| From the Richmond Examiner |
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| September 20, 1861 |
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| Another New Cannon |
| The Galveston Civilian
has the following account of an artillery improvement claimed by a
railroad officer of Texas; |
| The other day we witnessed the
experiment of a small breech-loading gun, invented by Mr. Nichols, the
superintendent of the G. H. and H. railroad
{Galveston, Houston & Henderson RR}. The gun is four feet long,
with a base of one and a forth inches diameter, rifled, the metal
wrought iron. This small gun was mounted on a small carriage, and taken,
with twenty or thirty persons invited to be present, on the cars to the
railroad bridge, over the bay. A part of the company were left on the
cars, at the further end of the bridge, a short distance from the
target, while the rest of the company remained with the gun at this end.
We should remark that the gun is a self-priming, the ball weighing one
pound, of conical shape, like the Minie ball, and the charge of powder
three ounces. The target was on the bay, one and three-fourths miles
distant, and 450 yards from Virginia Point. Mr. R. K. Hartley kept a
memorandum of each shot. The first shot struck the opposite shore, in
line, distance two miles; the second fell short of the target 100 yards,
the third 125, the fourth 225, the fifth 50, the sixth went beyond the
target 100 yards, the seventh 300, the eighth 125, the ninth 150, the
tenth 50, eleventh and twelfth fell short about 150 yards, the
thirteenth passed over Virginia Point, falling into the bayou on the
other side, distance two and a half miles. |
| The remaining shots were at
various elevations of from 12 to 19 degrees, several of the balls
falling entirely out of sight, and some striking the water at distances
estimated by the company at three, three and a half, and four miles. |
| On the return of the cars,
four shots were fired at the wreck of a vessel, distance estimated at
one and a quarter miles. Three struck about twenty or thirty feet to the
left of the hull, and one struck the hull. We should remark that the
first ten shots were with an elevation of five degrees. |
| Those who witnessed this
trial, some of whom are good judges in such matters, expressed the
opinion that a gun of this construction, large enough to carry a 6 pound
ball, will have a range of four to six miles with great accuracy. We
hope Mr. Nichols will meet with encouragement to construct a gun on the
same principal, carrying a much larger ball. The present was merely
intended as an experiment. |
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