Part 72

=Medical Staff.= This branch of the British army is under the control of an experienced officer, stationed at headquarters, under the denomination of “director-general.” Immediately under his command are a number of inspectors-general, deputy inspectors-general, and a corps of staff-surgeons. The locality of all the officers subordinate to the director-general is determined by the force to which they may be attached. All the regimental surgeons and assistant-surgeons make their reports to and consult the staff-officer who is placed in their district. The director-general is paid from the civil department of the government. A deputy inspector-general of hospitals must have served five years at home, or three years abroad in this rank, before he shall be eligible to the highest rank of inspector-general.

The _medical board_ consists of three or four medical officers, who may be convened by an order through the Secretary of War, for the inspection of wounded officers, in order to secure them a provision for life, according to the regulations regarding pensions, etc.

=Medicine-chest.= Is composed of all sorts of medicines necessary for a campaign, together with such chirurgical instruments as are useful, fitted up in chests and portable. The army is supplied with these at the expense of the government.

=Medina.= Or more fully, Medinat Al Nabi (City of the Prophet), the holiest city throughout Mohammedanism next to Mecca, and second capital and stronghold of Hedjaz in Western Arabia. In this city Mohammed was protected when he fled from Mecca, September 13, 622, others say July 15, 622. (See HEGIRA.) Medina was taken by the Wahabees in 1804; retaken by the pasha of Egypt in 1818.

=Medina de Rio Seco.= A town of Spain, 25 miles northwest of Valladolid, on the Seguillo, an affluent of the Douro. Here Bessières defeated the Spaniards, July 15, 1808.

=Medjidie.= A Turkish order, instituted in 1852, and conferred after the Crimean campaign, to a considerable extent, on British officers. It has five classes; and the decoration, which differs in size for the different classes, is a silver sun of seven triple rays, with the device of the crescent and star alternating with the rays. On a circle of red enamel, in the centre of the decoration, is the legend in Turkish, whose signification is “zeal, honor, and loyalty,” and the date 1268, the Mohammedan year corresponding to 1852; the sultan’s name is inscribed on a gold field within this circle. The first three classes suspend the badge round the neck from a red ribbon having green borders, and the fourth and fifth classes wear it attached to a similar ribbon on the left breast. A star, in design closely resembling the badge, is worn on the left breast by the first class, and on the right breast by the second class.

=Meeanee=, or =Miyani=. A village in Sinde, Hindostan, on the Indus, 6 miles north of Hyderabad, is celebrated as the scene of a great battle between Sir Charles Napier and the ameers of Sinde, February 17, 1843. Sir Charles’s force, composed partly of Europeans, and partly of natives, amounted to only 2800 men; that of his foes to 22,000, yet the latter were totally routed, losing in killed and wounded 5000, while Sir Charles’s loss was only 256. The result of this victory was the conquest and annexation of Sinde.

=Meer Bukshy.= In the East Indies, a chief paymaster.

=Meer Tozuk.= In the East Indies, a marshal whose business is to preserve order in a procession or line of march, and to report absentees.

=Meerut=, =Merut=, or =Mirut=. The chief town of a district of the same name in British India, on the Kali Nuddi, about 42 miles northeast from Delhi. Here on May 10, 1857, the native troops revolted, shooting their own European officers, and massacring the European inmates without respect to age or sex.

=Megalopolis= (now _Sinano_, or _Sinanu_). The most recent, but the most important of the cities of Arcadia, was founded on the advice of Epaminondas, after the battle of Leuctra, 371 B.C., and was formed out of the inhabitants of 38 villages. It was situated near the frontiers of Messenia, on the river Helisson. It was for a time subject to the Macedonians, but soon after the death of Alexander the Great, it was governed by a series of native tyrants, the last of whom united the city to the Achæan League, 234 B.C. It became, in consequence, opposed to Sparta, and was taken by Cleomenes, who destroyed a great part of the city, 222. After the battle of Sellasia in the following year it was restored by Philopœmen.

=Megara.= An ancient city of Greece, capital of the territory Megaris, was situated 8 stadia (1 mile) from the sea, opposite the island of Salamis, about 26 miles from Athens and 31 miles from Corinth. In 461-445 B.C. the Athenians had possession of the country, but it subsequently became annexed to Attica, and Megaris formed one of the four ancient divisions of Attica. It was next conquered by the Dorians, and was for a time subject to Corinth; but it finally asserted its independence, and rapidly became a wealthy and powerful city. The government was originally an aristocracy, as in most of the Doric cities; but Theagenes, one of the common people, put himself at the head of the popular party, and obtained the supreme power about 620 B.C. Theagenes was afterward expelled, and a democratical form of government established. After the Persian wars, Megara was for some time at war with Corinth, and was thus led to form an alliance with Athens, and to receive an Athenian garrison in the city, 461; but they were expelled in 441. The city was taken and its walls destroyed by Demetrius Poliorcetes; it was again taken by the Romans under Q. Metellus; and in the time of Augustus it had ceased to be a place of importance.

=Meggheteriarque= (_Fr._). The commanding officer of a body of men; who formerly did duty at Constantinople, and were called _Heteriennes_, being composed of soldiers who were enlisted in the allied nations.

=Mehadpore=, =Mehidpoor=, =Mahedpore=, or =Maheidpoor=. A town of Hindostan, Gwalior dominions, 22 miles north of Odjein. Here Sir Thomas Hislop and Sir John Malcolm defeated the Mahrattas under Holkar, December 21, 1817.

=Meigs Gun.= See MAGAZINE GUNS.

=Melanippus.= The name of four Trojan warriors, who fought valiantly in the wars of their native country.

=Melazzo= (West Sicily). Here Garibaldi, on July 20-21, 1860, defeated the Neapolitans under Gen. Bosco, who lost about 600 men; Garibaldi’s loss being 167. The latter entered Messina; and on July 30 a convention was signed by which it was settled that the Neapolitan troops were to quit Sicily. They held the citadel of Messina till March 13, 1861.

=Mêlée= (_Fr._). A military term, which is used among the French to express the hurry and confusion of a battle. Mêlée corresponds with the English expression “thick of the fight.”

=Melegnano.= See MARIGNANO.

=Melfi.= A town of Naples, province of Basilicata (Potenza), 75 miles east-northeast of Naples, and 34 south of Foggia. It was formerly the capital of the Norman possessions in Southern Italy, and was defended by walls, now in a ruinous condition, and by an ancient Norman castle. The town was taken, and 18,000 of its inhabitants massacred by the French, under Lautrec de Foix, in 1528.

=Meloria=, or =Melora=. A small island in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Tuscany, 4 miles west of Leghorn. Near Meloria the Pisan fleet defeated the Genoese in 1241, capturing many bishops going with much treasure to a council. The total destruction of the Pisan fleet on August 6, 1284, by the Genoese near the same place, after a most sanguinary conflict, was considered to be the just punishment of impiety.

=Melos= (now _Milo_). One of the Cyclades in the Ægean Sea, colonized by the Spartans about 1116 B.C.; it was captured during the Peloponnesian war, after a seven months’ siege, by the Athenians, who massacred all the men and sold the women and children as slaves, 416 B.C.

=Melrose.= A village at the foot of the Eildon Hills, on the south bank of the Tweed. It is famous for the ruins of its noble abbey founded by King David I. in 1136, its original pile having been destroyed during the Wars of the Succession. Melrose was burned by Kenneth, king of Scots, in 839.

=Melton-Mowbray.= A town of England, in Leicestershire, situated at the confluence of the Wreak and Eye. It is remarkable as the scene of a defeat of the Parliamentary troops by the royalists in 1644.

=Melun.= An ancient town of France, capital of the department of Seine-et-Marne, 28 miles southeast from Paris. It was the _Melodunum_ of the Romans; was taken by Clovis in 494; was stormed five times during the 9th century by the Northmen, and fell into the hands of the English after a siege of six months in 1419, and was held by them for ten years.

=Members.= Officers are so called who are detailed by orders to sit on general or garrison courts-martial.

=Members, Supernumerary.= In case supernumerary members are detailed for a court-martial, they are sworn, and it is right that they should sit and be present at all deliberations even when the court is cleared, in order to be prepared to take the place of any absent member. Until then they have no voice.

=Memel.= A town and seaport of East Prussia, on the small river Dange, adjacent to the Cürische Haff, 74 miles northeast from Königsberg. It is strongly fortified. It was taken by Teutonic knights about 1328.

=Memmingen.= A town of Bavaria, circle of Swabia, situated on a tributary of the Iller. It is noted as the scene of a victory gained by the French under Moreau over the Austrians, May 10, 1800.

=Memoir.= Is the title given by military officers to those plans which they offer to their government or commanders on subjects relating to war or military economy.

=Memoirs.= In military literature, a species of history, written by persons who had some share in the transactions they relate, answering in some measure to what the Romans call _commentarii_, “commentaries.” Hence Cæsar’s Commentaries, or the memoirs of his campaigns.

=Memorial.= An address to the government on any matter of public service.

=Memphis.= A celebrated Egyptian city, situated in the Delta, or Lower Egypt. During the attempts of the native rulers to throw off the Persian rule, Memphis was an important strategic point. Ochus inflicted severe injury on this town, having plundered the temples and thrown down the walls after he had driven out Nectanebus. Ptolemy VIII. destroyed the city. It fell with the rest of Egypt under the Roman rule, and afterwards was conquered by Amru Ben Abas (639-40).

=Memphis.= A flourishing city and port of entry of Shelby Co., Tenn. During the civil war, it fell into the hands of the Union forces, after a short naval fight, June 6, 1862, and in 1864, Gen. Forrest made a raid upon it, capturing a great number of prisoners.

=Men, Battalion.= All the soldiers belonging to the different companies of an infantry regiment were so called, except those of the two flank companies.

=Men, Camp-color.= Soldiers under the immediate command and direction of the quartermaster of a regiment. Their business is to assist in marking out the lines of an encampment, etc.; to carry the camp colors to the field on days of exercise, and fix them occasionally for the purpose of enabling the troops to take up correct points in marching, etc. So that in this respect they frequently, indeed almost always, act as guides, or what the French call _jalonneurs_. They are likewise employed in the trenches, and in all fatigue duties.

=Menace.= A hostile threat. Menacing words used in the presence of a court-martial are punishable in accordance with Article of War 86. See APPENDIX.

=Menai Strait= (between the Welsh coast and the isle of Anglesey). Suetonius Paulinus, when he invaded Anglesey, transported his troops across this strait in flat-bottomed boats, while the cavalry swam over on horseback, and attacked the Druids in their last retreat. Their horrid practice of sacrificing their captives, and the opposition he met with so incensed the Roman general, that he gave the Britons no quarter, throwing all that escaped from that battle into fires which they had prepared for the destruction of himself and his army in 61.

=Menapii.= A powerful people in the north of Gallia Belgica, who originally dwelt on both banks of the Rhine, but were afterwards driven out of their possessions on the right bank by the Usipetes and Tenchteri, and inhabited only the left bank near its mouth, and west of the Mosa.

=Mendavia.= A town of Spain, province of Navarre, 37 miles southwest from Pamplona. Cæsar Borgia, the infamous son of Pope Alexander VI., was killed here in a skirmish in 1507.

=Mende.= A town of France, capital of an arrondissement of the same name, on the left bank of the Lot. This town was fortified in 1151; it suffered much in the civil wars of the Reformation, and was taken no less than seven times.

=Menehould, St.= A town of France, in the department of the Marne, situated on the Aisne, 26 miles northeast of Chalons; it was taken by Louis XIV. in 1653.

=Menin.= A fortified town of Belgium, province of West Flanders, on the Lys, 31 miles southwest of Ghent. It has undergone a great number of sieges, and in the 17th and 18th centuries was frequently taken by the French.

=Menomonees.= A tribe of Indians, of Algonkin stock. They number about 1500, are partially civilized, and reside on a reservation near Green Bay, Wis.

=Men’s-harness.= See IMPLEMENTS.

=Mensuration.= That branch of applied geometry which gives rules for finding the length of lines, the areas of surfaces, or the volumes of solids, from certain simple data of lines and angles. Every military officer should be acquainted with mensuration.

=Mentana.= A small village, 13 miles from Rome. Here Garibaldi and his volunteers, numbering between 3000 and 4000, after having intrenched his positions at Monterotondo and Mentana on their march towards Tivoli, on November 3, 1867, were totally defeated by the papal and French troops, under Gens. Kanzler and Polhès, after a severe conflict, in which Gen. Failly said “the Chassepot rifles did wonders.” There were about 5000 men on each side, but the Garibaldians were very badly armed. The loss of the papal and French troops was about 200 killed and wounded; that of Garibaldi about 800. Garibaldi crossed the Italian frontier, and was arrested at Correse, and eventually sent to Caprera.

=Mentonniere= (_Fr._). Chin-piece; chin-strap; chin-piece of a helmet is so called.

=Mentz= (Ger. _Mainz_, Fr. _Mayence_, anc. _Moguntiacum_). A city of Germany, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left bank of the Rhine. Mentz was founded by the Romans in the 2d century, and in 406 was destroyed by the Vandals; but after lying in ruins for some centuries it was restored by Charlemagne, and attained great prosperity after the time of Bonifacius. In the Thirty Years’ War, it was taken by the Swedes, and in 1688 by the French, but was restored at the subsequent peace. At the end of 1792, it surrendered to the French. Next year it was taken by the Austrians. By the peace of Lunéville, concluded in 1801, it was formally ceded to France, and in 1815 it was assigned to Hesse-Darmstadt. The town is strongly fortified, and is one of the strongest places in Europe, serving as a defense for Germany on the side of France. On the other side of the Rhine stands the suburb of Castel, which is also fortified.

=Mequinenza.= A town and port of Spain, on the Ebro, in the province of Huesca, Aragon, 64 miles southeast from Huesca. It is defended by a fortress, which was taken by the French in 1810.

=Mercara.= A town and fortress in the south of India. It was built by Hyder Ali in 1773, after he had conquered the country. Tippoo Sahib gave it up to the rajah of Coorg in 1792. It was taken possession of by the British in 1834.

=Mercenaries.= Soldiers serving for pay in a foreign service.

=Mercia.= One of the largest of the seven kingdoms of the Heptarchy (which see). It comprised the counties from the Thames to Yorkshire, and is said to have been founded by Crida in 585. Three-quarters of a century later, Mercia was conquered for a time by Northumbria; but it recovered its independence, which it retained until Egbert subdued it, when it was included in the kingdom of Wessex.

=Merida.= A town of Spain, province of Estremadura, on the Guadiana, 35 miles east from Badajos. It was built by the Romans; taken by the Moors in 713; taken from them in 1229; taken by the French, January, 1811. Near this town, at Arroyas Molinos, the British army under Gen. (afterwards Lord) Hill defeated the French under Gen. Girard, after a severe engagement, October 28, 1811. The British took Merida from the French in 1812, Gen. Hill leading the combined forces of English and Spanish troops.

=Merionethshire.= The most southern county of North Wales, situated at the middle of the Welsh coast. Here Owen Gwynedd defeated Henry II., and brave Glyndwr rose in arms at the call of friendship and patriotism to resist the usurper of the throne of gentle Henry, and the enslaver of his loved Wales. Tradition and records tell of bloody deeds done here in those and later days by freebooters, daring and cruel.

=Merit.= To earn by active service, or by any valuable performance; to have a right to claim as reward; to deserve. Also, the quality or relation of deserving well or ill.

=Merit, Certificate of.= In the U. S. army a certificate which is given by the President, upon the recommendation of commanding officers, to enlisted men who have distinguished themselves in the service. The holder of each certificate is entitled to $2 per month.

=Merit, Order of.= A military distinction given to officers or soldiers for some signal service, the badge of which is generally expressive of the service. Such was the medal, or order of merit, presented by the Austrian emperor to the officers of the 15th British Light Dragoons for their bravery in the affair of Villers en Couché in 1794.

=Meritorious.= Possessing merit or desert; deserving of reward or honor.

=Merkin.= A mop to clean a cannon. See MALKIN.

=Merlin.= A handspike.

=Merlon.= The mass of earth of the parapet between two embrasures, generally from 15 to 18 feet in length. Also, the projection on the top of a crenellated wall.

=Merovingians.= The first Frankish dynasty in Gaul. The name is derived from Merwig, or Merovæus, who ruled about the middle of the 5th century, having united a few tribes under his sway. His grandson, Clovis, or Clodwig, greatly extended his dominions, and on his death divided his kingdom among his four sons, one of whom, Chlotar, or Chlotaire I., reunited them under his own sway in 558. On his death, in 561, the kingdom was again divided into four parts,--Aquitaine, Burgundy, Neustria, and Austrasia. His grandson, Clotaire II., again united them in 613; but after his death, in 628, two kingdoms, Neustria and Austrasia, were formed, in both of which the Merovingian kings retained a merely nominal power, the real power having passed into the hands of the mayors of the palace. The dynasty of the Merovingians terminated with the deposition of Childeric IV., in 752, and gave place to that of the Carlovingians.

=Merseburg.= A town of Prussian Saxony, capital of a circle of the same name, on the Saale. It was near this town that the emperor Henry the Fowler gained his famous victory over the Hungarians in 934. Rudolf of Swabia was here defeated and slain by Henry IV. in 1080.

=Mesolonghi.= See MISSOLONGHI.

=Mess.= The law is silent with regard to messes in the army. Executive regulations have been made on the subject, but without law it is impossible to put messes on a proper footing. In England, an allowance is granted by the sovereign in aid of the expense of officers’ messes; and every officer on appointment to a corps subscribes one month’s pay to the mess-fund. All the officers of the corps mess together. (See GUARD MESS.) In France, the several grades mess separately; lieutenants and sub-lieutenants forming two tables, captains another, and field-officers of different grades generally eating separately also. Generals and colonels of the French service receive an allowance for table expenses, not sufficient to keep open house, but enough to enable them to entertain guests. In the British navy there are generally three messes, namely, the ward-room mess, the gun-room mess, and the engineers’ mess; in the U. S. navy there are two: the ward-room and steerage messes. Enlisted soldiers and seamen, in the army and navy respectively, mess together in tables comprising a certain number, according to squads or rating; but this has no reference to the technical meaning of messing as applied to officers, and is merely for the purpose of economy of fuel and labor in the cooking of their rations.

=Message.= Word sent; more especially a dispatch signaled or telegraphed.

=Messenia.= A district in the southwest of the Peloponnesus. At an early period after the Doric conquest, it rose to power and opulence. It is chiefly noted for its two wars with Sparta, known as the Messenian Wars, the first of which lasted from 743 to 724 B.C., and the second from 685 to 668 B.C. In both instances the Athenians were defeated, and in consequence, a great part of them emigrated to Sicily, where they took possession of Zancle, which then received the name of Messana, the present Messina (which see).

=Messina.= A city in the northeast of the island of Sicily, situated on a strait called the Faro di Messina, which separates Italy from Calabria. It is 9 miles northwest from Reggio, in Calabria. The town is entirely surrounded with walls and protected by detached forts and a citadel, which stands on the neck of the curved promontory that forms the harbor. It was seized by the Mamertini about 281 B.C. It belonged for many ages to the Roman empire; was taken by the Saracens about 829. Roger the Norman took it from them by surprise about 1072. It revolted against Charles of Anjou, and was succored by Peter of Aragon, 1282; revolted in favor of Louis XIV of France, 1676; the Spaniards punished it severely, 1678; headquarters of British forces in Sicily prior to 1814; an insurrection took place here which was subdued September 7, 1848. Garibaldi entered Messina after his victory at Malazzo, July 20-21, 1860; the citadel surrendered to Cialdini, March 13, 1861.

=Mestre de Camp Général= (_Fr._). The next officer in rank, in the old French cavalry service, to the colonel-general. This appointment was created under Henry II. in 1552. _Mestre de camp général des dragoons_, an appointment which first took place under Louis XIV. in 1684.

=Metal.= Broken stone, etc., used as a road cover.

=Metal.= In heraldry, the metals in use are gold and silver, known as _or_ and _argent_. The field of the escutcheon and the charges which it bears may be of metal as well as of color. It is a rule of blazon that metal should not be placed on metal, or color on color.

=Metals for Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.

=Metapontum=, or =Metapontium=. A city of Magna Græcia; was situated on the Tarentine Gulf, 14 miles from Heraclea, and 24 from Tarentum. The Metapontines assisted the Athenians in their Sicilian expedition (415 B.C.); they embraced the side of Pyrrhus in his war with the Romans, and after its conclusion fell under the Roman yoke. When Hannibal invaded Italy, the Metapontines after the battle of Cannæ were well disposed to him; but, on account of a garrison of Romans, were unable openly to desert to him till 212 B.C., when the city was occupied by a Carthaginian garrison. When Hannibal was compelled to leave Italy he removed, along with his own troops, the inhabitants of Metapontum; and from that time the city disappears from history.