The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-06
SHAFTER'S SIEGE GUNS.
"-inch Rifles, finch HOwitzers, =
inch MOrtars, HOtchkiss Guns and
Dynamite Gun.

dynamite Gun.
From the New York Sun, July l.
Early dispatches from Santiago yester-
day stated that the engineer corps ad
cleared a road from Baiquiri where the
invading army landed, to where the army's
advance guard was stationed and that
along this road Skaters siege guns were
being hurried. A Sun reporter tried to set
some definite information about these guns
yesterday. While no one here
knows exactly what guns were
sent to Shafter, some informa-
ton was obtained His siege train is COM
posed of four batteries of four guns each.
The men behind the guns were taken al
most entirely from the Fifth United States
Artillery The crack artillery regiment of
the army. Brig. Gen. John l. Rodgers,
chief of artillery, was the colonel of his
regiment for many years and the men Of
the regiment got their artillery training
under his personal direction. One of the
four siege batteries is made up of 5-iuch
breech-loadng steel rifles, finch breecn-
loading rihed howitzers, and finch breech-
loading rihed mortars. The exact make
up of the battery depends upon the works
to be attacked These guns, which are
too heavy for field operations, are light
enough to be transported over common
roads upon carriages from which they are
fired.
The total weight Of the 5-inch rifle, with
it's carriage, is 5,543 pounds, the rifle alone
weighing 1850 pounds. Its length is y. Is
feet The projectile which it throws
weighs forty-hVe pounds. It's range is
about five miles. AT ] 900 yards the pro-
jectle penetrates Harveyized steel 4.6
inches, at $500 yards 2.5 inches, and at
$500 yards inches.
The siege howitzer weighs 3,710 pounds,
and with its carriage 5,722 pounds The
length of the howitzer is about six feet.
Ii throws a projectle twenty-one inches
long, weighing 100 pounds. lis effective
range is from two 10 four miles. The Z
inch field mortar weighs 1872 pounds, and
with its carriage 2,470 pounds. II is 40
feet long and throws a projectile of, 125
pounds.
Gen Shafter had decided, of course, be-
fore he left Tampa of just what guns his
batteries would be composed. The inform
alton he possessed of the character of San
tiago's defenses determined the guns to be
included in each battery. Ii is supposed
here that he has in each two 5-inch rifles,
one howtzer and one mortar.
1t was said by an artillery officer yes
terday that such a combination would be
about the most effective that could be
made. With the rifles a line fire could be
maintained against the defenses, none of
which could effectually withstand the
bombardment of eight 5-inch rifles, if the
gunners were able to set any sort of range
on the works. Because the rifles fire
more directly on a straight line than
either the howitzers or mOrtars, they
would be planted in front
A howitzer can be elevated at an angle
of % degrees and do effective work. Al
that elevation it can throw a shell from
two to four miles, and drop il where it wiz
do the most damage. The mortars may be
elevated almost to the perpendicular. The
shells which they throw explode with ter
rble damage 10 anything with which they
come in contact. What The rifles and
howIzers don't destroy the mortars at
tend to.
Besides the siege guns, Gen. Skater has
a number of Eotchkiss mountain guns, all
rapid-fire and he also has at his disposal
the battery of Colt guns given by Craig
Wadsworth to RooseVelts regiment and
one dynamite sun of the SimD udley pat
tern. The hauling of the Hotchkss guns
could be easily managed by the men, and
the dynamite gun is very light 1t is re-
ported in dispatches from Santiago that
the dynamite gun had been hauled from
Baiquir by a squad of men under Sergt.
Haletl Alsop BorTowe, a son-in-law of the
late Austin Corbn. It is reckoned that
each Hotchkss and Colt gun is equal to
about twenty rifles.