The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1898-07-02
HEAVY ARTILLERYMEN.
THEIR DUTIES MAKE PRACTICAL
: SCIENTISTS OF THEM.

y,
studies as to make it independent OF
:he other branches of the service.
Just now the heavy artillery branch
il the most important in the army,
and it is therefore pertinent to set
forth the fact that some military critics
have for many years maintained that
too much work and too many drills
are saddled upon the heavy artillery
man.
The light artilleryman's drills are
many and his duties are heavy, but he
is consoIed for this in the reflection
that he belongs to the crack branch in
the whole military outfit. Foreign
military critics OF eminence have IN
hesitatingly pronounced the ten bat
teries> of light artillery of the United
States, Army to be unsurpassed IN the
! world for horsemanship and rapid and
scientific handling of the pieces. But
while the. American artilleryman has
got to be as nimble as an acrobat, and
on absolute master of horsemanship,
he does not have to use his head nearly
as much as his comrade in the heavy
artillery.
An artillery recruit can be rapidly
fashioned into an automatic carrier Of
ammunition, and in the course Of a
few drills, if he be quick-witted, he
can master the duties demanded by
his one particular number on big
| guns crew. But it takes years Of
alertness and attention and consider
able study besides for the cleverest
recruit to become q good heavy artil-
leryman in the American Army. 1t
is commonly known among artillery
men that by the time al artillerylnan
| in the heavy branch has pus-,in three
years enlistment he has picked~up
/ only a smattering of the small duties
and drills imposed upon him as the
heavy artillery service is at present
organized. But men Of late years
have been getting enough of it in three
years experience and if they re- enlist
again a great many Of them join the
dough boys" in the infantry regi-
ments, for the sake of the compare
|ftively easy zone soldier, one gun, !"
lduty required of the infantry. In the
I first place the heavy artilleryman
has to become proficient in infantry
drills.
Up to within few years ago the
heavy artillery branch 1sSas .handi-
capped by the lack Of modern guns
upon which to drill. Even at the
present time many artillerymen in the
heavy batteries have had no oppor-
tunity to drill upon modern breech-
loading rifles such rs are at Fort Point
and will be at the Denver resurvey
and Bolivar Point Notifications. Thele
is all the difference in the world be-
tween a muzzle- loading and breech-
loading great gun, and the drill upon
each gun is entirely different. 1t re-
quires about two-thirds Of an entire
battery to operate one of these big
guns. The men are drilled upon them
by numbers. The gunner gives his
commands and each man has GER
tain work to perform, but each is re-
quired to master the duties of every
member of the guns crew, and for
this purpose he is shifted about from
one number to another.
As there are thousand and one or
more movements to be executed in
getting O. great gun served and into
firing position, the mastery Of the big
gun tactics is no small matter for 4
heavy artilleryman. But there are so
many auxiliary drills besides the in
fantry formation and drills on the big
pieces. The drills called mechanical
maneuvres are the bane of soldiers in
this branch of the service. Properly,
mechanical maneuvers belong to the
engineers. They consist Of mounting
aud dismounting the big guns, and
the heavy artilleryman is expected to
master the uses of all the parapher-
MALTA required in this work-almost
every style of gun, jack and tackle.
It is very hard labor, and besides it
is dangerous. There have been some
serious and few fatal accidents in
the army caused by the attempts of
heavy artillerymen, unfamiliar with
the work, to mount and dismount big
guns.
Another maneuver that drives to
desperation heavy artillery recruits
and sometimes old timers. too, is the
instrument drill. This is sprung after
he has had time to become somewhat
familiar with few of the other drills.
It is in this instrument drill that the
heavy artilleryman is expected to de-
velop into q fair amateur scientific.
Some of the artillerymen become IN
terested in the instrument drill, or,
rather, the drills on instruments, and
take to the study Of mathematics for
solutions. But the majority of them
listen to the elaborate scientific ex-
plantations of the officers as to the
uses of the instruments, their mech
anism, etc., and promptly forget all
about them until the next instrument
drill. The instruments are of all
sorts-the aerometer, for example,
which is used in heavy artillery for
the purpose of ascertaining the
strength of the wind in its possible
DETECTION of projectiIes; instruments
for measuring the initial, muzzle and
other velocities of projectiles; instru-
ments for measuring the power Of
powders; sighting instruments, range
finders, searchlights, electric firing
apparatus, and other numerous small
gear Of scientific character too var
led to mention.
When the heavy artillerymen have
got we'll into way with the above SIM
ple labors and studies, which appear