THE EOYAL AETILLEEY INSTITUTION. 
80 
A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH 
OP 
OUK RIFLED ORDNANCE, 
PROM 
1858 TO 1868. 
BY CAPTAIN E. S. STONEY, E.A. 
CAPTAIN INSTRUCTOR, ROYAL GUN PACTORIES. 
IN TEOHU CTION. 
To enclose “ the Iliad in a nutshell ” could scarcely be a more difficult 
task than to compress within the limits of a serial article the history of 
our rifled ordnance during the last ten or twelve years—from the early 
Armstrong 12-pr. of 6 cwt. to the present 600-pr. of 25 tons—including 
the countless suggestions that have been considered and the numerous 
experiments that have been carried out ; in short, the various steps in the 
tedious but enterprising march by which Artillery at length arrived at the 
high position it now occupies amongst the sciences. But nothing of the 
kind is here attempted; the following summary is simply the substance of a 
preliminary lecture delivered to the present “ Advanced Class" of artillery 
officers on commencing a long course of instruction in the Royal Gun 
Factories, and it pretends to mark out only the main features of this 
extensive topic. Sources of information are, however, referred to which 
trill enable the exploring reader to fill in the most important of the details, 
whilst the sketch as it is, will, it is hoped, be found sufficient for those who 
desire merely a general view of the subject. 
Necessity for rifled ordnance . 
"When the Crimean war was impending, the general adoption of rifled 
small arms necessitated the introduction of rifled ordnance* in order that 
Artillery might still retain its superiority over Infantry* and remain as 
before, the principal arm in the field, which certainly would not be the case 
if an enemy's shirmishers had the power of placing a battery hors de combat 
