Cholet. A town of France, in the department of Maine-et-Loire. Here, during the Vendean war, two actions were fought in 1793, in both of which the royalists were defeated. In the first they lost their brave general, Bonchamps; and the second drove them across the Loire, thus virtually deciding the war against them.
Chosroes. See [Khosroo].
Chotyn. See [Choczim].
Chouans. The name which a band of peasants received who fought for the monarchy against the convention in Maine and Normandy in 1793. They received their name from their leader, Jean Cattereau, nicknamed “Chouan,” and were with great difficulty subdued, their final submission not taking place till 1803.
Christian Charity, Knights of the Order of. Was the name of an order instituted by King Henry III. of France for the support of maimed officers and soldiers who had done good service in the wars. Henry IV. placed it under the charge of the marshals and colonels of France, and by means of it many of those who had served their country faithfully were enabled to spend the latter portion of their lives in peace and above want. The order formed the germ of that noble hospital, the Invalides, which was founded by Louis XIV., and which served as a model for the English hospitals of Greenwich and Chelsea. On the founding of the hospital the order was superseded.
Christiansand. A fortified seaport of Norway, and capital of a government of the same name. This place was founded in 1641 by Christian IV., and was taken by the British in 1807.
Christ, Order of. When the Templars were expelled from France, and their property confiscated by Philippe le Bel, they were received into Portugal, and their order revived there in 1317 under this title. Noble descent and three years’ military service against the infidel were required for admission.
Chrome Steel. See [Ordnance, Metals for].
Chronograph. See [Chronoscope].
Chronoscope. An instrument for measuring minute intervals of time. The term is specially applied by military men to instruments for obtaining initial velocities. The [gun-pendulum] and [ballistic-pendulum] were formerly used for this purpose, but are now nearly obsolete. All modern chronoscopes use electricity as a transmitting agent. The general method of applying it is to have the current-bearing wires pass through two targets placed in the path of the projectile. These wires are cut by the projectile, and the interval between the successive ruptures is recorded by a delicate time-keeper. Knowing the distance between the targets, the velocity is obtained by dividing this space, expressed in feet, by the number of seconds in the interval. Chronoscopes differ in the kind of time-keeper employed. One of the largest classes of chronoscopes use the pendulum.