Bomb-chest. A chest filled with bombs, or only with gunpowder, placed under ground, to cause destruction by its explosion.
Bomb-proof. A term applied to military structures of such immense thickness and strength that bombs cannot penetrate them.
Bomb-shell. A hollow globe of iron, filled with powder, and thrown from a mortar; a bomb.
Bone, Bona, or Bonah. A fortified seaport town of Algeria, 85 miles northwest of Constantine; it is surrounded by a wall with square turrets which has four gates. Fort Cigogne is its chief defense; the French occupied this place in July, 1830.
Bonn. A town on the Rhine (the Roman Bonna) was in the electorate of Cologne; it has been frequently besieged, and was assigned to Prussia in 1814.
Bonnet. In fortification, is a small defense work constructed at salient angles of the glacis or larger works. It consists of two faces only, with a parapet 3 feet high by 10 or 12 feet broad. There is no ditch. A larger kind, with 3 salient angles, is called a priest’s bonnet, or bonnet à prêtre. The use of the bonnet is to check the besiegers when they are attempting to make a lodgment.
Bonneval. A town of France, formerly fortified; it was partially destroyed by the English during the 15th century.
Bontchouk. A lance ornamented with a horse’s tail. When the kings of Poland led their armies, boutchouks were carried before them.
Boomerang. A very singular missile weapon used by the natives of Australia. It is made of hard wood, usually from 20 to 30 inches in length, from 2 to 3 inches wide, and 1⁄2 or 3⁄4 of an inch thick. It is curved or bent in the middle at an angle of from 100° to 140°. When thrown from the hand with a quick rotary motion, it describes very remarkable curves, according to the shape of the instrument and the manner of throwing it, often moving nearly horizontally a long distance, then curving upward to a considerable height, and finally taking a retrograde direction, so as to fall near the place from which it was thrown, or even very far in the rear of it.
Booneville. A river-port, capital of Cooper Co., Mo., situated on the right bank of the Missouri River, 48 miles northwest of Jefferson City. During the civil war a Confederate force of about 2500 raw troops was here attacked by the Federals under Gen. Lyon, June 17, 1861. After a short conflict the Confederates were routed, abandoning their guns and camp equipage, which fell into the hands of the Union forces.
Boothauk. A fortified pass of Afghanistan, 12 miles to the east of Cabul. It runs for 5 miles between cliffs 500 feet high, and in some places only 50 yards wide.
Boots and Saddles. In cavalry tactics, a trumpet call which is the first signal for mounted drill, and for all other formations mounted; it is also the signal for the trumpeters to assemble.
Booty. Is the victors’ share in property captured from the vanquished. It is generally a military term, the word prize being more frequently used in the navy.
Bordeaux, or Bourdeaux (Southwest France). This city was sacked by the Visigoths, who were driven from it by Clovis; it was ravaged by the Saracens and Normans in the 8th and 9th centuries. It came into the possession of the Duke of Gascoyne in 911; in 1653 the city rebelled, but was taken by the royal troops; Bordeaux was entered by the victorious British army after the battle of Orthes, fought February 27, 1814.
Bordure, or Border. In heraldry, coats of arms are frequently surrounded with a bordure, the object of which is to show that the bearer is a cadet of the house whose arms he carries. Its character often has reference to the profession of the bearer; thus a bordure embattled is granted to a soldier, and a bordure ermine to a lawyer.
Bore. Of a piece of ordnance includes all the part bored out, viz., the cylinder, the chamber (if there is one), and the conical or spherical surface connecting them.
Borghetto. A town of Italy, on the Mincio, 15 miles southwest of Verona; it has a castle and a vast fortified causeway. The French here defeated the Austrians in 1796.
Borgo Forte. A town of Italy, in Lombardy, on the Po, 7 miles south of Mantua. The Austrians were here defeated by the French in 1796.
Bori. A Turkish term for military trumpets.
Boring Cannon. See Ordnance, Construction of.
Borissov. A town of Russia, on the left bank of the Berezina. A conflict took place here November 23, 1812, between the French and Russians; near this town, at the village of Studienka, the disastrous passage of Berezina was effected by the French army, November 26–27, 1812.
Bormann-fuze. A fuze which is used for spherical case-shot. The fuze-case is made of metal (a composition of lead and tin), and consists of a short cylinder, having at one end a horseshoe-shaped indentation, one end only of which communicates with the magazine of the fuze placed in the centre by a channel filled with rifle powder. This horseshoe indentation extends nearly to the other end of the cylinder, a thin layer of the metal only intervening. This is graduated on the outside into equal parts representing seconds and quarter-seconds. In the bottom of this channel a smooth layer of the composition is placed, with a piece of wick or yarn underneath it. On this is placed a piece of metal, the cross-section of which is wedge-shaped, and this, by machinery, is pressed down upon the composition, sealing it hermetically. The cylindrical opening is filled with musket powder and covered with a sheet of tin, which is soldered, closing the magazine from the external air. Before using the fuze several holes are punched through this sheet of tin, to allow the flame to enter the shell. On the side of the fuze the thread of a screw is cut which fits into one cut on the inside of the fuze-hole, and the fuze is screwed into the shell with a wrench. The thin layer of metal over the composition is cut through with a gouge or chisel, or even a penknife, at the interval marked with the number of seconds which we wish the fuze to burn. To prevent the metal of this fuze, which is soft, from being driven into the shell by the explosive force of the charge, a circular piece of iron, with a hole through its centre, and the thread of a screw on the outside, is screwed into the fuze-hole before the fuze is inserted. The most important advantage of this fuze is, that the shells can be loaded, all ready for use, and remain so any length of time, perfectly safe from explosion, as the fuze can be screwed into its place, and the composition never exposed to external fire until the metal is cut through.
Borneo. An island in the Indian Ocean, the largest in the world except Australia; discovered by the Portuguese about 1520; the pirates of this island were several times chastised by the British government; incorporated with the British empire, December 2, 1846.
Bornhoevede. A village of Holstein, where a battle was fought on July 22, 1227, between Woldemar II., king of Denmark, and Adolphus IV. of Holstein; the Danes were totally defeated.
Borodino. A Russian village on the Moskwa, near which a sanguinary battle was fought, September 7, 1812, between the French under Napoleon, and the Russians under Kootoosof, 240,000 men being engaged. Each party claimed the victory; but the Russians retreated, leaving Moscow, which the