frightful. This can be easily imagined. A fire-arm bullet can be shot
quite through a horse without causing the animal to show one sign of
anguish. He goes steadily on his previous course, and makes no sign.
However fatal of necessity, a fire-arm bullet gives no immediate pain.
Not so the arrow. Planted never so lightly in a horse’s neck or flank,
the animal grew furious. Starting off into a wild gallop to escape the
barbed sting, the animal had no respite for his agony. The wilder the
pace, the greater the pain. Far from the serried squadrons where he fain
would be, sore against his will, rushed the mail-clad knight. Plunging
and rearing, the steed would throw him at last, amidst the dead and
dying; himself to die.
Though comparatively few men or horses were killed by arrow wounds at
once, few, nevertheless, recovered. The barbed arrow-head was
immeasurably more dangerous, imbedded in the flesh, than a mere lump of
lead. Hundreds of men, hale and well to-day, have had fire-arm bullets
imbedded in their flesh for years. Not so in the time of archery. The
arrow-head must be extracted, or mortification came on, and soon a cruel
death. Neither was the surgical process of extraction often happy in the
results. It would not be easy to extract a barbed arrow-head even now,
with all the appliances of modern surgery at hand.
~Arrow wounds more fatal.~
Another fatal consequence of arrow wounds on the field of battle was
this: men wounded thus were rarely taken prisoners. Arrows were
expensive ammunition. The battle over, detachments were sent out to
collect them; and the collection was not done too tenderly. To regain an
arrow seemed a far more meritorious act than to save the life of an
enemy. The throat of many a wounded wretch was mercilessly cut, that he
might be quiet whilst the arrow was being extracted.
~Bows useless in wind.~
~In rain.~
The defects of archery were these:--the ammunition was expensive, and
when lost, not easily replaced. The flight of arrows is never correct on
a windy day, from whatever direction the wind may blow. Rain relaxes the
bow and bowstring, so that archery then is of little use. All these are
serious defects; but there was another of more importance still. When
the archer’s ammunition was all expended, he was nearly powerless. A
sword, indeed, he carried, for close fighting; and each archer stuck
into the ground before him a sharp pointed stake as a protection against
cavalry.
~Hand-gun most penetration.~
~Silent discharge in favor of bows.~
The great advantage of the hand-gun was from its penetration, as no
armour could keep out balls, but the _silent_ discharge of the cross-bow
rendered it superior in the pursuit of timid animals, and the prodd has
continued in use to the present day, for the purpose of killing deer,
rooks, and rabbits.
NOTE.--The articles on ancient Engines of War, and upon the Bow, are
principally taken from the following works, viz:--“Military
Antiquities,” by F. Grose, Esq.; “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient
Armour,” by Sir S. R. Meyrick; “Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe,”
by John Hewitt; “Projectile Weapons of War,” and “Report of the Rifle
Match at Wimbledon Common,” by J. Scoffern, M. B.; “Engines of War,”
by H. Wilkinson, and “The Long-Bow of the Past and the Rifle for the
Future,” by H. Britannicus.
HISTORY OF ARTILLERY.
~Fate of nations depends on arms.~
There is no subject more intimately connected with the history of the
world, from the remotest antiquity than the history of Arms, the fate of
nations having always depended either on the superiority of the Arms
employed, or on the superior discipline or dexterity of those who used
them, wholly independent of the numbers by which they were opposed.
~Artillery includes all war-engines.~
Before the introduction of gunpowder, all kinds of weapons, both
offensive and defensive, were included in the term “Artillery,” which
has since become restricted to the larger kinds of fire-arms, such as
guns, mortars, howitzers, rockets, &c. Thus we find in the I. Saml. xx.,
40, “And Jonathan gave his artillery to his lad,” when speaking of bows
and arrows. Again, in the 20th, Henry VIII., a patent was granted to
Anthony Knevt and Peter Mentas, “to be overseers of the science of
Artillery;” and in an enumeration of the different species of Artillery,
printed in 1594, are reckoned “long-bows, cross-bows, slur-bows,
stone-bows, scorpions, and catapultas.”
~Definition of Artillery.~
The root of the word “artillery,” is the Latin word “_ars_,” an “art.”
It has been fantastically derived from the Italian _arte di tirare_, the
art of firing. In the fourteenth century the science of war-engines was
called _artemonie_, and its productions _artillerie_, from the old
French word _artiller_, “to employ art.” Some writers state that the
word “artillery,” is derived from _arcus_ “a bow,” the earlier species
of artillery being termed _arcualia_.
~First invention unknown.~
~Names of gun--from old machines.~
It is difficult to determine with any degree of accuracy the epoch at
which gunpowder and its resultants, fire-arms, were first employed for
the purposes of war in any part of the world; and this difficulty is
increased, at least, as far as regards Europe, from the fact, that the
first engines of war, depending on the use of gunpowder, were named
after the old machines for throwing darts, stones, &c.
~First mention of guns.~
The earliest account which we have of gunpowder, where it is mentioned
as applied to fire-arms, exists in a code of Gentoo Laws, and is thought
by many to be coeval with the time of Moses. The notice occurs in the
Sanscrit preface to the Code of Gentoo Laws, translated by Halhed, at
page 53, viz:--“The Magistrate shall not make war with any deceitful
machine, or with poisoned weapons, or with _cannon or guns_, &c.” Halhed
observes: “It will no doubt strike the reader with wonder to find a
prohibition of fire-arms in records of such unfathomable antiquity, and
he will probably hence renew the suspicion, which has long been deemed
absurd, that Alexander the Great did absolutely meet with some weapons
of this kind in India, as a passage in Quintus Curtius seems to
ascertain.”
~Greek fire, earliest European combustible.~
~Gunpowder known before in China.~
~Chinese explosive shell.~
~Early Chinese cannon.~
The Greek fire seems to have been one of the earliest attempts in Europe
at the manufacture of a military combustible; but there is some reason
to believe that the Chinese had become acquainted with the nature of
gunpowder long before the introduction or invention of the aforenamed
substance; and they appear to have been the first who took any steps in
its manufacture, or in that of weapons of war resulting from its use.
Amongst the machines constructed by this extraordinary people, was one
called “the thunder of the earth,” which is thus described by M.
Reinaud; and M. Favé: “A hollow globe of iron was filled with a bucket
of gunpowder, mixed with fragments of metal, and was so arranged, that
it exploded on the approach of an enemy, so as to cause great
destruction in his ranks.” The “impetuous” dart of the Chinese, was a
round bamboo, about two and a half feet in length, lashed with hempen
cords to prevent its splitting, and having a strong wooden handle fixed
to one end, thus making its entire length about five feet. This was then
charged with powder of different kinds, arranged in layers, over which
were placed fire balls, which being thrown to a distance of thirty or
forty yards by the discharge, consumed any combustible materials they
might come in contact with.
~Guns in China, 618 B. C.~
A late writer, M. Paravey, has in a great measure established the fact,
that gunpowder and fire-arms were known to the Chinese long before the
Christian era; and it is mentioned in Chinese writings, that in the year
618 B. C., a gun was in use, bearing this inscription, “I hurl death to
the traitor, and extermination to the rebel.”
~A. D. 757.~
Guns are said to have been constructed in China, in 757 A. D., for the
purpose of throwing stones of the weight of from ten to fourteen pounds
to a distance of 300 paces. Whatever doubts may exist as to the earlier
history of artillery among the Chinese, it is almost beyond question,
that cannon were extensively used by them in the beginning of the 13th
century, as we have access to various reliable accounts, establishing
this fact.
~Artillery at Saragossa, A. D., 1118.~
~At Niebla, A. D., 1157.~
Condé, in his history of the Moors in Spain, states that artillery was
used by them against Saragossa in 1118 A. D., and that in 1157, A. D.
they defended themselves in Niebla, against the Spaniards, by means of
machines, which threw darts and stones, through the agency of fire.
~Used against the Moguls, A. D. 1232.~
In 1232 A. D. cannon throwing stone shot were used against the Moguls,
and during this war, certain machines were also employed, which being
filled with powder, and ignited at the proper time, burst with a noise
like thunder, and whose effect extended for the space of half an acre
round the spot where they exploded.
~Cannon bearing date 1258 found in France.~
A small brass cannon is said to have been found at the bottom of a deep
well of the Castle de Clucy, in France, with the date 1258 upon it.
~Cannon used against Cordova, A. D. 1280.~
~Iron shot, 14th century.~
In 1280 A. D., cannon were used against Cordova, after which period,
they are frequently mentioned in the records of Spain. Iron shot appear
to have been first used in that country in the beginning of the 14th
century.
~Cannon used by Arabians, 1312.~
Cannon are described by Arabian authors as early as 1312.
The first mention we have of the use of fire arms, after this period, is
in the life of Robert Bruce, by John Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen, in
which certain engines termed, “crakeys of war,” are spoken of, as having
been used by Edward III., in his campaign against the Scots, in 1327.
~Cannon in France, 1338.~
It is generally believed that cannon were commonly employed in Europe
since 1338, as they were used by the French in that year to demolish
some castles.
~Siege of Algesiras, 1342 to 1344.~
Gunpowder is said to have been used at the siege of Algesiras by
Alphonse of Castile against the Moors, 1342 to 1344.
~Cannon at Cressy, 1346.~
Edward III. had four guns at the battle of Cressy, 1346. Froissart
mentions these guns in one of his manuscripts, now preserved in the
library of Amiens. A free translation of the passage referred to would
run as follows: “And the English caused to fire suddenly certain guns
which they had in the battle, to astonish (or confound) the Genoese.”
Vilani, a Florentine historian, also confirms this statement, as well as
a passage in the chronicles of St. Denis, which speaks of the use of
cannon by the English at Cressy. An ancient manuscript also mentions the
existence of gunners and artillerymen, whom Edward III. employed when he
landed before Calais in 1346, and the several stipends each soldier
received. The sentence runs thus: “Masons, carpenters, engineers,
gunners, and artillerymen, the sum of 12, 10, 6, and 3 pence per diem.”
~Cannon of two kinds.~
~Used by the Black Prince, 1356.~
~At St. Valery, 1358.~
The first fire-arms appear to have consisted of two kinds; a larger one
for discharging stones, called a bombard, (plate 18, fig. 3) and a
smaller for propelling darts and leaden balls, both of which were used
in 1356, by the Black Prince, to reduce the castle of Romozantin; and
two years later, the artillery of St. Valery did great execution among
its besiegers.
~Cannon made in England, 1377~
Cannon were made in England in the fourteenth century, and Richard II.
commissioned Sir Thomas Norwich to buy two great and two small cannon in
London, or in any other place; and also 600 balls of stone for cannon
and for other engines, to be sent to the Castle of Bristol.
~Cannon at St. Malo.~
When the English unsuccessfully besieged St. Malo, 400 cannon are said
to have been used, but these are supposed to have been of the smaller
kind, called hand cannon, or culverins, which were carried by two men,
and fired from a kind of tripod or rest fixed in the ground.
~Cannon general.~
~Bombards made of iron.~
~Bronze.~
~Leather, rope, &c.~
~Wood.~
From this period, cannon were used in all the offensive and defensive
operations of war; though a considerable time elapsed before it became a
really serviceable arm for field operations. The earlier kinds of cannon
were called bombards or bombardæ. Those first employed were clumsy,
(plate 16) and ill contrived, wider at the mouth than at the chamber.
They merely consisted of bars of iron, arranged in such a manner that
their internal aspects should form a tube. The bars were not welded
together, but merely confined by hoops. They were also made of iron bars
over a cylinder of copper, strengthened by iron hoops, driven on red
hot, and others were entirely composed of copper. Bronze was also
employed in the manufacture of artillery, as well as thin sheets of iron
rolled together; and guns made of leather, and coiled rope, over a
cylinder of copper or gun metal, were also introduced, and continued in
use for a considerable time. Guns also appear to have been made of wood.
~Rope mortar at Venice.~
In the arsenal at Venice there is an ancient mortar, constructed of
leather and rope, used in the siege of the island of Chioggia, near
Venice, against the Genoese, 1380. The shot is of stone, 14in. in
diameter.
~Cannon of paper.~
It has been heard recently, that the Chinese constructed their cannon of
prepared paper, lined with copper.
~Field cannon to keep up with army, 1380.~
As early as 1380 it is said the French were able to procure for the
invasion of Italy, a great number of brass cannon, mounted on carriages,
and drawn by horses, instead of oxen; these pieces threw balls of from
40lbs. to 60lbs. in weight and could always keep pace with the army.
(Plate 18, fig. 1, 3, and 4.)
~Large cannon 1400.~
A cannon taken at the siege of Dien in 1546, by John de Castro, and now
in Lisbon, is 20 feet 7in. in length, 6 feet 3in. in diameter in the
middle, and threw a ball of 100lbs. A Hindostani inscription on it
states that it was cast in 1400.
~Bolts and quarrels shot, 1413.~
~Red-hot iron balls used at Cherbourg, 1418.~
~Slow to discharge.~
Bolts and quarrels were shot from cannon in the reign of Henry V.; these
were succeeded by stones, as he ordered in 1418, “labourers to make
7,000 stones for the guns of different sorts from the quarries of
Maidstone.” We learn from Elam’s life of Henry V., that when an English
army, commanded by the Duke of Gloucester, besieged Cherbourg in 1418,
the besieged discharged _red-hot_ balls of _iron_ from their cannon into
the English camp, to burn the huts. So much time elapsed between the
loading and discharging the great guns, that the besieged had sufficient
time to repair at their leisure, the breaches made by the enormous
stones, &c., thrown from them.
~Cannon at Meaux, 1422.~
Five wrought-iron bombards are preserved in the “Musée de l’Artillerie,”
at Paris; which were, it is said, abandoned by the English, at the town
of Meaux, in 1422.
~Cannon cast, 1450.~
About the middle of the fifteenth century, the ancient method of
constructing cannon was exchanged for that of casting. A hard or mixed
metal was invented called “font metal” or bronze, and cannon were then
cast in one piece, and instead of fanciful names, they began to be
indicated by the weight of their ball, as at present.
~Siege of Constantinople, 1453.~
~Small guns with several barrels.~
~Large brass gun, cast at Adrianople.~
At the siege of Constantinople, by Mahomet II., stones were thrown
weighing 1,200lbs.! The cannon employed could not be discharged more
than three or four times a day. This siege was distinguished by the
re-union of ancient and modern artillery; the small arms of the
Christians discharged five, or even ten balls at the same time, as large
as walnuts; and one piece made for the Turks, by Urban, a Dane, cast a
stone bullet weighing 600lbs., which could be discharged seven times a
day, but it ultimately burst. This gun was cast of brass at Adrianople,
of stupendous and almost incredible magnitude; twelve palms is assigned
to the bore. A vacant space before the palace was chosen for the first
experiment, but to prevent the sudden and mischievous effects of
astonishment and fear, a proclamation was issued that the cannon would
be discharged on the following day. The explosion was felt or heard in a
circuit of 100 furlongs, the ball was driven above a mile and buried
itself a fathom in the ground. A carriage of thirty waggons was linked
together to carry the gun along, and drawn by a team of sixty oxen; 200
men on both sides were stationed to poise or sustain the rolling weight,
250 workmen marched before it to smooth the way, and repair the bridges,
and near two months were employed in a laborious journey of 150 miles.
This enormous gun was flanked by two of almost equal magnitude, and
fourteen batteries, mounting 130 guns, were brought to bear upon the
place. The cannon were intermingled with machines for throwing stones
and darts.
~Artillery of Scots 1496.~
~Breech-loaders.~
The Scots had a kind of artillery peculiar to themselves, called “Carts
of War.” They are described in an Act of Parliament, thus “ilk Cart twa
gunnis and ilk ane to have twa Chalmers and an Cumrand man to shute
theme.” These were breech-loaders, and in 1471, the Barons were
commanded to provide such “Carts of War” against their old enemies the
English. (Plate 18, fig. 1.)
~Cannon named.~
It was not uncommon to give strange names to early cannon; thus Louis
XII. had twelve brass ones cast in 1503, of enormous size, which he
named after the twelve Peers of France; the Spaniards and Portugese
christened theirs after their Saints, and the Emperor Charles V. had
twelve when he went against Tunis, which he named after the Twelve
Apostles.
~Cause of improvements.~
~Iron balls in England, 15th century.~
As a knowledge of the art of gunnery increased, great improvements took
place with regard to projectiles; and balls of iron were substituted in
the place of those formed of stone, being introduced into England in the
sixteenth century.
~Iron guns cast.~
~Hand-culverines.~
~Organ-guns.~
Iron guns were not cast in this country until the year 1547, foreigners
being generally employed to manufacture them. Both Henry VII. and Henry
VIII. took great pains to introduce the art of gunnery into the kingdom;
and to this end, had a number of Flemish gunners in their daily pay; in
fact, it is said, that the latter monarch himself, invented small pieces
of artillery to defend his waggons. The earlier species of field
artillery, embraced among others, a small kind of ordnance called, “hand
cannon,” or culverins, which were so light and portable, that they could
be carried and served by two men; they were fired from a rest, placed on
the ground; also “ribandequins” or organ guns; these latter consisted of
a number of tubes, placed in a row, like those of an organ, and appear
to have been of French origin, as were many of the improvements which
took place about that period, including the invention of wall pieces,
throwing leaden balls of ten to the pound.
~Mortars, Henry VIII.~
~Shells.~
~Varieties of cannon.~
~Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket-pistol.~
For mortars we are indebted to workmen of Henry VIII. as “one Peter Bawd
and one Peter Vancollen, both the king’s feed men, devised and caused to
be made certain mortar pieces, being at the mouth from eleven to
nineteen inches wide, and also certain hollow shot of cast iron, to be
stuffed with fire-work or wild-fire, for to break in pieces the same
hollow shot.” And in the first year of Edward VI. the said Peter Bawd
did make ordnance of iron of divers forms, as fawconet, fawkons,
minions, sakers, &c. His servant, J. Johnson, did like make and cast
iron ordnance cleaner and to better perfection, to the great use of this
land. His son Thomas Johnson, in 1593, made forty two cast pieces of
great ordnance for the Earl of Cumberland, demi cannon, weighing
5,000lbs. or three tons the piece. At Dover there is a culverine,
presented to Queen Elizabeth, by the States General of Holland, and
called Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket-pistol. It is 24 feet long, diameter of
bore 4¹⁄₂ inches, weight of shot 12lbs.; it was manufactured in 1544,
and is mounted on an ornamented iron carriage made in 1827, at the Royal
Carriage Department, Woolwich Arsenal. (Plate 17, fig. 2.)
~Mons Meg.~
There is a large gun at Edinburgh Castle, called Mons Meg; it measures
about 13 feet 4 inches in length, the diameter of the bore is about 1
foot 6 inches; it has a chamber about 4 feet long and 6 inches in
diameter. (Plate 17, fig. 3.)
~Field-guns, 1554.~
The battle of Remi, in 1554, was the first action in which light field
guns, having limbers, were used,--these guns accompanied the cavalry.
~Red-hot shot, 1580.~
Pere Daniel says that red-hot iron shot were used by Marshal Matignan,
during the siege of la Fère, in 1580.
~Calibre, time of Queen Elizabeth.~
In a table of ordnance, given by Fosbrooke, as being a list of the guns
used in the time of Elizabeth, and immediately preceding her, we find
how little the calibres of iron guns have altered during the last two or
three centuries, as these guns have all their antitypes among those of
the present day.
~Origin of canister and grape.~
~Improved mode of loading, by Gustavus Adolphus.~
The beginning of the seventeenth century was an important epoch in the
history of artillery; and much attention was given to this branch of the
military profession, by Henry IV., of France, Maurice, of Nassau, and
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The former of these distinguished leaders,
introduced new and improved forms and kinds of missiles; such as tin
cases, filled with steel bolts or darts; canvas cartridges, containing
small balls, and hollow shot or shells, filled with combustible
materials. Gustavus Adolphus, introduced really serviceable field guns,
of a lighter construction than had hitherto been made use of, and he
also adopted the use of cartridges, with shot attached, so that these
pieces might be discharged eight times before the musket could be fired
six. It is said that he chiefly owed his victory at Leipzig, in 1631, to
guns made of leather and coiled rope, over a cylinder of copper or gun
metal. On the whole, the artillery of Gustavus was admirably organized;
and he was the first who appreciated the importance of causing artillery
to act in concentrated masses, a principle, now so fully recognized by
all artillerists.
~Bombs at sea.~
Bombs were first used at sea, by the French, in the bombardment of
Algiers, Oct. 28th, 1681, in the reign of Louis XIV.
~The largest gun.~
One of the largest cannon now existing is a brass one at Bejapoor,
called “Moolik-i-Meidan,” or “The Lord of the Plain.” It was cast in
commemoration of the capture of that place by the Emperor Alum Geer, in
1685. Its length is 14ft. 1in., diameter about 5ft. 8in., diameter of
bore, 2ft. 4in., interior length of bore, 10ft.; length of chamber
unknown; shape of gun nearly “cylindrical;” description of shot,
_stone_. An iron shot for this gun, of proper size, would weigh 1600lbs.
It is now lying in a dilapidated circular bastion on the left of the
principal gateway of the city. The trunnions are broken off, and there
is a ring on each side of it, as well as two Persian inscriptions on the
top. It is placed on three heavy beams of wood, packed round with large
stones. A number of _stone_ shot, of 2ft. 2in. in diameter, are
scattered about. This gun is said to be the heaviest piece of ordnance
in the world. It weighs about forty-two tons. An Italian of Otranto, who
served in the Mogul armies under the title of Renni Khan, had it in his
park of artillery, and used it at several battles, occasionally firing
sacks of copper coins out of it. (Plate 18, fig. 2.)
~Gun at Moorshedabad.~
There is a remarkable gun near the palace of the Nawab of Moorshedabad,
which measures 17ft. 8in. in length, 5ft. in circumference at the
smallest part near the muzzle, while it is only 6in. in the diameter of
the bore, and the foresight is at least four or five inches above the
muzzle. After the battle of Khallissie, which was fought about 25 miles
from here, it is supposed to have been buried under a tree. The tree,
having grown since then, has forced the gun above the ground about three
feet, where it now remains, partly encircled by the roots and trunk. It
has no name; the natives call it “the gun in the tree.” It is made of
cast iron, and is evidently of Indian manufacture, having Hindostanee
inscriptions engraved on it, but no date.
~Size and expense of cannon, 1688.~