Clide (Fr.). A machine of war, used during the Middle Ages to throw rocks on besieging parties.
Clifton Moor (England). Here the Scotch insurgents were defeated by the royal troops in 1745.
Clipeus. A large shield worn by the ancient Greeks and Romans, which was originally of a circular form, made of wicker-work or wood covered over with ox-hides several folds deep, and bound round the edge with metal.
Clontarf. A place near Dublin, Ireland, the site of a battle fought on Good Friday, April 23, 1014, between the Irish and Danes, the former headed by Brian Boroihme, monarch of Ireland, who defeated the invaders, after a long and bloody engagement. Brian was wounded, and soon afterwards died. His son Murchard also fell, with many of the nobility; 11,000 Danes are said to have perished in the battle.
Close Column. A column of troops in which the subdivisions are at less than full distance,—that is, less than the length of one of the subdivisions.
Clostercamp. A village of Rhenish Prussia. Here the French gained a victory on October 15-16, 1760.
Closterseven (Hanover), Convention of. Was entered into September 8, 1757, between the Duke of Cumberland, third son of George II., and the Duke of Richelieu, commander of the French armies. By its humiliating stipulations, 38,000 Hanoverians laid down their arms, and were dispersed. The duke immediately afterwards resigned all his military commands, and the convention was soon broken by both parties.
Clothing. The President of the United States is authorized to prescribe the kind and quality of clothing to be issued annually to the troops of the United States. The manner of issuing and accounting for clothing shall be established by general regulations of the War Department. The clothing of the British army is determined by a permanent board, composed of the commander-in-chief and a certain number of general officers, who act under the authority of the sovereign.
Club, To. To throw into confusion, to deform through ignorance or inadvertence. To club a battalion, to throw it into confusion. This happens through a temporary inability in the commanding officer to restore any given body of men to their natural front in line or column, after some manœuvre has been performed.
Coa. A river in Portugal, province of Beira. The spur which separates the Coa from the Agueda incloses the plateau of Fuentes d’Onore, famous for the battle of 1811, which was fought by Masséna with the English. See [Fuentes d’Onore].