Part 92

COME-in, soldiers are said to come in, as volunteers, recruits, &c. when invited to join any particular standard.

COME-over, when men desert from an enemy, and join the army that opposes them, they are said to come over. This term is opposed to go over.

To COME-in to, to join with, to bring help. “They marched to Wells, where the Lord Audley, with whom their leaders had before secret intelligence, came in to them.” English History.

To COME-up, to overtake. To come up with an enemy, is a military phrase much in use.

COMINGE, Fr. a shell of extreme magnitude, which takes its name from the person who originally invented it.

COMMAND, generally called the word of command, is a term used by officers in exercise, or upon service.

COMMAND, in military matters. All commands fall to the eldest in the same circumstances, whether of horse, dragoons, artillery, foot, or marines.

COMMANDE, a rope made use of in boats and pontoons.

COMMANDS, in fortification, are:

A command in front, when any eminence is directly facing the work which it commands.

A command in rear, when any eminence is directly behind the work which it commands.

A command by enfilade, when an eminence is situated in the prolongation of any line of a work, and a considerable part of it may be seen from thence.

COMMANDANT, is that person who has the command of a garrison, fort, castle, regiment, company, &c. called also commander.

COMMANDEMENT Fr. in a military sense, means any spot which is higher than another. A commandement is called simple, when the difference between two heights is only 9 feet. It is called double, when the difference is 18 feet; triple when 27, and so progressively, taking 9 feet invariably, for the height of each commandement. A commandement may be considered in three lights. In front, in enfilade, and in reverse. The commandement in front, is when you see all the persons who are employed in protecting a work; in enfilade, when you only see them from a flank; and in reverse, when you see them obliquely from behind.

COMMANDING-ground, implies in a military sense, a rising ground which overlooks any post, or strong place. There are, strictly speaking, three sorts of commanding grounds; namely,

Front COMMANDING-ground, Every height is called so, that lies opposite to the face of the post which plays upon its front.

Reverse COMMANDING-ground, an eminence which plays upon the rear of a post.

Enfilade COMMANDING-ground, or Curtain COMMANDING-ground, a high place, which, with its shot, scours all the length of a line, &c.

COMMANDERY, a certain benefice belonging to a military order. A body of the knights of Malta, were so called. They have now only a nominal existence.

COMMIS, Fr. Clerk or inferior person, who is employed in any of the French war-departments.

COMMISSAIRE, Fr. Commissary. This term was used in the old French service, to express a variety of military occupations. The following are the principal designations.

COMMISSAIRE-général des armées. Commissary-general of the armies. His duties were correspondent to those of a quarter master, forage master, or agent for supplying an army with provisions and stores.

COMMISSAIRE-général de la cavalerie légère. Fr. Commissary general of light cavalry.

COMMISSAIRE d’artillerie. Fr. Commissary of artillery. One commissary general superintended in each department of the ordnance, and had one of the three keys which belonged to the general magazine. This officer had the power of giving directions respecting the cleanliness and the general government of the magazines.

COMMISSAIRES provinciaux d’artillerie, Fr. Provincial commissaries attached to the ordnance.

COMMISSAIRES ordinaires d’artillerie, Fr. Commissaries in ordinary attached to the ordnance. These were subordinate to the provincial commissaries, and were distributed among the navy, forts, and garrison towns.

COMMISSAIRES extraordinaires d’artillerie, Fr. Extraordinary commissaries attached to the ordnance. These formed the third class of commissaries under the monarchial government in France. They likewise did duty on board the king’s ships, or in garrisoned towns.

COMMISSAIRE provincial en l’Arsenal de Paris, au départment de l’Isle de France. Provincial commissary belonging to the arsenal in Paris. This officer received his commission from the grand master, in whose gift the situation lay, and had the exclusive privilege of being rendered privy to every alteration or movement that was made in the arsenal.