Part 39

=Fortress.= Is a fortified city or town, or any piece of ground so strongly fortified as to be capable of resisting an attack carried on against it, according to rule. Also, as a verb, to furnish with fortresses; to guard; to fortify.

=Forward.= A word of command given when troops are to resume their march after a temporary interruption.

=Fosseway.= One of the military Roman roads in England, so called from the ditches on both sides.

=Fotheringay.= A village of England, in Northamptonshire. Richard III. was born in the castle of this place, and Mary, queen of Scots, was imprisoned and executed here. James I. razed it to the ground after his accession to the throne.

=Foucade=, or =Fougade=. A small mine.

=Fougasses.= A description of small mines, constructed in front of the weakest parts of a fortification, as the salient angles and faces not defended by a cross-fire.

=Fougass Shell.= A row of loaded shells in a box divided into two compartments. The lower compartment is filled with powder. The box is only just covered by the earth. The fougass is fired by a fuze, electricity, or a tube which explodes when trodden upon.

=Fougass, Stone.= A sort of natural mortar formed by an excavation in the ground. At the bottom of the excavation is placed the charge in a box, over this comes a shield of wood, and over that again is placed about 5 cubic yards of stones, each of which should weigh not less than 1 pound. The excavation is in the shape of a frustrum of a cone, and makes an angle of about 40° with the horizon. The charge is about 80 pounds of powder, and the stones will fall over a parallelogram about 110 yards by 120 yards.

=Fougeres.= A town and parish of France, 28 miles northeast from Rennes. This town was the scene of many engagements between the English and the French, from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

=Fougette= (_Fr._). An Indian sky-rocket, a species of firework which is frequently used by the Asiatics. It is made of the hollow tube of the bamboo, of a very large size, filled with the usual composition of rockets. The rod is only a part of the same bamboo, the greater part of which is cut away.

=Foughard.= Near Armagh, Northern Ireland. Here Edward, brother of Robert Bruce, after invading Ireland in 1315, was defeated by Sir John Bermingham in 1318. Bruce was killed by Roger de Maupis, a burgess of Dundalk.

=Fouiller= (_Fr._). To search. In a military sense, it signifies to detach small bodies of infantry round the flanks of a column that is marching through a wood, for the purpose of discovering an ambuscade, and of giving timely notice that it may be avoided. The same precaution is necessary when a body of men advance towards or enter a village.

=Fouling.= The action of gunpowder in dirtying the bore of a gun. Cannon for this and other reasons are sponged after each round.

=Foundation.= In military architecture, is that part of a building which is underground, or the mass of stone, brick, etc., which supports a building, or upon which the walls of a superstructure are raised; or it is the coffer or bed dug below the level of the ground to raise a building upon.

=Founder.= A person who casts cannon, etc.

=Foundery.= In military matters, the art of casting all kinds of ordnance, such as cannon, mortars, etc.

=Foundry.= A place for casting all kinds of ordnance; a foundery.

=Four.= A place of confinement in Paris to which vagabonds and persons who could not give any satisfactory account of themselves were committed; and when once shut up had their names registered, and were enlisted for the old French government. These Fours added annually 2000 men at least to the king’s regular army; by which means the capital was relieved of a multitude of thieves, pickpockets, etc.

=Fourage= (_Fr._). Forage; in the artillery, it is used figuratively to signify hay, straw, or anything else of vegetable growth, which is used to ram into the bore of a cannon for the purpose of cleansing it.

=Fourager= (_Fr._). To forage, or look about for provender and provisions. It likewise means among the French to ravage, desolate, pillage, and waste a country for the purpose of throwing the inhabitants into disorder. The word is derived from _foras agere_, or to seek for forage in the field.

=Fourier= (_Fr._). A quartermaster belonging to a cavalry or infantry regiment. In France there were _fouriers-majors_ who composed a part of the cavalry stall. _Sergeant-fourier_ and _corporal-fourier_ answer to our quartermaster-sergeant.

=Fourniment= (_Fr._). A horn formerly used, which held about 1 pound of gunpowder to prime cannon. It was likewise used by cavalry and infantry soldiers, who slung it across their shoulders. The artillerists kept it in a belt.

=Fowley.= A decayed seaport town of England, in the county of Cornwall, at the mouth of a small river of the same name. It became famous in the old French wars, and in 1347 sent 37 tall ships to the siege of Calais. It was burned by the French in 1457.

=Fowling-piece.= A term sometimes applied to shot-guns of large caliber and great power, for shooting ducks, geese, and other large birds.

=Fox.= The old English broadsword.

=Fox Indians.= A tribe of American aborigines of the Algonkin stock, associated with the Sacs. They formerly dwelt in the southern part of Iowa, but now occupy lands in Indian Territory. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.

=Fraisers= (_Fr._). To plait, knead, or drill. In a military sense to fraise or fence; as, _fraiser un battalion_, is to fraise or fence all the infantrymen with pikes, to oppose the irruption of cavalry, should it charge them in a plain. At present it means to secure a battalion by opposing bayonets obliquely forward, or crossways in such a manner as to render it impossible for horsemen to act against it.

=Fraises.= Rows of palisades planted horizontally, or nearly so, as at the edge of a ditch, or on the steep exterior of a parapet. Fraises are generally 7 or 8 feet long, and about 5 inches thick. When an army intrenches itself, the parapets of the retrenchment are often fraised in the parts exposed to an attack. To _fraise a battalion_ is to line or cover it every way with bayonets, that it may withstand the shock of a body of horse.

=France.= A country of Western Europe, which was known to the Romans by the name of Gaul (which see). In the decline of their power it was conquered by the Franks, a people of Germany, then inhabiting Franconia, where they became known about 240. These invaders gave the name to the kingdom (_Franken-ric_, Frank’s Kingdom); but the Gauls, being by far the more numerous, are the real ancestors of the modern French. For details of important events in France, see separate articles.

=Franches= (_Fr._). _Les compagnies franches_, free companies, were bodies of men detached and separated from the rest of the army, having each a chief, or commandant. They consisted chiefly of dragoons, hussars, etc., and their peculiar duty was to make irruptions into an enemy’s country. They may not improperly be called land-pirates, as their chief occupation was to harass and plunder the enemy and his adherents, in whatever manner they could, without paying any regard to military forms. The persons who composed these corps were termed partisans. They always accompanied the main army in time of war, and were distributed among the different garrison towns in France during peace. They were common to every power in Europe; the Pandours and Hulans were of this description. They were the worst afflictions of war; and generally as fatal to their friends as to their enemies.

=Francisque= (_Fr._). A battle-axe; an ancient weapon formed like an axe, used principally by the Franks.

=Franco-Prussian War.= The origin of this dreadful series of sanguinary conflicts is ascribed to the jealousy of the emperor of the French of the greatly increased power of Prussia, in consequence of the successful issue of the war with Denmark in 1864, and more especially of that with Austria in 1866. By these events the German Confederation was annulled, and the North German Confederation established under the supremacy of the king of Prussia, whose territories were also enlarged by the annexation of Hanover, Hesse-Casel, Nassau, Frankfort, and other provinces. This great augmentation of the power of Prussia was mainly due to the policy of Count Bismarck-Schönhausen, prime minister. In March, 1857, a dispute arose through the emperor’s proposals for the purchase of Luxemburg of the king of Holland, which was strongly opposed by Prussia, but the affair was eventually settled, by a conference of the representatives of the great powers declaring Luxemburg neutral. Both governments, however, had prepared for the impending struggle, and the crisis came when Prince Leopold of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen consented to become a candidate for the throne of Spain, about July 3, 1870. This was violently denounced by the French government, and eventually, after some negotiation and the intervention of Great Britain, the prince, with the consent of his sovereign, declined the proffered crown. This submission did not satisfy the French government and nation, and the demand for a guarantee against the repetition of such an acceptance irritated the Prussian government, and led to the termination of the negotiations. War was declared by the emperor July 15, 1870, and actually commenced about July 23. It did not end until January 27, 1871, and France was overrun by the victorious Prussians and their auxiliaries. On May 10, 1871, a definitive treaty of peace was concluded at Frankfort-on-the-Main, and on account of the rapid payment of the war expenses the last German soldier left French soil in July, 1873. For important battles and engagements during the war, see separate articles.

=Franconia= (Ger. _Franken_). An old duchy, afterwards a circle of the Germanic empire, between Upper Saxony, the Upper and Lower Rhine, Swabia, Bavaria, and Bohemia. Since 1806, it has been divided between the grand duchies of Baden and Hesse, and the kingdoms of Bavaria and Saxony.

=Franc-Tireurs.= Literally free-shooters, a name given to French soldiers during the Crimean war, who were stationed as sharpshooters. In the republican wars the name was also given to certain corps of light infantry. During the Franco-German war the name was also applied to a class of combatants among the French, who carried on a partisan warfare.

=Frankfort-on-the-Main.= A city of Prussia, province of Hesse-Nassau, to which it was annexed in 1866. It is situated on the right bank of the Main. Said to have been a free city in 1174, and suffered much by the wars of France. It was entered by the Prussians, who exacted heavy supplies, July 16, 1866.

=Frankfort-on-the-Oder.= A well-built town of Prussia, capital of the province of Brandenburg, 48 miles southeast from Berlin. It suffered much from marauders in the Middle Ages, and in the Thirty Years’ War. Near Frankfort, on August 12, 1759, Frederick of Prussia was defeated by the Russians and Austrians. See CUNNERSDORF.

=Franklin.= In the southern part of Tennessee, near the boundary-line of Alabama. A severe engagement took place here between the Union and Confederate forces under Gens. Schofield and Hood respectively, November 30, 1864.

=Franks.= A name given to a combination of the Northwestern German tribes about 240, which invaded Gaul and other parts of the empire with various success.

=Fraser Gun.= See ORDNANCE, WOOLWICH GUN.

=Fraud.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 60.

=Fray.= Affray; combat; duel; broil; contest.

=Frazier’s Farm, Battle of.= See GLENDALE.

=Fredericia.= A fortified town of Denmark, in Jutland, on the Little Belt. It was besieged and taken by Prussia in 1864.

=Fredericksburg.= A city of Spottsylvania Co., Va., on the south bank of the Rappahannock River. On December 10, 1862, Gen. Burnside and the Federal army of the Potomac crossed the small deep river of the Rappahannock. On December 11, Fredericksburg was bombarded by the Federals and destroyed. On the 13th commenced a series of most desperate yet unsuccessful attacks on the Confederate works, defended by Gens. Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, and others. Gen. Hooker crossed the river with reserves, and joined in the conflict in vain. The Federal army recrossed the Rappahannock December 15 and 16. This battle was one of the severest of the war. Fredericksburg was the scene of several bloody battles during the civil war.

=Frederickshald.= A town of Norway, at the influx of the Tistedals-elf into the Idefiord, 55 miles southeast from Christiania. Charles XII. of Sweden was killed here in the trenches before the fortress of Fredericksteen, on December 11, 1718.

=Frederickshamm=, or =Hamina=. A fortified town of Finland. The treaty which ceded Finland to Russia was signed here in 1809.

=Freebooter.= One who wanders about for plunder; a robber; a pillager; a plunderer.

=Freebootery.= The act, practice, or gains of a freebooter; freebooting.

=Freebooting.= Robbery; plunder; a pillaging. Also acting the freebooter; practicing the freebooter; robbing.

=Freehold.= A village, the capital of Monmouth Co., N. J. Near here was fought the battle of Monmouth, June 28, 1778.

=Free-lances.= Were roving companies of knights and men-at-arms, who, after the Crusades had ceased to give them employment, wandered from state to state, selling their services to any lord who was willing to purchase their aid in the perpetual feuds of the Middle Ages. They played their most prominent part in Italy, where they were known as _Condottieri_ (which see).

=Fregellæ= (_Fregellanus_; now _Ceprano_). An ancient and important town of the Volsci, on the Liris, in Latium, conquered by the Romans, and colonized 328 B.C. It took part with the allies in the Social war, and was destroyed by Opimius.

=Fregosa=, or =Fregose= (in the plural _Fregosi_). A Genoese family, which in the 14th century gained distinction among the popular party, and by their rivalry with the Adorni occasioned frequent civil wars. Fregoso (Domenico), became doge of Genoa in 1370. He conquered the isle of Cyprus and was deposed in 1378. Pietro was a brother of the preceding; he commanded the armament which conquered Cyprus in 1373, and in 1393 was elected doge. Thomas was elected doge in 1415; being attacked by Alfonso of Aragon and the Duke of Milan, he made a brave resistance, and was forced to retire from Genoa in 1421. Pietro was elected in 1450, and for eight years maintained his power against Alfonso of Aragon and the Adorni; he was killed in an attempt to expel the French from Genoa in 1459. There were several other doges of this family in Genoa.

=Fréjus.= A town of France, in the department of the Var, 45 miles northeast from Toulon. It was here that Bonaparte landed on his return from Egypt in the autumn of 1799; and here also he disembarked after his escape from Elba in 1814.

=French Fury, The.= A name given, in history, to the attempt made by the Duke of Anjou to carry Antwerp by storm, January 17, 1583. The whole of his force was either killed or taken captive in less than an hour.

=Frenchtown.= In Canada; it was taken from the British by the American general Winchester, January 22, 1813, during the second war with the United States. It was retaken by the British forces under Gen. Proctor January 24, and the American commander and troops were made prisoners.

=French Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.

=Fréteval.= A town of France, in the department of Loir-et-Cher, 9 miles northeast from Vendôme. In 1194 the army of Philip Augustus was defeated here by the English.

=Friction Plates.= Plates used to check the recoil of guns. See RECOIL and ELSWICK COMPRESSOR.

=Friction Primer.= In gunnery, consists of a short tube of metal inserted into a hole near the top of a larger tube, and soldered in that position. The short tube is lined with a composition made by mixing together one part of chlorate of potassa and two of sulphuret of antimony, formed into a paste with gum-water. A serrated wire passes through the short tube and hole opposite to it in the side of the long one, the open end of the short tube being compressed with nippers, and the wire at the end of the serrated part doubled under to prevent displacement. The other end of the wire is doubled and twisted by machinery. The long tube is filled with rifle-powder, its upper end being covered with shellac-varnish blackened with lamp-black, and its lower end closed with shoemaker’s wax and dipped into varnish. One great advantage of the friction tube is that it gives an enemy at night no clue to the position of a piece as does the lighted port-fire or slow-match.

=Friedland.= A town of East Prussia, in the circle of Königsberg, on the Alle. This place is famous for being the scene of the battle gained by Napoleon I. over the Russians and Prussians on June 14, 1807, and which led to the peace of Tilsit.

=Frill.= Was an ornamental appendage to the shirt which officers and soldiers generally wore with regimentals. A small aperture was usually made at the top to admit the hook and eye of the uniform coat. Enlisted men generally wore frills detached from the coat.

=Frisians.= Were an ancient Teutonic race, dwelling together with the _Batavi_, the _Bructeri_, and the _Chauci_, in the extreme northwest of Germany, between the mouths of the Rhine and Ems. They became tributaries of Rome under Drusus, and for a time remained faithful to the Roman alliance; but, in 28, they were driven to hostilities by the oppression of their protectors, and although partially subdued, they again rose against the Romans under Civilis. They were defeated and compelled to embrace Christianity in 689 and 785.

=Frisrutter.= An instrument made of iron, and used for the purpose of blocking up a haven or a river. The beams through which the upright bars pass must be 12 feet in length, and the upright bars that go through the beam must be of that length so that when one of these iron _frisrutters_ is let down into a haven or river, the perpendicular bars of this iron instrument shall be deep enough to reach at high water within 5 feet of the surface.

=Friuli.= An old province of Italy, belonging to Venice; made a duchy by Alboin the Lombard, when he established his kingdom about 570. It was conquered by Charlemagne; and Henri, a Frenchman, made duke, who was assassinated in 799. It was conquered by Venice in 1420.

=Frock.= In the British service, the undress regimental coat of the guards, artillery, and royal marines.

=Frogged.= A term used in regard to uniforms, and applied to stripes or workings of braid or lace, as ornaments, mostly on the breast, on the plain cloth of which a coat is made.

=Fronde= (_Fr._). A sling. This weapon was used in France by the Huguenots at Sancerre, as late as the year 1572, in order to save their powder. There were two kinds: one which was used in throwing a stone from the arm, and the other that was fixed to a lever, and was so contrived that a large quantity of stones might be thrown out of a machine, either from a camp into a besieged town, or from a town into the enemy’s camp. This machine has been used since the invention of cannon. The fronde or sling was used by the Romans on three different occasions, viz.: when they sent their light-armed men, called _velites_, forward to skirmish before a general engagement; when they wished to drive the enemy from under the walls of a town which they were preparing to storm, and finally to harass and wound the men in the enemy’s works. This weapon, in fact, together with the bow and arrow, may be numbered among the primitive arms of mankind.

=Fronde, Civil Wars of the.= These occurred in France in the minority of Louis XIV. (1648-53), during the government of the queen, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin, between the followers of the court and the nobility, and the Parliament and the citizens. The latter were called _Frondeurs_ (_slingers_), it is said, from an incident in a street quarrel.

=Front.= A word of command signifying that the men are to face to their proper front; also to cast their eyes to the front after dressing.

=Front.= The foremost rank of a battalion, squadron, or any other body of men. The _front of a gun_ is the direction in which the muzzle points; but when a field-piece is limbered, its front is the direction in which the pole points. The _front of a work_ or fortification is the side it presents to the enemy. The _front of an army_, except in retreating, is the side towards the enemy. A column is said to be _right in front_ when it is formed by facing or wheeling to the right.

=Front, Bastioned.= A curtain connecting two half bastions.

=Front of Operations.= See STRATEGY.

=Frontal.= A front piece; something worn on the forehead or face; or the metal face-guard of a soldier.

=Fronted.= Formed with a front; as, fronted brigades.

=Frontier.= That part of a country which fronts or faces another country; the marches; the border, confines, or extreme part of a country, bordering on another country; hence, a fortified or guarded position. Also, lying on the exterior part; as, a frontier town. Acquired on a frontier; as, frontier experience.

=Frontiera.= A town of Portugal, in the province of Alemtejo, 15 miles from Estremos. The Spaniards were defeated here in 1663 by the Portuguese under Schomberg.

=Froschweiler.= See WORTH.

=Frumentarius.= A Roman soldier, whose duty was to bring supplies of provisions to the army, and the earliest notice of all hostile movements. They were also, under the Roman empire, officers who acted as spies in the provinces, and reported to the emperor whatever seemed worthy of note. They appear to have derived this appellation from their gathering news in the same way that the Frumentarii or purveyors collected corn.

=Fuel.= The matter or aliment of fire; anything capable of ignition. There is a certain allowance of fuel made by government to regiments and companies. Officers in the U. S. army, at the present time, buy their fuel; in other countries it is furnished.

=Fuente-la-Higuera.= A city of Spain, in the province of Valencia. At this place Jourdan, Soult, and Suchet, after the rout of Salamanca, met with their retreating forces, and held a council how best to get back into France, when Ballesteros, by refusing to obey Wellington’s order, opened the way for them to Madrid, in October, 1812.

=Fuenterabia.= A very ancient city of Spain, in the province of Guipuzcoa. The Prince of Condé was repulsed here by the admiral of Castile, 1638. In 1794 the French completely dismantled the place.

=Fuentes de Onore.= A small town of Spain, 16 miles from Ciudad Rodrigo. It was the scene of some sharp fighting in May, 1811, between the French and the British.

=Fugitive.= One who flees from his station or duty; a deserter; one who flees from danger. One who has fled or deserted and taken refuge under another power, or one who has fled from punishment.

=Fugleman= (an incorrect method of pronouncing _flugelman_). A well-drilled intelligent soldier advanced in front of the line, to give the time in the manual and platoon exercises. The word _flugel_ is derived from the Germans, and signifies a wing; the man having been originally posted on the right wing.

=Fulcrum.= A cast-iron post at the breech of large cannon used as a support for an iron bar in giving elevations; called also _ratchet post_.

=Full Charges.= The charges of powder required in actual service.

=Full Pay.= The full amount of an officer’s regimental pay. When an officer receives that he is said to be on full pay.

=Full Pay, Retired.= In the British service, an officer of 30 years’ full pay is permitted to retire on the full pay of his regimental rank, with a rank one step higher than that which he holds by brevet or otherwise.

=Full Sap.= See SAP.

=Full Uniform.= See DRESS UNIFORM.