Courtrai. A fortified town of Belgium, on the river Lys. Here Robert, count of Artois, who had defeated the Flemings in 1297, was defeated and slain by them, July 11, 1302. The conflict was named the “Battle of the Spurs,” from the number of gilt spurs collected.
Coussinet à Mousquetaire (Fr.). A bag formerly worn by a French soldier on his left side beneath the cross-belt. It hung on a hook near the butt of his musket. It likewise signifies a wedge used to support the mortar in its frame.
Coutere. A piece of armor which covered the elbow.
Coutras. In Southwestern France. Here Henry of Navarre totally defeated the Duc de Joyeuse and the Royalists, October 20, 1587.
Cover. Natural or artificial protection from the fire of the enemy, the former being afforded by hills, woods, banks, walls, etc., the latter by fortifications constructed for the purpose. To cover is, in military language, to stand exactly behind another man.
Covering. Standing exactly in front or in rear of another man or an object.
Covering-fascines. Are those made of stout picket stuff, not less than 1 inch thick, without any mixture of small brush-wood. They may be used in place of planks for the superstructure of wooden bridges; and may also be used, if no stout planks or spars are to be had, for the roofs of field powder-magazines. They may be made of the usual diameter of 9 inches. Their length will depend upon the special purpose for which they are intended. The withes should be particularly good.
Covert Way, or Covered Way. Is a road or broad path outside the fosse or moat of a fortified place, between the counterscarp and the glacis. It is usually about 30 feet wide, and sunk so far below the crest of the glacis that soldiers standing upon it cannot be seen by the besiegers; hence the name. The covert way is broad enough to allow troops to form on it, either to act defensively or make sorties; and to increase this accommodation enlarged portions, called places of arms, are made at certain spots.
Covinarii. The soldiers who fought on the covinus were so called.
Covinus. A kind of war-chariot used by the ancient Britons and Belgians.
Cowardice. See Appendix, Articles of War, 42.
Cow-boys. A band of marauders in the time of the American Revolution, consisting mostly of refugees who adhered to the British side, and who infested the so-called “neutral ground” lying between the American and British lines, plundering all those who had taken the oath of allegiance to the Continental Congress. See Skinners.
Cowpens. A village in Spartanburg Co., N. C. At this place Gen. Morgan defeated Col. Tarleton, January 17, 1781; it is said that Tarleton lost 300 men in killed and wounded, and about 500 prisoners. The American loss was also considerable.
Cracow. A city in Austrian Poland, on the left bank of the Vistula. It was taken by Charles XII. in 1702; taken and retaken several times by the Russians and other confederates. The Russians were expelled from the city March 24, 1794; but it surrendered to the Prussians June 15, the same year, and in 1795 was awarded to Austria. It was occupied by 10,000 Russians, who followed the defeated Poles, September, 1831. It was finally incorporated with the Austrian empire, November 16, 1846.
Cradle. A narrow frame-work of heavy timbers upon which heavy guns are sometimes placed, to be moved upon rollers.
Crakers. Choice soldiers were so called in the time of Henry VIII.
Crakys. An old term for great guns.
Crampets. The cramp rings of a sword scabbard.
Crampton’s Gap. A pass in the South Mountains, Frederick Co., Md. A stubborn fight of four or five hours took place here September 14, 1862, between part of Gen. McClellan’s army under command of Gen. W. B. Franklin and a portion of the Confederate army under Gen. Cobb, which was defending the pass. The Confederates were forced to retire, having suffered severe loss in killed and wounded.
Cranon. In Thessaly, Northern Greece. The Macedonians under Antipater and Craterus defeated the confederated Greeks, twice by sea, and once by land, near Cranon.
Craonne. A town of France, in the department of Aisne. Here Victor and Ney defeated the Prussians under Blücher, after a severe contest, March 7, 1814.
Crater. The pit left by the explosion of a military mine.
Cravant. See Crevant-sur-Yonne.
Crécy, or Cressy. A village in France, department of the Somme, famous for a great victory obtained over the French, under Philip of Valois, by Edward III. of England, August 26, 1346. In this battle fell the king of Bohemia, the Count of Flanders, 8 other sovereign princes, 80 bannerets, 1200 knights, 1500 gentlemen, 4000 men-at-arms, with the Duke of Alençon and the flower of the French nobility. The English army was drawn up in three lines; of which the first was commanded by Edward, prince of Wales, assisted by the Earls of Warwick and Oxford; the second led by the Earls of Arundel and Northampton; while the third, or body reserve, was posted along the summit of a hill, under the command of the king in person, attended by the Lords Mowbray, Mortimer, and others. The English loss in this battle was very small.
Crécy-sur-Serre. A town of France, department of Aisne. Its castle was taken and razed by Louis le Gros in 1115. The English took the town in 1339, 1358, and 1373; it was taken by the forces of the League in 1589; and it was burned by the Spaniards in 1662.
Creedmoor. About 10 miles east of New York, noted for its splendid rifle range, which was established in 1871.
Creek Indians. Formerly a numerous and powerful tribe dwelling in Georgia and Alabama. Their number was much reduced by the war of 1814, in which year they waged war against the United States, but were subdued by Gen. Jackson. Of the survivors most removed beyond the Mississippi, and are now settled in Indian Territory, where they are rapidly advancing in the art of civilization. For numbers, etc., see Indians and their Agencies.
Creil. A town of France, department of the Oise. It was ravaged several times by the Normans; taken by the king of Navarre in 1358; by the English in 1434; by Charles VII. in 1441; pillaged by the Calvinists in 1567, and occupied by forces of the League in 1588.
Cremaille. In field fortification, is when the inside line of the parapet is broken in such a manner as to resemble the teeth of a saw. This advantage is gained by the measure, that a greater fire can be brought to hear upon the defile than if only a simple face was opposed to it; and consequently the passage is rendered more difficult.
Crémaillère (Fr.). An indented or zigzag line of intrenchment.
Cremona. A fortified city of Northern Italy, the capital of the province of the same name. It was besieged by the Gauls in 200 B.C.; by Primus, a general of Vespasian, in 69; by Frederick Barbarossa in 1160. Prince Eugène took possession of it in 1702; it was taken by the French in 1796 and 1800.
Crenaux (Fr.). In fortification, small openings or loop-holes, made through the walls of a fortified town or place. They are extremely narrow towards the