Part 468

Cear and Cear SPRING. The cear is a piece of hardened iron or steel in a gun lock, which moves on a pivot, and the point of which is received in a notch cut in the tumbler, and the other end is acted upon by the trigger.

The cear spring is a small spring, which throws the cear into the notch cut in the tumbler of a gun-cock, when the piece is at half cock or full cock.

Feather SPRING. The spring of a gun lock beneath the foot of the hammer; called likewise hammer-spring.

Main SPRING. The spring in a gun lock which operates on the tumbler, and gives force to the cock.

To SPRING, in a military sense, to step forward with a certain degree of elasticity.

SPRING up. A word of command, which has been occasionally used when sections double up. It signifies, indeed, the same as double up, and is sometimes used singly, as Spring! particularly to light infantry men.

To SPRING the firelock. To bring it briskly up to any ordered position; to the recover, for instance.

SPUNGE, (ecouvillon, arroussement, griffon, Fr.) A long staff with a roll at one end, covered with a sheep’s skin, of the bigness of the bore of a gun, to scour it after firing; and to prevent any sparks from remaining. It is sometimes called Merkin, from its artificial texture of hair at the end of the staff.

Pyrotechnical SPUNGES. Spunges which constitute the black match or tinder that is brought from Germany, for striking fire with a flint and steel. These spunges are made of the large mushroom, or fungous excrescences which grow upon old oaks, ash trees, firs, &c. These are steeped in water, boiled and beaten, and then put in a strong lye made of saltpetre, and afterwards dried in an oven.

To SPUNGE the gun, (écouvillonner le canon, Fr.) To cool and cleanse the bore of a piece of ordnance by means of a wet spunge which is fixed to the end of a long pole.

SPURS, in old fortifications, are walls that cross a part of the rampart, and join to the town wall.

SPURS, instruments fixed to the heels of horsemen, with which they can at pleasure, goad the horse to action.

SQUAD. A diminutive of squadron. It is used in military matters to express any small number of men, horse or foot, that are collected together for the purposes of drill, &c.

To SQUAD. To divide a troop or company into certain parts, in order to drill the men separately, or in small bodies, or to put them under the direction and care of some steady corporal, or lance corporal. In every well regulated troop or company, the men are squadded in such a manner, that the most minute concern with respect to the interior economy can be instantly accounted for. The following distinct instructions have appeared in print. We quote them the more readily because they not only coincide with our own ideas on the subject, but seem perfectly calculated to preserve good order and discipline. They relate chiefly to the cavalry, but are equally applicable to infantry corps.

Each troop, it is observed, ought to be divided into two squads when under forty. Into three or four when above, according to the number, with an equal proportion of non-commissioned officers in each; and when the eldest is on duty, the charge of the squad falls on the next in the squad, and so on. First the stables must be divided as equally as possible into these divisions, and the men must belong to the same squad that their horses do: so that the foot and horse billets, and those for the married men’s rooms of a squad, go together. The squads must be as distinct and separate as possible; in short as much so as two troops are, never crossing each other. The stables must likewise be squadded entire; that is, no one stable should be allotted to two separate squads; for which reason, the proportion of numbers in each squad cannot always be exactly equal. The squad is entirely in charge of its own serjeant, or, in his absence, of the corporal who commands it, with relation to every quarter and stable duty, parades on foot and horseback. The quarter-master, in the cavalry, has, of course, the general inspection of the whole.

When a corporal has charge of a squad, he must not look after his own horse at such times as interfere with his squad duty: he can generally manage to do it at the morning stable, and in the evening he can get him done before the regular hour. On a march, or after a field day, he cannot do it so conveniently, and of course orders another man to do it. When a detachment of an absent troop is in a quarter, it must be attached to a particular troop, whichever may be judged most convenient. It must be considered as a separate and distinct squad, quartered by itself, (as far as it can be, consistent with the proper quartering of its recruits) and under the command of its own non-commissioned officer, unless the troop to which it belongs cannot spare a non-commissioned officer with it; in which case it must be given in charge to a non-commissioned officer of the troop to which it is attached.

The same rules for squadding hold good on a march, and in all situations whatever; and the list of quarters must be made out accordingly.

The non-commissioned officers must always be kept to the same squad, as nearly as they can be. The policy of this instruction is obvious, as they will thereby be made acquainted with the character of every man in the squad.

Recruits should always be quartered and squadded with old soldiers who are known to be steady and well behaved; and those men that are at all irregular in their conduct, must be separated and distributed in squads which are composed of good old soldiers.

Awkward SQUAD. The awkward squad consists not only of recruits at drill, but of formed soldiers that are ordered to exercise with them, in consequence of some irregularity under arms.

SQUADRON. A body of cavalry, composed of two troops. The number is not fixed, but is generally from 100 to 250 men.

SQUARE, (Carré, Fr.) A figure with right angles, and equal sides.

The SQUARE. A particular formation into which troops are thrown on critical occasions; particularly to resist the charge of cavalry.

Solid SQUARE, is a body of foot, where both ranks and files are equal. It was formerly held in great esteem; but when the prince of Nassau introduced the hollow square, this was soon neglected.

Hollow SQUARE, is a body of foot drawn up, with an empty space in the centre, for the colors, drums, and baggage, facing every way to resist the charge of the horse.

Oblong SQUARE. A square which is not at right angles, but represents the figure of an oblong, whose sides are unequal. Thus, as eight companies of equal numbers would form a perfect square, ten make an oblong.

Perfect SQUARE. A square whose sides are equal and at right angles.

The perfect square, in the formation of troops, seems best calculated for military movements and arrangements. Battalions, for instance, which are composed of eight companies, with one hundred rank and file in each, are equal to every species of disposition. It is upon this principle, we presume, that the French have distributed their infantry. British regiments, on the contrary, consist of eight companies, one of which is grenadiers and the other of light infantry, and are so composed that no square of this kind can be formed. This is manifestly a defect in their system. It is, indeed, remedied by the grenadier and light infantry companies being occasionally detached, or cast into separate battalions; so that the remaining companies, by being told off, may be brought to eight equal parts. Tacticians will perhaps agree with us, that it would be better to have every regiment composed of ten companies, flanked by a subdivision of grenadiers, the whole being so equalized as to produce four equal sides. In this case, the light companies should be formed into separate bodies of chasseurs or riflemen, after the manner of the French.