2-26-21 It's French to me

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A defense consisting typically of a timber or an iron barrel covered with projecting spikes and often strung with barbed wire or a protecting line (as of spikes) on top of a wall. Its Civil War use was typically anti-cavalry, but could also be used to block entrances to earthworks and other defenses. You see it on tops of walls and fences in Charleston, SC. These were as a means of keeping out potential attackers and were installed after the Denmark Vesey Revolt was discovered in 1822.



 
The cheval de frise is a defensive obstacle, which existed in a number of forms and were employed in various applications. These included underwater constructions used to prevent the passage of ships or other vessels on rivers, or as anti-cavalry measure consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many projecting long iron or wooden spikes or spears. They were principally intended as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could also be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier. They remained in occasional use until they were replaced by wire obstacles just after the American Civil War.
 
The cheval de frise (plural: chevaux de frise [ʃə.vo də fʁiz], "Frisian horses") is a defensive obstacle, which existed in a number of forms and were employed in various applications. These included underwater constructions used to prevent the passage of ships or other vessels on rivers, or as anti-cavalry measure consisting of a portable frame (sometimes just a simple log) covered with many projecting long iron or wooden spikes or spears.[1] They were principally intended as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could also be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheval_de_frise
 
Question:
What is a "Cheval-de-Frise" and what is it used for?

credit: @FarawayFriend

Hint: It is NOT a horse!
A portable obstacle, consisting of a wooden frame covered with spikes or barbed wire, used by the military to close off a passage or block enemy advancement.
Chevaux.jpg

Chevaux de frise at Fort Mahone during the Siege of Petersburg.
Source: "
Cheval de frise", Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheval_de_frise
 
A Defensive Obstacle constructed by using a long horizontal beam pierced with diagonal sharpened spikes.
Several Chevaux-de Frise bolted together were an effective barrier for roads and fortifications.

 
A "Cheval-de-Frise" (plural "Chevaux") is a defensive obstacle, primarly intended as an anti-cavalry obstacle but could be moved quickly to help block a breach in another barrier. The most commonly used design (as least in most period photos that I have seen) was simply a log covered with many projecting long iron or wooden spikes or spears (as shown below at at the Confederate defenses at Fort Mahone during the Seige of Petersburg). This type of obstacle was used more by Confederate forces than the Union. The Cheval-de-Frise could also underwater constructions used to prevent the passage of ships or other vessels on rivers.

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheval_de_frise
 
According to Sgtabj's definition in the Civil War A to Z, cheveaux de frise were logs with protruding spikes used to protect breastworks or trenches.

I don't have much experience with the French language, but my guess is that cheveaux is the plural of cheval, so a single cheval-de-frise would be a single log with protruding spikes, used (in conjunction with other similar logs) to protect breastworks or trenches.
 
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