Part 116

OUVERTURE _et fermeture des portes chez les Turcs_, _Fr._ There are certain laws and regulations among the Turks, by which the janizaries are entrusted with the keys belonging to the gates of every fortified town or place in which they do garrison duty. The gates are always opened at day-break by two or four janizaries. There is a capigy or porter stationed at each gate. Whenever he opens the gate he repeats, in an audible tone of voice, certain words in the praise of God and the sultan, after which he returns the key or keys to the janizaries, who carry them to the governor or commandant or the place. The closing of the gates is done with the same solemnity.

OUVERTURE _de la tranchée_, _Fr._ the opening of the trench or trenches.

OUVRAGES, _Fr._ Works. See FORTIFICATION.

OUVRAGE _à corne_, _Fr._ _Hornwork_. See FORTIFICATION.

OUVRAGE _à couronne_, _Fr._ _Crowned_ work. See FORTIFICATION.

OUVRAGES _detachés_, _pieces detachées_, _Fr._ See DEHORS.

OUVRIR, _Fr._ To open.

OUVRIR _les rangs_, _Fr._ To take open order.

_En arriére_, OUVREZ _vos rangs_, _Fr._ Rear ranks take open order.

_S’aligner à rangs_ OUVERTS, _Fr._ To aligne or dress in line at open order.

_A jour_ OUVRANT. At break of day.

_A portes_ OUVRANTES. At the opening of the gates.

OUVRIERS, _Fr._ All sorts of artificers and workmen employed in fortification, &c. are so called.

OXFORD _Blues_. See HORSE GUARDS.

OXYCRAT, _Fr._ A certain portion of vinegar to five or six times its quantity of water. This mixture is frequently used on service, and in hot weather, to allay the burning heat of any inflamed part. It is likewise employed to cool cannon, during an engagement, in very hot firing.

OXYGENE. The chemical base of vital air with which nitre is found to abound, and to which gunpowder owes its rapid and perfect combustion.

_King’s_ or _queen’s Own_, a term which has been attached to some British regiments since the revolution in 1688. Thus the 4th, which landed with William III. was called the 4th, or King’s Own.

P.

PAAT, _Ind._ A promissory note.

PACE. The common pace is of no determined length; though made use of as a measure by most military writers.

In Germany, and amongst most of the northern powers, the pace is considered equal to ²⁄₁₀ of a Rhinland rood.

In France the pace is commonly reckoned at 2¹⁄₂ feet. The military pace is 2 ft.

In England it is usually reckoned at 2¹⁄₂ feet.

The geometrical pace is equal to 5 French royal feet; 60,000 of which make a degree of the equator. This makes the geometrical pace equal to 6.102 English feet, and 5.6719 Rhinland feet.

For the military pace, see MARCHING.

_To_ PACE, as a horse does: _aller à pas_, _Fr._ There are four kinds of paces in the manége, the walk, trot, gallop, and amble. The last, more particularly, is called a pace, or easy motion, wherein the horse raises the two feet of the same side together.

PACHA. The captain pacha, among the Turks, is the chief admiral and superintendant general of the marine. He generally commands in person. The sailors and soldiers of the military marine were formerly called _lavans_ or _lavantis_; the soldiers are now called _galiondjis_.--The sailors are Turks from the maritime towns, or Greeks from the Archipelago. They are in constant pay. The soldiers, or _galiondjis_, are all mussulmen, and only receive pay when they are in actual service. We recommend to our military readers an important work, which has lately been published at Paris, and from which they will derive considerable information respecting the Turks. It is intituled, Travels in the Ottoman Empire, Egypt, and Persia, by citizen Olivier, member of the French National Institute.

PACKET-_Boats_, small vessels that sail from the different sea ports and carry passengers, mails, &c. and keep up a regular intercourse with different places.

PADDY, _Ind._ Rice in the husk whether dry or green.

PADSHA, _Ind._ A king.

PAGEANT, in _ancient military history_, a triumphal car, chariot, arch, or other like pompous decoration, variously adorned with colors, flags, &c. carried about in public shows, processions, &c.

PAGES, _mousses ou garcons_, _Fr._ Young lads of the description of English cabin boys, who learn navigation, and do the menial offices on board a French ship.

PAGOD, _Ind._ a general name given by the Portuguese to the temples in the east. It also denotes a coin. See PAGODA.

PAGODA, _Ind._ The place of worship among the Hindoos. It is likewise the name of a gold coin of the value of eight rupees. The English and Dutch coin pagodas. There are also silver pagodas struck, at Marsingua, &c. with the figure of some monstrous idol.

PAILS, made of wood, with iron hoops and handles, hold generally four gallons, and serve in the field to fetch water for the use of artillery works, &c.

PAILLASSES, _Fr._ Straw beds, commonly called _paillasses_. These are furnished by the barrack-department for the accommodation of sick soldiers.

PAILLE, _Fr._ Straw.

_Les soldats vont à la_ PAILLE, _Fr._ The soldiers are going to the forge yard or depot. This term is likewise used to signify the indulgence occasionally granted to soldiers for exercise or necessary evacuations. Thus when a battalion has gone through its manual, &c. the commanding officer gives the word _à la paille_.

_Rompre la_ PAILLE _avec quelqu’un_, _Fr._ a figurative term, signifying to quarrel or fall out with any body, in an open and unreserved manner.

PAILLE, _Fr._ likewise signifies any flaw in metals. _Cette lame est fine, mais il y a quelques pailles_; this blade is finely tempered, but there are some flaws in it. _La lame de son épée se cassa à l’endroit ou il y avoit une paille._ The blade of his sword broke where there was a flaw.

PAILLER, _Fr._ _Palearius._ An ancient body of French militia. The soldiers belonging to it were probably so called either from the circumstance of their wearing straw in their helmets, in order to know one another in action, or because they were accustomed to set fire to their enemy’s habitations, &c. with bundles of straw, which they always carried with them for that purpose. The inquisitive may be more fully satisfied on this subject by referring to _Ducange’s Glossary_.

PAIN _de Munition_, _Fr._ Ammunition bread. In the folio edition of marshal Saxe’s reveries, page 16, we find the following important observations on the subject of ammunition bread. He states that bread never should be given to soldiers on active service, but that they should be accustomed to eat biscuits, for the following reasons:--Biscuits will keep a considerable number of years, and every soldier can conveniently carry with him in his haversack a sufficient quantity for seven or eight days. Those officers who have served among the Venetians, will readily prove the justness of this remark. But there is a species of biscuit, or hard baked bread, that never crumbles, (called _soukari_ by the Russians) which is preferable to any thing of the kind. It is square, and about the thickness of a nut, and takes up less room than either bread or biscuits.

Purveyors, who are interested in the business, maintain a different opinion. They tell you that bread is best for troops. Every man of experience knows the contrary; for it is notorious, that contract, or ammunition bread, is not only made of unwholesome ingredients, but that it is seldom more than half baked; which together with the water it contains, increases the weight, and consequently enhances the value. Add to this, that purveyors must unavoidably increase the expence of the army by being obliged to employ a great number of bakers, bakers’ men, waggons, and horses. Independent of the expence, it is evident, that the operations of an army must unavoidably be clogged by the necessity of providing quarters for these people, of having a quantity of hand-mills, and of employing a certain number of effective men to form detachments for their security.

It is impossible to calculate the train of robberies and inconveniences which grow out of this system, the embarrassments it occasions to a general; but above all the diseases, which bread, supplied in this manner, will always engender, and the fatigue that the troops must necessarily undergo to get their rations. Were all these mischiefs obviated, there is still another evil in reserve, which no precaution can set aside. This is the certainty that an enemy may be under, with respect to your intentions and motions, by narrowly watching the establishment and disposition of your ovens. Were I, continues the marshal, to adduce instances and facts to corroborate these observations, I might dwell considerably at large upon the subject. I do not hesitate to say, that much ill success, which is attributed to other causes, proceeds entirely from the provision and distribution of ammunition bread. He even goes farther, for he asserts unequivocally, that soldiers ought sometimes to be enured to almost every species of privation, and instead of being provided with biscuit, occasionally to receive grain, which they must be taught to bake upon iron pallets, after having bruised and made it into dough.--Marshal Turenne has observed upon the same subject in his Memoirs. Marshal Saxe, indeed, does not scruple to say, that although there might be plenty of bread, he would, in conformity to the opinion of many good officers, suffer his men to feel the want of it. I have, adds the latter, been eighteen months successively on service with troops who during the whole of that period never tasted bread, and yet never once complained or murmured. I have, on the contrary, been frequently with others that had never familiarized themselves to that privation, and who, on the first appearance of want, were disheartened. In consequence of which the very nerve of enterprise and hardihood was broken, and nothing great could be undertaken.

The modern French armies have carried this idea to an astonishing extent and with success; not only their troops in the field are supplied with biscuit, but their horses also.

PALADIN, _Fr._ A name given to those ancient knights who were either what the French call _comtes du palais_, counts of the palace, or were princes lineally descended from Charlemagne, and other old kings.

PALANKEEN, _Ind._ a vehicle carried on the shoulders of four men, by means of a bamboo pole extending from each end: it carries one person in a reclining posture: it has a canopy which is supported by a pole raised along the centre, from whence it is pendent on either side. The palankeens are of various kinds; some are shaped like a chair, in which the person carried sits: in others they recline or sleep, and frequently journies of 2000 miles are thus performed.

PALEAGAS, _Ind._ See POLYGARS.

PALANQUE, _Fr._ a kind of fortification, so called in Hungary. It is made of stakes driven into the ground, interlaced with twigs, and covered with earth, and serves to stop the progress of an advancing enemy.

PALÆSTRA, in _Grecian antiquity_, a public building, where the youth exercised themselves in the military art, wrestling, running, playing at quoits, &c.

PALEE, _Fr._ The row of piles upon which a wooden bridge is constructed, is so called.

PALESTRE, _Fr._ a wrestling place, or exercising ground. It comes from the Latin, and was originally derived from the Greek.

PALIS, _Fr._ the rows of small pointed stakes, which serve for any species of inclosure, are so called. The term _palissade_ is derived from it.

PALISADES, _or_ PALISADOES, in _fortification_, stakes made of strong split wood, about nine feet long, six or seven inches square, three feet deep in the ground, in rows about 2¹⁄₂ or three inches asunder, placed in the covert-way, at three feet from and parallel to the parapet or side of the glacis, to secure it from surprise.

They are also used to fortify the avenues of open forts, gorges, half moons, the bottoms of ditches, and, in general, all posts liable to surprise. They are usually fixed perpendicularly, though some make an angle inclining towards the ground next the enemy, that the ropes cast over them, to tear them up, may slip off.

_Turning_ PALISADES, are an invention of Mr. Cohorn, in order to preserve the palisades of the parapet of the covert-way from the besiegers shot. They are so ordered, that as many of them as stand in the length of a rod, or about ten feet, turn up and down like traps, so as not to be in the sight of the enemy, till they just bring on their attack; and yet are always ready to do the proper service of palisades.

PALISSADES, _Fr._ See PALISADES.

PALISSADES _de camp_, _Fr._ several pieces of wood so arranged and tied together, that they may with great dispatch be fixed in the ground, which is marked out for the encampment of an army.

PALISSADES _ferrèes_, palisades that are shod with iron. They are used in shallow streams and marshes to prevent small craft from plying, or persons from crossing them on foot.

PALKEE, _Ind._ See _Palankeen_.

PALL, a covering thrown over the dead. It is always used in military burials.

PALLAS, a name in the Heathen mythology, which is given to Minerva, who was looked upon as the goddess of war.

PALUDAMENTUM, (_Chlamys_) among the ancients, a garment worn in time of war by the principal men of Rome, especially the generals, who were called for that reason _paludati_. The soldiers, having only short coats, called a _sagum_, were denominated _sagati_.

The _paludamentum_ was open on the sides, coming down no lower than the navel, and had short sleeves. It was either of a white, purple, or red color, and sometimes black. Kennett, in his Roman Antiquities, page 313, says, the old _paludamentum_ of the generals was all scarlet, only bordered with purple; and the _chlamydes_ of the emperors were all purple, commonly beautified with a golden or embroidered border.

PAN, the side of a rectangle or irregular figure.

PAN, likewise means the distance which is comprized between the angle of the epaule and the flanked angle in fortification. See FACE OF A BASTION.

PAN, a name well known among the shepherds of antiquity, and frequently used by modern writers in their rural fictions. In military history it signifies a man who was lieutenant general to Bacchus in his Indian expedition. He is recorded to have been the first author of a general shout, which the Grecians practised in the beginning of their onset in battle. See PANIC.

PAN, that part of the lock of a musquet, pistol, &c. which holds the priming powder.

PANACHE, PANNACHE, _Fr._ a plume, a bunch of feathers.

PANACHES _flottans_, _Fr._ nodding plumes.

PANNACHES likewise signifies in architecture, the triangular part of an arch that contributes towards the support of a turret or elevation which is raised above the dome of any particular edifice.

PANCARTE, _Fr._ an ancient exercise or tournament, which was performed in the Roman amphitheatre, when strong athletic men were opposed to all sorts of enraged animals.

PANDOURS, are Hungarian infantry. They wear a loose garment fixed tight to their bodies by a girdle, with great sleeves, and large breeches reaching down to their ankles. They use firearms, and are excellent marksmen: they also wear a kind of sabre, near four feet long, which they use with great dexterity.

PANIC, PANIC _fear_, sudden consternation which seizes upon men’s fancies without any visible cause; a needless or ill grounded fright. The reason why these terrors are attributed to Pan, was, as some say, because when Osiris was bound by Typho, Pan and the satyrs appearing, cast him into a fright; or because he frightened all the giants that waged war against Jupiter: or as others say, that when Pan was Bacchus’s lieutenant general in his Indian expedition, being encompassed in a valley, with an army of enemies, far superior to them in number, he advised the god to order his men to give a general shout, which so surprised the opposite army, that they immediately fled from their camp. And hence it came to pass, that all sudden fears impressed upon men’s spirits, without any just reason, were, by the Greeks and Romans, called _panic terrors_. (See Polyænus Stratag. book I.) The custom of shouting seems to have been used by almost all nations, barbarous as well as civil; and is mentioned by all writers who treat of martial affairs. Homer has several elegant descriptions of it, particularly one in the fourth Iliad, where he resembles the military noise to torrents rolling with impetuous force from the mountains into the adjacent vallies. We have likewise had our war-hoops.

PANIER _à mine_, _Fr._ See BOURRIQUET.

PANIERS, _Fr._ Baskets. Figuratively, _un panier percé_, a leaky vessel, or one who cannot keep a secret. A dangerous man in society: and in military concerns, one who ought to be particularly guarded against where discretion and confidence are necessary.

PANIQUE, _Fr._ See PANIC.

PANNE, _Fr._ literally means shag, plush, &c. and is properly a sea term, signifying to _lie to_, _mettre en panne_. It is likewise used in a military sense, to express the steady posture of troops who are drawn up for battle, and wait an enemy’s attack. _La troupe est restée en panne._ The squadron remained immoveable.

PANNEAU, _Fr._ Trap, snare.

_Donner dans le_ PANNEAU, _Fr._ to be ensnared, or outwitted.

PANNELS, in _artillery_, are the carriages which carry mortars and their beds upon a march.

PANNONCEAU, _Fr._ an ancient term, which was used to signify _ensign_ or _banner_.

PANOPLY, complete armor or harness.

PANSEMENT, _Fr._ The dressing of wounds.

PANSER, _Fr._ to dress a wound.

PANSER, _Fr._ in farriery, signifies to rub down, and otherwise to take care of a horse.

PANTHEON, in architecture, a temple of a circular form, dedicated to all the gods. The name has been adopted among modern nations from the Pantheon of ancient Rome, built by Agrippa in his third consulate, and dedicated to Jupiter Ultor, or Jupiter the avenger. There is a chapel in the Escurial in Spain, called Pantheon, of marble and jasper inlaid: the whole inside is of black marble, excepting the luthern, and some ornaments of jasper and red marble. The Pantheon at Paris during the progress of the French revolution, has been appropriated to national purposes; the names and busts of the most distinguished statesmen and generals being preserved therein as marks of public gratitude, and objects of public emulation. There is a building in London that bears the name of Pantheon, but that is all. It is private property, and the only public use to which it has been appropriated, has been that of operatical speculation, masquerades, or frivolous entertainments.

PANTOGRAPHE, _Fr._ a mathematical instrument, which serves to copy all sorts of drawings. The French have paid great attention to the improvement of this instrument, of which a minute description may be found in _Cours de Mathématiques_, by Pere Deschalles. But the sieur Panglois brought it to such perfection in 1750, that it is become universally useful.

PANTOMETER, an instrument used, to take all sorts of angles, distances and elevations. It was invented by the ancients, but has been greatly improved since.

PANTOMETRE, _Fr._ See PANTOMETER.

PAPIER _de cartouche_, _Fr._ Paper used for cartridges.

PAPIER _gris_, _ou_ PAPIER _brouillard_, _Fr._ Whited brown paper.

PAPIERS _et enseignemens_, _Fr._ All the papers and manuscripts which are found on board a ship are so called.

PAQUEBOT, _Fr._ a modern French term, derived from packet-boat, which see.

PARABOLA, in _geometry_, a figure arising from the section of the cone, when cut by a plane parallel to one of its sides.

From the same points of the cone, therefore, only one parabola can be drawn; all the other sections within these parallels being ellipses, and all without hyperbolas.

_Properties of the_ PARABOLA. The square of an ordinate is equal to the rectangle of the abscissa, and four times the distance of the focus from the vertex.

The perpendicular on the tangent, from the focus, is a mean proportional between the distance from the vertex to the focus, and the distance of the focus from the point of contact.

All lines within the parabola, which are drawn parallel to the axis, are called diameters.

The parameter of any diameter is a right line, of such a nature that the product under the same, and the abscissa, are equal to the square of the semi-ordinate.

The squares of all ordinates to the same diameter, are to one another as their abscissas.

_Cartesian_ PARABOLA, is a curve of the second order, expressed by the equation _xy_ = _ax³_ + _bx²_ + _cx_ + _d_ containing four infinite legs, being the 66th species of lines of the third order, according to sir Isaac Newton: and is made use of by Descartes, in the third book of his geometry, for finding the roots of equations of six dimensions by its intersections with a circle.

_Diverging_ PARABOLA, a name given by sir Isaac Newton to five different lines of the third order, expressed by the equation _yy_ = _ax³_ + _bx²_ + _cx_ + _d_.

PARABOLE, _Fr._ See PARABOLA.

PARABOLOIDE, _Fr._ See PARABOLIC CONOID.

PARADE, originally consisted of a square court before cathedrals, surrounded with piazzas or porticoes for persons to walk under, being supported with pillars. It is now used in a military sense, to signify any place where troops assemble, and may be distinguished in the following manner:

_General_ PARADE, the place where soldiers belonging to different corps are drawn up, according to seniority, to mount guard, or to be exercised, &c.

_Regimental_ PARADE, the place where any particular regiment or corps is formed in line, &c.

_Private_ PARADE, any spot selected, in general by each captain of a troop or company, for the inspection of his men, previous to their being marched off to the regimental parade. This parade is likewise called company or troop parade. When troops are encamped, the general and regimental parades are usually in front of the line of tents; each regiment having its quarter-guard opposite, and the space between being sufficient to allow of the free exercise of the battalion. The companies have their private parades in the several streets of the camp.

PARADE, _in camp_, is that spot of ground in the front of each encampment, between the camp colors, on the right and left wings.

_Morning_ PARADE. In every garrison town, fortified place and camp, as well as in every town through which soldiers pass, or occasionally halt, a certain hour in the morning is fixed for the assembling of the different corps, troops, or companies, in regular order.

_Evening_ PARADE. The hour generally fixed for the evening parade is at sunset. When troops are encamped, the signal for evening parade is given from the park of artillery, by the discharge of a piece of ordnance, which is called the evening gun.

_To_ PARADE, to assemble in a prescribed regular manner, for the purposes of being inspected, exercised, or mustered.

_To_ PARADE. This word is frequently used as an active verb, with respect to military matters, viz. _to parade the guard_, &c. It has likewise been adopted in Ireland to express the act of calling out a person in an affair of honor. The Irish familiarly say--_I shall parade the gentleman to-morrow morning in the Phœnix Park_.

PARADE, _Fr._ The French make use of this term in various ways.

PARADE, _Fr._ Show, ostentation.

_Lit de_ PARADE, _Fr._ Bed of state.

_Cheval de_ PARADE, _Fr._ a horse finely caparisoned, and kept for show.

PARADE, _Fr._ in fencing, the act of parrying a thrust or blow.

PARADE, _Fr._ the place or ground where soldiers parade.

_Se mettre en_ PARADE, _Fr._ to take one’s ground.

_Faire la_ PARADE, _Fr._ To do parade duty.

_Monter la_ PARADE, _Fr._ To take part in the regular line of parade.

_Manquer sa_ PARADE, _Fr._ in fencing, to miss one’s parry.

_Etre hors de_ PARADE, _Fr._ to parry wide, or stand exposed.