A Treatise of Artillery by John Muller

[Don9of11]

I've had a this book in my collection for a few years now and thought I would post a quick review. I have a printed copy I ordered through Amazon but it is now available via Google. I have found it to be a nice addition to my library and instrumental in making the gun carriages for my Enterprise of 1799.

 

http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Treatise_of_Artillery.html?id=vylEAAAAYAAJ

 

This book was originally published in 1780 and this is the 3rd Edition. It covers everything dealing with the general construction of brass and iron guns, mortars and howitzers used by ships and on land. It reveals how to calculate the  dimensions of all carriages and beds used in artillery with numerous charts and illustrations. It covers both English and French guns. Discusses how much powder was used and the range in yards depending if it be a long gun or short gun and how much powder. It gives very specific details on how to calculate the diameter of the shot, the caliber of the gun, and the thickness of the metal and well...it contains a wealth of information for the model ship builder intent on making their own cannons and carriages or who is simply interested in learning more about the construction of period ship guns.

 

 

[Jay 1]

Don, thanks for sharing the link! That's great that Google has made this little work available for free; I have an older reprint that I picked up for a reasonable price--generally these can be a bit on the pricey side. Spot on what you said about the book as well--there's a wealth of good information in the book that's from a contemporary source.

 

Another great reference is Tucker's "Arming the Fleet." While Tucker covers a broader spectrum of period armament, his information on late 18th and early 19th century US cannon is quite good.

 

Both these works are very reasonable in price (can't beat free for Muller) and relatively easy to obtain in comparison to Caruana's epic cannon tomes.

 

Again, thanks for posting this great resource, Don!

 

Cheers,

Jay

[Don9of11]

Thanks Jay. Speaking of this book, I seem to have forgotten how to read the weight of the gun. For example a 32# gun has a length of 9 : 8 which I think is read as 9 feet 8 inches and the weight is given as 42 : 0 : 20. Do you remember how this is read?

[trippwj]

Thanks Jay. Speaking of this book, I seem to have forgotten how to read the weight of the gun. For example a 32# gun has a length of 9 : 8 which I think is read as 9 feet 8 inches and the weight is given as 42 : 0 : 20. Do you remember how this is read?

Don - the weight is given in cwt, qrs and lb

Hundredweight (cwt)

Unit of weight, equal to 8 stones. 20 hundredweight to a ton.

Quarter (qrs)

Unit of weight, equal to 2 stones. 4 quarters = 1 hundredweight.

Pound - avoirdupois (lb)

Unit of weight, equal to 7000 grains, or 16 avoirdupois ounces. 14 pounds = 1 stone.

[Don9of11]

So 42 : 0 : 20 is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4700 lbs using the British hundredweight of 112lbs. Right?

[trippwj]

Give or take a stone.