34 



ARMY OF THE UNITED STATES. 



weighing 860 Ibs. each ; also 50-pounders of 5.1 

 inch calibre. These are the largest steel guns 

 yet made in this establishment. Only about one 

 gun in a hundred is found to be defective when 

 tested. The steel is reported by the manufac- 

 turers as sustaining a strain of 107,000 to 118,- 

 000 Ibs. to the square inch, thus showing a 

 tensile strength of 3 to 4 times that of the 

 best iron and bronze. 



Mortars are used both for siege and navy 

 service, of several dimensions, as given in the 

 preceding table. The heavy siege mortar, 

 weighing 11,500 Ibs., is of 53 inches length, 

 including 13 inches length of chamber, the su- 

 perior diameter of which is 9.5 inches. When 

 fired at the usual angle of elevation of mortars 

 (45), its shell weighing 200 Ibs., is thrown, 

 with a charge of 20 Ibs. of powder, 4,325 yards. 

 The heavy 10-inch mortar, for coast service, 

 throws a 98-lb. shell about the same distance 

 with half the charge of powder. The whole 

 length of this piece is 46 inches, including 10 

 inches length of chamber. The light 10-inch 

 siege mortar throws a 90-lb. shell, distances 

 varying from 300 to 2,100 yards, according to 

 the charge of powder, which varies from 1 to 

 4 Ibs. The small mortars are also effective at 

 various distances, according to the charge. 

 The stone mortar is used to throw a charge of 

 120 Ibs. of stones with 1| Ib. of powder, to a 

 distance of 150 to 250 yards. Its angle of ele- 

 vation is 60. 



Shells are hollow shot of cast-iron, charged 

 with sufficient powder to burst them, which is 

 fired by a fuse, introduced through a hole in 

 the shell. They are spherical for mortars and 

 smooth-bore pieces, and generally of elongated 

 form for .rifled guns. The spherical-case shot 

 is a thin shell of cast iron, containing, besides 

 the powder for bursting it, a number of musket 

 balls, which are kept in place by pouring in 

 melted sulphur, the powder being in a separate 

 compartment. The leaden balls raise the spe- 

 cific gravity of the shell, till it is about the same 

 as a solid shot, and it will therefore have the 

 same range and velocity. It is intended to be 

 burst by a time fuse, from 50 to 130 yards in 

 front of, and from 15 to 20 feet above the 

 object at which it is fired. Spherical-case shot, 

 thrown from rifled cannon, are said to be effec- 

 tive at over 2,000 yards. The fuse by which 

 shells are fired, is either what is called a time 

 or percussion fuse. The former is a hollow 

 cylinder of paper, wood, or metal, enclosing a 

 burning composition of such length, that the 

 fire shall penetrate to the powder in the re- 

 quired time ; or different compositions are used 

 in cases of the same length, and designated by 

 their different colors, as to the time they burn. 

 The fuse is fired by the ignition of the powder 

 by which the shell is thrown. The percussion 

 fuse is a fulminating powder, placed in the cap, 

 which closes the- point of the projectile, and it 

 is exploded by the concussion when this strikes 

 the object at which it is thrown. The common 

 safety fuse, such as is used by miners, is not 



employed in military service except for explod- 

 ing mines. 



A field-battery on the war establishment con- 

 sists of four 12-pounders or four 6-pounder guns, 

 and two 24-poundefs or 12-pounder howitzers, 

 making 6 pieces. Carriages, including caissons, 

 (ammunition wagons,) spare gun carriages, forges 

 and battery wagons, accompany each battery, 

 together with various implements and equip- 

 ments, definitely specified in the Ordnance 

 Manual. Eacli battery wagon and 12-pounder 

 gun carriage is drawn by 6 horses, and each 

 of the other carriages by 4 horses, and J^ of 

 the whole number of these horses is added to 

 spare. The foot artillery carry a sword resem- 

 bling a Roman sword, with a straight 2-edged 

 blade 19 inches long. The swords and sabres 

 used by the army are mostly made by James 

 J. Ames, Chieopee, Mass. Field-artillery is also 

 manufactured at his establishment. 



The foundries for cannon are the South Bos- 

 ton, 0. Alger & Co., Boston, Mass. ; the "West 

 Point, R. P. Parrott, Cold Spring, N. Y. ; the 

 Tredegar, J. R. Anderson & Co., Richmond, 

 Va. ; the Bellona, J. L. Archer, Black Heath, 

 Va. ; and the Pennsylvania, Knapp, Rudd & 

 Co., Pittsburg, Pa. The following are the 

 arsenals for construction of carriages, &c., or 

 repair : Kennebec Arsenal, Augusta, Maine ; 

 Watertown Arsenal, Watertown, Mass. ; Cham- 

 plain Arsenal, Vergennes, Vermont ; Water- 

 vliet Arsenal, "West Troy, N. Y. ; New York 

 Arsenal, New York ; Alleghany Arsenal, Pitts- 

 burg, Pa. ; Frankford Arsenal, Bridesburg, 

 Pa. ; Pikesville Arsenal, Pikesville, Md. ; Wash- 

 ington Arsenal, Washington, D. 0. ; Fort Mon- 

 roe Arsenal, Old Point Comfort, Va. ; North 

 Carolina Arsenal, Fayetteville, N. C. ; Charles- 

 ton Arsenal, Charleston, S. 0. ; Augusta Arsenal, 

 Augusta, Ga. ; Mount Vernon Arsenal, Mount 

 Vernon, Ala. ; Appalachicola Arsenal, Chatta- 

 hoochee, Florida ; Baton Rouge Arsenal, Baton 

 Rouge, La. ; Little Rock Arsenal, Little Rock, 

 Ark. ; St. Louis Arsenal, St. Louis, Mo. ; De- 

 troit Arsenal, Dearbonville, Mich. ; Benicia 

 Arsenal, Benicia, Gal. ; Texas Arsenal, San An- 

 tonio, Texas. The following are the armories 

 and arsenals that have remained in possession 

 of the U. S. Government : 



Projectiles. A variety of projectiles have 

 been devised for rifled guns, and introduced 

 into the service of the army. Those made es- 

 pecially for the Parrott and Whitworth guns 

 have already been noticed. The most promi- 



