Part 32

It is in ancient authors we find all that is excellent, either in politics or war: the make and form of arms are changed since the invention of gunpowder; but the science of war is always the same. On one hand, history instructs us by examples, and furnishes us with proofs, of the beautiful maxims of virtue and wisdom, which morality has taught us: it gives us a kind of experience, beforehand, of what we are to do in the world; it teaches us to regulate our life, and to conduct ourselves with wisdom, to understand mankind; ever to carry ourselves with integrity and probity, never to do a mean action; and to measure grandeur with the level of reason, that we may despise it when dangerous or ridiculous.

On the other hand, history serves to give us a knowlege of the universe, and the different nations which inhabit it; their prejudices, their governments, their interests, their commerce, their politics, and the law of nations. It shews us the origin of the illustrious men who have reigned in the world, and given birth to their successors.

The knowlege of military mathematics, regards the operations of war in general; every thing there consists in proportion, measure, and motion: it treats of marches, encampments, battles, artillery, fortification, lines, sieges, mines, ammunition, provisions, fleets, and every thing which relates to war; but no perfect notion can be acquired without geometry, natural philosophy, mechanics, military architecture, and the art of drawing.

The study of languages is most useful to an officer, and he feels the necessity of it, in proportion as he rises to higher employments. Thus the Latin, German, and French languages, are very necessary for an English officer; as the English, French, and Italian, are for a German.

_French_ MILITARY EDUCATION. He who undertakes to investigate the causes of the military superiority of the modern French, will, perhaps, be inclined to attach some importance to the facts contained in the following anecdote:

In the course of the winter of 1806, part of the pupils of the _Prytaneum_, at Paris, left that city to receive appointments as officers in the grand army in Poland. The route of these youths, of whom many had not obtained their full stature, and others had a weakly appearance, though they were neither so small nor so weak as were formerly many subalterns in the Prussian army--led them through Berlin. An officer accompanied them in quality of inspector. They passed one night in that capital.

A well-informed inhabitant of the city, who had formerly been in the army, and possessing considerable military attainments, had occasion to be in the neighborhood of their quarters. Their juvenile appearance induced him to ask the officer who accompanied them, whether these youths would be capable of enduring the fatigues and dangers of field encampments in a northern climate, at so inclement a season, and in such a country as Poland. The officer, a polite and sensible man, made this reply:--

“These young men, sir, can scarcely be subjected to any contingency for which they are not perfectly prepared by education and practice. You are mistaken if you imagine that the Emperor Napoleon considers theoretical instruction sufficient for a soldier; our institution goes farther, a great deal farther. All these youths whom you here see, have had much more experience than many officers in actual service in other armies. Their constitution is early inured to all the prejudicial influences which menace the practical soldier. Among these young men there is not one but what has worked with his own hands at the construction of real forts; not one but what has stood centinel whole nights together. All of them have slept many cold and tempestuous nights in the open air, and next day performed a march of 16 or 18 miles; have climbed lofty mountains, beneath the scorching rays of a meridian sun; have swam, sometimes in their clothes, sometimes without, through impetuous rivers and chilling streams; have even been obliged to abstain for whole days from food, and during the hottest weather from drink, that they might learn to endure all possible inconveniences incident to a soldier’s life, and that they might be intimately acquainted with them before they were involved in them by necessity. Nothing would terrify them in an uncommon degree: for in the sham fights in our Institution, the rapier is thrown away after the first few hours, and a sharp sword is put into the hands of the pupils. If any of them receive a wound, he has nothing but his own aukwardness to blame for it. It is his business to protect himself by his superiority. Would you now repeat your question?”

It is easy to conceive what an effect such a practical education must have upon the soldier in the higher ranks! What may be expected of an officer thus prepared for every event? That the conduct of their leader operates with a powerful impulse on all those who are under his command, is not to be denied. Exercise begets courage and energy, and at a period when war is a trade, those who possess these two qualities in the highest degree, must predominate.

EFFECTIVE _men_, in a military sense, are soldiers fit for service; as an army of 30,000 effective (fighting) men.

EFFORT _du Cannon_, _Fr._ The effect or impression made by a piece of ordnance, which wholly depends upon the manner it is loaded and fired.

EGUILLETTES. Shoulder knots.

_To_ ELANCE, to throw darts, &c.

ELDER _battalion_. A battalion is counted elder than another, by the time since it was raised. See SENIORITY.

ELDER _officer_, is he whose commission bears the oldest date. See SENIORITY.

ELEMENTS, in a military sense, signify the first principles of tactics, fortification, and gunnery.

ELLIPSIS, an oval figure, made by the section of a cone, by a plane dividing both sides of a cone; and though not parallel to the base, yet meeting with the base when produced.

ELEVATION, in _gunnery_, that comprehended between the horizon and the line of direction of either cannon or mortars; or it is that which the chace of a piece, or the axis of its hollow cylinder, makes with the plane of the horizon.

EMBARKATION. The act of putting troops on board of ship, when destined to be conveyed on an expedition.

EMBARKATION. 1. _Of ordnance and stores._--The first thing necessary is to prepare a list of all the articles to be embarked, with the weight of each. This list must have a large column for remarks. The tonnage required for bulky articles will be generally one third more than their actual weight; but the tonnage of ordnance, shells, shot, &c. will be equal to their weight. If vessels be paid according to the tonnage they carry, the masters will of course stow away as much as the ships will hold; but if, by the voyage, they will be averse to loading their ships too much; a naval officer should therefore always attend to see that the ships are properly stowed.

Ordnance and stores may be embarked either for the purpose of merely transporting them to another situation, or for a military expedition. In the first case, each ship must be stowed with as much as it will carry, and every article that relates to one particular species of service or ordnance, must be put on board the same ship; that in case one ship be lost, the others may remain in themselves complete. This principle must of course be likewise attended to in an embarkation for an expedition; but a more particular distribution must take place of the stores when on board. With each piece of ordnance must be placed every thing necessary for its service; its side arms, carriage, limber, ammunition, &c. so as to be readily come at, when required to be disembarked. If it be an embarkation of ordnance, &c. for a siege, not only every thing necessary for the service of the pieces of ordnance should be arranged with them; but also every thing necessary for the construction of the battery on which they are mounted. It will be adviseable in this case, to put different kinds of ordnance in the same ship, in proportions according to the service required of them. In general it will be best to put the heavy articles in first, and every thing that is light, easy to be removed, or likely to be first wanted, on the top. Previous to embarkation, the guns, carriages, waggons, &c. must be dismounted, but first numbered as follows: and the number of each article marked in the list, in the column of remarks. Give each piece of ordnance and its carriage the same number. Give the ammunition and other carriages, different numbers from the ordnance carriages. Then give every limber, whether of ordnance carriage, ammunition carriage, or waggon, the number of its respective carriage. If for a simple transport, arrange the small stores, side arms, &c. according to their several kinds; but if for an expedition, every thing belonging to each particular piece of ordnance must be collected together, and the cases or chests in which they are put, marked with the number of the piece of ordnance to which they belong, their kinds and description. If there be any doubt of the different parts of the carriages, being made with that uniformity, so essentially necessary, every part which is separated, must bear the number of its carriage. This precaution at any rate may be a good one, if the same vessel contain different kinds of ordnance or carriages.

The axletrees need not be taken off the carriages, if the vessel be of a sufficient size to admit them when fixed, as they are not easily replaced without workmen and a tedious operation. When a carriage is dismounted, all the small articles, such as elevating screws, linch pins, drag washers, cap squares, &c. must be carefully collected, and secured in a box, marked with the description of stores, and number of the carriage to which they belong. All carriages or waggons embarked with their axletrees fixed, must be arranged in the ship, side by side, and alternately front and rear, that their axletrees may not interfere with each other, and take too much room. Every transport or other vessel employed in carrying troops or stores for an expedition, should be numbered on the quarters and on the bows, with figures as large as 2 or 3 feet, and on the sails, that they may be known at a distance. The number of the ship, her name and tonnage, and the master’s name should be entered in the list of the stores which she carries.

In disembarking ordnance and stores, they must be landed exactly in order, the reverse of what they were shipped. The carriages and waggons must be mounted as soon as possible, and every kind must be arranged as far from the shore as possible to prevent confusion. If the disembarkation take place in the presence of an enemy, the vessels of course must be loaded accordingly; and the field ordnance, with their carriages, ammunition, &c. must be so arranged as to be first landed, and with the greatest ease possible. In this case, the entrenching tools must also be kept in the greatest readiness.--_Aide Memoire._

2. _Of troops._--All transports taken into the public service, are under the direction of the naval agents, and of their agents at the different ports at home and abroad. No troops or other persons can be put on board them, or victualled, but by an order from the navy department, or one of its agents. Troops embarked on board transports or ships of war (except as marines) are only allowed two thirds of a seaman’s allowance of provisions. (See the word RATION.) It is therefore necessary to divide the men into messes of 6 each. Six women to 100 men embarked on foreign service, are allowed rations; and 10 women to 100 men on home service. The births on board transports, are usually made 6 feet square, and each admits 4 men at a time; but one third of the men should always be on deck; there fore 6 men (or one mess) are told off to each birth, one third of whom are always on watch. The commanding officer of the troops on board a transport, has a right to peruse the charter party of the ship, which points out every different article, as firing, candles, boats, utensils, &c. which the ship is engaged to find for the use of the troops on board. It likewise expresses the part of the ship allotted to the officers, to the master, the mate, and the agent, should there be one on board.

EMBARGO, a prohibition for any ships to leave a port: generally enforced on the rupture of any two or more nations, or by law.

EMBARK. See EMBARKATION.

EMBARRASS, _Fr._ a cheval de frise.

EMBATTLE. See BATTLE ARRAY.

EMBEZZLING, EMBEZZLEMENT, of military stores, is punishable by the articles of war, but not at the discretion of a general court martial, as the offender must be sentenced to be cashiered.

EMBLEE, _Fr._ a prompt, sudden, and vigorous attack, which is made against the covert way and out works of a fortified place. This military operation is executed by means of a rapid march, and an unexpected appearance before a town, followed by an instantaneous assault upon the out posts of the enemy, who is thrown into so much confusion, that the assailants force their way at the same time, and endeavor to get possession of the town.

EMBOUCHURE _du canon_, _Fr._ the muzzle of a cannon.

EMBRASSEUR, _Fr._ from embrasser, to embrace or close round. A piece of iron, which grasps the trunnions of a piece of ordnance, when it is raised upon the boring machine, to widen its calibre.

EMBRASURE, in _fortification_, is an opening, hole, or aperture in a parapet, through which cannon is pointed to fire at the enemy. Embrasures are generally made from 10 to 12 feet distant from one another, every one of them being from 6 to 9 feet wide without, and 2 or 2¹⁄₂ within: their height above the platform is 2¹⁄₂ er 3 feet towards the town, and 1¹⁄₂ foot on the other side towards the field, so that the muzzle of the piece may be sunk on occasion, and brought to fire low. See BATTERY and FORTIFICATION.

EMBUSCADE, _Fr._ See AMBUSCADE.

EMERILLON, _Fr._ a mislin, or small piece of brass or cast iron, which does not exceed a pound weight.

EMERY, a ground iron ore. The British soldiers are each allowed a certain quantity for cleaning their arms.

EMIGRANTS, persons who have quitted their native country.

EMINENCE, in military art, a high or rising ground, which overlooks and commands the low places about it: such places, within cannon shot of any fortified place, are a great disadvantage; for if the besiegers become masters of them, they can from thence fire into the place.

EMISSARY, a person sent by any power that is at war with another, for the purpose of creating disaffection among the people of the latter.

EMOUSSER, _Fr._ to blunt, to dull. In a military sense, it signifies to take off the four comers of a battalion, which has formed a square, and to give it, by those means, an octagon figure; from the different obtuse angles of which it may fire in all directions.

EMPALE. See FORTIFY.

EMPATTEMENT, in _fortification_. See TALUS.

EMPILEMENT, _Fr._ from empiler, to pile up. The act of disposing balls, grenades, and shells, in the most secure and convenient manner. This generally occurs in arsenals and citadels.

EMPRIZE. See EXPEDITION.

EMULATION, in a military sense, is a noble jealousy, without the slightest tincture of envy, whereby gentlemen endeavor to surpass each other in the acquisition of military knowlege. Is not the want of encouragement to excite emulation, the great cause of misconduct among military men? An officer who is not protected, who is never sure of the least favor, neglects himself, and takes less trouble to acquire glory, rarely heard of, though merited by the bravest actions, than to enjoy the tranquillity of an ordinary reputation. Brave actions, by whomsoever accomplished, should never be buried in oblivion, as they excite to emulation, and are full of instruction.

ENAMBUSH. See AMBUSH.

ENCAMPMENT, the pitching of a camp. See CAMP.

In the regulations published by authority, are particularly enjoined the following:

_Attentions relative to_ ENCAMPMENTS. On the arrival of a brigade, or a battalion, on the ground destined for its camp, the quarter and rear guards of the respective regiments will immediately mount; and when circumstances require them, the advanced picquets will be posted. The grand guards of cavalry will be formed, and the horses picqueted. The mens’ tents will then be pitched, and till this duty is completed, the officers are on no account to quit their troops or companies, or to employ any soldier for their own accommodation.

Necessaries are to be made in the most convenient situations, and the utmost attention is required in this, and every other particular, to the cleanliness of the camp.

If circumstances will allow the ground on which a regiment is to encamp to be previously ascertained, the pioneers should make these, and other essential conveniences, before the corps arrives at its encampment.

Whenever a regiment remains more than one night in a camp, regular kitchens are to be constructed.

No tents, or huts, are to be allowed in front of, or between the intervals of the battalions. A spot or ground for this purpose should be marked by the quarter-master, with the approbation of the commanding officer.

On arriving in a camp which is intersected by hedges, ditches, unequal or boggy ground, regiments will immediately make openings of communication, of 60 feet in width.

The ground in front of the encampment is to be cleared, and every obstacle to the movement of the artillery and troops is to be removed.

Commanding officers of regiments must take care that their communication with the nearest grand route is open, and free from any impediments.

ENCEINTE, in _fortification_, is the interior wall or rampart which surrounds a place, sometimes composed of bastions or curtains, either faced or lined with brick or stone, or only made of earth. The _enceinte_ is sometimes only flanked by round or square towers, which is called a Roman wall.

ENCLOUER _un canon_, _Fr._ to spike the cannon.

ENCLOUEURE, _Fr._ this term is used in the artillery, to signify the actual state and condition of any thing that has been spiked.

ENCOUNTERS, in military affairs, are combats, or fights, between two persons only. Figuratively, battles or attacks by small or large armies. The marquis de Feuquieres mentions four instances of particular encounters brought on by entire armies, with a design to create a general engagement.

ENCOURAGE. See ANIMATE.

ENCROACHMENT, the advancement of the troops of one nation, on the rights or limits of another.

ENDORMI, _Fr._ asleep; _soldat endormi_, a soldier asleep on guard. See the articles of war, which direct that any centinel who is found asleep during the period of his duty, shall be punished with death.

ENDECAGON, a plain figure of 11 sides and angles.

ENEMY, in a military sense, one who is of an opposite side in war, or who publicly invades a country.

ENFANS _perdus_, forlorn hope, in military history, are soldiers detached from several regiments, or otherwise appointed to give the first onset in battle, or in an attack upon the counterscarp, or the breach of a place besieged; so called (by the French) because of the imminent danger they are exposed to.

ENFILADE, in _fortification_, is used in speaking of trenches, or other places, which may be scoured by the enemy’s shot, along their whole length. In conducting the approaches at a siege, care must be taken that the trenches be not _enfiladed_ from any work of the place. See TRENCHES.

_To_ ENFILADE, is to sweep the whole length of any work or line of troops, with the shot of artillery or small arms.

ENFILER, _Fr._ to enfilade, is to batter and sweep with cannon shot, the whole extent of a strait line.

ENGAGEMENT, _Fr._ See ENLISTMENT.

ENGAGEMENT. See BATTLE.

ENGARRISON, to protect any place by a garrison.

ENGINES, in military mechanics, are compound machines, made of one or more mechanical powers, as levers, pullies, screws, &c. in order to raise, project, or sustain any weight, or produce any effect which could not be easily effected otherwise.

ENGINE _to drive fuzes_, consists of a wheel with a handle to it, to raise a certain weight, and to let it fall upon the driver, by which the strokes become more equal.

ENGINE _to draw fuzes_, has a screw fixed upon a three-legged stand, the bottom of which has a ring to place it upon the shell; and at the end of the screw is fixed a hand screw by means of a collar, which being screwed on the fuze, by turning the upper screw, draws out or raises the fuze.

ENGINEER, is commonly applied to an officer who is appointed to inspect and contrive any attacks, defences, &c. of a fortified place, or to build or repair them, &c.

The art of fortification is an art which stands in need of so many others, and whose object is so extensive, and its operations accompanied with so many various circumstances, that it is almost impossible for a man to make himself master of it by experience alone, even supposing him born with all the advantages of genius and disposition possible for the knowlege and practice of that important art. We do not pretend to deny that experience is of greater efficacy, than all the precepts in the world: but it has likewise its inconveniences as well as its advantages; its fruits are of slow growth; and whoever is content with pursuing only that method of instruction, seldom knows how to act upon emergencies of all kinds, because old age incapacitates him from exercising his employment. Experience teaches us, through the means of the errors we commit ourselves, what theory teaches us at the expence of others. The life of man being short, and opportunities of practice seldom happening, it is certain nothing less than a happy genius, a great share of theory, and intent application joined to experience, can make an engineer one day shine in his profession. From whence it follows, that less than the three first of those four qualities, should not be a recommendation for the reception of a young gentleman into a corps of engineers.

The fundamental sciences, and those absolutely necessary, are arithmetic, geometry, mechanics, hydraulics, and drawing. Without arithmetic, it is impossible to make a calculation of the extent, and to keep an account of the disbursements made, or to be made; nor without it can an exact computation be made upon any occasion whatsoever.

Without geometry, it is impossible to lay down a plan or map with truth and exactness, or settle a draught of a fortification, or calculate the lines and angles, so as to make a just estimation, in order to trace them on the ground, and to measure the surface and solidity of their parts.

Mechanics teach us the proportions of the machines in use, and how to increase or diminish their powers as occasion may require; and likewise to judge whether those which our own imagination suggests to us, will answer in practice.

Hydraulics teach us how to conduct waters from one place to another, to keep them at a certain height, or to raise them higher.

How fluently soever we may express ourselves in speaking or writing, we can never give so perfect an idea as by an exact drawing; and often in fortification both are wanted; for which reason the art of drawing is indispensibly necessary for engineers.