Part 423

REPRIMAND, a slighter kind of punishment sometimes inflicted on officers and non-commissioned officers. It consists in reproving or reprimanding them at the head of their respective regiments, troop, or company, as the cases may be. A reprimand is sometimes inserted in the orderly books.

REQUISITION, (réquisition, Fr.) A term peculiarly used by the French during the course of their revolution, and applicable to most nations in its general import. It signifies the act of exacting either men or things for the public service. Hence--Denrées, marchandises mises en réquisition; necessaries of life, goods, &c. put in a state of requisition, or subject to be disposed of for the common good at a fixed price.

Jeunes gens de la REQUISITION, Fr. Young men required or called upon to serve in the army.

REQUISITIONNAIRE, Fr. A person liable to be put in a state of requisition.

RESERVE, corps de réserve, Fr. any select body of troops posted by a general out of the first line of action, to answer some specific or critical purpose, in the day of battle. The French likewise call that body a corps de réserve, which is composed of the staff of the army, and moves with the commander in chief, from whom it receives the parole or word; but in every other respect it is governed by its own general.

RESINE, Fr. Rosin.

RESOLUTION, in algebra, the solution of a problem.

RESOLUTION, (résolution, Fr.) an indispensible quality of the mind, which every general of an army should possess to its full extent. It is the advice of all wise men, leisurely to digest plans, and calmly deliberate upon them; but when once it becomes necessary to put them into execution, the person entrusted with command, should be prompt and vigorous.

RESOOM, Ind. Fees or dues.

To RESPITE, to suspend, to delay; from the French respiter.

To be RESPITED on the muster-roll, to be suspended from pay, &c. during which period all advantages of promotion, pay, &c. are stopped. It is originally derived from respite, which signifies delay, forbearance, &c. Thus in Clarendon’s history of the civil wars we read, that an act passed for the satisfaction of the officers of the king’s army, by which they were promised payment in November following; till which time they were to respite it, and be contented, that the common soldiers and inferior officers should be satisfied upon their disbanding. At present to respite means to deprive an individual of all the advantages attached to his situation; in which sense it signifies much the same as to suspend.

When an officer has exceeded his leave of absence, and has not sent a satisfactory account of himself to his commanding officer, the latter reports him, in an especial manner, to the general of the district, by whom he is returned absent without leave. It sometimes happens, that the colonel or commanding officer gives directions to have him noted on the muster-roll of the regiment; in which case he is said to be respited or deprived of pay. This is the first step towards suspension from rank and pay, which ultimately terminates in a total exclusion from the service, by the offending party being peremptorily superseded. The name of the person is laid before the secretary at war, who with the approbation of the president, directs the adjutant and inspector to strike it off the list of the army.

The money which is respited upon the muster-roll is accounted for by the account of the war department, and placed to the credit of the public by the paymaster-general.

RESPONSIBILITY. The state of being answerable. All public officers, civil or military, are in a state of responsibility with respect to national concerns.

RESPONSIBLE. Answerable; accountable; liable to be called upon. Colonels of regiments are responsible for the discipline of their men; and captains for the interior economy and clothing of their companies.

RESPONSION, Fr. A term used by the French. In military orders signifying the same as charge or redevance, charge or service. Thus each commandery pays a certain sum, called somme de responsion, to its order in proportion to its value.

RESSERRER, to hem in; to confine. Une garnison fort resserrée, a garrison narrowly watched by a besieging army, and kept within its walls.

RESSORT, Fr. Spring. Elasticity. This word is used in various senses by the French, viz.

Dernier RESSORT, Fr. the last shift.

N’agir que par RESSORT, Fr. To do nothing of one’s own free will; to be influenced, to be acted upon by others.

Manquer de RESSORT, Fr. To want energy, vigor, &c.

Un caractère qui a du RESSORT, Fr. A firm, determined character.

RESSOURCE, Fr. Resource, shift, refuge.

Un homme de RESSOURCES, Fr. a man who has resources within himself.

Un homme plein de RESSOURCES, a man full of resources, full of expedients.

To REST arms, to bring the firelock to the same position as in present arms. See MANUAL.

To REST upon arms reversed. At military funerals the arms are reversed. The soldiers belonging to the firing party, rest upon the butt ends of their firelocks, while the funeral service is performed, leaning with their cheeks, so as to turn from the corpse.

REST upon your arms reversed! A word of command which is used at military funerals.