Part 14

=Board of Officers.= A number of officers assembled by military authority for the transaction of business.

=Board of Ordnance.= A government department, which formerly had the management of all affairs relating to the artillery and engineering corps of the British army. This board was abolished after the Crimean war.

=Board, Pointing.= In gunnery, this is a piece of wood 1 foot long, 2 or 3 inches wide, and 1 inch thick, having a notch cut in the middle of one side to fit on the stake, and graduated into equal divisions from its middle. When not in use the pointing cord may be wound on it. This board is used for directing mortars.

=Boards of Examination.= In the army, are instituted to determine upon appointments in regiments, and for appointments and promotion in the medical staff, engineer corps, and ordnance department. They are composed of army officers.

=Boards of Survey.= In the army, are convened for the purpose of fixing the responsibility for public property lost, damaged, or destroyed, of ascertaining what articles of public property may have been lost or abstracted whenever a soldier deserts, and of taking an inventory of the public property in charge of a deceased officer.

=Boats, Blanket-.= See BLANKET-BOATS.

=Bobruisk.= A fortified town of Russia, in the government of Minsk. It is situated on the right bank of the Beresina, and is a station for the steam-packets navigating the Dnieper and Beresina. It was besieged ineffectually by the French in 1812.

=Boccacci.= The Italians have a peculiar kind of fire-arm which they call by this name; it is enlarged towards the muzzle in the shape of a trumpet. This gun is principally used by the Calabrians.

=Bocchetta.= A celebrated pass of the Apennines, the key of the route from Novi to Genoa. Redoubts were constructed here by the Imperialists in 1746 for the defense of the pass. The French traversed this pass when they entered Italy in 1796.

=Bodegraven.= A fortified town of Holland. On November 28, 1672, it was captured by the Duke of Luxemburg, who tarnished his victory by authorizing the town to be pillaged.

=Bodkin.= A dirk or dagger; a word still in use, though Johnson says it is the oldest acceptation of it.

=Body.= In the nomenclature of modern ordnance, is the part of the piece in rear of the trunnions.

=Body.= In the art of war, is a number of forces, horse or foot, united and marching under one commander. _Main_ body of _an army_, sometimes means the troops encamped in the centre between the two wings, and generally consists of infantry. The main body on a march, signifies the whole of the army exclusive of the van- and rear-guards.

=Body of the Place.= The _enceinte_ of a fortress, or main line of bastions and curtains, as distinguished from outworks.

=Body-guard.= A guard to protect or defend the person; a life-guard.

=Bœotia.= One of the political divisions of ancient Greece, lying between Attica and Megaris on the south, and Locris and Phocis on the north, and bounded on the other side by the Eubœan Sea and the Corinthian Gulf. The tribes of greatest importance who appear as rulers of Bœotia in the heroic age were the Minyæ and the Cadmeans, or Cadmeones,--the former dwelling at Orchomenus, and the latter at Thebes. About 60 years after the Trojan war the Bœotians, an Æolian people who had hitherto dwelt in Thessaly, having been expelled from that country, took possession of the land then called Cadmeis, to which they gave their own name of Bœotia. At the commencement of the historic period all the ancient tribes had disappeared, and all the cities were inhabited by Bœotians, the most important forming a political confederacy under the presidency of Thebes. After the battle of Chæronea (338 B.C.) and the destruction of Thebes by Alexander three years after, Bœotia rapidly declined, and so low had it sunk in the time of the Romans, that of all its great cities there remained only two, which had dwindled into insignificant towns; of the other great cities nothing remained but their ruins and their names. The people are represented as a dull and heavy race, with little susceptibility and appreciation of intellectual pleasures.

=Bohain.= A small town of France, in the department of Aisne, which fell into the hands of the Imperialists in 1537, and was recaptured a short time afterwards.

=Bohemia.= A political and administrative division of the Austrian empire, bounded on the north by Saxony and Prussian Silesia, east by Prussia and Moravia, south by Lower Austria, and west by Bavaria. It derives its name from the Boii, a Celtic people who settled in the country about 600 B.C., and who were expelled by the Marcomanni in the time of Augustus. About the middle of the 6th century a numerous army of Czechs entered the country and subdued it. In 1310 the crown came to the house of Luxemburg, when Charles IV. united Bohemia with the German empire. After many vicissitudes it fell to the house of Austria in the person of the Archduke Ferdinand, brother of Charles V., and brother-in-law of Louis II., king of Hungary and Bohemia, who was killed in battle with the Turks near Mohacs, in 1526. In 1619 the Bohemians revolted against the house of Austria, and offered the crown to Frederick V., elector palatine, but Frederick was defeated at the battle of White Mountain in November, 1620, and the country has ever since remained under the sway of the emperors of Austria.

=Bohmisch-Brod.= A small town of Bohemia. Here the emperor Sigismund defeated the Hussites in 1434.

=Boii.= An ancient Celtic people who emigrated into Italy, where they waged war for several centuries against the Romans. They were defeated at the Vadimonian Lake, 283 B.C. They were finally subdued by Scipio Nasica, 191 B.C., and expelled front Italy. A portion of them founded the kingdom of Boiohemum (Bohemia), from which they were expelled by the Marcomanni in the time of Augustus.

=Bois-le-Duc.= A fortified city of Holland, capital of North Brabant; besieged and captured by the Dutch in 1629, and by the French in 1794; surrendered to the Prussian army, under Bulow, in January, 1814.

=Bojano.= A town in the province of Molise, Naples. The site of Bojano has been identified as that of the famous Samnite city of _Bovianum_, which played so conspicuous a part in the Samnite, Punic, and Social wars. Unsuccessfully besieged by the Romans in 314 B.C., it was taken by them in 311 B.C., and yielded immense spoils. Passing out of their hands, it was retaken by them in 305 B.C., and once more reverting to its original owners, was a third time captured by the Romans in 298 B.C. During the second Punic war it formed the headquarters of the Roman army on more than one occasion. In the great Social war the confederates made it their capital. It was surprised by Sulla, and retaken by the Marsic general, Pompædius Silo. Cæsar established a military colony, and it afterwards throve under the Roman empire.

=Bojeleschti.= A village of Wallachia, where, in 1828, the Russians under Gen. von Geismar defeated the Turks, although the latter were superior in force. The Russians captured 7 guns, 24 ammunition- and 400 bread-wagons, 24 colors, and guns enough to arm 10,000 men. The Cossacks took 507 prisoners.

=Bokhara.= The ancient _Sogdiana_, a state of Central Asia in Independent Toorkistan. It was conquered by the Turks in the 6th century, by the Chinese in the 7th, and by the Arabs about 705. After many changes of masters it was subdued by the Uzbek Tartars, 1505. The British envoys, Col. Stoddart and Capt. Conolly, were murdered at Bokhara, the capital, by the khan in 1843. In the war with Russia, beginning in 1866, the emir’s army was defeated several times in May and subsequent months during that year. Peace was made July 11, 1867. The Russians were again victors, May 25, 1868, and occupied Samarcand the next day. Further conquests were made by the Russians, and Samarcand was secured by treaty November, 1868.

=Bolade= (_Fr._). A weapon of the shape of a mace.

=Bologna.= The ancient _Felsina_, afterwards Bononia. A distinguished city of Italy, capital of the province of the same name; besieged and taken by Pope Julius II., 1506; taken by the French, 1796; by the Austrians, 1799; again by the French after the battle of Marengo, in 1800; restored to the Pope in 1815; a revolt suppressed by Austrian interference, 1831; rebellion in 1848; taken by the Austrians, May, 1849; provisional government formed June 15, 1859; Victor Emmanuel entered Bologna as sovereign, May 2, 1860.

=Bolster.= A block of wood on the carriage of a siege-gun, and on the mortar-wagon upon which the gun rests when moving it from place to place. The first is a _breach_-, the second a _muzzle-bolster_.

=Bolster.= A cushioned or padded part of a saddle.

=Bolt.= A pointed shaft or missile intended to be shot from a cross-bow or catapult; an arrow; a dart.

=Bolt.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, NOMENCLATURE OF ARTILLERY CARRIAGE.

=Bolt, Palliser.= A screw-bolt for securing armor plates. The end upon which the screw-thread is cut is larger than the shank.

=Bomarsund.= A strong fortress on one of the Aland isles in the Baltic Sea, taken by Sir Charles Napier, commander of the Baltic expedition, aided by the French military contingent under Gen. Baraguay d’Hilliers, August 16, 1854. The governor Bodisco and the garrison, about 2000 men, became prisoners, and the fortifications were destroyed.

=Bomb.= A hollow ball or shell of cast iron filled with explosive materials, and furnished with a fuze, which being ignited when the missile is discharged from a mortar or howitzer, burns during its flight, and causes it to explode with destructive violence when it falls. They are now commonly called shells.

=Bombard.= An ancient piece of ordnance, very short, thick, and wide at the bore. Some of the bombards used in the 15th century propelled stones weighing from 200 to 500 pounds each.

=Bombard.= To assault a town or fortress by projecting into it shells, etc., from mortars, in order to set fire to and destroy the houses, magazines, and other buildings.

=Bombardelle= (_Fr._). A small bombard which was used in ancient times. In 1830, one was disinterred near Laon, France; it is the opinion of some that this bombardelle was manufactured during the reign of Charles VII., from 1436-40.

=Bombardier.= Is an artilleryman versed in that department of arms which relates especially to bombs and shells, mortars and howitzers, grenades and fuzes. In some foreign armies, the bombardiers form a separate corps. In the British service a bombardier is a non-commissioned grade in the artillery below that of corporal.

=Bombardment.= Is an attack upon a fortress or fortified town by means of shells, red-hot shot, carcasses, rockets, etc., to burn and destroy the buildings, and kill the inhabitants, and by this means compel its surrender. A bombardment requires little engineering skill; whereas a regular siege requires the aid of engineers to direct the attack against fortifications, guns, and soldiery, leaving the inhabitants and buildings untouched. It is generally regarded by military engineers as a cruel operation, and in modern times is mostly adopted as an adjunct to a siege. The stores required for a vigorous bombardment are immense. Thus, in 1759, Rodney threw 20,000 shells and carcasses into Havre; in 1792, the Duke of Saxe Teschen threw 36,000 shot and shell into Lille in 140 hours; in 1795, Pichegru threw 8000 shells into Mannheim in 16 hours; and in 1807, the English threw 11,000 shot and shell into Copenhagen in three days. Of the bombardments recorded in history may be mentioned that of Algiers by Duquesne in 1682-83, by the Venetians in 1784, and by the English in 1816; of Genoa in 1684; of Tripoli in 1685, 1728, and 1747; of Barcelona in 1691; of Brussels in 1694; of Toulon by the English in 1707; of Prague in 1744, 1759, and 1848; the bombardment of Lille by the Austrians in 1792; of Le Quesnoy, Breda, Lille, Lyons, Maestricht, and Mayence in 1793; of Menin, Valenciennes, and Ostend in 1794; of Copenhagen by the English in 1807; of Glogau, Breslau, and Schweidnitz by the French in 1806-7; of Saragossa by the French in 1808; of Flushing by the English in 1809; of Antwerp in 1832; of St. Jean d’Ulloa by the French in 1838; of Beyrout and St. Jean d’Acre by the English in 1840; of Barcelona by Espartero in 1842; of Mogador by the French in 1844; and of Odessa by the English and French fleets in 1854. Vera Cruz was bombarded by Gen. Scott for three days before its surrender, March 27, 1847. During the civil war recourse was had several times to this method of reducing fortified places. Among the most noted were the bombardment by Admiral Farragut for six days, April 18, 1862, of Forts Jackson and St. Philip (after which they surrendered); the bombardment of Fort Pulaski, Ga., by Gen. Gillmore, in April, 1862; the first bombardment of Fort Sumter in August, 1863, which effectually disabled the fort for immediate defense of Charleston harbor, although the works remained in the possession of the Confederates; and the second bombardment, which took place in October following, leaving the place in ruins. During the Franco-German war Strasburg was bombarded by the Prussians on August 18, 1870, and after an immense number of shells were thrown into it with ruinous effect the city surrendered on September 27. During the siege of Paris it was estimated that for two weeks in January, 1871, about 500 shells a day were thrown into the city, to the great destruction of life and property.

=Bomb-chest.= A chest filled with bombs, or only with gunpowder, placed under ground, to cause destruction by its explosion.

=Bomb-proof.= A term applied to military structures of such immense thickness and strength that bombs cannot penetrate them.

=Bomb-shell.= A hollow globe of iron, filled with powder, and thrown from a mortar; a bomb.

=Bone=, =Bona=, or =Bonah=. A fortified seaport town of Algeria, 85 miles northwest of Constantine; it is surrounded by a wall with square turrets which has four gates. Fort Cigogne is its chief defense; the French occupied this place in July, 1830.

=Bonn.= A town on the Rhine (the Roman Bonna) was in the electorate of Cologne; it has been frequently besieged, and was assigned to Prussia in 1814.

=Bonnet.= In fortification, is a small defense work constructed at salient angles of the glacis or larger works. It consists of two faces only, with a parapet 3 feet high by 10 or 12 feet broad. There is no ditch. A larger kind, with 3 salient angles, is called a _priest’s bonnet_, or _bonnet à prêtre_. The use of the bonnet is to check the besiegers when they are attempting to make a lodgment.

=Bonneval.= A town of France, formerly fortified; it was partially destroyed by the English during the 15th century.

=Bontchouk.= A lance ornamented with a horse’s tail. When the kings of Poland led their armies, boutchouks were carried before them.

=Boomerang.= A very singular missile weapon used by the natives of Australia. It is made of hard wood, usually from 20 to 30 inches in length, from 2 to 3 inches wide, and ¹⁄₂ or ³⁄₄ of an inch thick. It is curved or bent in the middle at an angle of from 100° to 140°. When thrown from the hand with a quick rotary motion, it describes very remarkable curves, according to the shape of the instrument and the manner of throwing it, often moving nearly horizontally a long distance, then curving upward to a considerable height, and finally taking a retrograde direction, so as to fall near the place from which it was thrown, or even very far in the rear of it.

=Booneville.= A river-port, capital of Cooper Co., Mo., situated on the right bank of the Missouri River, 48 miles northwest of Jefferson City. During the civil war a Confederate force of about 2500 raw troops was here attacked by the Federals under Gen. Lyon, June 17, 1861. After a short conflict the Confederates were routed, abandoning their guns and camp equipage, which fell into the hands of the Union forces.

=Boothauk.= A fortified pass of Afghanistan, 12 miles to the east of Cabul. It runs for 5 miles between cliffs 500 feet high, and in some places only 50 yards wide.

=Boots and Saddles.= In cavalry tactics, a trumpet call which is the first signal for mounted drill, and for all other formations mounted; it is also the signal for the trumpeters to assemble.

=Booty.= Is the victors’ share in property captured from the vanquished. It is generally a military term, the word _prize_ being more frequently used in the navy.

=Bordeaux=, or =Bourdeaux= (Southwest France). This city was sacked by the Visigoths, who were driven from it by Clovis; it was ravaged by the Saracens and Normans in the 8th and 9th centuries. It came into the possession of the Duke of Gascoyne in 911; in 1653 the city rebelled, but was taken by the royal troops; Bordeaux was entered by the victorious British army after the battle of Orthes, fought February 27, 1814.

=Bordure=, or =Border=. In heraldry, coats of arms are frequently surrounded with a bordure, the object of which is to show that the bearer is a cadet of the house whose arms he carries. Its character often has reference to the profession of the bearer; thus a _bordure embattled_ is granted to a soldier, and a _bordure ermine_ to a lawyer.

=Bore.= Of a piece of ordnance includes all the part bored out, viz., the cylinder, the chamber (if there is one), and the conical or spherical surface connecting them.

=Borghetto.= A town of Italy, on the Mincio, 15 miles southwest of Verona; it has a castle and a vast fortified causeway. The French here defeated the Austrians in 1796.

=Borgo Forte.= A town of Italy, in Lombardy, on the Po, 7 miles south of Mantua. The Austrians were here defeated by the French in 1796.

=Bori.= A Turkish term for military trumpets.

=Boring Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF.

=Borissov.= A town of Russia, on the left bank of the Berezina. A conflict took place here November 23, 1812, between the French and Russians; near this town, at the village of Studienka, the disastrous passage of Berezina was effected by the French army, November 26-27, 1812.

=Bormann-fuze.= A fuze which is used for spherical case-shot. The fuze-case is made of metal (a composition of lead and tin), and consists of a short cylinder, having at one end a horseshoe-shaped indentation, _one_ end only of which communicates with the magazine of the fuze placed in the centre by a channel filled with _rifle_ powder. This horseshoe indentation extends nearly to the other end of the cylinder, a thin layer of the metal only intervening. This is graduated on the outside into equal parts representing seconds and quarter-seconds. In the bottom of this channel a smooth layer of the composition is placed, with a piece of wick or yarn underneath it. On this is placed a piece of metal, the cross-section of which is wedge-shaped, and this, by machinery, is pressed down upon the composition, sealing it hermetically. The cylindrical opening is filled with musket powder and covered with a sheet of tin, which is soldered, closing the magazine from the external air. Before using the fuze several holes are punched through this sheet of tin, to allow the flame to enter the shell. On the side of the fuze the thread of a screw is cut which fits into one cut on the inside of the fuze-hole, and the fuze is screwed into the shell with a wrench. The thin layer of metal over the composition is cut through with a gouge or chisel, or even a penknife, at the interval marked with the number of seconds which we wish the fuze to burn. To prevent the metal of this fuze, which is soft, from being driven into the shell by the explosive force of the charge, a circular piece of iron, with a hole through its centre, and the thread of a screw on the outside, is screwed into the fuze-hole before the fuze is inserted. The most important advantage of this fuze is, that the shells can be loaded, all ready for use, and remain so any length of time, perfectly safe from explosion, as the fuze can be screwed into its place, and the composition never exposed to external fire until the metal is cut through.

=Borneo.= An island in the Indian Ocean, the largest in the world except Australia; discovered by the Portuguese about 1520; the pirates of this island were several times chastised by the British government; incorporated with the British empire, December 2, 1846.

=Bornhoevede.= A village of Holstein, where a battle was fought on July 22, 1227, between Woldemar II., king of Denmark, and Adolphus IV. of Holstein; the Danes were totally defeated.

=Borodino.= A Russian village on the Moskwa, near which a sanguinary battle was fought, September 7, 1812, between the French under Napoleon, and the Russians under Kootoosof, 240,000 men being engaged. Each party claimed the victory; but the Russians retreated, leaving Moscow, which the French entered September 14. The French name it the battle of Moskwa, and it gave Marshal Ney his title of Prince of Moskwa.

=Boroughbridge.= A town in Yorkshire, England, the site of a battle between the Earls of Hereford and Lancaster and Edward II., March 16, 1322. The latter at the head of 30,000 men pressed Lancaster so closely that he had not time to collect his troops together in sufficient force, and being defeated and made prisoner, was led, mounted on a lean horse, to an eminence near Pontefract, and beheaded by a Londoner.

=Boscobel.= Near Donington, Shropshire, England, where Charles II. concealed himself after his defeat at Worcester.

=Bosnia.= In European Turkey, formerly part of Pannonia, was governed by chiefs till a brother-in-law of Louis, king of Hungary, was made king, 1376. He was defeated by the Turks in 1389, and became their vassal. Bosnia was annexed to the Ottoman empire in 1522. Many efforts have been made by the Bosnians to recover their independence; they rebelled in 1849, and were subdued by Omar Pasha in 1851.

=Bosniaken.= Formerly light cavalry of the Prussians, resembling the present Uhlans. Frederick I. formed this cavalry in 1745.

=Bosphorus=, or =Bosporus, Thracian= (now _Strait of Constantinople_). The ancient name of the strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora. Darius Hystaspes threw a bridge of boats over this strait when about to invade Greece, 493 B.C.

=Bosporus.= The country on both sides of the Bosporus Cimmerius, or Strait of Yenikalé, formed in ancient times the kingdom of Bosporus. The Scythians conquered Bosporus, 285 B.C.; conquered by Mithridates VI., 80 B.C.; conquered by Cæsar, 47 B.C.; Polemon conquered Bosporus, 14 B.C. A list of obscure kings given by some writers ends with Sauromates VII., 344.

=Boss.= The apex of a shield.

=Bosse=, =Bosse à Feu= (_Fr._). A term used in the French artillery to express a glass bottle which is very thin, contains 4 or 5 pounds of powder, and round the neck of which 4 or 5 matches are hung after it has been well corked. A cord 2 or 3 feet in length is tied to the bottle, which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks the powder catches fire, and everything within the immediate effects of the explosion is destroyed.

=Bostanji.= The first Turkish foot-guards, about 12,000 strong; they guard the imperial castles and accompany the sultans to the field. They were originally employed as gardeners, guards for the seraglio, etc. Their number is now greatly reduced.