Part 62

=Lance a Feu Puant= (_Fr._). Stink-fire lances prepared in the same manner that stink-pots are, and particularly useful to miners. When a sapper or miner has so far penetrated towards the enemy as to hear the voices of persons in any places contiguous to his own excavation, he first of all bores a hole with his probe, then fires off several pistols through the aperture, and lastly forces in a _lance a feu puant_, taking care to close up the hole on his side to prevent the smoke from returning towards himself. The exhalation and stinking hot vapor which issue from the lance, and remain confined on the side of the enemy, infest the air so much, that it is impossible to approach the quarter for three or four days. Sometimes, indeed, they have had so instantaneous an effect, that in order to save their lives, miners, who would persevere, have been dragged out by the legs in an apparent state of suffocation.

=Lance de Feu= (_Fr._). A species of squib, which is used by the garrison of a besieged town against a scaling party.

=Lance, Free.= See FREE LANCE.

=Lance Socket.= A leather socket which supports the butt of the lance when carried on horseback; called also lance bucket.

=Lance-Corporal.= An assistant to a corporal; a private performing the duties of a corporal; a lance-pesade. See CORPORAL, LANCE-.

=Lance-gaye= (_Fr._). See ARCH-GAYE.

=Lance-head.= The head of a lance.

=Lance-knight.= A common or foot-soldier; a lansquenet. See LANSQUENET.

=Lance-pesade.= See ANSPESSADE.

=Lance-rest.= A projection like a bracket, on the right side of a breastplate in armor, to aid in bearing a lance.

=Lancers.= A description of cavalry soldiers in different armies of Europe, who are armed with lances. The type and perfection of lancers are the Russian Cossacks, whose long lances enable them to combat with enemies at a distance from which they themselves take little harm. The lancers were brought into European notice by Napoleon, who greatly relied upon some Polish regiments. After the peace of 1815, the arm was adopted in the English service, but it is thought by many that the British lancer has a weapon too short to enable him to charge an infantry square with any chance of success.

=Lances Levées= (_Fr._). Uplifted lances, indicating that the enemy was beaten, and that the chevaliers or gendarmes should close the day by giving a final blow to the disordered ranks.

=Lanch.= To throw, as a lance; to dart; to let fly. To pierce with a lance, or as with a lance; to wound. Written also _launch_.

=Land Batteries.= Batteries used on land, as distinguished from floating batteries, etc., employed in the defense of harbors.

=Landau.= A strong town of Bavaria, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, situated on the Queich, 18 miles from Carlsruhe. This place was held alternately by the French and Austrians from 1680 to 1815, when it was assigned to the Germanic Confederation, under the protection of Bavaria.

=Landen.= See NEERWINDEN.

=Land-force.= A military force, army, or body of troops serving on land, as distinguished from a naval force.

=Landgrave.= A German nobleman of a rank corresponding to an English earl.

=Landgravine.= The wife of a landgrave.

=Landing.= In fortification, is the portion of the floor of the gallery between the frames that bound the entrance to a return. The landing is in all cases horizontal.

=Landing of Troops.= See DISEMBARKATION.

=Landshut.= A town of Prussian Silesia. In June, 1760, the Austrians gained a decisive victory over the Prussians in this place.

=Landsturm.= A local militia of Prussia, formed of men above forty years of age, which never leaves its own district, and is only called out in case of actual invasion.

=Landwehr.= The militia of a country. Austria has a landwehr--_bei den Oestreichern_; and Prussia--_bei den Preussen_. The former are a sort of a reserve to each regiment of the line; they are under the same colonel, and are drilled once a year with the line regiment. The Prussian landwehr is more completely national. Every Prussian subject commences military service in the standing army, a force composed of the youth of the nation from twenty to twenty-five years old. After two or three years of service, the soldier proceeds to his home, but is liable to be called upon to join his regiment. During this period he is called a _reservist_. At the expiration of five years from the date of enlistment, the men are transferred into the first class or levy of the landwehr, remaining in it until their thirty-second year. In time of war they are liable to be called upon to serve with the regiment of the line of a corresponding number,--in fact, they form the reserve of that regiment whence reinforcements are drawn. From their thirty-second to their thirty-ninth year the men belong to the second levy, and are only called out occasionally in time of peace, but in war they garrison fortresses.

=Lane.= The term applied to a body of soldiers in two ranks standing face to face, forming, in fact, a street, passage, or lane. The French call this formation _haie_, or hedge. It is used when troops form a guard of honor for persons of rank to pass through.

=Langensalza.= A town of Prussian Saxony, on the Salza, 20 miles northwest of Erfurt. The French and Saxons were here defeated by the Prussians in 1750; in 1761 the Prussians and English defeated the German imperial army; in 1813 the Prussians were defeated by the Bavarians; and in 1866, a bloody contest took place between the Prussians and Hanoverians, resulting in the capture of the Hanoverian army as prisoners of war.

=Langrel=, or =Langrage=. A villainous kind of shot, consisting of various fragments of iron bound together, so as to fit the bore of the cannon from which it is to be discharged. It is seldom used but by privateers.

=Languedoc= (anc. _Narbonensis Prima_). An old province of the south of France, bounded east by the river Rhone, and south by the Mediterranean. As a Roman province it enjoyed the freedom of Italy. It formed part of Gallia Narbonensis, but, in the Middle Ages, was known as _Septimania_, from the seven cathedral churches which it contained. From the hands of the Romans it passed into the possession of the Goths; and being wrested from them, it was occupied by the Saracens till 725, when they were expelled by Charles Martel. It afterwards came under the sway of Philip the Bold, and became a part of the French Kingdom in 1361.

=Languet=. A small slip of metal on the hilt of a sword, which overhangs the scabbard; the ear of a sword.

=Lansdown.= In Somersetshire, England. The Parliamentary army under Sir William Waller was defeated here July 5, 1643.

=Lansquenet.= A German foot-soldier; originally one of the serfs who followed the camp in the service of the common soldiers; afterward one of the independent troops who hired themselves to those willing to pay highest for their services.

=Lanterne= (_Fr._). Sometimes called _cuiller_, or ladle, serves to convey gunpowder into a piece of ordnance. It is made of copper, and resembles a round spoon or ladle, which is fixed to a long pole.

=Lanuvium= (now _Civita Lavinia_). An old and important city of Latium, on the Appian Way, 20 miles south of Rome. Tradition describes it as a colony from Alba; but it first rose to importance in the 5th century B.C., when it took part against Rome as one of the thirty cities of the Latin League. Its name again appears in the long wars between Rome and the Æqui and Volsci, siding with the former; it changed sides in 383 B.C., but was leniently treated by its old ally at the end of the war. In the great Latin war, 340 B.C., it again took part against Rome, and in the general settlement at the close of hostilities, it obtained the Roman _civitas_.

=Lanyards.= See IMPLEMENTS.

=Laodicea ad Mare= (now _Ladikiyeh_). A city on the coast of Syria, about 50 miles south from Antioch; was built by Seleucus I. on the site of an earlier city, called Ramitha. It was severely punished by Cassius for its adherence to Dolabella, and again suffered in the Parthian invasion of Syria. It was taken and destroyed by the Arabs in 1188.

=Laon.= A town of France, in the department of the Aisne, 75 miles northeast from Paris. It was besieged by the barbarians in 407; taken and sacked by Gelimer in 682; unsuccessfully besieged by the Normans in 882; taken by Eudes, count of Paris, in 892, by Charles the Simple in 895, and by Robert of France, who held it till 923. It was taken by the Duke of Burgundy in 1411; by the royal troops in 1414; surrendered in 1419 by Philip the Good to the English, who were dispossessed in 1429. It was unsuccessfully besieged by the Calvinists in 1567, and was taken by Henry IV. in 1594. On March 10, 1814, an indecisive battle was fought here between the French troops under Napoleon, and the Prussians under Blücher.

=Lapelle=, or =Lapel=. The facings of uniform coats were formerly so termed. Until the introduction of epaulettes in 1812, the white lapelle was synonymous with a lieutenant’s commission in the British service.

=Lapithæ.= A wild race, inhabiting, in ancient times, the mountains of Thessaly. They derived their name from a mythical ancestor, _Lapithes_, a son of Apollo, and the brother of Centauros, the equally mythical ancestor of the Centaurs. A bloody war is said to have been waged between the kindred races in prehistoric times, which ended in the defeat of the Centaurs, but the Lapithæ were in their turn defeated by Hercules.

=Laplander.= An inhabitant of Lapland, a country of Northern Europe.

=Lapse.= To fall in, or belong to. This expression was formerly used in the British army to signify the reversion of any military property. Thus, upon the sale or purchase of one commission at the regulated difference, another (where there are two) is said to lapse to government. Commissions lapse, or fall into the patronage of government, when vacancies happen by death, by officers being superseded, or where officers apply to sell who have only purchased a part of their commissions, and have not served long enough to be entitled to sell the whole; in which case they are only permitted to sell what they actually purchased, and the remainder is in the gift of the government.

=Lap-weld.= A weld in which the welding edges are made thin, lapped one over the other and welded.

=Laranda= (now _Larenda_, or _Caraman_). A considerable town in the south of Lycaonia. It was taken by storm by Perdiccas, but afterwards restored. It was used by the Isaurian robbers as one of their strongholds.

=Largs.= A seaport of Scotland, in Ayrshire, 23 miles southwest from Glasgow. Here, in 1263, Alexander III. of Scotland gained a victory over Haco, king of Norway.

=Lariat.= The lasso, a long cord or thong of leather with a noose, used in catching wild horses and other animals. The term is now applied to a rope 1¹⁄₄ inches in circumference and 30 feet long, made of Italian hemp, which is used in the U. S. cavalry service to picket horses while grazing.

=La Roda.= A town of Spain, in the province of Murcia, 22 miles northwest from Albacete. This place is famous for the defense it made against the Carlists in 1840.

=La Rothière= (France), =Battle of=. Took place between the French, commanded by Napoleon, and the Prussian and Russian armies, which were defeated with great loss after a desperate engagement, February 1, 1814. This was one of Napoleon’s last victories.

=Lascar.= In the East Indies, signifies properly a camp-follower, but is generally applied to native sailors on board of British ships. The Lascars make good seamen, but being of an excessively irritable and revengeful nature, are generally kept in the minority in a ship’s crew.

=Lash.= To tie or bind with a rope or cord; to secure or fasten by a string.

=Lashes.= Formerly a general court-martial could sentence a soldier to receive a certain number of lashes. This mode of punishment is prohibited in the U. S. service. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 98.

=Lashing-rings.= Are fixed on the sides of artillery traveling-carriages, to lash the tarpaulin, as also to tie the sponge, rammer, and ladle.

=Lasso.= A rope or cord with a running noose, used by men on horseback in Spanish America, Texas, and Southern California for catching cattle, wild horses, grizzly bears, etc. It is said that the lasso was used by the ancient Sarmatians and Parthians. Certain Patagonians use a lasso with a stone tied to the end,--instead of a noose.

=Laswarree.= A town of Hindostan, in Delhi, which was the scene of the defeat of the Mahrattas by Lord Lake, November, 1803.

=Latham House.= In Lancashire, England; it was heroically defended for three months against the Parliamentarians, by Charlotte, countess of Derby. She was relieved by Prince Rupert, May, 1644. The house was, however, surrendered December 4, 1645, and dismantled.

=Lathe.= In the manufacture of ordnance, lathes are machines for turning cannon, gun-barrels, etc.

=Latrines.= Conveniences for soldiers in camps and barracks. Much attention has of late been devoted to their construction; a large percentage of the army sickness having been traced to their defective and impure condition.

=Lauenberg.= A duchy of Northern Germany, but formerly united with the crown of Denmark; was conquered from the Wends by Henry the Lion of Saxony about 1152; ceded to Hanover, 1689, and seized along with Hanover by the French in 1803. It was afterwards, with some change of boundary, made over to Prussia, and by Prussia transferred to Denmark in 1815, with reservation of rights. In 1870 it was re-annexed to Prussia.

=Laufach.= In Bavaria, Southwestern Germany; it was taken by the Prussians, under Wrangel, July, 1860, after a sharp action, in which the Hessians were defeated.

=Launch.= To throw as a spear or dart; to send forth. Written also _lanch_.

=Laundresses.= Camp-women, usually the wives of soldiers, employed to wash soldiers’ clothing.

=Laurel.= An evergreen shrub, selected for the brows of heroes and conquerors, and emblematic of their unfading reputation.

=Lauterburg.= A town of France, in the department of the Lower Rhine, 33 miles northeast from Strasburg. In 1793 the French forced the famous lines of Lauterburg, and took this place.

=Laval.= A town of France, in the department of the Mayenne, situated on the Mayenne, 42 miles east from Rennes. This place suffered greatly in the Vendean war, towards the close of the last century.

=La Vendée= (West France). The French royalists of La Vendée took arms in March, 1793, and were successful in a number of hard-fought battles with the republicans, between July 12, 1793, and January 1, 1794, when they experienced a severe reverse. Their leader Henri, comte de Larochejaquelein, was killed March 4, 1794. A short peace was made at La Jaunay, February 17, 1795. The war was terminated by Gen. Hoche in 1796. A treaty of peace was signed at Luçon, January 17, 1800.

=Lavure= (_Fr._). The grains, dust, or detached pieces of metal which fall in casting cannon.

=Law, Martial.= See MARTIAL LAW.

=Law, Military.= A branch of the general municipal law, consisting of rules ordained for the government of the military forces of a state or government, and those voluntarily serving with them, equally in peace and war, and administered by tribunals of special and limited jurisdiction. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR.

=Law of Arms.= Certain acknowledged rules, regulations, and precepts, which relate to war; and are observed by all civilized nations. The laws of arms also show how to proclaim war, to attack the enemy, and to punish offenders in the camp, etc.

=Law of Nations.= Such general rules as regard the embassies, reception and entertainment of strangers, intercourse of merchants, exchange of prisoners, suspension of arms, etc.

=Laws, Execution of.= On all occasions when the troops are employed in restoring or maintaining public order among their fellow-citizens, the use of arms, and particularly fire-arms, is obviously attended with loss of life or limb to private individuals; and for these consequences, a military man may be called to stand at the bar of a criminal court. A private soldier also may occasionally be detached on special duty, with the necessity of exercising discretion as to the use of his arms; and in such cases he is responsible, like an officer, for the right use or exercise of such discretion.

Some years ago, the public journals of London recorded the meritorious behavior of a private sentry, upon the occasion of a riotous mob assembled at the entrance of Downing-Street with the intention of attacking the government offices in that quarter of the town. This man standing alone presented his musket, and threatened to fire upon the crowd, if the slightest attempt were made to approach the particular office for the defense of which he was placed on duty, and succeeded by the terror thus created, though at a great risk of consequences to himself, in keeping the rioters at bay until a larger force arrived to assist him. The soldier’s conduct was publicly much approved. It was also clearly legal according to Macadam’s case (a soldier tried before the courts of Scotland in 1735); and if after the announcement of his intentions the mob had pressed forward to execute their purpose, he would have been held justified at law in firing at the rioters upon his own responsibility. The Duke of Wellington, as Constable of the Tower, testified his marked approbation of this man’s conduct, by promoting him at once to a wardership at that fortress.

The right of officers or soldiers to interfere in quelling a _felonious riot_, whether with or without superior military orders, or the direction of a civil magistrate, is quite clear, and beyond the possibility of mistake. This subject, however, was formerly little understood; and military men failed in their public duty through excess of caution.

But notwithstanding the existence of a clear right and duty on the part of military men voluntarily to aid in the suppression of a riot, it would be the height of imprudence to intrude with military force, except upon the requisition of the proper authority, unless in those cases where the civil power is obviously overcome, or on the point of being overcome, by the rioters.

When the civil officer may not deem it safe to wait for the orders of government, he should address his requisition for troops, not to any subordinate military officer, but to the highest authority, to whom he should communicate his object in making it, and all the information he may possess regarding the strength and designs of those by whom the public peace is menaced or disturbed. His duty is confined to these points. _He has no authority in directing military operations._ The officer commanding the troops has alone authority to determine the number and nature of those to be employed; the time and manner of making the attack, and every other operation for the reduction of the enemy.

Under no circumstances can U. S. troops be called into service at the “polls.”

In the United States, regular troops can be ordered only to serve against rioters, or other lawless bands of citizens, under the orders of the President to co-operate with the civil authorities.

It should ever be the aim of military men to attain the desired end by the exercise of passive interposition.

=Laws of War.= The recognized rules for the conduct of civilized warfare. These rules relate to the treatment of prisoners, non-combatants, spies, traitors, etc.; the disposition of private property, the rights of capture, occupation and conquest, the establishment of blockades, the rights and obligations of neutrals, etc.

=Lay.= To quit; to surrender the use of; as, lay down one’s arms. _To lay for_, is to attempt something by ambuscade.

=Lay.= To point or aim; as, to lay a gun. See POINTING.

=Lay About, To.= To strike, or throw the arms on all sides; to act with vigor.

=Layette= (_Fr._). Three-sided tray or box without a cover, used to carry powder from one mortar to another in powder-mills.

=Lazarus.= A military order instituted at Jerusalem by the Christians of the West, when they were masters of the Holy Land. They received pilgrims under their care, and guarded them on the roads from the insults of the Mohammedans. This order was instituted in the year 1119, and was confirmed by a bull of Pope Alexander IV. in 1255, who gave it the rule of St. Augustine.

=Lazzaro, St.= In Northern Italy, where the king of Sardinia and the Imperialists defeated the French and Spaniards after a long and severe conflict, June 4, 1746.

=Lead.= To conduct as a chief or commander; as, let the troops follow where their general leads.

=Lead Balls.= Are now generally made by compression, by means of machinery, either at arsenals or at private establishments.

=Lead Out.= A command in the mounted service to cause the horses to be taken from the stable or picket line preparatory to mounting or harnessing.

=Leader.= A chief, a commander; a captain. Also the directing musician of a band.

=Leadership.= The state or condition of a leader.

=Leading.= The clogging of the grooves of a rifle with lead from the bullet,--one of the principal obstacles against continuous accurate shooting. It is obviated by covering the bullet with a paper patch or by using a lubricant in the canellures. See BULLETS.

=Leading Column.= The first column that advances from the right, left, or centre of any army or battalion.

=Leading File.= The first two men of a battalion or company that marches from right, left, or centre, by files. See FILE-LEADER.

=Leading Guide.= The foremost guide of a column.

=Leading Question.= In the proceedings of military tribunals, is a question to a witness which suggests the desired answer. Such questions are objectionable except under certain conditions.

=Leaf Sight.= A form of elevating rear sights, consisting of several hinged leaves of different heights. See SIGHT.

=League.= A measure of length or distance, equal, in England and the United States, to three geographical miles.

=League.= See HOLY LEAGUE.

=League, Achæan.= See ACHÆAN LEAGUE.

=League, First Suabian.= See SUABIA.

=League, Great Suabian.= See SUABIA.

=League, Holy.= See HOLY LEAGUE.

=League of Marbach.= See SUABIA.

=Leaguer.= A camp, generally of an investing army.

=Leaguer.= One who unites in a league; a confederate.

=Leaguerer.= One who belongs to or is engaged in a league; a leaguer.

=Leave of Absence.= See ABSENCE, LEAVE OF.

=Lech.= A river in Southern Germany, near which the cruel Gen. Tilly was defeated by the Swedes, under Gustavus Adolphus, April 18, 1632. Tilly died of his wounds soon after.

=Leek.= The Welsh emblem, in consequence of a command from Dewi, or David, afterwards archbishop of St. David’s, in 519. On the day that King Arthur won a great victory over the Saxons, Dewi is said to have ordered the soldiers to place a leek in their caps.

=Leesburg.= See BALL’S BLUFF.

=Legatus.= Among the Romans, an ambassador, or lieutenant-general. Legati were of three kinds: (1) Those sent by foreign nations on an embassy to Rome. (2) Those sent from Rome on an embassy to foreign countries or the provinces. (3) Those who served under Roman generals during war, or under the pro-consuls and prætors in the provinces. The latter kind was generally a person of high military skill, and was appointed by the consul, prætor, or dictator, under whom he was intended to serve. His nomination, however, was not legal until sanctioned by the senate. His duty was to aid his superior officer, by advising him in all great emergencies, by acting as his substitute, both in civil and military affairs, and by assuming his insignia as well as authority during his absence. In the last case, he was called _legatus pro prætore_. The number of legati under one superior differed in proportion to the importance of the war or the extent of the province.