THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
457 
gun, but would kill your men as soon as they offered to them, through the em¬ 
brasures that are made of such breadth. In all garrisons and places of defence, 
the guns should be mounted on travelling carriages and truck carriages, used 
only in ships of war. The saving in materials for platforms would be great; 
and not only that, the carriage of such materials would be very considerable, 
and, indeed, in an enemy's country not to be had. It has happened so in 
Germany—viz. at Munster and Marburg, in 1759, under Count le Lippe; 
proper sleepers and planks could not be had at any rate. I therefore fell on 
the method you see in the model and plan. The great advantage in my method 
of raising, is the expedition with which they are completed and made ready 
for service—viz. a battery for ten guns will be finished in 24 hours, except 
the ground should be very hard, by a rock interfering, &c. 
“ Another thing is, that a battery of this construction is not easily 
destroyed or damaged by the enemy's fire, nor can any accident happen to it 
from your own firing. It is otherwise with batteries constructed for truck 
carriages : the merlons are beat down in one day's time, and you must be very 
active indeed if you are able to repair them in a night's time; and if your 
batteries are within reach of the enemy's musquetry, out of the covert way, or 
where they are entrenched, they will keep you in constant hot water, and kill 
and wound numbers of your men. I have been for hours when I could not 
prevail on the men to get on the works to open the embrasures; for the very 
instant they (the enemy), heard us at work, they fired vollies of small arms* 
I am speaking from my own knowledge : at Munster, a battery of eight guns 
on travelling carriages was constructed by me, within fifty yards of the foot 
of the glacis; and notwithstanding the very hot fire kept on it for some days, 
we had it not once to repair. At Bellisle, our batteries were raised by me, 
for guns mounted on truck carriages got from the shipping, and it is incon* 
ceivable the labour we had every night to repair the merlons; and what added 
to our trouble was the badness of the fascines, the want of witheys to bind 
them, and the want of knowledge in the officers and men to make them* 
When they were tied with rope yarns, they were continually taking fire. It 
may appear odd to people that have not been used to see fascines made, that 
there should be any difficulty in making them usefull: it requires a great 
deal of use and practice—the fascines made by my direction require eight 
men to carry them after they are bound. 
“ There is no one thing more necessary for an artillery officer to know, 
than that of making proper use of his ammunition and artillery stores. Some¬ 
times it so happens that, when he falls under the command of an officer of 
the line, whose experience has not been the best, and whose orders he is 
obliged to comply with, he is often obliged to fire at unnecessary objects. I 
have known orders given for the firing of a 12-pr. at a man or two of the 
enemy at a thousand yards distance; a 13-inch shell at a mile and an half or 
two miles distance—which they called frightening the enemy (this always put 
me in mind of a man who threw £3 12s. pieces to break panes of glass in 
the windows of one he disliked). 
“ Officers, in general, think they never can have a sufficiency of ammunition, 
stores, intrenching tools, &c. &c., to march with the army; and their reasoning 
is—let us want for nothing; in answer to which I say, it is better to run the 
risque of wanting many things, than to be incumbered with a number and 
quantity of what it is a thousand to one you may never have occasion for* 
[vol. vi,] GO 
