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Saalfeld. A town of Germany, in the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, on the Saale, 23 miles south from Weimar. Here the Prussians under Prince Louis Frederick of Prussia were defeated and their leader slain by the French under Lannes, October 10, 1806.
Saarbrück (anc. Augusti Mari, or Saræpons). An open town on the left bank of the Saar, in Rhenish Prussia. It was founded in the 10th century, and was long subject to the bishops of Metz; it was afterwards ruled by counts (about 1237), and by the house of Nassau about 1380. It was captured by the French and retaken by the Germans, 1676; reunited to France, 1794-1814, and ceded to Prussia, 1815. On August 2, 1870, it was bombarded by the French under Frossard, and the Prussians in small force were dislodged, and the town occupied by the French general Bataille. The emperor Napoleon and his son were present during this bombardment. On August 6, the Prussian generals Goeben and Von Steinmetz, with the first army, recaptured Saarbrück, after a sanguinary conflict at the village of Spicheren. The heights taken by the French on the 2d are in Germany, those taken by the Germans on the 6th are in France, and both battles were fought between Saarbrück and the town of Forbach, which was captured and has given a name to the second conflict. The loss was great on both sides. The French general François was killed, and the 2d Corps under Frossard nearly destroyed. The French retreated to Metz. They were greatly superior in numbers at the beginning of the fight, but were badly commanded.
Sabander. The familiar of shah-bander, an Eastern title for captain or governor of a post.
Sabantines. Steel coverings for the feet; sometimes slippers or clogs.
Sabbatons. A round-toed armed covering for the feet, worn during a part of the 16th century.
Sabini. An ancient people of Central Italy, were generally supposed to have derived their name from Sabus, their chief tutelary deity. Their antiquity was very great. They were the parent-stock of many of the neighboring tribes, such as the Samnites, the Peligni, and the Picentes. The Sabini inhabited the mountain region lying to the northeast of Rome. They were a valiant warlike race, and at an early age of authentic history they issued from their mountain fastness and began a system of warlike aggression upon their neighbors. Gradually and by repeated attacks, their invading hordes subdued the aborigines, and advanced southward, occupying the land. At length, pushing their outposts to the very gates of Rome, they commenced to interfere with the affairs of that rising city. By victory or by compromise they gained admittance into the state upon very advantageous terms. They were not satisfied, but persisted in their encroachments upon the Roman territory, until defeated by Tullus Hostilius and by Tarquinius Priscus; however, they continued their raids until 449 B.C., when M. Horatius gave them a defeat which kept them quiet for more than a century and a half. They recovered in 290 B.C., only to be overthrown by Manlius Curius Dentatus with greater completeness than ever. They finally became a part of the Roman empire.
Sable. One of the tinctures in heraldry, implying black. In heraldic engravings, it is represented by perpendicular and horizontal lines crossing each other.
Sabot. Is a thick, circular disk of wood, to which, in fixed ammunition, the cartridge-bag and projectile are attached. For a spherical projectile, the sabot has a spherical cavity, and circular groove to which the cartridge-bag is tied; in the canister-sabot, the spherical cavity is omitted, and a circular offset is added. The effects of a sabot are: (1) To prevent the formation of a [lodgment] in the bore. (2) To moderate the action of the powder on the projectile; and, (3) To prevent the projectile from moving from its place. In consequence of the scattering of the fragments, it is dangerous to use the sabot in firing over the heads of one’s own men. The term is also applied to the soft metal device attached to the base of rifled projectiles to take the grooves of the bore.
Sabre. A long curved or straight cavalry sword, with a broad and heavy blade, used for cutting and thrusting.