Escharpe

Fr. a scarf. In ancient times, a military mark to distinguish officers and soldiers from the rest of the people. Before a regular clothing was adopted among the nations in Europe, officers and soldiers appeared with two scarfs of different colors, which cro ed each other before and behind, in order to point out the country and the corps to which the wearer of it belonged. The scarf was preserved among the French, as late down as the reign of Louis the XIVth. It consisted of a piece of white silk, which previous to the revolution, was the national color of France. Scarfs, however, were continued much later among other nations, particularly among the Germans, who wear them to this day acro their uniforms. Cro belts succeed the scarf. En ECHARPE , in the military art. To batter en echarpe , is to fire obliquely, or sideways. See Battery .