Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-08-27
The Bem bardmcnt Of FORT sumter--
Tbe ttfectef cur fsre Modern Guns
aud Modern ~isges.

aud Modern >isges.
Oar a..tiee. re e.sed yesterday by the Star Of
TIVE South. ffom Caare-iau. are vers interesting
According ~ thee account. aud feiel ieegraph-
uf tAe 2Oth int, our two hundred FOUNDER Par
roil guns, directed by the skilllul hand OF Gen
erAl Gilmore we're transforming Fort Sumter
into mass Of ruins. and probably ere this that
work has been made unrenable 10 the enemy, and
perhaps j. now IN the occupancy of QUE troops.
Events thus far have ptOven what has hitherto
been theory. that the heavy ordnance now used
in our arfnv and navy will destroy any masonry
ioru6cat.ons, even at distance OF three thou
sand yards
The ingenuity OF the present day is fairly taxed
% Il utmost 20 produce new engines OF war, and
almost every day brings to notice some new in
veniion OF this description. The present rebellion
has done more 10 develop these machines and
prove their practicabiiy than thousand yesrs
of theorzing aud speculation. Not only have
We developed the best var machines, but have
introduced new and important systems Of man
aging great armies. strategy. tactics, and the
manner of conducting modern seges Writing
of sieses reminds of their indispensable con
comtant, big guns Since the year 1854. when
Sir William Armstrong. IN England. commenced
the construction of the first piece Of his great
rihed ordnance that vas TO resoluti0hize the use
OF those of anterior fabric. To the pre.ent day
scarcely a month passes that the leading English
papers have not something TO say about the
Armstrong guns. The English people. for a
score of wears or more having found themselves
outwitied bv their cousins across the water IN
many departments of The arts and sciences.
thought. as a set-of when Sir William Arm
strong invented hi rifled ordnance that his
branch would countefbaiance all their deficiencies
ard lack OF inventive genius. Columns upon
columns OF the English journals have been lie
1 81. "A
zed statements Of experiments With the Arm
strong Gun. from the first experiment against =
wooden target with sm III calibers AMI then with
| iron ones until the present day. when the it,
vcntor his reached the maximum Ut his genius
by making six hundred FOUNDER of immense
rage. which lie asserts has power sufficient Ia
| throw shot that will penetrate any irnu shp
now alntf, or destroy ANY tUrti6catCn now ex-
taut. But the power OF this gun is yet to be
. ovei
With all this blow and buster incident to the
John Bu fmy. u VIDE margin must he mads
| between the promise and the Performance Be
| 'He We pm our Iath 20 any system or the irem
We would rather see II prittiratl, tested. The
| Armstrong gun i a very good machine; bur
| notwithstanding it, inventor has been kuigh,ed
mi dined aud wined from one eud of the British
Kingdom 10 the other. the 0ny practical result
he has given of the ,lic' ercy of his guns WI,
a battery IRE o. Armstrong field guns we're
srrayed against the enemy. who hid few old
ineffective guns The accounts OF the wonder
ful perform OF these guus were Suuhdet
| throughout England in English STYLE This i
all that j. practically Known OF the great Arm
strong gun Then. again. there j. the grea
Whit~orth gun also o. English invention. 1t i
the rival OF the Armstrong gun. Both of these
weapons have their friends both their relativ,
Iii. a.. l.. n.
trial OF efficiency. exceeded the Armstrong gun
Whtworth has not vet 1een knighiei We DO no
propose however. 20 discuss the merits OF either
except u dismiss the subject by ing IN It th,
Whitworth field pieces have been tried in our ar
NV IN this rebellion, battery having been sen
on here by loyal Americans in London. Aft.r
iIir test OF them in the field they were condemne,
as inferior To guns OF our own manufacture. The
rebels. in their late defense OF Ncksburg, IN,
several OF these guns, which were furnished then
by neutral John Bull. These were also con
demned by the rebels not being equal To thc
own manufacture and the guns taken from US a
Norfolk
While the English people were CRYING "Eure
ka" over their great guns. Sir William Arm
stroags transatlantic cousin. IN the person pi
Capt X Z. Ptrrott whs devOting in quiet way
his genius To the perfection OF rfed ordnance
which TO be in all its essential features Amer
lean and designed 10 surpass-as Dihlgreen ha
surpassed Paixhan-in efficiency all modern ord
nance. not excepting the great Armstrong an'
Whtworth guns The efforts of our country
man were first devoted TO field artillery TIN
gun l. made out OF east iron, bored aud rihed IL
the ordinary wav Its chief original peculiarit'
j. the addition of sleeve of wrought iron ut tn
breech of the gun This sleeve is made b,
twisting bar iron sprally around the breech. anc
welding it under the hammer into compac
mass Ii furnishes absolute protection agains
explosion at the point OF the gun most expose'
TO that accident. In all its essential features
is radically different from the Armstrong o
Whitworth gun, has proved Itself in actual com
: Dat more service ible than anything claimed b.
the English public for theirs, and they are furn
lShed at one tenth OF the cost OF English guns
The great utility of the z ,rrott gun contrary &
the general rule, early attracted the attention o
the Washington authorities; il was adopted b.
them forthwith. and its working merits repeated
" tested by severe and special experiments Ii
the year le6l our government had three hnndre
of these guns--'en. twenty and thirty Founders
in the field Since that time this number la
been greatly increased and improved calibreS. j
the shape OF fifty. one hundred, two and tire
hundred FOUNDERS made. The two latter hav
not had IA fair trial. The two hundred pOunde
has recently heen tried against the walls OF Foi
Sumter, and proved great success, every she
ulSplacing a CaitlOau or more OF the masonry Z
hat work. From the three tunGrej FOUNDER
we expert still greater results.
The Yahkse hation having taught the worl
: how TO construct masonry lortihcatous ard -
leriOr war vessels. wooden anu iron clad we ar
now going to re lch them how IN DESTROY the fol
mer. The trst great test OF biz against M
sorry Notifications furnished in the case OF III
siege of Fort Pulaski, in the months OF Februs
nv, March and April. 1850. which affair was cot
Iucted SHE by General Quincy Gil
: more, the present efficient commander of OF
. iofces conducting the >iege of Charleston. Tn
: laburS OF preparation bv army occupied. b
day aud night. period oi lie rly eight week
During this time a hercuein task Was periorme
IN getting biz guns into position. in which We.
quite number at the rrott and Jane patterns
The history of this siege. embraced in the repo
of General C,ilmore. gives the whole history
that att air The rebel tort succumhed Ia GU
forces on the lin of April lc62 The rebe
! did not surrender until the al, ct the fort
seven and one hlf feet in thickness-had bee
hretched in several pl aces AMI the fort becomin
@ a monster heap of ruins. General Gilmore "a,
n that with heavy James or Parrot guns III