Part 145

=Valmy.= A village of France, department of Marne, 20 miles northeast from Chalons. This village is celebrated as the place where the republican armies of France under Kellerman, in 1792, defeated for the first time the allied armies under the Duke of Brunswick.

=Valor.= Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery; warlike courage; intrepidity; bravery.

=Valparaiso.= The principal seaport of Chili, South America, on the bay of the same name, about 80 miles west-northwest of Santiago. The bay is sheltered from all quarters except the north; and is defended by three forts and a water-battery. Valparaiso was bombarded by the Spanish fleet, March 31, 1866. Few lives were lost, but buildings and other property, the value of which was estimated at from $9,000,000 to $20,000,000, were destroyed.

=Valtelline=, or =Valtellina= (Northern Italy). A district near the Rhætian Alps, seized by the Grison league in 1512, and ceded to it in 1530. At the instigation of Spain, the Catholics rose and massacred the Protestants, July 19-21, 1620. After much contention between the French and Austrians, the neutrality of the Valtelline was assured in 1639. It was annexed to the Cisalpine republic in 1797; to Italy, 1807; to Austria, 1814; to Italy, 1860.

=Vambrace.= In ancient armor, the piece designed to protect the arm below the elbow.

=Vambraced= (Fr. _avant-bras_, “fore-arm”). A term applied to an arm clothed in armor, as in the subjoined crest; a dexter embowed arm vambraced proper, the gauntlet holding a sword below the hilt in bend sinister, point downwards, argent, hilt and pommel or.

=Vamplate.= A round piece of iron on a tilting-spear, used to protect the hand.

=Van.= The front of an army, the first line, or leading column.

=Vancouver’s Island.= Now, jointly with British Columbia, one of the colonies of Great Britain, forms a part of British North America. Settlements were made here by the English in 1781, which were seized by the Spaniards in 1789, but restored. By a treaty between the British government and that of the United States in 1846, this island was secured to the former.

=Vandals= (_Vandalii_, or _Vindalii_). A confederacy of German nations, probably of the great Suevic race, to which the Burgundiones, Gothones, Gepidæ, and Rugii belonged. They dwelt originally on the northern coast of Germany, but were afterward settled north of the Marcomanni, in the Riesengebirge, which are hence called Vandalici Montes. They subsequently appear for a short time in Dacia and Pannonia; but at the beginning of the 5th century (409) they traversed Germany and Gaul, and invaded Spain. In this country they subjugated the Alani, and founded a powerful kingdom, the name of which is still preserved in Andalusia (Vandalusia). In 429 they crossed over into Africa, under their king Genseric, and conquered all the Roman dominions in that country. Genseric subsequently invaded Italy, and took and plundered Rome in 455. The Vandals continued masters of Africa till 535, when their kingdom was destroyed by Belisarius, and annexed to the Byzantine empire.

=Van-foss.= In fortification, a ditch dug without the counterscarp, and running all along the glacis, usually full of water.

=Vanguard.= That part of the army which marches in front.

=Vanquish.= To conquer; to overcome; to subdue in battle, as an enemy.

=Vant-bras.= Armor for the arm.

=Variation of the Needle.= Is the angle included between the true and magnetic meridians of a place; the deviation of a magnetic needle from the true north or south points of the horizon;--called also _declination of the needle_.

=Varna.= An important fortified seaport of European Turkey, in Bulgaria, on the northern side of a semicircular bay, an inlet of the Black Sea, 180 miles north-northwest from Constantinople. A great battle was fought near this place, November 10, 1444, between the Turks under Amurath II. and the Hungarians under their king Ladislaus, and John Hunniades. The latter were defeated with great slaughter; the king was killed, and Hunniades made prisoner. The Christians had previously broken the truce for ten years, recently made at Szegedin. The emperor Nicholas of Russia arrived before Varna, the headquarters of his army, then besieging the place, August 5, 1828. The Turkish garrison made a vigorous attack on the besiegers, August 7, and another on August 21, but were repulsed. Varna surrendered, after a sanguinary conflict, to the Russian arms, October 11, 1828. It was restored at the peace in 1829; its fortifications were dismantled, but have since been restored. The allied armies disembarked at Varna, May 29, 1854, and remained there till they sailed for the Crimea, September 3, following. While at Varna they suffered severely from cholera.

=Varveled.= In heraldry, when the leather thongs which tie on the bells to the legs of hawks are borne flotant with rings at the end, the bearing is termed _jessed_, _belled_, and _varveled_.

=Vascones.= A powerful people on the northern coast of Hispania Tarraconensis, between the Iberus and the Pyrenees, in the modern Navarre and Guipuzco. Their chief towns were Pompelon and Calagurris. They were a brave people, and fought in battle bare-headed. Under the empire they were regarded as skillful diviners and prophets. Their name is still retained in that of the modern Basques.

=Vassy.= A town of France, in the department of the Upper Marne, 29 miles northwest from Chaumont. The massacre of the Protestants at this place by the Duke of Guise on March 1, 1562, led to the civil wars which desolated France to the end of the century.

=Vaud.= A canton which forms the western corner of Switzerland between the Jura and the Bernese Alps. After having been successively held by the Franks, kings of Burgundy, emperors of Germany, dukes of Zahringen, and dukes of Savoy, it was conquered by the Bernese, January, 1536, and annexed, 1554. Vaud was made independent in 1798, and joined the Confederation in 1815.

=Vaunt-mure.= In fortification, a false wall; a work raised in front of the main wall. This word is written also _vaimure_ and _vamure_.

=Vectis=, or =Vecta= (now _Isle of Wight_). An island off the southern coast of Britain. It was conquered by Vespasian in the reign of Claudius.

=Vedettes=, or =Videttes=. Mounted sentinels stationed at the outposts of an army or encampment, and so posted at all the avenues and rising grounds, that they can best observe the approach of an enemy, and communicate by signal to their respective posts, as well as with each other, when any danger is to be apprehended.

=Veii= (now _Isola Farnese_). One of the most ancient and powerful cities of Etruria, situated on the river Crimera, about 12 miles from Rome. It possessed a strongly-fortified citadel, built on a hill rising precipitously from the deep glens which bound it, save at the single point where a narrow ridge unites it to the city. The Veientes were engaged in almost unceasing hostilities with Rome for more than three centuries and a half, and we have records of fourteen distinct wars between the two nations. Veii was at last taken by the dictator Camillus, after a siege of ten years, 396 B.C. The city fell into his hands, according to the common story, by means of a _cuniculus_, or mine, which was carried by Camillus from the Roman camp under the city into the citadel of Veii. The citizens were massacred or sold as slaves, and the land confiscated.

=Vekilchares.= A word used among the Turks, which signifies the same as _fourrier_ in the French and corresponds with quartermaster.

=Velez-Malaga.= A fortified town in the south of Spain, in the province of Malaga, 16 miles east from the city of that name. The town was taken from the Moors, by Ferdinand the Catholic, after a long siege.

=Velish.= A town of Russia in Europe, in the government of Vitepsk, situated on the Dwina. This place, which was founded by the Russians in 1536, was taken by the Poles in 1580, but in 1772 it again reverted to Russia.

=Velites.= In the Roman armies, the name of the light-armed troops, who were first instituted during the second Punic war, and were remarkable for their agility.

=Velletri= (anc. _Velitræ_). A town of the Papal States, in the Comarca, and 21 miles southeast from Rome. The ancient _Velitræ_ was an important Volscian city destroyed by the Romans, but afterwards rebuilt. In 1734, Carlo Borbone, king of Naples, gained, near Velletri, a decisive victory over the Austrians, which secured the kingdom of the two Sicilies to the Spanish Bourbons.

=Vellore.= A town and fortress of British India, in the presidency of Madras, situated on the river Palar, 80 miles southwest from Madras. It is very strongly fortified. After the capture of Seringapatam, in 1799, Vellore was fixed on for the place of confinement or residence of the family of Tippoo Sahib. In July, 1806, a very serious mutiny took place among the garrison, composed principally of native troops. It was speedily suppressed by the gallant conduct of Col. Gillespie of the 19th Dragoons.

=Velocimeter.= An instrument for obtaining initial velocity, invented by Col. Benton, U. S. Ordnance Department. See CHRONOSCOPE.

=Velocity.= Is rate of motion; the relation of motion to time, measured by the number of units of space passed over by the moving body in a unit of time, usually the number of feet in a second. The velocity of a projectile, at any point of its flight, is the space in _feet_ passed over in a _second_ of time, with a continuous, uniform motion. _Initial velocity_ is the velocity at the muzzle of the piece; _remaining velocity_ is the velocity at any point of the flight; _terminal velocity_ is the velocity with which it strikes its object; and _final velocity_ of descent in air, is the uniform velocity with which a projectile moves, when the resistance of the air becomes equal to the accelerating force of gravity. The initial velocity of a projectile may be determined by the principles of mechanics which govern the action of the powder, the resistance of the projectile, etc., or by direct experiment.

The instant that the charge of a fire-arm is converted into gas, it exerts an expansive effort which acts to drive the projectile out of the bore. If the gaseous mass be divided into elementary sections perpendicular to its length, it will be seen that, in their efforts to expand, each section has not only to overcome its own inertia, but the inertia of the piece and projectile, as well as the inertia of the sections which precede it. The tension of each section, therefore, increases from the extremities of the charge to some intermediate point where it is a maximum. The pressure on all sides of the section of maximum density being equal, it will remain at rest, while all the others will move in opposite directions, constantly pressing against the projectile and piece, and accelerating their velocities. As the projectile moves in the bore, the space in which the gases expand is increased, while their density is diminished; it follows that the force which sets a projectile in motion in a fire-arm varies from several causes: (1st) It varies as the space behind the projectile increases, or as the velocity regarded as a function of the time; (2d) It varies throughout the column of gas for the same instant of time; and (3d) It varies from the increasing quantities of gas developed in the successive instants of the combustion of the powder. See INITIAL VELOCITY.

The motion of a body falling through the air will be accelerated by its weight, and retarded by the buoyant effort of the air, and the resistance which the air offers to motion. As the resistance of the air increases more rapidly than the velocity, it follows that there is a point where the retarding and accelerating forces will be equal, and that beyond this the body will move with a uniform velocity, equal to that which it had acquired down to this point. The buoyant effort of the air is equal to the weight of the volume displaced, or

(_d_) _P_(---); (_D_)

in which _P_ is the weight and _D_ the density of the projectile, and _d_ the density of the air. When the projectile meets with a resistance equal to its weight, we shall have,

( _d_) ( _v_) _P_(1 - ---) = _A_{p}R²v²_(1 + ---); (15) ( _D_) ( _r_)

in which the weight of the displaced air is transferred to the first member of the equation. As the density of the air is very slight compared to that of lead or iron, the materials of which projectiles are made, _d_/_D_ may be neglected. Making this change, and substituting for _P_, _⁴⁄₃_{p}R^{3}D_, the expression for the _final velocity_ reduces to

( _v_) _RD_ _v_²(1 + ---) = ⁴⁄₃-----. (16) ( _r_) _A_

The resistance on the entire projectile for a velocity of 1 foot, is _A_{p}R²_; dividing this by _P_/_g_, or the mass, we get the resistance on a unit of mass. Calling this 1/(2_c_) we have,

1 _A_{p}R²_ _P_ ---- = ---------, or 2_gc_ = --------. 2_c_ _P_ _A_{p}R²_ --- _g_

Substituting for _P_ its value in the equation of vertical descent, we have,

( _v_) 2_gc_ = _v_²(1 + ---); ( _r_)

from which we see that _v_ depends only on _c_; but

_RD_ _c_ = ²⁄₃----- (17) _gA_

hence, the _final velocity_ of a projectile falling through the air is directly proportional to the product of its diameter and density, and inversely proportional to the density of the air, which is a factor of _A_. The expression for the value of _c_ shows that the retarding effect of the air is less on the larger and denser projectiles. To adapt it to an oblong projectile of the pointed form, the value of _D_ should be increased (inasmuch as its weight is increased in proportion to its cross-section), while that of _A_ should be diminished. It follows, therefore, that for the same caliber an oblong projectile will be less retarded by the air than one of spherical form, and consequently with an equal and perhaps less initial velocity, its range will be greater.

=Velocity of Light.= See LIGHT, VELOCITY OF.

=Velocity of Sound.= See SOUND.

=Vendée, La.= A department in the west of France. The _wars of La Vendée_ denote the armed opposition to the religious and political changes in France, which burst out into a species of partisan warfare in 1793, 1794, 1795, 1799, and 1815.

=Venezuela.= A republic in the northwest of South America. The east coast of Venezuela was discovered by Columbus in 1498; Ojeda and Vespucci followed in 1499. The first settlement was made at Cumana in 1520, by the Spaniards; and Venezuela remained subject to Spain till it claimed independence in 1811. In 1812, it returned to allegiance to Spain, but again revolted in 1813, and, forming with New Granada and Ecuador the republic of Colombia, it was declared independent in 1819. In 1831, the states separated. During the ten years from 1861-1871, upwards of 60,000 persons were killed in the civil wars. The revolution triumphed, and Guzman Blanco attempted to establish a government at Caraccas, which was captured by revolutionists, April, 1870.

=Venice.= A fortified city of Northern Italy, one of the noblest, most famous, and singular cities in the world, is built upon a crowded cluster of islets, in the lagoon of the same name, on the northwest fringe of the Adriatic Sea, 23 miles east of Padua. It was founded by families from Aquileia and Padua fleeing from Attila, about 452. Under their third doge (720-737) the Venetians entered upon that career of enterprise in which their prudence and valor were almost always conspicuous, and which they continued to pursue to the last. Venice after a series of enterprises which covered a period of 700 years, and in which she was nearly always successful, gaining territory and prestige, entered into a war with the Turks in 1461, which lasted until 1477, and in which she lost many of her Eastern possessions. The Venetians took Cyprus in 1475, and helped to overcome Charles VIII. of France in 1495; they excited the Turks against Charles V. in 1504, and were nearly ruined by the league of Cambray in 1508. They also assisted in defeating the Turks at Lepanto in 1571, but lost Cyprus to the Turks in the same year. The Venetians gained several important naval victories over the Turks at Scio in 1651, and in the Dardanelles in 1655, but lost Candia, one of their possessions, in 1669; recovered part of the Morea in 1683-99, but lost it again in 1715-39. Venice was occupied by Bonaparte in 1797, who, by the treaty of Campo Formio, gave part of its territory to Austria, and annexed the remainder to the Cisalpine republic. In 1805 the whole of Venice was annexed to the kingdom of Italy by the treaty of Presburg; but was transferred to the empire of Austria in 1814, and the city declared a free port in 1830. An insurrection began in Venice on March 22, 1848, and the city, which was defended by Daniele Manin, surrendered to the Austrians after a long siege on August 22, 1849. It was transferred to Italy, October 17, 1866, by the treaty of Vienna.

=Venlo.= A small but strongly fortified town in the Netherlands, province of Limburg, situated on the right bank of the Maas, 45 miles north-northeast from Maastricht. Venlo was walled by Duke Reynold of Gelder in 1343. It has many a time felt the horrors of a siege, and has been taken and retaken, the last time by the Belgians in 1830, in whose hands it remained till the conference of London, June 22, 1839, when it returned to the Dutch.

=Vennones.= A people of Rhætia, and, according to Strabo, the most savage of the Rhætian tribes, inhabiting the Alps near the sources of the Athesis.

=Vent.= In gunnery, is the aperture through which fire is communicated to the charge. It should be as small as the use of the priming-wire and tube will allow. See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, INTERIOR FORM OF CANNON.

=Ventail.= That part of a helmet which is made to lift up.

=Vent-gauges.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.

=Vent-piece.= In some ordnance is a piece of copper containing the vent, and screwed in at the proper position.

=Vent-punch.= See IMPLEMENTS, EQUIPMENTS AND MACHINES.

=Vent-searcher.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.

=Vera Cruz.= An ancient city on the east coast of Mexico, about 185 miles east of the city of Mexico. The castle of Ulloa and the city were bombarded and taken by the Americans in 1847, and the city was taken by the allies, December 17, 1861. Vera Cruz was retaken by the liberals, under Juarez, June 27, 1867.

=Verat= (_Fr._). A 12-pounder gun of 17 calibers, weighing 2300 pounds, having a charge of 8 pounds.

=Verbal Orders.= Instructions given by word of mouth, which, when communicated through an official channel, are to be considered as equally binding with written ones.

=Vercelli= (anc. _Vercellæ_). A town of the kingdom of Sardinia, capital of a province of the same name. Near this place Varus defeated the Cimbri, 101 B.C. It was the seat of a republic in the 13th and 14th centuries. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1630; by the French in 1704; and allies, 1706; it subsequently partook of the fortunes of Piedmont.

=Verden.= A town in Hanover, Germany, on the right bank of the Aller. Here Charlemagne massacred about 4500 Saxons, who had rebelled and relapsed into idolatry, 782.

=Verdict.= See FINDING.

=Verdoy.= In heraldry, a term indicating that a bordure is charged with flowers, leaves, or vegetable charges. Thus a bordure argent verdoy of oak-leaves proper, is equivalent to a bordure argent charged with eight oak-leaves proper.

=Verdun= (anc. _Verodunum_). A fortified town of France in the department of Meuse, on the right bank of the river of that name, about 150 miles (direct line) east-northeast from Paris, it was fortified by Vauban, and its defenses consist of a wall with bastions and a citadel. It was acquired by the Franks in the 6th century, and formed part of the dominions of Lothaire by the treaty of Verdun, 543, when the empire was divided between the sons of Louis I. It was taken and annexed to the empire of Otho I. about 939. It surrendered to France in 1552, and was formally ceded in 1648. It was taken and held by the Prussians forty-three days, September-October, 1792. Gen. Beaurepaire, the commandant, committed suicide before the surrender, and fourteen ladies were executed in 1794, for going to the king of Prussia to solicit his clemency for the town. Verdun surrendered to the Germans, November 8, 1870, after a brave defense, two vigorous sallies being made October 28. Above 4000 men and 108 cannon were captured, and much arms and ammunition.

=Vere, de.= The name of an ancient and noble family of England, descended from a Norman knight who had a high command at the battle of Hastings. His son became earl of Oxford, and minister of Henry I. The third earl was one of the barons who extorted the Magna Charta from King John. John de Vere, seventh earl, was a famous commander, and fought at Crécy and Poitiers (1356). The thirteenth earl was a leader of the Lancastrian party in the war of the Roses, and commanded the van of the army of Henry VII. at Bosworth (1485). The twentieth earl was Aubrey de Vere, who fought for Charles I. in the civil war, and after the restoration became lord-lieutenant of Essex.

=Vergette= (_Fr._). In heraldry, a pallet or small pale; hence, a shield divided by pallets or pales.

=Vermeuil.= A town of France, in the department of the Eure, situated on the Arve. It was the scene of a battle between the Burgundians and English, under the Duke of Bedford, and the French, assisted by the Scots, commanded by the Count de Narbonne and the Earls of Douglas and Buchan, etc. The French at first were successful; but some Lombard auxiliaries, who had taken the English camp, commenced pillaging. Two thousand English archers then came fresh to the attack; and the French and Scots were totally defeated, and their leaders killed.

=Vermont.= One of the United States of America, and one of the five New England States; it was the first State received after the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Vermont is bounded on the north by Canada, on the east by the Connecticut River, which separates it from New Hampshire, on the south by Massachusetts, and on the west by New York, from which it is separated for 100 miles by Lake Champlain. The first settlement made in this State was in 1724, when it was claimed as a part of the New Hampshire grants. In 1763, it was claimed by New York, under grants of Charles II. to the Duke of York. For ten years the New York officers were resisted, and sometimes tied to trees and whipped by the lawless settlers. These contests were stopped by the Revolution, but this State, a refuge for settlers from the other States, remained eight years out of the Union. It was chiefly the Vermont militia that gained the victory of Plattsburg, on Lake Champlain, in 1812; and the Green Mountain State contributed largely to the Union forces in the war of the Rebellion.

=Verolamium=, or =Verulamium= (now _Old Verulam_, near St. Alban’s). The chief town of the Catuellani in Britain, probably the residence of the king Cassivellaunus, which was conquered by Cæsar. It was subsequently made a Roman _municipium_. It was destroyed by the Britons under Boadicea, in their insurrection against the Romans, but was rebuilt, and continued to be an important place.