Part 122

=Seistan= (formerly called _Segestan_). A khanat or principality of Asia, forming the southwest portion of Afghanistan. It was devastated by Tamerlane in 1383.

=Sejant=, or =Assis=. In heraldry, is the term of blazon applied to a beast in his usual sitting posture. A lion borne in full face, with his forepaws extended sideways, is blazoned _sejant_ affronté, as in the crest of Scotland.

=Sejour= (_Fr._). In a military sense, signifies a halting day.

=Selection.= The act of choosing in preference to others; hence, selection of officers to act upon the staff, etc.; to select quarters, etc. See QUARTERS, CHOICE OF.

=Seleucia ad Tigrin= (also called _Seleucia Babylonia_, _Seleucia Assyriæ_, and _Seleucia Parthorum_). A great city on the confines of Assyria and Babylonia, and for a long time the capital of Western Asia. It commanded the navigation of the Tigris and Euphrates. It was burned by Trajan in his Parthian expedition, and again by L. Verus, the colleague of M. Aurelius Antoninus. It was again taken by Severus.

=Seleucia Pieria= (ruins, called _Seleukeh_, or _Kepse_, near _Suadeiah_). A great city and fortress in Syria, founded by Seleucus in April, 300 B.C. In the war with Egypt, which ensued upon the murder of Antiochus II., Seleucia surrendered to Ptolemy III. Euergetes (246 B.C.). It was afterwards recovered by Antiochus the Great (219). In the war between Antiochus VIII. and IX., the people of Seleucia made themselves independent (109 or 108); afterwards they successfully resisted the attacks of Tigranes for fourteen years (84-70). The city had fallen entirely into decay by the 6th century of our era.

=Selictar.= A Turkish sabre.

=Seljuks=, or =Seljuk-Turks=. A small Turkish tribe which, at an early date, took possession of Bokhara and the surrounding country. They attracted the notice of Sultan Mahmoud, the founder of the dynasty of the Ghuznevides, who had advanced into Bokhara with his army, and was so impressed with the fine military qualities of their chief, that he induced them to cross the Oxus and to occupy the country of Khorassan. He had soon reason to repent of this fatal error. Like all those wandering hordes, the Turkomans were shepherds or robbers. They either molested the neighboring states by petty inroads, or, with the whole united force of the nation, they practiced robbery on a great scale, seizing on kingdoms and despoiling nations. The first migrations of these Eastern Turkomans is generally fixed in the 10th century. They became formidable to Mahmoud, and more especially to his successor, Massoud, who, from inability to resist their progress, was forced to grant them lands. He was afterwards defeated by them in a great battle; and the victorious Turks, under their leader, Togrul Beg, whom they now elected king, invaded Khorassan, and finally expelled the Ghuznevides, the descendants of Mahmoud, from the eastern provinces of Persia. They fled eastwards towards the Indus, and established the Ghuznian empire in the northwestern provinces of India. This empire was maintained with various success till about the year 1184, under the Ghuznian emperors, when they were superseded by that of the Afghan or Patan emperors, who completed the conquest of the greatest part of Hindustan Proper about 1210. Togrul Beg hastened to improve his victory over the Persian monarch. Turning his arms to the west, he invaded Irak, in the centre of Persia, and advancing westward of the Caspian Sea into Azerbijan, the ancient Media, he made his first approaches to the confines of the Roman empire. He afterwards proceeded to Bagdad, and by his conquest of that place, gained possession of the caliph. His successors Alp Arslan and Malek Shah extended the empire transmitted to them by Togrul Beg. They subdued the fairest portions of Asia. Jerusalem and the Holy Land were taken and pillaged by the Seljuks, and it was the vexation and rapine to which the Christian pilgrims were exposed in their journey to Jerusalem, that gave rise to those wild and warlike expeditions for the recovery of the Holy Land, known under the name of the Crusades. The empire under Malek Shah extended from the Mediterranean to the Chinese frontier, and from the Caspian to the Arabian Sea. Upon the death of Malek Shah the empire was divided up into petty sultanates, which finally caused the overthrow of the Seljuk empire. The Turkish dynasty of the Seljuks continued for 215 years, and with the overthrow of its dynasty in 1299, and on its ruins, arose the Turkish empire.

=Selkirkshire= (formerly called the _Ettrick Forest_). A small inland county of Scotland, in the Lowlands. Among the interesting historical scenes this county contains is the field of Philiphaugh, where the great Marquis of Montrose was defeated by the Covenanters under Gen. Leslie.

=Sell Out.= In the British service, was a term generally used when an officer was permitted to retire from the service, selling or disposing of his commission or commissions. It was the correlative word to _buy in_. Officers who purchased commissions were usually allowed to sell out.

=Sellasia.= A town in Laconia, north of Sparta, situated near the River Œnus, and commanded one of the principal passes leading to Sparta. Here the celebrated battle was fought between Cleomenes III. and Antigonus Doson, 221 B.C., in which the former was defeated.

=Selling Ammunition.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 16.

=Selymbria=, or =Selybria= (now _Selivria_). An important town in Thrace, on the Propontis. It was a colony of the Megarians. It was conquered by Philip, father of Alexander.

=Semaphore.= A machine for facilitating the internal communications of the country by means of telegraphic signals, especially between the government and the military or naval functionaries of the outposts; but its use has been entirely superseded by the introduction of the railways and the electric telegraph.

=Semé.= In heraldry, when a charge is repeated an indefinite number of times so as to produce the appearance of a pattern, the term semé (sometimes _aspersed_ or _powdered_) is applied to it. When a field is semé, it is treated as if it were cut out of a larger extent of surface, some of the charges being divided by the outline of the shield. The term _crusilly_ denotes semé of cross crosslets, and _billetty_ semé of billets.

=Semendria.= A frontier fortress of the principality of Servia, on the right bank of the Danube, 28 miles southeast of Belgrade. It has frequently been stormed by the nations who have contended for the Danube from the Middle Ages to the present century.

=Seminara.= A town of Naples, province of Calabria Ultra II. Near here Gonsalvo de Cordova, the great captain, was defeated by the French, in 1495; but defeated them April 21, 1503.

=Seminoles.= A tribe of Indians who formerly inhabited Central Florida, but now located on a reservation in the Indian Territory. During the time they were in Florida they became allies of the British in their incursions into Georgia during the Revolutionary war. They commenced a series of border-forays in 1794, when their numbers were largely increased by fugitive slaves and negroes; their force was also augmented by the Creeks in 1808. They invaded the frontiers of Georgia in 1812 and 1817, when they massacred a number of persons; but were speedily punished by Gen. Gaines and subsequently by Gen. Jackson. Florida was purchased by the United States in 1819, and the Seminoles made treaties with the United States a few years afterwards. The government resolved to move the Seminoles to a reservation beyond the Mississippi, in conformity with a treaty signed in 1832, but the Indians, headed by Osceola, their chief, resisted, which gave rise to a prolonged bloody war, which began in December, 1835. This war cost the U. S. government $10,000,000 and 1500 lives. The greater portion of the Seminoles were subdued and transported beyond the Mississippi in 1842, only about 300 remaining in the Everglades of Florida, under their chief, Billy Bowlegs. The Seminoles on their new reservation in Indian Territory were divided in their sentiments during the civil war, some of them taking up arms for the South; a civil contest ensued, in which those remaining loyal to the Union were defeated with great slaughter in December, 1861. After the civil war the two bands were reunited and purchased a reservation from the Creeks, where they are now industrious and prosperous. In 1870 they numbered 2553.

=Semi-steel.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR, STEEL.

=Sempach.= A small town of Switzerland, in the canton of Lucerne, situated on the eastern shore of the Lake of Sempach. It was one of the outposts of the confederate cantons against their Suabian and Austrian assailants in the 14th century. Under the walls of Sempach took place the second great conflict of the confederate Swiss cantons with Austria, in which the nobles of Austria, in spite of their valor and overwhelming numbers, were slaughtered like sheep by the Swiss. The Swiss lost but 200 men, while the loss of the Austrians was ten times as great. The anniversary of this great victory is still celebrated by prayer and thanksgiving on the field of battle.

=Sena.= A town on the coast of Umbria, at the mouth of the small river Sena, was founded by the Senones, a Gallic people, and was made a colony by the Romans after the conquest of the Senones, 283 B.C. In the civil war it espoused the Marian party, and was taken and sacked by Pompey.

=Seneca Indians.= One of the tribes of the Six Nations, and the most numerous and warlike of that confederation. When they first became known they were located in the region between the Lakes of Cayuga, Seneca, Canandaigua, and Ontario. In the 17th century they waged successful wars against the Hurons and other tribes to the westward, and finally the defeated tribes were adopted by the Senecas, who by this means of recruiting their ranks became a powerful people. They were firm allies of the English, as was attested in several battles against the French, and took a valiant part in the memorable battle wherein Gen. Braddock was killed; they again suffered severely in the campaign led by Gen. Sullivan in 1779. They removed to Lake Erie in 1784. The Senecas were allies of the Americans in the war of 1812-14. In 1870 there were 240 Senecas on a reservation in Indian Territory, and 3017 on a reservation in the State of New York.

=Seneffe=, or =Senef=. A town in the province of Hainault, Belgium, about 11 miles northwest of Charleroi. Seneffe is notable for its proximity to the battle-field on which William of Orange (III. of England), at the head of the forces of the coalition against France, fought the French army under the great Condé, August 11, 1674. In William’s army there were four lieutenants,--Montecuculi, Duke Charles of Lorraine, the Prince of Waldeck, and the Prince of Vaudemont, the first three of whom subsequently attained prominence as military commanders. Of the allied forces of 60,000 men, the Dutch lost from 5000 to 6000 men, the Spaniards 3000, and the Imperialists 600; while the French army, which entered into the conflict 30,000 strong, could scarcely muster 20,000 after the battle. Under the walls of Seneffe, Moreau, in 1794, defeated the Austrians.

=Senegal.= French colonies on the river of that name in Senegambia, West Africa, settled about 1626; several times taken by the British, but recovered by the French, to whom they were finally restored in 1814.

=Seneschal.= In the origin of the office, probably an attendant of the servile class, who had the superintendence of the household of the Frankish kings. In the course of time, however, the seneschalship rose to be a position of dignity, held no longer by persons of servile race, but by military commanders, who were also invested with judicial authority. The lieutenants of the great feudatories often took the title of seneschal. A similar office in England and Scotland was designated steward.

=Seniority.= Priority of rank and standing in the army. As regards regiments, this precedence is regulated by the number of the corps; among individuals, it is decided by the date of the commission. Where commissions of the same date interfere, reference is to be had to the dates of former commissions.

=Senones.= A powerful people in Gallia Lugdunensis, dwelt along the upper course of the Sequana (now _Seine_). A portion of this people crossed the Alps about 40 B.C., in order to settle in Italy; but the greater part of Upper Italy being already occupied by other Celtic tribes, the Senones were obliged to penetrate a considerable distance to the south, and took up their abode on the Adriatic Sea, between the modern Ravenna and Ancona. They extended their ravages into Etruria; and it was in consequence of the interference of the Romans while they were laying siege to Clusium, that they marched against Rome and took the city, 390 B.C. They were defeated by Camillus, 367 B.C. They defeated Metellus, the consul, at Arretium, 284, but were almost exterminated by Dolabella, 283. They invaded Greece in 279; were defeated by Antigonus Gonatus, 278, and sued for peace. See ROME.

=Sent to the Front.= A term applied to bodies of troops or individual soldiers when ordered from camp or garrison to the scene of active hostilities.

=Sent to the Rear.= A term applied to bodies of troops or individual soldiers when ordered from the immediate scene of active hostilities to the rear of the command in which they are serving, so as to be out of immediate danger.

=Sentence.= Decision, determination, final judgment. There is an appeal allowed from the sentence of a regimental court-martial to the opinion of a general one.

=Sentinel=, or =Sentry= (from the Lat. _sentire_, “to feel or perceive,” through the Ital. _sentinella_). A private soldier, marine, or sailor, posted at a point of trust, with the duty of watching the approach of an enemy, or any person suspected of hostile intentions. Sentinels mount guard over dépots of arms, the tents of commanding officers, etc. During the night, each sentinel is intrusted with the “word,” or countersign; and no person, however exalted in position, may attempt to approach or pass him without giving that as a signal. In such case, the sentinel is bound to arrest the intruder, and if necessary to shoot him. It has happened before now that the commander-in-chief of an army has been prisoner in the hands of one of his own sentinels. When an army is in the field, the sentinels are its eyes, for they guard the approaches in every direction some distance in front of the main body of troops. In the event of an attack, they give the alarm, and retire slowly on their supports. There is usually an agreement, tacit or expressed, between commanders that their outlying sentinels shall not fire upon one another, which would only be productive of useless bloodshed. Under martial law, death is the penalty to a sentinel sleeping on post. Sentinels will present arms to general and field-officers, to the officer of the day, and the commanding officer of a post; to all other officers they will carry arms. Staff-officers above the rank of captain are entitled to the same compliments from sentinels as are given to field-officers.

=Sentinum, Battle of.= See ROME.

=Sentry.= The same as sentinel. “Sentry go,” is the warning given by the sentry at the guard-room or tent that it is time to relieve sentries.

=Sentry-box.= A box to cover a sentinel at his post, and shelter him from the weather.

=Sepadar.= Is an East Indian term for an officer of the rank of brigadier-general.

=Sepahi.= An East Indian term for a feudatory chief, or military tenant; a soldier.

=Sepoy.= Corrupted from the Indian word _sipahi_, “a soldier.” This word sipahi, in its more familiar form of _spahis_, is known in most Eastern armies; and is itself derived from _sip_, “a bow and arrow,” the ordinary armament of an Indian soldier in ancient times. The word Sepoy now denotes a native Hindoo soldier in the British army in India. The Sepoys consist of Mohammedans, Rajpoots, Brahmans, and men of other castes, besides Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and men of various hill-tribes. They are generally officered by Europeans.

=Septembrizers.= In the French revolution a dreadful massacre took place in Paris, September 2-5, 1792. The prisons were broken open and the prisoners butchered, among them an ex-bishop, and nearly 100 non-juring priests. Some accounts state the number of persons slain at 1200, others at 4000. The agents in this slaughter were named Septembrizers.

=Sepulchre, Knights of the Holy.= A military order, established in Palestine about the year 1114. Those of this class chose Philip II., king of Spain, for their master, in 1558, and afterwards his son; but the grand master of the order of Malta prevailed on him to resign; and when afterwards the Duke de Nevers assumed the same quality in France, the same grand master, by his interest and credit, procured a like renunciation by him, and a confirmation of the union of this order to that of Malta.

=Sequani.= A Celtic nation of ancient Gaul. Before the conquest of Gaul by Cæsar, the Arverni and Ædui, the two most powerful nations of that country, were in a state of hostility; and the Sequani allied themselves with the former. In order more effectually to crush their enemies, these two nations hired a large body of Germans, under Ariovistus, from over the Rhine. With their assistance they totally defeated the Ædui; but the Germans seized for themselves a third part of the territory of the Sequani, and would have made further encroachments, had not Cæsar defeated them, and expelled them from the land.

=Serakhur, Serang.= In the East Indies are non-commissioned officers who are employed in the artillery and on board ships of war. In the artillery the former title answers to that of sergeant; in the naval service the latter to that of boatswain.

=Seraphim, or Jesus, Order of The.= An ancient Swedish order of knighthood, instituted in 1334; but dormant from the period of the Reformation until 1748. The number of knights, besides the king and members of the royal family, is limited to 24.

=Seraskier=, or =Seri-Asker= (_Pers._ “head of the army”). The name given by the Turks to every general having the command of a separate army, and, in particular, to the commander-in-chief or minister of war. The seraskier, in the latter sense, possesses most extensive authority, being subordinate only to the sultan and grand vizier. He is selected by the monarch from among the pashas of two or three tails.

=Seraskur= (_Ind._). This word is sometimes written _seraskier_, and signifies the commander-in-chief of a Turkish army.

=Serdans.= Colonels in the Turkish service are so called.

=Seregno.= A town in the province of Milan, Italy, 13 miles north from Milan. It is noted for the heroic resistance which the women of the city made against the conscription, and which ultimately induced Bonaparte to rescind his order for the bombardment of the place. The Austrians, in 1848, severely chastised Seregno for its patriotism.

=Sergeant.= A non-commissioned officer in a company, battery, or troop, usually selected from among the corporals on account of his general intelligence and good conduct. He is vested with the command of small detachments, and sometimes with his company in the absence of his superior officers.

=Sergeant, Armorer-.= In the British service, is a trained artificer who repairs the arms of a corps.

=Sergeant, Band-.= In the British service, is a non-commissioned officer who is responsible for the discipline of the band, as is the bandmaster for instruction. In the United States service a principal musician performs this duty.

=Sergeant, Color-.= See COLOR-SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Cook.= In the British service, is a non-commissioned officer who superintends the cooking for the corps.

=Sergeant, Covering.= Is a non-commissioned officer, who, during the exercise of a battalion, regularly stands or moves behind each officer commanding or acting with a platoon or company.

=Sergeant d’Armes= (sergeant of arms), Fr. Philip Augustus, fearing to be assassinated on the instigation of the sheik of the mountain, during his stay in Palestine, organized for the protection of his person a corps of _sergeants d’armes_, consisting of gentlemen, which he armed with bronze war-clubs, and bows and arrows, whose duty it was to accompany him everywhere.

=Sergeant, Drill-.= See DRILL-SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Hospital.= In the British service, is a non-commissioned officer who carries out the orders of the surgeon as regards discipline in a hospital.

=Sergeant Instructor in Fencing.= In the British service, is a sergeant who performs the duties implied by his title in regiments of cavalry.

=Sergeant Instructor in Gunnery.= A sergeant of artillery who aids the officer instructor in teaching gunnery.

=Sergeant, Lance-.= Is a corporal who acts as a sergeant in a company, but only receives the pay of a corporal.

=Sergeant-Major.= The chief non-commissioned officer in a regiment, and, from the nature of his duties, in a great degree an assistant to the adjutant. He must be master of every point connected with the drill, interior economy, and discipline of a regiment. It is his duty, on receiving the orders from the adjutant, to assemble the orderly sergeants, and issue the orders and details correctly. He is to keep a regular duty roster of the sergeants and corporals, and to proportion the number of men to be furnished for duty according to the strength of their respective companies. Finally, it is always expected that he should set an example to the non-commissioned officers by his activity, zeal, and personal appearance. In the British cavalry service this non-commissioned officer is termed regimental sergeant-major, the chief non-commissioned officer of a troop being styled troop sergeant-major. Similarly in the artillery there are the brigade sergeant-major and the battery sergeant-major.

=Sergeant, Orderly.= See ORDERLY SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Pay-.= See PAY-SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Paymaster-.= See PAYMASTER-SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Pioneer.= See PIONEER SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, Quartermaster.= See QUARTERMASTER SERGEANT.

=Sergeant, White.= Is a term of ridicule in the British service, applied to those ladies who, taking advantage of the weakness of their husbands, neglect their domestic concerns to interfere in military matters.

=Seringapatam= (anc. _Sri-Rungaputtun_, “City of Vishnu”). A celebrated fortress of South India, and under Hyder Ali and Tippoo Sahib, the capital of Mysore, at the west angle of the island of the Cavery (Kaveri). Seringapatam was besieged by Lord Cornwallis in 1791, and again in 1792, when Tippoo purchased a peace by ceding half his dominions and paying 330 lacs of rupees to the British and their allies. It was again besieged in 1799 and taken by storm on May 3 (4), on which occasion Tippoo was killed, and the dynasty of Hyder terminated; the ancient Rajpoot line being restored to the sovereignty of Mysore.

=Serjeant.= See SERGEANT.

=Serpenteau= (_Fr._). A round iron circle, with small spikes, and squibs attached to them. It is frequently used in the attack and defense of a breach. It likewise means a fusee, which is filled with gunpowder, and is bent in such a manner, that when it takes fire, it obtains a circular rapid motion, and throws out sparks of light in various directions.

=Serpentine= (_Fr._). An ancient wall-piece, with a matchlock, carrying an 8-ounce leaden ball, with a charge of 4 ounces of powder. It was 6 or 7 feet long, and weighed from one to two hundred-weight.

=Serpentix= (_Fr._). Cock of the ancient matchlock, also the lock itself. Also, an ancient 24-pounder gun, of 13 feet, weighing 4360 pounds, whose dolphins represented the figures of serpents.