Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1861-06-07
Information Respect
ing the Uses Of Artillery.

ing the Uses of Artillery.
Light Artillery, says Gibbons Artiiler.
ISIS Manual, prepared for the United States
service, has now become an indispensable arm
in all armies, and it is brought to such per
lection that no troops, however brave and
we'll disciplined, can do without it Napo
leon said even before the many recent i'm
provements were introduced, that no body Of
Infantry, without the help of artillery, could
hundred yards against a battery of sixteen
we'll placed and well served pieces without
being destroyed.
Artillery becomes of so much moreimport-
ance when placed with raw and undisciplined
troops, when the batteries, well posted and
served, will atone in some measure, for the
deficiencies of the rest of the troops.
In this case, the capacity of General is
exhibited by his knowing how to place upon
the point of attack, the few good troops at his
his disposal, and protect the others with
powerful batteries, which the enemy would
nvain attempt to carry. But in order to
succeed with such men, the genius Of the
chief be capable ofatoning for the moral
inferiority of his troops, and his artillery
possess marked superiority over that of the
enemy.
Probably there never has been a battle
fought in which this fact was more apparent
than it was at Buena Vista, where the bat
teres of Washington, Bragg, and Sherman
performed such signal service, and atoned so
plined force. Artillery may be also made to
supply the want of a cavalry force, as well as
to arrest the charge of cavalry, which can
produce but little effect when made under the
fire of well posted and well-served battery.
When serving with troops OF the very best
kind, artillery, although very important, is
an arm the use of which cannot be dispensed
with i'll battle ofany size. Posted along the
front of the line, it serves to maintain the
combat to spare the rest of The troops, to
support their movement, and to make an
opening for them to act. A portion of il
held in reserve, appearing at decisive mo.
! ment produces, by its rapid and terrible ef
feet the most important results.
In flat, open country, with numerous
roads, field artillery is of the most impor
lance, as by its mobility and power of con
centration, it neutralze the Importance and
| effect of the fixed positions o. the enemy
and atones for the want of them on ones
own side Its importance is diminished ir
broken or mountainous country where wal
is reduced to attacks on fixed positions; bu
even in this kind of war, where infantry play
the most important part, it is still of tn.
greatest use in forcing difficult passages, set
ting fire to towns, and battering down house.
and other obtacles
The principle advantages Of the fire of ar
tillery over that Of infantry, are that thu
striking of the shot and shell gives the means
of correcting the fire not possessed by small
arms. The dust thrown up by shot striking
may be seen at distance of more than
thousand yards. The moral effect due t.
the power of artillery is increased by tn,
noise of the explosions, which can be hear(
in the IL idst Of the most active firing of small
arms.
Artillery is used against troops, either de
ployed Or in squares, by forming opening
preparatory to Il charge of cavalry. 1t also
REFUSES the enemy's columns Of attack
throwing them into disorder. Artillery i
of the greatest use in attacking posts and in
tr5nchments; and a city which would resis
troops without artillery, would quickly yield
after receiving shot and she'll.
Shells act by percussion and explosion
both, but the firing with them is much les.
accurate than solid shot. The noise, how
ever, made by them, and the fear of seeing
them burst, add much to their rnoral effect
They act effectively against cavalry in columns
or in several tines, by frightening the horse
and demoralizing the men.
The quantity of artillery attached to al
army is determined by the nature of the the
atre of the war, the kind of troops, the
character relative to that Of the enemy, tn
character of the war, the size of the piece
ana their mobility. 1t varies usually from
one to three pieces to ore thousand men,
The latter number has been adopted in on
service, two per one thousand for service will
the troops, and the third held in reserve.
The number of guns should be double tina
Of the howitZers, and for defensive war
from oTe-fourth to Gne-ffth Of the pieces
should be twelve-pounder guns and twenty
four or twenty three FOUNDER kowitzers.-
For an offensive war, from ne.seventh t.
ouc-eiehth only should be of these calibcrs
otherwise the batteries would not have suffi
cient mobility. As a general rule, the num-
Der of the artillery troops should be abou
one-half that of the cavalry though as re
CARDS this, no fixed rule can be laid down
since artillery frequently supplies the place
Of cavalry,