History
The expression "officer of the line" is possibly rooted in the 18th- and 19th-century Royal Navy practice of employing sail-powered warships in line formations to maximize the effectiveness of side-mounted cannons. The ships were called ships of the line and their officers were termed line officers. The term also derives from "walking the line" and in many military circles is believed to have come from a "line in the sand" which two groups of officers once used in a political argument to gain power.
Read more about this topic: Line Officer
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“These anyway might think it was important
That human history should not be shortened.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“America is the only nation in history which miraculously has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)
“America is the only nation in history which, miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to degeneration without the usual interval of civilization.”
—Attributed to Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929)