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.