[4][5] His father was a West Point graduate and Captain in the United States Army, who died of typhoid fever as Commander of Fort Clinch, Florida, in October 1898.

Following the high school, Francis received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and was active in fencing team.

[9] He rose through the ranks and commanded 1st Battalion, 18th Field Artillery Regiment in Oklahoma City from July 1927 to August 1928 and later served on the faculty of the Army War College[8] after graduating in 1929.

[8] Honeycutt returned to the United States in early September 1940, was promoted to the rank of brigadier general and assumed command of 13th Field Artillery Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

[6][8] On September 20, 1940, General Honeycutt was killed in Army plane crash accident near Woodbine, Georgia, while returning from Jacksonville, Florida, where he was for a conference on military matters.