Stack Arms. To set up muskets or rifles together, with the bayonets crossing one another, and forming a sort of conical pile.
Stack of Arms. A number of muskets or rifles set up together, with the bayonets crossing one another, forming a sort of conical pile.
Stacket. A stockade.
Stadia. A very simple aid in estimating distances, consists of a small stick, held vertically in the hand at arm’s length, and bringing the top of a man’s head in line with the top of the stick, noting where a line in the eye of the observer to the feet of the man cuts the stick or stadia, as it is called. To graduate the stadia, a man of the ordinary height of a foot-soldier, say 5 feet 8 inches, is placed at a known distance, say 50 yards, and the distance on the stick covered by him when it is held at arm’s length is marked and divided into eight equal parts. If the distance is now increased until the man covers only one of these divisions, we know he is at a distance equal to 50 × 8 = 400 yards. This instrument is not very accurate, except for short distances. A much more accurate stadia is constructed by making use of a metal plate having a slit in it in the form of an isosceles triangle, the base of which, held at a certain distance from the edge, subtends a man (5 feet 8 inches), say at the distance of 100 yards. A slider moves along the triangle, being always parallel to the base, and the length of it comprised between the two sides of the triangle represents the height of men at different distances, which are marked in yards on the side of the triangle, above or below, according as the object looked at is a foot-soldier or horseman. In order to keep the stadia always at the same distance from the eye, a string is attached to the slider, the opposite end having a knot tied in it, which is held between the teeth while using the instrument, which is held in the right hand, the slider being moved with the left-hand finger. The string should always be kept stretched when the instrument is used, and the line in a vertical position. It must be graduated experimentally by noting the positions in which the slider represents the height of the object. The instrument used is not, however, reliable. Its uncertainty increases in an equal ratio with the distance of the object observed. At the extreme ranges it is quite useless. At the school for firing, at Vincennes, therefore, they rely entirely on the eye alone for the judgment of distances, and great pains by careful practice and instruction is taken to perfect that judgment. A simple instrument by which distances can be determined is, therefore, still a great desideratum.
Staff. The staff of an army consists of a body of skilled officers whose duty it is to combine and give vitality to the movements and mechanical action of the several regiments and drilled bodies composing the force. The distinction between an officer on the staff of an army and a regimental officer is that the latter is concerned with his own regiment alone, while the former deals with his army (of course under the orders of his commanding officer), or section of an army, and regulates the combined action of the several arms and bodies of men. A good staff is all-important to the success of a military enterprise. In the British service the [general staff] of an army comprises the general in actual command, with the subordinate generals commanding the several divisions and brigades; as assistants to these the officers of the adjutant-general’s department,—i.e., the adjutant-general, his deputy, assistants, and deputy-assistants, if the army be large enough to require them all. Similarly, the officers of the quartermaster-general’s department; the brigade-major; the provost-marshal, and the judge-advocate.
In the U. S. service the general staff consists of the officers of the several military bureaux, such as of the adjutant-general’s department, the quartermaster’s department, etc. For the officers comprising these corps, see appropriate headings throughout this work.
The general staff of the British army consists at present of a field-marshal commanding-in-chief, whose headquarters are at London; under him, of a lieutenant-general commanding-in-chief in Ireland. This command includes, of course, the general officer commanding in each military district of the United Kingdom and in each colony; each of these generals having the usual subordinate staff subject to his orders. India forms a nearly independent command, under a commander-in-chief, whose headquarters are at Bengal. There are subordinate commanders-in-chief in Bombay and Madras; and in each presidency there are several military divisions.
The personal staff consists of the aides-de-camp and military secretaries to the respective general officers. These officers, who are treated of separately in this work, are appointed within certain limits by the generals whom they serve, and their appointments expire on those generals ceasing to command.
The garrison staff consists of the officers governing in fortresses and garrisons; as commandants, fort-majors, town-majors, fort-adjutants, and garrison-adjutants.
The civil or department staff includes those non-combatant officers who have to provide for the daily requirements of the troops. These are the commissaries, barracks, medical, chaplains, purveyors, store, and veterinary departments.