Part 127
_Revolver._--In fire-arms, is a weapon which, by means of a revolving breech, or revolving barrels, can be made to fire more than once without reloading. The invention is very far from new, specimens, with even the present system of rotation, being still in existence, which were manufactured at the beginning of the 17th century. Probably the first revolver to suggest itself was one in which several barrels were mounted on an axis, and made to revolve by the action of the trigger, so that their powder-pans came successively under the action of the lock. This principle was never entirely abandoned, and in the reign of George IV. was produced a pistol called the “Mariette,” which had from 4 to 24 small barrels bored in a solid mass of metal, made to revolve as the trigger was drawn back. At close quarters, such a pistol would doubtless have been useful; but its great weight and cumbrous mechanism rendered aim extremely unsteady. Contemporaneously from the first with the revolving barrels, went the formation of a revolving chamber or breech, pierced with several cylindrical apertures to receive the charges. Being made to revolve, each motion brought a chamber into line with the one barrel, common to all, whereupon the weapon was ready for use. Numerous patents for this principle have been taken out, including one by the celebrated Marquis of Worcester in 1661. Various improvements were made, especially in the mode of causing revolution; an American patented such a weapon in the United States and England about 1818. In 1835, Col. Samuel Colt brought to a conclusion experiments of some years’ standing, and patented his world-renowned Colt’s revolver, which was a great advance on all previous attempts, and is substantially still in use. The fame attached to Colt’s revolvers renders them so well known as to require but little introduction necessary. This make is now extensively used in the United States, and indeed in almost every country of the world, and seems not to lose favor anywhere. The barrel is rifle-bored. The lever-ramrod renders wadding or patch unnecessary, and secures the charge against moisture, or becoming loose by rough handling or hard riding. The hammer, when at full cock, forms the sight by which to take aim, and is readily raised at full cock by the thumb, with one hand. The movements of the revolving chamber and hammer are ingeniously arranged and combined. The breech, containing six cylindrical cells for holding the powder and ball, moves one-sixth of a revolution at a time; it can only be fired when the chamber and the barrel are in a direct line. The base of the cylinder being cut externally into a circular ratchet of six teeth (the lever which moves the ratchet being attached to the hammer); as the hammer is raised in the act of cocking, the cylinder is made to revolve, and to revolve in one direction only; while the hammer is falling the chamber is firmly held in position by a lever fitted for the purpose; when the hammer is raised the lever is removed, and the chamber is released. So long as the hammer remains at half-cock, the chamber is free and can be loaded at pleasure. Col. Colt has improved on this patent. Revolvers made by Remington, Smith & Wesson, Daw, Adams & Dean, and others, are mostly on the same principle as the Colt.
=Smart-money.= In England, the money which was paid by the person who had taken the enlisting money, in order to get released from an engagement entered into previous to a regular enlistment. Also, money allowed to soldiers or sailors in the British service for wounds or injuries received.
=Smite.= To destroy the life of by beating, or by weapons of any kind; to slay by a blow; to kill; as, to smite one with the sword, or with an arrow or other weapon. Also, to beat or put to rout in battle; to destroy or overthrow by war.
=Smoke-ball.= Is a hollow sphere similar to a light-ball, and filled with a composition which emits a dense, nauseous smoke; it is employed to suffocate the enemy’s miners when at work, or to conceal one’s own operations; it burns from 25 to 30 minutes.
=Smolensk.= A fortified town of Russia, capital of the government of the same name, 250 miles west-southwest from Moscow. The French in a most sanguinary engagement here were three times repulsed, but ultimately succeeded in entering Smolensk, and found the city which had been bombarded burning and partly in ruins, August 16-17, 1812. Barclay de Tolly, the Russian commander-in-chief, incurred the displeasure of the emperor Alexander because he retreated after the battle, and Kutusoff succeeded to the command.
=Smooth-bore Projectile.= See PROJECTILE, SPHERICAL PROJECTILES.
=Smyrna.= One of the most ancient and important cities of Asia Minor, and the only one of the Greek cities on the western coast which has retained its name and importance to the present day. At an early period it fell into the hands of the Ionians of Colophon; it became a member of the Panionic Confederacy. Its early history is obscure; but thus much is clear, however, that at some period the old city of Smyrna, which stood on the northeast side of the Hermaean Gulf (now the Gulf of Smyrna), was abandoned, and that it was succeeded by a new city, on the southeast side of the same gulf (the present site), which is said to have been built by Antigonus. It had a magnificent harbor, the largest ships could lie alongside the quays. In the civil wars it was taken and partly destroyed by Dolabella, but it soon recovered. In the successive wars under the Eastern empire it was frequently much injured, but always recovered. After various vicissitudes during the Middle Ages, the city fell finally into the hands of the Turks, in whose possession it has since remained.
=Snaffle-bit.= A kind of slender bit, having a joint in the part to be placed in the mouth.
=Snaphance.= An old musket of the 17th and first half of the 18th centuries, called also _asnaphan_. See GUN.
=Snare-drum.= The smaller, common military drum, as distinguished from the bass-drum;--so called because (in order to render it more resonant) there is stretched across its lower head a catgut string, or collection of strings.
=Snick and Snee.= A combat with knives such as the Dutch carry.
=Snider Rifle.= See SMALL-ARMS.
=Soanes.= A powerful people of the Caucasus, governed by a king who could bring 200,000 soldiers into the field. They are also called Suani and Suanocolchi.
=Sobraon.= A town of Northwest India, on the left bank of the Sutlej, 25 miles east-northeast of Ferozpur (or Ferozepoore), near which, on February 10, 1846, a most obstinate battle was fought between the British army under Sir Hugh Gough and a Sikh force numbering about 35,000. The Sikhs were strongly intrenched, and vigorously resisted the attacks of their opponents, but the courage and perseverance of the latter ultimately gave them the mastery; the various earthworks were captured in succession, and the Sikhs driven across the Sutlej, with a loss in killed, wounded, and drowned of 13,000. Gough immediately followed up his victory by crossing into the Punjab in pursuit of the fleeing enemy.
=Social War.= A celebrated contest between the Socii of Italy and the city of Rome, which lasted from 91 B.C. till 89, and was the most formidable war ever carried on in Italy during the dominion of the Romans. It arose from the desire of the Italians to be placed on a footing of equality with the Romans. Nearly 300,000 lives were sacrificed in the contest, and numerous towns destroyed. The senate of Rome were at length compelled to grant the franchise and all other privileges, which they at first absolutely refused to the Italians.
=Socket.= Generally means any hollow pipe that receives something inserted.
=Socket of a Bayonet.= The round hollow near the bent or heel of a bayonet, into which the muzzle of a fire-arm is received when the bayonet is fixed.
=Sogdiana.= The northeastern province of the ancient Persian empire, separated on the south from Bactriana and Margiana by the upper course of the Oxus; on the east and north from Scythia by the Sogdii Comedarum and Oxii Mountains, and by the upper course of the Iaxartes, and bounded on the northwest by the great deserts east of the Sea of Aral. It was conquered by Cyrus, and afterwards by Alexander. After the Macedonian conquest it was subject to the kings, first of Syria and then of Bactria, till it was overrun by the barbarians. The natives of the country were a wild, warlike people of the great Arian race, resembling the Bactrians in their character and customs.
=Soissons= (anc. _Noviodunum_, subsequently _Augusta Suessonum_). A town of France, in the department of Aisne, on the banks of the river Aisne, about 65 miles northeast of Paris. It was subdued by Julius Cæsar, 57 B.C.; held by Syagrius, after his father Ægidius, till his defeat by Clovis, 486.
=Solaks.= Were bowmen or archers belonging to the personal guard of the grand seignor. They were always selected from the most expert bowmen that were among the Janissaries. Their only arms were the sabre, bow, and arrows.
=Soldan.= The title of the lieutenant-generals of the caliphs, which they bore in their provinces and armies. These officers afterwards made themselves sovereigns. Saladin, general of the forces of King Noureddin of Damascus, was the first that took upon him this title in Egypt, 1165, after having killed the caliph Caym.
=Soldier.= Is one who enters into an obligation to some chieftain or government to devote for a specified period his whole energies, and even if necessary his life itself, to the furtherance of the policy of that chief or government. The consideration may be immediate pay, or prospective reward; or the contract may be merely an act of loyal devotion. The acknowledgment of the service by the employer constitutes the man a recognized soldier, and empowers him to take life in open warfare, without being liable to the penalties of an assassin and a robber. The fact of being mercenary--that is, of receiving wages for killing and being killed--does not render a soldier’s trade less honorable. He bears arms that others may be able to do without them; he is precluded by the exigencies of military training from maintaining himself by peaceful occupation; and it is therefore but fair that those whom he protects should support him, and give him, over and above actual maintenance, reasonable wages for the continual risk of his life. If a man willingly enlist himself as a soldier in what he believes to be an unrighteous cause, it is an act of moral turpitude; but when once enlisted, the soldier ceases to be morally responsible for the justice or iniquity of the war he wages; that rests with his employer. Obedience, implicit and entire, is his sole virtue. The maxim is, “The military force never deliberates, but always obeys.” _Brother soldier_ is a term of affection which is commonly used by one who serves under the same banners, and fights for the same cause, with another. In a more extensive signification, it means any military man with respect to another.
=Soldier of Fortune.= During the frequent wars which occurred in Italy, before the military profession became so generally prevalent in Europe, it was usual for men of enterprise and reputation to offer their services to the different states that were engaged. They were originally called _condottieri_, or leaders of reputation. They afterwards extended their sphere of action, and under the title of _soldiers of fortune_, sought for employment in every country or state that would pay them.
=Soldiering.= The estate of being a soldier; the occupation of a soldier.
=Soldierly.= Like, or becoming, a real soldier; brave; martial; heroic; honorable.
=Soldiers’ Friend.= A term in the military service which is generally applied to such officers as pay the strictest attention to their men; granting them reasonable indulgences without injuring the service; seeing their wants relieved; and, above all things, enforcing just dealings and the most prompt settlements. There is much confidence in the multitude when they are justly dealt by, and every soldier fights well under the guidance of a soldiers’ friend.
=Soldiers’ Homes.= In the United States, are homes of a permanent character established by the general government for the benefit of old soldiers, or men who were disabled in the military service of their country. The “Soldiers’ Home,” which is situated about 3¹⁄₂ miles from the Capitol of Washington, was founded in compliance with provisions of act of Congress dated March 3, 1851. It contains about 470 acres, some of which is cultivated for garden produce, flowers, etc., and the remainder forms a magnificent park. In 1848, Gen. Scott forwarded to the Secretary of War the sum of $118,791.19, levied on Mexico during the war with that country, for the benefit of the soldiers of the U. S. army, and he requested that this amount might be set aside for the construction of an army asylum. The following funds are also set apart for the maintenance of the “Soldiers’ Home”: All stoppages or fines adjudged against soldiers by sentence of courts-martial, over and above any amount that may be due for the reimbursement of government or individuals; all forfeitures on account of desertion; and all moneys belonging to the estate of deceased soldiers, which are now or may hereafter be unclaimed for the period of three years subsequent to the death of said soldier or soldiers, to be repaid by the commissioners of the institution, upon the demand of the heirs or legal representatives of the deceased; also the sum of 12¹⁄₂ cents per month is stopped from every non-commissioned officer, musician, artificer, and private of the U. S. army. The following persons, members of the “Soldiers’ Home,” are entitled to the rights and benefits of the institution, viz.: Every soldier of the army of the United States who has served, or may serve, honestly and faithfully, twenty years in the same, and every discharged soldier, who has suffered by reason of disease or wounds incurred in the service and in the line of his duty, rendering him incapable of further military service, if such disability has not been occasioned by his own misconduct. No deserter, mutineer, or habitual drunkard is received into the institution without such evidence of subsequent service, good conduct, and reformation of character as the commissioners may deem sufficient to authorize his admission. There are three commissioners designated to administer the affairs of the asylum, namely, the commissary-general of subsistence, the surgeon-general, and the adjutant-general, whose duty it is to examine and audit the accounts of the treasurer quarter-yearly, and to visit and inspect the “Home” at least once in every month. The officers of the institution consist of a governor, a deputy governor, and a secretary and treasurer, who, with a medical officer, are detailed from the active or retired list of the army. Inmates of this institution receive a small allowance of pocket-money per month, and they are also paid for any labor they can perform. About $8 per month is allowed to old soldiers, who, having families, are permitted to live elsewhere than at the “Home.” There was also incorporated by the act of Congress dated March 3, 1865, “the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers,” which consists of the central asylum, at Dayton, Ohio, the eastern branch at Augusta, Me., and the northwestern branch at Milwaukee, Wis. This asylum is kept up by annual appropriations of Congress. There are similar institutions for old and disabled soldiers in Europe. See ASYLUM, ROYAL MILITARY, and HÔTEL DES INVALIDES.
=Soldiers’ Thigh.= When tight breeches were worn in the British army, the term had its peculiar military application, from the notorious poverty of army men. _Soldiers’ thigh_ figuratively meant an empty purse; or speaking familiarly, a pair of breeches that sit close and look smooth, because the pockets have nothing in them.
=Soldiership.= A term which is rarely used; it means military qualities; military character or state; martial skill; behavior becoming a soldier.
=Soldiery.= A body of soldiers collectively considered; the military. “A camp of faithful soldiery.”
=Solduriers= (_Fr._). A term anciently used among the French, to signify those persons who attached themselves to some particular general or military knight, whose fortunes they followed, in consequence of being paid and supported by him.
=Sole.= The bottom or lower surface of an embrasure.
=Solferino.= A village of Northern Italy, province of Brescia, 20 miles northeast from Mantua. Here, in 1796, the French conquered the Austrians, and on June 24, 1859, it was again the scene of an overwhelming victory obtained by the French and Italians over the Austrians.
=Soli.= An ancient town of Asia Minor, on the coast of Cilicia. In the war between Mithridates and the Romans, Soli was destroyed by Tigranes, but subsequently rebuilt by Pompey, who settled there many of the pirates whom he had captured, and called the town after himself, Pompeiapolis.
=Solicinium.= A town in Roman Germany, on the mountain Pirus, where Valentinian gained a victory over the Alemanni in 369, probably in the neighborhood of the modern Heidelberg.
=Solid Shot.= See PROJECTILE.
=Solid Square.= A square body of troops; a body in which the ranks and files are equal.
=Sollerets= (_Fr._). Armor for the feet.
=Somma.= A town of Italy, Lombardy, not far from the Tecino, near the foot of Lake Maggiore, 27 miles northwest of Milan. It was near Somma that Hannibal gained his first victory on Italian ground, completely defeating the Romans under Scipio, 218 B.C.
=Somnauth=, or =Somnath-Putten=. A town of Guzerat, in Hindostan, is situated on the southwest coast of the peninsula of Kattywar. In 1024, Mahmud of Ghizni, the zealous idol-destroyer, appeared before Somnauth, drove its defenders to take refuge in the temple, where they defended themselves with such valor that Mahmud’s army was forced to retreat; but the subsequent rout of two Hindu armies which had advanced to the aid of the sacred city so dispirited the defenders, that Somnauth was immediately surrendered, the idol destroyed, and the enormous wealth of the temple carried off, along with the gates of the temple.
=Songhay.= A former kingdom of Africa. In 1468-1469 the ruler of Songhay marched upon Timbuctoo, and conquered the town and surrounding state. Under Háj Mohammed Askia, who came into power at the end of the 15th century, and who was perhaps the greatest sovereign that ever ruled over Negroland, the Songhay empire extended from Hausa almost to the shores of the Atlantic, and from lat. 12° N. to the confines of Morocco. After many years of revolution and civil war, this great empire became a province of Morocco in 1607.
=Sonthals.= A tribe of Northern India, brought to Bengal about 1830, where they prospered, till, partly from the instigation of a fanatic, and partly from the exactions of money-lenders, they broke out into rebellion in July, 1855, and committed fearful outrages. They were quite subdued early in 1856, and many were removed to the newly-conquered province of Pegu.
=Sooloo=, or =Suluk Islands=. A group of the East Indian Archipelago. The sultan of Sooloo and his subordinate chiefs were formerly notorious for their piracy, and kept up a large fleet for that purpose; but their power was entirely broken by the Spaniards in 1851.
=Sora.= A town of Naples, in the province of Terra di Lavoro, 15 miles east-northeast from Frosinone. Sora was originally a Volscian city; was seized by the Romans in 345 B.C., and subsequently made a colony; but in 315 the inhabitants rose against the Romans, and joined their enemies, the Samnites. It was not finally secured as a Roman colony till the end of the second Samnite war in 303.
=Sorn.= Formerly a servile tenure in Scotland, by which a chieftain might, with his followers, live upon his tenants at free quarters.
=Sorties= (Fr. _sortir_). In a siege, parties who sally out of a town secretly to annoy the besiegers, and retard their operations.
=Sottiates=, or =Sotiates=. A powerful and warlike people in Gallia Aquitanica, on the frontiers of Gallia Narbonensis, were subdued by P. Crassus, Cæsar’s legate, after a hard-fought battle. The modern _Sos_ probably represents the ancient town of this people.
=Sound.= The velocity of sound in the air, at the temperature of 32° Fahr., is about 1090 feet in a second. It is increased or diminished 1.07 feet for each degree of temperature above or below 32°. The distance of an object can be ascertained by the report of fire-arms, by observing the number of seconds that elapse between the flash and the report of a gun, and multiplying the number by the velocity of sound in air.
=Sound, To.= To betoken or direct by a sound; as, to sound the retreat; sound the assembly, etc.
=Sourabaya=, =Soerabaya=, =Soorabaya=, or =Surabaya=. A large seaport town of Java, on the northeast coast. When the French had possession of Java, the French government resolved to make Sourabaya a port of consequence. Gen. Daendels expended large sums in the construction of works for the defense of the harbor, and was proceeding in his plans when the island was taken by the British.
=South Carolina.= An Atlantic State of the American Union, of a triangular form, with North Carolina and Georgia on its inland sides. It is said to have been discovered by Sebastian Cabot in 1498, or by De Leon in 1512, and to be permanently settled by the English about 1660. The province was divided into North and South in 1729. The Carolinas were slave States. Great excitement prevailed in them in November, 1860, on account of Mr. Abraham Lincoln’s election to the presidency of the United States, he being strongly opposed to slavery. South Carolina began the secession from the United States December 20, 1861. The State was restored to the Union in June, 1868. This State took an active part in the civil war (1861-65), on the Confederate side. See CHARLESTON, COLUMBIA, MORRIS ISLAND, MOULTRIE, FORT SUMTER, etc.
=Southern Confederacy.= See CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA.
=Sow.= A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping or mining the wall, and the like. It had its name from its being used for rooting up the earth like swine, or because the soldiers therein were like pigs under a sow.
=Sowar.= A trooper in an Indian cavalry regiment.
=Space.= A quantity or portion of extension; the interval between any two or more objects; as, the space between ranks.
=Spadroon.= A sword much lighter than a broadsword, and made both to cut and thrust.
=Spahis.= Were the cavaliers furnished by the holders of military fiefs to the Turkish army, and formed the _élite_ of its cavalry. The Spahis along with the Janissaries owe their organization primarily to Orchan, the second of the Ottoman sultans, finally to Sultan Amurath I., and when levied _en masse_ could number 140,000, but such a levy was very seldom called for. In the field they were divided into two classes, distinguished by the color (red and yellow) of their standards. One class had pistols and carbines, the other bows and arrows, and both carried a sabre, lance, and _jerid_, or javelin. They were excellent irregular troops; but when European organization was introduced into the Turkish army, they were replaced (1826) by regular horse. At the present time the French have numerous regiments of Spahis, raised from among the native tribes of Algeria and from France in about equal proportions; the dress, especially of the indigenous soldiers, partakes very much of the Arab character. The natives are allowed to rise to any grade below that of captain; but all the superior officers are of French descent.