The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1861-05-01
SOMETHING ABOUT MODERN WAR MATE

]
are informed was OF pieces bars OF iron SodeTe'
| to each other ergthwIse and bound together bj
lead or iron hoops, and the cannon balls used wer
| OF stone. Cannon were cast about the middle o
the fifteenth century, about the end of which peroc
bronze was used. Brass cannon were first cast il
Englan By John Owen, in 1885. A foundry was
established in Edinburgh about the same time, uu
der James IL. of Scotland. Mortars were made ii
England during the reign Of Henry VIII, and cas
iron during the reign Of Edward VI.
At the beginning Of The fifteenth century they
began to give them names, such as "Facon," "Cul-
verin," "Basilisk," "Dragon," "Syren," &c, sup.
posed to be so called from Gncfu application
to them for swiitness force, cruelty or other attr
butes which were a fancied resemblance. At the
present day they are principally designated by
weight and calibre; for instance, piece carr wing
ball weighing 80 lbs. is called a 32-pounder; l2
lbs. l2pounder, aud lbs. a 6-pounder. A field
battery, such as is usually termed light battery,
consists OF six guns, comprising four 6-pounder
guns and two 6-pounder howitzars, while a siege
battery consists of guns of heavier caIibre such
as Is, q, 80 and 42-Pounders We will more par
ticularlV designate the different guns under their
proper headings and we will first notice:
HEAVY ORDNANCE
Heavy ordnance is manufactured from cast iron
and brass. Brass lield-Pieces are made of gun
metal, which is an alloy of two parts of copper to
one OF tin. Cannon were formerly cast with cave
or hollow, but are now cast solid, being stronger
and less liable tn burst; the metal is freer from
honeycombng and the bore is rendered more per
feet. In boring cannon the gun is made to revove
about the bit or borer the size OF which is success
slvely increased The heaviest piece of ordnance
Known to exist is brass cannon at Be, apoor, cast
in memory of the capture of that place in 1885,
by Alum Geer. Its length is II feet inch dia me-
ter of bore feet inches, and which requires an
iron shot to fit it weighing over 900 pounds
Another enormous gun, Mons Veg" is shown
to the curious traveller the ramparts at the Cas-
tie IN Edinburgh, Scotland. 1t is made of iron and
carried heavy stone ball weighing over two hun.
ared pounds; 1t is now only used as an ornament,
peng perfect IN its construction. One of the largest
guns made in modern times one made by the
British Government in 1856, by Messrs HorsfalI of
Liverpool Its material is wrought iron welded
10 feet long, feet 10 inches in diameter at the
large end, feet 10 inches at the small end, and
weighing 26 TONS 1t required 40 men in its con-
struction, who were employed seven weeks dav and
night, and when completed after boring its W eig hit
was Il tons Is cwt. Its capacity is for a ball weigh
ing3O2 lbs, to be propelled by charge of 90 lbs.
OF powder, and its range is five miles. In America
are severalrvery heavy pieces of iron ordnance.
Within the last decade we have constructed and
brought into practical use the heavy Columbiad
and Dahlgren guns, which we will speak more
particularly of hereafter. There are also used AZ
32 "a, Is, II, G. and 3-pounder guns of brass and
iron, some for sea coast and field service and
others for naval purposes The length of 80
FOUNDER gun, used on the lower deck of a line Of
battie-ship, is 9 feet inches, weighing 55 cwt.
being about 1872 times the weight of the ball
Eighteen-pcunders are rarely used at the present
day. Twelve-pounders, brass field gun, are
feet inches in length, weighing IS cwt., with a
cabre of 46 in diameter. The length of Is 70 Q
6, and 3-pounder brass guns, is 1G cabre About
Is calibres is the maximum of the American SER
vice, while in the English it is from IA to IG Since
the war in the Crimea, heavy siege and naval guns
have been generally adopted, and have proved
by their great force and terrible accuracy to be
invaluable, One of the most excellent of these war
implements is the celebrated
LANCASTER GUN.
This large and effective siege gun was invented
fp tp ,a LAT
Mr.. Lancaster, English gentleman. 1t is of
great weight, and is constructed the principle of
the application OfrOtating shot to guns of eliptcal
bore, which causes the ball to proceed like that
from rife. They used either for solid shot
shell. but more successful with the spherical
solid bali. Their range is from 4 to 5 miles, and
they said to be the most effective gun in USE
At 1nkermann and Balakava they did terrible exc
cution, and also at the Redan made terrible
breaches in the works, and no fortfcation could
stand against them. They are, however, not al
ways to be relied on for accuracy and strength
Some have burst in the most destructive manner;
but whether it was owing to their being too light
for their charge and weight of ball, or to the ten
dency of the ball to 60 straight forward and thus
wedge itself in attempting to pass the very gradual
curve of the rife bore, is undetermined One great
objection to them is their great weight, which is a
serious impediment in the transportation Of a
siege or field gun; and another disadvantage is the
cost OF sustaining them, for each charge costs at
the lowest calculation f20, Sl00 The average
or $4,000 Among the other riled guns used in
foreign service are the
CAyALLI AND WAHREND GUNS.
These pieces of rihed ordnance were tested in
1876 and found to be practical. They are breech-
loading but for ong-continued use are not as safe
other heavy guns. That of Cavalli is perhaps
considered the best, and was invented by Col. Ca
valli, of the Sardinian army, upon pretty much
the same principle as the Lancaster gun, consisting
of an oblong form Of cast iron, pointed the top
convex toward the powder, and having two ribs
running lengthwise to correspond with grooves in
the gun. The Prussan Ordnance Department have
some few heavy riHed guns, but yet they have
not been sufficiently tested to prove perfect sue
cess. We now turn to the Ordnance d apartment
of the American army, and notice the great i'm
provement scientific officers have made in
heavy ordnance. The most celebrated guns used
BY our government, in its Notifications and for
seige and garrison purposes, is the
COLUMBIAD GUN.
The COlumbiad is a recently invented gun of
great range, combining the essential qualities of
the ordinary sea-cOaSt gun, hOwitzer, and mortar
They Of eight and ten-inch calibre, and are ca
pable of projecting a solid shot or shell with large
charge of powder, lat an angle of from deg. below
to 80 deg. above the horizon. In outer appearance
the Coumbiad is similar to the ordinary sea-coast
cannon. but in internal shape more like the how
tzer. Its full range is about two miles, with an
extra range of three miles. The eight-inch weighs
about 900 lbs, and the charge of powder used is
10 lbs. The weight of the solid shot is 46 lbs. the
and the charge is lG lbs. of powder the solid shot
weighing 12S lbs, and the shell 100 lbs# In 1859
there were ,5l9 eight and ten-inch Columbads
and sea-coast howitzers in in our Notifications
of which over 600 were Columbiads, and we were
informed BY officer of the ordnance that up to
the present time there 1000 in use, and
ones being manufactured daily. Most of our
heavy Notifications, from Maine to Florida, have
in use these terrible guns.
THE DAHLGREN GUN
is used for ship service and naval batteries, and is
the most perfect naval gun ever constructed. 1t
constructed by Commander John A. Dahl
gren, of the United States navy, to be used either
for shell or solid shot. Its merit consists of re-
duction of the proportion of metal between the
muzzle and trunnonS, which is found in guns of
the common pattern largely in excess. The greater
part of metal at fhe breech of gum instead of the
muzze, not only gives strength at the part where
the danger of bursting is the greatest, but also
tends to diminish the force of the recoiI. The
Dahlgren guns are and l0-nch calibre in the ship
guns, and used for firing shells, schrapne and
canister shot. So satisfied have been the Board of
Ordnance with the Dahgren and 10-inch guns,
that all steam soops and gunboats have been
armed with them. They are similar to the COium-
biads and their weight, range, charge, and weight
of shot are nearly similar. They have stood severe
tests of trial and proof, and are undoubtedly the
best naval guns used in the world. Rfed cannon
fo- field service now attracting much atten tion
among military men. About three years since
model gun was tested at Ames's mandatory,
in Cabotville, Mass, called
THE JAMES RIFLED CANNON.
The new invention was patented by Gen. James,
of Rhode Island, in 1858, and is brass field piece
for light batteries, rfed, an eptical bore, with
conical shot of curious construction. The great
advantages claimed by Gen. James in this inven-
ton are, that, owing to the peculiar construction
of the ball, its passage through the grooved cham
Der OF the piece the windage. giving to the
shot greater rotation greater force, and greater
precision. Its range is ~ to 3 miles, and in the
experiments tried by board of officers convened
for that purpose in 1852 one shot was made with
IL ID of powder, which projected slug ball
nearly 3 miles. The pressure, however, is tremen-
dous, and it is to be doubted whether it would
answer the purpose of firing she'll without danger.
1t has not been adopted by government.
believe, and learn that the inventor is applying
the principle to breech-OaCing gun of six pounds
calibre. The ball used is conica in shape, like the
Minnie ball, followed at the base, with an air
chamber, in which are grooves, hich presses the
air by the force of the powder on to a lead and
canvass covering, forcing the sheet lead into the
rifled grooves of the chamber and sluggng the
ball, thus saving the windage and producing the
effects as above described. Whether it will be
brought into use by our government remains to be
seen.
MoRTARs
Mortars are as ancient as cannon, and were
ploved to throw red hot iron and stones before the
invention of shells. The first shells used in
1885, when Naples beseged by Charles VIII,
at which siege they were said to have made terri
Bile havoc among the enemy. They are manufac-
tured of iron and brass. The iron are s, 10, and
l3-Inch cabre, and the brass 519 and 4 4-5 inches
in bore. The 13-inch iron require pounds to the
charge, the 1O-inch 4 pounds, and the S-inch
pounds. The largest mortar in the world was cast
by NJ. Mallet, for the British Government to car
ry shell weighing l6 pounds, but it proved
failure. 1t was 36 inch bore.
HOWITZERS
Howitzers are pieces of ordnance of medium
length between the cannon and mortars, used for
throwing shells or large balls at pont-bank range,
or at a small elevation They usually made of