Part 6

=Armatura.= In ancient military history signified the fixed and established military exercises of the Romans. Under this word is understood the throwing of the spear, javelin, shooting with bows and arrows, etc. Armatura was also an appellation given to the soldiers who were light-armed; and was a name also given to the soldiers in the emperor’s retinue.

=Armature.= Armor; whatever is worn or used for the protection and defense of the body.

=Arm-chest.= A portable locker for holding arms, and affording a ready supply of pistols, muskets, or other weapons. Also used in the military service for the transportation of rifles, revolvers, etc.

=Arme Courtoise= (_Fr._). This arm was used in tilts or tournaments during the Middle Ages; it was a kind of sword with a ring or knob placed at the tip of the blade to prevent it causing a dangerous wound.

=Armed.= Furnished with weapons of offense or defense; furnished with the means of security or protection; furnished with whatever serves to add strength, force, or efficiency. _Armed neutrality_, the condition of affairs when a nation assumes a threatening position, and maintains an armed force to repel any aggression on the part of belligerent nations between which it is neutral.

=Armentiers.= A city of the department of the North, France; captured and burned by the English, 1339; pillaged by the French, 1382; destroyed by the Calvinists in 1566; occupied by Marshals de Gassion and de Rantzan, 1645; by Archduke Leopold, 1647; by the French in 1667, and remained a city of France in accordance with the peace treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668.

=Armes de Jet= (_Fr._). Missive weapons; offensive arms or instruments which act by propulsion, whether by the force of powder, steam, wind, or mechanism.

=Armet= (_Fr._). A helmet or head-piece much in use in the 16th century, and worn with or without the beaver.

=Armgaunt.= Worn by military service; as, an armgaunt steed.

=Armiger.= Formerly an armor-bearer, as of a knight; an esquire who bore his shield and rendered other services. In later use, one next in degree to a knight, and entitled to a coat of arms.

=Armilausa.= A military uniform coat, worn by the Romans over their armor.

=Armiludia.= A name given by the Romans to the exercises of arms, and also applied to the day on which these exercises took place.

=Armilustrium.= This name was given by the Romans to a military festival which took place on the 19th of October annually. After review the soldiers offered up sacrifices for the success of the Roman arms.

=Armipotent.= Powerful in arms; mighty in battle.

=Armisonous.= Rustling in arms; resounding with arms.

=Armistice.= A cessation of hostilities between belligerent nations for a considerable time. It is either partial and local, or general. It differs from a mere suspension of arms, which takes place to enable the two armies to bury their dead, their chiefs to hold conferences or pourparlers, and the like. The terms truce (see TRUCE) and armistice are sometimes used in the same sense.

=Armless.= Without arms or armor.

=Armlet.= The name of a piece of armor for the arm, to protect it from the jar of the bow-string.

=Armor.= Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one’s person in battle. In English statutes, armor is used for the whole apparatus of war, including offensive as well as defensive arms. The _statutes of armor_ directed what arms every man should provide. Armor has also been extensively used in England in plating important fortifications as those of Portsmouth, and also in Germany for the forts along the frontier.

=Armor-bearer.= One who carries the armor of another; an armiger; an esquire.

=Armorer.= The person who makes, cleans, or repairs arms.

=Armorial.= Belonging to armor, or to the arms or escutcheon of a family.

=Armor Plates.= From experiments of the effects of shot and shell on armor plates in England, the following results have been obtained: Where it is required to perforate the plate, the projectile should be of hard material, such as steel, or chilled iron, and the form best suited for this purpose is the pointed ogeeval. The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perforation by steel projectiles varies as the squares of their thickness. Hitting a plate at an angle diminishes the effect as regards the power of perforation in the proportion of the sine of the angle of incidence to unity. The resistance of wrought-iron plates to perforation by steel shot is practically not much, if at all, increased by backing simply of wood, within the usual limits of thickness; it is, however, much increased by a rigid backing either of iron combined with wood, or of granite, iron, brick, etc.

Till quite recently armor plates have been made of wrought iron only, as numerous experiments in England had served to show that notwithstanding the enormous resistance of steel to penetration it was unfit for armor plating,--the damage from the impact of shot not being localized as in wrought iron. The Italians were led, however, by the experiments with the 100-ton gun on targets of both metals at Spezzia, 1876, to adopt steel for their new ships, the “Duilio” and “Dandolo.” Since that time an armor compounded of steel and wrought iron has been introduced in England which bids fair to supersede all others. It is made by casting a heavy facing of steel upon wrought-iron plates. A section of this compound armor exhibits a gradual change of structure from the hard steel face to the soft iron backing. Its resistance to penetration is equal to steel, while in toughness and endurance under the blows of shot it resembles wrought iron.

To glance at some of the heaviest armor plating afloat, the English “Inflexible” carries a maximum thickness of 24 inches of iron, the Italian frigates mentioned above 21.5 of steel, the French “Admiral Duperré” 21.6 of iron, the Russian “Peter the Great” 14 inches of iron. In regard to the power of some of the most noted of modern guns, the 12-inch calibres used now by all leading nations will penetrate, at 1000 yards, 16 to 18 inches of iron. The 38-ton English gun of this calibre has penetrated (at shorter range) 22 inches of iron and 6 inches of teak backing. The 80-ton Woolwich gun will penetrate 23 inches of iron at 1000 yards. The largest Krupp, 72 tons, will penetrate 26 inches, and the 100-ton Armstrong 30 inches at the same distance. None of the guns mentioned would penetrate at a single shot the steel armor of the Italian ships, but any of them would destroy it in a number of rounds.

=Armory.= A manufactory, or place of deposit for arms. See ARSENAL.

=Armory, National.= The U. S. government establishment for the manufacture of small-arms at Springfield, Mass.

=Arm-rack.= A frame or fitting for the stowage of arms (usually vertical) out of harm’s way, but in readiness for immediate use. In the conveyance of troops by sea arm-racks form a part of the proper accommodation. Arm-racks are also used in soldiers’ barrack-rooms.

=Arms.= In a general sense, comprehend weapons both of an offensive and defensive character, but in the usual restricted sense they only embrace the former, and in modern warfare include the gun and bayonet, the rifle, the pistol, the carbine, the sword, the lance, cannon, etc., all of which are noticed under their respective heads. For punishment inflicted upon soldiers who sell or otherwise dispose of their arms, see APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 17.

=Arms.= This term is used in heraldry to designate the devices borne on shields, and includes all the accompaniments, such as the crest, helmet, supporters, etc.

=Arms, Bells of.= Are tents, used in the English service, mostly of a conical shape, for containing the small-arms for each company in a regiment of infantry. The tent is frequently painted with the color of the facings of the regimental uniforms.

=Arms, Stand of.= A complete set for one soldier, as a rifle and bayonet, cartridge-box and belt, frequently the rifle and bayonet alone.

=Armstrong Gun.= The Armstrong gun as a breech-loading field-piece first attracted attention in England about 1850. About 1858 it was adopted by the British government. This gun was made of wrought iron, and consisted of a single coiled tube reinforced at the breech with two thin tubes, the outer one being a coiled tube, the inner being formed by bending a plate and welding the edges. The coiled tubes were formed by bending square bars of iron around a mandrel and welding the coils together. Tubes made in this way offer great resistance to tangential strains. The intermediate tube was designed to take up the longitudinal strain near the breech, and for this reason was made differently. The breech was closed with a vent-piece, slipped by the band into a slot cut in the piece near the breech, and held in its place by a breech-screw, which supported it from behind. This screw was made in the form of a tube, so that its hollow formed a part of the bore prolonged, when the vent-piece was drawn. Through the hollow screw the charge was passed into the chamber. The vent was formed in the breech-piece. This gun was a 3-inch 12-pounder, firing a lead-coated projectile. It was followed by the 40-pounder, 110-pounder, and other calibres. Muzzle-loaders were also made. The breech-loading apparatus did not prove entirely successful in large guns, and was accordingly discarded except for small calibres. The method of construction was changed for larger guns, and a plan adopted which has been adhered to ever since, and is that now used. The barrel or part surrounding the bore is made of steel tempered in oil; that portion at and in rear of the trunnions is enveloped by several layers of wrought-iron tubes, the number of layers depending upon the size of the gun. These tubes, instead of being joined at their ends by welding, are hooked on to each other by a system of shoulders and recesses. There are also projections fitting into corresponding recesses, which serve to prevent the tubes from slipping within each other. The tube which immediately surrounds the barrel opposite to the seat of the charge is called the breech-piece. It is made with its fibres and welds running longitudinally, so as to resist the recoil of the barrel against the head of the breech-plug, which is screwed into the breech-piece. The shunt system of rifling was first applied to muzzle-loading Armstrong guns, which have fewer grooves than the breech-loaders. The method of manufacturing originally proposed by Sir William Armstrong has been greatly modified by Mr. Fraser, of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. (See ORDNANCE, ARMSTRONG CANNON). For some years large numbers of Armstrong guns were made at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, under the supervision of the inventor. His works are now located at Elswick, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and are known us the Elswick Ordnance Works. To distinguish the system of gun-construction from the “Woolwich,” which it closely resembles, it is frequently called the “Elswick” system. The largest, as well as the most powerful guns ever made, are the 100-ton guns manufactured at Elswick for the Italian navy. See CANNON AND ORDNANCE, MODERN HISTORY OF.

=Armstrong Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.

=Army.= A large and organized body of soldiers, consisting of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, completely armed, and provided with the necessary stores, etc., the whole being composed of companies, battalions, regiments, brigades, divisions, and corps, under proper officers, and the entire force being under the direction of one general, who is called the general-in-chief, and sometimes the _generalissimo_. Armies are distinguished by different appellations; as, a _covering army_, a _blockading army_, an _army of obstruction_, an _army of reserve_, a _flying army_, etc. An army is said to _cover_ a place when it is encamped or in cantonments for the protection of the different passes which lead to a principal object of defense. An army is said to _blockade_ a place when, being well provided with heavy ordnance and other warlike means, it is employed to invest a town for the direct and immediate purpose of reducing it by assault or famine. An _army of obstruction_ is so called because by its advanced positions and desultory movements it is constantly employed in watching the enemy. _A flying army_ means a strong body of horse and foot, which is always in motion, both to cover its own garrisons and keep the enemy in continual alarm. For method of providing for armies, see APPROPRIATIONS.

=Army Corps.= See CORPS D’ARMÉE.

=Army Regulations.= This is the name of a work published by the War Department embodying all the acts of Congress, and the rules laid down by the President for the management of the army, both in peace and war. See REGULATIONS.

=Arnaouts=, or =Arnouts, Corps des=. Militia of Greece organized during the war of Russia against the Porte in 1769.

=Arnheim.= A fortified city in Holland; it was captured by the French in 1672; taken by storm by the Prussians under Gen. Von Bulow in 1815.

=Arnott’s Pump.= An ingeniously arranged machine for forcing pure air into buildings.

=Arquebusade.= Shot of an arquebuse. Also distilled water from a variety of aromatic plants, as rosemary, millefoil, etc., applied to a bruise or wound; so called because it was originally used as a vulnerary in gunshot wounds.

=Arquebuse=, or =Harquebuse=. An old fire-arm resembling a musket, which was supported on a rest by a hook of iron fastened to the barrel. It was longer than a musket, and of large calibre, and formerly used to fire through the loop-holes of antique fortifications.

=Arquebusier.= A soldier armed with an arquebuse.

=Arques= (Northern France). Near here the league army, commanded by the Duc de Mayenne, was defeated by Henry IV., September 21, 1589.

=Arracan.= A province of Northeast India. Arracan, the capital, taken by the Burmese, 1783; was taken from them by Gen. Morrison, April 1, 1825. The subjugation of the whole province soon followed.

=Arrah.= A town in British India, in the presidency of Bengal, the scene of several exciting incidents in the Indian mutiny. The English troops gained a victory here over the mutinous Sepoys in 1857.

=Arras= (Northeast France). The ancient Atrebates; conquered by Cæsar in 50 B.C.; captured and sacked by the Vandals in 407; captured by the Normans in 880; besieged by Charles VI. in 1414; captured by Louis XI.; held by the Austrians from 1493 till 1640, when it was taken by Louis XIII.; besieged by the Spaniards in 1654.

=Arrawak Indians.= A race or collection of tribes of Indians in Guiana, who were formerly numerous and powerful.

=Array.= Order; disposition in regular lines; hence, a posture for fighting; as, drawn up in battle array.

=Arrayer.= In some early English statutes, an officer who had care of the soldiers’ armor, and who saw them duly accoutred.

=Arrest.= The temporary confinement of officers in barracks, quarters, or tents, pending trial by court-martial, or the consideration of their imputed offenses previous to deciding whether they shall or shall not be tried. (See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 65.) Private soldiers are usually placed under guard; by the custom of the service non-commissioned officers may be simply placed in arrest in quarters.

=Arrest= (_Old Fr._, now _arret_). A French phrase, similar in its import to the Latin word _retinaculum_; it consisted of a small piece of steel or iron, which was formerly used in the construction of fire-arms, to prevent the piece from going off. A familiar phrase among military men in France is, _Ce pistolet est en arret_, “this pistol is in arrest or is stopped.”

=Arreste of the Glacis.= Is the junction of the talus which is formed at all the angles.

=Arretium.= A city of the Gauls, now in the department of the Yonne, France, where the Gauls defeated the Romans in a bloody battle in 284 B.C.

=Arrow.= In fortification, a work placed at the salient angles of the glacis, communicating with the covert way.

=Arrow.= A missile weapon of defense, straight, slender, pointed, and barbed, to be shot with a bow.

=Arrow-head.= The head of an arrow.

=Arrow-wood.= A species of _Viburnum_, from the long straight stems of which the Indians dwelling between the Mississippi and the Pacific make their arrows.

=Arrowy.= Consisting of arrows.

=Arroyo del Molinos.= A small town in Estremadura, Spain, near the river Guadiana, where Lord Hill, on the 28th of October, 1811, surprised and defeated the French under Gen. Gerard. Nearly 1500 prisoners were taken, including Prince d’Aremburg, Gen. Brun, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, a commissaire de guerre, and no less than 30 captains and inferior officers. It was altogether a most brilliant achievement.

=Arsenal.= A public establishment for the storage or for the manufacture and storage of arms and all military equipments, whether for land or naval service. In the United States there are 17 arsenals and 1 armory (Springfield, Mass.), situated at different points throughout the whole country convenient for the distribution of _materiel_, as follows: Alleghany arsenal, at Pittsburg, Pa.; at Augusta, Ga.; Benicia, Cal.; Fort Monroe, Va.; Fort Union, N. M.; Frankford arsenal, Philadelphia, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kennebec arsenal, Augusta, Me.; New York; Pikesville, Md.; Rock Island, Ill.; Jefferson Barracks, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; Vancouver, W. T.; Washington, D. C.; Watertown, Mass.; and Watervliet arsenal, West Troy, N. Y.

=Arsouf= (Syria). At a battle here Richard I. of England, commanding the Christian forces, reduced to 30,000, defeated Saladin’s army of 300,000 and other infidels on September 6, 1191. Ascalon surrendered, and Richard marched to Jerusalem, 1192.

=Art, Military.= Military art may be divided into two principal branches. The first branch relates to the order and arrangement which must be observed in the management of an army, when it is to engage an enemy, to march, or to be encamped. This branch is called _tactics_. The same appellation belongs to the other branch of military art, which also includes the composition and application of warlike machines. See LOGISTICS, STRATEGY, STRATAGEM, TACTICS, and WAR.

=Arta=, or =Narda=. A town in Albania. The Greek insurgents against the Porte were defeated here, July 16, 1822.

=Artaxata.= The ancient capital of Armenia; burned by the Roman general Carbulo, about 59.

=Artemisium.= A promontory in Eubœa, near which indecisive conflicts took place between the Greek and Persian fleets for three days, 480 B.C. The former retired on hearing of the battle of Thermopylæ.

=Articles of War.= Are known rules and regulations, fixed by law, for the better government of an army. The articles of war of the United States consists of 128 articles. (See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR.) All that relates to the army not comprehended therein is published in general orders or in established regulations, issued from time to time from the War Department, copies of which are furnished and read to the troops. In England they may be altered and enlarged at the pleasure of the sovereign, but must be annually confirmed by Parliament under the Mutiny Act.

=Artifice.= Among the French, is understood as comprehending everything which enters the composition of fire-works, as the sulphur, saltpetre, charcoal, etc. See PYROTECHNICS.

=Artificer.= One who makes fire works, or works in the artillery laboratory, and prepares the shells, fuzes, grenades, etc. It is also applied to military mechanics, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, etc.

=Artificial Line of Sight.= Is the right line from the eye to the object to be hit, passing through the front and rear sights. See POINTING.

=Artillery.= In a general sense, signifies all sorts of great guns or cannon, mortars, howitzers, petards, and the like, together with all the apparatus and stores thereto belonging, which are not only taken into the field, but likewise to sieges, and made use of both to attack and defend fortified places; also the officers and men of that branch of the army to which the care and management of such machines have been confided. (See ORDNANCE.) Artillery, in a particular sense, signifies the science of artillery or gunnery, which art includes a knowledge of surveying, leveling, geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, laws of motion, mechanics, fortifications, and projectiles. See BATTERY, FIELD BATTERY, FIELD ARTILLERY, SIEGE ARTILLERY.

=Artillery Company, Honorable.= A band of infantry, rifles, and artillery, forming part of the militia, or city guards of London, England. It was instituted in 1585; having ceased, was revived in 1610. In the civil war, 1641-48, the company took the side of the Parliament, and greatly contributed towards its success. The company numbered 1200 in 1803, and 800 in 1861. Since 1842 the officers have been appointed by the queen. On the decease of the Duke of Sussex, in 1843, the prince consort became colonel and captain-general. He died December 14, 1861, and the Prince of Wales was appointed his successor, August 24, 1863.

=Artilleryman.= A man who manages, or assists in managing, large guns in firing.

=Artillery-park.= The camp of one or more field batteries; the inclosure where, during a siege, the general camp of foot artillery, and depots of guns, _materiel_, etc., are collected.

=Artillery, Royal Regiment of.= Is the collective name for the whole of the artillery belonging to the British army. There was no regular regiment or corps of artillery soldiers in the British army till the time of Queen Anne, when the present royal regiment was formed. Since that period, from some anomaly which is not easily explained, all the additions have been made to the same regiment, instead of forming new regiments, to be combined into a division or corps. The regiment is now almost an entire army in itself, and to increase the anomaly, it comprises horse as well as foot. Formerly the foot was divided into battalions and companies, and the horse into troops, but these terms have been abolished, in favor of brigade and battery, which apply both to horse and foot artillery. The regiment now consists of 33,500 men, thus distributed:

6 brigades, horse artillery, 30 batteries. 8 „ field artillery, 62 „ 14 „ garrison art., 103 „ 3 „ mixed artillery, 19 „ --- 214

1 „ coast artillery not in batteries. 1 „ depot artillery „ „

Of the above, the field, garrison, and mixed are foot artillery. This force represents from 1200 to 1300 guns fully equipped for action. Of the foot artillery, the garrison batteries are readily converted to field batteries by the addition of a few drivers.

=Artillery Schools.= Are special schools for instruction and training in artillery, which are organized through all civilized countries. In the United States, an artillery school was established at Fort Monroe, Va., 1867. Its object is to train both officers and enlisted men in the construction and service of all kinds of artillery and artillery material, and in gunnery and mathematics as applied in the artillery service. For artillery schools in other countries, see MILITARY ACADEMIES.

=Artillery, Systems of.= See SYSTEMS OF ARTILLERY.

=Artillery-train.= A number of pieces of ordnance mounted on carriages, with all their furniture, fit for marching.

=Arx.= In the ancient military art, a fort, castle, etc., for the defense of a place.

=Arzegages= (_Fr._). Batons or canes with iron at both ends. They were carried by the Estradiots, or Albanian cavaliers, who served in France under Charles VIII. and Louis XII.

=Asapes.= An inferior class of Turkish soldiers employed in sieges to work in intrenchments and perform other pioneer duty.

=Asaraouas.= A tribe in Algeria against whom the French undertook an expedition in 1837.