Part 17

ARRAY, order of battle. See BATTLE-ARRAY.

ARRAYERS, officers who anciently had the charge of seeing the soldiers duly appointed in their armor.

ARREARS, in the army, were the difference between the full pay and subsistence of each officer, which was directed to be paid once a year by the agent. See PAY.

ARREST, a French phrase, similar in its import to the Latin word retinaculum. It consists of a small piece of steel or iron, which was formerly used in the construction of fire-arms, to prevent the piece from going off. Ce pistolet est en arret is a familiar phrase among military men in France. This pistol is in arrest, or is stopped.

ARREST, is the exercise of that part of military jurisdiction, by which an officer is noticed for misconduct, or put into a situation to prepare for his trial by a general court-martial.

ARRESTE of the glacis, is the junction of the talus which is formed at all the angles.

ARRIERE, Fr. the rear.

ARRIERE Ban, Fr. See BAN.

ARRIERE-garde, Fr. the rear-guard.

En ARRIERE--marche! Fr. to the rear--march!

ARROW, a missive weapon of offence, slender and pointed, made to be shot with a bow.

ARROW. See FORTIFICATION.

ARSENAL, is a large and spacious building, or number of buildings, in which are deposited all kinds of arms, and other warlike implements; such as cannon, mortars, howitzers, small arms, and every other kind of warlike engines and instruments of death.

ART. Military art may be divided into two principal branches. The first branch relates to the order and arrangement which must be observed in the management of an army, when it is to fight, to march, or to be encamped. This branch is called tactics, and derives its appellation from tactic, which signifies order.

The same appellation belongs to the other branch of military art, and includes the composition and the application of warlike machines.

ARTICLES OF WAR, are known rules and regulations for the better government of an army. The articles of war of the United States underwent an alteration in 1806, and are of date 10th April of that year; they consist of 103 articles; all that relates to the army not comprehended therein, are published in general orders or in established regulations, issued from time to time from the War Department, or by the commanding officer of the army, copies of which are delivered to the officers of the army. In England they may be altered and enlarged at the pleasure of their king. And in certain cases extend to civilians--as when by proclamation any place shall be put under martial law; or when people follow a camp or army for the sale of merchandize, or serve in any civil capacity. It is ordained, that the articles of war shall be read in the circle of each regiment or company mustered once every month, or oftener if the commanding officer thinks proper. A recruit or soldier is not liable to be tried by a military tribunal, unless it can be proved that the articles of war have been duly read to him.

ARTIFICE, among the French, is understood as comprehending every thing which enters the composition of fire works; as the sulphur, salt-petre, charcoal, &c. See FIRE WORKS.

ARTIFICER or ARTIFICIER, he who makes fire works, or works in the artillery laboratory, who prepares the fuses, bombs, grenades, &c. It is also applied to the military smiths, collar-makers, &c. and to a particular corps in an army.

ARTILLERY, in a general sense, signifies all sorts of great guns or cannon, mortars, howitzers, petards, and the like; together with all the apparatus and stores thereto belonging, which are not only taken into the field, but likewise to sieges, and made use of both to attack and defend fortified places. See ORDNANCE.

ARTILLERY, in a particular sense, signifies the science of artillery or gunnery, which art includes a knowledge of surveying, levelling, geometry, trigonometry, conic sections, laws of motion, mechanics, fortification, and projectiles.

The Train of ARTILLERY consists of an unlimited number of pieces of ordnance; such as 24 pounders, 18 pounders, 12, 9, 6, 4, and 3 pounders; mortars from 13 to 8 inches diameter; besides royals and cohorns; howitzers of every denomination, mounted on their proper carriages and beds, &c. There is moreover attached to the train a sufficient quantity of horses, spare carriages, spare mortar-beds, block-carriages, limbers, waggons for ammunition and stores, shells, round and grape shot, bullets, powder, cartridges, port-fires, intrenching-tools, artificers tools, miners tools, gins, capstans, forges, small stores, laboratory-stores, pontoons, pontoon-carriages, with their requisites; tumbrels, aprons of lead, budge-barrels, chevaux de frize, pallisades, platforms, chandeliers, blinds, prolonges, drag-ropes, flints, harness, powder-measures, fuze-engines, fuzes, tents, &c. The train of artillery is, or should be, divided into brigades, to which belong not only the officers of the regiments of artillery, but even the civil-list, such as comptrollers, commissaries of stores, clerks of stores, artificers of all denominations, conductors, store-keepers, waggon-masters, drivers, &c. The increase of artillery clearly demonstrates its great utility; for in the year 1500, an army of 50,000 men had only 40 pieces of cannon in the field; and in the year 1517, the same number of troops brought 200 pieces into the field, including mortars and howitzers.

At the battle of Jemappe, which was fought between the French and Austrians on the 6th of November, 1792, the latter had 120 pieces of cannon disposed along the heights of Framery, whilst their effective force in men did not exceed 28,000. The French on this occasion brought nearly the same quantity of ordnance, some indeed of extraordinary calibre, but their strength in men was above 40,000, and composed of young men who had never seen service, nor had any more than a few days discipline.

A Brigade of ARTILLERY generally consists of 8 or 10 pieces of cannon, with all the machinery, and officers to conduct them, and all the necessary apparatus thereto belonging.

The Park of ARTILLERY is that place appointed by the general of an army, to encamp the train of artillery, apparatus, ammunition, as well as the battalions of the artillery, appointed for its service and defence. The figure of the park of artillery, is that of a parallelogram, unless the situation of the ground renders another necessary.

The park of artillery is generally placed in the centre of the second line of encampment, and sometimes in the rear line, or corps of reserve. In both places the muzzles of the guns are in a line with the fronts of the serjeants tents of the regiments of artillery and infantry. Some generals choose to place the park about 300 paces before the centre of the front line of the army. But let the situation be where it will, the manner of forming the park is almost every where the same, except that some artillery officers differ in the disposition of the carriages; others again divide the equipage as well as the guns into brigades, placing the first in the front line, the second in the next, and so on. However the most approved method, is to divide the whole into brigades, placing the guns of the first to the right of the front line, and their ammunition behind them, in one or more lines. The different brigades should be all numbered, as well as every waggon belonging to them. Example, 1st brigade, front line, No 1, 2, &c. 1st brigade, 2d line, No. 1, 2, &c. 2d brigade, front line, No. 1, 2, &c. and so of all the rest. This method prevents confusion in the forming and breaking up of the park, as also on a march: besides, according to the numbers, the stores therein contained are known.

ARTILLERY--The proportion of artillery and ammunition necessary to accompany an army in the field, to lay siege to a fortified place, or to defend one, must depend upon so many circumstances, that it is almost impossible, in a work of this kind, to lay down any positive rules as guides on the subject: the following principles are drawn from the best authorities:

1st. ARTILLERY for the Field.

FIELD Artillery is divided into Battalion Guns, Artillery of the Park, and Horse Artillery.