Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1861-08-21
For the Daily State Sentinel.
Mites nm Small Arms

At the present time, when not States only, but
counties and town corporations are purchas-
ing arms for military purposes, few popular
details touching the general character, the
varieties, the capabilities and the cost of the
improved rife. whether it be the gun for infantry
or the carbine for cavalry, may not be unaccept-
bic to some of the readers ofthe Sentinel. These
are derived partly from observation, partly from
official and other works on this rev engrossing
subject. And it may not be amiss to preface
them brief explanation of the great principle "
ing at the base of all modern Improvements in the
riled gun.
THE MIME PRINCIPLE.
The mere riaing of the gun-barrelto obtain ac-
curacy of aim, was adopted for sporting purposes
and frontier defense, long before it was accepted
for military use, by our nation or by any other,
as suitable except for weapons in the hands of
skirmishers or for other special object.
For this the reason was, that to render this
weapon effective. the rifle ball then used in the
spherical form only had fit tight-so tight that
it required considerable force, aided by creased
patching or some similar expedient, to drive it
home. And when, after limited number of Shots
the barrel became foul. it was sometimes scarce
y possible to load it at all. This. on battle
field, for the main body of an army, was deemed
sufficient reason forrejecting it, and adhering to
the old smooth bore.
The tight fitting ball was necessary to- the ef-
hcleLcy of the rifle, not only in order that the
grooves of the rifing, acting upon its surface.
might impart TO it the rotary motion which causes
its straight and accurate fight, but also to over
come what is technically called the icindage that
is, the space around the ball when fitting loosely
in the gun-barre. " lille this windage is per-
mitted to resist, not only is the true aim OF the
ball disturbed by the play which it has by passing
out of the barrel, but large portion of the gases
generated by the explosion the powder, instead
of acting on the ball to propel it, escape, unem-
poyed, by passing out between the circumference
of the loosely fitting ball and the interior of the
gun-barrel.
Thus, it the ball was tight there was nsupera-
bic difficulty in loading the rifle easily rap
idly and rs frequently without cleaning, as was
necessary on a field of battle, while if il was
loose, the aim was deranged. and considerable
proportion of the powder employed was exploded
without producing any impelling effect. How
great the portion thus wasted, was not at first sus
pected.
BREACH-LoADERs.
The readiest expedient which suggested itself
to overcome these difficulties was to load by the
breach instead of by the muzzle In this way il
was easy to get rid of the windage. That portion
of the barrel next to the breach) which, in a
breach loader, received the cartridge, was made
of a larger calibre than the rest of the barrel
The ball entered this first chamber easily, but the
moment it passed into the smaller .ealibred bar
rel beyond it fitted tightly; the grooves of the
riting acted on its surface, and the windage was
very materially diminished, even with the round
bali.
But here it happened, that in overcoming one
difficulty, Others were encountered. OF these the
greatest was to prevent the escape, through the
joint of the breachloader of the gases generated
by the explosion. As this Joint wore or became
clogged, the powder fared up through it. The
mechanism of the first invented breIch-loaders,
too, was complicated and easily put out of order.
And when, by modern improvements, these diff
/ hcuitles were, in measure, overcome. the cost
of the improved weapon remained double that of
the ordinary muzzle loading rife.
| The very rapdity of loading, too, incident to
the principle of breach-oading, permitting ten
| to fifteen discharges i'll a mnute) boosted of by
its advocates, has been thought by experienced
officers TO be, in the case of soldiers in line
positive disadvantage. Especially when raw
troops first come under fire, usually nervous and
Overexcted they are wont to to act hurriedy;
they usually load and fire too rapidly, and without
taking AIM and thus throw away, or prematurely
expend their stock of ammunition. This they
would be much more likely to do with breach
| leaders.
Thus, both in this and in European countries,
1t has been the rule to arm the common soldier
with muzzle loader, and to restrict the use of
breach leaders to sharp shooters and lin the shape
of carbines) to cavalry. This seems to me, on
the whole, judicious decision Skirmishers
stretched on the ground can load much more
readily by the breech than by the muzzie. So
can mounted men. Inboth rapidity of action is all
important; and the temptation to waste ammuni
ton is much less than in long line of infantry,
doomed for considerable period of time to stand
| still, exposed to the enemy's fire.
The problem, then, still renamed unsolved,
how to reconcile facility ofloading with tightness
of fit in the bullet.
l THE DIFFICULTY FINALLY RESOLVED.
Who first solved it, we shall probably never
know MIME has the credit of it. But it would
seem that both in our country and in England
the great principle, simple in the extreme, which
has almost revolutionized modern warfare, had
been, wears before his time, } not only discovered
but pressed on the notice of Government in vain.
Passing by, however. the question of priority of
discovery, which would lead me too far, let the
principle itself here be briefly stated.
This principle consists in an Improvement not
in the rifle itself but in the bullet. There is no
such thing MS a MIME rife. Any good rifle be-
comes MIME Rifle, when MIME ball is used,
Instead of the old spherical one. There was, in
deed called in French tiqe, made to project
from the centre of the breech of the gun, and
forward toward its muzzle which was supposed
essential to the MIME principle, whence the first
French guns took the name of carabines tiqe
But this has been finally discarded as superhu-
Gus.
The Mimic principle may be expressed in two
words; it is that of the expanding bullet. This
bullet is made not in the form of a round ball,
like that of the old musket orof our western rife.
but in a cylindro- conica shape, its point is a
blunted cone, while the after portion is a short
cylinder, solid, except at the butt, which is hollow
ed, conically or pyramdally, so as TO receive a
portion of the charge of powder. lifts loosely in
to the gun; but when the powder ignites, the
edges of this cylinder are pressed outward, by the
force of the explosion against the interior into the
rifle grooves of the barrel Thus the bullet ex-
pands at the moment of projection, though loose
" fitting at first the space around it, by this in
Simultaneous expansion is filled up; the windase Ii
overcome much more effectualy than by the hun
ters tight fitting ball and creased patch; and the
problem is resolved of bali fitting loose, in de-
scending the barrel, and tightly when issuing
from it.
The MIME ball now employed for our own rife
mu sket or for the English Enfield, is about inch
and tenth in length, of which length, the cylin-
drical portion occupies more than half; and il
weighs trihe more than ounce. The edges
of the butt about one twelfth of an inch thick
If followed out till these edges are much thinner
than this. they become ragged in expanding
and sometimes they break off and choke up the
gun.
| RESULTS.
The effect of this simple invention is marvel
lous beyond all anticipation. The effective range
of the round ball from the old smooth bore wa:
from one hundred and fifty to f,oo hundred yards
The effective range of the conical ball from the
| - from, eth