Castel Fidardo. Near Ancona, Central Italy. Near here Gen. Lamoricière and the papal army of 11,000 men were totally defeated by the Sardinian general Cialdini, September 18, 1860. Lamoricière with a few horsemen fled to Ancona, then besieged; on September 29 he and the garrison surrendered.
Castellan. A governor or constable of a castle.
Castellated. Adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle.
Castellation. The act of fortifying a house and rendering it a castle. Now obsolete.
Castelnaudary. A town of France, department of Aude. It suffered greatly in the wars of the Middle Ages, and under its walls the Duke of Montmorency was made prisoner by the royal troops in 1632.
Castiglione. A fortified town of Lombardy, 22 miles northwest from Mantua. Here, in 1796, the French under Augereau gained a decisive victory over the Austrians. The French commander was afterwards made, on account of this battle, Duc de Castiglione. In 1859 the battle of Solferino also occurred in its neighborhood.
Castillejos. In Northern Africa; here, in January, 1860, was fought the first decisive action of the war between Spain and Morocco. Gen. Prim, after a vigorous resistance, repulsed the Moors under Muley Abbas, and advanced towards Tetuan.
Castillon. A town of France, in the department of Gironde. It is celebrated as the scene of the battle between the forces of Henry VI. of England and Charles VII. of France, in July, 1453, in which the English met with a signal defeat, their leader, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and his son being slain.
Casting. The rejection of horses deemed unfit for further cavalry use.
Casting Cannon. See Ordnance, Construction of.
Cast Iron. See Ordnance, Metals for.
Castle. A name given to a building constructed as a dwelling, as well as for the purpose of repelling attack. The name is especially given to buildings of this kind constructed in Europe in the Middle Ages, and which were generally surrounded by a moat, foss, or ditch.
Castlebar. A town of Ireland. French troops under Humbert landed at Killala, and, assisted by Irish insurgents here, compelled the king’s troops under Lake to retreat, August 27, 1798; but were compelled to surrender at Ballinamuck.
Castlecomer. A town of Ireland; in the rebellion of 1798 this town was attacked by the rebels, and nearly destroyed by fire.
Castle-guard. The guard which defends a castle.
Castles. In heraldry, castles are often given as charges in the shields of persons who have reduced them, or been the first to mount their walls in an assault.
Cast-metal Gun. See Ordnance, Cast-metal Cannon.
Castrametation. Is the art of laying out camps, and of placing the troops so that the different arms of the service shall afford support to each other in the best manner.
Cast Steel. See Ordnance, Metals for.
Casualties. In the military service, is a word which includes all losses in numerical strength of officers by death, dismissal, or resignation, and of enlisted men by death, desertion, or discharge; also all losses in fighting strength caused by wounds.
Casus Belli. A Latin phrase used with reference to any event, or complication between sovereign powers, which gives rise to a declaration of war.
Catafalco. In ancient military architecture, a scaffold of timber, decorated with sculpture, paintings, etc., for supporting the coffin of a deceased hero during the funeral solemnity.
Catalans. The inhabitants of Catalonia, Spain. Their language, costume, and habits are quite distinct from those of the rest of their countrymen. In energy, industry, and intelligence they greatly surpass the rest of the Spaniards. They were considered brave warriors.
Catalaunian Plain. The ancient name of the wide plain surrounding Châlons-sur-Marne, in the old province of Campagne, France, celebrated as the field of battle where the West Goths, and the forces under the Roman general Aetius, gained a great victory over Attila in 451. A wild tradition tells that three days after the great fight, the ghosts of the fallen myriads appeared on the plain, and renewed the conflict.
Catalonia. An old province of Western Spain, was settled by the Goths and Alani about 409; conquered by the Saracens, 712; recovered by Pepin and Charlemagne; united with Aragon in 1137. It formed part of the Spanish marches and the territory of the Count of Barcelona.
Catania (anc. Catana). A town near Mount Etna, Sicily. The ancient city was founded by the Phœnicians or Greeks, and was nearly as old as Rome. It was taken by the Athenian general Nicias about 413 B.C., and was an important city under the Romans. In August, 1802, the town was held by Garibaldi and his volunteers, in opposition to the Italian government. He was captured on August 29.
Cataphract. The old Roman term for a horseman in complete armor.
Cataphracta. In the ancient military art, a piece of heavy defensive armor, formed of cloth or leather, fortified with iron scales or links, wherewith sometimes only the breast, sometimes the whole body, and sometimes the horse too, was covered.
Catapult (Lat. catapulta). An engine of war used by the ancients, somewhat resembling a cross-bow. In the catapult a string or rope, suddenly freed from great tension, gave a powerful impulse to an arrow placed in a groove. There were great catapults, fixed upon a scaffold with wheels, which were used in sieges, and small ones, carried in the hand, which were employed in the field.
Cataract. A portcullis.
Catawba Indians. A tribe of aborigines who formerly inhabited the Carolinas. A remnant still exists on a reservation on the Catawba River. See Indians and their Agencies.
Cateau Cambresis. In Northern France, where on April 2 and 3, 1559, peace was concluded between Henry II. of France, Philip II. of Spain, and Elizabeth of England. France ceded Savoy, Corsica, and nearly 200 forts in Italy and the Low Countries to Philip.
Caterva. In ancient military writings, a term used in speaking of the Gaulish or Celtiberian armies, denoting a body of 6000 armed men. The word is also used to denote a party of soldiers in disarray; in opposition to cohort or turma, which signify in good order.
Cat-o’-nine-tails. An instrument of punishment formerly used to flog offenders in the army, consisting of nine pieces of line or cord fastened to a piece of thick rope, and having three knots at intervals.
Cattaro. A fortified town of Dalmatia, Austria, at the bottom of the Gulf of Cattaro. This town was captured by the British in 1813, and till 1814 belonged successively to Austria and France.
Catti. An ancient German tribe, attacked but not subdued by the Romans; absorbed by the Franks in the 3d century.
Caudine Forks. Two narrow mountain-gorges or defiles near the town of Caudium, in ancient Samnium. They are celebrated in connection with a humiliating disaster which the Roman army suffered in 321 B.C.
Caution. An explanation given previous to the word of command, by which soldiers are called to attention, that they may execute any given movement with unanimity and correctness.
Cavalcade. In military history, implies a pompous procession of horsemen, equipages, etc., by way of parade, to grace a triumph, public entry, or the like.
Cavalier. Originally meant any horse-soldier, but in English history is the name given to the party which adhered to King Charles I., in opposition to the Roundheads, or friends of the Parliament.