I thought I'd do a series on fort terminology. Because the application of terms changes over time, I need to be specific that the definitions that I am using here apply to permanent fortifications of the Third System, 1816-1867. They are based on the Treatise on Permanent Fortifications that Dennis Hart Mahan used as a text in his engineering classes at the US Military Academy at West Point, as well as Scott's Military Dictionary and other period writings. Obviously these terms originated with Vauban and other engineers many years prior to the Third System, and terms differed from country to country. This is the US usage of the terms.
The terminology is French. The original texts at the Military Academy were written in French, and the first class that all cadets took when entering the academy was French. While Mahan translated these texts into English over time, the French terminology was kept. Some of the terms gradually were Anglicized - covert way became covered way, for example - but most of them remained in the original French spelling and pronunciation.
Please join in with questions, comments, and corrections! This should be fun.
I will begin with the terminology of outworks. Outworks are defined as defenses in the ditch and outside the ditch. The defenses inside the ditch are considered the main work.
The terminology is French. The original texts at the Military Academy were written in French, and the first class that all cadets took when entering the academy was French. While Mahan translated these texts into English over time, the French terminology was kept. Some of the terms gradually were Anglicized - covert way became covered way, for example - but most of them remained in the original French spelling and pronunciation.
Please join in with questions, comments, and corrections! This should be fun.
I will begin with the terminology of outworks. Outworks are defined as defenses in the ditch and outside the ditch. The defenses inside the ditch are considered the main work.