Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-10-16

derul skill bow whose length was equal 10 thato The men
height The bow by far the best mssve weapon OF
the time. It's average range 200 Metres Gao yards
Simpler than the crosbow to aud to shelter from
ran possessed above all the decisive advantages of
bling praclised hand shoot twelve arrows4n mi
mute, while the latter would hardly fire than three
shots In the time"
SO cumbrous and ksome, in fact the crobow that
have frequent of the bowman growing weary Of
the labor of sngng and loading it and employing their
weldy weapon club-ahion else throwing it away alto
geher, and fighting with their dsgges 1t was doubt
owing to this superiority the part of the English national
weapon that all the early Improvements In fire in
vented the continent. Another and powerful
the almost inemnabe series Of civil and religious
which desolated France from time of Henry ILL., that
of Louis XIV The lance still, beyond doubt, far
effective instrument than the rude ream Of the pc
Rod; but it required for its sku the exercise of
lifetime, say nothing of the expense of equip
ment squadron Of alarms could be called
into existence in day year than fleet of lme-of battle
ships In the potracted struggles OF the Huguenots under
Cogny and in the of the League and the Fronde both
sides became rapidly impoverished They lost their best
knights, and what perhaps rremedabe their
best horses Of soldiers into the field who
neither trained to the lance able afford its requisite adj
uncts and thus the aquebuse hacquebutte and pistol be-
came and indispensable. And when the musket
invented in span and the rendered independent
been necessary sustain its unwedy length, the final blow
struck the chivay of the lance and the shield 1t is
however, curious characteristic Of the times that find
the noise Of the discharge reckoned among the effective
agencies of the weapon
With respect to heavy artillery, the improvements
rapid manageable and useless length and
caber long considered great essentials
perfection of artillery Hence arose the great difficulty of
transport and nequency of discharge The e-loang
long and complicated ceremony that it could hardly be
performed in the presence of enemy the field and even
in sieges the heavier ordnance could seldom be fired
than day. The expense, the other hand,
great that it calculated that during campaign upon the
Rhine, made by the French King Henry II, and including
the seges of two Insignificant places,
shot fired which had not cost from 10 three hundred
incredible sum, when calculated at the value of
money in the year 1852.
The specimen preserved Dover, and known Queen
Ezabehs pocket pistol perhaps the best known relic of
the ancient long artillery, at least in England But the be-
lief in the increased effect of the shot, from the greater ong
ude of the cannon retained with singular obsnacy. 1t
not until comparatively late period that its useessness
ascertaned and then the discovery made by
accident train of artillery cast by mistake,
nearly three feet shorter than the Standard but be-
ing used, and found inferior effect, gave expe
ments which have led to the construction Of modern
on somewhat scientific principles Even recently
the late in the Peninsula however the mistaken notion
again made its appearance. Upon the parade in ST. amess
park is preserved mortar, of nearly eight feet IN length,
which Of pair employed by the French at the siege
of Cadz, and intended operate unprecedented dis
lance. With this view they of much than
the usual length and loaded with charges of 40lbs of pow
der WHILE enable the shells discharged accomplish their
prolonged flight, they nearly half filled with lead In
fact is stated that the shots in instances actually ira
of,Lr A. -
uncertain, and the bursting of the shells the proper time
at all, nfequen, that the formidable instruments
condemned useless Since then believe no fur
Their attempts have been made all events in that direction
to solve the problem of the :" long range"
The difficulty OF reoadng the pieces when in the field in
oduced the employment of compound artillery, where under
the general of organs (ogucs number of charged
tubes of various forms and caber fixed side by side
upon the carriage The curious example of these
Internal machines the description of which quoted
from Ciadeas History Of the Segpeurs of Carara hav
ing been constructed by order Of Scalige in 1897
sisted of
Three carriages, each carrying IA bombads, disposed
triple ranks. Each rank divided into four compar
ments the twelve bomba contained in each being fired al
together An artillery attached TO each rank fired them
off by salvoes of dozen time such that when all
three carriages firing at once and thirty balls
shot off together. The carriages conducted by
bearing long pixies, with ronwok at the end, which
tanned some nfammabe substances that burnt every thing
they touched"
As consequence of the pecuares of its SERVICE it be-
the point OF honor" among the artillery corps
carry their pieces out of the field safely but have brought
hem to those points whence their discharge would be efsc
tual, whatever became Of them afterwards
The influence exerted by the introduction Of firearms
upon the theories and practice Of the military, during
those early periods comprised the present volume, thus
summed up by the author
"Thus, throughout the period have been describing
find every where victory declaring itself on that side where
science combined with military genius We have in
France the Protestant always defeated until the
when Henry W. putting himself at its head led it to triumph
Il was the same in Holland the Spanards proud and
courageous invariably conqueros until the appearance
Of Maurice and Henry of Nassau In Germany the Catholic
cause defended by the generals of the empire, victorious
till the day when Gusavus Adophus become chief Of the Pro-
esant League overthrow three years all those who had
hitherto been invincble."
"These brilliant achievements were not performed without
being accompanied by vast Improvements in military tactics
The battles of Francis consisted Of encounters
masses, which the obliged TO break by firing d.
rectly upon them"
The battles Of the Duke Of Guse and Henry W.
encounters between similar independent Of another
but giving reciprocal support In these battles the artillery
placed at the cxtremes of crescent, flank the line
OF battle when the enemy the defensive"
'The battles Of Maurice and Gustavus Adophus still
encounters but encounters between lines supporting and re-
Loving another. The influence of alrea
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