PROCEEDINGS OF THE POLYTECHNIC ASSOCIATION. 651 



when a charge is ignited first at the rear, the expansive force is 

 expended in overcoming the vis inertia of the grains of powder 

 unconsumed before it, and because the powder is jammed up 

 against the rear of the bullet in the barrel, into so solid and dense 

 a mass that combustion is necessarily slow, and the friction of 

 slipping it, in the form of a dry wad, along the barrel, immense. 

 If we should attempt to drive a tightly fitting bullet along the 

 barrel by striking it blows with a ramrod, we would find the fric- 

 tion of the powder on the surface of the barrel so great, as to 

 render it almost impossible to move it ; and the greater the force 

 applied the greater would be the friction. This explanatioji 

 will enable us to understand why it was found impossible to 

 increase the I'ange of our rifled artillery during the war, by increas- 

 ing the charges. It is well known that one pound of powder 

 gave the most efiective range from a three inch rifled gun. Two 

 pounds would not project the shot more than half as far. On one 

 occasion I found jammed powder adhering to the rear of a shot 

 from a riflled gun, that was projected into a sand bank by a double 

 charge of powder, during some experimenits to determine the pene- 

 tration of rifled guns in sand. This needle gun has some other 

 advantages but I shall not occupy your time longer this evening 

 by referring to them. I do not believe the inventor, or the Prus- 

 sian government appreciated these I have referred to, else the 

 inventor who peddled it all over the world for twenty j^ears, 

 would have obtained an earlier hearing ; and the Prussian army 

 would not have ignored its influence in the late war, as I am 

 informed they do and have done. 



Prussian officers attribute their success to the discipline and 

 bravery of the rank and file of the army, and to their skillful 

 commanders. 



This gun had undoubtedly much to do with their success ; but 

 it must be remembered that the soldiers were drilled with the arm 

 they used. They felt confidence in itj which could not be the 

 case with our army and their arms, for usually their discipline was 

 learned on the battle-field ; and they saw their guns first, in many 

 cases, the day they were called upon to use them upon the enemy. 



From an oflicial report I learn that more than 27,000 guns were 

 picked up after the battle, on the field of Gettysburgh. Of these 

 24,000 were loaded ; 12,000 with one load each ; G,000 with from 

 two to three loads each ; (3,000 with from three to ten loads each. 

 In some as many as six cartridges were found without the paper 



