Part 235

As the principal, indeed the only object which the lieutenant-general can have, is to prevent any assistance being given to the garrison, whilst he invests the place, he must always be on horseback; he must incessantly visit the different posts, thoroughly reconnoitre the country, and minutely examine those quarters, through which succours or supplies might be conveyed to the garrison, or which offer advantageous positions for his own troops to occupy. During the investment of the town, it will be his duty to collect all the intelligence and information he can, respecting the state of the works and the adjacent points, in order to communicate fully with the general in chief, when he brings up the besieging army, and to put him in full possession of every thing, which may facilitate the object of his enterprize.

The chief engineers should always accompany the lieutenant-general who is entrusted with the investing of a town, in order to get the necessary knowlege of the place before hand, and to understand how the lines of circumvallation, &c. should be drawn, three or four days before the main army arrives; they should moreover make several rounds for the purpose of reconnoitring. These measures will conduce a great deal towards a wise and effectual method of investing the place. To accomplish these ends, a correct plan of the town must be procured. This plan must be reduced, and a rough sketch taken of every thing within half a league of the circumference of the town; after which a small chart may be drawn of the lines, &c. which are to be made for the purpose of carrying on the siege. This must be done in concert with the lieutenant-general who ought to know better than any body, what the order of battle will be, how much ground is to be occupied by the different brigades and regiments and what the relative detail of the whole army will require.

From the day on which a town is invested, every thing is thrown into motion. The train of artillery is directed to be brought out with necessary stores and ammunition, and proper carriages, with their drivers, are impressed; every department, in a word, performs its allotted duty, and the board of ordnance, as well as the commissary general’s office become subservient to the orders that are issued by the general in chief.

Whilst the necessary measures are adopted for the close investing of the town, the main army approaches by forced marches, and generally arrives before the place five or six days after it has been invested. The lieutenant-general, or officer commanding the investing army goes out to meet the main body when it is within half a league of the place, and communicates with the general; who, in consequence of the report he makes, gives directions respecting the lines of circumvallation, &c.

For further particulars on this article, see Traité de l’Attaque des Places par le Marechal Vauban revue, &c. F. P. Foissac Chef de brigade au corps du Génie de la Republique Francaise, vol. i. page 69.

INVESTISSEMENT. (A French word which is strictly military. The celebrated Vauban has erroneously used investiture to signify the same thing.) The act of investing any town or place in such a manner as to prevent the garrison or inhabitants from receiving succours or provisions.

To INUNDATE, in a military sense, is to overflow any part of a country, in order to prevent an enemy from advancing. Holland is particularly calculated for this species of defence.

INUNDATION. The act of letting water into a country, so that it shall be overflowed to prevent the approach of an enemy.

In the Instruction adressée aux officiers d’Infanterie pour tracer et construire toutes sortes d’Ouvrages de Campagne, &c. par A. P. I. Belair, Chef de Brigade, may be found some very sensible observations on the means of making inundations to answer military purposes, see page 119, &c. Chapitre Huitieme, Moyens de faire des Inondations. We likewise refer our military readers to the Elemens de Fortification, published by the same author, see pages, 75, 82, 83, and 84. In page 294 of his Dictionnaire Militaire, some excellent observations upon the same subject, may be seen under the article Architecture hydraulique.

JOAR, Ind. A general massacre of the women and children, which is sometimes performed by the Hindoos, when they find they cannot prevent the enemy from taking the town. When this dreadful and unnatural ceremony is to take place, a spot is selected, which is filled with wood, straw, oil, &c., the victims are enclosed, and the whole is set on fire.

To JOIN. A technical word used in the British service, generally signifying to effect the junction of one military body with another. In a more limited sense, it means the accession of an individual voluntarily, or otherwise, to a corps or army. If an officer on being ordered to join, omits to do so wilfully, he is liable to be tried by a general court-martial, or to be peremptorily suspended by the commander in chief for being absent without leave.

JOINT Bolts. See BOLTS.

JOLS, Fr. Barges so called, are used in Denmark, and sometimes by the Russians.

JONCTION, Fr. See JUNCTION.

JOODAY PERRAPUT, Ind. A term used in India to signify a slave taken in war.

JOOMAN, Ind. Friday so called in India.

JOUE! Fr. A word of command in the French service answering to aim!

Coucher en JOUE, Fr. To aim with a musquet, or other fire-arm, which is used as such--as je l’avois dêjà couché en joue, I had already taken my aim at him.

JOVES, Fr. The two sides in the epaulement of a battery which form the embrazure are so called.

JOUR, Fr. The tour of duty which is done in the course of a day and night.

Etre de JOUR, Fr. To be officer of the day, or to command a body of troops at a siege or otherwise in the capacity of a general officer, &c. The usual time was 24 hours, at the expiration of which another officer undertook the duty, and was relieved by one of his own rank. See OFFICER of the day.

Ordre du JOUR, Fr. Orders. See General ORDERS.

JOURNAL, Fr. A public record or general orderly book, kept in the French service, and in which every transaction that occurred during a siege is entered by the governor of the town, for the future inspection of a superior authority. The general officer who carried on the siege of a place likewise kept a document of the sort, and minuted down every thing that happened under his command. So that the journal which was kept in this manner was a circumstantial detail of what occurred, day after day, during the attack and defence of a town.

JOURNAL de l’armée, Fr. See RETURNS.

JOURNEE, Fr. A term used among the French, to express any particular engagement or battle, as la journée de Marengo, the battle of Marengo. We frequently adopt the word day in the same sense: thus a hard fought day signifies a hard fought battle.

JOUTE, Fr. A close fight between two individuals. It likewise means an engagement at sea.

JOUTER, faire des joutes, Fr. To run a tilt at one another with lances.

JOUST. See JUST.