A Military Dictionary and Gazetteer / Comprising ancient and modern military technical terms, historical accounts of all North American Indians, as well as ancient warlike tribes; also notices of battles from the earliest period to the present time, with a concise explanation of terms used in heraldry and the offices thereof. The work also gives valuable geographical information. Compiled from the best authorities of all nations. With an appendix containing the Articles of war, etc.

by Thomas Wilhelm

Push. To press against with force; to drive or impel by pressure; as, to push back an enemy.

Push. An assault or attack; a forcible onset; a vigorous effort.

Put to the Sword, To. To kill with the sword; to slay.

Puteoli (the modern Puzzuoli). A celebrated seaport town of Campania, was situated on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Baiæ. A colony from the neighboring Greek city of Cumæ founded it in 521 B.C., under the name of Dicæarchia. In the second Punic war the Romans fortified it, and changed its name into that of Puteoli. It was destroyed by Alaric in 410, by Genseric in 455, and also by Totila in 545, but was on each occasion speedily rebuilt. In the 9th century the Lombard dukes of Benevento reduced it.

Putteeala. A town of British India, capital of a dependent native state of the same name, in Sirhind, on the Kosilla, 1023 miles northwest of Calcutta. It was taken possession of by the British in 1809, but the rajah retains the sovereignty, on condition of furnishing a certain number of troops in case of war to the British government.

Puzzuoli, or Pozzuoli. See [Puteoli].

Pydna (now Kitron). A town of Macedonia, in the district Pieria, was situated at a small distance west of the Thermaic Gulf, on which it had a harbor. It was originally a Greek colony, but was subdued by the Macedonian kings, from whom, however, it frequently revolted. Toward the end of the Peloponnesian war it was taken after a long siege by Archelaus. It again revolted from the Macedonians, and was subdued by Philip, who enlarged and fortified the place. It was here that Olympias sustained a long siege against Cassander, 317-16 B.C. It is especially memorable on account of the victory gained under its walls by Æmilius Paulus over Perseus, the last king of Macedonia, 168 B.C.

Pylos, or Pilus. In the southwest of Messenia, was situated at the foot of Mount Ægaleos on a promontory at the northern entrance of the basin, now called the Bay of Navarino, the largest and safest harbor of Greece. In the second Messenian war the inhabitants of Pylos offered a long and brave resistance to the Spartans; but after the capture of Ira, they were obliged to quit their native country with the rest of the Messenians. It again became memorable in the Peloponnesian war, when the Athenians under Demosthenes built a fort on the promontory Coryphasium, a little south of the ancient city, and just within the northern entrance of the harbor (425 B.C.). The attempts of the Spartans to dislodge the Athenians proved unavailing; and the capture by Cleon of the Spartans, who had landed in the island of Sphacteria, was one of the most important events in the whole war.

Pyramids, Battle of the. So called from having taken place close to the large pyramids in the plain of Mummies, at Waardam, within a few miles of Grand Cairo. A previous engagement had been fought on July 15, 1799, between the Mamelukes under Murad Bey and the French army, commanded by Bonaparte in person. On July 21, 1799, the second battle, called the “battle of the Pyramids,” was fought, when Bonaparte defeated the Mamelukes under Murad Bey and thus subdued Lower Egypt.

Pyrenees, Battle of the. The Pyrenees are a chain of mountains which separate Spain from France, and are nearly 75 miles broad. Towards the close of the Peninsular war, in 1813, these mountains were the scene of many severe conflicts between the British troops under the Duke of Wellington and the French forces under Marshal Soult. After the defeat of Joseph Bonaparte at Vittoria, Soult took the command of the French armies as lieutenant de l’empereur; and after addressing the beaten soldiery in language that proved fatally unprophetic, he hastened to relieve the beleaguered fortresses, and the result was “the battles of the Pyrenees.” Pampeluna, Roncesvalles, Maya, Orthez, etc., were the seats of the principal struggles. For nine days the armies had been in each other’s presence; and in severe operations and desperate fighting these days were unexampled. The allied casualties exceeded 7000 men,—and those of the French might be safely set down at 15,000.