Part 45
=Grappling.= A laying fast hold of; also, that by which anything is seized and held.
=Grasp.= The handle of a sword, and of an oar. Also, the small part of the stock of a musket.
=Grass-cutters.= Followers of cavalry regiments in India, whose duty it is to go forth and collect green forage for the horses.
=Grassin= (_Fr._). An ancient name for militia composed of light troops.
=Gratification.= In a general acceptation of the term, this word meant, among the French, certain rewards which generals gave to the troops, after a severe engagement, in testimony of their valor and good conduct. These rewards were distributed according to rank. This custom was prevalent in the most ancient times. By gratification was likewise meant the accumulation of a certain sum, which was deposited for the specific purpose of burying a deceased soldier. This term also meant a certain allowance in money allotted to prisoners of war.
=Gratuity.= An allowance to officers of the British service in the Indian army, varying with their rank. This and other allowances, such as batta, tentage, etc., had been granted for the purpose of augmenting an officer’s emoluments in India, without giving him a claim to a higher rate of net paper when on furlough in England. Gratuities are allowed to officers in the French service at the beginning of a campaign.
=Gravelines.= A small fortified town and seaport of France, in the department of Nord, 12 miles southwest of Dunkirk. Here Count d’Egmont obtained a victory over the French army commanded by Marshal de Thermes in 1558. Ten years later, it was taken by Louis XIV., who had it fortified by Vauban.
=Gravelotte, Battle of.= Also called the battle of Rézonville, the bloodiest battle of the Franco-German war, took place August 18, 1870. It was gained by the German armies, commanded by the king in person, after twelve hours’ hard fighting. The most desperate struggle took place on the slopes over Gravelotte, which the Germans gained by nightfall, after repeated charges, the fortune of the day being long in suspense. But the right of the French had been outflanked, they fell back fighting to the last, and retired under cover of Metz. The French are said to have lost 19,000, including officers and men, besides a large number of prisoners; and the Germans, 25,000.
=Graveurs= (_Fr._). Persons employed and paid by the founders of cannon for repairing damaged pieces of artillery. Some individual, however, was distinguished by the name of _graveur de l’artillerie_ (engraver to the artillery), and was permitted by the grand master of the ordnance to exhibit over his shop door the arms of the royal artillery.
=Gravimetric Density of Gunpowder.= Is the weight of a measured quantity.
=Gravity.= Is the tendency of all bodies towards the centre of the earth. The force of gravity is in the inverse proportion to the square of the body’s distance from the centre of the earth. The specific gravity of a body is the ratio of the weight of a body to that of an equal volume of some other body assumed as a standard, usually pure distilled water at a certain temperature for solids and liquids, and air for gases.
=Graze.= The point at which a shot strikes and rebounds from earth or water. _Grazing-fire_, that which sweeps close to the surface it defends.
=Great Britain.= See BRITAIN, GREAT.
=Great-coat.= A soldier’s overcoat is so called.
=Great Fortification.= One of the divisions of the first systems of Vauban. It consists in a fortification whose exterior side is from 185 to 260 toises, or from 370 to 520 yards, and is seldom adopted but towards a river or a marsh.
=Great Radius.= In fortification, the whole oblique radius.
=Greaves.= Were a kind of armor for the legs, worn both by the Greek and Roman soldiers; the latter having adopted them from the former. They were made of brass, copper, tin, or other metals. The sides were closed about the ankles with buttons of gold, silver, etc. This kind of defensive armor was at first peculiar to the Grecians. The Etruscans had them, apparently of rough hides, fastened behind by a single ligature near the middle of the calf; these subsequently gave way to buskins. Servius Tullius introduced the Etruscan greaves among the Romans; but from the time of the republic the word _ochrea_ applied to the laced-up boots, which succeeded them.
=Greece=, or =Hellas, Kingdom of=. The ancient Græcia, a maritime country in the southeast of Europe. In the early ages the Greeks were governed by monarchs; but the monarchical power gradually decreased, and the love of liberty led to the establishment of the republican form of government. No part of Greece, except Macedonia, remained in the hands of an absolute sovereign. The expedition of the Argonauts first, and, in the succeeding age, the wars of Thebes and Troy, gave opportunity to their warriors, who afterwards ranked as heroes and demigods, to display their valor in the field of battle. The spirit of Greece, however, was crushed by the Romans; and in 1718 she became a Turkish province. In 1821 the ancient spirit seemed to have revived in the modern Greeks, and they determined to be free. The struggle was severe and protracted; but, by the interference of the great European powers, the Turks were forced to acknowledge Greece an independent state in 1829.
=Greek Fire.= A combustible composition (now unknown, but thought to have been principally naphtha), thrown from engines said to have been invented by Callinicus, an ingenious engineer of Heliopolis, in Syria, in the 7th century, in order to destroy the Saracens’ ships, which was effected by the general of the fleet of Constantine, Pogonatus, and 30,000 men were killed. A so-called “Greek fire,” probably a solution of phosphorus in bisulphide of carbon, was employed at the siege of Charleston, U. S., in September, 1863. Greek fire, as now understood, is simply a solid, highly combustible composition, consisting of sulphur and phosphorus dissolved in the bisulphide of carbon, to which occasionally some mineral oil is added, with the view of increasing its incendiary powers. When the liquid is thrown on any surface exposed to the air the solvent evaporates, leaving a film of the phosphorus or sulphide of phosphorus, which then inflames spontaneously. The proper mode of extinguishing such a fire is to throw damp sand, ashes, sawdust, or lime, wet sacking or carpeting; in short, any material which will exclude the air from the fire. No attempt should be made to remove the covering for some time after the flame has been extinguished. The place should afterwards be thoroughly washed by a powerful jet of water forced upon it.
=Greener’s Bullet.= One of the first attempts to make a bullet take the grooves by the expanding action of the powder was by Mr. Greener, an English gunsmith, in 1836. He used a conical pewter wedge, which was driven into a cavity in the base of the bullet by the powder and forced the outer walls of the bullet into the grooves.
=Grenada.= An island in the West Indies belonging to the Windward group. It was discovered by Columbus in the year 1498. It was originally settled by the French, but was taken by the British in 1762, to whom it was confirmed by the peace of Paris in 1763.
=Grenade.= In gunnery, is a shell thrown from the hand, or in barrels from mortars of large caliber, and ignited as other shells by means of a fuze. There are hand-grenades and rampart-grenades; old 6-pounder spherical-case may be used for the former, and shells of any caliber for the latter. Grenades are useful in the defense of works, the smaller, thrown by hand into the head of a sap, trenches, covered way, or upon the besiegers mounting a breach; the larger kinds are rolled over the parapet in a trough. Hand-grenades are intended to be used against the enemy when he has reached such parts of the defenses (the bottom of the ditch for example) as are not covered by the guns, or the muskets of the infantry posted on the banquettes. After the enemy has passed the abatis and jumped into the ditch, hand-grenades will be used; and then if he mounts the parapet, he must be met there with the bayonet. _Ketchum’s hand-grenade_ is a small oblong percussion shell which explodes on striking the object.
=Grenadier.= Originally a soldier who was employed in throwing hand-grenades, but in some modern armies a member of the first company of every battalion of foot, in which the tallest and finest men of the regiment are placed.
=Grenadier Guards.= The first regiment of foot guards in the British Household Brigade of Guards, and generally considered the finest corps in the army. It comprises 2697 officers and men, divided into three battalions. The officers of this fashionable corps are usually from the families of the nobility, or more distinguished landed gentry. The 1st Foot Guards, under which name the regiment was originally known, was first raised in 1660. The Grenadier Guards distinguished themselves in the Peninsula, at Waterloo, and in the Crimea.
=Grenadiers Auxiliaries= (_Fr._). Auxiliary grenadiers. During a siege, and when a place was closely invested, a certain number of grenadiers were chosen out of the battalions belonging to the trenches, for the purpose of making head against the besieged, whenever they might risk a sally, or assault the works. It was the peculiar duty of these men to stand forward on every occasion, to set fire to the gabions attached to the batteries, and to crush every attempt which might be made by the garrison to annoy the men that were posted in the trenches, etc.
=Grenadiers, Horse.= Called by the French _grenadiers volans_, or flying grenadiers, are such as are mounted on horseback, but fight both on foot and on horseback. They were first established in France by Louis XIV. in 1676, and formed in squadrons.
=Grenado.= The ancient term for a live shell.
=Grenoble.= A fortified town of France, in the department of the Isère. The town is surrounded with fortifications, and the heights which command the town are also fortified. This was the first place which openly received Napoleon I. on his escape from Elba, in 1815.
=Gribeauval’s System of Artillery.= About 1765 various improvements were introduced into European artillery by Gen. Gribeauval. He separated _field_ from _siege_ artillery, lightened and shortened field-guns and diminished the charges. He adopted elevating screws and tangent scales, strengthened the carriages, and introduced neater uniformity in the dimensions, enabling spare parts to be carried for repairs.
=Grices.= In heraldry, are young wild boars.
=Griffe= (_Fr._). Means literally a claw; but in a military sense, as accepted by the French, it signifies an iron instrument which is made like a hook, and is used by miners to pick out the small stones that are incorporated with cement, etc.
=Griffin.= A fabulous animal, usually represented in heraldry with the body and hind legs of a lion, and the beak, wings, and claws of an eagle.
=Griffin Gun.= A name sometimes given to the 3-inch rifle used in the U. S. field service from its inventor, Mr. Griffin, of the Phœnixville Iron-Works, Pa., where the gun was made.
=Grip.= The handle of a sword.
=Grisons.= The largest of all the cantons of Switzerland. The country was anciently inhabited by the Rhætii; it was conquered by the Roman emperor Constantius in the 4th century, and his camp (_Curia_, _Chur_, or _Coire_, the name of the present capital) was planted on the Rhine. In the 10th century the country of the Grisons was added to the German empire, and remained till 1268 subject to the Swabian dukes. With the decay of the imperial authority it came to be oppressed by a numerous nobility, the ruins of whose castles still crown the heights. Against them the people began, in the end of the 14th century, to form leagues in the different valleys. In 1472, these separate unions entered into a general confederation, which then formed an alliance with the Swiss cantons, but it was not till 1803 that it was admitted into the Swiss Confederation as the fifteenth canton. Grisons was overrun by the French in 1798 and 1799.
=Grochow.= Near Prague, a suburb of Warsaw. Here took place a desperate conflict between the Poles and Russians, February 19-20, 1831, the former remaining masters of the field of battle. The Russians shortly after retreated, having been foiled in their attempt to take Warsaw. They are said to have lost 7000 men, and the Poles 2000.
=Grognard= (_Fr._). Grumbler; an old soldier of the French empire was so called.
=Groma= (_Fr._). A Roman measuring-rod, 20 feet long, used for setting off distances in a camp.
=Grommet.= Consists of a ring of rope-yarn, with two pieces of strong twine tied across at right angles to each other. Grommets are used as wads for cannon. The size of the ring is the full diameter of the bore of the piece, in order that it may fit tight, and stop the windage. They increase the accuracy of fire, and are to be preferred when the object of the wad is merely to retain the projectile in its place, as in firing at a depression. They stop the windage best when placed behind the projectile.
=Groom.= One of several officers of the English royal household, chiefly in the lord chamberlain’s department; as the groom of the chamber; groom of the stole, or robes.
=Groom-porter.= An officer in the household of the king of England, who succeeded the master of revels, and gave directions as to sports.
=Grooved Ball.= See PROJECTILE.
=Grooved Bullet.= See BULLET.
=Grooves.= Spiral grooves or “rifles” cut into the surface of the bore of fire-arms, have the effect of communicating a rotary motion to a projectile around an axis coincident with its flight. This motion increases the range of the projectile, and also corrects one of the causes of deviation by distributing it uniformly around the line of flight. There are two kinds of twist used,--uniform and increasing. Increasing twists are supposed to give greater accuracy, and are well adapted to expanding projectiles which have but short bearing in the grooves. They are also used for stud projectiles. The uniform twist is generally applicable and has many advantages. In small-arms at the present time the bullet used has such a long bearing in the grooves that an increasing twist is not desirable. The ordinary twist is right-handed, giving a _drift_ to the right. The _gras_, the official arm of France, has a left-handed twist. In regard to number and form of grooves authorities differ. The polygroove (or many small grooves) system has given very accurate results, especially in breech-loading cannon. It is in great favor on the continent of Europe. The French system, also used in a modified form in Woolwich and Elswick guns, consists of a few deep grooves in which the studs of the projectile move. The objection to this system is the weakening of the gun and the great strain when fired. For expanding projectiles, experiment shows that broad and shallow grooves with a moderate twist give range, endurance, accuracy of fire, and facility in loading and cleaning the bores. The proper twist to be given to the grooves depends on the length, diameter, and initial velocity of the projectile used; the most suitable twist is best determined by experiment. Other things being equal, the longer the projectile the more rapid the rotation necessary to steady it; the greater the diameter the less rapid the rotation. As the initial velocity is increased, the rotation must be increased. The farther forward the centre of inertia of the projectile, the less the tendency to tumble. The tendency in modern small-arms is to shorten the twist on account of large charges and long bullets. Grooved bullets are best suited to broad shallow grooves; patched bullets to a greater number of sharp-edged grooves.
=Gros= (_Fr._). A body of soldiers; a detachment. The French frequently say, _Un gros de cavalerie_, a body of cavalry; _un gros d’infanterie_, a body of infantry.
=Gros Ventres Indians.= A tribe of aborigines living in Dakota and Montana. They received their name Gros Ventres, “Big Bellies,” from the Canadian _voyageurs_ of the Hudson Bay Company. They are peaceably disposed, and are mostly located at Fort Berthold agency, Dakota, and at Fort Peck, Montana. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Groton.= A village of New London Co., Conn., on the east side of Thames River, opposite New London. It is famous as being the scene of the massacre perpetrated by British troops under Arnold. Old Fort Griswold, commanded by the brave Ledyard, who was barbarously slain with his own sword after he had surrendered, is still standing on Groton Heights; and a granite obelisk has been erected to commemorate the patriotism of those who perished.
=Ground.= In a military sense, the field or place of action. _To take ground_; a battalion or company is said to take ground when it extends in any given direction. This term is likewise used in dueling; as, they _took their ground_ at eight or ten paces from each other.
=Ground Arms.= An old word of command, on which the soldiers laid down their arms upon the ground.
=Ground-work.= See FOUNDATION.
=Grynia=, or =Grynium=. A very ancient fortified city on the coast of the Sinus Elaiticus, in the south of Mysia. Parmenio, the general of Alexander, destroyed the city and sold the inhabitants as slaves, after which the place seems to have decayed.
=Guadaloupe.= An island in the West Indies, and one of the largest and most valuable of the Leeward group. This island was first discovered by Columbus. It was taken possession of by the French in 1635, who drove the natives into the mountains. In 1759 it was taken by a British squadron, and was restored to France at the peace of 1763. It was again taken by the British in 1794; but was retaken by the French in 1795. In 1810 the British once more took possession of it, and in 1814 restored it to the French, to whom it now belongs.
=Guad-el-ras.= In Northwestern Africa. Here the Spaniards signally defeated the Moors, March 23, 1860, after a severe conflict, in which Gen. Prim manifested great bravery, for which he was ennobled.
=Guanches.= The original inhabitants of the Canary Islands, who were supposed to have come from the adjoining coast of Africa. In the 15th century many of these people fell in opposing the Spanish invasion; many were sold by the conquerors as slaves, and many conformed to the Roman Catholic faith, and intermarried with the Spaniards; so that all trace of them as a distinct race is lost. They were celebrated for their tall stature, and were styled by Humboldt the Patagonians of the Old World.
=Guarantee Association, The British.= An association which, for a small percentage, undertakes to vouch for the prudence and fidelity of such public officers (military) as paymasters, ordnance store-keepers, commissaries, staff-officers of pensions, barrack-masters, etc. The government accepts the guarantee of this particular office in preference to that offered by private individuals.
=Guard.= A body of men whose duty it is to secure an army or place from being surprised by an enemy. In garrison the guards are relieved every day. _On guard_ is being engaged on guard duty.
=Guard, Advanced.= See ADVANCED GUARD.
=Guard, Baggage.= A guard who has the care of the baggage on a march.
=Guard-chamber.= A guard-room.
=Guard, Counter-.= See COUNTER-GUARDS.
=Guard, Detail.= The men from a company, regiment, or other organization detailed for guard duty.
=Guard, Dismounting.= The act of coming off guard.
=Guard, Forage.= A detachment sent out to secure foragers. They are posted at all places where either the enemy’s party may come to disturb the foragers, or where they may be spread too near the enemy, so as to be in danger of being taken. This guard consists both of horse and foot, who must remain on their posts till the foragers are all come off the ground.
=Guard, Grand.= The main guard of a camp or army. See GRAND GUARD.
=Guard-house.= A building occupied by the guard. The prisoners being kept in the building, it is frequently used as a synonym for prison-room or lock-up. _To take one to the guard-house_, is to confine him.
=Guard, Magazine-.= See GARDES-MAGAZINE.
=Guard, Main.= Is that from which all other guards are detached, and constitutes the chief guard of a garrison.
=Guard Mess.= Is the table which is kept for the officers of the Life and Foot Guards in St. James’ Palace. The sum of £4000 per annum is allowed for the mess.
=Guard Mounting.= The act of going on guard. The military ceremony of marching on guard.
=Guard of Honor.= A guard drawn up to receive eminent personages, as a mark of respect, or to accompany them.
=Guard, Picket.= An outpost guard for the purpose of preventing a surprise.
=Guard, Police.= The interior guard of a camp or army in charge of arms, property, tents, etc. Also a guard in charge of prisoners engaged in policing a camp or garrison.
=Guard, Provost-.= See PROVOST-GUARD.
=Guard, Quarter.= The guard which is posted in front of a camp.
=Guard, Rear-.= The guard posted in rear of a camp. It also means the body of troops which, when troops are on the march, bring up the rear, and hold a pursuing enemy in check.
=Guard Report.= The report which the non-commissioned officer or officer in charge of the guard sends in on dismounting. It contains a statement of duties performed, of hours at which the guard was visited by the officer of the day or field-officer, a list of government property and its condition, and also of the prisoners handed over to the guard, with the charge against each, together with the name of the officer by whom the prisoner was confined.
=Guard Tent.= Tent occupied by the guard.
=Guardable.= Capable of being guarded or protected.
=Guardiagrele.= An old town of Southern Italy, in the province of Chieti. Belisarius surrounded it with a turreted wall as a defense against the Goths. It was often besieged during the Middle Ages, and in 1799 was mercilessly sacked and burned by the French.
=Guards.= In the British service constitute in time of peace the garrison of London, and the guard of the sovereign at Windsor. The Guards compose what is called the Household Brigade, and include in cavalry the 1st and 2d Life Guards, and the Royal Horse Guards; and in infantry the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, and the Scots Fusilier Guards. The officers of the regiments of Foot Guards hold higher army rank than that they bear regimentally,--that is, ensigns rank with lieutenants of other regiments, lieutenants with captains, and so on.
=Guards, Imperial.= The name of a body of select troops organized by the French emperor, Napoleon I., which greatly distinguished themselves at Austerlitz.
=Guards’ Institute.= An establishment in London; it consists of reading-, lecture-rooms, etc., for all officers and soldiers in the metropolis. It was inaugurated by the Duke of Cambridge, July 11, 1867.
=Guards, The Horse Grenadier.= Formerly a body of horse guards in the British service; the first troop was raised in 1693, and the second in 1702. This corps was reduced in 1783, the officers retiring on full pay.
=Guastadours= (_Fr._). Turkish pioneers. Armenians and Greeks are generally employed in the Turkish armies to do the fatigue-work that is necessary for the formation of a camp, or for conducting a siege.
=Guastalla.= A city in Northern Italy, near which the imperial army, commanded by the king of Sardinia, was defeated by the French, September 19, 1734. The ancient district of that name, long held by the dukes of Mantua, was seized by the emperor of Germany, 1746, and ceded to Parma, 1748. After having been comprised in the Italian republic, 1796, and subjected to other changes, it was annexed to Parma, 1815, and to Modena, 1847.