Part 23

Chapter 233,641 wordsPublic domain

lbs. 42 Prs. med and heavy for Rnd. Shot 4 Case 3¹⁄₂ 12 Prs. Light Round Shot 3 Case 3 6 Prs. Desaguliers Round Shot 2¹⁄₄ Case 2 6 Prs. Medium Round Shot 2 Case 6 Prs. light Round Shot 1¹⁄₂ Case 1¹⁄₄ 3 Prs. Heavy Round Shot 1 Case 3 Prs. Light Round 12 oz.

The charge for battering guns is one third the weight of the round shot, for round shot, and one fourth of it for case shot.

The charge for carronades is usually one twelfth the weight of the shot. The highest is one eighth, and the lowest one sixteenth.

By the experiments made at Woolwich in March 1801, it is recommended, that when cylinder powder is used on service, the charges of field ordnance with round shot, shall be reduced to the usual quantities for case shot. The same experiments recommend, that the thickness or length of the wood bottom be varied, in order to change the position of the shot, and thereby save the bore; and that the paper cap which is usually thrown away on service, shall be put over the shot before it is introduced into the piece.

For charges for small arms see the word CARTRIDGES.

Charges of French guns in French weights.

lbs. 24 Prs. 8 }Siege 16 Prs. 5¹⁄₂}

12 Prs. 4 } 8 Prs. 2¹⁄₂}Field}¹⁄₄ less for Case Shot. 4 Prs. 1¹⁄₂} }

CHARGE _de mine_, _Fr._ the disposition of a certain quantity of powder, which is used for the explosion of a mine.

CHARGE, in gunnery, implies the quantity of powder, shot, ball, shells, grenades, &c. with which a gun, mortar, or howitzer, is loaded.

_Charges for heavy guns from a 42-pounder to a 3 pounder, both brass and iron, in proof, service, saluting, and ricochet._

+---------------+---------------+-------+------- | Proof. | Service. | | +-------+-------+-------+-------+ Salut-| Rico- Kinds.| Brass.| Iron. | Brass.| Iron. | ing. | chet. ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- Prs. |lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz.|lb. oz. ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 42 |31 8 |25 0 |14 0 |12 0 |10 4 | 3 4 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 32 |26 12 |21 8 |10 10 | 9 4 | 8 0 | 2 12 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 24 |21 0 |18 0 | 8 0 | 8 0 | 6 0 | 2 0 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 18 |18 0 |15 0 | 6 0 | 8 0 | 4 8 | 1 12 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 12 |12 0 |12 0 | 4 0 | 4 0 | 3 0 | 1 6 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 9 | 9 0 | 9 0 | 3 0 | 3 0 | 2 8 | 1 4 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 6 | 6 6 | 6 0 | 2 8 | 2 8 | 2 0 | 1 0 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- 3 | 3 0 | 3 0 | 1 0 | 1 0 | 0 12 | 0 6 ------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------

_Charges for Medium Guns._

_Charges for light Guns._

As pieces of artillery are of various denominations, and consequently made use of on several occasions, their charges must of course have many variations.

CHARGE, is also the attack of cavalry; and _charge bayonet_ is a word of command given to infantry, to force the enemy whom they are to charge at the point of the bayonet. _To sound a charge_, is the sound of the trumpet as a signal for cavalry to begin the attack.

CHARGE, in military law, is the specification of any crime, or offence for which a non-commissioned officer or soldier is tried before a court martial. In all charges of this nature, the time and place, when and where the crime, or offence was committed, must be set forth with accuracy and precision.

CHARGED _Cylinder_, in gunnery, implies that part of the chace of a gun, which contains the powder and ball.

CHARGER, any horse belonging to an officer on which he rides in action.

CHARGERS are also either bandoliers, or little flasks that contain powder for charge or priming.

CHARIOT, a car, in which men of arms were anciently placed. These were armed with scythes, hooks, &c. The person who drove the chariot was called the _charioteer_.

CHARPENTIER, _Fr._ a carpenter.

CHART, or _sea_-CHART, is a hydrographical map, or a projection of some part of the earth’s superficies in plano, for the use of navigators and geographers.

_Plane_-CHART, is a representation of some part of the earth’s superficies of the terraqueous globe, in which the meridians are supposed parallel to each other, the parallels of latitude at equal distances, and consequently the degrees of latitude and longitude every where equal to each other.

CHART _of reduction_, is that where the meridians are represented by right lines, inclining towards each other; thence it appears by construction, that these charts must correct the errors of the plane ones. But since these parallels should cut the meridians at right angles, and do not, they are defective, inasmuch as they exhibit the parallels inclined to the meridians.

_Mercators_-CHART, is that where the meridians are straight lines parallel to each other, and equidistant: these parallels are also straight lines, and parallel to each other; but the distance between increases from the equinoctial towards each pole, in the ratio of the secant of the latitude to the radius.

_Globular_-CHART, a meridional projection, wherein the distance of the eye from the plane of the meridian, upon which the projection is made, is supposed to be equal to the sine of the angle of 45 degrees. This projection comes the nearest of all to the nature of the globe, because the meridians therein are placed at equal distances.

_Chorographic_-CHARTS, are descriptions of particular countries.

_Heliographic_-CHARTS, descriptions of the body of the sun, and of the maculæ or spots observed in it.

_Selenographic_-CHARTS, particular appearances of the spots of the moon, her appearance and maculæ.

_Telegraphic_-CHARTS, are descriptions of the telegraph on paper.

_Topographic_-CHARTS, are specific delineations of military positions, in any given tract of country. Companies of topographers have been formed among the French, for the purpose of accurately and expeditiously pointing out to generals and commanding officers, all the relative points of locality, &c. See _American Mil. Lib._ article RECONNOITRING.

CHASE _of a gun_. See CHACE.

_To_ CHASE _the enemy_, means to march after them on horseback in full speed. To pursue a ship at sea.

CHASSEURS. The French light infantry, answering to the American _riflemen_ and German _yagers_, are called _chasseurs a pied_; they have also _chasseurs a cheval_. The word means literally a _hunter_.

CHAT, _Fr._ a piece of iron having one, two or three very sharp prongs, or claws; arranged in a triangular shape, when it has three prongs. This piece of iron is fixed to a shaft. It is used in the examination of a piece of ordnance, and by being introduced into the bore, shews whether it be honey-combed, damaged, or otherwise defective.

There is another species of _Chat_ which differs a little from the one we have just described. It consists of two branches of iron, that are fixed to the end of a piece of the same metal, and have, each of them two steel prongs or claws. One of these branches contains a hinge with a spring so fixed, that when the _chat_ is put into the bore, the least cavity releases the spring, and the defect is instantly discovered. Master Founders, who by no means like the invention, call the common chat _Le Diable_, the devil; and they distinguish the one with two branches, by terming it _la màlice du diable_, the malice of the devil.

CHATTER _les pieces_, _Fr._ to search, to probe, or examine pieces of ordnance with a chat, in order to discover whether there are any defects within the bore of a cannon.

CHAUDIERES, _Fr._ are vessels made use of in military magazines, to boil pitch in, for various purposes.

CHAUFFE, _Fr._ a spot where the wood is collected and burnt in a foundry. The _chauffe_ stands three feet under the side of the furnace, the flames which issue from it, spread over every part of the inside of the furnace, and by their intense heat dissolve the metal.

CHAUSSE-_Trapes_, _Fr._ are what we call _crows-feet_, they consist of nails with 4 or 5 points, of which one always stands upwards above the level of the ground; each point is 2, 3, 4 or 5 inches long. They are usually fixed in different parts of a breach, or in any place which is accessible to cavalry; to prevent its approach: sometimes they are of use to obstruct the passage of cavalry through the streets of towns.

CHAUSSEE, or _Rès de_ CHAUSSEE, an old expression for the level of the field or the plain ground.

CHEEKS, a general name among mechanics, for those pieces of timber in their machines, which are double and perfectly corresponding to each other. In the construction of military carriages, &c. the term is used to denote the strong planks which form the sides of gun carriages.

CHEF, _Fr._ Chef has various significations in the French service. With regard to private soldiers, it serves to mark out the corporal or oldest soldier, who has the management of their provisions in quarters, or in the field; this person was called _chef de chambrée_. A chef de chambrée among the Romans, was called a decanus, whence our church deacon.

CHEF _d’escadre_, _Fr._ a general officer, who commands any part of an army, or division of a fleet. His duty in the sea-service is nearly the same as that of a commodore or a brigadier general on shore. _Chefs d’escadre_ sit upon all general courts-martial, and rank according to the dates of their commissions.

CHEFS _de files_, _Fr._ the front rank of a battalion, consisting generally of the best and bravest soldiers. When an engagement takes place, par file, by files, as in the action of riflemen, the order of the battalion is necessarily changed; that which was rank becomes file, and what was file becomes rank.

CHELSEA HOSPITAL, a noble edifice which was built by Charles the 2d of England on his restoration, and afterwards improved by his successor James the 2d. Non-commissioned officers and private men, who have been wounded or maimed in the service, are entitled to the benefit of this hospital. There are in and out-pensioners belonging to the establishment, and the provisions of it extend to the militia under the following restrictions: serjeants who have served fifteen years, and corporals or drummers who have served twenty, may be recommended to the bounty. Serjeants on the establishment may likewise receive that allowance, with their pay in the militia. But serjeants who have been appointed subsequent to the passing of the 26th of George the 3d, are not entitled to it under twenty years service.

CHEMIN-_Couvert_. See COVERT-WAY.

CHEMIN _des rondes_, in _fortification_, space between the rampart and low parapet under it, for the rounds to go about it.

CHEMISE, _Fr._ an obsolete term to signify the revetement made of brick work, which was formerly constructed to secure works made of earth, especially those that were formed of sandy soil, and would necessarily require too large a talus to support the weight. The modern term is _ouvrage revetu_, _place revetüe_.

CHEMISE _de feu_, _Fr._ a French sea-term, to signify several pieces of old sails of various sizes, which after they have been pitched, and thoroughly soaked in other combustible matter, such as oil of petrol, camphor, &c. may be nailed to an enemy’s ship on boarding her, and when set fire to, will consume the same.

CHEMISE _de maille_, _Fr._ a shirt of mail, or body lining made of several scales or iron rings, which was worn under the coat to protect the body of a man.

CHEMISTRY, the art of examining bodies, and of extracting from them any of their component parts; a science of the first importance to military men; it opens to the mind so many sources of knowlege applicable to military uses.

CHESS, a nice and abstruse game, supposed to have been invented during the siege of Troy. This game is particularly adapted to military capacities.

CHEVAL _de Bois_, _Fr._ a wooden-horse, a military chastisement, which prostitutes who followed the French army, were subject to undergo, by exposing them, we presume, on a wooden-horse.

CHEVALER, in the manege, is said of a horse, when, in passing upon a walk or trot, his off fore leg crosses the near fore leg every second motion.

CHEVALET, _Fr._ a sort of bell-tent, formerly used in the French service, when an army encamped. It resembled in some degrees the wigwam of the Indian.

CHEVALIER, in a _general sense_, signifies a knight or horseman.

CHEVAUX-_de frize_, in _fortification_, a large joist or piece of timber, about 5 or 6 inches square, and 10 or 12 feet in length; into the sides whereof are driven a great number of wooden pins, about 6 feet long, and 1¹⁄₂ inch diameter, crossing one another at right angles, and pointed with iron. They are used on numberless occasions, as to stop up breaches, to secure avenues to a camp from the inroads both of horse and foot. They are sometimes mounted on wheels, with artificial fires, to roll down in an assault, &c. They were first used at the siege of Groningen, in 1658.

CHEVAUX-_de-frize_. The _body_ or _beam_ of a cheval-de-frize is generally made 9 feet long, and 6 inches square, and weighs 41 lbs. The _spears_ are 33 in number, weighing 2 lb. each, are 5 feet long, and 1¹⁄₄ inches square. They are placed 9¹⁄₂ inches asunder.

CHEVET, _Fr._ a small wedge which is used in raising a mortar, it is placed between the frame and swell of the mortar.

CHEVISANCE, _Fr._ enterprize, feat, or atchievement.

CHEVRE, _Fr._ a crab or gin. See CHEVRETTE.

CHEVRETTE, a kind of gin. Among the many inventions for raising guns or mortars into their carriages this engine is very useful; it is made of two pieces of wood about four feet long, standing upright upon a third, which is square: they are about a foot asunder, and parallel; pierced with holes opposite one another, to hold a strong bolt of iron, which may be raised higher or lower at pleasure: it may be used with a hand-spike, which takes its poise over this bolt, to raise any thing by force.

CHEVROTINES, _Fr._ leaden bullets of small calibre; there are generally sixty to a pound weight.

CHIEF _or_ CHIEFTAIN, the head leader, or commander of any clan in time of war, was so called, especially among the Scotch.

CHIORME, _Fr._ the crew of galley slaves and bonavogliers or volunteers.

CIMIER, _Fr._ a heavy ornament, which the ancient knights or chevaliers in France and in other countries were accustomed to wear upon their helmets; small figures were afterwards substituted in their stead.

CHOROGRAPHY, in _engineering_, is the art of making a drawing or map of a country, province or district.

CIMETAR, See SCIMITAR.

CINQUAIN, in _ancient military history_, was an order of battle, to draw up 5 battalions, so that they might make 3 lines; that is, a van, main-body, and reserve. Supposing the 5 battalions, to be in a line, the 2d and 4th advance and form the van, the 3d falls back and forms the rear, the 1st and 5th form the main body upon the same ground. Lastly, every battalion ought to have a squadron of horse on both the right and left wings. Any number of regiments, produced by multiplying by 5, may be drawn up in the same manner.

CIRCLE, in _mathematics_, is a plane figure, comprehended under one line only, to which all right lines drawn from a point in the middle of it are equal to one another.

CIRCUMFERENTER, an instrument used by engineers for measuring angles.

CIRCUMVALLATION, or _line of circumvallation_, in _military affairs_, implies a fortification of earth, consisting of a parapet and trench, made round the town intended to be besieged, when any molestation is apprehended from parties of the enemy, which may march to relieve the place.

Before the attack of a place is begun, care is to be taken to have the most exact plan of it possible; and upon this the line of circumvallation and the attack are projected. This line, being a fortification opposed to an enemy that may come from the open country to relieve the besieged, ought to have its defence directed against them; that is, so as to fire from the town: and the besiegers are to be encamped behind this line, and between it and the place. The camp should be as much as possible out of the reach of the shot of the place; and the line of circumvallation, which is to be farther distant from the place than the camp, ought still more to be out of the reach of its artillery.

As cannon are never to be fired from the rear of the camp, this line should be upwards of 1200 fathoms from the place: we will suppose its distance fixed at 1400 fathoms from the covert way. The depth of the camp may be computed at about 30 fathom, and from the head of the camp to the line of circumvallation 120 fathoms, that the army may have room to draw up in order of battle at the head of the camp, behind the line. This distance added to the 30 fathoms, makes 150 fathoms, which being added to the 1400, makes 1550 fathoms constitute the distance of the line of circumvallation from the covert-way. The top of this line is generally 12 feet broad, and 7 feet deep: the parapet runs quite round the top of it; and at certain distances is frequently strengthened with redoubts and small forts; the base 18 feet wide, the height within 6, and on the outside 5 feet, with a banquette of 3 feet wide, and 1¹⁄₂ high. See CONTRAVALLATION, or COUNTERVALLATION.

CIRCUS, in _military antiquity_, a very capacious building, of a round or oval form, erected by the ancients for exhibiting shews to the people.

CISEAUX, _Fr._ chissels made use of by miners, to loosen earth from the sides of the excavation, without making a noise, which the miner effects by striking the handle.

CITADEL, is a fort with 4, 5, or 6 bastions, raised on the most advantageous ground about a city, the better to command it; and commonly divided from it by an esplanade, the better to hinder the approach of an enemy; so that the citadel defends the inhabitants if they continue in their duty, and punishes them if they revolt. Besiegers always attack the city first, that, being masters of it, they may cover themselves the better against the fire of the citadel. Its having bastions distinguishes it from a castle. Sometimes the citadel stands half within, and half without the ramparts of the place.

CIVIC-CROWN, among the ancient Romans, was a crown given to any soldier who had saved the life of a citizen. It was composed only of oaken boughs, but accounted more honorable than any other.

CIVIERE, _Fr._ a small hand-barrow, which is carried by 2 men, and is much used by the artillery.

CLARENCIEUX, a silly pageant which has survived the feudal and heraldic ages, and kept up for shew in the court of England, he is called the second king at arms, from the duke of Clarence, third son of king Edward III.

CLARIGATION, in _Roman antiquity_, a ceremony which always preceded a formal declaration of war. It was performed in the following manner: the chief of the heralds went to the territory of the enemy; where, after some solemn prefatory indication, he, with a loud voice, intimated, that he declared war against them for certain reasons specified; such as injury done to the Roman allies, or the like.

CLAN, a term used among the Scotch for a number of families subject to one head, or chief, who led them to war. The word is _claöwn_ Celtic signifying _Children_.

CLATES. CLAYES. See HURDLES.

CLAYONAGES, _Fr._ a species of hurdle, with which the timber work of a gallery is covered. It is likewise used in saps.

CLEAR, to clear the trenches. See TRENCHES.

CLERK, in the general acceptation of the term, a writer in a public office; military departments have persons of this description. See _Regimental_ BOOK.

CLOCHE, _Fr._ a bell.

CLOTHING. Clothing of the army of the United States is provided under the order of the war department, by a purveyor of public supplies, who buys and sees the clothing made; it is then placed in the military stores and issued upon order. The clothing of the British army is determined by a permanent board, composed of the commander in chief, and a certain number of general officers, who act under the king’s immediate authority: The annual clothing of the infantry of the line, or fencible infantry, serving in Europe, in North America, or at the Cape of Good Hope, (Highland corps excepted) consists in a coat, waistcoat, or waistcoat front, a pair of breeches, unlined, except the waistband, and with one pocket only: a cap made of felt and leather, with brass plate, cockade and tuft. The felt crown of the cap, cockade, and tuft to be supplied annually, the leather part and brass plate, every two years. Two pair of good shoes, of the value of 5_s._ 6_d._ each pair, are to be supplied annually in lieu of the half mounting, and each serjeant is to be credited with the sum of 3_s._ being the difference between the value of the former articles of half mounting for a serjeant and private man. Some exceptions are made with respect to highland corps, and regiments serving in the East and West Indies.

CLOY, or _to cloy guns_. See _To_ NAIL.

CLOU, _Fr._ See NAILS.

CLOUTS. See AXLE-TREE.