Part 23

=Chippewa.= A village of Canada West, memorable for the victory gained by the Americans, 1900 strong, under Gen. Brown, over 2100 British troops under Gens. Rial and Drummond, July 4, 1814.

=Chippewa Indians=, or =Ojibways=. A tribe of aborigines who inhabit portions of Michigan, Wisconsin, and the basin of Lake Superior. In the early settlement of the country they were allies of the French, and waged inveterate warfare against the Sioux. In 1855 they ceded their lands to the United States, and are now placed on reservations. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.

=Chivalry= (Fr. _Chevalerie_, from chevalier, “knight,” or “horseman”). The system of knighthood, together with the privileges, duties, and manners of knights. The qualifications or character of knights, as valor, dexterity in arms, courtesy, etc.

=Chlorate of Potassa.= Chlorate of potassa is formed by passing a current of chlorine, in excess, through lime-water, and then treating the mixture with the chloride of potassium or by the carbonate or sulphate of potassa. The chlorate of potassa and chloride of calcium are formed,--the former crystallizes, the latter remains in solution. It is soluble in water, but not sensibly so in alcohol. It is a more powerful oxidizing agent than nitre, and, when mixed with a combustible body, easily explodes by shock or friction. It is inflamed by simple contact with sulphuric acid, and thus affords a simple means of exploding mines.

=Chlorates.= Oxidizing agents used in _explosives_ (which see). Chlorate of potassa is the salt ordinarily used.

=Chocks.= See IMPLEMENTS.

=Choctaw Indians.= A tribe of aborigines which formerly lived in Mississippi, along the Yazoo River. They are now settled in Indian Territory, and are partially civilized. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.

=Choczim=, or =Chotyn=. A fortified town of Bessarabia, Southern Russia, on the Dniester. Here the Turks were defeated by the Poles in 1621, and again in 1673; the Turks were again defeated at this place by the Russians in 1739.

=Choke.= The tied end of a cartridge; also the constriction of a rocket-case, etc.

=Choker.= An implement used by engineers to compress and test the circumference of a fascine. It consists of two strong pieces of wood about 4 feet long joined by a chain. Two rings inserted in the chain mark the length of the circumference required.

=Chokey.= An East Indian guard-house and prison.

=Cholet.= A town of France, in the department of Maine-et-Loire. Here, during the Vendean war, two actions were fought in 1793, in both of which the royalists were defeated. In the first they lost their brave general, Bonchamps; and the second drove them across the Loire, thus virtually deciding the war against them.

=Chosroes.= See KHOSROO.

=Chotyn.= See CHOCZIM.

=Chouans.= The name which a band of peasants received who fought for the monarchy against the convention in Maine and Normandy in 1793. They received their name from their leader, Jean Cattereau, nicknamed “Chouan,” and were with great difficulty subdued, their final submission not taking place till 1803.

=Christian Charity, Knights of the Order of.= Was the name of an order instituted by King Henry III. of France for the support of maimed officers and soldiers who had done good service in the wars. Henry IV. placed it under the charge of the marshals and colonels of France, and by means of it many of those who had served their country faithfully were enabled to spend the latter portion of their lives in peace and above want. The order formed the germ of that noble hospital, the _Invalides_, which was founded by Louis XIV., and which served as a model for the English hospitals of Greenwich and Chelsea. On the founding of the hospital the order was superseded.

=Christiansand.= A fortified seaport of Norway, and capital of a government of the same name. This place was founded in 1641 by Christian IV., and was taken by the British in 1807.

=Christ, Order of.= When the Templars were expelled from France, and their property confiscated by Philippe le Bel, they were received into Portugal, and their order revived there in 1317 under this title. Noble descent and three years’ military service against the infidel were required for admission.

=Chrome Steel.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.

=Chronograph.= See CHRONOSCOPE.

=Chronoscope.= An instrument for measuring minute intervals of time. The term is specially applied by military men to instruments for obtaining initial velocities. The _gun-pendulum_ and _ballistic-pendulum_ were formerly used for this purpose, but are now nearly obsolete. All modern chronoscopes use electricity as a transmitting agent. The general method of applying it is to have the current-bearing wires pass through two targets placed in the path of the projectile. These wires are cut by the projectile, and the interval between the successive ruptures is recorded by a delicate time-keeper. Knowing the distance between the targets, the velocity is obtained by dividing this space, expressed in feet, by the number of seconds in the interval. Chronoscopes differ in the kind of time-keeper employed. One of the largest classes of chronoscopes use the pendulum.

The _electro-ballistic machine_ of Col. Benton (U. S. Ordnance Department) may be taken as a type of this class. It consists of two pendulums having equal times of vibration suspended from the same horizontal axis. When the pendulums are deflected, one to the right the other to the left, through angles of 90°, pieces of soft iron attached to them come in contact with electro-magnets, which serve to hold them up. Each of these magnets is excited by a current passing through one of the targets. When the targets are ruptured the pendulums fall, and in passing each other record the point of meeting by operating a delicate bent lever attached to one of them, which leaves a dot of ink on the arc in front of which the pendulums vibrate. The _interval of time_ between the rupture of the two targets is obtained from a table of arcs and corresponding times. Col. Benton has also invented an instrument called _velocimeter_, in which he uses threads instead of electro-magnets to hold up the pendulums. The threads pass through the targets, and when they are cut the pendulums fall as before. This method has found considerable favor where great accuracy is not required.

_Schultz’s chronoscope_ uses as a time-keeper a tuning-fork, which, in its vibrations, traces a waved line upon a revolving cylinder. The rupture of each of the targets is recorded by an electric spark deposited on the cylinder near the waved line. The number of waves between the spark spots gives the _interval of time_ when the _period of vibration_ or _tarage_ of the fork is known. The vibration of the fork is sustained by electro-magnets, which alternately attract and release the branches, an interrupter being placed in the circuit. When the current passing through the targets is broken an induced current is generated, which deposits the spark on the cylinder in leaping a short break in the circuit. When the first target is broken, by an ingenious contrivance the current is made through the second target before the shot reaches it. The _tarage_ of the fork is obtained by placing a second’s pendulum in the target current, which ruptures the current in each vibration, and produces a series of spark spots on the cylinder. The number of waves between successive spots gives the number of vibrations to the second.

_Boulanger’s chronograph_ is the simplest of all chronoscopes. It uses a rod held up vertically by a magnet, which is excited by a current through the first target. The current through the second target, when broken, releases a spring knife-blade, which, moving sideways, marks the rod in its fall. The _interval of time_ is obtained from the distance through which the rod has fallen, as shown by the position of the mark. The end of the scale is marked when both currents are simultaneously broken.

=Chrystler’s=, or =Chrysler’s Field, Battle of=. The name of an engagement which took place at Chrystler’s farm, on the St. Lawrence River, November 11, 1813, between the American forces under Gen. Boyd and the British troops under Lieut.-Col. Morrison, in which neither party gained a victory, but the advantage was with the British.

=Chunar, Treaty of.= Concluded between the nabob of Oude and Governor Hastings, by which the nabob was relieved of his debts to the East India Company, on condition of his seizing the property of the begums, his mother and grandmother, and delivering it up to the English, September 19, 1781.

=Churubusco.= A village or hamlet of Mexico, on the Rio de Churubusco, about 6 miles south of the city of Mexico. This place was the scene of a battle between the American forces under Gen. Winfield Scott, marching on the city of Mexico, and the Mexicans, defending the approaches to their capital, under President Santa Anna. The battle of Contreras was fought on the same day. The Americans were victorious in both battles, taking 3000 prisoners, and capturing 37 pieces of ordnance. The entire Mexican army was dispersed, their ancient capital captured, and an honorable peace ensued.

=Chusan.= One of a group of islands off the east coast of China. This island, called the “key of China,” was taken by the British in 1840 and 1841, and held by them until the terms of their treaty with China were fulfilled by the latter power.

=Cimbres.= A chain of mountains in Mexico. On April 28, 1862, the advance-guard of the French, commanded by Gen. Count de Lorencez, encountered and defeated in a defile of this chain a Mexican force 6000 strong under Gen. Saragosa, who had fortified themselves and placed 18 pieces of artillery in position.

=Cimbri.= A warlike tribe of ancient Europe, which, in conjunction with the Teutones and others, invaded the south of Europe, and successively defeated six Roman armies, until in the end they were conquered by Caius Marius, 101 B.C. They had previously devastated Gaul and Spain, and are said to have lost from 100,000 to 140,000 men in the battle with Marius.

=Cimeter.= A short sword with a convex edge or recurvated point, used by the Persians and Turks.

=Cimier= (_Fr._). A heavy ornament which the ancient knights or chevaliers in France and in other countries were accustomed to wear upon their helmets; small figures were afterwards substituted in their stead.

=Cincinnati, Order of.= A society which was founded in the United States by officers of the Revolutionary army in 1783. Its object was to keep alive the feelings of friendship and patriotism engendered by common toils and perils, and to assist those who were in need through the vicissitudes of the war. In 1787, Washington was elected president of the order.

=Cinquain.= In ancient military history, was an order of battle, to draw up 5 battalions, so that they might make 3 lines, that is, a van, main body, and reserve.

=Cintra.= In Portugal. Here was signed an agreement on August 22, 1808, between the French and English, the day after the battle of Vimeira. As it contained the basis of the convention signed on August 30, following, it has been termed the convention of Cintra. By it Junot and his army were permitted to evacuate Portugal free, in British ships. The convention was publicly condemned, and in consequence a court of inquiry was held at Chelsea, which exonerated the British commanders. Wellington and Napoleon both justified Sir Hew Dalrymple.

=Cipher.= A preconcerted enigmatical system of communication. Much used in war when dispatches are liable to interception by the enemy,--both for written communication and for signaling.

=Circassia.= A country in Asia on the north side of the Caucasus. The Circassians are said to be descended from the Albanians. They were unsubdued, even by Timour. Circassia was surrendered to Russia by Turkey by the treaty of Adrianople, 1830. The Circassians under their great leader Schamyl resisted the authority of Russia. They were defeated by Orbelliani in June, November, and December, 1857. Orbelliani subdued much of the country, and expelled the inhabitants, April, 1858. Schamyl, their leader, was captured and treated with much respect, September 7, 1859. The last of the Circassian strongholds captured and the war declared at an end, June 8, 1864.

=Circitores.= So were named, in the Roman armies, the men who inspected the sentinels.

=Circuit-closer.= A device for closing an electrical circuit. In torpedo warfare the term is applied to an apparatus used to explode submarine mines.

=Circumferenter.= An instrument used by engineers for measuring angles.

=Circumvallation.= Works made by besiegers around a besieged place facing outwards, to protect their camp against attacks from a hostile army operating in the rear. It usually consists of a chain of redoubts, either isolated or connected by a parapet.

=Cisalpine.= This--that is, the south--side of the Alps.

=Citadel.= A fort of 4 or 5 bastions in or near a town. It serves two purposes, enabling the garrison of a town to keep the inhabitants in subjection, and in case of siege forming a place of retreat for the defenders, thus enabling them to hold out after the rest of the town has been captured. It must fully command the fortifications of the city, and have a large space around it clear of buildings.

=Citate.= A place close to the Danube, where the Russian general Gortschakoff, intending to storm Kalafat, threw up redoubts, which were stormed by the Turks under Omar Pasha, January 6, 1854. The fighting continued on the 7th, 8th, and 9th, when the Russians were compelled to retire to their former position at Krajowa, having lost 1500 killed and 2000 wounded.

=City Point.= A village of Prince George Co., Va., on the James River, at the mouth of the Appomattox. During the civil war, Gen. Grant fixed his headquarters at this point in 1864, and during his subsequent operations against Richmond it was the base of supplies for his army.

=Ciudad Real.= A town of Spain, capital of a province of the same name, about 100 miles south of Madrid. The French under Sebastian here defeated the Spaniards in March, 1809.

=Ciudad Rodrigo.= A fortified town of Spain, in the province of Salamanca. It was occupied by the Portuguese in 1706, and during the Peninsular war was the object of frequent contention between the French and the allies. In June, 1810, the French under Masséna invested the town, and, after a gallant defense by the Spaniards, it was forced to surrender, July 10. In January, 1812, after a siege of 11 days, the place was assaulted, and after a bloody struggle the British succeeded in capturing the town. This storming was one of the most brilliant events in English military annals.

=Civic Crown.= Among the ancient Romans, was a crown given to any soldier who had saved the life of a citizen. It was composed only of oaken boughs, but accounted more honorable than any other.

=Civière= (_Fr._). A small hand-barrow, which is carried by two men, and is much used by the artillery.

=Civil Authority.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 59.

=Civil War.= See WAR, CIVIL.

=Civilized Warfare.= See WAR, also HONORS OF WAR.

=Civita Castellana.= A town of Italy, 24 miles north from Rome. In its neighborhood an engagement took place between the Neapolitans under Mack and the French under Macdonald, on December 4, 1798.

=Civita Vecchia.= The principal seaport of the Papal States, in Italy, built on a bay of the Mediterranean. It was frequently sacked in the different wars. In April, 1849, a French force of 6000 men, under Gen. Oudinot, landed here on its way to Rome, where the republic had been proclaimed, and a triumvirate appointed. The French troops overthrew the republic and restored the pope to Rome, from which he had fled in 1848.

=Civitella del Tronto.= A fortified town of Italy, in the province of Abruzzo Ultra. Here the Neapolitan garrison surrendered to the Piedmontese general Mezzacapo on March 20, 1861.

=Clarigation.= In Roman antiquity, a ceremony which always preceded a formal declaration of war. The chief of the heralds went to the territory of the enemy, where, after some solemn prefatory indication, he, with a loud voice, intimated that he declared war against them for certain reasons specified, such as injury done to the Roman allies, or the like.

=Claymore= (_Gaelic_, signifying great glaive, or sword). Properly a great two-handed sword, used by the Highlanders only.

=Clayonages= (_Fr._). A species of hurdle, with which the timber-work of a gallery is covered. It is likewise used in saps.

=Clermont.= A town of France, department of Oise, 16 miles by rail south-southeast of Beauvais. It was burned by the English in 1359; besieged by Marshal de Boussac in 1430; captured by the English in 1434; taken by Henry IV. in 1595, and occupied by the Prince de Condé in 1615.

=Clermont-Ferrand.= A city of France, capital of the department Puy-de-Dôme. It was captured by the Vandals in 408; besieged without success by the Visigoths in 473. It was taken by Thierry in 506; sacked by Pepin in 761; captured by the Normans in 853. The great council in which the crusades originated was held here in 1095.

=Clice= (_Fr._). A long and curved Turkish sabre.

=Clide= (_Fr._). A machine of war, used during the Middle Ages to throw rocks on besieging parties.

=Clifton Moor= (England). Here the Scotch insurgents were defeated by the royal troops in 1745.

=Clipeus.= A large shield worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans, which was originally of a circular form, made of wicker-work or wood covered over with ox-hides several folds deep, and bound round the edge with metal.

=Clontarf.= A place near Dublin, Ireland, the site of a battle fought on Good Friday, April 23, 1014, between the Irish and Danes, the former headed by Brian Boroihme, monarch of Ireland, who defeated the invaders, after a long and bloody engagement. Brian was wounded, and soon afterwards died. His son Murchard also fell, with many of the nobility; 11,000 Danes are said to have perished in the battle.

=Close Column.= A column of troops in which the subdivisions are at less than full distance,--that is, less than the length of one of the subdivisions.

=Clostercamp.= A village of Rhenish Prussia. Here the French gained a victory on October 15-16, 1760.

=Closterseven= (Hanover), =Convention of=. Was entered into September 8, 1757, between the Duke of Cumberland, third son of George II., and the Duke of Richelieu, commander of the French armies. By its humiliating stipulations, 38,000 Hanoverians laid down their arms, and were dispersed. The duke immediately afterwards resigned all his military commands, and the convention was soon broken by both parties.

=Clothing.= The President of the United States is authorized to prescribe the kind and quality of clothing to be issued annually to the troops of the United States. The manner of issuing and accounting for clothing shall be established by general regulations of the War Department. The clothing of the British army is determined by a permanent board, composed of the commander-in-chief and a certain number of general officers, who act under the authority of the sovereign.

=Club, To.= To throw into confusion, to deform through ignorance or inadvertence. To _club a battalion_, to throw it into confusion. This happens through a temporary inability in the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their natural front in line or column, after some manœuvre has been performed.

=Coa.= A river in Portugal, province of Beira. The spur which separates the Coa from the Agueda incloses the plateau of Fuentes d’Onore, famous for the battle of 1811, which was fought by Masséna with the English. See FUENTES D’ONORE.

=Coat-armor.= Coats of arms; armorial ensigns.

=Coat of Arms.= A habit formerly worn by knights over their armor. It was a short-sleeved coat or tunic reaching to the waist, and embroidered with their armorial ensigns and various devices. Any representation of the armorial devices upon such a habit; an armorial device.

=Coat of Mail.= A piece of armor covering the upper portion of the body, consisting of a net-work of iron rings.

=Coblentz.= A fortified town of Rhenish Prussia, situated at the conflux of the Rhine and Moselle, opposite the great Prussian fortress of Ehrenbreitstein. In 1794 this place was taken by Napoleon I., and made the capital of the department of the Rhine and Moselle.

=Cocherel.= Near Evreux, Northwest France. Here Bertrand and Du Guesclin defeated the king of Navarre, and took prisoner the Captal de Buch, May 16, 1364.

=Cochin.= A city of Hindostan, presidency of Madras. It was held by the Portuguese in 1503; by the Dutch in 1663; was taken by the British in 1796, and ceded to them in 1814.

=Cockade= (Fr. _cocarde_). The word signified originally a cocked-hat, or a hat with the broad flap looped up on one side, and then applied to the knot of ribbon with which the loop is ornamented. The word is now, however, restricted to signify an appendage worn on the hat of military and naval officers.

=Cock-feather.= In archery, the feather which stood up on the arrow, when it was rightly placed upon the string, perpendicularly upon the cock or notch.

=Code.= A compilation or collection of laws made by public authority, as the _Code Napoléon_.

=Code.= A list of signal symbols. See SIGNALING.

=Codogno.= A town of Italy, in the province of Milan, between the Adda and the Po. Here the Austrians were defeated by the Spaniards in 1746, and by the French in 1796.

=Coehorn.= So named from the military engineer, Baron Van Coehorn, who invented it. It is a small howitzer, or mortar, generally 4³⁄₅ inches caliber. These implements of war, being easily moved and adjusted, and taking little powder, are found very useful in sieges, if grouped in great numbers.

=Coehorn Beds.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, MORTAR BEDS.

=Coeverden=, =Coevorden=, or =Koevorde=. A fortified town of Holland; it was captured by the French in 1795.

=Coffer.= In fortification, a hollow lodgment, sunk in the bottom of a dry ditch, from 6 to 7 feet deep, and from 16 to 18 feet broad. Its length corresponds with the whole breadth of the said ditch, from side to side. The besieged generally make use of these coffers to repulse the besiegers when they attempt to pass the ditch; they are distinguished only by their length from _caponnières_. They are covered with joists, hurdles, and earth, raised 2 feet above the bottom of the ditch, so as to serve the purposes of a loop-holed parapet.

=Cohort.= A division of the ancient Roman armies, consisting of about 600 men, divided into centuries. It was the tenth part of a legion, and its number, consequently, was under the same fluctuation as that of the legions. In the time of the empire the cohort often amounted to 1000 men.

=Coif.= Was originally an iron skull-cap, worn by knights under their helmets; it was introduced before 1259. It is now especially applied in Great Britain to a cap worn by sergeants-at-law.

=Coimbra.= An ancient city of Portugal, capital of the province of Beira. It appears to have been originally built by the Goths; from them it passed to the Moors, from whom it was finally conquered in 1064 by Fernando the Great, aided by the gallant Cid. It was taken by the troops under the British colonel Kent, October 7, 1810.

=Coin= (Fr. _coin d’artilleur_). In gunnery, a kind of wedge to lay under the breech of a gun, in order to raise or depress the metal. Written also _quoin_.