THE ROYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
417 
Penzance, 
Dear Sir, August 21,1813. 
Be so good as to acquaint General Farrington and the Committee that the tables 
now forwarded are extremely correct, and may always be relied on, &c. 
Major Gold, H. SHRAPNEL. 
&c., &c., &c. 
Woolwich, 
Sir, September 14,1813. 
I herewith send you a copy of Colonel Shrapnel’s letter and experiments lately 
carried on with spherical case shot in Mounts Bay from a medium 12-pr. and a 
9-pr. with the charges for round shot, which may be useful to you in using that 
description of ammunition. As soon as the Colonel has formed tables for the 
other natures of ordnance they shall be sent to you; I beg to inform yon that in the 
mean time Lt.-Col. Shrapnel has proved by experiments, that spherical case shot 
for all natures of field ordnance may be fired with effect with the service charge for 
round shot. 
I have the honor to be, &c., 
Major Williamson, A. FABBINGTON, 
&c., &c., &c. General. 
The old story, “ changes in ordnance.” Major May writes :—Mealhadu, 
Sardu, March 24, 1813, “ We are now about changing my fuze for your 
catgut ones, of which we shall have about 20,000 in the country. Pray 
what said Mr Wellesley Pole to you about the success of the shell at 
Badajos P ” 
Mr Wellesley Pole was probably too much taken up with Irish affairs 
to say much. 
Vittoria . June 22, 1813. Penzance experiments still going on, but the 
“general rules” were made known and “catgut” fuzes served out. “We 
took, in this battle 151 pieces of cannon, 415 ammunition wagons, 14,249 
rounds of gun ammunition, 56 forage, and 44 forge wagons, 1,973,400 
musket ball cartridges.” 
“ The army indebted to the artillery.”— Duke's Dispatch. 
“ Their artillery* was more than usually well served.”— Fraser . 
Our losses were,— 
Officers. Serjts. Rank and file. Horses. 
Killed. 33 24 683 93 
Wounded... 230 172 3768 68 
Total . 263 196 4451 161 
Sir John May writes:—Head Quarters, Le Gear, September 17, 1813, 
“ As soon as the practice and general rules reached me, I had them copied 
and sent round to each troop and brigade. That the shells might, as to the 
fuzes, have the fairest play, I brought from Portugal 6000 catgut fuzes, 
and gave them out to every troop and brigade, a week before the battle of 
Vittoria. In the battle it was not possible exactly to observe the effect 
of your shell, as the enemy’s artillery and troops were greatly obscured by 
the smoke from their own guns.” 
[vol. v.] 
* The French. 
56 
