Armature

“ Let there be an armament composed of infantry, cavalry, and marines, and let a number of triremes cover the sea, and phalanxes of foot and horse cover most of the plains, and the ridges of the mountains, and let the metal of their armor reflect the sunshine, and the glitter of the helmets and shields be reflected by the beams which are emitted from them; let the clashing of spears and the neighing of horses be borne up to the very heavens, and let neither sea nor land appear, but only brass and iron in every direction. ”

“ While I looked, giants in brazen armour clambered swiftly up the hillside, swinging clubs which had spiked balls of brass held by a chain at the end.
They glittered in the sun as they ran up and past me.
Motion, light, shadow, colour were perfect as things seen passing before the physical eyes. ”

“ Through the Fr. armes, from the Lat. arma, and so in English usually in the plural “arms,” comes the use of the word for weapons of offence and defence, and in many expressions such as “men-at-arms,” “assault-at-arms,” and the like, and for the various branches, artillery, cavalry, infantry, of which an army is composed, the “arms of the service.” “Arms” or “armorial bearings” are the heraldic devices displayed by knights in battle on the defensive armour or embroidered on the surcoat worn over the armour and hence called “coats of arms.” ”

“ The armament consists of a mentonnière of several laminated plates to be raised or lowered, cuirass with rondelles, taces of five or more overlapping plates, going right across the lower body, but no tuilles, cuisse with genouillières and hinged jambs; laminated rerebraces, and large pointed coudières. The fingers of the gauntlets are articulated, with a sharp gadling over each knuckle, and sollerets “à la poulaine.” This monument doubtless represents armour of the first half of the century. ”

“ The shining plates of the Guards are parade pieces only, but a curious revival of an old defence was carried by English cavalry in the field at the end of the 19th century, when small gussets of chain mail were attached to the shoulders of certain cavalrymen as a defence against sword cuts. Through all the age of modern warfare inventors have pressed the claims of various bullet-proof breastplates, but where they have been effective against rifle fire their weight has made them too heavy an addition to the soldier’s burden. (See, however, Armour Plates, ad fin.) ”

“ My curiosity was excited, and I wished to hear all I could about modern arms, from the poniard to the pike, from the cutlass to the carbine, from the hand-grenade to the Congreve rocket, from the six-pounder to the big brass cannon at Bejapoor in Hindoostan, and from the horse-pistol in the houlster of a dragoon to the monster mortar used at the siege of Antwerp. ”

“ To take our axioms in the order given, it may appear to the casual student that if armour were sufficiently thick it would naturally fulfil its primary reason for existence. But we find, on careful examination of plate armour, that there are other considerations which are of equal, if not greater importance. ”

“ It must be understood, that simply to limber up, or to unlimber, means that the gun is to be placed upon its limber, or lifted off, without changing its direction; but guns may be limbered up to the front, to the right, or to the left, according as it is intended to advance in any one of those directions; and unlimbered to the rear to prepare for action to the front, to the left for action to the right, and to the right for action to the left. ”

“ The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them. ”

“ Ordnance is, as already noticed, of several species, as guns mounted on fortresses, naval guns, siege guns, field-guns, etc., and the size of the pieces under each of those heads is distinguished sometimes in one, sometimes in another of three different ways. We may name it by the weight of the gun itself in tons or hundredweights, as “a 35–ton gun,” etc.; or by the weight of its projectile, as “a 68–pounder,” etc.; or by its calibre, that is the diameter of its bore, as “a 4–inch gun,” etc. ”

“ The question of employing armour as a protection against attack from above, or against dropping fire, is one which requires consideration on an entirely different basis from that of attack from below. ”

“ In the matter of attack and defence, vessels are distinguished by the number and weight of the guns they carry, and by the distribution and thickness of their armour. Protective armour is of two kinds, that which surrounds the guns, so as to protect them from the enemy’s fire, and that which protects the motive-power of the ship, so as to prevent the engines from being rendered useless. ”

“ For instance, we may see a brace of pistols, superbly mounted, crossed over the mantel-piece—a flute upon the table—a rifle leaning against the wall, and, I declare, fishing-tackle thrown carelessly down, all among those delicate knackeries so beautifully arranged on yonder marble slab—just like the men! ”

“ Before proceeding to examine the suit of Full Plate, with all its interesting details and differences as exemplified in the various armouries of England and Europe, it will be well to make clear the main principles which governed the manufacture of such armour. We should remember that the whole history of our subject is one long struggle of defensive equipment against offensive weapons. ”

“ Around the vessels I have described were heaped arms, remains of armour, iron instruments, glass bowls, and various objects in ivory and bronze. The arms consisted of swords, daggers, shields, and the heads of spears and arrows, which being chiefly of iron fell to pieces almost as soon as exposed to the air. The shields are of bronze, and circular, the rim bending inwards, and forming a deep groove round the edge. The handles are of iron, and fastened by six bosses or nails, the heads of which form an ornament on the outer face of the shield. ”

“ Where, therefore, the armies engage in a flat country, a heavy and complex armour, made of cloth and iron, both protects and decorates the soldier; but when the engagement is in narrow defiles, in woods or marshes, where the infantry have the advantage over the cavalry, a light armour is preferable. ”

“ Had I not once met a man in armour, not plate, but the beautiful chain armour of the thirteenth century, sitting on a bench eating his lunch, his helmet beside him?--a model no doubt come from a studio for the lunch hour, or maybe he was an exalté or a fumist ”

“ Loose armour was troublesome and distressing, making the soldier feel soft, and awkward, and unready, giving him a sense of going to pieces. The belt bound the loose pieces together, creating a healthy sense of firmness, compactness, and making the soldier feel that he had everything well in hand, and enabling him to meet the enemy's attack with united strength and confidence. ”

“ The art of armory had no better fate. An absurd rule current for some three hundred years has ordered that the helms of princes and knights should be painted full-faced and those of peers and gentlemen sidelong. Obeying this, the herald painters have displayed the crests of knights and princes as sideways upon a full-faced helm; the torse or wreath, instead of being twisted about the brow of the helm, has become a sausage-shaped bar see-sawing above the helm; and upon this will be balanced a crest which might puzzle the ancient craftsman to mould in his leather or parchment. ”

“ Under the general term ordnance and ordnance stores are included all guns, howitzers, mortars, rockets, and projectiles of every description, the explosives used in warfare, all gun-carriages, limbers, caissons, mortar-beds, battery-wagons, and traveling-forges with their equipments, and all other apparatus and machines required for the service and manœuvres of artillery at sieges or in the field ”

“ So that perhaps one is justified in saying that the use of armorial bearings in warfare has not yet come to an end. The other ancient usages of armory exist now as they existed in the earliest times. So that it is foolish to contend that armory has ceased to exist, save as an interesting survival of the past. It is a living reality, more widely in use at the present day than ever before. ”

“ What are the dimensions required for an earthen parapet to resist the fire of field or siege guns?
6 feet for 6-pdrs.; 14 feet for 12-pdrs.; 18 feet for 24 or 18-pdrs.; four feet of oak or brick will resist cannon shot.
33. What thickness of ice will admit the passage of infantry, cavalry, and artillery?
Ice 3 inches thick, will bear infantry marching in file; from 41⁄2 to 61⁄2 inches, cavalry and light artillery; and beyond that the heaviest gun carriages may pass in safety. Ice 8 inches thick will bear nearly 10 cwt. upon a square foot without danger. ”

“ The armour-smith’s best efforts were directed not only to give increased protection to the limbs and make the armour light, flexible, and impenetrable;115 but the flutings and escalloped edges were designed to produce beauty of form and outline, as well as with a view to deflecting the weapon of attack from vital points; and the armour was equally mobile for fighting on foot or on horseback. We owe its initiation doubtless to Italy, in which country, together with Germany, it reached its highest pitch of excellence ”

“ The general sketch of the history and development of weapons of offence and defence is given under Arms and Armour; particular weapons are treated under such heads as Halberd, Lance, Spear, Sword, Gun, Pistol, Rifle, Ordnance and Machine-guns. ”

“ A town in the province of Luxembourg, Belgium. Here the French, commanded by Jourdan, defeated the Austrians in April, 1793, and again in April, 1794.
Arm. In a military sense, signifies a particular species of troops,—thus the artillery is an arm, and the cavalry, and infantry, etc., are each called an arm of the service. The word is also used to denote an instrument of warfare; a weapon of offense or defense.
Arm. To be provided with arms, weapons, or means of attack or resistance; to take arms.
Armament. A body of forces equipped for war;—used as a land force. ”

“ A piece of iron, which grasps the trunnions of a piece of ordnance, when it is raised upon the boring machine, to widen its caliber.
Embrasure. In fortification, is an opening in the parapet, or a hole in the mask wall of a casemate through which the guns are pointed. The sole or bottom of the embrasure is from 21⁄2 to 4 feet (according to the size of the gun) above the platform upon which the gun stands. Parapet embrasures are smallest at the interior opening, which is called the mouth, and is from 11⁄2 to 2 feet wide. The widening of the embrasure is what is called the splay. ”

“ If a siege is to be undertaken, place in each vessel with each piece of artillery its implements, ammunition, and the carriages necessary to [Pg 122] transport the whole or a part; the platforms, tools, instruments, and materials for constructing batteries; skids, rollers, scantling, and plank.
3. If a particular calibre of gun is necessary for any operation, do not place all of one kind in one vessel, to avoid being entirely deprived of them by any accident. ”

“ Swords or broad lances are seldom used; but they generally carry a spear, (called in their language framea, 39) which has an iron blade, short and narrow, but so sharp and manageable, that, as occasion requires, they employ it either in close or distant fighting. 40 This spear and a shield are all the armor of the cavalry. The foot have, besides, missile weapons, several to each man, which they hurl to an immense distance. 41 They are either naked, 42 or lightly covered with a small mantle; and have no pride in equipage: their shields only are ornamented with the choicest colors. ”

“ With the disuse of defensive armor the word has practically gone out of military use, but it is still employed in the navy, where the distinction [56] is clearly preserved; any vessel provided with cannon is an armed vessel; an armored ship is an ironclad. Anything that can be wielded in fight may become a weapon, as a pitchfork or a paving-stone; arms are especially made and designed for conflict. ”

“ Sir Richard Hawkins, in his Observations, printed in 1593, compares the armament of his own ships with that of his Spanish opponents, and says: “Although their artillery were larger, weightier, and many more than ours, and in truth did pierce with greater violence; yet ours being of greater bore, and carrying a weightier and greater shot, was of more importance and of better effect for sinking and spoiling.” ”

“ Our armour differeth not from that of other nations; and therefore consisteth of corslets, almain rivets, shirts of mail, jacks quilted and covered with leather, fustian, or canvas over thick plates of iron that are sewed in the same. Of which, there is no town or village that hath not her convenient furniture. The said armour and munition like [Pg 250] wise is kept in one several place of every town, appointed by the consent of the whole parish; where it is always ready to be had and worn within an hour's warning. ”

“ The helm must ever be considered the grand traversing bar, keeping an opponent within the bearing of the guns by my angular extreme bearing plate, united to my plan for concentrating the broadside of a man-of-war, and to be fixed on the binnacle, which will prevent a ship being too much yawed to bring the bow gun to bear in chase. ”