Part 88

Chorographic-CHARTS, are descriptions of particular countries.

Heliographic-CHARTS, descriptions of the body of the sun, and of the maculæ or spots observed in it.

Selenographic-CHARTS, particular appearances of the spots of the moon, her appearance and maculæ.

Telegraphic-CHARTS, are descriptions of the telegraph on paper.

Topographic-CHARTS, are specific delineations of military positions, in any given tract of country. Companies of topographers have been formed among the French, for the purpose of accurately and expeditiously pointing out to generals and commanding officers, all the relative points of locality, &c. See American Mil. Lib. article RECONNOITRING.

CHASE of a gun. See CHACE.

To CHASE the enemy, means to march after them on horseback in full speed. To pursue a ship at sea.

CHASSEURS. The French light infantry, answering to the American riflemen and German yagers, are called chasseurs a pied; they have also chasseurs a cheval. The word means literally a hunter.

CHAT, Fr. a piece of iron having one, two or three very sharp prongs, or claws; arranged in a triangular shape, when it has three prongs. This piece of iron is fixed to a shaft. It is used in the examination of a piece of ordnance, and by being introduced into the bore, shews whether it be honey-combed, damaged, or otherwise defective.

There is another species of Chat which differs a little from the one we have just described. It consists of two branches of iron, that are fixed to the end of a piece of the same metal, and have, each of them two steel prongs or claws. One of these branches contains a hinge with a spring so fixed, that when the chat is put into the bore, the least cavity releases the spring, and the defect is instantly discovered. Master Founders, who by no means like the invention, call the common chat Le Diable, the devil; and they distinguish the one with two branches, by terming it la màlice du diable, the malice of the devil.

CHATTER les pieces, Fr. to search, to probe, or examine pieces of ordnance with a chat, in order to discover whether there are any defects within the bore of a cannon.

CHAUDIERES, Fr. are vessels made use of in military magazines, to boil pitch in, for various purposes.

CHAUFFE, Fr. a spot where the wood is collected and burnt in a foundry. The chauffe stands three feet under the side of the furnace, the flames which issue from it, spread over every part of the inside of the furnace, and by their intense heat dissolve the metal.

CHAUSSE-Trapes, Fr. are what we call crows-feet, they consist of nails with 4 or 5 points, of which one always stands upwards above the level of the ground; each point is 2, 3, 4 or 5 inches long. They are usually fixed in different parts of a breach, or in any place which is accessible to cavalry; to prevent its approach: sometimes they are of use to obstruct the passage of cavalry through the streets of towns.

CHAUSSEE, or Rès de CHAUSSEE, an old expression for the level of the field or the plain ground.

CHEEKS, a general name among mechanics, for those pieces of timber in their machines, which are double and perfectly corresponding to each other. In the construction of military carriages, &c. the term is used to denote the strong planks which form the sides of gun carriages.

CHEF, Fr. Chef has various significations in the French service. With regard to private soldiers, it serves to mark out the corporal or oldest soldier, who has the management of their provisions in quarters, or in the field; this person was called chef de chambrée. A chef de chambrée among the Romans, was called a decanus, whence our church deacon.

CHEF d’escadre, Fr. a general officer, who commands any part of an army, or division of a fleet. His duty in the sea-service is nearly the same as that of a commodore or a brigadier general on shore. Chefs d’escadre sit upon all general courts-martial, and rank according to the dates of their commissions.

CHEFS de files, Fr. the front rank of a battalion, consisting generally of the best and bravest soldiers. When an engagement takes place, par file, by files, as in the action of riflemen, the order of the battalion is necessarily changed; that which was rank becomes file, and what was file becomes rank.

CHELSEA HOSPITAL, a noble edifice which was built by Charles the 2d of England on his restoration, and afterwards improved by his successor James the 2d. Non-commissioned officers and private men, who have been wounded or maimed in the service, are entitled to the benefit of this hospital. There are in and out-pensioners belonging to the establishment, and the provisions of it extend to the militia under the following restrictions: serjeants who have served fifteen years, and corporals or drummers who have served twenty, may be recommended to the bounty. Serjeants on the establishment may likewise receive that allowance, with their pay in the militia. But serjeants who have been appointed subsequent to the passing of the 26th of George the 3d, are not entitled to it under twenty years service.

CHEMIN-Couvert. See COVERT-WAY.

CHEMIN des rondes, in fortification, space between the rampart and low parapet under it, for the rounds to go about it.

CHEMISE, Fr. an obsolete term to signify the revetement made of brick work, which was formerly constructed to secure works made of earth, especially those that were formed of sandy soil, and would necessarily require too large a talus to support the weight. The modern term is ouvrage revetu, place revetüe.

CHEMISE de feu, Fr. a French sea-term, to signify several pieces of old sails of various sizes, which after they have been pitched, and thoroughly soaked in other combustible matter, such as oil of petrol, camphor, &c. may be nailed to an enemy’s ship on boarding her, and when set fire to, will consume the same.

CHEMISE de maille, Fr. a shirt of mail, or body lining made of several scales or iron rings, which was worn under the coat to protect the body of a man.

CHEMISTRY, the art of examining bodies, and of extracting from them any of their component parts; a science of the first importance to military men; it opens to the mind so many sources of knowlege applicable to military uses.

CHESS, a nice and abstruse game, supposed to have been invented during the siege of Troy. This game is particularly adapted to military capacities.

CHEVAL de Bois, Fr. a wooden-horse, a military chastisement, which prostitutes who followed the French army, were subject to undergo, by exposing them, we presume, on a wooden-horse.