Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1896-05-29
WORKING A BIG GUN.
METHODS OF TODAY DIFFER FROM
THOSE OF CIVIL WAR TIMES.

worked the SWaDDer ana hammer
"Our regiment was an infantry regi-
ment," said the old soldier, "but in the
course of our service we did more or less
duty as artillery. On one occasion prac-
tically the whole regiment was detailed to
man big guns in siege. The particular
gun that served on was 100 pound par
rott. There were bigger PARROTS than 100
Founders, and other guns, too, that were
bigger, but a 100 pound parrott was a
pretty stable gun, 8 or 10 feet in length,
possibly lcnger-I don't remember exactly
-rifled, and with broad wrought iron
band shrunk on to the breech to reinforce
1t. The shell was pointed and elongated,
about as big around &c an oyster keg and
something longer. 1t had a band of soft
metal attacked around its base, and when
the gun was fred this band expanded into
the grooves Of the riiling to give the shell
the twist and so insure accuracy of flight.
"This gun was mounted in n battery
an earth Lrcastwork in front, with traverses
at tho sides to protect the men from shot
coming from those directions 1t was fired
through an embrasure in the parapet of
the brCnstwork in front. The carriage
upon which it was mounted raised the big
gun to n height of eight feet or SO above
the ground. Along the inner side of the
breastwork, under the muzzle of the gun,
there was II platform, SO that the muzzle
could be conveniently reached Nos.
and of tho men who manned the gun
stood upon this platform to load it and to
swab the gun out after 1t was fired.
was No. 2 on the piece, to the left of the
muzzle.
Tho man from the magazine brought
around cartridge, the charge of powder
done up in flannel bag about the size of
a good sized salt bags and laid 1t on the
platform. No. 2 picked 1t up and inserted
it in the muzzle of the gun. No. picked
up the sponge staff, 6 or 8 feet in length,
and having tho sponge, or swab, at one end
and the hammer at the other, and placed
the rammer end against the cartridge, and
then both men rammed the cartridge
gently home, the man whose duty 1t was
standing on the carriage at the breech OF
the gun with his thumb on the vent mean
while.
1.-Two men brought around the shell,
loaded and capped, and stood it on its base
on the platform. The two men on the
platform picked up the shell and placed it
in the gun. The shell had a percussion
cap, to be exploded by contact. In the
center of the face OF the hammer there was
a cavity big enough so that its edges would
rest upon the shell clear of the cap. No.
placed the hammer carefully against the
end of the shell so that the cap would be
within the cavity, and both men rammed
the shell home, gently and smoothly, but
setting 1t up snugly against the cartridge.
1.-The man at the vent ran printing
wire down into the vent and through the
cartridge, and then inserted in the vent u
friction primer to which a lanyard was at
tached. All the men about the gun jumped
to the ground, and the man stood with
lanyard outstretched, waiting the COM
mand.
" Fire!'
"A twitch upon the lanyard, the primer
exploded, its fire shot down into the pow
der and 'Boomp went the 100 FOUNDER.
The carriage recoiled upon the iron sup
porting frame, and away sailed the shell,
while all the men jumped upon the gun
carriage again or upon the platform to
watch its effect.
"Then came the swab There was
bucket of water standing on the platform
into which the swab was dipped OCCASION
ally if the gun was being fired rapidly.
The damp swab, or sponge, was inserted
in the muzzle of the gun and rammed
clean to the other end of the bore, turned
there, and then drawn out again to eXtin-
guish any lingering sparks of powder that
might have ignited the next charge of
powder, and so caused a premature ex
plosion, and to clean the gun. Then load
again.
we worked on these guns for weeks,
and it was most fascinating employment.
1t seemed wonderful then, and it seems
more and more SO now, as the time grows
more remote l had read in story books
and in histories about wars and battles
and the fierce cannoneers and all that sort
of thing, and here we were at it ourselves
as a daily occupation and under contract
to work for years.
"The other day went over to the navy
yard to sec the battleship Indiana, and
she's daisy We are not a fighting ma
tion-we don't need to be-but such fight
ing tools as we keep in stock ought to be
of the best, and here's IA ship that one
needn't be ashamed to send into any wa
ters
"We roamed all over the ship, from the
shaft alleys to the military tops, and finally
we went down into one of the turrets of
the great 10 inch guns. We had seen the
giant tube projecting out over the deck
through the portfolio Now we admired
the beautiful mechanism of the breech
Standing on little platform near by was
what looked like IA great round tin can, in
size something less than half barrel. Its
conical shaped metal top part tapered up
to what might have been the neck of the
can. The vertical sided barrel of the can
was completely covered with sheepskin
with the woolly side out. And this was
the swab, or sponge, for the 13 inch gun.
The gun is 40 feet long. Fancy Nos. and
2 standing at the muzzle to sponge out
this gunl 1t would be like sponging a
chimney lying on its side. But they don't
DO it that way. The gun loads at the
breech and is sponged from there. The
powder chamber is sponged after every dis
charge, but the gun is not sponged through
the entire length of its bore 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, rest
one above another on brackets attached to