B. (continued 2)

Battle of Casteggio, Austrians defeated by Berthier, 8 June.

Battle of Marengo, one of the most brilliant in history, and important in its consequences; it lasted 11 hours; decided the fate of Italy, and placed the iron crown on the head of the Bonaparte Dynasty, 14 June.

Battle at Muhldorf, 1 Dec.

1801. Alexandria, Egypt, Abercrombie fell, French defeated by Hutchinson, 21 March.

1805. Battle of Wertingen in Bavaria, the first of the coalition of Austria and Russia; Austrians defeated and all their cannon taken, Oct. 8.

Battle of Guntzburg, marshal Ney defeats the Austrians, 9 Oct.

Battle on the Adige, Massena forces a passage at Verona, and defeats the archduke Charles, Oct. 18.

Surrender of Ulm by Mack, October 20.

Murat defeats prince Ferdinand at Nuremburg, Oct. 21.

Battle of Caldiero, Massena attacks the whole Austrian line, defeats them; captures one of their divisions; the arch duke escapes at night, Oct. 30.

Battle of Amstetten, the Russians defeated by Murat, 4 Nov.

Battle of Marienzel, Davoust defeats the Austrian General Meerfeldt, 8 Nov.

Mortier defeats the Russians under Kutasoff at Diernstein, Nov. 11.

Murat and Lasnes defeat the Russians under Kutasoff at Holabrunn, 15 Nov.

Soult again at Guntersdorff, 16 Nov.

Battle of Austerlitz or of the three emperors, 500 pieces of cannon and 150,000 men were engaged in this battle, which was one of the most profound in the history of tactics, and the most brilliant in the annals of victory; 150 pieces of artillery were taken by the victors; this battle deprived the house of Austria of the title of Emperor of Germany, 2 Dec.

1806. Battle of Jena, Oct. 14.

Prussia subdued by Bonaparte.

1807. Dantzick taken, May 20.

Battle of Spaudau, June 5.

Battle of Lonutten, same day.

Deppen, battle of, Marshal Ney makes a fictious retreat, and cuts a body of Russians to pieces, June 6.

Eylau, battle of, very bloody and desperate, Russians lost 30,000 men killed, June 6-12.

Friedland, battle of, this action decided the fate of the Coalition, and produced the peace of Tilsit on the 7th July succeeding. This battle stands in the same rank with Jemappe, Fleurus, Nordlingen, Zurich, Marengo, Jena and Austerlitz.

Battle-Array, -

Line of Battle,

the method and order of arranging the troops in order or line of battle; the form of drawing up the army for an engagement. This method generally consists of three lines, viz. the front line, the rear line, and the reserve.

The second line should be about 300 paces behind the first, and the reserve at about 5 or 600 paces behind the second. The artillery is likewise divided along the front of the first line. The front line should be stronger than the rear line, that its shock may be more violent, and that, by having a greater front, it may more easily close on the enemy’s flanks. If the first line has the advantage, it should continue to act, and attack the enemy’s second line, terrified by the defeat of their first. The artillery must always accompany the line of battle in the order it was at first distributed, if the ground permit it; and the rest of the army should follow the motions of the first line, when it continues to march on after its first success.

Battle-Ax, an offensive weapon, formerly much used by the Danes, and other northern infantry. It was a kind of halbert, and did great execution when wielded by a strong arm.

Main-Battle. See Battle-Array.

BATTLEMENTS, in military affairs, are the indentures in the tops of old castles or fortified walls, or other buildings, in the form of embrasures, for the greater conveniency of firing or looking through.

BATTRE l’estrade, Fr. to send out scouts.

Battre la campagne, Fr. to scour the country or make incursions against an enemy.

Battre, Fr. to direct one or more pieces of ordnance in such a manner, that any given object may be destroyed or broken into by the continued discharge of cannon ball, or of other warlike materials; it likewise means to silence an enemy’s fire.

Battre de front, Fr. to throw cannon-shot in a perpendicular or almost perpendicular direction against any body or place which becomes an object of attack. This mode of attack is less effectual than any other unless you batter in breach.

Battre d’écharpe, Fr. to direct shot, so that the lines of fire make a manifest acute angle with respect to the line of any particular object against which cannon is discharged.

Battre en flanc, Fr. is when the shot from a battery runs along the length of the front of any object or place against which it is directed.

Battre a dos, Fr. to direct the shot from one or several pieces of cannon so as to batter, almost perpendicularly, from behind any body of troops, part of a rampart or intrenchment.

Battre de revers, Fr. to direct shot, in such a manner as to run between the two last mentioned lines of fire. When you batter from behind, the shot fall almost perpendicularly upon the reverse of the parapet. When you batter from the reverse side, the trajectories or lines of fire describe acute angles of forty five degrees or under, with the prolongation of that reverse.

Battre de bricole, Fr. This method can only be put in practice at sieges, and against works which have been constructed in front of others that are invested. A good billiard player will readily comprehend what is meant by the bricole or back stroke; it means simply the firing of shot against a wall so that the balls may rebound and in the rebound strike men or objects, that could not be struck directly.

Battre la Caisse, Fr. to beat a drum.

Mener battant, to overcome.

Mener quelqu’un au Tambour battant. To overcome by strokes of the drum. To disconcert, to confound, puzzle and perplex any body.

BAVINS, in military affairs, implies small faggots, made of brush-wood, of a considerable length, no part of the brush being taken off. See Fascines.

BAYARD, Fr. a provincial term used in ancient Languedoc and Roussillon to signify a wheel-barrow.

BAYONET, a kind of triangular dagger, made with a hollow handle, and a shoulder, to fix on the muzzle of a firelock or musket, so that neither the charging nor firing is prevented by its being fixed on the piece. It is of infinite service against horse. At first the bayonet was screwed into the muzzle of the barrel, consequently could not be used during the fire. It is said by some to have been invented by the people of Malacca, and first made use of on quitting the pikes. According to others, it was first used by the fusileers in France, and invented or used at Bayonne. At present it is given to all infantry.

BEACON, a signal for securing and guarding against dangers.

On certain eminent places of the country are placed long poles erect, whereon are fastened pitch-barrels to be fired by night, and smoke made by day, to give notice, in a few hours of an approaching invasion; the Irish are reported to have risen upon and extirpated the Danes by beacons or fires lighted on their hills.

BEAR, in gunnery. A piece of ordnance is said to bear, or come to bear, or brought to bear when pointed directly against the object; that is, pointed to hit the object.

BEARD, the reflected points of the head of an ancient arrow, particularly of such as were jagged.

BEAT, in a military sense, signifies to gain the day, to win the battle, &c.

To Beat a parley. See Chamade.

BEAVER, that part of the ancient helmet which covered the face, and which was moveable so as to expose the face without removing the beaver from the helmet.

BECHE, Fr. a spade used by pioneers.

BEDS, in the military language, are of various sorts, viz.

Mortar-Beds serve for the same purpose as a carriage does to a cannon: they are made of solid timber, consisting generally of 2 pieces fastened together with strong iron bolts and bars. Their sizes are according to the kind of mortar they carry.

Beds for Mortars.

KINDS. Weight. Tonnage. Len. Br. Ht.

cwt. qr. lb. ts. cwt. qr. ft. in. ft. in. ft. in.

Sea 38 3 13 3 3 2

13 - Land Wood 21 2 7 1 6 0 7 0 2 6 2 3

Do. Iron 50 0 0 2 10 0 6 3 3 1 1 6

Sea 32 2 14 2 2 2

10 - Land Wood 10 0 20 0 14 2 6 6 1 8 1 10

Do. Iron 23 0 0 1 3 0 4 8 2 4 1 1 ¹⁄₂

8 - Land Wood 6 0 20 0 7 2 4 2 1 7 1 7 ¹⁄₂

Do. Iron 12 0 0 0 12 0 4 0 1 11 0 11

5 ¹⁄₂ Wood 1 0 22 0 2 0 2 9 1 4 0 10

4 ²⁄₅ Wood 0 3 11 0 1 2 2 4 ¹⁄₂ 1 2 0 9

Stool-Beds for guns.

Inch. In.

42 Prs. 0 1 20 0 1 0 2 10 11 to 8 ³⁄₄ 3 ³⁄₄

32 —— 0 1 14 0 1 0 2 10 10 5 ¹⁄₂ 3 ¹⁄₄

24 —— 0 1 14 0 1 0 2 9 10 ¹⁄₄ 6 ¹⁄₂ 4

18 —— 0 1 12 0 1 0 2 8 9 ¹⁄₂ 6 ¹⁄₂ 3 ³⁄₄

12 —— 0 1 10 0 0 2 ²⁄₃ 2 8 10 6 ¹⁄₂ 4

9 —— 0 1 4 0 0 2 2 7 9 ¹⁄₂ 5 ³⁄₄ 3 ¹⁄₂

6 —— 0 1 0 0 0 1 ³⁄₄ 2 6 9 4 ³⁄₄ 3 ¹⁄₂

4 —— 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 6 8 ¹⁄₄ 5 ¹⁄₄

Sea-Mortar-Beds, are made of solid timber, having a hole in the centre to receive the pintle or strong iron bolt, about which the bed turns. Sea-mortars are mounted on these beds, on board of the bomb-ketches.

These beds are placed upon very strong timber frames, fixed into the bomb-ketch, in which the pintle is fixed, so as the bed may turn about it, to fire any way. The fore part of these beds is an arc of a circle described from the same centre as the pintle-hole.

Stool-Bed, is a piece of wood on which the breech of a gun rests upon a truck-carriage, with another piece fixed to it at the hind end, that rests upon the body of the hind axle-tree; and the fore part is supported by an iron bolt. See Carriage.

BEEF-Eaters, the yeomen of the guard to the king of Great Britain are so called, being kept up rather for pageantry, than for any military service. Their arms are a sabre and lance; and the dress of the 13th century.

BEETLES, in a military sense, are large wooden hammers for driving down pallisades, and for other uses, &c.

BEETLESTOCK, the stock or handle of a beetle.

BELLIGERENT, in a state of warfare. Hence any two or more nations at war are called belligerent powers.

BELTS, in the army are of different sorts, and for various purposes, viz.

Sword-Belt, a leathern strap in which a sword hangs.

Shoulder-Belt, a leathern belt, which goes over the shoulder, and to which the pouch is fixed. It is made of stout leather. See Pouch.

Shoulder-Belts for the light cavalry and dragoons, 2¹⁄₂ inches broad. Regiments that have buff waistcoats, usually have buff-coloured accoutrements, and those which have white waistcoats, wear white.

Waist-Belts, are 1³⁄₄ inches; to have buckles or clasps.

Belts are known among the ancient and middle-age writers by divers names, as zona, cingulum, reminiculum, ringa, and baldrellus. The belt was an essential piece of the ancient armor, insomuch that we sometimes find it used to denote the whole armor. In latter ages the belt was given to a person when he was raised to knighthood: whence it has also been used us a badge or mark of the knightly order.

Belts among the aborigines of America, are the symbols of peace or war; they are made in a rude fanciful taste, of colored beads, and are usually presented at all conferences or talks.

BENDINGS, in military and sea matters, are ropes, wood, &c. bent for several purposes. M. Amontons gives several experiments concerning the bending of ropes. The friction of a rope bent, or wound round an immovable cylinder, is sufficient, with a very small power, to sustain very great weights. Divers methods have been contrived for bending timber, in order to supply crooked planks and pieces for building ships; such as by sand, boiling water, steam of boiling water, and by fire. See M. Du Hamel, in his book called Du Transport, de la Conservation, & de la Force des Bois. M. Delesme ingeniously enough proposed to have the young trees bent, while growing in the forest. The method of bending planks by sand-heat, now used in the British navy yards, was invented by captain Cumberland.

A method has been lately invented and practised for bending pieces of timber, so as to make the wheels of carriages without joints. The bending of boards, and other pieces of timber for curved works in joinery, is effected by holding them to the fire, then giving them the figure required, and keeping them in this figure by tools for the purpose.

BENEFICIARII, in ancient military history, denotes soldiers who attend the chief officers of the army, being exempted from all other duty. In the American service called waiters; each commissioned officer being allowed one.

Beneficiarii were also soldiers discharged from the military service or duty, and provided with beneficia to subsist on.

BERM, in fortification, is a little space or path, of about 3, 4, 6, or 8 feet broad, according to the height and breadth of the works, between the ditch and the parapet, when made of turf, to prevent the earth from rolling into the ditch; and serves likewise to pass and repass.

To BESIEGE, to lay siege to or invest any place with armed forces.

BESIEGERS, the army that lays siege to a fortified place.

BESIEGED, the garrison that defends the place against the army that lays siege to it. See Siege.

To BETRAY, to deliver perfidiously any place or body of troops into the hands of the enemy. To discover that which has been entrusted to secrecy.

BETTY, a machine used for forcing open gates or doors. See Petard.

BICOQUE, Fr. a term used in France to signify a place ill-fortified and incapable of much defence. It is derived from a place on the road between Lodi and Milan, which was originally a gentleman’s country house surrounded by ditches. In the year 1522, a body of Imperial troops were stationed in it, and stood the attack of the whole French army, during the reign of Francis I. This engagement was called the battle of Bicoque.

BILBO, a rapier, or small sword, was formerly so called: from Bilboa in Spain, where excellent swords are made.

BILL or Bill-Hook, a small hatchet used for cutting wood for fascines, gabions, bavins, &c.

BILLET, in England is a ticket for quartering soldiers, which intitles each soldier, by act of parliament, to candles, vinegar, and salt, with the use of fire, and the necessary utensils for dressing and eating their meat. The allowance of small beer has been added by a late regulation.

BILLET de logement, Fr. a billet for quarters. This billet or ticket was formerly delivered out to the French troops upon the same general principles that it is issued in England.

Billeting, in the army, implies the quartering soldiers in the houses of any town or village.

BINACLE, a telescope with 2 tubes, so constructed, that a distant object might be seen with both eyes, now rarely used.

BIVOUAC, Biouac, Biouvac, or Biovac, Fr. [from the German weywacht, a double watch or guard.] A night-guard, or a detachment of the whole army, which during a siege, or in the presence of an enemy, marches out every night in squadrons or battalions to line the circumvallations, or to take post in front of the camp, for the purpose of securing their quarters, preventing surprises, and of obstructing supplies. When an army does not encamp, but lies under arms all night, it is said to bivoac. Thus before the battle of Austerlitz, Bonaparte was all night in bivoac, or with the advanced guard.

BIT, the bridle of a horse, which acts by the assistance of a curb. See Curb and Bridon.

BLACK-HOLE, a place of confinement for soldiers, in the English discipline, who may be confined therein by the commanding officer, but not by any inferior officer. In this place they are generally restricted to bread and water.

BLANKETS, are made of coarse paper steeped in a solution of saltpetre, and when dry are again dipt in a composition of tallow, resin, and sulphur. They are used only in fire-ships.

BLAST, and BLASTING. See Mine and Mining.

BLINDS, in military affairs, are wooden frames, composed of 4 pieces, either flat or round, two of which are 6 feet long, and the others 3 or 4 feet, which serve as spars to fasten the two first together: the longest are pointed at both ends, and the two others are fastened towards the extremities of the former, at about 10 or 12 inches from their points, the whole forming a rectangular parallelogram, the long sides of which project beyond the other about 10 or 12 inches. Their use is to fix them either upright, or in a vertical position, against the sides of the trenches or saps, to sustain the earth. Their points at the bottom serve to fix them in the earth, and those at top to hold the fascines that are placed upon them; so that the sap or trench is formed into a kind of covered gallery, to secure the troops from stones and grenades.

The term Blind is also used to express a kind of hurdle, made of the branches of trees, behind which the soldiers, miners, or labourers, may carry on their work without being seen. See Hurdle.

Blinds are sometimes only canvas stretched to obstruct the sight of the enemy. Sometimes they are planks set up, for which see Mantlet. Sometimes they are made of a kind of coarse basket-work; see Gabions. Sometimes of barrels, or sacks filled with earth. In short, they signify any thing that covers the labourers from the enemy.

Blind See Orillon and Fortification.

BLOCKADE, -

BLOCKADING,

in military affairs, implies the surrounding a place with different bodies of troops, who shut up all the avenues on every side, and prevent every thing from going in or out of the place; this is usually effected by means of the cavalry. The design of the blockade is to oblige those who are shut up in the town, to consume all their provisions, and by that means to compel them to surrender for want of subsistence.

Hence it appears that a blockade must last a long time, when a place is well provided with necessaries; for which reason this method of reducing a town is seldom taken, but when there is reason to believe the magazines are unprovided, or sometimes when the nature or situation of the place permits not the approaches to be made, which are necessary to attack it in the usual way.

Maritime towns, which have a port, are in much the same case as other towns, when their port can be blocked up, and the besiegers are masters of the sea, and can prevent succours from being conveyed that way into the place.

To Blockade, or to block up a place, is to shut up all the avenues, so that it cannot receive any relief either of men or provisions, &c.

To raise a Blockade, is to march from before a place, and leave it free and open as before.

To turn a siege into a Blockade, is to desist from a regular method of besieging, and to surround the place with those troops who had formed the siege.

To form a Blockade, is to surround the place with troops, and hinder any thing from going in or coming out.

A new species of Blockade has been discovered during the French Revolution, a blockade by proclamation.

BLOCUS, Fr. See Blockade.

BLOCK battery, in gunnery, a wooden battery for two or more small pieces, mounted on wheels, and moveable from place to place: very ready to fire en barbet, in the galleries and casemates, &c. where room is wanted.

Block-house, in the military art, a kind of wooden fort or fortification, sometimes mounted on rollers, or on a flat-bottomed vessel, serving either on the lakes or rivers, or in counter-scarps and counter-approaches. This name is sometimes given to a brick or stone building on a bridge, or the brink of a river, serving not only for its defence, but for the command of the river, both above and below.

BLUNDERBUSS, a well known fire-arm, consisting of a wide, short, but very large bore, capable of holding a number of musquet or pistol balls, very fit for doing great execution in a croud, making good a narrow passage, defending the door of a house, stair-case, &c. or repelling an attempt to board a ship.

BOARD of Ordnance. See Ordnance.

Board, also implies an office under the government, where the affairs of some departments are transacted; of which there are several sorts in England.

BOAT. See Advice-Boat, Pontoon-Boat, &c.

BODY, in the art of war, is a number of forces, horse or foot, united and marching under one commander.

Main Body of an army, sometimes means the troops encamped in the center between the two wings, and generally consists of infantry. The main body on a march, signifies the whole of the army, exclusive of the van and rear-guard.

Body of a Reserve. See Reserve.

Body of a place, is, generally speaking, the buildings in a fortified town; yet the inclosure round them is generally understood by it.

BOIS de remontage, Fr. every species of timber which is used to new mount cannon, or refit ammunition waggons, &c.

Bois de chauffage, Fr. the fuel which is distributed among French troops.

BOLT, an iron pin used for strengthening a piece of timber, or for fastening two or more articles together. Bolts in gunnery, being of several sorts, admit of various denominations, which arise from the specific application of them, as

1. Eye - Bolts.

2. Joint

3. Transom

4. Bed

5. Breeching

6. Bracket

7. Stool-bed

8. Garnish

9. Axle-tree

10. Bolster

BOMB - See Shell.

Chest. See Caisson.

Vessels, -

Ketches,

small vessels, made very strong with large beams, particularly calculated for throwing shells into a town, castle, or fortification, from 13 and 10-inch mortars; two of which are placed on board of each ship. They are said to have been invented by M. Reyneau, a Frenchman, and to have been first put in action at the bombardment of Algiers in 1681: till then it had been judged impracticable to bombard a place from the sea.

Bomb Ketch. The old bomb-ketches carried one 13-inch and 1 10-inch mortar, with 8 six-pounders, besides swivels, for their own immediate defence. The modern bomb-vessels carry 2 10-inch mortars 4 68-pounders, and 6 18-pounders carronades; and the mortars may be fired at as low an angle as 20 degrees; though these mortars are not intended to be used at sea but on very particular occasions; their principal intention, at these low angles, being to cover the landing of troops, and protect coasts and harbours. A bomb-ketch is generally from 60 to 70 feet long from stem to stern, and draws 8 or 9 feet water. The tender is generally a brig, on board of which the party or artillery remain, till their services are required on board the bomb-vessel.

Instructions for their Management and Security in Action.

1. A Dutch pump, filled with water, must be placed in each round-top, one upon the forecastle, one on the main-deck, and one on the quarter-deck; and furnished with leather buckets, for a fresh supply of water.

2. The booms must be wetted by the pumps before the tarpaulins and mortar-hatches are taken off; and a wooden skreen, 5 feet square, is to be hung under the booms, over each mortar, to receive the fire from the vents.

3. The embrasures being fixed and properly secured, the port must be let down low enough to be covered by the sole of the embrasure. Previous to its being let down, a spar must be lashed across it, to which the tackles for raising it again must be fixed; this spar serves to project the tackles clear of the explosion.

4. The mortars must not be fired through the embrasures at a lower angle than 20 degrees, nor with a greater charge than 5 lbs. of powder.

5. Previous to firing, the doors of the bulkhead, under the quarter-deck, must be shut, to prevent the cabin being injured by the explosion.

6. The bed must be wedged in the circular curb, as soon as the mortar is pointed, to prevent re-action; the first wedge being driven tight, before the rear ones are fixed, in order to give the full bearing on the table, as well as the rear of the bed. The holes for dog-bolts must be corked up, to prevent the sparks falling into them.

7. When any shells are to be used on board the bomb, they must be fixed on board the tender, and brought from thence in boxes in her long-boat; and kept along side the bomb-ship till wanted, carefully covered up.

8. In the old constructed bomb-vessels it was necessary to hoist out the booms, and raft them along side previous to firing; but in these new ones, with embrasures, only the boats need be hoisted out; after which the mortars may be prepared for action in 10 minutes.

Proportion of Ordnance and Ammunition for a Bomb Ship, carrying two 10 inch Mortars, to fire at low angles, and at 45 degrees, four 68 Prs. and six 18 Prs. Carronades.

KINDS. In the Bomb Ship. Tender. Total.

Mortars, sea service, with Beds, &c. 10 inch 2 — 2

Quoins for do.—2 for 45°—2 for 20° elevation 4 — 4

Capsquares, with keys, &c. spare 2 — 2

Handspikes, large 4 — 4

Spunges, with ram.heads 4 — 4

Handscrews, small 2 — 2

Handcrow levers—6 feet 4 — 4

Handspikes, common 6 — 6

Linstocks, with cocks 4 — 4

Powder horns, new pat. 4 — 4

Match cwts. 1 — 1

Marline skeins — 12 12

Budge bar. cop hooped 1 1 2

Lanthorns, Muscovy 2 2 4

Lanthorns, dark 2 2 4

Carronades, 68 Prs. 4 — 4

Carronades, 18 Prs. 6 — 6

having sliding carriages, elevating screws, spunges, rammers &c. complete

Gun tackles, complete for traversing mortars, 12 Prs. 4 — 4

Wads, 68 Prs. 270 270 540

Wads, 18 Prs. 480 180 660

Musquets - Bright 32 — 32

Black 8 — 8

Pistols, pairs 15 — 15

Swords 40 — 40

Pole axes 6 — 6

Pikes 40 — 40

Musquetoons 2 — 2

Flints, musquet 900 — 900

Flints, pistol 150 — 150

Ball cartridges, musq. 2000 — 2000

Ball cartridges, pistol 2000 — 2000

Shot, musq. cwt. qr. lb. 1.0.0 — 1.0.0

Shot, pistol 1.0.0 — 1.0.0

Round car. fixed, 10 in. 48 152 200

Empty shells, 10 inch. 48 352 400

Iron shot, 1 lb. 1000 4000 5000

Fixed shells, 10 inch 48 — 48

Case shot, 68 Prs. car. 20 20 40

Emp. sh. 8 in for car. 52 100 152

Shot, round, 68 Prs. 50 50 100

Carcasses do. 68 Prs. 96 104 200

Shot, round, 18 Prs. 300 — 300

Case shot, 18 Prs. 30 30 60

Carcas. do. fix. 18 Prs. 150 150 300

Hand shells, fixed, sea service — 150 150

Fuzes for do. spare — 15 15

Pap. cov. for cart, 10 in. 106 609 715

Pap. cov. for cart, 68 Pr. 293 301 594

Pap. cov. for cart, 18 Pr. 258 198 456

Flan. cartridg. emp. for 10 in. mor. - to hold 5 lb. 106 — 106

do. 10.lb. — 609 609

Flan. cartridg. emp. for 68 Prs. car. - to hold 5 lb. 293 151 - 594

do. 4 lb. — 150

Flannel cartridges, emp. for 18 Prs. to hold 1¹⁄₂ lbs. 528 148 676

Paper cartridges for bursting, 10 inches, empty, — 352 352

Paper cartridges, for bursting, 8 inches, empty — 100 100

Paper cartridges filled with 2 lb. 10 oz for 10 inch. 48 — 48

Do. filled with 1 lb. 14 oz. for 8 inch 52 — 52

Fuzes, drove, 10 inch. 52 388 440

Fuzes, drove, 8 inch. 57 110 166

Valenciennes composition - 200 for 10 inch. shells at 14 oz. each, lbs. - — 175 175

768 for 10 inch. shells, at 9 oz. each, lbs. - — 42 42

Tube boxes, tin 12 — 12

Fuze composition, for priming carcasses, lbs. — 10 10

Powder bags — 6 6

Portfires — 200 200

Quick match, cotton, lbs. — 20 20

Spirits of wine, gals. — 4 4

Kitt lbs. — 80 80

Bottoms of wood, 10 in. 10 40 50

Signal rockets, 1 lb. doz. — 2 2

Blue lights, do. — 3 3

Gunpowder for the mortars and carronades, half barrels 72 150 222

Powder for priming, do. — 1 1

Powder for bursting, do. — 28 28

with all the small articles which usually attend mortars on every service, and the articles necessary for the service of carronades at sea.

Laboratory chests, 4 ft. — 2 2

Laboratory chests, 3 ft. — 2 2

Handpumps for wetting the rigging, &c. 6 — 6

Leather buckets 24 — 24

Bomb Tender, a small vessel of war laden with ammunition for the bomb-ketch, and from which the latter is constantly supplied.

BOMBARD, an ancient piece of ordnance, so called, very short, and very thick, with an uncommon large bore. There have been bombards which have thrown a ball or shell of 300 weight: they made use of cranes to load them. The Turks use some of them at present.

To BOMBARD, -

BOMBARDING,

BOMBARDMENT,

the act of assaulting a city or fortress, by throwing shells into it in order to set fire to and ruin the houses, churches, magazines, &c. and to do other mischief. As one of the effects of the shell results from its weight, it is never discharged as a ball from a cannon, that is, by pointing it at a certain object: but the mortars are fixed at an elevation of or about 45 degrees; that is, inclined so many degrees from the horizon, that the shell describes a curve, called the military projectile: hence a mortar, whose trunnions are placed at the breech, can have no point-blank range. Mortars should be so contrived, that they may be elevated to any degree required, as much preferable to those fixed at an angle of 45°; because shells should never be thrown at that angle but in one single case only, which seldom happens; that is, when the battery is so far off, that they cannot otherwise reach the works: for when shells are thrown from the trenches into the works of a fortification, or from the town into the trenches, they should have as little elevation as possible, in order to roll along, and not bury themselves; whereby the damage they do, and the terror they cause to the troops, is much greater than if they sink into the ground. On the contrary, when shells are thrown upon magazines, or any other buildings, with an intention to destroy them, the mortar should be elevated as high as possible, that the shells may acquire a greater force in their fall.

Shells should be loaded with no more powder than is requisite to burst them into the greatest number of pieces, and the length of the fuzes should be exactly calculated according to the required ranges; for, should the fuze set fire to the powder in the shell, before it falls on the place intended, the shell will burst in the air, and probably do more mischief to those who fired the mortar, than to those against whom it was discharged. To prevent this, the fuzes are divided into as many seconds as the greatest range requires, consequently may be cut to any distance, at an elevation of 45 degrees.

Mortars are not to be fired with two fires; for when the fuze is properly fixed, and both fuze and shell dredged with mealed powder, the blast of the powder in the chamber of the mortar, when inflamed by the tube, will likewise set fire to the fuze fixed in the shell.

BOMBARDIERS, artillery soldiers, who are employed in mortar and howitzer duty. They are to load them on all occasions; and in most services they load the shells and grenades, fix the fuzes, prepare the composition both for fuzes and tubes, and fire both mortars and howitzers on every occasion. In the English service, shells and grenades, composition for the same, fuzes, &c. are prepared in the laboratory by people well-skilled in that business.

In most other armies both officers and soldiers belonging to the companies of bombardiers, have an extraordinary pay, as it requires more mathematical learning to throw shells with some degree of exactness, than is requisite for the rest of the artillery. In the British service a specific number is attached to each company of artillery, and do not form a separate corps as in other countries.

BONAVOGLIE, Fr. a man that for a certain consideration voluntarily engages to row.

BONNET, in fortification, implies a small but useful work, that greatly annoys the enemy in their lodgments. This work consists of two faces, which make a salient angle in the nature of a ravelin, without any ditch, having only a parapet 3 feet high, and 10 or 12 feet broad. They are made at the salient angles of the glacis, outworks, and body of the place, beyond the counterscarp, and in the faussebray. See Fortification.

Bonnet à Prêtre, or Priest’s Cap, in fortification, is an outwork, having three salient and two inward angles, and differs from the double tenaille only in having its sides incline inwards towards the gorge, and those of a double tenaille are parallel to each other. See Fortification.

BORDER, in military drawings, implies single or double lines, or any other ornament, round a drawing, &c.

BOOKS. There are different books made use of in the army, for the specific purposes of general and regimental economy.

The general orderly Book is kept by the brigade major, from which the leading orders of regiments, conveying the parole and countersign, are always taken.

The regimental orderly Book contains the peculiar instructions of corps which are given by a colonel or commanding officer to the adjutant—hence adjutant’s orderly Book—and from him to the serjeant-major, who delivers the same to the different serjeants of companies assembled in the orderly room for that purpose—hence the company’s orderly Book.

The regimental Book is kept by the clerk of the regiment, and contains all the records, &c. belonging to the corps.

The Company Book, is kept by the commanding officer of every company; and contains returns of all incidents and payments.

The black Book is a sort of memorandum which is kept in every regiment, to describe the character and conduct of non-commissioned officers and soldiers; when and how often they have been reduced or punished, &c.

Every quarter-master belonging to the cavalry and infantry, has likewise a book which may not improperly be called a book or inventory of regimental stores, &c.

Practice Book. Every officer of the artillery ought to have a book in which he should note every useful fact that occurs in practice.

BOOM, in marine fortification, is a long piece of timber, with which rivers or harbors are stopped, to prevent the enemy’s coming in: it is sometimes done by a cable or chain, and floated with yards, topmasts, or spars of wood lashed to it.

BORE, in gunnery, implies the cavity of the barrel of a gun, mortar, howitzer, or any other piece of ordnance.

BOSSE, Fr. a term used in the French artillery, to express a glass bottle which is very thin, contains four or five pounds of powder, and round the neck of which four or five matches are hung under, after it has been well-corked. A cord, two or three feet in length, is tied to the bottle, which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks, the powder catches fire, and every thing within the immediate effects of the explosion is destroyed.

BOTTES, Fr. boots.

Grosses Bottes, Fr. jack-boots.

BOTTINE, Fr. half-boots worn by the hussars and dragoons in foreign armies.

BOUCHE, Fr. means the aperture or mouth of a piece of ordnance, that of a mortar, of the barrel of a musket, and of every species of fire-arms from which a ball or bullet is discharged.

BOUCHES à feu, Fr. is generally used to signify pieces of ordnance.

BOULER la Matiere, Fr. to stir up the different metals which are used in casting cannon.

BOULETS à deux têtes, chain-shot.

BOULEVART, Fr. formerly meant a bastion. It is no longer used as a military phrase, although it sometimes occurs in the description of works or lines which cover a whole country, and protect it from the incursions of an enemy. Thus Strasburgh and Landau may be called two principal boulevarts or bulwarks, by which France is protected on this side of the Rhine.

The elevated line or rampart which reaches from the Champs Elysées in Paris beyond the spot where the bastille was destroyed in 1789, is stiled the Boulevart.

In ancient times, when the Romans attacked any place, they raised boulevarts near the circumference of the walls. These boulevarts were 80 feet high, 300 feet broad, upon which wooden towers commanding the ramparts were erected covered on all sides with iron-work, and from which the besiegers threw upon the besieged stones, darts, fire-works, &c. to facilitate the approaches of the archers and battering rams.

BOULINER, Fr. a French military phrase. Bouliner dans un camp, means to steal or pilfer in a camp. Un soldat boulineur, signifies a thief.

BOURGUIGNOTE, Fr. Is a helmet or morion which is usually worn with a breast-plate. It is proof against pikes and swords.

BOURRELET, Fr. the extremity of a piece of ordnance towards its mouth. It is usually cast in the shape of a tulip on account of its aptitude to fit the construction of embrasures. Bourrelet means likewise a pad or collar.

BOURRER, Fr. to ram the wad or any other materials into the barrel of a fire-arm.

BOURRIQUET, Fr. a basket made use of in mining, to draw up the earth, and to let down whatever may be necessary for the miner.

BOUSSOLE, Fr. a compass which every miner must be in possession of to direct him in his work.

BOUTE-SELLE, Fr. the signal or word which is given to the cavalry to saddle their horses.

BOUTON, Fr. the sight of a musquet.

BOW, an ancient weapon of offence, made of steel, wood, or other elastic matter; which, after being bent by means of a string fastened to its two ends, in returning to its natural state, throws out an arrow with prodigious force.

The use of the bow is, without all doubt, of the earliest antiquity. It has likewise been the most universal of all weapons, having obtained amongst the most barbarous and remote people, who had the least communication with the rest of mankind.

The bow is a weapon of offence amongst the inhabitants of Asia, Africa, and America, at this day; and in Europe, before the invention of fire-arms, a part of the infantry was armed with bows. Lewis XII. first abolished the use of them in France, introducing, in their stead, the halbert, pike, and broadsword. The long-bow was formerly in great use in England, and many laws were made to encourage the use of it. The parliament under Henry VII. complained of the disuse of long bows, theretofore the safeguard and defence of that kingdom, and the dread and terror of its enemies.

Cross-Bow, is likewise an ancient weapon of offence, of the eleventh century. Philip II. surnamed the Conqueror, introduced cross-bows into France. In this reign Richard I. of England, was killed by a cross-bow at the siege of Chalus.

BOWMAN. See Archer.

BOWYER. The man who made or repaired the military bows was so called.

BOXES, in military affairs, are of several sorts, and for various purposes.

Battery-Boxes. See Battery.

Cartouch-Boxes. See Cartouch.

Nave Boxes, are made of iron or brass, and fastened one at each end of the nave, to prevent the arms of the axle-tree, about which the boxes turn, from causing too much friction.

Tin-Boxes, such as are filled with small shot for grape, according to the size of the gun they are to be fired out of.

Wood-Boxes, with lids, for holding grape-shot, &c. each calibre has its own, distinguished by marks of the calibre on the lid.

Boxes for Ammunition. The dimensions of the common ammunition boxes vary according to the ammunition they are made to contain, in order that it may pack tight: this variation, however, is confined to a few inches, and does not exceed the following numbers.

Table of general dimensions of Ammunition Boxes.

Exterior. Weight when empty.

Len. Bre. Depth.

ft. in. ft. in. ft. in. lbs.

From 2 2 0 10 0 8 ¹⁄₂ 20

To 2 9 1 6 1 6 30

Weight when filled, and number contained in each.

Kinds of Ammunition. Weight of Boxes when filled with Ammunition. No. of Rounds contained in each Box.

cwt. qrs. lbs. No.

Boxes for shot fixed with powder. - 12 Prs. - Round 1 1 10 8

Case. 0 3 15 6

6 Prs. - Round 1 2 7 12

Case. 1 0 15 12

3 Prs. - Round 0 2 25 16

Case. 0 2 23 14

Box. for shot fixed to wood bottoms without powder. - 24 Prs. - Round 1 1 26 6

Case. 2 0 0 6

12 Prs. - Round 1 2 20 12

Case. 1 2 22 8

6 Prs. - Round 1 2 20 24

Case. 1 1 12 18

3 Prs. - Round 1 1 0 30

Case. 1 1 0 30

How’r Case. - 8 1 2 2 3

5¹⁄₂ 1 2 12 10

4¹⁄₂ 1 2 22 20

Boxes for Shells. - How’r Shells. - 8 - fixed. 1 2 2 3

5¹⁄₂ 1 2 12 10

4¹⁄₂[7] 1 2 22 20

The common ammunition waggon will hold from 9 to 13 of these boxes in one tier.

The tonnage of ammunition in boxes is equal to its weight: about 12 boxes make one ton.

BOYAU, in fortification, is a particular trench separated from the others, which, in winding about, incloses different spaces of ground, and runs parallel with the works of the place, that it may not be enfiladed. When two attacks are made at once, one near to the other, the boyau makes a communication between the trenches, and serves as a line of contravallation, not only to hinder the sallies of the besieged, but likewise to secure the miners.

BRACES, in a military sense, are a kind of armor for the arm: they were formerly a part of a coat of mail.

BRACKETS, in gunnery, are the cheeks of the travelling carriage of a mortar; they are made of strong wooden planks. This name is also given to that part of a large mortar-bed, where the trunnions are placed, for the elevation of the mortar: they are sometimes made of wood, and more frequently of iron, of almost a semicircular figure, well fastened with nails and strong plates.

BRANCH. See Mine and Gallery.

BRAND, an ancient term for a sword; so called by the Saxons.

BRAQUER, Fr. is improperly used to express the movement of a cannon to any particular side. The correct expression is, to point the cannon, pointer le canon.

BRASSARTS, Fr. thin plates of beaten iron which were anciently used to cover the arms above the coat of mail.

Brassarts and cuirasses were worn in the days of St. Louis.

BRASSER la Matiere, Fr. to mix the different ingredients which are required for the making of gunpowder or other combustible matter.

BREACH, in fortification, a gap, or opening, in any part of the works of a fortified place, made by the artillery or mines of the besiegers, preparatory to the making an assault.

The batteries to make a breach, should commence by marking out as near as possible, the extent of the breach intended to be made; first, by a horizontal line within a fathom of the bottom of the revetement in a dry ditch, and close to the water’s edge in a wet one; and then by lines perpendicular to this line, at short distances from each other, as high as the cordon; then, by continuing to deepen all these cuts, the wall will give way in a body. The guns to produce the greatest effect should be fired as near as possible in salvos or vollies. The breach should be one third the length of the face, from the centre towards the flanked angle. When the wall has given way, the firing must be continued to make the slope of the breach practicable.

Four 24 pounders from the lodgement in the covert way will effect a breach in 4 or 5 days, which may be made practicable in 3 days more.

Another way of making a breach is by piercing the wall sufficiently to admit two or three miners, who cross the ditch, and make their entry during the night into the wall, where they establish two or three small mines, sufficient to make a breach. See Artillery at Siege; see also Battery.

To repair a Breach, is to stop or fill up the gap with gabions, fascines, &c. and prevent the assault.

To fortify a Breach, is to render it inaccessible by means of chevaux-de-frize, crow’s-feet, &c.

To make a lodgment in the Breach. After the besieged are driven away, the besiegers secure themselves against any future attack in the breach.

To clear the Breach, that is, to remove the ruins, that it may be the better defended.

BREAK off, a term used when cavalry or infantry are ordered to diminish its front. It is also used to signify wheeling from line; as BREAKING-off to the left, for wheeling to the left.

BREAK-Ground, the first opening of the earth to form entrenchments, as at the commencement of a siege. It applies also to the striking of tents and quitting the ground on which any troops had been encamped.

To Break ground, to begin, to open and work at the trenches in a siege, &c.

BREAST PLATE, in military antiquity, a piece of defensive armor worn on the breast of both men and horses. They are but seldom used now.

Breast-work See Parapet.

BREECH of a gun, the end near the vent. See Cannon.

BREVET rank, is a rank in the army higher than that for which you receive pay; and gives a precedence (when corps are brigaded) to the date of the brevet commission.

Brevet, Fr. commission, appointment. Under the old government of France it consisted in letters or appointments signed by the king, by virtue of which every officer was authorised to discharge his particular duty. All officers in the old French service, from a cornet or sub-lieutenant up to a marshal of France were stiled Officiers à Brévet.

Brevet d’Assurance ou de Retenue d’Argent, Fr. certain military and civil appointments granted by the old kings of France, which were distinguished from other places of trust, in as much as every successor was obliged to pay a certain sum of money to the heirs of the deceased, or for the discharge of his debts. Hence the term brevet d’Assurance ou de retenue.

BRICKS, in military architecture, supply the place of stone in common buildings, and are composed of an earthy matter, hardened by art, to a resemblance of that kind: they may be very well considered as artificial stone. The Greeks and Romans, &c. generally used bricks in their buildings, witness the Pantheon, &c. In the east they baked their bricks in the sun. The Romans used them unburnt, having first left them to dry in the air for 3, 4, or 5 years.

The best bricks must not be made of any earth that abounds with sand or gravel, not of such as is gritty or stony; but of a greyish marle, or yellow clay, or at least of reddish earth. But if there is a necessity to use that which is sandy, choice should be made of that which is tough and strong.

The best season for making bricks is the spring; because they are subject to crack, when made in the summer: the loam should be well steeped or soaked, and wrought with water. They are shaped in a mould, and, after some drying in the sun or air, are burnt to a hardness. This is our manner of making bricks; but whether they were always made in this manner admits a doubt. We are not clear what was the use of straw in the bricks for building in Egypt, or why in some part of Germany they mix saw-dust in their clay for bricks.

We are in general tied down by custom to one form, and one size; which is truly ridiculous: 8 or 9 inches in length, and 4 in breadth, is the general measure: but beyond doubt there might be other forms, and other sizes, introduced very advantageously.

Compass Bricks, are of a circular form; their use is for steening of walls; we have also concave, and semi-cylindrical, used for different purposes.

Grey-Stocks, are made of the purest earth, and better wrought: they are used in front in building, being the strongest and handsomest of this kind.

Place-Bricks, are made of the same earth, or worse, and being carelessly put out of hand, are therefore weaker and more brittle, and are only used out of sight, and where little stress is laid on them.

Red Stocks, are made of a particular earth, well wrought, and little injured by mixtures: they are used in fine work, and ornaments.

Hedgerly Bricks, are made of a yellowish colored loam, very hard to the touch, containing a great quantity of sand: their particular excellence is, that they will bear the greatest violence of fire without hurt.

BRICOLE, an improved kind of traces used by the French in drawing and manœuvring artillery; analogous to the old drag rope, but having the addition of a leather strap or girdle with a buckle, to which the drag is affixed; and an iron ring and hook at the end to drag by.

BRIDGES. Manner of laying a pontoon bridge across a river.

The bank on each side, where the ends of the bridge are to be, must be made solid and firm, by means of fascines, or otherwise. One end of the cable must be carried across the river; and being fixed to a picket, or any thing firm, must be drawn tight by means of a capstan, across where the heads of the boats are to be ranged. The boats are then launched, having on board each two men, and the necessary ropes, &c. and are floated down the stream, under the cable, to which they are lashed endwise, by the rings and small ropes, at equal distances, and about their own breadth asunder; more or less, according to the strength required. If the river be very rapid, a second cable must be stretched across it, parallel to the first, and at the distance of the length of the boats; and to which the other ends of the boats must be lashed. The spring lines are then lashed diagonally from one boat to the other, to brace them tight; and the anchors, if necessary, carried out, up the stream, and fixed to the cable or sheer line across the river. One of the chesses is then laid on the edge of the bank, at each end of the bridge, bottom up; these serve to lay the ends of the baulks upon, and as a direction for placing them at the proper distances, to fit the chesses that cover the bridge. The baulks should then be laid across the boats, and keyed together: their numbers proportioned to the strength required in the bridge. If the gangboards are laid across the heads and sterns of the boats from one side of the river to the other, they will give the men a footing for doing the rest of the work. Across the baulks are laid the chesses, one after another, the edges to meet; and the baulks running between the cross pieces on the under side of the chesses. The gangboards are then laid across the ends of the chesses on each edge of the bridge.

Precautions for passing a bridge of boats.

Whatever size the bridge may be, infantry should never be allowed to pass at the same time with carriages or cavalry. The carriages should always move at a certain distance behind each other, that the bridge may not be shook, by being overloaded. The horses should not be allowed to trot over the bridge; and the cavalry should dismount and lead their horses over. Large flocks of cattle must not be allowed to cross at once.

For the dimensions, weight, and equipage of a pontoon, see the word Pontoon.

When bridges are made to facilitate the communication between different parts of the approaches at a siege, they should, if possible, be placed above the town; or the besieged will take advantage of the current to float down large trees, or other bodies, in order to destroy the bridge. Two of such bridges should always be placed close to each other, in order to prevent the confusion of crossing and recrossing on the same bridge; the one being intended to pass over one way, and the other to return. Pontoon bridges will generally not support a greater weight than 4 or 5,000 pounds. Pontoons, when united as a bridge, will no doubt bear more in proportion, than when acted upon separately: but the weight which a pontoon will bear may be easily ascertained, by loading it with water till it sinks to any required depth, and then by calculating the number of cubic feet of water it contains, ascertain the number of pounds required to sink it to that particular depth.

Bridges, in military affairs, are of several sorts and denominations, viz.

Rush-Bridges, are made of large bundles of rushes, bound fast together, over which planks are laid, and fastened: these are put in marshy places, for an army to pass over on any emergency.

Pendant or hanging Bridges, are those not supported by posts, pillars, or butments, but hung at large in the air, sustained only at the two ends; as the new bridge at the Falls of Schuylkill, five miles from Philadelphia, 1809.

Draw-Bridge, that which is fastened with hinges at one end only, so that the other may be drawn up (in which case the bridge is almost perpendicular) to hinder the passage of a ditch, &c. There are others made to draw back and hinder the passage; and some that open in the middle; one half of which turns away to one side, and the other half to the other, and both again join at pleasure.

Flying-Bridge, is generally made of two small bridges, laid one over the other, in such a manner that the uppermost stretches, and runs out by the help of certain cords running through pullies placed along the sides of the upper bridge, which push it forwards, till the end of it joins the place it is intended to be fixed on. They are frequently used to surprise works, or out-posts that have but narrow ditches. There is a curious bridge of this kind on the Ohio, worthy of attention.

Bridge of boats, is a number of common boats joined parallel to each other, at the distance of 6 feet, till they reach across the river; which being covered with strong planks, and fastened with anchors and ropes, the troops march over.

Bridge of communication, is that made over a river, by which two armies, or forts, which are separated by that river, have a free communication with one another.

Floating-Bridge, a bridge made use of in form of a work in fortification called a redoubt; consisting of two boats, covered with planks, which are solidly framed, so as to bear either horse or artillery. Bridges of this kind are frequently used.

Floating bridges made of large logs of light timber bound together with a floor along them are common in the United States.

Ponton-Bridge, a number of tin or copper boats placed at the distance of 7 or 8 feet asunder, each fastened with an anchor, or a strong rope that goes across the river, running through the rings of the pontons. They are covered with baulks, and then with chests or planks, for the army to march over. See Ponton.

Cask, or Barrel Bridge, a number of empty casks that support baulks and planks, made as above into a bridge, where pontons, &c. are wanting. Experience has taught us that 5 ton of empty casks will support above water 9000 pounds: hence any calculation may be made.

Bridges are made of carpentry or masonry. The number of arches of a bridge is generally made odd; either that the middle of the stream or chief current may flow freely without interruption of a pier; or that the two halves of the bridge, by gradually rising from the ends to the middle, may there meet in the highest and largest arch; or else, for the sake of grace, that by being open in the middle, the eye in viewing it may look directly through there as we always expect to do in looking at it, and without which opening we generally feel a disappointment in viewing it.

If the bridge be equally high throughout, the arches, being all of a height, are made all of a size, which causes a great saving of centering. If the bridge be higher in the middle than at the ends, let the arches decrease from the middle towards each end, but so that each half have the arches exactly alike, and that they decrease in span proportionally to their height, so as to be always the same kind of figure. Bridges should rather be of few and large arches, than of many and small ones, if the height and situation will allow of it.

Names of all the terms, peculiar to Bridges, &c.

Abutment. See Butments.

Arch, an opening of a bridge, through or under which the water, &c. passes, and which is supported by piers or butments. Arches are denominated circular, elliptical, cycloidal, caternarian, equilibrial, gothic, &c. according to their figure or curve.

Archivolt, the curve or line formed by the upper sides of the voussoirs or arch-stones. It is parallel to the intrados or under side of the arch when the voussoirs are all of the same length; otherwise not.

By the archivolt is also sometimes understood the whole set of voussoirs.

Banquet, the raised foot-path at the sides of the bridge next the parapet: it is generally raised about a foot above the middle or horse-passage, and 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, &c. feet broad, according to the size of the bridge, and paved with large stones, whose length is equal to the breadth of the walk.

Battardeau, or -

Coffer-dam,

a case of piling, &c. without a bottom, fixed in the river, water-tight or nearly so, by which to lay the bottom dry for a space large enough to build the pier on. When it is fixed, its sides reaching above the level of the water, the water is pumped out of it, or drawn off by engines, &c. till the space be dry; and it is kept so by the same means, until the pier is built up in it, and then the materials of it are drawn up again. Battardeaux are made in various manners, either by a single inclosure, or by a double one, with clay or chalk rammed in between the two, to prevent the water from coming through the sides: and these inclosures are also made either with piles only, driven close by one another, and sometimes notched or dove-tailed into each other, or with piles grooved in the sides, driven in at a distance from one another, and boards let down between them in the grooves.

Butments, are the extremities of a bridge, by which it joins to, or abuts upon, the land, or sides of the river, &c.

These must be made very secure, quite immoveable, and more than barely sufficient to resist the drift of its adjacent arch, so that, if there are not rocks or very solid banks to raise them against, they must be well re-inforced with proper walls or returns, &c.

Caisson, a kind of chest, or flat-bottomed boat, in which a pier is built, then sunk to the bed of the river, and the sides loosened and taken off from the bottom, by a contrivance for that purpose; the bottom of it being left under the pier as a foundation. It is evident, therefore, that the bottoms of the caissons must be made very strong and fit for the foundations of the piers. The caisson is kept afloat till the pier be built to the height of low water mark; and for that purpose, its sides must either be made of more than that height at first, or else gradually raised to it, as it sinks by the weight of the work, so as always to keep its top above water: and therefore the sides must be made very strong, and kept asunder by cross-timbers within, lest the great pressure of the ambient water crush the sides in, and so not only endanger the work, but also drown the workmen within it. The caisson is made of the shape of the pier, but some feet wider on every side to make room for the men to work; the whole of the sides are of two pieces, both joined to the bottom quite round, and to each other at the salient angle, so as to be disengaged from the bottom, and from each other, when the pier is raised to the desired height, and sunk. It is also convenient to have a little sluice made in the bottom, occasionally to open and shut, to sink the caisson and pier sometimes by, before it be finished, to try if it bottom level and rightly; for by opening the sluice, the water will rush in and fill it to the height of the exterior water, and the weight of the work already built will sink it: then by shutting the sluice again, and pumping out the water, it will be made to float again, and the rest of the work may be completed. It must not however be sunk except when the sides are high enough to reach above the surface of the water, otherwise it cannot be raised and laid dry again. Mr. Labelye states, that the caissons in which he built Westminster bridge, London, contained above 150 load of fir timber, of 40 cubic feet each, and were of more tonnage or capacity than a 40 gun ship of war.

Centres, are the timber frames erected in the spaces of the arches to turn them on, by building on them the voussoirs of the arch. As the centre serves as a foundation for the arch to be built on, when the arch is completed, that foundation is struck from under it, to make way for the water and navigation, and then the arch will stand of itself from its curved figure. The centre must be constructed of the exact figure of the intended arch, convex, as the arch is concave, to receive it on as a mould. If the form be circular, the curve is struck from a central point by a radius; if it be elliptical, it should be struck with a double cord, passing over two pins fixed in the focusses, as the mathematicians describe their ellipses; and not by striking different pieces or arcs of circles from several centres; for these will form no ellipsis at all, but an irregular misshapen curve made up of broken pieces of different circular arches; but if the arch be of any other form, the several abscissas and ordinates should be calculated; then their corresponding lengths, transferred to the centering, will give so many points of the curve; by bending a bow of pliable matter, according to those points, the curve may be drawn.

The centres are constructed of beams of timber, firmly pinned and bound together, into one entire compact frame, covered smooth at top with planks or boards to place the voussoirs on; the whole supported by off-sets in the sides of the piers, and by piles driven into the bed of the river, and capable of being raised and depressed by wedges contrived for that purpose, and for taking them down when the arch is completed. They should also be constructed of a strength more than sufficient to bear the weight of the arch.

In taking the centre down, first let it down a little, all in a piece, by easing some of the wedges; then let it rest a few days to try if the arch makes any efforts to fall, or any joints open, or any stones crush or crack, &c. that the damage may be repaired before the centre is entirely removed, which is not to be done till the arch ceases to make any visible efforts.

Chest. See Caisson.

Coffer-dam. See Battardeau.

Drift, -

Shoot, or

Thrust,

of an arch, is the push or force which it exerts in the direction of the length of the bridge. This force arises from the perpendicular gravitation of the stones of the arch, which being kept from descending by the form of the arch, and the resistance of the pier, exert their force in a lateral or horizontal direction. This force is computed in Prop. 10, of Mr. Hutton’s Principles of Bridges, where the thickness of the pier is determined that is necessary to resist it, and is greater the lower the arch is, cæteris paribus.

Elevation, the orthographic projection of the front of a bridge, on the vertical plane, parallel to its length. This is necessary to shew the form and dimensions of the arches and other parts, as to height and breadth, and therefore has a plain scale annexed to it, to measure the parts by. It also shews the manner of working up and decorating the fronts of the bridge.

Extrados, the exterior curvature or line of an arch. In the propositions of the second section in Professor Hutton’s Principles of Bridges, it is the outer or upper line of the wall above the arch; but it often means only the upper or exterior curve of the voussoirs.

Foundations, the bottoms of the piers, &c. or the bases on which they are built. These bottoms are always to be made with projections, greater or less, according to the spaces on which they are built: and according to the nature of the ground, depth and velocity of water, &c. the foundations are laid and the piers built after different manners, either in caissons, in battardeaux, on stilts with sterlings, &c. for the particular method of doing which, see each under its respective term.

The most obvious and simple method of laying the foundations and raising the piers up to the water-mark, is to turn the river out of its course above the place or the bridge, into a new channel cut for it near the place where it makes an elbow or turn; then the piers are built on dry ground, and the water turned into its old course again; the new one being securely banked up. This is certainly the best method, when the new channel can be easily and conveniently made. This, however, is seldom or never the case.

Another method is, to lay only the space of each pier dry till it be built, by surrounding it with piles and planks driven down into the bed of the river, so close together as to exclude the water from coming in; then the water is pumped out of the inclosed space, the pier built in it, and lastly the piles and planks drawn up. This is coffer-dam work, but evidently cannot be practised if the bottom be of a loose consistence, admitting the water to ooze and spring up through it.

When neither the whole nor part of the river can be easily laid dry as above, other methods are to be used; such as to build either in caissons or on stilts, both which methods are described under their proper words; or yet by another method, which hath, though seldom, been sometimes used, without laying the bottom dry, and which is thus: the pier is built upon strong rafts or gratings of timber, well bound together, and buoyed up on the surface of the water by strong cables, fixed to the other floats or machines, till the pier is built; the whole is then gently let down to the bottom, which must be made level for the purpose; but of these methods, that of building in caissons is best.

But before the pier can be built in any manner, the ground at the bottom must be well secured, and made quite good and safe, if it be not so naturally. The space must be bored into, to try the consistence of the ground; and if a good bottom of stone, or firm gravel, clay, &c. be met with, within a moderate depth below the bed of the river, the loose sand, &c. must be removed and digged out to it, and the foundation laid on the firm bottom on a strong grating or base of timber made much broader every way than the pier, that there may be the greater base to press on, to prevent its being sunk; but if a solid bottom cannot be found at a convenient depth to dig to, the space must then be driven full of strong piles, whose tops must be sawed off level some feet below the bed of the water, the sand having been previously dug out for that purpose; and then the foundation on a grating of timber laid on their tops as before: or, when the bottom is not good, if it be made level, and a strong grating of timber, 2, 3, or 4 times as large as the base of the pier be made, it will form a good base to build on, its great size preventing it from sinking. In driving the piles, begin at the middle, and proceed outwards all the way to the borders or margin; the reason of which is, that if the outer ones were driven first, the earth of the inner space would be thereby so jammed together, as not to allow the inner piles to be driven; and besides the piles immediately under the piers, it is also very prudent to drive in a single, double, or triple row of them round, and close to the frame of the foundation, cutting them off a little above it, to secure it from slipping aside out of its place, and to bind the ground under the pier firmer: for, as the safety of the whole bridge depends on the foundation, too much care cannot be used to have the bottom made quite secure.

Jettée, the border made round the stilts under a pier. See Sterling.

Impost, is the part of the pier on which the feet of the arches stand, or from which they spring.

Key-stone, the middle voussoir, or the arch-stone in the top or immediately over the centre of the arch. The length of the key-stone, or thickness of the archivolt at top, is allowed to be about ¹⁄₁₅th or ¹⁄₁₆th of the span, by the best architects.

Orthography, the elevation of a bridge, or front view, as seen at an infinite distance.

Parapet, the breast-wall made on the top of a bridge to prevent passengers from falling over. In good bridges, to build the parapet but a little part of its height close or solid, and upon that a balustrade to above a man’s height, has an elegant effect.

Piers, the walls built for the support of the arches, and from which they spring as their bases. They should be built of large blocks of stone, solid throughout, and cramped together with iron, which will make the whole as one solid stone. Their faces or ends, from the base up to high-water-mark, should project sharp out with a salient angle, to divide the stream: or, perhaps the bottom of the pier should be built flat or square up to about half the height of low-water-mark, to allow a lodgement against it for the sand and mud, to go over the foundation; lest, by being kept bare, the water should in time undermine, and so ruin or injure it. The best form of the projection for dividing the stream, is the triangle; and the longer it is, or the more acute the salient angle, the better it will divide it, and the less will the force of the water be against the pier; but it may be sufficient to make that angle a right one, as it will make the work stronger; and in that case the perpendicular projection will be equal to half the breadth or thickness of the pier. In rivers, on which large heavy craft navigate and pass the arches, it may, perhaps, be better to make the ends semicircular: for, although it does not divide the water so well as the triangle, it will both better turn off and bear the shock of the craft.

The thickness of the piers should be such as will make them of weight or strength sufficient to support their interjacent arch independent of any other arches; and then, if the middle of the pier be run up to its full height, the centering may be struck to be used in another arch before the hanches are filled up. The whole theory of the piers may be seen in the third section of Professor Hutton’s Principles of Bridges.

They should be made with a broad bottom on the foundation, and gradually diminishing in thickness by off-sets up to low-water-mark.

Piles, are timbers driven into the bed of the river for various purposes, and are either round, square, or flat like planks. They may be of any wood which will not rot under water; but oak and fir are mostly used, especially the latter, on account of its length, straightness, and cheapness. They are shod with a pointed iron at the bottom, the better to penetrate into the ground, and are bound with a strong iron band or ring at top, to prevent them from being split by the violent strokes of the ram by which they are driven down.

Piles are either used to build the foundations on, or they are driven about the pier as a border of defence, or to support the centres on; and in this case, when the centreing is removed, they must either be drawn up, or sawed off very low under water; but it is better to saw them off and leave them sticking in the bottom, lest the drawing of them out should loosen the ground about the foundation of the pier. Those to build on, are either such as are cut off by the bottom of the water, or rather a few feet within the bed of the river; or else such as are cut off at low-water mark, and then they are called stilts. Those to form borders of defence, are rows driven in close by the frame of a foundation, to keep it firm, or else they are to form a case or jettée about the stilts, to keep the stones within it, that are thrown in to fill it up: in this case, the piles are grooved, driven at a little distance from each other, and plank-piles let into the grooves between them, and driven down also, till the whole space is surrounded. Besides using this for stilts, it is sometimes necessary to surround a stone pier with a sterling, or jettée, and fill it up with stones to secure an injured pier from being still more damaged, and the whole bridge ruined. The piles to support the centres may also serve as a border of piling to secure the foundation, cutting them off low enough after the centre is removed.

Pile-driver, an engine for driving down the piles. It consists of a large ram or iron sliding perpendicularly down between two guide posts; which being lifted up to the top of them, and there let fall from a great height, comes down upon the top of the pile with a violent blow. It is worked either with men or horses, and either with or without wheel-work. The bridge on Schuylkill, Philadelphia, is a master-piece of workmanship; and the new bridge at Trenton, over the Delaware, is equally bold and ingenious in its plan—in the latter the floor is suspended from the voussoirs of the arches, by stirrups of iron.

Pitch, of an arch, the perpendicular height from the spring or impost to the key stone.

Plan, of any part, as of the foundations, or piers, or superstructure, is the orthographic projection of it on a plane parallel to the horizon.

Push, of an arch. See Drift.

Salient angle, of a pier, the projection of the end against the stream, to divide itself. The right-lined angle best divides the stream, and the more acute, the better for that purpose; but the right angle is generally used, as making the best masonry. A semicircular end, though it does not divide the stream so well, is sometimes better in large navigable rivers, as it carries the craft the better off, or bears their shocks the better.

Shoot, of an arch. See Drift.

Springers, are the first or lowest stones of an arch, being those at its feet, and bearing immediately on the impost.

Sterlings, or Jettées, a kind of case made about a pier of stilts, &c. to secure it, and is particularly described under the next word, Stilts.

Stilts, a set of piles driven into the space intended for the pier, whose tops being sawed level off, above low-water mark, the pier is then raised on them. This method was formerly used when the bottom of the river could not be laid dry; and these stilts were surrounded, at a few feet distance, by a row of piles and planks, &c. close to them like a coffer-dam, and called a sterling, or jettée; after which loose stones, &c. are thrown or poured down into the space, till it is filled up to the top, by that means forming a kind of pier of rubble of loose work, and which is kept together by the sides or sterlings: this is then paved level at the top, and the arches turned upon it. This method was formerly much used, most of the large old bridges in England being erected that way, such as London bridge, Newcastle bridge, Rochester bridge, &c. But the inconveniences attending it are so great, that it is now quite disused; for, because of the loose composition of the piers, they must be made very large or broad, or else the arch must push them over, and rush down as soon as the centre was drawn; which great breadth of piers and sterlings so much contracts the passage of the water, as not only very much to incommode the navigation through the arch, from the fall and quick motion of the water; but likewise to put the bridge itself in much danger, especially in time of floods, when the water is too much for the passage. Add to this, that besides the danger there is of the pier bursting out the sterlings, they are also subject to much decay and damage by the velocity of the water and the craft passing through the arches.

Thrust. See Drift.

Voussoirs, the stones which immediately form the arch, their undersides constituting the intrados. The middle one, or key-stone, should be about ¹⁄₁₅th or ¹⁄₁₆th of the span, as has been observed; and the rest should increase in size all the way down to the impost: the more they increase the better, as they will the better bear the great weight which rests upon them without being crushed; and also will bind the firmer together. Their joints should also be cut perpendicular to the curve of the intrados. For more information, see Professor Hutton’s Principles of Bridges, in 8vo.

Bridge, in gunnery, the two pieces of timber which go between the two transoms of a gun-carriage, on which the coins are placed, for elevating the piece. See Carriage.

BRIDLE-Arm Protect, a guard used by the cavalry, which consists in having the sword-hilt above the helmet; the blade crossing the back of the head, the point of the left shoulder, and the bridle-arm; its edge directed to the left, and turned a little upwards, in order to bring the mounting in a proper direction to protect the hand.

BRIDON, or Bridoon, the snaffle and rein of a military bridle, which acts independent of the bit and curb at the pleasure of the rider.

BRIGADE, in military affairs, implies a party or division of a body of soldiers, whether horse, foot, or artillery, under the command of a brigadier. There are, properly speaking, three sorts of brigades, viz. the brigade of an army, the brigade of a troop of horse, and the brigade of artillery. A brigade of the army is either foot or dragoons, whose exact number is not fixed, but generally consists of 3, 4, 5 or 6 regiments, or battalions: a brigade of horse may consist of 8, 10 or 12 squadrons; and that of artillery, of 6, 8 or 10 pieces of cannon, with all their appurtenances. The eldest brigade takes the right of the first line, the second of the second line, and the rest in order, the youngest always possessing the centre, unless the commander deems a different arrangement expedient; and in such case mere etiquette always bends to orders. The cavalry and artillery observe the same order.

The Horse Artillery in the British service are called the horse Brigade; and consist of 6 troops, with their guns and stores. Their head-quarters are at Woolwich, where handsome barracks, detached from those of the royal artillery, have been erected for their accommodation.

A Brigade, in the French ordination, is the same as our Regiment; but it consists of 3 battalions, each of which is equal to one of our regiments or 1000 men; a demi brigade is half a regiment, or a French battalion.

Brigade-Major, an officer appointed by the brigadier, to assist him in the management of his brigade. The most experienced captains are generally nominated to this post; who act in the brigade as major-generals do in the armies, receiving their orders from their commanders.

Brigade-Major-General. The military commands in Great Britain being divided into districts, an office has been established for the sole transaction of brigade duties. Through this office all orders from the commander-in-chief to the generals of districts relative to corps of officers, &c. must pass. For further information on this head, see James’s Regimental Companion, 2d edition, vol. i. page 25.

Brigade de Boulangers, Fr. It was usual in the old French service, to brigade the bakers belonging to the army. Each brigade consisted of one master baker and three boys; the system is continued in the modern French army.

BRIGADIER, a military officer, whose rank is next above that of a colonel; appointed to command a corps, consisting of several battalions or regiments, called a brigade. This title in England is suppressed in time of peace, but revived in actual service in the field. Every brigadier marches at the head of his brigade upon duty. On the United States establishment, there is only one brigadier-general, who is chief in actual command; provision has been lately made by law for two more in case of war.

BRIGANDINE, or Brigantine, in ancient military history, a coat of mail, or kind of defensive armor, consisting of tin.

BRINGERS-up, an antiquated military expression, to signify the whole rear rank of a battalion drawn up, as being the hindmost men of every file.

BRINS-d’Est, Fr. large sticks or poles resembling small pickets, with iron at each end. They are used to cross ditches, particularly in Flanders.

BRISURE, in fortification, is a line of four or five fathom, which is allowed to the curtain and orillon, to make the hollow tower, or to cover the concealed flank.

BROADSIDE, in a sea fight, implies the discharge of all the artillery on one side of a ship of war.

BROAD-SWORD, a sword with a broad blade, chiefly designed for cutting; not at present much used in the British service, except by some few regiments of cavalry and Highland infantry. Among the cavalry, this weapon has in general given place to the sabre.

The principal guards with the broad-sword are:

The inside guard, (similar to carte in fencing,) which is formed by directing your point in a line about six inches higher than your antagonist’s left eye, the hilt opposite your own breast, the finger-nails turned upwards, and the edge of the sword to the left.

The outside guard, (resembling tierce,) in which, by a turn of the wrist from the former position, the point of the sword is directed above your antagonist’s right eye, the edge of the weapon turned to the right, and the finger-nails downward; the arm sufficiently straightened to the right to protect the outside of your body from the attack.

The medium guard, which is a position between the inside and outside guard, seldom used, as it affords very little protection.

The hanging guard, (similar to prime and seconde) in which the hilt of your sword is raised high enough to view your opponent under the shell, and the point directed towards his body.

The St. George’s guard, which protects the head, and differs from the last-described only in raising the hand somewhat higher, and bringing the point nearer to yourself.

The swords worn by officers of the infantry being constructed either for cutting or thrusting, it is necessary for gentlemen to be acquainted both with the method of attacking and defending with the broad sword and with the rapier. Those who have not opportunity of regular lessons from a professed teacher, may obtain much useful information from a work entitled the Art of Defence on Foot, with the Broad Sword, &c. in which the spadroon or cut and thrust sword play is reduced into a regular system.

BROND. See Brand.

BROWNBILL, the ancient weapon of the English foot, resembling a battle-ax.

BRUNT. The troops who sustain the principal shock of the enemy in action, are said to bear the brunt of the battle.

BRUSQUER une attaque, Fr. is to open the trenches in the nearest approaches to a place, completing the works from the front towards the rear. This undertaking is extremely hazardous, unless the object invested, or attacked, be ill-garrisoned, have a narrow front to besiege, the ditches be dry, &c.

Brusquer l’affaire, Fr. to attack suddenly, and without attending to any regular rule of military manœuvre.

BUCCANEERS, in military history, a name frequently applied to those famous adventurers, consisting of pirates, &c. from all the maritime nations of Europe, who formerly joined together, and made war upon the Spaniards in America.

BUCKETS. Water-buckets are necessary appendages to field-pieces, to cool the gun when hotly engaged; otherwise it might fire itself, or run at the muzzle.

BUCKLER, a piece of defensive armor used by the ancients. It was always worn on the left arm, and composed of wicker-work, of the lightest sort, but most commonly of hides, fortified with plates of brass or other metals. The shape of it varied considerably, being sometimes round, sometimes oval, and often nearly square. The shield of Achilles in the Illiad, as well as the book itself merits the attention of the military student.

BUDGE-Barrels. See Barrel.

BUFF-Leather, in military accoutrements, is a sort of leather prepared from the buffalo, which, dressed with oil, after the manner of shamoy, makes what is generally called buff-skin. Sword-belts were made of this leather.

BUGLE-HORN, the old Saxon horn; it is now used by the light infantry, and particularly by riflemen. By its soundings, their manœuvres are directed, either in advancing, skirmishing, or retreating. It is also used by the horse artillery, and some regiments of light cavalry.

BUILDING, in a general sense, a fabric erected by art, either for devotion, magnificence, conveniency, or defence.

Military Buildings, are of various sorts, viz. powder-magazines, bridges, gates, barracks, hospitals, store-houses, guard-rooms, &c.

Regular Building, is that whose plan is square, the opposite sides equal, and all the parts disposed with symmetry.

Irregular Building, that whose plan is not contained within equal or parallel lines, either by the accident of situation, or the design of the builder, and whose parts are not relative to one another in the elevation.

Insulated Building, that which is not contiguous to any other, but is encompassed with streets, open squares, &c. or any building which stands in a river, on a rock surrounded by the sea, marsh, &c.

Engaged Building, one surrounded with other buildings, having no front to any street or public place, nor any communication without, but by a common passage.

Interred or sunk Building, one whose area is below the surface of the place where it stands, and of which the lowest courses of stone are concealed.

In building there are three things to be considered, viz. commodity or conveniency; secondly, firmness or stability; thirdly, delight.

To accomplish which ends, Wotton considers the whole subject under two heads, namely, the seat or situation, and the work.

1. As for the seat, either that of the whole is to be considered, or that of its parts.

2. As to the situation, regard is to be had to the quality, temperature, and salubrity or healthiness of the air; that it be a good healthy air, not subject to foggy noisomeness from adjacent fens or marshes; also free from noxious mineral exhalations; nor should the place want the sweet influence of the sun-beams, nor be wholly destitute of the breezes of wind, that will fan and purge the air; the want of which would render it like a stagnated pool, and would be very unhealthy.

In the foundations of buildings, Vitruvius orders the ground to be dug up, to examine its firmness; that an apparent solidity is not to be trusted, unless the whole mould cut through be sound and solid: ’tis true, he does not say to what depth it should be dug: but Palladio determines it to be a sixth part of the height of the building.

The great laws of walling are:—1. That the walls stand perpendicular on the ground-work, the right angle being the foundation of all stability. 2. That the largest and heaviest materials be the lowest, as more proper to sustain others than be sustained themselves. 3. That the work diminish in thickness, as it rises, both for the ease of weight and to lessen the expence. 4. That certain courses, or lodges, of more strength than the rest, be interlaid, like bones, to sustain the wall from total ruin, if some of the under parts chance to decay. 5. Lastly, that the angles be firmly bound, they being the nerves of the whole fabric. These are sometimes fortified on each side the corners, even in brick buildings, with square stones; which add both beauty and strength to the edifice. See Stone, Bricks, Lime, Sand.

BULLETIN, Fr. any official account which is given of public transactions. See Gazette.

BULLETS, are leaden balls, wherewith all kinds of small fire-arms are loaded. The diameter of any bullet is found, by dividing 1.6706 by the cube root of the number, which shews how many of them make a pound; or it may be done in a shorter way. From the logarithm .2228756 of 1.6706 subtract continually the third part of the logarithm of the number of bullets in the pound, and the difference will be the logarithm of the diameter required.

Thus the diameter of a bullet, whereof 12 weigh a pound, is found by subtracting .3597270, a third part of the logarithm of 12, from the given logarithm .2228756, or, when the logarithm is less than the former, an unit must be added, so as to have 1.2228756, and the difference .8631486 will be the logarithm of the diameter sought, which is .7297 inches; observing that the number found will always be a decimal, when the logarithm, which is to be subtracted, is greater than that of one pound; because the divisor is greater than the dividend in this case.

Hence, from the specific gravity of lead, the diameter of any bullet may be found from its given weight: for, since a cube foot weighs 11325 ounces, and 678 is to 355 as the cube 1728 of a foot, or 12 inches, is the content of the sphere, which therefore is 5929.7 ounces: and since spheres are as the cubes of their diameters; the weight 5929.7 is to 16 ounces, or 1 pound, as the cube 1728 is to the cube of the diameter of a sphere which weighs a pound; which cube therefore is 4.66263, and its root 1.6706 inches, the diameter sought.

The diameter of musket bullets differs but ¹⁄₅₀th part from that of the musket bore; for if the shot but just rolls into the barrel, it is sufficient. The English allow 11 bullets in the pound for the proof of muskets, and 14 in the pound, or 29 in two pounds, for service; 17 for the proof of carbines, and 20 for service; and 28 in the pound for the proof of pistols, and 34 for service. The proof bullet of the U. S. musket made at Harper’s ferry in Virginia, the barrel of which is 3 feet 8³⁄₄ inches, is one fifteenth of a pound; the service ball one nineteenth. The Rifle of Harper’s ferry, the barrel of which is 2 feet 10 inches; the proof ball is one twenty-eighth of a pound; the service ball is one thirty-secondth part of a pound. See Gun and Rifle.

Hollow Bullets, or shells, of a cylindrical shape. These have an opening and a fuze at the end, by which fire is communicated to the combustibles within, and an explosion takes place, similar to that occasioned by the blowing up of a mine.