Part 341

ORDERLIES in general. It is the duty of the serjeant-majors to see that the orderlies are properly dressed and accoutred, before they are inspected by the adjutant, who parades them every morning in front of the main guard, &c. When private soldiers are chosen for orderlies in mixed duty, the credit of the corps from which they are taken requires, that they should be the best set up and the best behaved men belonging to it.

ORDERLY non-commissioned officers, are those who are orderly, or on duty for that week; who, on hearing the drum beat for orders, are to repair to the place appointed to receive them, and to take down in writing, in the orderly book, what is dictated by the adjutant or serjeant-major; they are then immediately to show those orders to the officers of the company, and afterwards warn the men for duty.

ORDERLY book. Every company has such a book in which the serjeants write down both general and regimental orders, for the specific information of the officers and men. This book is provided by the public.

ORDERLY Drum. The drummer that beats orders, and gives notice of the hour for messing, &c. is so called.

ORDINAIRE, Fr. The soldier’s messing together is so called among the French.

ORDINANCE, or ORDNANCE, a name given to all that concerns artillery, or engineering: thus, the commander in chief is called master general of the ordnance; and the next officer, lieutenant general of the ordnance, instead of artillery.

ORDNANCE. The British value of all brass ordnance is at 84l. 17s. or 371 dollars per ton, for the metal; that is, the weight of the gun, and 12lbs. per hundred weight for waste: to which is added for casting, on the total weight of metal used, 64l. or 286 dollars per ton for light pieces; 54l. or 240 dollars for medium; and 44l. 195¹⁄₂ dollars for heavy.

Iron ordnance cost 20l. or 90 dollars per ton. See also the words GUNS, MORTARS, HOWITZERS, &c.

For the proof of all kinds of ordnance, see the word PROOF.

ORDINARY TIME. This in the British service is the slowest time in marching that is permitted to be used by infantry, and consists of a pace which is 30 inches from heel to heel, and of which only 75 are to be taken in a minute. But there is a manifest absurdity in having a different length of pace; in the American service the pace in all time is 24 inches; and the ordinary time is what the British call quick time; and is in fact gay and lively, or the time of country dances.

ORDONNANCE. Fr. A warrant. This word is variously used among the French, viz.

Compagnies d’ORDONNANCE. Independent companies, or such bodies of armed men as do duty by detached companies, and are not formed into regular regiments. Of this description were the gendarmes, the light horse, and the musqueteers, under the French monarchy.

ORDONNANCES, Fr. Orderly men, whether on foot or horseback.

ORDONNANCE, Fr. The disposition or arrangement of troops for battle.

ORDRE, Fr. Parole and countersign so called.

Aller à l’ORDRE, Fr. To go for the parole or countersign.

Récevoir l’ORDRE, Fr. To receive or get the parole or countersign.

ORDRE que l’on donne à la tranchée, Fr. Parole and countersign together with specific orders, which are given out every night in the trenches.

ORDRES Militaires, Fr. Military orders.

Nouveaux ORDRES, Fr. Fresh orders.

ORDRES de mouvement. Marching orders.

ORGANIZATION of Troops. The act of putting troops into such uniform state of discipline, as may fit them to co-operate on any service.

ORGUES, thick long pieces of wood, pointed and shod with iron, clear one of another, hanging perpendicular each by a rope, over a gate of a strong place to be dropped in case of emergency.

Their disposition is such, that they stop the passage of the gate, and are preferable to horses or portcullises; because these may be either broken by a petard, or stopped, by different contrivances, in their falling down. But a petard is useless against an orgue; for if it break one or two of the pieces, others immediately fall down and fill up the vacancy.

ORGUE, (un Orgue, Fr.) A term used to express that arrangement or disposition of a certain quantity of musquet barrels in a row, which by means of a priming train of gunpowder, may be subjected to one general explosion. This machine has been found extremely serviceable in the defence of a low flank, a tenaille, or to prevent an enemy from crossing the ditch of a fortified place.

ORIENT, Fr. The east.

ORIFLAMME, Fr. The ancient banner belonging to the abbey of St. Denis, which the counts du Vexin, who possessed the perpetual advowson of the abbey, always bore in the different wars or contests that formerly prevailed between the abbot and some neighboring lords. When the Vexin country fell into the hands of the French kings, they made the oriflamme the principal banner of their armies, in honor of St. Denis, whom they chose for the patron and tutelary saint of France.

ORILLON. See FORTIFICATION.