A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer. Thomas Wilhelm
key. The drum is principally used for military purposes, especially for inspiring the soldiers under the fatigue of march or in battle. It is supposed to be an Eastern invention, and to have been brought into Europe by the Arabians, or perhaps the Moors. In the French army the drum is now, to some extent, abolished.
Drum. To execute on a drum, as a tune;—with out, to expel with beat of drum; as, to drum out a deserter, etc.; with up, to assemble by beat of drum; to gather; to collect; as, to drum up recruits, etc.
Drumclog. In Western Scotland; here the Covenanters defeated Graham of Claverhouse, June 1, 1679. An account of the conflict is given by Walter Scott, in “Old Mortality.”
Drum-head. The head or upper part of a drum.
Drum-head Court-martial. A court-martial called suddenly by the commanding officer to try offenses committed on the line of march, and which demand an immediate example. This method is not resorted to in time of peace.
Drum-Major. Is that person in a regiment of infantry who has command of the drummers and teaches them their duty. He also directs the movements of the regimental band, while on parade.
Drummer. The soldier who plays a drum. The majority of drummers are boys, generally the sons of soldiers. In former times it was the part of a drummer’s duty to flog men sentenced to corporal punishment.
Drumming Out. The ceremony of ignominiously discharging a soldier from the service. The culprit is marched out of the garrison at the point of the bayonet, the drummers or musicians playing the “Rogue’s March.”
Drum-stick. A stick with which a drum is beaten, or shaped for the purpose of beating a drum.
Drunk on Duty. See Appendix, Articles of War, 38.
Druses. A warlike people dwelling among the mountains of Lebanon, derive their origin from a fanatical Mohammedan sect which arose in Egypt about 996, and fled to Palestine to avoid persecution. They now retain hardly any of the religion of their ancestors. In 1860, in consequence of disputes, the Druses attacked their neighbors, the Maronites, whom they massacred, it was said, without regard to age or sex. This led to a general massacre of Christians soon after. But the Turkish troops, with French auxiliaries, interfering on behalf of the Christians, invaded Lebanon in August and September, when the Druses surrendered, giving up their chiefs, January, 1861.
Dry Camp, To Make a. Troops on the march are said to make a dry camp when they are compelled by exhaustion, or other causes, to camp at a place where there is no water. For such camps water is usually transported with the troops.
Dualin. See Explosives.
Dubicza, or Dubitza. A town and fort of European Turkey, in Bosnia, on the Unna. The Austrians took this town in 1738.
Dublin. The capital city of Ireland, on the Liffey, close to its entrance into Dublin Bay. It is alleged that this city has been in existence since the time of Ptolemy. In the earlier part of the 9th century, Dublin was taken by the Danes, who infested it for several centuries thereafter. In 1169 it was taken by storm by the English under Strongbow. From about this period the history of Dublin is that of Ireland.
Ducenarius. An officer in the Roman armies who commanded two centuries.
Dudgeon. A small dagger (rare).
Duel. Was the old form of a combat between two persons, at a time and place indicated in the challenge, cartel, or defiance borne by one party to the other. A duel generally takes place in the presence of witnesses, called seconds, who regulate the mode of fighting, place the weapons in the hands of the combatants, and enforce compliance with the rules which they have laid down. In the United States the practice of fighting duels, being declared illegal by statutes, is very seldom resorted to.
Dueling. See Appendix, Articles of War, 26, 27.
Duffadar. A rank in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with that of sergeant.
Duffadar, Kot. A non-commissioned officer in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with a troop sergeant-major.
Duffadar Major. A rank in the East Indian Native Cavalry, corresponding with that of regimental sergeant-major.
Duke. From the Latin dux, a “leader,” a title that first came into use when Constantine separated the civil and military commands in the provinces. This title was successively borrowed by the Goths and Franks, and since the time of the Black Prince, who was created first duke in England (Duke of Cornwall) in 1335, it has been a title of the nobility, ranking next below the blood royal.
Dukigi-Bachi. Second officer in the Turkish artillery, who commands the Topelas, or gunners and founders.
Duledge. A peg of wood which joins the ends of the felloes, forming the circle of the wheel of a gun-carriage; and the joint is strengthened on the outside of the wheel by a strong plate of iron, called the duledge plate.
Dumdum. The name of a town and of a valley in India, well known in the military history of the country; it is 8 miles to the northeast of Calcutta, having extensive accommodations for troops, and a cannon-foundry. The place is famous in connection with the mutiny of 1857, as the scene of the first open manifestation on the part of the Sepoys against the greased cartridges.
Dumfries. A royal burgh and parish of Scotland, the capital of Dumfriesshire, on the Nith. This town was exposed to repeated calamities from the invasions of the English during the border wars. In this town John Comyn, the competitor for the Scottish throne, was stabbed by Robert Bruce in 1305.
Dünaburg. A strongly fortified town of Western Russia, on the Düna. It is of great military importance, owing to the strength of its fortifications. It was founded by the Knights of the Sword in 1277.
Dunbar. A seaport town of Scotland, in Haddingtonshire, at the mouth of the Frith of Forth. On the high rocks at the entrance to the new harbor are a few fragments of the ruins of an old castle, which was once very strong, and an important security against English invasions. Edward I. took it, and Edward II. fled thither after the battle of Bannockburn; it was demolished in 1333, and rebuilt in 1336; it was successfully defended in a siege of six weeks against the Earl of Salisbury by Black Agnes, countess of Dunbar, in 1338; it sheltered Queen Mary and Bothwell in 1567; and in the same year it was destroyed by the regent Murray. In 1650, Cromwell, at the “Race of Dunbar,” defeated the Scottish army under Leslie.
Dunblane, or Dumblane. A town and parish of Scotland, in Perthshire, on the Allan. Not far from this place is Sheriffmuir, where, in 1715, a battle was fought between the royal troops and the followers of the Pretender.
Dungan Hill (Ireland). Here the English army, commanded by Col. Jones, signally defeated the Irish, of whom 6000 are said to have been slain, August 8, 1647.
Dungeon (originally Donjon, which see). A prison; a dark and subterraneous cell or place of confinement.
Dunkirk. A fortified seaport town in the extreme northern part of France, in the department of the North. In 1558 the English, who had for some time held possession of the town, were expelled from it by the French, who, in the ensuing year, surrendered it to the Spaniards. In the middle of the 17th century it once more passed into the hands of the French, who, after a few years’ occupation of it, again restored it to Spain. In 1658 it was retaken by the French and made over to the English. It was sold to the French king by Charles II. in 1662. In 1793 it was attacked by the