Part 339

OPPUGN, To oppugn, is to attack by force of arms.

ORANGE. A term applied to those persons who adhered to the Stadtholder. Hence, orange party. The troops of the prince of orange were taken into British pay in Sept. 1799.

ORANGE MEN. A title assumed by the members of certain clubs instituted by the British government in Ireland; when the Irish or united Irishmen meditated to rescue their country, in 1796, from British dominion, the orange men were sworn to extirpate the catholics wherever found; and their atrocities surpassed the cruelties of the British in India, and the Spanish in South America.

ORB, in tactics, is the disposing of a number of soldiers in circular form of defence. The orb has been thought of consequence enough to employ the attention of the famous marshal de Puysegur, in his Art of war, who prefers this position, to throw a body of infantry in an open country, to resist cavalry, or even a superior force of infantry; because it is regular, and equally strong, and gives an enemy no reason to expect better success by attacking one place than another. Cæsar drew up his whole army in this form when he fought against Labienus. The whole army of the Gauls were formed into an orb, under the command of Sabinus and Cotta, when fighting against the Romans. The orb was generally formed six deep.

ORDER. The arrangement or disposition of things in their proper place; custom or manner, rule or discipline, as order of march, &c.

ORDER of battle. The arrangement or disposition of the different component parts of an army in one or more lines, according to the nature of the ground, for the purpose of engaging an enemy, by giving or receiving an attack, or in order to be reviewed, &c.

Parade ORDER. When a regiment of horse or foot, a troop, or company is drawn up with the ranks open and the officers in front, it is said to be in parade order.

Close ORDER. When a battalion or company is commanded to take close order, at the word march, the ranks (supposing the men to stand three deep) close within one pace, marching one and two paces and then haulting. So that close order in ranks comprehends an interval of one pace between each.

Open ORDER. When a battalion or company is commanded to take open order, on the word march, the dressers front, and the centre and rear ranks fall back one and two paces, each dressing by the right the instant it arrives on the ground. So that open order comprehends an interval of two paces between each rank.

Extended ORDER, is preparatory to rank entire, and is frequently practised in light infantry manœuvres. In order to execute this movement the files of a battalion or company, standing two deep, open from the given point, leaving just space enough for one man. Sometimes, and indeed almost always, when the ground will permit, extended order is taken by facing the battalion or company to the right or left, and by marching to either flank until the whole has gradually doubled its original front. This mode is extremely simple, and consists in nothing more than open order of files from the right or left. The battalion or company after it has obtained all its relative distances, and been halted, is fronted, and each rear rank man springs into the vacancy on the word of command--Form rank entire.

Entire, when applied to rank, means a straight line composed of half files. See RANK ENTIRE.

Extended order may likewise be taken, without facing to the right or left. This is effected by every file moving sideways a given distance; say one pace, or twenty four inches, which extent of ground a man generally covers, from the centre file. The word of command in this case would be, battalion or company, mark time, from the centre by the side step to the right and left. The centre file stands fast--march--halt.

ORDER Arms, a word of command, on which the soldier brings the butt of his musquet to the ground, the barrel being held perpendicular in a line with the right side.

ORDERS, in a military sense, all that is lawfully commanded by superior officers. Orders are given out every day, whether in camp, garrison, or on a march, by the commanding officer; which orders are afterwards given to every officer in writing by their respective serjeants.

Commander in chief’s ORDERS. Such orders as issue directly from the commander in chief’s office for the government of the army at large, or for any specific purpose. These orders are sanctioned by the king, and are irrevocable elsewhere.

General ORDERS, are such as are issued out by the general who commands, who gives them in writing to the adjutant general, who first sends exact copies to the general officers of the day, and distributes them at his own quarters to all the brigade majors, who daily go to head quarters for that purpose: where they write down every thing that is dictated to them; from thence they go and give the orders, at the place appointed for that purpose, to the different majors or adjutants of the regiments which compose that brigade, who first read them to their colonels and lieutenant colonels, or majors, and then dictate them to the serjeants of companies (this is more frequently done by the serjeant major) who write them correctly down in their respective orderly books, and bring them to all the officers belonging to the company.

Garrison ORDERS, such orders and instructions as are given by the governor or commanding officer of a town or fortified place.

Brigade ORDERS, orders which are issued by the generals commanding, through the brigade majors, to the several adju- corps that do duty together, or are brigaded.

Regimental ORDERS, such orders and instructions as grow out of general or garrison orders, or proceed immediately from the commanding officer of a regiment.

Standing ORDERS, certain general rules and instructions which are to be invariably followed, and are not subject to the temporary intervention of rank; of this description are those orders which the colonel of a regiment may judge fit to have inserted in the orderly books, and which cannot be altered by the next in command without the colonel’s concurrence.

Sailing ORDERS, final instructions which are given to ships of war, and the commander in chief.

Beating ORDER, an authority given to an individual empowering him to raise men, by beat of drum, for any particular regiment, or for general service. It consists of a warrant which is signed by the secretary at war, or issued in his name, by the adjutant general, or adjutant and inspector of the army.

Military ORDERS, are companies of knights, instituted by kings and princes; either for defence of the faith, or to confer marks of honor on their military subjects. They are as follow:

ORDER of the Bear, a military order in Switzerland, erected by the emperor Frederic II. in 1213, by way of acknowlegement for the service the Swiss had done him, and in favor of the abbey of St. Gall. To the collar of the order hung a medal, on which was represented a bear, raised on an eminence of earth.

Amaranth, an order of military knighthood, instituted in Sweden, by queen Christina, in 1645, at the close of an annual feast, celebrated in that country, and called wirtschaft. Their device was the cypher of amarante, composed of two A’s, the one erect, the other inverted, and interwoven together; the whole inclosed by a laurel crown, with this motto, Dolce nella memoria.

Argonauts of St. Nicolas, was the name of a military order, instituted by Charles III. king of Naples, in the year 1382, for the advancement of navigation, or as some authors say, merely for preserving amity among the nobles. They wore a collar of shells, inclosed in a silver crescent, whence hung a ship with this device, Non credo tempori.

ORDER of Calatrava, a Spanish military order. It was instituted in 1130 by don Santio, of Toledo. The habit of these knights is a black garment, with a red cross upon the breast.

ORDER of Alcantara, a Spanish military order. It was established by Ferdinand the second, king of Leon and Castile, in 1170. They wore a green cross upon their garment.