The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-30
WORKING A BIG GUN.
METHODS OF TODAY DIFFER FROM
THOSE OF CIVIL WAR TIMES.
An Old Soldiers Description OF tho Ioad-
ing and Firing of Hundred Pound
Parrott-He Was One of the Men Who
Worked the Swabber and Rammer.


course OF our service We did more or less
duty as artillery. On ono occasion prao.
tically the whole regiment was detailed to
h'"h pig guns In siege. The particular
| gun 'ha1 served on was 100 pound par
rott' Ihere were bigger PARROTS than 100
| pouh"crs' una other guns, too, that wore
| oieBer' ouG loo pound parrott was a
| pretty siZaDle gun, s or 10 feet in length
| possibly longer-I don't remember exactly
| --rliied, and with "A broad wrought iron
| Danu shrunk on to tho brcech to re-enforce
III. Iho shell was pointed and elongated.
ABOUT as Dig around as an oyster kcp and
something longer. 1t had u band of soft
metal attached around its base. and when
tho gun was fired this band expanded into
the grooves OF tho rifling to give the shell
tho tWiSe ana SO insure accuracy of flight
ms gun was mounted in u battcry-
an earth brcastwork in front with trayerses
at tho sides TO protect tho men from shot
coming from those directions IT, was fired
through an cmbrasuro in the parapet of
tho brcastwork in front Tho cnrriage
upon which 1t was mounted raised the big
gun 10 hclSht of eight feet or so above
tho ground Along tho inner side of the
Dreastwork, under the muzzlo of tho gun
thcro was platform, so that tho muzzle
could 10 conveniently reached. Nos. |
anu OF tho men who manned tho gun
stood upon this platform to load it and to
swab the gun out after it WAS fired.
was No. on tho piece, To tho left of tho
muzzle
"Tho man from tho magazine brought
around cartridge, the charge of powder
done up in flannel bag about the size of
good sized salt bag, and laid it on the
platform. No. picked it up and inserted
IL IN tho muzzlo of tho gun. No l Dicked
up tho sponge staff, Il or 5 feet in length,
ana having tho sponge, or swab, mt ono end
and tho hammer mt tho other. and plnccd
tho rammcr end against the cartridge. and
theh both mon rammcd the cartridge
gently home, tho man whose duty il was
standing on tho carriage at tho brocch of
tho gun with his thumb OH the vent mean
while.
Two men brought around tho sh,ll
loaded and capped, and stood it on its base
on tho platform. Tho two men on the
platform picked up the shell and placed it
in tho gun. Tho shell had "A percussion
cap, To be exploded ny contact In the
center of the face Of the hammer there was
cavity big enough so that its edges would
rest upon the she'll clear of the cap. No
placed tho ranincr carefully against tho
end of tho shell so that tho cap would he
within the cavity, and both men rammcd
''S o''ii '''iiti Rtuliy anu smoothly, but
setting 1t up snugly against the cartridge
Tho man ut tho vent ran Il printing
wire down into the vent and through tho
cartridge and then inserted in the vent n
friction primer to which Il LANYARD was Mt.
tachcu. All the men about the gun iumped
10 inc ground, and the man stood with
lanyard outstrctchcd, waiting the com
mand
Fire.
" twitch upon the lanyard, the primer
Exploded its fro shot down into tho DOW
n, and Boom! went the 100 FOUNDER.
No carriage rccoied upon tho iron sum
rtlng frame, and away sailed the shell. |
"te all the men jumped upon the gun |
'v"aagc again or upon tho platform to |
wa, its effect.
I'm came the swab. There was a |
;,to NJ water standing on tho platform |
| liz .r:h the swab was dipped OCCASION
M, 10 gun was being fired rapidly. |
In tL swab, or sponge was inserted |
- ~ zzle of the gun and rammed |
-, other end of tho bore turned |
n'isL hen drawn out again to extin-
,;-+t'. ,gcrinS sparks of powder that
| 81, lgnltcd the next charge of |
| nlo.;o,, n,,p caused n premature OK
again. Sun i"oii io''u
| oy,Ii II -,
II .,oo,,,',J ,a fascinating employment.
| ,,,'a..,r ,rul then and il seems
| ,,o,.,. ro,,,o,, now, as the timo grows
and IN his,or;or Il read iii story books
| , - nut wars and battles |
~ ,h;,,.. ,,,1 -. loers and all that sort
| ne a., g.. ''; were at il ourselves |
| ~ -, and under contract |
,.or1 ~ sa, ,I vt over To tho navy
sho,s = dais,. w. hip Indiana, and
| ,ior Won JHn,+ ,,,oa "a fighting ma
| ;r,, tools ~, ,,, &c.,, but such fight
| % ,ho -. a 80 -. ock ought to be |
needn't be ashamed to 81 'i'"o oi'e
| tiers. '' "iy wa
| I'VE roamCd all over th.
shaft alleys 10 the military - i,o'H ,iio
we went down into ono of ."u N.i"iiS
tho great i3 inch guns. " "'io'' VI
giant tube projecting out o. ''o' tiic
through the portfolio Now Wv ucch
the beautiful mechanism Of "ui"lr,u
Standing on little platform ni'cci.
what hooked like great roand ny was
Eize something less than half I. I'""' !"
conical shaped metal top part g., us
to what might have been tho nee" "P
can The vertical sided barrel of 'nc
WAS completely covered with sh,1,H
with the woody sido out And Il ~"
tho swab or sponge, for the f3 inch"S
Tho gun i 40 feet long. Fancy Nos. H.
standing at the muzzlo to sponge"
this gun! Ii would be like spongin
chimney lying ON its side. But they dol
do it TINT way. Tho gun loads at T.
brccch and is spongod from there. III
powder chamber is spunged after every dis
charge, but tho gun is not sponged through
the entire length of its boro until it has
ceased firing, at the end of the engagement.
1.-The sponge STAFF is in six sections.
which, when the staff is not in use. res,