A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer. Thomas Wilhelm
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of Ehrenbreitstein. In 1794 this place was taken by Napoleon I., and made the capital of the department of the Rhine and Moselle.
Cocherel. Near Evreux, Northwest France. Here Bertrand and Du Guesclin defeated the king of Navarre, and took prisoner the Captal de Buch, May 16, 1364.
Cochin. A city of Hindostan, presidency of Madras. It was held by the Portuguese in 1503; by the Dutch in 1663; was taken by the British in 1796, and ceded to them in 1814.
Cockade (Fr. cocarde). The word signified originally a cocked-hat, or a hat with the broad flap looped up on one side, and then applied to the knot of ribbon with which the loop is ornamented. The word is now, however, restricted to signify an appendage worn on the hat of military and naval officers.
Cock-feather. In archery, the feather which stood up on the arrow, when it was rightly placed upon the string, perpendicularly upon the cock or notch.
Code. A compilation or collection of laws made by public authority, as the Code Napoléon.
Code. A list of signal symbols. See Signaling.
Codogno. A town of Italy, in the province of Milan, between the Adda and the Po. Here the Austrians were defeated by the Spaniards in 1746, and by the French in 1796.
Coehorn. So named from the military engineer, Baron Van Coehorn, who invented it. It is a small howitzer, or mortar, generally 43⁄5 inches caliber. These implements of war, being easily moved and adjusted, and taking little powder, are found very useful in sieges, if grouped in great numbers.
Coehorn Beds. See Ordnance, Carriages for, Mortar Beds.
Coeverden, Coevorden, or Koevorde. A fortified town of Holland; it was captured by the French in 1795.
Coffer. In fortification, a hollow lodgment, sunk in the bottom of a dry ditch, from 6 to 7 feet deep, and from 16 to 18 feet broad. Its length corresponds with the whole breadth of the said ditch, from side to side. The besieged generally make use of these coffers to repulse the besiegers when they attempt to pass the ditch; they are distinguished only by their length from caponnières. They are covered with joists, hurdles, and earth, raised 2 feet above the bottom of the ditch, so as to serve the purposes of a loop-holed parapet.
Cohort. A division of the ancient Roman armies, consisting of about 600 men, divided into centuries. It was the tenth part of a legion, and its number, consequently, was under the same fluctuation as that of the legions. In the time of the empire the cohort often amounted to 1000 men.
Coif. Was originally an iron skull-cap, worn by knights under their helmets; it was introduced before 1259. It is now especially applied in Great Britain to a cap worn by sergeants-at-law.
Coimbra. An ancient city of Portugal, capital of the province of Beira. It appears to have been originally built by the Goths; from them it passed to the Moors, from whom it was finally conquered in 1064 by Fernando the Great, aided by the gallant Cid. It was taken by the troops under the British colonel Kent, October 7, 1810.
Coin (Fr. coin d’artilleur). In gunnery, a kind of wedge to lay under the breech of a gun, in order to raise or depress the metal. Written also quoin.
Colberg, or Kolberg. A strongly fortified seaport of Prussian Pomerania. It stands on a hill, surrounded with swamps which can be laid under water, and is chiefly remarkable for the protracted sieges it has undergone. In 1102, Duke Boleslaus, of Poland, besieged it in vain. It endured long sieges in the Thirty Years’ War and in the Seven Years’ War, and again in 1807, when it was most gallantly defended against the French.
Colchester. The chief town in the county of Essex, England. It was taken from the Danes in 921 by Edward the Elder, who founded the castle. It was ravaged by the plague in 1348, in 1360, and again in 1665. In 1648 it was taken by Lord Goring for Charles I., but was retaken by Fairfax after a siege of 11 weeks, when the castle was dismantled.
Cold Harbor. A village of Hanover Co., Va., about 10 miles northeast of Richmond. During the civil war a series of desperate struggles took place in and around this place (May 28-June 3, 1864) between the forces of Gens. Grant and Lee, resulting in a loss of probably 13,000 men on the Federal side.
Coldstream. A border-town of Scotland, in Berwickshire, on the left bank of the Tweed. Near this place is the famous ford where the English and Scottish armies formerly crossed the Tweed. Here Gen. Monk raised the regiment still known as the Coldstream Guards.
Coldstream Guards. A regiment in the Foot Guards, or Household Brigade, is the oldest corps in the British army except the First Foot. It was raised at Coldstream in 1660, by Gen. Monk, and was first called Monk’s regiment, but when Parliament consented to give a brigade of guards to Charles II., this corps, under its present name, was included in it.
College of Arms. See Herald’s College.
Collet (Fr.). In gunnery, that part of a cannon which is between the astragal and the muzzle.
Colmar. A city of France, capital of the department of Haut-Rhin. This city had an active share in the civil wars under Rodolph of Hapsburg and Adolphe of Nassau; it was captured by the Swedes in 1632; by the French in 1635 and 1673. It was ceded to France by the peace of Ryswick in 1697. Occupied by the Bavarians on January 3, 1814.
Colocotroni. See Kolocotroni.
Cologne. A fortified city of Prussia, the capital of the province of Rhenish Prussia, on the left bank of the Rhine. It is a fortress of the first rank. It was taken by the French in 1795, and assigned to Prussia in 1814.
Colombia, United States of. A republic of South America, known by this name since 1861, but formerly called New Granada. It united with Venezuela in 1819, and established one central government for the purpose of resisting Spain, but in 1829 was separated from it, and soon after another republic—that of Ecuador—was formed from it, three republics being thus formed out of what was formerly but one.
Colombo. A fortified seaport town and capital of Ceylon; it was fortified in 1638 by the Portuguese, who were expelled by the Dutch in 1666; the latter surrendered it to the British, February 15, 1796. The British troops were murdered here in cold blood by the Adigar of Candy, June 6, 1803.
Colonel. The title of the highest officer of a regiment, ranking next below a brigadier-general, and above a lieutenant-colonel. The rank of captain in the navy corresponds with this title.
Colonel, Lieutenant-. The rank next below that of colonel.
Colonia do Santissimo Sacramento (i.e., Colony of the Most Holy Sacrament). A fortified maritime town of South America, in Uruguay, opposite Buenos Ayres. On August 31, 1845, it was taken by the English and French fleets.
Colonial Corps. Are certain regiments forming part of the regular army of the British empire, and paid for out of the imperial revenues. The native troops of India are paid from the Indian revenues.
Colorado. One of the United States, bounded on the north by Dakota and Nebraska, on the east by Nebraska and Kansas, on the south by New Mexico, and on the west by Utah. In 1857 an exploring party started through its territory, but were driven back by hostile Indians. The country is now, however, being rapidly settled, owing to its great fertility and the presence of auriferous deposits.
Color-bearer. The bearer of the colors.
Color-Guard, The. In the U. S. infantry, consists of the color-bearer and a guard of 7 corporals in each regiment. They must all be good soldiers. The color-guard is attached to the right centre company in the line, and its post on the field is one of honor as well as danger.
Colorno.