Part 90

CLAN, a term used among the Scotch for a number of families subject to one head, or chief, who led them to war. The word is claöwn Celtic signifying Children.

CLATES. CLAYES. See HURDLES.

CLAYONAGES, Fr. a species of hurdle, with which the timber work of a gallery is covered. It is likewise used in saps.

CLEAR, to clear the trenches. See TRENCHES.

CLERK, in the general acceptation of the term, a writer in a public office; military departments have persons of this description. See Regimental BOOK.

CLOCHE, Fr. a bell.

CLOTHING. Clothing of the army of the United States is provided under the order of the war department, by a purveyor of public supplies, who buys and sees the clothing made; it is then placed in the military stores and issued upon order. The clothing of the British army is determined by a permanent board, composed of the commander in chief, and a certain number of general officers, who act under the king’s immediate authority: The annual clothing of the infantry of the line, or fencible infantry, serving in Europe, in North America, or at the Cape of Good Hope, (Highland corps excepted) consists in a coat, waistcoat, or waistcoat front, a pair of breeches, unlined, except the waistband, and with one pocket only: a cap made of felt and leather, with brass plate, cockade and tuft. The felt crown of the cap, cockade, and tuft to be supplied annually, the leather part and brass plate, every two years. Two pair of good shoes, of the value of 5s. 6d. each pair, are to be supplied annually in lieu of the half mounting, and each serjeant is to be credited with the sum of 3s. being the difference between the value of the former articles of half mounting for a serjeant and private man. Some exceptions are made with respect to highland corps, and regiments serving in the East and West Indies.

CLOY, or to cloy guns. See To NAIL.

CLOU, Fr. See NAILS.

CLOUTS. See AXLE-TREE.

To CLUB a Battalion implies generally a temporary inability in the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their natural front in line or column. This occurs after some manœuvre has been performed, and is occasioned by false directions being given to the different component parts. Ignorant and inexperienced officers may frequently commit this error; sometimes however, the circumstance may arise from an erroneous movement of a division or company, notwithstanding that the word of command was correct. An able officer in that case will instantly know how to unravel the several parts. The less informed and the less capable may find a relief in sounding the disperse, which see. It does not, however, always follow, that because an officer may occasionally commit this error with respect to the minute movements of a battalion, he must therefore be unequal to the superior functions of command; or that when a man, who has risen from the ranks, is perfectly master of the mechanical arrangement of inferior movements, he should be able to act upon the enlarged scale of locality and position. The military science which is required in each of these cases essentially differs in its appropriate exercise, but both are necessary. In the confusion of a manœuvre, the best mode would be to halt those parts which are not disordered, and bring the rest either forward in line--under separate officers in detachments different ways, or to rear, right, and left: and halt each as they recover some order; and then marching the parts to the positions analogous to those from which they had been deranged; it would be a useful exercise to create this disorder, in order to be ready at correcting it.

CLEY-MORE, (Celtic, the large sword) a great sword, formerly in use among the highlanders, two inches broad, doubly edged: the length of the blade, 3 feet 7 inches; the handle, 14 inches; of a plain transverse guard, 1 foot; the weight, 6 pounds and a half. These swords were the original weapons of England, as appears by the figure of a soldier found among the ruins of London, after the great fire in 1666.

COALITION, see CONFEDERACY.

COAT of Mail, armor made of scales or iron rings.

COCK, that part of the lock of a musket, which sustains the two small pieces of iron called jaws, between which the flint is fixed.

To COCK, to fix the cock of a musquet or pistol, so as to have it ready for an instant discharge.

COCKADE, a ribbon worn in the hat. This military mark succeeded the scarf that was formerly worn by the officers and soldiers belonging to European nations, which are principally distinguished in the following manner. In the army and navy of Great Britain, black silk riband for the officers, and hair cockades for the non-commissioned officers, private soldiers and mariners; light blue, pink and white ribands mixed, called tricolor or three-colored, distinguish the French; red marks the Spaniard, black the Prussian and Austrian, green the Russian, &c. Under the old government of France, officers were not permitted to wear a cockade, unless they were regimentally dressed; and, singular as it may appear, the officers and men belonging to a certain number of old regiments in the Prussian service do not wear any mark in their hats. In the United States the cockade is worn, in and out of regimentals, by every species of military character.

COFFER, in fortification, a hollow lodgment sunk in the bottom of a dry ditch, from 6 to 7 feet deep, and from 16 to 18 feet broad, and the length of it, the whole breadth of the said ditch, from side to side. The besieged generally make use of these coffers to repulse the besiegers, when they attempt to pass the ditch: they are distinguished only by their length from Caponiers; the difference between coffers and the traverse and gallery, consists in this, that the latter are made by the besiegers, and the former by the besieged. They are covered with joists, hurdles, and earth, raised 2 feet above the bottom of the ditch; which rising serves instead of a parapet, with loop-holes in it.

COFFRE. See COFFER.

COGNIZANCE. Judicial notice, trial, judicial authority. In a military sense, implies the investigation to which any person or action is liable. During the suspension of civil authority, every offence comes under military cognizance, is subject to military law, and may be proceeded upon according to the summary spirit of its regulation. Hence, a drum-head court-martial is the strongest instance of military cognizance.

COHORT, in Roman antiquity, a name given to part of the Roman legion, comprehending about 600 men.

COINS, in gunnery, are a kind of wedges to lay under the breech of a gun, to raise or depress the metal.

COLLET, Fr. that part of a cannon which is between the astragal and the muzzle.

COLONEL, the commander in chief of a regiment, whether of horse, foot, dragoons, or artillery: but in France, Spain, and some other southern nations, the colonels of horse are called Mâitres de Camp; in Germany, and most northern nations, they are called Ritmeesters. Colonels of foot in the English army take place, and command one another, according to the seniority of their regiments, and not of their commissions; but those of horse, on the contrary, according to the dates of their commissions.

COLONEL of horse, who is the first officer of the regiment; hence his attention ought to be given to keeping the regiment complete, to have it composed of both men and horses fit for service, and to take particular care to have them well exercised and taught the different evolutions; to be able on all occasions to form themselves according to the ground, or manner in which they may attack, or be attacked.

COLONEL of foot, or infantry. His functions are more extensive than those of the cavalry, as the infantry are employed to more and different purposes. A colonel of infantry should understand something of fortification, and be well acquainted with field engineering. He cannot be too careful to maintain union and harmony among his officers; and, to succeed in this, he must acquire their esteem and confidence, and make himself to be respected. The true way to succeed in this, is to keep up subordination with unalterable firmness; to do justice to every one, to employ all his credit to procure favors to the corps in general, and to the officers in particular, without ever losing sight of the health, comfort, and contentment of his men.

COLONEL of dragoons is nearly connected with that of horse, to which word we refer the reader.

COLONEL of artillery. The commander of a battalion of artillery is one of the most laborious employments both in war and peace, requiring the greatest ability, application, and experience. He is supposed to be a very able mathematician and engineer, to be thoroughly acquainted with the power of artillery, to understand the attack, and defence of fortifications in all the different branches; to be able on all occasions to form the artillery according to the ground or manner in which they may attack or be attacked; in short, he should be master of every thing belonging to that important corps.