in which sense, agger amounts to thesame with what the ancients called tu-mulus and moles; the Dutch , dyke;and we, dam, sea-wall, &c.
AGIADES, in the Turkish armies,are a kind of pioneers, or rather fieldengineers, employed in fortifying thecamp, &c.
AGIR, Fr. to act; hence agir enoffensive; agir en defensive; to act of-fensively; to act defensively, or on thedefensive.
AGITATOR, (A ffide, Fr.) a person inthe confidence of a superior, who mixeswith his fellow subjects or comrades, anddiscusses various matters for the pur-pose of discovering their views and prin-ciples. This character was first createdby Oliver Cromwell ; and a similar onewas much employed among the French ,in order to preserve the military ascend-ancy of Bonaparte.
AGUERRI, Fr. an officer or soldierexperienced in war; a veteran.
AID, in horsemanship. To aid, as-sist, or succour a horse, is to help himto w'ork true. This is done by the gen-tle and moderate exercise of the bridle,the spur, the caveson, the poinson, tilerod, the action of the legs, the mo-tion of the thighs, and the sound of thetongue.
AIDE-DE-CAMP, an officer ap-pointed to attend a general officer, in thefield, in winter quarters, and in garrison;he receives and carries the orders, asoccasion requires. He is seldom underthe degree of a captain, and all aides-de-camp have 10s. a day allowed for theirduty. This employment is of greater im-portance than is generally believed : it is,however, often entrusted to young offi-cers of little experience, and of.as littlecapacity; but in most foreign servicesthey give great attention to this article.Marshal de Puysegur mentions the lossof a battle through the incapacity of anaide-de-camp. The king may appointfor himself as many as he pleases, whichappointment gives the rank of colonel inthe army. Generals, being field mar-shals, ha ve ffour, lieutenant generals two,major generals one, and brigadier gene-r?ds one brigade major.
AIDE du Parc des Vivres, Fr. an of-ficer in France , acting immediately un-der the commissary of stores and provi-sions.
AID-MAJOR. See Adjutant.
AIGREMORE, a term used by the
artificers in the laboratory, to expressthe charcoal in a state fitted for themaking of powder.
AIGUILLE, an instrument used byengineers to pierce a rock for the lodg-ment of powder, as in a mine; or tomine a rock, so as to excavate and makeroads.
Aiguille de chariot, Fr. thedraught tree of a chariot.
AIGUILLES, Fr. in carpentry, shortupright pieces of wood used in the roofsof houses.
Aiguilles, in hydraulics, round orsquare pieces of wood which serve tolift up, or let down, a flood-gate.
AIGUILLETTES, Fr. tagged points,such as hang from the shoulders in mili-tary uniforms, particularly among theRussians , Prussians , &c.
AILE, Fr. a wing or flank of an armyor fortification.
Ailes demoulin dvent, F’r. the sailsof a windmill.
AILERONS, Fr. the short boardswhich are set into the outside of a wa-ter-mill’s wheel; we call them ladles,or aveboards. Aube.s, Fr. signify thesame.
Ailerons also signify small buttresses,or starlings, which are laid along thesides of rivers, or water courses, in or-der to prevent them from underminingany particular building. According toBelidor , the word epis is more appro-priate.
AIM, the act of bringing the mus-quet, piece of ordnance, or any othermissive weapon, to its proper line of di-rection with the object intended to bestruck.
AIM-FRONTLET, a piece of woodhollowed out to fit the muzzle of a gun,to make it of an equal height with thebreech, formerly made use of by thegunners, to level and direct their pieces.It is not used at present.
AIR, {air, Fr.) in a horse, a ca-dence and liberty of motion, suited tothe natural disposition of the horse,wdiich makes him work in the manege,and rise correctly.
Air, Fr. air, manner, way, &c. alsolook, countenance, &c.
Air de service, Fr. a look of hardship,or of war; weather-beaten.
AIR-GUN, a pneumatic machine forexploding bullets, &c. with great vio-lence.
The common air-guais made of brass.