From the above experiments it may be observed, that the judicious ramming of a little wadding over the powder, adds about ¹⁄₄ part of the whole effect.
WAGGON, in the army, (Chariot, Fr.) is a four-wheel carriage, drawn by four horses, and for sundry uses.
Ammunition-Waggon. (Chariot d’artillerie, Fr.) A carriage made for transporting all kinds of stores, as also to carry bread, it being lined round in the inside with basket-work. See [Caisson].
Waggon-Train. The waggons, caissons, carts, &c. provided for the use of an army are so called. One great engine, on which the movements of an army depend, is a proper establishment of waggons. In all wars great abuses have, as well as great ignorance, prevailed in this department.
In the seven years war the British had a general contractor for the waggon train, and his contract was kept up until the year before the peace, when that government bought the train of him. In the American war, waggons were considered almost as a privilege by the departments to which they were attached, until Brook Watson was appointed commissary general, who found it necessary to make great reforms in that branch of the service. The same gentleman, when he went out to the continent of Europe with the duke of York in 1793, made use of the waggons of different contractors: but in the beginning of 1794, an experiment was made by raising a corps called the corps of royal waggoners, and purchasing waggons and horses. Its miserable state became proverbial in the army: it failed completely in every part, and on many occasions, the service suffered very materially in consequence of the abuses of contractors.
The idea of this corps was probably taken from the fine well regulated establishment of the French, from whom the Austrians copied it as a standing establishment, having officers and men trained to the service, and a system improved and perfect.
The British waggon-train was sold, and every purchaser of not less than fifty waggons was admitted to the advantages of a contract for all the waggons he purchased; he was insured the duration of his contract for three months, and was only to deposit one-third of the cost, allowing the remainder to be paid out of his earnings. The form of the contract and the pay of the waggons were previously fixed, and by this mode a most advantageous sale was procured, while a new set of contractors were introduced, with the additional advantage of obliging old contractors to reduce their prices, and to come under the same terms.
The space of ground occupied by a waggon with four horses is about 16 yards; a mile will therefore hold 110 waggons; but allowing a short distance between each waggon in travelling, a mile may be said to contain about 100 waggons. Waggons in convoy may travel from one to two miles per hour, according to the roads and other circumstances. A great object in convoys is to preserve the horses as much as possible from fatigue. For this purpose, if the convoy amounts to many hundred waggons, they must be divided into divisions of not more than 500 each. Should it consist of thousands, it will be advisable to divide them into grand divisions, and then again into subdivisions of 500 each: by this means, and the time of departure being calculated by the following rules, each division may remain at rest, till just before its time of movement; and which will prevent the necessity of the latter part of a large convoy being harassed for a considerable time before its turn to move.
Rule 1. To find the time in which any number of waggons may be driven off: Divide the number of waggons by 100, and multiply by the time of travelling one mile.
Rule 2. To find the time in which any number of waggons will drive over any number of miles: To the time they take in driving off, add the time any one of the waggons takes to travel the distance.