A military dictionary

by William Duane

Axletrees.—Most of the field carriages are now made with iron axletrees; the dimensions of which are as follows:

Iron Axletrees.			Dia. of the arm.				Len. of arm.
			At the shoulder.		At the point.		Box, or nave part.	Washer part.	Total length to linchpin.
			in.		in.		in.	in.	inch
6 Pr. Light		-	2	³⁄₄	1	³⁄₄	13	⁵⁄₈	13	⁵⁄₈
3 Pr. Heavy
5¹⁄₂ in. Howitz.
Ammu. caisson
Ball cartridge do. whether horse artillery or the park, whether limber or carriage
Light 12 Pounder and limber			3	¹⁄₄	2	¹⁄₄	16	³⁄₄	16	³⁄₄
Medium 12 Pr.			3	¹⁄₂	2	¹⁄₂	16	³⁄₄	16	³⁄₄
Limber to do.			2	³⁄₄	2		13	⁵⁄₈	13	⁵⁄₈

Wood Axletrees.	Carriage.						Limber.
	Di. of Arm.				Length of Nave.		Di. of Arm.				Length of Nave.
	At Shoulder.		At Point.				At Shoulder.		At Point.
	In.		In.		In.		In.		In.		In.
24 Prs. Heavy	7		4	.9	18		6		3	.3	16
12 Prs. Med	6		4		16		6		4		12
6 Prs Des’rs.	5	¹⁄₂	3	¹⁄₂	13	¹⁄₂	5	¹⁄₂	3	¹⁄₂	13	¹⁄₂
6 Prs. Light	5		3		13		5		3		13
3 Prs. Des’rs.	2	-	1	¹⁄₄			2	-	1	¹⁄₄
3 Prs. Light
How’r. 8 In.	6	-			17		5	-			15
How’r. 5¹⁄₂ in.	5	-			13		4	¹⁄₄			11	-
How’r. 4²⁄₅ in.	4	-			12		4				10
	—— fore ——						—— hind ——
Ammunition waggon, with folding sides	5		2	.9	14		5		2	.9	13
Close bodied Ammunition caisson	5		3	.3	14		5		2	.9	14

Dimensions and Weight of Standing Gun Carriages.

Kinds.			32		24		18		12			9			6
			Ft.	in.	Ft.	in.	Ft.	in.	Ft.	in.		Ft.	in.		Ft.	in.
Axletrees, length			4	9	4	7	4	3	3	9	¹⁄₂	3	6	¹⁄₂	3	4
Side pieces, length			6	4	6	0	5	9	5	6		5	3		5	0
Whole height to trunnion beds			2	9	2	7	2	6	2	3		2	1		2	0
Weight of carriage, bed & coins		-	ct.	qr.	ct.	qr.	ct.	qr.	ct.	qr.		ct.	qr.		ct.	qr.
			9	0	8	0	7	0	6	0		3	3		2	3

Carriages on a march. See [Marching].

The carriages for horse artillery guns, as 12, 9, and 4 pounders, are constructed lighter than formerly; the two first of these calibres have an additional trunnion plate; and indeed it does not appear why every travelling carriage should not have this important improvement since it eases the horses and saves the carriage; and by lessening the fatigue increases the celerity of the movements, and spares the cattle for service.

Diameter of the wheels of the Field Carriages at present in use:

				Diameter.
				ft.	in.
All the horse artillery carriages, limbers, and caissons; the heavy 6 Prs. and long 3 Prs. andtheir limbers; the carriage of a 6 Pr. battalion gun, and a light 5¹⁄₂ inch howitzer; the hind wheels of a common ammunition caisson				5	0
Limber to light 6 Pr. and 5¹⁄₂ howitzer		-		4	8
Med. 12 Pr.—limber, 4 ft. 6 in. carriage
Sling cart				5	8
Fore wheels of an ammunition caisson				4	0
Pontoon carriage		-	Fore	3	0
			Hind	5	6
8 Inch Howitzer		-	Limber	4	0
			Carriage	5	0
Ball Ammunition Cart				5	0
24 Prs. Platform Carriage		-	Fore	4	0
			Hind	4	2

For wood of which carriages are made, see the word [Wood].