BAT 



BAT 



The lofs of a battle involves almoft always tliat of the 

 artillery of the vanquilhed, and frequently of the baggage. 

 As all thefe loffes mull be repaired before the beaten army 

 can again look their conquerors i.i the face, the enemy con- 

 fequently remains for a length of time mailer of the country, 

 and at liberty to can-y all his projefts into execution. 

 Thefe inconveniences are rarely fo feverely felt in cafe of ill 

 fucccfs in a partial combat, however defperate. Greater 

 part of the artillei^ is generally prcferved, and the baggage 

 almoll entire, for theoppofite ar.mies not clofing in front, the 

 divifions which have been engaged alone become the i of- 

 ferers. 



But in a fet or pitched battle, the prefent objeiEl of atten- 

 tion, where both parties have time and room fufTicient to 

 arrange and extend themfeives in regular order, the cafe is 

 widely different. The leail unforeften advantage afforded 

 to an enemy, or the moil trivial circumflance unattended to, 

 may baffle the efi'orts of the mod experienced general, may 

 fnatch the palm of viclory from the hands of numbers and 

 valour, convert a fuccefsfnl pnrfuit to a diforderly flight, and 

 lead to the irretrievable ruin of an army, poffibly even of a 

 ftate. 



The ancieuts never jeincd battle without a great deal of 

 preparation and religious ceremony ; as anakhig auguries, 

 offenng up facrifices, haranguing to excite the courage of 

 the foldiers, giving the word, or a teflci-a, &c. The fignals 

 of battle were, among the Romans, founding the clafficum, 

 or general charge, {biking upon their Ihields with their jave- 

 lins, and difplaying from the pnrtorium a peculiar flag, 

 oiled by Plutarch (in Fab. Max. and in Pomp.) a red 

 mantle. Csefar alfo mentions this flag in his B. Gallico, 

 1. ii. c. 20. In the moment of onfet, a fliout was raifed 

 by the v.holc army, for the double purpofe of encouraging 

 tiieir fellows, and linking terror into the enemy. Similar 

 to this was the cullom which prevailed among the Greeks, 

 of linging the pasan, or hymn of combat, as they moved for- 

 ward to the charge. 



The rigid fupcrllition of the Jews at lirft prevented them from 

 fighting, or even from defending themfeives, on the fabbsth- 

 day ; but fatal experience of the inconvenience of the latter 

 precept, induced them, in their wars with the princes of the 

 ^iyro-Macedonian dynafly, to difpenfe with its obfervance. 

 It was, however, in confequence of the averfion they Hill re- 

 tained to a violation of that holy day, that Pompey became 

 mailer of Jerufalem by affault, without any effeAual refift- 

 ance. Dion. Caff. lib. xxxvii. 



The Romans did not carry their regard for religion fo far. 

 They had indeed their peculiar days, called " prxliarts 

 dies," wherein alone it was /^'it^'"'"/ to join battle ; and others 

 whereon it was unfit, called " dies atri :" but lefs fcrupulous 

 than the Hebrews, thefe latter were only obferved in refpeft 

 of attacking. No day was too facred for them to defend 

 themfeives in. (Maerob. Saturn, lib. i. c. 6.) We obferie 

 frequent inftances of their engaging by night. It was by 

 night that Scipio dellroyed near Utica the armies of Af- 

 drubal and Syphax (Liv. xxx. c. 5.) ; and the deciiive 

 battle between Pompey and Mithridates (Plut. in Pomp.) 

 was fought by moonlight. 



The Athenians were prohibited, by the arcient laws of 

 their country, from drav. ing out their forces for battle till 

 after the 7th day of the month ; and Lucian, fpeaking of 

 the Lacedxmonians, relates, that by the ilatutes of Lycur- 

 gxis, they were not to fight before the full moon. A fimilar 

 cuflom prevailed among the ancient Germans, who reputed 

 it an impiety to engage in the wane of the moon ; and Ca;- 

 far intimates that his vidlory over Arioviilus was owing to 

 that prince's having, contrary to the religious notices of huj 

 Vol. IV. 



countrymen, fought during the decreafe of the m.oon. The 

 barbarians were intimidated with the apprehenCon, . and 

 afforded Ctefar an eafy conquell. To ufc his own words : 

 " Acie ccmmifla impeditos religione hofte vicit." Csef. 

 dc Bel. Gal. lib. i. 



An idea of the manner in which warlike operations were 

 carried on, and battles fought, among nations in their primi- 

 tive barbarous (late, has been given under the article 

 Att.\ck. We fliall not here repeat v/hat has been already 

 faid on that fubjcft. 



Authors are fond of quoting the battle of Thymbra, be- 

 tween Crocfus and Cyrus (Xeiioph. Cyrop. lib. vi, vii.), as 

 the firll general engagement ever fought. But as it is oply 

 related in the Cyropasdia, a work whofc hiftorical veracity 

 has been feverely called in queftion, and as its recital is at- 

 tended with clrcumfl;ances of the moll romantic caft, we ftall 

 content ourfclvcs with barely mentioning it, and pafs on to 

 inftances better authenticated, and lefs embelliflied by the 

 marvellous. 



At the battle of Merathon (Herod. Erat. feft. 107. 

 117.) the Greeks, conducted by Miltiadts the Athenian, 

 denionftrated the poflibility of compenfating by difcipline, 

 valour, and military fliill, for any inferiority in numbers. A 

 manccuvre not without its faults, but novel in the art of war 

 as then imderftood, obtained for them a viclorj' as fplendid as 

 extraordinary ; and which we may rank as tlie earlieft in 

 profane hiilory, of which any particular account has been 

 traiifmitted to us. 



Tlie battle of Flafsa, from the numerous forces engaged on 

 cither fide, bell defenes the denomination of a pitched battle. 

 (Herod. Calliope, fe6l. 6 1 — 74.) It was fought upon the true 

 ancient model. Hurry and confufion reigned predominant. 

 Greeks and Perfians engaged in two feveral places, without 

 any attempt at co-operation, or the fmalieft exertion of mili- 

 tary genius on the part of their commanders. In the true lan- 

 guage of Homer, here " man was oppofed to man, and 

 ihield met Ihield ;" and the Greeks feem to have fairly 

 atchieved this aftonifhing conqneil by excelling their adver- 

 fanes in the vulgar qualities of bodily ftrength and brutal 

 courage. 



After toiling through the heavy and fanguinary period of 

 the PeloponneCan war, where, though convinced at every 

 page of the rapid improvement of the Greeks in tadtics, wc 

 do not meet with any of thofe general or important contefts, 

 the fubjecl of the prefent article ; and after taking a curfory 

 examination of the malTacre of Cynaxa ; we at length arrive 

 at the battle of Lendra. (Plut. in Pelop. Xenophon. 

 Hellen. lib. vi. Diod. Sic. hb. xv.) This brilliant engage- 

 ment, between numbers comparatively trifling, deferves from 

 a fcientific reader more attention than that of Platsea, as it is 

 indifputably the firft occafion on which viftor)- was obtained 

 merely in confequence of an able difpofition. The famous 

 column of Epaminondas, which obhged 24,000 Lacedx- 

 monians, the bravefl; troops in Greece, to yield the honor of 

 the field to 6,oco Thebans, has been repeatedly cited with 

 admiration by the moll learned authors, and imitated by the 

 lirft military genhifes, on various occafions. 



The battle of ManUnxa, the next inftance worthy of par- 

 ticular obfer^-ation, was won by the fame general (Xenoph. 

 Hellen. lib. vii.) on the very fame principle. The Lacedas- 

 monians, though conduced by their king Agafilaus, one of 

 the ableft leaders of his age, fuffercd themfeives to be again 

 deftroyed, by the precife difpofition which had already proved 

 fo fatal to them at Leuftra. The Spartan glory, by the lofs^of 

 this battle, futlained a blow it never afterwards recovered. 

 Epaminondas, whofe genius had made the braveft foldiers in 

 all Greece Auiok before weaker nerves, meaner fpirits, and 

 C isierior 



