PALISADES, in fortification, stakes made of strong split wood, about nine feet long, six or seven inches square, three feet deep in the ground, in rows about two and an half or three inches asunder, placed in the covert way, at three feet from, and parallel to, the parapet or side of the glacis, to secure it from surprise. They are also used to fortify the avenues of open forts, gorges, half-moons, the bottoms of ditches, and in general all posts liable to surprise. They are usually fixed perpendicularly, though some make an angle inclining towards the ground next the enemy, that the ropes cast over them to tear them up may slip off.