Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1863-04-10
The Artillery Arm.

The Artillery Arm. 2ea
There are now over five regiments of
regular artillery insahe United States ser
vice, consisting of over five thousand of the
most efficient artllerists in the country.
The volunteer batteries number over one
hundred. iS
A light battery consists Of the following
material !: Six field pieces of brass or iron,
four of which are rifed guns of 6-pounder
calihre, and two l2 pounder howitzers.
Tbe requisite number # men for light
battery is as follows: One captain, three
lieutenants, six sergeants, eight corporals,
two musicians, two artifcers, one wagoner,
and one hundred and twenty five privates,
making total of one hundred and forty
eight men TO battery. Besides the six
field pieces, are six caissons, two ammun-
ton wagons, and a travelling forge. The
number of horses required is seventy-two.
Most Of the artillery used in our service
are brass pieces, manufactured at the Ames
Company's works, in Cahottville, Mass.
They are mostly for rifed prof ctiles. The
Parrot gun, manufactured at the Cold
Spring foundry, is now generally used in
the armies of the East, few batteries of
which arc in the army of the West. These
are very effective gun, being rifed. They
are a long, slim gun, gradually tapering from
base TO muzzle.
~ The base is composed of heavy metal,
with thick wrought-iron band shrunk to
it. which not only strengthens the gun, but
prevents that recoil SO incident to the or
dinary field piece. We also use the Nspo-
leon gun, piece of ordnance shaped some-
what similar to the Dahlgren gun. This
also is rifed cannon, Of great strength,
and very effective at long range. At the
battle Of Antietam, battery Of these guns
was served with terrible effect against a
rebel Georgia regiment, literally moving
them down in scores with its terrible storm
of grape and canister.
Among the various corps of volunteer
artillery batteries in the service, the most
efficient are the two splendid Rhode Island
batteries, the Boston Light Artillery or
Cobb's Battery, the battery Of the First
Michigan, a New Hampshire and two
Pennsylvania corps flying artillery. All
these batteries were complete in every point,
and did good service at Bull Run, being
commanded by practical officers. In West
ern Virginia, Ohio furnished five of the
best batteries in the service, made up from
Benefits Cleveland regiment, an old artil-I
lery organization. rLoomis's Michigan Bat
terry, also, did good service in Western Vir-
ginia, afterward in Kentucky, where it is
now stationed.
We nave now in the field some fifty-fvel
regiments of artillery, and thirty batteries,
comprising some 103, l05 men. This force,
with six batteries to a regiment, makes the
number of guns 2l60, to say nothing of the
batteries of siege guns. The number of
caissons, 2l69 /; of tumbrils, 720; and of
travelling forges, S60,-S20 bageage-wag-
ons are needed for this large artillery force.
The number of horses required for these
$50 batteries amounts TO 25.340. 1t is es.
timated that we have some 20 siege trains,
numbering so guns of heavy calibre; with
these are 20 ammunition wagons, 90 trav-
cling forges, and requiring draft Of 1420
horses.