Washington sentinel., 1898-12-10
sEACoAsT DEFENSE
Written Tor the WASHINGTON SENTINEL by
WEST STEEvER.

n One Of the cardinal features {
h that peculiar discipline introduce
2 by the ex- offic rs of artillery OF tn
= United States army was that tn
= works erected were to protect tn
S guns and not the officers or men
e when engaged against the artillery
v or men-of-war oil the opposing
( torce. AS soon as a gunboat OF
/ other vessel of war opened on a
+: battery it was the duty OF COM
, missioned officer to Immediately
mount the parapet If in barbette or
stand outside if in casemate. at
each gun, and place himself to the
windward side, so as to mark the
effect OF a shot fired or to report
the number of seconds between the
flash and report OF the gun OF the
vessel against which he was pitted.
AS no broadside was ever fired ex.
cept from a sloop OF war, and then
only on rare occasions, the officers
soon got the hang OF timing this
flash and report with the greatest
accuracy. The number Of seconds
being reported, the range in num-
Der Of yards was found by multi
plying the number OF seconds by
36s easily remembered as the
number oil days in the year, with
the thermometer (FahrenheiO at
So (the number OF weeks in the |
year, degrees and corrected by
yards plus or minus for each ten
degrees above or below. This,
with the table OF ranges in the
Ordnance Manual, which was gen. /
orally committed to memory, en-
abled the gunner to give the neces-
sarY elevation and to direct the
cutting OF the fuse for the requisite
time. Frequently the return shot
was fired before that on the other
side had travelled halt the distance
between the opposing forces. So
rigid was this discipline enforced
that no officer ever thought OF re-
firing under cover, unless the par
ticular ZIP OF the Mimic rifle ball
warned him that to remain would
be useless sacrifice of his life.
While he was exposed to artillery fire
he was expected to stay and thus
teach his command a contempt for the
artillery OF the enemy so far as human
llfe was concerned.
1t was for this reason that infantry,
that had served in the field, was found
when detailed on he
artillery duty. They would hug the
parapet. Cavalry and light artillery I
have the same fault, added to a restive-
ness, which made them soon an unmIti-
eating nuisance, when employed in },
hat branch of the service. They can.
lot be made to understand that the role
of heavy artillery is against uattrieE and
lot against PERSONNEL against fortifica- !.
ions and vessels of war primarily and .
against flesh and blood only consequent "
Tally.
Another rule which was enforced :,
was that there should be no n
lodging. Neither officer or man was =
'ermitted under any circumstances to o.
lodge under FIRE. This was especially n
rying when engaging vessels OF war at RI
distance and no return FIRE permitted, M
o as to entice them to draw nearer. hi
he rifle proectiles fired at long range ~
DON lose their initial velocity and ~
evolving on their own axis can be seen =,
v the naked eye, and when observed n,
eem to be travelling exactly in the line 4,
fire where the observer stands. Each n,
ne looks as big as a lamppost and is 70
IT more demoralizlng than the mortar r,
hell, as that is only seen when il ss
xplodes. No officer or man can perform IN
roperly his duty at the guns If he is 20
ngaged in lodging the shot of the th
lemy. At night, though, the relative ,h
feet between the rife proiechle and a.
lie mortar shell is reversed. The time IN
Sc of the latter then can be seen, while IN
e percussion fuse of the former is OF ,r;
,urse invisible until it strikes. or
Another rule laid down and followed ! sti
om the beginning to the end of the bv
.avy artillery campaign, if may so "h
rm it. in the Mississippi Valley Say pa
from the first action with he
e two gunboats Lexington and Cones. an
ga under Commodore Foote above lie
KY. on November Z, 1861, CO.
ID ending in the surrender OF Vicks- sid
Irg, July 4, 1869, was the difference OF Cd
nduct prescribed for the different or,
tachments in firing mortars and firing as
G other heavy guns. AS there was no Pr
ovision provided for recoil in the ths
ortar bed, the detachment was allowed Eff
retire to the adjacent traverse whence wi
e LANYARD, heightened for thatpurpose, no
IS pulled to fre the friction tube. But for
Is was not allowed with the other ca,
ms. where the detachments had to Of
md up and take their chances. The of
suit OF this was that while no loss was an,
perienced by the bursting of mortars, snr
me of the best officers and men were is
her killed or wounded by the bursting adj
heavy guns, mostly bV those which adj
d been riRed from smooth boTes. In of,
: early engagements with the Federal oil
nboats on the upper Mississippi. the Bu
,nfederates lost more officers and men MOI
led and wounded Dy the bursting Of gr,
avV Qnus than was inflicted by the fire "a,