Sentence:  [For his experiments with electricity,] Benjamin Franklin utilized Leyden jars and referred to several jars hooked together as a <WSD>battery</WSD> (after a "battery" of cannon). 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A device used to power electric devices, consisting of a set of electrically connected electrochemical or, archaically, electrostatic cells. A single such cell when used by itself.