■sods; consequently the enemy, on ad-vancing, fall in, and are put into con-fusion.
WOMEN". From a thorough convic-tion of the necessity of allowing womento follow their husbands, a regulationexists by which their number is limited,according to the strength of a battalion,and the number of men in a troop orcompany.
Women of the town , common pros-titutes; such as infest the streets ofevery capital and large town, particularlythe sea-ports of Great Britain . Uponthe continent, especially in France , Prus-sia, and Holland , these dangerous ani-mals are always under the strictest re-gulations, and subject to summary visi-tation, by order of the police. Theyalso pay a tax, by way of licence.
WOOD. See Timber.
Alder- Wood, made into charcoal, isreckoned the best for gunpowder.
Tcak-W oot), a wood growing in India ,with which ships are built; remarkablefor its solidity of texture, and impervi-ousness to worms.
WOODEN - bottoms , in laboratoryworks, are cylindrical pieces of wood, ofdifferent lengths and diameters, agree-able to the size of the gun. They arehollowed at one end to receive the shot,and the flannel cartridge is fastened tothe other end; the whole forming onecartridge, which is put into the piece atone motion.
WOOL-ywc/iS, bags of wool. They arefrequently ranged in form of a breast-work, because they resist cannot-shot.See Siege.
WORD , a single part of speech, con-sisting of one or more syllable, for thepurpose of expressing ideas. In a mili-tary sense, it signifies signal, token, or-der ; as, watch-word, &e.
The Wor . d, ) is a peculiar word
Watch Word, $ that serves for a- token and mark of distinction, given outin the orders of the day, in time ofpeace; but in war every evening in thefield, by the general who commands, andin garrisou by the governor, or otherofficer commanding in chief, to preventsurprize, and hinder an enemy, or anytreacherous person, from passing back-wards and forwards. This watch-wordis generally called the parole , and to"which is added the countersign . Thefirst is known to all officers and non-commissioned officers, the latter only to
the sentinels. The officers that go th«rounds, or patroles, exchange the wordwith the officers on duty; nor must thesentinels let any one pass who has notgot the countersign.
Watch - Wo rd. According to the cele-brated General Monk, when regimentsare on service, the watch-word is givento officers only.
Fietd-Woiu), This word is given tothe soldiers, but only in cases of alarm.
Pass-Word. See Countersign.
Words of command , (mots de com -mandement , Fr.) certain terms, whichhave been adopted for the exercise andmovement of military bodies, accordingto the nature of each particular service.Words of command are classed undertwo principal heads, and consist of thosewhich are given by the chief or com-mander of a brigade, battalion, or divi-sion, and of those which are uttered bythe subordinate leaders of troops, orcompanies, &c. As the principal, in-deed, to speak more properly, the onlyobject of exercise, is to accustom troopsto the various vicissitudes of real action,it were to be wished, that the businessof mere parade could so far be dispensedwith, as to make every word of com-mand, and every relative situation of acommanding officer, subservient to thatindispensable end. It is truly ridiculousto see troops harassed and fatigued on apeaceable parade, or in a peaceablefield-day, by front commands, whenevery man, who has been in action,must know, that the word of command,especially for firing on an enemy, inva-riably comes from the rear of each bat-talion. When an officer gives the wordof command from the front, it ought tobe recollected, that two senses are em-ployed, viz. sight and hearing; and whensoldiers come into real action they canonly be guided by the latter.
Cautionary Words, (commandemensdivertissement, Fr.) certain leading in-structions which are given to designateany particular manoeuvre. The cau-tionary words precede the words of com-mand, and are issued by the chiefs ofcorps.
It was our intention to have inserted,under this head, all the different wordsof command that are directed to begiven in infantry manoeuvres, and tohave added the mots de commandement ,as practised in the French service. Butas most of those used in the British