Part 99

=Petersburg.= A city of Dinwiddie Co., Va., on the south bank of the Appomattox River, about 25 miles from Richmond. The city is one of historic interest. It was twice occupied by the British forces as headquarters during the Revolutionary war; but it is principally noted as the scene of several sanguinary encounters during the civil war, and for the obstinate and bloody defense which it made. On June 15-16, 1864, two formidable assaults were made on it by the Army of the Potomac under Gen. Grant, but they were repulsed with heavy loss. It was then determined to invest the city, which was done a few days later. On July 30, another attempt was made to take it by storm, but without success. The siege was prolonged with many indecisive operations until April 3, 1865, after a week’s bombardment it was evacuated by Gen. Lee, who surrendered six days later.

=Petersburg, St.= The capital and most populous city of the Russian empire, at the mouth of the Neva in the Gulf of Finland, 16 miles east of Cronstadt, and 400 miles northwest of Moscow. It was founded by Peter the Great, May 27, 1703. The peace of St. Petersburg, between Russia and Prussia, the former restoring all her conquests to the latter, was signed May 5, 1762. Treaty of St. Petersburg for the partition of Poland, August 5, 1772. Treaty of St. Petersburg, led to a coalition against France, September 8, 1805. Treaty of Alliance, signed at St. Petersburg, between Bernadotte, prince royal of Sweden, and the emperor Alexander; the former agreeing to join in the campaign against France, in return for which Sweden was to receive Norway, March 24, 1812.

=Peterwalden= (Germany), Convention of. Between Great Britain and Russia, by which a firm and decisive alliance between these powers was made against France and the course of action against Napoleon Bonaparte was planned, signed July 8, 1813. This alliance led to the overthrow of Bonaparte in the next year.

=Peterwardein=, or =Varadin=. The capital town of Slavonia, Austria, and the strongest fortress on the Danube, is situated on a scarped rock, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite Neusatz, with which town it is connected by a bridge of boats, defended by a strong _tête-de-pont_, 44 miles northwest of Belgrade. It is the residence of the general commandant of the Slavonian military frontier, and of several subordinate military authorities. It derives its present name from Peter the Hermit, who here marshaled the soldiers of the first Crusade. Peterwardein was taken by the Turks, July, 1526. In 1688, the fortifications were blown up by the Imperialists, and the town was soon after burned to the ground by the Turks; but at the peace of Passarowitz, on July 21, 1718, it remained in the possession of the emperor. It was here that, on August 5, 1716, the Austrians, under Prince Eugène, obtained a great victory over the Turks under Grand Vizer Ali; the latter then lost their last footing in Central Europe.

=Petra.= The _Sela_ of the Old Testament, the chief town of Arabia Petræa, once the capital of the Idumeans, and subsequently of the Nabatæi. It was subdued by A. Cornelius Palma, a lieutenant of Trajan’s, and remained under the dominion of the Romans a considerable time, and its destruction is supposed at length to have been wrought by the Mohammedans.

=Petra.= An ancient town of Colchis, in the land of the Lazi, founded by Joannes Tzibus, a general of Justinian, to keep these people in subjection. It was situated on a rock near the coast, and was very strongly fortified. It was taken by Chosroes in 541 A.D., and its subsequent siege by the Romans is described by Gibbon as one of the most remarkable actions of the age. The first siege was relieved; but it was again attacked by the Romans, and was at length taken by assault, after a long protracted resistance, in 551 A.D. It was then destroyed by the Romans, and from that time disappears from history.

=Petra.= An ancient and strong fortress in Sogdiana, held by Arimazes when Alexander attacked it.

=Petronel= (Fr. _petrinal_, or _poitronal_). A piece between a carbine and a pistol (with a wheel-lock), which was used by the French during the reign of Francis I.; it was held against the breast when fired. To prevent any injury from its recoil, the soldier who used it was provided with a pad.

=Petropaulovski.= A fortified town on the east coast of Kamtschatka, was attacked by an English and French squadron August 30, 1854. They destroyed the batteries, and a party of 700 sailors and marines landed to assault the place, but fell into an ambuscade, and many were killed. After this the Russians greatly strengthened their defenses, but on May 30, 1855, the allied squadron in the Pacific arriving here found the place deserted. The fortifications were destroyed, but the town was spared.

=Pettah.= In Southern India, a term applied to the _enceinte_ of a town, as distinguished from the fortress by which it is protected.

=Pettman Fuze.= See FUZE.

=Pfaffendorf and Liegnitz.= See LIEGNITZ.

=Pfedersheim.= A town of Germany, in Hesse-Darmstadt, 4 miles northwest from Worms. A battle was fought here, in 1555, which brought the “Peasants’ war” to a termination.

=Phalanx.= The ancient Greek formation for heavy infantry, which won for itself a reputation of invincibility. It may be described as a line of parallel columns, rendered by its depth and solidity capable of penetrating any line of troops. The oldest phalanx was the Lacedæmonian, or Spartan, in which the soldiers stood 8 deep, but this was reduced to 4 men by Miltiades, in order to increase his front at the battle of Marathon, 480 B.C. The Macedonian phalanx, as the latest form that organization assumed, and as the shape in which the phalanx encountered the military skill of the West, is deserving of description. The line was 16 deep: a grand-phalanx comprising 16,384 men, composed of four phalanxes or divisions, each under a general officer, called a _phalangarch_; his command was divided into two brigades, or _merarchies_, each of these comprising two regiments, or _chiliarches_, of four battalions, or _syntagmata_, each, and each syntagma of 16 men each way, making a perfect square. The Roman legion was far superior to the phalanx.

=Phalsbourg.= A strong town of Alsace, department of La Meurthe, Northeast France. It was ceded to France in 1661, and its fortress erected by Vauban, 1679. It checked the progress of the victorious allies both in 1814 and 1815, and withstood the Germans from August 16 to December 12, 1870, when it capitulated unconditionally.

=Pharax.= One of the council of ten appointed by the Spartans in 418 B.C. to control Agis. At the battle of Mantinea in that year, he restrained the Lacedæmonians from pressing too much on the defeated enemy, and so running the risk of driving them to despair. In 396 B.C. he laid siege with 120 ships to Caunus, where Conon was stationed, but was compelled to withdraw by the approach of a large force.

=Pharsalus= (now _Fersala_, or _Pharsalia_). Anciently a town of Thessaly, to the south of Larissa, on the river Enipeus, a branch of the Peneus (now the Salambria), and historically notable mainly for the great battle fought here between Cæsar and Pompey, August 9, 48 B.C. Pompey had about 45,000 legionaries, 7000 cavalry, and a great number of light-armed auxiliaries. Cæsar had 22,000 legionaries and 1000 German and Gallic cavalry. The battle-cry of Cæsar’s army was “_Venus victrix_” that of Pompey’s “_Hercules invictus_.” Cæsar’s right wing began the battle by an attack on the left wing of Pompey, which was speedily routed. Pompey fled into the camp, and his army broke up; Cæsar’s troop stormed his camp about mid-day, and he himself, awaking as from stupefaction, fled to Larissa, whither Cæsar followed him next day. Cæsar lost about 1200 men. On Pompey’s side about 6000 legionaries fell in battle, and more than 24,000 who had fled, were taken, whom Cæsar pardoned and distributed among his troops.

=Pheon.= In heraldry, the barbed iron head of a dart; used also as a royal mark, to denote crown property, and termed the _broad_, or _broad arrow_.

=Philadelphia.= A city and metropolis of Pennsylvania, situated between the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers. The city was settled and planned by William Penn in 1682, and its name (City of Brotherly Love) given through the Society of Friends, of whom he was the great leader in America. It had a prominent position in the Revolution, and was in possession of the British troops after the disastrous battles of Brandywine and Germantown, until 1778. Being the second city of the United States in wealth and importance, it has been ever forward in promoting her interests.

=Philibeg.= See FILLIBEG.

=Philiphaugh.= Near Selkirk, Southern Scotland, where the Marquis of Montrose and the royalists were defeated by David Leslie and the Scotch Covenanters, September 13, 1645.

=Philippi.= A city of Macedonia. It was named after Philip II. of Macedon, who conquered it from Thrace. Here Antony and Octavianus, in two battles, defeated the republican forces of Cassius and Brutus, who both committed suicide, October, 42 B.C.; this ended the republican government of Rome.

=Phocæa.= The most northern of the cities of Ionia, was situated about 25 miles northwest from Smyrna. It was founded by a colony of Phocians, led by two Athenians, Philogenes and Damon. Its citizens are said to have been the first among the Greeks who extended their commercial voyages to great distances; and its inhabitants abandoned their city rather than submit to the Persians, 544 B.C. They settled in Italy, and founded Velia. Massilia in France, and Alalia in Corsica, were colonies of the Phocæans.

=Phocis.= A province of Greece Proper, or Hellas, bounded on the north by the Ozolian Lokri, on the north by Doris, on the east by the Opuntian Lokri, and on the south by the Gulf of Corinth. During the Peloponnesian war, the Phocians were close allies of the Athenians. In 357 B.C. they seized Delphi, and commenced the second Sacred war. They were opposed by Thebes and other states, and were utterly subdued by Philip II. of Macedon in 346.

=Phœnicia.= Is the name given by the Greeks and Romans to a certain territory situated about 34°-36° N. lat., bounded by the Mediterranean on the west, by Syria to the north and east, and Judæa to the south. Its length may be said to have been about 200 miles, while its breadth never exceeded 20 miles. The natives were the most eminent navigators and traders of antiquity; their cities or allied states being Tyre, Sidon, Berytus, Tripolis, Byblos, and Ptolemais, or Acre. From the 19th to the 13th century B.C., they established colonies on the shores or isles of the Mediterranean, Carthage, Hippo, Utica, Gades, Panormus, and are said to have visited the British Isles. Phœnicia was conquered by Cyrus, 537 B.C.; by Alexander, 332; by the Romans, 47; and after partaking of the fortunes of Palestine, was added to the Ottoman empire, 1516.

=Phous-dan.= An East Indian term for a commander of a large body of forces.

=Phrygia.= A country of Asia Minor. According to the division of the provinces under the Roman empire, Phrygia formed the eastern part of the province of Asia, and was bounded on the west by Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, on the south by Lycia and Pisidia, on the east by Lycaonia (which is often reckoned as a part of Phrygia) and Galatia (which formerly belonged to Phrygia), and on the north by Bithynia. The kingdom of Phrygia was conquered by Crœsus, and formed part of the Persian, Macedonian, and Syro-Grecian empires; but, under the last, the northwestern part was conquered by the Gauls; and a part west of this was subjected by the kings of Bithynia; this last portion was the object of a contest between the kings of Bithynia and Pergamus. The whole of Phrygia was assigned by the Romans to the kingdom of Pergamus, after the overthrow of Antiochus the Great in 190 B.C.

=Piacenza= (anc. _Placentia_). A city of Northern Italy, in the province of the same name, on the right bank of the Po, 2 miles below the confluence of the Trebbia. It is of an oblong form, surrounded by ancient walls and ditches, and defended by a citadel, which was garrisoned by the Austrians till 1859. Piacenza is first mentioned in 219 B.C., when a Roman colony was settled there. In 200 B.C. it was plundered and burned by the Gauls, but rapidly recovered its prosperity, and was long an important military station. It was the western terminus of the great Æmilian road, which began at Ariminum on the Adriatic. In later history, it plays an important part as one of the independent Lombard cities.

=Pianosa.= An island in the Mediterranean, about 10 miles south-southwest of Elba. Pianosa was annexed to Elba and granted to Napoleon I. after his first abdication.

=Pibroch= (Gael. _piobaireachd_). A wild, irregular species of music, peculiar to the Highlands of Scotland. It is performed on a bagpipe, and adapted to excite or assuage passion, and particularly to rouse a martial spirit among troops going to battle.

=Picador= (_Sp._). A horseman armed with a lance, who commences the exercises of a bull-fight by attacking the animal without attempting to kill him.

=Picardy.= An ancient province in the north of France, was bounded on the west by the English Channel, and on the east by Champagne. The name does not occur till the 13th century. It was conquered by the English in 1346, and by the Duke of Burgundy in 1417, to whom it was ceded by the treaty of Arras, September 21, 1435, and annexed to France by Louis XI., 1463.

=Picaroon.= A pillager, one who plunders; one who violates the laws.

=Picentia= (_Picentinus_; now _Acerno_). A town in the south of Campania, at the head of the Sinus Pæstanus, and between Salernum and the frontiers of Lucania, the inhabitants of which were compelled by the Romans, in consequence of their revolt to Hannibal, to abandon their town and live in the neighboring villages. Between the town and the frontiers of Lucania, there was an ancient temple of the Argive Juno, said to have been founded by Jason, the Argonaut. The name of Picentia was not confined to the inhabitants of Picentia, but was given to the inhabitants of the whole coast of the Sinus Pæstanus, from the promontory of Minerva to the river Silarus. They were a portion of the Sabine Picentes, who were transplanted by the Romans to this part of Campania after the conquest of Picenum, 268 B.C., at which time they founded the town of Picentia.

=Picentines= (_Picentes_). A Sabine tribe, subdued by the Romans, and their capital, Asculum, taken, 268 B.C. They began the Social war in 90, and were conquered in 89 B.C.

=Picenum.= An ancient province of Italy, was bounded on the north by the Galli Senones, on the west by the Umbrians and Sabines, on the south by the Vestini, and on the east by the Adriatic Sea. The Picentes, its inhabitants, remained long in undisturbed tranquillity, while the neighboring tribes were vainly struggling against the all-usurping ambition of Rome. That power condescended in 299 B.C. to enter into an alliance with them. Even when they were at length obliged, in 268 B.C., to bow before the resistless destinies of the Romans, they suffered little injury. It was not until the outbreak of the Social war, in 90 B.C., that the Picentes appear to have experienced the toils and calamities of a great struggle. Then they assumed an active and zealous part in the general revolt against Rome. Their capital city, Asculum, gave the signal of insurrection, by assassinating the Roman proconsul. Their armies kept the Roman general Cn. Pompeius Strabo for a long time at bay. Nor when the tide of battle began to turn against them did their courage waver. They continued to fight until 89 B.C., and were put down by sheer force.

=Pichegru’s Conspiracy.= See GEORGES CONSPIRACY.

=Pickeer.= To pillage; to pirate. To skirmish, as soldiers on the outpost of an army, or in pillaging parties.

=Picker.= A small, pointed brass wire, which was formerly supplied to every infantry soldier for the purpose of cleaning the vent of his musket.

=Picket.= A detachment composed of cavalry or infantry, whose principal duty is to guard an army from surprise and oppose such small parties as the enemy may push forward for the purpose of reconnoitring.

=Picket.= A sharp stake used for securing the fascines of a battery, or fastening the tent-ropes of a camp, etc.

=Picket.= To fortify with pickets or pointed stakes. Also, to fasten to a picket, as a horse while grazing.

=Picket, Inlying.= See INLYING PICKET.

=Picket, Outlying.= Is a detachment of troops, sometimes with light guns, posted on the front and flanks of an army in the field, in order to guard against surprise, and to keep reconnoitring parties at a proper distance.

=Picket-guard.= A guard of horse and foot, always in readiness in case of alarm.

=Picket-line.= A rope to which horses are secured when groomed.

=Picket-line.= A position held and guarded by small bodies of men placed at intervals.

=Picket-pin.= An iron pin with a ring at the top. It is driven in the ground and the lariat is attached to it to secure a horse while grazing.

=Pickets, Tracing.= See TRACING PICKETS.

=Picqueering=, =Pickering=, or =Pickerooning=. A little flying skirmish, which marauders make when detached for pillage, or before a main battle.

=Picrate.= See EXPLOSIVES.

=Picric Acid.= See EXPLOSIVES.

=Picric Powder.= See EXPLOSIVES.

=Picts= (_Picti_). The ancient inhabitants of the northeast provinces of Scotland. The Pictish territory extended along the whole sea-coast from the Firth of Forth to the Pentland Firth. It was bounded on the west by the country of the Scots, which extended along the western coast from the Firth of Clyde to the modern Ross-shire; but the precise line between the two nations cannot be ascertained. The country of the Picts was bounded on the south by the Firth of Forth and the province of Lothian, then possessed by the English; while the country of the Scots had for its southern boundaries the Firth of Clyde and the kingdom of Cumbria, held by the independent Britons. In the middle of the 7th century, a portion of the southern province of the Pictish territories was subdued by Oswy, king of Northumbria. Egfrid, Oswy’s son and successor, seems to have contemplated the subjugation of the whole Pictish kingdom. He advanced northwards with his army; Brude, son of Bili, king of the Picts, retreating before him. The English sovereign passed the Tay, and the Picts made a stand at Nechtansmere, supposed to be Dunnichen, in Anchus; the English were utterly defeated, and their king slain, May 20, 685. The most active of all the Pictish sovereigns was Hungus, son of Urgust, who succeeded, in 730, and reigned for thirty years. He was in constant wars with the Scots, the Britons, and the English, in which he was generally victorious. After his death the kingdom began to decline. Between 838 and 842, the Scots under Kenneth II. totally subdued the Picts, and seized all their kingdom. Their incursions in England led to the Saxon invasion.

=Picts’ Wall.= One of the barriers erected by the Romans across the northern part of England to restrain the incursions of the Picts (which see).

=Piece.= A general name for any kind of ordnance or musket.

=Piece.= In heraldry, an ordinary or charge; as, the fesse, the bend, the pale, the bar, the cross, the saltire, the chevron, are called honorable _pieces_.

=Piece, Battering-.= See BATTERING-PIECES.

=Piece, Field-.= See FIELD-PIECE.

=Piedmont.= An Italian principality, which now forms the northwest part of the kingdom of Italy. In 1796 it was seized by the French, and parceled out into six departments, five being incorporated with France, and one with the kingdom of Italy, but after the fall of Napoleon, the house of Savoy recovered possession of it. Since 1860 the name Piedmont, as a provincial designation, has been disused; and in the new division of Italy into provinces, the boundaries of Piedmont as a distinct country have been disregarded.

=Piegans.= A tribe of Blackfeet Indians, numbering about 2000, who reside in Montana, and were frequently at war with the Shoshones, Flat Heads, and Gros Ventres. Like the majority of nomadic tribes, they at various times make raids on the settlers, and as a natural result require the correctionary discipline of the military forces. In 1870 they were severely punished by Col. Baker, and, owing to disease and pestilence, they will probably soon cease to exist.

=Pierced.= In heraldry, a term used to indicate that a charge is perforated so as to show the field beneath it. The aperture is presumed to be circular, unless some other form, as square-pierced or lozenge-pierced, be specified in the blazon.

=Piercer.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, BORING AND TURNING.

=Pieria.= A narrow slip of country on the southeastern coast of Macedonia, extending from the mouth of the Peneus in Thessaly to the Haliacmon, and bounded on the west by Mount Olympus and its offshoots. The inhabitants of this country, the Pieres, were a Thracian people, and are celebrated in the early history of Greek poetry and music. After the establishment of the Macedonian kingdom in Emathia in the 7th century B.C., Pieria was conquered by the Macedonians, and the inhabitants were driven out of the country.

=Pierrier.= Was a term originally applied to an engine for casting stones; then to a small kind of cannon; now to a mortar for discharging stones, etc.

=Piers.= The columns upon which a bridge is erected.

=Pies= (_Fr._). Counts palatine who were created in 1560, by Pope Pius IV., and who had precedence at Rome over knights of the Teutonic order and order of Malta.

=Pike=, =Pikeman=. Previously to the use of the bayonet, infantry of the line--that is, the heavy-armed troops--were from the earliest times armed with pikes or spears. The Macedonians carried pikes 24 feet long; those of modern warfare averaged 12 or 14 feet. They were of stout wood, and tipped with a flat iron spear-head, which sometimes had cutting edges. As a defense against cavalry, the pike, from its length and rigidity, was of great value; but though it long survived the introduction of gunpowder, that event was really fatal to it. For success with the pike, especially in offensive war, a depth of several men was essential, and this depth rendered the fire of artillery peculiarly fatal. The pike is now superseded by the bayonet on the end of the musket.

=Pikestaff.= The wooden pole or handle of a pike.

=Pile.= A beam of wood driven into the ground to form a solid foundation for building. Also a heap, as a pile of balls. Balls are piled according to kind and caliber, under cover if practicable, in a place where there is a free circulation of air, to facilitate which the piles should be made narrow if the locality permits; the width of the bottom tier may be from twelve to fourteen balls, according to the caliber. Prepare the ground for the base of the pile by raising it above the surrounding ground so as to throw off the water; level it, ram it well, and cover it with a layer of screened sand. Make the bottom of the pile with a tier of unserviceable balls buried about two-thirds of their diameter in the sand; this base may be made permanent; clean the base well and form the pile, putting the fuze-holes of shells downwards, in the _intervals_, and not resting on the shells below. Each pile is marked with the number of serviceable balls it contains. The base may be made of bricks, concrete, stone, or with borders and braces of iron. Grape- and canister-shot should be oiled or lackered, put in piles, or in strong boxes, on the ground-floor, or in dry cellars; each parcel marked with its kind, caliber, and number.