F. A. Griffiths

“ The form of the work should be such as to contain the greatest surface with the least perimeter. By an adherence to this maxim, we obtain the greatest accommodation for the troops with the least labour. The form of a field work seldom depends upon choice, but generally upon the spot where it is to be raised, the purposes for which it is to be constructed, and the nature of the ground in the vicinity.
3. The interior of the work ought to be so covered by the parapet, that the men within, except when on the banquette, may not be seen from any part without, at the distance of cannon-shot. ”

“ By combining a number of pulleys, as many assistants are obtained as there are wheels: thus, two pulleys will have double the power of one, because half the weight is sustained by the frame to which one end of the cord is attached; but then it requires double the time to do the work. As the friction of the pulley is very great, particular attention must be paid that all the turns or kinks of a rope be taken out, before it is made use of, and it should enter easily into the grooves of the sheaves. ”

“ In all the mechanical powers, and their combinations, and in all machines, simple as well as compound, what is gained in power is lost in time or velocity; and vice versâ, or in other words, the product of the power, and the space through which it moves, is equal to the product of the weight, and the space through which it moves in the same plane. Suppose that a man, by means of a fixed pulley, raises a beam to the top of a house in two minutes, it is clear that he will be able to raise six beams in twelve minutes ”

“ However successful a naval attack of a fortress, or arsenal may be, the work of destruction can never be effectually accomplished by ships. The sea defences may be silenced, guns dismounted, parapets ruined, magazines blown up by mortar shells, and habitations devastated by the cruel process of bombardment ”

“ Therefore, shot which are of different weights, and impelled by the firing of different charges of powder, acquire velocities which are directly as the square roots of the charges of powder, and inversely as the square roots of the weights of the shot. By making use of shot of a heavier metal than iron (lead for instance) the momentum of the shot discharged with the same charge of powder would be increased in the ratio of the square root of the shot’s weight, which would both augment the force of the blow with which it would strike, and also the extent of the range. ”

“ When a horse has a large draught in a waggon, however, it is found useful to load his back to a certain extent, this prevents him from inclining so much forward as he would otherwise do, and consequently frees him from the fatigue of great muscular action. The best disposition of the traces in draught is when they are perpendicular to the collar; when the horse stands at ease, the traces are then inclined to the horizon, at an angle of about 15°; but when he leans forward to draw, the traces should then become nearly parallel to the road. ”

“ In addition to the stores, and side arms for the service of the gun, a heavy gun in the field requires men’s harness, and dragropes, a lifting jack, a set of intrenching tools, and three planks of a foot wide, and ten or twelve feet long. There should be a lever, and fulcrums, and prop, for every two guns; besides a gyn, rollers, tackles, and ropes for every four guns. The side arms, handspikes, and planks are strapped on the cheek; the gyn, rollers, tackles, &c., are carried on a platform waggon. ”

“ The perimeter of a work, and the number of men to defend it, should bear a just proportion to each other, one yard being allowed for each man, or for each file of men, according to the nature, and object of the work.
In calculating the area of enclosed field works, 10 square feet may generally be estimated for each man, and 324 square feet for each gun, and its stores. ”

“ Rockets may be of great use when a disembarkation of troops takes place in presence of an enemy, since Rocket men can land with the first party of Infantry, and commence firing before any guns can be brought into position. Rockets will not only be useful against masses of Cavalry, and squares of Infantry, but, when guns cannot be brought up, may be of material benefit in dislodging an enemy from villages or houses, which could not be approached by Infantry alone without a considerable loss of men, and chance of failure. ”

“ A horse requires at least four men besides the driver to sling him, one on each side, one at his breast, and one behind. One end of the sling is passed under his belly, and both ends made to meet over his back; one man passes his loop through the other, it is received by the man on the other side, who hauls it through, hooking the tackle to it, both men holding up the ends of the sling. The men at the breast and behind bring their ropes round, and make them fast to the grummets. The driver holds the horse’s head, and makes fast the guys to it. ”

“ Ricochet firing is the art of projecting shot, or shell, with a certain velocity, and in such a direction as to ensure its striking the ground at any spot that may be required; afterwards making several grazes upon the earth, and destroying, or striking all that may oppose its progress. The piece of ordnance is loaded with a diminished charge of powder, and the elevation is from 3° to 10°, which causes the shot to bound or hop along the ground. ”

“ After the explosive preparation is ready for use, the smallest portion explodes when struck on an anvil with a hammer, like fulminating-powder; when kindled with a glowing body, it takes fire just like gunpowder; and, when used in a gun, its operation, though in a far greater proportion to its weight, is similar to that of gunpowder. Gun cotton is employed in the same manner as gunpowder: a piece of it is rammed down the barrel, then a bit of wadding, and after that a ball; a copper cap ignites and explodes the cotton. ”

“ Guns are distinguished from each other by their metal, and weight of their shot.
A Gun is divided into five parts, which are named Cascable, First reinforce, Second reinforce, Chase, Muzzle.
The metal is made thicker towards the breech than at the muzzle, to strengthen the piece, for the elastic force of the Gunpowder is there greatest, and diminishes in power as the space it occupies is extended. The metal is made thinner towards the muzzle to make the gun lighter.
The Dispart is half the difference between the diameter of the Gun at the base ring and at the swell of the muzzle. ”

“ A battery marching by itself should always have an advanced guard. In a narrow road it should be considerably in front, to stop all carriages which might cause obstruction. In a hilly road, it should reconnoitre the top of every hill, and see that it is all clear before the guns come up.
5. Parties should always be sent out on each flank.
6. When an accident happens to a carriage, either on the march, or manœuvring, those in its rear should pass it on the most convenient flank, and fill up its interval. ”

“ The screw is a spiral thread or groove cut round a cylinder, and everywhere making the same angle with the length of it. The force of a power applied to turn a screw round is to the force with which it [297] presses upward, or downward, setting aside the friction, as the distance between two threads is to the circumference where the power is applied; or the advantage gained is as much as the circumference of a circle described by the handle of the winch exceeds the interval, or distance, between the spirals of the screw. Hence the force of any machine turned by a screw can readily be computed ”

“ Angles of defence should be right angles, or slightly obtuse. If less than right angles, the fire from the flanking works might injure the defenders of the works they flank; as troops generally, and more particularly at night, fire in a direction perpendicular to the parapet; and if too obtuse the fire might be directed wide of its object. Besides, embrazures should be cut as direct as possible; as the more they are oblique, the more they weaken the parapet. ”

“ In all close actions, the great object should be to strike as often as possible the enemy’s hull. One or two 24-lb. shot taking effect just below the water-line, and perhaps perforating both sides of a small vessel, will in general either force her to surrender, or send her to the bottom; and such an injury is much more likely to be occasioned by firing with a falling than with a rising side. ”

“ If the Rocket is to be used as a Shot-rocket, the only thing to be attended to, is to take care that there is no powder in the shells, and that the plug is secured in the plug-hole. If the rocket is to be used as a shell-rocket at the longest range, the plug is to be taken out, and the shell filled, the fuze left at its full length, and the plug replaced. If at the shortest range, the fuze is to be entirely bored through, and the rocket composition bored to within an inch and a half of the top of the cone in the 24 pounder rocket, and to within one inch in the 12, 6, and 3 pounder rockets. ”

“ When the water is deep, and the current strong, great attention must be paid in fording. The person conducting the column over a direct ford, should keep his eye steadily on an object on the opposite bank, which points out where the ford is: he must never look at the stream, which would deceive him, and would appear to carry him down, and he would endeavour to keep too high up the stream, and miss the ford.
3. All those in the rear should keep their eyes on those in front; every individual should wade rather against the stream, in order to resist its power. ”

“ One end of a rope is made fast to the weight which is to be moved, and is called the standing end. The other, called the running end, is passed two or three times round the lower part of the barrel, the loose or running end being kept above the turns, and stretched taught by the man who passed it round. As the barrel is turned, the standing end of the rope winds round it, forces the turns up the barrel, and clears itself. As fast as the running end comes off the barrel, it is coiled by a man appointed to that duty. ”

“ In the ricochet of a fortress, or field work, the elevation should seldom exceed 10° to throw the shot over the crest of the parapet; but in the field, the objects to be fired at being principally infantry, and cavalry, the guns need seldom be elevated above 3°; as, under greater angles, the shot would be apt to bound too high, thereby defeating its intended purpose. ”

“ When the fortress, or arsenal to be attacked is situated on a coast which may be approached from the open sea in any direction, steam-ships may avoid the danger of a direct attack, end-on, or oblique, by approaching the place on either, or perhaps on both sides; and, having gained the proper proximity, clear of raking, or diagonal fire, range quickly up in parallel order, to attack the place in line, or lines ”

“ When a clean hole is made by a shot penetrating an iron plate, the whole of the disc struck out by the shot is broken into numerous small pieces, which are driven into the ship with very destructive effects; and if the plate be so thick (viz., upwards of 4/8 of an inch) as to cause the shot to break on striking, the fragments will nevertheless pass into the ship, as in the case of a percussion, or concussion shell, and so produce a terrific compound effect by the fragments of both. ”

“ When Brass guns have been spiked, it would be advisable, a day or two before making the above experiment, to scratch round the spike with a graver, and pour a few drops of Sulphuric, or Nitric acid into the circle, which, being repeated, will find its way down between the spike and the metal, particularly if the former is not perfectly round. When the gun cannot be unspiked by the above-mentioned operations, make a large fire round the breech to soften the spike, and after the gun has been gradually cooled, the spike may generally be removed by using the drill. ”