Part 40

=Fulminate.= A salt of fulminic acid. Fulminate of mercury is the most useful. It explodes readily by percussion, by a heat of 367° Fahr., when touched with strong sulphuric or nitric acid, by sparks from flint and steel and by the electric spark. It is used for percussion-caps, primers, fuzes, etc. From its peculiar power to produce detonations it is the detonating agent for modern blasting powders, containing nitro-glycerine, also, for gun-cotton. _Detonating caps_, or _exploders_, are copper caps containing from 3 to 25 grains of the fulminate. In ordinary blasting, where the tube fuze is used, the cap is placed on the end of the fuze and crimped around it. The cap is then buried a short distance in the blasting charge, or cartridge. See EXPLOSIVES.

=Fumigation.= To correct and purify an infectious or confined atmosphere, such as is often found in transports, fumigations are necessary. The materials recommended for the purpose are brimstone with saw-dust; or nitre with vitriolic acid; or common salt with the same acid.

=Fund.= There are several kinds of funds in the U. S. service, viz.: post fund, which is constituted by the troops baking their own bread and thereby saving 33¹⁄₃ per cent., the difference between bread and flour; the post trader also pays an assessment of 10 cents a month for every officer and soldier in the garrison, which is carried to the credit of the fund. This fund is used to defray expenses of the post bakery, garden, school, library and reading-room, chapel, printing-press, etc. Fifty per cent. of the post fund, after deducting expenses of the bakery, is set aside and transferred to the regimental treasurer; this constitutes a regimental fund, which is appropriated exclusively for the maintenance of a band, and, when a regiment does not have access to a post library, for the purchase of books and papers. The savings arising from an economical use of rations of the company (excepting the savings of flour) constitute the company fund, which is kept in the hands of the company commander, and disbursed by him _exclusively for the benefit of the enlisted men of the company_, as follows: For enlisted men’s mess, for garden seeds and utensils, for purchase of books, papers, etc., when the company does not have access to a post library or reading-room, and for such exercise and amusements as may be, in the judgment of the commanding officer, for the benefit or comfort of the enlisted men of the company.

=Funeral Honors.= If an officer dies when on duty with his regiment, or engaged on staff employ, he is buried with military honors. His hat, epaulettes, and sword are placed upon the coffin, soldiers support it, and officers bear the pall; the troops march at a slow and solemn pace, with arms reversed; the drums are muffled; the band plays the dead march; and after the body has been lowered into the grave, a party of infantry, cavalry, or artillery, fire three volleys over it, and then retire. The strength of the funeral party, as it is called, depends upon the rank of the deceased. Artillery officers are sometimes honored by discharges of cannon. When a cavalry officer is buried his horse follows the _cortege_. When the funeral of an officer entitled, when living, to a salute, takes place at or near a military post, minute-guns are fired while the remains are being borne to the place of interment; but the number of such guns is not to exceed that which the officer was entitled to as a salute when living. After the remains are deposited in the grave, a salute corresponding to the rank of the deceased officer will be fired,--three salvos of artillery, or three volleys of musketry.

In the event of a flag-officer of the navy, whether of the United States or of a foreign country, dying afloat, and the remains are brought ashore, minute-guns are fired from the ship while the body is being conveyed to the shore. If it be in the vicinity of a military post, the flag of the latter is displayed at half-staff, and minute-guns are fired from the post while the procession is moving from the landing-place. These minute-guns are not to exceed in number that which the officer was entitled to, as a salute, when living. During the funeral of a civil functionary entitled, when living, to a salute, the flag is displayed at half-staff, and minute-guns fired as before; but neither salutes nor salvos are fired after the remains are deposited in the grave. On the death of an officer at a military post, the flag is displayed at half-staff, and kept so, between the hours of reveille and retreat, until the last salvo or volley is fired over the grave, or if the remains are not interred at the post, until they are removed therefrom. Funeral honors are likewise accorded to enlisted men. During the funeral of an enlisted man, the flag is displayed at half-staff, and is hoisted to the top after the final volley or gun is fired. All military posts in sight, or within 6 miles of each other, display their flags at half-staff upon the occasion of either one doing so. The same rule is observed toward a vessel-of-war.

On all occasions where the flag is displayed at half-staff, it is _lowered_ to that position from the top of the staff. It is afterwards _hoisted_ to the top _before_ being finally lowered.

=Furl, To.= In regard to military colors, is opposed to their exposure; and is used to express the act of folding them so as to be cased.

=Furlough.= The term is usually applied to the absence with leave of non-commissioned officers and other enlisted men, and may be granted at the discretion of the commanding officer.

=Furlough.= To furnish with a furlough; to grant leave of absence.

=Furnace.= In mining, signifies a hollow or excavation which is made in the earth and is charged with gunpowder, for the purpose of blowing up a rock, wall, or any part of a fortification.

=Furnish.= To provide; to equip; as, to furnish one with arms for defense.

=Furniture.= In a military sense, applies to certain articles which are allowed in barracks, to which are added household utensils, etc. Horse furniture, are ornaments and embellishments which are adopted by military men when they are mounted for service or parade, consisting chiefly of housings, saddle-cloth, etc.

=Furruckabad.= A fortified town, and capital of a district of the same name, in the province of Agra, Hindustan, about a mile from the Ganges. Lord Lake defeated Holkar at this place in 1804.

=Fürth.= A town of Franconia, situated at the confluence of the Rezat and Pegnitz, 4 miles northwest from Nuremberg. In 1632 a battle was fought here between Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein, in which the latter had the advantage.

=Fuse.= See FUZE.

=Fusil.= A light musket; a steel which strikes fire out of a flint; a tinder-box; the piece of steel which covers the pan of a fire-arm.

=Fusil à Chevalets.= A species of fusils upon rests, which was recommended by Marshal Vauban, to be used at the commencement of a siege, about 50 or 100 toises in front of the glacis, at the entrances of narrow passages, etc.

=Fusiliers.= In the British service, were formerly soldiers armed with a lighter fusil or musket than the rest of the army; but at present all regiments of foot carry the same rifle. Fusilier is therefore simply a historical title borne by a few regiments. The royal regiment of Scotch Fusiliers was raised in 1678; the royal regiment of Welsh Fusiliers was raised in 1685, and another royal regiment of Welsh Fusiliers was raised in 1688-89. It is always presumed that these corps like the guards possess an _esprit de corps_, which is peculiar to themselves. The Fusilier regiments never had any ensigns, their junior officers ranked as second lieutenants, taking precedence of all ensigns, and the 7th or Royal Fusiliers have no second lieutenants, so that their junior officers rank with the rest of the army according to the date of their several commissions, as lieutenants. Fusilier regiments wear a bear-skin head-dress. Among the French when pikes were in use, each regiment had only 4 fusiliers, exclusive of 10 grenadiers, who carried the fusil or musket. Among the French there was a distinct regiment of fusiliers under the immediate command of the master of the ordnance.

=Fusillade.= A simultaneous discharge of fire-arms in a military exercise; as, a grand fusillade. To shoot down by a simultaneous discharge of fire-arms. “Fusillade them all.”

=Fusils à l’Eppe= (_Fr._). Fusils with long bayonets, shaped like a cut-and-thrust sword. These weapons were recommended as extremely useful in the rear rank of a battalion, or in detached bodies that are stationed for the defense of baggage, etc.

=Fusils, Mousquets= (_Fr._). A sort of fusil which was invented by Marshal Vauban, and which was so contrived that in case the flint did not strike fire, the powder might be inflamed by means of a small match which was fixed to the breech.

=Fustuarium.= In Roman antiquity, a method of inflicting capital punishment upon any soldier guilty of theft, desertion, or similar crimes. When the accused had been found guilty he was made to stand in front of the legion to which he belonged. One of the tribunes then touched him lightly with a stick, and all the soldiers immediately rushed upon the criminal and beat him to death with clubs (fustes). If he escaped--as he was allowed to do if he could, but which was rarely if ever possible--he was forbidden ever to return to his native country, and his nearest relatives were not allowed to receive him into their houses. This method of capital punishment continued to be enforced even under the empire.

=Futtehghur.= A town of Hindostan, British district of Furruckabad, on the western bank of the Ganges. In the vicinity is the British military cantonment. Holkar, the Mahratta chief, appeared before the place in 1804, and was preparing for the assault of the fort, when the arrival of the British army under Lord Lake drove him into precipitate flight.

=Fuyard= (_Fr._). A runaway; a coward. _Un corps fuyard_, a regiment that has been in the habit of running away.

=Fuze.= In gunnery, is a contrivance for igniting the bursting charge in a hollow projectile at any point of its flight. The simplest classification of fuzes is the _time fuze_, the _percussion fuze_, and the _concussion fuze_, which are usually defined as follows:

FUZE, CONCUSSION. Is a fuze that is operated by the shock of discharge, or the shock of impact, excluding direct percussion effects. It is especially applicable to hollow spherical projectiles. The usual difference between the concussion and percussion fuze is, that the former explodes no matter what point of the projectile strikes, whereas the latter requires the projectile to strike at or near the front end; but these are exceptions to the rule.

FUZE, PERCUSSION. As shown below, is a fuze that receives no flame from the charge in the gun, but at the moment of impact a flame is generated by means of fulminates, which produces the explosion of the charge in the shell. Most varieties of this fuze consist essentially of a brass or pewter _fuze-plug_, or case which contains an iron or steel _plunger_ terminating in a nipple which carries a common percussion-cap; the _plunger_ is held in its place at the lower end of the fuze-plug by a collar-screw, wire, or other device; when the projectile strikes the plunger breaks loose, and by its inertia is driven forward with such force as to explode the cap and ignite the charge. This form of fuze is used for rifle-shells.

FUZE, TIME. This fuze is composed of a case of paper, wood, or metal, inclosing a column of burning composition ignited by the charge in the gun; it burns for a certain time, at the end of which the flame is communicated to the bursting charge of the projectile. This fuze is used for both shells and case-shot.

=Fuze, Blasting.= A fuze used to fire charges in mines and quarries. It consists usually of a flexible tube filled with a slow-burning composition. The tube is made of various materials, and is usually waterproof. In Beckford’s fuze the composition is encased in flax, which is covered with gutta-percha, and wound with varnished tape. This fuze is used extensively in England.

=Fuze-Composition.= See LABORATORY STORES.

=Fuze, Electric.= A fuze ignited by the passage of an electric current. It is used for firing torpedoes, for the simultaneous discharge of guns and charges in mining. The principle used is the heating of the wire by the current at a point of resistance. The point of resistance is called the _bridge_. Being surrounded by a priming of powder or other explosive, its sudden heating causes ignition in the fuze. The _bridge_ is made in various ways,--by connecting the current wires by a fine platinum wire; by passing the current through a chemical mixture rendered conducting by containing a salt of copper; also by filing the main wire nearly in two, and rubbing the cut with a lead-pencil.

=Fuze-implements.= Are the fuze-cutter, fuze-setter, fuze-mallet, fuze-saw, etc. See IMPLEMENTS.

=Fuze, Safety.= A name given to a blasting fuze filled with quick-burning composition, but sufficiently long to be ignited at a safe distance from the charge.

=Fuze, Tape.= So called from its shape. May be quick or slow burning.

=Fuzes, Combination.= Are fuzes combining the principles of the simple fuzes. The term is specially applied to _time-percussion_ fuzes, which are so arranged as to burst either at the end of a certain time or upon striking the object. No very exact classification of fuzes has ever been made. If we consider all the operations necessary to the action of the fuze, only certain time fuzes can be considered simple. Concussion fuzes usually depend for their action upon some operation which takes place between the discharge and the time of impact, which bestows a character of sensitiveness which would, if existing at the time of loading, make them too dangerous to handle. Percussion fuzes, also, must have a similar supplementary operation, but this usually takes place at the time of discharge, or upon impact. It is by this means that the safety-pin, screw, or wire holding the plunger is removed or broken. For these reasons these fuzes are ordinarily _time-concussion_ and _concussion-percussion_, respectively. A fuze, however, usually takes its name from the immediate cause of the explosion. If this is due to the explosion of a fulminate by a direct blow, it is a percussion fuze. If the shock acts in a different way, it is called concussion. If the explosion takes place at the end of a given time, we have a time fuze. There are also fuzes which may be called _centrifugal-percussion_, _concussion-chemical_, _concussion-friction_, etc., examples of which will be given. It is readily seen that it is difficult to make a classification which will cover all the ingenious devices which have been invented.

The simplest time fuze is one which is ignited by the flame of discharge. In the U. S. field and siege service the paper fuze is used for rifle projectiles, both shells and case-shot, and in the field service the Bormann for spherical. For larger spherical projectiles, the paper case is inclosed in a hollow plug of wood, as in mortar-shells, and in a brass plug in the sea-coast service. In the latter the outer end of the plug is closed with a brass cap having a crooked chaume, to prevent the burning composition from being extinguished in striking water. In the U. S. service percussion fuzes are used only for rifle-shells. The fuze ordinarily employed is, strictly speaking, a _concussion-percussion_, since the safety wire must be ruptured by the shock of impact before the cap can be exploded.

The time fuze already described can be used in smooth-bore guns and in muzzle-loading rifles; but in breech-loading guns or guns without windage, the fuze composition cannot be ignited directly by the flame of discharge,--one of the strongest arguments in favor of muzzle-loaders. The time fuze for breech-loading guns is ignited by an interior contrivance, usually a plunger and cap; it is, consequently, a _percussion-time_ fuze. Such is the nature of the _Armstrong time fuze_ and the time fuzes used in Germany and Russia. Time fuzes are absolutely necessary to the successful use of case-shot or shrapnel, which must be burst in the air. The latest invention in time fuzes is the substitution of clock-work for the column of burning composition as a time-keeper,--a Yankee idea which has not yet received any official recognition, or been subjected to public test.

The Boxer fuze, used extensively in England, is a time fuze consisting of a column of composition driven in a wooden plug, which is closed at the lower end. In some forms of the fuze small longitudinal channels filled with rifle-powder communicate with the bursting charge. The time-scale is a row of holes in the side of the plug, one of which is bored through to the composition in setting the fuze. The flame communicates with the charge either through the side hole directly, or by the side channels downwards through the end of the plug. Two kinds of fuzes are used,--the _simple time fuze_ for muzzle-loaders, and the _percussion-time_ for breech-loaders.

The Splingard fuze, invented by Captain Splingard, of the Belgian service, is a good example of a _time-concussion_ fuze. It consists of a column of pure composition surrounding a hollow spindle of plaster of Paris. The composition is ignited by the flame of discharge, and burns away, leaving the spindle unsupported. When the projectile strikes, the part of the spindle above the unburned composition breaks off, and the flame fires the bursting charge through the hole in the stump. If the spindle fails to break, the charge is fired when the entire column has been consumed. This fuze is specially applicable to spherical projectiles.

The concussion fuze formerly used in Prussia was a _time-concussion-chemical_ fuze. The burning of a column of composition left a glass tube containing sulphuric acid to be broken, by a lead ball, by the shock of impact. The acid coming in contact with a mixture of chlorate potash, sulphur, and white sugar, produced a flame which fired the bursting charge.

The _Beebe concussion fuze_ for spherical projectiles, invented by Captain Beebe, U. S. Ordnance Corps, was a _concussion-friction_ fuze. A contrivance equivalent to a friction-primer buried in the bursting-charge, and offering great resistance to motion in the powder, was fired by the sudden movement of an attached weight upon impact. The shock of discharge also played a part in detaching the fuze from the fuze-plug.

The _German percussion fuze_, now commonly used in Krupp guns, may be called _centrifugal-percussion_. The safety-pin passes through a hole from the outside of the shell. This pin is thrown out by the rotation of the shot, leaving but slight resistances to the motion of the plunger.

In the English _cap-percussion fuze_ the corresponding safety-pin is pulled out by a tape by hand just before loading.

The _Pettman general service fuze_, used in England, is a _percussion_ fuze of unusual form, equally applicable to spherical or oblong projectiles. It consists, essentially, of a hollow screw-plug containing a ball covered with detonating composition, which is freed from its bearings by the shock of discharge, and explodes the shell upon impact by striking the walls surrounding it. The detonating ball sometimes fails in breech-loading guns, the motion of the projectiles being too steady to shake it out of its seat. For this reason a _plain_ ball, as it is called, is placed in the upper part of the fuze, and held between two disks. These separate upon discharge, and the ball is thrown outwards by the rotation opposite an annular groove in the lower plug or disk filled with fulminate, which is exploded upon impact, the lower plug being driven against the ball by its inertia. This fuze is, properly, a _concussion-percussion_ fuze.

=Fyroz=, or =Feroze= (written also _Ferose_, _Firoz_, _Firouz_, _Feyrouz_, and _Firuz_). A Persian word signifying “victorious,” and forming the name of several ruling kings in Persia and Hindostan.

G.

=Gabion.= A kind of basket made of osier twigs, of a cylindrical form, having different dimensions, according to the purpose for which it is used. Filled with earth, these gabions serve in sieges to carry on the approaches under cover, when the assailants come near the fortification. Batteries are often made of gabions, which likewise serve for revetments in constructing parapets of loose earth.

=Gabionage.= Gabions when used for fortification.

=Gabionnade.= A work hastily thrown up; especially, one formed chiefly of gabions. A _parapet en gabionnade_ is a parapet constructed of gabions.

=Gabions, Corrugated Iron.= Are gabions made of corrugated iron. For this purpose, the corrugated sheet should be 6 feet long, 33 inches wide, and of iron weighing three-quarters of a pound to the square foot.

The corrugations running transversely, the sheet is easily bent into a cylindrical form, in which it is retained by two clamps, the holes for which are punched near the corners of the sheet. The chief advantage claimed for the corrugated over the hoop gabion is, the readiness with which it can be put together in the field. It is also rather more portable, and stakes are dispensed with; but it is inferior to the hoop gabion in stiffness.

=Gad.= The point of a spear, or an arrowhead; a steel spike on the knuckle of a gauntlet.

=Gadaru= (_Fr._). A very broad Turkish sabre.

=Gadling.= A spike or sharp-pointed boss on the knuckle of a gauntlet; a gad.

=Gaeta.= A strongly fortified maritime town of the Neapolitan province of Terra di Lavoro, 40 miles northwest from Naples. It is one of the strongest places in the kingdom, and its harbor is the same as it was in the time of the Romans. In 1799 and in 1806 it was taken by the French, and in 1849 Pope Pius IX. sought an asylum here. When Garibaldi took possession of Naples for Victor Emmanuel in September, 1860, Francis II., the last Bourbon king of Naples, took refuge in Gaeta, and remained until the town was taken by Gen. Cialdini, in February, 1861, after a siege of several weeks’ duration.

=Gætulia.= An ancient country of Africa, situated south of Mauritania and Numidia, and embracing the western part of the desert of Sahara. Its inhabitants belonged to the great aboriginal Berber family of North and Northwestern Africa. They were a savage and warlike race, and their first collision with the Romans was during the Jugurthine war, when they served as light horse in the army of the Numidian king. Cornelius Cossus Lentulus led a force against them, and for his success obtained a triumph and the surname of _Gætulicus_. The ancient Gætulians are believed to be represented in modern times by the Tuaricks.

=Gaffles.= The steel lever with which the ancients bent their cross-bows.

=Gage.= A challenge to combat; that is, a gauntlet, glove, cap, or the like, cast on the ground by the challenger, and taken up by the acceptor of the challenge.

=Gages= (_Fr._). Wages. Among the French this term signified the fruits or compensations which were derived by individuals from appointments given by the crown, whether of a military, civil, or judicial nature, or for service done at sea or by land.

=Gain.= To conquer; to get the better; as, we gained the day, etc. To _gain ground_, implies to take up the ground which a retiring enemy vacates.

=Gaine de Flamme= (_Fr._). A sort of linen sheath or cover, into which the staff of a flag or pendant is put.

=Gaine de Pavillon= (_Fr._). A cloth or linen band, which is sewed across the flag, and through which the different ribbons are interlaced.