Part 28
=Dahra.= In Algeria; on June 18, 1845, above 500 Kabyles at war with the French, were suffocated in a cave by smoke, the fire having been kindled by order of Gen. Pelissier, afterwards Duke of Malakoff. They had fired on a messenger bearing an offer of truce. The massacre was condemned by Soult, the minister of war, but justified by Marshal Bugeaud.
=Dakota.= A Territory in the north central part of the United States. It was organized under a territorial form of government March 2, 1861, but very extensive alterations have since been made in its boundaries. The Territory has been greatly disturbed by marauding bands of Sioux Indians, or Dakotas, who were in 1862 and 1863 especially daring and aggressive, and though they have frequently been defeated by U. S. troops, notably under Gens. Sully and Sibley in 1863, they are still very troublesome, necessitating the frequent intervention of troops for the protection of the settlers.
=Dakota Indians.= A numerous and powerful tribe or collection of tribes of Indians of common stock, often called Sioux, who formerly roamed over the territory between the Missouri and Mississippi, but have moved farther west since 1851, and are settled on agencies in Dakota, Montana, Nebraska, etc. A great proportion of them still preserve their nomadic habits and are still frequently troublesome. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Dalecarlians.= Natives of Dalecarlia, Sweden, who revolted against Christian of Denmark, 1521, and placed Gustavus Vasa on the throne of Sweden.
=Dalmatia.= A narrow strip of territory extending along the Adriatic Sea; bounded north by Istria and Croatia, and east by Bosnia and Herzegovina. In ancient times Dalmatia was a considerable kingdom, and, after many unsuccessful attempts, was first subjugated by the Romans in the time of Augustus. After the fall of the Western empire, Dalmatia, which had formed the most southern part of the province of Illyricum, was captured by the Goths, from whom it was taken by the Avari (490), who in their turn yielded it to the Slavonians about 620. It continued under the rule of the Slavonians until the beginning of the 11th century, when King Ladislaus of Hungary incorporated a part of it with Croatia, while the other part, with the title of duchy, placed itself under the protection of the Venetian republic. The Turks afterwards made themselves masters of a small portion, and by the peace of Campo-Formio (1797), the Venetian part, with Venice itself, became subject to Austrian rule, and when Austria, in 1805, had ceded this part to Napoleon, it was annexed to the kingdom of Italy; afterwards (1810) to Illyria. Since 1814, excepting the Turkish portion, it has been reunited with Austria.
=Damages, Barrack.= In the British service, is the term applied to the injuries done to barracks, barrack furniture, etc., by soldiers, when the actual perpetrator cannot be discovered. The term is also applied to the sum levied from the company or regiment generally, to make good the injury. Damages to arms, clothing, etc. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 17.
=Damascus.= A city of Syria, in Asiatic Turkey. During the time of the Hebrew monarchy, it was the capital of Syria, but afterwards passed successively under the rule of the Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans, and Saracens; and finally, in 1516, it was captured by the Turks (under Sultan Selim I.), in whose hands it has remained ever since. Damascus was at one time celebrated for the manufacture of sword-blades of the finest temper and most exquisite workmanship, but the process by which such unequaled specimens of art were perfected appears no longer to exist.
=Damaskin.= A certain kind of sabre; so called from the manufacture of Damascus.
=Dame= (_Fr._). Among miners any portion of earth which may remain after the explosion of a mine has taken place. It likewise means a piece of wood with two handles used to press down turf or dirt in a mortar.
=Damietta.= A city of Lower Egypt, on the east branch of the Nile. It was taken by the Crusaders, 1219; lost, 1229; retaken by Louis IX., June 5, 1249; surrendered as his ransom when a prisoner, May 6, 1250.
=Damnonii=, =Dumnonii=, or =Dumnunii=. A powerful people who inhabited the southwest of Britain, comprising Cornwall, Devonshire, and the western part of Somersetshire, from whom was called the promontory Damnonium (now Cape Lizard), in Cornwall.
=Danai.= An ancient name of the Greeks, derived from Danaus, king of Argos, 1474 B.C.
=Danala.= A city in the territory of the Trocmi, in the northeast of Galatia, notable in the history of the Mithridatic war as the place where Lucullus resigned the command to Pompey.
=Dancetté.= One of the lines of partition in heraldry, differing from indented only in the greater size of the notches. See INDENTED.
=Danes=, or =Northmen=. Natives of Denmark; during their attacks upon Britain and Ireland they made a descent on France, where, in 895, under Rollo, they received presents under the walls of Paris. They returned and ravaged the French territories as far as Ostend in 896. They attacked Italy in 903. Neustria was granted by the king of France to Rollo and his Normans (Northmen), hence Normandy, in 911. The Danes invaded England, Scotland, and Ireland with varying successes from 783 to 1084.
=Dangerous Space.= That zone, partly before and partly beyond the object fired at (the sights having been correctly elevated), which is _covered_ by the trajectory; the object may be displaced to the front or rear of its correct range-point, a distance equal, in the aggregate, to the depth of this zone, and still be struck by the projectile. “Dangerous space” is calculated under the assumption that the gun when fired is 56 inches from the ground, that it is aimed at a point 34 inches from the ground, and that the stature of a man is 68 inches; and that the head of a man on horseback is 8 feet above the ground. The “dangerous space” will, of course, be increased by the firer lying down and aiming at his adversary’s feet. A part of the “dangerous space” is near the muzzle of the gun in the rising branch of the trajectory; the rest of it is in the falling branch; these two parts being continuous up to and including the “battle-range” (which see). The “dangerous space” varies with the weapon used and the object fired at; and for the same arm diminishes as the range increases beyond “battle-range”; up to this point it increases with the range. A perfect understanding of this subject is essential to effective infantry fire upon the field of battle. Valuable tables will be found upon it in Laidley’s “Rifle Firing.”
=Dannebrog.= The ancient battle-standard of Denmark, bearing the figures of a cross and crown. It was fabled to have fallen from heaven at the battle of Volmar, in Esthonia (1219), during a crusade against the heathens. It was twice taken in battle and twice recaptured. In 1500 a mere fragment remained.
=Dannebrog, Order of the.= Is the second of the Danish orders of knighthood. It is said to have been founded in 1219, but fell into decay, and was restored in 1671.
=Dannevirke=, or =Dannewerke=. A series of earthworks considered almost impregnable, stretching across the long narrow peninsula of Sleswick, Holstein, and Jutland,--said to have been built during the “stone age.” It was rebuilt in 937 by Thyra, queen of Gormo the Old, for which she was named _Dannabod_, “the pride of the Danes.” It was again repaired between 995 and 1000. Near here the Prussians, aiding the duchies, defeated the Danes, April 23, 1848.
=Dantzic=, or =Danzig=. A city of Prussia; is surrounded with ramparts, mounted with cannon, and the town may be considered as being one of the strongest fortresses in Prussia. In the 10th century it was known as the capital of Pomerali; it passed with that province, in 1295, under the authority of Poland; but in 1308, Ladislaus IV. ceded the whole to the Teutonic knights, who held it till 1454. In that year it was again seized by the Poles; and in 1575, having refused to acknowledge Stephen Bathory, it had to sustain a siege by that monarch, and was taken in 1577. From 1360 to 1641 it was one of the principal towns in the Hanseatic League. When this league was dissolved, Dantzic joined Lubeck, Hamburg, and Bremen; and these four cities, down to a very late period, retained their name of Hanse Towns. In 1734 it was forced to surrender to the Russians and Saxons, who were then besieging Stanislaus of Poland. In 1793 it was occupied by the Prussians. It was taken by the French in May, 1807, after a long siege, by Marshal Lefevre, who thence acquired his title of duke of Dantzic. After Bonaparte’s disastrous campaign in Russia, it was blockaded and obliged to surrender, after a long and able defense by Gen. Rapp. At the peace of Paris, in 1814, it reverted to Prussia.
=Dardanelles=, or =Hellespont= (anc. _Hellespontus_). A narrow strait between Europe and Asiatic Turkey, connecting the Sea of Marmora and the Ægean Sea. As it is the key to Constantinople, there are on both shores of this narrow channel numerous forts and batteries, there being 8 on the European and 7 on the Asiatic side. It was here the invading armies of Xerxes crossed on a bridge of boats to enter Europe. The passage of the strait was achieved by the British under Sir John Duckworth, February 9, 1807; but he repassed with great loss, March 2, two castles occupying the sites of the ancient Sestos and Abydos, hurling down stones of many tons weight upon the British. The allied English and French passed the Dardanelles at the sultan’s request, October, 1853.
=Dart.= A pointed, missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; a short lance; a javelin; hence, any missile weapon.
=Dartmouth.= A seaport town of England, in Devonshire; it was burnt by the French in the reigns of Richard I. and Henry IV. In a third attempt (1404) the invaders were defeated by the inhabitants, assisted by the valor of the women. In the war of the Parliament, Dartmouth was taken, after a siege of four weeks, by Prince Maurice, who garrisoned the place for the king (1643); but it was retaken by Gen. Fairfax by storm in 1646.
=Dauphin= (_Dolphin_), _Fr._ An ornamental handle on brass guns over the trunnions, so called from its resemblance to that fish.
=Dauphiné.= An old province of Southeast France, successively held by the Allobroges, Burgundians, and Lombards; was, about 723-24, delivered from the invading Saracens by Charles Martel. Its counts were called dauphins; and when it was ceded to Philip of Valois, in 1349, the title of dauphin was given to the eldest son of the king of France, to whom it continued to be applied till the revolution of 1830.
=David’s Day, St.= The 1st day of March is annually commemorated by the Welsh, in honor of St. David. Tradition states that on St. David’s birthday, 540, a great victory was obtained by the Welsh over their Saxon invaders, and that the Welsh soldiers were distinguished by order of St. David by a leek in their caps.
=Dax.= A well-built town of France, department of Landes. It is surrounded by an old wall, flanked with towers, and is also protected by a castle. Dax was taken by the English in the 12th century, and remained in their possession till the middle of the 15th century.
=Day-book.= In the British service, is a sort of private memorandum-book, in which the pay-sergeant enters all details of expenditure other than pay under each man’s head. These entries are made at the moment, and afterwards transferred to the ledger.
=Day’s March.= See MARCH.
=Dead Angle.= In fortification, is any angle or piece of ground which cannot be seen, and which therefore cannot be defended from behind the parapet of the fortification.
=Dead-head.= In casting a cannon, is the surplus metal in the top of the mold; called also the _sprue_.
=Dead March.= A piece of solemn music intended to be played as an accompaniment to a funeral procession.
=Dead Pay.= Was the pay formerly drawn for soldiers really dead, whose names were kept on the rolls; and whose pay was appropriated by dishonest officers.
=Dead-shot.= An unerring marksman.
=Debark.= To leave a ship or boat and pass to the land; to go on shore; as, the troops debarked at 4 o’clock; disembark.
=Deblai.= The hollow space or excavation formed by removing earth for the construction of parapets in fortification. Thus the ditch or fosse whence the earth has been taken represents the _deblai_, while the earth itself, so removed, constitutes the _remblai_.
=Deblayer un Camp= (_Fr._). To evacuate a camp for the purpose of cleaning and purifying the ground.
=Debouch.= A military term, signifying to march out from a wood, defile, or other confined place into open ground; also an outlet or available issue by which an army can march out.
=Débris= (_Fr._). Remains, ruins of a building or town which has been sacked; broken remains of an army after defeat.
=Debruised.= A term in English heraldry used to indicate the restrained position of an animal in a coat of arms, by having any of the ordinaries laid over it.
=Decagon.= In fortification, is a polygon figure, having 10 sides, and as many angles; and if all the sides and angles be equal, it is called a regular decagon, and may be inscribed in a circle. The sides of a regular decagon are in power and length equal to the greatest segment of a hexagon, inscribed in the same circle and cut in extreme and mean proportion.
=Decamp, To.= To march an army or body of men from the ground where it before lay encamped. It also signifies to quit any place or position in an unexpected manner.
=Decanus.= In Roman military history, a petty officer who presided over the 10 soldiers of his contubernium, or those living in the same ten.
=Deccan.= An extensive region of India; invaded by the Mohammedans in 1294. About 1686-90, Aurungzebe I. recovered the Deccan, but soon lost great part of it to the Mahrattas. A large part of the Deccan was ceded to the English in 1818.
=Deceased Officers and Soldiers.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 125, 126.
=Dechargeurs= (_Fr._). Are men appointed to attend the park of artillery, and to assist the non-commissioned officers, etc., who are employed on that service. It is the duty of the former to keep a specific account of articles received and consumed, in order to enable the latter to furnish their officers with accurate statements.
=Decimation.= A military punishment inflicted among the Romans on cowardly or mutinous troops. It consisted in selecting by lot one-tenth of the whole body of troops who misbehaved, and putting them to death. There have been a few instances of this species of punishment in modern times. In 1642 the Archduke Leopold employed it against a regiment of cavalry; Marshal Créqui also had recourse to it against the mutinous garrison of Trèves, and before the battle of Waterloo Blücher is said to have punished in this manner a body of mutinous troops.
=Decisions.= In courts-martial, the majority of votes decides all questions as to the admission or rejection of evidence, and on other points involving law or custom. If equally divided, the doubt is in favor of the prisoner.
=Declaration of Independence.= This celebrated document by which the thirteen United Colonies of America announced their intention of taking their affairs into their own hands, renouncing their allegiance to Great Britain, and asserting their freedom, was drawn up by Thomas Jefferson, and received the unanimous approval of the delegates in the Congress of the Colonies, July 4, 1776.
=Declaration of War.= The formal announcement by a government of its intention to wage war against another, is a proceeding which is observed among all civilized nations. In the United States the declaration of war is a power exercised by Congress alone. During the age of chivalry, a herald made declaration of war at the enemy’s court, his tabard on his arm.
=Decompte= (_Fr._). Signifies a liquidation or balance, which from time to time was made in the old French service, between the captain of a company and each private soldier for money advanced or in hand.
=Decoration Day.= The anniversary, in the United States, on which flowers are placed on soldiers’ graves, and which is observed on May 30. This day was set apart for the purpose mentioned soon after the war of the Rebellion, 1861-65.
=Decoration, Military.= A medal, cross of honor, etc., bestowed for distinguished services.
=Decorations.= In pyrotechny, are the compositions which are placed in the heads of rockets, in paper shells, etc., to make a brilliant display when the receptacle is burst.
=Decouplé.= In heraldry, signifies severed or disjoined, so that the ends stand at a distance from one another, as a _chevron decouplé_.
=Decoy.= To lead or to entice into a snare; to lead into danger by artifice; to entrap. An enemy is said to be decoyed when a small body of troops draws them in to action, whilst the main body lies in ambush ready to act with the greatest effect.
=Decrement.= Is a heraldic term by which the wane of the moon is indicated. _Decrescent_ and _decours_ are also used in the same sense. A moon _decrescent_ is a half-moon with her horns turned to the sinister.
=Decurion.= An officer in the Roman cavalry, who commanded a decuria, which was a body consisting of 10 men.
=Deeg.= A strong fortress of Hindostan, in the province of Agra, which was captured by the British arms under Gen. Lake in 1804.
=Deep.= A term used in the disposition or arrangements of soldiers placed in ranks before each other; hence, two deep, three deep, etc. _Deep line of operations_, a long line.
=Default.= A military offense, in the British service, is so called.
=Defaulter.= A soldier who has been guilty of a military offense. It is generally applied to men sentenced to confinement to barracks, and attaches to them until the completion of their punishment.
=Defaulter Book.= The book in which the defaulter sheets are contained. The regimental defaulter book containing regimental, and the company defaulter book company, defaults.
=Defaulters’ Sheet.= For every soldier there are two sheets of foolscap paper, in one of which, called his company defaulter sheet, are entered all offenses and the punishments awarded. The other, called the regimental defaulter sheet, contains only offenses for which a man has been punished by more than seven days confined to barracks, or other awards considered of equal gravity.
=Defeat.= This word expresses the complete want of success of an army; a repulse signifying less, and a rout more, than defeat.
=Defeat.= To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault.
=Defection.= The act of abandoning a person or cause to which one is bound by allegiance or duty, or to which one has attached himself.
=Defend.= To secure against attack; to maintain; as, to defend a town; to defend a cause.
=Defender.= One who defends; one who maintains, supports, protects, etc.
=Defense.= In military law, is the defendant’s answer to the plea; an opposing or denial of the truth or validity of the plaintiff’s case; the method of proceeding adopted by the defendant to protect himself against the plaintiff’s action.
=Defense.= In fortification, consists of all sorts of works that cover and defend the opposite posts; as flanks, parapets, casements, etc.
=Defense, Active.= Comprehends every species of offensive operation which is resorted to by the besieged to annoy the besiegers.
=Defense, Distant.= Consists in being able to interrupt the enemy’s movements by circuitous inundations; to inundate, for instance, a bridge, when a convoy is passing, or to insulate batteries, the heads of saps or lodgments which have been made in the covert way. By this species of defense an enemy’s communications may be perpetually intercepted, and his approaches so obstructed as to force him to leave dangerous intervals.
=Defense, Line of.= Represents the flight of a rifle-ball from the place where the soldiers stand, to scour the face of the bastion. The line of defense should never exceed the range of a rifle. It is either _fichant_ or _rayant_. The first is when it is drawn from the angle; the last, when it is drawn from a point in the curtain, ranging the face of the bastion in fortification.
=Defense, Lines of.= Are the distances between the salient angle of the bastion and the opposite flank; that is, the faces produced to the flanks.
=Defense, Passing.= Is chiefly confined to inundations, and is effected by letting out water in such a manner that the level ground which lies round a fortified town or place may be entirely overflowed, and become an inert stagnant pool.
=Defensive.= A force is said to be on the defensive, or to assume a defensive attitude, when it takes up a position to receive an attack.
=Defensive War.= See WAR, DEFENSIVE.
=Defilading=, or =Defilement=. The art of arranging the plan and profile of works, so that their lines shall not be liable to enfilade, nor their interior to plunging or reverse fire.
=Defile.= A narrow passage, or road, through which troops cannot march otherwise than by making a small front and filing off.
=Defile, To.= To reduce a body of troops into a small front, in order to march through a defile; also, to defilade.
=Deformer= (_Fr._). In a military sense, signifies to break; as, _deformer une colonne_, to break a column.
=Dégat= (_Fr._). The laying waste an enemy’s country, particularly in the neighborhood of a town which an army attempts to reduce by famine, or which refuses to pay military exactions.
=Degorgeoir= (_Fr._). A sort of steel pricker used in examining the vent of a cannon; a priming wire.
=Degradation.= In military life, the act of depriving an officer forever of his commission, rank, dignity, or degree of honor, and taking away at the same time every title, badge, or privilege he may possess.
=Degraded.= In heraldry, means placed upon steps or degrees.
=Degsestan, Battle of.= See SCOTLAND.
=Dehors.= In the military art, all sorts of outworks in general, placed at some distance from the walls of a fortification, the better to secure the main places, and to protect the siege, etc.
=Delaware.= One of the Middle States of the United States, and one of the original thirteen. It derives its name (as do the Delaware River and Bay and Delaware Indians) from Thomas West, lord de la Warr, who visited the bay in 1610, and died on his vessel at its mouth. It was first settled by the Swedes and Dutch, but came into possession of the English in 1664, and formed part of the grant to William Penn in 1682. In 1701 it was separated from Pennsylvania, though subject to the same governor down to the period of the Revolution, to the success of which it contributed its full share, and for the maintenance of the results of which it has ever been a zealous advocate.
=Delaware Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, called by themselves _Lenni-Lenape_, who formerly lived on the Delaware River, but are now settled in Indian Territory, on the Wichita Agency, with the Caddos. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Delf.= A heraldic charge representing a square sod or turf, the term being probably derived from the word _delve_, to dig. A _delf tenné_ is the appropriate abatement for him who revokes his challenge, or otherwise goes from his word.
=Delhi.= A celebrated city of Northern India, situated on an offset of the river Jumna. The city was taken by a British army under Lord Lake, September 8, 1803, and has ever since continued under British rule. In 1857 it was held by the Sepoys, who murdered several English subjects, but was retaken, after a successful assault, September, 1857.
=Deliver Battle.= A term taken from the French _livrer bataille_, meaning to enter practically upon a contest; the opposing armies being in sight of each other.