Cantonment

This article is about a military term. For the places named 'Cantonment', see Cantonment (disambiguation).

A cantonment (/kænˈtɒnmənt/, /kænˈtoʊnmənt/, or UK: /kænˈtuːnmənt/) is a military quarters.[1] In India and other parts of South Asia, a cantonment refers to a permanent military station (a term from the Undivided India).[1] In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential section (i.e. barrack) of a fort or other military installation," such as Fort Cavazos.

The word cantonment, derived from the French word canton, meaning corner or district,[2] refers to a temporary military or winter encampment. For example, at the start of the Waterloo campaign in 1815, while the Duke of Wellington's headquarters were in Brussels, most of his Anglo–allied army of 93,000 soldiers were cantoned, or stationed, to the south of Brussels.[3]

  1. ^ a b "cantonment". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  2. ^ "canton". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  3. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition Waterloo Campaign