Teutonic. A term applied to a group of nations, as well as languages, forming an important division or stem of the Aryan family. Of the various tribes and nations spoken of as inhabiting Northern Europe in ancient times, it is often difficult to determine which were really of Germanic race, and which Celtic or Slavic. Of undoubted German nations who took part in the destruction of the Roman empire the most prominent were the [Goths] (which see), [Lombards] (which see), [Vandals] (which see), and [Franks] (which see). The term Teutonic is derived from Teutones, the name of a nation or tribe first mentioned by Pytheas, who wrote about 320 B.C., as then inhabiting a part of the Cimbric Chersonesus, or Jutland. For the next 200 years there is no further mention of the Teutones, that is, not until 113 B.C., when they appear in history as ravaging Gaul, and in conjunction with the Cimbri and Ambrones, threatening the very existence of the Roman republic. The Cimbri having gone into Spain, the Teutones and Ambrones were at length defeated by C. Marius in a great battle at Aqua Sextiæ, in Gaul, 102 B.C. A similar victory was gained by Marius in the following year over the Cimbri in the plains of Lombardy.
Teutonic Knights. One of the more celebrated of the military and religious orders to which the Crusades gave birth. The sufferings of the Christian soldiers at the siege of Acre excited the sympathy of certain merchants of Bremen and Lübeck, who rendered such important services by the erection of hospitals and otherwise, that Duke Frederick of Suabia, with the sanction of Pope Clement III. and the emperor Henry VI., enrolled them in an order of knighthood. The habit of the order was a white mantle with a black cross; and the knights took vows of poverty and chastity, which in later times were not very strictly interpreted. In the course of the 13th century, they were, with the sanction of the pope, engaged in a bloody war to enforce Christianity on the heathen nations inhabiting the southern shores of the Baltic, which resulted in the acquisition by the order of Prussia, Livonia, Courland, and other adjoining territories. Warriors from all parts of Europe in that and the following century joined their standard, including Henry IV. of England, accompanied by 300 attendant knights and men-at-arms. The conquests of the order raised it to the rank of a sovereign order, with a territory extending from the Oder to the Baltic, and embracing a population of between 2,000,000, and 3,000,000, the grand master having his seat at Marienburg, Prussia. The decline of the order began in the 15th century, and its fall was brought about partly by internal dissensions, and partly by the attacks of neighboring states. At the peace of Presburg in 1805, the emperor of Austria obtained the rights and revenues of the grand master, but in 1809 the order was abolished by Napoleon, its lands passing to the sovereigns in whose dominions they lay. The Teutonic order, however, still continues to preserve a titular existence in Austria.
Tewkesbury. A town of England, in Gloucestershire, on the Avon, and near its confluence with the Severn, 10 miles northeast from Gloucester. It is a very ancient town. Within a mile of it was fought (May 14, 1471) the famous battle of Tewkesbury, in which the Yorkists under Edward IV. and Richard III. inflicted a signal defeat on the Lancastrians.
Texas. One of the southwestern of the United States of America, is bounded on the southwest by Mexico, from which it is separated by the Rio Grande, and on the east by Arkansas and Louisiana. La Salle, the French explorer, erected a fort on Matagorda Bay, 1687. A Spanish settlement and mission was formed in 1690, but soon abandoned. In 1715, the country was settled by the Spaniards under the name of New Philippines, and several missions established; but the Camanche and Apache Indians, among the most warlike in America, and still the terror of the border settlements, hindered the progress of the country. In 1803, when Louisiana was ceded by France to the United States, Texas, claimed by both Spain and the United States, became a disputed territory. From 1806 to 1816, settlements were formed, and several attempts made to wrest the country from Spain. In one of these, in 1813, 2500 Americans and Mexicans and 700 inhabitants of San Antonio were killed. Mina, a Spanish refugee, gained some successes, but was defeated and shot. Lafitte, a Gulf pirate, made a settlement at Galveston in 1815, but it was broken up in 1821. In 1820, Moses Austin, an American, got a large tract of land from the Mexican government, and began a settlement, which rapidly increased; but many of the settlers were of so lawless a character, that in 1830 the government forbade any more Americans coming into Texas. In 1833, a convention of settlers, 20,000 in number, made an unsuccessful attempt to form an independent Mexican state; and in 1835 a provisional government was formed, Sam Houston chosen commander-in-chief, and the Mexicans driven out of Texas. Santa Anna, president of Mexico, invaded the country with an army of 7500, but after some successes was entirely routed at San Jacinto, April 21, and Texas became an independent republic, acknowledged in 1837 by the United States, and in 1840 by England, France, and Belgium. In December, 1845, Texas was annexed to the United States, but was invaded by Mexico, which had never acknowledged its independence. A war followed (1846-48) in which Mexico was defeated. In February, 1861, Texas joined the Secession, and furnished many soldiers and immense supplies to the Confederate armies. In February, 1866, the ordinance of secession was annulled, and in 1870 the reconstruction was completed, and regular civil government restored.
Thanks. Public acknowledgments for gallant actions.
Thapsus (ruins at Demas). A city on the east coast of Bycazena, in Africa Propria, where Cæsar finally defeated the Pompeian army, and finished the civil war, 46 B.C.
Thasos (now Thaso, or Tasso). An island in the Grecian Archipelago, belonging to Turkey, off the coast of Roumelia, 30 miles north-northeast of Mount Athos. It was at a very early period taken possession of by the Phœnicians on account of its gold mines. Thasos was afterwards colonized by the Parians, 708 B.C. Before the Persian conquest, the Thasians were one of the richest and most powerful tribes in the north of the Ægean. They were subdued by the Persians under Mardonius, and subsequently became part of the Athenian maritime empire. They revolted, however, from Athens in 465 B.C., and after sustaining a siege of three years were subdued by Cimon in 463. They were obliged to surrender to the Athenians all their possessions in Thrace, to destroy their fortifications, to give up their ships, and to pay a large tribute for the future. They again revolted from Athens in 411, and called in the Spartans, but the island was again restored to the Athenians by Thrasybulus in 407.
Thaulache (Fr.). Armor and weapons of the ancient French, consisting of small shields ([rondelles]), and halberd or spear.
Theatre of Operations. See [Strategy].
Theatre of War. The term for any extent of country in which war is carried on. It is synonymous with “seat of war.”