Dragoon. From the old fable that the dragon spouts fire, the head of the monster was worked upon the muzzle of a peculiar kind of short muskets which were first carried by the horsemen raised by Marshal Brissac in 1600. This circumstance led to their being called dragoons; and from the general adoption of the same weapon, though without the emblem in question, the term gradually extended itself till it became almost synonymous with horse-soldier. Dragoons were at one time a kind of mounted infantry, drilled to perform the services both of horse and foot. At present, dragoon is simply one among many designations for cavalry, not very precise in its application. This term is not now used in the U. S. service.
Dragoon, To. Is to persecute by abandoning a place to the rage of the soldiers.
Dragoon Guards. In the British service, seven regiments of heavy cavalry bear this title.
Drag-rope. This is a 4-inch hemp rope, 28 feet long, with a thimble worked into each end, one of the thimbles carrying a hook. Six handles, made of oak or ash, are put in between the strands of the rope, and lashed with a marline. It is used to assist in extricating carriages from different positions by the men, for dragging pieces, etc.
Drag-rope Men. The men attached to light or heavy ordnance, for the purpose of expediting movements in action. The French servans à la prolonge are of this description.
Drain, or Drein. In the military art, is a trench made to draw water out of a ditch, which is afterwards filled with hurdles and earth, or with fascines or bundles of rushes, and planks, to facilitate the passage over the mud.
Drake. A small piece of artillery, no longer used.
Draught. The act of drawing men from a military band, army, or post, or from any company or society; draft; detachment; also, formerly, a sudden attack or drawing upon an enemy.
Draughted. The soldiers of any regiment allotted to complete other regiments are said to be draughted, or drafted.
Draught-hook. Either of two large hooks of iron fixed on the cheeks of a gun-carriage, two on each side, used in drawing the gun backward and forward.