Entanglement. Abatis, so called, when made by cutting only partly through the trunks, and pulling the upper parts to the ground, where they are picketed.
Entanglement, Wire. Formed by twisting wire round stout stakes or trees 7 feet apart. The wires are placed about a foot or 18 inches above the ground. The trees-pickets or trees are in two or three rows, arranged checkerwise, the wires crossing diagonally.
Enter, To. To engage in; to enlist in; as, to enter an army.
Enterprise. An undertaking attended with some hazard and danger.
Enterpriser. An officer who undertakes or engages in any important and hazardous design.
Entire, or Rank Entire. A line of men in one continued row by the side of each other. When behind each other, they are said to be in file.
Entonnoir (Fr.). The cavity or hole which remains after the explosion of a mine. It likewise meant the tin case or port-feu which is used to convey the priming powder into the vent of a cannon.
Entrench, To. Is to construct hastily thrown-up field-works for the purpose of strengthening a force in position. See Intrench.
Entrepôts. Magazines and places appropriated in garrison towns for the reception of stores, etc.
Envelope. In fortification, a work of earth, sometimes in the form of a single parapet, and at others like a small rampart; it is raised sometimes in the ditch, and sometimes beyond it. Envelopes are occasionally en zigzag, to inclose a weak ground, where that is practicable, with single lines. Envelopes, in a ditch, are sometimes called sillons, contregardes, conserves, lunettes, etc.
Environ, To. To surround in a hostile manner; to hem in; to besiege.
Enzersdorf. A fortified town of Austria, 8 miles east from Vienna.
Epaule. In fortification, denotes the shoulder of a bastion, or the place where its face and flank meet and form the angle, called the angle of the shoulder.
Epaulement (Fr. epaule). In siege works, is a portion of a battery or earthwork. The siege batteries are generally shielded at one end at least by epaulements, forming an obtuse angle with the main line of the battery. The name is often given erroneously to the parapet of the battery itself, but it applies properly to the flanking return only. Sometimes the whole of a small or secondary earthwork, including the battery and its flanks, is called an epaulement; and sometimes the same name is given to an isolated breastwork intended to shield the cavalry employed in defending a body of besiegers.
Epaulette. A shoulder-knot worn by commissioned officers of the army and navy, as a mark of distinction. The insignia of their rank are usually marked on officers’ epaulettes.
Epauletted. Furnished with epaulettes.
Ephebi. In Grecian antiquity, the name given to the Attic youth from the age of 18, till they entered upon their 20th year. During this period they served a sort of apprenticeship in arms, and were frequently sent, under the name of peripoli, to some of the frontier towns of Attica to keep watch against foreign invasion.
Epibatæ. In Grecian antiquity, the name given to soldiers whose duty it was to fight on board ship. They corresponded almost exactly to the marines of modern naval warfare. The term is sometimes found in Roman authors to denote the same class of soldiers, but the general phrase adopted by them is milites classiarii, or socii navales.
Epignare (Fr.). A small piece of ordnance which does not exceed one pound in caliber.
Epigoni. A term which signifies “heirs” or “descendants.” It was applied to the sons of the seven chiefs who conducted an expedition against Thebes to restore Polynices, and who were all killed except Adrastus. Ten years later the Epigoni—namely, Alcmæon, Thersander, Diomedes, Ægialeus, Promachus, Sthenelus, and Euryalus—renewed the enterprise and took Thebes. The war of the Epigoni was celebrated by several ancient epic and dramatic poets.
Epinglette (Fr.). An iron needle with which the cartridge of any large piece of ordnance is pierced before it is primed.
Epinikian. Pertaining to, or celebrating, victory; as an epinikian ode.
Epirus. A celebrated country of ancient Greece, lying between the Ionian Sea and the chain of Pindus.
E Pluribus Unum. “One out of many.” A motto adopted by the United States since their declaration of independence, in 1776.
Epouvante (Fr.). A sudden panic with which troops are seized, and under which they retreat without any actual necessity for so doing.
Eprouvette (Fr.). A small mortar to prove the strength of gunpowder. There are different sorts of eprouvettes, according to the fancy of different nations who use them. Some raise a weight, and others throw a shot, to certain heights and distances. As a test of gunpowder the eprouvette is comparatively worthless, and it has been generally superseded by instruments for measuring the initial velocity obtained by firing the powder in the particular gun for which it is intended. A short mortar is, however, still used, to a certain extent, for testing the power of modern blasting powders, such as the mixtures of nitro-glycerine. A very small charge and a heavy shot of chilled iron which enters two or three inches only into the mortar are used. The square roots of the ranges (other things being equal) give the relative powers of the different powders, nearly.
Equalize. To render the distribution of any number of men equal as to the component parts. To equalize a battalion, to tell off a certain number of companies in such a manner that the several component parts shall consist of the same number of men.
Equation of Time. See Time, Mean Solar Time.
Equerry. Any person who is appointed to attend the sovereign, or prince of the royal blood, upon out-door excursions, and who has the care and management of their horses.
Eques Auratus. A heraldic term for a knight.
Equestrian. A man who rides on horseback; a horseman; a rider.
Equestrian Order. Among the Romans, signified their knights or equites; as, also, their troopers or horsemen in the field.
Equip, To. To furnish an individual, a corps, or an army with everything that is requisite for military service, such as arms, accoutrements, uniforms, etc.
Equipage. In military matters, is the name given to the necessaries of the soldier. The equipment of a private is often used as a name for the whole of his clothes, arms, and accoutrements, collectively. The equipage of the camp is of two kinds, camp and field equipage.
Equipments, Cannoneers’. Include the hausse pouch, cartridge pouches, primer pouches, and thumb-stall, used in the field service. The equipments for a field-piece are the tampion and strap, vent cover and tarpaulin. Other things used in service of cannon are called implements, which see.
Equipments, Horse. In the mounted service, comprise the bridle, halter, watering bridle, saddle, saddle-bags, saddle blanket, nose-bag, lariat, curry-comb, brush, etc.
Equipments, Infantry. Comprise the personal outfit of the soldier, excluding arms proper and clothing. A set of equipments is called a kit (which see). The standard equipments for infantry include the knapsack, belts, and plates, cartridge-box, bayonet-scabbard, haversack, and canteen.