482 
THE BROME-WALTON FAMILY. 
and Samuel Cleaveland as “ Captains Extraordinary” 1 2 in the spring 
of 1747. 
The command-in-chief of the Anglo-Hanoverian-Austrian army was 
at first bestowed upon Prince Charles of Loraine, a professional soldier, 
but no match for the opposing genius of Marshal Saxe, who commanded 
the Franco-Prussian army : but H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland 
succeeded to the chief command in July 1747. 
The period is, however, possibly the most noteworthy in the history 
of development of the Royal Artillery. 
Although in the Seven Years’ war England changed sides from the 
Austrian to the Prussian alliance, it was fortunate for the R.A. to 
have been allied to the former during the wars of the Austrian Succes¬ 
sion—as at that time Austria was the foremost artillery power in 
Europe and the successive equipments of our field artillery were 
consequently after the Austrian, and not upon the French nor Prussian 
systems. 
Galloper guns, and, subsequently, the continental movement in favour 
of larger calibres, are generally credited to the genius of Frederick the 
Great and to the exigencies of the Seven Years’ war; but let us reflect 
upon the facts of the English Board of Orduance having, so early as 
March 1725, approved of Lieut. James’s scheme of 6, 4, 3, and 1^-pr. 
gallopers 3 : the rejection in 1742, by Col. Thos. Pattison and Adjt. Joseph 
Brome, of the H-prs. of the Marlboro’ era and substitution of 3-pr. 
battalion and 6-pr. position guns for the Flanders campaign (1 742-5); 
the absolute adoption of the 4-pr. as the happy mean for field artillery 
in Scotland, 1745-6; and now, again, on resumption of the Austrian 
Succession war, in 1746-7, the re-organisation—in the hands of Col. 
Belford and his Adjutant, Joseph Brome—of the battalion gun system, 4 
the introduction of limbers and limber-boxes, the brigading of field 
artillery, 5 and the organisation of a field artillery equipment which, in 
calibres and ammunition, will bear comparison with those in the 
Peninsular or Crimean campaigns. 
We are willing to admit that the guns of the early days of artillery 
equalled any which we could produce in the Crimea—because the guns 
survive to bear witness of themselves; but the tone of the criticisms 
upon the gunners of those days, by moderns, perhaps savours a little 
too strongly of “ the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are 
We”—a prejudice which would be toned down somewhat by calm, 
dispassionate, study of original contemporary records of the periods. 
The history of artillery materiel is, in fact, one of successive cycles 
of larger progression and lesser retrogression : but that an immense 
stride forward has been made since the Crimea goes beyond question. 
1 The term employed on p. 189 of the King’s Warrants book, 1711-1749. 
2 “Proceedings,” It.A. Institution, Vol. VII., No. 3, p. 141. 
3 Lieutenant James’s “Book of Artillery,” Schedule K, in possession of General Sir Collingwood 
Dickson, V.C., G.C.B. 
4 The original MSS. order, signed by Brigadier-General Belford, to officers R.A. appointed to 
the battalion guns is deposited in the R.A. Institution, No. 194, 
? MSS. Official return of the R.A. as “ brigaded ” is dated 11th September, 1747, and is 
deposited in R.A. Institution. Copy of it is now subjoined, marked “ B.” 
