The press. (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1857-1880, November 15, 1862, Image 1

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V. FORNEY.
Si/iH fourth min.
~C* 'T yTTTTTRRS*,
f“ * vs» W***> W Bl to ,ha o *" l **'
|o S^" tofthe OUy “ 811
POI.UM MB Ini* MO«S3,
;J , si* Mosths—4av«l»Mr la •»*
pß * ss>
oat of the OUT * MB Don-
hU. l " ialTßnst -
JOBWERB^
tij | o^TMNB° N , & o°.,
-uSKK OF MARKET AND
If. STREETS,
)( , m tton ot Cash Buyers to
* i stools of
GOODS, SHAWLS, ETO.
IP 30 y.osANSOS. J.O BOMOABDNSa,
W-Btili &00..
;’ 0 CHESTNUT STREET,
5 HABBX.iI 8LO0K,)
, s . a iKE NEW STOCK
■' or
, 5 j SILKS, from Auction,
L (JOODS in great variety,
JJia, GLOVES,
id, TRIMMING-B, &«., &c.,
llW fcwo
J ai sso «XoLtrsiv»i.r roa oass,
,< * »hi • '
'' OKBAP PBXOEB.
Of olty ana ooanhry buyer* U Invited.
all 1862
WIEST, & ERVIN,
ihfortess and jobbers
l) r¥ aOODB.
~ ,»SIB THIRD mill,
r*cmsiii.r*iA.
.mu (lilting this city to purchase D*T
Hoods will find our Stock large
u d admirably assorted, and at
Lo» Figu**«. In certain classes
of Goods we offer inducements to
ms aneqaaUed by any other house in
Bel6 - 2m
[{oB. MELLOR. & Go,
litHß IRQ GERMAN IMPORTERS,
„ iSD (J SOBTH THIRD BTBBRT.
OSIERY, GLOVES.
Vtrta and Drawers, 4-4 Linens.
mj Woolons, Linen 0. Hdkfa,
kaufacturers of Shirt Fronts.
jit ____
I FAL h .
jftN&a, r»xax%x»'ar. '"i-
<fcj»swn to Abbott, Johns* A 00.,}
liUn. nm *3* OOMMUBOI STBpiTS,
UPOBTIBS iffl) JOBBIBJ OS
HII. K
SMISOCIH FOXTBIH STBMT. ; v
.1 T. DELACROIX,
r.;« 4q iifsiiteMtcm of bis stoofc of Carpetings, In
:4 !i'j bt fossil
w PCS. BRTJBBELS CARPETINGS,
i ; « Itia }ts«nt coat of Importation. _ •- . -n-inm vtt
to.M }lmm extra Imperial, ttwee-»l7. roperfine, [ WHOLBBALB AND B
-a. KJ b* grade Ingrain, Venetian, Hall, and ;
'Csjsttogiat retail, very low for oaßh. noB 2m |
BCH-BTBEET CARPET WARE- !
soosa. ___ 1
OLDDEN & BIOKNEB,
Ho. 332 ABOH STBBET,
WO DDQS3 BELOW NINTH fITBEBT,
SOOTH SIDB,
»«»ttMliblthel» „„„
FAIIi IMBOBTATIOHS OF __
TOJBBIOH" AND DOMBBTIO
CARPETINGS, onrnrmTT fcWIL
ill tho now sUlw, which they lure oflerinf »t | MuiTAET CIOTHISG as KUOKMUjU # .TIW
*r.fa LOW ■ pBIOTB TOB HASH. . 1
DRUGS AND CHEMICALS.
'OBERT SHOEMAKER Besides being thoroughly acquainted with
& CO.,
! niwi Oora« FOURTH and RACE Sfcmtl,
PHILADELPHIA,
WHOLESALE DRUGGIBTB,
ISPOSTBEB AND DBALKBB
fOHEISN AND DOMESTIC
'UiDQW AND PLATE GLASS,
KWOPIOTD*B*S Of
f WTB LEAD AND ZINC PAINTS, PUTTY, *O.
twm fox THE OBLBBKATIH
?renoh zinc paints.
Ud coaißmen ia#*H'#d al'
mu %RY wy} PRICES for cash.
looking glasses.
J^iiTi^jiTsoS
®lttß fAOTOBNBS AND IMFOBTEM
looking glasses.
OIL PAINTINGS,
nai bngbavings,
AND POBTBAIT TBAHBK,
FHOTOGBAPH TBAHES,
PBOTOOBAPH ALBUMS,
UiilTia-DB-VIBITB POBTBAITi.
®AaLE-s GALLERIES.
119 CHESTNUT STREET,
MtLAsnrHU.
Batches and jewelry.
ELI HOLDEN, jfe
AHDMPOBTKD watches,
Sta.. . JIWELBY, AHD CHOCKS, ■'
708 MABKBT Btrert.
A AMERICAN WATCHES,
®°LD AND SILVER CASES.
„.£OB. H. WATSON,
So. 398 OHSSTHTJT ItrM.
Watches, jewelry, &©*■
A**®® ASSORTMENT, at LESS
la 4H fobmeb peioeb.
outfit, FABB a bbot BBS, Importer*,.
>Y„, Btt OHBBTNUT Street, below Fourth.
Minting, Neat and Cheap,
BBOWH’B) IU B. »OUBT3
VOL. 6.-NO. 90.
READY-MADE CLOTHING.
TTERY DESIRABLE
V Iff STYLE AND PBIOK,
Suitable for the season.
fWEROOATS AND
\J BUSINESS SUITS,
In great variety.
WANAMAKER & BROWN,
POPULAR CLOTHING HOUSE,
OAK HALL,
S. E. CORNER SIXTH AND MARKET STS.
SPECIAL^DEPARTMENT
FOB OUSTOMBB WBBK.
no3-tj»l
JUNE READY-MADE CLOTHING.
a. SOMERS & SON,
No. 625 CHESTNUT STREET,
UNDER JAYNE’S HAUL,
Have non made ay for sale an entire new stock of
FINE CLOTHING.
Also, a foil assortment of CLOTHS, OASSIMEEBB, and
VESTINGS, which they reepectfally Invite the pubUo to
examine botore purchasing elsewhere. se27tde3l
QLARK’S;
ONE DOLLAR BTOEE,
602 CHESTNUT STREET.
Silver-plated Ware, Jewelry, Photograph Albums,
Travelling Bags. Pocket Books, Port Uonnaies, Oabas,
Ac., for SO to 100 per oent less than the regular prices
The following is a partial list of articles which we sell
at ONE DOLL All EAOH. The same goods are sold at
other places from $2 to 88 each : *
YOTJB CHOICE FOB ONE DOLLAR !
Ladies' Sets, new and beautiful styles,
Do. Pins,
Do. Ear Bings,
Do. Sleeve Buttons,
Do. Guard Chain,
Do. Heck do
Do. Gold Thimbles,
Do. Finger Bings,
Do. Pencils,
Do. Pens with case,
Do. Bracelets,
Do. Medallions,
Do. Charms, .
Do. Pearl Port Monnales,
Do. Morocco do.
Do. Wire do do.
Do. Purses, - f ■ ■ . ■ ■ ■
Do. Card Cases.
Infant’s Armlets,
Do. Heck Chains.
Benia* Vest Chains, different stylos,
Do. Sleeve Buttons, do. do.
Do. Stnds, do. do.
Do. Plus, . do. do.
Do. Scarf Fins, do. do.
Do. Scarf Bings, do. do.
"Do. Finger Bings, do. do.
Do. Pen and Case,
Do. Pencil, revolving,
Do. Tooth Pich, de.
Do, Watch Keys,
Do, Ohalu Hooks,
Do. Chain Charms,
Do. -Biii-ntKMgr l - - • —————
Do. Port MouuaJea.
BILVEB PLATED W ABE.
YOKE CHOICE FOB ONE DOLLAB 1
Setts of Table Spoons,
Do, Dessert do.
Do. Tea do. j
Do. Forks,
Pair Butter Knives,
• Do Napkin Bings,
Knife and Fork,
Goblets,
Onpß,
Sugar Bowls,
Cream Cups,
Syrup Cups,
Butter Dishes,
. Caators with Bottleß,
YOUlf CHOICE’OF ANY OF THE ABOVE AE
TIOLES FOB ONE DOLLAB.
1863.
NOTIIE. In order io meet the wants of our iffimer
ous customers, we shall keep a Btock
andaU Gold Jewelry, together with an assortment oi
heavy plated Sliver Ware, and a variety of J- h ® t l
Albums and Fancy Goods, which we will sell at Prices
which will defy competition. Ladles and Gentlemen ore
invited to call and examine our stock. Every ot.ontioa
ONE DOLLAB STOBE,
cell 2m 802 CHESTNUT Street.
IJIHE ABMI!
SWORDS, RIFLES,
PISTOLS, BELTS, A®.
No. 13 NORTH SIXTH STREET,
IDE-SPREAD REPUTATION.
S There Is no house in the United States that
has as wide-spread reputation foT getting up
SON’S, Nos. 603 and 606 Chestnut street.
the business, they are prompt to fill all orders
at moderate prices, and always have a laugh
kook oi MarrAii Good* oh baud.
t. snodgrass,
army, navy, and civil
CLOTH HOUSE,
No. 34 SOUTH SECOND STREET, and
No. 23 STRAWBERRY STREET.
I am rally prepared for the
FALL AND WIN TUB CAMPAIGN,
Having just received a complete atsortment of
TRUE BLTJES,
Of all shades and grades from ,*1.12t0 $B.OO,
Blnee, Black*, and Fancy Bearers, from 200 to 7.60.
Bine and Black Kioto ISO to 6 00.
Moscow Beaver* 3.76 to 7.00.
JCKWimeoxßeaver*.. 3.7 F to 8 00.
Tricot Beaver*.. f!8 W
Fancy Coating* 176 " “ 00 -
CLOTHS* all colors aad prl«i. Also* a heavy stock
of«S OASBIMEBES, PLAIN and FANOT YBL
VBTS, Ac.. &o. " .... .
jIALL STOCK
BILK AND FANCY DRESS GOODS.
A. W. LITTLE & 06,
*e36-2rn Ho. 32* MABKHT BT.
gf-ym THE FINEST ASSORT-
R jf.ft * MKNT of new, modem,-and durable PI
World-renowned HKLODXOBB anl
haumOHIUMB, tor caah, at a great reduction, or I*
JAMBS B*LLAK,K9«ri
gTSontb FIFTH Street, above Sptuoa. “*■*"»*
STATIONERY & FANCY GOODS.
HO. 1036 WALNUT STBBIT,
WWW M^mnwni'
Un-tulr
n w. BLAKISTON, NO., 22
■WT« Booth WATEB Street,
Dealer in Ohio and Ultooie BBOOM OTBH*
DI.ICS, WiB*,TWIKB,*e. oou-ea
O.ENTLEMEN’B
V3T WINTER CLOTHING,
MILITARY GOODS.
MILITARY CLOTHING.
CLOTHS AND CASSIMERES.
SILK AND DRESS ROODS.
PIANOS.
tTy (M\ .
■f/;| t fxn 5 .
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1862.
INVENTIONS.'OF'THE WAR. “
AMERICAN AND ENGLISH AP.Trtr.ERV —THE PRO
GRESS WE HAVE MADE—SEW LOCOMOTIVE AND
SUBMARINE BATTERIES —IMPROVED EXPLOSIVES
AND PROJECTILES. .
Below we present a statement of some of the
principal experiments and improvements in the
soienoeof gunnery, which have been elicited by the
present war. To show the Comparative progress of
the nation in this branch of knowledge, we likewise
present some accounts of experiments with ord
nance,’made in England during the past eighteen
months. The description of the process by which
guns of heavy calibre are oast and proved will
have an interest oven to unscientific readers. Al
though compelled by our limited space to omit
inuoh that would be pertinent, the following arti
cle will convey an accurate idea of what we have
learned in military science since the rebellien be
gan, and how far we have developed the resources
that “ Hod and Nature have put into our hands
CASTING AND PROVING GUNS— EXPERIMENTS
During the past year a company in Portland have
oast upwards of fifty eleven-inch Dahlgren guns
for the United States navy. These guns will throw
a solid shot of 185 pounds, or a shell weighing ISO
pounds.; They are oast solid, and afterward turned
and bored by machinery, but are not rifled. Sev
enteen tons of iron are required for each gun, and
to fuse this mass it takes-about 4j tons of ooal, and
ooeupies from three and a half to four hours. The
process of casting has thus been described: In the
first place, six numbers or varieties of iron are
used, and after the metal is /used it takes some
time to “ bring up” the mixture to the required
standard—in other words, it has to ba “ cooked,"
during which operation the whole mass is boiling,
seething, and hissing in the furnace, and the work
men occasionally stir it with long iron rods. From
the furnaoe a spout extends to the mould, a distance
of some twenty or twenty-five feet. The mould is
like a well, some fifteen feet deep, and the liquid
iron enters it, by side feeders, at the bottom. At
the proper moment the fireman taps the furnace,
and out gushes the lava-like fluid. Down it comes,
hissing and sparkling, filling the spout, and throw
ing up brilliant sparks in showers. Nov it is run
ning down to the bottom of the mould ; steadily
flows the molten river for five minutes, and it is
done—the well is full of liquid iron, which, after
cooling two weeks, will be taken out a solid mas 3,
like a log, weighing seventeen tons. The gun has
then to be turned and bored. When finished, it is
about thirteen and a half feet in length.
Many hundreds of Parrott guns have been cart;
during the year, at tjie Parrott foundry near West
Point, which employs five hundicd hands. After
casting in the manner above described, they are
transferred to the turning platform, where they are
out down to the proper diameter, after which they
present the appearance of highly polished steel.
They are next bored out and passed into the hands
of the rifler. . The process of rifling is by a simple
gouge working so as to give the proper t wist. ; One
groove is made at a time. The gun now passes into
the shop to receive its wrought iron band. This
surrounds the breech, and is about one-fifth the
length of the cannon. Itism de of a wrought iron
bar, varying from two to six incheß square, accord
ing to the calibre. This bar is heated to a white
heat, and then twisted into a spiral and welded into
a cylindrical mass by a powerful trip hammer. The
.diameter of the band is little less than that of the
breech of the gun. It is made red hot, and while
expanded fixed upon the breech of the gun, whore
it shrinks firmly into its place, and forms almost a
solid portion of the cannon. At the distance of
toree miles 200-pound shot can he thrown so as to
fall within the space of twenty feet square. The
initial velocity of the ball is twelve hundred feet
per seoond. and the whole distance is accomplished
in about seventeen seconds. :
The power of the 100-pounder Parrott has besn
tested upon wrought iron plates, thicker than the
-armor of the Monitor. At a distance of fifty feet
a plate eight and a half inches thick, incited at an
~ancle.of_twenty degrees, was broken through the
have been seft to" variooiriOT-™.-—-i-o;. Widtud
of the army—lo, 24.100, and 200 pounders, with
others of intermediate calibre. It was a 200-pound
Parrott gun which caused the evacuation of fork
town, and the retreat of Beauregard from Corinth.
The first fifteen-inch gnn used on any vessel was
cast at the Fort Pitt works for the Monitor battery
Passaic, launched some months ago. As it is
somewhat of a monster, it may he worth while to
gfafc it 3 diuifcssionß
Maximum diameter - -
Minimum (rough) -
Minimum (finished) *
Bore - ■ - - ■
Length of gun 13 feet T inches
Pounds ,
Weight of rough casting - - -68 000
Weight of finished gun ... 42.000
Weight of solid shot:, - - - - “0
Weight of shell - - - ' *
Maximum of service charge of powder
Xtoseguns are of the Dahlgren pattern. A new
foundry has been built expressly for their easting.
The mould is placed equidistant between two fur-
Egors, thus simplifying the labor materially.
the process of proving one of these guns has been
thus described:
The 11- inch and 9 inch navy guns are taken out
on the ordinary platform ears,, and r. n out on the
snitch beneath a stout “overhead railway” by
meaßßof which they are transferred, when swung
up by screws, to the proper position for firing the
regu'ar proof of ten service charges. In order to
sustain tbqenormous weight of the 15-inch guns, it
has been necessary to rebuild the entire frame in
the most substantial manner, and set up a “ trian
gle” of massive proportions. This triangle is formed
by the framing together of two sets of • timbers in
the shape of triangles, upon the apex of which a
massive cross timber rests on semi-circular bearings,
Brora this cross timber depend the heavy rods by
Which the gun is supported—two encircling the
trnnions, and the other pair, much lighter, em
bracing the breech and supporting its prepondera
ting weight. The first three loads to be fired are
proof charges, composed of fifty pounds of Rod
man’s mammoth- grain’d powder and shells of three
hundred and fit teen pounds. As the firing of such
an enormous load is a very severe test, the utmost
anxiety was felt as the lanyard was pulled and the
gun discharged. The report which followed was
by no means as heavy as might-have been expected.
The =hell struck, the ground a short distanoe in
front of the muzzle, glanced up slightly, and pass
ing through an immense pile of dirt in the “ bul
lock pen,” buried itself in the hill beyond. The
recoE was tremendous—in the second round break
ing a detective breech-rod, and bringing the trial
for the day to a summary conclusion.
A muzzle-loading gun of 120 pounds calibre,
made upon a principle which combines Armstrong’s
1 “ coE” with Whitworth’s “ hexagonal rifling,” has
been tried at Shoeburyness. The target was a
built-up section of .the Warrior's side, with 4i-iuch
iron plates, 18 inches of teak backing, and an inner
lihin® of iron of five-eighths of an inch. It is
stated, however, that the plates were of inferior
metal to that used In previous experiments. Against
this target, at a range of 600 yards, was fired a solid
hexagonal shot of 129 .pounds weight. . It struck
the shield close to the spot at which it was aimed,
a bright sheet of flame marking the concussion,
iust, we are told, as if a gun had been fired in
reply. It then passed straight through the iron
plates and remained fixed in the teak, causing the
inner skin to bulge and rend in many places, so as
to cause a leak which nothing could stop in an
actual vessel. The trial was deemed conclusive of
the effect of these flat-fronted shot upon iron-plated
shiPß. But the experiment with sheU was still
more extraordinary in its results. One of these
tremendous missiles, loaded with 3 lbs. S oz. of
powder, and weighing 131 lbs., went completely
through the whole target, bursting, apparently, on
striking the inner lining, and sending its fragments
like a storm of hail right over what would have
been the main deck of the Warrior.
A Mr. Ritner, of Indiana, has made some novel
experiments in gunnery. He holds thefidea. that
penetration is due to momentum, and thus that a
leaden shot will pierce iron or steel armor when
iron shot will not. After being refused attention
at the ordnance office Governor Morton furnished
Mr. Ritner the means for experiments. The result
was, that a ten-pound conical leaden ball, at long
range, with a light charge of passed
through a target plated with two iron slabs, each
one inch in thickness. A rotary motion is given to
the shot by a contrivance which is so simple as to
do away with the Jameß and Hotchkiss mode.
An India-rubber patch is put down upon the chirge.
that, by expansion, fills the grooves of the. gun,
and communicates a spiral motion, as in the James
projectile.
An experiment with the Armstrong 300-pounder
gun was thus reported in an English journal some
weeks ago : “ The 300-pounder Armstrong gun was,
on Monday, again used at Shoeburyness, against
iron plates, at a range of 200 yards. The target
presented a portion, of the side of the new class of
steam frigates The arm* is Si inches thick, in
• toad of 4i, as in the Warrior, but the thickness of
the teak backing is reduced from 18 inches to 9.
For the first three trials the shot was of cast iron,
,nd the charge 50 poundß, as usual. No. 1 struck
and pierced the centre plate, damaging but not
passing through the inner skin and framing. No. 2
struck : the upper plate, and went completely
through armor, timber, and skin. No. 3 was di
-eeted against the lower plate, like No. 2,
oc3o- m
PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 15, 1862.
passed quite through the target. At the fourth
round the gun gave way , the breech being blown
backwards to a distance of 30 or 40 yards. The
gun did not break into fragments, and no one was
hurt.
H. F. Mann, Esq., lndiana, has in
vented a breeoh-loading eight-pounder rifled gun.
It is made of steel, about six feet in length, three
inch bore, and requires three-fourths of a pound, of
powder to throw a projectile of eight pounds. Wo
" understand that its range and accuracy were tested
at the Washington Navy Yard,,and. found to be all
right.
The following, from an English paper, is an ac
count of some recent experiments in that oountry:
'• The experiments at Shoßburyness continue, by
way of proving that the offensive power of rifled
artillery, of the newest and most approved kind, is
greater than the resisting properties of the obstacles
hitherto to them. This has been clearly
demonstrated by Mr. Whitworth’s guns and pro
jectiles, by Sir .William Armstrong’s, and, finally,
by the great monster gun presented to the Govern
ment by Messrs. Horsfall, of Liverpool. The shot
from this last enormous weapon penetrated a target
thicker than the thickest plates which can, con
sistently with safety," be put into war ships.
Hitherto the belief has been that shells could not
pierce two-inch iron plates, and, acting on this as
sumption, the Danish, Prussian, and Russian Gov
ernments have constructed gunboats for their
respective countries. Mr. Whitworth’s rifled can
non has, however, shown that the idea is altogether
erroneous.”
The Horsfall gun has also bees experimented;
with in England. The gun is said to be capable of
throwing a 300-pound spherical shot. The target
constructed for the occasion was a mass of four and
a half inch armor plates, bolted to eighteen inches
of solid teak, in beams of nine inches thick, laid,
transversely. The distance from the gun to the
target was two hundred yards. The first shot was
fired with a charge of 75' pounds of powder and a’
270 pound shot. The result of this discharge was
sufficient to render all further experiments unne
cessary. The shot smashed a clear hole through the
armor plate andtimber backing, piercing the target
through and through. i
KOVEL DESCRIPTIONS OF FIRE-ARMS.
An Albanian has invented a new gun for light
field use and guerilla warfare. It is breech-load
ing. simple, and throws a pound ball. The prin
ciple cud be applied safely, it is alleged, to guns of
larger calibre. The breech extends about eighteen
inches beyond the fuse hole. In this solid exten
sion is cut a groove, in range with the bore of the
gun In.this groove plies an iron plunger, which
forms the ramrod and stop. It can be loaded and
fired easily in four seconds, and can bo drawn arid
worked by two men.
A revolving gun has been talked of by Cincin
nati papers which will discharge from one hundred
aid ninety to two hundred shots per minute. The
construction is exceedingly simple. Six rifle bar
rels, of; the size and calibre of the Springfield rifl •,
are placed in a circular frame of solid iron, in
which are also placed the locks and springs which
produce the explosion. The regulation cartridge
of 58 100 calibre is loaded into a cast-steel chamber
some three inches long and capped.- These cham
bers, to the number of fifty, are placed in a hop
per, from whence, they fallone by one into cavities
prepared for them at the rear of the barrel in the
same iron frame. A rotary motion is Imparted by
a crank, attached to mitred gearing fixed in the
breach, and the fifty charges are discharged in six
teen seconds, or at the irate of one hundred and
ninety or two hundred per minute. Several hun
dred chambers are attached to each gun ( and as the
attendants can load them as fast as they are fired,
thousands of shots can be made without any neces
sity of intermission. - .
Tbe>Scie?;(y?c American said some months ago,
Mr. Thompson, a German, has brought to our office
a musket with a barrel six’ feet long, and without
any lock, which is designed to receive forty charges
at the same time, to be fired in succession," one after
another, by fuses running through the bullets.. A
fuse extends from the upper charge to. the muzzle,
and .when the soldier is ready to commence bis fire,
he lights his fuse and then has nothing further to
do than to aim his piece at one enemy after another,
the gun keeping up thp fire till the whole forty
charges are exhausted. The time between the
discharges is regulated at will in the construction of
the fuses whioh pass through the bullets, and ex
perience has shown*that about two seconds is the
proper time, to permit a careful aim to be taken.
Thus, thirty shots may be fired in a minute, a’l with
accurate aim. ’ ,
A coffee-mill gun” has been invented by a..
will throw from^sixtya
steel
meter of about five eighths of an inch,' and
This barrel fits at the breeoh into an open socket,
which com ects with a revolving wheel whose peri
phery is grooved or fluted by a series of chambers
to receive the cartridge cases, which drop from a
hopper above into their places as the wheel re
volves. These cartridge cases are independent
chambers of steel, which are prepared or “loaded”
beforehand. Each chamber, by the revolutions of
the wheel, is brought into position so'as to form, a
oartof the barrel, precisely like the chambers in a
revolving pistol, and is at that moment discharged.
It is then thrown out by the onward motion of the
wheel ana another Jakes its place. In the • early
part of the war some of these guns were furnished,
through the instrumentality of Governor Dennison,
to several Ohio regiments. Two of them were at
the battle of Fort Donelaon, but were not brought
into action. T
According to the London Timet two. of Mr. Lan
casters cast-iron guns, strengthened upon his im
proved system, have been severely tested in the
bombproof cell in Woolwich Arsenal, with a view
of ascertaining their utmost amount of durability.
The improvement consists in the gun being Pclad
throughout with longitudinal layers or bars o
wrought iron, hooped over with rings of the same
metal. The test is stated to have been exceedingly
satisfactory. One of the guns has so far resisted
every effort to burst it. The second only gave way
at the breech after having been fired several rounds
loaded to the muzzle. .. ; .
The Spencer.breech-loading rifle, recently in
vented by a gentleman of Boston, is claimed to bo
the best breech-loading rifle in use. The butt of
the gun is perforated, and by means, of a spiral
spring a succession of eight cartridges are in turn
supplied so rapidly that eight charges havo been
jßred in ten seconds. The magazine can be reSilecr
in less time than is required to load an ordinary
rifle. No cap is required, a metallic cartridge being
used with a conical ball; the cartridge also contain
ing the fulminating powder, which exerts its full
force to assist in projecting the ball, thus reducing
materially the amount of powder required. The
extreme range of the gun ia one mile. It is effec
tive for ordinary purposes of warfare at a distance
of 300 yards, or half a mile ; and in the hands of
an experienced shot certain to hit an object the size
of a man 400 yards off, or one-fourth of a mile.
Fifty cartridges weighless than four pounds, so that
it will be seen that a man can carry a large amount
j of ammunition. They are perfectly watervoof,
! and can be safely carried anywhere. ":
Inches.
-48
- 88
- 2Si
- 15
IMPROVED EXPLOSIVES.
A new gunpowder was tried, at the late h'rankfor
shooting-feast, apparently with success. Its merits
are a lower price, a less weight, a more effectual
action than the general powder, to which a more
important merit is added-that after thirty shots jt
left the barrel as clean as it was Jbefore’firiftg. Its
color is yellowish brown, it is granular, and looks
like decayed wood ground small. The inventor is
a Prussian artillery oaptain in Spandati, and his
invention is being tested by the Prussian Govern
ment . ; . , J \ , ,»
We hear a great deal of a white gunpU,rder. fil,
Pohl, a German chemist, stated, in dhe London,
Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical
for Jnlv, that prussiate of potash 20 parts, sugar
23 and chlorate'of potash 49 parts, make good
white gunpowder. In exploding this powder, 100
parts ot it yielded 4T.44 of gaseous produots and,
52 56 solid residue. Ordinarily black gunpowder
furnishes only 31.3 S of gaseous products and 68.08
of solid residue. The efficacy of gunpowder is
measured by tbo gases whiob are produced from it
by explosion, An equal weight of --whits gunpow
der will produce 1.67 times the explosive effect of
the black. In order to obtain the same effect on
projectiles and in mines, only 60 parts of white
powder will be required for 100 parts of the com
mon kind. The residue of the white being as 31.53
to 68 of the black, it is more cleanly, while the
heat generated when it is ignited is much lower,
A Mr. Hudson, in a communication in the C/n
-mical News, however, states that he made several
samples according to M. Pohl’s receipts, and found
that when he mixed the materials moist, then dried
them at 150 deg. Pah., the powder was very liable
to explode with friction—it was indeed percussion
powder This was not the case when they were
mixed dry. He says: “A cannon loaded with
white gunpowder goes off on the application of
few drops of sulphuric acid applied at the touch
hole, The property of this gunpowder may possi
bly be applied to some advantage in the prepara
tion of bomb-shells for long ranges. These shells
would not explode until they strike the object, if
filled with white powder, and contain a smdl glass
vessel:with sulphuric acid. No explosion of the
shell would tak® place in the air, as is too often the
ca «e with the ordinary fuse shell.”
' But what matters it whether gunpowder be
brown, black, or white, when chemistry threatens to
supersede it altogether? We read in an oxohange
j that the latest explosive material consists of the
! flo u r 0 f starch, which, boiled in a peculiar way with
j nitric acid, possesses, it is said, a far pro
; tactile. force than the gunpowder of ordinary use.
! It is probably somewhat similar to gun cotton.
The bombardment of Fort Pulaski has demon
strated that we have the best projectile m the world
lor reducing atone or brick fortifications, in -hotl-
peoJkctii.es.
vention of the late-lamented Gen. James. All can
non may be rifled for the use of the James projec
tile, which is of an elongated shape, and therefore
much heavier than a round shot, and the leading
feature of whioh is the ingenious method in which
the rotation is secured,or the manner by which it
is made to follow the spiral grooves as it passes
along the bore of a rifle piece. Various plans have
been tried to a'tain this end, and there are differ
ent projoctiles known as the Parrott, Hotohkiss, and
Sawyer; but the James is said to be the best. The
expanding part of this projectile consists of a holy
low formed in the base of.tho projectile; and open
ings from this hollow to the surface for thei passage
of gas when tho piece is fired, whioh;expands,and
drives into the grooves of the bore an envelope or
patch, made of tin, canvas, and lead, surrounding
and fastened to the projectile. This sends it along
the grooves, givtog it the rotary motion, and ena
bling an accuracy of aim to be reached which can
be attained by no olhor jrojectile.
The Washington correspondent of a New York
journal wrote as follows last Ma'y : “ There is now
on exhibition here one of the James shot by whioh
the walls of Fort Pulaski were battered down.
Adhering to it are portions of the brick and mortar
of the walla. A private letter, written by the
officer who forwarded tho relic, says this shot bored"
through a massive brick wall, and ground up the
material like powder. The rebels called those shot
cartwheels, and .-said they didn’t oare for the othed
shot and shell: but when these damned cartwheels!
--* ■ ■-• . *.*■-•. -y. *.i
came whistling along they had to surrender. Bri
gadier General Gilmore, tho engineer officer to
whom w'as entrusted the honor of reducing Pulaski,;
in bis offioial} report makes especial mention of
James’ projectile, and says: ‘No better piece for
breaching can bo desired than the 42-pounder
■James.'”-.. . .. ;
it is a notorious fact that the penetration of pro-:
jectiles is directly as their weight, while it is as the
square jof their velocity. 'That is to say, Arm
strong’s 150 pound ball/going at-1770 feet per se
cond, has abouttwice the penetrating power of the
425-pound 15-inch ball at 800 feet," It is a ques
tion of velocity; - and velocity means powder; and
powder-requires enormous strength of gun.. To
this end European experiments are tending, while,
if we mistake apt, a" leading question with us is,
how to obtain the best , results with small charges,
because our guns can’t stand large ones. We re
member that file Monitor was not permitted to fire
wrougbt-iron shot at the Merrimac because they:
would bring a greater strain on her ordnance, and
that her charge of powder for an 11 inch gnu, with
hollow shot, was 10 pounds. It is, however, argued
that heavy projectiles, at low veloeit'es, have im
mense smashing ipower, a-d the probabilities are
certainly in that direction. Bet armor heavily
backed with elasjic material possesses the very ele
ments of resistance to great weights at low veloci
ties—time to yield.
Experiments have been made-in England with a:
"Whitworth 12-pounder field- piece and a 70-pounder I
naval gun, in order to test the penetration of Whit- j
worth’s flat-fronted hardened shells against armor,
plates; The first trial was made with the 12-pounder,
Which sent its fiat-fronted solid shot completely i
through an iron plate 24 inches thick—ho slight re-1!
suit, when jre consider the lightness of the projec- 3
tile. The next-trial waspnade rrith shell, fired from
the same rifled 12-pounder, against a targetjrf 2- 1
inch armor plates, with a backing of oak beams
nearly a foot in thickness. The shell, with a burst
ing charge of 1 lb. 4 oz. of powder, passed through
both plate and backing, and buried itself beyond.
The next, with a charge of 1 lb. 11 oz. of powder,
alEo passed, through the plate, but burst in and
shattered the timber-backing behind.
This result, unexpected as it was, was surpassed
by that. obtained with the 70-pounder gun, when
fired with shell against a stronger target. This
target was constructed of armor plates bolted" upon
an oak frame nine inches thick, attached by a side
framing to a- back'bf oak*four‘inchcs thick, coated'
over with two inch wrought iron. The interval be
tween the front and back frames was between two
and three feet, the target being intended to repre
sent the side of a ship The shell weighed, when
charged, seventy pounds, and contained two pounds
six ounces of powder. This fired with only a charge
of twelve pounds of powder, at the usual penetra- '
tion range,of two hundred yards, passed completely
through thq; jour-inch armor plate and oak backing,
and.bursjiSSide the frame, shattering it to pieces.
.Thi8 k result,- it should be; remembered, was
>y ft gun ef unusual calibre, but with
-than the navai
-t-vafegggjtqnd with a charge
Sdlkhfofjhe proj
~~.fcuur_sniȤ 'fg
S-ar-f .tmls ; 0:
WK\ DO. fitKlT
Mr; Wiard, in an elaborate communication
New York Tribune, published in September last,
answers this question. He contends that the effect
of the heat resulting from the. combustion of the
powder has been disregarded -by our, ordnance.,
officers in rtheir observations. In his opinion, the
explosion of the 100-pound Parrott gun on the
Naugatuck was dub to the fact that it was raining
at the time, and that this gun being on the upper
deck, was: subject to a more variable expansion
than of the Galena, which were between
decks. After quoting from Major Ward’s reports
on metals for guns, he adds: But in this example,
as in all others, as is well known to ordnance in
spectors, tl e fracture began to exhibit itself on the
interior surface of the, bore. This . would seem to
prove that guns burst, by pressure rather than by
expansion of the inner metal—as, if the inner
metal -were expanded by . the communication of
heat befor the outer metal gave way, a strain ot
compression resisted by the strength of the outer
metal would rest upon the inner metal of the gun;
and, undoubtedly , if it ever ocourred to an ordnance
officer to'inquire whether the communication of
heat to the inner metal of guns was the cause of
their failure, the beginning of. the fraoluro on the
inside would appear to him an argument against
tbe theory.
It is often noticed, as a curiouß phenomenon,
when large guns burst, that notwithst&ndng the
chase or forward part of the gun, several feet in
length, may be thrown many feet end over end,
the shot passes through the chase the length of the
bore, without being diverted from the direction of
its aim. This fact corroborates the theory under
.consideration, as.it is evident that the shot is not
projected by the same foroe that bursts the gun
the communication of heat to the inner metal of
the gun requiring a longer interval of time, and
gun metals being comparatively non-conductors of
heat. No gun in our service, having eight inches
i thickness of metal about the bore, should be relied
u p on in rapid firing, .even when exposed to the
hottest rays of the sun on its very large exterior
surface- the most favorable circumstances under
which a gun can be fired—and should never be
fired at all, if a hollow-east gun, with uniform
density throughout the mass, in rain or in cold
weather.
ABTIIiI*IRYr AT HOME AND ABBOAD,
The cost of the smallest Parrott gun, 6-poundcr,
is $200; for 200-pounders, $2,000 each, which is
said to be one-tenth the cost of the Armstrong gun.
The charge of powder is one pound to every ten of
the ball, and the cost of powder and shell tor every
discharge is nearly,slo; The weight of the 200-
pounder Parrott is barely more than one-half of the
Columbiad, which carries the 150 pound solid shot,
or the ten-inch shell. The practice with these guns
is excellent. Experiments are = made daily, and
with ah accuracy most astonishing. The shriek of
the ball, as it lies through the air at a velocity of
' oversix’hundred miles per hour, is like that of a
railroad train at full speed.
: Among the novelties in the great London exhibi
tion. was the Mersey or Prince Alfred gun; which
was tbeJargest-forged piece in the building. - This
immense piece, carrying a boltof 400 or 500,pounds,;
with a charge of 30- pounds of powder, was forged
hollow, withabore of ten in’enes diameter. It re
loaded by the muscle and is rifled with l 2 grooves.;
about one- eighth of an inch deep, on the ratchet
principle:
Another exhibitor, Mr. Bashley Britten, proposes
a plan for Converting the old service guneinto rifled
ordnance." This was, shown by a 20-pounder gun,
rifled with seven fiat and: shallow grooves, the iron
shot or shell being an elongated oval, with the rear
of the projectile cased with lead,, so as tomake it
resemble the ordinary Enfield rifle bullet. There
was also a bolt of 310 pounds, which has been fired
ten times from a rifled 63-pounder service gun,,
with heavy charges, without injury to the gun.
Another method of converting the old- service
'guns was exhibited by Commander Scott, R. N.
In this the gun is rifted on the concentric system-,
and the shot is of cast iron, ovoid in form, with pro
jecting spiral fillets to fit the grooves. The advan
tage of this gun is that it admits of using round
shot and shel . ....
Mr. Lancaster has succeeded in rifting the old
guns on his principle of the oval and spiral bore,
and they may be fired with the ordinary round
shot. He exhibited a 32-pounder bored in this
way, which has recently fired 1,500 rounds of pro
jectiles weighing fifty pounds, and a 68-pounder
east iron 95 owt. gun, bored oval with an inoreas
ins spiral ,of one-fourth of a revolution in the length
of the gun. • This gun has been fired 604 times with
his wrought iron shell of eighty-five pounds, and
twelve pounds- of powder, '.and at 4.800 yards se
ven tv-four per cent, of shot passed through the tar
vet, representing the side of aboryette. All these
guns are murrie'loaders, and the proper projectile
for them is oval, elongated and eonoidal, forged in
one piece. In all these cases when the old guns
are used; of course there is no attempt at reducing
weight, but in point of economy they have their
merit. The ovo-spiral principle has been found to
answer well in rifle practice, and the arm-touted
bv English engineers, but it will be remembered
bow completely the Lancaster gun failed at the
siege of Sebastopol.
In the Els wick Ordnance Works of Sir William
Armstrong & Co,, near Newcastle, England, no less
than 3,000 men and hoys are continually employed.
A great 300-pounder battery gun has just been oon
struoted there for the British Government. Its bore
was XOi.inches; length, 14 feet ; weight 12 tons,
and is a muzzle-loader. A 200-pounder breech
loader has also recently been manufactured at
these works, and from six to eight rifled guna, of
various calibres, are turned out weekly. On the
recent; occasion Of a large invited party visiting
these works, Mr. R, L-mbert, one of the proprietors,
stated that, they had fired bolts of 700 lbs. weight
from one of their 100-pounder guns without the
least appearance of bursting it. He also said: “A
question of.great interest had to be solved, viz. :
whether ; artillery could be made to break the
strongest and heaviest iron plates with whioh ships
could be protected. If he might venture on^a pre
diction as to the solution of this question, it would
be that they would manufacture Armstrong guns
which no plates that any .vessel could carry and
fioatf could have any chance of resisting.”
We have spoken above of the Prince Alfred gun,
as the largest piece of ordnance in the late London
International Exhibition. . The Mersey Steel and
Iron Company, by whom it was cast, have, how
ever, made one still larger, known as tho Horsfall
monster gun.” This gun, which had the honor of
winning in 1856'the first victory of ordnance over
4i Inch iron plates, has an internal diameter of 13
inches, and tt-rows a solid spherical shot of 282
pounds. The Mersey Steel Company claim for
their ordnance both a longer range and a greater
initial velooity than is possessed by either the smooth
bore 68-pounders or the Armstrong guns. They
tabulate the results as to range as follows : Point
blank radge of the 68-pounder, 310 yards; the
Armstrong, 340 yards ; the monster Horsfall gun;
600 yards. At 3 degrees off elevation—the 68-
pounder. 1.470 yards; the Armstrong, 1,325 yards ;
the monster, 1,800 yards. At 7/ degrees—the 68-
pounder, 2,430 yards; the Armstrong, 2.570 yards;
the monster, 2,980.”
LOCOHOTIVS BATTERIES.
Mr. J. W. Caldwell, of St. Louis, in a;communi
cation to the Republican ; of that city, some few
months since, said:
“I have completed a plan of an iron-clad gun
aarriage, which has engaged much of my time for
the last five years, and which has within the pist
few days been submitted to and approved by some
of the most enterprising men in St Louis. It may
be effectually used by one gunner, a horseman, and
two -horses, against one thousand cavalry or in
fantry; with speed, ease, and safety—self-loading,
cleaning, and firing fifty shots with rifle accuracy
every five seconds, or at- longer intervals; on a line
of from ten feet to two hhndred yards, at the will
of the gunner, until five thousand shots have been
discharged; and in five minutes the same may be
repeated until twenty thousand shots hare been
fired; j and may be brought to bear on any point,
front. rear, right, or left, in half a minute.”
The Richmond rebels have boasted of having a
locomotive railroad battery which was sent out to
the lines during the battles of the retreat from the
base of the Chickahominy, and, they say, did some
service, and would have done more if our retreat
had not taken us out of railroad range. We sup
pose it to be within the capacity of our mechanics
to build; a locomotive railroad battery with a shield
sufficient to resist shot from field pieces, and to
carry one or two formidable guns, and a squad of
riflemen, who, if armed with revolving or breech
loading rifles, could make any attempt to take the
battery by assault rather warm work.
The extra weight and consumption of the driving
' power might he economized in an engine not built
for drawing trains, in order to lessen the con
sumption and increase the carrying capacity for
i fuel and water. By means of an extra force pump
and hose it might supply itself with water from
. streams. The convenience of the armament and
security of the gunners could be greatly increased
by breech- loading cannon, which could bo worked
■withai shields, and perhaps rotary turrets.
SUBMARINE BATTERIES.’
In June last, as we learned from the Scientific
- American, a number of people collected at the-
Club House, Jersey City, to witness some experi
ments with Duffy’s submarine gun. The gun is
placed on deoh in the vessel, as; far as possible, be
low the water-line, with the muzzle end passing
through a stuffing-box. in the vessel’s Bide. Me
chanism is so arranged that when the gun is forced
inboard by the muzzle coming in contact with the
side of a hostile ship, the gun is discharged, send
ing not merely the shot, but also a considerable
portion of the expanding gases into the hold of the
enemy’s vessel. "Valves are provided to prevent
asthe .gun is ; driven Inboard
was rowed stem
the gun struck it was discharged, driving the shot
through two .1-inch planks, and considerably shat
tering the target. The result was entirely satisfac-
torv.
& new infernal machine, claimed to bo adequate
for the destruction of irou-clad vessels, has been
subjected to (government tests in,the royal; dock
yard of Copenhagen. The apparatus, which is
extremely simple, and costs but little, consists of a
glass reservoir' filled with powder, floating at a
certain depth, where, by very simple chemical
means, it produces an explosion. In the first
experiment, when loaded with a very small charge,
the effect was amazing. The framework of the
gunboat used was shattered, and some of the
planks thrown to a height of eighty or one
hundred feet. On a second trial the explosion
threw up a column of water one hundred feet
high, and the shock was felt at a considerable
distance , . , , ....
A Mr. Woodbury, of Boston, has devised apian for
firing cannon under water. - The. guns are to be of
the usual shape, but much longer than common,
and can be cast to discharge any projectile now in
use. When ready for action, a tin cylindrical case
is fitted closely at the muzzle of the gun, rendering
the chamber air-tight, and preventing the entrance
of water. . .When fired, the chargo attains its full
velocity before reaching the canister, and an effec
tive shot may be made at the distance of two or
three hundred feet. The cannon is fixed into a
stuffing box, similar to that of the piston of a steam
engine, and an automatic port hole opens and shuts
as the gun is run out or withdrawn. It is expected
that very little water will he shipped as the piece is
drawn in. The gun being breech-loading, the water
which enters the muzzle is easily disposed of, and
it is claimed that it can be fired again in the space
of three to fife The effect of a shot from
eight to ten feet below the water line would sink
any ship yet built. Experiments Indicate that the
invention will prove a success.
The Kentish Gazelle informs us that Mr. Red
sull, of Deal, has invented a sub-marine gun and
port, a plan of which has been submitted to the
lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. The chief
feature of the invention is to allow the barrel of a
gun to be forced through the port, in order that a
shot may be discharged from it to pieroe vessels
below the water-line and iron coating when in
close actidn, without taking, in water at the port. It
is calculated that a vessel fitted with this ; invention
will be able to sink the Warrior or Monitor in a few
seconds. The expense of fitting vessels will be very
moderate, as it is so contrived that almost any
piece of ordnance njay be used at the sub-marine
P °A correspondent, writing on board the United
Stales sieam sloop-of-war Kearsage,bay of Alg'esiras,
in the beginning of September, said :
“ The officers of this ship have, within the last
few davs. been electrified by an invention of our
first assistant engineer, James W. Whittaker, Esq,,
of Trenton, N. J-, which totally eclipses_ anything
vet announced on the all-important topic-of won
niated ships. lor obvious reasons, I, amnot at li
berty, at present, to give the details of this power
ful agent for the destruction of such iron-plated an
tagonist as the Merrimac and. Arkansas. For its
simplicity in design, completeness in construction,
and certainty- of execution, it cannot be excelled
bv anything yet invented or advanced. In fact, it
is the event of the nineteenth century. It revolu
tionizes the whole theory of naval warfare, and as
long as its use is confined to our own navy, no other
Power- in the world can be successful, no matter how
many or what class of iron-clad ships may be
brought against us. Oiir captain, chief engineer,
and other officers have examined it, and all concur
in pronouncing it a perfect success; and the captain
has detached the inventor from the ship and order
ed him home with his plans, to report in person to
the Navy Bepartment.”
Caul from Senator Harris.
Albaxt, Nov. 12,1862.
To tit Editors of the Evening Journal."
tls press, within the last few days, to m^®
taken some Interest in the remark* _made to. .
my Saw class, in relation; to the Temovrf of General
McClellan. As * SketheliS
"cm on Monday morning, and before proceeding
lernnre the class railed for my opinion as
to lheTrmoyS ofMcOlellan. I then said: The removal
o° OererTl MMJletlan bas both snrprised and grieved me.
1 think it is a gieat J/hf lVm no
oM Arftl tbe var luis yet broogot to. notice. tam noi
Iware of any sufficient grounds for this step ;, but, if it
Set be done, then I think the Administration have done
Sto ibebfst W. I iegard Burnside M an able general,
tbe nextbest man for the place. Ihno v that General
McClellan has confides ce in b »m> “d I thah to*
far as he is able, he will carry out the plane and policy
° f AflS'aMnding to the appointment of General Hooker
to a commahd under General Burnside, and expressing
my confidence in bhn, I proceeded with my lecture. All
this occurred within the walls of my own class room, and
THB NAVS TBBBHB 0081840108.8-The influ
ence of the entire navy will be brought to bear on the
next Congress to gefan aetpassed fining every oonteactor
so much forever, day thatmay elapse iliter the
tlonef a contract. Naval operations have been W«W
delayed by the remissnesaof contractors, and our boasted
feet iff for the meat pvt to be built,
mt ' • - - ',
BEAT AND DUMB IN UPPBB CANADA.—There
are eshmated to be 800 deaf aDd fS
Canada who Me capable of reeeiriog lnstraction, bn
*hom no adequate provlriou hw been made.
TWO CENTS.
LETTER FROM NASHVILLE.
A Conversation between Governor Johnson
and Rebel Prisoners.
[Special Correspondence of The Press.}
Nashville, Nor. 7, 1882.
In my last I gave yon a detailed account of the attach
on Nashville and the repulse or the rebels, bnt as I had
to close rather abruptly,“so as not to miss the mail, I was
prevented from sending the following resort of a cower
sation between Governor Johnson and a rebel officer
captured the day before. It will be seen on what flimsy
pretexts the rebels profess to fight on, and that it tabes
very little argument to demolish their strong points.
As 1b generally the csee, the prisoners were brought
before Colonel Gillem, the provost marshal, and the Go
vernor happening to be present, the following conversa
tion took place between hts Excellency and * Captain
Harris, one of the prisoners:
Governor Johnson. Well, Mr. Harris, I am sorr7 to
eee yon: in this company, I knew your father many
years, and always found him to he a sincere and true
Union men.
Harris. I’m just where I want to be, sir.
Governor, Let me, Mr. Hants, not for ihe sake of
argument, but in a friendly manner, ask you what rights
you have ever lost under the Constitution I
Barkis. Well, I would mention the right to recover
slave property from the free States.
Governor Can you mention an inatanoe where pro
perty of that description was not recovered when iden
tified? You know, air, we cannot always recover what
we have lost, be the property horses, oattle, or negroes,
unless we first discover their whereahonts.
Harris. 'We are not fighting ss much for what we
have fori, as for what we might have ioßt, under the pre
sent Administration.
(A#audible emilo was here indulged in by the by
standers, in which the Governor joined.)
Governor. We won’t speak of things which wight
have occurred. You can see, as well as I, what has hap
pened from the attempt made by designing men to over
threw the best and wisest Government (the sun ever
shone upon; and I tell yon, sir, that the laws win be
executed, And this unholy rebellion put down.
Hakris. This war was forced upon us.
Governor. « Forced upon us I” We have a Consti
tution which saye that, the Government has power to
put down insurrection and to suppress rebellion. Now,
who commenced this rebellion 1 Bid not the South first
fire upon Fort Sumpter, seize our forts, arsenals, and
property belonging to the Government on every portion
or Southern territory? I tell you, sir, that this is a
t war for a slave aristocracy, and was brought about by a
few designing, disappointed politicians te obtain power
and place. Moreover, they are the men for whom you
■and these prisoners are fighting, when thousands of de
luded men now sleep in unknown graves and languish in
prisons; and for what 1 Why, that this aristocracy
you are seeking to elevate may remain at home secure
from interruption—so long as their wealth can procure
them twenty niggers—and you, who never owned a
negro and never expect te, fight and perish for such a
cause as that! Gentlemen, I assure you, at whatever
cost, the Government will put down this rebellion, and
that this country will be one country and one Govern
ment, now and forever more.
Harris evidently wilted under the admonitions of the
Governor, and he “ answered him n*t again.”
This Harris is a son of George Harris, formerly a
leading politician here, and at one time editor of a news
paper in Nashville. He has for some years been a purser
in the United States navy, and is now acting in that
capacity on board ihe frigate Sabine. B. 0. T.
Governor Johnson’s Opinion of Gen. Buell's
Course.
(Bpecial Correspondence ef The Dress.]
Nashvillr, Tenn., Nov. 9,1862.
I herewith transmit to yon extracts from Governor
Andrew Johnson's letter to President Lincoln, criticising
the course pursued by General Bnell while in command
of the Army of the Ohio. This letter would have been
eent to the President immediately after i t was written had
not the guerilla Morgan cutoff all communication with
the North. But here it is
“ Nabhvii.le, Tbshbssbe, Sept 1.
“To his Excellency Abraham Lincoln. Wathinlon City
«On two occasions 1 hare stated to the President that
General Buell would never enter and redeem the eastern
portion of thie State. Ido not believe he ever intended
to, notwithstanding his fair promises to-the President
and others that he would,
“Aportionof the rebel troops, it is stated, under the
command of Bragg, have crossed the Tennessee river,
above Chattanooga, and are marohing inthe direction of
Nashville. His force is variously estimated at from
-20.000 to 50,000. Mr own opinion is that it cannot ex
ceed 20,0C0.
•‘ Gen. Bnell and his forces are in his front, ranging
from Decherd, on the railroad, to McMinnville and
Sparta, and, in: my opinion, with such generals as he
has trader Mb command, conld meet Bragg and whip him
with the greatest cbbo ;■ enteringdower Bast Tennessee,
and turn the rear of the force said to be now before Gen.
Morgan, at Cumberland Gap, leaving Morgan to march
into Bast Tennessee, and take possession of the railroad,
at once segregating and destroying the nnity of their ter
ritory, and that, too, in the midatof a population that Is
loyal, and will stand by the Government.
“The forces which have passed CtsmberlaixTGap, on
Morgan’s right, undercommanS of Kirby Smith, enter-
Morgan’s rear, caa-and-will' be-met bv
gret, whatTEnBvrßn6-T,ra«
be. Instead of meeting- and whipping Bragg where he
is, if is his intention to occnpy a defensivo position, and
is BOW, according to the best evidence I can obtain,
concentrating all bis forces upon Nashville, giving up all
the country which we have had possession of south and
east or this place, leaving the Union sentiment and Union
tnen who took a stand for the Government to be crushed
out and utterly rained by the rebels, who will all be m
arms upon ttte retreat of cor army.
ult seemß to me that General Buell fears his own per*
sonal safety, and has concluded to gather the whole army
at this point as a kind of body guard to protect and de
fend him, without reference to the Union men who have
been induced to speak out, believing that the Government
would defend them,
Gen. Buell is very popular witivihe rebels, and the
impression is that ht is mart partial to thtm than to
Union men and that he favors the establishment of a
Southern Confederacy. .
I will not assume that Gen. Buell desires the establish-
ment of a Southern Confederacy, and a surrender of Ten
nessee to therehels, but will give it aB my opinion that,
if he bad designed to do: so, he could not have laid down
or putsued a policy that would have been more success
ful in the accomplishment of both these objects.
“Notwithstanding the untoward events which have
transpired since I came to Nashville, I feel and believe
that much good has been done in preparing the public
mind in being reconciled to the Government; bntif the
policy which I have Indicated is carried out by General
Bueil, all will lie thrown away, without the most distant
idea, if ever, when we shall recover our lost ground.
Bast Tennessee seems doomed. There is scarcely a hops
left of her redemption; it ever, no one new can tell. May
God save my country from some of the generals that
have been conducting this war.” B. O. T.
The Watertown Arsenal,
The Boston Traveller says the Watertown Arsenal
was probably never so efficiently controlled and operated
as at the present time. The reputation of the head,
Oapt T J Hodman, as a man thoroujhiy versed in all
military science, and particularly apt in his application
of new improvements and his inventive faculties, is well
known everywhere. Bis plan of casting guns, by cool
ing from the interior, tor Instance, is being adopted by all
thl other leading gun inventors, and the department at
Washington has learned to depend a great deal on MS
advice and sagacity in all matters relating to the ponde
rous machinery of iron-fronted war. ’ .
Th“ produciionß of the Waterto vn arsenal have been
immense, mid although the aggregate cannotbogiven,
the articles manufactured during one Quarter of the pre-
Rent ■sear, viz.: April, May, and Jane, will snow now
large the manufacture since the beginning or the war
must have been. In the Quarter in question there were
made at the arsenal 88 field gun-carriages, loarriage tor
a 12-fiich rifled gun, 29 casemate carriages for 8-inoh
guns 9 mortar beds, rounds of ammu
nition, 10 500 fuses, 4,050 brass lose plugs with mouth
pieces, 9,767.000 rifle cartridges, 1,846,M0 mtisket carri
ridges, and 714 war rockets—or, in all, nearly 12,000,000
separate, from a fuse up to a ponderous fortress carriage.
The fixed ammunition for field artillery now made is
mcstly that for the 12-pound light gnu—that known as
are near the wad Thac nextjhe
street la the blacksmith shop, yearly fl »
edifice 200 feet long by 86 wide, which is to contain no
metODB fortea-and ft gigantic trip-hammer, and other
machines, the force for which is to . b ® o ®J l ® l,, i^ m b L“
SlendW 100. horse power engine aE * f
works of Campbell, Whittier A- Co > ofßMbury. ine
next and largest bnilding, aisoof b^ k > w,l i bD ,3rnenter -
front by 200 deep—one-half } demoted to the carpenter
22? being two stories high, and the other half, deyoted
to the machine and carriage shop, being a
38-feetto the peak of the roof. Two engines, of 100 horn
power each, will Bupply the power
Tho nrr.dnetion of musket and rifle cartridges has tor
the Wesmt wSrowing to tbe fact that the magazines
d&Mtoft . WU; Notwithstanding JUs lmft.no
lets than 800 hands are now engaged .within the limitsof
the yard. The most perfect order and PreTafls,
and the work tnmed out ,is as perfect _M ; l4 iB *|^ e
power of man, aided by powerful machinoi, to make it.
The powder storehouse, too, wh«e 5M_ barrels of
powder are stored, Is k « a g surrounded withw tofty wall
of earth, and the armed guards are numerous-. Borne
forty soldiers of the ordnanoeseryice
Wh-«he BnewhuuShrecom
not cssary to DoTc i* . _ ttiAra mnat ba & vast
ISTatreSe i. «w d>.t.rt«r ot Hi.
I produced. ' '• '—.
a npcto Kegimeßt Engaged with. -Crue-
of the B.ackSoldiers
The correspondent of the Leavenworth Connate*,
under date of October SO, writes as follows from Fort
Africa, Bate* county, Mo.:. • . _ '
A detachment of seventy men from the Sonthern bat
tallon! (Ool; Seaman's,).and one hondrod and from
if«{ TOfiium*’ the latter under captain B. «• wara,
the enure detachment under Colonel Sea-
acted under instructions .from Major Henning,
on Tuesday afternoon, having left
Fort Lincoln late on Monday. The enemy’s sconta were
eeen in force when we arrived at this point, the residence
oPan intsmons guerilla named Toothman, whose son is
now a prisoner at Fort Lincoln. We were almmg to ■
clean out a rendt zvous near here, onwhat is too wn
the Island > a large marshy tract of *** 'SS*£ and
Ossge, wbich has been the resort of the JacKman an
' Coclerill bushwhackers. We found the latter in fo
wlth's eplendidly mounted and b yj u that the':
■ first named was the command numbers .
o^ l b 6 e Co aB wr e T ntS tfthta Toothmsn’s • yard,
namrd D thr P place ra » FwfAWca^ 3 Bendlnl
valry and riSt^wo
out a small deiachmentandcuttingitoll ire t(J
body. A 'SZTI h eight men killed and
rescue omr detachment. _vre lat regiment
ten capt Bouse, w» kitted
C ; T OMdner was severely wounded, but trill
Lieut. Joseph Gardner The enemy reported fit
be well Fitbin a w must have as many more
teen killed tMs ■££* to talk any more of negro
won “ a ' d ' JL men fought like tigers, each and every
therm end the main difficulty was to hold them
. ? tsn d. W« havejnstreceiyedreinforcements, and
hawfntettlgence of a guerilla force that renders a move
"“nt necessary. We have the guerillas hemmed in, and
will clean them and this country ont. Saddle and mount
is the word. Theta are the boys to clean out the bush
’ whackers; r-'
THE WATS PRESS..
(PUBLISHED WEEKLY.)
Tub War Press will be sent to subscriber!! by
mail (per annum in advance) at ~.....,.02.09
Three Copies « « 6.0®
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SeQ “ “ ~13.9®
Larger dubs wifi be charged at the same cate—thus::
20 copies will cost *24; 60 copies will coat *6O, and 109
ooplea tlffl.
For a Club or Twenty-one or over, we witlsend aa
Nxtra Copy to the getter-up of the Club.
are requested to act m Ageats
The War Puess.
SGT Advertisements Inserted at the canal cates, a
lines ODstitnte a iqnare.
THE WAR IN THE SOUTHWEST.
,The Armx tfre Frontier-—lts Work Bose—
Chase of Qoantrel—A Running Fight Ac/os*
the Prairie—-Faght with Indians on the lUr»-
I>m Missoirrig
HEABQSARTJBBS AEMV OF 1*»B FR&NTIStt,
Elk Horn Tavern, Nor. 5,1862,
*‘.Tne Army of the Frcntier has saccagafnlijr accom
plished its eqlsb!gjq. :> Bo General Cnrtifl wrote of as ia
reporting the anccesa of the expedition sent out under
General Blunt. Since that time we have pursued our
fugitive enemy to the Boston Mountains, after striking
bim another blow as a reminder of our determination to
rid this country of such dastardly miscreants. Ws pene
trated to Fayetteville (whence I wrote you), and re
turned to this place after an absence of not unite one
week. We have to enemy to'fight. We can par ran oo
farther. Our mistion being . aafait aecompli, we Sara
our backs,to the rich beauties- of the aatt-ieg son, and
bend our footsteps toward the spot where his first ray»
gild the hilltops in the early morn ,
General Bchcflrld has been guile os successful as I
predicted he would be. He has proven himself a soldier
and a general. He ehoold be permitted to load hits
veteran army where there are more laurels to win* They
shown themselveß to he soldiers, in the endurance
of fatigue and privations. They have a claim to be
called brave men by the alacrity they have ever shown
to meet the enemy, and the courage displayed whenever
they have met him.
Jf KB7syii.i.k, Nov. ,4—We have retraced our ateps
tbus far since BA. M., and this-is M M The town we
left here on our msrch southward’la here no longer. Borne
time last week the guerillas of this vicinity waylaid our
mail, shot the carrier, but did not succeed in capturing
bags, for the horse ran away with them. Major Mont
gomery. of the 6th Missouri Cavalry, a fair specimen at
the Western ja, hawker, learning of the outrage, went
forth to destroy the-destroyer. He cams up with the
wretches, end ehot two of them; then set fire to the
town, end to-day Keetsvilie is a blackened min.
Not more than half a dozen houses remain to tell eh*
traveller of its previous existence, Singular to say, Mr.
Keet’s residence was spared. He was about the only
Union man in the place . To write the history of all this
country, one has'to employ but one word—that word t*
desolation. The- curse ot Hod rests upon it. Nopiaoets
untouched. Buin stares you in the faoe, turn whioh
way you may.
CATHERVVOOD ASTER QtJANi'KEL.
The Harrisonville (Mo.) correspondent of the Missouri
Democrat, in a tetter dated November 6, says:
On yesterday, a detachment of the different companies
of the 6th and 6(h Begimenta of Cavalry, Missouri State
Militia, all under the command of Colonel Oatherwood.
bad quite a variety cf fun with the übiquitoua Quantrei,
and succeeded in chasing him entirely out of the country,
and farther, I presume, than he has even seen fit to go.
It came abont in this wayOn the eveaing of the 3d
inet., Quantrei, with about 100 men, attaoked an ox
wagon train that was returning from here to Bedalla.
with an escort of 22 men, about ten miles east of here,
killing 8 of the escort, 6 teamsters, wounding 4, and
teking 5 prisoners, including Lieut. Newby, and burning
the entire train of thirteen wagons. Colonel Oatherwood
received infoimation that Quantrei was in the vicinity
with 300 men, started in hunt of him with about 160 men,
not knowing of the depredation committed, whioh hap
pened about the time of hisetartingi But, having appre
hensions with regard to this train, he started in direction
of it.
Bearing of the disaster before reaching it, and learn
ing that Quantrei had started-sonth of the road, he fol.
lowed it in the direotion indicated, and came upon his
pickets about 9 o’clock at night, in a dense timber na-,r
the road he was travelling; formed his command as soon
as possible, and pitched into the camp, but to find no on*
there. The enemy was flbeing, it seemed to be in every
direction. Following the trail- of the main body, which
led out into a large prairie, the only way for retreating,
be came upon them and had-a handsome running fight
for six miles, firing volley after volley as they were run
ning. They turned several times, as it seemed to maka
a stand, firing back; but Invariably when the OoioneS
would charge ou them, would turn and run.
In the several charges six men were killed and twenty
five wounded—not a man of ours being hurt, ihej uni
versaily firing too high. . The command was hare joined
by another detachment of about seventy five-men and
two pieces of artillery, under Captain Davis, of the 6th.
We immediately started in pursuit, following them twen -
ty • five or thirty miles, but they were too swift of foot,
and our horses,after travelling about sixty miles onth*
double quick, were-too tired to follow him. We had al
ready chased him out of Ms narrow domain; and further
than he ever went before. On yesterday the dead bodies
of ten of the murdered men were brought in, a terrible
and ghastly sight. Being shot after they were taken pri
soners, while the instruments of death were within a few
feet of their heads, their wounds presented the most gory
aspect. .
DESPEBATE PIOH3P WITH: INDIANS.
The Bloux City Register, of the Ist inst., contains too
par tied are, from a gentleman who was among the party,
of a most desperate fight that took place on the Upper
Missouri, below Fort Benton, by a party of returning
miners, while descending the river in a Mackinaw boat,
with the Tahcton Sionx tribe of Indians Theooirea
pondent rolaies tio particulars as follows: 1
“ We left Fort Benton on the22d of September and pro
ceeded down the river without any interruption worth
mentioning until the 10th of October, at S o’clock in ths
morning, when about one hundred and fifty miles below
Fort Berthold we dhcovered a large Indian camp, which
fre learned afterwards fo be “ Big Head’s,” chief of the
1800100 Sioux They immediately bailed'ns, but wa
continued on our course without noticing them. - They
gaVe the alarm to the camp beiow by discharging their
guns in the air, and it was but a few moments before tha
whole esmp was aroused, and then began the fight, and
from every place of concealment we received a shower or
bullets. -
'“The firing began to laU about 12 o’clock, and we
thought we were nearly through with them* when wo
suddenly came upon another and larger camp of * Kedi«
cine Beard’s,’ of about two hundred warriors. They
rested themselves on the bank in a very narrow part of
the river, whag they knew we had to ran within a few
j ardß of them? They again hailed ns to land, when our
captain, Wm. P. Edds, seeing our critical position*
beaded the boat directly to, the shore, making them
believe he was going to lend, when this stratagem beooght
©ut'a'lerge number., from concealment, and withheld the
fire of fee balance, whirled her around
broadside, and sung out, 4 Kow Js the time, boys \ give
’em h—lll’ when we pouTed a volley which tumbled St.
‘ Btdehin right and loft, makingthem skedaddle in every
commenced a running fight, which lasted.
JUalEy
prevent any taking nriT , v .. . „
ment. and courage, all are Indebted for their lives
« in the early part of the fight Mr. Willard and Lansing
■were standing together, when a tpcnt ball struck the
former, which so disabled him that he was unable to keep
bis feet Four of our men were wounded out of five that
were exposed, the balance being partly protected by the
baggage, «c.,wblchhad been hurriediy placed as a barri
cade Wet left Mr. Germain at Fort Gandsll, to undergo
surgical treatment. The balance of the wounded wets
able to continue en tbeir voyage, and without further
accident arrived here safely, and are now waiting for
conveyance to their hemes. 11
GENERAL grant’s ADVANCE —GRAND JBNOTIOS
PB.OBABLY destroyed.
[From tie Memphis Bulletin, Hot 6.1
gentlejnan josfc returned from Bolivar, 71a
TeDacEsce, reports that thtre was an advance of an. tm
menße Union army southward a few days since. The
object and destination of the force it is unnecessary »
state |We also learn from a gentleman who lives within
nine miles of Grand Junction, that the Union army passed
through Lagrange end Grand Junction on Tuesday; and
he is of opinion from the huge mass of smoke which he
saw ascending, M well as from all he
the latter place, before this, utterly destroyed,
• ENTRANCE OF T.AORANQE.
A Lagrange, Tenn, letter, dated Hov. 4, gt7es eha
*°BrmW'day the advance, under Colonel Hoble, 21 fUi*
nois Cavalry, entered Lagrange. The town was, at Che
time, occupied by about four hundred of Colonel diemona
2d Arkansas Oavslry. The presence of our cavalry, sus
tained by so large a force, was sufficient to Induce anlm
mediate evaonatton of the place by tee rebel horaeDieu.
From a prominent bluft on the southern border ot the
town the rebels conld be seen dashing with reckles* pre
cipitancy along three different roads. Judging from the
long clouds of dust they created In their stsmpede, be
tween three and font hundred must have been here pre
vious to enr arrival. ,-Mwt
The sudden dash of onr cavalry found sundry indivi
duals unprepared for Sight, and therefore we appropri
ated them. One, lieutenant McKinsey, 2d Arkansas
Cavsiry, Colonel Stanons, narrated to me the cause of
biß capture He said he bad heard of our movement
Southward: but, not anticipating onr arrival b-fore
evening, he entered a house to procure dinner. When
partly finished he heard the tramp of cavalry .and rush
ed out to ascertain the cause. Seeing a number of onr
mm riding towards him, he endeavored to eicape bF
tskinv to saddle. The excitement so alarmed bis horse
that he became unmanageable, and would not perm.t
him to mount But one resource was left, and Mwb
to surrender. However, he started hia
saved the animal. Another, a private, was captured by
being thrown. He sustained considerable injury in the
fell AH enumerated, we took about tea pnaonerß. Ta&
enemy’s cavalry being driven out, a messenger sajjeped
hack to the General, who awaited the lnformatton_at tha
head of the column, that no enemy was te the town. At
once the column set forward, and marched into the place
‘ «pith flying colotb, and ©very other indication of success
mid purpose. As each regiment arrived it was at onca
airicted to its position, the artillery was nnUmbered,
where they would be necessary in event of attack, ana
the cavalry went out to reconnoitre the country. Tha
infantry, artillery, and cavalry, hold, the poriHona they
would be required to occupy Incase ot a visit, bo that
we are prepared for any emergency* ,
Lagrange, Tenn , Roy. (-—We
established here, in order to perfect some ne f eB ®®fF “J;
position of onr forces before we set ora to adombteed
movenfent with the column now resting near
Junction. Onr main positions to day do not materially
differ from what I mentioned in a former letter, but in
detail we have made some changes
which it is not advisablt to mention.
been stationed at insecure and exposed points, the better
te secure them against surprise, while the system or
picketing has been revised and placed under a new and
effective regime. Instead of a detail from each company,
acting independently at their own posts, ei tire regiujenta
are now detailed lor this duty, and the field officers are
held responsible for the safety of the army. This ia an,
admirable improvement upon the old sretcin, and avoid*
mistakes and the possibility of unguarded Points. _
To-day some skirmishing was going
to the direction of Bali’s bridge, about three miles di*
tant from here. The affair was attended with sevorid
wounded on onr aide—one, it is aupposed, HK>rt*Uy_ The
damage to the rebels ia unknown, as they fought to-a.
timber and took to flight before our troops advanced.
A party of troops was ordered on a reconnoiesancsim
tee'dfreetton of Lamar. The party were march by
noonJ and moving down the Holly Springs road, headed
their column towards the place indicated. AVhec tevon
mulontTbody of rebel horsemen, entltied « The ta
Legion,” one thousand strong, were soon arrayed .n litre
of battle to meet onr troops. we threw, onr
column Into liße and gave them a discharge. Five mi
nntes sufficed to set the rebels on a stampede by tho,rear.
We now advanced two miles further, and found the rebel
infantry drawn up to contest any farther KOgresa-ofour
troops. The two parties faced each other, .and ImmMi-
SyopeSd the fight. In this case »e rebel Efantey
behavedno better than their cavahy,and_tfcetowhol
force set out on an individualsearch for safer pOßit
° n We now reanmedthe m “ oh ht or!r P Troop^to
eeilier onr march wonldnot bays reoaedA tbu
As it waa, our cavalrywent near sfao loMi
there was no in ® killed, two wounded,
C poS e frem lelow, that there of field
Pi the army the headquarters of
thfdererwent hwe also changed .Gen. Grantnow re
and transacts business at Lagrange, having aa
,hi, Mint until another advance transfer* it to a
Afferent Place. It is his purpose -to kee p dose to the
front and he prepared by his immediate presence to di
rrdt the operations of the array when occasion demands.
Another day wifi he sufficient to complete railroad com
munication between Bolivar, Grand Junction, and La
tjauge. The.tretos are now running to Midmennrg,
abont seven miles below Bolivar. The destruction or a
bridge at this point for the present impedes further pro-
Jiess. By the time thlß is construe ed, the remamder or
the road will be in a condition for travel. Tbs .speed an
economy of railroad transportation 80 f** f army
by wagon as to warrant a fawdays’ Inaction of
in order to reconstruct the road, and restor
of trains. ,
GOY. MOETOK OB ® a^rOTt Morton made a
dianapolis deapatcb says. nt j(Jgt befo „ tearing
ihort epeechto the ICOffi , tbe Bates’.House, in
te -night, from , the naTO>»J returned from WashlDg
which he said that he had ot
ion, and waß l ?® p s’',|£ r e The Government Is terribly
things now Jo ba ITO s«mted wiShmora
5 “ e(ir ?hH heretofore; and he looked forward,to a bright.
thfSefaS the iriumphsmt successof onr arms.