Part 20

The metal of which brass cannon is made, is in a manner kept a secret by the founders; yet, with all their art and secrecy, they have not hitherto found out a composition that will stand a hot engagement without melting, or at least being rendered useless. Those cast at Woolwich bid fair towards this amendment. The respective quantities which should enter into this composition, is a point not decided; every founder has his own proportions, which are peculiar to himself. The most common proportions of the ingredients are the following, viz. To 240lb. of metal fit for casting, they put 68lb. of copper, 52lb. of brass, and 12lb. of tin. To 4200lb. of metal fit for casting, the Germans put 3687³³⁄₄₁lb. of copper, 204¹³⁄₄₁lb. of brass, and 307³⁶⁄₄₁lb. of tin. Others again use 100lb. of copper, 6lb. of brass, and 9lb. of tin; and lastly, others 100lb. of copper, 10lb. of brass, and 15lb. of tin. With respect to iron guns, their structure is the same as that of the others, and they generally stand the most severe engagements, being frequently used on shipboard. Several experiments have taught that the Swedish iron guns are preferable to all others in Europe.

CANNON is now generally cast solid, and the cavity bored afterwards by a very curious machine for that purpose, where the gun is placed in a perpendicular position; but of late these machines have been made to bore horizontally, and much truer than those that bore in a vertical form. This new machine was first invented at Strasburg, and greatly improved by Mr. Verbruggen, a Dutchman, who was head founder at Woolwich, where probably the best horizontal boring machine in Europe has been lately fixed; it both bores the inside, and turns and polishes the outside at once. For length and weight of French and English cannon see GUNS.

_Names of the several Parts of a_ CANNON.

_The grand divisions exterior_, are as follows, viz.

_First re-inforce_, is that part of a gun next the breech, which is made stronger, to resist the force of powder.

_Second re-inforce._ This begins where the first ends, and is made something smaller than the first.

_The chace_, is the whole space from the trunnions to the muzzle.

_The muzzle_, properly so called, is the part from the muzzle astragal to the end of the piece.

_Small divisions exterior._

_The cascable_, the hindermost part of the breech, from the base-ring to the end of the button.

_The cascable-astragal_, is the diminishing part between the two breech mouldings.

_The neck of the cascable_, is the narrow space between the breech moulding and the button.

_The breech_, is the solid piece of metal behind, between the vent and the extremity of the base-ring, and which terminates the hind part of the gun, exclusive of the cascable.

_The breech-mouldings_, are the eminent parts, as squares or rounds, which serve only for ornaments to the piece, &c.

_The base-ring and ogee_, are ornamental mouldings; the latter is always in the shape of an S, taken from civil architecture, and used in guns, mortars, and howitzers.

_The vent-field_, is the part from the vent to the first re-inforce astragal.

_The vent-astragal and fillets_, are the mouldings and fillets at or near the vent.

_The charging cylinder_, is all the space from the chace-astragal to the muzzle-astragal.

_The first re-inforce ring and ogee_, is the ornament on the second re-inforce.

_The first re-inforce astragal_, is the ornament between the first and second reinforce.

_The chace-girdle_, is the ornament close to the trunnions.

_The trunnions_, are two solid cylindrical pieces of metal on every gun, which project from the piece, and by which it is supported upon its carriage as an axis.

_The dolphins_, are the two handles, placed on the second re-inforce ring of brass guns, resembling the fish of that name: they serve for mounting and dismounting the guns.

_The second re-inforce ring and ogee_, are the two ornaments joining the trunnions.

_The second re-inforce astragal_, is the moulding nearest the trunnions.

_The chase-astragal and fillets_, the two last-mentioned ornaments jointly.

_The muzzle-astragal and fillets_, the joint ornaments nearest the muzzle.

_The muzzle-mouldings_, the ornaments at the very muzzle of the piece.

_The swelling of the muzzle_, the projected part behind the muzzle-mouldings.

_Interior Parts._

_The mouth, or entrance of the bore_, is that part where both powder and ball are put in, or the hollow part which receives the charge.

_The vent_, in all kinds of fire-arms, is commonly called the touch-hole; it is a small hole pierced at the end, or near it, of the bore or chamber, to prime the piece with powder, or to introduce the tube, in order, when lighted, to set fire to the charge.

_The chamber_, which is only in large calibers, is the place where the powder is lodged, which forms the charge.

_Tools for loading and firing_ CANNON, are rammers, sponges, ladles, worms, hand-spikes, wedges, and screws.

_Coins_, or _Wedges_, to lay under the breech of the gun, in order to elevate or depress it.

_Hand-spikes_, serve to move and to lay the gun.

_Ladles_, serve to load the gun with loose powder.

_Rammers_, are cylinders of wood, whose diameter and _axis_ are equal to those of the shot: they serve to ram home the wads put upon the powder and shot.

_Sponge_, is fixed at the opposite end of the rammer, covered with lamb skin, and serves to clean the gun when fired.

_Screws_, are used to field-pieces, instead of coins, by which the gun is kept to the same elevation.

_Tools necessary for proving_ CANNON, are, a searcher with a reliever, and a searcher with one point.

_Searcher_, is an iron, hollow at one end to receive a wooden handle, and on the other end has from four to eight flat springs of about eight or ten inches long, pointed and turned outwards at the ends.

_The reliever_, is an iron flat ring, with a wooden handle, at right angles to it. When a gun is to be searched after it has been fired, this searcher is introduced; and turned every way, from end to end, and if there is any hole, the point of one or other of the springs gets into it, and remains till the reliever, passing round the handle of the searcher, and pressing the springs together, relieves it.

When there is any hole or roughness in the gun, the distance from the mouth is marked on the outside with chalk.

The other searcher has also a wooden handle, and a point at the fore end, of about an inch long, at right angles to the length: about this point is put some wax, mixed with tallow, which, when introduced into the hole or cavity, is pressed in, when the impression upon the wax gives the depth, and the length is known by the motion of the searcher backwards and forward: if the fissure be one ninth of an inch deep, the gun is rejected. See INSTRUMENTS.

N. B. The strength of gunpowder having been considerably increased by Col. Congreve, of the British Artillery, the quantity for service has been somewhat reduced. That for proof remaining as heretofore.

CANNON _Ball._ See BALLS.

CANNON _Shot._ See SHOT.

CANNONIER, a person who manages a gun. See GUNNER.

CANNON-_Baskets_. See GABIONS.

_To nail_ CANNON. See NAIL.

CANNONADE, in artillery, may be defined the application of artillery to the purposes of a land war, or the direction of its efforts against some distant object intended to be seized or destroyed, as the troops in battle, battery, fortress, or outwork.

_Cannonading_ is therefore used from a battery, to take, destroy, burn, or drive the enemy from the defences, &c. and to batter and ruin the works or fortified towns.

CANON-BIT, that part of the bit which is let into the horse’s mouth.

CANTEENS, in military articles, are tin vessels used by the soldiers on a march, &c. to carry water or other liquor in, each holds about 2 quarts.

CANTONMENTS are distinct situations, where the different parts of an army lie as near to each other as possible, and in the same manner as they encamp in the field. The chief reasons for cantoning an army are, first, when the campaign begins early; on which occasion, in cantoning your troops, two objects demand attention, viz. the military object, and that of subsistence: the second is, when an army has finished a siege early, the troops are allowed to repose till the fields produce forage for their subsistence: the third reason is, when the autumn proves rainy, and forage scarce, the troops are cantoned to protect them from the bad weather.

CANVAS-BAGS. See BAGS, _Sand_-BAGS, &c.

CAPARISON, under this term is included the bridle, saddle, and housing, of a military horse.

CAPITAINE _en pied_, _Fr._ an officer who is in actual pay and does duty.

CAPITAINE _reformé_, _Fr._ a reduced officer.

CAPITAINE _general des vivres_, _Fr._ the person who has the chief management and superintendance of military stores and provisions.

CAPITAINE _des portes_, _Fr._ a commissioned officer who resides in a garrison town, and whose sole duty is to receive the keys of the gates from the governor every morning, and to deliver them to him every night, at appointed hours.

CAPITAL, in fortification, is an imaginary line which divides any work into two equal and similar parts. It signifies also, a line drawn from the angle of a polygon to the point of the bastion, or from the point of the bastion to the middle of the gorge.

_To_ CAPITULATE, to surrender any place or body of troops to the enemy, on certain stipulated conditions.

CAPITULATION, in military affairs, implies the conditions on which the garrison of a place besieged agrees to deliver it up, &. This is likewise the last action, both in the attack and defence of a fortification, the conditions of which may be of various kinds, according to the different circumstances or situations in which the parties may be placed.

As soon as the capitulation is agreed on, and signed, hostages are generally delivered on both sides, for the exact performance of the articles; part of the place is delivered to the besiegers, and a day appointed for the garrison to evacuate the place. The usual and most honorable conditions are, with arms and baggage, drums beating and colors flying, matches lighted, and some pieces of artillery; waggons, and convoys for the baggage, sick and wounded, &c.

CAPONNIER, in fortification, is a passage made from one work to another, of 10 or 12 feet wide, and about five feet deep, covered on each side by a parapet, terminating in a glacis. Caponniers are sometimes covered with planks and earth. See FORTIFICATION.

CAPS, in gunnery, are pieces of leather, or more commonly sheep-skins, to cover the mouth of mortars when loaded, till they are fired, to prevent damps, or rain getting in.

CAP-_Squares_. See CARRIAGES.

CAP-A-PEE, in military antiquity, implies being clothed in armor from head to foot.

CAPSTERN, CAPSTAN, in military machines, signifies a strong massy piece of timber, in the form of a truncated cone, having its upper part, called the drum-head, pierced with a number of square holes, for receiving the levers. By turning it round, several actions may be performed that require an extraordinary power.

CAPTAIN is a military officer, who is commander of a troop of cavalry, or of a company of foot or artillery. The name of captain was the first term made use of to express the chief or _head_ (_caput_) of a company, troop, or body of men. He is both to march and fight at the head of his company. A captain of artillery and engineers ought to be master of the attack and defence of fortified places, and captains of infantry or cavalry should acquire some knowlege of those branches; artillerists should be good mathematicians, and understand the raising of all kinds of batteries, to open the trenches, to conduct the sap, to make mines and fougasses, and to calculate their charges. They ought further to be well acquainted with the power of artillery, the doctrine of the military projectile, and the laws of motion, together with the system of mechanics; and should be good draughtsmen. A captain has in most services the power of appointing his own serjeants and corporals, and may by his own authority reduce or break them; but he cannot punish a soldier with death, unless he revolts against him on duty.

The captains of artillery in the Prussian service, rank as majors in the army, and have an extraordinary pay, on account of the great qualifications demanded of them; and the captains of bombardiers, miners, and artificers, in the Portuguese service, have 9 dollars a month more than the captains of artillery in the same regiment.

CAPTAIN-_General_. The King is _captain-general_ of all the forces of Great Britain. This term implies the first rank, power, and authority in the British army. This power was delegated to the Duke of York, in 1799.

CAPTAIN-_Lieutenant_, the commanding officer of the colonel’s troop or company in the British army, in case the colonel is absent, or he gives up the command of it to him. He takes rank as full captain, by an order in 1772, and by a late regulation, succeeds to the first vacant troop or company; the price of a captain-lieutenancy being the same as that of a captaincy. This title is still used in foreign services.

CAPTAIN _reformed_, one who, upon a reduction of the forces, on the termination of war, loses his company, yet keeps his rank and pay, whether on duty or not.

CAPTAIN _on half pay_, is one who loses his company on the reduction of an army, and retires on half-pay, until seniority puts him into duty and full pay again.

CAPTAIN _en second_, or second captain, is one whose company has been broke, and who is joined to another, to serve under the captain of it.

In some armies the _captain en seconde_, is also a second captain to the same company, whose rank is above all the lieutenants, and below all the captains of the same corps.

CAPTURE _de deserteurs_, _Fr._ Under the old government of France, a particular order existed, by which every intendant de province or commissaire de guerre was authorised to pay one hundred livres, or twenty dollars, to any person or persons who should apprehend and secure a deserter; and three hundred livres, or seventy dollars for every man that could be proved to have enticed a soldier from the regular army or militia.

CAQUE _de poudre_, _Fr._ a term synonymous to a tun or barrel of powder.

CAR, in military antiquity, a kind of small carriage; figuratively, used by the poets for a chariot: it is mounted on wheels, representing a stately throne, used in triumphs and on other solemn occasions.

CARABINIERS, _Fr._ One complete regiment of carabineers was formed, during the monarchy of France, out of the different corps of cavalry. They were usually distributed among other bodies of troops, and it was their duty to charge the advanced posts of the enemy.

CARABINS, _Fr._ These were light-armed horsemen, who sometimes acted on foot. They were generally stationed in the out-posts, for the purpose of harrassing the enemy, defending narrow passes, &c. In action, they usually fought in front of the dragoons, or upon the wings of the first line. Their name is derived from the Arabian word _Karab_, which signifies, generally, any warlike instrument.

CARAVAN; _Caravanne_, _Fr._ from a Turkish word, which signifies, a troop of travellers, who go armed by sea or land.

CARBINE, in military affairs, is a fire-arm somewhat smaller than the firelock of the infantry, and used by the cavalry. It carries a ball of 24 in the pound: its barrel is three feet long, and the whole length, including the stock, 4 feet.

_Rifled_-CARBINES, are generally of the same dimensions with the above, and have their barrels rifled spirally from the breech to the mouth; so that when the ball, which is forced into it, is driven out again by the strength of the powder, it is lengthened about the breadth of a finger, and marked with the rifle of the bore. Fire-arms of this kind have a much greater range than any other, because the rifle of the barrel gives a spiral direction, instead of a rotatory direction to the ball, which by that means makes the greater resistance at the first inflammation of the powder, giving time for the whole charge to take fire, before the ball is out of the bore. These arms are used by horse-riflemen, the chasseurs, or light infantry.

CARBINEERS, or _Carabineers_. All regiments of light armed horse were formerly called so; but since the establishing of hussars and chasseurs, they have lost that denomination; and now all the cavalry are called carabineers, who carry the carabine.

CARACOLE, a semi-circular motion or half-wheel; chiefly applied to that used either by individuals or squadrons of cavalry, to prevent an enemy from discovering where they intend to make their attack.

CARBON, charcoal. It is the name in the new chemistry given to every body which has the properties or qualities of the carbonic acid or charcoal; impregnated in certain degrees, bodies are called _carbonates_. See AIGREMORE.

CARBONE. Pure charcoal is called carbone in the new chemical nomenclature. It is the black residuum of vegetables, which have suffered a complete decomposition of their volatile principles by fire. Charcoal is black, brittle, sonorous, and light. It is placed among simple bodies, because no experiment has hitherto shown the possibility of decomposing it. It exists in the animal, vegetable, and mineral regions. When it is required to procure carbone in a state of great purity, it must be dried by strong ignition in a closed vessel.

CARBONIC ACID. Carbonaceous acid. Fixed air. Mephitic gas. Aerial acid. The name of cretaceous acid appears to agree best with this substance, because it is contained in very large quantities in chalk; and there is no other body with which it has so strong an affinity, as with lime, which composes the base of this earthy salt. The carbonic acid possesses all the more obvious qualities of air, and exists in the atmosphere, of which it is a small part.

_Atmospheric air._ In 100 parts of atmospheric air there are 72 of azote, 27 of oxygene, and 1 of carbonic acid.

CARCASS, a composition of combustibles. Carcasses are of two sorts, oblong and round: the uncertain flight of the first sort has almost rendered them useless. They are prepared in the following manner: boil 12 or 15 lb. of pitch in a glazed earthen pot; mix with that 3 lb. of tallow, 30 lb. of powder, 6 lb. of salt-petre, and as many stopins as can be put in. Before the composition is cold, the carcass must be filled; to do which, smear your hands with oil or tallow, and fill the carcass 1-third full with the above composition; then put in loaded pieces of gun or pistol barrels, loaded grenades, and fill the intervals with composition; cover the whole over with coarse cloth, well sewed together, keeping it in a round form. Then put it into the carcass, having a hollow top and bottom, with bars running between them to hold them together, and composed of four slips of iron joined at top, and fixed at the bottom, at equal distances, to a piece of iron, which, together with the hoops, when filled, form a complete globular body. When quite finished and cold, the carcass must be steeped in melted pitch, and then instantly immerged in cold water. Lastly, bore three or four holes at top, and fill the same with fuze composition, covering the holes with pitch until used. Carcasses are thrown out of mortars, and weigh from 50 to 230 lb. according to the size of the mortars they are to be thrown out of. There are other carcasses for the sea-service, which differ from a shell only in the composition, and in the four holes from which it burns when fired.

CARCASSES were first used by the bishop of Munster, at the siege of Groll, in 1672, where the duke of Luxemburg commanded.

CARCASSES. Their dimensions and weight, 1796.

+------------------------------------+---------- | Weight. | +-----------+------------+-----------+---------- | | Of | |Time each Kinds. | Empty. |composition.| Complete. |will burn. --------------+-----------+------------+-----------+---------- _Round_ for |lb. oz. dr.| lb. oz. dr.|lb. oz. dr.| Min. | | | | Mortars 13|194 10 11| 18 14 --|213 8 16| 11 and 10| 89 13 11| 7 8 11| 97 6 11| 8¹⁄₂ How’rs. 8| 44 9 5| 4 4 11| 48 14 --| 5- 42| 27 3 --| 2 7 11| 29 10 11| 5 | | | | 32| 20 13 5| 1 14 5| 22 11 11| 4- Guns. 24| 14 12 --| 1 9 11| 16 5 11| 4 18| 11 13 11| 1 1 5| 12 15 --| 4 | | | | 68| -- -- --| -- -- --| | 42| 26 -- --| 2 7 --| 28 7 --| 4- Carronades. 32| 21 10 --| 1 13 --| 23 7 --| 4 24| 14 5 --| 2 5 --| 16 10 --| 3- 18| 10 4 --| 1 2 --| 11 6 --| 3 | | | | _Oblong_ for | | | | | | | | Mortars 10| 36 7 5| 35 10 --| 72 1 5| 12 and 8| 16 5 5| 18 2 --| 34 7 5| 10 How’rs. 5¹⁄₂| 1 12 2| 6 15 --| 8 11 3| 6 4-| 1 0 6| 3 11 7| 4 11 13| 4 +-------------+-----------+------------+-----------+----------

_Note._--It being found at the siege of Quebec, that the quantity of powder requisite for throwing the carcasses into the town, always destroyed them, the method of filling the interval between the powder and carcass with turf was adopted; and found to preserve the carcass, and to produce every desired effect.

CARIPI, a kind of cavalry in the Turkish army, which to the number of 1000 are not slaves, nor bred up in the seraglio, like the rest, but are generally Moors, or renegado Christians, who have obtained the rank of horse-guards to the Grand Seignior.

CARMINE, a bright scarlet color, which is used in plans of fortification, and serves to describe those lines that have mason work.

CAROUSAL, in military history, signifies a magnificent entertainment, exhibited by princes or other great personages, on some public occasion, consisting of cavalcades of gentlemen richly dressed and equipped, after the manner of the ancient cavaliers, divided into squadrons, meeting in some public place, and performing justs, tournaments, &c.

CARRIAGES, in military affairs, are of various kinds, viz.

_Garrison_-CARRIAGES, are those on which all sorts of garrison-pieces are mounted. They are made much shorter than field-carriages, and have generally iron trucks instead of wheels.

As the trucks of garrison-carriages are generally made of cast-iron, their axle-trees should have copper-clouts underneath, to diminish the friction of the iron against the wood. Travelling-carriages are in many respects very unfit for garrison service, though they are frequently used.

_Travelling_-CARRIAGES are such as guns are mounted on for sieges, and for the field; they are much longer, and differently constructed from garrison-carriages; having 4 wheels, 2 for the carriage, and 2 for the limber, which last are only used on marches.

_Field_-CARRIAGES are both shorter and lighter than those before-mentioned, bearing a proportion to the pieces mounted upon them.