Crenelle, or Crenel. A term used sometimes to denote a battlement, but more frequently an embrasure in a battlement. The adjective crenellated is employed to signify that a building is supplied with crenelles.
Crépy. A town of France, department of the Oise; it was captured and sacked by the English in 1339; by the Duke of Lancaster in 1373; occupied by the Burgundians in 1418; by Pothon and Xaintrailles in 1419; it was besieged by the Duke of Burgundy in 1420; taken by the English and their allies in 1431; by Charles VII. in 1433; by the Duc de Mayenne in 1588.
Crépy en Laonois. A town of France, department of Aisne. It was sacked by the English in 1339 and 1373, and taken by the Burgundians in 1418 and 1420. A treaty of peace was concluded here between Spain and France, September 18, 1544.
Crescent. The figure or likeness of the new moon borne in the Turkish flag or national standard; also the standard itself.
Crescent. The name of three orders of knighthood; the first instituted by Charles I., king of Naples and Sicily, in 1268; the second by René of Anjou, in 1448; and the third by the sultan Selim, in 1801. Of these the last is still in existence, and is remarkable for the fact that none but Christians are eligible. See Crescent, Turkish Order of.
Crescent. In heraldry, is used both as a bearing or charge, and as a difference or mark of cadency. In the latter case it designates the second son, and those that descend from him.
Crescent, Turkish Order of the. In 1799, after the battle of Aboukir, the sultan Selim III. testified his gratitude to Nelson by sending him a crescent richly adorned with diamonds. Selim was flattered by the value which the English admiral seemed to attach to this gift, and it was this circumstance which determined him, in 1801, to found the order of the Crescent, which is only conferred on Christians who have done service to the state. The second person on whom it was conferred was Gen. Sebastiani, for his defense of Constantinople against the English fleet in 1807.
Cressit. A small crease or dagger.
Crest. Signifies the line which marks the top of a parapet. It is sometimes called the interior crest. The exterior, or sub-crest, is the line marking the meeting of the exterior and superior slopes.
Crest. In feudal times was the distinctive ornament of the helmet; hence the term is frequently applied to the helmet itself. In heraldry the crest is shown as an appendage to the shield, placed over it, and usually borne upon a wreath. It is generally either some portion of the coat-armor, or a device commemorative of some incident in the history of a family, and often contains an allusion to the office of the bearer.
Crete. In fortification, implies the earth thrown out of the ditch in a fortification, trench, etc. The most elevated part of a parapet or glacis.
Crete. See Candia.
Crevant-sur-Yonne. In Northern France; besieged by John Stuart, earl of Buchan, with a French army, July, 1423, and relieved by the Earl of Salisbury with an army of English and Burgundians; after a severe contest the French were totally defeated.
Creveldt. Near Cleves, Western Prussia. Here, on June 23, 1758, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick defeated the French under the Count of Clermont.
Crimea. A peninsula of Southern Russia, formed by the Sea of Azof and the Black Sea. It was the Taurica Chersonesus of the ancient Greeks, by whom it was colonized about 550 B.C. Here was founded the kingdom of Bosporus, which formed part of the dominions of Mithridates, king of Pontus, whose descendants continued to rule the country under Roman protection until the irruption of the Goths, Huns, etc., 258 A.D. It fell into the hands of the Mongols in the 13th century, was subjected to the Ottoman yoke in 1475, and was ceded to Russia in 1783. War having been declared against Russia by England and France, March 28, 1854, an expedition against the Crimea was determined on. Accordingly, the allied British, French, and Turkish forces, amounting to 58,000 men, commanded by Lord Raglan and Marshal St. Arnaud, sailed from Varna September 3, and landed on the 14th, 15th, and 16th without opposition at Old Fort, near Eupatoria, about 30 miles from Sebastopol. On the 20th they attacked the Russians (40,000 to 50,000 strong), who were intrenched on the heights of Alma, supposed to be unassailable. After a sharp contest the Russians were totally routed. It was the scene of several other engagements during the continuance of the war, until the proclamation of peace in April, 1856. The allies quitted the Crimea July 12, following.
Crimes, Capital. See Appendix, Articles of War, 21, 22, 23, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 56, 57, 105, and Section 1343.
Crimes, Military. See Appendix, Articles of War.
Crimisus. A river in Sicily, near which Timoleon defeated the Carthaginians, 339 B.C.
Crimping-houses. Houses in which persons were entrapped into the army; hence the name of “crimp sergeant.” In a riot in London some of these receptacles were destroyed by the populace, in consequence of a young man who had been enticed into one being killed in endeavoring to escape, September 16, 1794.
Criques (Fr.). Small ditches which are made in different parts of a ground for the purpose of inundating a country, in order to obstruct the approaches of an enemy.
Croatia. A province of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. This region was anciently inhabited by the Pannonians, who were conquered by the Romans in the reign of Augustus. It was conquered by Coloman, king of Hungary, in 1102, and was with that country united to Austria in 1526.
Croats. In military history, light irregular troops were so called; generally people of Croatia. They were ordered upon all desperate services, and their method of fighting was the same as the Pandours.
Crochert. A hagbut or hand-cannon, anciently in use.
Cronstadt. A seaport and fortress of Russia, about 20 miles west from St. Petersburg. It was founded by Peter the Great in 1710, the island having been taken from the Swedes by him in 1703. A Swedish fleet was defeated here by the Russians in 1790, and in 1855 an English fleet, commanded by Sir Charles Napier, proceeded to the Baltic, with the view of taking this place or destroying its fortifications; but either from the inadequacy of the means placed at his disposal, or from the great strength of the forts, no attempt was made upon them.
Cropedy Bridge. Near Banbury, Oxfordshire, England. Here the royalists defeated Sir William Waller and the army of Parliament, June 29, 1644.
Cross-belts. Belts worn over both shoulders, and crossing the breast.
Cross-bow. A weapon formerly used in discharging arrows, formed by placing a bow crosswise on a stock.
Crossen. A town of the Prussian province of Brandenburg. In 1758 this place was taken by the Russians.
Cross-fire. The crossing of lines of fire from two or more points or places.
Cross, Victoria. See Victoria Cross.
Crotchet. In fortification, an indentation in the glacis of the covered way at a point where a traverse is placed.
Crotchet. The arrangement of a body of troops, either forward or rearward, so as to form a line nearly perpendicular to the general line of battle.
Croton, or Crotona. One of the most celebrated