Part 76
=Missolonghi=, or =Mesolonghi=. A town of Greece, in the government of Ætolia, is separated from the sea by a large lake. It is noted for the memorable siege it sustained in 1825-26. In the beginning of 1825 it was garrisoned by 5000 Greeks, who were commanded by Nóthi Bozzaris; and on April 25 of the same year a Turkish force of 20,000 under Reshid Pasha appeared before Missolonghi, which was poorly fortified. On May 11, the first bombardment began, and for the space of two months afterwards the town was exposed to numerous bombardments and assaults; but the defenders were not less active in answering the enemy’s fire, and making sallies from their defenses, by which means they succeeded in repelling their assailants, and inflicting on them considerable loss. During this time they were supplied with ammunition and provisions by the fleet which was stationed at the entrance of the lake; but on July 10, a superior Turkish fleet, after compelling the ships of Greece to retire, succeeded in landing a strong reinforcement to the besiegers. The assaults on the town were then renewed with increased fury, and the cannonade of the Turks carried destruction to its frail ramparts and death among the ranks of its brave defenders. Yet the garrison, though reduced to the number of 4000, continued to maintain their ground until, in the month of August, the Greek fleet appeared in the offing, and by defeating the Turkish squadron relieved Missolonghi for a time from the blockade. But the sultan was resolved at all hazards to reduce this stronghold of liberty; and in the end of November the Greek ships were again driven off, and the blockade renewed by the combined Turkish, Egyptian, and Barbary fleets. In the beginning of 1826 the besieging army was reinforced by the arrival of 14,000 troops under Ibrahim Pasha, who took command of all the besieging forces. On January 25, a bombardment was commenced, which lasted for three days, and reduced the town to ruins, but could not shake the resolute courage of the Greeks. The repeated assaults of the enemy were still repulsed with great loss. At last, reduced to the utmost extremities by famine, and seeing on all sides nothing but the ships and tents of the enemy, yet never entertaining any thought of surrender, the Greeks determined to force their way through the opposing ranks. Although by treachery the enemy was made aware of their design, and thus prepared to meet them, they were not able to prevent nearly 2000 of the besieged from making their way to the mountains. Many prisoners fell into the hands of the Turks, and the remainder, who were unable from their wounds or weariness to accompany their fellows, continued to defend themselves among the ruins until the explosion of a powder-magazine, destroying alike friends and foes, put an end to the bloody conflict. Such was the siege of Missolonghi, which attracted, during its continuance, the eyes of all Europe, and in which the Greeks showed themselves the worthy sons of the heroes of Marathon and Thermopylæ.
=Missouri.= One of the Central States of the Mississippi Valley, and the first organized wholly west of the Mississippi River. The French were the earliest settlers in the country, having built a fort there in 1719. By the treaty of 1763 it was ceded to Spain, with all the territory west of the Mississippi. Spain being at war with England during the American Revolution, her colonies were harassed by the English and their Indians allies. In 1780, a body of British and Indians attacked and besieged St. Louis, killing 60 of its defenders. The siege was raised by Col. Clark, an American, who came to the relief of the place with 500 men. In 1800 Spain restored the territory to France, and it passed to the United States by purchase in 1803. After the admission of Louisiana as a State in 1812, the remaining portion of the territory received the name of Missouri, from which was separated the State of that name in 1821. Though the State officially declared itself in favor of the Union in 1861, many of its prominent citizens sided with the Confederates. It was the scene of several engagements during the civil war.
=Missouria Indians.= A tribe of Dakota stock, who reside at the Otoe agency, Nebraska. They number about 200, and are progressing favorably in the arts of civilization.
=Mithridatic War.= The name of the celebrated contest carried on for a long series of years by the Romans against Mithridates VI., king of Pontus. It was caused by the massacre of about 100,000 Romans by Mithridates, 88 B.C., and remarkable for its duration, its many sanguinary battles, and the cruelties of its commanders. Mithridates having taken the consul Aquilius, made him ride on an ass through a great part of Asia, crying out as he rode, “I am Aquilius, consul of the Romans.” He is said to have killed him by causing melted gold to be poured down his throat, in derision of his avarice, 85 B.C.
=Mitigate.= To diminish the severity of; as, to mitigate punishment; to reduce in amount of severity, as a penalty. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 112.
=Mitraille= (_Fr._). Small pieces of old iron, such as heads of nails, etc., with which pieces of ordnance are sometimes loaded.
=Mitrailleur.= A gun in which several barrels are combined in order to produce a greater effect by the rapid succession of a number of shots. Mitrailleures existed as early as the 14th century. They were called _killing-organs_ at that time. The Scaligers at the end of the 14th century, the Protestant princes of Germany in the Smalkaldian war, and Austria in the war against Turkey, used this kind of gun. But the ancient mitrailleur differs from the modern both in dimensions and in the positions of the barrels. A peculiar kind of mitrailleur was the _espingol_, each barrel being loaded with several shots, which, by a slowly-burning charge, were discharged one after the other. The _espingol_ was used not only in the Middle Ages, but also recently,--by the Danes in 1848-50, and 1863-64. At the storming of Düppel the Prussians took about thirty such guns. In modern times the term has been specifically applied to certain battery guns employed by the French in the Franco-Prussian war. (See BATTERY GUN.) In the U. S. Light Artillery Tactics the term mitrailleur is applied to the Gatling gun.
=Mitylene=, or =Midulu= (anc. _Lesbos_). An island of the Grecian Archipelago, belonging to Turkey, and lying off the west coast of Asia Minor. Mitylene suffered much in the Greek war of independence, in the course of which it lost nearly the half of its inhabitants. (See MYTILENE.)
=Moabites.= A tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot, and consequently related to the Hebrews; they inhabited the mountainous country east of the lower part of the Jordan and of the Dead Sea. In the time of the Judges, the Jews were for eighteen years under the yoke of the Moabites, who were afterwards made tributary by David, but about 900 B.C. shook off their allegiance to the Jewish kings, and after the Assyrians invaded the land of Judah, took part with the Chaldeans against the Jews.
=Moat.= The ditch round the ramparts of a fortress may be either wet--_i.e._, full of water--or dry. In the latter, which is the commoner case, the depth should not be less than 12 feet, nor the width under 24. The more perpendicular the walls, so much the greater will be the obstruction to the enemy. In regular works the walls are usually reveted with masonry, that at the foot of the rampart being the scarp or escarp, and that below the covered way the counterscarp. See DITCH.
=Mobile.= A city and capital of Mobile Co., Ala., situated on the west bank of the Mobile River, immediately above its entrance into the bay of the same name. It was founded by Bienville in 1711, passed into the hands of the English in 1763, was taken by the Spanish general Galvez in 1780, and was confirmed to Spain by the treaty of 1783. Mobile was blockaded by the Federal fleet in May, 1861. In 1864 the Confederates constructed several ironclads and gunboats, and threatened to raise the blockade. On August 5, Admiral Farragut with his fleet passed Forts Morgan and Gaines, the Confederate fortifications guarding the entrance to Mobile Bay, captured the ram “Tennessee” and the gunboat “Selma,” and effectually crippled the “Gaines.” With the co-operation of the land forces, the forts were soon captured, and the city was effectually cut off from external commerce. Mobile was evacuated by the Confederates, and surrendered to Gen. Canby and Rear-Admiral Thatcher, April 12, 1865, about 1000 prisoners, 150 guns, and a large quantity of ammunition and supplies falling into the hands of the Federals.
=Mobilization.= The calling into active service troops not previously on the war establishment.
=Mobilize.= To call into active service;--applied to troops which, though enrolled, were not previously on the war establishment.
=Moccasin= (Algonkin, _makisin_). A shoe or cover for the foot, made of deer-skin or soft leather, without a sole, and ornamented on the upper side; the customary shoe worn by the American Indians.
=Möckern.= A town of Prussian Saxony, 13 miles east of Madgeburg, on the Ehle. Here the French army under Eugène Beauharnais was defeated by the Prussians under York, April, 1813, and here Blücher defeated the French, October 16, 1813.
=Modena= (anc. _Mutina_). A fortified city of Northern Italy, 24 miles west-northwest of Bologna, capital of the former duchy of the same name. In ancient times Mutina was an important town of Gallia Cispadana, situated on the Via Æmilia; it fell into the hands of the Romans in 218 B.C., who established a colony here thirty-five years later; in 117 B.C. the settlers were disturbed by an incursion of the Ligurians, who for a short time held possession of the town, but were ultimately expelled by Consul Claudius; it was held by M. Brutus against the victorious Pompey; sustained a siege of about four months against the troops of Mark Antony; besieged and taken by Constantine in 312; was laid waste by Attila in 452. The modern town is surrounded with walls, and defended by bastions and a citadel; was governed by the house of Este from 1288 till 1796, when the last male of that house, the reigning duke, Hercules III., was expelled by the French. By the treaty of Campo Formio the Modenese possessions were incorporated with the Cisalpine republic, 1797, and with the kingdom of Italy, 1805. The Archduke Francis of Este, son of the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, and of Mary, the heiress of the last duke, was restored in 1814. Modena was annexed to Sardinia March 18, 1860.
=Modocs.= A treacherous tribe of Indians of the Klamath nation. In 1872 they left the Klamath reservation under the leadership of their chief, Captain Jack, and refused to return. Military aid was invoked to compel them, and the troops were fired upon by the Indians, who retreated to the almost inaccessible fastnesses of the lava-beds. Here they held out until June 5, 1873, by which time nearly all were killed or captured. Captain Jack and some of the principal men of his tribe were tried by military commission for the murder of Gen. Canby and Mr. Thomas, Indian peace commissioner, who were treacherously slain in April while attending a conference with the Indians outside the camp. Captain Jack and three others were hanged October 3, 1873, and the remainder of the tribe deported to Indian Territory.
=Mœsia.= A Roman province in Europe. It was invaded by the Romans, when C. Scribonius Curio gained a victory over the Mœsians (75 B.C.), but not until the reign of Augustus was it finally subdued, 29 B.C. A line of fortresses was then planted for its defense along the southern bank of the Danube. The principal of these were afterwards known as Singidunum (Belgrade), Viminacium, and Axiopolis. It was successfully invaded by the Goths, numbers of whom eventually settled here. In the 7th century invading hordes of Bulgarians and Sclavonians founded the kingdoms of Bulgaria and Servia, which now comprise the territory of ancient Mœsia.
=Mogador=, =Mogodor=, or =Suerrah=. A seaport town of Morocco, on the Atlantic, 132 miles southwest from Morocco. Mogador is walled and fortified; but its defenses, which are the work of Genoese engineers, are of no great strength; its harbor, although much exposed, is considered the best on the coast. Mogador was bombarded in 1844 by a French fleet under the Prince de Joinville, on which occasion it suffered severely.
=Mognions= (_Fr._). A sort of armor for the shoulders.
=Mograbian.= A soldier of a branch of the Turkish infantry composed of the peasants of the northern part of Africa, who sought to better their condition by entering foreign service.
=Mogul Empire, The.= An empire which at one time extended over the greater part of Northern India. It was founded by Sultan Baber, a descendant of Timur (or Tamerlane), in 1526, and lasted until 1749, when the Mogul army was totally defeated by the Rohillas, and the empire was broken up into a number of petty sovereignties. In 1857, Mohammed Bahadur, the last king of Delhi and head of the Mogul empire, joined in the Indian mutiny, and was transported to Rangoon (1858), where he soon after died.
=Mohacs.= A town of Southern Hungary, on the western arm of the Danube. It owes its historical importance to the great battle fought here, August 29, 1526, between Louis II. of Hungary, with 25,000 Hungarians, and the sultan Solyman, at the head of about 200,000 Turks. The battle resulted in the disastrous defeat of the Hungarians, who lost their king, seven bishops, many nobles and dignitaries, and upwards of 22,000 men. A second battle was fought here on August 12, 1687, when the Turks in their turn were defeated by an Austro-Hungarian army under Charles of Lorraine.
=Mohammerah.= A Persian town near the Euphrates; captured, after two hours’ cannonading, by Sir James Outram, during the Persian war, March 26, 1857.
=Mohawks=, or =Maquas=. A warlike tribe of Indians who formerly inhabited the valley in the State of New York which bears their name. They were allied with the Onondagas, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras, the confederation constituting what was known as the “Five Nations.” They were allies of the English in their wars with the French, and in the Revolutionary war. After the peace of 1783 they removed to Upper Canada, and settled on Grand River upon lands procured for them by their chief, Brant.
=Mohegans=, or =Mohicans=. A tribe of Indians of Algonkin stock, who formerly inhabited a considerable part of New England, and a part of New York. The town of Norwich, Conn., called Mohegan by the Indians, is situated about the centre of their ancient country. When the English first settled at Hartford, Uncas, the chief of the tribe, formed a treaty of amity with them, which appears to have been generally observed. The Mohegans were long the sworn foes of the Narragansetts. The latter, under their chief, Miantonomoh, invaded the Mohegan country in 1643, but were defeated by Uncas, who captured Miantonomoh and put him to death in September of that year. In 1645, the Narragansetts, under Passacus, the brother of Miantonomoh, burning to avenge the death of that chief, again invaded the Mohegan territory. On this occasion they were more successful. They laid waste the country in all directions, and compelled Uncas and his warriors to take refuge in his strong fortress at Shantock, which they would probably have become masters of but for the timely assistance of the English, who furnished a supply of provisions to the besieged. The invasion was again repeated, and with almost fatal effect to Uncas. The English again saved him, however, and after nearly twenty years of strife the hatchet was at length buried between these tribes.
=Mohilow.= A town in Russia, where the Russian army under Prince Bagration was signally defeated by the French under Marshal Davoust, prince of Eckmühl, July 23, 1812.
=Mohrungen.= A town of East Prussia, 62 miles south-southwest of Königsberg. The French defeated the Russians here in 1807.
=Moienne= (_Fr._). A piece of ordnance, which is now called a 4-pounder, and which is 10 feet long, was formerly so called.
=Moineau.= A small, flat bastion, raised in front of an intended fortification, to defend it against attacks from small-arms.
=Mojave Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, of Apache stock, residing in Arizona. They number about 2100, of whom about one-third are located on a reservation on the Colorado River, and about an equal number (known as Mojave Apaches) at the San Carlos agency, Arizona.
=Moldavia.= A province in the northeastern part of Turkey in Europe. The princes of Moldavia were formerly called _voyvodes_, or military leaders, a name which was afterwards changed by the Turks to that of _hospodars_, which is still retained. In the 13th century Moldavia was frequently disturbed by civil war, occasioned by rival claimants for the crown, and these dissensions rose to such a height that the country was divided into two parts, one of which acknowledged the sovereignty of Poland, and the other that of Hungary. A union was, however, soon after effected, and Moldavia became subject to Hungary, paying at the same time a tribute to the Poles. In 1536 Moldavia came under the protection of the sultan; for a considerable time after this period, it was the scene of constant wars between the Poles and Turks, until the claims of the former to the sovereignty of the state were finally abandoned in 1621, and peace concluded between Turkey and Poland; in 1738, during the war of Austria and Russia against Turkey, Moldavia was invaded by a Russian force, and occupied for two years, but was evacuated after the peace of Belgrade; in 1769 it was again occupied by the Russians, and became for a short time subject to the czar, but was restored to Turkey in 1774; in 1789 this unfortunate principality was again the scene of contest between Russia and Turkey, until the peace of Jassy in 1792, when the Russian frontier was fixed by the Dneister; in the war of 1807-12, Moldavia again fell into the hands of the Russians, who, by the treaty of Bucharest, acquired possession of Bessarabia, and thus extended their frontier to the Pruth. At the commencement of the Greek war in 1820 an insurrection broke out in the Danubian principalities, but it was suppressed by the Turks; in 1828 another war between Turkey and Russia broke out, and Moldavia was occupied by the Russians without opposition until peace was established by the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. A conspiracy was formed in 1840, to unite the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia into one state, but without success. In 1848 the influence of revolutionary sentiments was felt in Moldavia; the people of Jassy demanded a new constitution, and, although the hospodar successfully resisted this movement, he laid down his authority in the same year. In 1853 a Russian army took possession of Moldavia and Wallachia; after attempting in vain to cross the Danube in Wallachia, the Russians, in the spring of 1854, crossed that river at Galatz, and seized the fortresses in the Dobrudscha; they then proceeded to lay siege to Silistria, but this town was so vigorously defended that they were obliged to raise the siege, and the British and French troops having arrived at Varna, the Russian army evacuated the principalities in the autumn of 1854; the hospodars then returned to their respective governments, and the principalities were occupied by an Austrian army. At a conference at Paris, August 19, 1858, it was decided that the principalities should thenceforth be called the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, and should have in common a central commission and court of appeal, but be governed by different hospodars, to be elected by the people, and confirmed by the Porte.
=Molded Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Mole.= A mound or massive work formed of large stones laid in the sea, extended either in a right line or an arc of a circle before a port, which it serves to defend from the violence of the waves, thus protecting ships in harbor; also, sometimes the harbor itself.
=Molino del Rey.= A range of massive stone buildings, about 500 yards long, forming the western side of an inclosure which surrounds the rock and castle, groves and fields of Chapultepec, 2 miles southwest of the city of Mexico. These buildings were occupied by the troops of Santa Anna in September, 1847, to intercept the march of the American army under command of Gen. Scott upon the city of Mexico. They were attacked on the morning of the 8th by Gen. Worth’s division, and, after a severe contest, the buildings were captured, with a loss to the Americans of 787 killed and wounded (including 59 officers), out of 3447, the whole number engaged. The Mexican forces numbered about 10,000 men.
=Mollwitz.= A village of Prussian Silesia; to the east of it lies the celebrated battle-field where Frederick II. of Prussia gained his first victory over the Austrians, April 10, 1741.
=Moluccas=, or =Spice Islands=. A numerous group of islands in the Asiatic Archipelago, situated between Celebes on the west, and New Guinea on the east, and stretching from lat. 2° N. to lat. 9° S. They were discovered by the Portuguese about 1510; became dependencies of Holland, 1795; during the French war of 1796, however, they were taken by the British, who held possession of them till 1800, when they were returned to Holland. The islands were again occupied by the British in 1810, but were finally restored to the Dutch in 1814, by the treaty of Paris.
=Molycrium.= A town in the most southerly part of Ætolia; it was founded by the Corinthians, but was afterwards taken possession of by the Ætolians.
=Mombas.= A seaport town of Africa, on a small island, in a bay on the coast of Zanzibar. It was first visited by the Portuguese under Vasco de Gama in 1498. In 1505, Francisco de Almeida, the Portuguese viceroy of India, took and burnt the town; in 1529 the Portuguese returned and repeated their work of destruction, and retained the city from that date to 1720, when Mombas fell into the hands of the imam of Muscat, but he was soon dispossessed by a rebellion of the inhabitants. It was under British protection from 1824 to 1826, and is now governed by an Arab sheikh.
=Momentum.= Is that force possessed by a body in motion; and is measured by the product of the mass of the body into its velocity.
=Mona= (now _Anglesey_). An island off the coast of the Ordovices, in Britain; it was invaded by Suetonius Paulinus, 61, and was conquered by Agricola, 78.
=Moncontour.= A town near Poitiers, in France. Here Admiral Coligny and the French Protestants were defeated by the Duke of Anjou, October 3, 1569.
=Mondovi.= A town of Northern Italy, near the river Ellero, about 47 miles south from Turin. The town is defended by walls and a small citadel, and contains a great number of religious houses. The French, under Napoleon I., defeated the Sardinian troops, under Colli, near this town in 1796, and in 1799 the town was sacked by the French under Soult.
=Monghir.= A town of Hindostan, East Indies, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges. It was an object of contention between the kings of Behar and Bengal in the early part of the 16th century; taken by the British in 1763.
=Mongolia.= A vast district in Asia. Its present boundaries east and north are Manchuria and Siberia, respectively, and on the south and west Thibet and Turkestan; but these boundaries have varied greatly at different periods of history. The whole of what is now usually recognized as Mongolia is considered to belong to the Chinese empire. See TARTARY.
=Mongols.= See TARTARY.