form; and the United States Government, in their contracts for muskets made with private parties, in 1861, requires that all shall be made of the Springfield pattern, with all their parts interchangeable with these.

The impending danger of a foreign war near the close of the year, together with the urgent necessities of the country, rendered it the part of prudence for the Government to adopt extraordinary measures for receiving supplies of arms. Every year the waste by loss and deterioration is estimated at 33 per cent. of all in use; and with European Governments it is found expedient to keep the arsenals stocked with at least as many as are in the hands of the army. Consequently the War Department at that time issued proposals for the manufacture of large numbers of muskets in separate contracts of 25,000, 30,000, 50,000, etc., each, as well to meet immediate demands as to be prepared for extraordinary and unforeseen future emergencies. The consequence of this will soon be the establishment of private armories adequate to the supply of all the arms that can be required for the country. The price of these is $20 each, the minimum sum offered in response to previous proposals presented by the Government. The price paid for the inferior foreign arms imported has varied from $5 to $30 each, the low rates being for old smoothbore muskets of the Prussian and Austrian service, and the higher prices for Enfield rifles. Most of these have been altered to bring them to the great simplicity and efficiency of the American arms. The Maynard, or percussion tape primer, has been dispensed with, and percussion caps are exclusively used. The only arms furnished to the infantry are the simple musket and bayonet, with cartridges prepared for service at the armories.

A few companies of sharp-shooters have been furnished with revolver rifles of superior construction, fitted with telescopic sights adapted for execution at long distances. Colt's and Sharp's rifles are selected for this purpose. The former are manufactured at the great establishment of the late Col. Colt, at Hartford, which is unsurpassed in extent and in the perfection of its machinery, and has a capacity to furnish more than 1,000 firearms, including rifles, carbines, and pistols, per day. The principle of Colt's revolvers is well understood to consist in a revolving breech of 6 chambers, which are brought in turn in line with the barrel by each successive working of the lock. Sharp's rifle is a breech-loading and self-priming piece, the barrel made of cast steel bored out. The breech is secured by a sliding cut-off or block of metal, which being drawn down by the guard to which it is attached, exposes a cavity on the upper side extending into the barrel. The cartridge is laid into this, and its rear end is cut off by the edge of the block on pushing this up to its place. The escape of the gases is prevented by a ring, so fitted in the face of the slide and against the end of the barrel, that

when the discharge takes place, this ring is forced closely against the barrel. Flat disks of copper, containing percussion powder, are used for priming, one being shoved forward upon the nipple by the movement of the lock, or percussion caps are used if preferred. The rifle was invented by Mr. C. Sharp, of Philadelphia, about the year 1852, and has been manufactured, together with pistols of a similar construction, upon an extensive scale, in the works of C. Sharp & Co., near Fairmount, Phila. The principal establishment for their manufacture at present is that of the "Sharp's Rifle Manufacturing Co.," at Hartford, Conn. All the materials used in their manufacture are made in the buildings, even to the screws that fasten the parts together.

Cavalry.-The fire-arms furnished the U. S. cavalry are of no regular pattern. They consist of a revolver, carbine, and pistols, the varieties of which supplied by private armories are very numerous, and soon after the commencement of the war the productions of these were altogether monopolized by the U. S. Government.

The carbine is a weapon intermediate between the rifle and pistol in weight and length, is usually breech-loading, and is sometimes furnished with a bayonet in the form of a sword. This has also an ordinary handle, and is carried as a side-arm, for which purpose it is well adapted, having a curved cutting edge as well as a sharp point. Those in common use, and which have been favorably reported upon by boards of officers, are Burnsides', Sharp's, and Maynard's. They are of steel barrels, which taper uniformly from breech to muzzle. The first, invented by Gen. A. E. Burnside, was formerly manufactured at Bristol, R. I., and is now made by Charles Jackson, at Providence, R. I. The chamber of this carbine opens by turning on a hinge; the cartridge is introduced with its case of sheet-brass, which in the explosion packs the joint, and prevents the escape of the gas. This arm is recommended on account of its strength, its perfectly tight joint, and water-proof cartridges; but it is objected to on account of its cost, and the difficulty of obtaining the cartridges. Sharp's carbines, made by the "Sharp's Rifle Manufacturing Company," Hartford, Conn., is like the rifle already described. Maynard's carbine, manufactured by the Maynard's Arms Co., Washington, D. C., has a fixed chambered piece, with the joint closed by a metallic cartridge case. Carbines, pistols, and muskets are manufactured to considerable extent for the army, at the works of Messrs. Remington, at Ilion, Herkimer Co., N. Y. Of the repeating pistols issued to the cavalry and to the light artillery, the following are among the most popular: Colt's; Savage's, made at Middletown, Conn.; Smith & Wesson's, made at Springfield, Mass.; Warner's, at New Haven, Conn.; and Allen's, at Worcester, Mass. Savage's pistol, which is a six

This gun has been fired several times at Fortress Monroe, and is manoeuvred with great facility, managed by one sergeant and 6 negroes. The mean range at 6° elevation, of ten shots, was 1,936 yards, and the mean lateral deviation 2.2 yards: the charge was 35 lbs. of 0.6-inch grain powder, and the time of flight 7 seconds. At 10° elevation, with 40 lbs. of powder, the range was 2,700 yards, and time of flight 11.48 seconds. At 28° 35' elevation, the range was 5,730 yards, and time of flight 27 seconds, with very slight lateral deviation, as appeared through a telescope at

tached to one of the trunnions.

Parrott Gun.-This arm, named for its maker, Mr. R. P. Parrott, agent of the West Point Foundry, at Cold Spring, is perhaps the most effective for its weight as a field-piece and siege gun. The plan of its construction is the same in principle as was proposed by M. Thierry, of France, in 1834, and afterwards somewhat modified by other inventors, as Prof. Treadwell, of Cambridge, Mass., in 1845, Capt. Blakely, of England, in 1855, and others. It first came to be known in 1860, when the State of Virginia was supplied with twelve 10-pounders, and 16 more guns were made in the fall of the same year on an order from the State of Georgia. These, however, were not delivered. During the year 1861 there have been made at this establishment, for the U. S. Government, the following pieces:

No. of projectiles. 71,000

25,000

292

153

94

5

22,000 1,000

There were also made 115 smooth-bore guns, as 8 and 10-inch columbiads and Dahlgren navy guns, with 30,000 projectiles for these. The Parrott guns are manufactured of the strongest cast-iron, all of which is tested before use, and is required to bear a pressure of 30,000 lbs. upon a square inch. They are cast upright, with the breech down, which portion is thus rendered most dense by the pressure of the liquid iron above. After the pieces have been turned and bored, the breech is strengthened by a broad ring of wrought iron, which is put over it hot, and thus shrunk on so as to appear as of one piece with the gun. This ring is prepared from a bar of iron, 4 inches square and of any required length, which is brought to a

high heat, and is then wrapped around a cylin der of the size of the gun in a continuous coil, the spirals of which are then welded together by hammering. By this method the guns are made of a comparatively cheap material, and by the economical method of casting, while the wrapping of wrought iron secures the additional strength of this material at that portion of the gun only where extreme strength is required. To obtain the same strength with cast iron alone, would greatly increase the thickness and weight of the breech. The Parrott gun weighing 1,100 lbs., is considered stronger than a columbiad or Dahlgren of the same calibre weighing 1,500 lbs. The proportional weight of the powder used to that of the projectile is only, while in other heavy guns it is

or more. In trials made at Cold Spring with a 100-pounder Parrott gun, using 10 lbs. of powder, a projectile was thrown beyond 6,200 yards, the elevation being 20°; while a columbiad with the same elevation, and using 18 lbs. of powder, threw its projectile only 3,883 yards.

The original projectile for the Parrott gun, known as the Reed projectile, was made with a cast-iron body, furnished with a wrought-iron cup-shaped base opening towards the powder, and secured into the base of the body by being cast in with it. In the explosion the sides of this, being of a malleable material, were pressed out, filling the grooves of the bore. This is now replaced by a projectile entirely of cast iron, around the base of which is a depression of V-shaped section in which a brass ring is loosely fitted. This is forced by the powder, as it explodes, into the grooves, causing the projectile to follow their curve.

Whitworth Gun.-In June, 1861, there arrived in New York, from England, a battery of six Whitworth guns, with 3,000 rounds of ammunition, sent from England as a present to the United States Government, from patriotic Americans in Europe. These guns, which rank among the most efficient in England, are breechloading, though they may also be loaded from the muzzle. Instead of being rifled the bore is hexagonal, with the angles of the hexagon rounded off, and the effect of rifling is produced by the twist of the sides of the hexagon. The guns are made of what is called homogeneous iron, which is wrought iron melted and cast in moulds, which thus assumes a homogeneous texture and the greatest strength. The projec tile is hexagonal, accurately fitted to the bore of the gun with the same twist. It is made of cast iron, unless intended for penetrating hard bodies, as wrought-iron plates, when it is made of homogeneous iron and with a flat head. The charge is the weight of the projectile, and is placed in the bore in a tin cartridge, which remains behind when the gun is fired, and is then removed. The guns sent to the United States are 12-pounders, measuring 7 feet 9 inches in length, with the major axis of the bore 3.1 inches, and minor axis 2.8 inches,

and weighing 8 cwt. The high pitch of the twist, which is one turn in 5 feet, must present a powerful resistance to the exit of the projectile, especially when this is of an unyielding metal, and requires to overcome it the high charge of powder named above. This would seem to endanger the bursting of the piece, but no accidents of this kind appear to have attended the use of such a projectile. The range of the gun is very great, as is shown by the results obtained in trials with a 12-pounder, at Southport, England. At 2° elevation, with 1 lbs. of powder, the projectile was thrown from 1,208 to 1,281 yards; at 5°, from 2,298 to 2,342 yards; and at 10° the average distance was 4,000 yards. The 3-pounder, with 8 oz. charges, threw its projectile at 20°, from 6,300 to 6,800 yards; and at 33°, and 35°, from 9,400 to 9,700 yards, the last exceeding 5 miles.

Steel Cannon.-The excellent qualities possessed by steel for cannon have long been understood, but the difficulties attending the casting or forging of large masses for this purpose, have been formidable obstacles in the way of this application. Three small pieces were brought to this country during the year, for the city of Philadelphia, made of cast steel at the great works of F. Krupp, at Essen, in Rhenish Prussia. Cast-steel cannon were first manufactured there about 17 years since, and from the trials to which they were subjected, at the arsenal of Vincennes, they were found to be superior to bronze cannon. Three thou sand successive shots were made with one of them without any sensible vibration or any degradation in the bore. In the French army it is stated that these guns are now taking the place of the old bronze pieces, which are worth more to melt up than the steel. Other European Governments are also supplying themselves with these guns. The works in which they are produced are of very remarkable character for their extent and appliances. They are situated in close proximity to coal mines, and occupy a space of 1,600 by 1,800 feet. The roofs of the buildings cover 20 acres. The men employed are about 2,500 in number, and the coal consumed is about 200 tons daily. The products, besides cannon, are steamboat and other shafts, railroad axles and tires, and machinery rolls for mints, &c. The steel castings exceed in size any thing of the kind ever known. The largest yet made is of 40 tons weight, but the works are competent to make much heavier ones. A single hammer in use weighs 40 tons. The largest-sized steel cannon, intended for the London exhibition of 1862, was commenced in 1861, and employed in its casting the labor of 1,250 men in pouring the metal into the mould.

Wiard's Steel Cannon.-The first steel cannon produced in the United States was manufactured in June, 1861, from plans devised during the two preceding months, by Mr. Norman Wiard, of New York. It was a 6-pounder,

ready for service on the first of July, and on the 3d of the month mounted upon an improved field carriage, also of his invention; it was tested at Camp Scott, Staten Island, in fulfilment of a contract with Gen. D. E. Sickles, who had ordered 3 batteries, to consist of two 12 and four 6-pounders each. The contract being assumed by the War Department, the batteries were completed and delivered to the Government at Washington. Gen. Fremont next ordered 2 batteries for the department of the West, which, however, were afterwards diverted to the Burnside expedition, which at very short notice was supplied with twentyfour 6 and 12-pounders and two other rifled guns, all of which, up to the time of these sheets going to the press, have been of the most efficient service in the various actions engaged in by this expedition. The governor of Ohio, through the U. S. Ordnance Department, ordered and obtained four 6-gun batteries, which have been in active service in the important campaigns at the West. The guns bear a high reputation as being most accurate, substantial, and effective, and at the same time lighter than other pieces of the same calibre. They are forged under heavy steam hammers from puddled steel blooms, specially made for this purpose at the rolling mills at Troy, N. Y., and Trenton, N. J.; the puddling process being stopped at the point where the carbon unexpelled gives to the metal a steely character. The weight of the 6-pounders is 700 lbs., and of the 12-pounders 1,200 lbs. each. They are forged solid at the works of Messrs. Tugnot & Dally, New York, and bored by Messrs. Plass & Co. The trunnion bands are shrunk on, and do not affect the strength of the piece in resisting the explosive action. The 6-pounders are of 2.6 inch bore, and the 12-pounders 3.67 inches. The rifling turns to the left once in 9 feet in the 6-pounders, and once in 12 feet in the 12-pounders, the former having 8 and the latter 12 bands and furrows. The projectile preferred is the Hotchkiss. With a 6-pounder, at an elevation of 39°, a flight of 5 miles has been obtained. The carriages, which are made by Messrs. Stephenson, of New York, are peculiar in the construction of the wheels with iron adjustable hubs and felloe wedges, so that by the aid of a small wrench the wheels can be set up or taken down, and the tire be set, and any shrinking of the wood be compensated for at any time. The corresponding parts of all the wheels in any number of batteries are counterparts of each other and interchangeable. The trail is hung under the axle, which admits of a much greater elevation being given to the piece than is practicable on the standard carriage. The forward portions of every part of the carriage are rounded off, so as to render it more secure against harm when struck by shot in action.

Beside the pieces named, Mr. Wiard has furnished to the United States navy several steel howitzers for boat service, of 3.4 inch calibre,

weighing 860 lbs. each; also 50-pounders of 5.1 inch calibre. These are the largest steel guns yet made in this establishment. Only about one gun in a hundred is found to be defective when tested. The steel is reported by the manufacturers as sustaining a strain of 107,000 to 118,000 lbs. to the square inch, thus showing a tensile strength of 3 to 4 times that of the best iron and bronze.

Mortars are used both for siege and navy service, of several dimensions, as given in the preceding table. The heavy siege mortar, weighing 11,500 lbs., is of 53 inches length, including 13 inches length of chamber, the superior diameter of which is 9.5 inches. When fired at the usual angle of elevation of mortars (45°), its shell weighing 200 lbs., is thrown, with a charge of 20 lbs. of powder, 4,325 yards. The heavy 10-inch mortar, for coast service, throws a 98-lb. shell about the same distance with half the charge of powder. The whole length of this piece is 46 inches, including 10 inches length of chamber. The light 10-inch siege mortar throws a 90-lb. shell, distances varying from 300 to 2,100 yards, according to the charge of powder, which varies from 1 to 4 lbs. The small mortars are also effective at various distances, according to the charge. The stone mortar is used to throw a charge of 120 lbs. of stones with 1 lb. of powder, to a distance of 150 to 250 yards. Its angle of elevation is 60°.

Shells are hollow shot of cast-iron, charged with sufficient powder to burst them, which is fired by a fuse, introduced through a hole in the shell. They are spherical for mortars and smooth-bore pieces, and generally of elongated form for rifled guns. The spherical-case shot is a thin shell of cast iron, containing, besides the powder for bursting it, a number of musket balls, which are kept in place by pouring in melted sulphur, the powder being in a separate compartment. The leaden balls raise the specific gravity of the shell, till it is about the same as a solid shot, and it will therefore have the same range and velocity. It is intended to be burst by a time fuse, from 50 to 130 yards in front of, and from 15 to 20 feet above the object at which it is fired. Spherical-case shot, thrown from rifled cannon, are said to be effective at over 2,000 yards. The fuse by which shells are fired, is either what is called a time or percussion fuse. The former is a hollow cylinder of paper, wood, or metal, enclosing a burning composition of such length, that the fire shall penetrate to the powder in the required time; or different compositions are used in cases of the same length, and designated by their different colors, as to the time they burn. The fuse is fired by the ignition of the powder by which the shell is thrown. The percussion fuse is a fulminating powder, placed in the cap, which closes the point of the projectile, and it is exploded by the concussion when this strikes the object at which it is thrown. The common safety fuse, such as is used by miners, is not

employed in military service except for explod ing mines.

A field-battery on the war establishment consists of four 12-pounders or four 6-pounder guns, and two 24-pounders or 12-pounder howitzers, making 6 pieces. Carriages, including caissons, (ammunition wagons,) spare gun carriages, forges and battery wagons, accompany each battery, together with various implements and equipments, definitely specified in the Ordnance Manual. Each battery wagon and 12-pounder gun carriage is drawn by 6 horses, and each of the other carriages by 4 horses, and the whole number of these horses is added to spare. The foot artillery carry a sword resembling a Roman sword, with a straight 2-edged blade 19 inches long. The swords and sabres used by the army are mostly made by James J. Ames, Chicopee, Mass. Field-artillery is also manufactured at his establishment.

of

The foundries for cannon are the South Boston, C. Alger & Co., Boston, Mass.; the West Point, R. P. Parrott, Cold Spring, N. Y.; the Tredegar, J. R. Anderson & Co., Richmond, Va.; the Bellona, J. L. Archer, Black Heath, Va.; and the Pennsylvania, Knapp, Rudd & Co., Pittsburg, Pa. The following are the arsenals for construction of carriages, &c., or repair: Kennebec Arsenal, Augusta, Maine; Watertown Arsenal, Watertown, Mass.; Champlain Arsenal, Vergennes, Vermont; Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy, N. Y.; New York Arsenal, New York; Alleghany Arsenal, Pittsburg, Pa.; Frankford Arsenal, Bridesburg, Pa.; Pikesville Arsenal, Pikesville, Md.; Washington Arsenal, Washington, D. C.; Fort Monroe Arsenal, Old Point Comfort, Va.; North Carolina Arsenal, Fayetteville, N. C.; Charleston Arsenal, Charleston, S. C.; Augusta Arsenal, Augusta, Ga.; Mount Vernon Arsenal, Mount Vernon, Ala.; Appalachicola Arsenal, Chattahoochee, Florida; Baton Rouge Arsenal, Baton Rouge, La.; Little Rock Arsenal, Little Rock, Ark.; St. Louis Arsenal, St. Louis, Mo.; Detroit Arsenal, Dearbonville, Mich.; Benicia Arsenal, Benicia, Cal.; Texas Arsenal, San Antonio, Texas. The following are the armories and arsenals that have remained in possession of the U. S. Government :

Armories and Arsenals. State.

Kennebeck Arsenal....Maine..
Springfield Armory,
....Mass
Watertown Arsenal....Mass

Champlain Arsenal....Vermont

Commanding Officer. Major A. B. Dyer. Capt. T. J. Rodman.

Watervliet Arsenal.. ...New York...Major W. A. Thornton.
New York Arsenal....New York...Maj. R. II. K. Whiteley.
Alleghany Arsenal.... Penn.... .Col. J. Symington.

Frankfort Arsenal ....Penn. ......Lieut. T. J. Treatwell.
Pikesville Arsenal....Maryland.
Washington Arsenal...D. C..... Lt. Col. G. D. Ramsay.
Fort Monroe Arsenal..Virginia......Lieut. T. G. Baylor.
St. Louis Arsenal... ...Missouri.....Capt. F.D. Callender.
Leavenworth Arsenal..Kansas...... Capt. J. McNutt.
Detroit Arsenal.. Michigan....
Benicia Arsenal.......California

...

Capt. J. McAllister. Projectiles.-A variety of projectiles have been devised for rifled guns, and introduced into the service of the army. Those made especially for the Parrott and Whitworth guns have already been noticed. The most promi