Intrepidity. An unqualified contempt of death; an indifference to fortune as far as it regards personal safety; a fearlessness of heart, and a daring enterprise of mind.
Inundation. The act of letting water into a country so that it shall be overflowed, to prevent the approach of an enemy. It is among the most considerable of the various methods which have been devised for impeding the approach to a field-work, or indeed, any fortification.
Invade, To. To make a forcible or clandestine entry into the territory of another state; to pass the regular line of frontier of any country, in order to take possession of the interior.
Invalid. A soldier who has been wounded, or has suffered in his health, and in consequence of his good conduct has been recommended to a certain provision for life. Chelsea Hospital is the place allotted for the reception of such objects of public gratitude and benevolence in England; the Soldiers’ Home, in Washington, D. C., in the United States, and the Hôtel des Invalides, at Paris, France. In England numbers of invalids are, however, allowed to reside where they choose, and are then known as “out-pensioners.”
Invalides. Wounded veterans of the French army, maintained at the expense of the State. See [Hôtel des Invalides].
Invaliding. Signifies the return home, or to a more healthy climate, of soldiers or sailors whom wounds or the severity of foreign service has rendered incapable of active duty. The man invalided returns to his duty as soon as his restored health justifies the step.
Invasion. In war, is the entrance or attack of an enemy on the dominions of another.
Inventory of Effects of Deceased Officers and Soldiers. See Appendix, [Articles of War], [125], [126].
Inverness. A royal burgh of Scotland, capital of a county of the same name, situated on both sides of the river Ness. It was a city of the Picts up to 843; taken by Edward I.; retaken by Bruce, 1313; burnt by the Lord of the Isles, 1411; taken by Cromwell, 1649; and by Prince Charles Edward in 1746. The latter was defeated at Culloden, about 5 miles from Inverness, April 16, 1746.
Inversion. A movement in tactics by which the order of companies in line is inverted, the right being on the left, the left on the right, and so on.