Nagpore, Nagpur, or Nagpoor. A city of British India, capital of the province of the same name, 430 miles in a direct line east-northeast from Bombay. The rajahs of Nagpore, now an extinct dynasty, were the rulers of a state which was a branch of the great Mahratta confederacy. Its founder was Parsojee, originally a private soldier. Ragojee, one of the successors of Parsojee, united his forces in 1803 with those of Scindia in the war against the British consequent on the treaty of Bassein. The victories of Assaye and Argaum compelled him to sue for peace, and by a treaty concluded in 1804, he surrendered the province of Cuttack. Appa Sahib, his successor, concluded a treaty with the British government, but on November 26, 1817, he made an attack on the British troops at Seetabuldee, an eminence on the outskirts of the town of Nagpore. The British force, only 1400 strong, under Col. Scott, was opposed to a body of 20,000 native troops; but the best dispositions which the suddenness of the attack allowed were promptly made. A noble charge, headed by Capt. Fitzgerald with a small party of cavalry, upon a large body of the enemy’s horse, decided the fortune of the day, which ended in the defeat of the natives.
Naigue, Naick, or Naik. A native non-commissioned officer among Indian and Anglo-Asiatic troops, whose functions are somewhat analogous to those performed among European troops by the drill-sergeant.
Nail Cannon, To. See [Spike Cannon, To].
Nail-ball. A round projectile with an iron pin protruding from it, to prevent its turning in the bore of the piece.
Nairs. A native military tribe of the Malabar coast. They affirm that they are the oldest nobility in the world. Their pride on this supposition is greater than that of the Rajpoots. In 1755, the king of Travancore, with the assistance of a French officer called Launoy, disciplined 10,000 Nairs in the method of European infantry.
Najera. A town of Spain in the province of Logrono. Near this place Edward the Black Prince defeated Henry de Trastamere, and re-established Peter the Cruel on the throne of Castile, April 3, 1367.
Naked Bullet. [Grooved] or [cannelured] bullet as distinguished from the [patched bullet].
Namur. A city of Belgium, capital of the province of the same name, 33 miles southwest from Liège. It has been fortified from the earliest period of its history; in 1692 its defensive works were repaired and strengthened by Coehorn; was taken in the following year by Louis XIV. and Vauban, the latter of whom added considerable to its original strength; in 1695 it sustained a long siege against William III. of England, and was taken; seized by the French in the beginning of the 18th century, but ceded to Austria in 1713. In 1781 the emperor Joseph expelled the Dutch garrison. In 1792 it was occupied by the French, but retaken by the Austrians in 1793. In 1794 it was again occupied by the French, who kept it till the Netherlands were given up by the French government in 1814; and after having been gallantly defended by its French conquerors in 1815, against the Prussians under Pirch, it was finally restored to the Netherlands after the battle of Waterloo, and at once put into thorough repair. The works were demolished again in 1866 with the exception of the citadel.
Nana. In the East Indies, the title which is given to a chief of the Mahrattas. It more properly signifies the acting head of the government, and general of the forces.
Nancy. A city of France, the capital of the department of the Meurthe, situated on the Meurthe, 30 miles south from Metz; it was the capital of Lorraine and the residence of the dukes of that country in the 13th century. After taking Nancy, November 29, 1475, and losing it, October 5, 1476, Charles the Bold of Burgundy was defeated and slain beneath its walls by René II., duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss, January 5, 1477. Nancy on the retreat of MacMahon’s army, and expecting the German army, surrendered to four Uhlans, August 12, 1870.