Part 458

Saucissons, are another species of fascines, from 12 to 19 feet long, and from 8 to 10 inches in diameter, and are used in making batteries, and repairing the breaches.

Sortie. See SALLY.

Tail, or rear of the trench, (Queue de la tranche, Fr.) is the first work the besiegers make when they open the trenches.

Tambour, is a kind of traverse, at the upper end of the trench or opening made in the glacis to communicate with the arrows. This work hinders the besiegers from being masters of the arrow, or discovering the inside of the place of arms belonging to the covert-way.

Traverse, in a siege, a kind of retrenchment which is made in the dry ditch, to defend the passage over it.

Trenches, are passages or turnings dug in the earth, in order to approach a place without being seen from its defences.

Wool-packs, used in a siege, differ from sand-bags, in this only, that they are much larger, and, instead of earth, they are filled with wool. They are used in making lodgments in places where there is but little earth, and for other similar purposes. They are about five feet high, and 15 inches in diameter.

Rear of an attack, is the place where the attack begins.

Front, or head of an attack, that part next to the place.

Mantlets, are wooden fences, rolling upon wheels, of two feet diameter; the body of the axle-tree is about four or five inches square, and four or five feet long; to which is fixed a pole of eight or ten feet long, by two spars; upon the axle-tree is fixed a wooden parapet, three feet high made of three-inch planks, and four feet long, joined with dowel-pins, and two cross-bars: this parapet leans somewhat towards the pole, and is supported by a brace, one end of which is fixed to the pole, and the other to the upper part of the parapet. Mantlets are used to cover the sappers in front against musquet shot.

Maxims in SIEGES are, 1st. The approaches should be made without being seen from the town, either directly, obliquely, or in the flank.

2. No more works should be made than are necessary for approaching the place without being seen; i. e. the besiegers should carry on their approaches the shortest way possible, consistent with being covered against the enemy’s fire.

3. All the parts of the trenches should mutually support each other; and those which are farthest advanced, should be distant from those that defend them above 120 or 130 toises, that is, within musquet shot.

4. The parallels, or places of arms the most distant from the town, should have a greater extent than those which are the nearest, that the besiegers may be able to take the enemy in flank, should he resolve to attack the nearest parallels.

5. The trench should be opened or begun as near as possible to the place, without exposing the troops too much, in order to accelerate and diminish the operations of the siege.

6. Care should be taken to join the attacks; that is, they should have communications, to the end that they may be able to support each other.

7. Never to advance a work, unless it be well supported; and for this reason, in the interval between the 2d and 3d place of arms, the besiegers should make, on both sides of the trenches, smaller places of arms, extending 40 or 50 toises in length, parallel to the others, and constructed in the same manner, which will serve to lodge the soldiers in, who are to protect the works designed to reach the third place of arms.

8. Take care to place the batteries of cannon in the continuation of the faces of the parts attacked, in order to silence their fire; and to the end that the approaches, being protected, may advance with great safety and expedition.

9. For this reason the besiegers shall always embrace the whole front attacked, in order to have as much space as is requisite to place the batteries on the produced faces of the works attacked.

10. Do not begin the attack with works that lie close to one another, or with rentrant angles, which would expose the attack to the cross fire of the enemy.

Stores required for a month’s SIEGE are as follows:

Powder, as the garrison is more or less strong 8 or 900,000 lb. Shot{for battering pieces 6000 {of a lesser sort 20,000 Battering cannon 80 Cannons of a lesser sort 40 Small field-pieces for defending the lines 20 Mortars for throwing{shells 24 {stones 12 Shells for mortars 15 or 16,000 Hand-grenades 40,000 Leaden bullets 180,000 Matches in braces 10,000 Flints for musquets, best sort 100,000 Platforms complete for guns 100 Platforms for mortars 60 {carriages for guns 60 Spare{mortar-beds 60 {spunges, rammers, and ladles, in sets 20 Tools to work in trenches 40,000

Several hand-jacks, gins, sling-carts, travelling forges, and other engines proper to raise and carry heavy burdens; spare timber, and all sorts of miner’s tools, mantlets, stuffed gabions, fascines, pickets, and gabions.

SIENS, Fr. The plural of sien, his, her’s or one’s own. This word is used among the French, to signify the same as gens, men, people, soldiers; viz. ce général fut abandonné par les siens. That general was abandoned by his own soldiers.

SIEVE, an instrument, which by means of hair, lawn, or wire, is capable of separating the fine from the coarse parts of any powder. See GUNPOWDER, LABORATORY, &c.

SIFFLEMENT, Fr. Literally means the noise of a whistle. It is used to express the sound which a ball or bullet makes when it cuts the air; as sifflement des armes à feu. The whistling or whizzing noise of fire arms.

SIES or SHIAS, Ind. A tribe of people in the N. West of India.

SIFFLET, Fr. A whistle. The French make use of the whistle on board their ships in the same manner as we do. It answers the same purpose at sea, that the drum and trumpet do on shore. The boatswain’s whistle pipes all hands up, as occasion requires in a ship: and the drum and trumpet collect troops together, in camp, garrison, or elsewhere.