ART 



ART 



whofe form, conftruftion, and particular hiftory, will be de- 

 fcribed under tlieir refpcdive articles. Singular, however, 

 as it may fcem, not only the form of thcfe curious inftni- 

 ments, but even the method of ufing them, is entirely loll. 

 And fo defcdlivc have our hillorians been in this particular, 

 that after all the ftriifl examinations that have been made, 

 little more of fome of them can be collefted tiian their 

 names. 



The connexion between the modern and the old artillery- 

 need hardly be prefaced by recapitulating the dilcovery of 

 gunpowder. For fome time after that fingular compofition 

 was applied to military purpofts, the macliiiies and pieces 

 of ordnance were very ponderous and unwieldy, and of 

 coiirfe unfit for expeditious fervice. Military people at 

 that time poirefTtd but a fmall fharc of learning of any kind, 

 and almoll none at all of a mechanical or niLthematical na- 

 hire. AVhat they did in their profeflion was entirely the 

 effecl of praftice. The form of their artillery, as well as 

 of the warlike engines and inftruments for condufting it, 

 was only fuch as the moll obvious hints fuggefted, or the 

 rudell and nioft uncultivated invention diftated. Tlieir firft 

 pieces were not only clumfy and unmanageable, but as they 

 fucceeded to the machines of the ancients, they were em- 

 ployed like them in throwing ftones of a prodigious weight, 

 and therefore were neceflarily of an huge and enomious 

 bore, confiding ufually of pieces of iron fitted together 

 lengthways, and hooped with iron ring* Some of them 

 were fo large that they conld not be fired above four or five 

 times a day. Such were thofe with which Mahomet II. 

 battered the walls of Conllantinoplc in 1453, being fome of 

 them of the calibre of no lefs than twelve himdred pounds ; 

 and Guicciardin, in the firll book of his Hiftory, informs 

 us, that fo large a portion of time interfered between the 

 different chargings and difchargings of one of thofe pieces, 

 that the befieged had fufRcient time to repair at their leiiure 

 the breaches made in their walls by the (hock of fuch enor- 

 mous Hones. (See Glennie's Hift. of Gunnery, p. i.) 



After fuch a relation we cannot be furprifed to find that 

 not only the moveable towers, but catapults of various de- 

 fcriptions, were retained in ufe. The extreme awkwardnefs 

 vifible in the conllruftiou of cannon, and the great cod 

 of gunpowder, added to the difficulty of procuring it, 

 account for the preference which was ftill given \u the 

 old engines for difcharging ftones. Henry V. in the fourth 

 year of his reign, employed the tripget, which fhews that 

 cannon had not then fuperfeded the old artillery. (Strutt's 

 Manners and Culloms, vol. ii. p. 32.) 



Under Hen. III. of France, the ufe and praftice of 

 artillery was not advanced beyond its infancy D'Etrecs, 

 who occupied the poll of mnfter-gcneral of the ordnance, 

 in 1558, at tlie fiege of Calais by Francis duke of Guife, 

 and who eminently contributed to its capture, was the firll 

 perfon among the Frer.eh who made any confiderablc progrefs 

 in the conilruftion of batteries. Anterior to D'Etrees, 

 continual accidents took place from the burfting of can- 

 non ; and it was cullomary to cool them with vinegar, in 

 order to prevent misfortunes. Armies were then but llen- 

 derly provided with aitilleiy, which was coiifidered as more 

 feqnifitc for ficges, than indifpenfablc for the operations of 

 tlie field. (See Wraxall's Hift. of France, vol. ii. p. 249, 

 250.). In England, however, the fcience of artillery had 

 occupied attention at a more early period ; and lord Hcrljert 

 obferves, that in 1544, king Henry VIII. had himfalf 

 invented fmall pieces of artillery to defend his waggo'is. 



The length and diameter of cannon was by degrees 

 much diminiflied, and of courfe their weight ; and practice 

 and experience in time difcovered how much might be re- 

 8 



duced with propriety from their magnitude, without hurt- 

 ing the grand effefts which it was neceflaiy on fome ocea- 

 fions they (hould produce. See Cannon, Gunnery, and 

 Projictiues. 



Dr. Smith obferves (Wealth of Nations, vol. iii. p. 70.), 

 that the great change intiodiiccd into the art of war bv the 

 invention of fire-arms, has enhanced ftill fuitlior both the 

 expence of exercifing and difclplining any particular number 

 of foldiers in time of peace, and that of employing them 

 in time of war. Both their anns and their ammunition 

 have become more expenfive. A mufquct is a more cxpen- 

 fivc machine than a javelin or a bow and arrows ; a cannon 

 or a mortar, than a balifta or a catapulta. The powder 

 which is fpent in a modern review, is loft irrecoverably, and 

 occafions a very confiderablc" expence. Tlie javelins and 

 arrows which were thrown or fliot in an anticnt one, could 

 cafily be })icked up again, and were befides of very little 

 value. The cannon and the mortar arc not only much 

 dearer, b'.it much heavier machines than the balifta or cata« 

 pidta, and require a greater expence, not only to prepare 

 them for the field, but to cany them to it. As the fupe- 

 riority of the modern artillery too, over that of the an- 

 tients, is very great, it has becon;e much more difficult, 

 and conftquently much more expenfive to fortify a town 

 fo as to rclift even for a few weeks the attack of that fupe- 

 rior artillery. In modern times, many different caufes con- 

 tribute to render the defence of fociety more expenfive. 

 The unavoidable effects of the natiual progrefs of improve- 

 ment have, in this relpecl, been a good deal enhanced by 

 a great revolution in tlie art of war, to which a mere acci- 

 dent, the invention of gunpowder, fecms to have given 

 occafion. 



Artillery-Pot-Z-, the place in the rear of both lines 

 in the army for encamping the artillery, which is drawn up 

 in lines, of which one is formed by the guns ; the ammuni- 

 tion waggons make two or three lines, fixty paces behind 

 the guns, and thirty diftant from one another ; the pon- 

 toons and tumbrils make the laft line. The whole is fur- 

 rounded with a rope, wliich forms the park ; the guniiers 

 and matrofles encamp on the flanks ; and the bombardiers, 

 pontoon-men, and artificers, in the rear. Of late when an 

 army has been upon the point of engaging, or in expefta- 

 tion of an aftion, the artillery has been encamped in two 

 parks, upon both flanks. 



Artillery Trail, or Train of, a. certain ntimber of 

 pieces of ordnance mounted on carriages, with all their fur- 

 niture, fit for marching. 



Arti llery Company, the, had its origin about 15S5, when 

 London being u'earitd with continual mullers, a number- 

 of its gallant citizens who had fcrved abroad with credit, 

 voluntarily excreifed themftlvcs, and trained others to the 

 ready ufe of war. The ground they ufed was at the north- 

 taft extremity of the city, nigh I'ilhopfgate, and had before 

 been occupied by the " fraternity of artillery," or gtin- 

 ners of the Tower. Within two years there were near 

 three hundred merchants and others fufficiently flvilLd to 

 train common foldiers; and in 15S8, fome of them had 

 commiflions in the camp at Tilbury ; but their affociation 

 foon. after fill to decay. (Ellis's Hiftory of Shoredltch, 

 p. 348.) From the company's regifter, the only book 

 they faved in the civil wars, it appears that the affoci- 

 ation was revived in 161 1, by warrant from the privy 

 council ; and the volunteers foon amounted to fix thou- 

 fand. Three years after this they made a general mufler, 

 when according to contemporary authority, the men were 

 better armed than difcipliucd. (See NiccoU's London 

 Artillerie, p. IC4.) In 1622 they erefted an armoury, 



towards 



