Part 164

A regiment, consisting of 1000 men, and provided with three medical persons, ought to be furnished with hospital necessaries and utensils for at least 40 patients. It should be provided with 40 cotton night caps, 40 sets of bedding, in the proportion of four for every hundred men; each set consisting of one paillasse, one straw mattrass, one bolster, three sheets, two blankets, and one rug.

For regiments of a smaller number, the quantity of hospital necessaries will of course be proportionally reduced.

_Bakery_ UTENSILS. The following list of bakery utensils, being the proportion requisite for an army of 36,000 men, has been extracted from the British commissary, to which useful treatise we refer the military reader for a specific description of field ovens, &c. and field bakery, page 16, &c.

12 double iron ovens, 11 feet long, 9 feet diameter, and 3 feet high; 28 troughs and their covers, 16 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet deep, to kneed the dough.

12 large canvas tents (having double coverings) 32 feet long, and 24 feet wide, to make the bread in.

4 ditto, to cool and deposit the bread in.

2 ditto, to deposit the meal and empty sacks in.

200 boards, 8 feet long, and 1¹⁄₂ feet wide, to carry the bread to the oven and back when baked; 24 small scales to weigh the dough, with weights from half an ounce to 6 lbs.; 24 small lamps for night work; 24 small hatchets; 24 scrapers, to scrape the dough from the troughs; 12 copper kettles, containing each from 10 to 12 pails of water; 12 trevets for ditto; 12 barrels with handles, to carry water, containing each from 6 to 7 pails.

12 pails, to draw water; 24 yokes and hooks, to carry the barrels by hand; 24 iron peles, to shove and draw the bread from the ovens; 24 iron pitchforks, to turn and move the firewood and coals in the ovens; 24 spare handles, 14 feet long, for the peles and pitchforks; 24 rakes, with handles of the same length, to clear away the coals and cinders from the ovens; 4 large scales, to weigh the sacks and barrels of meal, and capable of weighing 500 lb.; 4 triangles for the said scales; to each must be added 500 lb. of weights, 3 of 100 lb. each, 2 of 50 lb. each, and downwards to half a pound.

VULNERABLE. Susceptive of wounds; liable to external injuries; capable of being taken; as, the town is extremely vulnerable in such a quarter. It is also applied to military dispositions, viz. the army was vulnerable in the centre or on the left wing.

An assemblage of men without arms, or with arms but without discipline, or having discipline and arms, without officers are _vulnerable_.

W.

WAD, (_Bourre_, _Fr._) In _gunnery_, a substance made of hay or straw, and sometimes of tow rolled up tight in a ball. It serves to be put into a gun after the powder, and rammed home, to prevent the powder from being scattered, which would have no effect if left unconfined.

WAD-_mill_. A hollow form of wood to make the wads of a proper size.

WAD-_hook_. A strong iron screw, like those that serve for drawing corks, mounted upon a wooden handle, to draw out the wads, or any part of cartridges, which often remain in guns, and when accumulated stop up the vent.

WADA or WADADARY, _Ind._ A farm of a district.

WADABUNDY, _Ind._ Stated periods or dates, on which money is to be paid.

WADADAR, _Ind._ A government officer, who is responsible for the rents of a zemindary.

WADDING. Oakum, hay or straw, or any other article generally carried along with the guns to be made into wads.

_Experiments relative to the effects of_ WADDING. The quantity of powder requisite to raise a shell weighing 218 lb. clear of the mortar and bed was found to be 4 oz. 2 dr. without any wadding; but with the help of a little wadding, rammed over the powder, 3 oz. 1 dr. were sufficient. The powder, requisite to raise a shell weighing 106 lb. clear of the mortar and bed, was found to be 2 oz. 6 dr. without any wadding; but with wadding, properly rammed over the powder, 2 oz. were found to be sufficient.

To raise a shell of 16 lb. 4 dr. were sufficient without wadding, and only 3 dr. with wadding.

And to raise a shell of 8 lb. 2 dr. were enough without wadding, and 1 dr. two-thirds with wadding.

From the above experiments it may be observed, that the judicious ramming of a little wadding over the powder, adds about ¹⁄₄ part of the whole effect.

WAGGON, in _the army_, (_Chariot_, _Fr._) is a four-wheel carriage, drawn by four horses, and for sundry uses.

_Ammunition_-WAGGON. (_Chariot d’artillerie_, _Fr._) A carriage made for transporting all kinds of stores, as also to carry bread, it being lined round in the inside with basket-work. See CAISSON.

WAGGON-_Train_. The waggons, caissons, carts, &c. provided for the use of an army are so called. One great engine, on which the movements of an army depend, is a proper establishment of waggons. In all wars great abuses have, as well as great ignorance, prevailed in this department.

In the seven years war the British had a general contractor for the waggon train, and his contract was kept up until the year before the peace, when that government bought the train of him. In the American war, waggons were considered almost as a privilege by the departments to which they were attached, until Brook Watson was appointed commissary general, who found it necessary to make great reforms in that branch of the service. The same gentleman, when he went out to the continent of Europe with the duke of York in 1793, made use of the waggons of different contractors: but in the beginning of 1794, an experiment was made by raising a corps called the corps of royal waggoners, and purchasing waggons and horses. Its miserable state became proverbial in the army: it failed completely in every part, and on many occasions, the service suffered very materially in consequence of the abuses of contractors.

The idea of this corps was probably taken from the fine well regulated establishment of the French, from whom the Austrians copied it as a standing establishment, having officers and men trained to the service, and a system improved and perfect.

The British waggon-train was sold, and every purchaser of not less than fifty waggons was admitted to the advantages of a contract for all the waggons he purchased; he was insured the duration of his contract for three months, and was only to deposit one-third of the cost, allowing the remainder to be paid out of his earnings. The form of the contract and the pay of the waggons were previously fixed, and by this mode a most advantageous sale was procured, while a new set of contractors were introduced, with the additional advantage of obliging old contractors to reduce their prices, and to come under the same terms.

_The space of ground occupied by a waggon with four horses_ is about 16 yards; a mile will therefore hold 110 waggons; but allowing a short distance between each waggon in travelling, a mile may be said to contain about 100 waggons. Waggons in convoy may travel from one to two miles per hour, according to the roads and other circumstances. A great object in convoys is to preserve the horses as much as possible from fatigue. For this purpose, if the convoy amounts to many hundred waggons, they must be divided into divisions of not more than 500 each. Should it consist of thousands, it will be advisable to divide them into _grand_ divisions, and then again into subdivisions of 500 each: by this means, and the time of departure being calculated by the following rules, each division may remain at rest, till just before its time of movement; and which will prevent the necessity of the latter part of a large convoy being harassed for a considerable time before its turn to move.

Rule 1. _To find the time in which any number of waggons may be driven off_: Divide the number of waggons by 100, and multiply by the time of travelling one mile.

Rule 2. _To find the time in which any number of waggons will drive over any number of miles_: To the time they take in driving off, add the time any one of the waggons takes to travel the distance.

The different divisions of the convoy should be numbered, and obliged each day to change the order of their marching.

WAGGONER, (_Charretier_, _Fr._) One who drives a waggon.

_Corps of_ WAGGONERS, (_Corps de Charretiers_, _Fr._) A body of men employed in the commissariate, so called.

WAGRAM, _battle of_. Decided the war between France and Austria in 1809.

WAKANAGUR, _Ind._ A writer of occurrences.

WAINROPE. The large cord with which the load is tied on the waggon.

WAIT. To lie in wait; to lay wait. See AMBUSH.

WALL. A series of brick, stone, or other materials carried upwards and cemented with mortar. When used in the plural number, wall signifies fortification; works built for defence.

_To be driven to the_ WALL, (_Etre acculé_, _Fr._) A figurative term signifying to be so pressed, that you can neither advance nor retreat.

WALLS _of a Tent or Marquee_. That part of the canvas which is attached to the fly or top by means of hooks and eyes, and which is fixed to the earth with wooden pegs. These walls should be frequently lowered in order to admit fresh air. When there is an hospital tent, this precaution is indispensible, if the weather will permit.

WALLET. See HAVERSACK, KNAPSACK.

WALLOON, Spanish troops from the Netherlands.

WAPENTAKE, (from the Saxon.) The same as what we call a hundred, and more especially used in the northern counties of England beyond the Trent. There have been several conjectures as to the original of the word; one of which is, that anciently musters were made of the armor and weapons of the inhabitants of every hundred; and from those that could not find sufficient pledges of their good abeating, their weapons were taken away; whence it is said _Wapentake_ is derived. _Spenser_ says it was so named, of touching the weapon or spear of their alderman, and swearing to follow him faithfully, and serve their prince truly.

WAR. A contest or difference between princes, states, or large bodies of people, which, not being determinable by the ordinary measures of justice and equity, is referred to the decision of the sword, &c.

It is that important event, for which all military education is designed to prepare the soldier. It is for this that in peace, he receives the indulgence of a subsistence from society; and for this he is gratefully bound to secure the repose of that society from the outrage of an enemy and to guard its possessions from the devastations of invaders.

It would be needless as impossible to show, how often the art of war has accomplished the design of its institution; we shall, however, distinguish those English wars which are remarkable in history.

War with Scotland, 1068. Peace with{ditto, 1113. {France, 1113. War with France, 1116. Peace with{ditto, 1118. {Scotland, 1139. War with France, 1161. Peace with ditto, 1186. War again with France, 1194. Peace with ditto, 1195. {renewed, 1215. {ended, 1216. {with France, 1224. Civil war{ended, 1243. {1262. {ended, 1267. {with France, 1294. {with Scotland, 1296. Peace{with France, 1299. {with Scotland, 1323. {again with Scotland, 1327. War{ended, 1328. {again with Scotland, 1333. {with France, 1339. Peace with France, May 8, 1360. {with France, 1368. War{civil, 1400. {with Scotland, 1400. Peace with France, May 31, 1420. {with France, 1422. War{civil between York and Lancaster, {1452. Peace with France, Oct. 1741. War{civil, 1486. {with France, Oct. 6, 1492. Peace{with ditto, Nov. 3, 1492. {with Scotland, 1502. War{with France, Feb. 4, 1512. {with Scotland, 1513. Peace with France, Aug. 7, 1514. War with{ditto, 1522. {Scotland, 1522. Peace with{France, 1527. {Scotland, 1542. War with Scotland, directly after. Peace with France and Scotland, June 7, 1546. War with{Scotland, 1547. {France, 1549. Peace with both, March 6, 1550. {civil, 1553. War{with France, June 7, 1557. {with Scotland, 1557. Peace with{France, April 2, 1559. {Scotland, 1560. War }with France{1562. Peace} {1564. War with{Scotland, 1570. {Spain, 1588. Peace with ditto, Aug. 18, 1604. War with{Spain, 1624. {France, 1627. Peace with Spain and France, April 14, 1629. War{civil, 1642. {with the Dutch, 1651. Peace with ditto, April 5, 1654. War with Spain, 1655. Peace with Spain, Sept. 10, 1660. War with{France, Jan. 26, 1666. {Denmark, Oct. 19, 1666. Peace with the French, Danes, and Dutch, Aug. 24, 1667. Peace with Spain, Feb. 13, 1668. War with the Algerines, Sept. 6, 1669. Peace with ditto, Nov. 19, 1671. War with the Dutch, March, 1672. Peace with ditto, Feb. 28, 1674. War with France, May 7, 1689. Peace general, Sept. 20, 1697. War with France, May 4, 1702. Peace of Utrecht, March 13, 1713. War with Spain, Dec. 1718. Peace with ditto, 1721. War with{Spain, 1739. {France, March 31, 1744. War with{France, 1756. {Spain, Jan. 4, 1762. Peace with France and Spain, Feb. 10, 1763. War with the caribbs of St. Vincent in 1773. War against America, commenced July 14, 1774. {with France, Feb. 6, 1778. War{with Spain, April 17, 1780. {with Holland, 1780. Peace with America,} France, } Sept. 3, 1783. Spain, } Holland,}

War against France by the English, Prussians, Austrians, and other German powers, in 1793, called the _first coalition_.

Peace between Prussia and the French Republic, 1795.

Peace between Spain and the French Republic, 1795.

Peace between the French and the Sardinians in 1796.

Peace between the French and the Austrians in 1797.

War between the British and Tippoo Saib in India, in 1797.

War against the French or the second coalition of the Austrians, Russians, Neapolitans, &c. 1798.

War with the Turks, and the invasion of Egypt, in 1798.

Peace between the French and the Russians in 1799.

Peace between the French and Austrians in 1800.

Preliminaries of peace commenced between the French and the Ottoman empire in consequence of the reduction of Egypt by the British forces in 1801.

Preliminaries of peace between France and Great Britain, &c. called the peace of Amiens, 1801.

War renewed against France in 1804 by England.

War renewed by Austria in 1805.

War by Prussia in 1806.

War renewed by Austria in April 1809. See _Historical Dictionary_ of wars, battles, sieges, by the American editor of this work.

There are five different kinds of war, each of which is to be conducted differently the one from the other, viz. the offensive; the defensive; that between equal powers; the auxiliary, which is carried on out of our own territories to succor a state or ally, or to assist a weaker whom a more powerful nation has attacked; and a civil war.

_Offensive_ war must be long meditated on in private before it be openly entered upon; when the success will depend upon two essential points: that the plan be justly formed, and the enterprize conducted with order. It should be well and maturely considered and digested, and with the greatest secrecy, lest, however able the leaders or council may be, some of the precautions necessary to be taken, be discovered. These precautions are infinite both at home and abroad.

Abroad, they consist in alliances and security not to be disturbed in the meditated expedition, foreign levies, and the buying up of warlike ammunition, as well to increase our own stores as to prevent the enemy from getting them.

The precautions at home, consist in providing for the security of our distant frontiers, levying new troops, or augmenting the old ones, with as little noise as possible; furnishing your magazines with ammunition; constructing carriages for artillery and provisions; buying up horses, which should be done as much as possible among your neighbors; both to prevent their furnishing the enemy, and to preserve your own for the cavalry and the particular equipages of the officers.

Defensive war, may be divided into three kinds. It is either a war sustained by a nation, which is suddenly attacked by another who is superior in troops and in means; or a nation makes this sort of war by choice on one side of its frontiers, while it carries on offensive war elsewhere; or it is a war become defensive by the loss of a battle.

A _defensive_ war which a nation attacked by a superior enemy sustains, depends entirely upon the capacity of the general. His particular application should be, to chuse advantageous camps to stop the enemy, without, however, being obliged to fight him; to multiply small advantages; to harass and perplex the enemy in his foraging parties, and to oblige them to do it with great escorts; to attack their convoys; to render the passages of rivers or defiles as difficult to them as possible; to force them to keep together: if they want to attack a town, to throw in succors before it is invested; in short, in the beginning his chief aim should be, to acquire the enemy’s respect by his vigilance and activity, and by forcing him to be circumspect in his marches and manner of encampment, to gain time himself, and make the enemy lose it. An able general, carefully pursuing these maxims, will give courage to his soldiers, and to the inhabitants of the country; he gives time to his government to take proper precautions to resist the enemy who attacks him; and thus changes the nature of this disagreeable and vexatious kind of warfare.

The management of a defensive war requires more military judgment than that of an offensive one.

A war between equal powers, is that in which the neighboring states take no part, so long as the belligerent parties obtain no great advantage, the one over the other. This sort of war never should last long if you want to reap any advantages from it. As to its rules, they are entirely conformable to those already given; but we may look on it as a certain maxim in this sort of war, that the general who is the most active and penetrating, will ever in the end prevail over him, who possesses these qualities in a lesser degree; because, by his activity and penetration, he will multiply small advantages, till at last they procure him a decisive superiority. A general who is continually attentive to procure himself small advantages, ever obtains his end, which is to ruin the enemy’s army; in which case he changes the nature of the war, and makes it offensive; which should ever be the chief object of his prince.

_Auxiliary_ WAR, is that in which a nation succors its neighbors, either in consequence of alliances or engagements entered into with them; or sometimes to prevent their falling under the power of an ambitious prince.

If it is in virtue of treaties, he observes them religiously, in furnishing the number of troops prescribed, and even offering to augment his quota, if required; or in making a diversion by attacking the common enemy, or its allies.

If it is to prevent a neighboring prince from being crushed by a power, who after this conquest may become dangerous to yourself, there are several measures to be taken for your own particular interest. One of the chief is, to exact from those you succor, the possession of some place in security, lest they make their peace without your knowlege, or to your prejudice.

The general, therefore, who is chosen for the command of this auxiliary corps, should have wisdom, penetration, and foresight; wisdom, to preserve a proper discipline in his corps, that the allied prince may have no cause to complain of him; foresight and penetration, to prevent his troops suffering for want of subsistence, or being exposed to the perils of war, but in proportion to their numbers with those of the allied prince; and, finally, that nothing shall pass without his knowlege, which may be prejudicial to his master.

_Civil or intestine_ WAR, is that between subjects of the same realm, or between parties in the same state. In this sense we say, the civil wars of the Romans destroyed the republic; the civil wars of Grenada ruined the power of the Moors in Spain: the civil wars in England began 1641, and ended in the tyrant’s death.

_Religious_ WAR, is war maintained in a state on account of religion, one of the parties refusing to tolerate the other.

_Holy_ WAR, is that species of warfare which was anciently maintained by leagues and crusades, for the recovery of the Holy Land.

_Civil and religious_ WARS are ever unhappy for the states who sustain them. These sorts of war, which the animosity of the different parties, and fanaticism, always carry beyond the bounds of humanity, and the duties of society, have in general, no other rules but those of the _offensive_ and _defensive_. It has however always been observed, that civil wars form great men and good soldiers; because the rich and poor, citizens and laborers, being equally obliged to fight for their property and preservation, have all an opportunity of learning the art of war. This species of war may likewise be called revolutionary, with the additional circumstance, that in the latter sense it is of a more extensive nature.

WAR _of opinion_. See OPINION.

_Articles of_ WAR.

SECT. I. _Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled_, That from and after the passing of this act, the following shall be the rules and articles by which the armies of the United States shall be governed:

Art. 1. Every officer now in the army of the United States, shall, in six months from the passing of this act, and every officer who shall hereafter be appointed, shall before he enters on the duties of his office, subscribe these rules and regulations.

Art. 2. It is earnestly recommended to all officers and soldiers diligently to attend divine service; and all officers who shall behave indecently or irreverently at any place of divine worship, shall, if commissioned officers, be brought before a general court-martial, there to be publicly and severely reprimanded by the president; if non-commissioned officers or soldiers, every person so offending shall, for his first offence, forfeit _one sixth of a dollar_, to be deducted out of his next pay; for the second offence, he shall not only forfeit a like sum, but be confined twenty-four hours; and for every like offense shall suffer and pay in like manner; which money, so forfeited, shall be applied by the captain or senior officer of the troop or company, to the use of the sick soldiers of the company or troop to which the offender belongs.

Art. 3. Any non-commissioned officer or soldier who shall use any profane oath or execration shall incur the penalties expressed in the foregoing article, and a commissioned officer shall forfeit and pay for each and every such offence one dollar, to be applied as in the preceding article.

Art. 4. Every chaplain commissioned in the army or armies of the United States, who shall absent himself from the duties assigned him (except in cases of sickness or leave of absence) shall, on conviction thereof before a court-martial, be fined not exceeding one month’s pay, besides the loss of his pay during his absence; or be discharged, as the said court-martial shall judge proper.