Part 367

To PITCH, (asseoir, Fr.)

To PITCH a camp, (asseoir un camp, Fr.) to take a position, and to encamp troops upon it according to the principles of castrametation. See Am. Mil. Lib.

To PITCH a tent, to place a certain regulated quantity of canvas upon poles, so as to afford a temporary cover, against the inclemencies of the weather for one or more, officers or private soldiers. In order that the men may become expert in pitching and striking tents, they ought to be practised whilst in camp to do either.

PITCHANDAH, Ind. a fortified pagoda on the north bank of the Coleroon, one mile east of Seringham.

PITONS, Fr. nails with round eyes. They likewise signify pins with iron rings.

PITONS d’affut, Fr. iron pins which are used to keep the plate-bands of the carriage of a cannon tight and compact.

PIVOT, (Pivot, Fr.) in a military sense, that officer, serjeant, corporal, or soldier, upon whom the different wheelings are made in military evolutions. There are two sorts of pivots distinguished according to the position of the troops who are governed by them, viz. standing pivot and moveable pivot. When a battalion, for instance, stands in open column of companies, the right in front, the last man upon the left of the front rank of each company, is called the inner, or standing pivot; and the first man upon the right ditto, is called the outer pivot, or wheeling flank. So much depends upon the accurate position of the different pivots, that no movement can be thoroughly correct unless the most scrupulous attention be paid to them. Officers, in particular, ought to recollect that when they are posted upon the flanks, they become essentially necessary to the preservation of that perpendicular and parallelism of a march, without which direction the best digested manœuvres must be ultimately rendered useless. They must constantly bear in mind, that it belongs to the mounted field officers to watch the aggregate, and that they themselves, being incorporated parts of the different divisions, are to move successively forward, with no other object in view than the perpendicular point before them. For if they once turn to the right or left, or become anxious about the movements of others, instead of being the means of insensibly correcting any errors that might casually occur, they will deviate themselves, and at every step increase the irregularity. On this account, the instant an officer has wheeled his division, he must resume his perpendicular position, look stedfastly on his leading pivot, preserve his relative distance, and keep his person perfectly square. He ought likewise to be particularly correct in stepping off when the wheel is completed.

Moveable PIVOT, one which during the wheel of its division advances in a circular direction, instead of turning on the spot where it originally stood. Thus when divisions, &c. are successively wheeled, without being first halted, the pivot upon which they wheel is said to be moveable.

In the drill, single ranks are frequently wheeled on a moveable pivot. In which case, both flanks are moveable, and describe concentring circles round a point which is a few paces from what would otherwise be the standing flank; and eyes are all turned towards the outer pivot or flank man, whether he is on the outward flank, or on the flank wheeled to.

PIVOT-Flanks, the flanks upon which a line is formed from column. When the right of the battalion is in front, the pivot flanks are on the left of its several companies, platoons, &c. and vice versâ, when the left is in front.

PIVOT-flank officer, the officer who is on the first flank. In all wheelings during the march in column the officer on that flank upon which the wheel is made must attend himself to the correctness of the pivot.

Platoon PIVOTS, the men upon whom a battalion marches in column of platoons, is wheeled up into line, or into column, when the line has been formed according to a given front.

It is in the modern improved tactics determined that commissioned officers shall not themselves be the pivots, but that they shall consist of the non-commissioned officers, or rank and file on each flank only; and not the officers on those flanks; but the officers are strictly required to see that the pivots perform their duty correctly, and are responsible for it.

PLACAGE, Fr.. in fortification, a kind of revetement, which is made of thick plastic earth, laid along the talus of such parapets as have no mason-work, and which is covered with turf.

PLACARD, PLACART, or, as it is in the original Dutch language Placaat, a term used abroad for a proclamation, edict, &c. put up in all public places, by government authority; whereby their subjects are ordered to do, or forbear, something expressed therein. See MANIFESTO.

PLACARD, Fr. any bill, or public paper, that is posted up; same as Bulletin. It likewise means a libel.

PLACARDER, Fr. to post up, to libel.

PLACE, emplacement, Fr. any spot or scite which suits the plans of an architect to build upon.

PLACE, in fortification, signifies, in general terms, a fortified town, a fortress: hence we say it is a strong place. See Pocket Encyclopedia, vol. V. PLACE.

PLACE of arms, (Place d’armes, Fr.) This term has various significations, although it uniformly means a place which is calculated for the rendezvous of men in arms, &c.

1st. When an army takes the field, every strong hold or fortress which supports its operations by affording a safe retreat to its depots, heavy artillery, magazines, hospitals, &c. is called a place of arms.

2dly. In offensive fortification, those lines are called places of arms, or parallels, which unite the different means of attack, secure the regular approaches, &c. and contain bodies of troops who either do duty in the trenches, protect the workmen, or are destined to make an impression upon the enemy’s outworks.

There are demi-places of arms between the places of arms. These are more or less numerous in proportion to the resistance made by the besieged.

PLACES of arms belonging to the covert-way. These are divided into two sorts, viz. saliant and rentrant places of arms. There are likewise places of arms composed of traverses, which are practised or made in the dry ditches of military towns, in a perpendicular direction to the faces of the half-moons and the tenaillons.

PLACE of arms in a town, a place left near its centre, where generally the grand guard is placed. In towns regularly fortified, the place of arms should be in the centre. In this place the soldiers of the garrison parade, form, and mount guard, &c.

PLACE of arms of an attack, or of a trench, are deep trenches 15 or 18 feet wide, joining the several attacks together: they serve for a rendezvous and station to the guard of the trenches, to be at hand to support the workmen when attacked. It is customary to make 3 places of arms, when the ground will permit: the first, and most distant from the place, is about 300 toises, or 600 yards, from the glacis of the covert-way; the second is within 140 toises, or 280 yards; and the third at the foot or the glacis. See PARALLELS.

PLACE of arms of a camp, was, strictly speaking, the bell-tents, at the head of each company, where the arms were formerly lodged; likewise a place chosen at the head of the camp for the army to form in line of battle, for a review, or the like.

PLACE of arms of the covert-way, is a part of it, opposite to the re-entering angle of the counterscarp, projecting outwards in an angle.