Wiktionary
n. (plural of fencible English)
Wikipedia
The Fencibles (from the word defencible) were British Army regiments raised in the United Kingdom and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Usually temporary units, composed of local volunteers, commanded by Regular Army officers, they were usually confined to garrison and patrol duties, freeing Regular Army units to perform offensive operations. They had no liability for overseas service.
They included naval forces known as "River Fencibles", made up of boatmen on the Thames and other southern English towns and cities, as well as Sea Fencibles, who, among their other duties, manned small commercial vessels converted to coastal defense.
Usage examples of "fencibles".
Our worthy acquaintance Mr Malachi Mulligan now appeared in the doorway as the students were finishing their apologue accompanied with a friend whom he had just rencountered, a young gentleman, his name Alec Bannon, who had late come to town, it being his intention to buy a colour or a cornetcy in the fencibles and list for the wars.