Eilau-Preussisch. A town of Prussia, government of Königsberg. It is chiefly celebrated for the victory gained there by the French over the united Prussian and Russian armies, February 8, 1807.
Einsiedeln. A small town of Switzerland, in the canton of Schwytz. It contains a fine abbey, which was rifled by the French in 1798.
Ejector. The device used in breech-loading small-arms to throw out the metallic cartridge-case after it is fired.
Ejector Spring. The spring which operates an ejector.
El Arish. A village of Lower Egypt on the Mediterranean, on the route from Egypt to Syria. It is but little more than a fort and a few houses, and was taken by the French in 1799; and here the French general Kleber signed, in 1800, a convention with Sir Sydney Smith, engaging to leave Egypt with his troops.
Elath, or Eloth. A seaport situated at the head of that gulf of the Red Sea, to which it gave its name. It was a fortified port in the time of Solomon; revolted against Joram; was retaken by Azariah; and was eventually conquered by Rezui, and held by the Syrians till it became a Roman frontier town. Under the Mohammedan rule it rose for a while to some importance, but has now sunk into insignificance.
Elba. An island belonging to the kingdom of Italy, in the Mediterranean Sea, between Corsica and the coast of Tuscany, from the latter of which it is separated by a channel 5 miles in breadth. Elba has been rendered famous in history from having been Napoleon’s place of exile from May, 1814, till February, 1815.
El Boden. A mountain-range, near Ciudad Rodrigo, in Spain, where the British troops distinguished themselves against an overwhelming French force in 1811.
Elbow-gauntlet. An ancient piece of armor, a gauntlet of plate reaching to the elbow, adopted from the Asiatics in the 16th century.
Elbow-piece. An ancient piece of armor, a metal plate used to cover the junction of the rere-brace and rant-brace, by which the upper and lower half of the arm were covered.