Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-07-10
Gen. James, Rifle Cannon

Gen. James Rifle Cannon.
On Saturday afternoon a very interesting ex
hfbitton OF Gen James' riled cannon was made
on the Monument grounds, In Me presence Of the
President, members Of the Cabinet, .nd Of Con
Rress, and great number Of officers and scien
tinc persons.
The guns exhibited were the battery OF th,
second RhCde Island Regiment, and the oper
ations were carried on under the command OF
Gov sprague In person, who formerly con mand
ed the battery Of the First Regiment Col slo
onn was on the held, and Capt Ronalds directed
The movements OF the company. This battery ha.
only been organized a month, and il is said tna
The company never before fred hall cartridge.
The guns are bronze six Founders Of the ordi.
nary pattern externally. but are bored a trifs
larger than IL they used round shot and are ri fled
according TO Gen James plan. The projectiles
n'sd were shells weighing I2 pounds and solid
shot weighing u pounds. The princI pie OF their
construction, for which Gen James has patent,
is the combination Of an eI panding metallic ring
Of flexible metal, with elongated cast iron pro-
tsctile, 30 arranged that when the powder burns
this expanding ring IS pressed into close contact
WITH the inside Of the gun, filling the riied
grooves. and efectually shutting of all escape Of
gas This ring operates best when covered with
eanvss thoroughly creased so that the ball glides
out Of the gun without bringing metal into con-
TACT with metal; and In this form Gen. James
uses H. But If the canvas Is dispensed with tie
prc)ecuIe answers very well, so long as the gun
Lasts, although the abrasion Of metal upon metal
rapidly destroys che bore When used as the in
ventor prefers 10 IT, the effect Of the Pre- jectle
10 much less injurious to the gun than the effect
OF ordinary round shot, notwithstanding the In
oF h.. A.
proved by the fact stated by Gen. James, that he
has rfed common bronze siI-pourder fifty times
WITH fno Po~rds Of porcds, and fourteen pounds
oF eomnen shot, without producing ths least in
furious en ct upon the gun. whereas two pounds
Of powder fired In the same gun behind a six
pound round shot will destroy the gun at the nrst
nre, oy swelling 1t so much at the point where
Inc shot rests upon the powder that II cannot be
USED again Gen. James also stated that one of
these guns had been FIRE with trco pounds aud
h'g oETiHe po'cds,, and fourteen pound shot, and
that there was no injury done the gun. when the
fecoil was about fifteen feet The same law holds
good for large as well small guns, as has been
proved oy practice and reported by a board Of
STATE or1cers; and the largest guns In service
~hen Eined on Gen. Jemes' plan and using his
pfoJecuIes, will throw double the weight Of
metal due 10 their size as round shot guns, to a
distance much greater than before, without In
juring the guns IN the least The Union gun at
Old Point 10 on this plan, and the Government
has large number Of these rifed ~ pound guns
throwing s4-Pound shot, now ready for use.
Tie first exhibition was throwing shells by the
whole battery Of six guns into the river at the
distance of three-quarters OF mile. As the shells
struck the water they burst throwing up jets into
The air, aud scattering fragments about In all d.
iections Zig htesn Of these shells were fred In
ff'y-swo seconds, and all KEEP, together at point
aimed for on the river.
One section OF the battery, Of two guns, was
then placed In Position 10 throw down the river
at long range, and several shots were nred over
the Long Bridge. The guns soon used up all
the range In that direction which could be got
without striking the shore; and when the eleva
tion reached nineteen degrees the shot main-
tained their flight thirty five seconds, and car
riet four miles and quarter. At seventeen de-
grees elevation the flight was twenty-five seconds,
and the distance three miles and half
The longest range obtained BY the Armstrong
and Whi,worth guns is at an elevation of thirty
six degrees, and as Gen. James, al little more
than half that elevation throws Its projecte fur
fher titan can be seen, IL would seem probable
that at the highest elevation It would exceed the
English ones; and this is all done without making
new gun, and simply BY riding in particular
wy any old piece now ct for use
The English government knighsed Sir Will
liam Armstrong for inveniing plan by which,
at gTsat ezpen,e, a new ard complicated gun
could be made TO shoot at long range General
James las invented pan by which any old gun
can outshoot Cir William Armstrong; new and
costly one. Thus we have another illustration of
the superiority Of American inventive genius over
European, In every department Of practical art
and science.