Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/412

 392 BATTERSEA 30 or 40 feet to and fro, under the impulse of human force, as nearly as possible on the plane of the horizon. When the impetus was once given to this vast beam of wood, 100 or 150 feet in length, all that was requisite was to impart to it such continued motive force as to keep it in play, when its own impetus would of course gradually increase ; and it would ne- cessarily act with the force of its own natural weight, multiplied by a constantly increasing measure of velocity, upon the object on which it impinged. To this must b added that the ram being, in its most highly improved state, played in exact time, it acquired a perfect vibratory motion itself; and its blows being directed continually on one spot, at regular intervals, a similar vibration was communi- cated to the wall ; which, increasing with the increased weight of the blows, a second wave being always put in circulation from the centre of the attack before the preceding wave had subsided, soon set the whole mass of masonry surging and swaying backward and forward. The objections to it were, that it could only be used at close quarters, where direct access could be had to the foot of the fortification which was to be beaten down, by bodies of men, who necessarily worked for the most part in full view, and exposed to the missiles of the defenders at an exceedingly short range. The former of these requirements rendered it ne- cessary to fill up or bridge over the moats or ditches in front of the work. The latter led to the construction of towers of planking, covered with raw hides, of many stories in height, rolling on wheels; in the lower stage of which the ram was slung so that the men who worked it could do so perfectly under cover, while the upper stages were filled with archers and slingers, whose duty it was to overpower the fire of the defenders. From the top of these machines a sort of bridge was also contrived, which could be lowered and hauled out with chains and pulleys so as to fall on the summit of the tower or castle wall, and give free access to the assailants. These towers, which were the last improvement on the ram, were so arranged that they were not only fought but propelled by men, either with- in the structure, or placed behind it, in such a manner as to be protected by it from the shot of the enemy. They continued to be in use during all the middle ages, and were still effec- tive until ordnance was so much improved that it could be discharged rapidly and with correct aim. BATTERSEA, a parish of Surrey, England, 4 m. S. W. of St. Paul's cathedral, forming one of the suburbs of London; pop. in 1871, 10,560. A wooden bridge over the Thames connects this parish with Chelsea, and a suspension bridge with the metropolis. It was formerly much occupied by market gardeners, who supplied London with vegetables, but is now building up with villas. BATTERY, Galvanlt. See GALVANISM. BATTERY BATTERY (law Lat. lattere, from Saxon latti, a club), as defined by Blackstone, the unlaw- ful beating of another. But if beating be here taken in its usual sense, the definition is not nice enough ; for the offence includes every unlawful or wrongful touching of another's person against his will or without his consent, whether it be in the form of violence or of mere constraint. A battery is the consumma- tion of the act, the threat or attempt of which constitutes an assault. (See ASSATTLT.) As every battery is reached through an assault, these two offences are often described by the latter word alone, though the phrase of the law, assault and battery, sometimes used in common speech, preserves the proper legal dis- tinction. Thus the unlawful raising of the hand or of a weapon, as if to strike another, is an assault ; the actual infliction of the threat- ened blow is a battery. The law makes one's person inviolable. Therefore not only is a blow a battery, but so also is spitting upon one, throwing water or any other substance upon him, pushing him, or pushing another person or anything against him. And the inviolabil- ity of a man's person extends to all that at the time pertains to it. Thus it is a battery to strike one's cane in his hand, or the clothes on his body, or a horse on which he is riding so that he is thrown. Taking indecent liberties with a woman, kissing her or otherwise touch- ing her without her consent or against her will, are also batteries. It is not necessary that the injury should be done by the hand of the aggressor ; for the offence is committed not only by striking another with a stick or with a stone thrown at him, but also by urging on a dog so that he bites him, or by driving a horse over him, or driving a wagon against that in which the other is riding, so that he sustains bodily injury. Nor need the injury be im- mediately done by one to make him guilty. This principle is illustrated by the cases of those who abet one who maliciously fights or beats another, or of one who procures another to commit an assault and battery, or of a ship- master who suffers any one under his control to commit a battery on board his ship upon one of his crew or passengers. It is immaterial whether the act be done with violence or in anger, or result from the omission of that care which the law requires every one to exercise toward others. Thus when A threw a lighted squib among a crowd of people, and it was thrown from hand to hand by several in their attempts to escape it, till it fell upon B and put out his eye, it was held a battery by A. So, one who rides with and assents to the reck- less and unlawful driving of another, whereby a person is run over, is himself guilty of the battery. But the intention may be material so far as it determines the character of the act of touching another without his permission. For to put one's hand on another for the mere purpose of attracting his attention is innocent ; and so it is if the injury was entirely acci-