United States Ordnance Department

“ When a vessel returns from a cruise to be refitted or repaired, or placed in ordinary, the Gunner, or person performing the duty of Gunner, is not to leave the ship, unless specially authorized by the Secretary of the Navy, until all the guns, powder, small arms, ammunition, and other articles under his charge, shall have been examined and surveyed, and turned over to his successor, or other person appointed to receive them, or to the Inspector of Ordnance, the receipt for which he shall show to the officer to whom he applies for leave. ”

“ At the termination of a cruise the guns composing the battery of every vessel-of-war of the United States, shall be carefully examined by the Ordnance Officer of the Yard, and such others as may be directed, with the view to discover and report any injuries which they may have sustained in service, or any defects which may not have been developed in the original proof. ”

“ In distributing the Petty Officers, Seamen, and others to the guns and other stations in the several divisions, it is desirable, as a general rule, that those stationed at the same gun or near each other at quarters, should be drawn from different stations for working ship; so that a great loss at any one gun may not fall too heavily on any watch station. ”

“ The system supposes that, beginning with the 2d Captain to take the place of the 1st Captain, the men are to be called to perform the duties of the latter in a regular succession agreeably to the way they are placed at the gun; i.e., after the 2d Captain, the 2d Train-tackleman is to do the duties of Gun Captain; and so on all round the gun. Each man is to fleet his position one remove or place, in a direction "with the sun," so that instead of the interchange of duties being confined to two individuals only, it is to extend to the whole gun's crew. ”

“ Of these articles the worm, scraper, sponge, and spare breechings [1] are to be becketed up between the beams and carlings on the gun-decks as far as practicable, and those which cannot be so placed will be kept at hand in the storeroom or other convenient place. A ladle is supplied for each calibre on board, and will be kept ready in such place as may be designated by the Executive Officer.
The above allowance of articles designated as "spare," including worm, scraper, sponge, and swabs, is upon the supposition that each division is composed of five guns and their opposites. ”

“ In all cases where the nature of the repair, modifications, or adjustment is beyond the scope or facilities of the unit, the responsible ordnance service should be informed so that trained personnel with suitable tools and equipment may be provided, or proper instructions issued. ”

“ In order, therefore, to insure the great advantage of rapid firing, officers are enjoined [59] frequently to exercise the crews in setting the cartridge, shot, and wad home together, in one motion, of such guns as may be loaded in this manner, without inconvenience. This is the case with all the guns, chambered as well as unchambered, excepting the 8-inch shell-gun of 63 cwt. of patterns earlier than 1851; it is not recommended, however, to practise simultaneous loading with guns of higher calibre, such as IX-inch and upwards, as nothing will be gained by it in point of time. ”

“ Officers on Ordnance duty will give no official opinion, to Inventors or others, upon the merits of any invention appertaining to Ordnance, which may be submitted to them officially or unofficially for examination, unless by special direction of the Bureau of Ordnance. ”

“ When the individuals of the guns' crews have become expert in the performance of their particular duties, then each man shall be instructed by the officer of his division, until he shall have become acquainted with the special duties of every station at the gun. ”

“ Should the alarm of fire be given when the men are not at Quarters, that alarm of itself is to be considered as a call to Quarters, and the men must repair to their stations at once. This must be impressed upon the men by the Division Officers. But the ordinary call for inspection is to be given as soon as practicable, by way of enforcing the order. ”

“ While the action is going on, the crew of a disabled gun are more usefully employed in replacing the killed and wounded. Furthermore, spare carriages are not so numerous as to permit this operation to be performed frequently. Nevertheless, each gun's crew should be thoroughly exercised, in order to develop their strength and skill.
508. The gun is to be run in, in the direction required to bring the muzzle under the housing-bolt, and the breech under the hole bored in the deck to receive the screw-bolt of the upper block of the breech-purchase. ”

“ If the gun is to leeward, the men stand ready to take hold of the Train-tackle and jerk the cannon into a taut breeching.
When sure of his aim the Gun Captain, who has held the lock-lanyard just taut, draws it promptly and firmly, bearing in mind that in no case is he to attempt moving from his post.
The 2d Captain stands ready with a primer, and, in the case of failure, throws back the hammer and inserts another. If necessary, serves the Vent. If a second failure occurs, it is a certain indication that the charge is not home. ”

“ Whenever this or any other order is given which requires all the men suddenly to leave the gun which they are working, they are not to do so until it is properly loaded, and well secured by hauling taut the side and train tackles, and hitching their falls around the straps of the inner blocks ”

“ They are, nevertheless, to be so laid as to prevent the possibility of mischief, even in the contingency of a shot or wad being left in any of them. Hard wads are not to be used in firing salutes, nor are port-fires. The guns are to be fired either with percussion or friction primers, as the Captain may prefer. These, when in good order, are not apt to fail if the lock-string be properly pulled; as, however, a slight deterioration may interfere with the regularity of salutes, the precaution of dropping a few grains of gunpowder into the vent will be found effectual. ”

“ Whenever the magazines or shell-rooms are opened, he is to take every precaution to guard against accident by fire; to examine particularly that all the men stationed in any way in or about the magazine, embracing all stationed within the magazine screen, put on the magazine dress and shoes, and on no account have any thing metallic about them, and that no improper articles are introduced. He will also see that all the articles required for sweeping and removing loose powder are at hand, and that those operations are performed before the magazine is closed. ”

“ This is accomplished by drilling the guns' crews separately, until each man has acquired some facility in his particular duties, and then selecting the most deficient for special instruction, combining them as a gun's crew, in order not to uselessly fatigue those who are already expert or readily acquire the drill. ”

“ No Inspecting Officer or person employed by the Bureau is to show to, or leave in the way of persons not authorized by the Bureau, any drawing, descriptions, or dimensions of guns under contract, nor to permit the examination by such persons of the guns themselves. ”

“ The 2d Captain passes the old breeching amidships, and the men resume their usual duties at the gun.
When there are more than six men at the gun, the 2d Sponger and 2d Loader, after securing the side-tackle falls, will assist to load the gun, and the additional men will assist in unshackling the old and shackling the new breeching, but one of these will do all the duties just assigned to the 1st Captain, so as not to interfere with his ordinary duties in loading.
SHIFTING TRUCKS.
241. The operation of shifting a truck can only be required when the gun is "run in" after firing. ”

“ Officers in charge of divisions of guns are required to make themselves thoroughly conversant with every particular relating to the equipment, exercise, and management of the guns, as set forth in these instructions, and especially to familiarize themselves with the charges prescribed and the ranges given in the Tables; the principles and practice of pointing guns under all circumstances, and also with every precaution connected with the use of shells, and of percussion and time fuzes. ”

“ When assembled for inspection, besides seeing that all the guns and articles belonging to them are in order and in place, it is directed that the men, without arms or implements, or casting loose the guns, shall be frequently called away and mustered in their stations as Boarders, Pikemen, Sail-trimmers, and Firemen ”

“ While at general quarters he will see that the men preserve their proper stations in silence, order, and coolness; and he will give particular attention to the sufficient and correct supply of powder and projectiles to the various divisions, and take care that in time of action, or of exercise with [30] powder, the passing-boxes, after being once taken out of the magazine, are not passed into it again, or even inside of the screen, during the whole of such action or exercise. ”

“ They will be careful, when instructing the men at quarters, to require a strict adherence to the prescribed mode of performing their duties, and to all the details of execution, in order that general uniformity and the efficiency dependent on it may be secured. ”

“ At the same time they will direct the most trustworthy of their men to perform any particular duty within their divisions which may tend to check the spreading of the fire, or furnish the means of extinguishing it. ”

“ They are not entitled, except the authorized aides and in some other particular cases, when ordered by the War Department, to additional allowances; but if they are foot officers, and are properly detailed for mounted duty, the quartermaster of the staff on which they serve is obligated to furnish them a horse and equipments. Divisions usually have an ordnance officer, whose duty it is to take charge of the ammunition of the division, keep the quantity ordered, and supply the troops in time of battle. ”

“ The Ordnance Bureau, at the head of which is the chief of ordnance, has charge of all matters relating to the manufacture, purchase, storage, and issue of all ordnance, arms, and munitions of war. The management of the arsenals and armories is conducted under its orders.
The present building, still used for the War Department, is utterly inadequate to its necessities. Already its Bureaus are scattered in several transient resting-places. In a few years they will be again concentrated in the magnificent structure now going up, for the combined use of the State, War and Navy Departments. ”

“ The projected army of 5,000,000 men required 11,000 trained officers to handle every phase of ordnance service. While a portion of this production would have to do with the manufacture of articles of a commercial type, such as automobiles, trucks, meat cans, mess equipment, and the like, yet the ratio of 97 to 11,000 gives an indication of the amount of ordnance knowledge possessed by the War Department at the outbreak of war as compared to what it would need to equip the first 5,000,000 men for battle. ”

“ A firing or skirmish line can take care of its front, but its flanks are especially vulnerable to modern firearms. The moral effect of flanking fire is as great as the physical effect. Hence, combat patrols to give warning or covering detachments to give security are indispensable on exposed flanks. This is equally true in attack or defense.
397. The fact that cavalry patrols are known to be posted in a certain direction does not relieve infantry commanders of the responsibility for reconnaissance and security.
To be surprised by an enemy at short range is an unpardonable offense. ”

“ There are no acting ordnance officers on duty in the field, and I learn on inquiry that the persons so designated are in reality merely employees of the Ordnance Bureau for the performance of ordnance duties in the field in the absence of legislation authorizing the appointment of officers. ”

“ Think only of what you have been ordered to do and how best you can handle your men to accomplish your mission, and at the same time save the men from any unnecessary hardships. Never use two or more men to do what one can do just as well, and don't let your men get beyond your control.
In addition to the signals prescribed in the Infantry Drill Regulations, the following should be clearly understood by the members of a patrol.
Enemy in sight in small numbers, hold rifle above the head horizontally; enemy in force, same proceeding, raising and lowering the rifle several times ”

“ The Ordnance Department itself has provided for the army 1,400,000 rifles, has brought the production of them up to 45,000 a week, or enough to equip three army divisions; has secured deliveries on 17,000 machine guns and brought the rate of production of them from 20,000 to 225,000 a year. It has increased the rate of production of field guns, heavy and light, from 1,500 to 15,000 a year, and is manufacturing 35,000 motor trucks and tractors to haul them and their ammunition. ”

“ When the outguards are established, the members of the support may stack arms and remove equipment except cartridge belts. No fires will be built or smoking permitted unless specially authorized, or no loud talking or other noise. All patrolling to the front will be done, as a rule, from the support. The support commander should locate the position of the adjacent supports und make arrangements with the commanders for the joint defense of the line of resistance. ”