Part 61

=Labicum=, =Labici=, =Lavicum=, =Lavici= (now _Colonna_). An ancient town in Latium, on one of the hills of the Alban Mountain, 15 miles southeast from Rome. It was an ally of the Æqui; taken and colonized by the Romans, 418 B.C.

=Laboratory.= A department which is intrusted with the manufacture of combustible and other substances for military purposes, such as blank and ball cartridges for small-arms, cartridges for every description of ordnance, rockets, and all stores of similar character. This department is likewise intrusted with the conservation, packing, restoring, and supply of all gunpowder to the several military and naval departments, and in the British service is under the management of officers of the royal artillery especially appointed to that duty; in the U. S. service it is under the officers of the ordnance department. In the latter service officers of artillery, as well as non-commissioned officers and privates, are instructed at the artillery school, Fort Monroe, Va., in laboratory duties, and carefully taught the manipulation and manufacture of laboratory stores. At the West Point Military Academy, the cadets are thoroughly instructed in the above duties, as are also the naval cadets at the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. In the British service officers of artillery, as well as non-commissioned officers and gunners, are instructed in laboratory duties. Officers and non-commissioned officers of artillery in Germany, France, and Austria are required to possess a knowledge of the manufacture and care of laboratory stores.

=Laboratory, Royal.= An extensive military manufacturing department in Woolwich Arsenal, England. Although it has existed for many years, it was only in 1855 that the present very large establishment was organized. Here are foundries for the casting of shot, shell, grape, etc.; apparatus for the manufacture of percussion-caps, which are formed--hundreds at a time--out of the copper sheet; presses where rifle-bullets are squeezed into shape; fuzes in all stages of manufacture; and a thousand other instances of combined ingenuity and power. The British government grants permission to inspect the factory. There are also laboratories--though on a comparatively small scale--at Portsmouth and Davenport, England.

=Laboratory Stores.= The following are among the laboratory stores used in service:

The _time-fuze_, the _percussion-fuze_, and the _concussion-fuze_ (which see).

The _wooden fuze_ consists of a conical plug of wood of the proper size for the fuze-hole of the shell with which it is to be fired. The axis of this plug is bored out cylindrically from the large, down to within a short distance of the small end, which is left solid. At the large end a cup is hollowed out, and the outside of the plug is divided into inches and parts, generally tenths, commencing at the bottom of the cup. The cylindrical space is filled with composition, pounded hard, and as regularly as possible, and the cup filled with meal powder moistened with whisky or alcohol. The rate of burning is determined by experiment, and marked on a waterproof cap, which is tied over the cup. Knowing the time any shell is to occupy in its flight, the fuze is cut off with a saw at the proper division, and firmly set in the fuze-hole with a fuze-set and mallet. The disadvantage of this fuze is its irregularity, it being very difficult to pound the composition so that equal lengths will burn equal times. The shell may either burst too soon, and a great part of its effect lost, or it may burst after burying itself in the ground, or it may burst after passing the proper point. This irregularity of burning is common to all fuzes where the composition is driven in successive layers in a column which burns in the same direction. This fuze is used with mortar shells. The composition of mortar-fuzes is, nitre 2 parts, sulphur 1 part, and meal powder 3 parts; the quantities of meal powder vary in fuzes for mortars of different calibers. Generally these fuzes are cut before being inserted in the shell; but they are sometimes bored through at the proper positions instead of being sawed. They are also cut obliquely, when the fuze is so long as to render it likely that it will reach the bottom of the shell; for by cutting it perpendicular to the axis, the whole base of the wood might be driven in contact with the bottom of the shell, and prevent the lighted composition from setting fire to the bursting charge.

The _paper time-fuze_ consists of a cylindrical column of burning composition packed in a paper case, gradually increasing in thickness from its lower to its upper or outer extremity; to insure ignition, it is primed with rifle-powder at the larger end. It is inserted at the time of loading the piece into a brass or wooden plug previously driven into the fuze-hole of the shell. The composition has the same ingredients as gunpowder, the proportions being varied to suit the required rate of combustion; pure _meal_ powder gives the quickest composition; by adding certain proportions of sulphur and nitre, the composition burns more slowly. The rate of burning also depends upon the density of the composition and the purity and thorough mixture of the ingredients. These fuzes vary in length, burning from 4 to 40 seconds; they are graduated in seconds on the outside of the case, and can be cut to a length corresponding to any intermediate time of flight.

_Belgian_, or _Bormann-fuze_. See BORMANN-FUZE.

The _Wright-fuze_, a modification of the Bormann-fuze, extends the time of burning to 12 or 14 seconds.

_United States sea-coast fuze._ The paper case fits in a fuze-plug of bronze instead of wood. It fits the fuze-hole of the shell in the same way as the wooden plug, and is retained by the force of friction. A safety-cap and primer combined have been adopted to prevent ricochets, especially over water, from extinguishing the fuze. A recess in the top, filled with priming composition, is covered until the fuze is required for use, with a disk of lead or paper fitting accurately the opening. The fire is conveyed to the fuze composition through a crooked passage which is filled with priming, and prevents water from entering in sufficient quantity to extinguish the fuze. For security a small leaden plug is placed in the inner end of the fuze-plug, where it remains until it is driven out by the shock of the explosion. When the shell is placed in the piece, nothing more is necessary than to remove the disk which covers the recess in the top. _Paper-fuzes_ are inserted at the moment of loading the gun, and into wooden or brass _fuze-plugs_ previously driven into the shell.

_Port-fire_ consists of a small paper case, filled with a highly inflammable but slow-burning composition, the flame of which is very intense and penetrating, and cannot be extinguished by water, it is principally used as an incendiary material in loading shells, and for communicating fire to the priming of guns when proving them.

_Port-fire composition_ consists of nitre, sulphur, and meal powder, in different proportions. One kind is composed of nitre, 65 parts; sulphur, 22.5 parts; and meal-powder, 12.5 parts. A port-fire case, 18 inches in length, filled with this composition, burns 10 minutes.

_Priming-tubes_ are small pipes having a cup on one end, and filled with a composition for firing cannon. The tube in general use in the U. S. service is the _friction-primer_ (which see).

_Slow-match_ is a slow-burning match prepared from hemp or flax slightly twisted, soaked in strong lye, or in water holding in solution sugar of lead. Cotton rope well twisted forms a good match without any preparation. Slow-match prepared from hemp or flax burns 4 to 5 inches to the hour; it is used principally for the purpose of retaining fire in the shape of a hard-pointed coal, to be used in firing cannon, fireworks, etc. It was formerly used in field-batteries for lighting the port-fires with which the pieces were discharged; but both are now entirely superseded by the friction-primer.

_Quick-match_ is a match made of threads of cotton, or cotton-wick, steeped in gummed brandy or whisky, then soaked in a paste of meal powder and gummed spirits, and afterwards strewed over with meal powder; one yard of it burns in the open air 13 seconds. The quick-match is used to fire mortars, and sometimes in proving pieces. It is extensively used in priming all kinds of fireworks, such as fire and light balls, carcasses, rockets, priming-tubes, etc., and in conveying fire very rapidly from one portion of a piece of firework to another. When used for discharging cannon, the quick-match is set fire to by a slow-match, port-fire, or any other convenient material. When used to prime carcasses, etc., it is set on fire by the flame from the piece.

The _Valenciennes_ composition is a compound of 50 parts of nitre, 28 of sulphur, 18 of antimony, and 6 of rosin; it is used as an incendiary composition, in charging shells for the purpose of increasing their destructive property, by setting fire to buildings, shipping, etc. For manufacture of ammunition for small-arms, see “U. S. Ordnance Memorandum,” No. 21, 1878.

=Laborer= (_Fr._). In a military sense, expresses any direct and concentrated effort which is made to destroy a fortification. It likewise applies to the working of a bomb or shell, which excavates, plows up, and scatters the earth about wherever it bursts. _Laborer un rampart_, signifies to bring several pieces of ordnance discharged from two oblique directions to bear upon one centre. Shells are generally used on these occasions, and the chief design is to second the operations of the miner in some particular part from which the explosion is to take place.

=Labuan Pulo.= An island of the Malay Archipelago, lying off the northwest coast of Borneo. The British took possession of this island in 1846, and it was formally ceded to the British crown by the sultan of Borneo in 1848.

=Lacandones.= A tribe of Indians in Central America, who for more than three centuries maintained a hostile attitude to the Spaniards. They are nominally subject to Guatemala, but are in reality quite independent.

=Lacay=, or =Laquet= (_Fr._). An old French militia was formerly so called. The name is found among the public documents which were kept by the treasurers belonging to the dukes of Brittany in the 15th century.

=Lacerne= (_Fr._). The short woolen military cloak of the Romans.

=Lacheté= (_Fr._). An opprobrious term which is frequently used among the French, and is applied in all instances of cowardice, want of spirit, or dishonorable conduct. _La trahison est une lacheté_; treason is infamous in its nature.

=Lachish.= A city of Southern Palestine. It was taken after a two days’ siege by Joshua, and, in later times, is repeatedly mentioned as a place strongly fortified. After a siege, conducted by Sennacherib in person, it was taken and plundered, with the customary massacre of its inhabitants. It was taken by Nebuchadnezzar at the downfall of the kingdom of Judæa, and was reoccupied by the Jews after the Return.

=Lacker.= A composition made use of for preserving iron cannon, carriages, shot, etc. The following are the proportional parts of compositions made use of for preserving iron cannon: (1) Pulverized black lead, 12; red lead, 12; litharge, 5; lampblack, 5; linseed oil, 66. This composition is to be boiled gently about twenty minutes, during which time it must be constantly stirred. (2) Ground umber, 3.75; pulverized gum shellac, 3.75; ivory-black, 3.75; litharge, 3.75; linseed oil, 78; spirits of turpentine, 7.25. The oil must be first boiled half an hour; the mixture is then boiled twenty-four hours, poured off from the sediment, and put in jugs, corked. (3) Coal-tar (of good quality), 2 gallons, and spirits of turpentine, 1 pint. In applying lacker, the surface of the iron must be first cleaned with a scraper and a wire brush, if necessary, and the lacker applied hot, in two thin coats, with a paint-brush. It is better to do it in summer. Old lacker should be removed with a scraper, or by scouring, and not by heating the guns or balls, by which the metal is injured. About 5 gallons of lacker are required for 100 field-guns and 1000 shot; about one quart for a sea-coast gun. Before the lacker is applied every particle of rust is removed from the gun, and the vent cleaned out.

=Lacs d’Amour.= In heraldry, a cord of running knots used as an external decoration to surround the arms of widows and unmarried women; the _cordélier_, which differs but slightly from it, being used similarly with the shields of married women.

=Lacunette= (_Fr._). A term in fortification. A small fosse or ditch was formerly so called. The word _cunette_ (which see) has since been adopted.

=Ladder Bridge.= Used for crossing streams, etc. It is formed by running a cart or gun-limber into the stream and securing it there, with the shafts in a vertical position, by ropes from both sides of the river; one end of a ladder from each bank resting upon it, and covering the steps or rungs with planks.

=Ladders, Scaling= (Fr. _eschelles de siege_). Are used in scaling when a place is to be taken by surprise. They are made several ways; sometimes of flat staves, so as to move about their pins and shut like a parallel ruler, for conveniently carrying them. The French make them of several pieces, so as to be joined together, and to be capable of any necessary length. Sometimes they are made of single ropes, knotted at proper distances, with iron hooks at each end, one to fasten them upon the wall above, and the other in the ground; and sometimes they are made of two ropes, with staves between them to keep the ropes at a proper distance, and to tread upon. When they are used in the action of scaling walls, they ought to be rather too long than too short, and to be given in charge only to the stoutest of the detachment. The soldiers should carry these ladders with the left arm passed through the second step, taking care to hold them upright close to their sides, and very short below, to prevent any accident in leaping into the ditch.

=Ladle.= See IMPLEMENTS.

=Lady of Mercy, Our.= A Spanish order of knighthood, founded in 1218 by James I. of Aragon, in fulfillment of a vow made to the Virgin during his captivity in France. The object for which the order was instituted was the redemption of Christian captives from among the Moors, each knight at his inauguration vowing that if necessary for their ransom he would remain himself a captive in their stead. Within the first six years of the existence of the order no fewer than 400 captives are said to have been ransomed by its means. On the expulsion of the Moors from Spain, the labors of the knights were transferred to Africa. The order was extended to ladies in 1261. Their badge is a shield party per fess gules and or, in chief a cross pattée argent, in base four pellets gules for Aragon, the shield crowned with a ducal coronet.

=Lady of Montesa, Our.= An order of knighthood, founded in 1317 by King James II. of Aragon, who, on the abrogation of the order of Templars, urged Pope Clement V. to allow him to employ all their estates within his territory in founding a new knightly order for the protection of the Christians against the Moors. His request was acceded to by the following pope, John XXII., who granted him for this purpose all the estates of the Templars and of the knights of St. John situated in Valencia. The order is now conferred merely as a mark of royal favor. The badge is a red cross edged with gold, the costume a long white woolen mantle, decorated with a cross on the left breast, and tied with very long white cords.

=Lagos.= A city and seaport of Portugal, in the province of Algarve, about 23 miles east-northeast from the extremity of Cape St. Vincent. In the Bay of Lagos, Admiral Boscawen obtained a signal victory over the French Toulon fleet, August 18, 1759.

=Lagos.= In the Bight of Benin, Africa; this place was assaulted and taken by the boats of a British squadron, under Commodore Bruce, December 26-27, 1851. In 1862 the place was ceded to the British government, and created a settlement.

=Lahore.= The capital of the Punjab, in British India, standing on the Ravee, 270 miles northwest from Delhi. It was taken by Baber about 1520, and was long the capital of the Mongol empire. It fell into the power of the Sikhs in 1798; was occupied by Sir Hugh Gough, February 22, 1846, who in March concluded a treaty of peace.

=Laibach=, or =Laybach=. A town of Austria, capital of the duchy of Carniola, 44 miles northeast from Trieste. This place was taken in 1799 by Bernadotte, and in 1809 by Macdonald. It is well known from the congress which was held in it in 1821, the object of which was the extinction of constitutional government, as established in Naples after the insurrection in 1820.

=Laidley’s Practice Musket.= This gun is made out of an old smooth-bore musket, reamed out for a length of 11 inches, for the reception of a coil ribbon spring, on one end of which a closely-fitting piston is placed, having a stem of about 5 inches attached to its centre; a hole is bored through the breech-screw and a cut made on its under side to receive a spring; a circular disk with a flaring hole through its centre is secured in the barrel just in front of the end of the breech-screw; a short lever crosses the end of the barrel just in front of this disk, and is held in position by the spring already referred to; the hole in the cone is enlarged and receives a small spindle with a collar at its middle, which prevents it from coming out. About 12 inches from the breech a horizontal cut is made through the top of the barrel, leaving an opening of 2 inches in length; a cylindrical plug having a hole through its axis is inserted in the barrel at this place, and a handle screwed in. An inner barrel, having a bore of .22 inch and a length of 17 inches, its upper end counter-bored, is inserted in the barrel and secured by a screw; the length of the block is such as to close the space between the chambered recess and the end of the inner barrel. A hole is bored through the side of the stock to communicate with the hole through the breech-screw. A dart is fired from this musket, which when fired into the target is extracted with a claw-tool. The men in firing stand at a distance of 15 paces from the target; and two men use the gun, firing alternately. This is a very useful musket to practice the soldier in rifle-firing. The soldier can also be practiced at long ranges with this gun in the following manner: Place a target at 500 or 600 yards distant, or as far off as convenient, so that it can be seen through the open window; place a target (16 inches square, with a bull’s-eye of .75 inch) 15 paces from the firing-stand, at such a height that the distant target may be seen 4 or 5 inches below the middle of its lower edge; mark on the floor the position for the feet of the man when firing, raise the longer leaf of the sight, aim at the distant bull’s-eye, and fire; the shots will strike the near target if correctly placed, and the accuracy of aim will be shown by the score thus made. The height of the target may have to be adjusted after the first few shots.

=Laird.= A leader or captain.

=Laisches= (_Fr._). Were thin metal plates which the ancient Gauls placed upon the buff-coats of infantry, between the buff and the lining.

=Lake Champlain.= See CHAMPLAIN, LAKE.

=Lake Ontario.= See ONTARIO, LAKE.

=Lake Regillus.= In Italy, where tradition states the Romans defeated the Latin auxiliaries of the expelled Tarquins about 499 B.C.

=Lama.= See PACK AND DRAUGHT ANIMALS.

=Lambrequin.= Leathern strap or flap hanging from a cuirass, often highly ornamented. Also ribbon of different colors for fastening a helmet, twisted round its crest, the knot forming an ornament.

=Lamia= (now _Zeitun_, or _Zetuni_). A town in Phthiotis, in Thessaly, situated on the small river Achelous. It has given its name to the war which was carried on by the confederate Greeks against Antipater, after the death of Alexander, 323 B.C. The confederates under the command of Leosthenes, the Athenian, defeated Antipater, who took refuge in Lamia, where he was besieged for some months. Leosthenes was killed during the siege; and the confederates were obliged to raise it in the following year (322), in consequence of the approach of Leomatus. The confederates under the command of Antiphilus defeated Leomatus, who was slain in the action. Soon afterwards Antipater was joined by Craterus; and thus strengthened, he gained a decisive victory over the confederates at the battle of Cranon (322), which put an end to the Lamian war.

=Lamian War.= See LAMIA.

=Lampion de Parapet= (_Fr._). A lamp generally used on a parapet or elsewhere in a besieged place. It was a small iron vessel filled with pitch and tar, which was lighted by the troops as occasion required.

=Lancaster.= The chief town of Lancashire, England, situated on the river Lune. It is supposed to have been the _Ad Alaunam_ of the Romans. It was granted by William I. or II. to Roger de Poitou, who erected a castle upon its hill. It was taken by the Jacobites, November, 1715, and November, 1745.

=Lancaster Gun.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF.

=Lancaster Herald.= One of the six heralds of England, ranking second in seniority. His office is said to have been instituted by Edward III., when he created his son, John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster. Henry IV. raised Lancaster to the dignity of king-at-arms. Edward IV., after reducing him back to the status of a herald, abolished his office, which was revived by Henry VII.

=Lancaster Rifle.= See SMALL-ARMS.

=Lancastrians.= See ROSES, WARS OF THE.

=Lance.= A weapon of war, consisting of a long shaft or handle, and metal point, now usually adorned with a small flag, and generally used by horsemen to transfix an enemy, but formerly used sometimes as a javelin. This offensive weapon was much used by the French in former times, particularly by that class of military gentlemen called chevaliers, and by the gendarmes. Before the reign of Philip de Valois, the chevaliers and gendarmes fought on foot, armed with lances only, both in battles and at sieges. On these occasions they shortened their lances, which were then said to be _retaillees_, or cut again.

=Lance= (_Fr._). Means likewise an iron rod which is fixed across the earthen mold of a shell, and which keeps it suspended in the air when it is cast. As soon as the shell is formed, this rod must be broken, and carefully taken out with instruments made for that purpose. Shells ought to be scrupulously examined with respect to this article, as they could not be charged were the lance or any part of it to remain within. This is also the name of an instrument which conveys the charge of a piece of ordnance and forces it home to the bore.

=Lance.= A soldier armed with a spear; a lancer.

=Lance.= To pierce with a lance, or any similar weapon; to throw in the manner of a lance. See LANCH.

=Lance a Feu= (_Fr._). A squib. A species of artificial firework which is made in the shape of a fuze, and is used for various purposes. The composition of the _lance a feu_ consists of 3 parts of the best refined saltpetre, 2 parts of flour of sulphur, and 2 of antimony; the whole being pounded and mixed together. The chief use of the _lance a feu_ is to throw occasional light across the platform, whilst artificial fireworks are preparing. They likewise serve to set fire to fuzes, as they can be taken hold of without danger.