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Artillery Company, a band of infantry,consisting of 600 men, making part of themilitia, or city guard of London.

ASCENT. See Gunnery.

ASSAULT, a furious effort to carry afortified post, camp, or fortress, where theassailants do not lcreen themselves by anyworks. While an assault during a siege con-tinues, the batteries cease, for fear of killingtheir own men. An assault is sometimes made bythe regiments that guard the trenches of a siege,sustained by detachments from the army.

"Togive an Assault, is to attack any post, &c.

To repulse an Assault, to cause the assailantsto retreat, to beat them back.

To carry by Assault, to gain a post bystorm, &c.

ASSEMBLER, the second beating of a drumbefore a march; at which the army striketheir tents, roll them up, and stand to arms.See Drum.

ASTRAGAL. See Cannon.

ATTACK, a general assault, or onset, that isgiven to gain a post, or break a body of troops.

Attack, of a siege, is a furious assault madeby the besiegers by means of trenches, galle-ries, saps, breaches, or mines, &c» by storming

any part of the front attack. Sometimes twoattacks are carried on at the fame time, betweenwhich acommunication must be made. See Siege.

False Attacks, are never carried on withthat vigour and briskness that the others are ;the design of them being to favour the trueattack, by amusing the enemy, obliging the gar-rison to a greater duty in dividing their forces,that the true attack may be more successful.

Regular ATTACK, is that which is carried on inform, according to the rules of art. See Siege.

To At tack in front or flank, in fortification,is meant to attack the salient angle, or bothfides of the bastion ; but when meant to attacka body of men, is a phrase well known.

AVANT-FOSSE. See Fortification.

AVENUE, in fortification, is any kind ofopening or inlet into a fort, bastion, or out-work.

AUGERS. See Mining.

AUGMENT, or Augmentation, in a mili-tary sense, implies advancement of posts, aug-mentation of troops, &c.

a of a carriage.

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AXLE-TREE Aolts. > ^ . ce

s Lar nazes.

J hoops. 1 A

C stays.

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) ACULE, in fortification, implies a kindof port-cullis or gate, made like a pit-lall, with a counterpoise, and supported bytwo strong pieces of timber. It is usuallyplaced before the corps de garde, not far fromthe great gate of the place.

BAGGAGE, in military affairs, signifiesthe clothes, tents, utensils of divers sorts, andprovisions, &c. belonging to an army.

Bagg ac, %-I'Faggons. See Waggons.

BAGONET. See Bayonet.

BAGPIPE, the name of a well-known war-like instrument, of the wind kind, greatly usedby the Scotch regiments, and sometimes by theIrish. Bagpipes are supposed to be introducedby the Danes ; but I am of opinion they are•much older, as there is in Rome a most beau-tiful bais-relievo, a Grecian sculpture of thehighest antiquity, of a bag-piper playing onhis instrument exactly like a modern high-binder. The Greeks had their A<nc«vAii?, or in-strument composed of a pipe and blown-up Jim,.'1'he Romans, in all probability, borrowed itfrom them, who still use it under the names ofpiva and corm-mufa. The Bagpipe has been aFavourite instrument of the Scots, and has two■varieties : the one with long pipes, and sounded»vith the mouth j the other with short pipes.

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played on with the fingers: the first is the loudestand molt ear-piercing of all music, is the ge-nuine highland pipe, and suited well the war-like genius of that people, rouzed their courageto battle, alarmed them when secure, and col-lected them when scattered ; solaced them intheir long and painful marches, and in timesof peace kept up the memory of the gallantryof their ancestors, by tunes composed aftersignal victories.

BAGS, in military employments, are used onmany occasions: as,

W-Bacs, generally 16 inches diameter,and -50 high, filled with earth or sand to repairbreaches, and the embrasures of batteries,when damaged by the enemies fire, or by theblast of the guns. Sometimes they are madeless, and placed three together, upon theparapets, for the men to fire through.

Earth-¥> acs, containing about a cubicalfoot of earth, used to raise a parapet in haste,or repair one that is beaten down. They areonly used when the ground is rocky, and notaffording earth to carry on the approaches.

BALL, in the military art, comprehendsall sorts of balls and bullets for fire-arms, fromthe cannon to the pistol.

Cannon- Balls are of iron j musket andD pistol-