A device of military strategy often employed in ancient and mediæval warfare; now, owing to the changed conditions of fighting, rarely possible. Originally it had special reference to bodies of men "concealed in a wood," as its name implies. The only modern instance of the use of this particular device occurred at the battle of Santiago, during the Spanish-American War of 1898, when effective damage was inflicted on the American attacking forces by Spanish sharpshooters hidden in the dense foliage of the trees. Ambuscade must not be confused with Ambush, which see.
AM'BUSH (For derivation, see Ambuscade). A strategical device, enabling one force successfully concealed to surprise, defeat, or capture another. It is probably the one element of strategy that time has never changed; for notwithstanding the transformation that has taken place in the general science of warfare, the ambush with all its variations of form and method still remains. An ambush may be on any scale, from the surprise and capture of a small reconnoitering patrol, to the defeat of an army. In the latter case, it occasionally is described by a more ambitious title by some European authorities, but such is the exception rather than the rule. Every campaign that history has recorded gives incident after incident of the more or less successful practice of this particular form of strategy: but it has been left to the Anglo-Boer War of 1900-01 for its highest and most successful development. In this campaign the Boers practically owed nearly every success to the use of the ambush in one form or another; a typical example was encountered in General Roberts's campaign. During his march to Bloemfontein, a strong detachment of Boer troops, under General Christian De Wet, cleverly concealed themselves among the rocks and kopjes at a place called Sannahspost. A convoy of 128 wagons, carrying valuable supplies and munitions of war, together with their escort, walked unsuspectingly into the trap, and were captured without the firing of a shot or the showing of a single man other than De Wet himself. A body of 200 volunteer horse, sent from the main column to ascertain the whereabouts of the convoy, were similarly captured, and on attempting to escape were practically annihilated by their unseen enemy. Consult Conan Doyle, The Great Boer War (London, 1901).
AMEER'. See Emir.
AM'ELAN'CHIER. A genus of plants of the natural order Rosaceæ distinguished by having five-celled ovaries, each of which is divided by a false partition into two cells, with one ovule in each cell, the ripe fruit including three to five carpels. It consists of a few species of small trees with deciduous simple leaves, abundant racemes of white flowers, and soft, juicy, and agreeable fruit somewhat larger than a pea. The common Amelanchier (Amelanchier vulgaris) is a native of the Alps, Pyrenees, etc. Other species are natives of North America and Asia. Amelanchier botryapium is sometimes called June-berry, from its fruit ripening in June, and Amelanchier Canadensis produces a very pleasant fruit. Among the North American species are Amelanchier Canadensis, known as Shad-bush or Service berry, Amelanchier oligocarpa, Amelanchier alnifolia, and Amelanchier rotundifolia. The Amelanchiers are planted in Great Britain merely as ornamental trees. They are hardy.
AMELIA, ama'h'-a (ancient Ameria). A city of Central Italy. 21 miles southwest of Spoleto. It has been the seat of a bishop since 340 A.D., has a cathedral, was the birthplace of Sextus Roscius Amerinus. and claims to be four hundred years older than Rome. Pop., 1881, 5400.
AME'LIA. A novel by Fielding, published by Millar, who is said to have paid £1000 for the copyright, December 19, 1751. Two editions were called for on the day of publication. Much of the story is autobiographical, some of the adventures of the hero. Booth, recalling incidents in the author's earlier life in the country, while the title-character was largely suggested by the personality of Fielding's first wife. The book was a great favorite with Dr. Johnson. Consult Piozzi, Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (London, 1786).
AMELIA ISLAND. A small island off the east coast of Florida, opposite the mouth of St. Mary's River (Map: Florida, G 1). It was settled by General Oglethorpe in 1736, and in 1739 it was the scene of the first bloodshed in the war between Spain and England, a party of Spaniards killing two unarmed Highlanders. After 1808 the island, then, a part of Spanish East Florida, was a notorious resort for pirates, smugglers, and slave-traders. In March, 1812, it was captured by rebels against Spain, and immediately handed over to the United States: early in 1813 the United States troops stationed here were withdrawn, and in 1817 the island was captured by a filibustering expedition, while later in the year a Mexican force took temporary possession of it in the name of Mexico. The United States again occupied it in 1818, and held it in trust for Spain until she acquired the Floridas by the treaty of 1819. Consult McMaster's History of the People of the United States (New York, 1893-1900).
AMÉLIE-LES-BAINS, a'ma'le'lft'baN' (Fr. 'watering-place of Amelia,' wife of Louis Philippe), formerly called Arles-les-Bains. A famous watering-place and summer resort in France, situated in the department of Pyrénées-Orientales, at the confluence of the Tech and the Mondony, at an altitude of over 700 feet above the sea. It has sulphurous springs, with a temperature from 63° to 145° F., the waters of which are used both externally and internally. It contains a very large military hospital and numerous remains of Roman thermæ. Pop., 1901, 1340.
AMELOT DE LA HOUSSAYE, am' 16' de la iwi'sa',
Abraham Nicolas (1634-1706). A French historian, who was made a prisoner in the Bastille by order of Louis XIV. He published a History of the Government of Venice, translations of Machiavelli's Prince, of Tacitus's Annals, and of Sarpi's History of the Council of Trent, the notes to the last of which, written by himself, gave great offense to the advocates of the unlimited authority of the Pope. Voltaire speaks of his histories as very good, and of his memoirs as very faulty.
AMEN' (Heb. word, "it is trustworthy," transliterated into Gk. (
Greek characters), amen, Lat. amen, and so in later versions). A word differently used in the Scriptures. (1) To express the idea that the thing just stated is true, or will come to pass; e.g. Numbers v:22; Deuteronomy xxvii:-
