ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



33 



and weighing 8 cwt. The high pitch of the 

 twist, which is one turn in 5 feet, must present 

 a powerful resistance to the exit of the projec- 

 tile, especially when this is of an unyielding 

 metal, and requires to overcome it the high 

 charge of powder named above. This would 

 seem to endanger the bursting of the piece, 

 bat no accidents of this kind appear to have 

 attended the use of such a projectile. The 

 range of the gun is very great, as is shown by 

 the results obtained in trials with a 12-pounder, 

 at Southport, England. At 2 elevation, with 

 1J Ibs. of powder, the projectile was thrown 

 from 1,208 to 1,281 yards ; at 5, from 2,298 

 to 2,342 yards; and at 10 the average dis- 

 tance was 4,000 yards. The 3-pounder, with 

 8 oz. charges, threw its projectile at 20, from 

 6,300 to 6,800 yards ; and at 33, and 35, from 

 9,400 to 9,700 yards, the last exceeding 5-} 

 miles. 



Steel Cannon. The excellent qualities pos- 

 sessed by steel for cannon have long been un- 

 derstood, but the difficulties attending the cast- 

 ing or forging of large masses for this purpose, 

 have been formidable obstacles in the way of 

 this application. Three small pieces were 

 brought to this country during the year, for 

 the city of Philadelphia, made of cast steel at 

 the great works of F. Krupp, at Essen, in 

 Rhenish Prussia. Cast-steel cannon were first 

 manufactured there about 17 years since, and 

 from' the trials to which they were subjected, 

 at the arsenal of Vincennes, they were found 

 to be superior to bronze cannon. Three thou- 

 sand successive shots were made with one of 

 them without any sensible vibration or any 

 degradation in the bore. In the French army 

 it is stated that these guns are now taking the 

 place of the old bronze pieces, which are worth 

 more to melt up than the steel. Other Eu- 

 ropean Governments are also supplying them- 

 selves with these guns. The works in which 

 they are produced are of very remarkable char- 

 acter for their extent and appliances. They 

 are situated in close proximity to coal mines, 

 and occupy a space of 1,600 by 1,800 feet. 

 The roofs of the buildings cover 20 acres. The 

 men employed are about 2,500 in number, and 

 the coal consumed is about 200 tons daily. 

 The products, besides cannon, are steamboat 

 and other shafts, railroad axles and tires, and 

 machinery rolls for mints, &c. The steel cast- 

 ings exceed in size any thing of the kind ever 

 known. The largest yet made is of 40 tons 

 weight, but the works are competent to make 

 much heavier ones. A single hammer in use 

 weighs 40 tons. The largest-sized steel can- 

 non, intended for the .London exhibition of 

 1862, was commenced in 1861, and employed 

 in its casting the labor of 1,250 men in pouring 

 the metal into the mould. 



WiarcTs Steel Cannon. The first steel can- 

 non produced in the United States was manu- 

 factured in June, 1861, from plans devised dur- 

 ing the two preceding months, by Mr. Gorman 

 Wiard, of New York. It was a 6-pounder, 

 3 



ready for service on the first of July, nd on 

 the 3d of the month mounted upon an improved 

 field carriage, also of his invention ; it was 

 tested at Camp Scott, Staten Island, in fulfil- 

 ment of a contract with Gen. D. E. Sickles, 

 who had ordered 3 batteries, to consist of two 

 12 and four 6-pounders each. The contract 

 being assumed by the War Department, the 

 batteries were completed and delivered to the 

 Government at "Washington. Gen. Fremont 

 next ordered 2 batteries for the department of 

 the West, which, however, were afterwards di- 

 verted to the Burnside expedition, which at 

 very short notice was supplied with twenty- 

 four 6 and 12-pounders and two other rifled 

 guns, all of which, up to the time of these 

 sheets going to the press, have been of the most 

 efficient service in the various actions engaged 

 in by this expedition. The governor of Ohio, 

 through the U. S. Ordnance Department, or- 

 dered and obtained four 6-gun batteries, which 

 have been in active service in the important 

 campaigns at the West. The guns bear a high 

 reputation as being most accurate, substantial, 

 and effective, and at the same time lighter than 

 other pieces of the same calibre. They are 

 forged under heavy steam hammers from pud- 

 dled steel blooms, specially made for this pur- 

 pose at the rolling mills at Troy, N. Y., and 

 Trenton, E". J. ; the puddling process being 

 stopped at the point where the carbon unex- 

 pelled gives to the metal a steely character. 

 The weight of the 6-pounders is 700 Ibs., and 

 of the 12-pounders 1,200 Ibs. each. They are 

 forged solid at the works of Messrs. Tugnot & 

 Dally, New York, and bored by Messrs. Plass 

 & Co. The trunnion bands are shrunk on, and 

 do not affect the strength of the piece in resist- 

 ing the explosive action. The 6-pounders are 

 of 2.6 inch bore, and the 12-pounders 3.67 

 inches. The rifling turns to the left once in 9 

 feet in the 6-pounders, and once in 12 feet in 

 the 12-pounders, the former having 8 and the 

 latter 12 bands and furrows. The projectile 

 preferred is the Hotchkiss. With a 6-pounder, 

 at an elevation of 39, a flight of 5J miles has 

 been obtained. The carriages, which are made 

 by Messrs. Stephenson, of New York, are pe- 

 culiar in the construction of the wheels with 

 iron adjustable hubs and felloe wedges, so that 

 by the aid of a small wrench the wheels can 

 be set up or taken down, and the tire be set, 

 and any shrinking of the wood be compensated 

 for at any time. The corresponding parts of 

 all the wheels in any number of batteries are 

 counterparts of each other and interchangeable. 

 The trail is hung under the axle, which ad- 

 mits of a much greater elevation being given 

 to the piece than is practicable on the stand- 

 ard carriage. The forward portions of every 

 part of the carriage are rounded off, so as to 

 render it more secure against harm when struck 

 by shot in action. 



Beside the pieces named, Mr. Wiard has fur- 

 nished to the United States navy several steel 

 howitzers for boat service, of 3.4 inch calibre, 



