, 1861-09-18


Ice same c,uee which made the announced
military feature Of the etate Fair Of mora than
osuh 1ntert s!, the existence Of actual and I'M
neaee var preparations, hhd the inevitable
ana ioreeeen resuit Of restricting the exsent.
Of this department Of the exhibition. fromtho
great demand upon our manufacturers Of fire.
arms and military goods to fill actual orders,
and the absence Of most Of our military nlen
In the field.
Enough was, towever, offered to make =
most intt1 resting afternoons exhibition to the
many who were present yesterday 1t Luke
Shore Park, at the foot Of Peck Court, where
a tziA and examination took place under Tue
auspices Of the Committee choseu By the Off
Gers Of the State Fazr. The Committe ware
Col. Auetin Light, of the Yates Phalanx, A.
c. stedman, Eeq., Perry Fl. Smith, Vice Pres.
ident of the Chicago & Northwestern Rail.
nay, snd Capt CottIg, formerly Of the Prus-
sian Artillery service,
The liEt Of arms submitted to the conm,t.
tee was not large but was select, and CON.
posed several entries OF arms Of notable
character. These were:
l. sE'pouud steel Riled Csnnop.-WIa pst-
- 2: Breeeh:!oading Cannon, invented BY 4. s.
. spenesr's Breeeh loading Repeating Rifle.
= :. Henry's Repeating Rihe, New Haven Arms
5. helk Weseon's Breech-loading Carbine, wor-
ceste1, Mass.
These were taken up In the order named.
THE WARD CANNON.
Norman B. Wizard has name to live among
inventors, even if his "1ce Boat" never runs
her length on the winter bound surface of the
Mississippi He has put in service the beauti
ful arm tested yesterday.
The gun in question is six-pounder-one
OF battery of four si1Found and two twelve
pound pieces, ordered BY General Fremont,
with carriages and csissons complete, alta cost
Of e11,oo0. The order Was given only after
the most rigid tests under experienced off.
GERS had proved the piece, in principle and
construction, to be most valuable scquisi
ton to the Artillery service.
It is made of an ingot Of American casi
steel. It weighs 700 pounds, Or little Less
than the average weight of common si1 pound
pieces. The breech Is rounded, and #ithou:
ridge or ring, thus securing an equal and safe
expansion Of the metal when heated. The
dianeter at breech is ten inches, with cali
b1e of two and si1-tenths inches, and bore fsl8
calib1es," or about 48 inches. The 1iiling is
the t.cain twist" commencing at zero and end:
ing"one turn in nine feet" There are eight
"lands," }" and eight grooves, and Of these there
are to be twelve in the larger guns. The sights
are fixed, and to the battery belongs power
ful eP5-g1aes to be attached to the guu in
firing st long distances.
The gun is so Suspended On it's carriage as
TO allow &c deg. Of elevation. The tuanions
are attached to a wrought iron strap shrunk
upon the gun The gun is thickened from the
treech as far forward as the trunnions, not
unlike the Dahls5ran, but with difference tbs
Inventor Of that gun accepts from Mt. Wiard
IS an improvement, and will hereafter intro
dnce into his Owl, the thicker portion being
made perfect plane, giving safe and ready
test of the shape and strength Of the p:ecs
stter repeated firing, Us common level o.
straight will show if the gun has become dan
gerously strained, when it can be condemned
The cannon throws both round shot ono
shen, all Of q conicM ehape, and also for the
first time successfully in rihed guns, canister
shot, and sll equally well. A peculiarly ex
lists beth in the wheels and carriage, which
have Won the highest eneomium Of artillery
officers. The wheels are built up by wedget
and screws, in such manner that no shrink
age Of the wood can loosen the wheel
But We have not the space to do full justict
to al the features Of this grn, the crowniue
advantages Of which is that 1t is five times q
Etrorg as ordinary guns. The test yesterd,y
conducted hy H. L. Stuart Of New York, i.
charge of the gun, WAS simply firing few
rounds over the lake, to show the range Q
the piece.
a full bsttery Of these beautiful guns vii
probsb1y be ordered, if indeed they are no
alrsaey, by the State of Illinois, and our prai
rfe boys will man them well and adequately.
PA1NE's BREECH-LOADING CANNON.
Mr. B. S. Paine, Of this city, is q brothGr q
TIE more noted member OF his family, G
Water-Gss memory, Of Worcester, Mss. Hi
gun Was tour-pound piece, mounted on
plain substantial Carriage, named, by the va,
Esprit of '16." The gun Is similar in shap
| to ordinary field pieces, but mas near tn
breech an opening, at the top about t1re
inches square, passing through it vertically
A Eolid Iiecs Of iron, fitted wita rim. at th
top, is let down this opening and cloees tn
bore, being held firmly against it by maj
siye screw, moved horizontally through th
breach. This screw itself is traversed by 9
opening coinciding with the bore of the gu1
| and through This the cartridge is put in, th
| breecb piece being rtmoyed. The gun is di
cbsrged BY cap and priming in the breec
Fiece.
The gun thus imperlectly described ":
made ct 81 North Dearborn street. It wi
fred several times yesterday, using COMIC
shot It is hastily gotten up to show pri1
ciple the inventor claims may be attached t
guns Of any size aud style, either rided {
smooth bore. We shall not pretend to give
very learned opinion Of the gun, when We e
press our fear lett rigid tssts would show tn
the metal wss seriously weakened, aud uap1
| partd to resist strain at the breech. It ms
prove otherwise, and we shall hope the be
for the honor and emolument of its Chicaf
inventor.
| THE BREECH-LOAD1NG RIFLES.
The three beautiful rifles above named we
successfully examined and displayed BY tho
having them in charge. They all use the nc
common PERCUSSION cartridge, Of which II
Spencer Rifle "spit out' eight in twenty-d fl
eeconds,and the Henry's Repeating Rifle ffte'
In q like space Of time, or about as fast as
nan may twice crook his finger. The thi1
Frank Wesson's Breech-Lcading Carbine, II
also much admired. We cannot eater in
any description Of these arms.
Chicago mAnufhcturers ut the Faf
Our manufacturers were only slightly re
resented at the State Fair, but the exceptio
make up highly creditable display in quail
at least. f. Willets, from the carriage man
factory en- the corner Of Twelfth and Sta
streets, had on exhibition several elegant bu
gles, that would do credit to any manufactu1
east or west Mr.. Nillets has been for savel
years known to our citizens for the c1cellen
Of his work. He uses only the choicest
eastern woods, and In style OF finish has no
who Eutpsss him. 1t least this was the II
dict at The Fair.
And in the same connection it deserves
be stated that John H. Kline, the veteran c
riage builder was also well represented frs
his works No. IS North Jefferson street.
carriages 1t was abundaatly demo1strat
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