orders for every instance of unlawful depredation among the inhabitants, or of disorder in their booths. It is the duty of the piquet, at night, to be particularly watchful on this ground.

SUTURE. A manner of sewing or stitching, particularly of stitching wounds.

SWALLOW’S-_tail_. In fortification, an out-work, differing from a single tenaille, as its sides are not parallel, like those of a tenaille; but if prolonged, would meet and form an angle on the middle of the curtain; and its head or front composed of faces, forming a reentering angle. This work is extraordinarily well flanked, and defended by the works of the place, which discover all the length of its long sides, &c.

SWAMMIES, _Ind._ Pagan gods or idols.

SWAMP. See MARSH.

SWAY. The swing or sweep of a weapon. Likewise power, as military sway.

SWEEP-_bar_, of a waggon, is that which is fixed on the hind part of the fore guide, and passes under the hind pole, which slides upon it.

SWEEPING. A word which is peculiarly attached to one of the sections or clauses in the articles of war. Hence, _Sweeping Clause_.

SWEEPING _Clause or Section_. This comprehensive clause states, that all crimes not capital, and all disorders and neglects, which officers and soldiers may be guilty of, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, though not specified in any of the foregoing rules and articles, are to be taken cognizance of by a general or regimental court-martial, according to the nature and degree of the offence, and to be punished at their discretion.

This wisely imagined clause serves as a check to the paltry tricks and subterfuges, which are sometimes resorted to by men who are not thoroughly soldiers. It frequently happens, even among officers, that the service is hurt and embarrassed by the ingenuity of evasive characters, who think they are safe, provided they do not glaringly transgress specific rules and regulations. Another advantage is likewise derived from this clause: It enables officers at a court-martial, in cases where the offence is manifestly felt but cannot be brought under any specific article, to do justice to the service by punishing the delinquent under an indisputable clause.

_To_ SWINDLE, (_Escroquer_, _Fr._) A cant word signifying to cheat; to impose upon the credulity of mankind, and thereby defraud the unwary, by false pretences, fictitious assumptions, &c. This criminal and unmanly practice oftentimes proves successful under the garb of a military dress and character, and sometimes under that of holy orders. The records of Bow-street are filled with pseudo-majors, captains, parsons, &c.

SWINDLER, (_Escroc_, _Fr._) A sharper; a cheat. This word is evidently taken from the German _Schwindler_, which, we presume, comes from _Schwindel_, giddiness of thought; giddy pate. See J. J. Eschenburg’s English and German Dictionary, Part II. Page 197. With us, however, it signifies a person who is more than thoughtless or giddy. We affix to the term the character of premeditated imposition; so that a swindler comes under the criminal code, and may be prosecuted accordingly. Swindlers almost always assume a military name. Perhaps the army might, in some degree, be rescued from these _pretenders_, were it ordered that no officer shall appear with any military badge unless he be regimentally dressed; and that when so dressed, he shall have the number of his regiment marked upon the button of his hat, &c.

SWING-_tree_ of a waggon. The bar placed across the foreguide, to which the traces are fastened.

SWIVEL, (_Pierrier_, _Fr._) A small piece of ordnance which turns on a pivot or swivel.

SWIVELS, (_Tourniquets de fer_, _Fr._) commonly called _Loop and Swivel, and Guard and Swivel_. Two iron rings attached to a musquet, through which the sling passes.

SWORD. A weapon used either in cutting or thrusting. The usual weapon of fights hand to hand. It also signifies, figuratively, destruction by war; as fire and sword; _à feu et à sang_, _Fr._

_Broad_ SWORD. The Spanish and Scots kind, sometimes called a _Back Sword_, as having but one edge: it is basket handled, and three feet two inches long.

_Regulation_ SWORD. The sword which is worn by British officers may be properly called a long cut and thrust. It is a manifest imitation of the Austrian sword, and has been introduced this war. It is not however, so conveniently used by the British as it is by the Austrians. The latter have it girded round their waists, so that it hangs without any embarrassment to the wearer close to the left hip or thigh; whereas with the British it is suspended in an awkward diagonal manner from a cross belt over the loins, and is scarcely visible in front, except occasionally, when it is drawn, or gets between the officer’s legs, and sometimes trips him up when off duty. We could exemplify our ideas upon this subject by various known occurrences, such as the sword being suspended so much out of the grasp of the wearer, that his right hand has appeared to run after the hilt, which has as constantly evaded its reach by the left side bearing it off, in proportion as the right turned towards it; by officers being reduced to the necessity of applying to their serjeants, &c. to draw their swords, &c. but it is not our wish to turn any regulation into ridicule. It is, however, our duty, and the duty of all men who write for the public, to point out practical inconveniences, &c. Perhaps it may not be thought superfluous on this occasion to remark, that the sword ought not to be considered as a mere weapon of offence or defence in an officer’s hand; for unless that officer should be singly engaged, which scarcely ever happens upon service, the very notion of personal safety will take his mind off the superior duty of attending to his men. Officers, in fact, should always bear in mind, that they are cardinal points which direct others. Their whole attention should consequently be paid to their men, and not the slightest idea must interfere with respect to themselves. We are therefore convinced, with due deference to the superior judgment of others, that the swords of infantry officers, and of the staff in general, should be for service, sufficiently long to dress the leading files, &c. and extremely portable. Every officer ought to know the use of his sword, and there should be a fencing-master, or drill swordsman, for every company in the service, who should be armed with sabres or good cut and thrusts.

_Position of the_ SWORD _at open Order_. When an officer stands or marches in front of his company, &c. the position of the sword is diagonal across the chest, with the edge upward. At close order, or when the officer is on the flank of his company, &c. the hilt is close to the right thigh, and the blade in the hollow of the right shoulder, with the edge to the front. When mounted, he carries it diagonally across the bridle hand.

When troops or squadrons of cavalry advance:--In the walk, the sword is carried with the blade resting on the right arm; in the trot and gallop, the right hand must be steadied on the right thigh, the point of the sword rather inclining forward; and in the charge, the hand is lifted, and the sword is carried rather forward, and crossways in front of the head, with the edge outwards. See _Am. Mil. Lib._

SWORDSMAN, (_Homme d’épée_, _Fr._); This word was formerly used to signify a soldier, a fighting man. But at present it generally means a person versed in the art of fencing. Hence a good swordsman. The French use the terms _Bretteur_ and _Bretailleur_. The former is more immediately applicable to a man who wears a sword and piques himself upon the exercise of it: the latter means a person who frequents fencing schools, and often exercises himself in that art.

SWORDED. Girt with a sword.

SWORD-_player_. A gladiator; one who fences publicly.

SWORD-_belt_. A belt made of leather, which hangs over the right shoulder of an officer, by which his sword is suspended on the left side.

SWORD-_bearer_, (_Porte épée_, _Fr._) One who wears a sword. It also signifies a public officer.

SWORD-_cutler_, (_Fourbisseur_, _Fr._) One who makes swords.

SWORD-_knot_, (_Nœud d’épée_, _Fr._) A ribband tied to the hilt of a sword. All officers should wear sword-knots of a peculiar color and make. They are made of blue silk and gold or silver.

SYCOPHANT. A dirty, mean, groveling creature that sometimes finds its way into the army, and gets to the ear of a superior officer, for the purpose of undermining the good opinion which honest valor and open manhood may have obtained.

SYEF, _Ind._ A long sword.

SYEF-_ul Mulk_, _Ind._ The sword of the kingdom.

SYMBOL. In a military sense, badge. Every regiment in the British service has its peculiar badge.

SYMBOLE, _Fr._ The French make use of this word in the same sense that they apply _Enseigne_. Symbole means with them, in a military sense, what badge does with us.

SYMMETRY, (_Symmetrie_, _Fr._) A word derived from the Greek. True symmetry consists in a due proportion, or in the relation of equality in the height, length, and breadth of the parts, which are required to make a beautiful whole, or in an uniformity of the parts with respect to the whole.

SYRTES or _sables mouvans_, _Fr._ Quicksands.

SYSTEM, (_Systeme_, _Fr._) A scheme which reduces many things to regular dependence or co-operation. This word is frequently applied to some particular mode of drilling and exercising men to fit them for manœuvres and evolutions. Hence the Prussian system, the Austrian system, _the new or mathematical system_, &c.

_Military_ SYSTEM. Specific rules and regulations for the government of an army in the field, or in quarters, &c.

SYSTEMS, (_Systemes_, _Fr._) In fortification, a particular arrangement or disposition of the different parts which compose the circumference of a town or fortified place, according to the original idea or invention of an engineer. The systems best known under this head, and most followed, are those of Vauban, Cohorn, De Ville, Pagan, &c. See FORTIFICATION.

T.

T. The form of a subterraneous arrangement in mining; so called from its resemblance to that letter.

TABAC, _Fr._ Tobacco. During the monarchy of France there was a specific allowance made of tobacco to the cavalry and infantry, when they were in camp, quarters, or garrison. They were likewise supplied by the captains of troops or companies, with a certain quantity whilst on the march from one province or quarter to another.

TABARD, TABELD, A herald’s coat.

TABLE, in military affairs, a kind of register to set down the dimensions of carriages for guns, mortars, &c. also for the practice of artillery, charges of mines, &c.

TABLE _des officiers généraux et principaux_, _Fr._ Mess or table as directed to be kept for the general and other superior officers of the old French army.

The only military table which is regulated in Great Britain, is at the Horse Guards; and that is charged to the extraordinaries of the army. Good order and discipline are intimately connected with a system of messing. This truth holds good with respect to the soldier, and a regulation is the consequence of its propriety. With regard to the officers it is well known, that in corps where they do not mess, perpetual bickerings among themselves, and occasional obstacles to the service, occur.

The French regulation took place on the 1st of April 1705, and was again renewed, with additional clauses, on the 20th of January 1741, on the 1st of December 1746, on the 17th of February 1753, and on the 9th of March 1757. The curious are referred to a French publication, intitled _Elemens Militaires_.

Before the abolition of the French monarchy, it was usual for officers belonging to the line in that service, to mess together according to their several ranks; the colonel excepted, who had a private table to which he occasionally invited the officers of the corps. A regular roster was kept for this purpose. The lieutenant-colonel and major uniformly messed with the captains; the different tables were generally composed of eight or ten officers of the same rank. The lieutenants dined together; so did the sub-lieutenants; each paying towards the mess in proportion to the receipt of daily subsistence.

TABLE _de capitaine de vaisseau_, _Fr._ A mess or table which was regularly provided at the public expence, for the superior officers who served on board.

TABLE _d’hote_, _Fr._ An ordinary.

_Tenir_ TABLE _ouverte_, _Fr._ To keep open house.

TABLE _en saille_, _Fr._ In architecture, a table which juts out of the facing of a wall, or of a pedestal.

TABLE _fouillee_, _Fr._ That which instead of being saliant is indented: it is commonly adorned with a border.

TABLE _d’attente_, _Fr._ See RUSTICATED TABLE.

_Crowned_ TABLE. In architecture, one which is covered with a cornice, and in which is cut a basso relievo; or a piece of black marble incrustated for an inscription.

_Razed_ TABLE. In architecture, an embossment in a frontispiece for the putting an inscription, or other ornament in sculpture.

_Rusticated_ TABLE. In architecture, one which is picked, whose surface appears rough, as in grottoes.

TABLE. In literature, an index, a repertory, at the beginning or end of a book to direct the reader to any passage in it.

_The Round_ TABLE. A table to distinguish military merit, which was first invented by king Arthur, who succeeded his father Uther Pendragon, king of the Britons, who was brother to Aurelius Ambrosius, and third son of Constantine. Arthur was the 11th king of England, from the departure of the Romans, and was crowned about the year 516.

Having expelled the Saxons out of England, conquered Norway, Scotland, and the greatest part of France, (where at Paris he was crowned) this monarch returned to his native country, and lived in so great renown, that many princes and knights came from all parts to his court, to give proof of their valor in the exercise of arms. Upon this he erected a fraternity of knights, which consisted of twenty-four, of whom he was the chief; and for the avoiding controversies about precedency, he caused a round table to be made, from whence they were denominated _Knights of the Round Table_. This table, according to tradition, hangs up in the castle at Winchester, where they used to meet at Whitsuntide.

TABLE _de marbre_, _Fr._ A marble table. During the monarchy of France, there were two courts of jurisdictions, which were called _Tables de Marbre_, or marble tables; one was that of the constable, and the Maréchaussée or police of France; and the other that which gave directions for the general clearing of the forests, and the purifying of stagnant waters. They are so called from the meeting being held round a _large marble table_.

TABLEAU, _Fr._ A description, a catalogue. It likewise signifies a chimney-piece.

TABLETTE, _Fr._ A flat thin stone, which is used to cover the outside of a wall belonging to a terrace, or the border of a bason, &c.

TABLIER, _Fr._ Apron. It likewise signifies an outside cover made for ornament, or to prevent any thing from being damaged by the weather. In the old French army the kettle drums had two of these aprons or covers; one made of damask or sattin, on which were embroidered the arms of the king, or of the general to whom they belonged, and the other of black leather.

TABLIER _de pont levis_, _Fr._ That part of a draw-bridge, which is raised for the purpose of shutting a gate, and to prevent access to it, and upon which persons pass when the bridge is let down.

TABLOUINS, _Fr._ A word used in the artillery. The thick boards or planks that constitute the platform upon which cannon is mounted in battery.

TABOUR, TABOURET, TABOURINE, TABRET. A small drum, beat with one stick to accompany a pipe. It was anciently used in war.

TACHE, _Fr._ properly means job, or a regular rate for labor. Workmen are thus hired and paid by the day or by the lump.

TACKLE. The weapon or arrow shot from a bow, was so called by the ancient Welsh.

TACKLES are more particularly used for small ropes running in pullies, the better to manage all kinds of ordnance. See GIN.

TACTICS. A word derived from the Greek, signifying _order_. Tactics consist of a knowlege of order, disposition, and formation, according to the exigency of circumstances in warlike operations. These dispositions are severally made, or one disposition follows another by means of manœuvres and evolutions. Hence the necessity of paying the greatest attention to the first principles of military art; and hence the absurdity and ignorance of some men, who would pass for great and able tacticians, without having grounded themselves in the elements of their professions. As well might a person assume the character of a complete arithmetician under a total ignorance of the first rules.

_General tactics_ are a combination or union of first orders, out of which others grow of a more extensive and complicated nature, to suit the particular kind of contest or battle which is to be given, or supported. Let it not, however, be inferred from this, that evolutions or movements and tactics are one and the same. They are, but there is still a discernable difference between each of them.

Tactics (or as the French say, _La Tactique_, tactical art) may be comprehended under order and disposition: an evolution is the movement which is made by one corps among a larger number of corps, and eventually leads to order. Manœuvres consist of the various evolutions which several corps of a line pursue to accomplish the same object. The higher branches of tactics, or _la grande tactique_, should be thoroughly understood by all general officers; it is sufficient for inferior officers and soldiers to be acquainted with evolutions. Not that the latter are not to be known by general officers, but that having already acquired a full knowlege of them, they ought to direct their attention more immediately to the former; carefully retaining at the same time a clear apprehension of every species of military detail, and thereby obviating the many inconveniences and embarrassments which occur from orders being awkwardly expressed to the staff, and of course ill understood by the inferior officer. It may be laid down as a certain rule, that unless a general officer make himself acquainted with particular movements and dispositions, and preserve the necessary recollections, it is morally impossible for him to be clear and correct in his general arrangements. Of all mechanical operations, founded upon given principles, the art of war is certainly the most compendious, the most enlarged, and the most capable of infinite variety. Almost every other science and art are comprehended in it; and it should be the constant object, the chief study, and the ultimate end of a general’s reflections. He must not be satisfied with a limited conception of its various branches; he should go deeply into all its parts, be aware of its manifold changes, and know how to adapt movements and dispositions to circumstances and places.

It will be of little use to a general to have formed vast projects, if, when they are to be executed, there should be a deficiency of ground: if the general movements of the army should be embarrassed by the irregularity of some particular corps, by their overlapping each other, &c. and if through the tardiness of a manœuvre, an enemy should have time to render his plan abortive by more prompt evolutions. A good general must be aware of all these contingencies, by making himself thoroughly master of tactics.

The Prussian tactics under Frederic the Great, had for their principal object to concentrate forces, and thereby choose the most suitable points to attack an enemy, not at one and the same time, but one after another; the tactics which have been uniformly pursued by the French, since the commencement of their revolution, have been founded upon the same principles: as well as to apply the method to several points, and to attack all points with divided forces, at one and the same time.

TACTICS _of Europe_. The following observations respecting the tactics of Europe, may be useful to those who have not the _Am. Mil. Lib._

In the time of the Romans, the Gauls and other nations on the continent fought in the phalanx order; it is this order which still prevails through all Europe, except that it has been till lately deficient in the advantages and utility which Polybius ascribes to it, and is injured, by defects unknown in the ancient phalanx.

In Turenne’s days, troops were ranged 8 deep, both in France and Germany. Thirty years after, in the time of Puysegur, the ranks were reduced to 5: in the next Flanders war to 4; and immediately after to 3, which continues to be the order of the French armies; the ranks of light troops only are reduced to 2.

This part of the progression from 8 to 3 being known, we easily conceive how the files of the phalanx had been diminished from 16 to 8 in the ages preceding Turenne. It is to be presumed, that this depth was considered as superfluous, and it was judged necessary to diminish it, in order to extend the front. However, the motive is of very little consequence, since we are now reduced to three ranks; let us see what qualities of the phalanx have been preserved, and what might have been added thereto.

To shew that the defects of the phalanx were preferred in Europe, we suppose two bodies of troops, one of eight thousand men, ranged as a phalanx, sixteen deep; the other a regiment of three battalions, consisting only of fifteen hundred men, drawn up in three lines, after the same manner. Those two bodies shall be perfectly equal and alike in extent of front, and shall differ in nothing but in the depth of their files: the inconveniences and defects, therefore, occasioned by the length of the fronts are equal in both troops, though their numbers are very different; hence it follows, that, in Europe, the essential defects of the phalanx were preserved and its advantages lost.

Let the files of this body of eight thousand, be afterwards divided, and let it be reduced to three in depth, its front will then be found five times more extensive, and its depth five times less: we may, therefore, conclude, that the defects of the phalanx were evidently multiplied in the discipline of Europe, at the expence of its advantages, which consisted in the depth of its files.

The progress which has taken place in the artillery, has contributed greatly to this revolution. As cannon multiplied, it was necessary to avoid its effects; and the method of avoiding, or at least of lessening them, was to diminish the depth of the files.

The musquet, likewise, has a great share in the alteration; the half-pike was entirely laid aside for the bayonet; and in order to have no fire unemployed, it was thought necessary to put it in the power of every soldier to make use of his firelock.

Those are, we think, the two principal causes of the little solidity, or depth given to the battalion.

Thus the defects of the phalanx were multiplied in the European discipline, and its advantages and perfections injudiciously diminished. The system of Prussia, made some alterations, but with every other power until the French revived the principles of the phalanx in their columns of attack, the system was much inferior to the phalanx, and had nothing but the single effect of fire-arms to counterbalance all its advantages. The effect, however, of fire-arms is a partial power, and does not originally belong to the manner of disciplining troops, the sole aim of which, should be to employ man’s natural action. It is man, therefore, and not his fire, which is to be considered as the principal agent; and from hence the European systems before the French revolution were very much inferior to the phalanx, and still more to the Roman arrangement, which so far surpassed that of Greece.

The light troops of both those people were much heavier than modern battalions, and had more power and solidity for a shock or conflict. However, the Roman discipline, notwithstanding its superiority, is not calculated for our times; because, as we are obliged to engage first at a distance, ours, by its cannon, would destroy the Roman order of battle in a very short time, and would be exposed to a loss much less considerable itself, supposing even the artillery was equal on both sides; we should then, in order to perfect our arrangements, endeavor to procure them all the advantageous qualities of the legionary regulations, as the only means of giving them the superiority.

Many people are of opinion, that we now imitate the Romans, and that we give battle according to their system, because our troops are drawn up in lines, some of which are full, and others vacant. But it is shewn, that three battalions have the same front, and the same inconveniences that eight thousand men ranged in the phalanx order. Our lines are formed by brigades, regiments, or battalions, and the distance of one corps from the other is equal to the front of one of those corps: so that those lines, both full and vacant, are composed of detachments equal in front; each has a phalanx of six, eight, or twelve thousand men. This order of battle consequently, can be no more at most than a kind of medium between those of Greece and Rome.

TACTICS _of Bonaparte_. It is well known that the greater part of the victories of Bonaparte may be imputed to the admirable system adopted by this general; a system which, however often repeated, has still been attended with the same success--a system, to which the established tactics have as yet applied no remedy, or rather, to which the confirmed habits of men, educated in the ancient system, are as unwilling as unable to accommodate themselves.

The minor discipline is his great secret; the simple methods of the first drills, are merely facings and wheelings in a discretionary order, all his rules, are like general principles, the results of which may be produced by a different process of the same elements. All his movements are at rapid time; and the rotation of evolutions, though laid down in regulation, is not pursued in practice, the soldier is taught not so much how to execute a set of movements, as how to perform any that the variety of ground and the incidents of action, never twice alike, call for. These are the elementary rules, on which the system is founded.

His system of action is comprehended in the following principles:

1st. To select some partial point of attack, most frequently the enemy’s centre, but occasionally one or other of the wings--and then, strengthening that part of his own army which is opposed to the point of attack, by drafts from the other divisions, to bear down upon the point of attack, with the advantage of numbers, and consequently of greater physical force.

2d. To counteract the effect of the weakness of the other divisions, by assigning them a defensive part only; a purpose which evidently requires a less power than is necessary to attack.

2. By some advantage of position. This is either natural, as a strong position properly so called, or relative, as where the weaker divisions are so placed as either to be protected by the stronger, or, in case of dispersion, to be enabled to fall in with the main body.

3d. The necessary, the inevitable effects of this system are--

That the part of the enemy, which is the point of attack, is almost invariably broken, driven back, in a word, defeated.

That, in the mean time, the weaker divisions of the army which attack, according to this system, are either enabled to maintain their ground, against the strongest wings of the enemy, or they are repulsed.

That, if the divisions maintain the ground, the defeat of their enemy is certain, complete, and irrecoverable.

The main body of the attacking army, having driven before it the point of attack, has now become the rear of those other divisions of the enemy which are contending with its own divisions. The divisions of the enemy are thus between two bodies. The divisions they are in the act of attacking, and the victorious main body, which, having accomplished its own part, is hastening to the relief of its divisions.

That, on the other hand, if the weaker divisions of the attacking army, (attacking according to the system) should happen to be dispersed; confident of their final victory, they exert themselves like conquerors, with the spirit of hope, and courage of assured victory. They dispute the ground, retreat inch by inch, and, if they cannot prevent, still protract their defeat, till the victorious main body shall come to their aid.

Finally, and indeed, most materially, though the weaker divisions of the attacking army should be absolutely defeated, the victorious main body cannot but necessarily recover every thing. The divisions of the enemy, which have succeeded in defeating the divisions of the attacking army, must be equally dispersed by pursuit, as the defeated divisions by defeat. It is, indeed, an essential part of this system, to contrive that they should so be dispersed, by the scattered flight of the divisions defeated. By this means the victorious main body, formed by the exactest discipline to keep their ranks, returning from their pursuit at the word of command, and in the very moment of opportunity have an easy conquest over scattered divisions, which are thus likewise under the circumstance of being placed between two fires.

Such is the celebrated system. Three singular inferences must be deduced from it:--

That, where an army attacks according to this system, the defeat of one part of the army of its enemy is the defeat of the whole.

That the defeat of the smaller divisions by the defending army, is no defeat at all; the defeat, or at least, repulse of these divisions, being one of the means of the victory of the attaching army.

That it is the event of the main attack, and not the repulse or even defeat of the subordinate and merely defensive divisions that should decide the victory.

_Maritime_ TACTICS, or _manœuvres, &c. at sea_. Like those practised on land may be considered under two heads. The first contains what the French term _historique_ or detail, in which are included the orders and signals directed to be observed by fleets going into action; together with a specific account of the different manœuvres which have been executed in the principal engagements. The second comprehends a knowlege of the rates of ships, and of the method of constructing them.

The vessels of the ancients made their way by means of sails and oars. The rows of oars were proportioned to the different sizes, from what was called _unus-ramus_, which was the smallest, and had only one row; to the _quinque-rami_, which had five rows.

The particular method in which these ships were constructed, as well as of the arrangements that were made within, in order that a sufficient number of rowers might be commodiously placed to work them, is not perfectly known to the moderns; nor have the ancients left us documents sufficiently clear and accurate on that head.

With respect to naval tactics, or the art of fighting at sea, it is confessedly less ancient than tactics on shore, or what is generally called land service. Mankind were accustomed to contend for the possession of territory long before they determined on, or even dreamed of, making the sea a theatre of war and bloodshed.

Setting aside the many fabulous accounts which are extant concerning naval tactics, we shall remain satisfied with what has been transmitted to us by the Roman writers of the Vth and VIth centuries of that republic. We shall there find specific details of the different manœuvres which were practised at sea during the Punic war. In those times naval armaments began to be regularly fitted out; ships of different forms and sizes were constructed, and certain offensive and defensive machines, that served as a species of artillery, were placed upon them. They had already been drawn out according to system; being divided into certain proportions which were then called divisions, but are now named squadrons; and the persons who commanded them, exerted all their skill and genius to gain advantages over their enemies, by opportunely getting to windward, by seizing the favorable occurrence of the tide, or by mooring in advantageous situations.

At the battle of Actium, Augustus finding himself inferior to Mark Antony in the number of his ships, had the sagacity to draw up his line of battle along the entrance of the gulph of Ambracia, and thereby to make up for his deficiency. This naval manœuvre, as well as that of getting to windward of the enemy, in order to bear down upon him with more certainty and effect, exists to the present day.

We act precisely upon the same principles in both cases, by which the ancients were governed, with the additional advantage, in fighting to windward, of covering the enemy’s line with smoke from the discharge of ordnance and fire-arms. The French call this being in possession of the closest line--_Occuper la ligne du plus prés_.

In those times, ships were boarded much sooner than they are at present. Most engagements at sea are now determined by cannon shot. Among the ancients, when two ships endeavored to board each other, the rowers drew in their oars, to prevent them from being broken in the shock.

The manœuvre which was practised on this occasion, was for the ship that got to windward of its adversary, to run upon its side, with the prow, which being armed with a long sharp piece of iron, made so deep an impression in it, that the ship thus attacked, generally sunk. The voyages which were afterwards made on the ocean, rendered it necessary to construct ships that carried more sail, and were double decked; and since the invention of gunpowder, tiers of guns have been substituted in the room of rows of oars.

On the decline and fall of the Roman empire, the Saracens got the ascendancy in naval tactics. They took advantage of this superiority, and extended their conquests on all sides. The whole extent of coast belonging to the Mediterranean, together with the adjacent islands, fell under their dominion. Mankind are indebted to them for considerable improvements in naval tactics.

It was only under Charlemagne that the Europeans may be said to have first paid any great attention to their navy. That monarch kept up a regular intercourse with the caliphs of the East; and having just grounds to apprehend an invasion from the Normans, he constructed vessels for the defence of his coasts.

During the reign of the first French kings, belonging to the third race, naval tactics were little attended to, on account of the small extent of maritime coast which France possessed at that period. It was only in the days of Louis the Younger, and of Louis, surnamed the Saint, that we discover any traces of a considerable fleet; especially during the crusades.

Under Charles the Vth, and his successor Charles the VIth, the French got possession of several sea-ports, and had command of a long line of coast. Yet neither they nor the English, with whom they were frequently at war, had at that period any thing like the fleets which are fitted out now.

The discovery of America by Columbus, and the more lucrative possession of the East Indies, induced the principal states of Europe to encrease their naval establishments, for the purpose of settling colonies, and of bringing home, without the danger of molestation, or piracy, the wealth and produce of the Eastern and Western worlds.

The French marine was far from being contemptible under Francis the first; but it grew into considerable reputation during the administration of cardinal Richelieu, in the reign of Louis the XIIIth; and continued so until the battle of La Hogue. From that epoch it began to decline; while the English, on the other hand, not only kept up the reputation they had acquired under Cromwell and his predecessors, but rendered themselves so thoroughly skilled in naval tactics, that they have remained masters of the sea to this day. In corroboration of what we have advanced, we refer our readers to a history of the Sovereignty of the Ocean, by the American editor of this work.

TACTIQUE _Maritime_, _Fr._ Naval tactics, or sea manœuvres, &c. See NAVAL TACTICS.

TAGBEERE, _Ind._ Dismission.

TAIGAU, _Ind._ A sabre.

TAIL _of the trenches_. The post where the besiegers begin to break ground, and cover themselves from the fire of the place, in advancing the lines of approach.

TAILLE _du soldat_, _Fr._ The size, height, and stature most proper for a soldier.

TAILLER, _Fr._ To cut. _Tailler en pièces_, to cut to pieces.

TAILLOIR, _Fr._ Trencher. It likewise signifies in architecture a square piece of stone, or wood which is placed above the capital.

_To_ TAKE. This verb, as Dr. Johnson observes, like _prendre_ in French, is used with endless multiplicity of relations. Its uses are so numerous, that they cannot easily be exemplified; and its references to the words governed by it so general and lax, that they can hardly be explained by any succedaneous terms. But commonly that is hardest to explain which least wants explanation. We shall content ourselves with giving a few general terms, in which the verb _take_ is used with respect to military matters.

_To_ TAKE. To make prisoner.

_To_ TAKE _advantage of_. To avail oneself of any peculiar event or opening, whereby an enemy may be overcome, viz.--He took advantage of the debaucheries which were daily committed in the enemy’s camp, to surprise the army.

_To_ TAKE _ground to the right or left_. To extend a line towards either of those directions.

_To_ TAKE _up quarters_. To occupy locally; to go into cantonments, barracks, &c. To become stationary for more or less time.

_To_ TAKE _up the gauntlet_. The correlative to throw down the gauntlet. To accept a challenge.

_To_ TAKE _up arms_. To embody and troop together for offensive or defensive purposes. We likewise say, to take arms.

_To_ TAKE _down_. To minute; to commit to paper what is spoken or given orally. Hence to take down his words.

_To_ TAKE _the field_. To encamp. It likewise means generally to move with troops in military order.

_To_ TAKE _in_. A low phrase, signifying to cheat, to gull. Officers, especially the junior classes, are frequently _taken in_.

_To_ TAKE _oath_. To swear.

_To_ TAKE _up_. To seize; to catch; to arrest; as to take up a deserter.

_To_ TAKE _on_. An expression in familiar use among soldiers that have enlisted for a limited period, to signify an extension of service by taking a fresh bounty.

_To_ TAKE. To adopt any particular formation:

_Rear ranks take open order_ _Rear ranks take close order_ Words of command which are used in the discipline of troops. For the manner in which they are executed see ORDER.

_To_ TAKE _cognisance_. To investigate with judicial authority.

TALC, (_Talc_, _Fr._) In natural history, a shining, squamous, fissile species of stone, easily separable into thin lamina or scales, improperly called Isinglass.

There are two kinds of talc, viz. the white talc of Venice, and the red talc of Muscovy.

TALE. Information; disclosure of any thing secret.

TALE, _Ind._ An Indian coin equal to six shillings and eight pence.

TALEBEARER. One who gives officious or malignant intelligence. With respect to the interior economy of military life, a talebearer is the most dangerous creature that could insinuate itself among honorable men; and however acceptable domestic information may sometimes seem to narrow minds, it will be found even by those who countenance the thing, that such means of getting at the private sentiments of others, not only defeat their own ends, but ultimately destroy every species of regimental harmony. The only way to secure a corps from this insidious evil, is for commanding officers to treat those with contempt, who would endeavor to obtain their countenance by such base and unofficer-like conduct. For it is a known axiom, that if there were no listeners, there would be no reporters.

TALENT. Count Turpin, in his essay on the Art of War, makes the following distinction between genius and talent:--Talent remains hidden for want of occasions to shew itself; genius breaks through all obstacles: genius is the contriver, talent the workman in military affairs. Talent is properly that knowlege acquired by study and labor, and ability to apply it; genius takes, as by intuition, a glance of whatever it is occupied on, and comprehends at once without labor the true character of the subject; genius must however not be devoid of acquired knowlege.

TALK. The Indian tribes of the United States, on public occasions, such as treaties, depute persons to deliver discourses to those with whom they treat, and those discourses are called TALKS: they often abound with eloquence.

_To_ TALK. To make use of the powers of speech. Officers and soldiers are strictly forbidden to talk under arms.

TALLOW. A well known name for the fat of animals. It is used as a combustible in the composition of fireworks. See LABORATORY.

TALON, _Fr._ In architecture, an ornamental moulding, which is concave below and convex above.

TALON _renversé_, _Fr._ An ornamental moulding which is concave above. This word is likewise applied to many other things, as the upper part of a scythe, &c. the end of a pike, &c.

TALON _d’un cheval_, _Fr._ A horse’s heel, of the hind part of his hoof. Talon literally means heel.

TALOOK, _Ind._ A farm under rent; or a number of farms or villages let out to one chief.

TALOOKDAR, _Ind._ The head of a village under a superior.

TALPATCHES, _Fr._ A nickname which is given to the foot soldiers in Hungary. It is derived from TALP, which, in the Hungarian language, signifies sole of a shoe, and plainly proves, from the ridicule attached to it, that the Hungarians would rather serve on horseback than on foot. All persons are strictly forbidden to call them by this name.

TALUS, _Fr._ This word is sometimes written _Talut_. For its signification see FORTIFICATION.

TALUTED, from _taluter_, is sloped or graduated from a given height to a less.

TALUTER, _Fr._ To give a slope to any thing in fortification.

TAMBOUR, in fortification, is a kind of work formed of pallisades, or pieces of wood, 10 feet long and 6 inches thick, planted close together, and driven 2 or 3 feet into the ground; so that when finished, it may have the appearance of a square redoubt cut in two. Loopholes are made 6 feet from the ground, and 3 feet asunder, about 8 inches long, 2 inches wide within and 6 without. Behind is a scaffold 2 feet high, for the soldiers to stand upon. They are frequently made in the place of arms of the covert-way, at the saliant angles, in the gorges, half-moons, and ravelins, &c.

TAMBOURS, in fortification, solid pieces of earth which are made in that part of the covert way that is joined to the parapet, and lies close to the traverses, being only 3 feet distant from them. They serve to prevent the covert-way from being enfiladed, and obstruct the enemy’s view towards the traverses. When tambours are made in the covert-way, they answer the same purposes that works _en cremaillére_ would.

Tambour likewise means, in fortification, a single or isolated traverse, which serves to close up that part of the covert-way where a communication might have been made in the glacis for the purpose of going to some detached work.

TAMBOUR also signifies, both in French and English, a little box of timber-work covered with a cieling, within side the porch of certain churches, both to prevent the view of persons passing by, and to keep off the wind, &c. by means of folding doors. In many instances it is the same as porch.

TAMBOUR, _Fr._ See DRUM.

_Marcher_ TAMBOURS _battans et drapeaux flottans_. To march with drums beating and colors flying.

TAMBOUR, _Fr._ See DRUMMER. We frequently use the word Drum in the same sense that the French do, viz. to signify drummer. We likewise say fife for fifer; as, one drum and one fife to each company.

TAMBOUR _major_, _Fr._ Drum major.

_Batteries de_ TAMBOUR, _Fr._ The different beats of the drum. The principal beats among the French are--_La générale_, the general; _L’assemblée_, the assembly; _Le dernier_, the last beat; _Le drapeau_, the troop; _Aux champs_, to the field; _La marche_, the march; _La diane_, the reveille; _L’alarme_, to arms, or the alarm; _La chamade_, the parley; _L’appel_, the roll or call; _La fascine ou brelogue_, the workman’s call. _Le ban et la rétraite._

_Aux champs, ou le premier_, is beat when any particular corps of infantry is ordered to march; but if the order should extend to a whole army, it is then called _La générale_, the general. They do not make this distinction in the British service, but omit the _premier_ or first beat when one regiment, detachment, or company, marches out of a camp or garrison where there are other troops.

_Le second, ou l’assemblée_, is to give notice that the colors are to be sent for.

_La marche_ is beat when troops march off their parade.

_Battre la charge, ou battre la guerre._ To beat the charge, or the point of war. This occurs when troops advance against an enemy. This beat may be conceived by repeating in seconds of time the sound--_bom! bom! bom! bom!_ _Battre la rétraite_ is to beat the retreat, to cease firing, or to withdraw after the battle. It is likewise used in garrisons to warn soldiers to retire to their quarters.

_Battre la fricassée._ To beat the long roll. A beat which is practised to call soldiers suddenly together.

_Battre la diane._ To beat the reveille. This is done in a camp or garrison at break of day. When an army besieges a town, the reveille is confined to those troops belonging to the infantry that have mounted guard, particularly in the trenches; and it is then followed by the discharge of those pieces of ordnance which had ceased firing on account of the darkness of the night, that prevented their being properly pointed against the enemy’s works.

TAMBOUR _de basque_, _Fr._ A tabor.

TAMBOUR _battant_, _Fr._ Drums beating.

_Sortir_ TAMBOUR _battant, enseignes deployées_, _Fr._ To go out drums beating and colors flying.

TAMBOUR in architecture. A term applied to the Corinthian and composite capitals, as bearing some resemblance to a drum, which the French call _Tambour_.

TAMBOUR likewise denotes a round course of stone, several whereof form the shaft of a column not so high as a diameter.

_Un_ TAMBOURIN, _Fr._ A timbrel.

TAMBOURINE. A drum, somewhat resembling the tabor, but played in our military bands without either stick or pipe.

TAMIS, _Fr._ A sieve.

TAMPIONS, or TOMBIONS, are wooden cylinders to put into the mouth of the guns, howitzers, and mortars, in travelling, to prevent the dust or wet from getting in. They are fastened round the muzzle of the guns, &c. by leather collars.

They are sometimes used to put into the chambers of mortars, over the powder, when the chamber is not full.

TAMPIONS, in sea-service artillery, are the iron bottoms to which the grape-shot are fixed, the dimensions of which are as follows, viz.

_Diameter._

42 pounders, 6⁶⁄₁₀ths inches.
32 ditto 6
24 ditto 5⁴⁄₁₀ths
18 ditto 4⁹⁄₁₀ths
12 ditto 4³⁄₁₀ths
9 ditto 3⁹⁄₁₀ths
6 ditto 6³⁄₄ths
4 ditto 2⁹⁄₁₀ths
1¹⁄₂ ditto 2¹⁄₁₀th
¹⁄₂ ditto 1⁴⁄₁₀ths

TAMPON, _Fr._ A wooden peg or instrument which is used to plug up cartridges, petards, &c. A stopper.

TAMPONS, _Fr._ In mason-work are wooden pegs by which beams and boards for floors are fastened together.

TAMPONS, _Fr._ Flat pieces of iron, copper, or wood, which are used by the French on board their men of war, to stop up holes that are made by cannon-balls during a naval engagement.

TAMPONS _de canon_, _Fr._ The apron made of cork or lead, which is put over the vent of any piece of ordnance.

TANGENT, (_Tangente_, _Fr._) In trigonometry, is a right line raised perpendicularly on the extreme of the diameter, and continued to a point, where it is cut by a secant, that is, by a line drawn from the centre, through the extremity of the arch, whereof it is the tangent.

TANGENT. See GUNNERY.

TANGENT _scale_.--·21 of an inch is the tangent of 1 degree to every foot of a gun’s length, from the base ring to the swell of the muzzle: Therefore, if the distance in feet, between these two points be multiplied by ·21, the product will be the tangent of 1 degree; from which the dispart being subtracted, will give the length of the tangent scale above the base ring for one degree of elevation for that particular gun. If the scale is to be applied to the quarter sight of the gun, of course the dispart need not be subtracted.

_Tangent of one degree to the following British ordnance._

----------------+--------+---------+--------
| | Tangent,|
| Length.| 1°. |Dispart.
----------------+--------+---------+--------
|Ft. In. | In. | In.
12 pr. medium | 6 6 | 1·365 | 1·475
12 pr. light | 5 -- | 1·05 | 1·
6 pr. heavy | 7 -- | 1·47 | 1·32
6 pr. light | 5 -- | 1·05 | 1·
3 pr. heavy | 6 -- | 1·26 | 1·08
10 inch howitzer| 3 11¹⁄₂| ·84 | --
8 do. howitzer | 3 1 | ·64 | --
5¹⁄₂ do. light | 2 2³⁄₄| ·47 | --
4²⁄₅ do. | 1 10 | ·384 | --
----------------+--------+---------+--------

_Tangent of one degree to the following French guns._

-------+---------------------+---------------------
| Siege. | Field.
+----------+----------+----------+----------
| Tangent | | Tangent |
Kind. | of 1°. | Dispart. | of 1°. | Dispart.
-------+----------+----------+----------+----------
|in. li. p.|in. li. p.|in. li. p.|in. li. p.
24 pr. | 2 1 5 | 1 2 4 | -- | --
16 -- | 2 - - | 1 1 - | -- | --
12 -- | 1 10 6 | 1 - - | 1 4 - | 1 3 2
8 -- | 1 8 3 | 1 - - | 1 2 ¹⁄₂| 1 2 -
4 -- | -- | -- | 1 - - | 1 - -
6 in.}| -- | -- | 0 5 6 | --
how’r.}| | | |
-------+----------+----------+----------+----------

As the French tangent scales are marked off in inches and lines, the above dimensions are given in the same, for the more ready turning the French elevations into degrees, and thereby comparing their ranges with the English.

TANK, _Ind._ A pond or pool of water. A reservoir to preserve the water that falls in the rainy season.

TANNADAR, _Ind._ A commander of a small fort, or custom house.

TAP. A gentle blow, as a tap of the drum.

TAPABORD, _Fr._ A sort of cap or slouched hat made in the English fashion which the French sailors wear. Its sides hang over the shoulders, and shield them from rain in wet weather. It likewise signifies a riding-cap, a montero.

TAPE-_cul_, _Fr._ That part of a swipe or swinging gate which serves to raise and let down a draw-bridge.

TAPE-_cul_, _Fr._ A falling gate.

_En_ TAPINOIS, _Fr._ Slyly, secretly.

_Se_ TAPIR, _Fr._ To lie squat.

TAPIS, _Fr._ This word literally means carpet, and is used by the French in a figurative sense, viz.

_Amuser le_ TAPIS, _Fr._ To trifle.

_Mettre une affaire sur le_ TAPIS, _Fr._ To open any particular transaction, to move a business.

_La_ TAPE, _le_ TAPON, _ou_ TAMPON, _Fr._ The tampion.

TAPER _ou_ TAMPONNER _un Canon_, _Fr._ To put in the tampion. _Détaper un Canon_, _Fr._ To take out the tampion.

TAPPEE, _Ind._ The post letter carrier on the coast of Coromandel. An express.

TAPROBANE, _Ind._ The ancient name for the island of Ceylon. It is derived from _tapoo_ an island, and _bany_, a ferry.

TAP-TOO. TAT-TOO. See DRUM.

TAR. A kind of liquid pitch used in the composition of some sorts of fireworks.

TAR and FEATHERS. A method of punishment invented in the American revolution, which consisted in pouring a bucket of tar over the head of the culprit, and loosing a bag of feathers over it. See the poem of _M‘Fingal_.

TARANTHE, _Fr._ A thick iron peg which is used to turn the screw in a press.

TARAU, _Fr._ An instrument which is used in making the nut of a screw. It is a round piece of steel with a spiral shape.