Part 141

SASH. A mark of distinction, generally made of crimson silk for the officers, and of crimson mixed with white cotton for the serjeants. It is worn round the waist. Sashes are erroneously said to have been invented for the convenience and ease of wounded officers, in case any of them were so badly wounded, as to render them incapable of remaining at their posts, they might be carried off with the assistance of two men; but though they may have been so used, they are only an ancient remnant of military ornament, and correspond with the _kummerbaund_, worn by all Asiatics even to this day; they are of considerable use to the soldier during fatigues or marches; and the “girding up the loins,” as noted in scripture, would be found now not an unwise practice for the soldier in action. The American cavalry tie the sash on the left; the infantry on the right side. The sashes for the Austrian army are of crimson and gold; the Prussian army, black silk and silver; the Hanoverian were yellow silk; the Portugueze, crimson silk, with blue tassels. The modern French have their sashes made of three colors, viz. white, pink, and light blue, to correspond with the national flag.

SATELLITE, (_Satellite_, _Fr._) A person who attends on another, either for his safety, or to be ready to execute his pleasure.

SATELLITES, _Fr._ Certain armed men, of whom mention is made in the history of Philip Augustus, king of France. The word satellite itself, which we frequently find in ancient historians, signifies a guard or attendant about the person of a prince. It is derived from the Latin word _satelles_, which comes from the Syriac term for a companion. The Satellites of Philip Augustus were men selected from the militia of the country, who fought on foot and horseback. The servants or batmen who attended the military knights when they went into action, were likewise called _satellites_, and fought in their defence mounted or on foot.

SATISFACTION. When an officer or other person goes out to fight a duel with one whom he has offended, or by whom he has been offended, he is said to _give_ or _take_ satisfaction!

SAUCISSE, SAUCISSON, in _mining_, is a long pipe or bag, made of cloth well pitched, or sometimes of leather, of about 1¹⁄₂ inch diameter, filled with powder, going from the chamber of the mine to the entrance of the gallery. It is generally placed in a wooden pipe, called an _auget_, to prevent its growing damp. It serves to give fire to mines, caissons, bomb chests, &c.

SAUCISSON, is likewise a kind of fascine, longer than the common ones; it serves to raise batteries, and to repair breaches. Saucissons are also used in making epaulements, in stopping passages, and in making traverses over a wet ditch, &c.

SAUCISSON _de brulot_, _Fr._ A machine made use of to set fire to the different compartments in a fire-ship.

SAUCISSONS _d’artifice_, _Fr._ Saucissons used in artificial fireworks.

SAUCISSONS _volans_, _Fr._ Flying saucissons; a species of sky-rocket.

SAUF-_conduit_. A pass.

SAUT, _Ind._ An hour.

SAUT, _Fr._ This word is used in hydraulics to signify a considerable fall of water, such as the falls of Niagara, &c.

SAUTER, _Fr._ To leap.

SAUTER _a l’arbordage_, _Fr._ To leap upon the deck, or on any part of an enemy’s ship, for the purpose of boarding her.

SAUTER _en selle_, _Fr._ To get on horseback. To jump upon your saddle.

SAUVE-_garde_, _Fr._ Safe-guard. Protection.

_Accorder des_ SAUVE-_gardes_, _Fr._ To grant protections.

_Envoyer une garde en_ SAUVE-_garde_, _Fr._ To send out a party for the purpose of escorting persons, or of protecting any particular quarter.

SAUVE _qui peut!_ _Fr._ Let those escape that can. This expression is familiar to the French, it was employed in an early part of the revolution, by the royalists to produce panic in the ranks of the revolutionary army; and was used with success particularly in the corps under gen. Dillon in Flanders.

SAVAN, _Ind._ The name of an Indian month, which corresponds with July.

SAW. A dentated steel instrument with which wood or metal is cut by attrition. Each pioneer is provided with one.

SAYON, _Fr._ A kind of coarse habit in which soldiers were formerly clothed among the French.

SCABBARD, (_Fourreau_, _Fr._) A case commonly made of black leather, with a ferrel at the end, in which a sword, sabre, &c. may be sheathed.

_Bayonet_ SCABBARD. A leathern sheath made in a triangular form to correspond with the shape of the bayonet.

SCABBARD-_button_. A brass button or hook by which the scabbard is attached to the frog of the belt.

The word _scabbard_ has been sometimes used in a figurative sense to distinguish those persons who have obtained rank and promotion in the army without seeing much hard service, from those who have fought their way through all the obstacles of superior interest, &c. Hence the favourite expression of the late sir William Erskine--_Some rise by the scabbard, and some by the sword!_ Which means _more_ than we are at liberty to illustrate, but which may be easily applied to _cases in point_.

SCALADE, from the French _Escalade_, a furious attack upon a wall or rampart, contrary to form, and with no regularity, frequently carried on with ladders, to insult the wall by open force.

SCALE, a right line divided into equal parts, representing miles, fathoms, paces, feet, inches, &c. used in making plans upon paper; giving each line its true length, &c. See also BALANCE, ESCALADE, &c.

SCALENE, _Fr._ A term used in geometry to express a triangle whose three sides and three angles are unequal to one another.

SCALING-_ladder_. See LADDERS.

SCALLOP, any segment of a circle.

_To_ SCALP. To deprive the scull of its integuments. A barbarous custom in practice amongst the Indian warriors, of taking off the tops of the scalps of the enemies sculls with their hair on. They preserve them as trophies of their victories, and are rewarded by their chiefs, according to the number they bring in.

_To_ SCAMPER, (_Escamper_, _Fr._) To run away precipitately.

SCARF, See SASH.

SCARLET, the national color for the dress of the British. The British artillery, cavalry, and some of the light infantry, are clothed in blue; rifle corps in green; and the cavalry for foreign service in light blue. See UNIFORM.

SCARPE. See ESCARPE.

SCENOGRAPHY, (_Scenographe_, _Fr._) The representation of a building, town, &c. as it appears in prospective or from without, with all its dimensions and shadows.

SCHEDULE, an inventory, a list; also something referred to by numbers or letters; as the oaths of the recruit and magistrate, marked A and B at the end of the mutiny act.

SCHOOL, (_école_, _Fr._) A house of discipline and instruction; a place of literary education; an university. It is a more general and comprehensive term than college or academy. The French have made a great distinction on this head with respect to their military institutions. Thus the great receptacle for military genius was called _L’école Militaire de Paris_; the military school of Paris; whereas the subordinate places of instructions and the preparatory houses, were termed colleges, viz. colleges de Soreze, Brienne, Tivon, Rebais, Beaumont, Pont-le-roy, Vendome, Effiat, Pont-a-Mousson, Tournon.

_British Royal Military School or College._

A new institution under the direction of the commander in chief, for the time being.

This establishment consists of two departments:--

The first, or senior department, is calculated to instruct officers, who have already acquired a sufficient knowlege of regimental duties, &c. in the higher branches of their profession. Their attention is particularly directed to those functions which relate to the quarter-master-general’s department in the field.

The second, or junior department, is meant for the education of young men, who have not yet received any commissions in the army, but who are intended from early life for the profession of arms.

The following particulars constitute the general outline of this praise-worthy institution:--

The commander in chief for the time being is always to be considered as the chief governor of the establishment. He is president of the supreme board of the college; the members of which are the secretary at war, and such general and staff officers as the king may, from time to time, nominate. It is their peculiar province to see, that the regulations of the institution be duly observed, and unequivocally fulfilled, and that the whole be conducted with economy and credit to the country.

There is constantly resident in the college a governor and a lieutenant-governor, who must both be military officers. The former not under the rank of major-general, and the latter not under that of lieutenant-colonel in the line. These are the immediate functionaries of the place, and to them is intrusted the entire direction of the establishment; subject only to the instructions and orders that may occasionally be issued from the supreme board of the college.

At the head of each department are placed a commandant and a director of instruction. These must likewise be military men, and bear the king’s commission. They are at all times accountable for their respective departments, being under the immediate control of the governor and lieutenant-governor of the college.

The commandants of departments, in conjunction with the directors of instruction, form a collegiate board, at which the resident governor, or, in his absence, the lieutenant-governor constantly presides.

Public examinations are made, at stated periods, by this board, in order to ascertain the progress of learning, and the degrees of improvement. The president and members of it likewise enter into the interior economy of the place, control the expenditure of the establishment, and maintain the statutes of the college; subject nevertheless to the control and occasional direction of the supreme board, to which the collegiate one is in every respect subordinate.

The staff and other officers of each department are under the immediate orders of their respective commandants, who are enjoined to conduct their departments in strict conformity to the existing rules and discipline.

The establishment is founded upon principles of the strictest economy; and the expence of being at the institution, with all the advantages of theoretical instruction and practical improvement, does not exceed the necessary charges and disbursements to which every officer is subject when he lives with his regiment.

It is a standing order of the institution, that officers must constantly appear in uniform; and they must in all respects conform to the rules and regulations.

Leave of absence is granted, during the months of December and January, to officers studying in the senior department of the college; but at no other season of the year, except for a few days, and then only under circumstances and in cases of urgent necessity.

_Senior department._

The number of officers which can be admitted, at a time, to the studies of the senior department, is limited to 30; and it is required, as indispensibly necessary, that they should be perfectly conversant in all the details of regimental duty.

They must likewise have made themselves masters of the French language, be versed in mathematics, and in the science of field fortification and castrametation; and be well instructed in the drawing of military plans, &c.

Every thing which relates to the different branches belonging to the senior department, is conveyed in French, in order that officers may be enabled to improve the knowlege they acquire at the establishment, by reading with facility, the military writers that are most in estimation. The majority of such authors being found among the French, that language is, of course, most cultivated; by which means the first object of acquirement will not only be obtained, but will ensure to the general staff of the army a disposable body of intelligent officers, that are conversant in a continental tongue.

The instruction is not elementary or given upon first principles only. The attention of the officers is directed to higher branches, and the lessons they receive are exemplified by practice in the field; by taking ground, &c.

The particular and more immediate duties, appertaining to the general staff, to which the faculties of the mind are principally applied, consist in taking (_à coup d’œil_, or at sight) military surveys of ground without any mechanical process, or aid of instruments; and to express the same on paper with the most accurate perspicuity.

It is, therefore, necessary that the officers of the senior department should be able to judge of the advantages and disadvantages of ground relative to offensive and defensive operations; to employ geometrical and trigonometrical operations on the ground; to chuse the scite or position of entrenchments and batteries, by which every part of a camp may be defended, and its leading avenues, &c. put _à l’abri de surprises_. They must likewise be masters of a theory which may be adapted to every case in which field fortification can be employed: to trace camps on the ground, and to prick out the lines of entrenchments, &c. with dispatch and accuracy, in conformity to the strict rules of castrametation: to be thoroughly conversant in the theory of camp out-duties, and of the grand guards of armies: to know how to reconnoitre ground for a given number of columns moving in route of march, and to place or distribute the same with attention to the conveniences of forage and water, and to the security of the magazines.

To reconnoitre the route of a column in _advancing_, to estimate the labor of opening the several communications, to calculate the number of artificers that are requisite, and the time that is necessary to clear the route for the march of a column, and to detail the same in an accurate manner upon paper.

To reconnoitre the route of a column in _retreat_, specifying, in a clear and succinct manner upon paper, the several points in retreat that are favorable to each arm composing the rear guard, when they may halt, and act as covering parties to the retreating column.

To reconnoitre and take up ground for a given number of troops on a _defensive_ position, and to place the same; to establish a chain of posts, to construct batteries, throw up abbatis, and other means of defence, adapted to the particular circumstances of the ground made choice of for the position.

To reconnoitre the ground upon which any given number of troops might be encamped under circumstances of aggression. In taking this position for the purpose of acting _offensively_, particular attention must be paid to the future movements of the army, by providing the readiest means of directing and supporting its operations.

Marches and movements constitute so essential a branch in military tactics, that on them almost wholly depends the issue of a campaign. It is consequently expected, that every officer belonging to the senior department, should be able to calculate the march of a column under all the various and desultory circumstances which are attendant on the movements of troops. He must accurately ascertain the ground, the defiles, the width of roads, &c. the length of the several columns. The hours occupied in marching, defiling, passing obstacles, &c. must come within this calculation.

It must be remarked, that this is a route of march which has in view only to convey a body of troops from one position to another, without being connected with military operations relative to the enemy.

To calculate the march of several columns with respect to each other.

To reconnoitre routes for the march of several columns _in advancing_; to form the columns of march so as to correspond with the field of battle which they are to occupy, and to point out the routes by which they are severally to arrive. The remark which we have already made applies to this part likewise.

To regulate an order of march, and to ascertain the arrival of several columns on the field, with regard to the appropriate manner of deploying, and their relative dispositions, whether with a view to their encamping, or to forming in order of battle.

To reconnoitre routes for the march of several columns in _retreat_, for the purpose of forming columns of march according to the circumstances of the retreat, and in conformity to the ground to which they retire.

To regulate the retreat and relative support of the rear guards attached to the several columns.

In order to add practical knowlege to theory, and to adapt the observations of established military writers to local experience, every survey or reconnoitring of country, for the retreat or advance of columns; for offensive or defensive positions; for encampments, or the construction and erection of batteries, &c. is made upon spots that are actually in the neighborhood of the establishment; and every object of instruction is applied to the local circumstance of the ground as it actually exists. It is required, that plans of these different surveys, &c. should at all times accompany and be given in with the lesson of instruction.

Officers of the senior department must not only be well acquainted with these particulars, but they must further know how to regulate the cantonments of an army.

To estimate the resources of a country, in green and dry forage, in cattle, grain, horses, and carriages, together with the population.

To draw out plans of resources, general plans of operations and subordinate ones of position, and of cantonments.

According to the season of the year, and the state of the weather, officers are employed in acquiring the theory, or applying in practice on the ground, the several points of instruction to which their attention has been directed.

It is required of them, individually, to reconnoitre a given tract or line of country.

The military positions they take up, as well as the disposition they make of troops, whether in camp or in order of march, are invariably represented by plans in drawing, and all instruction is exemplified by applications which are made in the field, and are adapted to the local circumstances of ground. In order to render the different lessons familiar to the mind, and to make them practically easy, imaginary marches are made from one supposed camp to another, and the various orders which relate to the movements of troops are given out and explained, as if they were to be actually carried into effect. Points of attack or defence are taken up, ambuscades are laid, and all the chicane of what the French so justly call _le petite guerre_, is entered into with as much promptitude and caution, as if the enemy were in the neighborhood of the college. The manœuvres of light troops are particularly practised; and the different instructions which have been published in French on that branch of military tactics by Mons. Jarry, are practically taught, as time and circumstances permit.

The elements of field fortification, and the higher branches of attack and defence, are not only inculcated with the greatest perspicuity, but they are reduced to practice by imaginary lines of circumvallation and contravallation; by posts and positions suddenly taken, and quickly fortified; whilst the manifold feints and stratagems of war which have been practised by the best generals, are locally attempted, for the double purpose of applying practice to established facts, and of seizing some new idea that may grow out of ancient practice.

Whenever an officer has completed his studies, he is reported to the commander in chief, as having qualified himself for the quarter-master-general’s department; and returns to his regiment, having had his name previously registered at the college, in order that he may be employed on the general staff of the army when his services are required.

When an officer wishes to be admitted to the military college, his application must be addressed to the commander in chief, for the time being, through the medium of the colonel or commanding officer of his regiment, who sends it, under cover, to the official or public secretary at the Horse Guards, with his own certificate of the good conduct of the applicant.

When an officer, thus admitted, is found deficient in any of the branches of elementary knowlege, which he is expected to have acquired previous to his entrance into the senior department, he may have the advantage of instruction from the professors and masters of the junior department. It would, however, be more gratifying to all parties, were such officers to qualify themselves before they quit their corps.

The same allowances which are established for troops in barracks, are made to officers who attend the instructions of the senior department.

Every officer admitted to this department is required to have a horse to attend his duty in the field, and regular rations of forage, &c. are issued to him for his keeping.

The officers of the senior department mess together, and their table is regulated by specific statutes of the college.

_Junior department._

This department is calculated to receive three hundred students from the age of fourteen to sixteen. Fifty out of this number may be cadets of the hon. East India company’s service; one hundred the sons of noblemen and gentlemen who are intended for the army; one hundred the sons of officers actually in the service; and fifty the sons of officers who have died, or have been disabled in his majesty’s service, and are left in pecuniary distress.

The students are formed into four companies; and proper persons are appointed for their care and superintendance.

They are to wear an established uniform, and to be conducted as a military body; regard being had to their youth, and certain instructions adapted for its government.

The course of study which is arranged for this department is of a preparatory nature, leading gradually to branches of a higher class that are fitted for the staff; and adding to classical knowlege, every accomplishment that is required to form the character of a perfect gentleman and officer.

The students are taught the several branches of mathematics, field fortification, together with the general principles of gunnery and artillery service. They are instructed in drawing military plans, military movements, and perspective. They are also made acquainted with the first rudiments of war, the science of military manœuvre, with geography and history, as well as with the German and French languages. Professors and masters are appointed to teach the Hindoo and Persian tongues, as being immediately necessary to the service of India. Masters are likewise provided to instruct cadets in the geography of India, and to make them familiarly acquainted with the local knowlege of the settlement for which they are severally intended.

The directors of instruction are made particularly responsible for the proper management of the studies, and different elementary branches which constitute an essential part of the establishment.

The professors and masters are employed generally to instruct in both departments, under the control of the chief director.

The whole establishment, which has military knowlege and improvement for its basis, is conducted upon strict military principles, and in scrupulous conformity to the rules and discipline which are issued by authority for the government of the army at large.

A sufficient number of masters are constantly resident in the college, for the instruction of such students as may wish to continue their classical studies. Frequent lessons are given them on moral and natural philosophy.

They are likewise taught riding, swimming, fencing, and the sabre and sword exercise.

The instruction of the department is divided into two parts, forming a junior and senior division of study.