Etymology and Historical Usage
The word port is ultimately from Latin porta for door. Often the term postern is used synonymously. It can also mean an underground tunnel, or passage (i.e. a secret exit for those besieged).
A sally, ultimately derived from Latin salīre (to jump), or sortie, is a military maneuver, typically during a siege, made by a defending force to harass isolated or vulnerable attackers before retreating back behind their defenses. Sallies are a common way for besieged forces to reduce the strength and preparedness of a besieging army; a sally port is therefore essentially a door in a castle or city wall that allows troops to make sallies without compromising the defensive strength of the fortifications.
Targets for these raids included tools which could be captured and used by the defenders, labor-intensive works such as trenches and mines, and siege engines and siege towers. Sometimes enemy laborers were also targeted. Often, the besiegers' beer and food supplies would be stolen or, if they were too bulky to transport, urinated in.
Read more about this topic: Sally Port
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