A military dictionary

by William Duane

FOUNDATION, in military architecture, is that part of a building which is under ground, or the mass of stone, brick, &c. which supports a building, or upon which the walls of a superstructure are raised: or it is the coffer or bed dug below the level of the ground, to raise a building upon; in which sense, the foundation either goes to the whole area or extent of the building, as when there are to be vaults, galleries, casemates, or the like; or is drawn in cuts or trenches, as when only walls are to be raised. Sometimes the foundation is massive, and continued under the whole building, as in the antique arches and aqueducts; but it is more usually in spaces, or intervals; in which latter case, insulated pillars, bound together by arches, should be used.

There are several things to be well considered in laying the foundation of a military building. We must first examine the bed of the earth upon which we are to build, and then the under fillings or substruction. We are not to rest upon any seeming solidity, unless the whole mould through which we cut has likewise been solid; and in such cases, allow ¹⁄₆th part of the height of the building for the hollowing or under-digging, unless there be cellars under ground, in which case it may be something less. There are many ways to try the firmness of the ground; but the following, in our opinion, is the best. Take an iron crow, or such a borer as well-diggers use, which at once will point out the goodness and tenacity of the ground.

Engineers should use the utmost diligence in this point; for, of all the errors that may happen in building, those are the most pernicious which are committed in the foundation, because they bring with them the ruin of the whole building; nor can they be amended without very great difficulty.

Foundations are either natural, or artificial: natural, as when we build on a rock, or very solid earth; in which case we need not seek for any other strengthening; for these, without digging, or other artificial helps, are of themselves excellent foundations, and most fit to uphold the greatest buildings. But if the ground be sandy or marshy, or have lately been dug, in such case recourse must be had to art. In the former case, the engineer must adjust the depth of the foundation by the height, weight, &c. of the building: ¹⁄₆th part of the whole height is looked upon as a medium; and as to the thickness, double that of the width of a wall is a good rule. If you build upon mossy and loose earth, then you must dig until you find sound ground. This sound ground, fit to support a building, is of divers kinds: in some places so hard, as scarcely to be cut with iron; in other places very stiff; in other places blackish, which is accounted the weakest; in others like chalk, and in others sandy: but of all these, that is the best which requires most labor in cutting or digging, and when wet, does not dissolve into dirt.

If the earth to be built upon is very soft, as in moorish grounds, or such that the natural foundation cannot be trusted, then you must get good pieces of oak, whose length should be the breadth of the trench or about 2 feet longer than the wall; these must be laid across the foundation about 2 feet asunder, and being well rammed down, lay long planks upon them; which planks need not lie so broad as the pieces are long, but only about four inches on a side wider than the basis, or foot of the wall is to be. But if the ground be so very bad, that this will not do, then you must provide good piles of oak of such a length as will reach the good ground, and whose diameter must be about ¹⁄₁₂th part of their length. These piles must be driven down by an engine for that purpose, and must be placed as close as one can stand by another; then lay planks upon them, and pin them fast. But if the ground be faulty in some parts, and firm in others, you may turn arches over those loose places, which will discharge them of the weight. You must not forget to place the piles under the inner, as well as the outer walls; for if these should sink, it would be a means to make the outer walls crack, and so ruin the whole building.

Having thus far considered the bed of the earth on which the building is to be erected, we shall next consider the substruction, as it was called by the ancients; but our modern engineers call it the foundation. This is the ground-work of the whole edifice, which must sustain the walls, and may be termed artificial, as the other was natural; with regard to which, the following things are most necessary to be observed: 1. That the bottom be exactly level; therefore lay a platform of good boards. 2. That the lowest ledge or row be all of stone, the broader the better, laid closely without mortar; which is a general caution for all parts of a building that are contiguous to board or timber, because lime and wood are utter enemies to one another, and, if unfit confiners any where, they are more especially so in the foundation. 3. That the breadth of the foundation be at least double the breadth of the wall which is to be raised upon it: but even in this case art should give way to discretion: and the foundation may be made either broader, or narrower, according as the ground and the ponderosity of the edifice require. 4. That the foundation be made to diminish as it rises, but yet so that there may be as much left on the one side as on the other; so that the middle of that above may be perpendicularly over the middle of that below, which should in like manner be observed in diminishing the walls above ground; for by this means the building will become much stronger than it would be if the diminution were made by any other way. 5. That you should never build on the ruins of an old foundation, unless you are well assured of its depth, and that its strength is sufficient to bear the building.

The stones in the foundation should be laid as they naturally lay in the quarry, for they have the most strength in their natural position. This should be observed in all parts of a building, because all stones have a cleaving grain; consequently, if the horizontal position of the stones in the quarry should be placed vertically in the building, the superincumbent weight would be apt to cleave them, and so render the building ruinous.

FOUNDER, a person, who casts cannon, &c.

FOUNDERING, a disorder in horses, which may be considered under two heads, viz.

Foundering in the feet, which is an universal rheumatism, or defluxion of humors upon the sinews of a horse’s feet; so that in the course of time the hoofs become stiff and callous, and the horse has no sense or feeling of them. This disorder is generally brought on by hard riding. Sometimes it proceeds from sudden heats and colds; and frequently from the horse being watered when he is very hot. Too tight a shoe, or frequent travelling upon hard flinty ground, will likewise produce this disorder.