A military dictionary

by William Duane

MANIPULUS (manipule, Fr.) A small body of infantry originally so called among the Romans, during the reign of Romulus. Their ensign was a hand on the end of a staff.

It consisted of one hundred men, and in the days of the consuls and first Cæsars, of two hundred. Three manipuli constituted a Roman cohort. Each manipulus was commanded by two officers called centurions, one of whom acted as lieutenant to the other. A centurion among the Romans, may be considered in the same light, as we view a captain of a company in modern service. Every manipulus made two centuries or Ordines. This, however, cannot be said to have been the uniform establishment or formation of the manipulus; for according to Varro and Vegetius, it was the smallest body of men employed in the Roman armies, and composed the tenth part of a century. Spartian in his life of Sexennius Niger, says, it consisted only of ten soldiers. We have already observed, that it takes its name from manipulus, which signifies a handful of straw; the latter having been fixed to a long pole to serve as a rallying signal, before the eagles were adopted. This circumstance has given rise to the modern expression, a handful of men, une poignée de gens. Vegetius, on the other hand says, it comes from manus, which signified a small body or handful of men collected together, and following the same standard; and Modestus as well as Varro, state it to have been so called, because, when they went into action, they took one another by the hand, or fought all together. A French writer conceives, that manipulus may be considered as one of those parts of a modern battalion, which are distributed in different rooms, &c. and which is called une chambrée, or a company that messes together.

Manipulus, so called from its standard or flag, which was made of cloth, and hung suspended on a staff with a hand. The manipulus was distinguished in this manner from the chief standard of each legion, which was an eagle of massive metal.

MANOEUVRE, (Manoeuvre, Fr.) Manœuvres of war consist chiefly in habituating the soldier to a variety of evolutions, to accustom him to different movements, and to render his mind familiar with the nature of every principle of offensive or defensive operation. The regular manœuvres of the British army have been reduced to nineteen, though these are not competent to every exigency of service the skilful officer will know how to manœuvre as the ground he is upon requires.

The word manœuvre is frequently used in the French artillery to express the method with which a piece of ordnance or mortar is raised and placed upon its carriage by several hands, assisted by the crab or any other machine. In a general acceptation of the term, manœuvre means that mechanical process by which any weight is lifted.

To Manœuvre, is to manage any body or armed force in such a manner as to derive sudden and unexpected advantages before the enemy, from a superior talent in military movements. It consists in distributing equal motion to every part of a body of troops, to enable the whole to form, or change their position, in the most expeditious and best method, to answer the purposes required of a battalion, brigade, or line of cavalry, infantry, or artillery.

The use of all manœuvres and of all discipline is the same, to habituate men to the word of command, to perform what is commanded, and in the shortest time, in the best manner. The idea therefore of reducing manœuvres to 18 or 19, or any given number, manifests a misconception of the military art, that is truly surprizing; for it must be perceived by a practical man, that the principles of all manœuvres are few and simple; although manœuvres are as susceptible of infinite variety and of real use, as arithmetical numbers. The ability of the officer is shewn in the choice of manœuvre, and its adaptation to the ground manœuvred upon, the end proposed to be obtained by the manœuvre, the position of the enemy, and the exactness and celerity with which it is performed. The great perfection of manœuvre is when troops at a single word of command perform movements of different kinds at the same instant, but all to accomplish the same object; that is to accomplish together the end proposed by the commander. Soldiers should be so exercised as to be competent to move in any manner or direction on the instant; a fixt number of manœuvres is calculated to defeat this end. The Austrians have attempted to follow the French, and practise their methods of manœuvre, which are not so much for parade as for practice. In the United States, the prejudice against, or the ignorance of manœuvre is excessive.

It has always been lamented, that men have been brought on service without being acquainted with the uses of the different manœuvres they have been practising; and having no ideas of any thing but the uniformity of the parade, instantly fall into disorder and confusion when they lose the step, or see a deviation from the straight lines they have been accustomed to at exercise. It is a pity to see so much attention confined to show, and so little given to instruct the troops in what may be of use to them on real service.

Manœuvre when executed in the presence of the enemy, must be protected by some light troops, riflemen or horse artillery.

Grand Manœuvre de Guerre, Fr. This expression is peculiarly French, and may be said to signify the dispositions of war upon a large scale. According to marshal Saxe these dispositions consist chiefly in drawing troops up in such a manner, that the cavalry and infantry may support each other; but he objects to that arrangement by which companies or platoons of infantry are intermixed with squadrons of horse; for, as he justly observes, if the latter should be beaten, the foot soldiers must unavoidably be thrown into confusion by the enemy’s cavalry, and be cut to pieces. For further particulars on this important article, see Saxe’s Reveries, where he treats of La Grande Manœuvre de Guerre, and the supplement to them by baron d’Espagnac, page 69.