Part 37
=Flanking Angle.= In fortification, that composed of the two lines of defense, and pointing toward the curtain. See TENAILLE.
=Flanking Party.= Any body of men detached from the main army to act upon the flanks of an enemy. See FLANKER.
=Flanks of a Frontier.= Are certain salient points in a national boundary, strong by nature and art, and ordinarily projecting somewhat beyond the general line. The effect of these flanks is to protect the whole frontier against an enemy, as he dare not penetrate between, with the risk of their garrisons, reinforced from their own territories, attacking his rear, and cutting off communication between him and his base.
=Flash.= The flame which issues from any fire-arm or piece of ordnance on its being fired.
=Flash in the Pan.= An explosion of gunpowder without any communication beyond the vent. When a piece is loaded, and, upon the trigger being drawn, nothing but the priming takes fire, that piece is said to flash in the pan.
=Flask, Powder-.= A measure formerly made of horn, used to carry powder in, with the measure of the charge of the piece on the top of it.
=Flathead Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, so called from the practice which prevailed among them of binding some solid substance on the foreheads of their children so as to cause a depression of the skull. They are located on an agency in Montana. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Flaw.= A crack or small opening in a gun or its carriage is so called.
=Fleau d’Armes= (_Fr._). An ancient offensive weapon; the part used for striking was armed with sharp iron spikes.
=Flèche.= Literally an arrow; but applied in fortification to a work resembling a redan, except that it is raised upon the terre-plein without a ditch. It is in short a field-work, having faces and small flanks hastily run up to shelter a small number of men, and form an outwork to some more powerful fortification.
=Fleece, Order of the Golden.= One of the most eminent orders of knighthood in Europe, was founded in 1430 by Philip III., duke of Burgundy. By its foundation his successors were declared hereditary grand-masters; and thus the title passed to the imperial house of Austria with the Burgundian inheritance, and thence to the Spanish line of the same house after the death of the emperor Charles V. When the Spanish Netherlands, however, became Austrian, and the Bourbons became monarchs of Spain, the grand-mastership was claimed by the archdukes of Austria. Hence at present the Spanish and Austrian sovereigns alike confer the order, and at both courts it gives the highest rank.
=Fletch, To.= To feather an arrow.
=Fletcher.= The man who made or repaired the military bows was so called. Also called _bowyer_.
=Fleur-de-lis= (_Fr._). This celebrated emblem is derived from the white lily of the garden, or from the flag or iris. The Franks of old had a custom at the proclamation of their king, to elevate him upon a shield or target, and place in his hand a reed or flag in blossom, instead of a sceptre; and from that time the kings of the first and second race in France are represented with sceptres in their hands like the flag with its flowers, these flowers subsequently becoming the armorial bearings of France. In later times their arms were azure, three fleur-de-lis _or_. Many English and Scotch families bear the fleur-de-lis in some portion of their arms, and generally with some reference to France.
=Fleurus.= A small town in Belgium, in the province of Hainault. It has been the scene of several conflicts, the last and most important being the battle fought June 26, 1794, between the army of the French republic under Jourdan and the allies under the Prince of Saxe-Coburg. The allied forces were compelled for a time to evacuate Flanders.
=Flight.= Is used figuratively for the swift retreat of an army or any party from a victorious enemy. It is likewise applicable to missile weapons or shot; as, a flight of arrows, a flight of bombs, etc.
=Flight, Time of.= In gunnery, the flight of a shot or shell is the time during which it is passing through the air from the piece to the first graze.
=Flight, To Put to.= To force your enemy to quit the field.
=Flint.= In the flint-lock musket, the stone which was fixed to the cock or gun-lock by which the sparks were elicited that discharged the piece.
=Flint-lock.= A musket lock with a flint fixed in the hammer for striking on the cap of the pan; also the musket itself.
=Flint Weapons.= Believed to have been used by the primitive inhabitants, have from time to time, in more or less number, been turned up with the plow and the spade, and dug out from ancient graves, fortifications, and dwelling-places. They do not differ in any material respect from the flint weapons still in use among uncivilized tribes in Asia, Africa, America, etc. The weapons of most frequent occurrence are arrow-heads, spear-points, dagger-blades, and axe-heads, or celts.
=Flo.= An arrow was formerly so called.
=Floating Batteries.= These are used in defending harbors, or in attacks on marine fortresses. The most remarkable instance of their employment was by the French and Spaniards against Gibraltar, in the memorable siege which lasted from July, 1779, to February, 1783. During the Russian war, 1854-55, they rendered good service before Kinburn. Now they are only used for defensive purposes.
=Floating-bridge.= A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys, used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. See BRIDGE, FLYING.
=Flodden Field.= The last point of the Cheviots, the place where King James IV. of Scotland, after crossing the border on August 22, 1513, with an army of over 30,000 men, took up his position, and where, on September 9, the bloody battle was fought in which the king was killed, and the Scottish army destroyed.
=Flogging.= A barbarous punishment formerly inflicted in the British army and navy. It was generally administered with a whip, or “cat-of-nine-tails,” on the bare back. This mode of punishment formerly existed in the American army and navy.
=Flood-gate.= In fortified towns, is composed of 2 or 4 gates, so that the besieged by opening the gates may inundate the environs so as to keep the enemy out of gunshot.
=Florent, St.= A fortified seaport town of Corsica, on the gulf of the same name, 6 miles west from Bastia. This town was taken by the British in 1793.
=Florida.= One of the United States of America, which was discovered by Sebastian Cabot, in the year 1497. Its conquest was accomplished by the Spaniards in 1539. It was plundered by Sir Francis Drake in 1585; and by Davis, a buccaneer, in 1665. It was invaded by the British in 1702; and again by Gen. Oglethorpe in 1740. In 1763 it was ceded to Britain, but in 1781 was recovered by Spain, and confirmed to her by the peace of 1783. In 1821 it was purchased from Spain by the United States. A war with the Seminole Indians commenced in 1835. After great trouble and expense they were subdued and emigrated to the Indian Territory in 1842. In 1839 its constitution was formed, and in 1845 it was admitted into the Union. Florida seceded from the Union on January 10, 1861, and was one of the first to return to the Union, October 25, 1865.
=Flourish.= The waving of a weapon or other thing; a brandishing; as, the flourish of a sword.
=Flourish.= To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude, as, a flourish of trumpets.
=Flugelman.= The leader of a file; one who stands in front of a body of soldiers, and whose motions in the manual exercise they all simultaneously follow; a fugelman.
=Flushed.= A term frequently applied when men have been successful; as, flushed with victory, etc.
=Flushing.= An important seaport of the Netherlands, in the island of Walcheren, on the north side of the Scheldt, where that river enters the North Sea. It was the first town which declared against the Spaniards in 1572. In 1585 the Prince of Orange pledged it to Queen Elizabeth as security for a loan which she made to the people of the Netherlands in their struggle against Philip II. of Spain. The English held it till 1616. At the commencement of the 19th century it came into the possession of the French, and in 1809 was bombarded by the British composing the Walcheren expedition, under Lord Chatham, when it suffered severely. Admiral Ruyter was born here in 1607.
=Flute.= A wind instrument which is sometimes used in military bands, but never in service.
=Fly.= The length of a flag. The dimension at right angles to the staff. The other dimension is called the _hoist_.
=Flying Army.= A strong body of cavalry and infantry which is always in motion, both to cover its own garrisons and to keep the enemy in continual alarm.
=Flying Artillery.= Artillery trained to very rapid evolutions. In passing from one part of the field to another, the men spring upon their horses in horse artillery, or on the ammunition-chests in light artillery.
=Flying Bridges.= See PONTONS.
=Flying Camp.= A camp or body of troops formed for rapid motion from one place to another.
=Flying Colors.= Colors unfurled and left to wave in the air. Hence to return or come off with flying colors is to be victorious, to get the better.
=Flying Party.= A detachment of men employed to hover about an enemy.
=Flying Sap.= See SAP.
=Flying Shot.= A shot fired at something in motion, as a bird on the wing, a ship under sail, etc.; also, one who fires thus.
=Flying Torch.= The torch used on a staff in signaling.
=Fodder.= See FORAGE.
=Foe.= An enemy in war; a national enemy; a hostile army; an adversary.
=Foeman.= An enemy in war.
=Fogey.= An old-fashioned or singular person; an invalid soldier or sailor.
=Foil.= A long piece of steel of an elastic temper, mounted somewhat like a sword, which is used to learn to fence with; it is without a point, or any sharpness, having a button at the extremity covered with leather.
=Foil.= To render vain or nugatory as an effort or attempt; to frustrate; to defeat; to baffle; to balk; as, the enemy attempted to pass the river, but was _foiled_; he _foiled_ his adversaries.
=Foin.= A thrust with a pike or sword.
=Foissonnement.= A term used in fortification to signify the increase in bulk of earth after its excavation. This increase varies from one-eighth to one-twelfth generally.
=Folding Boat.= A boat of a jointed framework covered with canvas, used in campaigning and by voyageurs.
=Followers, Camp-.= See CAMP-FOLLOWERS.
=Follow Up.= To pursue with additional vigor some advantage which has already been gained; as, to follow up a victory.
=Fone.= Formerly the plural of Foe. Now obsolete.
=Fontainebleau.= A town and parish of France, in the department of the Seine and Marne, 37 miles southeast from Paris. There is a celebrated royal palace here encompassed by parks and gardens, mentioned in history, ever since the 13th century, as the residence of the monarchs of France. This place was entered by the Austrians, February 17, 1814. Here Napoleon resigned his dignity, April 4, and bade farewell to his army, April 20, 1814.
=Fontenoy.= A village in Belgium, in the province of Hainaut, 5 miles southwest of Tournay. Here was fought the most famous contest in the War of the Austrian Succession, on May 11, 1745, between the French under Marshal Saxe and the allies (English, Dutch, and Austrians) under the Duke of Cumberland. After a hard-fought battle the allies were forced to retreat. The loss on both sides was stated at about 7000 men.
=Food.= Food has two functions, building up the body, and supplying it with force. Substances used as food may be divided into elements which are oxidizable and those conducive to chemical changes. Milk contains all the necessary elements in the best form. The nourishing elements of foods are usually classed under the heads of albuminates, fats, carbo-hydrates, and salts. In regard to the part played by the condiments used in flavoring and seasoning, and such things as tea, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, etc., little is positively known beyond the fact that some of them are useful in exciting the salivary and alimentary secretions. The amount of food necessary to health and vigor varies with the kind and amount of occupation, the character of the climate, and specifically with the individual. Playfair and Parkes give the following as the average daily allowance of anhydrous food for an adult, in avoirdupois ounces:
_In quietude._
Albuminates 2.5 Fats 1. Carbo-hydrates 12. Salts .5 ---- Total 16.
_Hard labor or campaigning._
Albuminates 6. to 7. Fats 3.5 to 4.5 Carbo-hydrates 16. to 18. Salts 1.2 to 1.5 ------------ Total 26.7 to 31.0
_European standard, for moderate work._
Albuminates 4.587 Fats 2.964 Carbo-hydrates 14.257 Salts 1.058 ------ Total 22.866
From 70 to 90 ounces of water in addition to this are usually consumed per day.
The ration of the U. S. army resolved into anhydrous elements gives the following:
_Soft bread, with ²⁄₃ fresh beef, ¹⁄₃ salt pork and beans._
Albuminates 3.93 Fats 4.15 Carbo-hydrates 12.37 Salts 1.19 ----- Total 21.64 and .26 coffee.
_Same with rice instead of beans._
Albuminates 3.47 Fats 4.11 Carbo-hydrates 12.50 Salts 1.14 ----- Total 21.22 and .26 coffee.
_Hard bread, ²⁄₃ fresh beef, ¹⁄₃ salt pork and beans._
Albuminates 4.99 Fats 4.09 Carbo-hydrates 15.26 Salts 1.23 ----- Total 25.57 and .26 coffee.
_Hard bread, bacon and beans._
Albuminates 4.10 Fats 9.06 Carbo-hydrates 15.26 Salts 1.29 ----- Total 29.71 and .26 coffee.
The following table, compiled from standard authorities, gives an alimentary analysis of 100 parts of various substances used as food, by means of which the nutritive value of all ordinary diets may be calculated:
+------+-------+-----+-------+------ |Water.|Albumi-|Fats.|Carbo- |Salts. | | nates.| | Hy- | | | | |drates.| --------------------------------+------+-------+-----+-------+------ Meat (best quality), beefsteak | 74.4 | 20.5 | 3.5 | ... | 1.6 Meat (average like soldiers), | | | | | less ¹⁄₅ for bone | 75. | 15. | 8.4 | ... | 1.6 Meat (very fat, stall fed) | 63. | 14. |19. | ... | 3.7 Salt beef (Girardin) | 49.1 | 29.6 | 0.2 | ... | 21.1 Salt pork (Girardin) | 44.1 | 26.1 | 7. | ... | 22.8 Fat pork (Letheby) | 39. | 9.8 |48.9 | ... | 2.3 Bacon (salted and smoked) | | | | | (Letheby) | 15. | 8.8 |73.3 | ... | 2.9 Fish (Letheby) | 78. | 18.1 | 2.9 | ... | 1. Poultry, less bone ¹⁄₆ (Letheby)| 74. | 21. | 3.8 | ... | 1.2 Butter | 6. | .3 |91. | ... | 2.5 Eggs (less ¹⁄₁₀ for shell) | 73.5 | 13.5 |11.6 | ... | 1. Cheese | 36.8 | 33.5 |24.3 | ... | 5.4 Bread (wheat, average quality) | 40. | 8. | 1.5 | 49.2 | 1.3 Biscuit, hard | 8. | 15.6 | 1.3 | 73.4 | 1.7 Wheat flour (average) | 15. | 11. | 2. | 70.3 | 1.7 Rice | 10. | 5. | 0.8 | 83.2 | .5 Oatmeal | 15. | 12.6 | 5.6 | 63. | 3. Cornmeal | 13.5 | 10. | 6.7 | 64.5 | 1.4 Peas (dry) | 15. | 22. | 2. | 53. | 2.4 Beans (dry) | 16. | 22.5 | 2.2 | 49.9 | 4.7 Potatoes, Irish | 74. | 1.5 | 0.1 | 23.4 | 1. Potatoes, sweet | 70.2 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 23.5 | 2.9 Yams | 74. | 2. | 0.5 | 16.2 | 1.3 Carrots | 85. | .6 | 0.25| 8.4 | .7 Parsnips | 82.4 | 1.125| 0.54| 6.39 | 1. Turnips | 90.5 | 1.1 | ... | 4. | .5 Cabbage | 91. | .2 | 0.5 | 5.8 | .7 Milk (average) | 88.3 | 3.5 | 3.1 | 4.5 | .5 Cream | 66. | 2.7 |26.7 | 2.8 | 1.8 Sugar | 3. | ... | ... | 96.5 | .5 --------------------------------+------+-------+-----+-------+------
=Foot.= The foot-soldiers; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry.
=Foot.= To gain or lose ground foot by foot, is to do it regularly and resolutely; defending everything to the utmost extremity, or forcing it by dint of art or labor.
=Foot Artillery.= Artillery troops serving on foot. Heavy artillery.
=Foot-band.= A band of infantry.
=Foot-bank.= See BANQUETTE.
=Foot-boards.= The transverse boards on the front of a limber, on which the cannoneers rest their feet when mounted.
=Foot-fight.= A conflict by persons on foot; in opposition to a fight on horseback.
=Foot Guards.= Guards of infantry. The flower of the British infantry, and the garrison ordinarily of the metropolis, comprise 3 regiments, the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots Fusilier Guards, in all 7 battalions, and 6307 officers and men of all ranks.
=Footing.= To be on the same footing with another, is to be under the same circumstances in point of service; to have the same number of men, and the same pay, etc.
=Footman.= A soldier who marches and fights on foot.
=Foot-pound.= In mechanics, is the unit of work. It is simply a contraction for “one pound raised through a height of one foot.” See WORK.
=Foot-soldier.= A soldier that serves on foot.
=Foot-ton.= In England the power of modern ordnance is estimated by the energy of the shot in foot-tons, divided by the number of inches in the shot’s circumference. The formula for calculating it is
_WV_² _E_ = ------- 2π_r.g_
in which _W_ is the weight of the shot in tons (English), _V_ is the velocity, 2π_r_, the circumference of the shot in inches, and _g_ the force of gravity;
_WV_² ----- _g_
is the living force of the shot, and is equal to twice the quantity of work it is capable of doing. This divided by the circumference gives a very fair estimate of its power in penetrating armor, as the resistance to penetration increases with the size of the projectile. This unit is also used to estimate the resisting power of armor-plating against shots of various sizes.
=Forage.= The hay, corn, fodder, and oats required for the subsistence of the animals in the army. The allowance of forage in the U. S. army is fixed by regulations at 14 pounds of hay and 12 of grain to each horse, and 14 pounds of hay and 9 of grain to each mule in the public service. Generals, field-officers, staff-officers, and cavalry officers receive forage for a certain number of private horses while actually kept in service.
=Forage.= To collect supplies both for man and beast, from an enemy by force, from friends by impressment, but giving to friends receipts, to be paid ultimately.
=Forage Cap.= A small low cap worn by soldiers when not in full dress.
=Forage-master.= See WAGON-MASTER.
=Foragers.= A detachment of soldiers who forage or collect stores for an army.
=Foraging.= Is properly the collection of forage or other supplies systematically in towns or villages, or going with an escort to cut nourishment for horses in fields. Such operations frequently lead to engagements with the enemy. Foraging parties are furnished with reaping-hooks and cords. The men promptly dismount, make bundles with which they load their horses, and are prepared for anything that may follow. The word foraging is sometimes inaccurately used for marauding.
=Forbach.= A small town of France, in the department of the Moselle, now a part of German Lorraine. It was occupied by the Prussians, January 10, 1814. During the Franco-Prussian war it was taken by the German generals Von Goeben and Von Steinmetz, after a fierce contest, in which the French were defeated and compelled to retreat, August 6, 1870.
=Forcat.= A rest for a musket in ancient times.
=Force.= In its military application, signifies an army of all branches,--artillery, cavalry, and infantry. It is sometimes used in the plural number, but with the same signification; as, “commander of the forces;” and occasionally we find the word used in another sense, thus, “He is in great force.” To force, in broadsword exercise, is to break an adversary’s sword-guard, and either wound him or expose him to a wound.
=Force.= To obtain or win by strength; to take by violence or struggle; specifically, to capture by assault; to storm, as a fortress. Also to impel, drive, wrest, extort, get, etc., by main strength or violence; with a following adverb, as _along_, _away_, _from_, _into_, _through_, _out_, etc.
=Force.= To provide with forces; to reinforce; to strengthen by soldiers; to garrison.
=Force of Gravity.= The force by virtue of which all terrestrial bodies fall to the earth when unsupported. As a terrestrial force it may be considered constant for the same place, but as it is practically the resultant of the earth’s attraction and the centrifugal force arising from its rotation, and as the earth is neither homogeneous nor a perfect sphere, it will vary slightly with the latitude, being greatest at the poles and least on the equator, and it will also vary in an insignificant degree from place to place in the same latitude. Gravity is distinguished in dynamics as the only constant force with which we have to do. It differs also from all others in this, that its measure is independent of mass. Other forces are measured by the product of the mass moved into the velocity imparted in the unit of time; but as gravity impresses the same velocity upon all masses, great or small, mass is properly omitted in its measure. The velocity impressed by it during each second of its action, or the _acceleration_, is about 32.1808 feet in latitude 45°, about 32.0977 at the equator, and 32.2629 at the poles. This number in gunnery is indicated by the algebraic symbol _g_. Its exact value at any place is best determined by the length of the simple second’s pendulum at that place. The value for _g_ for bodies falling in the air is very nearly true for dense substances presenting small surfaces, when the fall is limited by a few seconds. For the ordinary time of flight of projectiles it can be used without material error.
=Force, To.= To force an enemy to give battle, is to render the situation of an enemy so hazardous, that whether he attempts to quit his position, or endeavors to keep it, his capture or destruction must be equally inevitable. In either of such desperate cases, a bold and determined general will not wait to be attacked, but resolutely advance and give battle, especially if circumstances should combine to deprive him of the means of honorable capitulation. To _force_ a passage, is to oblige your enemy to retire from his fastnesses, and to open a way into the country which he had occupied. This may be done either by _coup de main_, or renewal of assaults. In either case, the advancing body should be well supported and its flanks be secured with the most jealous attention.