Part 10 (1/2)

The gunner put his finger over the vent, and with his right hand turned the elevating screw to adjust the piece conveniently for loading. No. 3 picked up the rammer.

At the command _Sponge_, the men at the sponge pressed the tool against the bottom of the bore and gave it three turns from right to left, then three turns from left to right. Next the sponge was drawn, and while No. 1 exchanged it for No. 3's rammer, the No. 2 man took the cartridge from No. 4, and put it in the bore. He helped No. 1 push it home with the rammer, while No. 4 went for a ball and, if necessary, a wad.

_Ram!_ The men on the rammer drew it out an arm's length and rammed the cartridge with a single stroke. No. 2 took the ball from No. 4, while No. 1 threw out the rammer. With the ball in the bore, both men again manned the rammer to force the shot home and delivered a final single-stroke ram. No. 1 put the rammer back on its prop. The gunner stuck his pick into the vent to p.r.i.c.k open the powder bag.

The command _In battery_ was the signal for the cannoneers to man the handspikes again, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 working at the wheels and Nos. 5 and 6 guiding the trail as before. After successive _heaves_, the gunner halted the piece with the wheels touching the hurter--the timber laid at the foot of the parapet to stop the wheels.

_Point_ was the next order. No. 3, the man with the tube-pouch, got out his lanyard and hooked it to a primer. Nos. 5 and 6 put their handspikes under the trail, ready to move the gun right or left. The gunner went to the breech of the gun, removed his pick from the vent, and, sighting down the barrel, directed the spikemen: he would tap the right side of the breech, and No. 5 would heave on his handspike to inch the trail toward the left. A tap on the left side would move No.

6 in the opposite direction. Next, the gunner put the breech-sight (if he needed it) carefully on the chalk line of the base ring and ran the elevating screw to the proper elevation.

As soon as the gun was properly laid, the gunner said _Ready_ and signaled with both hands. He took the breech-sight off the gun and walked over to windward, where he could watch the effect of the shot.

Nos. 1 and 2 had the chocks, ready to block the wheels at the end of the recoil. No. 3 put the primer in the vent, uncoiled the lanyard and broke a full pace to the rear with his left foot. He stretched the lanyard, holding it in his right hand.

At _Fire!_ No. 3 gave a smart pull on the lanyard. The gun fired, the carriage recoiled, and Nos. 1 and 2 chocked the wheels. No. 3 rewound his lanyard, and the gunner, having watched the shot, returned to his post.

_The development of heavy ordnance through the ages is a subject with many fascinating ramifications, but this survey has of necessity been brief._ _It has only been possible to indicate the general pattern.

Most of the interesting details must await the publication of much larger volumes. It is hoped, however, that enough information has been included herein to enhance the enjoyment that comes from inspecting the great variety of cannon and projectiles that are to be seen throughout the National Park System._

GLOSSARY

Most technical phrases are explained in the text and ill.u.s.trations (see fig. 51). For convenient reference, however, some important words are defined below:

*Ballistics*--the science dealing with the motion of projectiles.

*Barbette carriage*--as used here, a traverse carriage on which a gun is mounted to fire over a parapet.

*Bomb, bombsh.e.l.l*--see projectiles.

Breechblock--a movable piece which closes the breech of a cannon.

*Caliber*--diameter of the bore; also used to express bore length. A 30-caliber gun has a bore length 30 times the diameter of the bore.

*Cartridge*--a bag or case holding a complete powder charge for the cannon, and in some instances also containing the projectile.

*Casemate carriage*--as used here, a traverse carriage in a fort gunroom (casemate). The gun fired through an embrasure or loophole in the wall of the room.

*Chamber*--the part of the bore which holds the propelling charge, especially when of different diameter than the rest of the bore; in chambered muzzle-loaders, the chamber diameter was smaller than that of the bore.

*Elevation*--the angle between the axis of a piece and the horizontal plane.

*Fuze*--a device to ignite the charge of a sh.e.l.l or other projectile.

*Grommet*--a rope ring used as a wad to hold a cannonball in place in the bore.

*Gun*--any firearm; in the limited sense, a long cannon with high muzzle velocity and flat trajectory.