Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1861-05-23
Destructi7enes. o. Fasises .f ysag.

Destructiveuess OF Engines Of VFmf.
AS the invention Of gunpowder has tended
to soften the vsrosity of war, and to the saw
ing Of human life, so II may be hoped shat
scientific improvements may yet be made
which will diminish still further the carnage
incident tomilitary operations The Oheva-
her Folard IN his account of the oatapultB
baliste, and other engines of the ancients
states that some Of their powers were little
inferior 10 those of our modern instruments
of destruction, and in the works of CELSIUS
we find that the effects of leaden balls and
stones projected from the engines then in use
were by no means unknown; but of their
velocities we know little or nothing. By
the calculations of D' Antoni, it appears that
the in tisl velocity Of a cannon ball is nearly
two Thousand feet in second, and that of
musket about one thousand seven hundred
feet; but these velocities rapidly diminish
from the moment the ball quits the mouth
ofthe gun, and are greatly influenced by the
quantity and quality of the powder, the
force used in ramming the wsds, the elevR-
tion of the gun, and the length of the bore.
The state Of the atmosphere also has some
influence, the velocity of the ball, in very
dry weather, being one seventh greater than
when the air is loaded with vapor. In sieges,
heavy cannon are used, while in engage
ments in the open field, the weight OF the
shot is of course less, owing to the necessity
in the latter case Of having guns sufficiently
light to be easily portable. The other species
of shot are the common musket ball, fred
sipgly from muskets or discharged in cases
from field. pieces; MIME rifle bullets, shrapnel
and other improved shells; grape, which con-
sists of small iron balls disposed in linen
bags fastened to a wooden bottom, in the
middle of which is a spindle round which
the balls are secured by cord or wire or case
shot, which consists of the same iron balls
put into tin cylinders, the bases of which
are closed by two circular pieces of wood.
Another kind of projectile are shells, or
hollow iron spheres filled with powder,
which may act either before or after their
explosion, ..-...... -..,..- ....
A French scientific journal, we have Just
received, states that in addition to expert
ments with a steel cannon, said to be invent
ed by the Emperor, which have Just been
made near that city, trials have taken place
with new projectile weighing about one
hundred pounds, which is of such terrific
power that it is believed that in bursting in
the midst ofa mass Of men, hundred might
be killed or wounded.
The closer the contending armies are to each
other, the more deadly will be the effect of
all proie ctiles.- Thus, according to D. AHtoni,
O thirty two. pound shot may pierce file OF
seventy men, sixteen-pound, a file OF forty
eight an eight-pound, a file of forty;
thirteen ounce shot, a file oftwenty; six
four, ifvery close to them and propelled by
a certain degree of force. A she'll will pass
through from two to five men, and will kill
or wound, by its splinters, from six to nine.
The distance and the resistance will of course
produce a great variation in the action Of all
these missiles, and it is remarkable what a
very small amount of resistance will deflect
musket bali from its course. A man, for
instance. has been struck on the throat and
| the ball, instead ofpassing through the neck,
only penetrated the skin, performing q COM
ing close to where it entered. Another
singular fact is the harmlessness of slugs and
musket balls when lodged in some parts of
the body nature forming a layer around
them, to protect the surrounding parts,
Many instances are on record of men carry
ing bullets thus encsed for years, without
much pain or suffering,