Part 2

=Acquittance Roll.= In the British service, a roll containing the names of the men of each troop or company or regiment, showing the debts and credits, with the signature of each man, and certificate of the officer commanding it.

=Acre=, or =St. Jean d’Acre=. A seaport town of Palestine (in ancient times the celebrated city of Ptolemais), which was the scene of many sieges. It was last stormed and taken by the British in 1840. Acre was gallantly defended by Djezzar Pacha against Bonaparte in July, 1798, till relieved by Sir Smith, who resisted twelve attempts by the French, between March 16 and May 20, 1799.

=Acre=, or =Acre-fight=. An old duel fought by warriors between the frontiers of England and Scotland, with sword and lance. This dueling was also called _camp-fight_.

=Acrobalistes= (_Fr._). A name given by the ancients to warlike races, such as the Parthians and Armenians, who shot arrows from a long distance.

=Acropolis.= In ancient Greece, the name given to the citadel or fortress of a city, usually built on the summit of a hill. The most celebrated was that of Athens, remains of which still exist.

=Acs.= A village in Hungary on the right bank of the Danube, noted as the scene of several battles in the Hungarian revolution, that of August 3, 1849, being the most important.

=Acting Assistant Surgeons.= See SURGEONS, ACTING ASSISTANT.

=Action.= An engagement between two armies, or bodies of troops. The word is likewise used to signify some memorable act done by an officer, soldier, detachment, or party.

=Actium= (now _Azio_). A town of ancient Greece in Arcanania, near the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf. It became famous for the great naval engagement fought near here in 31 B.C. between Octavius and Antony, in which the former was victorious.

=Active Service.= Duty against an enemy; operations in his presence. Or in the present day it denotes serving on full pay, on the active list, in contradistinction to those who are virtually retired, and placed on the retired list.

=Activity.= In a military sense, denotes attention, labor, diligence, and study.

=Acto=, or =Acton=. A kind of defensive tunic, made of quilted leather or other strong material, formerly worn under the outer dress and even under a coat of mail.

=Act of Grace.= In Great Britain, an act of Parliament for a general and free pardon to deserters from the service and others.

=Actuarius.= A name given by the Romans to officers charged with the supplying of provisions to troops.

=Adacted.= Applies to stakes, or piles, driven into the earth by large malls shod with iron, as in securing ramparts or pontons.

=Adda.= A stream in Italy. The Romans defeated the Gauls on its banks in 223 B.C.

=Addiscombe Seminary.= An institution near Croydon, Surrey, England, for the education of young gentlemen intended for the military service of the East India Company; closed in 1861.

=Aden.= A free port on the southwest corner of Arabia. It was captured by England in 1839, and is now used as a coal depot for Indian steamers.

=Aderbaidjan= (_Fr._). A mountainous province of Persia, celebrated for raising the finest horses in the province for army purposes.

=Adige= (anc. _Athesis_). A river in Northern Italy formed by numberless streamlets from the Helvetian Alps. In 563 the Romans defeated the Goths and Franks on its banks. Gen. Massena crossed it in 1806.

=Adis.= A city in Africa. Xantippe, chief of the Carthaginians, defeated under its walls the Romans commanded by Regulus.

=Adit.= A passage under ground by which miners approach the part they intend to sap.

=Adjeighur.= A fortress in Bundelcund, which was captured in 1809 by a force under the command of Col. Gabriel Martindell.

=Adjourn.= To suspend business for a time, as from one day to another; said of military courts. _Adjournment without day_ (_sine die_), indefinite postponement.

=Adjutant= (from _adjuvo_, “to help”). A regimental staff-officer with the rank of lieutenant, appointed by the regimental commander to assist him in the execution of all the details of the regiment or post. He is the channel of official communication. It is his duty to attend daily on the commanding officer for orders or instructions of any kind that are to be issued to the command, and promulgate the same in writing after making a complete record thereof. He has charge of the books, files, and men of the headquarters; keeps the rosters; parades and inspects all escorts, guards, and other armed parties previous to their proceeding on duty. He should be competent to instruct a regiment in every part of the field exercise, should understand the internal economy of his corps, and should notice every irregularity or deviation from the established rules or regulations. He should, of course, be an officer of experience, and should be selected with reference to special fitness, as so much depends upon his manner and thoughtfulness in the exercise of the various and important duties imposed upon him. Unexceptionable deportment is especially becoming to the adjutant.

=Adjutant-General.= An officer of distinction selected to assist the general of an army in all his operations. The principal staff-officer of the U. S. army. The principal staff-officers of generals of lower rank are called assistant adjutant-generals.

=Adjutant-General’s Department.= In the United States, consists of 1 adjutant-general with the rank of brigadier-general; 2 assistant adjutant-generals, colonels; 4 lieutenant-colonels, and 10 majors; also about 400 enlisted clerks and messengers. The officers are generally on duty with general officers who command corps, divisions, departments, etc. “They shall also perform the duties of inspectors when circumstances require it.” The lowest grades must be selected from the captains of the army.

=Administration.= Conduct, management; in military affairs, the execution of the duties of an office.

=Administration, Council of.= A board of officers periodically assembled at a post for the administration of certain business.

=Admissions.= In a military sense, the judge-advocate is authorized when he sees proper to admit what a prisoner expects to prove by absent witnesses.

=Adobe= (_Sp._). An unburnt brick, dried in the sun, made from earth of a loamy character, containing about two-thirds fine sand mixed intimately with one-third or less of clayey dust or fine sand.

=Adour.= A river in the southwest of France, which Lord Wellington, after driving the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte across the Pyrenees, passed in the face of all opposition, on the 26th of February, 1814.

=Adrana.= A river in Germany, at present called Eder. Germanicus defeated the Germans on its bank in 15.

=Adrianople.= A Turkish city named after the Emperor Adrian; unsuccessfully besieged by the Goths in the 4th century; the army of Murad I. took the city in 1361; unconditionally surrendered to the Russians in August, 1829; peace was declared in this city between Russia and Turkey, September 14, 1829, and the city relinquished to the Turks.

=Adrumetum=, or =Hadrumetum=. An ancient African city, now in ruins, situated on the Mediterranean, southeast from Carthage. The Moors took this city from the Romans in 549, but it was retaken soon after by a priest named Paul.

=Advance.= Before in place, or beforehand in time; used for advanced; as, advance-guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; to move forward.

=Advanced Covered Way.= Is a _terre plein_ on the exterior of the advanced ditch, similar to the first covered way.

=Advanced Ditch.= Is an excavation beyond the glacis of the _enceinte_, having its surface on the prolongation of that slope, that an enemy may find no shelter when in the ditch.

=Advanced Guard.= A detachment of troops which precedes the march of the main body.

=Advanced Guard Equipage.= See PONTONS.

=Advanced Lunettes.= Works resembling bastions or ravelins, having faces or flanks. They are formed upon or beyond the glacis.

=Advanced Works.= Are such as are constructed beyond the covered way and glacis, but within range of the musketry of the main works.

=Advancement.= In a military sense, signifies honor, promotion, or preferment in the army, regiment, or company.

=Advantage Ground.= That ground which affords the greatest facility for annoyance or resistance.

=Adversary.= Generally applied to an enemy, but strictly an opponent in single combat.

=Advising to Desert.= Punishable with death or otherwise, as a court-martial may direct. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 51.

=Advocate, Judge-.= See JUDGE-ADVOCATE.

=Adynati.= Ancient name for invalid soldiers receiving pension from the public treasury.

=Ægide= (_Æges_). A name, according to Homer, for a protecting covering wound around the left arm in the absence of a shield; used by Jupiter, Minerva, and Apollo.

=Ægolethron= (_Gr._). A plant. This word means goat and death. It was believed by the ancients that this plant would kill goats only, if eaten by them. Xenophon reports that the soldiers of the army of the “Ten Thousand” tasted of some honey prepared from this plant which caused them to be affected with hallucinations.

=Ægospotamos= (“Stream of the Goat”). A small river flowing into the Hellespont, in the Thracian Chersonese; is famous for the defeat of the Athenian fleet by the Lacedæmonians under Lysander, which put an end to the Peloponnesian war, and to the predominance of Athens in Greece, 405 B.C.

=Æneatores.= In military antiquity, the musicians in an army, including those who sounded the trumpets, horns, etc.

=Ærarium Militare.= In Roman antiquity, the war treasury of Rome, founded by Augustus; in addition to other revenues, the one-hundredth part of all merchandise sold in Rome was paid into it.

=Æro.= A basket used by the Roman soldiers to carry earth in to construct fortifications.

=Ærumnula.= A wooden pole or fork, introduced among the Romans by Consul Marius. Each soldier was provided with one of these poles, which had attached thereto a saw, hatchet, a sack of wheat, and baggage; and he was compelled to carry it on a march.

=Affair.= An action or engagement, not of sufficient magnitude to be termed a battle.

=Affamer= (_Fr._). To besiege a place so closely as to starve the garrison and inhabitants.

=Affidavit.= In military law is an oath duly subscribed before any person authorized to administer it. In the U. S. service, in the absence of a civil officer any commissioned officer is empowered to administer an oath.

=Afforciament.= An old term for a fortress or stronghold.

=Afghanistan.= A large country in Central Asia, at war with England 1838, and 1878-79.

=Afrancesados= (_Sp._). Name given to the Spaniards who upheld the oath of allegiance to king Joseph Bonaparte; also called Josephins (in the Peninsular war).

=Aga.= Rank of an officer in the Turkish army; the same as a general with us.

=Age.= In a military sense, a young man must be 14 years old before he can become an officer in the English army, or be entered as a cadet at Woolwich, in the English military academy. For admission to the military academy at West Point, U. S., the age is from 17 to 22 years. Men are enlisted for soldiers at from 17 to 45 in the English army, and in the U. S. army at from 18 to 35. Officers in the U. S. army may be retired, at the discretion of the President, at 62 years of age.

=Agema= (_Gr._). In the ancient military art, a kind of soldiery, chiefly in the Macedonian army. The word is Greek, and denotes vehemence, to express the strength and eagerness of this corps.

=Agen.= Principal place of the department Lot-et-Garonne, France, on the right bank of the river Garonne, which has a city of the same name, and was the scene of many battles.

=Agency.= A certain proportion of money which is ordered to be subtracted from the pay and allowances of the British army, for transacting the business of the several regiments comprising it.

=Agent, Army.= A person in the civil department of the British army, between the paymaster-general and the paymaster of the regiment, through whom every regimental concern of a pecuniary nature is transacted.

=Agger.= In ancient military writings, denotes the middle part of a military road raised into a ridge, with a gentle slope on each side to make a drain for the water, and keep the way dry; it is also used for a military road. Agger also denotes a work or fortification, used both for the defense and attack of towns, camps, etc., termed among the moderns, lines. Agger is also used for a bank or wall erected against the sea or some great river to confine or keep it within bounds, and called by modern writers, dam, sea-wall.

=Agiades.= In the Turkish armies are a kind of pioneers, or rather field engineers, employed in fortifying the camp, etc.

=Agiem-clich.= A very crooked sabre, rounded near the point; an arm much in use in Persia and Turkey.

=Agincourt=, or =Azincourt=. A village of France, celebrated for a great battle fought near it in 1415, wherein Henry V. of England defeated the French.

=Agmen.= Roman name for an army on the march.

=Agminalis.= Name given by the ancients to a horse which carried baggage, equipments, etc., on its back; now termed pack-horse.

=Agnadello.= Village in the duchy of Milan, on a canal between the rivers Adda and Serio, celebrated by the victory of Louis XII., king of France, over the Venetian and Papal troops in 1509, and by a battle between Prince Eugene and the Duke of Vendôme in 1705.

=Agrigente= (now _Girgenti_). City in Sicily, situated on the Mediterranean; sacked by the Carthaginians under Amilcar in 400 B.C., and taken twice by the Romans in 262 and 210 B.C.

=Aguebelle.= City in the province of Maurienne, in Savoy. The French and Spaniards defeated the troops of the Duke of Savoy in 1742.

=Aguerri= (_Fr._). A term applied to an officer or soldier experienced in war.

=Agustina.= See SARAGOSSA, MAID OF.

=Ahmednuggur.= A strong fortress in the Deccan, 30 miles from Poonah, which was formerly in the possession of Scindia, but fell to the British arms during the campaign conducted by Gen. Wellesley.

=Aidan= (_Prince_). See SCOTLAND.

=Aid-de-camp.= An officer selected by a general to carry orders; also to represent him in correspondence and in directing movements.

=Aid-major= (_Fr._). The adjutant of a regiment.

=Aigremore.= A term used by the artificer in the laboratory, to express the charcoal in a state fitted for the making of powder.

=Aiguille= (_Fr._). An instrument used by engineers to pierce a rock for the lodgment of powder, as in a mine, or to mine a rock, so as to excavate and make roads.

=Aiguillettes.= A decoration, consisting of bullion cords and loops, which was formerly worn on the right shoulder of general officers, and is now confined to the officers of household cavalry; also worn in the U. S. army by officers of the adjutant-general’s department, aids-de-camp, and adjutants of regiments.

=Aiguillon.= A city in France; while in the possession of the English in 1345, it was besieged by the Duke of Normandy, son of Philip de Valois. According to some authors, cannons were used on this occasion for the first time in France.

=Aile= (_Fr._). A wing or flank of an army or fortification.

=Ailettes= (_Fr._). Literally “little wings,” were appendages to the armor worn behind or at the side of the shoulders by knights in the 13th century. They were made of leather covered with cloth, and fastened by silk laces. They are supposed to have been worn as a defense to the shoulders in war.

=Aim.= The act of bringing a musket, piece of ordnance, or any other missive weapon, to its proper line of direction with the object intended to be struck.

=Aim-frontlet.= A piece of wood hollowed out to fit the middle of a gun, to make it of an equal height with the breech; formerly made use of by the gunners, to level and direct their pieces.

=Aiming Drill.= A military exercise to teach men to aim fire-arms. Great importance is justly attached to this preliminary step in target practice.

=Aiming-stand.= An instrument used in teaching the theory of aiming with a musket. It usually consists of a tripod with a device mounted upon it, which holds the gun and allows it to be pointed in any direction.

=Ainadin.= Name of a field near Damas in Syria, celebrated by a battle on July 25, 633, in which Khaled, chief of the Saracens, defeated Verdan, a general of the Roman army. Verdan lost 50,000 men and was decapitated.

=Ain-Beda= (Africa). An engagement at this place between the French and Arabs in October, 1833.

=Ain Taguin.= “Spot of the little desert,” in the province of Algiers; here the Duke d’Aumale surprised and dispersed the troops of Abd-el-Kader.

=Air-cylinder.= A pneumatic buffer used in America to absorb the recoil of large guns. For 10-inch guns, one cylinder is used; for the 15-inch, two. They are placed between the chassis rails, to which they are firmly secured by diagonal braces. A piston traversing the cylinder is attached to the rear transom of the top carriage. When the gun recoils the piston-head is drawn backwards in the cylinder, and the recoil is absorbed by the compression of the air behind it. Small holes in the piston-head allow the air to slowly escape while the gun is brought to rest. The _hydraulic buffer_ largely used abroad operates in the same way, water being used in place of air.

=Air, Resistance of.= The resistance which the air offers to a projectile in motion. See PROJECTILES, THEORY OF.

=Aire.= A military position on the Adour, in the south of France, where the French were defeated by the English under Lord Hill, on March 2, 1814.

=Air-gun.= An instrument resembling a musket, used to discharge bullets by the elastic force of compressed air.

=Aix.= A small island on the coast of France between the Isle of Oleron and the continent. It is 12 miles northwest of Rochefort, and 11 miles from Rochelle. On it are workshops for military convicts.

=Aix-la-Chapelle= (Ger. _Aachen_). A district in the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine. Here Charlemagne was born in 742, and died in 814. The city was taken by the French in 1792; retaken by the Austrians in 1793; by the French 1794; reverted to Prussia 1814. Congress held by the sovereigns of Austria, Russia, and Prussia, assisted by ministers from England and France, at Aix-la-Chapelle, and convention signed October 9, 1818.

=Akerman= (Bessarabia). After being several times taken it was ceded to Russia, 1812. Here the celebrated treaty between Russia and Turkey was concluded in 1826.

=Aketon.= Another name for a portion of armor, used in the feudal times, called the _gambeson_ (which see).

=Akhalzikh= (Armenia). Near here Prince Paskiewitch defeated the Turks Aug. 24, and gained the city, Aug. 28, 1828.

=Akindschi.= A sort of Turkish cavalry, employed during the war between the Turks and the German emperors.

=Aklat.= A small town in Asiatic Turkey, taken by Eddin in 1228, and by the Turks in the 14th century.

=Akmerjid.= A city in the Crimea; an ancient residence of the khan of Tartary; taken by the Russians in 1771.

=Akoulis.= A city in Armenia, often pillaged by the Persians and Turks; taken in 1752 by the Persian general Azad-Khan, by whom the majority of the inhabitants were put to the sword.

=Akrebah.= At this place, about the year 630, Khaled, general of the Mussulman troops, fought the army of a new prophet named Mosseilamah, who perished in the combat.

=Ala.= According to Latin authors, this word signifies the wing of an army, _i.e._, the flanks, on which were placed troops furnished by the allied nations; also sometimes used to designate a brigade of cavalry occupying the same position in battle.

=Alabama.= One of the Southern States of the American confederacy, is bounded on the north by Tennessee, east by Georgia, south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, and west by Mississippi. The celebrated exploring expedition of De Soto in 1541 is believed to have been the first visit of the white man to the wilds of Alabama. In the beginning of the 18th century the French built a fort on Mobile Bay, but the city of that name was not commenced till nine years later (1711). In 1763, the entire French possessions east of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) fell into the hands of the English. Alabama was incorporated first with Georgia, afterwards, in 1802, with the Mississippi Territory; but finally, in 1819, it became an independent member of the great American confederacy. In 1813 and 1814 the Creek Indians waged war on the settlers and massacred nearly 400 whites who had taken refuge at Fort Mimms, on the Alabama River. They were, however, soon reduced to subjection by Gen. Jackson, and after their defeat at Horseshoe Bend, March, 1814, the greater portion of their territory was taken from them, and they were subsequently removed to the Indian Territory. On the outbreak of the civil war in 1861, the temporary capital of the Confederate States was established at Montgomery, Ala., but it was soon afterwards removed to Richmond, Va.

=Alabanda= (_Bour Dogan_, or Arab _Hissar_). A city in Asia Minor; destroyed by Labienus, a Roman general, in 38 B.C.

=Alacays.= Name given by the ancients to a kind of soldiery, and afterwards to servants following an army.

=Alage.= A mounted guard of the Byzantine emperors, doing duty in the palace of Constantinople, and defending, in case of danger, the person of the emperor.

=Alaibeg.= A Turkish commander of regiments of levied troops.

=Alamo, Fort=, or =The Alamo=. A celebrated fort in Bexar County, near San Antonio, Texas, where a small garrison of Texans bravely resisted a body of Mexicans ten times their number, and perished to a man, March 6, 1836. This spot has hence been called the Thermopylæ of Texas, and “Remember the Alamo!” was used as the battle-cry of the Texans in their war of independence.

=Alanda.= Name of a legion formed by Julius Cæsar from the best warriors of the Gauls.

=Aland Isles= (Gulf of Bothnia). Taken from Sweden by Russia, 1809. See BOMARSUND.

=Alani.= A Tartar race; invaded Parthia, 75; were subdued by the Visigoths, 452, and eventually incorporated with them.

=Alarcos= (Central Spain). Here the Spaniards under Alfonso IX., king of Castile, were totally defeated by the Moors, July 19, 1195.

=Alares.= Name given by the Romans to troops which were placed on the wings of an army; these troops were generally furnished by allies.

=Alarm.= A sudden apprehension of being attacked by surprise, or the notice of such attack being actually made. It is generally signified by the discharge of fire-arms, the beat of a drum, etc.

=Alarm Gun.= A gun fired to give an alarm.

=Alarm Post.= In the field, is the ground appointed by the quartermaster-general for each regiment to march to, in case of an alarm. In a garrison, it is the place allotted by the governor for the troops to assemble on any sudden alarm.

=Alaska.= A large territory forming the northwest part of North America, which was purchased by the United States from Russia in 1867, and was annexed as a county to Washington Territory in 1872. The native inhabitants are Esquimaux, Indians, and Aleuts, with a few persons of Russian descent.

=Alba de Tormes.= A city in Spain, where the French defeated the Spaniards in 1809.

=Albana.= A city in ancient Albania, situated on the coast of the Caspian Sea; a wall was constructed to the west of the city for the purpose of staying the progress of the Scythians, by Darius I., or by Chosrois.

=Albania.= A province in European Turkey, formerly part of the ancient Epirus, a scene of many battles; a revolt in Albania was suppressed in 1843.

=Albanians=, or =Albaniers=. The inhabitants of the Turkish territory of Albania, are a very brave and active race, and furnish the best warriors for the Turkish army.