Part 19

The _72-ton Krupp guns_; bore 15.75 inches, weight of steel shot 1700 pounds, charge of _prismatic powder_ 452 pounds. Guns all steel. _Breech-loading._

=Cannonade.= The act of discharging shot or shells from cannon for the purpose of destroying an army, or battering a town, ship, or fort; usually applied to an attack of some continuance.

=Cannon-ball.= A ball usually made of cast iron, to be thrown from cannon.

=Cannon Baskets.= The old English phrase for gabions.

=Cannon-bullet.= A cannon-ball.

=Cannoneer.= A man who manages cannon.

=Cannoneering.= The use of cannon.

=Cannoneers’ Seats.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, NOMENCLATURE OF ARTILLERY CARRIAGES.

=Cannon-lock.= A contrivance, like the lock of a gun, placed over the vent of a cannon to explode the charge.

=Cannon-metal.= An alloy of copper with about 9 per cent. of tin;--called also _gun-metal_.

=Cannon-perer.= An ancient piece of ordnance throwing stone shot.

=Cannon-proof.= Proof against cannon.

=Cannon Royal.= A 60-pounder of 8¹⁄₂ inches bore.

=Cannonry.= Cannon collectively; artillery.

=Cannon-shot.= A ball for cannon.

=Canonnière= (_Fr._). This name was given formerly to a tent which served to shelter four canonniers, but later the term was applied to all infantry tents which contained seven or eight men.

=Canonnière= (_Fr._). An appellation formerly given to a gun-proof tower; it also designated an opening in the walls of cities, forts, etc., through which the defenders of these places could fire on an enemy without being exposed.

=Canonniers= (_Fr._). Artillerymen, gunners. In 1671, during the administration of Louvois in France, the name of _canonniers_ was given to the first company of the regiment of the king’s fusileers; in April, 1693, this regiment was named _artillerie royal_, but the first company retained the name of _canonniers_.

=Canonniers Gardes-côtes= (_Fr._). Were instituted in 1702, by Louis XIV. of France, for the service of coast batteries. They are similar to the Artillery Coast Brigade in the British service.

=Canstadt=, or =Cannstadt=. A town of Würtemberg, on the river Neckar. In the vicinity a battle was fought in 1796, between Gen. Moreau and the Archduke Charles of Austria.

=Cantabri.= A rude race of ancient mountaineers who lived in Cantabria, the northern part of Spain, near the Bay of Biscay. They made a brave resistance to the Romans in the Cantabrian war, 25-19 B.C. They are said to have been of Iberian origin.

=Cantabrum.= A large banner used during the time of the Roman emperors, and borne on festive occasions.

=Canteen.= A tin vessel used by soldiers to carry water on the march, or in the field. It is usually suspended by a strap from the shoulder. In the British service the canteen is made of wood. The name is also applied to the store authorized within the precincts of British barracks for the sale of liquors, small stores, etc. (See POST TRADER.) A leather or wooden chest divided into compartments, and containing the table equipage of an officer when on active service, is also called a canteen.

=Canterbury= (the _Durovernum_ of the Romans). A town in Kent, England. Its cathedral was sacked by the Danes, 1011, and burnt down, 1067; rebuilt, 1130; again burnt down, 1174, and again rebuilt. During the civil war in England, Cromwell’s dragoons used Canterbury Cathedral as a stable.

=Cantinière= (_Fr._). Women who are authorized to establish themselves in the barracks or follow the troops in time of war, selling them liquors and provisions. The _cantinières_, whether attached to regiments or barracks, are selected from the wives of non-commissioned officers or privates, and wear a uniform. See VIVANDIÈRE.

=Cantle.= The hind-bow or protuberance of a saddle; also written _cantel_.

=Canton.= The only city in China with which Europeans were allowed to trade till the treaty of August 29, 1842. In 1856 a serious misunderstanding arose between Great Britain and China, on account of the Chinese having boarded the “Arrow,” a small vessel, lying in the Canton River, with a British colonial register. The Canton forts were taken, and Canton was bombarded by Sir Michael Seymour in 1856, and in the following year the Chinese fleet was entirely destroyed. In 1858 Canton was taken, and the forts at the mouth of the Pei-ho River were taken by the allied French and English forces.

=Canton.= One of the nine honorable ordinaries in heraldry. It occupies a corner of the shield either dexter or sinister, and is a third of the chief.

=Cantonments.= In the general operations of European armies are temporary resting-places. In cantonments the men are not under canvas, as in camps, but occupy during an armistice, or in intervals between active operations, adjacent towns and villages. In India cantonments are permanent places, being regular military towns, distinct and at some little distances from the principal cities.

=Cantonné.= In heraldry, when a cross is placed between four other objects it is said to be _cantonné_.

=Canusium= (now _Canosa_). An important and very ancient city of Apulia, in Italy. It was probably founded by the Greeks. Here a battle took place between the Carthaginians under Hannibal, and the Romans under Marcellus, 209 B.C.; it lasted two days; the first day the Carthaginians were victorious, but on the second day the Romans gained the victory after committing great havoc among their adversaries. It was captured by the Romans, 318 B.C.

=Canvas.= A coarse hempen or linen cloth which is extensively used in the form of tents, etc.

=Cap-a-pie= (_Fr._). “Head to foot.” In military language of the Middle Ages, this term was applied to a knight or soldier armed at all points, with armor for defense and weapons for attack.

=Caparison.= The bridle, saddle, and housing of a military horse.

=Cape Breton.= A large island of British North America, separated from Nova Scotia by the Gut of Canso. Said to have been discovered by Cabot, 1497; by the English in 1584; taken by the French in 1632, but was afterwards restored, and again taken in 1745, and retaken in 1748. The fortress of Louisburg was captured by the English, July 26, 1758, when the garrison were made prisoners, and 11 French ships were captured or destroyed. The island was ceded to England, February 10, 1763.

=Cape Coast Castle.= In Southwest Africa; it was settled by the Portuguese in 1610, but it soon fell to the Dutch; it was demolished by Admiral Holmes in 1661. All the British factories and shipping along the coast were destroyed by the Dutch admiral, Ruyter, in 1665. It was confirmed to the English by the treaty of Breda, in 1667. See ASHANTEES.

=Cape Colony.= See CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

=Capeline= (_Fr._). A helmet without a visor, nearly in the form of a round head; it was formerly worn by infantry.

=Cape of Good Hope.= In Southern Africa; long held by the Dutch; was captured by the British, September 16, 1795; restored to the Dutch at the general peace, but was again taken by the British, January 9, 1806; it still belongs to the British, though a severe desultory warfare has often been carried on with the native tribes.

=Capital.= In technical fortification, is an imaginary line bisecting the salient angle of a work.

=Capitulation.= The surrender of a fortress or army on stipulated conditions.

=Caponiere.= A covered passage across the ditch of a fortified place, for the purpose either of sheltering communication with outworks or of affording a flanking fire to the ditch in which it stands. If the caponiere is protected only on one side, it is single; if on both sides, and covered, it is double.

=Capote.= A heavy coat with a hood, worn by soldiers, sailors, and others.

=Cappadocia.= An ancient province of Asia Minor, now included in Asiatic Turkey. It was conquered by Cyrus the Great of Persia, and was ruled by independent kings after the time of Alexander the Great until 17, when Tiberius reduced it to a Roman province.

=Cappel.= A village of Switzerland. Here the reformer Ulric Zwinglius was slain in a conflict between the Catholics and the men of Zurich, in October, 1531.

=Capri= (anc. _Capreæ_). An island near Naples, the sumptuous residence of Tiberius, memorable for the debaucheries he committed during the last seven years of his life. Capri was taken by Sir Sidney Smith, April 22, 1806; taken from the British, October 4, 1808, by a French force under Gen. Lamarque.

=Caps.= The head-dress or shako of such troops as are not supplied with helmets.

FORAGE CAPS are the cloth undress head-covering of the officer or soldier.

=Caps.= In gunnery, are the leathern plugs, or bungs, used to prevent rain or rubbish from collecting in the bore of the guns and howitzers. There are also cannon caps for similar purposes, used for mortars.

=Caps, Percussion-.= Are small metal covers, inlaid with detonating powder, and placed on the nipple of a rifle or revolver. The hammer, striking on the outer surface of the cap, causes the powder to explode and ignite the charge.

=Cap-square.= A strong plate of iron which comes over the trunnion of a cannon, and keeps it to its place.

=Capstan.= A strong, massy column of timber, formed somewhat like a truncated cone, and having its upper extremity pierced to receive bars, or levers, for winding a rope round it, to move great weights, or to exert great power; used in moving heavy guns considerable distances; called also a _crab_.

=Capsules.= Copper caps for percussion-locks.

=Captain.= In a limited and technical sense, is the title of an officer who commands a troop of cavalry, a company of infantry, or a battery of artillery. He is the next in rank below a major, and in the U. S. army is responsible for the camp and garrison equipage, the arms, ammunition, and clothing of his company.

There is no position in the army that will give as much satisfaction in return for an honest, capable, and conscientious discharge of his duty as that of captain or commanding officer of a company. There is a reward in having done his full duty to his company, that no disappointment of distinction, no failure can deprive him of; his seniors may overlook him in giving credits, unfortunate circumstances may defeat his fondest hopes, and the crown of laurel may never rest upon his brow, but the reward that follows upon the faithful discharge of his duty to his company he cannot be deprived of by any disaster, neglect, or injustice.

He receives it whenever he looks upon his little command, and sees the harmony, comfort, and discipline that prevail; he feels it when he comes to part with his men in the due course of promotion, or as they individually take their discharge after a faithful service; he remembers it when, in after-years, no matter if rank and honors have in the mean time fallen upon him, he meets an old soldier who, with respect and affection, still calls him his captain.

He is a small sovereign, powerful and great within his little domain, but no imbecile monarch ever suffered more from intrigues, factions, and encroachments than an incapable company commander; no tyrant king must contend more with rebellions, insurrections, and defections than an arbitrary and unjust captain, and no wise and beneficent ruler ever derived more heartfelt homage, more faithful services, or more patriotic devotion than a just, competent, and faithful commander receives from his company. They will love him truly, they will obey him faithfully, and whilst there is life they will stand by him in the hour of battle.

The command of a company divides itself into two kinds of duty, requiring very different capacity, viz., _Government_ and _Administration_. The former requires force of character, judgment, and discretion, and has often been well performed without much capacity for the latter. Administration requires a certain amount of knowledge absolutely indispensable to a discharge of a duty.

_Government._--Under this head may be included instruction in tactics and discipline, the preservation of order and subordination, and the cultivation of a military spirit and pride in the profession among the men. It involves the appointing and reduction of non-commissioned officers, and the subject of rewards and punishments.

_Administration._--Providing the clothing and subsistence, and keeping the accounts of soldiers in order, that they may be paid, and attending to the transportation of the men and their supplies, belong under this head. They involve the keeping of the records of the company, and the pay and clothing accounts of the men; the drawing and distributing of supplies, and the care and accountability of public and company property. The efficient administration of the affairs of a company greatly facilitates the discipline and government of the company, makes the men content and cheerful in the performance of their duties, and attaches them to their commander.

=Captaincy.= The rank, post, or commission of a captain.

=Captaincy-general.= The office, power, territory, or jurisdiction of a captain-general.

=Captain-General.= This was the proper appellation of a commander-in-chief till Marlborough’s time, if not later. The rank is sometimes still given on extraordinary occasions. It was born by the Marquis of Wellesley during his government in India, and is applied to the governor-general of the Canadas. In the United States, the governor of a State is captain-general of the militia. _Captain-lieutenant_, an officer, who with the rank of a captain, and pay of lieutenant, commands a company or troop.

=Captainry.= The power, or command, over a certain district; chieftainship; captainship.

=Captainship.= The condition, rank, post, or authority of a captain or chief commander. Also skill in military affairs; as, to show good captainship.

=Captive.= A prisoner taken by force or stratagem in war, by an enemy; made prisoner, especially in war; kept in bondage or confinement.

=Captivity.= The state of being a prisoner, or of being in the power of the enemy, by force or the fate of war.

=Captor.= One who takes, as a prisoner or a prize.

=Capture.= The act of taking or seizing by force; seizure; arrest; as, the capture of an enemy. The thing taken; a prize; prey taken by force, surprise, or stratagem.

=Captured Property.= As civilization has advanced during the last centuries, so has likewise steadily advanced, especially in war on land, the distinction between the private individual belonging to a hostile country and the hostile country itself, with its men in arms. The principle has been more and more acknowledged that the unarmed citizen is to be spared in person, property, and honor, as much as the exigencies of war will admit. A victorious army appropriates all public money, seizes all public movable property until further direction by its government, and sequesters for its own benefit or that of its government all the revenues of real property belonging to the hostile government or nation. The title to such real property remains in abeyance during military occupation, and until the conquest is made complete. As a general rule, the property belonging to churches, to hospitals, or other establishments of an exclusively charitable nature, to establishments of education, or foundations for the promotion of knowledge, whether public schools, universities, academies of learning, or observatories, museums of the fine arts, or of a scientific character,--such property is not to be considered public property; but it may be taxed or used when the public service may require it. Classical works of art, libraries, scientific collections, or precious instruments, such as astronomical telescopes, as well as hospitals, must be secured against all avoidable injury, even when they are contained in fortified places whilst besieged or bombarded. And if they can be removed without injury, the ruler of the conquering state or nation may order them to be seized and removed for the benefit of the said nation. The ultimate ownership is to be settled by the ensuing treaty of peace.

The United States acknowledge and protect, in hostile countries occupied by them, religion and morality; strictly private property; the persons of the inhabitants, especially those of women; and the sacredness of domestic relations. Offenses to the contrary are rigorously punished. This does not interfere with the right of the victorious invader to tax the people or their property, to levy forced loans, to billet soldiers, or to appropriate property, especially houses, land, boats or ships, and churches for temporary and military uses. Private property can be seized only by way of military necessity, except the owner forfeits his right to it by committing a crime or offense against the victorious power. All captures and booty belong, according to the modern law of war, primarily to the government of the captor. See STORES, MILITARY.

=Capua.= A town of Naples, in the province of Terra di Lavoro; took the part of Hannibal when his army wintered here after the battle of Cannæ, 216 B.C., and, it is said, became enervated through luxury. In 211, when the Romans retook the city, they scourged and beheaded all the surviving senators; many of them having poisoned themselves after a banquet previous to the surrender of the city. During the Middle Ages, Capua was successively subjugated by the Greeks, Saracens, Normans, and Germans. It was restored to Naples in 1424, and was taken, November 2, 1860, by Garibaldi.

=Capuchons= (_Fr._). A society formed in France from 1181 to 1183, for the suppression of the brigandage of the _Routiers_; they exterminated 7000 brigands in an engagement near Verdun.

=Caracas= (South America). Part of Venezuela, discovered by Columbus in 1498. It was reduced by arms, and assigned as property to the Welsers, German merchants, by Charles V.; but for their tyranny they were dispossessed in 1550, and a crown governor appointed. The province declared its independence, May 9, 1810.

=Caracole= (Sp. _caracol_). A French term used in horsemanship or the manège to denote a semi-round or half-turn. When cavalry advance to charge in battle they sometimes perform caracoles in order to perplex the enemy, and excite a doubt whether they will attack the flank or the front.

=Caravaggio.= A walled town of Italy, in the province of Bergamo. Here a battle was fought, September 15, 1448, between the Milanese and Venetians, in which the latter were defeated.

=Carberry Hill.= In Southern Scotland; here on June 15, 1567, Lord Hume and the confederate barons dispersed the royal army under Bothwell, and took Mary, queen of Scots, prisoner. Bothwell fled.

=Carbine.= A short light musket, used by cavalry. It is so called from a kind of light horse (Carabins), whose weapon it was. They were employed by Henry II. of France in 1559.

=Carbineers=, or =Carabineers=. Dragoons armed with carbines, who occasionally acted as infantry. All regiments of light-armed horse were formerly called carbineers; but since the establishment of hussars and lancers, they have, for the most part, lost that denomination.

=Carbon.= See CHARCOAL.

=Carcass.= In gunnery, is a spherical shell having three additional holes, of the same dimensions as the fuze-hole, pierced at equal distances apart in the upper hemisphere of the shell, and filled with a composition which burns with intense power from 8 to 10 minutes, and the flame issuing from the holes sets fire to everything combustible within its reach; it is used in bombardments, setting fire to shipping, etc., and is projected from cannon like a cannon-shell.

=Carcassonne= (anc. _Carcaso_). A city in the south of France, capital of the department of Aude. It was taken from the Visigoths by the Saracens in 724.

=Carchera.= A name given by the Corsicans to their cartridge-belts.

=Cardiff.= A seaport and county town of Wales, in Glamorganshire. Cardiff is an ancient place, and is surrounded by walls, in which were four gates. Its castle, once large and strongly fortified, was erected about the year 1079. Robert, duke of Normandy, was confined in it for 28 years after the battle of Tinchebria. This fortress was afterwards taken and partially destroyed by Cromwell.

=Cardigan.= A town in Cardiganshire, Wales. It was an important town about the Norman conquest, and the Normans were frequently defeated before mastering it. The town suffered much in the struggles between the Welsh and the Normans.

=Cardinal Points.= The four intersections of the horizon with the meridian, and the prime vertical circle, or north and south, east and west. In astrology, the cardinal points are the rising and setting of the sun, the zenith and nadir.

=Caria.= An ancient province in the extreme southwest of Asia Minor. It was conquered by Cyrus, 546 B.C.; by Dercyllidas, a Lacedæmonian, 397. Caria was absorbed in the Turkish empire.

=Carignan.= A small town about 12 miles from Sedan, department of Ardennes, Northeast France. At the plain Douzy, near this place and the encampment of Vaux, a part of MacMahon’s army, retreating before the Germans, turned round and made a stand, August 31, 1870. After a long and severe engagement, in which the positions were taken and retaken several times, the Germans turned the flank of their enemies, who were compelled to fall back upon Sedan, where they were finally overcome, September 1.

=Caripi.= A kind of cavalry in the Turkish army, which, to the number of 1000, are not slaves, nor bred up in the seraglio, like the rest, but are generally Moors, or renegade Christians, who have obtained the rank of horse-guards to the Grand Seignior.

=Carisbrooke Castle.= In the Isle of Wight, England; it is said to have been a British and Roman fortress; was taken in 530, by Cerdic, founder of the kingdom of the West Saxons. Here Charles I. was imprisoned in 1647.

=Carizmians.= Were fierce shepherds living near the Caspian Sea; having been expelled by the Tartars, they invaded Syria in 1243. The union of the sultans of Aleppo, Hems, and Damascus was insufficient to stem the torrent, and the Christian military orders were nearly exterminated in a single battle in 1244. In October they took Jerusalem. They were totally defeated in 1247.

=Carlaverock Castle.= In Southern Scotland; it was taken by Edward I. in July, 1300.

=Carlisle.= A frontier town of England, in the county of Cumberland, wherein for many ages a strong garrison was kept. Just below this town the famous Picts’ wall began, which crossed the whole island to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and here also ended the great Roman highway. The castle was destroyed by the Danes, 875, restored in 1092 by William II.; was the prison of Mary, queen of Scots, in 1568. Taken by the Parliamentary forces, in 1645, and by the young Pretender, November 15, 1745; retaken by the Duke of Cumberland, December 30, same year. The cathedral was almost ruined by Cromwell in 1648.

=Carlisle.= Capital of Cumberland Co., Pa. This town was shelled by the Confederates, July, 1863.

=Carlow.= A town in Southeastern Ireland; the castle, erected by King John, surrendered after a desperate siege to Rory Oge O’Moore, in 1577; again to the Parliamentary forces in 1650. Here the royal troops routed the insurgents, May, 1798.

=Carlowitz=, or =Karlowitz=. A town of the Austrian empire, on the Danube. Here, in 1699, a treaty was concluded between Turkey and Austria; and here Prince Eugène defeated the Turks in 1716.

=Carlsruhe=, or =Karlsruhe=. Capital of the grand duchy of Baden; built by the Margrave Charles William, 1715. It was occupied by the Prussians, June 25, 1849, who aided to suppress the revolution, and enabled the grand duke to return, August 18, 1849.

=Carmagnola.= A town of Piedmont, on the river Po. It was captured by Catinat troops in 1691; taken by the French Republican troops in 1795.