Subsistence. This word may be divided into two sorts, namely, that species of subsistence which is found in an adjacent country, such as forage, and frequently corn; and that which is provided at a distance, and regularly supplied by means of a well-conducted commissary. The latter consists chiefly of meat, bread, etc. To these may be added wood or coals, and straw; which are always wanted in an army.
Subsistence Department. A department which provides subsistence stores for the army, either by contract or purchase. The U. S. subsistence department consists of 1 brigadier-general, 2 colonels, 3 lieutenant-colonels, 8 majors, and 12 captains. See [Commissariat].
Substitute, Military. In nations where conscription is resorted to for the supply of soldiers for the army, the lot often falls on those unwilling to serve in person. In such a case, the state agrees to accept the services of a substitute,—that is, of a person of equally good physique. Unless the levy be very extensive, or the term of military service very long, substitutes are readily found among military men who have already served their prescribed period. Of course, the substitute must be paid for the risk he runs. His price depends, like all other salable articles, on the demand and supply.
Succeedant. In heraldry, succeeding one another, following.
Success of Arms. The good luck, or fortune, which attends military operations, and upon which the fate of a nation frequently depends. Success is indispensable to the reputation of a general. It often hallows rash and unauthorized measures.
Succession of Rank. Relative gradation according to the dates of commission.
Succession Wars. These wars were of frequent occurrence in Europe, between the middle of the 17th and the middle of the 18th centuries, on the occasion of the failure of a sovereign house. The most important of these was that of the Orleans succession to the Palatinate (1686-97), closed by the peace of Ryswick; of the Spanish succession (1700-13), which was distinguished by the achievements of the Duke of Marlborough and the Earl of Peterborough, and their unprofitable results, arose on the question whether an Austrian prince or a French prince should succeed to the throne of Spain; of the Polish succession (1733-38), closed by the peace of Vienna; of the Austrian succession (1740-48); and of the Bavarian succession (1777-79), called, in ridicule, the Potato war. Of these, the second and fourth were by far the most important.
Successive Pontons. See [Pontons].
Sudbury. A town in Middlesex Co., Mass., 20 miles west by north from Boston. A battle was fought here on April 18, 1776, in which Capt. S. Wadsworth and two-thirds of his men were killed by the Indians, in King Philip’s war.
Suessiones, or Suessones. A powerful people in Gallia Belgica, who were reckoned the bravest of all the Belgic Gauls after the Bellovaci, and who could bring 50,000 men into the field in Cæsar’s time. Their king Divitiacus, shortly before Cæsar’s arrival in the country, was reckoned the most powerful chief in all Gaul, and had extended his sovereignty even over Britain. The Suessiones dwelt in an extensive and fertile country east of the Bellovaci, south of the Veromandui, and west of the Remi. They possessed twelve towns, of which the capital was Noviodunum, subsequently Augusta Suessonum, or Suessones.