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4. Dismount the carriages, wagons, and limbers, by taking off the wheels and boxes, and, if absolutely necessary, the axle-trees. Place in the boxes the linch-pins, washers, &c., with the tools required for putting the carriage together again. Number each carriage, and mark each detached article with the number of the carriage to which it belongs.
5. The contents of each box, barrel, or bundle, should be marked distinctly upon it. The boxes should be made small for the convenience of handling, and have rope handles to lift them by.
6. Place the heaviest articles below, beginning with the shot and shells (empty), then the guns, platforms, carriages, wagons, limbers, ammunition boxes, &c.; boxes of small arms and ammunition in the dryest and least exposed part of the vessel. Articles required to be disembarked first should be put in last, or so placed that they can be readily got at.
If the disembarkation is to be performed in front of the enemy, some of the field pieces should be so placed that they can be disembarked immediately, with their carriages, implements and ammunition; also the tools and materials for throwing up temporary intrenchments on landing.
7. Some vessels should be laden solely with such powder and ammunition as may not be required for the immediate service of the pieces.
8. On a smooth, sandy beach, heavy pieces, &c., may be landed by rolling them overboard as soon as the boats ground, and hauling them up with sling-carts.
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APPENDIX.
RIFLE CANNON.
A rifle is a firearm which has spiral grooves cut into the surface of its bore, for the purpose of communicating a rotary motion to a projectile around an axis coinciding with the direction of its flight.