Part 27
=Crescent.= The name of three orders of knighthood; the first instituted by Charles I., king of Naples and Sicily, in 1268; the second by René of Anjou, in 1448; and the third by the sultan Selim, in 1801. Of these the last is still in existence, and is remarkable for the fact that none but Christians are eligible. See CRESCENT, TURKISH ORDER OF.
=Crescent.= In heraldry, is used both as a bearing or charge, and as a difference or mark of cadency. In the latter case it designates the second son, and those that descend from him.
=Crescent, Turkish Order of the.= In 1799, after the battle of Aboukir, the sultan Selim III. testified his gratitude to Nelson by sending him a crescent richly adorned with diamonds. Selim was flattered by the value which the English admiral seemed to attach to this gift, and it was this circumstance which determined him, in 1801, to found the order of the Crescent, which is only conferred on Christians who have done service to the state. The second person on whom it was conferred was Gen. Sebastiani, for his defense of Constantinople against the English fleet in 1807.
=Cressit.= A small crease or dagger.
=Crest.= Signifies the line which marks the top of a parapet. It is sometimes called the interior crest. The exterior, or sub-crest, is the line marking the meeting of the exterior and superior slopes.
=Crest.= In feudal times was the distinctive ornament of the helmet; hence the term is frequently applied to the helmet itself. In heraldry the crest is shown as an appendage to the shield, placed over it, and usually borne upon a wreath. It is generally either some portion of the coat-armor, or a device commemorative of some incident in the history of a family, and often contains an allusion to the office of the bearer.
=Crete.= In fortification, implies the earth thrown out of the ditch in a fortification, trench, etc. The most elevated part of a parapet or glacis.
=Crete.= See CANDIA.
=Crevant-sur-Yonne.= In Northern France; besieged by John Stuart, earl of Buchan, with a French army, July, 1423, and relieved by the Earl of Salisbury with an army of English and Burgundians; after a severe contest the French were totally defeated.
=Creveldt.= Near Cleves, Western Prussia. Here, on June 23, 1758, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated the French under the Count of Clermont.
=Crimea.= A peninsula of Southern Russia, formed by the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea. It was the _Taurica Chersonesus_ of the ancient Greeks, by whom it was colonized about 550 B.C. Here was founded the kingdom of _Bosporus_, which formed part of the dominions of Mithridates, king of Pontus, whose descendants continued to rule the country under Roman protection until the irruption of the Goths, Huns, etc., 258 A.D. It fell into the hands of the Mongols in the 13th century, was subjected to the Ottoman yoke in 1475, and was ceded to Russia in 1783. War having been declared against Russia by England and France, March 28, 1854, an expedition against the Crimea was determined on. Accordingly, the allied British, French, and Turkish forces, amounting to 58,000 men, commanded by Lord Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud, sailed from Varna September 3, and landed on the 14th, 15th, and 16th without opposition at Old Fort, near Eupatoria, about 30 miles from Sebastopol. On the 20th they attacked the Russians (40,000 to 50,000 strong), who were intrenched on the heights of Alma, supposed to be unassailable. After a sharp contest the Russians were totally routed. It was the scene of several other engagements during the continuance of the war, until the proclamation of peace in April, 1856. The allies quitted the Crimea July 12, following.
=Crimes, Capital.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 21, 22, 23, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 56, 57, 105, and Section 1343.
=Crimes, Military.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR.
=Crimisus.= A river in Sicily, near which Timoleon defeated the Carthaginians, 339 B.C.
=Crimping-houses.= Houses in which persons were entrapped into the army; hence the name of “crimp sergeant.” In a riot in London some of these receptacles were destroyed by the populace, in consequence of a young man who had been enticed into one being killed in endeavoring to escape, September 16, 1794.
=Criques= (_Fr._). Small ditches which are made in different parts of a ground for the purpose of inundating a country, in order to obstruct the approaches of an enemy.
=Croatia.= A province of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. This region was anciently inhabited by the Pannonians, who were conquered by the Romans in the reign of Augustus. It was conquered by Coloman, king of Hungary, in 1102, and was with that country united to Austria in 1526.
=Croats.= In military history, light irregular troops were so called; generally people of Croatia. They were ordered upon all desperate services, and their method of fighting was the same as the Pandours.
=Crochert.= A hagbut or hand-cannon, anciently in use.
=Cronstadt.= A seaport and fortress of Russia, about 20 miles west from St. Petersburg. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1710, the island having been taken from the Swedes by him in 1703. A Swedish fleet was defeated here by the Russians in 1790, and in 1855 an English fleet, commanded by Sir Charles Napier, proceeded to the Baltic, with the view of taking this place or destroying its fortifications; but either from the inadequacy of the means placed at his disposal, or from the great strength of the forts, no attempt was made upon them.
=Cropedy Bridge.= Near Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. Here the royalists defeated Sir William Waller and the army of Parliament, June 29, 1644.
=Cross-belts.= Belts worn over both shoulders, and crossing the breast.
=Cross-bow.= A weapon formerly used in discharging arrows, formed by placing a bow crosswise on a stock.
=Crossen.= A town of the Prussian province of Brandenburg. In 1758 this place was taken by the Russians.
=Cross-fire.= The crossing of lines of fire from two or more points or places.
=Cross, Victoria.= See VICTORIA CROSS.
=Crotchet.= In fortification, an indentation in the glacis of the covered way at a point where a traverse is placed.
=Crotchet.= The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.
=Croton=, or =Crotona=. One of the most celebrated of the Greek colonies in Southern Italy, founded about 710 B.C. About 510 a Crotoniat army of 100,000 men, under Milo, defeated a greatly superior force of Sybarites on the banks of the Tracis, took the city of Sybaris, and utterly destroyed it. (See SYBARIS.) In the second Punic war the Bruttians, with the assistance of the Carthaginian general Hanno, succeeded in making themselves masters of the city of Crotona, with the exception of the citadel, which held out until induced to surrender on terms. The ravages of this war completed the decay of the city, and it sunk into the condition of an obscure provincial town.
=Crown.= The emblem of sovereignty in modern Europe. It was originally an Oriental decoration, and was adopted by Alexander the Great from the kings of Persia. In modern states crowns were of various forms, till heralds devised a regular series of them to mark the various gradations of sovereignty, from that of the emperor down to what are called the coronets of counts and barons. In England, so entirely has the crown been regarded as the symbol of sovereignty, that the word is frequently used as synonymous with the monarchy.
=Crown, Civic.= See CIVIC CROWN.
=Crown, Mural.= See MURAL CROWN.
=Crown, Obsidional.= See OBSIDIONAL CROWN.
=Crown, Triumphal.= See TRIUMPHAL CROWN.
=Crown, Vallary.= See VALLARY CROWN.
=Crowning.= A term in fortifications generally applied to the operation, by the besieged, of establishing works on the crest of the glacis or summit of the breach. It is sometimes used when describing the movements of troops, to signify that they have reached the top of a hill or parapet, which they are said to have crowned.
=Crown-work.= A term used in fortification to signify a work consisting of two or more fronts of fortification, joined by two long branches to the ditch of another work, a river, a village, etc. It is generally used to defend a bridge or suburb.
=Crows=, or =Absorokas=. A tribe of Indians inhabiting the northern part of Wyoming Territory and the southern part of Montana. They are divided into two bands, and belong to the Dakota family. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Crows-foot.= An implement of metal with four points, so formed that, in whatever way it falls, there is one point upward; intended to injure the feet of horses; a caltrop.
=Crucible, Steel.= Steel melted in crucibles; cast steel. See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.
=Crusader.= A knight engaged in the Crusades.
=Crusades.= From the Latin _crux_, a “cross.” A term applied to the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries for the recovery of Palestine, or the “Holy Land,” from the Mohammedans. They were originated by Peter the Hermit, an enthusiastic French officer of Amiens, who turned pilgrim. There were in all eight crusades, from 1096 to 1270. The last one ended in the Christians being driven out of Syria.
=Ctesiphon= (afterwards _Al Madayn_). On the Tigris, the splendid capital of Parthia, was taken by Trajan in 116, and by Alexander Severus (who made 100,000 captives), 198. Its defenses deterred Julian from the siege, 363. Through the cowardice or treachery of the defenders, it was taken by Omar and the Saracens, 637, and utterly destroyed. He built Cufa near it with the remains.
=Cuba.= An island in the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. It is the largest of the West Indian group, belongs to Spain, and is the most important of the Spanish colonial possessions. It was discovered by Columbus, October 28, 1492, and the Spaniards formed their first settlement on it in 1511, and have remained in possession ever since. Havana, a city of Cuba, was taken by the British in 1762, but was restored to Spain the following year. In May, 1850, and August, 1851, unsuccessful attempts to revolutionize the island were made by bands of adventurers under a Spaniard named Narcisso Lopez. In the latter expedition, the whole 450 who landed were either slain in fight or taken prisoners. In 1868 the inhabitants revolted against Spain, and declared a republic. Spain at once proceeded to crush them into submission, but the patriots held out until, in 1878, abandoning all hope of assistance or recognition from abroad, they were obliged to succumb, and the Spaniards resumed full control of the country.
=Cubical Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Cuddalore= (India). On the coast of the Carnatic, was acquired by the English in 1681. It was reduced by the French in 1758, but recaptured in 1760 by Sir Eyre Coote. Again lost in 1781, it underwent a destructive siege by the British under Gen. Stuart, in 1783, which was continued until peace was signed, when it reverted to them, 1784.
=Cuenca.= A city of Spain, in New Castile, about 84 miles from Madrid. It was captured from the Moors by the kings of Castile and Aragon in 1176.
=Cuirass= (Fr. _cuir_, leather). Originally a jerkin, or garment of leather for soldiers, so thick and strong as to be pistol-proof, and even musket-proof. The name was afterwards applied to a portion of armor made of metal, consisting of a back-plate and breastplate hooked or buckled together. The cuirass is worn in the British army by the Life Guards and the Horse Guards.
=Cuish.= Defensive armor for the thighs, written also _cuisse_.
=Cul-de-sac= (_Fr._). The “bottom of a bag.” A passage with only one outlet; a position in which an army finds itself, with no way of exit but to the front.
=Cullen Rifle.= See MAGAZINE GUNS.
=Cullen’s-wood.= In Ireland. A horrible slaughter of the English by the Irish took place at a village near Dublin on Easter or _Black_ Monday, so called from this massacre, March 30, 1209. The English were a colony from Bristol inhabiting Dublin, whence they went to divert themselves at Cullen’s-wood, when the O’Byrnes and O’Tooles fell upon them, and destroyed 500 men, besides women and children.
=Culloden=, or =Drummossie Moor=. A wide heath in Scotland, 3 miles east of Inverness, on which the Duke of Cumberland gained a decisive victory over the Highland army in their attempt to restore the Stuart dynasty to the throne, in 1746.
=Culpeper Court-house.= See FAIRFAX.
=Culverin.= A long cannon used from the 14th to the 16th century; generally carried a shot of 18 pounds. The gun at Dover Castle, called Queen Elizabeth’s pocket-pistol, is a specimen of a large culverin. A _demi-culverin_ was a similar piece, carrying a 9-pound shot.
=Cumæ.= An ancient and celebrated Greek city on the coast of Campania, about 6 miles north of Cape Misenum. The Tyrrhenians and Carthaginians attacked it by sea, and were defeated by Hieron, 474 B.C. In 420 the Samnites laid siege to the city, and after repeated attacks succeeded in carrying it by assault. It was given up to pillage and its inhabitants put to the sword. In the second Punic war Hannibal made an attempt upon the city, but was repulsed by Sempronius Gracchus. It was chosen by the Gothic kings as the depository of their regalia and valuables, and was the last place in Italy that held out against Narses.
=Cumberland Gap.= Is a natural gap in the Cumberland Mountains, about 80 miles in length, and about 150 miles south by east from Lexington, Ky. During the civil war it was an important strategic point, and was held at different times by each of the contending forces. It was held by the Confederates without any serious interference until Chattanooga was occupied by the forces of Gen. Mitchell, when it was evacuated about June 18, 1862, and occupied on the same day by the Union general Geo. W. Morgan. It was held by him until September 17, when he was compelled to evacuate it. It was again occupied by the Confederates, who to the number of 2000 under Gen. Frazer surrendered to Gen. Burnside, September 9, 1863. A large quantity of stores and 10 pieces of artillery were captured.
=Cunaxa.= In Mesopotamia, near the Euphrates, where Cyrus the Younger was defeated and slain by his brother Artaxerxes II., against whom he had conspired, 401 B.C.
=Cunette=, or =Cuvette=. A trench in the bottom of a dry ditch; an obstacle in the passage of an enemy (especially if filled with water), and also acting as a drain.
=Cunnersdorf=, or =Kunnersdorf=. A village in Bohemia, 12 miles north-northwest of Buntzlau. On August 12, 1759, Frederick the Great with 50,000 men attacked the Austrian and Russian army of 90,000 in their camp near this place, and at first gained considerable advantages; but pursuing them too far, the Austrians and Russians rallied, and gained a complete victory. The Prussians lost 200 pieces of cannon and 30,000 men in killed and wounded.
=Curaçoa.= An island in the Caribbean Sea, settled by the Spaniards about 1527, was seized by the Dutch in 1634. In 1800 the French settled on part of this island, quarreled with the Dutch, who surrendered it to a British frigate. It was restored to the Dutch in 1802; taken from them by the British in 1807, and again restored in 1814.
=Curiet.= A breastplate made of leather.
=Current Series.= In military administration, orders issued from established commands, such as divisions, departments, etc., being numbered in regular order for each year; this term is frequently used when referring to orders issued in the year passing or current, when the expression is employed.
=Currier.= A small musketoon with a swivel mounting.
=Currytown.= A village in Montgomery Co., N. Y., noted for the attack on and murder of its settlers by nearly 500 Indians and a few loyalists, commanded by a Tory named Doxstader, July 9, 1781. The settlers were unsuspicious of danger, and were generally at work in the fields when the enemy fell upon them. After killing and capturing all they could, the Indians set fire to the buildings, and drove away most of the cattle and horses in the neighborhood. Next day Col. Willett, who was at Fort Plain when the attack was made, pursued the enemy with about 150 men, attacked and killed about 40 of them, and recovered all their plunder.
=Curtain.= In fortification, is that part of the rampart or wall between two bastions or two gates.
=Curtail=, or =Curtald=. An ancient piece of ordnance, apparently a short one.
=Curtatone.= Near Mantua, Northern Italy. Here the Austrians under Radetzky crossed the Minco, and defeated the Italians after a severe conflict, May 29, 1848.
=Customs of the Service.= Sometimes called common law of the army. Signifies generally a right or law not written, but established by long usage. To render a custom valid it has been said that the following qualities are requisite: 1, habitual or long established practice; 2, continuance without interruption; 3, without dispute; 4, it must be reasonable; 5, certain; 6, compulsory; 7, customs must be consistent with each other. It may be said that the common law of the army derives its force from the tacit consent of those in the service. Gen. Kautz states that officers of the army have certain duties to perform that are governed by certain laws, rules, and regulations, which are interpreted and executed in a certain way, called “Customs of the Service.” A knowledge of these rules of the service, and their application, constitutes the military profession, and is the true art of war. To this extent it is an exact science, and may be acquired by application and experience.
=Custozza.= Near Verona, Northern Italy. Here the Italians were defeated by Marshal Radetzky, July 23, 1848; and here they were again defeated June 24, 1866, after a series of desperate attacks on the Austrian army. The Italians were commanded by their king, Victor Emmanuel, and the Austrians by the Archduke Albrecht.
=Cut Off, To.= To intercept, to hinder from union or return. In a military sense this phrase is variously applicable, and extremely familiar.
TO CUT OFF AN ENEMY’S RETREAT is to manœuvre in such a manner as to prevent an opposing army or body of men from retiring, when closely pressed, either to their intrenchments or into a fortified town from which they had marched or sallied.
=Cut up, To.= To destroy promiscuously. When the cavalry are sent in pursuit of a flying enemy, the latter are generally cut up.
=Cuttack= (anc. _Catac_). A province in the East Indies, ceded to the East India Company in 1803. Cuttack, the capital, was taken by Col. Harcourt, October 14, 1803. This province was captured by the Mahrattas in 1750.
=Cuzco.= A city of Peru, capital of a department, and the ancient capital of the Peruvian empire, in South America. This city was entered by Pizarro in November, 1533, and taken by him in August, 1536, after a five months’ siege.
=Cylinder-gauge.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.
=Cylinder-staff.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.
=Cyprus.= The most eastern island in the Mediterranean, near the mouth of the Gulf of Iskanderoon. It was divided among several petty kings till the time of Cyrus of Persia, who subdued them. It was taken by the Greeks in 477 B.C., and ranked among the proconsular provinces in the reign of Augustus. It was conquered by the Saracens, 648 A.D., but recovered by the Greeks in 957. It was reduced by Richard I. of England in 1191, and given by him to Guy de Lusignan, who became king in 1192, and whose descendants governed it until 1489, when it was sold to the Venetians. It was taken by the Turks in August, 1571, and held by them until June, 1878, when it was awarded to England by the “Peace Congress of Berlin.”
=Czaslau.= A town of Bohemia, 45 miles east-southeast of Prague. Here Frederick the Great gained a victory over the Austrians, May 17, 1742.
D.
=Dacia.= The land of the Daci or Getæ. It comprised the various countries now known as Eastern Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia. The Getæ came originally from Thrace, and were divided into various tribes, and seem to have been the most valiant of the Thracian barbarians. Curio, the first Roman general who ever penetrated as far north as the Danube, did not venture to assail them. Julius Cæsar, however, is said to have intended their subjugation. In 10 B.C., Augustus sent an army up the valley of the Maros. From this time a continual war was waged by the Dacians against the Romans, who actually compelled the latter, in the reign of Domitian, to pay a tribute. In 101 A.D. the Emperor Trajan crossed the Theiss, and marched into Transylvania, where he fought a great battle near Thorda. The Daci, who were commanded by their famous chief Decebalus, were defeated. A second expedition of the emperor’s (104 A.D.) resulted in the destruction of their capital, the death of Decebalus, and the loss of their freedom. In 270 and 275 A.D. the Romans abandoned the country to the Goths, and the colonists were transferred to Mœsia. After a series of vicissitudes, Dacia fell into the possession of the Magyars in the 9th century.
=Dacota.= See DAKOTA.
=Dadur.= A town of Beloochistan, 5 miles to the east of the Bolan Pass. It is said to be one of the hottest places in the world, and is celebrated as the place where, in November, 1840, the British troops routed a Kelat force.
=Dag.= A thick, clumsy pistol, used in the 15th and 16th centuries.
=Dagen.= A peculiar kind of poniard.
=Dagger.= A weapon resembling a sword, but considerably smaller, being used for stabbing at close quarters. Daggers are generally two-edged, and very sharp towards the point.
=Daghestan.= A province of Russia, on the west coast of the Caspian Sea. It was conquered by the czar Peter in 1723; restored to Persia, 1735; but re-annexed to Russia by Alexander I. in 1813.
=Dague= (_Fr._). Dagger, a short thick poniard which was formerly used when individuals engaged in single combat.
=Dahlgren Gun.= So named from Admiral Dahlgren, its inventor. An improved form of ordnance used for howitzers, heavy artillery, and especially in naval gunnery. It having been demonstrated that in ordinary cast guns the weight of the metal forward is greater than is needed, and that by far the greatest strain in firing is at the breech, Dahlgren greatly increased the relative size and weight of the breech, with the best results. These guns are chiefly used by the U. S. forces. See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF.
=Dahme.= A town of Prussia, on the river of the same name. It is defended by a strong citadel, and inclosed by walls. Here, in 1713, the French were defeated by the Prussians.
=Dahomey.= An independent state of Guinea, Western Africa, extending along the coast from Fort Badagry on the east, to the river Volta, which separates it from Ashantee on the west. The Dahomans, who came into possession of this tract of country about the beginning of the 18th century, are for the most part tall, well formed, and intelligent, and, for an African race, singularly honest and far advanced in agriculture. With the exception of a few Mohammedans, whose religious belief is in no way interfered with, they are all pagans, and practice fetish-worship. The king is the most absolute of despots, having entire control over the lives and property of his subjects. Wholesale murder is one of the chief features in religious and state ceremonies, and the most valued ornaments of the royal residence are human skulls. As many as 2000 human victims are sometimes sacrificed at one “grand custom.” Of the regular army of 12,000, about one-half are Amazons (devoted to celibacy), who are described as much more effective soldiers than their male companions in arms; but at the same time as blood-thirsty and ferocious as tigresses.