The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-08-19
The ChassepOt Rine<


From the New York world.l fli
The fire-arm which has been >ndopted
by the French army is the celebrated
Chassepot rifle, which Is probably the
most efficient weapon ever put into the
hands of an army of infantry. 1t re-
sembles the Prussian needle-gun, but
possesses several improvements. Dur
ing the late war between Prussia and
Austria, the effective work Of the new
ly invented needle-gun attracted the
notice of all fighting nations; and the
French, anticipating that they would
sometimes be called upon to punish
Prussia for her alleged arrogance and
want of honor, Immediately set to
work to invent a weapon that should
surpass the needle-gun I'm its power as
an engine of war. The result was the
invention by M. -Chassepot, after long
and careful study, having the Prussian
gun to aid him and to improve upon.
After the new rifle had been tested
over and over again, the attention Of
the Emperor was invited to il, and 1t
was not long before he was convinced
Of its superiority, and ordered its adop-
ton in the army Ess .gf,,,,,1
+. One of the principal improvements
which the Chassepot has over the nee
dle-gun of Prussia, Is that its move
ment Is simpler, and instead of being
tightly enclosed In the breach by cyl
inder, it Is almost fully exposed, and
the employment of the India fubtt-sas
an obturator. 1t is argued tlnd he
Prussian gun, after it has .been Dis
charged several times in quick succe4s-
ion, becomes hot and damp I'm 'fhe
chamber, owing to the inability OF the
gas which comes back after the explos-
ion OF the cartridge to escape. The
inside soon becomes dirty, and the sol.
dier is required to take his piece apart
and clean it. The French gun is al
ways open, and while there is no gas
shut up in chamber to corrode the
metal, it can in q moment be cleaned
from dirt or rust, and the soldier Is able
to quickly discover any accident to his
rifle. rs '-iF.ss- iasrsF ~
An opening on the right, hand side
of the, chamber Is for the insertion of
the cartridge. The chamber Is filed
by the moveable cylinder, which may
be moved back or forward by the han
die. The cylinder surrounds the shaft
and the car revoiyes around the ram
1t contains the spring by which the
needle Is propelled. The rear end of
the shaft Is made in the shape Of ham
die. The spring is compressed when
the handle Is drawn back. The shoul.
der on the shaft comes I'm contact with
the cylinder when the arm IS at rest.
When loaded and ready for firing the
two parts are drawn asunder. The
shafts also serves to protect the needle,
which is surrounded by the same, and
is forced out of the front end Of the
shaft as soon as the trigger Is pulled.
Afte: the cartridge has been inserted
the knob il pressed forward and Is then
laid over the right hand side. The ap-
erture Is now closed. By the first of
these two movements the cylinder Is
moved forward, thereby forcing the
cartridge into the breech; the second
movement secures the cylinder so that
it can be thrown back by the force of
the explosion. The pulling the trigger
releases the spiral spring, which then
forces the needle through the pefcus-
sion wafer. -,
1t is claimed that this gun is not so
easily clogged as the Prussian needle
gun, and Is more substantially built.
The Chassepot Is handled II the fol-
lowing manner: While loading, hold
the gun In the left hand with the but
end resting ON the LEFT hip. The lever
is then turned with but one move
ment, nom right to left, and with an
other pulled back, after which the
cartridge is inserted into the. opening
thus effected By third movement
pushing back the lever into its original
position-the gun becomes ready to be
fired of. The projectile Is rather
long slug with the end rounded and
pointed like our rifle ball The charge,
which Is attached to it In a paper COW
ering, Is composed of peculiar pow
der, especially manufactured for the
purpose. The distance at which this
gun carries with certainty is very con
siderable-over 1000 metres. Both the
infantry and chasseurs have only the
one model, in so far as those of the
chassetIrs are sword bayonets.