Part 97

=Peasants’ War.= In German history, the name given to that great insurrection of the peasantry which broke out in the beginning of the year 1525. The oppression of the peasants had gradually increased in severity, as the nobility became more extravagant and the clergy more sensual and degenerate. The example of Switzerland encouraged the hope of success, and from 1476 to 1517 there were risings here and there among the peasants of the south of Germany. A peasant rebellion, called from its cognizance, the _Bundschuh_ (laced shoe), took place in the Rhine countries in 1502, and another called the “League of Poor Conrad,” in Würtemberg, in 1514, both of which were put down without any abatement of the grievances which occasioned them. The Reformation, by the mental awakening which it produced, and the diffusion of sentiments favorable to freedom, must be reckoned among the causes of the great insurrection itself. The Anabaptists, and in particular Münzer, encouraged and excited them, and a peasant insurrection took place in the Hegau in 1522. Another known as the “Latin War” arose in 1523 in Salzburg, against an unpopular archbishop, but these were quickly suppressed. On January 1, 1525, the peasantry of the abbacy of Kempten, along with the towns-people, suddenly assailed and plundered the convent; this event proved the signal for a general rising of the peasantry on all sides throughout the south of Germany. They organized themselves into bands of from 9000 to 30,000, and destroyed convents and castles, murdered, pillaged, and were guilty of the greatest excesses, which must indeed be regarded as partly in revenge for the cruelties practiced against them. In May and June, 1525, they sustained a number of severe defeats from the regular forces under Truchsess von Waldburg, in which large bodies of them were destroyed. The landgraf Philip of Hesse was also successful against them in the north of Germany. The peasants after they had been subjugated were everywhere treated with terrible cruelty; a great body of them were massacred; multitudes were hanged in the streets, and many were put to death with the greatest tortures. It is supposed that more than 150,000 persons lost their lives in this war. The lot of the defeated insurgents became harder than ever.

=Pebble Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.

=Pecq, Le.= A village of France, on the right bank of the Seine, about half a mile east from St. Germain en Laye. The allied forces crossed the Seine at this spot in 1815.

=Pectoral= (Fr. _pectorale_). A breastplate. Among the Romans the poorer soldiers, who were rated under 1000 drachmas, instead of the _lorica_, or brigantine (a leathern coat of mail) wore a pectoral, or breastplate of thin brass, about twelve fingers square. Some modern troops, such as the cuirassiers, etc., wear pectorals for the direct purposes of defense and bodily protection; but in general small ornamental plates with clasps have been substituted.

=Peculation.= A term used in a military sense for embezzling public moneys, stores, arms, or ammunition. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 60.

=Pedro.= An early gun of large caliber for throwing stone balls.

=Peel.= To strip; to plunder; to pillage; as, to peel a province or conquered people.

=Peel.= A small tower or fort.

=Peel-house.= A small fortified place.

=Peel-towers.= The name given to the towers erected on the Scottish borders for defense. They are square, with turrets at the angles, and the door is sometimes at a height from the ground. The lower story is usually vaulted, and forms a stable for horses, cattle, etc.

=Peep o’ Day Boys.= Were insurgents in Ireland, who visited the houses of their antagonists at break of day, in search of arms. They first appeared July 4, 1784, and for a long period were the terror of the country.

=Pegu.= A British province of Eastern India, is bounded on the north by the Burmese empire, east by the Tenasserim provinces, south by the Gulf of Martaban, and west by the Bay of Bengal and the province of Arracan. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1520. The early history of Pegu consists of little more than a narrative of barbarous and cruel contests between that country and the kingdom of Ava, in which the latter was finally successful, and reduced Pegu to a province of that kingdom, or, as it is generally called, the Burman empire. Pegu, the capital, was taken by Maj. Cotton, with 300 men, in June, 1852, without loss; and afterwards abandoned. It was again occupied by the Burmese and strongly fortified, with a garrison of 4000 men. It was recaptured by Gen. Godwin with 1200 men and 2 guns, in two hours, with the loss of 6 killed and 32 wounded. The province was annexed to the British possessions, by proclamation, December 20, 1852, and has since prospered. In February, 1862, it was united with Arracan and Tenasserim as British Burmah.

=Pei-ho.= A river of China, which rising on the confines of Tartary, traverses the northern part of the province of Chih-le or Pe-chih-le, and falls into the Gulf of Pe-chih-le, in about 38° 30′ N. lat. The attack on the escort of the British and French ambassadors whilst ascending the Pei-ho to Pekin (June, 1859), led to the war with China of 1860, in which year the Taku forts on this river were taken by the British.

=Peishwa.= The title of the military governor of the Mahrattas, whose office became hereditary in the family of Balajee Biswanath, its first possessor, who fixed his residence at Poonah.

=Peking=, or =Pekin=. The capital of the Chinese empire, situated between the Pei-ho and Hoen-ho, 100 miles northwest from the mouth of the Pei-ho River. About 5 miles north from the city the famous Yuen-ming-yuen palaces are situated, which were sacked and destroyed by the allies in October, 1860; these were 30 in number. Here had been heaped up for centuries all the movable riches and presents of the emperors of China. At the approach of the allies Hien-fung fled in haste; and when Lord Elgin learned that it was in those grounds that the British and French prisoners, captured by treachery, had been tortured, he gave the order to sack and destroy this favorite residence of the emperor’s, as it could not fail to be a blow to his pride as well as his feelings; and it became a solemn act of retribution. Peking has thus been rendered memorable by this march of the British and French forces (1860) to the walls of the city, on which the British and French flags were raised. The provisions of the treaty of Tien-tsin (1858) were subsequently ratified and supplemented by the convention of Peking, which was signed in the English and French languages at Peking, October 24, 1860.

=Pelican.= An ancient name for a 6-pounder culverin, 9 feet long and weighing 2400 pounds.

=Pelican.= In heraldry, the pelican is drawn with her wings endorsed, and wounding her breast with her beak. When represented in her nest feeding her young with her blood, she is called a pelican in _her piety_.

=Peligni.= A brave and warlike people of Sabine origin, in Central Italy, bounded southeast by the Marsi, north by the Marrucini, south by Samium and the Frentani, and east by the Frentani likewise. They offered a brave resistance to the Romans, but concluded a peace with the republic along with their neighbors the Marsi, Marrucini, and Frentani, in 304 B.C. They took an active part in the Social war (90, 89). They were subdued by Pompeius Strabo, after which time they are rarely mentioned.

=Pelinna=, or more commonly =Pelinnæum= (now _Gardhiki_). A town of Thessaly, in Hestiæotis, on the left bank of the Peneus, was taken by the Romans in their war with Antiochus.

=Pellene.= A city in Achaia, bordering on Sicyonia, the most easterly of the twelve Achæan cities, was situated on a hill 60 stadia from the sea, and was strongly fortified. Its port-town was Aristonautæ. In the Peloponnesian war Pellene sided with Sparta. In the later wars of Greece between the Achæan and Ætolian leagues, the town was several times taken by the contending parties.

=Pellet.= An old word for shot or bullet.

=Pellet=, or =Ogress=. In English heraldry, a roundle sable.

=Pell-mell.= In utter confusion; with disorderly mixture; with confused violence; as, the battle was a confused heap, the ground unequal, men, horses, chariots, crowded pell-mell.

=Peloponnesian War.= One of the most celebrated and important of the wars carried on between the different states of Greece; the particulars of which are related in the writings of Xenophon and Thucydides. It existed for twenty-seven years, during which time the Athenians and the inhabitants of the Peloponnesus, the most southern peninsula of Greece, were the principal belligerents. After the Athenians had sustained immense losses, it was at best agreed that to establish the peace the fortifications of the Athenian harbors should be demolished, and all their ships, except twelve, be surrendered to the enemy. They were to resign every pretension to their dominions abroad; to follow the Spartans in war, and in time of peace to frame their constitutions according to the will and prescription of their Peloponnesian conquerors. Their walls and fortifications were instantly leveled to the ground; and the conquerors observed that in the demolition of Athens, succeeding ages would fix the era of Grecian freedom. This memorable event happened about 404 years before the Christian era; and thirty “tyrants” were appointed by Lysander over the government of the city.

=Pelta.= A small light shield, sometimes attributed to the Amazons, but used by numerous nations of antiquity, such as the inhabitants of Thrace, Spain, and Mauritania, before its general introduction among the Greeks. It consisted mainly of a frame of wood or wicker-work covered with skin or leather, without the metallic rim, and of a great variety of shapes. It was sometimes round, as in the special case of the _cetra_, sometimes elliptical, sometimes variously situated round the rim, sometimes even quadrangular, but most commonly crescent-shaped or lunated, as alluded to in the “_Amazonidum lunatis agmina peltis_” of Virgil. Soldiers bearing the _pelta_ were called _peltastæ_.

=Pelusium.= The Greek name of an ancient Egyptian city situated on the northeastern angle of the Delta, and important as the key of Egypt on the Asiatic side. Pelusium is called _Sin_ in the Old Testament. It first figures in semi-authentic history as the scene of Sennacherib’s defeat, when (according to the Egyptian tradition, as reported by Herodotus) the camp of the Assyrians was invaded at night by a host of field-mice, who gnawed their bow-strings and shield-straps, so that in the morning, when the Egyptians fell upon them, they were defenseless. In 525 B.C., Cambyses overthrew, near Pelusium, the forces of Pharaoh-Psammetichus. It surrendered to Alexander in 333 B.C. The city was also taken by the Persians in 309 B.C.; and in 173 B.C., it was the scene of the defeat of Ptolemy Philometor by Antiochus Epiphanes. Mark Antony captured it 55 B.C., and it opened its gates to Octavian after his victory at Actium, 31 B.C. It was taken after a protracted resistance by Amrou, the Saracen, in 618.

=Pembroke.= A seaport town of South Wales, on a navigable creek of Milford Haven, 210 miles west of London. In 1648 its castle was beleaguered by Cromwell, and taken after a siege of six weeks.

=Penalba=, or =Penalva=. A village of Spain, province of Huesca, 18 miles northwest of Mequinenza. During the War of the Succession the troops of Philip V. were here defeated in a bloody battle by the army of the Archduke Charles, August 15, 1710.

=Penalty.= In a military sense, signifies forfeiture for non-performance, likewise punishment for embezzlement, etc.

=Pencel.= A small flag or streamer which was formerly carried at the top of a lance;--called also _pennoncel_.

=Pend d’Oreilles=, or =Kalispels= (_Calispels_). A tribe of partially civilized Indians, divided into several bands aggregating about 2000, who reside in Washington, Idaho, and Montana Territories. A few of this tribe are also to be found in British Columbia.

=Pendant.= In heraldry, a part hanging from the label, resembling the drops in the Doric frieze.

=Pendulum, Ballistic.= See BALLISTIC PENDULUM.

=Pendulum Hausse.= See HAUSSE, PENDULUM.

=Penetrating.= Having the power of entering or piercing another body.

=Penetration of Spherical Projectiles.= Their penetration when of the same size, with different velocities or charges, is nearly as the squares of the velocities; when of different sizes the penetration will be proportionate to their diameters multiplied by the density, and inversely as the tenacity of the medium. The depth of penetration of a projectile fired from field-pieces at the distance of 500 or 600 yards, is from 4¹⁄₂ to 6 feet in parapets recently constructed, and will traverse walls of ordinary construction; but a 12-pounder is necessary to make a breach in walls of good masonry and of 4 feet in thickness, and in this case the position of the battery must be favorable, and the operation a slow one. The depth of penetration of projectiles fired from the 4¹⁄₂-inch siege-gun, is about the same as that of projectiles fired from the 30-pounder Parrott gun, namely, 12 feet. Sand, sandy earth mixed with gravel, small stones, chalk, and tufa, resist shot better than the productive earths. Shells may be considered as round shot of a lower specific gravity, and their penetrations are therefore proportionally less. A bank of earth, to afford a secure cover from heavy guns, will require a thickness from 18 to 24 feet. In guns below 18-pounders, if the number of the feet in thickness of the bank be made equal to the number of pounds in the weight of the shot by which it is to be assailed, the requisite protection will be obtained. Earth possesses advantages over every other material. It is easily obtained, regains its position after displacement, and the injury done to an earthen battery by day can be readily repaired at night. Where masonry is liable to be breached, it should be covered with earth. Wrought-iron plates 4¹⁄₂ inches in thickness will withstand the effects of 32-pound shots, and of all inferior calibers at short ranges, as 400 yards. Plates of this thickness, however, are soon destroyed by 68-pound shots, and afford little protection from the elongated shots of the new rifled ordnance. To resist successfully the fall of heavy shells, buildings must be covered with arches of good masonry, not less than 3 feet thick, having bearings not greater than 25 feet, and these must be again protected by a covering of several feet of earth. Iron plates half an inch thick, oak planks 4 inches thick, or a 9-inch brick wall, are proof against musketry or canister at a range of 100 yards. Iron plates 1 inch thick, oak from 8 to 10 inches thick, a good wall a foot thick or a firm bank of earth 4 feet thick, will afford secure cover from grape-shot, from any but the largest guns at short ranges. The common musket will drive its bullet about a foot and a half into well-rammed earth, or it will penetrate from 6 to 10 half-inch elm boards placed at intervals of an inch. The penetration of the rifled musket is about twice that of the common musket. A rope matting or mantlet 3¹⁄₂ inches thick is found to resist small-arm projectiles at all distances; it may therefore be employed as a screen against riflemen.

=Peninsular War.= A war which had for its theatre the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal, and in which England, Spain, and Portugal fought against France. It lasted from March, 1808, until May, 1814, when the former powers were completely victorious.

=Pennetière=, or =Panetière= (_Fr._). A pocket or small bag in which slingers carried stones and leaden balls.

=Pennon= (_Fr._). Formerly a copper wing of a long, light arrow (_vireton_), substituted for a feather.

=Pennon.= In former times was something like a banner, but with the addition of a triangular point, charged with arms, and borne before knights-bachelors.

=Pennsylvania.= One of the Middle States of the Atlantic slope, the second in population in the Union, and one of the thirteen of the original confederacy. The earliest settlements were made in 1627 by a colony of Swedes and Finns, who established themselves on the Delaware River, going as far northward as the locality of Philadelphia. In 1665 a Dutch expedition from New Amsterdam took formal possession of the country. The Dutch in their turn were superseded by the English after the capture of New York in 1664; and in 1681 the territory was granted by Charles II. to William Penn, who with his co-religionists of the Society of Friends established a Christian government “founded on peace, reason, and right.” Having purchased the lands of the Indians, and conciliated them by kindness and good will, he secured their friendship during seventy years. Previous to the French and Indian war in 1755, the contests waged between the French and English colonists had not reached Pennsylvania; but in that year occurred the disastrous defeat of Braddock, near Pittsburgh, in which Washington, then a young man, distinguished himself. Pennsylvania took an active part in the Revolutionary contest, and on her soil occurred the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, September and October, 1777, the massacres of Wyoming and Paoli, and the suffering winter encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-78. The most prosperous of the colonies, and in a central position, it became the seat of the congress held by the colonies both before and after the decision of the struggle. Independence was proclaimed here, and it remained the seat of the general government until 1800. No State in the confederacy has been more loyal to the Constitution. During the war of 1812 she promptly furnished her quota of troops, and during the civil war she sent nearly 400,000 men into the field. During this trying period her territory was three times invaded: in 1862, when Chambersburg (which see) was captured, and in 1864, when it was burned; and in 1863, when it was invaded by Lee, and the battle of Gettysburg fought on its soil.

=Penobscots.= A tribe of Indians, of Algonkin stock (numbering about 500), who reside on an island in the Penobscot River, about 8 miles north of Bangor, Me. They were allies of the colonists in the war of the Revolution, and received for their services a large tract of land, the greater part of which has been from time to time disposed of.

=Penon de Velez.= A fortified town, built on a high and steep rock, lying off the north coast of Morocco, 75 miles southeast from Ceuta. It belongs to Spain, and was founded by Pedro of Navarre in 1508. It was taken by the Moors in 1522; but recovered by the Spaniards in 1664.

=Penrith.= A town of England, county of Cumberland, 282 miles north-northwest of London. On a knoll to the west of the town stand the ruins of a castle, which was built by the Nevilles during the wars of the Roses, and dismantled in the civil war by the Parliamentary party. The town is a place of considerable antiquity, and it formerly played a conspicuous part in the border warfare. It was taken by the Scots several times in the 14th century, and in 1715 and 1745 was occupied by the insurgents.

=Pensacola.= City and capital of Escambia Co., Fla., situated on the west shore of Pensacola Bay, about 10 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, has an excellent harbor, and is one of the safest in the Gulf. Pensacola was settled by the Spaniards, occupied by the British in 1814, and acquired by the United States in 1821. It contains a navy-yard, and is defended by Forts Pickens and McRae. During the civil war, 1861-65, it was the scene of several military and naval operations. The navy-yard was surrendered to the Confederates in 1861, but was recovered by the Union forces in the following year.

=Pension.= Specifically, a stated allowance to a person in consideration of past services; payment made to one retired from service, for age, disability, or other cause; especially a yearly stipend paid by government to retired officers, disabled soldiers, the families of soldiers killed, etc.

=Pensioner.= In the British army, is a soldier maintained in Chelsea Hospital.

=Pensioner, Out-.= In the British army, is a soldier receiving a pension, but not maintained in Chelsea Hospital. Those who are capable of bearing arms are available for military service when required.

=Pensioners, Gentlemen.= See GENTLEMEN-AT-ARMS.

=Penstock.= A machine composed of timber, which, by means of a movable board, enables the defenders of a fortress to allow such a rush of water from the batardeaux as to inundate and destroy the works which the enemy may have constructed in the ditch.

=Pentagon.= In fortification, a figure bounded by five sides, which form so many angles, capable of being fortified with an equal number of bastions. It also denotes a fort with five bastions.

=Pentathlon.= The five exercises performed in the Grecian games, namely, leaping, running, quoiting, darting, and wrestling.

=Penthouse.= A shed hanging forward in a sloping direction from the main wall of a place.

=Pentland Hills.= A range of hills in Scotland, commencing about 4 miles west from Edinburgh. Here the Scotch Presbyterians, since called Cameronians, who had risen against the government, on account of the establishment of Episcopacy, were defeated by the royal troops, November 28, 1666.

=Pentri.= One of the most important of the tribes in Samnium; were conquered by the Romans along with the other Samnites, and were the only one of the Samnite tribes who remained faithful to the Romans when the rest of the nation revolted to Hannibal in the second Punic war.

=Peons.= East Indian municipal foot-soldiers. These men are chiefly employed to assist in collecting the revenues, and carry a pike or staff. Most persons in India keep servants, who wear a belt with their master’s name on it. These are called _peadahs_.

=Peoria Indians.= A tribe of aborigines who formerly resided in Illinois, but are now settled on the Quapaw agency, in Indian Territory, in confederation with the Kaskaskias and other tribes. They are but few in number, the northern tribes having nearly exterminated them in 1769, in revenge for the murder of Pontiac.

=Pequots=, or =Pequods=. A tribe of Indians of Algonkin stock, closely allied to the Mohegans, who resided in Eastern Connecticut. The tribe was nearly exterminated by the colonists in the Pequot war (1637).

=Perclose=, or =Demi-Garter=. In heraldry, the lower half of a garter with the buckle.

=Percussion.= Is the impression which a body makes in falling or striking against another, or the shock of two moving bodies. It is either direct or oblique.

=Percussion, Centre of.= That point wherein the shock of the percutient bodies is the greatest.

=Percussion, Direct.= Is where the impulse is given in the direction of a right line perpendicular to the point of contact.

=Percussion, Oblique.= Is where the impulse is given in the direction of a line oblique to the point of contact.

=Percussion-bullet.= A bullet made by placing a small quantity of percussion powder in a copper envelope in the point of an ordinary rifled-musket bullet.

=Percussion-caps.= See CAPS, PERCUSSION-.

=Percussion-fuze.= See FUZE.

=Percussion-lock.= A lock of a gun in which gunpowder is exploded by fire obtained from the percussion of fulminating powder.

=Percussion-match.= A match which ignites by percussion.

=Percussion-powder.= Powder composed of such materials as to ignite by slight percussion; fulminating powder.

=Percutient.= That which strikes or has power to strike.

=Perdu.= A word adopted from the French, signifying to lie flat and closely in wait. It likewise means employed on desperate purposes; accustomed to desperate enterprises.

=Pered= (Hungary). Here the Hungarians under Görgey were defeated by Wohlgemuth and the Russians, June 21, 1849.