F O R i ' A 
• EOR'TIIT ABLE, adj. What may be fortified. 
FQRTIFIC A'TION,/. [ fortification, Fr.J The fcience 
•f military architecture.—-The Phcenicians, though an 
tinwarlike nation, yet underftood the art of fortification. 
Broome.— A place built for (Length.—The hounds were 
uncoupled, and the flag thought it better to truft. to the 
nimblenefs of his feet, than to the (lender fortification of 
-his lodging. Sidney.— Addition of (Length.—To (Lengthen 
the infefted parts, give fome advices by way of fortifica¬ 
tion and antidote. Government of the Tongue. 
The invention of the art of Fortification is attri¬ 
buted, by Mr. Bryant, to the Hetrurians, or at lead that 
they were the firft who introduced it as a fcience into 
Europe, When they fettled in Italy, where they occu¬ 
pied a large trad of fea.coaft, they ereCted places of de¬ 
fence upon their (bores, which they called tur-ain ; whence 
the later Greeks denominated their country Ti. e. 
lands of turrets or towers. Fortification has however 
been pradifed by all nations, and in all ages ; being at fir ft 
doubtlefs very rude and fimple, and varying in its nature 
and manner, according to the mode of attack, and the 
weapons then in ufe. Thus,when villages and towns 
were firft formed, it was found neceffary, for the common 
fafety, toencompafs them with walls and ditches, to pre¬ 
vent all violence and hidden furprifes from their neigh¬ 
bours. When offenfive and ini (five weapons came to be 
tifed, walls were made as a defence againft the aftailants, 
}nd look-holes or loops were made in the walls to annoy 
the enemy, by (hooting arrows through them. But find¬ 
ing that as foon as the enemy got clofe to the walls, they 
Could no longer be feen nor annoyed by the befieged, thefe 
added fquare towers along the wall, at proper djftances 
from each other, fo that all the intervening parts of the 
wall might be feen and defended from the adjacent fides 
of the towers. However, this manner of fortifying towns 
was found to be imperfed, becaufe there remained dill 
the outer face of the towers which fronted the field, that 
could not be feen and defended from any other part. To 
remedy this defed, they next made the towers round, in¬ 
stead of fquare, as feeming better adapted both for 
ftrength to refift the battering engines, and for being de¬ 
fended from the other parts of the wall, Neverthelefs, 
a fmall part of thefe towers ftill remained imfeen, and in¬ 
capable of being defended, for which reafon they were 
again changed for fquare ones, as before, hut with this 
difference, that now they prefented an angle of the fquare 
outwards to the field, inftead of a face or fide ; and thus 
fuch a difpofitioh of the works was obtained, as that no 
part could be approached by the enemy without their 
being feen and refifted. But fince the ufe of gunpowder, 
it has been found neceifary to add thick, ramparts of earth 
to the walls, and the towers have been enlarged into baf¬ 
tions, as well as many other parts added, that have given 
a new appearance to the whole art of defence ; and the 
name of fortification , on account of the ftrength afforded by 
it, was firft given to it about the year 1500, when the 
round towers were every where changed into baftions. 
The mod diftinguifhed engineers and authors who have 
treated of fortification, are the following, and moftly in 
the order of time : viz. La Treille, Alghifi, Majrchi, 
Pafino, Ramelli, Cataneo, and Speckle, who, as Mr. 
Robins fays, was one of the greateft geniufes that has ap¬ 
plied to this art: he was architect to the city of Straf- 
burgh, and died in 1589 : he publifhed a treatife on for¬ 
tification in the German language, which was reprinted at 
Leipfic in 1736. Afterwards, Errard, who was engineer 
to Henry the Great of France ; Stevinus, engineer to the 
prince of Orange ; with Marolois, the chevalier de Viile, 
Lorini, Coehorn, the count de Pagan, and the celebrated 
marftial de Vauban ; which laft two valuable authors have 
contributed greatly to the perfection of this department 
of military architecture ; befides Scheiter, Mallet, Bell-, 
dor, Blondel, Muller, Montalambert, See. whofe works 
on the art of fortification are as follow : viz.. Meldev’s 
Praxis Fortificatoria * Fortifications du Corate de Pagan 3 
J' : / FOR 591 
Ingenieur Parfatt du Sieur de Ville ; Sfurmy's Archie 
tedhira Militaris Hypotheticalis ; Blcndell’s Nouvelle 
Maniere de Fortifier les Places; Abbe de Fay’s Veritable 
Maniere de Bien Fortifier; Vauban’s Ingenieur Franyois ; 
Coehorn’s Nouvelle Fortification tant pour un Terrain 
bas & humide, que fee & ele.ve ; Alexander de Grotte’s 
Fortification; Donatus Rofelli’s Fortification ; Medrano’s 
Ingenieur Frangois ; St, Julien’s Architecture Militaire ; 
Lanlberg’s Nouvelle Maniere de Fortifier les Places; 
Nouvelle Maniere de Fortifier les Places, tiree des Me- 
thodes du Chevalier de Ville, See. Ozanam’s Traite de 
Fortification ; Memoires de l’Artillerie de Surrirey de 
St. Remy ; Muller’s Treatifes of Elementary and Pradi- 
cal Fortification; and Montalambert’s Fortification Per- 
pendiculaire. 
OF FORTIFICATION IN GENERAL. 
Fortification is either theoretical, or practical. Theore¬ 
tical Fortification, confifts in tracing the plans and profiles 
of a work on paper, with feales and compalfes; and in ex¬ 
amining the fyftems propofed by different engineers, to 
difeover their advantages and defeds. And Practical For-, 
tification, confifts in forming a plan of a work according to 
the nature of the ground, and other neceffary circumftances, 
tracing it on the ground, and executing the plan, together 
with all the military buildings, fuch as magazines, (tore- 
houfes, blockhoufes, draw-bridges, &c. 
Fortifications are either permanent or temporary.— Per¬ 
manent Fortification , is that which is built and intended to 
remain for the conftant defence of a diftriCt or countiy ; 
fuch as are the ufual fortifications of cities, frontier pi.. 
&c.— Temporary Fortification, is that which is erected •.\u;y 
on fome emergent occalion, and for a Ihort time. Th 
now ufually termed field fortification, as co; lifting chief .... 
field-works, thrown.up for the feizing and mail tsini ;. 
poft, or paftage; fuch as the lines of defence ai 
camps, or in fieges ; circumvallations, contravallations, 
redoubts, trendies, batteries. Sec. 
Again, fortifications are either regular or irregular.— • 
Regular Fortification, is that in whicli the baftions are all 
equal; or which is built in a regular polygon, the (ides 
and angles of which are ufually about a muikei-ihot from 
each other. A regular fortification, having the parts all 
equal, has the advantage of being equally defenfible ; fo 
that there are no weak places .—Irregular Fortification, is 
that in which the baftions are unequal, and unlike ; or the 
fides and angles not all equal, and equi-diftant. In an ir¬ 
regular fortification, therefore, the defence and ftrength 
being unequal, it is neceffary to reduce the irregular (hape 
of the ground, as much as pofti'ble, to a regular figure : 
i.e. by inferibing it in an oval, inftead of a circle ; fo that 
one half may be made fnnilar and equal to the other half. 
Marine Fortification, is that department of military archi- 
tedure which comprifes the art of raifing works on the (ea 
coaft, &c. to defend rivers, bays, or harbours,, from the 
attacks of the fea, or of an enemy’s (hipping. All thefe 
different branches of fortification are founded in a great 
meafure on the lame fundamental principles ; the methods 
of which we (hall proceed to explain. 
DEFINITIONS in MILITARY ARCHITECTURE. 
Lines or Intrenc'ments. —All works ereded for the pur- 
pole of augmenting the means of defence of any poft 
whatever, are called intrenchments ; and are capable of af. 
fuming various forms or figures.— Intrenchments with redans, 
are compofed of deciles, ereded at about 120 toifes dif- 
tance from one another, and moll ufually joined together 
by means of aline, either ftraight or broken, in its center. 
Thefe fleches are more commonly named redans, and the 
lines between are called curtains. When, inftead of redans, 
there are baftions ereded, the intrenchmeot is called 
intrcnchment with bafiions. When (Lengthened with re-en¬ 
tering angles, it is called an intrcnchment with tenailles. If 
in front of an intrenched poft, and at a diftance of ftxty 
teifes, fleches are thrown up, having a covered communi¬ 
cation 
