Cannons & Mortars in Literature

[Cat Whisperer]

Often we learn of details on how to make or use our cannons, mortars et al. from what we read.

Who are your favorite authors?  What cannons/mortars did they write about?  What links have you hit that bring these things to light?

(My question arises from having learned some bits and pieces about Martini rifles from what Rudyard Kipling wrote - and bumped into the piece of trivia that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a house guest of Kipling for part of a year - in Vermont! )

Sometimes the connections we make provide answers down the road.  Much as reading about handgonne's provided some fundamental research into how powder chambers increased velocity and focused pressure on the projectile.

[Artilleryman]

"A Treatise Of The Tactical Use Of The Three Arms, Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry"  By Francis J. Lippitt  1865  This has a very informative section on the use of artillery with examples to back his recommendations.   I know this is not literature per se, but it is very informative.

As to literature when I was a teenager I enjoyed the "Hornblower" series of books which described the adventures of a man who worked his way up through British Navy during the Napoleonic War.  Among other things it describes the use and effect of naval artillery.  One of the things that I remember about it was that it was important to fire on the upward roll of the ship so that if you missed the hull you still had a chance to hit the rigging instead of the water.

[Double D]

I have jsut finished the Patrick Obrien Aubrey-Maturin series upon which Master and Commander was was based.   Lots of smoke and fire in those books.

[Blaster]

Hey DD, sounds like you have developed an echo and it certainly didn't come from an empty powder can

[Cat Whisperer]

Hey DD, sounds like you have developed an echo and it certainly didn't come from an empty powder can

Perhaps it was a really good book and he read it twice.   :-D

I often get a notice that I can't post so soon after posting - which means something went wrong in that the system tried to double post and something else caught it.

[GGaskill]

During the recent period of slow response and frequent timeouts, I had a number of double posts because the original post would timeout and I got no notice whether it had been posted or lost.  Now, when a post times out, I have taken to opening a second window and checking the forum to see if the post was lost or was actually posted to the forum.  A pain, but it keeps the forum looking better.

[Blaster]

Hey DD, sounds like you have developed an echo and it certainly didn't come from an empty powder can

Perhaps it was a really good book and he read it twice.   :-D

I often get a notice that I can't post so soon after posting - which means something went wrong in that the system tried to double post and something else caught it.

Oops.  I should have known better........:oops:

[dominick]

My favorite book is titled MILITARY COMMISSION TO EUROPE in 1855 AND 1856, Report of Major Alfred Mordecai of the Ordnance Department. It is a report to the House of Representatives in 1861and is an extensive study of the  artillery and tactics in Europe at that time. Also, I have one titled GUNS, an Illustrated History of Artillery,  By Edita Lausanne, published in 1971. Both of these books have many useful  illustrations and diagrams.

[Powder keg]

Hey Dominick, You are right! I bought Guns on Ebay. It just showed up today. Very good pictures. I'll see if I can scan some of them and post a couple.

Later, Wes