The hand-book of artillery

by Joseph Roberts

INDEX.

The pages refer to the sidenotes in the margin of the text.

• AIR: Resistance of, [148].
• AMMUNITION: For field battery, [41];
• for seige train, [37-8];
• storage [103-4];
• preparation, [93-4], [100-1-2];
• weights of fixed, [107].
• ANGLE: Of greatest range, [66];
• of fall, [74];
• of least elevation for mortars, [67];
• of elevation for stone-mortars, [67]
• —Natural angle of sight, [12];
• of guns, [26];
• of howitzers, [29];
• of columbiads, [30].
• ANIMAL POWER, [152].
• ARC, elevating, [18].
• AREA of a circle, [154].
• ARMSTRONG GUN, [165].
• ARTIFICIAL LINE OF SIGHT, [53].
• ARTILLERY: Definition, [9]
• —Method of embarking and disembarking, [161-2]
• —Carriages (see carriages)
• —Kinds of, [9];
• how distinguished, [9]
• —Proportion of, to Infantry, [40]
• —Proportion of different kinds in a field train, [40];
• in seige train, [36];
• for mountain service, [42];
• for armament of forts, [35]
• —How rendered unserviceable, [20-1].
• ASTRAGAL AND FILLETS: Definition, [13].
• ATTACK of a post, [150].
• AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT, [159].
• AXIS OF A PIECE: Definition, [12].
• BALLS: Diameters and weights, [105-6];
• computation of weight and diameter, [95];
• piling, [103];
• number in a pile, [104-5];
• fire, [92];
• light, [92];
• smoke, [93];
• penetration, [149-50].
• BARBETTE CARRIAGE: Kinds, [132]
• —Parts composing, [133]
• —Description, [133-4].
• BARRELS: For gunpowder, marking, [88];
• piling, [88];
• transportation, [89].
• BATTERY: Definition of, [11]
• —Of field artillery, composition, [41];
• tactics, [44-5-6-7-8-9], [50]
• —Mountain Artillery, [42]
• —Ammunition for field battery, [41].
• BATTERY-WAGON, [143-4].
• BASE-RING: Definition, [13].
• BASE OF THE BREECH: Definition of, [13].
• BEDS, mortar: Weights, [33]
• —Trunnion-beds, [129]
• —Siege mortar, [130-1]
• —Coehorn, [131]
• —Eprouvette, [131]
• —Heavy sea-coast, [131-2].
• BOARD, Pointing, [58].
• BORE: Definition, [14]; bottom of, [15].
• BORMANN FUZE, [112-13].
• BRASS CANNON: External injury, [23].
• BREADTH of a river ascertained, [157-8].
• BREACHING: Battery, best position for, [38];
• manner of, [38-9];
• time required, [39].
• BREECH: Definition, [13]
• —Sights, [16];
• how used, [53];
• construction, [17];
• pieces supplied with, [17].
• BRONZE: Objections to, for cannon, [10];
• why used for field pieces, [10];
• kinds of bronze pieces used, [11].
• BURNING gunpowder: Quickness of, [87].
• BURSTING OPEN gates, [158].
• BUSHING a piece, [20];
• metal used for, in bronze pieces, [20];
• object of, [20];
• all new artillery not bushed, [20].
• CAISSON: Description of, [142-3];
• number with a field battery, [41].
• CAKING of powder prevented, [89].
• CALIBRE: Definition, [12];
• number in a piece ascertained, [12].
• CANISTERS, 91: For field service, how made, [94];
• for siege and sea-coast service, how made, [95]
• —How piled, [104].
• CANNON: Bore, [12]
• —Brass, external and internal injuries, [23]
• —Dimensions, how regulated, [11]
• —For siege train, [36]
• —Iron, injuries, [24]
• —preservation of, [25];
• service of, how judged, [24]
• —How marked, [21-2]
• —Condemned cannon, how marked, [22]
• —Proof of, [22]
• —Kinds, [9]
• —Length of, [27-8], [30], [33]
• —Rifle cannon, [163-7].
• CARCASSES, [92].
• CARRIAGES: Classification, [123]
• —Movable, [123];
• field gun, [125-6];
• mountain artillery, [127];
• prairie, [127];
• limbers, [126-9];
• siege-gun, [128]
• —Stationary, [129-30];
• barbette, [132-3-4];
• casemate, [138-9];
• columbiad, [136-7];
• flank-casemate, [140]
• —Mortar beds, [131]
• —Wrought iron, [141-2]
• —Number in a field battery, [41].
• CARTRIDGE BAGS: Where filled, [89].
• CARTRIDGES: For hot shot, [97].
• CASCABLE, [13].
• CASEMATE: Carriage, [138-9]
• —Gin, [146].
• CHAMBER: Definition, [14];
• object of, [32];
• form for mortars, [32];
• for howitzers, [28];
• for eprouvette, [32];
• gomer, [32].
• CHARGES: Definition, [60]
• —For breeching, [60]
• —For double shot, [60]
• —For field guns and howitzers, [62]
• —For fire-balls, [61]
• —For heavy guns, columbiads and howitzers, [62]
• —Service charge for heavy guns, [60]
• —For hot shot, [60]
• —Greatest charges for mortars, [62]
• —For mortars, how regulated, [61]
• —For ricochet firing, [60]
• —For shells fired from columbiads and heavy guns, [108]
• —For field shells, [108]
• —For mortar shells, [107]
• —For spherical case shot, [108].
• CHASE: Definition, [13].
• CHASSIS: For barbette carriage, [134-5]
• —For casemate, carriage, [139-40]
• —For columbiad, [138]
• —For flank-casemate, [141]
• —For wrought iron carriage, [142].
• CHEEKS, [124].
• COEHORN MORTAR: Diameter, [33]
• —Weight of bed, [33]
• —Length of, [33]
• —Length of bore, [33]
• —Length of chamber, [33]
• —Use, [34]
• —Greatest charge for, [62]
• —Bed, description of, [131].
• COLUMBIADS: Definition, [30]
• —Windage, [82]
• —Charges, [62]
• —Chamber, [30]
• —Peculiarities, [30]
• —Weights, [30]
• —Length, [30]
• —Natural angle of sight, [30]
• —Gun carriage, [136-7];
• chassis, 1[37-8]
• —Shells, charges for, [108];
• method of loading, [102].
• COMPOSITION, for preserving iron pieces, [160];
• application, [160];
• for axle-trees of carriages, [158].
• CONDEMNED cannon, how marked, [22];
• shot, how marked, [102].
• CONTENT: Of a barrel, [155];
• box, [155];
• conic frustum, [154];
• gomer chamber, [155];
• spherical segment, [155];
• cylinder, [155].
• DAY’S MARCH: Of field artillery, [153].
• DEFILADE: Definition, [156].
• DEPTH OF PENETRATION of balls, [149-50].
• DESCENT of falling bodies: Law of, [159].
• DIAMETER: Of coehorn mortar, [33];
• of eprouvette, [33];
• of stone-mortar, [33];
• of cast-iron shot, how found, [95];
• of shot, shells, and spherical case, [105];
• of vent, [16].
• DIMENSIONS: Of cannon, how regulated, [11];
• of a parapet to resist field artillery, [156].
• DIPPING OF THE MUZZLE, [77-8].
• DISCHARGES: Number an iron gun can sustain, [39].
• DISH, of a wheel, [124].
• DIRECTION, how given: To guns and howitzers, [51-2];
• to mortars, [56-8]
• —At night, [55], [59]
• —When wheels are not on same level, [54].
• DISTANCE: For firing field pieces, [46]
• —Ascertained by sound, [151]
• —Determined by a tangent scale, [158]
• —Of recoil, [77]
• —Of ricochet battery from object, [74].
• DISPART: Definition, [13].
• DOLPHINS: Definition, [19];
• pieces furnished with, [19].
• DRIVING OUT shot wedged in the bore, [21].
• ELEVATION: Necessity for, [51]
• —How given to guns and howitzers, [52];
• to mortars, [56];
• instruments for, [52]
• —Angle of, for mortars [67];
• greatest angle in vacuo, [66];
• angle of, for ricochet fire, [74].
• ELEVATING ARC, [18].
• EMBARKING: Artillery and its stores, [161-2].
• ENFILADE: Definition, [156].
• ENFILADING a work, [73-4-5]
• —Object to be fired at, [73].
• EPROUVETTE, [11];
• form of chamber, [32]
• —Calibre, [33]
• —Use of, [34]
• —Bed, [33], [131]
• —Length of bore, [33].
• EXPANSION of hot shot, [96].
• EXTERNAL injury to cannon, [23-4].
• FACE of the piece: Definition of, [14].
• FALL: Point of, [73]
• —Angle of, [74].
• FALLING BODIES, law of descent, [159].
• FIELD ARTILLERY: Charges for, [62]
• —Kinds, [40]
• —Tactics, [44-9], [50].
• FIELD BATTERY: Number of pieces, [40]
• —Battery of horse-artillery, [41]
• —Composition of, on a war establishment, [41]
• —Composition of mountain howitzer battery, [42]
• —Ammunition, [41]
• —Draught horses, [42].
• FIELD GUN, how mounted, [44]
• —Charges for, [62].
• FIELD CARRIAGES: Kinds of, [125]
• —Description, [125-6].
• FIELD AND SIEGE GIN, [146].
• FIELD SHELLS: Loading, [100]
• —Charges, [108].
• FIELD-PARK, [42];
• quantity of supplies for, [42];
• carriages, [43].
• FILLING: Mortar shells, [101];
• columbiad shells, &c., [102].
• FIRE BALLS: Definition, [92]
• —Charges, [61]
• —How preserved, [104].
• FIRING: Field pieces, [46-7-8]
• —Rapidity of, for mortars, [34];
• for field pieces, [46]
• —Within point-blank range, rule for, [52]
• —At night with guns and howitzers, [55];
• with mortars, [59]
• —Mode of facilitating firing for any given distance, [54];
• use of remarkable points on the ground, [55]
• —Ricochet firing, [73]
• —Effect of firing upwards under a large angle, [65].
• FIXED AMMUNITION: Storing, [103-4]
• —Weights of, [107].
• FLIGHT OF PROJECTILES: Time of, [149].
• FLANK-CASEMATE carriage, [140-41].
• FOOT, number of gallons in a cubic, [160].
• FOOT SOLDIER, space occupied by, in ranks, [153].
• FORGE, [143]
• —Portable, [144]
• —Number with a field battery, [41];
• with field-park, [43].
• FORCES acting on a projectile, [51].
• FORCE of gravity, [159].
• FRICTION PRIMER: Description, [115];
• advantages of, [116].
• FURNACES for hot shot, [97].
• FUZES: Definition, [109]
• —Wooden, [109-10]
• —Paper, [111]
• —Bormann, [112-13]
• —U. S. sea-coast, [114]
• —Composition for mortar fuzes, [110];
• for paper fuzes, [111].
• GINS: Field and siege, [146];
• garrison, [146];
• casemate, [146].
• GOMER CHAMBER, [32].
• GRAPE SHOT, [91];
• weight of, [107].
• GRATES for heating shot, [98].
• GRAVITY: Specific, [159]
• —Force of, [159].
• GREASE for wheels, [158].
• GROOVES for rifle cannon, [163-4].
• GRENADES: [91]
• —Angle of elevation for, when thrown
• from stone-mortars, [67].
• GROMMETS, [99].
• GUNS: Definition, [26]
• —Lengths, [27]
• —Weights, [27]
• —Proof, [22]
• —Ranges, [68-9], [70-1-2]
• —Nomenclature, [13], [14], [15]
• —Principal parts of, [26]
• —Projectiles used with, [27]
• —How mounted, [26]
• —Natural angle of sight of, [26].
• GUN METAL: Bronze, [9], [10]
• —cast-iron, [9], [10].
• GUNNERS’ IMPLEMENTS: Level, [18]
• —Quadrant, [18]
• —How used, [52-3].
• GUN-CARRIAGES: Field, [125-6];
• siege, [128];
• barbette, [132-4];
• casemate, [138-9];
• flank-casemate, [140];
• mountain howitzer, [127];
• wrought iron, [141];
• prairie, [127-8]
• —Columbiad, [136-7].
• GUNPOWDER: Materials, [83]
• —Proportions, [83]
• —Manufacture, [84]
• —Qualities of, [87]
• —Packing, [87-8]
• —Proving, [86]
• —Expansive velocity and pressure, [87]
• —Hygrometric proof, [87]
• —Relative quickness, [87]
• —Preservation and storage, [88-9]
• —Transportation, [89].
• HAND-CART, [145].
• HAND SLING-CART, [145-6].
• HAUSSE: Pendulum, [17].
• HAY: Weight of, [154].
• HORSES: Number required for a field battery, [42];
• for siege train, [37]
• —Power of, [152]
• —Space occupied by, [152]
• —Number required for siege-gun, [129]
• —Weight, [152].
• HORSE-ARTILLERY: Peculiar advantages of, [43].
• HOT SHOT, [97-8]
• —Loading with, [97]
• —Expansion of, [96].
• HOWITZERS: Definition, [28]
• —Kinds of, and weights, [29];
• —Lengths, [28-9]
• —Number in field battery, [41];
• in siege train, [36]
• —Chamber, form of, [28]
• —Advantages of, [28]
• —Projectiles used with, [28]
• —Natural angle of sight of, [29]
• —Charges for, [62]
• —Pointing, [51].
• ICE: Strength of, [156].
• IMPLEMENTS: Quadrant, [18];
• breech-sight, [16];
• pendulum hausse, [17];
• gunner’s perpendicular, [18];
• pointing stakes, [57-8];
• pointing-wires, [56];
• plummet, [18], [58];
• pointing-cord, [57].
• INCENDIARY COMPOSITION, [117].
• INJURIES to cannon, [23].
• IRON preferred to bronze, [10].
• IRON CANNON used in land service, [10], [11].
• JUNK-WADS, [99].
• KNOB of cascable, [13];
• use of, [19].
• LACQUER, for iron guns, [160].
• LENGTH of cannon: Definition of, [11]
• —Extreme length, [12].
• LINE: Of fire, [64]
• —Of metal, [12];
• how directed, [52-3];
• not permanent, [54]
• —Artificial line of sight, [53].
• LIGHT BALLS, [92].
• LIMBERS: For field carriages, [126];
• for siege-carriages, [129].
• LOADING: With hot shot, [97]
• —Field shells, [100]
• —Spherical case, [101-2]
• —Mortar shells, [101-2]
• —Shells for columbiads
• and other heavy guns, [102].
• MAGAZINES: Moisture of, how absorbed, [89];
• powder stored in, [88];
• precautions to be observed when open, [89].
• MARKING: Cannon, [21-2];
• condemned shot and shell, [102];
• powder barrels, [88].
• MARCHES: Horse-artillery, field-artillery,
• cavalry, and infantry, [153].
• MATCH: Quick, [116]; slow, [116].
• METALS for artillery, [9].
• MOMENTUM, [151].
• MORTAR WAGON, [145].
• MORTARS, [31]
• —Advantages of, [31]
• —Lengths and weights, [33]
• —Kinds, [11]
• —Beds, weights of, [33]
• —Platform, [121]
• —Form of chamber, [32]
• —Length of chamber and of bore, [33]
• —Kinds of projectiles used with, [34]
• —Rapidity of fire of siege mortars, [34]
• —Pointing, [56], [58];
• Greatest charges for, [62]
• —Angles of elevation for, [66-7]
• —Siege mortar beds, [130-1]
• —Coehorn mortar bed, [131]
• —Eprouvette bed, [131]
• —Sea-coast mortar bed, [132].
• MOUNTAIN artillery: Dimension and weights of, [29]
• —Composition of a battery, [42]
• —Ranges, [69].
• MULES: Strength of, [152].
• MUZZLE: Definition, [15]
• —Sight, [17].
• NATURAL ANGLE of sight, [12].
• NECK: Definition, [14].
• NOMENCLATURE of a piece, [13], [14], [15].
• NIGHT firing: With guns and howitzers, [55];
• with mortars, [59].
• OATS: Weight of, [154].
• PACK horses, [152].
• PENDULUM HAUSSE, [17].
• PENDULUMS: Length of, [158].
• PENETRATION of balls: In masonry, [150];
• in earth, [150].
• PERPENDICULAR, gunner’s, [18].
• PILING: Balls, [103]
• —Canisters, [104]
• —Loaded shells, [104]
• —Powder-barrels, [88]
• —Number of shot in a pile, [104-5].
• PLATFORMS, [118]
• —Siege, [119-20]
• —Mortar, [121]
• —Rail, [121]
• —Ricochet, [122].
• PLUMMET: For mortar service, [18], [58]
• —For regulating march of infantry, [161].
• POINT-BLANK RANGE, [63-4]
• —Causes which vary it, [64]
• —Effect on it of firing upwards under a large angle, [65].
• POINTING: Guns and howitzers, [51]
• —Mortars, [56]
• —Stakes, [57-8]
• —Wires, [56]
• —Cord, [57]
• —Board, [58].
• PORT FIRES, [114]
• —Composition for, [115].
• POINT of fall, [73-4].
• PRAIRIE CARRIAGE, [127-8].
• PREPONDERANCE: Definition, [19]
• —Why given, [19].
• PRIMERS: Friction, [115].
• PRIMING-TUBES, [115].
• PRESERVATION: Of cannon, [25]
• —Fixed ammunition, [103-4]
• —Balls, [102]
• —Grape and canister, [103]
• —Fire balls, [104].
• PROJECTILES: Solid shot, [90]
• —Shell, [90]
• —Spherical case, [90]
• —Canister, [91]
• —Grape, [91]
• —Grenades, [91]
• —Carcasses, [92]
• —Fire-balls, [92]
• —Light balls, [92]
• —Smoke balls, [93]
• —Hot shot, [97-8]
• —Forces acting on, when fired from a piece, [51]
• —Kind used with field pieces, and distance at
• which they should be employed, [46].
• QUADRANT, gunners: How used, [52-3].
• QUARTER-SIGHTS, [16].
• QUICK-MATCH, [116]
• —How set fire to, [117].
• RANGES: Definition, [63]
• —Point-blank, [63]
• —British point-blank, [63]
• —Causes which vary point-blank, [64]
• —Extreme range, [66]
• —Angle of greatest range in vacuo, [66]
• —Tables of, [68-9], [70-1-2]
• —How ascertained, [149].
• RATE OF MARCH of horse-artillery, cavalry, and infantry, [153].
• RECOIL: Definition, [77]
• —Cause of, [77]
• —Amount, [77]
• —Has no appreciable effect on flight of projectile, [78]
• —Influence of position of axis of trunnions on, [78-9].
• REINFORCE, [13]
• —Band, [13].
• RESISTANCE OF AIR to projectiles, [147-8].
• RICOCHET: Definition, [73]
• —Object of, [73]
• —How conducted, [74-5]
• —Advantages of, [73]
• —Nature of, [75]
• —Charges for a flattened ricochet, [76];
• for curvated, [76]
• —Tables of ricochet firing, [76]
• —Pieces best adapted for, [75]
• —Distance from object of ricochet battery, [74]
• —Greatest angle of elevation for ricochet firing, [74].
• RIFLE-CANNON: Experiments at Fort Monroe, [166-7]
• —Armstrong gun, [165].
• RIMBASES, [14].
• RING WADS, [94].
• RIVERS: Breadth, [156-7].
• ROPES: size and strength of, [156].
• SABOTS: Difference in, for field service, [93]
• —Arrangement for field guns and 12-pdr. field howitzer, [93];
• in 24 and 32-pdr. field howitzers, [93]
• —Mode of fastening sabots to projectiles for field-service, [93-4];
• for heavy shells, [94];
• for canisters, [94-5];
• for grape shot, [95].
• SEA-COAST PIECES, how mounted, [35]
• —Number and kind required for sea-board forts, [35]
• —Heavy sea-coast mortar-bed, [131-2].
• SCALING a piece, [21].
• SHOT: Solid, [90]
• —Hollow, [90]
• —Rule for finding weights and diameters of cast-iron shot, [95]
• —Condemned shot, how marked, [102]
• —Piling, [103-4]
• —Preservation, [102-3]
• —Forces acting on a shot, [51]
• —Penetration, [149-50]
• —Time required to heat, [97-8]
• —Expansion of by heat, [96]
• —Ranges of, [68-72]
• —Method of driving out shot wedged in the bore, [21]
• —Velocity of, [147].
• SHELLS, [90];
• —Dimensions and weights, [106-7]
• —Mode of computing weight of, [95]
• —Quantity of powder to fill, [96]
• —Strapping, [93]
• —Loading, [100-1-2]
• —Ranges, [68-72]
• —Condemned, how marked, [102]
• —Velocity, [147].
• SIGHTS of a piece: Definition, [12]
• —How determined, [12]
• —Quarter, [16].
• SIEGE ARTILLERY: Kinds, [36]
• —Proportions in a siege train, [36];
• of carriages, [36-7];
• draught horses, [37];
• projectiles and ammunition, [37-8]
• —Siege mortar-beds, [130-1].
• SLING-CART: Hand, [146].
• SLOW MATCH, [116].
• SMOKE BALLS, [93].
• SOUND: Velocity, [151]
• —Distance determined by, [151].
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY, [159].
• SPHERICAL CASE, [90]
• —Loading, [100-1].
• SPIKING cannon, [20].
• STAKES, pointing: How planted, [57-8].
• STONE MORTAR: Length, [33]
• —Weight, [33]
• —Calibre, [33]
• —Length of bore, [33]
• —Length of chamber, [33]
• —Use of, [34]
• —Stones, how disposed, [34].
• STORING of fixed ammunition, [103-4].
• STRAPPING SHOT and shells, [93-4].
• STRENGTH: Of ice, [156]
• —Of rope, [156].
• SWELL of the muzzle, [14].
• TABLES: Of charges, [62]
• —Of ranges, [68-9], [70-1-2]
• —Of windage, [81-2]
• —Of weights of projectiles, [106-7]
• —Of measures, [159]
• —Of avoirdupois weight, [159].
• TACTICS of field artillery, [44-5-6-7-8-9-50].
• TANGENT SCALE, [16].
• TIME OF FLIGHT for siege-mortars, [67]
• —How found, [149].
• TRAJECTORY, [64].
• TRANSPORTATION: Of artillery by sea, [161-2]
• —Of siege-guns, [129].
• TRAVERSE circles, [135].
• TRUNNIONS: Definition, [14]
• —Use, [19]
• —Position in mortars, [31]
• —Beds, [129].
• TRUE WINDAGE: Definition, [15].
• UNSPIKING cannon, [21].
• VALENCIENNES composition, [117].
• VELOCITY: Of balls, [147]
• —Loss of, by resistance of air, [147]
• —Of sound, [151]
• —Loss of, by windage, [81].
• VENT: Definition, [15]
• —Position and diameter of, [16].
• VERTICAL FIRE, [31].
• WADS: Grommet, [99]
• —Junk, [99]
• —Hay, for firing hot shot, [98].
• WATER: Weight of, [161]
• —Allowance for a man and a horse, [154].
• WEIGHTS: Guns, [27]
• —Columbiads, [30]
• —Howitzers, [29]
• —Mortars, [33]
• —Projectiles, [106-7]
• —Of wheels for field carriages, [144];
• and for siege-carriages, [144]
• —Proportion between weights of shot, [95]
• —Of cast-iron shot or shell, how determined, [95]
• —Quantity of powder to fill a shell, how found, [96]
• —Carried by horses, [152]
• —Carried by an infantry soldier, [154].
• WHEELS: Field-carriage, size and weight, [144]
• —Siege carriage, size and weight, [144]
• —Parts of, [124].
• WINDAGE: Definition, [80]
• —Amount, [81-2]
• —Loss of velocity by, [81]
• —Advantage of a reduction of, [81].
• WIRES, pointing, [56].

Footnotes:

[1] The new columbiad is made without a chamber.

[2] A couple of notches or indentations are made on the ends of the eccentric axles. When these notches are in a vertical line, the wheels rest on the rails; but when they are in a horizontal or inclined line, the ties rest on them.

[3] The 2d method was suggested to me by Captain Vogdes, 1st Artillery, U. S. Army.

[4] [See Table, pages 126, 127].

Transcriber’s Notes:

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