Part 78

N. B. The strength of gunpowder having been considerably increased by Col. Congreve, of the British Artillery, the quantity for service has been somewhat reduced. That for proof remaining as heretofore.

CANNON Ball. See BALLS.

CANNON Shot. See SHOT.

CANNONIER, a person who manages a gun. See GUNNER.

CANNON-Baskets. See GABIONS.

To nail CANNON. See NAIL.

CANNONADE, in artillery, may be defined the application of artillery to the purposes of a land war, or the direction of its efforts against some distant object intended to be seized or destroyed, as the troops in battle, battery, fortress, or outwork.

Cannonading is therefore used from a battery, to take, destroy, burn, or drive the enemy from the defences, &c. and to batter and ruin the works or fortified towns.

CANON-BIT, that part of the bit which is let into the horse’s mouth.

CANTEENS, in military articles, are tin vessels used by the soldiers on a march, &c. to carry water or other liquor in, each holds about 2 quarts.

CANTONMENTS are distinct situations, where the different parts of an army lie as near to each other as possible, and in the same manner as they encamp in the field. The chief reasons for cantoning an army are, first, when the campaign begins early; on which occasion, in cantoning your troops, two objects demand attention, viz. the military object, and that of subsistence: the second is, when an army has finished a siege early, the troops are allowed to repose till the fields produce forage for their subsistence: the third reason is, when the autumn proves rainy, and forage scarce, the troops are cantoned to protect them from the bad weather.

CANVAS-BAGS. See BAGS, Sand-BAGS, &c.

CAPARISON, under this term is included the bridle, saddle, and housing, of a military horse.

CAPITAINE en pied, Fr. an officer who is in actual pay and does duty.

CAPITAINE reformé, Fr. a reduced officer.

CAPITAINE general des vivres, Fr. the person who has the chief management and superintendance of military stores and provisions.

CAPITAINE des portes, Fr. a commissioned officer who resides in a garrison town, and whose sole duty is to receive the keys of the gates from the governor every morning, and to deliver them to him every night, at appointed hours.

CAPITAL, in fortification, is an imaginary line which divides any work into two equal and similar parts. It signifies also, a line drawn from the angle of a polygon to the point of the bastion, or from the point of the bastion to the middle of the gorge.

To CAPITULATE, to surrender any place or body of troops to the enemy, on certain stipulated conditions.

CAPITULATION, in military affairs, implies the conditions on which the garrison of a place besieged agrees to deliver it up, &. This is likewise the last action, both in the attack and defence of a fortification, the conditions of which may be of various kinds, according to the different circumstances or situations in which the parties may be placed.

As soon as the capitulation is agreed on, and signed, hostages are generally delivered on both sides, for the exact performance of the articles; part of the place is delivered to the besiegers, and a day appointed for the garrison to evacuate the place. The usual and most honorable conditions are, with arms and baggage, drums beating and colors flying, matches lighted, and some pieces of artillery; waggons, and convoys for the baggage, sick and wounded, &c.

CAPONNIER, in fortification, is a passage made from one work to another, of 10 or 12 feet wide, and about five feet deep, covered on each side by a parapet, terminating in a glacis. Caponniers are sometimes covered with planks and earth. See FORTIFICATION.

CAPS, in gunnery, are pieces of leather, or more commonly sheep-skins, to cover the mouth of mortars when loaded, till they are fired, to prevent damps, or rain getting in.

CAP-Squares. See CARRIAGES.

CAP-A-PEE, in military antiquity, implies being clothed in armor from head to foot.

CAPSTERN, CAPSTAN, in military machines, signifies a strong massy piece of timber, in the form of a truncated cone, having its upper part, called the drum-head, pierced with a number of square holes, for receiving the levers. By turning it round, several actions may be performed that require an extraordinary power.

CAPTAIN is a military officer, who is commander of a troop of cavalry, or of a company of foot or artillery. The name of captain was the first term made use of to express the chief or head (caput) of a company, troop, or body of men. He is both to march and fight at the head of his company. A captain of artillery and engineers ought to be master of the attack and defence of fortified places, and captains of infantry or cavalry should acquire some knowlege of those branches; artillerists should be good mathematicians, and understand the raising of all kinds of batteries, to open the trenches, to conduct the sap, to make mines and fougasses, and to calculate their charges. They ought further to be well acquainted with the power of artillery, the doctrine of the military projectile, and the laws of motion, together with the system of mechanics; and should be good draughtsmen. A captain has in most services the power of appointing his own serjeants and corporals, and may by his own authority reduce or break them; but he cannot punish a soldier with death, unless he revolts against him on duty.

The captains of artillery in the Prussian service, rank as majors in the army, and have an extraordinary pay, on account of the great qualifications demanded of them; and the captains of bombardiers, miners, and artificers, in the Portuguese service, have 9 dollars a month more than the captains of artillery in the same regiment.