in the military art, a parapet thrown up to cover the gunners and men employed about the guns from the enemy's shot. This parapet is cut into embrasures, for the cannon to fire through. The height of the embrasures on the inside is about three feet; but they go sloping lower to the outside. Their widthness is two or three feet, but open to six or seven on the outside. The mass of earth that is betwixt two embrasures, is called the merlon. The platform of a battery is a floor of planks and sleepers, to keep the wheels of the guns from sinking into the earth; and is always made sloping towards the embrasures, both to hinder the reverse, and to facilitate the bringing back of the gun.
BATTERY of Mortars differs from a battery of guns; for it is sunk into the ground, and has no embrasures.
Cross-Batteries, are two batteries which play athwart one another upon the same object, forming there an angle, and beating with more violence and destruction; because what one bullet shakes, the other beats down.
Sunk or Buried, is when its platform is sunk or let down into the ground, so that there must be trenches cut in the earth, against the muzzles of the guns, for them to fire out at, and to serve for embrasures.
BATTERY d'Enfilade, is one that sweeps or scours the whole length of a straight line.
BATTERY en Echarpe is that which plays obliquely.
BATTERY de Reverse, that which plays upon the enemy's back.
Camarade BATTERY, is when several guns play at the same time upon one place.
in Law, is the unlawful beating of another. The least touching of another's person wilfully, or in anger, is a battery, for the law cannot draw the line between different degrees of violence, and therefore totally prohibits the first and lowest stage of it; every man's person being sacred, and no other having a right to meddle with it, in any the slightest manner. And therefore, upon a similar principle, the Cornelian law de injuris prohibited pulsation as well as verboration; distinguishing verboration, which was accompanied with pain, from pulsation which was attended with none. But battery is in some cases justifiable or lawful; as where one who hath authority, a parent or master, gives moderate correction to his child, his scholar, or his apprentice. So also on the principle of self-defence: for if one strikes me first, or even only assaults me, I may strike in my own defence; and if sued for it, may plead son assault demesne, or that it was the plaintiff's own original assault that occasioned it. So likewise in defence of my goods or possession, if if a man endeavours to deprive me of them, I may justify laying hands upon him to prevent him; and in case he persists with violence, I may proceed to beat him away. Thus too in the exercise of an office, as that of church warden or beadle, a man may lay hands upon another to turn him out of church, and prevent his disturbing the congregation. And if sued for this or the like battery, he may set forth the whole case, and plead that he laid hands upon him gently, molliter manus imposuit, for this purpose. On account of these causes of justification, battery is defined to be the unlawful beating of another; for which the remedy is, as for assault, by action of trespass vi et armis: wherein the jury will give adequate damages.