Military Terms

A select list of military terms as applicable to service in the British Army in the late C18th and early C19th.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

For a listing of military ranks see:
Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers & Rank and File Soldiers

A

Armistice: a suspension of hostilities agreed upon by warring forces; a truce.

Arsenal: a stock of weapons; an armoury.

B

Ball: musket-ball or cartridge.

Banquette: firing-step behind a parapet.

Barbette: a raised terrace from which mounted heavy guns may fire over a parapet.

Bastion: a four-sided fortification.

Battalion: a tactical infantry unit varying in size from 500 to 1000 men. British battalions usually divided into 10 companies and were commanded by a lieutenant-colonel.

Battalion Company: 'centre' company of an infantry battalion.

Battering Train: the men, guns, ammunition and specialist equipment to move and mount siege artillery for laying seige to and breaching a fortified place.

Battery: gun emplacement.

Bayonet: a daggerlike weapon designed to be attached to the muzzle of a musket or rifle for use as a thrusting weapon in close combat.

Bicorn [also Bicorne]: cocked hat (two-cornered); often with a cockade at the front. Some forms of bicorn were designed to be folded flat, so that they could be conveniently tucked under the arm when not being worn.

Blue Light: blue illumination-flare composed of salt-petre, sulphuret of lead and sulphur in proportions 6:1:2.

Bomb: mortar-shell; loosely applied to all explosive projectiles.

Breastplate: small metal badge worn on a shoulder-belt.

Breastwork: protective parapet or barricade.

Brevet: local military rank; a document conferring nominal rank on an officer rather than a formal commission.

Brigade: tactical military formation of approximately 3000 men, containing two or three battalions; commanded by a major-general in the British Army, and a général de brigade in the French Army.

C

Canister: artillery projectile of lead balls in a tin container; also known as case-shot.

Cantonment: that part of a town occupied by the garrison; permanent military town.

Carronade: large-calibre, short-range cannon, originally used on ships for firing canister.

Casement: chamber in a fortress wall.

Case-shot: see: canister.

Cat-O'-Nine-Tails: a whip with nine knotted lashes used for inflicting punishment in the British army and navy; a device for flogging or corporal punishment. [see also: Halberd]

Cavalier: raised gun platform, usually inside a bastion.

Chamade: drumbeat of surrender.

Citadel: four- or five-sided strongpoint; fortress in or near a city.

Coatee: a short close-fitting jacket or coat. The coatee was waist length at the front, but had tails behind. Also known as the Regimental Jacket.

Cockade: rosette worn on a hat as a badge.

Colours: battalion flags that represented the honour of a unit. British battalions had a King's Colour and a Regimental Colour that were carried into battle by ensigns and protected by serjeants (later colour-serjeants). To lose a Colour in battle meant military disgrace.

Company: basic infantry sub-unit of 60-120 men; usually commanded by a captain.

Commission: a written certificate giving a person rank and authority as an officer in the armed forces. Note: a Commission could only be sold through an agent if it had been paid for in the first place.

Commissariat: Agency of Treasury responsible for the supply of food, clothing, weapons and equipment in the field.

Corps: a tactical unit of two or more divisions; generic term for any military unit.

Counterscarp: outer sloping wall of the ditch or the area between the parapet and the glacis.

Countersign: military password.

Cowle: guarantee of safe-conduct or amnesty offered in time of military conflict.

Curtain: main wall of a defensive work or the part of a rampart between two bastions.

D

Detachment: a part of a military unit separated from its main organization for duty elsewhere; a temporary military unit.

Ditch: linear trench, either wet (moat) or dry, intended as an obstacle to attackers or a sheltered line of communications for defenders.

Division: tactical formation of two or more brigades.

Dolphin: lifting-handle on a cannon-barrel.

Double Shot: to fire two projectiles (balls, canister, grapeshot) at a time, instead of one, from a muzzle-loading piece.

Dress Uniform: a military uniform worn on formal occasions.

Duel: a formal or informal combat encounter between two individuals, usually fought with closely matched or similar weapons.

E

Élan: a high-spirited morale usually associated with exceptionally self-confident and elite units.

Embrasure: opening in a parapet to permit gunfire through the wall. Enceinte: area enclosed within a defensive works main line of ramparts, but excluding its outworks.

Enfilade: fire that rakes a line or position from end to end; flanking fire.

Enlistment: (1) a voluntary entrance into military service, as distinguished from induction through impressment or conscription; (2) the act of enrolling in military service.

Epaulement: a side work made of gabions, fascines or bags filled with earth; also earth heaped up to provide cover from the flanking fire of an enemy.

Escalade: scaling of walls of a fort by attackers using ladders.

Esprit de corps: feeling of pride in a military unit, with pervasive enthusiasm and confidence among its members [see also: élan].

F

Face: exposed outer surface, particularly a bastion's wall between its salient angle and flank.

Facings: collars, cuffs and lapels of a uniform jacket.

Family or Suite: general's staff.

Fascine: bundles of brushwood or branches; used to retain the earthen walls of trenches or in batteries.

Fausse-braye: low outer rampart.

Feu de joie: French phrase meaning 'fire of joy' describing a firing of muskets one after another, closely timed to make a continuous noise, in celebration.

Firelock: musket.

Fireworker: artillery technician.

Flank: side or wing of an army; a body of soldiers on the extreme right or left of a formation; part of a bastion betwen its face.

Flank Company: grenadiers and light infantry of a line battalion, generally considered the battalion's best soldiers. The other companies were called battalion companies.

Forlorn Hope: first storming party into the breach during an attack on a fortress – to cover the placement of ladders etc. Volunteer group consisting of a serjeant carrying his regiment's Colours, with 12 lightly equipped soldiers followed by a subaltern with another 25 men. Officers and serjeants who survived the enemy fire were generally rewarded with promotion.

Fort: structure designed primarily for defence.

Fortress: important fortified complex, often designed to surround and protect an entire city.

Fusil: a firearm with a flintlock, introduced to replace the matchlock; a light flintlock musket.

G

Gabion: earth-filled wicker basket used in fortification.

Glacis: long, gentle slope below the ramparts, kept clear to provide no cover for attacking troops (from French glace, meaning 'ice').

Gorget: decorative crescent-shaped plaque worn by officers around the neck.

Grape or Grapeshot: artillery ammunition consisting of a number of medium-sized iron balls.

Grenadier Company: elite attack soldiers formed into a unit within a regiment; generally composed of the fittest and strongest men. Positioned on the right flank of a battalion in battle or on parade.

Ground Rocket: projectile with a serpentine motion designed to ricochet on impact and continue along the the ground.

Gun-metal: 'brass' of cannon, generally 8-10 parts tin to 1000 parts copper.

H

Halberd or Halbert: a poleaxe or an axe on a pole, especially in use during the C15th and C16th. Halberds had both a battle-axe and spear tip, and a spike or hook on the rear (originally for penetrating armor or hooking), mounted on a handle five to seven feet long. By the C18th the halberd's use had become increasingly ceremonial, whilst also being recognised as the symbol denoting the rank of a sergeant.
The halberd was also an universal symbol of punishment: to be sent "to the halberds" meant to be sent for a flogging. In such cases three halberds would be bound in an upright triangle, with a fourth tied horizontally across at chest height; the soldier sentenced to be flogged would have his wrists tied to the horizontal halberd. He would then be whipped with a cat-o'-nine-tails: a whip with nine knotted lashes. This remained an authorized instrument of punishment in the British army and navy until 1881.

Half-pay: pay accorded to an officer who held a commission but had no employment.

Handspike: lever used to manoeuvre a cannon.

Howitzer: short-barrelled cannon designed for high-angle fire.

I

Incendiary: any chemical compound that causes fire (ie. incendiary attack, incendiary bomb).

Indirect Fire: fore cdelivered on a target which cannot be seen by the aimer.

Infantry: a branch of an army whose soldiers are organized, trained and equipped to fight on foot.

Invalid: a soldier who for physical reasons, particularly as the result of enemy action, is incapacitated, and assigned to limited, noncombat duty.

Invest: to deploy troops around an enemy in such a fashion as to cut all lines of communication; to besiege.

J

K

Knapsack: infantry pack.

L

Light Company: British Army elite battalion company composed of agile men and good marksmen; positioned on the left flank of line on parade.

Line of March: direction in which a military force proceeds.

Line Regiments: standard regiments, as opposed to special, elite, or guards regiments.

Live Ammunition: ammunition that is ready to use for lethal effect, as distinguished from inert or blank ammunition.

Loophole: a slit or small opening in a wall, through which arms may be fired with minimum exposure to the persons firing them.

Lunette: triangular fortification on or beyond a glacis.

M

Magazine: storage-place for ammunition.

Mercenary: a soldier who hires himself out for pay to fight in the army of another nation.

Merlon: battlements.

Mess: a group of military personnel who eat together regularly.

Mortar: a muzzle-loading weapon that fires shells at relatively short range with a high trajectory.

Muster: to assemble the members of a unit for roll call, review, or to pass on orders.

Muster Roll: the roll of members of a unit.

Mutiny: a refusal by a swerviceman to obey orders or otherwise to do his duty; creation of disturbance or violence with the intent to override lawful authority.

Muzzle: the end of the barrel of a gun from which the bullet or projectile emerges.

N

Neutrality: the status of a country that refrains from taking part in a war between other powers.

Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO): enlisted member of the army who holds rank by appointment than than by commission or warrant.

O

Offensive: an attitude of attack, especially a large-scale or sustained attack.

Ordnance: collective term for all military weapons, ammunition, and explosives, together with the necessary maintenance tools and equipment.

Outflank: to maneuver an attacking force around and behind the flank of the opposing force.

Outpost: outlying picquet.

Outwork: defensive work located beyond the glacis, but close enough to receive protection from the main fortification.

P

Palisades: stakes of split wood approx. 3 metres long fixed one metre in the ground in rows.

Pan: shallow receptacle that holds the powder in a flintlock, musket, or other gunpowder weapon.

Parallel: siege-trench running parallel to enemy fortification.

Parapet: defensive wall of earth or stone; breastwork designed to cover troops from observation and fire.

Park (of artillery): a place chosen for the assembly of artillery, ammunition and associated equipment; artillery reserve.

Parole: (1) password; (2) status of an individual released from confinement or arrest on his acceptance of terms for such release; (3) status of a prisoner of war released upon agreement of the opposing side and his acceptance of the terms.

Picker: wire needle for clearing musket touch-hole.

Picquet (or picket): infantry outpost or sentinel.

Piece: a gun, howitzer or mortar; ordnance.

Post: outpost, sentinel.

Postern: see sallyport.

Q

R

Rampart: earth or masonry wall forming the main defensive work of a fortress, usually surmounted by a parapet.

Ravelin (or Demi-lune): an outwork on the far side of the ditch or moat of a fortification and located between two bastions. Built in the shape of an arrowhead, facing away from the fortification, with an opening towards the wall; defensive purpose was to protect the ground in front of the main fortification.

Redan: V-shaped fortification.

Redoubt: detached fortification, or a redan in a bastion.

Regiment: a military unit, particularly of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, commanded by a colonel. Usually consisted of an operational unit of two or more battalions.

Regimentals: the military uniform and insignia worn by a certain regiment.

Revetment: facing of a wall with temporary materials (e.g. sandbags), stone or brick to strengthen the rampart.

Rocket [in India]: projectile weapon, consisted of an iron tube approximately 12 inches long and 1 inch in diameter fixed to a a bamboo rod of 10-12 feet in length (as a stabilising tail). The tube was filled with combustible material and launched/directed by hand. Designed to create noise and confusion – especially amongst large concentrations of troops and densely packed mounted horsemen.

Route March: an organized movement of troops in column by road or cross-country.

S

Salient Angle: outward pointing angle of a bastion or defensive work.

Sallyport: tunnel providing access to a ditch or outside fortified work; may be intended for sorties during a siege, as a means of escape or a shortcut during peace. [see also: postern].

Scarp: inner wall of a ditch or the wall in front of the rampart.

Sentinel: sentry.

Sepoy: Indian private soldier (of infantry) in the service of the East India Company, commonly used as an adjective (e.g. 'sepoy regiment') or in the plural to describe Indian soldiers in general.

Spike: to drive a spike or similar object into the touch-hole of a cannon to make it impossible to fire. Soldiers were issued soft-iron spikes that could be driven into the touch-hole and broken off.

Stand of Arms: a complete set of arms for one infantryman.

Star-Fort: fort with earthworks, bastions etc., arranged in the shape of a star.

T

Terreplain: wide upper part of a rampart.

Trace: ground plan of a fortification.

Triangle: framework of half-pikes (spontoons) to which a prisoner was tied before being flogged.

Truck: small, solid wheels for artillery carriage.

Tumbrel: covered cart for carrying artillery ammunition.

U

V

W

Warrant: an official document appointing a member of the armed forces to a rank or grade between enlisted and commissioned officer.

Works: a fortification, either temporary or permanent.

Worm: corkscrew device for extracting an unfired charge from a gun-barrel.

Z

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Sources:

Dictionary of Military Terms: a guide to the language of warfare and military institutions. (eds.) Trevor N. Dupuy, Curt Johnson and Grace P. Hayes. New York: H. W. Wilson, 1986.

ADKIN, Mark. The Sharpe Companion: a historical military guide to Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe novels 1777-1808. Vol. 1 The Early Years. London: HarperCollins, 2003.

HAYTHORNTHWAITE, Philip J. The Armies of Wellington. London: Arms & Armour Press, 1994 pp.276-287.

MAKEPEACE-WARNE, Antony. Brassey's Companion to the British Army. London: Brassey's 1995.

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