in a general sense, denotes something made, fashioned, or produced by art, in contradistinction from the production of nature.
**Artificial Fire-works.** See *Pyrotechny*.
**Artificial Magnets.** See *Magnets*.
---
**ARTILLERY.**
The discovery of gunpowder by Roger Bacon in the thirteenth century, and of its application to military purposes by Schwartz in the fourteenth, caused a complete revolution in this branch of the art of war. The term *artillery*, previous to this discovery, denoted, in a general sense, all kinds of missiles, and the machines used in propelling them. Thus the artillery of the ancients consisted of the catapulta and balista, of darts, arrows, and other purely mechanical contrivances; while, at a later period, the Franks and their contemporaries used a species of small hatchet as a missile, discharging it at their enemies much in the same manner as the North American Indians do their tomahawks in the present day. However, the signification of the term changing with the advancement of science, we understand by it, in modern phraseology, guns, howitzers, and mortars, with their carriages, beds, ammunition, and apparatus of all kinds, and the troops specially appointed for their management.
In the rapid growth of scientific improvement which, during the last thirty-five years, has extended through every branch of our military establishment, there is nothing more remarkable or more honourable to our national ingenuity and energy than the changes which have been wrought in the organization of the ordnance service. These changes are such as to render the British artillery, from having been among the worst in Europe, absolutely the very finest and best—an example for the envy of the military powers of the Continent, and a model for the avowed imitation of even that nation which has heretofore been held to excel all others in the qualities of martial science. It has hitherto been admitted by universal consent, that, of all the people of Europe, the French have habitually, in their national character, shown most original genius and aptitude for military affairs; and it is therefore not a little gratifying to the British artillerist to observe these acknowledged masters of the art of war—these boasted instructors of our earlier years—surpassed in their own favourite vocation, and reduced to become in their turn the pupils and imitators of our military knowledge and invention.
This practical homage on the part of the French to the decided superiority of our artillery is a circumstance publicly and candidly admitted by some at least of their own writers. A memoir by the chef-de-bataillon Parizot, a skilful officer of the French artillery, details six essential advantages in the British system over that of his countrymen; and Dupin, who quotes this memoir, adds, in a note, the following testimony of a French general officer... All the improvements which have raised the British artillery to its present state of perfection are, as we have already said, the work of our own age. At the commencement of our share in the late war in 1793, the various ordnance equipments, as well as the whole composition of this branch of our military service, were of the rudest kind, and on the worst organized and most defective plan. The inefficiency of the whole system, indeed, was palpably betrayed whenever a force was required to take the field. The guns were dispersed among the infantry at the rate of two pieces to a battalion, thereby rendering it impracticable to employ them for their legitimate purpose—the concentrating a powerful fire of numerous guns on any important point. They were also hosed in single team, which needlessly both lengthened the column of march and diminished the power of draught. The drivers were on foot with long whips, as were also the gunners. The ammunition was packed in large rough deal boxes; the waggons which conveyed it were heavy and ill-constructed; and the whole equipment was so cumbrous, that it was impossible for the train to move out of a foot-pace, except for a very short distance; and if increased speed were attempted before the enemy, the men came into action breathless and unable to serve their guns.
But before the commencement of the peninsular war, that active and able officer the late Major Spearman had entirely re-organized this branch of the service; and it is to him that the country owes the present beautiful system of field artillery. The battalion guns were abolished, and the artillery was brigaded, distinct from the infantry and cavalry with which it served, in divisions of six pieces each; so that the fire of one or more of these powerful batteries could be readily concentrated on any given point. A body of military drivers was organized, while, by an ingenious contrivance of the shafts, the power of using single draught in narrow roads, or when any of the horses were disabled, was retained. The drivers were mounted on the near horses; and the gunners themselves, in the proportion of eight to each piece, were carried on the limbers and ammunition cars. The whole of the equipment was simplified and lightened to such a degree that the batteries could move at a gallop; the ammunition, packed in boxes on the limbers and cars, was always up with the guns; and the officers and men, being all mounted or conveyed on the carriages, were sure of being brought fresh into action. Finally, a system of manoeuvres for artillery in the field was introduced, which gave order and precision to their own movements, and established uniformity between them and the troops of other arms.
The advantages of this system are so ably described in the following observations of a general officer of the French artillery, who was present at the final review of the allied army of occupation in France, that we shall make no apology for introducing them in this place.
"La cavalerie, soutenue par des masses d'infanterie, étant sur deux lignes, dans la plaine entre La Selle et l'Ecaillon, on vit à la fois se détacher des différents corps, plus de cent bouches à feu d'artillerie à pied et à cheval; et se porter, avec la même vitesse, à cent toises en avant de la première ligne de cavalerie. On commença l'affaire Artillery par une cannonade, qui ressemblait à un feu de file. Les mouvements des batteries et les manœuvres des bouches à feu s'exécutent avec beaucoup d'ordre et de précision. La facilité avec laquelle on met et ôte l'avant-train n'a pas échappé aux officiers d'artillerie. Il est survenu un accident à une batterie à pied qui arrivait au galop par un chemin très-escarpé. Ayant rencontré une calèche qui fermait le passage, elle n'hésita pas, dans la crainte d'un retard, à se précipiter dans le champ à gauche. Une seule pièce fut renversée, avec les canonniers, dont un fut blessé. Elle fut relevée en un instant, et rejoignit sa batterie. Il y eut successivement deux charges de cavalerie par les deux lignes, qui, repoussées, vinrent se rallier l'une derrière l'autre. On vit les canonniers, commençant les avant-trains, abandonner les pièces, et reprendre aussitôt après la charge, recommencer le feu. Le passage de l'Ecaillon, défendu par l'armée ennemie qui occupait les villages, les ponts, et tous les points importants de la position, donna lieu aux dispositions et aux manœuvres que nécessitait une opération de cette importance. Le passage forcé, l'armée ennemie tournée par sa gauche, pressée par les alliés, fit sa retraite, défendant le terrain et les villages, pied à pied, jusque sur les hauteurs du camp de Famars. L'artillerie a suivi les mouvements des divisions, dans la vallée difficile de l'Ecaillon, et dans la plaine au delà (malgré les obstacles) jusqu'au pied des hauteurs de Famars, arrivant sur le terrain en même temps que les troupes; cette position est couverte par un ravin profond et difficile, qu'elle a franchi comme la cavalerie. Quelques voitures ont versé, mais ont été promptement relevées. Notre artillerie n'aurait surmonté cet obstacle qu'avec beaucoup de temps et de travail."
FIELD ARTILLERY.
When an army is to take the field, several considerations must be attended to in apportioning the number and calibre of the batteries to accompany it; as the face, features, and general nature, mountainous or otherwise, of the country which is to form the theatre of war,—the state of its roads, and the resources which it can supply for the means of transport,—the force and description of troops composing the army,—the nature of the war, whether offensive or defensive,—and, lastly, the intended plan of operations.
In carrying on offensive operations in a campaign country, with good roads and facility of transport, the artillery should consist of 9-pounder batteries, to which a few 8 or 12-pounders should be added, to form on occasion batteries of position. There should likewise be one or more batteries of a lighter calibre, to accompany any corps of the army that may be destined by rapid marches to intercept the enemy's convoys or detachments. In mountainous or deep hilly countries, the artillery should not be composed of heavier ordnance than the 6-pounder battery; but an exact topographical acquaintance with the nature of the country is absolutely necessary, and indeed affords the only satisfactory guide for judging of the most appropriate calibres to be employed. When an army is to remain on the defensive in a country where the roads are only tolerable, and the probability of being obliged to undertake long and rapid marches is not great, the artillery should be composed of a heavier description of batteries. Field Artillery.
than would be proper to accompany an army acting offensively in the same country. But if this defensive system be carried on in a strong country, where the means of transport are attended with difficulty, and long and rapid marches may become indispensably necessary, the batteries must be so constituted as to adapt them to these several circumstances, otherwise the artillery will retard the army in its operations, instead of contributing to the attainment of the object in view.
The annexed table exhibits the composition of each kind of field battery, and the proportion of ammunition and laboratory stores carried with each piece of ordnance.
| Nature of Battery, Ammunition, and Laboratory Stores | 12-Pounders | 9-Pounders | 6-Pounders Heavy | 6-Pounders Light | 3-Pounders Heavy | 24-Pounders Howitzers | 12-Pounders Howitzers | Ammunition Carts | Store Carts | Store Waggon | Forge Waggon | Spare Carriages | |-----------------------------------------------------|-------------|------------|------------------|-----------------|-------------------|----------------------|------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|--------------| | 12-Pounder | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 9-ditto | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6-ditto, heavy | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 6-ditto, light | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | 3-ditto, heavy | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | Round | 114 | 114 | 174 | 171 | 272 | | | | | | | | Case | 14 | 19 | 22 | 20 | 44 | | | | | | | | Spherical | 50 | 30 | 34 | 29 | | | | | | | | | Shells, common, empty | 56 | 84 | | | | | | | | | | | Carcasses, round, fixed | 4 | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | Flannel Cartridges, filled | 126 | | | | | | | | | | | | Quick-Match, Yards | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | | | | | | | | Tubes | 200 | 200 | 300 | 300 | 400 | | | | | | | | Fuses | 4 tenths | 28 | 24 | 30 | 26 | | | | | | | | Spherical | 6 ditto | 28 | 24 | 30 | 26 | | | | | | | | Uncut | 8 ditto | 28 | 24 | 30 | 26 | | | | | | | | Common, graduated | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | | | Slow-Match, Skeins | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | | | | | | |
The following is the distribution of the above proportion of ammunition in the limber and ammunition boxes of field guns and howitzers, together with the distribution in the reserve waggons of the additional proportion judged necessary to accompany each battery in the field.
### 9-Pounders
#### Distribution of Ammunition
| Nature of Ammunition | Round Shot | Common | Spherical | Total of Rounds | |----------------------|------------|--------|-----------|----------------| | Gun limber, 2 boxes | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | | Waggon | 18 | 4 | 16 | 32 | | Body | 18 | 6 | 24 | | | Hind box | 18 | 6 | 24 | | | Total with the gun | 60 | 10 | 28 | 98 | | Reserve waggon | 54 | 4 | 22 | 80 | | Total per gun | 114 | 14 | 50 | 178 |
Ten waggons per battery of five guns, carrying 178 rounds of ammunition per gun.
#### Seven waggons per battery of five guns, carrying 163 rounds of ammunition per gun.
---
1 British Gunner. ### 6-Pounders (heavy)
| Distribution of Ammunition | Nature of Ammunition | |---------------------------|---------------------| | Gun limber, 2 boxes | Round Shot | | Waggon | Limber, 2 boxes | | Body | Fore box | | Hind box | Hind box | | Total with gun and waggon| 150 | | Reserve Rd.Com.Sph.Total | 120 | | Total per gun | 174 |
Six waggons per battery of five guns, carrying 230 rounds of ammunition per gun.
### 24-Pounder Howitzer
| Distribution of Ammunition | Nature of Ammunition | |---------------------------|---------------------| | Howitzer, limber, 2 boxes | Round Shot | | Waggon | Limber, 2 boxes | | Body | Fore box | | Hind box | Hind box | | Total with howitzer and waggon | 32 | | Reserve waggon | 24 | | Total per howitzer | 53 |
Two waggons to each howitzer, carrying 144 rounds of ammunition.
### 12-Pounder Howitzer
| Distribution of Ammunition | Nature of Ammunition | |---------------------------|---------------------| | Howitzer, limber, 2 boxes | Round Shot | | Waggon | Limber, 2 boxes | | Body | Fore box | | Hind box | Hind box | | Total with howitzer and waggon | 48 | | Reserve waggon | 36 | | Total per howitzer | 84 |
Two waggons to each howitzer carrying 220 rounds of ammunition per howitzer.
The flannel cartridges and small stores are distributed in the several boxes in equal proportion with the other ammunition, according to circumstances.
### The following historical examples of the relative proportions of artillery acting with various armies in different countries during the late war, may, with the assistance of good topographical maps, enable an officer to form a tolerably accurate judgment on this important branch of military study.
- **The Austrian army**, under the command of the archduke Charles in the campaign of Aspergne, Essling, and Wagram, consisted of about 75,000 men, to whom were attached 18 batteries of brigade, 13 of position, and 11 of horse-artillery; being in the proportion of one piece of ordnance to 260 men nearly.
- **The allied British and Portuguese army** in the field in Spain, May 1813, consisted of 65,000 men and 102 pieces of artillery, including the reserve; being in the proportion of one piece of ordnance to 622 men nearly.
- **The grand French army** under Napoleon, for the invasion of Russia, not including the Austrian contingent, consisted of 400,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry, and 1200 pieces of artillery; being one piece of ordnance to 383 men.
- **The French armies united on the Tormes in December 1812** amounted to 80,000 men and 200 pieces of artillery, being in the proportion of one gun to 400 men. Napoleon in 1813 had 1400 pieces of artillery to 300,000 men, or one gun to 200 nearly. In 1815 his army consisted, as nearly as can be ascertained, by a comparison of several accounts of the campaign, of 130,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 300 pieces of artillery; being one piece of ordnance to 500 men.
The Prussian contingent of the grand French army for the invasion of Russia, under the command of General D'York, consisted of 20,000 men and 60 pieces of artillery; being in the proportion of one piece of ordnance to 333 men nearly.
Marshal Beresford, at the battle of Albuera, had 29,000 men and 32 pieces of artillery, or one gun to 900 men. His opponent Marshal Soult, in the same action, had 23,000 men and 40 pieces of artillery, or one gun to 575 men.
General L'Espinasse, who commanded the artillery of Buonaparte in Italy, supposes a division of an army to consist of 12,000 men, including a regiment of dragoons and another of hussars, to which he allots three batteries of horse and three of field artillery, each consisting of six pieces of ordnance. A battery of horse and another of field artillery are at all times to be up with the army; two batteries, similarly armed with the two in activity, are to remain with the park; and the remaining two, also appointed in like manner, should be in depot in rear of the army. These proportions of artillery to infantry, L'Espinasse states, are precisely those adopted with the approbation of Buonaparte in the Italian campaigns.
Positions and Movements of Field Artillery.
The commanding officer of artillery, in order that he may choose proper positions for his field batteries, should be made acquainted with the effect intended to be produced, with the troops that are to be supported, and with the points to be attacked, that he may place his artillery so as to support, but not inconvenience the infantry, nor take up such situations with his guns as would be more advantageously occupied by the line; that he may not place his batteries too soon, nor in exposed situations; that he may cover his fronts and flanks by taking advantage of the ground; and that he may not venture too far out of the protection of the army, unless some very decided effect is to be obtained by so doing.
In a defensive position the guns of the largest calibre should be posted on those points from whence the enemy can be discovered at the greatest distance, and from whence may be seen the whole extent of his front. In an offensive position, the weakest points of the line, and those most distant from the enemy, must be strengthened by the largest calibres. Those heights on which the army, in advancing, may rest its flanks, must be secured by them, as also those from which the enemy may be fired upon obliquely.