Pointe Coupee Democrat. [volume] (False River [i.e. New Roads], Parish of Pointe Coupee [La.]) 1858-1862, 1861-08-17
Artillery and Artillery Practice.

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In our last we gave some notes, in detail. of
the organization OF armies. the mode OF conduct
ing battles. and especially in regard to the new
and improved arms which are brought into use.
We said little or nothing of artillery; and as this,
it now appears. is to be an important arm of our
defence lwitncss the results at Sewells Point.
Great Bethel. Vienna. etc. we add some useful
particulars in regard to it.
Guns, howitzers. columb;ats and mortars, are
the artillery pieces employed in land service. and
they are distinguished us sea-coast. garrison, siege.
and field artillery. 1hos" for field service only
are made of bronze or brass. because, with less
weight, it has greater tenacity and strength than
iron. Iron is less expensive and more capable
of continued firing with heavy charges. Expert
ments show that bronzc. at three hundred yards,
can only fire one hundred and twenty rounds III
twcnty-four hours, whilst iron will support three
hundred and sixty rounds for three times that
distance. The bronze pieces in use are from six
to thirtv-two Founders, and twcnty-iour FOUNDER
Coctorl mortars. The touchholcs are capable
of being pushed when enlarged from constant
firing.
Artillery is rendered unserviceublc when about
to be abandoned, by driving i'll Il steel spike Or
nail. and clinching the inside with the rammer;
by driving Il ball iuto the bottom of the bore; by
bursting Il shell in the bore; by firing Il shot from
them with large charges; by firing two pieces
muZzle 80 muzzle, etc. There are methods OF
remedy & some of these mischiets which every
artiller tlt1icer understands.
The gtls are a long cannon, without chambers,
and use for projectiles solid shot, spherical case,
grape, and canister. They are mounted on siege,
barbette or cilsemate carriages. The howitzcr Is
a chambcred piece of larger calibre than a gun
of like weight. 1t projects larger shells than the
guns, and is well adapted for destroying field
works and setting fire to buildings. The column
bad is of much larger calibrc than the ordinary
gun: the older patterns are chambered, but not
the new ones. Its carriage gives a vertical range
of fire Of from 5 to 80 degrees Of elevation, and a
horizontal sweep of 800 degrees. Its weight is
ten inch, 15.4U0 pounds; eight inch. 9,Z4O
pounds. Length of the ten inch, ten feet six
inches. The mortar is the shortest piece in SER
vice, with a great bore and a chamber. Its prln-
cipal advantages are in reaching objects by a
vertical fire, such as towns, batteries, etc, which
cannot be injured directly dislnounting the
enemy's artillery overthrowing and burning
works; blowing up magazines; breaking through
barracks and classmates, and producing havoc
and destruction among troops. The thirteen
inch mortar weighs ll,500 pounds; the ten inch
sea-coast 5,775 pounds. The projcctiles used
for it are shells, fire balls. carcasses and stones.
Sca-coast pieces Of artillery are mounted, in
forts, en- barbette, thus having the sweep of the
horizon; ON casemate and columbiad carriages.
etc.
The ordinary she'll is a hollow sphere Of cast
iron, containing powder ignitcd by Il fuse, and
intended to burst over the heads OF troops, or to
ricochet in trent Of troops and plunge into the
column, or burst after penetrating buildings.
The spherical case is ii thin shell, filled with
leaden bullets and Il charge Oh powder. Canister
shot are cylindrical tin cases. with iron heads,
GtJ,I ritt, ,,rt i,.,,, balls ,.r, rnaJ IA, ria,,, and
packed in with dry sawdust. Grape shot are a
certain number, generally nine, of iron balls,
kept together by means OF iron bands. n grenade
is IA shell to be thrown from the hand, or III bas-
kets from the stone mortar. The hand grenades
are thrown down upon b~esiegers from parapets.
ramparts, etc. y carcass is a spherical shell,
having three additional holes which emit flames,
and is used in setting fire to shipping. A fire
ball is formed OF canvass sacks filled with com
bustibles, and is used to light up the enemys
works. They contain also a shell. 4 smoke ball
is of similar construction, and is intended to SUI
focata the enemy ) miners.
Rifle cannon have a number of spiral grooves.
giving a rotation to the ball which causes it to
move through the air in the direction of its least
resistance. and thus increase the range. The
Armstrong gun is of this description, and is
breech-loading. 1t is composed Of wrought iron;
the prominent feature i'll the manufacture being
the combining into one mass iron bars, which
are first coiled into spiral tubes and then welded
by hammering. From the muHzie to the trunnions
the gun is Of "a single thickness. but in the rear
of the trunnions two additional layers OF materi-
al are applied. The rear end of the gun re-
ceives a screw which presses against Il movable
plug or stopper for closing the bore when the
gun is loaded. The vent is contained in this
stopper. The screw is hollow. and turned by a
handle. When the stopper is removed, the pas
sage through the screw may be regarded as a
prolongation of the bore. The bore is three
inches in diameter, and is rihed with thirty-four
small grooves. 1t is widened at the brcecn one
eighth of an inch, to enable the projectile to en-
ter freely and choke at the commencement of the
grooves. The projectile is elongated, of cast
iron coated thinly with lead. The leads crushed
into the grooves. The largest gun yet construct
ed was one OF sixtyIive cwt.. throwing a shot of
one hundred pounds. The greatest range at
tanned is nearly five and onc-fourth miles. The
twelve-pounder field piece has IA range of 1920
yards, at an elevation of 5 degrees. Projectiles
have been fired by this gun through a mass of
oak timber nine feet in thickness. 1t must speed
ly supersede, as the Army Board in 1853 repor,-
ed, the smooth bore for siege and garrison Ser
vice. [De Bows Review. ~.
THE CRY DEFENsEs.-History shows that one
of the great difficulties attending the defense Of
large cities, has been conflicts of interest and d.
visions Of sentiment among their people, or con-
fict of opinion, authority, and policy, among
those who have. OF claim to have the direction of