Six Lectures, common to the Students of both Arms.
Fifty-first Lecture.—(1.) Definitions. Meaning attached to the word “battery.” Different denominations given to batteries: first, according to the circumstances of the war in which they are employed; secondly, according to their mode of construction; thirdly, according to the kind of ordnance with which they are armed; fourthly, according to the kind of fire for which they are intended; fifthly, according to the direction of their fire.
Principles of construction. General considerations on the elements which constitute the different kinds of batteries which have reference to them. Epaulment; its length, height, and thickness in different cases. Section of the epaulment. Ground-plan of the epaulment of the different kinds of batteries; returns at its extremities. Case where the battery is in advance of a parallel. Epaulment with redans; its trace.
Embrasures opened in the epaulment; their construction in different cases; slope of the bottom; interior opening; exterior opening; form of the cheeks.
Genouillère; fixing of its height for the different kinds of fire. Limit of the obliquity of the embrasures.
Fifty-second Lecture.—(2.) Terre-Plein; its position relatively to the ground; its length for the different kinds of batteries. Disposition of the part unoccupied by the platforms. Terre-plein of garrison, field, coast, and barbette batteries.
Ditch; cases in which it is employed. Its position with reference to the epaulment. Depth, breadth, , and plan of the ditch.
Communications between the battery and the works, in its neighborhood; parallels or trenches; plan and construction. Communication between the battery and its ditch.
Powder magazines: their object. Discussion respecting their site and capacity with a view to the different kinds of batteries, viz., siege, garrison, and field batteries.