Part 120

EMPRIZE. See EXPEDITION.

EMULATION, in a military sense, is a noble jealousy, without the slightest tincture of envy, whereby gentlemen endeavor to surpass each other in the acquisition of military knowlege. Is not the want of encouragement to excite emulation, the great cause of misconduct among military men? An officer who is not protected, who is never sure of the least favor, neglects himself, and takes less trouble to acquire glory, rarely heard of, though merited by the bravest actions, than to enjoy the tranquillity of an ordinary reputation. Brave actions, by whomsoever accomplished, should never be buried in oblivion, as they excite to emulation, and are full of instruction.

ENAMBUSH. See AMBUSH.

ENCAMPMENT, the pitching of a camp. See CAMP.

In the regulations published by authority, are particularly enjoined the following:

Attentions relative to ENCAMPMENTS. On the arrival of a brigade, or a battalion, on the ground destined for its camp, the quarter and rear guards of the respective regiments will immediately mount; and when circumstances require them, the advanced picquets will be posted. The grand guards of cavalry will be formed, and the horses picqueted. The mens’ tents will then be pitched, and till this duty is completed, the officers are on no account to quit their troops or companies, or to employ any soldier for their own accommodation.

Necessaries are to be made in the most convenient situations, and the utmost attention is required in this, and every other particular, to the cleanliness of the camp.

If circumstances will allow the ground on which a regiment is to encamp to be previously ascertained, the pioneers should make these, and other essential conveniences, before the corps arrives at its encampment.

Whenever a regiment remains more than one night in a camp, regular kitchens are to be constructed.

No tents, or huts, are to be allowed in front of, or between the intervals of the battalions. A spot or ground for this purpose should be marked by the quarter-master, with the approbation of the commanding officer.

On arriving in a camp which is intersected by hedges, ditches, unequal or boggy ground, regiments will immediately make openings of communication, of 60 feet in width.

The ground in front of the encampment is to be cleared, and every obstacle to the movement of the artillery and troops is to be removed.

Commanding officers of regiments must take care that their communication with the nearest grand route is open, and free from any impediments.

ENCEINTE, in fortification, is the interior wall or rampart which surrounds a place, sometimes composed of bastions or curtains, either faced or lined with brick or stone, or only made of earth. The enceinte is sometimes only flanked by round or square towers, which is called a Roman wall.

ENCLOUER un canon, Fr. to spike the cannon.

ENCLOUEURE, Fr. this term is used in the artillery, to signify the actual state and condition of any thing that has been spiked.

ENCOUNTERS, in military affairs, are combats, or fights, between two persons only. Figuratively, battles or attacks by small or large armies. The marquis de Feuquieres mentions four instances of particular encounters brought on by entire armies, with a design to create a general engagement.

ENCOURAGE. See ANIMATE.

ENCROACHMENT, the advancement of the troops of one nation, on the rights or limits of another.

ENDORMI, Fr. asleep; soldat endormi, a soldier asleep on guard. See the articles of war, which direct that any centinel who is found asleep during the period of his duty, shall be punished with death.

ENDECAGON, a plain figure of 11 sides and angles.

ENEMY, in a military sense, one who is of an opposite side in war, or who publicly invades a country.

ENFANS perdus, forlorn hope, in military history, are soldiers detached from several regiments, or otherwise appointed to give the first onset in battle, or in an attack upon the counterscarp, or the breach of a place besieged; so called (by the French) because of the imminent danger they are exposed to.

ENFILADE, in fortification, is used in speaking of trenches, or other places, which may be scoured by the enemy’s shot, along their whole length. In conducting the approaches at a siege, care must be taken that the trenches be not enfiladed from any work of the place. See TRENCHES.

To ENFILADE, is to sweep the whole length of any work or line of troops, with the shot of artillery or small arms.

ENFILER, Fr. to enfilade, is to batter and sweep with cannon shot, the whole extent of a strait line.

ENGAGEMENT, Fr. See ENLISTMENT.

ENGAGEMENT. See BATTLE.