Part 42
=Gatling Gun.= Is a machine gun, the 1 inch composed of six and the ¹⁄₂ inch of ten rifled barrels of steel, made to revolve around a central axis parallel to their bores, by means of a hand crank. As each barrel comes opposite to the hopper on the left side of the cylinder, a self-primed metal case cartridge falls into a groove of the cartridge-carrier, is pressed into the breech by a plunger, and held there until exploded by the firing-pin. The empty case is withdrawn from the barrel by an extractor attached to the cylinder containing the firing-pin. With each revolution of the crank the 1-inch gun fires once, and the ¹⁄₂-inch gun three times. The ¹⁄₂-inch gun is reduced to caliber .45 inch, in order to use with it the projectile of the breech-loading musket.
=Gaucho.= One of the native inhabitants of the pampas of La Plata, of Spanish-American descent, celebrated for independence, horsemanship, and rude, uncivilized mode of life.
=Gaugamela= (now _Karmelis_). A village in the district of Aturia, in Assyria, the scene of the last and decisive battle between Alexander and Darius Codomannus, 331 B.C., commonly called the battle of Arbela. See ARBELA.
=Gauges.= In gunnery, are brass rings with handles, to find the diameter of all kinds of shot with expedition. Also instruments of various kind for verifying the dimensions of cannon and projectiles and the various parts of small-arms. Modern small-arms are made on the _interchangeable principle_, each part being accurately made to gauges. This principle has revolutionized the manufacture of small-arms. It was first introduced at the U. S. armory, at Harper’s Ferry, by Maj. Wade, of the Ordnance Corps.
=Gaul=, or =Gallia=. The ancient name of France and Belgium. The natives, termed by the Greeks Galatæ, by the Romans Galli or Celtæ, came originally from Asia, and invading Eastern Europe, were driven westward, and settled in Spain, North Italy, France and Belgium, and the British Isles.
=Gauntlet= (Fr. _gantelet_). A large glove of mail; a covering for the hand with plates of metal on the back, worn as a part of the defensive armor in ancient times. A long glove, covering the wrist; as, a riding-gauntlet. _To take up the gauntlet_, to accept a challenge. _To throw down the gauntlet_, to offer or send a challenge; to defy.
=Gauntlet.= A kind of military punishment; the gantelet used in the expression _to run the gauntlet_. See GANTLOPE.
=Gauntleted.= Wearing a gauntlet.
=Gawelgur.= A strong fortress of Hindostan, in the dominions of the Nizam or ruler of Hyderabad. It was taken by Gen. Wellesley, December 14, 1803, after a siege of two days, but was restored to the rajah on the conclusion of peace.
=Gaza.= A city of the Philistines, of which Samson carried off the gates, about 1120 B.C. It was taken by Alexander after a long siege, 332, and near it Ptolemy defeated Demetrius Poliorcetes, 312 B.C. It was taken by Saladin, 1170; by Bonaparte, March, 1799; and by the Egyptians in 1831.
=Gaze.= In heraldry, when a beast of the chase is represented as _affronté_, or full-faced, it is said to be at _gaze_.
=Gazette.= To announce or publish in a gazette; to announce officially; as an appointment either civil or military. All commissions in the British army, militia, fencible, and volunteer corps must be gazetted.
=Gazons.= In fortification, pieces of fresh earth, or sods, covered with grass, and cut in the form of a wedge, about a foot long and half a foot thick, to line the outsides of a work made of earth, as ramparts, parapets, banquettes, etc. The first bed of gazons is fixed with pegs of wood, and the second bed is so laid as to bind the former, by being placed over its joints, and so continued till the works are finished. Between those it is usual to sow all sorts of binding weeds or herbs, in order to strengthen the rampart.
=Gear.= Warlike accoutrements; military harness; equipage.
=Geat.= The hole through which the metal is conveyed to the mold in casting ordnance.
=Gebegis.= Armorers among the Turks were so called.
=Gebelis.= A Turkish corps of picked men.
=Gebelus.= Every Timariot in Turkey, during a campaign, is obliged to take a certain number of horsemen, who are called gebelus, and to support them at his own expense. He is directed to take as many as would annually cost 3000 _aspres_ for subsistence.
=Gela.= In ancient times, a very important city on the southern coast of Sicily. It was founded by a Rhodian and Cretan colony, in 690 B.C. In 505 B.C., Cleander made himself tyrant, and the colony reached its highest pitch of power under his brother Hippocrates, who subdued almost the whole of Sicily, with the exception of Syracuse. Gelon, the successor of Hippocrates, pursued the same career of conquest, and Syracuse itself fell into his hands, and was even made his principal residence, Gela being committed to the government of his brother Hiero. After many vicissitudes during the Carthaginian war in Sicily, it ultimately fell into decay. Its ruin was completed by Phintias, tyrant of Agrigentum, who, a little before 280 B.C., removed the inhabitants to a town in the neighborhood which he had founded, and to which he gave his own name. It occupied what is now the site of Terra Nova.
=Gelibach.= A sort of superintendent or chief of the gebegis, or armorers, among the Turks. He is only subordinate to the _toppi bachi_, or the grand master of the Turkish artillery.
=Gellia Gens.= A plebeian family; was of Samnite origin and afterwards settled at Rome. There were two generals of this family in the Samnite wars, Gellius Status in the second Samnite war, who was defeated and taken prisoner 305 B.C., and Gellius Egnatius in the third Samnite war.
=Gembloux.= A town of Belgium, on an affluent of the Sambre, 11 miles northwest from Namur. The French gained a victory over the Austrians near this town in 1794.
=Genappe.= A village of Belgium, in Southern Brabant, on the banks of the Dyle, 18 miles southeast from Brussels. Several military actions took place here in 1815, both before and after Waterloo, between the French and the allied forces.
=Gendarmes=, or =Gens d’Armes= (men-at-arms). Originally, and up to the time of the first French revolution, the most distinguished cavalry corps in the service of the Bourbon kings, to whom they formed a sort of body-guard. Under existing arrangements the gendarmes constitute a military police, and comprise both cavalry and infantry. The force consists principally of soldiers taken from the army, generally on account of intelligence and good conduct. The men receive much higher pay than the rest of the army, of which, however, the corps is a part, and they are liable in cases of emergency to be sent on active service.
=Gendarmery= (Fr. _gendarmerie_). The body of gendarmes or gens d’armes.
=General.= A term for the roll of the drum which calls the troops together. To “beat the general” is a phrase drawn from the French drum instructors, “_Battre la Generale_.”
=General.= The highest military title in the U. S. army, and the highest military title below that of field-marshal in European armies. A general ordinarily commands no body of men less than an army or _corps d’armée_.
=General, Adjutant-.= See ADJUTANT-GENERAL.
=General, Brigadier-.= See BRIGADIER-GENERAL.
=General, Colonel.= An honorary title, or military rank, which is bestowed in foreign services. Thus the Prince of the Peace in Spain was colonel general of the Swiss guards.
=General Court-Martial.= See COURT-MARTIAL.
=General de Battaile=, or =General Major=. A particular rank or appointment, whose functions correspond with those of a cidevant marshal of France. This situation is intrusted to a general officer, and is only known among the armies of Russia, and some other Northern powers. He takes precedence in the same manner that our major-generals do of all brigadier-generals and colonels, and is subordinate to lieutenant-generals.
=General des Galères= (_Fr._). Commander of the galleys, an officer of high rank and extensive jurisdiction in France.
=General des Vivres= (_Fr._). Commissary of stores; a sort of chief commissary or superintendent-general of stores, whose functions were to provide ammunition, bread, and biscuit, for the army.
=Generalissimo.= The chief officer in command of an army. This word is used in most foreign languages. It was first used to designate the absolute authority of Cardinal Richelieu, when he went to command the French army in Italy.
=General, Lieutenant-.= The second rank among general officers, and next below that of general. The normal command of a lieutenant-general is that of a division, but he is sometimes intrusted with the command of an entire army.
=General, Major-.= The rank next below that of lieutenant-general, and above brigadier-general. He usually commands a division; a general of division.
=General Officers.= Are all officers whose authority extends beyond the immediate command of a regiment, and who have either separate districts or departments at home, or commands on foreign service. A brigade is the smallest body of men constituting the command of a general officer. In an army of very large proportions, the normal sequence of command would be the following: The general commanding-in-chief, generalissimo, captain-general, or field-marshal would command the whole force; the generals would have separate _corps d’armée_; the lieutenant-generals, wings of those _corps d’armée_; the major-generals, divisions in the wings; and brigadier-generals, brigades in the divisions. In practice, however, an army is rarely large enough to allow of this exact scheme of military hierarchy being carried out; and general officers are also frequently assigned to high commands without regard to seniority. In the U. S. service there are one general, one lieutenant-general (whose offices expire with the present incumbents), three major-generals, and six brigadier-generals. The President is _ex officio_ commander-in-chief of the army. In the English service the sovereign is captain-general, and under the sovereign is the commander-in-chief, who takes rank as field-marshal. In the staff corps the word general is also used, as surgeon-, quartermaster-, adjutant-general, etc., to denote that the holder of the office has charge of his special department, and does not necessarily imply that he is a general officer. The chiefs of staff departments, however, in the U. S. service are usually of the rank of brigadier-general. In the German armies, and among the sovereigns of the North, there are certain generals of cavalry, and others of infantry, who take rank of all lieutenant-generals. In these armies it is usual for generals, lieutenant-generals, and major-generals to take their routine of duty, and rise progressively in the infantry or cavalry corps to which they were originally appointed, until they arrived at a chief command: whereas in France and other countries a major-general might be employed to take charge of either infantry or cavalry, without any regard being paid to the particular line of service in which he was bred.
=General Orders.= See ORDERS.
=General’s Guard.= See GARDE.
=Generalship.= The office of general; the exercise of the functions of a general; the skill and conduct of a general officer; military skill in a commander.
=Geneva.= A walled town of Switzerland, and the capital of a small canton, at the western extremity of the lake of the same name. In 1784 and 1794 revolutions took place in the city and state of Geneva; in 1798 it was taken by the French, and, till 1813, it was the capital of the department Leman, in the French empire, under Napoleon I. In 1814 it joined the Helvetic Confederation.
=Geneva, Convention of.= In October, 1863, an international convention was held at Geneva, Switzerland, comprising 14 governments, including Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, Prussia and Italy, who were represented by delegates, and propositions were drawn up forming the “Red Cross Society,” for the succor of the wounded in time of warfare. It gave aid to the sick and wounded during the Franco-German war, and its flag is recognized by all powers as neutral.
=Genius.= In a military sense, natural talent or disposition to every kind of warlike employment, more than any other; or, the aptitude a man has received from nature to perform well and easily that which others can do but indifferently and with a great deal of pains.
=Genoa.= A fortified maritime city in Northwestern Italy, once a celebrated republic, now the capital of a province of Northwestern Italy. From the 11th to the 18th century Genoa was the capital of a flourishing republic; it was bombarded by the French in 1684, and submitted to the Austrians in 1746; but, in consequence of a citizen having been abused by an Austrian officer, the inhabitants rose and massacred most of the soldiery, and drove away the remainder. The republic in 1798 assumed the French form of government, with the title of Ligurian republic, and in 1805 it was annexed to the French empire. In 1815 it was ceded to the king of Sardinia, and in 1859 the French troops landed here on their route to oppose the Austrian army, which had invaded Sardinia.
=Genouillère.= That part of the parapet of a battery which remains above the platform and under the gun, after the opening of the embrasure has been made. The name is derived from the French _genou_, the knee. The height of the genouillère is regulated by that of the gun-carriage, generally from 2 to 3 feet.
=Gens.= In Roman antiquity, a clan, embracing several families, whose bond of alliance was a common name and certain religious rites performed in common. Persons of the same gens were called _gentiles_, while those of the same family were designated _agnati_.
=Gens= (_Fr._). A word in much desultory use among the French, signifying, in the general acceptation of it, people, servants, soldiers, etc. This word is likewise used to distinguish bodies of men that are in opposition to each other.
=Gens d’Armes.= See GENDARMES.
=Gentilhommes de la Garde= (_Fr._). Gentlemen of the guard. Commonly called _Au bec de corbin_, or the battle-axe, from the weapon which they carried. This company went through many alterations during the monarchy of France. During the last years of that government it consisted of 200 guards, under the command of a captain, a lieutenant, and an ensign. The captain had the power of giving away the subaltern commissions, and had, moreover, the entire management of the rest; every vacancy being in his gift. They marched in file, each holding his battle-axe, before the king on days of public ceremony. When the company was first raised, its particular duty was to attend the king’s person, and to be constantly near him on the day of battle.
=Gentlemen-at-arms= (formerly called the _Gentlemen-Pensioners_). The body-guard of the British sovereign, and, with the exception of the yeomen of the guard, the oldest corps in the British service. It was instituted in 1509 by Henry VIII., and now consists of 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 standard-bearer, 1 clerk of the cheque, and 40 gentlemen, who must all be retired military officers of service and distinction. The attendance of gentlemen-at-arms is now rarely required, except on the occasion of coronations and important state ceremonies.
=Geographical Department, Commander of.= Is assimilated to the commander of a separate army, with the same powers and duties in similar cases over all the troops within the limits of the department. In all countries he derives his authority to command from the highest power of the government. In the United States he is assigned by order of the President, who alone can relieve him, and who also fixes the limits or boundaries of the department. His duties are mainly derived from customs of service. The only duties defined by statute relate to general courts-martial, which he can convene, and his action is final on all cases tried by such courts, except in the case of a general officer, or where the sentence of the court extends to the loss of life or the dismissal of a commissioned officer. In time of war he is authorized by existing laws to execute the death penalty in cases of persons convicted as spies, mutineers, deserters, or murderers, and in cases of guerrilla marauders convicted in time of war of robbery, burglary, arson, rape, assault with intent to commit rape, or violation of the laws of war. See DEPARTMENT, MILITARY.
=Geographical Division, Military.= In the United States a geographical military division consists of a number of geographical military departments, usually under the command of a general officer.
=Geometry.= That branch of mathematics which investigates the relations, properties and measurements of solids, surfaces, lines, and angles; the science which treats of the properties and relations of magnitudes. Its usefulness extends to almost every art and science. It is by the assistance of geometry that engineers conduct all their works, take the situation and plans of towers, the distances of places, and the measure of such things as are only accessible to the sight. It is not only an introduction to fortification, but highly necessary to mechanics. On geometry, likewise, depends the theory of gunnery, mining, mechanics, hydraulics, pneumatics, etc.
=George, Lake.= A beautiful sheet of water in the State of New York. Its length is 36 miles; its breadth from 1 to 3 miles. Lake George was the scene of important military operations during the French and Indian war of 1755-59. Here stood Fort George, Fort William Henry, and other works.
=George, St.= Patron of England and Russia, is reputed to have been born in Palestine in the 3d century. According to the legend, he became a prince in Cappadocia, and was distinguished for his exploit of rescuing a king’s daughter from a dragon. He was a Christian, and suffered martyrdom at Nicomedia, April 23, 303, for having torn down the edict of Diocletian against Christians, the emperor himself being then in the city.
=George, St., Banner of.= Is white with red cross. According to Sir N. H. Nicolas, the cross of St. George was worn as a badge over the armor of every English soldier “in the 14th and subsequent centuries, even if the custom did not prevail at a much earlier period,” to indicate that he was in the service of the crown. On the invasion of Scotland by Richard II. in 1386, it was ordained that every man of the English party should wear a sign of the arms of St. George both before and behind. A similar ordinance was adopted by Henry V. for the government of his army in France. The cross of St. George forms a part of the British standard.
=George, St., Knights of.= See GARTER, ORDER OF THE.
=George, The.= The badge of the order of the Garter exhibiting the figure of St. George on horseback piercing the falling dragon, which lies on a mount. See GARTER.
=Georges Conspiracy.= Took place in France; Gens. Moreau and Pichegru, and Georges Cadoudal, who was commonly known by the name of Georges, and others were arrested at Paris, charged with a conspiracy against the life of Bonaparte, and for the restoration of Louis XVIII., February, 1804. Pichegru was found strangled in prison, April 6, and 12 of the conspirators, including Georges, were executed, and others imprisoned, June 22. Moreau was exiled and went to America; in 1813 he was killed before Dresden.
=Georgia.= Called by the Russians Grusia, a considerable country of Asia, situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian, to the north of Armenia, and forming a government of Russia. The Georgians are skilled in the bow, and are thought to be the best soldiers in Asia. Georgia was formerly one kingdom, the inhabitants of which were Christians; but, in 1639, when it was conquered by the Persians, the country was divided between two native princes, by themselves called kings, but by the Sophia styled governors. Each of these had a guard of Mohammedan horse in their pay. In 1802 it was annexed to Russia.
=Georgia.= One of the original States of the United States, bounded on the north by Tennessee and North Carolina, on the east by South Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean, south by Florida, and west by Florida and Alabama. It was named in honor of King George II., who granted a charter for establishing a colony there in 1732; but a permanent settlement was not made till the following year, when Oglethorpe established himself at what is now Savannah. The colony soon became involved in several contests with the Spaniards of Florida, who claimed the territory. In 1739 Oglethorpe invaded Florida, but without much success. In 1742 the Spaniards retaliated by invading Georgia; but they also effected nothing. The next noteworthy event in the history of the colony was a war with the Cherokees in 1761, which was terminated by their suing for peace, after their country had been laid waste. They were afterwards peaceable, and were removed to the Indian Territory in 1838. In the war of the Revolution Georgia warmly sided with the colonies, and, in consequence, suffered severely at the hands of the British, who overran the country, and captured Savannah, December 29, 1778. In the following year (October, 1779) the Americans and French attempted to retake it, but were repulsed with severe loss. In the civil war (1861-65), Georgia took an active part against the Union, and suffered severely in consequence. Atlanta was captured September 2, 1864, after which Gen. Sherman marched with his army through the State to the sea over an area extending from 20 to 60 miles in width, destroying railroad communication, etc., and ending with the capture of Savannah, December 20, 1864. This magnificent military movement effectually humbled the State, and in 1866 the President issued a proclamation declaring it no longer in a state of insurrection.
=Gerasa=, or =Jerash=. An ancient city of Syria, whose site is now marked by very extensive and magnificent ruins, situated about 35 miles east of the Jordan, at the eastern extremity of the land of Bashan, and on the borders of the great desert of Hauran. But little of its early history is known. In the time of the Antonines it had arrived at the height of its splendor and prosperity. It was taken by Alexander Jannæus in 85 B.C.; the Jews burned it at the commencement of their last war with the Romans; it was taken and plundered by Annius, the general of Vespasian, and in 1122 its castle was destroyed by Baldwin II. of Jerusalem.
=Gerbe.= An ornamental firework. See PYROTECHNY.
=Gerberoi.= In Normandy, north of France. Here William the Conqueror was wounded in battle by his son Robert, who had joined the French king, Philip I., 1078.
=Gerit= (_Fr._). A Turkish dart 2¹⁄₂ feet long.