Guinegate, Battle of. Or more familiarly, the “Battle of the Spurs,” was fought at Guinegate, not far from Tournai, in the province of Hainault, August 16, 1513, between the English under Henry VIII., assisted by a considerable body of troops headed by the emperor Maximilian, and the French under the Duc de Longueville. The latter were defeated. The battle received its familiar designation from the circumstance of the French knights having made better use of their [spurs] than of their [swords].
Guisarme, or Gisarme (Fr.). An offensive weapon formerly used in France; it was a two-edged axe mounted upon a long handle, and sometimes called voulque. There were three kinds; the [glaive] gisarme had a sabre-blade with a spike, the [bill] gisarme a blade like a hedging-bill, and the hand gisarme was a kind of bill with a serrated back.
Guisarmiers (Fr.). Were French foot-soldiers (piétons) of the free archers, armed with the guisarme.
Gujerat, or Guzerat. A walled town of the Punjab, on the right side of the Chenab, about 8 miles from the stream. It is a place of some military importance, being on the great route between Attock and Lahore. Here on February 21, 1849, a Sikh army of 60,000 men was utterly defeated by a British force decidedly inferior in point of numbers.
Gules. The term by which the color red is known in heraldry. In engraving it is marked by perpendicular lines traced from the top of the shield to the bottom. It is supposed to indicate valor, magnanimity, and the like, and is regarded as the most honorable heraldic color.
Gun. In its most general sense, a gun is a machine, having the general shape of a hollow cylinder closed at one end, and used for the purpose of projecting heavy bodies to great distances by means of gunpowder. Technically, it is a heavy cannon, distinguished by its great weight, length, and absence of a chamber. It is used for throwing projectiles with large charges of powder to long distances, with great accuracy and penetration. Guns came into use in the 14th century, and were first fired from supports, and in reality were artillery. Shortly after, they took the form of a clumsy hand-gun, called an arquebuse, which was portable, but discharged from a forked rest. The next modification, which came into use about the end of the 14th century, was called the matchlock. The piece was discharged by a lighted match brought down on the powder-pan by the action of a trigger. This was superseded in 1517 by the wheel-lock, the fire being produced by the action of a toothed wheel upon flint or iron pyrites. Almost contemporary with this was the snaphance gun, in which sparks were generated by the concussion of flint on the ribbed top of the powder-pan. About the middle of the 17th century the flint-lock began to be employed. This was a combination of the two latter weapons, but much superior to either. It continued universally in use until the early part of the present century, when the percussion-lock was invented, which by 1840 (the time of its adoption by the British government), had completely superseded it. As the lock improved, and the rapidity of firing increased, the weight of the piece diminished; the old tripod first used as a rest gave way to one stake, and finally, in the 18th century, was abandoned altogether. The weapon was then the smooth-bore musket, which continued in use with various modifications until the middle of the 19th century, when it was partially superseded by the rifle. (See [Small-arms].) In their earlier stages cannon went by various names, as bombards, culverins, petronels, and later on were reduced to the three denominations, technically, of guns, howitzers, and mortars. For the two latter, see [Howitzer] and [Mortar]. Guns are subdivided in the U. S. service according to their use, into field, siege, and sea-coast guns. The field-guns consist of two rifle pieces; the 3-inch rifle, adopted in 1861, and the 31⁄2-inch rifle, adopted in 1870 (see [Ordnance, Construction of]), and the Napoleon gun, a 12-pounder smooth-bore, adopted in 1857. (See [Napoleon Gun].) The only siege gun adopted by the United States is a 41⁄2-inch rifle. The 30-pounder Parrott, so extensively employed in our service for siege purposes, is not a regulation gun. The sea-coast guns consist of 13-, 15-, and 20-inch smooth-bores, and 10- and 12-inch rifles. An 8-inch rifle has been constructed by converting the 10-inch smooth-bore according to the Palliser or Parsons method. The 13-inch smooth-bore and the 10- and 12-inch rifles are regarded as experimental guns. The guns principally in use for the land and sea forces of the United States are those known as the [Columbiad], or [Rodman], [Dahlgren], [Gatling], [Hotchkiss], [Napoleon], [Parrott]. (For particular descriptions, see appropriate headings.) In the British service they are the [Armstrong], [Palliser], [Woolwich], or [Fraser], and the [Lancaster], [Mackay], and [Whitworth]; the three latter being now very little used. (See appropriate headings.) The only breech-loader in general use in Europe is the Krupp, which is largely employed for all purposes by Germany and Russia. See [Krupp Gun].
Gun, Curricle. Is a small piece of ordnance, mounted upon a carriage of two wheels, and drawn by two horses. The artilleryman is seated on a box, and the whole can be moved forward into action with astonishing rapidity. The tumbrils belonging to curricle guns carry 60 rounds of ball cartridges. This gun is no longer in general use.
Gun Factories, Royal. Are government establishments in England, at Woolwich, and Elswick, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, for the construction of great guns for the use of the British army and navy.
Gun-barrel. The barrel or tube of a gun. Gun-barrels were formerly made on the coiled principle, and this method is still largely followed in thin barrels like those of shot-guns. The superior kinds of shot-gun barrels are known as stub, stub-twist, wire-twist, laminated, etc.
Stub-iron is made from horseshoe nails cleaned by tumbling and mixed with a small proportion of steel scrap. It is then puddled and put through various processes, which end in the production of a flat bar called a skelp.