217 
HISTORICAL NOTICES OF THE ROYAL ARTILLERY. 
[No. II.] 
BY 
MAJOR E. DUNCAN, LL.D. } &c„ 
Koyal Aetilleky. 
On taking over my duties a few weeks ago in the Royal Military Reposi¬ 
tory, I found a number of quaint old manuscripts; of which the attached is 
a specimen. It was dated in the year 1784—only a year after the signing 
of the Treaty of Peace at Versailles—and was deposited, and apparently in 
the first instance composed or arranged, by an officer who subsequently 
attained to the position of Surveyor-General of the Ordnance—Captain 
James JIadden. As this officer was afterwards chosen to command one of 
the first troops of horse artillery, on its formation, it may be assumed that 
he was one who was familiar with the movements of field artillery, and was 
not legislating (as so many men have to do) for individuals and circum¬ 
stances of which he knew nothing. 
To understand the paper, the reader must bear in mind that, in the days 
treated of, field artillery was represented mainly by battalion guns, and the 
drivers wer q peasants not soldiers. 
It is interesting to find, under the duties of the No. 1, the gender of the 
gun already recognised as feminine. This recognition is no longer official, 
but his gun is “she” to the gunner of 1877 as emphatically as to his pre¬ 
decessor in the year 1784. 
There is a refreshing frankness in the note attached to par. IT; and the 
concluding sentences are worthy of a post-prandial oration instead of a grave 
drill-book. 
F. DUNCAN. 
DIRECTIONS 
For the Fxercise of Artillery Field Pieces, or what is commonly called the quick 
Firing Motions * 
One Non Commissioned Officer and Thirteen Men are required to each Gun (or 
rather two Non Commissioned Officers when they can be spared and twelve men) 
they are posted in the following manner. 
N.P. At Exercise, as well as upon Service, one Subaltern Officer is generally 
posted to every two Guns and a Captain to four six or eight Guns. 
* The spelling and punctuation of the original MS. have been retained, 
