A command by enfilade, when an eminence is situated in the prolongation of any line of a work, and a considerable part of it may be seen from thence.
COMMANDANT, is that person who has the command of a garrison, fort, castle, regiment, company, &c. called also commander.
COMMANDEMENT Fr. in a military sense, means any spot which is higher than another. A commandement is called simple, when the difference between two heights is only 9 feet. It is called double, when the difference is 18 feet; triple when 27, and so progressively, taking 9 feet invariably, for the height of each commandement. A commandement may be considered in three lights. In front, in enfilade, and in reverse. The commandement in front, is when you see all the persons who are employed in protecting a work; in enfilade, when you only see them from a flank; and in reverse, when you see them obliquely from behind.
COMMANDING-ground, implies in a military sense, a rising ground which overlooks any post, or strong place. There are, strictly speaking, three sorts of commanding grounds; namely,
Front Commanding-ground, Every height is called so, that lies opposite to the face of the post which plays upon its front.
Reverse Commanding-ground, an eminence which plays upon the rear of a post.
Enfilade Commanding-ground, or Curtain Commanding-ground, a high place, which, with its shot, scours all the length of a line, &c.
COMMANDERY, a certain benefice belonging to a military order. A body of the knights of Malta, were so called. They have now only a nominal existence.
COMMIS, Fr. Clerk or inferior person, who is employed in any of the French war-departments.
COMMISSAIRE, Fr. Commissary. This term was used in the old French service, to express a variety of military occupations. The following are the principal designations.