Serpenteau (Fr.). A round iron circle, with small spikes, and squibs attached to them. It is frequently used in the attack and defense of a breach. It likewise means a fusee, which is filled with gunpowder, and is bent in such a manner, that when it takes fire, it obtains a circular rapid motion, and throws out sparks of light in various directions.
Serpentine (Fr.). An ancient wall-piece, with a matchlock, carrying an 8-ounce leaden ball, with a charge of 4 ounces of powder. It was 6 or 7 feet long, and weighed from one to two hundred-weight.
Serpentix (Fr.). Cock of the ancient matchlock, also the lock itself. Also, an ancient 24-pounder gun, of 13 feet, weighing 4360 pounds, whose dolphins represented the figures of serpents.
Serre-demi File (Fr.). That rank in a battalion which determines the half of its depth, and which marches before the demi-file. Thus a battalion standing six deep, has its serre-demi file in the third rank, which determines its depth.
Serre-file (Fr.). The last rank of a battalion, by which its depth is ascertained, and which always forms its rear. When ranks are doubled, the battalion resumes its natural formation by means of the serre-files. Serre-file literally signifies a “bringer up.”
Servans d’Armes, or Chevaliers Servans (Fr.). Were persons belonging to the third class of the order of Malta. They were not noblemen, although they wore the sword and the cross.
Servants. In the British service, regimental and staff officers are allowed the indulgence of a steady and well-drilled soldier for a servant; and field-officers, keeping horses, two each. These soldiers are to take their share of any duty on which the officer to whom they are attached is employed, and they must fall in with their respective troops and companies at all reviews, inspections, and field-days. In the U. S. service, officers are not permitted to employ soldiers as servants.
Serve. To be in service; to do duty; to discharge the requirements of an office or employment; and, specifically, to act as a soldier, seaman, etc. To serve a piece, in the artillery, is to load and fire with promptitude and correctness. To serve the vent, to stop it with the thumb.
Servia. One of the Danubian principalities, nominally included in the Ottoman empire, but in reality only tributary to that power. It is bounded on the north by Austria, on the east by Wallachia and Bulgaria, on the south by Rumli and Bosnia, and on the west by Bosnia. In the earliest times of which we have any record, Servia was inhabited by Thracian or Illyrian races; shortly before Christ it was subjugated by the Romans, and formed part of the province of Illyricum, whose fortunes it shared during the vicissitudes of the empire. Overrun successively by the Huns, Ostrogoths, Longobards, etc., it reverted to the Byzantine rulers about the middle of the 6th century, but was wrested from them by the Avars in the 7th century, who in turn were routed by the Serbs, and compelled to give up the country. They were converted to Christianity in the 9th century, but this did not in the least abate their ardor for battle, and for nearly 200 years they were almost constantly at war with the neighboring Bulgarians,—the inveterate enemies of their Byzantine liege lord. In 1043, however, the royal governors were expelled, and they became an independent kingdom. For the next 100 years the Serbs had to fight hard to maintain their independence, and the struggle terminated in their favor; and in 1165, Stephen Nemanja founded a dynasty which lasted for two centuries, during which period the kingdom of Servia attained the acmé of its power and prosperity. Eventually the progress of the Turks, however, was fatal to its welfare, and in 1389 King Lazar fell in the disastrous battle at Kossovapolje. Sultan Bajazet divided the country between Lazar’s son and son-in-law, compelled them to pay tribute and follow him in war. Gradually the Serbs sunk more and more under the Turkish yoke, until, in 1459, Servia was thoroughly subjugated by the sultan Mahmoud. It was uniformly the theatre of the bloody wars between Hungary and Turkey, and frequently suffered the uttermost horrors of devastation. Prince Eugène’s brilliant successes for a moment flashed a ray of hope into the miserable hearts of the long-suffering Serbs, and by the treaty of Passarowitz (1718), a considerable portion of the country was made over to Austria; but in 1739 it reverted to Turkey, and for the next sixty years the cruelty and oppressions of the pashas and their Janissaries surpass all belief. At length the unhappy people could endure the tyranny of their foreign masters no longer, and in 1801 an insurrection broke out, headed by George Czerny, which, by the help of Russia, ended in the triumph of the patriots, and in the election of Czerny by the people as prince of Servia. The invasion of Russia by France, however, left the Serbs at the mercy of their late rulers and the war again broke out. Czerny was forced to flee, and the tyranny of the Turks became more ferocious than ever. Again the people flew to arms under the leadership of Milosch Obrenovitch, and were a second time successful in winning back their liberties. Milosch ruled as prince of Servia until 1839, when he was forced to abdicate; but in 1858 he was restored to his former dignity. In the war between Russia and Turkey in 1876, the Servians took the side of the former, but were not actively engaged.
Service. In a military sense is the art of serving the state in war. All studies, acts, and efforts of the profession of arms have this end in view. To belong to the army and to belong to the land service, are the same thing. In a more restricted sense, service is the performance of military duty. In its general sense, service embraces all details of the military art. But in its restricted sense, actual service is the exercise of military functions. To see service, is a common expression denoting actual collision with an enemy. To retire from service, to quit the army, or resign.