Marsilly Carriage. A naval gun-carriage having but one set of trucks, one of the transoms resting directly on the deck. It is used in the U. S. navy for mounting the 9-inch Dahlgren in broadside.
Marston Moor. Near the city of York, England. The Scots and Parliamentary army were besieging York, when Prince Rupert, joined by the Marquis of Newcastle, determined to raise the siege. Both sides drew up on Marston Moor, July 2, 1644, and the contest was long undecided. Rupert, commanding the right wing of the royalists, was opposed by Oliver Cromwell, at the head of troops disciplined by himself. Cromwell was victorious; he drove his opponents off the field, followed the vanquished, returned to a second engagement and a second victory. The prince’s artillery was taken and the royalists never recovered the blow.
Marta, or Martha Santa. A town of New Granada, South America, capital of a province of the same name in the department of Magdalena. It was repeatedly sacked by pirates during the 16th and 17th centuries; and in 1672 was completely pillaged by a French and an English vessel. It suffered much from the attacks of the Indians during the revolutionary war, and does not appear to have regained its former importance.
Marteau d’Armes (Fr.). An offensive weapon, so called from its resemblance to a hammer.
Martel-de-fer. A hammer and pick conjoined, used by horse-soldiers in the Middle Ages to break and destroy armor.
Martello Towers. Are round towers for coast defense, about 40 feet high, built most solidly, and situated on the beach. They occur in several places round the coast of Great Britain; but principally opposite to the French coast, along the southern shore of Kent and Sussex, where, for many miles, they are within easy range of each other. They were mostly erected during the French war, as a defense against invasion. Each had walls of 51⁄2 feet thickness and was supposed to be bomb-proof. The base formed the magazine; above were two rooms for the garrison, and over the upper of these the flat roof, with a 41⁄2 feet brick parapet all round. On this roof a heavy swivel-gun was to be placed to command shipping, while howitzers on each side were to form a flanking defense in connection with the neighboring towers. Although the cost of these little forts was very great, they are generally considered to have been a failure. The name is said to be taken from Italian towers built near the sea, during the period when piracy was common in the Mediterranean, for the purpose of keeping watch and giving warning if a pirate-ship was seen approaching. This warning was given by striking on a bell with a hammer (Ital. martello), and hence these towers were called tarri da martello.
Martial. Pertaining to war; suited to war; military, as, martial music; a martial appearance; given to war; warlike; brave, as, a martial nation or people; belonging to war, or to an army and navy; opposed to civil; as, martial law; a court-martial.
Martial Law. An arbitrary law, proceeding directly from the military power, and having no immediate constitutional or legislative sanction. When it is imposed upon any specified district, all the inhabitants, and all their actions, are brought within its dominion. It is founded on paramount necessity, extends to matters of civil as well as of criminal jurisdiction, and is proclaimed only in times of war, insurrection, rebellion, or other great emergency. It is so far distinct from military law, which affects only the troops and forces. Martial law may, in fact, be termed a subjection to the Articles of War. In a hostile country it consists in the suspension, by the occupying military authority, of the civil and criminal law, and of the domestic administration and government in the occupied place or territory, and in the substitution of military rule and force for the same, as well as in the dictation of general laws, as far as military necessity requires this suspension, substitution, or dictation, and is simply military authority exercised in accordance with the laws and usages of war. Military oppression is not martial law, it is the abuse of the power which that law confers. As martial law is executed by military force, it is incumbent upon those who administer it to be strictly guided by the principles of justice, honor, and humanity,—virtues adorning a soldier even more than other men, for the very reason that he possesses the power or his arms against the unarmed. Martial law affects chiefly the police and collection of public revenue and taxes, whether imposed by the expelled government or by the invader, and refers mainly to the support and efficiency of the army, its safety, and the safety of its operations.
Martialize. To render warlike; as, to martialize a people.
Martinet (so called from an officer of that name in the French army under Louis XIV.). A strict disciplinarian; one who lays stress on the rigid adherence to the details of discipline, or to forms and fixed methods.