Part 120
=Savages=, or =Wild Men=. In heraldry, are of frequent occurrence as supporters. They are represented naked, and also, particularly in the later heraldry, are usually wreathed about the head and middle with laurel, and often furnished with a club in the exterior hand. Savages are especially prevalent in the heraldry of Scotland. In more than one of the Douglas seals of the first half of the 15th century, the shield is borne in one hand by a single savage, who acts as sole supporter.
=Savan Droog=, or =Savendroog=. A strong hill fort of India, in the territory of Mysore, 19 miles west from Bangalore. It was stormed by the British in 1791; and after the fall of Tippoo Sahib in 1799, it was garrisoned by a native force.
=Savannah.= A city and port of Georgia, U. S., on the right bank of the Savannah River, 18 miles from its mouth. The city is surrounded by marshes and islands, and was defended by Fort Pulaski and Fort Jackson. Savannah was founded in 1733, by the English general Oglethorpe. In 1776 a British fleet, attempting to take the town, was repulsed after a severe action; but it was taken in 1778, and held in 1779 against the combined French and American forces. In the war of Secession, after many unsuccessful attacks by sea, it was taken by Gen. Sherman in February, 1865.
=Saverne= (anc. _Taberna_). A town of France, in the department of Bas-Rhin, on the Zorn, 19 miles northwest of Strasburg. It is a very ancient place, and was formerly fortified. It suffered very much during the Thirty Years’ War; and its fortifications were destroyed in 1696.
=Savigliano.= A fortified town of Northern Italy, in Piedmont, 28 miles south from Turin. The French defeated the Austrians here in 1799.
=Savona.= A maritime city of Northern Italy, in the province of Genoa, and 25 miles southwest from the city of that name. It is a very ancient city, and in the time of the Romans was called Sava; was destroyed by Rotharis (639), rebuilt by Ludovic the Pious (981), and was afterwards laid waste by the Saracens.
=Savoy.= Formerly a province in Northern Italy, east of Piedmont. It became a Roman province about 118 B.C. The Alemanni seized it in 395, and the Franks in 490. It shared the revolutions of Switzerland till about 1048. The French subdued Savoy in 1792, and made it a department of France under the name of Mont Blanc in 1800; it was restored to the king of Sardinia in 1814; but was once more annexed to France in 1860.
=Sawunt Warree.= A native state of India, in the Presidency of Bombay. The first treaty between Sawunt Warree and the British took place in 1730, and had for its object to suppress the piracies of the Angria family in the island of Kolabah. But the chieftains of Sawunt Warree, being themselves addicted to piracy, drew upon them the hostility of the British in 1765. A series of wars, treaties, and negotiations ensued, which ended in the subjugation of the state in 1819 by a British force. The sea-coast was then ceded to the British, and the native government restored. Rebellions were raised against the chiefs in 1828, 1832, and 1838. The most important event that has since occurred, was the dangerous rebellion which began in the autumn of 1844, and was put down after some months of hard fighting by Lieut.-Col. Outram in the beginning of the following year.
=Sawyer Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.
=Saxons.= A German people whose name is usually derived from an old German word, _sahs_, “a knife,” and are first mentioned by Ptolemy, who makes them inhabit a district south of the Cimbrian Peninsula. They are mentioned as brave and skillful sailors who often joined the Chauci in piratical expeditions against the coast of Gaul. In the 3d century they appear in England under Carausius, a Belgic admiral in the Roman service, who made himself “Augustus” in Britain by their help. They had firmly rooted themselves, at the beginning of the 5th century, in the present Normandy, and they fought against Attila in the Catalaunian Plain, 451. They also obtained a footing at the mouth of the Loire; but all the Saxons who settled in France disappeared before the Franks, or were probably incorporated with their more powerful kinsmen of Southern Germany. Along with the Franks, they destroyed the kingdom of the Thuringians in 531, and obtained possession of the land between the Harz and the Unstrut; but this district was in turn forced to acknowledge the Frankish sovereignty. From 719, wars between the Saxons and the Franks became constant; but the latter, after 772, were generally successful, in spite of the vigorous resistance offered by Wittekind, and in 804, the Saxons were finally subjugated by the arms of Charlemagne.
=Saxony, Kingdom of.= The second in importance and population of the minor German states, and a state of the new German empire. The earliest inhabitants of Upper Saxony, since the Christian era, were the Hermunduri; in the beginning of the 6th century their settlements were taken possession of by the Sorbs, a Slavic race. The Carlovingian rulers, dissatisfied with the ingress of those non-German tribes, erected “marks” to bar their progress; and Duke Otho the Illustrious of Saxony, and his celebrated son, Henry the Fowler, warred against them, the latter--subduing the Heveller, the Daleminzer, and the Miltzer--founded in their country the marks of Brandenburg Misnia (Meissen), and Lusatia (Lausitz), and planted colonies of Germans among the Sorbs. In 1090 the mark was bestowed on the house of Wettin, and was confirmed as a hereditary possession to that family in 1127. Frederick the Warlike (1381-1428) succeeded in uniting the severed portions of Saxony, to which were added various districts in Franconia, and in 1423 the electorate of Saxony. The Saxon elector was now one of the most powerful princes of Germany, but unfortunately the fatal practice of subdividing the father’s territories among his sons still continued; and during the reign of the elector, Frederick the Mild (1428-1464), a civil war broke out and was carried on for years. By a separate treaty of peace (1635), John George I. obtained Upper and Lower Lusatia, acquisitions confirmed by the treaty of Westphalia (1648). The reign of Frederick Augustus I. (1694-1733) well-nigh ruined the hitherto prosperous electorate. Frederick Augustus had been chosen king of Poland; and his attempt, in company with the czar and the king of Denmark, to dismember Sweden, brought down upon him and his two states the vengeance of the northern “fire-king.” Poland was utterly devastated, and Saxony exhausted in money and troops; the king was forced to sell many important portions of territory; Frederick Augustus II. (1733-1763), also king of Poland, took part in the war of the Austrian Succession against Maria Theresa, but finding the treaty of Berlin (1742) not so satisfactory for himself as he expected, he joined the empress in 1745. The country was atrociously ravaged during the Seven Years’ War, and a long time elapsed before it recovered its previous peaceful and prosperous state. In the conflict of 1866 the king of Saxony took the side of Austria, and his army fought in the battle of Königgratz, July 3. The Prussians entered Saxony June 18. Peace between Prussia and Saxony was signed October 21 (subjecting the Saxon army to Prussia), and the king returned to Dresden November 3. In 1870-71 the Saxon soldiers fought under the leadership of the crown-prince, afterward King Albert, as true allies by the side of the Prussians, and the interior development of the country has not only kept pace with, but in some respects even advanced beyond, that of the rest of Northern Germany.
=Scabbard.= Is the sheath for a sword or bayonet, at once to render the weapon harmless and to protect it from damp. It was usually made of black leather, tipped, mouthed, and ringed with metal, but is now generally made of bronzed steel. The cavalry wear scabbards of polished steel. These better sustain the friction against the horses’ accoutrements, but are objectionable from their noisiness, and the consequent impossibility of surprising an enemy. The sword-scabbard is suspended to the belt by two rings; the bayonet-scabbard hooks into a frog in connection with the waist-belt.
=Scalade= (from the Fr. _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.= To climb by a ladder, or as if by a ladder; to clamber up; as, to scale the ramparts.
=Scale-armor.= Consisted of small plates of steel riveted together in a manner resembling the scales of a fish. From the small size of the plates, it possessed considerable pliability, and was therefore a favorite protection for the neck, in the form of a curtain hanging from the helmet. Scale-armor is now obsolete, except, perhaps, among some Eastern potentates.
=Scaling.= Scaling a piece of artillery, is the flashing off of a small quantity of powder to clean out the bore; about one-twelfth of the shot’s weight. The practice is discontinued.
=Scaling-ladders= (Fr. _echelles de siege_). Are ladders used in scaling when a place is to be taken by surprise. They are made several ways; sometimes of flat staves, so as to move about their pins, and shut like a parallel ruler, for conveniently carrying them.
=Scamper.= To run away precipitately; said of troops.
=Scandinavia.= The ancient name of Sweden, Norway, and a great part of Denmark, whence proceeded the Northmen, or Normans, who conquered Normandy (about 900), and eventually England (1066). See NORMANS.
=Scarf.= In heraldry, a small ecclesiastical banner suspended from the top of a crozier.
=Scarp, To.= To cut down a slope so as to render it inaccessible. See COUNTERSCARP, and ESCARP.
=Scarpe.= In heraldry, a diminutive of the bend sinister, being half the breadth of that ordinary.
=Sceptre.= Originally a staff or walking-stick, hence in course of time, also a weapon of assault and of defense. At a very early period the privilege of carrying it came to be connected with the idea of authority and station. The sceptre of the kings of Rome, which was afterwards borne by the consuls, was of ivory, and surmounted by an eagle. Since that time there has been considerable variety in its form. The English sceptre now in use dates from Charles II.’s time, and is cruciform.
=Schaife.= In the Middle Ages, a quiver or bundle of arrows was so called.
=Schellenberg.= A village in the southeast of Upper Bavaria, 6 miles southwest from the Austrian town of Salzburg, near which occurred the first battle of the War of the Spanish Succession, in which the English took part. Maximilian Emmanuel, elector of Bavaria, had fortified the hill of Schellenberg to resist the progress of Marlborough; but on July 4, 1704, the work was attacked by the English, led on by Prince Ludwig, of Baden, and carried by storm after a bloody fight.
=Schenkle Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.
=Schierling.= A town of Germany, in Bavaria, 12 miles south from Ratisbon. The Austrians were defeated by the French in its vicinity in 1809.
=Schleswig=, or =Sleswick=. Formerly a duchy of Denmark. Its history is identical with that of Holstein (which see).
=Schliengen.= A town of Baden, 22 miles southwest from Mulheim. The Archduke Charles of Austria defeated the French near this place in 1796.
=Schmalkald, League of.= The name given to the defensive alliance concluded provisionally for nine years at Schmalkalden, February 27, 1531, between nine Protestant princes and eleven imperial cities, with whom other five princes and ten imperial cities subsequently made common cause; and the elector of Saxony and the landgrave of Hesse were appointed chiefs of the league, and empowered to manage its affairs. The object of this formidable alliance, which included the whole of Northern Germany, Denmark, Saxony, and Würtemberg, and portions of Bavaria and Switzerland, was for the common defense of the religious and political freedom of the Protestants against the emperor Charles V. and the Catholic states. The league was not rendered superfluous by the religious peace of Nürnberg in 1532, and on the rumor that the emperor was meditating new hostile measures against the Protestants, another meeting of the confederates was held December 24, 1535, which resolved to raise a permanent army of 10,000 foot and 2000 cavalry, and to prolong the league for ten years. The confederation was further consolidated by articles of guarantee, which were drawn up by Luther at Wittenberg in 1536, and being subscribed by the theologians present at the meeting of the league at Schmalkalden in February, 1537, were called the _Articles of Schmalkald_. Against the league the emperor, engaged as he was at the time in contests with the Turks and French, found himself unable to contend, though supported by the Holy League, a Catholic confederation formed in 1538, in opposition to the Protestant one. But impolitic management, mutual jealousies, and conflicting petty interests dissipated their energies, and prevented united action. The “War of Schmalkald” commenced by the advance of the army of the league, under Sebastian Schartlin, in Suabia, to bar the approach of the imperial army from Italy. Schartlin forced his way to the banks of the Danube, but the miserable jealousy of the Saxon princes paralyzed his action. The emperor, by a proclamation bearing date July 20, 1546, put the two chiefs of the league under the ban of the empire; Maurice, duke of Saxony, took possession of the electorate, by virtue of an imperial decree; and the Protestant army was forced to retreat. The elector of Saxony reconquered his electorate in the autumn of 1546, but meantime the imperial army subdued the northern members of the League of Schmalkald and advanced into Franconia to meet the combined armies of Saxony and Hesse. The latter were totally routed at Mühlberg, April 24, 1547, and both chiefs fell into the emperor’s hands. This defeat, which has been ascribed to treason, and was perhaps as much owing to this cause as to weakness, finished the war. The object of the league, the guarantee of the liberty of religion to the Protestants, was subsequently effected by Maurice, now elector of Saxony, who, by a brilliant feat of diplomacy and generalship, compelled the emperor to grant the treaty of Passau, July 31, 1552, by which this freedom was secured.
=Schoolmaster, Army.= In the English army, the schoolmaster is a non-commissioned officer of the first class, ranking next to a sergeant-major. His pay varies with length of service. He has an advantage over other non-commissioned officers in quarters and certain allowances. To become an army schoolmaster, it is necessary either to be a certificated schoolmaster, or to have served the apprenticeship as a pupil-teacher, and to pass through a course of training for one year at the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea. After the completion of the training, the candidate is required to enlist as a common soldier for ten years’ general service, whereupon he is immediately promoted to the rank of schoolmaster. A few of the most deserving schoolmasters are promoted to be superintending schoolmasters, when they rank as ensigns. The duties of the schoolmaster are to teach the soldiers and their children the rudiments of general knowledge, to examine the girls’ school, and to deliver lectures to the soldiers. There were in 1865 214 army schoolmasters in the British service.
=Schoolmistress, Army.= In the British service, is a person attached to each regiment or corps for the purpose of instructing the daughters of soldiers and their sons, under eight years old, in the rudiments of English and in plain needle-work. She must be a certified schoolmistress, or a pupil-teacher who has served her apprenticeship. After admission to the service, she is specially trained for six months at one of four training institutions. This training is at the expense of the government. Proper provision is made for the quarters and supplies of the schoolmistress, whose somewhat anomalous position among rough men calls for the most circumspect behavior on her part.
=Schools of Artillery.= See ARTILLERY, SCHOOLS OF.
=Schultz’s Powder.= A powder for fire-arms invented by Capt. Schultz of the Prussian army, sometimes called _white gunpowder_, though this term is also applied to other powder. It is made by treating grains of wood with a mixture of nitric and sulphuric acids, by means of which a low form of nitro-cellulose is produced. The explosive power is heightened by steeping the prepared grains in a solution of nitre. _Dittman’s sporting powder_, manufactured in America, is believed to be a similar powder.
=Schumla=, =Shoomla=, or =Shumla=. A large fortified town of Turkey in Europe, in the province of Bulgaria, about 58 miles southwest from Silistria. The Russians have made several unsuccessful attempts to take it in their different wars with Turkey.
=Schuwalow Gun= (_Fr._). A gun named after the inventor, a Russian general. It differed from a common gun in having an oval bore; the greater diameter lay in a horizontal direction; it had also a long cylindrical chamber.
=Schweidnitz.= A town of Prussian Silesia, on the left bank of the Weistritz, 42 miles southeast of Liegnitz. It is in part fortified, and was besieged and taken four times within fifty years, the last time by the French in 1807, when the defenses were in great part destroyed.
=Schwytz.= One of the cantons of Switzerland. It was one of the three original cantons that formed the Confederation in 1308 against the Austrian power; and from its name the modern appellation of the entire country has been derived.
=Sciathus= (now _Skiatho_). A small island in the Ægean Sea, east of the Magnesian coast of Thessaly. It is frequently mentioned in the history of the invasion of Greece by Xerxes. It subsequently became one of the subject allies of Athens. Its chief town was destroyed by the last Philip of Macedonia.
=Science, Military.= See LOGISTICS, STRATAGEM, STRATEGY, TACTICS, and WAR.
=Scillus.= A town of Elis, on the river Selinus, south of Olympia. It was destroyed by the Eleans in the war which they carried on against the Pisæans, whose cause had been espoused by the inhabitants of Scillus. The Lacedæmonians subsequently took possession of the territory of Scillus; they gave it to Xenophon after his banishment from Athens.
=Scimeter.= See CIMETER.
=Scio=, =Chio=, or =Khio= (anc. _Chios_). An island belonging to Asiatic Turkey, lying in the Grecian Archipelago, off the coast of Asia Minor. Chios became a member of the Ionian confederation of twelve states on the Asiatic islands and coast. Its insular position protected it against the Lydian, and for a time against the Persian power. But in the Ionian revolt the Chians lent their assistance to their fellow-countrymen by furnishing ships to the fleet, which was totally defeated by the Persians off Miletus, 494 B.C. The conquerors in consequence landed on the island, and ravaged it with fire and sword. The battle of Mycale, in 479, liberated Chios from the Persian yoke, but only to become a dependency of Athens. To this power it remained faithful till after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war; but as that disastrous contest proceeded, and the fortune of war began to prove adverse to Athens, the Chians attempted to assert their liberty. They suffered several defeats from the Athenians, who laid waste the island, but could not conquer the capital. At a later period Chios was again subject to Athens, and again revolted, and seems to have maintained its independence for some time. It gave assistance to the Romans in their war with Antiochus, 190 B.C.; and afterwards, when allied with Mithridates, that monarch, suspecting the people of a bearing towards the Romans, sent a lieutenant, who carried the inhabitants away from the island, 86 B.C. They were restored by the Romans; and, in consideration of this calamity, the island was made a free state and an ally of Rome. Early in the 14th century, the Turks conquered the capital, and perpetrated a general massacre of its inhabitants; but from 1346 to 1566 Scio was held by the Genoese. In the latter year it was conquered by Solyman the Magnificent; and since that time, with the exception of a short period when the Venetians possessed it, the island has belonged to the Ottoman empire. In 1822, during the Greek insurrection, a number of Samians landed in Scio, and persuaded or forced its peaceful inhabitants to rise against the Turks. They did not succeed in mastering the castle, and soon an army was landed from Asia, who renewed the ancient calamities of the island. The plunder and massacre that ensued was so unsparing that in a short time only 2000 Christians were left out of a population of 110,000.
=Scione.= The chief town in the Macedonian peninsula of Pallene, on the western coast. It revolted from the Athenians in the Peloponnesian war, but was retaken by Cleon, whereupon all the men were put to death, the women and children sold as slaves, and the town given to the Platæans.
=Scirtis.= A wild and mountainous district in the north of Laconia, on the borders of Arcadia, with a town called Scirus, which originally belonged to Arcadia. Its inhabitants, the Sciritæ, formed a special division of the Lacedæmonian army. This body, which, in the time of the Peloponnesian war, was 600 in number, was stationed in battle at the extreme left of the line, formed on march the vanguard, and was usually employed on the most dangerous kinds of service.
=Sconce.= In fortification, is a term applied to any small redoubt or fort, detached from the main works for some local object, as the defense of a pass or fort, etc. The word is not now often used.
=Scopetin= (_Fr._). A rifleman was formerly so called who was armed with the escopette.
=Scordisci.= A people in Pannonia Superior, who are sometimes classed among the Illyrians, but were the remains of an ancient and powerful Celtic tribe. They dwelt between the Savus and Dravus.
=Scorpion= (_Fr._). A small kind of catapult, or large cross-bow, which threw heavy arrows by means of a steel bow, which was bent by a double-handed roller turned by one man.
=Scorpion= (_Fr._). An ancient gun, whose dolphins represented the scorpion. Also the name of an implement used by the ancients for laying hold of the enemy’s battering ram.
=Scotch Brigade.= A brigade of Scotchmen, gentlemen, and others, who served under the elector of Bavaria in the reign of James I., and subsequently under Gustavus Adolphus in the Thirty Years’ War.