Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/94

* MOUNTED GKENADIERS. MOUNTED GKENADIERS. See MotXTED Infamky. MOUNTED INFANTRY. A general term applied to toot .-oltlicrs mounted on horses, mules, camels, or on wagons tor transportation only. Such were the ancient infantry carried swiftly to the battlefield in war ' chariots. In the sixteenth century Louis of Nassau made 500 of his cavalrymen take up bcliind their saddles an equal number of infantry, and Ale.xander of I'arma. wishing to surprise the Duke of Alen(n, mounted several companies of infantry on jjack horses. This was followed by mounting several divisions of the infantry of that time, to which was given the name of 'dragoons.' probably from the matchUxk carried, which was ornamented at the muzzle with tlie head of a dragon. Eventually this name 'dra- goon' was given to certain cavalry wliicb fought either mounted or dismounted. Louis XIV. es- tablished a corps of 'Mounted Grenadiers.' James II. created a similar corps in the liritish Army, called "Horse Grenadiers,'* who were armed with muskets and grenades: in action they dismounted, linked horses, fired, and then threw their grenades liy ranks. In 1780. dtiring the American Revolution. a body of 1.500 mounted rifle men from Kentucky and North Carolina, eaeli man armed with his own rille and mounted on his own horse, attacked the British at King's Mountain, and after a spirited dismounted contest defeated the enemy, who lost Major Ferguson killed, :iOO others killed and wounded, and 800 men and a quantity of arms and ammiuiition cai)tured. Napoleon in Egypt mounted a body of selected infantry on camels, as did forty years later the British in India, in which their camel-infantrv' covered forty miles daily for six days. Agaiii. in the Sudan campaign camels were used with success. In Tongking and Algeria the French often mount their infantry, sometimes allotting one mule to two soldiers, by which plan they have accomplished 140 miles in three days. 'Die best authorities agree that mounted infantry should be used for the sole purpose of moving ?viickly to the place where they are requireil or duty as infantrj'men, not hesitating, if necessary, to sacrifice the means of transporta- tion. During the war in South Africa (ISfl!)-1902) the Boer army was almost entirely composed of mounted infantry or ritlemen. These were men accustomed to the saddle and the use of fire- arms from boyhood, versed in the arts of the hunter, in the science of woodcraft, and familiar with the topography of the field of operations. Having, by cautious and noiseless approach, reached unperceived a spot near the enemy, the Boer dismounted, hoppled his horse, leaving him a short distance in rear, crept forwanl. and from a secure position opened fire upon the un- Rtispecting foe. If forced to retire, he did so quietly and quickly to take up a new position. I'rom impregnable natural fortifications small bodies of these mobile troops often repulsed vastly superior British forces siipported by ar- tillery. In operating against the British lavalry the Boers a<!vanccd toward it on horseback up to within .500 meters, then dismounteil and opened fire. In battle the Boers left the reins thrown over their horses' necks and dragging on the grotmd : the horses did not move until their riders returned; the.se animals were of a 72 MOUNT GILEAD. great variety of size and breed, from the stolid Basuto pony to the blooded stallion. Tlie British under Lord Roberts had a force of about .3000 mounted infantry, originally or- ganized into two brigades of five regiments each; of which 2000 men were regulars and the re- mainder colonials. Owing to the want of in- struction in mounted field duties, this force (with the exception of the colonial contingent) was not very useful. During the American military operations in the Philippines snuill detachments of regular in- fantry mounted on active native ponies were found useful in expeditions where rapid marches were necessary during the rainy season or as a temporary substitute for cavalry. In thixse European countries where large cavalry establishments are maintained and tradi- tional methods are deeply root<'(l. there will be provision for three classes of mounted troops; one on large, heavy horses trained in 'shock tactics' and for ceremonial purposes; another on lighter horses for scouting and pursuit of an enemy; a third, of infantrymen armed with long- range rilles on small, active horses for escort, convoy, and picket duty. In the United States all of these duties arc performed by a single class. To give greater mobility to infantry without impairing its fire action, it may be mounted temporarily on anything that will trans- port it rapidly to the place where it is needed in advance of its comrades on foot : this kind of mounted infantry must be employed in masses, never individually. Biiii.incRAi'iiY." Reports on MilUary Opera- lions in South Africa and China (War Depart- ment. Washington. .July. 1001); Molyneux, "Training and E(|uipmcnt of Cavalry, Mounted Infantry, etc.," in the Journal of theUnited Ser- rice /nxtitution of India (1902). See the articles AKMIKS; AR.MY OKUA.NIZATION ; CAVALRY; IN- FANTRY; Tactics, Military; and Soitii Afri- can War. MOUNTED POLICE. See JIiutary Police for d(scripti(m of various militai-y and semi- military organizations of this nature. MOUNT FOREST. A town of Wellington County. Ontario, Canada, on a branch of the Saugeen River. 73 miles northeast of London (Map: Ontario. C 4). It has manufacturing in- dustries, and is at the junction of the Grand Trunk and Canadian Pacific railways. Popula- tion, in 1801. 2214: in 1001. '2019. MOUNT'FORT, William (lC60?-92). An English :i( tor and playwright. As early as 1678 he was playing in London. After 1082 he was a member of the company at the Theatre Royal, and was the creator of many parts in the drama of the time, besides writing and adapting sev- eral plays, such as The Injur'd Lovers, or the Ambitious Father (ptibl. IfiSS) ; Sluecessful Strnniicrs (IfiOO); Kino Eduxird the Third (IfiOl); and tlrrrnirieh Park (1601). Accord- ing to the common account of his death, he was assassinated. December 0. 1692. by C;ipt. Richard Hill, a jealous admirer of .Mrs. Bracegirdle. Con- sult : Cook. Hours With the Players ( London, 1881); Gait, Lives of the Players (London, 18.31); Gibber, Apologt/. ed. Lowe (London, 1880). MOUNT GIL'EAD. A village and the coun- ty-scat of Morrow County, Ohio, 47 miles north