Part 126
=Sligo.= A maritime county in the northwest of Ireland, and the province of Connaught. It formed part of the kingdom of Connaught previously to the arrival of the English, in the reign of Henry II. Subsequently it came into the possession of one of the family of the O’Connors, kings of Connaught, who was called O’Connor Sligo. After a protracted struggle between the natives and the English, it fell into the hands of the De Burgos, who either by force or treaties had made themselves masters of the greater part of the ancient kingdom of Connaught. It became the theatre of several conflicts in the war against O’Neil, chieftain of Tyrone, in the latter part of Elizabeth’s reign. The most remarkable of these was that with Sir Conyers Clifford, who in attempting to pass into the country from Roscommon with a body of from 1500 to 2000 men, in order to relieve Belleek, was attacked in a defile of the Curlew Mountains by O’Roark, chieftain of Breffney, was himself killed and his troops were driven back with considerable loss. During the civil wars of 1641, the Irish kept possession of the open country until nearly its close, when they were reduced to submission by the Parliamentary forces under Ireton. In the subsequent war of 1688 this country was held by the forces of King James for some time, but ultimately yielded to the victorious arms of William III. The French force which landed at Killalla under Gen. Humbert in 1798, had a severe skirmish at Coloony with the Limerick militia, commanded by Col. Vereker, afterwards Viscount Gort, which ended in the retreat of the latter.
=Sligo.= The chief town of the above county, and a seaport, situated on the mouth of the river Garrogue. In 1641, it was taken without opposition, by the Parliamentarians, under Sir Charles Coote, who was afterwards attacked by a force collected by the Roman Catholic archbishop of Tuam, which retreated in consequence of an alarm being spread that a large force was approaching to relieve the town. When retiring they were attacked by the Parliamentarian forces, the archbishop killed, and on his person was found the important document exposing the secret communications which took place between Charles I. and the Irish Catholics. Coote subsequently evacuated the town, which thence continued in possession of the royalists till the termination of the war. In 1688 it was taken for King William by the Enniskilleners, who, in turn, were driven out by Gen. Sarsfield; but the place ultimately surrendered to the Earl of Granard.
=Sling.= A weapon much in use before the introduction of fire-arms, consisted of a piece of leather, with a round hole in the middle, and two cords of about a yard in length. A round pebble being hung in the leather by cords, the latter were held firmly in the right hand, and swung rapidly round. When the stone had attained great speed, one string was disengaged, on which the stone flew off at a tangent, its initial velocity being the same as it had at the last moment of revolution. This velocity gives far greater range and force than could be imparted in mere throwing. The men who used this weapon were called _slingers_.
=Sling.= A leather strap attached to a musket, serving to support it across the soldier’s back, as occasion may require.
=Sling-cart.= See HAND SLING-CART.
=Slingers.= See SLING.
=Slope Arms.= A word of command in the British service, for placing the musket upon the shoulder with the butt advanced. In marches, soldiers are almost invariably permitted to slope arms.
=Slope, Interior.= See INTERIOR SLOPE.
=Slopes.= The approaches to the crest of heights are by slopes, which may be either gentle or steep. When these slopes are gentle, the fire from the crest can be made an effective one by reason of its “grazing action.” Especially will it be so with artillery fire when properly directed. When slopes are quite steep, the fire will be a plunging one, and will be apt to pass over the heads of the attacking troops. Especially will this be the case with the fire of artillery.
=Sloping Swords.= In the British service, is a position of the sword among cavalry, when the back of the blade rests on the hollow of the right shoulder, the hilt advanced.
=Slow Time.= The same as common time, by which troops on foot march at the rate of ninety steps per minute.
=Slow-match.= See LABORATORY STORES.
=Slugs.= Cylindrical or cubical pieces of metal, discharged from a gun.
=Slur-bow.= A species of cross-bow formerly used for discharging fire and arrows.
=Smalcald.= See SCHMALKALD, LEAGUE OF.
=Small-arms.= Are portable fire-arms known as muskets, rifles, carbines, pistols, etc., and were first invented about the middle of the 14th century. At first they consisted simply of a tube of iron or copper, fired from a stand or support. They were loaded with leaden balls, and were touched off by a lighted match held in the hand. They weighed from 25 to 75 pounds, and consequently two men were required to serve them. The difficulty of loading these weapons, and the uncertainty of their effects, as regards range and accuracy, prevented them from coming rapidly into use, and the cross-bow was for a long time retained as the principal projectile weapon for infantry. The difficulty of aiming hand-cannon, arising from their great weight, was in a measure overcome by making them shorter, and supporting them on a tripod, by means of trunnions which rested on forks. This arm was called an _arquebuse_ (which see). The next improvement in the arquebuse was to make it lighter, and inclose it in a piece of wood called the _stock_, the butt of which was pressed against the left shoulder, while the right hand applied the match to the vent. It was still very heavy, and in aiming, the muzzle rested in the crotch of a fork placed in the ground. To give steadiness to the aim while applying the match to the priming, a species of lock was next devised, which consisted of a lever holding at its extremity a lighted match. In firing, the lever was pressed down with the finger until the lighted end of the match touched the priming. This apparatus, known as the _serpentine_, continued in use until it was replaced by the _wheel-lock_, which was invented in Nuremburg, in 1517. (See WHEEL-LOCK.) The _petronel_ was a wheel-lock arquebuse of larger caliber and lighter weight than its predecessors. See PETRONEL.
_Musket._--The musket was first introduced by the Spaniards, under Charles V. The original caliber of the musket was such that 8 round bullets weighed a pound; the piece was, consequently, so heavy that it was necessary to fire it from a forked rest inserted in the ground. The size of the bore was finally reduced to 18 bullets to the pound; and from this arm was derived the late smooth-bored rifle.
_Rifle._--It is generally stated that the rifle was invented by Gaspard Zoller, of Vienna, and that it first made its appearance at a target-practice at Leipsic, in 1498. The first rifle-grooves were made parallel to the axis of the bore, for the purpose of diminishing the friction of loading forced or tightly-fitting bullets. It was accidentally discovered, however, that spiral grooves gave greater accuracy to the flight of the projectile, but the science of the day was unable to assign a reason for this superiority, and the form, number, and twist of the grooves depended on the caprice of individual gunmakers. About 1600, the rifle began to be used as a military weapon for firing spherical bullets. In 1729, it was found that good results could be attained by using oblong projectiles of elliptical form. The great difficulty, however, of loading the rifle, which was ordinarily accomplished by the blows of a mallet on a stout iron ramrod, prevented it from being generally used in regular warfare. The improvements which have been made of late years have entirely overcome this difficulty, and rifles have now superseded the smooth-bored arms.
_Muzzle-loading Guns._--The following are among the most prominent muzzle-loading guns in use prior to 1860:
_The Lancaster Elliptic Rifle._--So called, although the elliptical rifle is very old. The bore in this rifle is slightly oblate; the twist found, by experience, to be most advantageous is one turn in 52 inches, the approved diameter of the bore .498 inch, the length of the barrel being 32 inches. An eccentricity of .01 inch in half an inch is found sufficient to make the bullet spin on its axis to the extreme verge of its flight. The length of the bullet found to answer best with these rifles is 2¹⁄₄ diameters in length, with a windage of four- or five-thousandths of an inch.
_Nuthall’s Rifle._--In the ordinary mode of grooving rifles, sharp angles are left between the groove and “land” (those parts of the smooth-bore left in their original state after the process of grooving has been completed). These create great friction with the projectile, both in loading and discharging. Maj. Nuthall removes these objections by rounding off the “lands” into the grooves, that is, making them a series of convex and concave curves, the bore assuming a beautiful appearance to the eye, for the smoothness and evenness with which the lands and grooves blend into each other.
_Enfield Rifle._--This rifle has three grooves, taking one complete turn in 78 inches, firing a bullet resembling the Minié, except that a wooden cup was substituted for one of iron. Its diameter is .577 of an inch, its bullet weighs 530 grains, and ranges with great accuracy for 800 yards, and fairly up to 1100. There are also Gen. Boileau’s rifle, and some others which our space will not admit of our noticing. The extraordinary efficacy of the breech-loading principles, especially in combination, have, however, only been very prominent during the wars of the last few years, and notably in the Prussian campaign of 1864 against Denmark, and of 1866 against Austria. The successes of the Prussian arms were attributed in no small degree to the rapidity with which their troops could fire as compared with the enemy. They had in greater or less numbers borne these same rifles since 1835, but these were the first opportunities of using them in warfare. To all other powers, whose men still carried muzzle-loading rifles, and who had debated, without practical result, for years past the question of armament with breech-loaders, soldiers thus armed appeared irresistible. From July, 1866, to the present moment, the hammer and the anvil have been busy throughout the civilized world in making the weapons of death yet more deadly. Scarcely two countries seem to have adopted the same plan: each nation has elaborated a system from among its own inventors. Those possessing no great reserve of rifles have prepared new arms, but the majority of governments have been content, in the first instance, to convert their existing stock into needle-firing breech-loaders of as good a construction as circumstances would permit. The advantage of breech-loading is obvious: to be able to insert the charge at the head of the barrel instead of at its mouth, is to save time and avoid exposure to hostile fire during the operation of loading and ramming home, which of necessity involves considerable outstretching of the limbs. The great condition of success is, that the bullet shall be propelled with equal force and with equal safety to the rifleman, as from the muzzle-loader. When a charge is ignited the constituents of the gunpowder, assuming a gaseous condition under the heat engendered, expand into a volume of light gas many times greater in bulk than the powder before occupied. On the amount of this expansion, and its sudden action on the projectile, the force of the shot depends. Any joint in the breech-piece through which a portion of this gas can escape, without having imparted its thrust to the ball, tends, therefore, to lessen the range and penetration; while the shock of the explosion falling more severely on this than on any other part of the barrel, tends yet more to dislocate the breech-piece and diminish the closeness of the joint’s fit. In weapons which do not call for a long range, as revolvers and pistols, a perceptible interval is left between the chamber and barrel, through which much gas escapes; but in rifles, which have range and penetration as principal objects, there is _prima facie_ ground for preferring a muzzle-loader. The gas, however, is far from pure as generated in the barrel, for much water is produced and held in suspension, while there is also a solid residuum consisting of unburned materials of the powder. In the muzzle-loader, these clog (or, technically, foul) the barrel, filling the grooves and rendering the ramming home of succeeding charges more and more difficult. The effect is, that a solid mass of unburned matter is gradually forced by ramming into the head of the barrel, destroying the accuracy and usefulness of the weapon. In the breech-loader, this solid deposit must be provided against both ways. The backward throw on firing (for, of course, the charge explodes with equal power in every direction) tends to force it into the mechanism of the joints, preventing their proper fit, and continually augmenting the escape of gas. On the other hand, the deposit is prevented from accumulating in the barrel by the fact that succeeding charges are inserted behind it, and, by their explosion, force the solid matters out at the muzzle. Thus, in the matter of fouling, if the gases can be prevented from blocking up the breech-apparatus, the breech-loader has a great advantage over the muzzle-loader. This protection of the breech-apparatus is the problem which inventors have had to solve. The following are the most notable among breech-loading arms:
The American _Springfield_, model of 1873. The barrel is of “low steel,” caliber .45 inch, rifled with three concentric grooves of equal widths with the lands, and of the uniform depth of .005 of an inch, and uniform twist of one complete turn in 22 inches. The _lock-plate_ is 0.175 inch thick, and let in flush. The exterior metal-work is browned. An open swivel is attached to the upper band, for stacking arms, instead of locking bayonets, us heretofore; also a “trowel bayonet” and “intrenching tool.” Length of rifle-barrel including receiver, 36 inches; carbine, 25.4 inches. Length of rifle-bayonet, 18 inches; crook of stock, 2¹⁄₂ inches, and distance from butt to trigger, 13¹⁄₂ inches. Total length of rifle, without bayonet, 51.9; of carbine, 41.3 inches; weight of rifle without bayonet, 8.38 pounds; of carbine, 6.87 pounds. Trigger adjusted to pull at 6 to 8 pounds.
_Remington._--This is a magazine-gun, and belongs to that system in which a fixed chamber is closed by a bolt, by direct action, and in which the lock is concealed. The magazine is in the tip-stock, and carries 8 cartridges, which are brought into the chamber by the action of the trigger; the mechanism is so arranged that no more than one cartridge can enter the chamber at the same time. The magazine is loaded from below, and in any position of the bolt.
_Sharps._--See SHARPS RIFLE.
_Spencer._--A magazine-gun, holding 7 cartridges which are brought one by one into the chamber by a movement of the trigger-guard as a lever, which at the same time throws out the shell of the exploded cartridge. A new magazine can be inserted whenever the cartridges have been exhausted, or the magazine may be shut off and the rifle used as a single breech-loader.
_Winchester._--Same pattern as the Spencer.
_Snider Rifle._--So called from its inventor, the essential features of which are that the breech-block revolves around an axis on the right of and parallel to the axis of the bore, and the firing-pin passes obliquely from the nose of the hammer, through the breech-block, to the centre of the base of the cartridge. This was the first form of breech-loaders adopted by the British government, which in 1866 directed that the old Enfield muzzle-loaders should be altered to breech-loaders upon this system.
_Martini-Henry._--Adopted by the British government, has a breech-loading apparatus on the Martini system united to a barrel rifled on the system of Henry, a gunmaker of Scotland. Martini, a Swiss, derived his system of breech-loading from the Peabody system of the United States by dispensing with the independent outside lock and substituting therefor a spiral-spring firing-bolt or striker, inclosed in the breech-block; the number of grooves is seven; in shape they are flat at the bottom; the lands are narrow, having the appearance of sharp ribs, which are designed to take a firm hold of the bullet. It is understood that these grooves are made somewhat deeper at the breech than at the muzzle. The twist is one turn in 22 inches. There is a brass collar around the head of the ramrod to prevent injury to the bore in wiping out. The weight of the rifle is 8¹⁄₂ pounds; of bayonet 14¹⁄₂ ounces. The weight of rifle with bayonet attached 9 pounds 11 ounces.
_Mauser Rifle._--This rifle is used in Prussia, and is a modification of the Chassépot system, by which it is adapted to the use of the metallic gas-check cartridge. It was invented in 1871. The mechanism of this gun is much simpler than the needle-gun, and has a longer range.
_Chassépot Rifle._--The Chassépot rifle is used in France, and was introduced shortly after the Austro-Prussian war of 1866. In its principal features it resembled the Prussian needle-gun, inasmuch as the breech was closed with a sliding-bolt, and it fired a self-primed paper-case cartridge, which was ignited by a needle impelled by a spiral spring. Unlike the needle-gun, however, it was provided with a gas-check, which was of the form of a thick india-rubber disk or packing, attached to the end of the breech-bolt, and it possessed the modern improvements of reduced caliber and rapid twist of the rifle-grooves for obtaining great range and accuracy of fire. The Chassépot was the principal arm used by the French army during the German war. Since that time efforts have been made to adapt it to fire the modern metallic-case cartridge. The plan of alteration to this end adopted by the French authorities is that submitted by Capt. Gras of the French artillery committee. The length of the bore, including the chamber, is 32.28 inches; the length of the complete arm, without sabre-bayonet, is 50.8 inches; and with the bayonet it is about 72.0 inches. The weight with the bayonet is 10.3 pounds; without the bayonet, 8.9 pounds. The grooves are four in number, and of a width equal to that of the lands; the depth of the grooves is 0.0118 inch; the twist is one turn in 21.6 inches, and is from right to left instead of from left to right, according to the usual practice. The pull on the trigger is thought to disturb the aim by carrying the muzzle of the arm slightly to the right; the object of grooving the barrel to the left is to correct this disturbance by the drift which follows the direction of the twist. The initial velocity is stated to be 420 metres (about 1377 feet), and the effective range extends to 1700 yards, about one mile. The rapidity of fire is 15 times per minute. The Russian army is armed with two patterns of _Berdan_ breech-loaders. One lot of 30,000, in which the breech-block swings upward and forward, was manufactured by the Colt’s Patent Fire-Arms Company, Hartford, Conn., and a second lot of 30,000 on a sliding breech-bolt system made in Birmingham, England. The latter-named arm was adopted for the entire Russian army. The following are the principal dimensions: Diameter of bore (caliber), 0.42 inch; length of barrel, 30.43 inches; total length of arm without bayonet, 50.38 inches; length of arm with bayonet, 70.38 inches; number of grooves, 6; twist, one turn in 20 inches; weight of arm with bayonet, 9.75 pounds.
_Vetterlin Rifle._--Is a repeating rifle used in the Swiss service, and is a Swiss invention, the peculiarity of which is the union of a cartridge magazine with a sliding-bolt-breech system. The following are the principal dimensions: Caliber, 0.41 inch; number of grooves, 4; depth of grooves, 0.0086 inch; width of grooves, 0.0177 inch; twist of grooves, 26 inches; length of barrel, 33.14 inches; length of arm without bayonet, 51.18 inches; length of arm with bayonet, 70.08 inches; weight of arm without bayonet, 10.14 pounds; with bayonet, 11.02; weight of rifle with magazine filled, 12.12 pounds; initial velocity, 1341 feet.
_Werndl Rifle._--Adopted in the Austrian service in place of the alteration of Wanzl, is the invention of Joseph Werndl, a gun manufacturer of Styria, and is applied to muskets, carbines, and pistols. The breech-block in this system vibrates around an axis parallel to and below the axis of the bore prolonged to the rear of the chamber. The barrel of the musket is made of cast steel. Its length is 33.14 inches, including the chamber, which is 2.07 inches. Its weight is 3.83 pounds. The rifle-grooves are six in number, and their depth is 0.007 inch. The lands are 0.07 inch wide, and the grooves 0.15 inch. The twist is one turn in 28.5 inches. The total length of arm, including sabre-bayonet, 73.0 inches, while its weight, including the bayonet, is about 11.5 pounds; without the bayonet the length is 50.5 inches, and the weight 9.85 pounds. The barrel, bands, and sights are browned.
_Werder Rifle._--Adopted in 1869 for the Bavarian army, is the invention of J. L. Werder of Nuremberg, and is known as the Werder system. It belongs to the class of falling breech-blocks, of which the Peabody may be considered the exponent in this country. It differs, however, from this and most other guns of this class, as the breech-block is opened and closed by the hammer instead of the lever-guard, giving, as claimed, greater safety and ease of manipulation, especially when the soldier loads lying on the ground. The rifle-grooves are four in number, their depth is 0.0075, and twist is one turn in 22 inches. The diameter of the bore is 0.435; the length of the barrel, including chamber, but exclusive of breech-frame, is 35.0; the weight of the arm without bayonet, 9.75 pounds. The breech-loaders with and without the needle-arrangement are too numerous to mention, but the most notable are given above. See MAGAZINE GUNS, and LYMAN’S MULTI-CHARGE GUN.