Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1905-03-25
Music of the Rodman Gums.

Music of the Rodman Guns.
The new artillery" said the major,
lis a good deal like the old when it
comes to a daily bombardment There
was an all day artillery duel at Stone
River, Dec 80, 1862, but SO far as 1
know the bombardment of our lines
didn't scare a single man in our divis-
ion. The shells that tore through the
tree tops, and the sixty pound can
non balls that came rolling toward
our lines at regular intervals caused
considerable excitement at times, but
as one of the boys put it, nobody had
his feelings hurt.
Early in the morning when the
rebel artillery opened on US we
thought it meant business. But the
boys soon discovered that the shot
and shell that reached us came from
very heavy guns firing at long range
For example, the largest cannon balls
would strike the ground two or three
hundred yards in front of us and come
rolling easily toward us, bounding
over logs, breaking through fences,
and barking trees. The boys thought
the first one was a rabbit as it came
rustling through the dry leaves.
1T did not have a rapid forward
DuL udU d ToNOINlnS mOllOn
like a spinning top, and looked as
harmless. The ball was so large that
the men could not believe it came
from cannon, and were getting ready
to stop it when it struck a rock ten
feet in front of us, scared into the air,
cut limb off a tree, and went crash
ing through the cedars behind US. A
dozen men who had made ready to
stop the ball with their feet gave the
next one a wide berth, although it
looked as smooth and harmless as the
first.
THE men soon became engaged in
warm discussion as to how the rebels
came into possession of so large
gun, and the third ball was almost
upon US before we saw it. Three men
were restrained with difficulty from
giving the ball kick as it rolled
through our line. In another division
two men lost their legs, each under
the fascination of the spinning ball.
putting out a foot to stop it. In our
own division we looked for the sixty
FOUNDER every twenty minutes and
avoided an issue.
Most of the field gun projectiles
fell short of us, and the boys had little
use for the conical shells, anyhow.
There was some fun in chasing an old
fashioned round cannon ball and in
specializing as to what would happen
when it struck tree, but there was
small basis for speculation in the
work of the cap shell. We were N
line all that day, but not excited, as
the men understood it was only
preliminary bombardment and that
there were as yet no indications of
when the real fighting would begin
Like the Russians and Japs over in
Manchuria, they did not regard a
mere bombardment as a serious mat
ter.
During the day the rebs must have
made some demonstration with in
fantry, for battery of Rodman guns
went into position near us and fired
spitefully for half an hour Our bri-
gade battery was of bronze guns and
the boys were not used to the short,
sharp bark of the Rodmans. Scarcely
had the battery opened when three
or four men who had been asleep sat
up and swore. expressing the hope
that the rebs would get every BANKED
Rodman in the army
The next day, however, when
everything was going wrong and the
enemy's guns were pouring shot and
shell into our depleted ranks at short
range, there was a commotion in our
rear, and a sharp voice said. Lie
close to the ground, men, and the
same battery of Rodmans barked out
i'll spiteful fury behind u.s. Then there
was cheer for every bark. and as
other batteries came up, and thirty
or forty guns, brass, Rodman and Par
Tott sent hurting shot and shell over
us into the rebel ranks, we realized
what a difference there was between
artillery in a 'bombardment' and
real fight
The Rodmans and other guns of
the same material were a trial to the
enrs and nerves of men trained to
the roar of the field pieces in COM
mon use, but the swearing at them
that day was in the tone of a rider