Part 63

=Leghorn= (It. _Livarno_). A large maritime town in Central Italy, in the province of Leghorn. It was entered by the French army July 27, 1796; evacuated by the French in 1799, and retaken in 1800. It was unsuccessfully attacked by the British and Italian forces in December, 1813. The Austrians took the city from the insurgents May 12 and 13, 1849, and quelled a slight insurrection, July, 1857.

=Legion= (Lat. _legio_). A corps of soldiers in the Roman armies, first formed by Romulus, about 750 B.C., when it consisted of 3000 foot and 300 horse. When Hannibal was in Italy, 216 B.C., the legion consisted of 5200 soldiers; and under Marius, in 88 B.C., it was 6200 foot besides 700 horse. There were 10, and sometimes as many as 18 legions kept at Rome. Augustus had a standing army of 45 legions, together with 25,000 horse and 37,000 light-armed troops, about 5 B.C.; and the peace establishment of Adrian was 30 of these formidable brigades. A legion was divided into 10 cohorts, and every cohort into 6 centuries, with a vexillum, or standard, guarded by 10 men. The peace of Britain was protected by 3 legions. The French army was divided into legions subsequent to the reign of Francis I. See THUNDERING LEGIONS.

=Legion of Honor, Order of the.= An order of merit instituted under the French republic in May, 1802, by the first consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. The order originally comprised three classes,--grand officers, commanders, and legionaries. The class of grand officers was, on the coronation of Napoleon I., divided into Knights of the Grand Eagle and grand officers. On the restoration of the Bourbons the Legion was remodeled so as to consist of four classes,--viz., grand officers, grand crosses, commanders, and knights, but the order lost much of its original character. The order confers its distinction for civil and military valor, but especially for the latter. The college of the Legion is in possession of considerable means, which have been augmented by the addition of property belonging to Louis Philippe. Out of this fund pensions are paid to certain members of the order who have been wounded or who have undergone the amputation of a limb in service. These pensions have sometimes amounted to as large a sum as 6,000,000 of francs annually.

=Legionary.= Relating to or consisting of a legion or of legions; as, a legionary force.

=Legionary.= One of a legion.

=Legnago.= A fortress on the Adige, Northern Italy, one of the quadrilateral. It was captured by the French in 1796; but reverted to the Austrians in 1815. It was surrendered to the Italians in October, 1866.

=Legnano.= A town in Northern Italy, in the province of Milan, where the emperor Barbarossa was defeated by the Milanese and their allies, May 29, 1176, which victory led to the treaty of Constance in 1183.

=Leicester.= A town of England, and the chief town of Leicestershire, situated on the Soar. During the civil war it was taken by Charles I., May 31, and by Fairfax, June 17, 1645.

=Leinster.= A province of Ireland, occupying the southeast part of that island. It was a kingdom in 1167. The abduction of Devorgilla, wife of O’Rourke, a lord of Connaught, by Dermot, king of Leinster, in 1152, is asserted to have led to the landing of the English, and the subsequent conquest. The province of Leinster gave the title of duke to Schomberg’s son in 1690. The title became extinct in 1719, and was conferred on the family of Fitzgerald in 1766.

=Leipsic.= A city of the kingdom of Saxony, situated about 65 miles west-northwest of Dresden, near the Prussian border, in a large and fertile plain. The Elster, the Pleisze, and the Parthe flow through or past the city, and unite about 3 miles below it. The city sprung up at the junction of the Pleisze and the Parthe, and is first mentioned as a town in 1015. It gradually increased in prosperity and importance. The famous _Leipsic Conference_ between Luther, Eck, and Carlstadt, in 1519, greatly tended to the promotion of the Reformation. It suffered greatly in the Thirty Years’ War, in which it was five times besieged and taken, and again in the Seven Years’ War; and although the commercial changes connected with the French revolution at first affected it very favorably, yet it suffered not a little amidst the terrible struggle of the years 1812 and 1813, when it was alternately in possession of the French and of the allies. The immediate neighborhood of Leipsic has been the scene of two battles of great importance in the history of Germany and of Europe,--the battle of Leipsic, or of Breitenfeld (see BREITENFELD), on September 7, 1631, and the great battle called the _Battle of the Nations_, which continued for three days, October 16-18, 1813. The latter was one of the most bloody and decisive of those which effected the deliverance of Europe from French domination. The troops under Napoleon in this battle amounted to about 180,000 men, and those of the allies, commanded by Prince Schwarzenberg, Marshal Blücher, and Bernadotte, crown-prince of Sweden, to almost 300,000. About 2000 pieces of artillery were brought to the field. The loss of the French was reckoned at about 38,000 killed and wounded, and 30,000 prisoners; that of the allies to about 48,000. The victory of the allies was complete; the French being compelled to evacuate Leipsic, and to retreat.

=Leith.= A town of Scotland, 2 miles northeast from Edinburgh, of which it is the seaport. It was burned in 1541 by an English fleet, and in 1549 it was occupied by French troops, who came to the assistance of Mary of Guise.

=Leleges.= An ancient race which inhabited Greece before the Hellenes, and are mentioned along with the Pelasgians as the most ancient inhabitants. They were a warlike and migratory race, and piracy was their chief occupation. The Leleges must be regarded as a branch of the great Indo-Germanic race, who became incorporated with the Hellenes, and thus ceased to exist as an independent people.

=Length of Cannon.= Is the distance from the rear of the base-ring to the face of the piece, and the _extreme length_ is from the rear of the cascabel to the face.

=Lengthen.= To extend in length; to make longer; to elongate; as, to lengthen a line of troops. _To lengthen the step_, to take more than the prescribed pace.

=Lenni-Lenape.= See DELAWARES.

=Lens.= A parish and town of France, in the department Pas-de-Calais, 9 miles from Arras. A battle was fought here in 1648, between the Spanish forces and those of the Prince of Condé, in which the latter gained the victory.

=Lentini= (Lat. _Leontini_). A city of Sicily, situated between Syracuse and Catania. In 427 B.C., the Lentinians applied to the Athenians for support against Syracuse; they were sent twenty ships, under the command of Laches and Charœades. In 215 B.C., they raised their standard of open war against Rome; but Marcellus hastened to attack the city, and made himself master of it without difficulty. Under the Roman government it was restored to the position of an independent town.

=Leon.= A province of Spain, subdivided into the smaller provinces of Salamanca, Zumor, and Leon. The kingdom of Leon was erected in 746, by Alfonso the Catholic, out of the provinces he had wrested from the Saracens and the older kingdom of Asturias, and in 1230 it was permanently united to Castile. During the Peninsular war it suffered greatly.

=Lepanto= (anc. _Naupactus_). Called by the Greek peasants Epakto, a seaport town of Greece, 12 miles northeast from Patras. The name Naupactus is said to have originated with the Heraclidæ, who are reported to have there built the fleet with which they invaded the Peloponnesus. After the Persian war it fell into the possession of the Athenians, who settled it with the expatriated Messenians. The Athenians made it their chief military station in Western Greece during the Peloponnesian war. At its close Lepanto was taken by the Locrians, and afterwards passed in succession through the hands of the Etolians, Macedonians, Achæans, and Romans. In 1475 it was invested by the Turks, who, after the loss of 30,000 men in four months, were forced to raise the siege. Within the Gulf of Lepanto, in 1571, was fought the great naval engagement between the Ottomans and the Christian powers of the Mediterranean, under Don John of Austria, in which the former lost about 200 galleys and 20,000 men.

=Lerida.= A town of Spain, in Catalonia, on the Segre, 80 miles northwest from Barcelona. In 1707 this place was stormed by the French, and in 1810 it was again taken by French troops under Suchet.

=Lesse= (_Fr._). A machine covered with raw hides, used as a mantelet by the ancient Greeks for different purposes.

=Let Off, To.= To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; or fire the charge of, as a gun.

=Letter Stamp.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.

=Letters Patent.= The written instrument by which a government grants to an inventor the exclusive right and use of his invention for a term of years.

=Lettre de Cachet= (_Fr._). An infamous state paper, which existed before the French revolution, which was sealed, and the person upon whom it was served carried into confinement without ever seeing the authority by which he was hurried off in so peremptory a manner, or being tried afterwards for any specific offense. It was always written by the king, countersigned by one of his principal secretaries of state, and sealed with the royal signet.

=Lettre de Passe= (_Fr._). A paper which was formerly signed by the kings of France, authorizing an officer to exchange from one regiment into another.

=Leuctra.= A village of Bœotia, situated between Thespia and Platæa, in the territory of the former, celebrated as the scene of the great battle between the Spartans, commanded by Cleombrotus, and the Thebans, under Epaminondas, in which the former were defeated, and the supremacy of Sparta finally overthrown.

=Leuthen.= A village of Prussia, in Lower Silesia, 9 miles west of Breslau. It is celebrated for the victory won there December 6, 1757, by Frederick the Great, with 33,000 men, over the Austrians under Prince Charles of Lorraine at the head of 92,000.

=Levee en Masse= (_Fr._). A general rising of the people of any country, either for the purpose of self-defense, or to answer the intention of its governing powers.

=Level.= In mining, is a horizontal passage or gallery.

=Level, Gunner’s.= Sec GUNNER’S LEVEL.

=Level, Horizontal.= Free from obstructions or declivities.

=Level, James’s.= An instrument to find the highest points of the breech and muzzle of a cannon, when the carriage-wheels stand on uneven ground. _Plumb-level_, one in which the horizontal arm is placed in true position by means of a plummet or plumb-line, to which it is at right angles. _Spirit-level_, one in which the adjustment to the horizon depends on the position of a bubble, or small vacant space, in the upper side of a glass tube, which is slightly curved and nearly filled with alcohol or ether. _Surveyor’s level_, or _leveling instrument_, a telescope with a spirit-level attached, and with suitable screws, etc., for accurate adjustment, the whole mounted on a tripod for use in leveling.

=Levellers.= A fanatical party in Germany, headed by Muncer and Storck in the 16th century, who taught that all distinctions of rank were usurpations on the rights of mankind. At the head of 40,000 men Muncer commanded the sovereign princes of Germany and the magistrates of cities to resign their authority; and on his march his followers ravaged the country. The landgrave of Hesse at last defeated him; 7000 of the enthusiasts fell in battle, and the rest fled; their leader was taken and beheaded at Mulhausen in 1525. The English “Levellers,” powerful in Parliament in 1647, were put down by Cromwell in 1649, and their leader, Lilburn, imprisoned.

=Lever-jack.= See IMPLEMENTS.

=Levet.= A blast of a trumpet,--probably that by which soldiers are called in the morning. This term is obsolete.

=Levy= (Fr. _levée_). Is the compulsory raising of a body of troops from any specified class in the community for purposes of general defense or offense. When a country is in danger of instant invasion, a _levée en masse_ is sometimes made,--_i.e._, every man capable of bearing arms is required to contribute in person towards the common defense. On less urgent occasions, the levy may be restricted to a class, as to men between eighteen and forty years of age. At other times, a levy of so many thousand men of a certain age is decreed, and the districts concerned draw them by lot from among their eligible male population. In armies sustained by volunteering, the levy, which is a remnant of barbarous times, is unnecessary; but the system was frequently resorted to in France before the enactment of the conscription laws. In 1862-64 there were great levies in the United States of America; and in any country where great danger is apparent, and volunteers are not sufficiently numerous, recourse must at all times be had to a levy of the people. This term is also applied to the assessment of taxes, tolls, or contributions.

=Levy.= To raise or collect troops or funds by a levy. The word has also other meanings; as, to _levy_ war, to make war, to begin hostilities; to _levy_ a siege, to desist from, to raise the siege. In this latter sense it is nearly obsolete.

=Lewes.= A town of England, in Sussex, on the Ouse, 7 miles northeast from Brighton. Near this town, in 1264, Henry III. was defeated by Simon de Montfort, and imprisoned in the castle.

=Lewis.= A device for lifting stones, consisting of two wedge-shaped pieces of iron, which are inserted butt foremost into a dovetail mortise in the stone, and keyed by inserting a piece between them. All three are then shackled to the lifting-chain by a bolt passing through them.

=Lexington.= A township of Middlesex Co., Mass., 11 miles northwest from Boston. The first battle in the war between Great Britain and her revolted colonies in North America was fought here on April 19, 1775, and ended disastrously for the British.

=Lexington.= A village of Lafayette township, Mo., on the right bank of the Missouri River. In September, 1861, a body of Federal troops under Col. Mulligan were here captured by the Confederate general Price. The town was retaken by the Federals in October following. In October, 1864, an indecisive engagement took place here between the armies of Gens. Price and Blunt.

=Leydan= (anc. _Lugdunum Batavorum_). An important city of the Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the Old Rhine, 6 miles from its outlet in the North Sea. It was once a strong fortress, and the siege which it sustained from the Spaniards in 1573-74 made it famous. For seven weeks there was no bread within its walls, but the burghers still resisted, though the hunger became almost unbearable. At last the Prince of Orange came to their rescue. The dykes were opened, and the waters, which drowned a great number of the besiegers, carried a fleet of 200 boats loaded with provisions to the city. As a reward for the valor the city evinced during this siege, the Prince of Orange founded a university here.

=Liburnia.= In ancient times was a portion of Northern Illyricum, in the neighborhood of the Sinus Flanaticus, now the present Croatia and Dalmatia. It was inhabited by the Pelasgic race, who were daring seamen and noted pirates. Their privateers, with large lateen-sails, were for centuries the terror of the seas, and during the second Macedonian war the Romans adopted them.

=Libyans.= The name formerly given to the inhabitants of the northern portion of Africa, with the exception of the delta of the Nile. They fell under the sway of the Romans, and subsequently relapsed into barbarism.

=Licorne.= See HOWITZER.

=Lictor.= A Roman officer who bore an axe and fasces as insignia of his office. His duty was to attend the chief magistrates when they appeared in public, to clear the way and enforce respect for them. In addition, he performed constabulary duties.

=Lid=, or =Roof=. See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR.

=Lide= (_Fr._). A warlike machine which was formerly used to throw large stones against a fortified place, or upon an enemy.

=Lie.= To be situated; to occupy a fixed place; as, the troops lie encamped at Washington. _To lie in ambush_, to be posted in such a manner as to be able to surprise your enemy, should he presume to advance without having previously cleared the woods, hedges, etc. _To lie in wait_, to take a position unobserved by the enemy, and to remain under arms, in the expectation of suddenly falling upon his flanks or rear. _To lie under cover_, to be under the protection of a battery, or to be sheltered by a wood, etc. _To lie under arms_, to remain in a state ready for action.

=Liebenau.= A town of Bohemia. Here was fought the first action of the Seven Weeks’ War, June 26, 1866, when the Austrians were compelled to retreat by the Prussians under Gen. von Horne.

=Liegnitz.= A town of Prussian Silesia, at the conflux of the Katzbach, the Schwarzwasser, and the Neisse, 35 miles northwest from Breslau. The Austrian army was totally defeated before Liegnitz in 1760 by the Prussians under the command of Frederick the Great.

=Lieutenancy.= The office or commission of a lieutenant.

=Lieutenant.= From the French, _lieu tenant_, “holding the place,” in a general sense is an officer performing the duties of his superior. The rank was abolished by Charles IX. in the French army, and re-established by Henry IV. In company organizations the lieutenant comes next after the captain, and supplies his place during temporary absence. There are two grades of lieutenants, first and second. A lieutenant in the navy is an officer ranking with a captain in the army, holding rank above a master and below a lieutenant-commander.

=Lieutenant de la Colonelle= (_Fr._). The second officer, or what was formerly styled the captain-lieutenant of the colonel’s company of every infantry regiment in France.

=Lieutenant du Roi= (_Fr._). During the monarchy of France there was a deputy governor in every fortified place, or strong town, who commanded in the absence of the governor, and was a check upon his conduct when present. This person was called _lieutenant du roi_. _Lieutenants des Gardes Françoises et Suisses_; lieutenants belonging to the French and Swiss guards. During the existence of the monarchy in France they bore the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and took precedence of all captains. _Lieutenants Provinciaux d’Artillerie_ were certain officers belonging to the old French service, and immediately attached to the artillery, who bore the title or name of the particular province in which they were stationed. Several of these lieutenants, who had military employment under the board of ordnance, received the rank of lieutenant-general in the army from the king, and could rise to the most exalted stations in common with other officers.

=Lieutenant-Colonel.= His rank corresponds with that of commanders in the navy. See COLONEL, LIEUTENANT-.

=Lieutenant-General.= His rank is equivalent to that of a vice-admiral. See GENERAL, LIEUTENANT-.

=Life-guard.= A guard of the life or person; a guard that attends the person of a prince, or other high officer or dignitary; a body-guard. See GUARDS.

=Light Battery.= A mounted battery of field-guns.

=Light Bobs.= In the British service, a familiar term used for the light infantry.

=Light Horse.= All mounted soldiers that are lightly armed and accoutred for active and desultory service, may be considered under this term. Thus light dragoons, hussars, mounted riflemen, etc., are strictly speaking light horse.

=Light Infantry.= A body of armed men selected and trained for rapid evolutions; often employed to cover and assist other troops. See INFANTRY, LIGHT.

=Light Infantry Company.= In the British service, a company of active, strong men, carefully selected from the rest of the regiment. It always occupies its place on the left of the battalion until called for. When the call sounds, the light company orders arms and unfixes bayonets without word of command, and remains in readiness to move.

=Light Marching Order.= A soldier paraded with arms, ammunition, canteen, and haversack, is said to be in light marching order.

=Light Troops.= By this term is generally meant all troops which are lightly accoutred for detached service.

=Light, Velocity of.= It has been proven by astronomers that light travels through space with the prodigious, though finite, velocity of 192,500, or nearly 200,000 miles in a second of time, and consequently would pass round the earth in the eighth part of a second. It is also proved, by the phenomena of aberration, that the light of the sun, planets, and all the fixed stars, travels with the same velocity.

=Light-armed.= Not heavily armed, or armed with _light_ weapons; as, light troops; a troop of light horse. See INFANTRY, LIGHT-ARMED.

=Light-ball.= See PYROTECHNY.

=Light-barrel.= See PYROTECHNY.

=Ligny.= A village in Belgium, in the province of Namur, about 10 miles northeast of Charleroi, famous on account of the battle fought here by the French under Napoleon, and the Prussians under Blücher, June 16, 1815, in which the latter was defeated.

=Liguria.= In ancient geography, a region of Northern Italy, the land of the Ligurians It is first mentioned by the early Greek authors as extending as far westward as the mouths of the Rhone, while according to Polybius, its eastern boundary was Pisæ, and its northern the country of the Arretines. The Ligurians, so often praised by ancient authors for their hardihood and bravery, are generally understood to be those on the south side of the Apennines exclusively. In the time of Strabo these eked out the scanty produce of their stony and sterile soil by hunting and feeding flocks, and thus fostered that vigor of frame and ferocity of disposition which long rendered them the indomitable foes and plunderers of the Romans. They were renowned as slingers and light infantry in the armies of the Carthaginians, and afterwards in those of the Romans. They were conquered by the Romans in 125 B.C. Liguria formed the first point of the Roman province of Gaul; in 1797, in consequence of the conquests of Bonaparte, it was formed into the republic of Liguria.

=Limber.= To attach to the limbers; as, to limber the gun; to limber up.

=Limber-chest.= The ammunition-chest placed on the limber of field-pieces.

=Limbers.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR.

=Limenarque= (_Fr._). An office of distinction, which existed in the Roman empire. The persons invested with it were directed to watch the frontiers of the empire, and they commanded the troops that were employed upon that service.

=Limerick.= A city of Ireland, chief town of a county of the same name, situated on the Shannon, about 60 miles from its mouth, and 106 miles south-southwest of Dublin. It has always been deemed a place of importance. It was taken by the English in 1174; in 1651 it was taken by Ireton, the son-in-law of Cromwell; in 1690 it was unsuccessfully besieged by King William III. in person; in 1691 it surrendered to Gen. Ginkel, afterwards earl of Athlone. Before the Conquest it was the seat of the kings of Thomond.

=Limitary.= A guard or superintendent, placed at the confines or boundaries of any kingdom or state.

=Limitation of Time of Prosecution.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 103.

=Limites Romani.= The name of a continuous series of fortifications, consisting of castles, walls, earthen ramparts, and the like, which the Romans erected along the Rhine and the Danube, to protect their possessions from the attacks of the Germans.

=Limits.= In a military sense, is that which bounds or confines; as, the limits of a sentinel’s post; the limits of a garrison. An officer in arrest may have his limits extended.