, 1861-06-22
fuse that viii CAUSE explosion A. the moment
Of fall, the tacility for measuring distances Is

r Tho Armstrong gun ha., according to the
latest accounts, entlFe'y failed under the: Last
fSs The 'fRgne fpeneh - have two other riaea guns
One Is little mountain gun, which fires tha.
came projectile as that already described; Il
weighs 20: lbs and Is easlly carried On the
pack Of mule to follow infantry anywhere
The other is the ehell cannon Of the Emperor,
Carrying 80 lb shell. It was almost the only
one used BY the French In the Crimes. a7d lts.
services are well known l. stsnow rihed,, and
his acquired q power which makes 1t most
efectiye siege piece.-Ct1fu1y. ....-
IAN AMERICAN RIFLED CANNON.
....~ From the Benton Journal1
Accounts from Fort Monroe day OF two
since etated that the new Sawyer rfaed cannon
had been mounted at tho Rip Raps, and had
astonished the rebels by Pumping several
shells into their battery At SsEalra point. The
extreme q tns practice fo1a ss nGs naye
was stated yesterday that Gen. Butler bad di.
rected that several guns be riled Immediately
We Ter eaye ave- : description Of the, sawycrgun
and projectile some two or three weeks since.
But the new interest which has been cteated
By the practical expe1imen At the Rip Raps,
viii Justify rs in furnishing some further &C
count Of Ibis new destructive weapon. We
have before Us one Of the Sawyer projectiles,
a formidable looking missile, Weighing without
the charge. forty pounds. It iB hollow pro.
jectile, and will hold three pounds of powder,
The ehapc is truncsted cone The shell is
OF iron. coated with q soft alloy, which will
neither lead the gun nor dy off when the piece
is discharged, as In tho Whitworth, Armstrong
and other guns. There are 1anges On the eide
Of the shell, which are intended to fit accurate
II the grooves In the gun At the base Of the
shen the alley Is little thicker, and Whea
scted. upon by the powder, this, fills mp the
arcr Of The shell, which invariably hits the
mark first, is screw cap containing fulminat.
iog powder, by which the shell is exploded
wien 1t strikes On object.
Experiments have been repeatedly made
with the projectiIe, under the direction OF tho
been rendered by several boards Of oflceEa
The following account Of one Of the expert
ments will illustrate its terrible destructive
nces II nsed il naval engagement. No ship
eEer built could float after having received
one OF these missiles near the wassr line:
:" The effect Of tho shot on timber were as
follows: The shell Was fred at timber target
(four feet thick and eight feet 1ong) composed
Of live oak seasoned logs, well squared, ntt I'd
and bolted together by iEch iron bolts, held
in p ace by screw nuts, The Shell was fred
distance Of $50 yards (this range being adopt
I'd to secure centre shot IN the ta'geE, pane-
t1ated about two feet aud exploded, complete
y dcmolishing the target, breaking Ill the
bolts and scattering the rigen tim6rfs over
fifty yards The same shot was repeated at
similar target, lined with one half inch
wrought iron plates, vita the same result
the penetration being only two inches less"
|: In one of the experiments with this gun at
an elevation Of IS deg, q range was attained
Of 6c55 yards lover four miles and one-half,)
the cartridge used containing but one-l,alf tho
ordinary service charge, OF one eighth the
weight OF the projectie. The greatest range
heretofore reported in tbs ordinance reports
Is three miles and one third, at : greater
elevation.
Orders have teen given By the government
for large number Of these guns and projec
tiles, and they viii probably play an import
Smooth bore cannon will sooa become as
antiquated as the smooth bore n,usket. Riasl
cannon arc as superior In rauge md efficiency
as the corresponding small arm. The Arm
strong, the WhitwoIth, the Sawyer, the James,
and the shenkl guns are all r1flsd, ard it IS
this which gives them their long range. The
two first, which are English gum, arc breach
loading. The others lnad at the muzzle, aud
are not essentially different. The dItIerence IS
In the projectiles.
ACCOUNT OF THE EXPERIMENT WITH
TIE SAWYER GUN,
Correspondence Of the n. 7. Times1
FORTRESS MONROE, June II,
An exhibition Of the Sawyer proje:tlIe took
place yesterday at the Rip Rap-. Your cor
respondent hsd the honor of being one Of the
party invited to witness the performance Of
the gun, in the presence Of NJ sjor. Gen. Butler,
Col DeRussey, Of the Ordnance Dewa1tmeat;;
Major Myers, the originator Of the system OF
signal dogs MI. Sawyer, the inventor OF ths
pfojectile; AIr. Lathrop, OF Pennsylvania: E.
r. Jewe:t, of the Buifalo Commercial! 4dve,-
tiser: Col. Bartlett, Of New York, aud other
gentlemen.
The gun was brought from New York re-
Gently In the Coatzacoalcos, in connection
with the Naval Brigade. It was placed on the
| unfinished fortihcation at the Rip Raps,
known as Fort Calhoun, which commands the
ehOEe up and down In The direction OF Sewefl's 's
Point Here 1t Was proposed to test the pro-
! jectuc, and learn the exact r1nge and location
Of the secession batteries. The gan was fired
eleven times, With the following arrangements
the aim was as high as IS deg, and as low as
| Is deg. The nearest distance hit Vas $50
| yards the greatest distance hit was 4,800
yards; this carried the shell into the ,rater Of
Hampton Roads oeer and dbore Se.nt1rs Ibint!
First Ffre-Elevaficn 22 deg, landed 1900
yards from the gun aud exploded.
Second Elevation e3 deg. Shell went over
the woods en- the point into the Hater. No
explosion heard.
Third Elevation 10 deg. Landed inside the
beach, at 1 800 yards. Exploded.
,Fo.srth-Eleyation q deg. Went over Sew
Fy7h--Eleyation 20 deg. Went over The
Point with an explosion.
SiaGa-Elevstion 1e deg. Struck. a little
short Of the shore perhaps 100 yards. Sent
up q high Jet Of water.
DISQUALIFICATION the same. Struck on 9
p1oded. Distance 4 800 yards.
| EfGhkh-EleYa1ion l6 dep Strnck and eY,
MaM-Eloyatlon 10 deg. Went Into the
| woods. No explosion.
Hsnth-E1evntion Is deg. Went el=.r over
| heard.
REHABILITATION Is deg. Landed on tho
| eaud cliff If the Point, producing great i'm.
preston, and exploding fcarfully. Distance
| $500 yards.
| shot weighs So pounds.
| During the firing there was evidently some
| surprise and excitement on "De Old Vargin.
| ny Shore" People about there didn't seem
| to understand it; couldn't tell who threw the
first brick, nor where it came from. IA mau
| on horseback" perhaps, "a Mrs. Parttngsou
would say, the IDENTICAL one the romsncera
| denly on this side Of Sewell's Point, riding
| violently along to where the shell struck, as
| companied by colder With his musket. It
| YES evident there Was something In the wiud
besides smoke, and something else In the
| Eond bsides CLAIMS. Whizz! came Auothe,
ehell, and horeeman and soldier withdrew al
| there were eigns of secession flag and tent
The trees flew aa the shell exploded, revealing
! the tent, or ehed, or house, to considerable
| advantage.
| 4 little after suEdown the Union party re-
turned 10 Fortress Moaroe. That -sewell's
| NJ kA1 1.sA T.TL