Online Encyclopedia

COLONEL (derived either from Lat. col...

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V06, Page 714 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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COLONEL (derived either from
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Lat. column, Fr. colonne, column, or Lat. corona, a
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crown)
  , the
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superior officer of a regiment of
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infantry or cavalry.; also an officer of corresponding rank in the general army list . The colonelcy of a regiment formerly implied a proprietary, right in it . Whether the colonel commanded it directly in the field or not, he always superintended its
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finance and interior
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economy, and the emoluments of the office, in the 18th century, were often the only form of pay
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drawn by general
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officers . The general officers of the 17th and 18th centuries were invariably colonels of regiments, and in this case the active command was exercised by the
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lieutenant-colonels . At the
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present day,
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British general officers are often, though not always, given the colonelcy of a regiment, which has become almost purely an honorary office . The
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sovereign,
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foreign sovereigns, royal princes and others, hold honorary colonelcies, as colonels-in-chief or honorary colonels of many regiments . In other armies, the regiment being a fighting unit, the colonel is its active
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commander ; in
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Great Britain the lieutenant-colonel commands in the field the
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battalion of infantry and the regiment of cavalry . Colonels are actively employed in the army at large in staff appointments, brigade commands, &c. extra-regimentally . Colonel-general, a rank formerly used in many armies, still survives in the German service, a colonel-general (General-Oberst) ranking between a general of infantry, cavalry or artillery, and a general field marshal (General-Feldmarschall) . Colonels-general are usually given the honorary rank of general field marshal .

End of Article: COLONEL (derived either from Lat. column, Fr. colonne, column, or Lat. corona, a crown)
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