12 Lieut. Col. Miller’s description of a percussion shell, 
and made to fit the gun with great exactness, so as to prevent 
the escape of any part of the charge by the windage. The 
ship was moored in the river with her broadside to the gun, 
which was a brass 9 pounder, placed on the shore, at a range 
of 330 yards. Ten shells were fired from this position, with 
a charge of i^lb. Two struck the vessel without explod¬ 
ing ; one of them passed through both its sides; the other 
was found on board, without the peg, and with a piece of 
wood jammed into the place the peg had occupied. This 
circumstance leaves no doubt that the peg had, in this case, 
come out in firing, and renders it probable that the same acci¬ 
dent had occurred to the other also. One exploded in firing, 
and another went over the vessel; two struck the water, and 
afterwards lodged in the ship without exploding; the remain¬ 
ing four exploded upon striking her. 
In the second day’s experiments, the pegs were fixed more 
securely by having worsted twisted round them, so as to 
require a blow equal to a weight of 30 lbs. falling from a 
height of 3 inches, to produce ignition, and a slip of paper 
was pasted over each, so as effectually to prevent them from 
slipping out when the shell was discharged from the gun. 
The charge was this day increased to if lb. Thirteen 
rounds were fired at 330 yards : the gun was then retired to 
450 yards, and 8 rounds more fired. Out of the 21 fired, 7 
were cast so large that they stuck in the gun, and could not 
be rammed home. From these little could be expected, 
although two of them succeeded. One exploded in firing, 
and another on striking the water about 200 yards from the 
gun. One struck the water very near the ship, and exploded 
upon passing through the ship’s side, a little above the water 
