BOA

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

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

BOAT.
Beat, &c.

See Advice-Boat, Pontoon

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

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

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

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

&c.

Bois de chauffage, Fr. the fuel which is distributed among French troops. BOLT, an iron pin used for strength

Maritime towns, which have a port, are in much the same case as other towns, when their port can be blocked up, and the besiegers are masters of the sea, and can prevent succours from being convey-ening a piece of timber, or for fastening ed that way into the place.

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

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

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

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

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

two or more articles together. Bolts in
gunnery, being of several sorts, admit of
various denominations, which arise from
the specific application of them, as
1. Eye

2. Joint
3. Transom
4. Bed

Breeching
Bracket
7. Stool-bed
8. Garnish
9. Axle tree
10. Bulster

BOMB

BOLTS.

See SHELL.
Chest. See CAISSON.

Vessels, small vessels. Ketches, made very strong with large beams, particularly calcula BLOCUS, Fr. See Blockade. BLOCK battery, in gunnery, a wooden ted for throwing shells into a town, case battery for two or more small pieces, tle, or fortification, from 13 and 10-inch mortars; two of which are placed on mounted on wheels, and moveable from place to place: very ready to tire en bar-board of each ship. They are said to ber, in the galleries and casemates, &c. where room is wanted.

have been invented by M. Reyneau, a Frenchman, and to have been first put in action at the bombardiment of Algiers in 1681 till then it had been judged im

sea.

BLOCK-bouse, in the military art, a kind of wooden fort or fortification, sometimes mounted on rollers, or on a flat-bot-practicable to bombard a place from the somed vessel, serving either on the lakes or rivers,or in counter-scarps and counterapproaches. This name is sometimes giten to a brick or stone building on a bridge, or the brink of a river, serving not only for its defence, but for the command of the river, both above and below.

BOMB Ketch. The old bomb-ketches carried one 13-inch and 10-inch mortar 3 with 8 six-pounders, besides swivels, for their own immediate defence. The modera bomb-vessels carry 210-inch mortars 468-pounders, and 6 18-pounders carro. BLUNDERBUSS, a well known fire-nades; and the mortars may be fired at as arm, consisting of a wide, short, but very large bore, capable of holding a number of musquet or pistol balls, very fit for doing great execution in a croud, making good a narrow passage, defending the door of abaing to cover the landing of troops, andi house, stair-case, &c. or repelling an at tempt to board a ship.

See Ordnance. BOARD of Ordnance. BOARD, also implies an othee under the government, where the affirs of some departments are transacted; of which There are several serts in England.

low an angle as 20 degrees; though these mortars are not intended to be used at sea but on very particular occasions; theit principal intention, at these low angles,

protect coasts and harbours. A bombketch is generally from 60 to 70 feet long from stem to stern, and draws 8 or 9 feet water. The tender is generally a brig, on board of which the party or artillery remain, till their services are required en board the bomb-vessel.

Total.

48
52

48

52

52 388 440

57

-

12

110

166

called the military projectile: hence a mortar, whose trunnions are placed at the breech, can have no point-blank range. Mortars should be so contrived, that they may be elevated to any degree required, as much preferable to those fixed at an angle of 45°; because shells should never be thrown at that angle but in one single case only, which seldom happens; that is, when the battery is so far off, that they cannot otherwise reach the works: for when shells are thrown from the trenches inte the works of a fortification, or from the town into the trenches, they should have as little elevation as possible, in order to roll along, and not 42 bury themselves; whereby the damage they do, and the terror they cause to the troops, is much greater than if they sink into the ground On the contrary, when shells are thrown upon magazines, or any 6 other buildings, with an intention to de stroy them, the mortar should be elevat ed as high as possible, that the shells may acquire a greater force in their fall.

175 175

42

10

6

200

20

4

80

gals.

lbs.

150 222

28

2

24

Shells should be loaded with no more 50 powder than is requisite to burst them into the greatest number of pieces, and the length of the fuzes should be exactly calculated according to the required ranges; for, should the fuze set fire to the powder in the shell, before it falls on the place intended, the shell will burst in the air, and probably do more mischief to those who fired the mortar, than to those against whom it was discharged. To prevent this, the fuzes are divided into as many seconds as the greatest range requires, consequently may be cut to any distance, at an elevation of 45 degrees.

28

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

pare the composition both for fuzes and tubes, and fire both mortars and howitzers on every occasion. In the English service, shells and grenades, composition for the same, fuzes, &c. are prepared in the laboratory by people well-skilled in that business.

BOMBARDIERS, artillery soldiers, who are employed in mortar and howitzer duty. They are to load them on all occasions; and in most services they load the BOMBARD, an ancient piece of ord-shells and grenades, fix the fuzes, prenance, so called, very short, and very thick, with an uncommon large bore.There have been bombards which have thrown a ball or shell of 300 weight: they made use of cranes to load them, The Turks use some of them at present. To BOMBARD, the act of asBOMBARDING, saulting a city In most other armies both officers and BOMBARDMENT, or fortress, by soldiers belonging to the companies of throwing shells into it in order to set fire bombardiers, have an extraordinary pay, to and ruin the houses, churches, maga. as it requires more mathematical learn zines, &c. and to do other mischief. Asing to throw shells with some degree of one of the effects of the shel results from exactness, than is requisite for the rest its weight, it is never discharged as a ball of the artillery. In the British service a from a cannon, that is, by pointing it at a specific number is attached to each comcertain object: but the mortars are fixed pany of artillery, and do not form a sepa at an elevation of or about 45 degrees; rate corps as in other countries. that is, inclined so many degrees from the horizon, that the shell describes a curve,

BONAVOGLIE, Fr. a man that for

a certain consideration voluntarily engages

to row.

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

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

BOTTES, Fr. boots.

Grosses BOTTES, Fr. jack-boots. BOTTINE, Fr. half-boots worn by the hussars and dragoons in foreign ar mies.

BONNET à Prêtre, or Priest's Cap, in fortification, is an outwork, having three salient and two inward angles, and differs from the double tenaille only in having its sides incline inwards to wards the BOUCHE, Fr. means the aperture or gorge, and those of a double tenaill, are pa-mouth of a piece of ordnance, that of a rallel to each other. See FORTIFICATION. mortar, of the barrel of a musket, and of BORDER, in military drawings, im- every species of fire-arms from which a plies single or double lines, or any other ball or bullet is discharged. ornament, round a drawing, &c.

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

nomy.

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

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

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

BOULETS à deux têtes, chain-shot. BOULEVART, Fr. formerly meant a bastion. It is no longer used as a military phase, although it sometimes ocThe regimental orderly Book contains the curs in the description of works or lines peculiar instructions of corps which are which cover a whole country, and progiven by a colonel or commanding officer tect it from the incursions of an enemy. to the adjutant-hence adjutant's orderly Thus Strasburgh and Landau may be Book-and from him to the serjeant-called two principal boulevarts or bulmajor, who delivers the same to the different serjeants of companies assembled in the orderly room for that purposehence the company's orderly Book.

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

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

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

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

&c.

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

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

to it.

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

warks, by which France is protected on this side of the Rhine.

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

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

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

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

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

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

BOX

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

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

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

BOUTON, Fr. the sight of a mus

quet.

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

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

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

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

BOWMAN. See ARCHER. BOWYER. The man who made or repaired the military bows was so called. BOXES, in military affairs, are of several sorts, and for various purposes. Battery-BoxB. See BATTERY: Cartouch-BOXES. See CARTOUCH. Nave Boxes, are made of iron or brass, and fastened one at each end of the nave, to prevent the arms of the axle.tree, about which the boxes turn, from causing too much friction.

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

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

Boxes for Ammunition, The dimensions of the common ammunition boxes vary according to the ammunition they are made to contain, in order that it may pack tight: this variation, however, is

Weight when filled, and number contained in each.

Kinds of Ammunition.

Box.for shot fixed to wood bottoms

without powder.

with powder.

Boxes for shot fixed

Boxes

Weight of Boxes when filled with Ammunition.

Z No. of Rounds con

Itained in each Box.

cwt. qrs. lbs. No.

1

10 03 15

132022 TO22

12 Prs.

6 Prs.

Case.

1

3 Prs.

Round o
Case.

Round 1

24Prs.

Case. 2

12Prs,

Case.

Round 1 2

20 24

Case. I I

12 18

30 030

2 3

How'r

Case.

2

22 20

I 2

23

6 Prs.

How'r S

Shells.

Case, I I

Shells called four and an half, are really four and two-fifths.

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

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

one ton.

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

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

BRACKETS, in gunnery, are the cheeks of the travelling carriage of a mortar; they are made of strong wooden planks. This name is also given to that part of a large mortar-bed, where the