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.
=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.