| Aide de Camp | Junior staff officer attached to a marshal or general |
| Anfrancesados | Spanish natives who collaborated with the French |
| Baker Rifle | Rifle used by Sharpe and all British rifle battalions during the Peninsular War. The rifle had a 30 inch, seven groove, quarter turn barrel and was accurate up to 250 yards although it was slow to load. |
| Banquette | Firing step behind a parapet |
| Bastion | Defensive work with two front faces forming a salient from the curtain wall, to allow flanking fire along the wall. |
| Battalion | Tactical infantry unit varying between 500 to 1000 men (sometimes less) |
| Brigade | Tactical military formation of about 3000 men and containing 2 or 3 battalions. |
| Brown Bess | Nickname of the British smoothbore musket, originally applied to the Long Land Pattern musket. |
| Caçadores | Portuguese rifle- or infantrymen. Uniforms were brown. Translation = 'hunter' |
| Caltrop | A four pointed metal spike that was thrown on the ground, always with one spike upright. Used against cavalry horses. |
| Canister | Artillery projectile of lead balls in a tin container. Resembled a giant shotgun cartridge and had similar effect over a short range. |
| Carcass | Incendiary or illuminating shell of oil soaked hay, fired from a mortar or howitzer. |
| Carronade | Large calibre short range cannon, commonly used on ships for firing canister. |
| Cazadore (a caballo) | Spanish chasseurs or light cavalrymen |
| Chasse Maree | Small coastal sailing or fishing boats. |
| Chasseur | Light troops. Translation = 'hunter' |
| Cheval de Frise | Portable barrier of sword blades used to block breaches. Could also be made of stake- or sword studded beams. |
| Chosen Man | Title given to a corporal in the 95th Rifles. |
| Colours | Battalion flags which represented the honour of the unit. Usually each battalion held the King's Colour (Union Flag) and the regimental colour. |
| Company | Basic military unit of about 50 to 100 men and commanded by a captain. |
| Congreve's Rockets | Invented by Sir William Congreve. They looked like overgrown fireworks, were extremely erratic and not used a great deal, although Wellington used them occasionally in the Peninsula and at Waterloo. |
| Corps | Military formation of 2 or 3 divisions commanded by a general. |
| Counterguard | Earthwork to protect the base of a curtain wall. |
| Counterscarp | Vertical face of a ditch around a fort on the outer side. |
| Crapaud | French meaning 'toad', used by the British of the French in general. |
| Cuirassier | French armoured heavy cavalry. The cuirass being a breastplate. |
| Cunette/Cuvette | Deep narrow ditch, often filled with water, in the main defensive ditch of a fort. |
| Curtain Wall or Curtain | Main wall surrounding a fort. |
| Demi Brigade | French military formation consisting of part regular and part conscript battalions. |
| Division | Large military formation of about 4000 to 6000 men, containing 2 or 3 brigades and commanded by a lieutenant general. |
| Dragoons | Originally mounted infantry, they usually carried curved sabres, carbines and pistols. |
| Eagle | French equivalent of the British colours. Presented to all regiments by the Emperor. |
| Enfilade | Adjective used to describe fire coming from the flank and raking the length of a formation. |
| Ensign | Infantry second-lieutenant. |
| Escalade | Attack on walls of a fort using ladders. |
| Forlorn Hope | First storming party into a breach, usually volunteers under a junior officer, who drew enemy fire. Officers and sergeants who survived were usually rewarded with promotion. |
| Galloper Guns | 6-pounder guns drawn by horses to accompany cavalry. |
| Glacis | Open space or slope surrounding a fort. |
| Goddam | Dates from the Hundred Years War, French nickname for the British troops taken from their extensive use of the expression. |
| Gonfalon | Banner or standard. |
| Gorget | The crescent-shaped plaque worn around the neck by officers, a symbol of a commisioned rank and a relic from the days of armour. |
| Grapeshot | Close range artillery ammunition |
| Guerilla | 'little war', also a term for partisan fighters |
| Half Pay | An officer holding a commision, but unemployed, received half pay. |
| Howitzer | Short barrelled cannon designed for high angle fire. |
| Imperial Guard | Napoleon's elite formation of veteran troops. |
| Kings German Legion (KGL) | Formed from the old Electorate of Hanover's army after Napoleon overran the country in 1803. |
| Kligenthal | Hand forged sword all made from one piece of steel, strong and durable. |
| Light Company | British company composed of agile men and good marksmen, used as skirmishers. Were relied upon to use their initiative more than line troops. |
| Loophole | Small hole un a wall, allowing defenders to fire out. |
| Magazine | Storage place for munitions or a soldier's supplementary ammunition container. |
| Necessaries | Issued items of personal kit. |
| Nock Gun | 7 barrelled volley gun given to Sgt Harper by his friend Richard Sharpe. Made by Henry Nock of London and origina;;y made for the Royal Navy. |
| Parole | System of releasing prisoners of war. |
| Pelisse | Hussar jacket with fur trim sometimes worn over one shoulder. |
| Picket (Piquet) | Infantry outpost or sentry. |
| Provost | Early military police, commanded by a Provost Marshall, universally unpopular throughout the army, but supported by Wellington. |
| Quartermaster | Officer responsible for supplies, uniforms, stores, weaponry etc. |
| Ravelin | Triangular outwork, built in a ditch of a fort to split the attacking force and cause confusion. |
| Regiment | In the British Army, an administrative military unit which recruited soldiers and sent them to war in battalions. Usually two battalions to a regiment. |
| Roundshot | Projectile of cannon, simple iron balls, they were the main cannon ammunition in the field. |
| Sapper | Originally a soldier who dug narrow siege-trenches (or saps), but later became a generic term for engineers and those trained in siege operations. |
| Shako | Peaked, cylindrical hat, usually made of felt and often black. Worn by all armies in the Napoleonic wars. |
| Shell | Artillery ammunition. Hollow iron ball filled with gunpowder which exploded by means of a fuse. |
| Stock | Leather collar worn around the neck under the jacket collar. British infantry wore them and they were universally disliked. Can also mean a fabric strip worn around the neck. |
| Subaltern | Junior officer of ensign or lieutenant rank in the British Army. |
| Voltiguer | Light infantry companies of line battalions. Translation = 'vaulter'. |
Last update October 12th 2002