Oakum. A tangled mass of tarred hempen fibres, is made from old rope by untwisting the strands and rubbing the fibres free from each other. Its principal use is in calking the seams between planks, the space round rivets, bolts, etc., for the purpose of preventing water from penetrating.

Oaths, Military. The taking of the oath of fidelity to government and obedience to superior officers, was, among ancient armies, a very solemn affair. A whole corps took the oath together, and sometimes an entire army. The tribunes of every legion chose out one whom they thought the fittest person, and gave him a solemn oath at large, the substance of which was, that he should oblige himself to obey the commanders in all things to the utmost of his power, be ready to attend whenever they ordered his appearance, and never to leave the army but by their consent. After he had ended, the whole legion, passing one by one, every man, in short, swore to the same effect, crying, as he went by, Idem in me, “the same by me.” In modern times when so many other checks are used in maintaining discipline, the oath has become little more than a form. A recruit enlisting in the army or navy, or a volunteer enrolling himself, swears to be faithful to the government, and obedient to all or any of his superior officers. The members of a court-martial take an oath to try the cases brought before them justly, according to the evidence, to keep secret the finding and sentence of the court, until they shall be published by the proper authority, and to keep secret the votes or opinions given by the members individually. The judge-advocate swears that he will not reveal the individual opinions or votes of the members nor the sentence of the court to any but the proper authority. There is also an oath for the members and an oath for the recorder of a court of inquiry. The only other military oath is the common oath of a witness before a court-martial, to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. See Appendix, Articles of War.

Obedience (Fr. obÉissance). Submission to the orders of a superior. The first principle which ought to be inculcated and impressed upon the mind of every officer and soldier is obedience to all lawful commands. It is the mainspring, the soul and essence of military duty. It is evident that if all officers and soldiers are to judge when an order is lawful and when not, the captious and mutinous would never be at loss for a plea to justify their insubordination. It is, therefore, an established principle, that unless an order is so manifestly against law that the question does not admit of dispute, the order must first be obeyed by the inferior, and he must subsequently seek such redress against his superior as the laws allow. If the inferior disputes the legality before obedience, error of judgment is never admitted in mitigation of the offense. The redress now afforded by the laws to inferiors is not, however, sufficient; for doubtful questions of the construction of statutes, instead of being referred to the Federal courts of law for their true exposition, have received variable expositions from the executive, and left the army in an unfortunate state of uncertainty as to the true meaning of certain laws; and this uncertainty has been most unfavorable to discipline. Again, while the punishment of death is meted to officers and soldiers for disobedience of lawful commands, the law does not protect officers and soldiers for obeying unlawful commands. Instances have occurred in the United States, where officers and soldiers have been subjected to vexatious prosecutions, simply for obeying orders according to their oath of office. Would it not be just if the law, instead of requiring officers and soldiers thus nicely to steer between Scylla and Charybdis, should hold the superior who gives an illegal order alone responsible for its execution?

Obedience to Orders. An unequivocal performance of the several duties which are directed to be discharged by military men. All officers and soldiers are to pay obedience to the lawful orders of their superior officers.

Obey, To. In a military sense, is without question or hesitation to conform zealously to all orders and instructions which are legally issued. It sometimes happens that individuals are called upon (by mistake, or from the exigency of the service) out of what is called the regular roster. In either case they must cheerfully obey, and after they have performed their duty they may remonstrate.

Obidos. A town of Portugal, in the province of Estremadura, situated on the Amaya, 45 miles northwest from Lisbon. An engagement took place here between the French and English in 1808.

Object. A word in military movements and evolutions, synonymous with point. Thus, in marching forward in line, etc., the guide of a squad, company, or battalion, must take two objects at least to fix his line of march by which the whole body is regulated. As he advances he selects succession objects or points to prolong the line.

Object. The mark aimed at in the fire of small-arms or artillery.

Objective-points. The point to be reached or gained by an army in executing a movement, has been termed the “objective-point.” There are two classes of objectives, viz., natural and accidental. The term geographical is frequently used to designate the first of these.

A natural objective may be an important position, strong naturally, or made so by fortifications, the possession of which gives control over a tract of country, and furnishes good points of support or good lines of defense for other military operations. Or, it may be a great business centre, or a capital of a country, the possession of which has the effect of discouraging the enemy and making him willing to sue for peace.

Accidental objectives are dependent upon the military operations which have for their object the destruction or disintegration of the enemy’s forces. These objectives are sometimes called “objective-points of manoeuvre.” The position of the enemy determines their location. Thus, if the enemy’s forces are greatly scattered, or his front much extended, the central point of his position would be a good objective-point, since the possession of it would divide the enemy’s forces, and allow his detachments to be attacked separately. Or, if the enemy has his forces well supported, a good objective would be on that flank, the possession of which would allow his communications with his base to be threatened. It is well to remark that the term “point” used in this connection is not to be considered merely in its geometrical sense, but is used to apply to the object which the army desires to attain, whether it be a position, a place, a line, or even a section of country.—Prof. J. B. Wheeler.

Oblat (Fr.). Disabled soldier formerly maintained by abbeys.

Oblique. In tactics, indicates a direction which is neither parallel nor perpendicular to the front, but more or less diagonal. It is a command of warning in the tactics for the movement. It is used in referring to diagonal alignments, attacks, orders of battles, squares against cavalry, changes of front, fires, etc.

Oblique Deployments. When the component parts of a column that is extending into line, deviate to the right or left, for the purpose of taking up an oblique position, its movements are called oblique deployments.

Oblique Fire. See Fire, Oblique.

Oblique Flank. See Flank, Oblique.

Oblique Order of Battle. See Order of Battle, Oblique.

Oblique Percussion. Is that wherein the striking body is not perpendicular to the body struck, or is not in line with its centre of gravity.

Oblique Position. Is a position taken in an oblique direction from the original line of formation.

Oblique Projection. Is that wherein the direction of the striking body is not perpendicular to the body struck, which makes an oblique angle with the horizontal line.

Oblique Radius. Is a line extending from the centre to the exterior side of a polygon.

Oblique Step. Is a step or movement in marching, in which the soldier, while advancing, gradually takes ground to the right or left at an angle of about 25°. It is not now practiced.

Oblique, To. In a military sense, is to move forward to the right or left, by obliquing in either of those directions, according to the words of command.

Oblong Projectiles. See Projectiles.

Obsequies. See Funeral Honors.

Observation, Army of. An army assigned to the duty of observing and checking the movements of an enemy.

Observer Sergeants. In the United States, are sergeants in the signal service, stationed in large towns and important commercial centres, to give timely warning of the approach of storms, rise of rivers, and all other important weather news for the guidance of merchants and others.

Observe, To. To watch closely, etc. Hence, to observe the motions of an enemy, is to keep a good lookout by means of small corps of armed men, or of intelligent and steady spies and scouts, and to be constantly in possession of information regarding his different movements.

Obsession. The act of besieging.

Obsidional. Belonging to a siege.

Obsidional Crown (Fr. couronne obsidionale). A crown so called among the ancient Romans, which was bestowed upon a governor or general, who by his skill and exertions, either held out or caused the siege to be raised of any town belonging to the republic. It was made from the grass which grew on the spot, and was therefore called gramineus (Lat. gramen, “grass”).

Obsidionale Monnaie (Fr.). Any substitute for coin which has a value put upon it that is greater than its intrinsic worth; and a currency given to answer the convenience of the inhabitants of a besieged place.

Obstacles. Are narrow passes, woods, bridges, or any other impediments which present themselves when a battalion is marching to front or rear; or abatis, crows-feet, palisades, etc., which, being placed in the glacis of a fortress, obstruct the operations of an assaulting party.

Obstinate. In a military sense, means determined; fixed in resolution; as, an obstinate resistance.

Obstruct. To block up; to stop up or close, as a way or passage; to fill with obstacles or impediments that prevent passing; as, to obstruct a road, highway, channel, etc.

Obstruction. The act of obstructing, or the state of being obstructed. Also, that which obstructs or impedes; obstacle; impediment; hindrance.

Obtain. To get hold of by effort; to gain possession of.

Obus, or Obusier (Fr.). A species of small mortar, resembling a mortar in everything but the carriage, which was made in the form of that belonging to a gun, only shorter. It has been frequently used at sieges; and was well calculated to sweep the covert way, and to fire ricochet shots. They were usually loaded with cartouches.

Obusier (Fr.). Howitzer, called haubitz by the Dutch. In 1434 it was known under the name of husenicze.

Oc. A Turkish arrow.

Ocana. A town of Spain, in New Castile, 33 miles southeast from Madrid. Near here the Spaniards were defeated by the French, commanded by Mortier and Soult, November 19, 1809.

Occasion (Fr.). Has the same signification in military matters that affair bears among the French. Une occasion bien chaude, a warm contest, battle, or engagement; it further means, as with us, the source from whence consequences ensue. Les malheurs du peuple sont arrivÉs À l’occasion de la guerre, “the misfortunes of the people have been occasioned by the war,” or “the war has been the occasion of the people’s misfortunes.” The French make a nice distinction which may hold good in our language, between cause and occasion, viz.: Il n’en est pas la cause,—il n’en est que l’occasion, l’occasion innocente,—“He is not the cause, he is only the occasion, the innocent occasion of it.”

Occupation. The state of occupying or taking possession. Also, the state of being occupied or possessed; possession.

Occupation, Army of. An army which invades an enemy’s country and establishes itself in it either temporarily or permanently, is termed an army of occupation.

Occupy. Is a military phrase for taking possession of a work or fort, or to remain stationary in any place.

Octagon. A figure or polygon that has eight equal sides, which likewise form eight equal angles. The octagon in fortification is well calculated in its ground for the construction of large towns, or for such as have the advantage of neighboring rivers, especially if the engineer can so place the bastions, that the entrances and outlets of the rivers may be in some of the curtains. By means of this disposition no person could come in or go out of the garrison without the commandant’s permission, as the sentinels must have a full view from the flanks of the neighboring bastions.

Oczakov, or Otshakov. A town of Russia in Europe, in the government of Cherson, near the mouth of the Dnieper. This place was once the object of obstinate contests between the Turks and Russians.

Oda. The different corps or companies into which the Janissaries were divided bore this appellation. The word itself means a room, and the companies were so called from messing separately.

Oda-Bachi. Captain superintending the gunners at Constantinople.

Odas. Company of soldiers.

Odessa. A fortified seaport of European Russia, in the government of Cherson, on a small bay of the Black Sea between the Dniester and Dnieper, 85 miles west from Kherson. In the beginning of the 15th century the Turks constructed a fortress here, which was taken by the Russians in 1789. On the outbreak of the Crimean war, April, 1854, the British steamer “Furious” went to Odessa for the purpose of bringing away the British consul. While under a flag of truce, she was fired upon by the batteries of the city. On the failure of the written message from the admiral in command of the fleet to obtain explanations, 12 war-steamers invested Odessa, April 22, and in a few hours destroyed the fortifications, blew up the powder-magazines, and took a number of Russian vessels. On May 12, the English frigate “Tiger” stranded here, and was destroyed by Russian artillery. The captain, Giffard, and many of his men were killed, and the rest made prisoners.

Odius. A herald in the camp of the Greeks before Troy.

Odometer. An instrument attached to the wheel of a carriage to measure distances in traveling, indicating on a dial the number of revolutions made by the wheel.

OdrysÆ. The most powerful people in Thrace, dwelt, according to Herodotus, on both sides of the river Artiscus, a tributary of the Hebrus, but also spread farther west over the whole plain of the Hebrus. Their king Teres retained his independence of the Persians 508 B.C. Sitalces, his son, enlarged his dominions, and in 429 aided the Athenians against Perdiccas II. of Macedon with an army of 150,000 men. Sitalces was killed in battle with the Triballi, 424. Cotys, another king (382-353), disputed the possession of the Thracian Chersonesus with Athens; after nine or ten years’ warfare, Philip II. of Macedon reduced the OdrysÆ to tributaries.

ŒniadÆ (now Triyardon, or Trikhardo). An ancient town of Acarnania, situated on the Achelous, near its mouth. ŒniadÆ espoused the cause of the Spartans in the Peloponnesian war. At the time of Alexander the Great, the town was taken by the Ætolians, who expelled the inhabitants; but the Ætolians were expelled in their turn by Philip V., king of Macedonia, who surrounded the place with fortifications. The Romans captured and restored the town to the Acarnanians 211 B.C.

Œnophyta (now Inia). A town in Boeotia, on the left bank of the Asopus, and on the road from Tanagra to Oropus, memorable for the victory gained here by the Athenians over the Boeotians, 456 B.C.

Oesel. An island belonging to Russia, stretches across the mouth of the Gulf of Riga. It at one time belonged to the Teutonic knights, but was seized by the Danes at an early period, and ceded by them to Sweden in 1645. In the beginning of the 18th century it was taken possession of by Russia, to which power it was finally ceded in 1721.

Ofanto (anc. Aufidus). A river of Naples, which rises in the province of Principato Ultra, and after a course of 75 miles flows into the Adriatic, 4 miles from Barletta. Near its mouth was fought the famous battle of CannÆ, in which the Romans were defeated by Hannibal.

Off, To Go. To be discharged, as a gun.

Off, To March. To quit the ground on which you are regularly drawn up, for the purpose of going upon detachment, relieving a guard, or doing any other military duty.

Off, To Tell. To count the men composing a battalion or company, so as to have them readily and distinctly thrown into such proportions as suit military movements or evolutions.

Offa’s Dyke. An intrenchment from the Wye to the Dee, England, made by Offa, king of Mercia, to defend his country from the incursions of the Welsh, 779.

Offense, Weapons of. Those which are used in attack, in distinction from those of defense, which are used to repel.

Offenses. All acts that are contrary to good order and discipline, omissions of duty, etc., may be called military offenses. The principal ones are specified in the Articles of War (which see). No officer or soldier can be tried twice for the same offense, unless in the case of an appeal; nor can any officer or soldier be tried for any offense committed more than two years before the date of the order for trial, unless in cases where through some manifest impediment the offenders were not amenable to justice in that period, when they may be brought to trial any time within two years after the impediment has ceased.

Offensive. Used in attack; assailant; opposed to defensive; as, an offensive weapon or engine. Making the first attack; assailant; invading: opposed to defensive; as, an offensive war.

Offensive and Defensive Fireworks. See Pyrotechny.

Offensive and Defensive League. A league that requires both or all parties to make war together against a nation, and each party to defend the other in case of being attacked.

Offensive and Defensive Operations. Are operations the object of which is not only to prevent the enemy’s advance, but to attack him whenever there is a favorable opportunity which promises success.

Offensive Fortification. See Fortification.

Offensive War. Military acts of aggression constitute what is called an offensive war. Those who assail an opposite or adverse army, or invade the dominions of another power, are said to wage an offensive war.

Office. Any place or department appointed for the officers and clerks to attend in, for the discharge of their respective employments; as, the adjutant-general’s office, etc.

Office of Ordnance. See Board of Ordnance and Ordnance Office.

Officer, Brevet. See Brevet.

Officer, Field-. See Field-officer.

Officer, General. See General Officer.

Officer in Waiting. In the British service, the officer next for duty is so called. He is also mentioned in orders, and ought to be ready for the service specified at a minute’s warning. He must not on this account quit the camp, garrison, or cantonment.

Officer, Non-commissioned. See Non-commissioned Officer.

Officer of the Day. Is an officer whose immediate duty is to attend to the interior economy of the corps or garrison to which he belongs, or of those with which he may be doing duty. The officer of the day has charge of the guard, prisoners, and police of the garrison, inspects the soldiers’ barracks, messes, hospital, etc.

Officer of the Guard. An officer detailed daily for service with the guard. It is his duty, under the officer of the day, to see that the non-commissioned officers and men of his guard are well instructed in all their duties, he inspects the reliefs, visits the sentinels, is responsible for the prisoners and the property used by them and the guard; he is also responsible for good order, alertness, and discipline, and should never quit his guard duty unless properly relieved.

Officer, To. To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over.

Officers. Commissioned officers are all those officers of a government who receive their commissions from the executive, and are of various grades from the ensign to the marshal, all of which see under their respective headings. See Appointing Power and Commissions.

Officers, Marine. All those who command in that body of troops employed in the sea service.

Officers, Staff-. Are all those officers who are not attached to regiments, whose duties extend over the whole, or a large section, such as a brigade or a division; such as the adjutant-general, the quartermaster-general, etc., and their subordinates, together with brigade-majors and aides-de-camp. The regimental staff-officers are those who are not attached to companies; they are the adjutant and quartermaster, in the U.S. service, and in European armies the surgeon, paymaster, adjutant, assistant-surgeon, and quartermaster. See Staff.

Officers, Subaltern. Are all those officers below the grade of captain.

Officers, Warrant-. Are those who have no commissions, but only warrants from such boards or persons as are authorized by law to grant them. The only warrant-officers in the British service are master-gunners and schoolmasters. Technically the non-commissioned officers of the U.S. army are not warrant-officers, though they are appointed by warrants.

Official. All orders, reports, applications, memorials, etc., which pass through the regular channels of communication, are called official.

Official Courtesies. The interchange of official compliments and visits between foreign military or naval officers and the authorities of a military post are international in character. In all cases it is the duty of the commandant of a military post, without regard to his rank, to send a suitable officer to offer civilities and assistance to a vessel of war (foreign or otherwise) recently arrived. After such offer it is the duty of the commanding officer of the vessel to send a suitable officer to acknowledge such civilities, and request that a time be specified for his reception by the commanding officer of the post. The commanding officer of the post, after the usual offer of civilities, is always to receive the first visit without regard to rank. The return visit by the commanding officer of the military post is made the following day, or as soon thereafter as practicable.

When a military commander officially visits a vessel of war he gives notice of his visit to the vessel previously thereto, or sends a suitable officer (or an orderly) to the gangway to announce his presence, if such notice has not been given. He is then received at the gangway by the commander of the vessel, and is accompanied there on leaving by the same officer. The officer who is sent with the customary offer of civilities is met at the gangway of a vessel of war by the officer of the deck; through the latter he is presented to the commander of the vessel, with whom it is his duty to communicate.

When a civil functionary entitled to a salute arrives at a military post, the commanding officer meets or calls upon him as soon as practicable. The commanding officer tenders a review, provided the garrison of the place is not less than four companies of troops. When an officer entitled to a salute visits a post within his own command, the troops are paraded and he receives the honor of a review, unless he directs otherwise. When a salute is to be given an officer junior to another present at a post, the senior will be notified to that effect by the commanding officer. Military or naval officers of whatever rank, arriving at a military post or station, are expected to call upon the commanding officer. Under no circumstances is the flag of a military post dipped by way of salute or compliment.

Officially. By the proper officer; by virtue of the proper authority; in pursuance of the special powers vested; as, accounts or reports officially verified or rendered; letters officially communicated; persons officially notified.

Off-reckonings. A specific account was so called which existed between the government and colonels of British regiments for the clothing of the men.

Ogee, or Ogive. In pieces of ordnance, an ornamental molding on guns, mortars, and howitzers.

Ogival. The form given the head of oblong projectiles. It was found by Borda that this shape experienced less resistance from the air than any other.

Ohio. One of the Western States of the American Confederacy, lying between Lakes Michigan, Erie, and the Ohio River. In 1680, La Salle explored the State, and built a military post on the Ohio, which the French claimed; but in 1763 they relinquished it. The first settlement was made subsequent to the Revolution, a company of New Englanders having settled at Marietta in April, 1788. The early inhabitants were much annoyed by incursions of the Indians, who had successively defeated Gens. Harmar and St. Clair (the latter with great slaughter of his troops, leaving scarcely one-fourth) in 1791 and 1792, but were themselves in turn utterly routed by Gen. Wayne in August, 1794. Ohio was admitted as a State in 1802. In the second war with Great Britain, Ohio suffered greatly from raids by the British and Indians. Fort Sandusky was attacked by Gen. Proctor, with 500 regulars and as many Indians, and was successfully defended by Maj. Croghan, a youth of twenty-one years, with 160 men. But the most important action which occurred was the naval engagement on Lake Erie, fought at Put-in-Bay, September 10, 1813, in which Commodore O. H. Perry defeated a superior British fleet under command of Barclay. Ohio contributed greatly to the cause of the Union in the late civil war; she sent her full quotas of troops to the field, and the women attended to the sick and wounded with untiring zeal. The State was twice invaded by Confederate guerrillas, but suffered no material damage.

Oillets, or Œillets. Apertures for firing through in the walls of a fort.

Ojibways. See Chippewas.

Okanagans, or Cutsanim. A semi-civilized tribe of Indians who, to the number of about 300, reside to the east of the Cascade Mountains, in Washington Territory.

Olcades. An ancient people in Hispania Tarraconensis, north of Carthago Nova, nearer the sources of the Anas, in a part of the country afterwards inhabited by the Oretani. They are mentioned only in the wars of the Carthaginians with the inhabitants of Spain.

Oldensworth (Denmark). A conference was held here in 1713, between Peter the Great and Frederick IV. of Denmark.

Olifant, or Oliphant (Fr.). A horn which a paladin or knight sounded in token of defiance, or as a challenge.

Olinde. A sort of sword-blade.

Olivenza. A fortified town of Spain, in Estremadura, situated on the Guadiana, 16 miles southwest from Badajos. This town was ceded by Portugal to Spain in 1801; and for having arranged this cession, Godoy received his title of “Prince of Peace.” In 1811 it was taken by the French.

OlmÜtz. The chief fortress of Moravia, in the district of the same name, in Austria, 40 miles north-northeast from BrÜnn. OlmÜtz was taken by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War; but was besieged in vain for seven weeks by Frederick the Great in 1758. Lafayette was confined here in 1794. A conference was held here November 29, 1850, under the czar Nicholas, when the difficulties between Austria and Prussia respecting the affairs of Hesse-Cassel were arranged.

Olot. A town of Spain, in the province of Gerona, 85 miles from Barcelona. It figured and suffered much in the war of independence, being a strong point, and passed alternately into the hands of French and Spaniards, until the latter dismantled the fortifications. In the civil war of 1856 and 1857 it was much coveted and frequently attacked by the Carlists, but unsuccessfully.

Oltenitza. A fortified village of Turkey in Europe, in Wallachia, situated on the Danube, 2 miles north from Turtukai. A Turkish force having crossed the Danube under Omar Pasha, established themselves at Oltenitza in spite of the vigorous attacks of the Russians, who were repulsed with loss November 2-3, 1853. On November 4, a desperate attempt to dislodge the Turks by Gen. Danneberg with 9000 men, was defeated with great loss.

Olympic Games. Were instituted by Hercules A.M. 2856, in honor of Jupiter Olympus, at Olympia, a city of Elis, in Peloponnesus. They were celebrated about every four years, about the summer solstice. The design of them was to accustom the young military men to running, leaping, and every other military exercise.

Olynthus. A town of Chalcidice, stood at the head of the Toronaic Gulf, between the headlands of Sithonia and Pallene, about 60 stadia from PotidÆa. During the second Persian invasion of Greece, Artabazus, the general of Xerxes, captured the town, slaughtered its BottiÆan inhabitants, and gave it to the Chalcidians. It was subdued in war by Sparta in 382-379 B.C. It resisted Philip of Macedon 350 B.C., by whom it was destroyed in 347.

Omagh (Irish, Oigh magh, “seat of the chiefs”). An ancient town, capital of the county of Tyrone, in Ireland, 34 miles south from Londonderry. Omagh grew up around an abbey founded in the year 792, but is first heard of as a fortress of Art O’Nial in the end of the 15th century, about which time it was forced to surrender to the English, although its possession long continued to alternate between Irish and English hands. It formed part of James I.’s “Plantation grants,” and was strongly garrisoned by Mountjoy. On its being evacuated by the troops of James II. in 1689, it was partially burned.

Omaha Indians. A tribe of aborigines, of Dakota stock, who, to the number of 1000, inhabit a reservation in Nebraska. They are generally peaceful and industrious.

Omer, St. A fortified town of France, in the department of Pas-de-Calais, 24 miles southeast from Calais. This place was taken by Louis XIV. in 1677. It suffered severely during the revolution of 1830.

Omra, or Omhra (plural of ameer, a “lord”) Ind. They were persons of considerable consequence in the dominions of the Great Mogul. Some of them had command of 1000 horse, others of 2000, and so on to 20,000; their pay being regulated according to their commands. The governors and great officers of state were generally chosen out of this body.

On. A preposition frequently used in military exercise. It precedes the word of command which directs the change or formation of bodies of men upon points that are fixed; as, form on the centre company.

On the Alert. In a state of vigilance or activity.

Onagre (Fr.). A warlike machine, which was used by the ancients to throw stones of different sizes. It is mentioned by Vegetius.

Oneidas. A tribe of Indians forming one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, who resided in the county and near the lake which bears their name. They were continually at war with the early French settlers in Canada, and took sides with the colonists against the British in the war of the Revolution. For this they suffered severely. Their castle, church, and villages were destroyed by the Tories in 1780, and they were compelled to flee to the white settlements for protection. In 1788 they ceded most of their lands to the State and moved to Canada; subsequently some of the tribe settled in Wisconsin, where they are still comfortably located on a reservation; and a remnant still resides near Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. They are well advanced in the arts of civilization, and, contrary to the usual fate of Indian tribes, have increased in numbers.

Onein. An offensive weapon of mediÆval times, consisting of a staff with a hooked iron head.

Onondagas. One of the confederate tribes of Indians known as the Five Nations. They resided in the State of New York, in the county which bears their name. They were long the enemies of the Canadian French, with whom, and with the Hurons, they were continually at war. They were allies of the English in the French war, 1756-63, fought against the colonists in the Revolutionary war, and suffered severely in the contest. In 1788 they ceded their lands to the State and moved to Ontario, Canada, where about 400 of them now reside.

Onset. A rushing or setting upon; a violent attack; assault; a storming; especially the assault of an army or body of troops upon an enemy or a fort.

Onsetting. A rushing upon or assaulting.

Onslaught. Attack; onset; aggression; assault. “By storm and onslaught to proceed.”

Onward. Toward the point before or in front; forward; as, to move onward.

Oodeypoor, or Mewar. A Rajpoot state in India. It became tributary to the British government by the treaty of 1818. A corps of Bheels was raised in 1841 at the joint expense of the British and Oodeypoor governments, in order to reduce to subjection the Bheel districts of the country.

Oojein, or Oojain. A city of India, in the territory of Gwalior, 152 miles southwest from Goonah. It fell into the power of the Mohammedans in 1310. At this time it was the capital of Malwa; and along with this country it afterwards came under the power of the Patans, but was recovered by Akbar in 1561. In the middle of the 18th century it was conquered by the Mahrattas.

Opatas, or Yakis. An Indian people who reside in the state of Sonora, Mexico. They number about 25,000, and are generally peaceable and industrious.

Open. In military movements and dispositions, this term is frequently used in contradistinction to close; as, open column, open distance, open order, etc. It also constitutes part of a word of command; as, rear rank take open order. By open distance in column is meant that the intervals are always equal in depth to the extent in front of the different component parts of the column.

Open Flank. In fortification, is that part of the flank which is covered by the orillon.

Opening of Trenches. Is the first breaking of ground by the besiegers, in order to carry on their approaches towards the place.

Operations, Lines of. See Lines of Operations.

Operations, Military. Consist in the resolute application of preconcerted measures in secrecy, dispatch, regular movements, occasional encampments, and desultory combats or pitched battles.

Opinion. In military proceedings that regard the interior government of an army, this word signifies decision, determination, judgment formed upon matters that have been laid before a court-martial or court of inquiry.

Opinion. Officers on courts-martial give their opinion by seniority, beginning with the youngest in rank.

Oporto. A city of Portugal, in the province of Entre-Douro-e-Minho, about 2 miles from the mouth of the Douro, and 175 miles north from Lisbon. It was attacked by the Moors under Abderrahman in 820. In 1092 certain knights of Gascony, commanded by Don Alfonso Fredrico, captured it from the Moors. It was famous for the strength of its fortifications during the Middle Ages, its walls being 3000 paces in circumference, 30 feet in height, and flanked with towers. From the 17th to the present century, Oporto has been the scene of an unusual number of popular insurrections. In 1808 it was taken by the French. The French, under Marshal Soult, were surprised here by Lord Wellington, and defeated in an action fought May 11, 1809. It was besieged in 1832 and 1833 by Dom Miguel, and successfully defended by Dom Pedro with 7500 men. In this siege, the city suffered severely, and more than 16,000 of the inhabitants were killed. It has since been the scene of civil war. The insurgents entered Oporto January 7, 1847; a Spanish force entered Oporto, and the Junto capitulated, June 26, 1847.

Oppenheim. A town of the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left bank of the Rhine, 10 miles southeast of Mayence. It occupies the site of the Roman castle of Bauconia, and was made a royal palatinate under the Carlovingians. It afterwards became one of the most important free towns of the empire. It was taken in 1218 by Adalbert, archbishop of Mayence, in 1620 by the Spaniards, in 1631 by the Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus, and in 1634 by the Imperialists, suffering much upon all these occasions. In 1689 the French under Melac almost entirely destroyed it.

Opponent. One who oppones, or opposes; an adversary; an antagonist; a foe.

Oppose. To act as an adversary against another; to resist, etc. It likewise signifies to place as an obstacle.

Oppugn. To fight against, whether in attack, resistance, or simple opposition; to attack; to oppose; to resist.

Oppugnant. Tending to awaken hostility; hostile; opposing.

Or. In heraldry the metal gold, represented in heraldic engravings by an unlimited number of dots.

Oran. A seaport town of Algeria, about 220 miles west-southwest of Algiers; it is defended by strongly armed forts. The town of Oran was built by the Moors. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1509, by the Turks in 1708, and again by the Spaniards in 1732. It was taken by the French in 1831, and has since remained in their hands.

Orb. In tactics, is the disposing of a number of soldiers in circular form of defense. The orb has been thought of consequence enough to employ the attention of the famous Marshal de Puysegur, in his “Art of War,” who prefers this position to throw a body of infantry in an open country to resist cavalry, or even a superior force of infantry; because it is regular, and equally strong, and gives an enemy no reason to expect better success by attacking one place than another. CÆsar drew up his whole army in this form when he fought against Labienus. The whole army of the Gauls was formed into an orb, under the command of Sabinus and Cotta, when fighting against the Romans. The orb was generally formed six deep.

Orchomenus. A city of Boeotia, and the capital of the powerful tribe of the MinyÆ, was situated near the western shore of Lake Copaic, on a hill which overlooked the windings of the Cephissus. Its original inhabitants are said to have been Thessalian emigrants, and its name was derived from Orchomenus, one of the kings of the Minyans. Homer compares its treasures to those of Egyptian Thebes, and tells us that it sent 30 ships to the Trojan war. Some time after this event it became a member of the Boeotian confederacy. During the Persian war, like the other towns of Boeotia, it abandoned the national cause. Its government was thoroughly aristocratic, and after the Peloponnesian war, when Thebes became a democracy, Orchomenus took part with Sparta, and shared in its first triumph over Thebes; but the victory of Epaminondas at Leuctra (371 B.C.) placed it at the mercy of the Thebans, who soon after destroyed it by fire, and sold its inhabitants as slaves. It was again rebuilt during the Phocian war, but was a second time destroyed in the reign of Philip of Macedon, who, however, once more rebuilt it; but it never again became prominent in history. The site is now occupied by the modern village of SkripÚ.

Orchomenus. An ancient city of Arcadia, stood in a plain surrounded by hills, which separated its territory from that of Mantinea on the south and those of Pheneus and Stymphalus on the north. Its founder is said to have been Orchumenus, the son of Lycaon, and several of its kings are said to have spread their rule over all Arcadia. During the Peloponnesian war, when its acropolis had fallen into ruins, and its last king, Pisistratus, had been murdered by an oligarchical faction, Orchomenus began to decline. About 367 B.C. three of its tributary towns were depopulated to furnish inhabitants to the newly-founded city of Megalopolis; in 313 B.C. it was taken by the Macedonian general Cassander; and ever afterwards it continued to be bandied about between different belligerent powers. At the time of Pausanias it was still inhabited, and at the present day its ruins are seen near the village of KalpÁki.

Order. This term, considered in its relation to the army, embraces divers subjects. It gives an idea of harmony in the accomplishment of duties; a classification of corps or men; injunctions emanating from authority; measures which regulate service, and many tactical details. In tactics, the natural order is when troops coming upon ordinary ground are ranged in line of battle by the prescribed tactical means, and when they are formed in column, right in front. The oblique order is contradistinguished from the parallel, and in general means every tactical combination, the aim of which is to produce an effect upon two points of an enemy’s line by bringing a superior force to bear down on these two points. Such combinations constitute the oblique order, whatever manoeuvres may be used to accomplish the object. The parallel order operates, on the contrary, against the whole front of an enemy. Turenne and CondÉ fought habitually in parallel order, although they sometimes made a skillful use of oblique attacks. Guibert well says that a contiguous and regular parallel order can be of no use in war.

Order Arms. A word of command directing that the musket be brought down to the right side of the soldier, the butt resting on the ground.

Order, Beating. In the British service, is an authority given to an individual empowering him to raise men by beat of drum for any particular regiment, or for general service. It consists of a warrant which is signed by the secretary at war, or issued in his name by the adjutant-general.

Order Book. Every company in the service has such a book, in which orders are written for the information of officers and men. Order books are also kept at all military headquarters.

Order, Close. In tactics, comprehends space of about one-half pace between ranks.

Order, Entire. When applied to rank, means a straight line composed of half-files.

Order, Extended. Is preparatory to rank entire, and is frequently practiced in light infantry manoeuvres. It comprehends the opening of files of a battalion or company standing two deep, so as to have just space enough for one man between each two. The battalion or company, after it has obtained all its relative distances and been halted, is fronted, and each rear rank man springs into the vacancy when the word of command is given.

Order of Alcantara. A Spanish military order. It was established by Ferdinand II., king of Leon and Castile, in 1170. The knights wore a green cross upon their garments. See Alcantara.

Order of Amaranth. An order of military knighthood, instituted in Sweden by Queen Christina in 1645, at the close of an annual feast celebrated in that country, and called wirtschaft. Their device was the cipher of amarante, composed of two A’s, the one erect, the other inverted, and interwoven together; the whole inclosed by a laurel crown, with the motto, Dolce nella memoria.

Order of Argonauts of St. Nicholas. Was the name of a military order instituted by Charles III., king of Naples, in 1382, for the advancement of navigation, or, as some authors say, merely for preserving amity among the nobles. They wore a collar of shells inclosed in a silver crescent, from which hung a ship with the device, Non credo tempori.

Order of Battle. The arrangement or disposition of the different component parts of an army in one or more lines, according to the nature of the ground, for the purpose of engaging an enemy by giving or receiving an attack, or in order to be reviewed, etc.

Order of Battle, Concave. If the attack is made simultaneously on both wings, and the centre is refused, it is plain that the attacking army will assume a line of battle which will be concave towards the enemy’s line.

Order of Battle, Convex. If the attack is made in the centre of the enemy’s line, refusing both wings, the general direction of the line of battle of the attacking army will be convex towards the enemy’s line, and the term “convex order of battle” is applied to it. Other orders of battle are named by military writers. Their names will generally describe the direction of the hostile lines of battle and the particular formation adopted by the attacking army.

Order of Battle, Oblique. An arrangement of an army for battle with one wing advanced beyond the other, or a movement which brings the line in contact with an enemy’s flank; in general, any combination which brings a preponderating force upon any point of the enemy’s line. See Order.

Order of Calatrava. See Calatrava, Order of.

Order of Knights of St. Stephen. Instituted in 1561, by Cosmo, duke of Florence. They wear a red cross with a border of gold.

Order of Knights of the Band. Instituted by Alphonso, king of Spain, in 1268. Their name proceeded from the knights wearing a red scarf, or lace of silk, the breadth of 3 inches, which hung on their left shoulder.

Order of Knights of the Bath. A military order in Great Britain, deriving its name from the ceremony of bathing, which was performed at the initiation of the knights. The earliest authentic instance of this ceremony was at the coronation of Henry IV. (1399). The last occasion on which this ceremony was used was the coronation of Charles II., in 1660, after which the order fell into oblivion until it was revived by George I., in 1725. It is now the second in rank among the orders of England, the order of the Garter being the highest. The order of the Bath comprises three classes: first class, Knights Grand Cross (K.G.C.), the number of whom is limited to 50 military men and 25 civilians, besides the royal family; second class, Knights Commanders (K.C.B.), = 102 military and 50 civil; these and the first have the title of Sir; third class, Companions (C.B.), = 525 military and 200 civil.

Order of Knights of the Redemption. Instituted in the kingdom of Aragon by King James, who conquered the island of Majorca, in 1212. Their garments are white, with a black cross thereon.

Order of Knights Templar. See Templar, Knights.

Order of Maria Theresa. This order was instituted in June, 1757, by the empress queen of Hungary. In 1765 an intermediate class, styled knights commanders, was added to the two classes that originally composed the order.

Order of Merit. Instituted by Frederick III., king of Prussia, as a reward to those officers whose behavior deserved some marks of distinction. The ensign of this order is a golden star of eight rays, enameled with blue, which is worn appendant to a black ribbon edged with silver. The motto is Pour le merite.

Order of Mount Carmel. Instituted by Henry IV. in 1608.

Order of St. Alexander Newski. Or the Red Ribbon, which was instituted by Peter I., emperor of Russia; but the czarina Catherine I. conferred it in 1725.

Order of St. Hubert. See Hubert, St., Order of.

Order of St. James. See James of the Sword, St.

Order of St. Lazarus. See Lazarus.

Order of St. Louis. See Louis.

Order of St. Mark. See Mark, St., Knights of.

Order of St. Michael. Instituted in 1469 by Louis XII. in honor of the important services done to France by that archangel at the siege of Orleans, where he is supposed to have appeared at the head of the French troops, disputing the passage of a bridge, and to have repulsed the attack of the English, whose affairs ever after declined in that kingdom. The order is a rich collar, with the image of that saint pendent thereto; with the inscription, Immensi tremor oceani.

Order of St. Michael and St. George. This order of knighthood, founded for the Ionian Isles and Malta, April 27, 1818, was reorganized in March, 1869, in order to admit servants of the crown of England connected with the colonies.

Order of St. Patrick. See Patrick, St., Order of.

Order of Teutonic Knights. Established towards the close of the 12th century, and thus called, as chiefly consisting of Germans, anciently called Teutons.

Order of the Annunciation. See Annunciada.

Order of the Bear. See Bear, Order of.

Order of the Black Eagle. See Eagle, Black.

Order of the Crescent. See Crescent.

Order of the Golden Fleece. See Golden Fleece, Order of the.

Order of the Golden Stole. A Venetian military order, so called from a golden stole, which those knights wore over their shoulder, reaching to the knee both before and behind, a palm and a half broad. None are raised to this order but patricians, or noble Venetians. It is uncertain when this order was instituted.

Order of the Holy Ghost. See Holy Ghost, Order of the.

Order of the Knights of the Garter. See Garter, Order of the.

Order of the Knights of Malta. See St. John of Jerusalem.

Order of the Knights of St. Jago. Instituted by the king Ramico of Spain, in commemoration of a victory obtained against the Moors, 1030. Their ensign is a red cross in the form of a sword.

Order of the Seraphim. See Seraphim, Order of the.

Order of the Sword. See Sword, Order of the.

Order of the White Eagle. See White Eagle, Order of the.

Order, Open. In tactics, comprehends an interval of about 3 yards between each rank.

Order, Parade. When a regiment of horse or foot, a troop, or company, is drawn up with the ranks open and the officers in front, it is said to be in parade order.

Orderlies. Non-commissioned officers and soldiers appointed to wait upon generals and other officers, to communicate orders and carry messages.

Orderlies, Standing. Are soldiers who permanently perform orderly duty.

Orderly Book. A book for the sergeants to insert the orders which are issued from time to time.

Orderly Drum. The drummer that beats the orders, and gives notice of the hour for messing, etc., is so called.

Orderly Officer. The officer of the day; especially the officer of the day about an army headquarters in the field.

Orderly Room. A room in the barracks, used as the office of a company.

Orderly Sergeant. The first sergeant of a company is so called in the U.S. army.

Orders. Are the instructions, injunctions, or commands issued by superior officers. The orders of commanders of armies, divisions, brigades, regiments, are denominated orders of such army, division, etc., and are either general or special. They are numbered, general and special in separate series, each beginning with the year. In Great Britain and other European countries, and in the United States, orders generally take the designation of the headquarters from which they are issued.

Orders, General. Are orders that are issued to announce the hours for roll-calls and duties; the number and kind of orderlies, and the time when they shall be relieved; police regulations, and the prohibitions required by circumstances and localities; returns to be made and their forms; laws and regulations for the army; promotions and appointments; eulogies or censures to corps or individuals, and generally, whatever may be important to make known to the whole command.

Orders, Military. Companies of knights, instituted by kings and princes either for defense of the faith, or to confer marks of honor on their military subjects. See Knights, and names of orders under appropriate headings.

Orders, Regimental. Are such orders and instructions as grow out of general or special orders from superior authority, or proceed immediately from the commanding officer of a regiment.

Orders, Special. Are such as do not concern the troops generally, and need not be published to the whole command; such as those that relate to the march of some particular corps, the detaching of individuals, the granting requests, etc.

Orders, Standing. Are certain general rules and instructions, which are to be invariably followed, and are not subject to the temporary intervention of rank. Of this description are those orders which the permanent commander may judge fit to have inserted in the order books, and which are not to be altered by the temporary commander.

Ordinaire (Fr.). The soldiers’ mess is so called among the French.

Ordinary of Arms. In heraldry, an index or dictionary of armorial coats, arranged, not according to names, like an armory, but according to the leading charges in the respective shields, so as to enable any one conversant with heraldic language, on seeing a shield of arms, to tell to whom it belonged.

Ordinary Time. In the U.S. army is quick time, which is 110 steps, or 86 yards in one minute, or 2 miles 1613 yards in an hour.

Ordnance. A general name for all kinds of weapons employed in war, and the appliances necessary for their use. Under the general term ordnance and ordnance stores are included all guns, howitzers, mortars, rockets, and projectiles of every description, the explosives used in warfare, all gun-carriages, limbers, caissons, mortar-beds, battery-wagons, and traveling-forges with their equipments, and all other apparatus and machines required for the service and manoeuvres of artillery at sieges or in the field; together with the materials for their construction, preservation, and repair. Also all small-arms, side-arms, and accoutrements for artillery, cavalry, and infantry, all ammunition for cannon and small-arms; and all stores of expenditures for the service of the various arms, materials for the construction and repair of ordnance buildings, utensils and stores for laboratories, including standing weights, gauges, and measures, and all other tools and utensils required for the performance of ordnance duty. Harness and horse equipments are also furnished by the ordnance department. This general application of the word is not the purport of the present article; it is its special signification as used by the artillery with which we have to do. Technically speaking, ordnance is a term applied to all heavy fire-arms which are discharged from carriages.

History.—Although the battering-rams and the engines for projecting missiles employed by the ancients and during the Middle Ages are regarded as artillery, yet the military weapons in use before the invention of fire-arms cannot fairly come under this designation. At what exact date cannon were first used is not known, but guns called “Crakys of War” were employed by Edward III. against the Scots in 1327, by the French at the siege of Puy Guillaume in 1338, and by Edward III. at CrÉcy, and at Calais in 1346. The first cannon, or bombards, were clumsy, wider at the mouth than at the chamber, and made of iron bars hooped together with iron rings. Ancient cannon were also made of wood wound with rope or wire, and in some instances were even occasionally constructed of leather. The balls fired from these bombards were first made of stone, which was afterwards superseded by iron. In the 15th century various kinds were known by the names of cannon, bombards, culverins, serpentines, etc. Bombards of great length and power were employed by Louis XI. during his Flemish campaign in 1477, some with stone balls and some with iron. About this time cannon began to be made of cast iron instead of hooped bars; and bronze or brass as material began to be used as well as iron, and projectiles were also made of cast iron instead of stone. The introduction of cast-iron projectiles led to the invention of culverins, which corresponded very nearly in construction and appearance to the guns of the present day; these were in some instances made of enormous lengths from the erroneous idea that the range increased with the length of the piece. A remarkable gun of this description still exists at Dover, England, familiarly known as “Queen Anne’s pocket-piece;” while it carries a ball weighing only 18 pounds, it is more than 28 feet in length. From the earliest days of artillery there existed short-chambered pieces, which projected stone balls under great angles of elevation; and in 1478 hollow projectiles filled with powder began to be employed; but it is probable that the accidents which accompanied their use caused them to be abandoned for the time. In 1634, however, this difficulty was overcome, and these pieces were introduced into the French service, forming the class of cannon now known as mortars. Early attempts were also made to throw hollow projectiles from culverins and other long guns, but great difficulties were experienced in loading them, and the accidents to which they were liable caused them to be abandoned. Subsequently, however, the Dutch artillerists reduced their length so that the projectile could be inserted in its place by hand, and thus improved these cannon rapidly came into use under the name of howitzers, from the German Haubitz. A short cannon of large caliber for naval service was invented by Mr. Gascoigne in 1799, and called a carronade, after the Carron Iron-Works, Scotland, where it was first made. It was not for many years after hollow projectiles had been used that it was accidentally discovered that the firing of the gun-charge could be relied upon to light the fuze. Prior to this a long fuze lighted from the outside had been used. The difficulties and danger incurred in loading long guns with hollow projectiles delayed their application to shell-firing, and it was not until 1812 that they were used for firing both solid shot and shell at low angles. In this year a gun of this class, which was invented by Col. Bomford, Chief of Ordnance, U.S.A., was adopted by the United States, and a number of these guns were used in the war with England, 1812-15. About 1814 this invention of Col. Bomford’s was improved upon by himself, and the gun thus improved was called a columbiad. The columbiad gave way about 1859 to the gun invented by Gen. Rodman. (See Rodman Gun.) The dimensions of the columbiads were first taken to Europe by a young French officer, and thus fell into the hands of Gen. Paixhans, who introduced them, with certain modifications, into the French service about 1822. They were by this means first made known to the rest of Europe by the name of Paixhan gun, and small calibers were afterwards used in the U.S. service under that name. Cannon up to this time were constructed on the smooth-bore principle; the rifle principle, although employed by the Russians in 1615, by the Prussians in 1661, and by the Germans in 1696, had not been brought into general use on account of its imperfectness. From 1696 to 1833 many attempts were made to rifle cannon with more or less success; but although the firing of smooth-bore guns was as aberrant as that of smooth-bore muskets, and from greater range even more so, yet, since the gunners were safe from musketry fire at 200 yards, and the cannon could be directed against masses of men with tolerable certainty up to three times that distance, there was no special inducement to improve their powers. But the introduction of rifled small-arms changed the relative advantages; for a rifled small-arm might pick off the gunners of a smooth-bore cannon before their weapon could come into effective play. The Crimean war set inventors vigorously to work, and many admirable guns have resulted from their attempts, the great difficulty of the day being to decide which is most effective. Rifled guns have nearly superseded smooth-bored cannon, except in the United States, which still gives the preference to the latter.

Ordnance, Modern, History of. Heavy modern ordnance dates properly from the casting of the great Rodman smooth-bores in the United States. To the impetus thus given may be ascribed the origin of the powerful guns of the present day. In Rodman’s study of gunpowder and the improvements introduced by him lay the germ of all subsequent progress in ordnance. His most important invention, perforated cake powder, was transplanted bodily to the continent of Europe, where, under the name of prismatic powder, it has been used ever since. So perfect is the theory of this powder that invention and science toiling over the subject for twenty years has produced nothing better. Since the first half of the decade—1860-70—the United States has fallen behind the nations of Europe in the power of her armament. Having been committed by her two great inventors, Rodman and Dahlgren, to cast-iron smooth-bores, which were fabricated in great numbers, her attitude has been that of Micawber,—waiting for something to turn up. England occupies the other extreme,—of all the powers she has ventured the greatest sums upon the theories of her gun-makers. Her private manufacturers have received such encouragement at home or abroad that they are now able to supply the whole world. Their only great rival on the continent is Krupp, who finds his market principally in Germany, Russia, and Turkey.

The early adoption of the rifle principle by all European powers placed them at once on a plane of advancement. The vexed questions of breech- and muzzle-loading and of gun construction have been decided by each nation in the manner most satisfactory to itself. Opinions differ widely, and it is probable that many changes may be made in these matters. Still, they all possess powerful guns which have certain features in common, essential to heavy ordnance in the present stage of its development. Large-grained powder, the first of these requisites, is universally used (for varieties, see Gunpowder). Great length of bore, to utilize the whole force of the powder, is another characteristic. Great power is secured by immense charges of powder and weight of shot. A caliber of at least 12 inches, giving an oblong shot of about 700 pounds, seems to be regarded as a sine qua non for all armaments. (See Cannon, Ordnance, Great Britain, Russia, France, etc.) England has taken the lead in all these improvements, and though it would appear from recent events that her choice of gun systems is unfortunate, there is no question that all great advances since Rodman’s day have been based upon her expensive experiments. The work of the celebrated “Committee on Explosives,” 1875, of which Col. Younghusband and Capt. Noble (now a member of Sir Wm. Armstrong’s firm) were members, did more to this end than any other investigation since Rodman’s experiments in gunpowder. Acting upon the obvious idea that the peril to the life of the gun is relieved by air-space, the committee recommended the enlargement of the bore at the seat of the charge, or the use of a chamber larger than the bore. This simple expedient led at once to an immense increase in the power of guns while the pressure endangering them was kept at a point lower than before. Every good thing can be pushed too far. The immense charges made possible by the English chamber have been continually added to by the Italians in their 100-ton Armstrong monsters and the vital air-space reduced till a charge of 552 pounds of powder has recently (1880) burst one of these magnificent guns.

Nomenclature of Ordnance.—For component parts of cannon and their description, see Cascabel, Base of the Breech, Base-line, Base-ring, Breech, Chase, Astragal and Fillets, Neck, Swell of the Muzzle, Face, Trunnions, Rimbases, Bore, and Reinforce. For recent modifications in the external form of cannon, see Ordnance, Strains upon.

United States.—Smooth-bored.—The official system for the land service comprises the following smooth-bored cannon: The Napoleon gun for field service (see Napoleon Gun) and the mountain howitzer for mountain and prairie service. (See Howitzer.) For siege purposes, the 8-inch howitzer, 8- and 10-inch and 24-pounder Coehorn mortars,—and for sea-coast defense, 13-, 15-, and 20-inch (Rodman) and 10-, 13- and 15-inch mortars. No 15-inch mortars have been yet cast. The 24-pounder flank defense howitzer, as well as the 8- and 10-inch smooth-bored Rodman and the 10-inch sea-coast mortar, no longer belong to the system, and are no more to be cast. The 13-inch smooth-bore is an experimental gun, not more than two or three of which have been cast. The smooth-bored gun principally used in the naval service is the Dahlgren. (See Ordnance, Construction of.) The carronade is now little employed.

Rifled Cannon.—The rifled cannon adopted for the land service of the United States at the present time (1880) are, for the field service a 3- and 3¹/₂-inch rifle, having the exterior shape of Rodman guns, but made of wrought iron,—the former adopted in 1861; the 3¹/₂-inch gun has never been made—the model was adopted in 1870,—and three mitrailleurs, viz., 1-inch and ¹/₂-inch (Gatling), adopted in 1868, and a .45-inch Gatling, adopted in 1874, intended to replace the ¹/₂-inch, and to use the service cartridge of the rifle musket. In the siege service there is but one rifle gun properly belonging to the system of the United States, viz., 4¹/₂-inch, of casting, having the Rodman shape, but cast solid. The 30-pounder (4.2-inch) Parrott so extensively used is not a regulation gun. (See Ordnance, Construction of.) The weight of the 4¹/₂-inch is 3570 pounds. It has an extreme length of 133 inches. The twist is uniform, and the weight of the solid projectile 32¹/₂ pounds, and of the charge 3¹/₄ pounds. The piece is loaded at the muzzle. The rifled sea-coast guns belonging to the system are a 10- and 12-inch, made of cast iron, and weighing 40,681 and 52,000 pounds respectively. The extreme length of the 10-inch is 180, and of the 12-inch 192 inches; the weight of the solid shot, 292 and 620 pounds respectively; the twist in each is uniform, and both are muzzle-loaders. Such is the official system of the United States. All the large guns are cast iron and are now useless as an armament to cope with modern armed ironclads. We have, however, a number of experimental guns, the models of which must be our immediate reliance in case of foreign war. In making these experimental rifles it has been held in view to utilize as far as possible the cast-iron ordnance now on hand. They are all made of cast-iron cases fitted with internal tubes of wrought iron (steel has also been used) after the plans of Parsons and Palliser. (See Ordnance, Construction of.) The 12¹/₄-inch rifle, muzzle-loader, is an original construction, the case required being larger than the 15-inch smooth-bored. The weight of gun is 40 tons; charge, 110 pounds hexagonal powder; shot, 700 pounds. The others are converted guns,—the 10-inch rifle, muzzle-loader, converted from 13-inch smooth-bore by inserting wrought-iron tube; two patterns of 8-inch rifle, breech- and muzzle-loaders, converted from 10-inch smooth-bores by muzzle and breech insertion of tubes. Quite a number of the muzzle-loaders have been made and mounted. A similar gun has been made for the naval service by converting the 11-inch Dahlgren. Parrott 100-pounders have also been converted into 6.4-inch breech-loaders for the navy.

Although the Parrott gun does not belong to the system adopted by the United States, it has been much employed for both siege and sea-coast purposes, almost to the exclusion of other rifled cannon. They are also very generally used in the naval service. There are eight of these guns employed in the service of the United States, viz.: a 300-pounder (10-inch), 200-pounder (8-inch), and 100-pounder (6.4-inch), in use by both land and naval forces; a 60-pounder (5.3-inch) and 30-pounder (4.2-inch), used exclusively by the navy, and a 30-pounder (4.2-inch), 20-pounder (3.67-inch), and 10-pounder (3-inch), employed exclusively by the land forces. The Parrott cannon are all muzzle-loading and made of cast iron, reinforced with a wrought-iron jacket. See Ordnance, Construction of.

Great Britain.—The cannon employed in the British service are all rifled, and nearly all muzzle-loaders.

Royal Arsenal, Woolwich.—The guns belonging to the British system, and made at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, are: for land service, an 11-inch gun, wrought iron, muzzle-loading, weighing 25 tons; two 7-inch, weighing 7 tons, and differing slightly in length and details of construction; a 16-pounder (3.6-inch), weighing 12 cwt.; and a 9-pounder (3-inch), weighing 8 cwt. These guns are all made of wrought iron. There are also an 8-inch howitzer weighing 46 cwt., also of wrought iron, and two converted guns, viz., a 64-pounder (6.29-inch) converted from 32-pounder, and an 80-pounder converted from 68-pounder smooth-bore. Both of these guns are of cast iron, with wrought-iron tubes, and were converted according to the Palliser method. For the Woolwich 38-ton gun, see Armstrong Cannon. For sea service exclusively, there are made at the Woolwich Arsenal a 12-inch, weighing 35 tons; two 8-inch, weighing 9 tons respectively, of the same length, one having no preponderance, and differing in other details of their construction; two 7-inch, weighing 6.5 tons respectively, differing slightly in length and details; a 7-inch, weighing 4.5 tons; and 9-pounder (3-inch), weighing 6 cwt. These guns are all made of wrought iron, and are muzzle-loading. For both land and sea service, there are made at the Royal Arsenal a 12-inch, weighing 25 tons; a 10-inch, weighing 18 tons; two 9-inch, one of which has no preponderance, the other a preponderance of 5 cwt.; three 64-pounders (6.3-inch), each weighing 64 cwt., but differing in length and construction. These guns are all made of wrought iron; for both services is used a 64-pounder (6.29 inch), converted from 8-inch smooth-bored according to the Palliser method. There are besides two bronze guns, one called the “boat gun,” a 7-pounder (3-inch) weighing 200 pounds; the other a 9-pounder (3-inch), used in the Indian service, and weighing 8 cwt.; also a 7-pounder (3-inch) mountain gun of steel, and weighing 150 pounds; these are all muzzle-loaders. The 9-, 10-, 11-, and 12-inch calibers have all steel tubes; one 7-ton and one 6.5-ton gun have tubes of wrought iron.

Armstrong Cannon.—The guns used in the British service made by Sir William Armstrong are—for the land service—a 12-inch weighing 38 tons (some of these guns are bored to 12¹/₂ inches), an 11-inch weighing 25 tons, a 7-inch weighing 7 tons, a 40-pounder (4.75-inch) weighing 35 cwt., a 25-pounder (4-inch), and a 16-pounder (3.6 inch) weighing 18 and 12 cwt. respectively, a 9-pounder (3-inch) weighing 6 cwt., a 10-inch weighing 6 tons, having no preponderance. These guns are all of wrought iron and muzzle-loading. There are also used in the land service, and of the same make, a 7-pounder (3-inch) muzzle-loading steel gun weighing 150 pounds, an 8-inch muzzle-loading howitzer made of wrought iron and weighing 46 cwt., a 64-pounder (6.29-inch) converted from 32-pounder, and an 80-pounder (6.29-inch) converted by Palliser method from 68-pounder muzzle-loading, made of cast iron with wrought-iron tubes. The other guns manufactured by Sir William Armstrong, and used in the land service, are all breech-loading, viz.: a 7-inch (screw) weighing 72 cwt., a 20-pounder (3.75-inch screw) weighing 16 cwt., a 64-pounder (6.4-inch wedge) weighing 64 cwt., and a Gatling gun (0.45) weighing 3 cwt. 84 pounds. The guns used in the sea service of this make are a 12-inch weighing 35 tons, an 8-inch weighing 9 tons, two 7-inch weighing 6 tons 10 cwt. and 90 cwt. respectively, and a 9-pounder (3-inch) weighing 6 cwt. These are all muzzle-loading, and made of wrought iron. There is another muzzle loading gun used for sea service, viz., a 64-pounder (6.29-inch) converted from 8-inch, and weighing 71 cwt.; this gun is of cast iron with a wrought iron tube. The breech-loaders used for sea service are two 20-pounders (3.75-inch screw) weighing 15 and 13 cwt. respectively, 40-pounder (4.75-inch) wedge weighing 32 cwt., and a Gatling gun (0.65-inch) weighing 7 cwt. 35 pounds; these guns are all of wrought iron. For land and sea service are constructed a 12-inch weighing 25 tons, a 10- and 9-inch weighing 18 and 12 tons respectively, a 64-pounder (6.3-inch) weighing 64 cwt., a 9-pounder (3-inch) weighing 8 cwt., a 7-pounder (3-inch) weighing 200 pounds, and made of steel; the others are of wrought iron, and all are muzzle-loading. The breech-loading guns of this manufacture used in both land and sea service are a 7-inch (screw) weighing 82 cwt., two 40-pounders (4.75-inch) screw weighing 35 and 32 cwt., respectively, a 12-pounder (3-inch), 9-pounder (3-inch), and 6-pounder (2.5-inch) screw weighing 8, 6, and 3 cwt. respectively. They are all made of wrought iron. See Armstrong Gun.

Germany.—In Germany the Krupp gun is almost entirely employed; they are all breech-loading and constructed of steel. (For particular construction, see Ordnance, Construction of.) Those used in the German land service are a 28-centimetre howitzer weighing 9.82 tons, caliber in inches 11.023, a long 21-centimetre weighing 9.84 tons, caliber 8.241 inches, a short 21-centimetre weighing 8.84, caliber 8.241 inches, a short 15-centimetre weighing 2.9 tons, caliber 5.869 inches, a 12-, 9-, 8-, and 6-centimetre, whose calibers are 4.735, 3.602, 3.090, and 2.362 inches, and whose weights are 1.37 tons, and 935, 649, and 235 pounds respectively. In the sea service are used a 30¹/₂-centimetre weighing 35.3 tons, caliber 12.007 inches, a short 26-centimetre weighing 17.67 tons, caliber 10.236 inches, a long 24-centimetre weighing 14.38 tons, caliber 9.267 inches, and a short 24-centimetre. For both land and sea service are employed a long 17-centimetre weighing 5.5 tons, caliber 6.771 inches, a short 17-centimetre, a long 15-centimetre weighing 3.03 tons, caliber 5.869 inches, and a long 15-centimetre weighing 3.09 tons.

France.—The guns adopted in the French service are both breech- and muzzle-loading, and are, for the land service, a siege-gun, 24-pounder rifled breech-loading, weighing 40.55 tons, caliber 6.01 inches, for fortress guns a 24- and 12-pounder rifled muzzle-loading, weighing 5953 and 3307 pounds, and having calibers of 6.01 and 4.77 inches respectively. For siege-guns a 24- and 12-pounder rifled weighing 4409 and 1940 pounds, whose respective calibers are 6.01 and 4.77 inches and muzzle-loading. For field artillery a 12-, 8-, and 4-pounder rifled, weighing respectively 1367, 1234.6, and 727.55 pounds, and whose calibers are 4.77, 4.17, and 3.40 inches respectively, all muzzle-loading. There is also a 4-pounder rifled muzzle-loading mountain piece weighing 220.5 pounds, whose caliber is 3.40 inches. In the sea-coast service there are a 30-pounder (muzzle-loader) not hooped, weighing 61 cwt., caliber 6.48 inches, a 30-pounder (muzzle-loader or breech-loader) hooped, weighing 70.86 cwt., caliber 5.46 inches, a howitzer 22-centimetre rifled and hooped, caliber 8.66 inches. In the French sea-service are a 32-centimetre weighing 34.5 tons, caliber 12.599 inches, and a 27-centimetre weighing 21.7 tons, caliber 10.803 inches. Both of these guns are breech-loading. For both land and sea service are used a 24-centimetre weighing 13.8 tons, caliber 9.499 inches, a 19-centimetre weighing 7.9 tons, caliber 7.638 inches, a 16-centimetre weighing 98.42 cwt., caliber 6.484 inches, a 14-centimetre weighing 52.26 cwt., caliber 5.456 inches. The guns used for sea service only, or for both land and sea service, are all made of cast iron, tubed with steel nearly to the trunnions, and strengthened near the breech by steel rings heated and shrunk on. The fortress guns, most of the siege, and all the field-guns are made of bronze. The large breech-loaders use the solid breech-screw fermeture. The term “pounder” as applied to certain guns has no reference to the weight of the oblong projectile used, but to the weight of the corresponding spherical solid shot.

Russia.—In the Russian service the Krupp gun is rapidly taking the place of all others; there are, however, still used for sea service, a 12-inch and 6-inch breech-loader weighing 40 tons and 3.92 tons respectively; also a 12.2-pounder boat-gun weighing 792 pounds, and for both land and sea service an 8-inch breech-loader weighing 8.754 tons, and an 8-inch breech-loading mortar, weighing 3.21 tons. These guns are all made of steel.

Ordnance, Ammunition for. For convenience in loading and safety in transportation, cannon ammunition is prepared in a peculiar manner and with great care. The ammunition so prepared is classified into field and mountain, siege and sea-coast ammunition.

Ammunition for Field Service is composed of solid shot, shells, spherical case-shot, and canister-shot (see headings). In mountain service solid shot are omitted. A stand of ammunition is composed of the projectile, sabot, straps, cartridge-bag, cylinder, and cap. The projectile is secured by two tin straps, fastened at the ends with tacks driven into the sabot. The straps cross each other at right angles; for solid shot, one strap passing through a slit in the other; for hollow projectiles, both straps are fastened to a tin ring which surrounds the fuze-hole. A round of canister for the field service consists of a tin cylinder filled with cast-iron shot, which slips over the end of the sabot, to which it is secured with small nails. The materials of which cartridge-bags are made are flannel, wildbore, or serge; the fabric should be soft and closely woven, to prevent the powder sifting out. Fabrics of cotton and flax are not used, because the powder sifts through them, and they are more apt to leave fire in the gun than woolen stuffs. A cartridge-bag for the field service is made of two pieces,—a rectangular piece for the sides, and a circular piece for the bottom. The charge is determined by measurement. The cylinder and cap are made of stout paper. The cylinder is used to give stiffness to the cartridge at the junction of the sabot and bag; the cap covers the exposed portion of the bag, is drawn off before loading, and placed over the projectile, or thrown away. The cartridge-bag is attached to the projectile by tying it around the grooves of the sabot with twine.

Fixed Ammunition.—Ammunition thus prepared is called fixed ammunition. It is used in the field and mountain service for smooth-bore guns and howitzers. For rifled guns the bag and projectile are carried separately. The term strapped ammunition is applied when the projectile is attached to a sabot without grooves; and to give a proper form to the cartridge-bag, the mouth is closed with a cartridge-block, which resembles a sabot; hence the name strapped ammunition. This kind of cartridge is nearly obsolete.

Packing, etc.—As soon as ammunition is finished it should be gauged, to see that it is of the proper caliber; it is afterwards packed in boxes containing 10 rounds each.

Siege and Sea-coast Ammunition.—On account of the great weight of siege and sea-coast ammunition, the cartridge-bag and projectile are carried separately. The cartridge-bags for large charges of powder are made of two pieces of woolen stuff, or of a paper tube with a woolen cloth bottom. The former are preferred for rapid firing. For sea-coast howitzers the bag should fill the chamber; if the piece be fired with a reduced charge, a cartridge-block should be inserted into the bag to give it proper size. For mortars the bag is only used to carry the powder, and when the piece is loaded, the powder is poured into the chamber; bags of any suitable size will answer for this service. For hot-shot cartridges bags are made double, by putting one bag within another. Care should be taken to see that the bags are free from holes. For ricochet firing, or other occasions when very small charges are required, a cartridge-bag of inferior caliber may be used. In the siege and sea-coast services, solid shot are transported and loaded loosely, but hollow projectiles are strapped to sabots, to prevent the fuze from coming in contact with the powder of the charge. The sabots are made from thick plank, and the straps are fastened as in the field service.

Ordnance, Carriages for. The carriages for cannon may be classified from their use into field, mountain, prairie, and sea-coast carriages, and mortar-beds. (See particular headings.) They may be further divided into those required for the immediate service and transportation of cannon, as gun-carriages and mortar-beds, and those employed for the transportation of ammunition, implements and materials for repairs, as caissons, mortar-wagons, forges, and battery-wagons. The field-, mountain-, prairie-, and siege-carriages being required for the transportation of their pieces are similar in their construction; those for sea-coast purposes differ materially from the others.

Nomenclature of Artillery Carriage.—The principal parts of the field-carriage and of all artillery carriages, other than the sea-coast, are: stock, of squared wood in two pieces, which serves to connect the gun-carriage with the limber, and to direct the piece; it includes the head, to which the sponge-bucket ring is attached; groove, trail, or curved part of the stock, which rest on the ground when the piece is unlimbered; rounding of the trail, trail-plate, a piece of iron fastened to the end of the trail and terminated by a very strong ring, called the lunette, which receives the pintle-hook by which the limber is attached; pointing-rings, large and small, which receive the hand-spike; trail-handles, on each side of the stock for the purpose of raising it; prolonge-hooks, on which the prolonge is coiled; wheel-guard plates, lock-chain, used to keep the wheel from turning; it is on the side of the carriage, and has an eye-plate and bolt; sponge and rammer stop, sponge-chain and hasp, ear-plate for sponge-chain and hasp; ear-plate to support worm; key-chain and key; elevating-screw; the latter has a handle with four prongs; elevating-screw box, elevating-screw bed, rondelles, which connect cheeks and stock; cheeks, two pieces of wood between which the gun rests; washer-hooks for handspike, washer-hook for lock-chain, under-strap, right sponge-hook, sponge and worm-hook, handspike-rings, trunnion-plates, into the beds or depressions of which the trunnions fit; cap-squares, cap-square chain, key-chain and key. Axle, including axle-body, of wood; axle-tree, of iron, axle-arm, the rounded extremities of the axle-tree on which the wheels revolve; linch-pin, linch-pin washer and hook. Wheels; each includes nave, nave-bands, nave-box, spokes, felloes, tire. In the new model for field service, cannoneers’ seats are on the axle between the cheeks and wheels; each consists of an iron chair supported on a rectangular bar inserted in a vertical iron socket, and resting on a strong steel spring; the socket is supported by two brass braces fastened to the axle by axle-straps; to an iron cross-piece at the top of the socket are attached two iron braces, which help to support the iron foot-rest attached to the brass braces. The chair has arms and faces to the trail. This refers to the carriage proper, considered only in relation to the fire of the piece, or as a two-wheeled carriage. To suit it to the easy and rapid transportation of its load it must be converted into a four-wheeled carriage, which is done by attaching it to another two-wheeled carriage called a limber.

The limber consists of a similar axle-body, axle, and two wheels, and on these rests a frame-work, to receive the tongue. On top of the whole is an ammunition-box, the top of which forms a seat for three cannoneers. In rear of the axle-tree is a pintle-hook to receive the lunette of the trail. Connected with the frame-work in front is a fixed splinter-bar with four hooks, to which are attached the traces of the wheel horses. At the extremity of the tongue are placed two pole-chains, by which the tongue or pole is held up, and a pole-yoke with two movable branches, to prevent, as much as possible, the pole from oscillating and striking the horses. The principal parts of a field-limber are: pole, including pole-pad; pole-straps, by which the pole is guided when the team is hitched; pole-strap iron, pole-yoke, muff and collar, pole-yoke branches, to which are attached sliding-rings; splinter-bar, to which the horses are hitched by four trace-hooks; end-bands, middle-bands, pole-prop, including socket, ferrule, and chain; hounds, pieces of wood upon which the chests rest, connecting the axle-body with the splinter-bar; forks, pieces of wood between the hounds, forming an opening in which the pole is placed; fork-strap, foot-boards, foot-board brackets, chest, chest-handles, cover, of wood; cover-plate, of copper; turnbuckle, hasp, back-stay, front-stay, stay-pins, stay-pin keys, under strap, pintle-hook, on rear part of axle-tree, which attaches the limber to the carriage; pintle-hook key, axle, wheels. The field-carriages employed in the U.S. service are three, one for the 3-inch rifle carriage (which, with slight modifications, is adapted to the 1-inch mitrailleur), one for the 12-pounder, and one for the ¹/₂-inch and .45-inch mitrailleur. The corresponding parts of these carriages differ only in their dimensions. All limbers are similar.

Mountain-Carriage.—The mountain-carriage differs in construction from the field-carriage inasmuch as the stocks and cheeks are formed of the same piece by hollowing out the head of the stock, the wheels are smaller and the axle-tree is made of wood, the arms being protected from wear by skeans. It is arranged for draught by attaching a pair of shafts to the trail. The pack-saddle and its harness are constructed to carry severally the howitzer and shafts, the carriage, or two ammunition-chests; or it enables an animal to draw the carriage with the howitzer mounted upon it.

Prairie-Carriage.—The prairie-carriage is designed to carry the mountain howitzer, and is similar to the mountain-carriage in form; but being exclusively for draught, the axle-tree is of iron, and the wheels are made higher and the distance between them greater than in the mountain-carriage. It has a limber and is drawn by two horses abreast, as in field-carriages. The ammunition is packed in mountain ammunition-chests, two of which are carried on the limber.

Siege-Carriages.—There are three different kinds of siege-carriages used in the U.S. service, one for the 4¹/₂-inch rifle, another on which the 30-pounder Parrott is mounted, and a third for the 8-inch howitzer, being the old 12-pounder, 18-pounder, and 24-pounder siege-carriages modified; these are all constructed in the same manner, and differ only in their dimensions. Siege-carriages are similar to the field-carriage in construction (see Field-carriage), the principal difference being in the manner in which they are joined to the limbers. Projecting upwards from the limber and in rear of the axle-tree is placed a pintle, which enters a hole made in the trail from the under side, and a lashing chain and hook keep the two parts together when once in position; the weight of the stock bearing on the rear of the limber relieves the horses of the weight of the pole, which is long and heavy. On the upper surface of the cheeks near the rear ends are placed two projecting bolts, which with the curve of the cheeks form resting-places for the trunnions, when the piece is in position for transportation. They are called traveling trunnion-beds. When the piece is in this position the breech rests upon the bolster, which is a curved block of wood bolted to the upper side of the stock.

Sea-Coast Carriages are divided into barbette front-pintle and barbette centre-pintle carriages, casemate, and flank-defense carriages; depending upon the part of the work in which they are mounted. The casemate-carriage differs from the barbette in being much lower. Sea-coast carriages are now chiefly made of wrought iron. All are composed of two principal parts, viz.: the gun-carriage and chassis. The gun-carriage is composed of two cheeks, held together by two plates of boiler-iron, called the front and rear transoms respectively. Each cheek is formed of two pieces of boiler-iron cut to a triangular shape, separated at the edges by interposing the vertical portion or web of a T-shaped bar. The horizontal branches project over each side to form a double rim, which gives stiffness to the cheeks. Flat bars of iron are also placed between the plates at suitable intervals to stiffen the cheeks in the direction in which the weight and recoil of the piece bear upon them. All these parts are held together by screw-bolts. The motion to and from battery is regulated in the 8- and 10-inch carriages by a pair of eccentric truck-wheels, called manoeuvring-wheels, which work on an axle-tree placed underneath and a little in front of the centre of the trunnions. When it becomes necessary to check the recoil of the gun-carriage, the wheels are thrown out of gear by means of a handspike inserted in the socket attached to the end of the axle-tree, and the carriage moved on sliding friction. When the gun is to be moved into battery, the wheels are thrown into gear in a similar manner, and the front of the carriage moves on rolling friction. The manoeuvring-wheels mentioned above are fixed on the projecting ends of the axle-tree, the axis of the wheel being eccentric with the axis of the axle-tree. These eccentrics are so arranged that when the centres of the wheels are at their lowest points, the surfaces of the wheels bear on the rails of the chassis, and raise the gun-carriage from it; and when the centres are at their highest points, the surfaces of the wheels do not touch the rails, and the gun-carriage is in contact with them. In case there is no socket connected with the end of the axle-tree, the wheel is thrown into or out of gear, that is, made to bear on the rail of the chassis, or relieved from it, by turning the axle-tree with a wrench placed on the hexagonal end. In the 15-inch carriage there are two pairs of manoeuvring-wheels, one pair being placed in front as above described, and the other pair near the rear end of the carriage. In all sea-coast carriages except the flank casemate the elevation and depression are given by a lever, the point of which works in a ratchet cut in the breech of the piece. The fulcrum (ratchet-post) is made of cast iron and rests on the rear transom of the gun-carriage. It has several notches for adjusting the position of the elevating bar. The chassis is a movable railway on which the gun-carriage moves to and from battery. It is composed of two wrought-iron rails inclined 3° to the horizon, and united by transoms as in the gun-carriage. In addition to the transoms, there are several diagonal braces to give stiffness to the chassis. For the 10-inch and smaller carriages, the chassis-rails are single beams of rolled iron, 15 inches deep; for all calibers above, the rails are made of long rectangular pieces of boiler-plate and T-iron, in a manner similar to that of the cheeks of the gun-carriage. In order to move the carriage horizontally in the operation of aiming the piece, the chassis is supported on traverse wheels, which roll on circular plates of iron, fastened to a bed of solid masonry, called the traverse circles. The motion of the gun-carriage is checked front and rear, by pieces of iron bolted to the top of the rails, called hurters and counter-hurters; and it is prevented from slipping off sideways by friction rollers and guides, which are bolted to the cheeks and transoms. In a late modification of the 15-inch carriage, the front eccentric axle is replaced by an ordinary one, dispensing with axle-pawls and friction-bands, the handspike pawls are made double instead of single, with a spring to keep them out of the ratchets, the front set of transoms and diagonal braces are removed from the chassis, and pneumatic or hydraulic buffers to check the recoil are put in with thick braces. When the rear manoeuvring-wheels are out of gear, the top carriage touches the rails of the chassis and moves on sliding friction, and when they are in gear the front wheels are also made to touch the rails and the top carriage moves on rolling friction. To prevent the rear manoeuvring-wheels from working out of gear while the gun is being run from battery, or jumping in gear when the gun is fired, pawls are provided for locking the rear axle. When no pawls are provided for locking the eccentric axle, it is often necessary for one cannoneer to remain embarred in the axle-socket to prevent the axle from flying out of gear. The 15-inch carriage allows an elevation of about 32° and a depression of about 6°, unless when fitted with pneumatic buffers, when no more than 25° elevation can be given. With the hydraulic buffer which passes along the centre of the chassis and is little used in the U.S. service the elevation is still further diminished. The 10-inch rifle and 13-inch smooth-bore are used with the 13-inch carriage, and the 12-inch rifle and 15-inch smooth-bore on the 15-inch carriage; the 20-inch gun has a separate carriage. The flank-casemate carriage is adapted to the mounting of the 24-pounder iron howitzer in the flanks of casemate batteries. Several modifications have been introduced into the carriages for the experimental rifled guns. For the largest calibers the chassis-rails are deeper in rear than in front. The pintle, set in a heavy flanged block of cast iron, is in front of the chassis, to which it is attached by a strap or heavy plate of iron. The top carriage is manoeuvred by chain-gearing worked by a capstan near the rear of the chassis. The elevation is given by a wheel with projecting spokes on the side of the top carriage, which is geared to work a toothed arc attached to the breech of the gun, the reading being given by a pointer on a dial-plate above the wheel. Rubber buffers are placed at the rear transom of the chassis to assist the cylinders to take up the recoil. Friction-plates attached by india-rubber ends to the rear transom take the place of cylinders in certain smaller carriages. In some cases the traverse-wheels are made to relieve the pintle of part of the strain by grooving them to run on heavy traverse-rails and inclining them towards the pintle.

Mortar-Beds.—Mortars are fired from a bed; in the U.S. service there are three kinds of mortar-beds in use in the siege service; the 8-inch, 10-inch, and the Coehorn; the first two differ only in dimensions. They are made of wrought iron and put together after the manner of the sea-coast gun-carriage. The different parts are the cheeks, which, like those of the gun-carriage, are triangular in shape, and two transoms connecting the cheeks together. At the end of each cheek are projections, called front and rear notches, underneath which the cannoneers embar with their handspikes to move the bed on the platform; there are also two front and two rear manoeuvring-bolts for the same purpose. The elevation and depression are given as in the gun-carriage by embarring with the iron elevating bar through the fulcrum into the ratchets on the breech of the mortar. The Coehorn-bed is made of a block of oak wood, in one piece, or two pieces joined together with bolts. A recess for the trunnions and part of the breech is made in the top of the bed, and the trunnions are kept in their places by plates of iron bolted down over them. Two iron handles are bolted to the bed on each side, by which four men can carry the bed with the mortar in its place, the entire weight being only 296 pounds. Sea-coast mortar-beds are similar to those for siege purposes, but they have eccentric truck-wheels for manoeuvring the mortar-bed on the platform and the manoeuvring-bolts are omitted. The 13-inch sea-coast mortar is now mounted upon a centre pintle-carriage. The usual bed, now become the top carriage, is placed upon a chassis resting on a platform. The top carriage has a crane attached to the left cheek, and to the inside of the right cheek is attached a pawl worked from the front, for locking the eccentric axle in and out of gear, and the carriage is strengthened by an additional rear transom about 5 inches wide, the pipe being omitted. The chassis has the usual appliance for throwing this class of carriages into gear, and in addition an eccentric axle placed at right angles to and supported by a double front transom, and carrying a traverse wheel, by means of which motion is communicated to the chassis. The chassis is otherwise transomed and braced in accordance with the system. Heretofore nearly all sea-coast carriages were made of wood, but in consequence of the great difficulty of preserving this material from decay, especially when exposed to the dampness of casemates, they have nearly all been replaced by wrought iron. The carriages principally employed for the transportation of ammunition, implements, and materials for repairs, are caissons, mortar-wagons, forges, and battery-wagons.

The Caisson.—Caissons are used for conveying ammunition for a field-battery; all are similar in form. It is a four-wheeled carriage, consisting of two parts, one of which is a limber similar to that of the gun-carriage, and connected in a similar way by a wooden stock and lunette. On the axle-body of the rear part and parallel to the stock are placed three rails, upon which are fastened two ammunition-chests, one behind the other, and similar to the one on the limber; so that the caisson has three ammunition-chests, which will seat 9 cannoneers. The interior compartments of the ammunition-chests vary according to the nature of the ammunition with which they are loaded. In rear of the last chest is placed a spare-wheel axle of iron, with a chain and toggle at the end of it. On the rear end of the middle rail is placed a carriage hook similar to a pintle-hook, to which the lunette of a gun-carriage whose limber has become disabled may be attached, and the gun carried off the field. The caisson has the same turning capacity and mobility as the gun-carriage, so that it can follow the piece in all its manoeuvres, if necessary. It also carries a spare-wheel, spare-pole, etc. The principal parts of the caisson are: stock, or middle-rail; it has an iron lunette on its front end; side-rails, front foot-board, rear foot-board, middle-chest, rear-chest, spare-wheel axle; it has a body, two ribs, and a chain and toggle to secure the wheel; there are also two stays for the axle; lock-chains, fastened to lock-chain bridles under the front ends of the side-rails, and held up by lock-chain hooks fastened to the outside of the side-rails; spare-pole, spare-pole key, key-plate, chain, and pin; the key-plate is fastened to the under side of the lunette; the key is attached to the left side of the stock by a chain and eye-pin; carriage-hook, for attaching a carriage that has lost its limber; wheel-guard plates, spare-pole ring, held by the axle-strap; ring-bolt for spare hand-spike, key-plate and key, on the right side of the middle-rail; key-plate, chain, and key for the shovel-handle, on the inside of the right side-rail; middle assembling-bar, of iron; it has two ears in the middle to serve as stay-plates for the middle-chests, and a slot for the axe on the right of the middle-rail; rear assembling-bar; it supports the spare-wheel axle, and has a slot for the pickaxe on the left of the middle-rail. Axle, the axle-body, being notched to receive the middle-rail and tenoned to fit into the notches in the side-rails; staples for tool-handles; they are driven into the top of the axle-body in front of the iron axle-tree, one for the shovel-handle near the right side-rail, the other for the handle of the pickaxe on the left of the middle-rail. Wheels of all artillery carriages are similarly constructed; they differ, however, in the size and strength of certain parts, depending on the size of the carriage to which they are attached. The principal parts are: the nave, the nave-bands, the nave-box, the spokes, the felloes, and the tire. The nave constitutes the central portion of the wheel, and distributes the pressure of the axle-arm to the spokes. It is generally made of a single piece of wood, and strengthened by four iron bands called the nave-bands. It is also pierced with a conical hole for the axle-arm; and to diminish wear and friction, it is lined with a box of brass or cast iron, called the nave-box. The spokes serve to transmit the pressure of the load to the rim of the wheel. In all artillery carriages there are seven felloes and fourteen spokes. The felloes are the wooden segments which form the rim, and are joined together at their ends by wooden pins, or dowels. The tire is a strong band of iron, shrunk tightly around the felloes, to hold them together, and protect the rim from wearing away by contact with the ground.

Mortar-wagons are designed for the transportation of siege-mortars and their beds, or of guns or large shot, and shells. A limber similar to the one for siege-gun carriages is used with it. The body consists of a platform of rails and transoms resting on an axle-tree. The stock is formed by prolonging the two middle-rails. The side-rails projecting to the rear form supports for the pivots of a windlass-roller. This roller is used to load guns and mortars on the wagon by drawing them up the stock. A muzzle-bolster on the stock near the limber, and a breech-hurter near the hind part of the wagon, are provided and used when long pieces are transported on it. Mortars are usually carried mounted on their beds.

The traveling-forge is a complete blacksmith’s establishment, which accompanies a battery for the purpose of making repairs and shoeing horses. It consists of a body, upon which is constructed the bellows-house, etc., and the limber, which supports the stock in transportation. The body is composed of two rails, a stock, and an axle-tree. The bellows-house is divided into the bellows-room and iron-room. Attached to the back of the house is the coal-box, and in front of it is the fireplace. From the upper and front part of the bellows an air-pipe proceeds in a downward direction to the air-box, which is placed behind the fireplace. The vise is permanently attached to the stock, and the anvil, when in use, is supported on a stone or log of wood, and when transported is carried on the hearth of the fireplace. The remaining tools are carried in the limber-chest. When in working order the point of the stock is supported by a prop. Nomenclature of the traveling-forge body: Lunette, prop, vise, stock, wheel-guard plates, stock-stirrup, fireplace, back of fireplace, air-back, wind-pipe, bellows, ribs, hinges, hook, fulcrum, hook and staple, roof of bellows-house, bows, studs, girders, end-boards, bottom-boards, side-rail, lock-chain hook, coal-box, lid or roof, handles, hinges, turnbuckle, and hasp. A new pattern of field-forge has been proposed by Col. Laidley, U.S. Ordnance Corps.

The battery-wagon is employed to transport the tools and materials for repairs. Among the tools are those for carriage-makers, saddlers, armorers, and laboratorians’ use, scythes and sickles for cutting forage, and spare implements for the service of the piece. The body of the battery-wagon is a large, rectangular box, covered with a roof of painted canvas; and to the back part is attached a rack for carrying forage. The bottom of the body is formed of one middle- and two side-rails, resting on a stock and axle-tree, as in the traveling-forge. The tools and materials of the battery-wagon are carefully packed in the manner prescribed by the Ordnance Manual, in order that no difficulty may be experienced in finding a particular article when wanted. The smaller articles are carried in boxes properly lettered and numbered. The traveling-forge and battery-wagon are not confined to the service of field-batteries, but are used with siege and sea-coast carriages as occasion may require. Nomenclature of the battery-wagon body: Lunette, stock, wheel-guard plate, lock-chain, lock-chain bridle, lock-chain hook, studs, side-rails, upper rails, hinges, bows, cover-boards, cover-strap and turnbuckle, hasp, side-boards, stays, bottom-rails, bottom-boards, cross-bars, forage-rack, including chains, sides, and bars.

Ordnance, Construction of. The present condition of gun construction is mainly experimental. Iron in one form or another is the only material used for heavy artillery, but the particular form in which it is to be used, whether as cast, wrought, or steel, or whether in bars, coils, or ingots, or in combination,—as, for instance, steel or wrought iron interior and cast iron or wire-wrapped or hooped exterior,—is still undecided, and it is left for experiments which are still in progress, or to be made hereafter, to decide which is best. In the United States, cast iron is used for smooth-bore guns, and also for rifle guns, but as its use for the latter has not proved satisfactory, experiments are now being made with wrought iron lined and with wire-wrapped and other built-up guns, with fair prospect of success. In England, modern gun construction at one period inclined to the use of a steel or wrought iron interior tube, strengthened by an exterior casting of iron, which is the system of Palliser and Parsons. But the preference for the inventions of Sir William Armstrong, improved by those of Fraser, have resulted in the exclusive use, in that country at present, of the system of these two inventors. This method of gun construction is, in brief, a steel core (or body of the gun) strengthened by three or more exterior tubes of coiled wrought iron. This system is at present popularly known as the “Woolwich,” but sometimes called the “Elswick,” from the place where Sir William Armstrong’s works are now located. In Germany and Russia, and some other European nations, the Krupp system of heavy forgings of steel ingots is preferred. This last is by far the most expensive, and does not always produce the most durable guns. The question of breech- or muzzle-loading is still an undecided one. (See Breech-loading and Breech-mechanism.) The Germans prefer the first named, as do the French, Austrians, and Russians, for large calibers and for most small guns, while the English, after several years’ trial of the first, have of late abandoned its use and returned to the muzzle-loader, though the question has again been recently agitated. In the United States, experiments still going on have not yet demonstrated which principle is the best suited to the gun construction used in America. The advantages of loading at the breech with heavy guns are numerous and great; but the serious mechanical difficulties (see Breech-mechanism) of perfecting the movable breech attachment have militated against its adoption, especially in a country committed like the United States to the use of cast iron. During the half-decade (1855-60), and the succeeding decade (1860-70), enormous strides were made in gun construction and in that of carriages and projectiles, and the manufacture of gunpowder.

Cast Metal Guns.—The principles which govern the construction of homogeneous cast metal guns as established by long practice will be considered under the following heads:

Exterior Form.—The exterior of cannon is generally divided into five principal parts, viz.: the breech, the first reinforce, the second reinforce, the chase, and the swell of the muzzle.

The breech (see Breech) is the thickness of metal in the prolongation of the axis of the bore, and should be at least equal to one and a quarter times the diameter of the bore; a less thickness has been found insufficient for heavy iron guns.

The first reinforce (see Reinforce) extends from the base-ring to the seat of the ball, and is the thickest part of the piece, for the reason that the pressure of the powder is found to be greatest before the projectile is moved far from its place. In shape this reinforce was formerly made slightly conical, under the impression that the pressure was greater at the vent than at the seat of the projectile; but it is now made cylindrical throughout. The thickness of bronze cannon at the seat of the charge is less than for iron guns.

The second reinforce (see Reinforce) connects the first reinforce with the chase. It is made considerably thicker than is necessary to resist the action of the powder, in order to serve as a proper point of support for the trunnions, and to compensate for certain defects of metal liable to occur in the vicinity of the trunnions of all cast cannon, arising from the crystalline arrangement and unequal cooling of the different parts.

The Chase (see Chase).—From the extremity of the second reinforce cannon taper more or less rapidly to the vicinity of the muzzle; this part called the chase constitutes the largest portion of the piece in front of the trunnions. The thickness of metal in the chase should be sufficient to resist the striking of the ball against the side of the bore. This injury being greater in bronze and soft iron guns, their taper is less than in cast-iron cannon. In the construction of bronze guns, the thickness of metal at the neck or thinnest part is about five-elevenths of that at the first reinforce. All projections on the surface of cannon not absolutely necessary for the service of the piece are omitted in cannon of late models. This omission simplifies their construction, renders them easier to clean, and obviates certain injurious strains that would otherwise arise from unequal cooling in fabrication.

Swell of the Muzzle.—The enlargement called swell of the muzzle was generally regarded as necessary, inasmuch as the metal situated immediately at the muzzle is supported only in rear, and it was thought necessary to increase its thickness in order to enable it to resist the action of the projectile at this point. At present, however, the tendency is to reduce the size of the swell of the muzzle and to omit it entirely on all sea-coast cannon.

Interior Form of Cannon.—The interior of a cannon may be divided into three distinct parts, viz.: the vent, or channel which communicates with the charge; the seat of the charge or chamber, if its diameter be different from the rest of the bore, and the cylinder, or that portion of the bore passed over by the projectile (see appropriate headings).

The vent (see Vent) is perpendicular to the axis of the piece, and the interior orifice is at a distance from the bottom of the chamber equal to a quarter of its diameter, or at the junction of the sides of the chamber with the curve of the bottom. Experiment has shown this position to be the most favorable to the full development of the force of the charge, and to be least injurious to the piece. The size of the vent should be as small as possible, in order to diminish the escape of the gas and the erosion of the metal which results from it. In the U.S. service all vents are 0.2 inch in diameter. Experiment has, however, shown that the actual loss of force by the escape of the gas through the vent, as compared to that of the entire charge, is inconsiderable, and in practice may be neglected. In the U.S. service some pieces are made with two unbushed vents which are situated in two vertical planes on opposite sides of and parallel to the axis of the bore, and at a distance from it of one-half the radius of the bore. The left vent is bored entirely through, the other stops one inch short of the surface of the bore. When the open vent is too much enlarged by wear for further use, it is closed with melted zinc, and the other is bored out. Each vent is calculated to endure at least five hundred service rounds. In English guns of old model, the vent is placed four-tenths of the length of the cartridge from the bottom of the bore. In most breech-loaders, as well as many large modern muzzle-loaders, the vent is in the axis of the piece through the breech.

Seat of the Charge.—The form of the seat of the charge, or that part of the bore of a fire-arm which contains the powder, will have an effect on the force of the charge and the strength of the piece to resist it. The considerations most likely to affect the force of the powder are the form of the surface and its extent compared with the inclosed volume. To obtain the full force of the charge it is necessary that the inflammation be nearly completed before the gas begins to escape through the windage, and the projectile is sensibly moved from its place, and as the tension depends much upon the heat evolved by the combustion, the absorbing surface should be a minimum compared with the volume. In cannon where the charge of powder is large, the form of the seat of the charge is simply that of the bore prolonged; this arrangement, when compared with the chamber, makes the absorbing surface of the metal a minimum and reduces the length of the charge, so that its inflammation will be as complete as possible before the gas escapes and the projectile is moved. To give additional strength to the breech, and to prevent the angle formed by the plane of the bottom and sides of the bore from becoming a receptacle for dirt and burning fragments of the cartridge-bag, it is rounded with the arc of a circle, whose radius is one-fourth the diameter of the bore at this point. Instead of being a plane bottom it is sometimes made hemispherical, tangent to the surface of the bore. In all United States cannon of the most recent model, the bottom of the bore is a semi-ellipsoid; this is thought to fulfill the condition of strength more fully than the hemisphere. With light pieces, in which it is necessary to use small charges of powder, if the charge were made into a cartridge of a form to fit the bore its length would be less than its diameter, and being ignited at the top, a considerable portion of the gas generated in the first instance of inflammation would pass through the windage, and a part of the force of the charge would be lost. To obviate this defect, to give the cartridge a more manageable form in loading, and to make the surface a minimum as regards the volume, the diameter of this part of the bore is reduced so as to form a chamber. The shape of the chambers of fire-arms is either cylindrical, conical, or spherical; the effect of these different forms of chambers on the velocity of the projectile will be modified by the size of the charge and the length of the bore. Up to a charge of powder equal to one-seventh of the weight of the projectile, and a length of bore equal to 9 or 10 calibers, experience shows that the presence of a chamber is advantageous, but beyond these it possesses no advantages to compensate for its inconvenience. For very small charges of powder and short lengths of bore, the cylindrical chamber gives better results than the conical chamber. For the same capacity, the conical chamber gives a shorter cartridge, and is therefore better suited to the rapid inflammation of a large charge of powder than the cylindrical chamber.

The Gomer chamber belongs to this class. (See Gomer Chamber.) The spherical chamber was formerly used particularly in mortars, but owing to the inconveniences which attend its construction and use, and its liability to deterioration, it is now entirely abandoned. In all the regulation guns of the U.S. land service, the bottom of the bore is a semi-ellipsoid. The adoption of this form simplifies the whole subject of chambers, and it is found to give increased ranges for small charges. No very careful experiments have been made to determine in a general way the effect of chambers on the strength of cannon; but late experience indicates that cylindrical chambers in heavy iron guns have an injurious effect on their endurance, and they have consequently been abandoned in these pieces.

The Bore (see Bore).—The length of the bore has an important effect on the velocity of the projectile, and it was formerly supposed that the longest pieces gave the greatest ranges; this belief was in a great measure due to the slow rate of burning of mealed powder, which was originally used in cannon, but was entertained even after gunpowder received its granular form. When a gun is discharged, the accelerating force is due to the expansive effort of the inflamed powder, which reaches its maximum when the grains of the charge are completely converted into vapor and gas. This event depends on the size of the charge, and the size and velocity of combustion of the grains. With the same accelerating force, the point at which a projectile reaches its maximum velocity depends on its density, or the time necessary to overcome its inertia. The retarding forces are:

(1) The friction of the projectile against the sides of the bore; this is the same for all velocities, but different for different metals.

(2) The shocks of the projectile striking against the sides of the bore; these will vary with the angle of incidence, which depends on the windage and the extent of the injury due to the lodgment and balloting of the projectile.

(3) The resistance offered by the column of air in front of the projectile; this force will increase in a certain ratio to the velocity of the projectile and length of the bore. As the accelerating force of the charge increases up to a certain point, after which it rapidly diminishes as the space in rear of the projectile increases; and as the retarding forces are constantly opposed to its motion, it follows that there is a point where these forces are equal, and the projectile moves with its greatest velocity; it also follows that after the projectile passes this point its velocity decreases, until it is finally brought to a state of rest, which would be the case in a gun of great length. Elaborate experiments have been made in this country and abroad to determine accurately the influence which the length of the piece exercises on the velocity of its projectile. The experiments made by Maj. Mordecai of the U.S. Ordnance Department with a 12-pounder gun, show that the velocity increases with the length of the bore up to 25 calibers; but that the entire gain beyond 16 calibers, or an addition of more than one-half to the length of the gun, gives an increase of only one-eighteenth to the effect of a charge of four pounds. It follows from the foregoing that the length of bore which corresponds to a maximum velocity depends upon the projectile, charge of powder, and material of which the piece is made, and taking the caliber as a unit of measure, it is found that this length is greater for small-arms which fire leaden projectiles than for guns which fire solid iron shot, and greater for guns than for howitzers and mortars, which fire hollow projectiles. For the same charge of powder it may be said that the initial velocity of a projectile varies nearly with the fourth root of the length of the bore, provided the variation in length be small.

Manufacture of Cannon.—Cannon for the U.S. service are made by private founders. The material and product of the casting are under the supervision of an ordnance officer, who receives the pieces only after they have satisfied all the conditions imposed by the regulations of the service. There are several foundries for making cast-iron cannon. Wrought-iron field cannon are principally made at the Phoenixville Iron-Works, Pa. There are also several private establishments where special cannon are made. The several operations of manufacturing cannon are, molding, casting, cooling, and finishing.

Molding, in general terms, is the process by which the cavity of the form of the gun is obtained by imbedding a wooden model in sand, and then withdrawing it. The wooden model is technically called the pattern, and the sand is confined in a box, which is divided into two or more parts for convenience in withdrawing the pattern. The pattern of the piece to be cast, somewhat enlarged in its different dimensions, is composed of several pieces of hard wood, well seasoned, or, for greater durability, of cast iron. The first piece of the model comprises the body of the piece from the base-ring to the chase-ring; the swell of the muzzle, and the sprue, or dead-head, are formed of the second piece; the breech, of the third; and the trunnions, of the fourth and fifth pieces. The sprue, usually called the “head,” is an additional length given to the piece, for the purpose of receiving the scoria of the melted metal as it rises to the surface, and furnishing the extra metal needed to feed the shrinkage. Its weight also increases the density of the lower portion of the piece. The breech is slightly lengthened in the direction of the knob of the cascabel, to form a square projection by which the piece can be held when being turned and bored. The best material for the mold is dry, hard, angular, and refractory sand, which must be moistened with water in which strong clay has been stirred, to make it sufficiently adhesive; when not sufficiently refractory, the sand is vitrified by the high temperature of the melted metal, and protuberances—not easily removed—are formed on the casting. When not sufficiently coarse and angular, the materials cannot be so united as to preserve the form of the molds. The mold is formed in a case of cast iron, and termed the “box,” or the “flask,” consisting of several pieces, each of which has flanges perforated with holes for screw-bolts and nuts, to unite the parts firmly. To form the mold, the pattern for the sprue and muzzle, previously coated with pulverized charcoal or coke, moistened with clay-water to prevent adhesion, is placed vertically on the ground, muzzle part up, and carefully surrounded by the corresponding parts of the jacket. When properly adjusted, the sand, prepared as above, is rammed around it. The model for the body of the piece is then placed on the top of this, and the corresponding parts of the jacket correctly secured, and filled in succession with the molding composition. The patterns for the trunnions and rimbases are bolted to the model of the piece, and when the sand is rammed firmly around these, the bolts are withdrawn, this part of the mold completed, and the end-plates screwed on. After completing the mold for the body of the piece, the model for the cascabel is properly adjusted and the mold completed. Care is taken to cover each portion of the model with the coke-wash mentioned above, and to sprinkle dry sand upon the top of the mold in each piece of the jacket, to prevent adhesion, so that the portions of the mold may be separated. In the body of the sand, a channel for the introduction of the metal is formed in the same manner as the mold cavity. It enters at the bottom of the mold, to prevent the bottom from being injured by the falling metal, and in an oblique direction, to give a circular motion to the metal as it rises in the mold, and thereby prevent the scoria from adhering to the sides. When the mold is completed, the parts of the flask are carefully taken apart, and the pieces of the model withdrawn from the mold contained in them. If any portions of the mold be injured in withdrawing the model, they are repaired, and the interior of the mold is covered with coke-wash; after which the several parts are placed in an oven to be gradually and perfectly dried. When this is accomplished, the parts are carried to a pit, where they are united and secured in a vertical position, with the breech below. Any portion of the sand broken off during the movements and adjustments should be replaced, and the whole of the interior covered with coke-wash. The object of coke-wash is to prevent the sand from adhering to the melted metal, which, when prepared, is made to flow in at the entrance of the side-channel. As the metal rises in the mold, a workman agitates it with a long pine stick, to cause the scoria and other impurities to rise to the surface, and brings them toward the centre of the mold, to prevent their entering the cavities for the trunnions.

Cooling.—After the mold is placed properly in the pit, it is usual to surround the box with sand, at least as high as the trunnions of the gun. This is done to prevent rapid cooling. With guns as heavy as 24-pounders, this sand is not removed for three days, and as the gun is heavier the time is prolonged, and is from seven to eight days for the 10-inch columbiad. At the proper time the sand is removed, and the gun, still imbedded in the box and sand of the mold proper, is hoisted out, the box taken off, and when nearly cold, the gun cleaned of the sand.

Boring and Turning.—A cannon is bored by giving it a rotary motion around its axis, and causing a rod armed with a cutter to press against the metal in the proper direction. The piece, supported in a rack, is carefully adjusted, with its axis horizontal, and made to revolve on this axis by machinery attached to the square knob on the cascabel. After adjustment, the sprue-head is first to be cut off. This is effected by placing a cutter opposite the point at which the section is to be made, and pressing it against the metal whilst the piece is turning. The head being cut off, and the cutter removed, the boring is commenced by placing the boring-rod, armed with the first cutter, called the piercer, in the prolongation of the axis of the piece, and pressing it against the metal. The piercer is used till it penetrates to the bottom of the chamber, after which a second cutter, or reamer, is attached to the boring-rod, and with this the boring is made complete to the round part of the chamber. The reamer is then removed and its place supplied by the chamber-cutter, which gives the necessary form and finish to that part of the bore. In hollow-cast cannon the piercer is dispensed with. Whilst the boring is taking place the workman contrives to finish the turning of all the exterior of the piece except the portion between the trunnions, which is afterwards planed off in another machine. These operations having been completed, the piece is placed in the trunnion-machine, and the trunnions are turned down to the proper size. Care is taken to make the trunnions of the same diameter, and perfectly cylindrical. Their axes should be in the same right line, perpendicular to the axis of the piece and intersecting it.

Boring the Vent.—Whilst in the trunnion-lathe, the axis of the piece is inclined to the horizon at the angle the vent is to make with it. A drill is placed vertically over the point where the vent is to be bored, and pressed against the metal whilst a rotary motion is given to it by hand or machinery. The time required to finish a cannon, ready for inspection, depends upon its size, or from three to four weeks for a 24-pounder gun, and six weeks for an 11-inch gun.

Cast Metal Guns, Modern Improvements in.—The first great step in this direction was taken by Gen. Rodman of the U.S. Ordnance Corps. It was his investigation into the crystallization of cast iron which led to the abolition of sharp angles or projections in the form of cannon. His reputation, however, rests mainly upon the principle of hollow casting. The general form of the old casting is that of a solid frustrum of a cone; it is therefore cooled from the exterior, which causes the thin outer layer to contract first, and forces the hotter and more yielding metal within towards the opening of the mold. Following this the adjacent layer cools and tends to contract, but the exterior layer to which it coheres has become partially rigid and does not fully yield to the contraction of the inner layer. The result is, the cohesion of the particles of the inner layer is diminished by a force of extension, and that of the outer layer increased by a force of compression. As the cooling continues this operation is repeated, until the whole mass is brought to a uniform temperature, and the straining force is increased to an extent which depends on the size and form of the mass, the rapidity with which it is cooled, and the contractibility of the particular metal used. The foregoing considerations led Rodman to cast the gun hollow and to cool it from the interior, to reverse the strains by external cooling, and make them contribute to the endurance rather than to the injury of the piece. The method employed is to carry off the internal heat by passing a stream of water through a hollow core, inserted in the centre of the mold cavity before casting, and to surround the flask with a mass of burning coals, to prevent too rapid radiation from the exterior. Results show that cast-iron cannon made by this plan are not only stronger, but are less liable to enlargement of the bore from continued firing. All large American guns of cast iron, including the cases for the experimental rifles, are now cast on the Rodman plan. The plan has also been adopted by most of the nations of Europe that use cast-iron guns,—France, Sweden, Italy, etc.

For improvements in bronze, see the methods of Dean and Uchatius, Ordnance, Metals for.

The following are among the best known of cast metal homogeneous guns:

Columbiad.—The columbiads are a species of sea-coast cannon containing certain qualities of the gun, howitzer, and mortar; they are long, chambered pieces capable of projecting solid shot and shells with heavy charges of powder, at high angles of elevation. The columbiad was invented by Col. Bomford, late of the U.S. service; the model was afterwards changed by lengthening the bore and increasing the weight of metal. (See Ordnance, History of.) It was afterwards discovered that these pieces did not possess the requisite strength, and they were degraded to the rank of shell guns, and their places supplied by pieces of improved model. The change consisted in giving greater thickness of metal in the prolongation of the axis of the bore, which was done by diminishing the length of the bore itself; in substituting a hemispherical bottom to the bore, and removing the cylindrical chamber; in removing the swell of the muzzle and base-ring, and in rounding off the corner of the breech. In 1860 the model prepared by Capt. Rodman was adopted for all sea-coast cannon, and is essentially the same as the one described below.

Paixhan Gun.—See Ordnance, History of.

Dahlgren Gun.—The guns constructed after the plan of Admiral Dahlgren of the U.S. navy, are used principally in the U.S. sea service. Those of large caliber are made of cast iron, solid, and cooled from the exterior. To produce uniformity in the cooling, the piece is cast nearly cylindrical, and then turned down to the required shape. The thickness of the metal around the seat of the charge is a little more than the diameter of the bore, as is true of nearly all the cast-iron guns. The chase, however, tapers more readily than in other cast-iron guns; they are smooth-bored, and the chamber is of the Gomer form. The principal guns of this system are of 9- and 11-inch caliber. A piece of 10-inch caliber has, however, been introduced into the navy for firing solid shot. The 15- and 20-inch naval guns are shaped exteriorly after the Dahlgren pattern, but are cast hollow, and have the elliptical chamber of the Rodman system.

Napoleon Gun.—A bronze field-piece in the U.S. service. See Napoleon Gun.

Rodman Gun.—The principal difficulty formerly experienced in manufacturing very large cast-iron cannon was the injurious strain produced by cooling the casting from the exterior. Gen. Rodman of the U.S. Ordnance Department developed a theory of the strains produced by cooling a casting like that of a cannon (see Ordnance, Strains upon), and as a remedy for them proposed that cannon should be cast with a hollow core and cooled by a stream of water or air passing through it. This new mode of casting was afterwards adopted by the War Department. By this system of casting, guns of greatly-increased size and endurance are fabricated. The largest guns employed in the U.S. service (20-inch) are made on the Rodman plan, as well as the 15-inch, 13-, 10-, 8-inch, etc. The external form of Rodman guns is striking, as they are much larger at the seat of the charge than elsewhere. Their outline is made up of curved lines. This form has been almost universally adopted for U.S. guns. The Dahlgren, which preceded it, has nearly the same shape.

The great power demanded at the present day in heavy ordnance, however, cannot be attained by the use of cast iron alone. The difficulties of constructing homogeneous guns of the stronger metals—wrought iron and steel—have given birth in modern times to

Built-up Guns.—The term “built-up” is applied to those cannon in which the principal parts are formed separately, and then united together in a peculiar manner. One object of this mode of manufacture is to correct the defects of one material by introducing another of opposite qualities, as for instance, trials have been made to increase the hardness, and therefore endurance, of bronze cannon by casting them around a core of steel which formed the surface of the bore. Built-up cannon are not necessarily composed of more than one kind of metal. Some of the most noted are made of steel or wrought iron alone. In this case the defects which we have seen accompany the working of large masses of wrought iron (crystalline structure, cracks, false welds) are obviated by first forming them in small masses, as rings, tubes, etc., of good quality, and then uniting them separately. The mode of uniting a built gun may be by welding the parts, by shrinking, or forcing one over the other, or by screwing them together.

In the construction of built-up guns, makers have aimed at the ideal gun which has its strength proportioned to the strain it is called upon to bear in all its parts. All parts of the sides of a cannon are not strained equally, and are therefore not brought to the breaking-point at the same time. Any arrangement of the parts by which the explosive strain is distributed equally over the entire thickness of the piece, necessarily brings a greater amount of resistance into play to prevent rupture. There are two general plans for accomplishing this, viz.: First, by producing a strain of compression on the metal nearest the surface of the bore. This is termed an “initial strain,” and is brought about by shrinking heated bands or tubes around the part to be compressed, or by slipping a tube into the bore, which has been slightly enlarged by heat. In either case it is apparent that the extent of the strain depends on the relative size of the fitting surfaces, and the amount of heat used to produce expansion. Sometimes the parts are forced together by hydraulic pressure after they have been carefully bored and turned to the proper size. The second plan is based on “varying elasticity,” and is accomplished by placing that metal which stretches most within its elastic limit around the surface of the bore, so that by its enlargement the explosive strain is transmitted to the outer parts. By the selection of suitable materials and their proper management, both of these plans may be combined in the same gun, and thereby give it increased strength. See Ordnance, Construction of.

The best-known cannon of the built-up class are:

Ames Gun.—The rifled guns made by Mr. Horatio Ames, of Falls Village, Conn., are made of wrought iron on the built-up principle. The wrought iron is in the form of rings, made by bending a bar around a mandrel and welding the ends. After turning them in a lathe, two or more of these rings are fitted one within another to form a disk. These disks are welded in succession to a concave breech-piece. Some of these guns have shown remarkable endurance. They are weakest against longitudinal strains.

Armstrong Gun.—Is so much like the Woolwich, which it preceded, that a separate description is unnecessary. See Woolwich Gun.

Blakely Gun.—The most approved pattern of the gun invented by Capt. Blakely combines in its construction the principles of “initial tension” and “varying elasticity,” the object of which is to bring the strength of all the metal of the piece into simultaneous play to resist explosion. It is made of several tubes or barrels, the inner one of which is of low steel, having considerable but not quite enough elasticity. The next tube is made of high steel with less elasticity, and is shrunk on the barrel with just sufficient tension to compensate for the insufficient difference of elasticity between the two tubes. The outer cast jacket, to which the trunnions are attached, is the least elastic of all, and is put on with only the shrinkage by warming it over a fire. The steel tubes are cast hollow and hammered over steel mandrels under steam-hammers; by this process they are elongated, and at the same time the tenacity of the metal is increased, all the steel parts are annealed. Other combinations of iron and steel are used, except wrought iron, which is regarded as objectionable on account of its tendency to stretch permanently. Blakely guns were rifled with one-sided grooves, and are fired with expanding projectiles. This gun is no longer made under that name. As now made it is called the

Vavasseur Gun, and is manufactured by Messrs. J. Vavasseur & Co. of the London Ordnance-Works. It is made entirely of the best Sheffield cast steel, except the trunnions, which are wrought iron, and consists of an interior tube and outer tube and a number of hoops. The inner tube is forged from a solid ingot. It is rough bored and turned and then oil tempered. The outer tube and rings are cast hollow and hammered over steel mandrels. They are heated and shrunk on. Theoretically, it is difficult to pick a flaw in the construction of this gun. The rifling used is anomalous. It consists of three ribs instead of grooves projecting into the bore. The projectile has corresponding grooves. These guns have found quite a market in the South American republics.

Brooke Gun.—This gun was made after the plan of Capt. Brooke for the Confederate service; it resembles Parrott’s in shape and construction, except that the reinforcing band is made up of iron rings not welded together. The rifling is similar to that used in the Blakely guns.

Fraser Gun.—See Woolwich Gun.

Gatling Gun.—See Gatling Gun.

Krupp Gun.—See Krupp Gun.

Lancaster Gun.—This gun is now little used; it was made of wrought iron. The bore was cut in a spiral form with an elliptical cross-section, and the projectile shaped to fit it, by which means a rotary motion was imparted.

Palliser Gun.—Maj. Palliser of the British service is the inventor of a system which has been successfully applied in England to utilize smooth-bore cast-iron guns by converting them into rifles. By his plan the gun is first bored to a cylinder or finely tapering cone, then lined with a tube of coiled wrought iron, the breech end of which is shrunk on; the exterior of the barrel has a uniform diameter throughout. The tube is double at this part to obtain the benefit of the tension and to enable any fracture of the inner layer to be made known without bursting the gun. The bottom of the barrel is closed by a wrought-iron cup screwed in. The tube is inserted into the gun from the muzzle without the application of heat. A small amount of play is allowed between the barrel and the cast-iron body; this disappears, or is much reduced by a “setting up charge,” which expands the barrel against the cast iron. The end of the barrel is made to bear accurately against the cast-iron breech. A collar screwed into the muzzle secures the tube in position, and prevents it from being thrust forward by the compression of the metal by repeated firing. In front of the trunnions a pin is screwed in through the cast iron, to resist the tendency of the tube to be turned by the bearing of the projectile in the grooves. On the exterior of that portion of the inner tube that is covered by the second tube is cut a spiral gas channel; this communicates with a tell-tale hole drilled through the cast-iron breech, by which gas can escape and announce the fracture of the inner tube. The venting and rifling are similar to those employed in the Woolwich guns. In the larger guns Maj. Palliser proposes to use two or more concentric tubes, in some the exterior one to be of steel. This system is being applied in the United States with the most promising results in the conversion of 10-inch Rodman guns into 8-inch rifles. The rifles thus obtained, though giving to a projectile a less muzzle velocity than does the 10-inch smooth-bore, has, on account of the increased weight of shot, greater penetrating power at all ranges, being doubled at some and trebled at others. Its accuracy is three times greater, and the capacity of its shell twice that of the original gun.

Parsons Gun.—The system upon which Mr. Parsons makes his guns is similar to that of Maj. Palliser. (See Palliser Gun.) It depends upon the principle of varying elasticities, and is based upon the fact that wrought iron may be stretched three times as much as cast iron, and will offer three and a half to six times the resistance within the limit of its elasticity. These well-known gun constructions, known as converting systems, both consist in lining a cast-iron case with a wrought-iron or steel tube. In the Palliser or English method the tube is inserted from the muzzle. In the Parsons or American method, through the breech. In both nearly the whole of the longitudinal strain is transferred to the cast-iron case. Both systems were first perfected in England. Col. Crispin (U.S. Ordnance Corps) deserves the credit of introducing them into the U.S. service in constructing the new experimental rifles. The Parsons system is better adapted to constructing breech-loaders.

Parrott Gun.—The Parrott rifled gun is a cast-iron piece of about the usual dimensions, strengthened by shrinking a coiled band or barrel of wrought iron over that portion of the reinforce which surrounds the charge. The body of the larger Parrott guns are cast hollow, and cooled from the interior on the Rodman plan. The barrel is formed by bending a rectangular bar of wrought iron spirally around a mandrel, and then welding the mass together by hammering it in a strong cast-iron cylinder, or tube. In bending the bar, the outer side being more elongated than the inner one, is diminished in thickness, giving the cross-section of the bar a wedge shape, which possesses the advantage of allowing the cinders to escape through the opening, thereby securing a more perfect weld. The barrel is shrunk on by the aid of heat, and for this purpose the reinforce of the gun is carefully turned to a cylindrical shape, and about one-sixteenth of an inch to the foot larger than the interior diameter of the barrel in a cold state. To prevent the cast iron from expanding when the barrel is slipped on to its place, a stream of cold water is allowed to run through the bore. At the same time, and while the band hangs loosely upon it, the body of the gun is rotated around its axis to render the cooling uniform over the whole surface of the barrel. The proof of the Parrott guns consists in firing each piece 10 rounds with service charges.

Rodman Gun.—The principal difficulty formerly experienced in manufacturing very large cast-iron cannon was the injurious strain produced by cooling the casting from the exterior. Gen. Rodman of the U.S. Ordnance Department developed a theory of the strains produced by cooling a casting like that of a cannon (see Ordnance, Strains upon), and as a remedy for them proposed that cannon should be cast on a hollow core and cooled by a stream of water or air passing through it. This new mode of casting was afterwards adopted by the War Department. By this system of casting, guns of greatly increased size and endurance are fabricated. The largest guns employed in the U.S. service (20-inch) are made on the Rodman plan, as well as many of the guns employed in the field service.

Whitworth Gun.—These guns are made of a species of low steel; the smaller are forged solid, the larger are built up with coils or hoops; the hoops are forced on by hydraulic pressure, and for this purpose are made with a slight taper and with the design to secure initial tension. The ends of the hoops are joined by screw-threads. The hoops are first cast hollow, and then hammered out over a steel mandrel. Before receiving their final finish they are subject to an annealing for some three or four weeks, which makes the metal very ductile, but at the same time slightly impairs its tenacity. The system differs from Krupp’s in the smaller masses used and the greater number of hoops. The process for making the hoops is better calculated to develop their tensile strength. The breech-pin is made with offsets in such a way as to screw into the end of the barrel and the next two surrounding hoops. The cross-section of the bore of the Whitworth gun is a hexagon with rounded corners. The twist is very rapid and the projectiles are made very long.

Woodbridge Gun (invented by Dr. Woodbridge, of Little Falls, New York).—The system of construction consists essentially of a thin steel barrel over which wire is wound, barrel and wire being subsequently consolidated into one mass by a brazing solder melted and poured into the interstices. The following brief description is extracted from one of the inventor’s letters to the chief of ordnance: “Square wire is wound upon a steel core somewhat longer than the intended bore of the gun, a sufficient number of wires being wound at once side by side to produce the required obliquity of the turns. The successive layers have opposite twists. When the mass has reached the required dimensions, it is inclosed in an air-tight case to protect it from oxidation, and is heated therein to a temperature somewhat above that required for the fusion of the soldering metal. The soldering metal having been melted is run in, filling all the interstices of the mass. When cooled the gun is bored and finished as usual.” The invention dates back to about 1850. A small gun made in this way was tested by Maj. Laidley (U.S. Ordnance Corps) in 1865. It endured 1327 rounds with excessive charges, when the attempt to burst it was abandoned on account of the breaking off of the trunnions. The only large gun ever made—a 10-inch gun—was fabricated at Frankford Arsenal. It was not entirely finished till April, 1876, soon after which it was displayed at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Certain defects in its manufacture prevent it from fairly representing the Woodbridge system.

Woolwich Gun.—The Woolwich or Fraser gun is in its construction a modification of the Armstrong plan, which latter had been previously used in Great Britain; the principal difference is in substituting for a number of single coils and a forged breech-piece a few long double and triple coils, and in using a cheaper quality of wrought iron. The number of pieces employed in the construction depends upon the size of the gun; an 8-inch rifled gun is composed of the inner tube (barrel) of steel, the muzzle-coil (trousers), the breech-coil (jacket), and the cascabel-screw. The barrel is made from a solid forged cylinder of cast steel, drawn by heating and hammering; it is turned, bored, and chambered; then heated to a uniform temperature in a vertical furnace and plunged into a covered tank of rape-oil, where it cools and soaks. The muzzle-coil is constructed of two single coils welded together endways. Each coil is formed by heating a long bar and wrapping it about a mandrel; this is next heated in a reverberatory furnace and welded under a steam-hammer. Before being united the two cylinders are turned and bored. The breech-coil is composed of a triple coil, a trunnion-ring, and a double coil welded together. The double coil is formed by placing a single coil, when cold, on a mandrel and winding over it, but in the reverse directions to break joints, a second bar; if over this a third bar is immediately wound in the same direction as the first, a triple coil will result. These coils are welded by being heated and hammered on the end and on the sides. The trunnion-ring is made by welding slabs of iron together on the flat end of a bar, and gradually forming a ring by driving through the centre wedges and mandrels increasing in size; the trunnions, one of which comes from the bar, are at the same time hammered into shape. The coils and the ring having been turned and bored, the latter is placed on a shoulder of the triple coil, the double coil is dropped through the trunnion-ring on the triple coil, and the joints welded in this position. The cascabel is forged of good scrap-iron; the different parts having been formed are accurately turned and bored with a slight taper. The muzzle-coil tube being heated is dropped over the barrel, which is stood in a pit, a stream of cold water circulating through the bore. The half-formed gun is then placed on its muzzle, water forced through the bore, and the breech-coil heated and slipped into position. The cascabel is screwed into the breech-coil abutting against the barrel, great care being taken that the contact is perfect. A tell-tale hole is cut along the thread on the cascabel to give warning by the escape of gas should the barrel break in firing. The vent is bored through hardened copper; it enters near the centre of the service cartridge. This gives greater velocity, but also greater pressure. The large guns have from seven to ten grooves. The twist is uniformly increasing; the shape of the grooves is circular, with curved edges.

Sutcliffe Gun.—This invention, by E. A. Sutcliffe of New York City, relates to a breech-mechanism for cannon. See Breech Mechanism.

Griffin Gun.—Name sometimes given to the 3-inch rifled field-piece in the U.S. service. It is made of wrought iron. The method of fabrication is to wrap boiler-plate around a mandrel and to weld it.

Ordnance, Metals for. The only metals ordinarily used for cannon are cast and wrought iron, steel, and an alloy of copper and tin, or a combination of these metals. Cannon metals should be able to resist the corroding action of the atmosphere, the heat and the products of combustion of the powder; should be susceptible of being easily bored and turned, and should not be too costly. The qualities necessary in cannon metals are strength to resist the explosion of the charge, weight to overcome severe recoil, and hardness to endure the bounding of the projectile along the bore. The shape of the bore would otherwise be rapidly altered by the action of the projectile. This quality is particularly necessary in rifled cannon. The term strength as applied to cannon metal is not confined to tensile strength alone, but embraces also elasticity, ductility, and crystalline structure, which affect its power to resist the enormous and oft-repeated force of gunpowder. (See Ordnance, Strains upon.) Each discharge of a cannon, however small, impairs its strength, and repeated a sufficient number of times, will burst it; this arises from the fact that the feeblest strains produce a permanent elongation or compression of iron; this is technically known as the permanent set, and the same is probably true of all other metals. The property of ductility is of importance in enabling a metal to resist rupture after it has passed its elastic limit. The size and arrangement of the crystals of a metal have an important influence in its strength to resist a particular force. A metal will be strongest when its crystals are small, and the principal faces parallel to the straining force, if it be one of extension, and perpendicular to it, if it be one of compression. The size of the crystals of a particular metal depends on the rate of cooling; the most rapid cooling giving the smallest crystals.

Cast iron is very generally employed, notably in the United States, in the fabrication of heavy cannon for siege and sea-coast purposes. It possesses the very important qualities of tenacity, hardness, and cheapness, and with proper care is not seriously affected by rust. Its principal defect is an almost entire want of elasticity, in consequence of which its tenacity is destroyed after a certain number of applications of the straining force. But little is known of the causes which affect the quality of the cast iron used for cannon metal. The amount of carbon, the state of its combination, together with the ore, fuel, and fluxes, and the process of manufacture, all materially affect the quality of the iron. All that is known is, that certain ores treated in a certain way make cast iron suitable for cannon, and the fitness of a particular kind of cast iron for artillery purposes can only be determined by submitting it to the tests of the service. After this is known, a knowledge of certain physical properties, such as tenacity, hardness, density, and color, form and size of crystals presented in a freshly fractured surface, will be useful in keeping the metal up to the required standard. The pig-iron from which cannon are made should be soft, yielding easily to the file and chisel; the appearance of the fracture should be uniform, with a brilliant aspect, dark gray color, and medium-sized crystals. When remelted and cast into cannon, it should have about sufficient hardness to resist the file and chisel, but not to be so hard as to be bored and turned with much difficulty; its color should be a bright gray, crystals small, structure uniform, close, and compact. The density of gun metal should be about 7.25, and its tenacity about 30,000. There are several varieties of cast iron differing from each other by almost insensible shades. The principal divisions are, however, gray and white. Gray iron is softer and less brittle than the white, is slightly malleable and flexible, and does not resist the file. It has a brilliant fracture of a gray or bluish-gray color. This iron melts at a lower temperature than white iron and becomes more fluid, contracts less and contains fewer cavities; it fills the mold well, the edges of a casting are short, and the surface smooth, convex, and covered with carburet of iron. Gray iron is the only kind suitable for making castings which require great strength, such as cannon. White iron is very brittle, resists the file and chisel, and is susceptible of high polish, the surface of a casting is concave, the fracture presents a silvery appearance. Its qualities are the reverse of those of gray iron; it is therefore unsuitable for ordnance purposes. Mottled iron is a mixture of white and gray; it has a spotted appearance, and flows well. The casting has a plane surface with edges slightly rounded. It is suitable for making shot and shells. Besides these general divisions, there are several other varieties of iron whose qualities depend upon the proportion of carbon, and the state in which it is found in the metal. The color and texture of cast iron depend greatly on the size of the casting and the rapidity of cooling. See Ordnance, Strains upon.

Wrought iron was among the earliest metals employed in the construction of cannon, but in consequence of the defects which almost invariably accompany the forging of large masses, it was superseded by bronze and cast iron to a great extent. Wrought iron is softer than cast iron, and, being pure iron, is more liable to be corroded by the action of the atmosphere and products of combustion of the powder; it possesses also considerable ductility. The tensile strength of wrought iron, which under the most favorable circumstances is double that of the best cast iron, depends on the character of the crystalline structure, and the manner of applying the tensile force, or in other words, wrought iron offers the greatest resistance to a force of extension when the structure is fibrous, and the force acts in the direction of the fibres. The practical difficulties of rapidly cooling large masses so as to form small crystals, and compressing them by hammering, rolling, or otherwise to develop and give a particular direction to the fibre, have not thus far been wholly surmounted. On the contrary, large masses are generally found to contain such internal defects as false welds, cracks, and a spongy and irregularly crystalline structure, arising from the more rapid cooling of the exterior surface.

Steel is a compound of iron and carbon, in which the proportion of the latter seldom exceeds 1.7 per cent. It may be distinguished from iron by its fine grain, its susceptibility of hardening by immersing it when hot in cold water, and with certainty by the action of diluted nitric acid, which leaves a black spot on steel, and on iron a spot which is lighter colored in proportion as the iron contains less carbon. For the construction of cannon, steel may be divided into high and low steel, the difference being that the former contains more carbon than the latter. High steel is very hard and has great ultimate tenacity. It has but little extensibility within or without the elastic limit, and is therefore too brittle for use in cannon, unless used in such large masses that the elastic limit will not be exceeded by the explosive force of the powder. It melts at a lower temperature than wrought iron and is difficult to weld, as its welding temperature is but little less than that at which it melts. Low steel is often known as “mild steel,” “soft steel,” “homogeneous metal,” and “homogeneous iron,” and is made by fusing wrought iron with carbon in a crucible; after which it is cast into an ingot and worked under a hammer. As it contains less carbon than high steel, it has greater specific gravity. It can be welded without difficulty, although overheating injures it. It more nearly resembles wrought iron in all its properties, although it has much greater hardness and ultimate tenacity, and a lower range of ductility depending on its proportion of carbon. It has less extensibility within the elastic limit than high steel, but greater beyond it, or in other words, greater ductility. Its great advantage over wrought iron for general purposes is that it can be melted at a practicable heat, and run into large masses possessing soundness and tenacity. Its advantages for cannon are greater elasticity, tenacity, and hardness. Its tenacity when suitable for cannon is three times as much as cast gun iron, and one-half more than the best wrought iron. The principal varieties of steel are:

Natural Steel.—This is made principally in Germany, and is used for making files and other tools. It is obtained by reducing the rich and pure kinds of iron ore with charcoal, and re-fusing the cast iron so as to bring it to a malleable state. The India steel, or Wootz, is a natural steel containing a small proportion of other metals.

Blistered Steel.—This is prepared by exposing alternate layers of bar-iron and charcoal in a close furnace for several days. When taken out the bars are brittle in quality and crystalline in appearance. The purpose for which the steel is to be used determines the degree of carbonization. The best qualities of iron (Russian and Swedish) are used for the finest kind of steel.

Tilted Steel.—This is blistered steel moderately heated and subjected to the action of a tilt-hammer, by which means its density and tenacity are increased.

Shear Steel.—A blistered or natural steel refined by piling thin bars into fagots, and then rolling or hammering them into bars, after they have been brought to a welding heat in a reverberatory furnace. The quality is improved by a repetition of this process, and the steel is known accordingly by the names, half shear, single shear, double shear, etc.

Cast Steel.—This is made by breaking blistered steel into small pieces, and melting it in close crucibles from which it is poured into iron molds. The ingot is then reduced to a bar by hammering or rolling with great care. Cast steel is the finest kind of steel, and is best adapted for most purposes; it is known by a very fine, even, and close grain, and a silvery homogeneous fracture. The most remarkable specimen of cast steel for tenacity which is on record was manufactured at Pittsburgh, Pa. It was tested at the Washington Navy-Yard, and found to sustain 242,000 pounds to the square inch. The strength of cast steel usually runs from 70 to 140,000 pounds.

Bessemer Steel.—This steel is produced by forcing air into melted iron, by means of which the carbon and silicon of the crude cast iron is oxidized. The essential difference between this process and the ordinary puddling is mechanical, and consists in the intense and violent stirring of the Bessemerized iron, to which alone is due the production and maintenance of a temperature, without any other fuel than the carbon and silicon contained, that keeps the metal fluid so that it can be cast into homogeneous malleable ingots. When decarburation has been carried far enough, the current of air is stopped, and a small quantity of white pig-iron containing a large amount of manganese is dropped into the liquid metal. No very large cannon have yet been made wholly of Bessemer steel, but several small ones have, which have shown great endurance. Experiments at the Woolwich Arsenal have shown that the tenacity of this steel is more than doubled by hammering.

Siemens-Martin.—In this process the ingredients of cast steel are melted together on the open hearth of a reverberatory furnace of special construction, and a certain proportion of manganese necessary to make a sound and practically malleable steel added. This steel is, however, little used in gun construction.

Semi-Steel.—If in the process of puddling or decarbonizing cast iron the process be stopped at a particular time, determined by indications given by the metal to an experienced eye, an iron is obtained of greater hardness and strength than ordinary iron, to which the name of semi-steel, or puddled steel, has been given. The principal difficulty in its manufacture is that of obtaining uniformity in the product, homogeneity and solidity throughout the entire mass. It is much improved by reheating and hammering under a heavy hammer; but it has not been found a reliable material for even cannon of small caliber. The celebrated guns made by Mr. Krupp of Germany are of cast steel, made from puddled steel, and of peculiar character, combining great tensile strength with the property of stretching to a great extent without breaking. Sir Joseph Whitworth improves the qualities of steel for his more recent guns by casting it under hydraulic pressure.

Chrome Steel.—An alloy of iron and chromium, which is not steel in the ordinary sense, but which possesses many of its characteristics. The tensile strength and resistance to crushing is much higher than ordinary cast steel. This material has been largely used in bridge-building, but has not yet been applied to cannon-making.

Bronze for cannon (commonly called brass) consists of 90 parts of copper and 10 of tin, allowing a variation of one part of tin more or less; by increasing the proportion of tin, bronze becomes harder, but more brittle and fusible; by diminishing it it becomes too soft for cannon, and at the same time loses a part of its elasticity. Bronze is more fusible than copper, much less so than tin. It is harder, less susceptible of oxidation, and much less ductile than either of its constituents. Its fracture is of a yellowish color, with little lustre, a coarse grain, irregular, and often exhibiting spots of tin which are of a whitish color. The density and tenacity of bronze when cast into the form of cannon, are found to depend upon the pressure and mode of cooling. In consequence of the difference of fusibility of tin and copper, the perfection of the alloy depends much on the nature of the furnace and the treatment of the melted metal. By these means alone the tenacity of bronze has been carried up to 60,000 pounds. Bronze is but slightly corroded by the action of the gases evolved from gunpowder, or by atmospheric causes; but its tin is liable to be melted away at the sharp corners by the great heat generated in rapid firing. It is soft, and therefore liable to serious injury by the bounding of the projectile in the bore. This injury is augmented as the force of the rebound is increased by the elasticity of the metal. It was established by experiments of Maj. Wade of the U.S. Ordnance Corps more than twenty years ago that the tensile strength of bronze is related to its density. It has been discovered since that this density can be produced by artificial compression. Two men claim the honors of the invention—Gen. Uchatius of the Austrian army, and S. B. Dean, an American inventor. The methods are essentially the same. After the gun is cast, steel mandrels slightly conical in shape are driven through the bore by hydraulic pressure,—each being succeeded by one slightly larger,—thus enlarging the bore and compressing the metal surrounding it. It is claimed that the bronze is thus rendered harder and stronger, and the defects above cited in a large measure obviated. The term “steel bronze” or “bronze steel” has been applied to the metal so treated. Many guns have been made of it for the Austrian service,—the largest of which is a 6-inch breech-loader throwing a projectile of 85 pounds. This gun has proved itself slightly superior in power to the same sized Krupp gun of steel.

Aluminium Bronze.—An alloy of 90 parts of copper and 10 of aluminium. It is harder than ordinary bronze; much stronger, being 100,000 pounds to the square inch; it does not tarnish readily. Its properties would seem to especially fit it for a gun metal. Phosphor bronze is an alloy with very similar properties.

Combined Metals.—Numerous trials have been made to improve the strength of cannon by combining two or more metals in such a way that the good qualities of one will counteract the defects of the others. But the only metals used to any extent are those described above. Steel is constantly gaining in favor as a cannon metal. It is now almost exclusively employed throughout Europe, and wherever the Krupp gun is used. The great perfection arrived at by Krupp and others in the manufacture of steel seems to place that metal above all others for gun construction, whilst the difficulty of handling large masses has been overcome by the enormous power of the machinery used. Steel is also sparingly employed both in the United States and England for converting smooth-bore guns into rifles according to the Palliser method, but experiments in the United States have shown that it is inferior to wrought iron for this purpose. See Ordnance, Construction of.

Wrought and cast iron are much used in this way for cannon in both the United States and in England. In the former, all the larger cannon belonging to the official system (both siege and sea-coast) are made of the cast metal, whereas the Parrott gun and the new rifled pieces are a combination of both. (See Ordnance, Construction of.) The metal chiefly employed in England is wrought iron, in combination with steel; the largest guns made at the Woolwich Arsenal are of this nature. Bronze, except as modified by the Austrians, has now nearly entirely gone out of use as a cannon metal. In France and the United States, field-pieces, mortars, and howitzers are still made of this material.

Ordnance, Strains Upon. The exterior form of cannon is determined by the variable thickness of the metal which surrounds the bore at different points of its length. In general terms, the thickness is greatest at the seat of the charge, and least at or near the muzzle. This arrangement is made on account of the variable action of the powder and projectile along the bore, and the necessity of disposing the metal in the safest and most economical manner. The pressure at different points may be approximately determined by calculation, or, more accurately, by experiment. In the latter method, the plan generally employed consists in boring a series of small holes through the side of a gun at right angles to its axis at known distances apart. A steel ball is projected from each hole in succession into a target, or ballistic pendulum, by the force of the charge acting through it, and the pressure at the various points is deduced from the velocities communicated to these balls. This method was adopted by Col. Bomford. Instead of the projectile a steel punch may be employed, which is pressed by the force of the charge into a piece of soft copper. (See Pressure-gauge.) The weight necessary to make an equal indentation in the same piece is then ascertained by a testing machine. The strains to which all fire-arms are subjected may be classified as follows: (1) The tangential strain which tends to split the piece open longitudinally, and is similar in its action to the force which bursts the hoops of a barrel. (2) The longitudinal strain which acts to pull the piece apart in the direction of its length. Its action is greatest at or near the bottom of the bore, and least at the muzzle, where it is nothing; these two strains increase the volume of the metal to which they are applied. (3) A strain of compression which acts from the axis outward to crush the truncated wedges of which a unit of length of the piece may be supposed to consist; this strain compresses the metal and enlarges the bore. (4) A transverse strain which acts to break transversely by bending outward the staves of which the piece may be supposed to consist. This strain compresses the metal on the inner and extends it on the outer surface. It is known that rupture will take place due to the tangential strain alone, when three times the pressure upon a unit of surface of the bore is greater than twice the tensile strength. Due to the longitudinal strain alone, rupture will take place in the direction of the length, when the pressure is greater than twice the tensile strength; and if the transverse strain alone is considered, rupture will take place when twice the pressure is greater than three times the tensile strength. It therefore appears that the tendency to rupture is greater from the action of the tangential force than from any other, and for lengths above two, or perhaps three calibers, the tangential resistance may be said to act alone, as the aid derived from the transverse resistance will be but trifling for greater lengths of bore; but for lengths of bore less than two calibers, this resistance will be aided by both the transverse and the longitudinal resistance. Every piece should therefore have sufficient thickness of breech to prevent splitting through the latter; after this point has been attained, any additional thickness of breech adds nothing to the strength of the piece. It therefore appears that a fire-arm is strongest at or near the bottom of the bore, and that its strength is diminished rapidly as the length of the bore increases to a certain point (probably not more than three calibers from the bottom); after which, for equal thickness of metal, its strength becomes sensibly uniform. The metals of which cannon are made being crystalline in structure, the size and arrangement of the crystals have an important influence on its strength to resist a particular force; and a metal will have the greatest strength with reference to a particular force when its crystals are small, and the principal faces are parallel to the straining force, if it be one of extension, and perpendicular to it, if it be one of compression. The position of the principal crystalline faces of a cooling solid is found to be perpendicular to the cooling surface; the result of this arrangement of crystals is to create planes of weakness where the different systems of crystals intersect. The effect of this law upon cannons, it has been discovered, is to render radial specimens more tenacious than those cut tangentially from the same gun. The manner and rapidity of cooling have also a great effect upon the ability of cannon to resist strains, and as all solid bodies contract their size in the operation of cooling, it follows that if the different parts of a cannon cool unequally, it will change its form, provided it be not restrained by the presence of a superior force. If it be so restrained, the contractile force will diminish the adhesion of the parts by an amount which depends on the rate of cooling of the different parts, and the contractibility of the metal. This is an important consideration in estimating the strength and endurance of cannon, particularly those made of cast iron. All such cannon cooled from the exterior (see Ordnance, Construction of) are affected by two straining forces; the outer portion of the metal being compressed, and the interior extended, in proportion to their distances from the neutral axis or line composed of particles which are neither extended nor compressed by the cooling process. The effect of this unequal contraction may be so great as to crack the interior metal of cast iron even before it has been subjected to the force of gunpowder. The strain produced by the explosion of gunpowder is not distributed equally over the thickness of metal, but it varies inversely as the square of the distance from the centre; it therefore follows that the sides of a cannon are not rent asunder as by a simple tensile force, but they are torn apart like a piece of cloth, commencing at the surface of the bore. Hence it is that the effect of ordinary cooling is to diminish the strength and hardness of the metal of cannon at or near a point where the greatest strength and hardness are required, i.e., at the surface of the bore. The strains produced by unequal cooling increase with the diameter of the casting and the irregularity of its form. This explains the great difficulty found in making large cast-iron cannon proportionally as strong as small ones, and also how projections like bands, moldings, etc., injure the strength of cannon. It also explains why cannon made of “light” cast iron, or cast iron made more tenacious by partial decarbonization, are not so strong as cannon made of weaker iron; for it is well known that such iron contracts more than the latter in cooling, and therefore produces a greater strain of extension on the surface of the bore. Capt. Rodman of the U.S. Ordnance Department has proposed a plan for cooling cannon from the interior (see Ordnance, Construction of), thereby reversing the strains produced by external cooling, and making them contribute to the endurance rather than to the injury of the piece. It is likely, however, that the strains produced by unequal cooling are modified by time, which probably allows the particles to accommodate themselves to a certain extent to their constrained position. In confirmation of this, great endurance has been frequently found in old solid cast guns, as in the old 42-pounders tested about the beginning of the war, 1861-65.

Ordnance Department. In the United States, was first established May 14, 1812, and was not provided for in the reduction of the army in 1815, but continued in the service. In 1821 the department was merged into the artillery, attaching to each regiment of artillery 1 supernumerary captain, and giving to each company 4 subaltern officers. The corps of ordnance was re-established April 5, 1832. The department consists of 1 brigadier-general, 3 colonels, 4 lieutenant-colonels, 10 majors, 20 captains, 16 first lieutenants, and 350 enlisted men. It is the duty of the senior officer of the ordnance department to direct the inspection and proving of all pieces of ordnance, shot, shells, small-arms, and equipments procured for the use of the armies of the United States; and to direct the construction of all cannon and carriages, and every implement and apparatus for ordnance, and all ammunition-wagons, traveling-forges, and artificers’ wagons; the inspection and proving of powder, and the preparation of all kinds of ammunition and ordnance stores. It is also the duty of the senior officer of the ordnance department to furnish estimates, and, under the direction of the Secretary of War, to make contracts and purchases for procuring the necessary supplies of arms, ordnance, and ordnance stores, etc. In the British service, the ordnance department was a distinct branch of the war department, originally for the supply of all warlike stores used in the naval or military service. The first master of ordnance was created in the time of Henry VIII., and the Tower of London was probably the depot of arms and military stores; Robert, earl of Essex, is said to have been the first master-general, in 1596. It does not appear that the ordnance department of the British service became especially military until the early part of the 18th century, after the organization of the Royal Artillery, in 1743, under the Duke of Montague as master-general. From this time the ordnance department was administered by a master-general and board, the latter being composed of a lieutenant-general of ordnance, surveyor-general, clerk of the ordnance, principal store-keeper, clerk of the deliveries, and treasurer. About 1763 the department became a construction board, with charge of all forts and fortresses, and directed the construction of all the fortifications and military store-houses, and barracks for the ordnance corps. The board was finally abolished as a separate department, the duties carried on by the commander-in-chief, and the various civil branches by separate offices under the secretary of state for war.

Ordnance Office. Before the invention of guns, this office was supplied by officers under the following names: the bowyer, the cross-bowyer, the galeater, or purveyor of helmets, the armorer, and the keeper of the tents. Henry VIII. placed under the management of a master-general, a lieutenant, surveyor, etc. The master-general was chosen from among the first generals in the service of the sovereign. The appointment was formerly for life; but since the restoration, was held durante bene placito, and not unfrequently by a cabinet minister. The letters patent for this office were revoked May 25, 1855, and its duties vested in the minister of war. The last master-general was Lord Fitzroy Somerset, afterwards Lord Raglan.

Ordnance Projectile. See Projectile.

Ordnance Sergeants. In the U.S. service, are staff sergeants who are selected from the sergeants of the line of the army. Their duties consist in receiving and preserving the ordnance, arms, ammunition, and other ordnance stores at posts, under the direction of the commanding officer of the same. They must not be confounded with sergeants of ordnance, who are sergeants in the ordnance detachments at arsenals, etc.

Ordnance Store-keeper. In the British service, is a civil officer in the artillery who has charge of all the stores, for which he is accountable to the office of ordnance.

Ordnance Store-keeper. In the U.S. army, an officer of the ordnance department who holds the rank of captain. The grade has been abolished by act of Congress, and the duties appertaining to the office will be performed by other officers of the ordnance department.

Ordnance Stores. See Ordnance.

Oregon. One of the Pacific States of the American Confederacy. Oregon was the name formerly given to the whole territory north of the Rocky Mountains, and was first claimed by the Spanish government, and next by the government of the United States, as far as lat. 54° 40' N. This latter claim was resisted by the British government, which asserted a right to the entire territory, and in 1818 a treaty was made, and renewed in 1827, giving joint occupation to the disputed territory. In 1846 a treaty was concluded, by which the boundary was settled on the 49th parallel. Previous to this latter treaty (1839) emigration from the United States, for the purpose of settlement, commenced, and it continued steadily until the opening of the gold mines in California, which attracted a great many emigrants. In 1849 it formed a Territorial government, and in 1859 it was admitted into the Union as a State. This State has been troubled greatly by Indians, and has been the scene of several wars in earlier days, notably, in 1853, on Rogue River; in 1855, when a general outbreak took place, of which the following is a brief summary: In 1855 a war broke out between the whites and the Indians of Washington Territory. The head and front of the outbreak on the part of the Indians was Kam-ai-a-kin. He took this stand from a fixed principle: that of resisting all encroachments on the part of the whites. He had seen the fate of the Indian race in the Willamette Valley, and he determined to anticipate such a result with regard to his own people, and, if possible, to prevent it. When Gov. Stevens made his arbitrary treaties with him, and left him no discretion but to sell his land; and when the miners began to traverse his country, he concluded that the hour had arrived to fight, and he called to his aid as many of the adjoining tribes as he could persuade into it. The manner in which the treaties on Puget Sound were conducted created great dissatisfaction among the Indians, and they were quite ready to join Kam-ai-a-kin. The war commenced by the killing of miners, who were picked off in the Yakama country as they were going to Fort Colville, scarcely a month after the council which was held at Walla Walla. The killing of the agent Bolen set the war in a blaze. The small detachment of troops sent to chastise them was driven back. This success on the part of the Klickatats encouraged the Sound Indians, who also took up arms, and in the absence of troops, fell upon and killed the inhabitants of White River; but the wholesale slaughter of women and children by a party under the command of Major Lupton on October 8, 1855, drove the Indians to desperation and caused them to commence the war in earnest; hostilities continued until the summer of 1856. Also, in later years, the Modoc war (1872), the Nez PÉrces (1877), and the Bannock war (1878).

Oreillere (Fr.). Oreillet, ear-piece of an ancient helmet, shaped like an oyster-shell, for protecting the ear and cheek.

Oreillon (Fr.). Ear of a sword, languet, or small slip of metal on the hilt, which, when the sword is sheathed, extends along the scabbard.

Organization. The act of assigning and putting troops into such uniform state of discipline as may fit them to co-operate on any service. Organization may be said to be begun by grouping those combatants who have the same mode of action. These groups are known as “arms of service.” An arm of service may be defined to be “a union of combatants having the same mode of action.” There are four of these arms in modern armies, viz.: Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers. These four arms form the principal part of a mobilized army, and as they or their representatives are always formed into a line of battle to resist the attack of an enemy, or to make an attack, they are generally known as the “line of the army” or “troops of the line,” to distinguish them from other bodies of men who form parts of an army. These arms are subdivided into fractions for the purpose of instruction and of supply. The unit for instruction and the unit for supply may be the same or different. The unit of supply, as a general rule, is constant, and is also usually the unit of instruction in discipline. The unit of instruction in tactics will depend upon circumstances, and upon the kind of movements the commander desires to make. The common unit for the four arms, for supplying the men’s wants and for instruction in discipline, is the “company.” This unit receives, at other times, other names, depending upon circumstances. For instance, a battery of artillery is the same as company; the term squadron of cavalry frequently means a company, etc.

A company consists of a given number of men commanded by a commissioned officer who has the rank of captain. Two, sometimes three, and even more commissioned officers of a grade below that of captain are appointed to assist the captain in the discharge of his duties. These officers have the grade of lieutenant. Their number and the number of men forming a company are fixed by law. A certain number are selected from the men and appointed non-commissioned officers, with the rank of sergeant or of corporal. These non-commissioned officers are used to instruct the men in their military duties and in discipline. The whole company should be divided into squads of equal numbers, and each squad placed under the charge of a non-commissioned officer, who should be held responsible for the cleanliness of the men of his squad, not only as to their persons, clothing, and arms, but as to their tents or quarters. The company, with its size based on the theory that it must not be larger than one man on foot can thoroughly command in person, is the unit of organization. Two or three or more companies form a battalion. Four, and at the outside, five companies placed in line form, in these times, so extended a line that a single person in immediate and personal command of them will find difficulty in making himself heard and understood throughout the entire line. For this reason the battalion should not, as a rule, contain more than four companies.

The battalion is the tactical unit, both for instruction in tactics and in the execution of its movements. The battalion is sometimes made a unit of administration, and forms a complete organization under the command of a commissioned officer of the grade of major or lieutenant-colonel. The more usual rule is to increase the number of companies so as to have enough to form at least two battalions, and with these companies to form the organization known as a regiment.

The regiment is always an administrative unit, and is commanded by a commissioned officer who has the grade of colonel. The colonel is charged with the proper administration of the supplies for the regiment, and with preserving good order and promoting discipline. He takes every opportunity to instruct both the officers and men in the principles and details of all movements that ought in any case to be made by a battalion. Upon the organization of a regiment, the company officers are assigned to companies, and each company is designated by a letter of the alphabet. Upon the recommendation of the captains, the colonel appoints the non-commissioned officers of the companies. He appoints an adjutant from the lieutenants of the regiment, and a non-commissioned staff from the enlisted men, to assist him in his duties. He selects from the lieutenants a quartermaster, whose appointment is confirmed by the Secretary of War.

The elements of organization for the other three arms of service are practically the same, being that of a company or similar body of men under the command of a captain, and these units grouped together into a battalion or regimental organization for administrative purposes. This subdivision into companies and into regiments is most essential for instruction in discipline.

Discipline is an indispensable condition for the existence of a good army. It imparts cohesion and flexibility to the armed mass. Without discipline an army is only an armed mob over which a commander would have no control, and upon which he could not rely in the execution of his plans. When the army is to be mobilized the regiments are brought together and organized into brigades and divisions. Two or more regiments form a brigade; two or more brigades form a division. A general officer of the grade of brigadier-general is assigned to the command of a brigade, and one of the grade of major-general to the command of a division. These divisions and brigades may be composed entirely of one arm, or they may be composed of troops belonging to all four of the arms.

The division is the unit of organization and administration of a mobilized army, and is also the tactical unit of the general in command. When the army is very large, three or four divisions are joined together and form an army corps. The officer commanding an army corps should be of a higher grade than he who commands a division. This grade in the U.S. army would be that of lieutenant-general.

An army corps is most generally composed of all arms of service, and is, to all intents and purposes, an army complete in itself. Two or more army corps or armies would be under the command of the general, or of a “general-in-chief.” There has arisen an organization forming an essential part of every army, known as the general staff, and divided into corps and departments to which are assigned special duties. In some cases, the term “general staff” is limited to include only those officers who are used by the general to communicate his orders, and to inform him of the general and particular conditions of the troops; and the term “staff department” or “supply department” is used to include those officers whose duties are confined to distinct branches of service having for their object the supply of troops. If the army is one of very great size, the general ordinarily attaches to his headquarters a representative of the three arms of artillery, cavalry, and engineers, giving them the position of staff-officers with the name of “chief of artillery,” “chief of cavalry,” etc. They are required to keep the general informed of the state of supplies, and whatever concerns their particular arm, in a similar manner to that required by the other officers of the staff. The general also appoints from the subordinate officers belonging to his command a certain number of aides-de-camp. These officers are ex officio adjutants-general, and receive orders from the general himself. They are confidential officers, who are supposed to be used only in delicate and difficult duties, where they may in a degree represent the general. Hence, they are intrusted to deliver verbal orders which cannot be intrusted with propriety to enlisted men or to the ordinary means of communication.

Proportion of Arms of Service.—The mass of a modern army is composed of infantry. The amount of cavalry will depend upon the topographical features of the country, being in some cases as much as one-fourth of the infantry, and in others as little as one-tenth. The amount of light artillery depends upon the character of the country. There should be at least two guns to every thousand men. The quantity of heavy artillery, or number of siege-batteries, which enter the composition of an army, will depend to a great extent upon the plan of campaign and the probable use for which they may be intended. The circumstances of the case in each campaign will therefore decide as to the proportion to be employed. The number of engineer troops will depend both on the nature of the country and on the probable amount of work which will be required from this class of troops. Each division should contain at least one company of engineer troops. It is usual, if there be none, to detail one or more companies of infantry to act as engineer soldiers; they are designated as “pioneers.” These engineer troops, or troops acting in that capacity, marching in the advance, make the roads practicable for the command by repairing them, removing obstructions, etc. At the crossing of streams, where bridges are to be made, or where existing bridges are to be repaired to an extent requiring more knowledge of bridge construction than that usually possessed by the pioneer, another detachment of troops belonging to the engineer arm is brought forward to do the work. These troops are known as pontoniers, and have special charge of bridge construction for the army. They may be divided into two parts: one to have charge of construction of temporary bridges, especially of floating and trestle bridges, and construction of ferries; the other to have charge of repairs of bridges which have been broken or injured by the enemy, and where quick repair is of importance to an army’s movements. These troops charged with bridge construction usually form a part of the reserve, and are only attached to a division under peculiar circumstances. There should be also in the reserve several companies of sappers and miners; their number, like the heavy artillery, being dependent upon the nature of the campaign.

The army, as a machine, is now ready to be used by the general. The next step is to keep it in a condition so that it can be used; in other words, to preserve the fighting condition of the army. The discipline and drill have been cared for, and with the organization just sketched out, the general can move the whole mass as a unit in accordance with his will. The army can be kept ready for use only by supplying all the actual and necessary wants of the soldier, and by keeping him in comfort and good health. To do this there must be ammunition, clothing, food, shelter, medicines, surgical attendance, hospital comforts, etc., provided for his use. Also a good system of recruiting must be adopted, by means of which the natural losses due to sickness and death may be made good.

The transportation of the munitions, equipments, provisions, hospital supplies, tents, engineering tools, bridge equipage and boats, baggage, cooking utensils, etc., necessary for the use of an army moving against an enemy, requires the use of large numbers of wagons and a great number of draught animals, which of course should not exceed the absolute necessity of the service. These accompaniments to the army received from the Romans the name of impedimenta, for the reason that they hindered the movement of the army. These supply departments form important parts of the composition of a modern army, and the method of executing the duties assigned them constitutes an important branch of the “science and art of war.”—Prof. J. B. Wheeler.

Organize. To arrange or constitute in parts, each having a special function, act, office, or relation; as, to organize an army, etc.

Orgue (Fr. un orgue). A term used to express that arrangement or disposition of a certain quantity of musket-barrels in a row, which, by means of a priming train of gunpowder, may be subjected to one general explosion. This machine has been found extremely serviceable in the defense of a low flank, a tenaille, or to prevent an enemy from crossing the ditch of a fortified place.

Orgues. Are beams of wood hanging perpendicularly over the entrance of a fortified town, which were formerly used as a portcullis, to be dropped in case of any emergency. They are not now used.

Orient. The east or eastern part of the horizon. In surveying, to orient a plan signifies to make its situation or bearing with respect to the four cardinal points.

Oriflamme, or Auriflamme. A banner which originally belonged to the abbey of St. Denis, and was borne by the counts of Vexin, patrons of that church, but which, after the country of Vexin fell into the hands of the French crown, became the principal banner of the kingdom. It was charged with a saltire wavy or, with rays issuing from the centre crossways. In later times the oriflamme became the insignia of the French infantry. The name seems also to have been given to other flags; the oriflamme borne at Agincourt was an oblong red flag split into five parts.

Orihuela. A town of Spain, in Valencia, on the Segura, 31 miles southwest from Alicante. It was a place of some importance in the Moorish invasion, and was held in 713 successfully by Theodoric against Abd-el-Aziz after the battle of the Guadalete. It was conquered in 1265 by Don Jaime of Aragon for his father-in-law, Don Alonso, king of Castile. The city was sacked in 1520 in the civil war at that time raging, and again in the War of the Succession, 1706. It was held for some time in 1837 by the Carlist general Forcadell.

Orillon. This may be described as a projection at the shoulder of a bastion beyond the ordinary flank of a curved portion of rampart and parapet, the curve being convex to the ditch. The orillon, introduced during the 17th century, was generally used in conjunction with a retired flank, made ordinarily with a curve concave to the ditch. Both orillon and retired flank are now obsolete.

Orissa. An extensive province of Hindostan, in the Deccan. A race of Hindoo princes governed the country till 1592, when they were conquered by the viceroy of Akbar. The French, who had taken possession of a part of the country long known as the Northern Circars, attempted to drive the English (who had formed commercial settlements on the coast) out of India. The result of the contest for supremacy in India between the French and English is well known. The Mahrattas, who had seized a portion of Orissa in 1740, were forced to surrender it to the English in 1803. The soldiers of the East India Company were marched into Orissa at the commencement of the present century, and an engagement was subsequently entered into between the Company and the native chiefs and princes, by which the former bound themselves to perform certain services for the country (as maintaining the river-banks in good repair), while the latter engaged to pay a yearly tribute.

Orizaba. A town of Mexico, in the department of Vera Cruz, 60 miles southwest from Vera Cruz. It was occupied by Gen. Prim, in command of the Spanish troops that formed part of the expedition sent by England, France, and Spain to Mexico in March, 1862. A conference was held here shortly after the occupation of the town between the plenipotentiaries of the three powers, when the English and Spanish commissioners determined to withdraw their contingents from Mexico, in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Soledad, while the French on the other hand resolved to push on to the capital, to establish a settled government in the country in lieu of that of Juarez.

Orkney Islands (anc. Orcades). A cluster of islands in the North Sea, separated from the north coast of Scotland by the Pentland Firth. From an early period the Norsemen resorted to these islands as a convenient spot from which to make a descent on the Scotch and English coasts. In 876 Harald Haarfager conquered both them and the Hebrides; they were conquered by Magnus III. of Norway in 1499, and were ceded to James III. in 1469.

Orle. In heraldry, one of the charges known under the charge of sub-ordinaries, said to be the diminutive of a bordure, but differing from it in being detached from the sides of the shield. Or an orle gules was the coat borne by John Baliol. An orle of heraldic charges of any kind denotes a certain number (generally eight) of these charges placed in orle, as in the coat of the old Scottish family of Gladstanes of that Ilk; argent, a savage’s head couped, distilling drops of blood proper, thereon a bonnet composed of bay and holly leaves all proper, within an orle of eight martlets sable.

OrlÉans. An important town of France, capital of the department of Loiret, 75 miles south-southwest from Paris by railway. OrlÉans, originally called Genabum, afterwards Aureliani (probably from the emperor Aurelian), was besieged by Attila in 451, but relieved by the Romans, who here defeated Attila. It afterwards passed into the hands of the Franks, was taken by the Northmen in 855, and again in 865. In 1428 it was besieged by the English under the Duke of Bedford, but was delivered from the besiegers by the inspiriting exertions of Joan of Arc, who on this account is also named the Maid of OrlÉans. In the civil wars of the 16th century it was besieged in 1563 by the Duke of Guise, who was assassinated before the walls. During the Franco-Prussian war, 1870-71, OrlÉans was occupied by the Germans, September 27, and evacuated November 10, 1870.

Ormskirk. A town of England, county of Lancaster, 12 miles north by east from Liverpool. Near this place, in 1644, the royalists were defeated by the Parliamentary troops with great slaughter.

Ormus, or Ormuz. A small island in the strait of the same name, at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, and within 10 miles of the Persian coast. It is about 12 miles in circumference, and belongs to the sultan of Muscat. It was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The town was demolished in 1622 by Shah Abbas, assisted by the English, and its trade was removed to Gombroon.

Ornamental Fireworks. See Pyrotechny.

Ornaments, Military. Are those parts of the dress of a soldier which are more for appearance or distinction than for absolute use, as plates for belts, trimmings, etc.

OrneÆ. An ancient town in Argolis, near the frontiers of the territory of Philius, and 120 stadia from Argus. It was originally independent of Argos, but was subdued by the Argives in the Peloponnesian war, 415 B.C.

Orteil. See Berme.

Ortelsburg. A town of East Prussia, in the government of KÖnigsberg, 80 miles southeast of KÖnigsberg. Several engagements took place here between the French and Russians in 1807.

Orthez, or Orthes. A town of France, in the department of the Lower Pyrenees, situated on the Gave de Pau, 25 miles northwest from Pau. It suffered much during the civil wars in France after the Revolution. Near this town the British and Spanish armies commanded by Wellington defeated the French under Soult, February 27, 1814.

Ortona. An ancient city of Latium, situated on the confines of the Æquian territory. It is twice mentioned during the wars of the Romans with the latter people: first in 481 B.C., when it was besieged and taken by the Æquians; and again in 457 B.C., when the Æquians by a sudden attack took Corbio, and after putting to the sword the Roman garrison there, made themselves masters of Ortona also; but the consul Horatius engaged and defeated them at Mount Algidus, and after driving them from that position, recovered possession both of Corbio and Ortona. No mention of it is found in later times, and it probably ceased to exist.

Orvieto. Called in the time of the Longobards Urbs Vetus, of which its present name is a corruption, a city of Italy, province of Perugia; is of Etruscan origin, but of its early history nothing is known. It has been a place of residence and retreat in turbulent times of upwards of thirty popes.

Osage Indians. A tribe of aborigines of Dakota stock who are located, to the number of about 2500, on a reservation in Indian Territory. They are divided into eight bands,—the Beavers, Big Chiefs, Big Hills, Black Dogs, Clammores, Half-Breeds, Little Osages, and White Hairs, and have made but little progress in civilization.

Oschatz. A town of Saxony, circle of Leipsic, 31 miles east-southeast from Leipsic. It was here that the treaty of peace was concluded between Frederick the Great and the empress Maria Theresa which put an end to the Seven Years’ War, in 1763.

Osci, or Opici. One of the most ancient tribes of Italy; they inhabited the centre of the peninsula, from which they had driven out the Siculi. Their principal settlement was in Campania, but we also find them in parts of Latium and Samnium. They were subdued by the Sabines and Tyrrhenians, and disappeared from history at a comparatively early period. They were called in their own language Uskus.

Osnabruck, or Osnaburg. A town in Hanover, 71 miles from Hanover. Here was concluded the peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Ossun. A town of France, in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, 7 miles southwest from Tarbes. A great battle was fought with the Saracens, in the 8th century, in its neighborhood.

Ostend. A fortified seaport town of Belgium, province of West Flanders, situated on the coast of the North Sea, 67 miles northwest from Brussels. During the war of the Dutch against Spain, Ostend sustained a memorable siege for more than three years (1601-4). So tremendous was the bombardment that the noise of the Spanish artillery is said to have been occasionally heard at London. At last, after a loss of 50,000 men on the part of the garrison, and 80,000 on that of the Spaniards, the town surrendered on honorable terms, and the Spanish general Spinola was put in possession of Ostend, now reduced to heaps of ruin. On the death of Charles II. of Spain, the French seized Ostend; but in 1706, after the battle of Ramilies, it was retaken by the allies. It was again taken by the French in 1745, but restored in 1748. In 1756 the French garrisoned this town for the empress queen Maria Theresa. In 1792 the French once more took Ostend, which they evacuated in 1793, but regained in 1794. The English destroyed the works of the Bruges Canal; but the wind shifting before they could re-embark, they surrendered to the French, May 19, 1798.

Ostrolenka. A town of Poland, on the Narew. Near here the French repulsed the Russians under Essen, February 16, 1807, and an indecisive and bloody engagement took place between the Poles under Skrzynecki and the Russians under Diebitsch, May 26, 1831.

Ostrovno. A village of Russia, in the government of Mohilev, 90 miles northwest from Mohilev. The Russians were defeated here in 1812 by the French.

Oswego, Fort. See Fort Ontario.

Oswestry. A town of England, in Shropshire, 15 miles northwest from Shrewsbury. Oswestry is said to derive its name (originally Oswaldstree) from Oswald, the king of Northumbria, who was slain here in the early part of the 7th century, in a battle fought with the ferocious Penda, king of Mercia.

Otaheite, or Tahiti. The largest of a cluster of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, that were frequently visited by Capt. Cook, and named by him the Society Islands. In 1799, King Pomare ceded the district of Matavai to some English missionaries. Queen Pomare was compelled to put herself under the protection of France, September 7, 1843. She retracted, and Otaheite and the neighboring islands were taken possession of by Admiral Dupetit-Thuars in the name of the French king, November, 1843. The French imprisoned Mr. Prichard, the English consul, March 5, 1844, but the act was censured in France.

Otchakow. A small town and seaport of South Russia, in the government of Kherson, 40 miles east-northeast from Odessa. During the Russian wars with Turkey in the 18th century, Otchakow was alternately the property of each, until it was taken by Potemkin in 1788, and definitively annexed to the Russian dominions.

Otoes. A tribe of Indians of Dakota stock who reside with the Missourias on a reservation in Nebraska. They are generally peaceful and industrious, and number with their kindred tribe about 450.

Otomis, or Othomis. An ancient tribe of Indians who are said to have inhabited the Valley of Mexico before the Aztecs. They are now scattered through different parts of the country, and having lost all tribal distinctions are become amalgamated with other Mexican races.

Otricoli. A town of Italy, 37 miles north of Rome. The Neapolitans were defeated by the French in its neighborhood in 1798.

Ottawas. A tribe of Algonkin Indians, who formerly resided on the shores of Lake Erie. They subsequently moved to Kansas, and in 1870 settled in Indian Territory, where they now prosper. They are well advanced in civilization. A number of this tribe settled in Canada, where their descendants may yet be found; some are also settled on Lake Michigan with the Chippewas.

Otterburn (or Chevy Chase), Battle of. Was fought in August, 1388; a fight which Froissart declares to have been the bravest and most chivalrous which was fought in his day. According to the ballad (named Chevy Chase) Percy vowed that he would enter Scotland and take his pleasure for three days in the woods of his rival, and slay the deer therein at will. Douglas, when he heard the vaunt, exclaimed, “Tell him he will find one day more than enough.” Accordingly, at the time of the hay harvest, Percy, with stag-hounds and archers, passed into the domains of his foe, and slew a “hundred fallow deer and harts of grice.” When the English had hastily cooked their game and were about to retire, Earl Douglas, clad in armor and heading his Scottish spears, came on the scene. Haughty challenge and defiance passed between the potentates, and the battle joined. In the centre of the fray the two leaders met. “Yield thee, Percy!” cried Douglas. “I will yield to no Scot that was ever born of a woman!” cried Percy. During this colloquy, an English arrow struck Douglas to the heart. “Fight on, my merry men!” cried he, as he died. Percy, with all the chivalrous feeling of his race, took the dead man by the hand, and vowed that he would have given all his lands to save him, for a braver knight never fell by such a chance. Sir Hugh Montgomery having seen the fall of Douglas, clapped spurs to his horse, dashed on Percy, and struck his spear through his body, a long cloth-yard and more. Although the leaders on both sides had fallen, the battle, which had begun at break of day, continued till the ringing of the curfew-bell. Scotsmen and Englishmen claim the victory. When the battle ended, representatives of every noble family on either side of the border lay on the bloody greensward.

Oude, or Oudh. A province of British India, separated on the north from Nepaul by the lower ranges of the Himalaya, whence it gradually slopes to the Ganges, which forms its boundary on the south and southwest. The people of this province are of a decidedly warlike disposition; they mainly supply the famous (or infamous) Sepoys of the Bengal army. Oude is believed by Sanscrit scholars to be the ancient Kosala, the oldest seat of civilization in India. The country was conquered by a Mohammedan army in 1195, and made a province of the Mogul empire. In 1753 the vizier of Oude, Saffdar Jung, rebelled against his imperial master, Ahmed Shah, and forced the latter to make the governorship hereditary in his family. When the mutiny of 1857 broke out, Oude became one of the great centres of rebellion. The country was subdued by the British.

Oudenarde (Fr. Audenarde). A town of Belgium, in East Flanders, 14 miles southwest from Ghent. The town was taken by the French, aided by an English force, in 1658; it was again besieged in 1674 by the stadtholder William (III. of England) of Orange; and in 1706 it was taken by Marlborough. An attempt made by the French to retake it brought on the famous battle of Oudenarde, one of Marlborough’s most celebrated victories, which was gained on July 11, 1708, with the aid of Prince EugÈne, over a French army under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Villars. After this battle the French king made offers of peace, which were not accepted.

Oulart (Southeast Ireland). Here 5000 Irish insurgents attacked the king’s troops in small number, May 27, 1798. The North Cork militia, after great feats of bravery, were cut to pieces, 5 men only escaping.

Ourique. A town of Portugal, province of Alemtijo, 30 miles southwest of Beja. Hero Alfonso, count or duke of Portugal, is said to have encountered and signally defeated five Saracen kings and a prodigious army of Moors, July 25, 1139, and to have been hailed king on the spot. Lisbon, the capital, was taken, and he soon after was here crowned as the first king, the Moorish dominion being overthrown.

Outbar. To shut out by fortification.

Outbrave. To excel in bravery or boldness; to defy.

Outfit. In the British service, is the necessaries, uniform, etc., which an officer provides when he is gazetted to a regiment, or as proceeding to India. No allowance is made for an outfit, excepting in case of officers first promoted from the ranks, when £100 is granted to infantry and £150 to cavalry officers.

Outflank. To go beyond on the flank or side; to get the better of, as by extending one’s lines beyond or around that of one’s enemy.

Outgeneral. To exceed in generalship; to gain advantage over by superior military skill.

Outguard. A guard at a distance from the main body of an army; or a guard at the farthest distance; hence, anything for defense placed at a distance from the thing to be defended.

Outline, or Tracing. Is the succession of lines that show the figure of the works, and indicate the direction in which the defensive masses are laid out, in order to obtain a proper defense.

Outlyers. In the British service, formerly this term applied to men who were permitted to work, on condition that the whole of their pay was left in the hands of their captain for the time they were so employed. This sum the officer appropriated to his own use, to enable him to increase his pay and to keep a handsome table when he mounted guard. It was also a common practice to place on the muster-rolls the names of officers’ children, and instances have occurred of girls receiving men’s pay as outlyers.

Outlying. Lying or being at a distance from the main body; as, outlying pickets. Also, being on the exterior or frontier.

Outmanoeuvre. To surpass in manoeuvring.

Outmarch. To march faster than; to march so as to leave behind; as, the horse outmarched the foot.

Outnumber. To exceed in number; as, the French were outnumbered.

Outpart. At a distance from the main body.

Out-pensioner. A pensioner attached to a hospital, as Greenwich or Chelsea, England, who has liberty to live where he pleases.

Outpost. A post or station without the limits of a camp, or at a distance from the main body of an army. The troops placed at such a station.

Outposts. The term, outposts, is used at the present time to designate the particular detachments of troops and the method of arranging them, by means of which an army when in bivouac, in camp, or in cantonment, is protected from surprise by an enemy.

Outrank. To take the precedence of, or be superior to, in rank; to rank.

Out-sentry. A sentry who guards the entrance or approach to a place; an outguard.

Outside. In fencing, that part which is to the right of the line of defense.

Outside Guard. A guard used with the broadsword and sabre, to defend the outside of the position.

Outwall. The exterior wall of a building or fortress.

Outward Face. A word of command for troops to face to the right and left from their centre.

Outwing, To. To extend the flanks of an army or line in action, so as to gain an advantageous position against the right or left wing of an enemy.

Outworks. In fortification, are minor defenses constructed beyond the main body of a work, for the purpose of keeping the enemy at a distance, or commanding certain salient points which it is undesirable that he should occupy. Such works are ravelins, lunettes, hornworks, crown-works, demi-lunes, tenailles, etc. They occur in certain necessary order, as a ravelin before the curtain and tenaille, a hornwork before a ravelin, and so on.

Ovation. See Triumph.

Ovens. Are always provided in garrisons, so that the troops may bake their own bread. A large saving of flour is thus made, which is the most considerable element of the post fund. A brick oven large enough to bake 500 rations can be constructed in less than twenty-four hours. The cylindrical form is greatly to be preferred, as it is more easily made and requires less material than the ordinary forms. The want of brick for the arch and fireplace of ovens may be supplied in the field by two gabions of semicircular or semi-elliptical form. They are placed one above the other on the flat side, and form a cradle. The interior and exterior is plastered with clay, which must penetrate the interstices of the basket-work. The front and back parts are shut in the same manner, or with sods. The cradle is then covered with earth to retain the heat; and in order that the superincumbent weight may not cause it to give way, withes are attached to the top of the basket-work, passed vertically through the embankment, and then fastened to the longitudinal beam of a wooden horse straddled against the exterior curve. Ovens may also be made of wood or earth. To construct rapidly an earthen oven, dig a slope with a step, and on its prolongation dig the length of the oven in a trench separated from the step by a mass of earth, to be pierced later as the mouth of the oven. Then dig laterally portions of an elliptical arch so as to make the arch a given breadth. This work finished, pierce the mouth, and cover the trench with from three to five sods as arch stones, leaving a chimney-place at the bottom. Ovens for from 100 to 250 rations may be thus made. In some European armies they have very convenient portable ovens.

Over. Above in place, position, or authority; as, he was placed in command over Lord Monkton.

Overcharge. An excessive charge, as of a gun.

Overcharge. To fill with too much powder and ball, as a gun.

Overcharged Mine. A mine whose crater is wider at top than it is deep.

Overlap. Is to overspread any preceding object. In marching by echelon for the purpose of forming upon any given point, but particularly in wheeling from column into line, troops may lose their relative distances by not taking ground enough; when this occurs, the rear division, company, or section, unavoidably crowds upon its preceding one, and is then said to overlap.

Overmarch. To fatigue or wear out by too much marching.

Overmatch. To be too powerful for; to conquer; to subdue; to suppress by superior force. Also, one superior in power; one able to overcome.

Overpower. To vanquish by force; to subdue; to defeat.

Overrun. In a military sense, to ravage, to lay waste. A country which is harassed by incursions is said to be overrun.

Overseer. An officer in the ordnance department, who superintends the artificers in the construction of works, etc. He is also called a superintendent.

Overshoot. To shoot beyond the mark.

Overslaugh. To hinder or stop; as, by an overslaugh or unexpected impediment; as, to overslaugh a military officer, that is, to hinder or stop his promotion or employment by the appointment of another to his rank or duties.

Overthrow. Total defeat; discomfiture; rout.

Overturn. To overthrow; to conquer.

Oviedo. A town of Spain, capital of the province of the same name, 55 miles north-northwest of Leon. This city was twice plundered of its ecclesiastical and other treasures during the war of independence, first by Soult, and subsequently by Bonnet.

Own, King’s or Queen’s. A term which has been attached to some British regiments since the revolution in 1688. Thus the 4th Foot, which landed with William III., was called the 4th King’s Own.

Owyhee, or Hawaii. An island in the North Pacific Ocean, the most eastern, and by far the largest of the Sandwich Islands. It was on this island that the celebrated Capt. Cook fell a sacrifice to a misunderstanding, or sudden impulse of revenge on the part of the natives, on Sunday, February 14, 1779.

Ox. See Bullock.

Oxford. An ancient and famous city in England, the chief town of the county of Oxford, 55 miles west-northwest from London. The townsmen closed their gates against William the Conqueror, who stormed the town in 1067, and gave it to one of his followers, Robert d’Oyley, who built a castle here to overawe the disaffected Saxons. The paction that terminated the strife between Stephen and Henry II. was drawn up at Oxford. During the great civil war of the 17th century, it was for a while the headquarters of the royalist forces, and was conspicuous for its adherence to the cause of Charles I.

Oxford Blues. See Horse Guards, Royal.