Arnott’s Pump. An ingeniously arranged machine for forcing pure air into buildings.
Arquebusade. Shot of an arquebuse. Also distilled water from a variety of aromatic plants, as rosemary, millefoil, etc., applied to a bruise or wound; so called because it was originally used as a vulnerary in gunshot wounds.
Arquebuse, or Harquebuse. An old fire-arm resembling a musket, which was supported on a rest by a hook of iron fastened to the barrel. It was longer than a musket, and of large calibre, and formerly used to fire through the loop-holes of antique fortifications.
Arquebusier. A soldier armed with an arquebuse.
Arques (Northern France). Near here the league army, commanded by the Duc de Mayenne, was defeated by Henry IV., September 21, 1589.
Arracan. A province of Northeast India. Arracan, the capital, taken by the Burmese, 1783; was taken from them by Gen. Morrison, April 1, 1825. The subjugation of the whole province soon followed.
Arrah. A town in British India, in the presidency of Bengal, the scene of several exciting incidents in the Indian mutiny. The English troops gained a victory here over the mutinous Sepoys in 1857.
Arras (Northeast France). The ancient Atrebates; conquered by Cæsar in 50 B.C.; captured and sacked by the Vandals in 407; captured by the Normans in 880; besieged by Charles VI. in 1414; captured by Louis XI.; held by the Austrians from 1493 till 1640, when it was taken by Louis XIII.; besieged by the Spaniards in 1654.
Arrawak Indians. A race or collection of tribes of Indians in Guiana, who were formerly numerous and powerful.
Array. Order; disposition in regular lines; hence, a posture for fighting; as, drawn up in battle array.
Arrayer. In some early English statutes, an officer who had care of the soldiers’ armor, and who saw them duly accoutred.
Arrest. The temporary confinement of officers in barracks, quarters, or tents, pending trial by court-martial, or the consideration of their imputed offenses previous to deciding whether they shall or shall not be tried. (See Appendix, Articles of War, 65.) Private soldiers are usually placed under guard; by the custom of the service non-commissioned officers may be simply placed in arrest in quarters.
Arrest (Old Fr., now arret). A French phrase, similar in its import to the Latin word retinaculum; it consisted of a small piece of steel or iron, which was formerly used in the construction of fire-arms, to prevent the piece from going off. A familiar phrase among military men in France is, Ce pistolet est en arret, “this pistol is in arrest or is stopped.”
Arreste of the Glacis. Is the junction of the talus which is formed at all the angles.
Arretium. A city of the Gauls, now in the department of the Yonne, France, where the Gauls defeated the Romans in a bloody battle in 284 B.C.
Arrow. In fortification, a work placed at the salient angles of the glacis, communicating with the covert way.
Arrow. A missile weapon of defense, straight, slender, pointed, and barbed, to be shot with a bow.
Arrow-head. The head of an arrow.
Arrow-wood. A species of Viburnum, from the long straight stems of which the Indians dwelling between the Mississippi and the Pacific make their arrows.
Arrowy. Consisting of arrows.
Arroyo del Molinos. A small town in Estremadura, Spain, near the river Guadiana, where Lord Hill, on the 28th of October, 1811, surprised and defeated the French under Gen. Gerard. Nearly 1500 prisoners were taken, including Prince d’Aremburg, Gen. Brun, one colonel, two lieutenant-colonels, a commissaire de guerre, and no less than 30 captains and inferior officers. It was altogether a most brilliant achievement.
Arsenal. A public establishment for the storage or for the manufacture and storage of arms and all military equipments, whether for land or naval service. In the United States there are 17 arsenals and 1 armory (Springfield, Mass.), situated at different points throughout the whole country convenient for the distribution of materiel, as follows: Alleghany arsenal, at Pittsburg, Pa.; at Augusta, Ga.; Benicia, Cal.; Fort Monroe, Va.; Fort Union, N. M.; Frankford arsenal, Philadelphia, Pa.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kennebec arsenal, Augusta, Me.; New York; Pikesville, Md.; Rock Island, Ill.; Jefferson Barracks, Mo.; San Antonio, Texas; Vancouver, W. T.; Washington, D. C.; Watertown, Mass.; and Watervliet arsenal, West Troy, N. Y.
Arsouf (Syria). At a battle here Richard I. of England, commanding the Christian forces, reduced to 30,000, defeated Saladin’s army of 300,000 and other infidels on September 6, 1191. Ascalon surrendered, and Richard marched to Jerusalem, 1192.
Art, Military. Military art may be divided into two principal branches. The first branch relates to the order and arrangement which must be observed in the management of an army, when it is to engage an enemy, to march, or to be encamped. This branch is called tactics. The same appellation belongs to the other branch of military art, which also includes the composition and application of warlike machines. See Logistics, Strategy, Stratagem, Tactics, and War.
Arta, or Narda. A town in Albania. The Greek insurgents against the Porte were defeated here, July 16, 1822.
Artaxata. The ancient capital of Armenia; burned by the Roman general Carbulo, about 59.
Artemisium. A promontory in Eubœa, near which indecisive conflicts took place between the Greek and Persian fleets for three days, 480 B.C. The former retired on hearing of the battle of Thermopylæ.
Articles of War. Are known rules and regulations, fixed by law, for the better government of an army. The articles of war of the United States consists of 128 articles. (See Appendix, Articles of War.) All that relates to the army not comprehended therein is published in general orders or in established regulations, issued from time to time from the War Department, copies of which are furnished and read to the troops. In England they may be altered and enlarged at the pleasure of the sovereign, but must be annually confirmed by Parliament under the Mutiny Act.
Artifice. Among the French, is understood as comprehending everything which enters the composition of fire-works, as the sulphur, saltpetre, charcoal, etc. See Pyrotechnics.
Artificer. One who makes fire works, or works in the artillery laboratory, and prepares the shells, fuzes, grenades, etc. It is also applied to military mechanics, such as carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, etc.
Artificial Line of Sight. Is the right line from the eye to the object to be hit, passing through the front and rear sights. See Pointing.
Artillery. In a general sense, signifies all sorts of great guns or cannon, mortars, howitzers, petards, and the like, together with all the apparatus and stores thereto belonging, which are not only taken into the field, but likewise to sieges, and made use of both to attack and defend fortified places; also the officers and men of that branch of the army to which the care and management of such machines have been confided. (See Ordnance.) Artillery, in a particular sense, signifies the science of artillery or gunnery, which art includes a knowledge of surveying, leveling, geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, laws of motion, mechanics, fortifications, and projectiles. See Battery, Field Battery, Field