Part 119
=Sambre.= A river of French Flanders, which has been the scene of many sanguinary conflicts at different periods. It arises in the Ardennes, between La Capelle and Chateaux-Cambressis; runs from southwest to northeast; washes Landrecy, a fortified town, which was taken by the Imperialists in 1793. In its vicinity is Troisville, where, in 1794, the French were defeated by the British under the Duke of York. Maubeuge is situated in advance of the forest of Mormal. It was fortified by Vauban, and has a manufactory of fire-arms, and a garrison of infantry and cavalry. It was vainly besieged by the allies in 1814. Near it is Wattignies, where Jourdan beat the Austrians in 1813, and compelled them to raise the siege of Maubeuge. From hence the Sambre flows out of France, and passing into Belgium, washes Charleroi, a fortified place, captured by the French in 1672, 1677, 1693, 1736, 1792, and 1794. It leaves upon the heights on its right bank, Fleurus, a place rendered famous by four remarkable battles,--that of 1622, gained by the Spaniards over the Protestants of Germany; that of 1690, gained by Luxemburg over the Imperialists; the battle of 1794, gained by Jourdan over the allies; and the battle of 1815 (also designated the battle of Ligny), gained by Napoleon over the Prussians. The battle of 1794 was preceded by the siege of Charleroi, during which the French had six times crossed the Sambre in vain, and had been repulsed in six battles, the most celebrated of which are those of Grandreng, of the Péchant, and of Marchienne.
=Sambuque= (_Fr._) An ancient musical instrument of the wind kind, resembling a flute. It was also the name of an ancient engine of war used by Marcellus in besieging Syracuse. Plutarch relates that two ships were required to carry it. A minute description of this engine may be seen in Polybius.
=Same=, or =Samos= (anc. _Cephallenia_). A town situated on the eastern coast, opposite Ithaca; was taken and destroyed by the Romans, 189 B.C.
=Samnites.= The people of ancient Samnium, a country of Central Italy. They were an offshoot of the Sabines, who emigrated from their country between the Nar and Tiber, and the Anio, before the foundation of Rome, and settled in Samnium. This country was at the time of their migration inhabited by Opicans, whom the Samnites conquered, and whose language they adopted. The Samnites were distinguished for their bravery and love of freedom. Issuing from their mountain fastnesses, they overran a great part of Campania; and it was in consequence of Capua applying to the Romans for assistance against the Samnites that war broke out between the two nations in 343 B.C. The Romans found the Samnites the most warlike and formidable enemies whom they had yet encountered in Italy, and the war, which commenced in 343, was continued with few interruptions for the space of fifty-three years. It was not until 290, when all their bravest troops had fallen, and their country had been repeatedly ravaged in every direction by the Roman legions, that the Samnites sued for peace and submitted to the supremacy of Rome. They, never, however, lost their love of freedom; and, accordingly, they not only joined the other Italian allies in the war against Rome (90), but, even after the other allies had submitted, they still continued in arms. The civil war between Marius and Sulla gave them hopes of recovering their independence; but they were defeated before the gates of Rome (82), the greater part of their troops fell in battle, and the remainder were put to death. Their towns were laid waste, the inhabitants sold as slaves, and their place supplied by Roman colonists.
=Samos.= An island on the west coast of Asia Minor, which was colonized by Ionians about 1043 B.C. Samos was taken by the Athenians, 440; and, with Greece, became subject to Rome, 146. It was taken by the Venetians, 1125; taken by the emperor Leo in the 13th century, and then successively fell into the hands of the Venetians, Genoese, and Turks. At the time of the Greek insurrection the Samians zealously embraced the side of liberty. They expelled the Turks from the island, which they put into a state of defense, establishing an independent government. Various attempts were made by the Turks to regain the island, but they were all foiled by the courage of the people and the vigilance of the Greek fleet. In the treaty, however, which secured the independence and defined the limits of Greece, Samos was still left to Turkey, and the subsequent efforts that she has made have only secured a partial freedom.
=San Antonio=, called also =San Antonio de Bexar=. A city of Texas, U. S., is built near the sources of the San Antonio River, 110 miles southwest of Austin. It is one of the oldest Spanish towns on the continent, and in the Texan revolution of 1836 was the scene of the massacre of the Alamo, when a garrison of 150 men, led by Col. Travis, and including David Crockett, was surrounded by several thousand Mexicans, and after a heroic resistance killed to the last man. It contains a national arsenal.
=San Jacinto.= A small village of Harris Co., Texas, on Buffalo Bayou, near its entrance into Galveston Bay, about 18 miles east of Houston. On April 21, 1836, the main Texan army under Gen. Houston met the Mexicans, who were double their number, near San Jacinto. Furiously the Texans rushed to battle, with the cry, “Remember the Alamo!” They fought at less than half-rifle distance, and in less than half an hour wholly routed the Mexicans, killing and wounding a number greater than the whole Texan force. Among the prisoners taken after the battle was Santa Anna himself. The result of this battle was the undisputed independence of Texas.
=San Salvador.= The smallest of the Central American republics, and consists of a strip of territory stretching along between Honduras and the Pacific, and bounded on the west by Guatemala, and on the east by Fonseca Bay. It was conquered after a long and obstinate contest by Pedro de Alvarado, a lieutenant of Cortez. In 1821 it threw off the yoke, and joined the Mexican Confederation, from which, however, it seceded in 1823. In 1863, a war broke out between San Salvador and Guatemala, in which Honduras joined the former and Nicaragua the latter. The result was the defeat of San Salvador.
=San Sebastian.= A seaport of Spain, capital of Guipuzcoa, one of the Basque provinces, on the shore of the Bay of Biscay, 42 miles north-northwest of Pampeluna. From its position and strength, it has long been a place of much importance, and has sustained several sieges. The most memorable of these was in 1813, when the British under Wellington took it by storm.
=San Severo.= A town of Naples, capital of a district in the province of Capitanata. The inhabitants in 1799 made a gallant but vain resistance to the French under Duhesme, in revenge for which an indiscriminate slaughter was begun, and the town was only saved from total destruction by the heroism of the women, who threw themselves between the victorious soldiery and their victims.
=Sandhurst Military College.= See MILITARY ACADEMIES (GREAT BRITAIN).
=Sangiac.= A situation or appointment of dignity in Turkey. The sangiacs are governors of towns or cantons, and take rank immediately after the _beglerbegs_. (See BEG.) The name is also applied to the banner which he is authorized to display, and has been mistaken for Saint Jacques.
=Sanjak.= A Turkish word signifying “a standard,” is employed to denote a subdivision of an _eyalet_, because the ruler of such a subdivision, called _sanjak-beg_, is entitled to carry in war a standard of one horse-tail. The sanjak is frequently called _liva_, and its ruler a _mirmiram_.
=Sanjak-Sherif.= See FLAG OF THE PROPHET.
=Sansculottes= (_i.e._, “without breeches”). Was the name given in scorn, at the beginning of the French revolution, by the court party to the democratic “proletaires” of Paris. The latter accepted this superfine reproach with sardonic pride, and the term soon became the distinctive appellation of a “good patriot,” more especially as such a one often made a point of showing his contempt for the rich by neglecting his apparel, and cultivating rough and cynical manners. Toward the close of the Convention, the name, connected as it had been with all the sanguinary excesses of the period, naturally fell into bad odor, and soon after totally disappeared.
=Santa Fé.= City and capital of the Territory of New Mexico, built among the Rocky Mountains, on a plain 7047 feet above the sea. It is an old Spanish Mexican town, about 20 miles east of the Rio Grande del Norte. The Spaniards were driven out of Santa Fé in 1680 by the Pueblo Indians; but it was recaptured by the former in 1694, and held by them till the occupation by Americans in 1846. It was occupied by the Confederates for several days in 1862.
=Santiago de Compostella.= An important and once famous city of Spain, formerly the capital of Galicia. It was sacked by the Moors in 995, and held by them till it was taken by Ferdinand III. in 1235. It was taken by the French in 1809, and held till 1814.
=Sap.= In military engineering, is a narrow ditch or trench, by which approach is made from the foremost parallel towards the glacis or covert way of a besieged place. The sap is usually made by four sappers, the leading man of whom rolls a large gabion before him, and excavates as he progresses, filling smaller gabions with the earth dug out, and erecting them on one or both sides to form a parapet. The other sappers widen and deepen the sap, throwing more earth on to the parapet. A sap is considered to advance in average ground about 8 feet per hour. From the nearness of the enemy’s works, running a sap is an extremely dangerous operation. When possible, therefore, it is carried on at night; in any case, the sappers are relieved at least every hour. When a sap is enlarged to the dimensions of a trench, it bears that name. When the fire of the enemy is slack, so that many gabions may be placed and filled at the same time, it is called a _flying sap_. If two parapets, one on each side of the trench, be formed, it is then called a _double sap_.
=Sap.= To pierce with saps; to execute saps. Also, to proceed by mining or secretly undermining.
=Sap-fagots.= Are fascines 3 feet long, placed vertically between two gabions, for the protection of the sappers before the parapet is thrown over.
=Sappers and Miners.= Are soldiers belonging to the engineer corps, and now called engineers, whose business it is to make gabions, fascines, hurdles, etc., to trace lines and trenches, to drive the various kinds of saps, to descend into and pass the ditch, to destroy the enemy’s obstacles, to drain the trenches, to put up the various kinds of revetments, to post and superintend working parties, and to serve in the mines when required. They are also taught to adjust and sod the slopes, to erect palisades, fraises, etc., and to repair the defenses of a place, as also to erect bridges, and throw pontons over rivers, to plant torpedoes, and in fact to perform all the duties appertaining to engineer soldiers. In marching near an enemy, every column should have with its advance-guard a detachment of sappers, furnished with tools to open the way or repair the road. Bonaparte considered the proper proportion of engineer soldiers to an army to be 1 : 40; but now in France it is 1 : 33; in England 1 : 34; in Prussia 1 : 36; and in the United States 1 : 60.
=Sapping.= The art of excavating trenches of approach, under the musketry-fire of the besieged.
=Sap-roller.= Consists of two large concentric gabions, 6 feet in length, the outer one having a diameter of 4 feet, the inner one a diameter of 2 feet 8 inches, the space between them being stuffed with pickets or small billets of hard wood, to make them musket-shot proof. Its use is to protect the squad of sappers in their approach from the fire of the place.
=Saracens.= A name variously employed by mediæval writers to designate the Mohammedans of Syria and Palestine, the Arabs generally, or the Arab-Berber races of Northern Africa, who conquered Spain and Sicily, and invaded France. At a later date it was employed as a synonym for all infidel nations against which crusades were preached, and was thus applied to the Seljuks of Iconium, the Turks, and even to the pagan Prussians.
=Saracen’s Head.= A not unfrequent bearing in heraldry. It is represented as the head of an old man with a savage countenance.
=Saragossa=, or =Zaragoza=. A city of Spain, the capital of a province of the same name, and formerly of the kingdom of Aragon. It is situated on the Ebro, which divides the city into two parts. It was a place of importance under the Romans, but there are few remains of the Roman city. It was taken by the Moors in the 8th century, and recovered from them in 1118, after a siege of five years, during which a great part of the inhabitants died of hunger. It was taken by the French in 1809, after a siege of eight months, and one of the most heroic defenses recorded in the history of modern warfare.
=Saratoga.= A township of Saratoga Co., N. Y., situated on the Hudson, 28 miles north from Albany. It is remarkable in American history as the place where Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans in 1777. From September 19 to October 7 frequent animated skirmishes occurred between the British and the Americans, but on the latter date the battle of Saratoga began. Gen. Gates drew up his army on the brow of a hill, near the river, his camp being in the segment of a large circle, the convex side towards the enemy. Gen. Burgoyne’s troops were drawn up with his left resting on the river, his right extending at right angles to it across the low grounds, about 200 yards, to a range of steep heights. The Americans attacked the British along their whole line, when the action became general. The efforts of the combatants were desperate. Burgoyne and his officers fought like men who were defending, at the last cast, their military reputation; Gates and his army like those who were deciding whether themselves and their children should be freedmen or slaves. The invading army gave way in the short space of fifty-two minutes. The defenders of the soil followed them to their intrenchments, forced the guard and killed its commander. The works of the British were stormed, but darkness coming on, the Americans desisted, and rested on their arms upon the field which they had so bravely won, determined to pursue their victory with returning light. But Burgoyne, aware of the advantage which the Americans had gained, effected with admirable order a change of his ground. His entire camp was removed before morning to the heights. Gates was too wise to attack his enemy in his new position, but made arrangements to inclose them, which Burgoyne perceiving, put his army in motion at 9 o’clock at night and removed to Saratoga, 6 miles up the river, abandoning his sick and wounded to the humanity of the Americans. Burgoyne now made several efforts to effect a retreat; but in every way he had been anticipated. He found himself in a foreign and hostile country, hemmed in by a foe whose army, constantly increasing, already amounted to four times his own wasted numbers. His boats laden with supplies were taken, and his provisions were failing, and when he found he could not hold out any longer, his troops being in the utmost distress, he surrendered on October 17. The whole number surrendered amounted to 5752 men, which, together with the troops lost before by various disasters, made up the whole British loss to 9213 men. There also fell into the hands of the Americans 35 field-pieces and 5000 muskets. It was stipulated that the British should pile their arms at the word of command, given by their own officers, march out of their camp with the honors of war, and have free passage across the Atlantic; they, on their part, agreeing not to serve again in North America during the war.
=Sarawak.= A town and province of Borneo, on the northeast coast of the island. The Chinese inhabitants of this place rose in insurrection and massacred a number of Europeans, February 17 and 18, 1857; the rajah, Sir J. Brooke, raised a force and speedily chastised the insurgents, of whom 2000 were killed.
=Sarbacane= (_Fr._). A blow-pipe, or long tube of wood or metal, through which poisoned arrows were shot by blowing with the mouth.
=Sarceled.= In heraldry, cut through the middle.
=Sardar.= In the East Indies, a chief or leader is so called.
=Sardinia.= A former kingdom in the south of Europe, composed of the island of Sardinia, Piedmont, Savoy, and the territories of Genoa and Nice. It takes its name from the island of Sardinia, and was, in 1860, merged in the new kingdom of Italy. From 1798 to 1814 the continental part of Sardinia formed a portion of the French empire. In 1848, Charles Albert, the reigning monarch, encouraged the inhabitants of the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom, or Austrian Italy, in their attempts to throw off the Austrian yoke, and marched to their assistance, when they broke into open revolt. He gained many victories at first over the Austrians, but he was subsequently defeated by Radetzky, and resigned his crown to his son, Victor Emmanuel. In 1855 Sardinia took part with Britain and France against Russia. In 1859 a war broke out between Austria on the one hand, and France and Sardinia on the other, which resulted in the defeat of the Austrians and the annexation of Lombardy to the Sardinian crown.
=Sardinia, Island of.= The largest after Sicily, of the islands of the Mediterranean, lies directly south of Corsica, from which it is separated by the Strait of Bonefacio. It was called Sardo by the Romans, and was colonized at a very early period. The first really historical event is its conquest, about 480 B.C., by the Carthaginians. They were forced to abandon it to the Romans (238 B.C.), who gradually subdued the rebellious natives, and made it a province of the republic; but on three several occasions, formidable outbreaks required the presence of a consul with a large army to restore the authority of Rome. It fell into the hands of the Vandals and other barbarians, and was recovered by the Eastern empire in 534, but was finally separated from the Roman empire by the Saracens. They were driven out in their turn by the Pisans. Pope Boniface took upon him to transfer it to the king of Aragon, who subdued the Genoese, Pisans, and the rest of the inhabitants, and annexed it to his own dominions in 1324. It remained united to the crown of Spain till the allies made a conquest of it in 1708. It was allotted to the emperor of Germany at the peace of Utrecht, in 1713. The Spaniards recovered it in 1717, but were obliged to abandon it two years after, when it was conferred on the duke of Savoy in lieu of the kingdom of Sicily, in 1720. From 1798 to 1814 it was the only portion of the Sardinian dominions left in the power of its sovereign, the French occupying the other portion of the kingdom.
=Sardis=, or =Sardes=. Anciently the capital of Lydia, in Asia Minor, stood at the foot of Mount Tmolus, now called Bozdag, about 50 miles northeast from Smyrna; the citadel on a steep rock was almost impregnable, being fortified by three walls. It was thus enabled to hold out when the lower town was taken by the Cimmerians in the reign of Ardys. During the Ionian revolt, 501 B.C., the insurgents, aided by the Athenians, took the city. It was taken by the Turks in the 11th century, and suffered a severe blow from Tamerlane, who almost entirely destroyed it about 200 years later.
=Sarmatia.= The ancient name of the country in Asia and Europe, between the Caspian Sea and the Vistula, including Russia and Poland. The Sarmatæ, or Sauromatæ, troubled the early Roman empire by incursions; after subduing the Scythians, they were subjugated by the Goths in the 3d and 4th centuries. They joined the Huns and other barbarians in invading Western Europe in the 5th century.
=Sarno.= A city of Southern Italy, in the province of Principato Citra, on the river of the same name, 13 miles northwest of Salerno. In the plain near Sarno, Teias, king of the Goths, in a desperate battle with the Greeks, commanded by Narses, in 553, was vanquished and slain, and the reign of the Goths in Italy brought to a close.
=Sarrazine.= A rough portcullis.
=Sarre= (_Fr._). When artillery was first invented, this name was given to a long gun, of smaller dimensions than the _bombarde_.
=Sasbach.= A village of Baden, 28 miles southwest from Carlsruhe. Marshal Turenne was killed here by a random shot in 1675.
=Sash.= In the British army, is a military distinction worn on duty or parade by officers and non-commissioned officers. For the former, it is of crimson silk; for the latter, of crimson cotton. It is tied on the right side by the cavalry, and on the left side by the infantry. In Highland regiments, the sash is worn over the left shoulder and across the body. The sashes for the Austrian army are of crimson and gold; the Prussian army, black silk and silver; the Hanoverian wears yellow silk; the Portuguese, crimson silk, with blue tassels; the French have their sashes made of three colors,--white, pink, and light blue,--to correspond with the national flag. In the U. S. army, all general officers above the rank of brigadier-general may wear a sash of buff silk and gold-thread worn across the body; and for brigadier-generals, sashes of buff silk net, with silk bullion fringe ends, are worn around the waist.
=Sassanidæ.= A famous dynasty of Persia, which reigned from 226 to 651. They were the descendants of Artaxerxes or Ardishir, whose father, Babek, was the son of Sassan. Ardishir revolted against Artabanus, king of Parthia, and defeated him on the plain of Hormuz, 226, and re-established the Persian monarchy. The Roman armies could make no impression on the Persians under the Sassanidæ; but from time to time had to return defeated and humiliated from the Persian frontiers. Their last monarch, Yezdejerd, was defeated and the dynasty expelled in 652.
=Satellites.= Were certain armed men, of whom mention is made in the history of Philip Augustus, king of France. 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 defense mounted or on foot.
=Sattara.= A town and capital of the province of the same name, in British India, in the Presidency of Bombay. In 1700 its fort offered a vigorous resistance for two months to Aurungzebe, who besieged it in person, but it was reduced by blockade; and in 1818 a few bomb-shells procured its surrender to the British.
=Saturn.= In heraldry, the black color in blazoning arms; sable.
=Saucisson=, or =Sausage=. Is a fascine of more than the usual length; but the principal application of the term is to the apparatus for firing a military mine. This consists of a long bag or pipe of linen, cloth, or leather, from 1 inch to 1¹⁄₂ inch in diameter, and charged with gunpowder. One end is laid in the mine to be exploded; the other is conducted to the galleries to a place where the engineers can fire in safety. The electric spark is now preferred to the saucisson.
=Saumur.= A town of France, in the department of Maine-et-Loire, 28 miles southeast of Angers. A striking event in the history of the town was its brilliant capture by Larochejaquelein and the Vendeans, June 10, 1793. In this action, the victors, with but a slight loss, captured 60 cannon, 10,000 muskets, and 11,000 republicans; it was a stronghold of the Protestants during the reign of Henry IV.