Show A destructive araron it seems a paradox but it is nevertheless a fact that the more deadly and destructive war is made the greater the economy of human life the more certain the missle the fewer the number on the death roll gunpowder with musketry and cannon destroyed the use of defensive armor yet battles are now gained with less loss of life than in the days of the long bow crossbow cross bow and the deadly hand band to hand encounter these considerations must be our excuse on the ground of humanity and true patri patriotism otisa for calling most forcibly the attention of government to a very important implement of warfare we do zo so the more earnestly as aa we believe it will afford ut us a means of improving our coast defense i the failure of the lancaster shell makes it doubtful if we succeed in manufacturing rifle cannon whether they could lie be applied to anything any thing but the pia propulsion of round shot to increase the deadly nature of our round shot with inith the same instrument we divided ar our shot into parts or contrived to burst it into fragments among our adversaries seeing that we cannot rifle our cannon because of the mass of metal meal we have to deal with sir charles shaw the author of the invention which we now proceed to describe purposes to do vide our cannon itself as well as the shot ile he replaces the field piece can non or howitzer by a row of rifle bar aels twenty five in number these aw accurately placed on the same level each barrel diverging slightly from tho the central and so that the volley of rifle bullets discharged by the barrels will cover a width of about five yards at to ai distance of beigh hundred yards sir charles shaws infernal machine placed on wheels and made far lighter and far more manageable than a brass nine gun this implement may therefore be regarded as a rifled cannon divided into twenty five fire portions as destructive as grape or canister shot at yards ards the shell at yards ards with its deadly aim airo extended as far as the rifle can reach conceive a battery of horse bosa artillery with four of sir C shaws infernal machines substituted for their guns luns the rifle battery is is equal in in effect to 25 rifles deliberately aimed not from a mans shoulder but from a fixed rest it is no exaggeration therefore to regard one rifle battery manned by three riflemen as a fair equivalent for a company of soldiers firing from the ranks london news |