A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer. Thomas Wilhelm
with the probable military operations to be undertaken.
Desenzano. A town of Lombardy, in the province of Brescia. Garibaldi, in command of the Italian volunteers, defeated an Austrian force near this place in 1859.
Desert. To quit a service without permission; to run away; as, to desert from the army; to forsake in violation of duty; as, to desert one’s colors.
Deserter. A soldier who absconds, during the period for which he is enlisted, from the service of the army or navy. In England this crime was by certain old statutes made punishable with death, but now the punishment is left to the discretion of a court-martial. In the United States, deserters in the time of war may be sentenced to death, but in time of peace the penalty for this offense is lighter.
Desertion. The act of absence from duty without intention to return. See Appendix, Articles of War, 47.
Despatch, or Dispatch. An official military letter sent by the commander of an army in the field to the authorities at home. The term is also applied to the military letters giving an account of military operations sent by subordinate officers holding detached commands to the general of an army in the field. See Dispatches.
Detach. To separate for a special object or use; as, to send out a body of men on some particular service, separate from that of the main body.
Detached Bastion. In fortification, is that basis which is separated from the enceinte by a ditch.
Detached Works. In fortification, are such outworks as are detached, or at a distance from the body of the place; such as half-moons, ravelins, bastions, etc.
Detachment. In military affairs, an uncertain number of men drawn out from several regiments or camps equally, to march or be employed as the general may think proper, whether on an attack, at a siege, or in parties to scour the country. A detachment of 2000 or 3000 men is a command for a general officer, 800 for a colonel, 500 for lieutenant-colonel, 200 or 300 for a major, 80 or 100 for a captain, 40 for a lieutenant, 12 for a sergeant, and 6 for a corporal.
Detachment, Gun. The men required for the service of a piece of artillery.
Detachment, Manœuvring. The men required for mechanical manœuvres of a siege or sea-coast gun.
Detail for Duty. Is a roster, or table, for the regular performance of duty either in camp or garrison. The general detail is regulated by the adjutant-general, according to the strength of the several corps. The adjutant of each regiment superintends the detail of officers and non-commissioned officers for duty, and orderly sergeants detail the privates.
Detmold. A town of Northwestern Germany, capital of the principality of Lippe-Detmold, on the Werra. In the vicinity is the battle-field on which the army of Varus was destroyed by the Germans under Arminius, in 9 A.D.
Detonating Powder. A term applied in chemistry to fulminating mercury and silver, and to other compounds which suddenly explode when struck or heated. Some of these compounds have been much used for the ignition of gunpowder in percussion locks.
Detonation. The instantaneous conversion of an explosive into gas; a term applied to the phenomena attending the explosion of certain substances, such as nitro-glycerine, chloride of nitrogen, iodide of nitrogen, gun-cotton, the picrates, etc. Detonation, or explosion of the first order, is distinguished from ordinary explosion, or explosion of the second order, by the different way in which the explosion is propagated. Ordinary explosion proceeds by inflammation, being nothing more than a rapid combustion. Detonation is propagated by vibration. A detonating agent is a substance used to produce the initial vibration, or “impulse of explosion.” The exploder, or cap, used for this purpose is usually primed with fulminate of mercury, a substance having a wide range in bringing about detonation in the high explosives.
Dettingen. A village of Bavaria, on the Maine. It is noted for a victory gained by the English, under George II., over the French, commanded by Marshal Noailles, in 1743.
Devastation. In warfare, is the act of destroying, laying waste, demolishing, or unpeopling towns, etc.
Deviation of Projectiles. See Projectiles.
Device. The emblem on a shield or standard.
Devicotta. A fort and seaport town in the south of India, and district of Tanjore. It was taken in 1749 from the rajah of Tanjore.
Devonshire. A maritime county in the southwest peninsula of England, between the Bristol and English Channels. The Saxons failed to conquer Devonshire till the 9th century. It was ravaged by the Danes in the 9th and 10th centuries, and by the Irish in the 11th century. In 1688 the Prince of Orange landed at Tor Bay, in this county.
Deyrah, or Dehra. A town of Northern Hindostan, and the principal place of the British province designated the Deyrah Doon. During the Nepaul war in 1815, the Deyrah Doon became the scene of military operations, and acquired a mournful celebrity by the obstinate defense made by the Goorkhas at Kalunga, or Nalapani, in the siege of which the British lost a considerable number of men, including their gallant commander, Gen. Gillespie.
Diable (Devil-carriage), Fr. A truck-carriage on four trucks, for carrying mortars, etc., to short distances; it is provided with draught-hooks at each end, so as to be drawn to front or rear.
Diameter. In both a military and geometrical sense, implies a right line passing through the centre of a circle, and terminated at each end by the circumference thereof.
Diaphragm Shell. An obsolete spherical shell formerly used in the English service, so named from the arrangement of the interior.
Diapré. A term applied in heraldry to fields and charges relieved by arabesque and geometrical patterns. This ornamentation, not affecting the heraldic value of the objects to which it was applied, was generally left to the fancy of the painter.
Diarbekir. A city of Asiatic Turkey, and capital of the pashalic of Diarbekir. This place was successively taken, retaken, and destroyed, in the ancient wars between the Persians and Romans. It was pillaged by Tamerlane in the year 1393; and was successively taken and retaken by the Persian kings, until it was conquered by Selim, the first sultan of the Osmanli Turks, in the year 1515. In 1605 it again fell into the power of Persia; but it was afterwards retaken by the Turks, under whose dominion it has since continued.
Dictator. In the earliest times, was the name of the highest magistrate of the Latin Confederation, and in some of the Latin towns the title was continued long after these towns were subjected to the dominion of Rome. In the Roman republic the dictator was an extraordinary magistrate, irresponsible and endowed with absolute authority. The dictatorship could not lawfully be held longer than six months. Dictators were only appointed so long as the Romans had to carry on wars in and out of Italy, or when any vigorous measure had to be acted upon. The limits of his power were as follows: he could not touch the treasury; he could not leave Italy; and he could not ride through Rome on horseback without previously obtaining the permission of the people.
Dideon’s Formulas. Certain equations relating to the trajectory of a projectile in the air, obtained by Capt. Dideon of Metz by integrating the differential equations of the trajectory under certain assumptions as to the law of the resistance, etc. See Projectiles, Trajectory, in Air.
Diego. A very strong and heavy sword.
Diest. A town of Belgium, in Southern Brabant, on the Demer. This town was taken by the Duke of Marlborough in 1705, but retaken by the French, and dismantled, in the same year. Since 1830 it has been surrounded with