route
is the order in which they march from one part of the country to
another. A column of attack is the order in which they go into battle.

_Countersign._--A particular word given out by the highest officer in
command, intrusted to guards, pickets, and sentinels, and to those who
may have occasion to pass them.

_Embrasure._--An opening cut in embankments for the muzzles of the
cannon.

_Enfilade._--To sweep the whole length of the inside of a fortification
or a line of troops.

_Field-Works._--An embankment of earth excavated from a ditch
surrounding a town or a fort.

_Flank._--The right or left side of a body of men, or place. When it is
said that the enemy by a flank march outflanked our right wing, it is
understood that he put himself on our right hand. When two armies stand
face to face the right flank of one is opposite the left flank of the
other.

_File._--Two soldiers,--a front rank and a rear rank man.

_Fuse._--A slow-burning composition in shells, set on fire by the flash
of the cannon. The length of the fuse is proportioned to the intended
range of the shells.

_Grape._--A large number of small balls tied up in a bag.

_Howitzer._--A cannon of large calibre and short range, commonly used
for throwing shells, grape, and canister.

_Limber._--The fore part of a field gun-carriage, to which the horses
are attached. It has two wheels, and carries ammunition the same as the
caisson.

_Pontoon._--A bridge of boats for crossing streams, which may be carried
in wagons.

_Parabola._--The curve described by a shell in the air.

_Range._--The distance to which shot, shells, or bullets may be fired.

_Reveille._--The first drum-beat in the morning.

_Rifle-Pits._--Excavations in the earth or other shelter for riflemen.

_Spherical Case._--A thin shell of cast-iron filled with bullets, with a
fuse, and a charge of powder sufficient to burst it. It contains about
ninety bullets.

_Wings._--The right and left divisions of a body of troops,
distinguished from the centre.

MY DAYS AND NIGHTS
ON THE BATTLE-FIELD.

INTRODUCTORY.

TO THE YOUTH OF THE UNITED STATES.

In my boyhood, my young friends, I loved to sit beside my grandfather
and listen to his stories of Bunker Hill and Saratoga,--how he and his
comrades stood upon those fields and fought for their country. I could
almost see the fight and hear the cannon's roar, the rattle of the
musketry, and the shouts of victory. The