Boroughbridge. A town in Yorkshire, England, the site of a battle between the Earls of Hereford and Lancaster and Edward II., March 16, 1322. The latter at the head of 30,000 men pressed Lancaster so closely that he had not time to collect his troops together in sufficient force, and being defeated and made prisoner, was led, mounted on a lean horse, to an eminence near Pontefract, and beheaded by a Londoner.
Boscobel. Near Donington, Shropshire, England, where Charles II. concealed himself after his defeat at Worcester.
Bosnia. In European Turkey, formerly part of Pannonia, was governed by chiefs till a brother-in-law of Louis, king of Hungary, was made king, 1376. He was defeated by the Turks in 1389, and became their vassal. Bosnia was annexed to the Ottoman empire in 1522. Many efforts have been made by the Bosnians to recover their independence; they rebelled in 1849, and were subdued by Omar Pasha in 1851.
Bosniaken. Formerly light cavalry of the Prussians, resembling the present Uhlans. Frederick I. formed this cavalry in 1745.
Bosphorus, or Bosporus, Thracian (now Strait of Constantinople). The ancient name of the strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora. Darius Hystaspes threw a bridge of boats over this strait when about to invade Greece, 493 B.C.
Bosporus. The country on both sides of the Bosporus Cimmerius, or Strait of Yenikalé, formed in ancient times the kingdom of Bosporus. The Scythians conquered Bosporus, 285 B.C.; conquered by Mithridates VI., 80 B.C.; conquered by Cæsar, 47 B.C.; Polemon conquered Bosporus, 14 B.C. A list of obscure kings given by some writers ends with Sauromates VII., 344.
Boss. The apex of a shield.
Bosse, Bosse à Feu (Fr.). A term used in the French artillery to express a glass bottle which is very thin, contains 4 or 5 pounds of powder, and round the neck of which 4 or 5 matches are hung after it has been well corked. A cord 2 or 3 feet in length is tied to the bottle, which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks the powder catches fire, and everything within the immediate effects of the explosion is destroyed.
Bostanji. The first Turkish foot-guards, about 12,000 strong; they guard the imperial castles and accompany the sultans to the field. They were originally employed as gardeners, guards for the seraglio, etc. Their number is now greatly reduced.
Boston. A city and capital of Massachusetts, situated on the west side of Massachusetts Bay, at the mouth of Charles River. It was built about 1627. Here originated that resistance to the British authorities which led to American independence. The act of Parliament laying duties on tea, papers, colors, etc. (passed June, 1767), so excited the indignation of the citizens of Boston, that they destroyed several hundred chests of tea, December 16, 1773. Boston seaport was shut by the English Parliament, until restitution should be made to the East India Company for the tea lost, March 25, 1774. The town was besieged by the British next year, and 400 houses were destroyed. A battle between the royalist and independent troops, in which the latter were defeated, took place June 17, 1775; the city was evacuated by the king’s troops, April, 1776. The inhabitants were very zealous against slavery in 1861.
Boston Massacre. A name popularly given to a disturbance which occurred in the streets of Boston on the evening of March 5, 1770, when a sergeant’s guard belonging to the British garrison fired upon a crowd of people who were surrounding them and pelting them with snowballs, and killed 3 men besides wounding several others. The leader of the townspeople was a black man named Crispus Attucks. The affair is of historical importance, as it prepared the minds of men for the Revolutionary struggle which followed.
Bostra, or Bozrah. A city of Arabia, in an oasis of the Syrian Desert, 76 miles south of Damascus; it was besieged, captured, and sacked by the Saracens, who were commanded by Khaled.
Bosworth Field. In Leicestershire, England, the site of the thirteenth and last battle between the houses of York and Lancaster, August 22, 1485, when Richard III. was defeated and slain by the Earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII. Sir William Stanley at a critical moment changed sides, and thus caused the loss of the battle. It is said that Henry was crowned on the spot with the crown of Richard found in a hawthorn bush near the field.
Bothwell Bridge. In Lanarkshire, Scotland. The Scotch Covenanters, who took up arms against the intolerant government of Charles II., and defeated the celebrated Claverhouse at Drumclog, June 1, 1679, were totally routed at Bothwell Bridge, June 22, 1679, by the Earl of Monmouth, and many persons were tortured and executed.
Botoné, or Bottony. In heraldry, a cross-botoné is a cross of which the ends are in the form of buds or buttons.
Bottle Cartridge. See Cartridge, Bottle.
Bottoming. The foundation of a roadbed.
Botzen, or Bolzana (anc. Pons Drusi). The capital of the circle of Etsch in Tyrol. This town was captured by the French in 1809.
Boucanier (Fr.). A long, heavy musket, used by the American buccaneers, and with such skill as to give the weapon a high degree of celebrity.
Bouchain. A small strongly fortified frontier town of France, in the department of the North; besieged and captured by Louis XIV. in 1673; by the Duke of Marlborough in 1711; retaken by the French in 1712, and ceded to France by the treaty of Utrecht.
Bouche (Fr.). Means the aperture or mouth of a piece of ordnance, that of a mortar, of the barrel of a musket, and of every species of fire-arms from which a ball or bullet is discharged.
Boufarik, or Boofareek. A place in Algeria where the French encountered the Arabs, October 2, 1832.
Bouge, or Boulge (Fr.). An ancient war-club, the head of which was loaded with lead, also called plombée.
Bougiah (anc. Salvæ). A seaport town of Algeria, which was captured by the French, October 19, 1833, and successfully defended against the Arabs, August 25, 1842.
Bouillon (Belgium). Formerly a duchy, was sold by Godfrey, its ruler, to Albert, bishop of Liège, to obtain funds for the crusade, 1095; it was seized by the French in 1672, and held by them till 1815, when it was given to the king of the Netherlands, as duke of Luxemburg. It was awarded to Belgium after the revolution of 1830.
Boulaf. A kind of baton or very short mace, formerly used by the Polish generals.
Boulak, or Boolak. A town of Lower Egypt, on the right bank of the Nile; burned by the French in 1799; since rebuilt by Mohammed Ali.
Boulanger Chronograph. See Chronoscopes.
Boulanger Telemeter. See Range Finders.
Boulevard (Fr.). An ancient bastion, bulwark, or rampart.
Boulogne. A seaport in Picardy, Northern France; was taken by the British under Henry VIII., September 14, 1544, but restored at the peace, 1550. Lord Nelson attacked this city, disabling 10 vessels and sinking 5, August 3, 1801; in another attempt he was repulsed with great loss. In 1804, Bonaparte assembled 160,000 men and 10,000 horses, and a flotilla of 1300 vessels and 17,000 sailors, to invade England; it is supposed that this French armament served merely for a demonstration, and that Bonaparte never seriously intended the invasion. Sir Sidney Smith unsuccessfully attempted to burn the flotilla with fire-machines called catamarans, October 2, 1804. Congreve rockets were used in another attack, and they set the town on fire, October 8, 1806. The army was removed on the breaking