Bread and Water. A diet used as a military punishment.
Break Ground. Is to commence the siege of a place by opening trenches, etc.
Breast-height. In fortification, the interior slope of a parapet.
Breastplate. A plate worn upon the breast as a part of defensive armor.
Breastwork. In fortification, a defensive work breast-high, hastily thrown up, of earth or other material.
Brechin. A place in Scotland; sustained a siege against the army of Edward III., 1333. The battle of Brechin was fought between the Earls of Huntly and Crawford; the latter was defeated, 1452.
Breech. In ordnance, is the mass of solid metal behind the bottom of the bore, extending to the cascabel. The base of the breech is its rear surface.
Breech-block. The block of metal which closes the bore in breech-loading arms.
Breech-loader. A fire-arm that receives its load at the breech.
Breech-loading. Receiving the charge at the breech instead of the muzzle. A feature of modern small-arms. The principle, however, is very old, as some of the earliest guns were breech-loaders. A gun of the time of Henry VIII. still extant is substantially the same as the modern [Snider]. Puckle’s revolver of 1718 was mounted on a tripod, and was very much like the [Gatling gun] in its general features. The first American patent was to Thornton & Hall, of Massachusetts, 1811. These guns were extensively issued to U. S. troops. There is a specimen in the West Point Museum. Prior to 1861 the best known breech-loading small-arms were [Sharps’], Burnside’s, [Maynard’s], Merrill’s, and [Spencer’s]. See [Small-arms].