302 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
was carrying fire and the sword into the heart of the Eoyalist position, His 
Highness was engaged in attacking the Soundhead artillery, according to 
his own account, or, as the Parliamentarians translate it, in plundering. 
The King had only “ 12 small guns, none of which appear to have been 
brought into position,”* for the Prince had hurried on the action so unex¬ 
pectedly that the guns were not yet “ turned, 5 ’ and unlimbering was then 
a serious operation. The Soundhead guns were not served with much 
skill, for when the Soyalist centre advanced “ the whole of the enemy’s 
artillery opened on them, but with little effect.’’t Indeed it is difficult to 
avoid concluding that “ by the rapid evolutions of the light cavalry, the 
artillery was reduced to comparative insignificance, and can claim but small 
share in the honours of the day.’’J 
Such was the nature and such was the use of the field artillery of the 
Great Eebellion. Its impotence was due to two causes,—the want of 
mobility and the want of officers ; for the guns, as guns, were by no means 
incapable of inflicting loss upon an enemy, and the force they represented 
was considerable in magnitude. But from want of mobility, which arose 
partly from the gunners marching afoot and partly from the weight of the 
guns and carriages, this force was incapable of readily assuming the direction 
in which its effect would be greatest. And from want of any Artillery 
Officer worthy of the name there was no experienced leader to point out the 
line along which the force ought to act. Thus a mighty power lay paralyzed 
and dormant; the bow of a giant was in the hands of a child who had 
neither strength to bend the bow, nor skill to aim the shaft. 
* “ Special Relation, &c.” King’s Coll. 212. 
f Ibid. 
X Captain Brabazon, R.A. “ Soldiers and their Science,” p. 146. 
