Sentence:  No gentleman would appear in the field but on horſeback. To ſerve in any other manner he would have deemed derogatory to his rank. The cavalry, by way of distinction, was called "The <WSD>battle</WSD>", and on it alone depended the fate of every action. The infantry, collected from the dregs and refuſe of the people, ill armed and worſe diſciplined; was of no account. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A division of an army; a battalion.