Instruction Upon The Art Of Pointing Cannon

Instruction Upon the Art of Pointing Cannon

Excerpt from Instruction Upon the Art of Pointing Cannon: For the Use of Young Sea Officers The following translation of a French tract, published in 1841, is offered to the young officers of the Navy by one of their brethren, in the humble hope that it may contribute, even a little, toward their instruction in the most important branch of naval science which they are called upon to master. It is not expected that this brief outline of several principles and maxims of gunnery, derived from theory, and compiled from the records of experiments abroad, shall do more than clear the way for the young sea officer, and invite him to go farther. But if this even is accomplished much is done; especially when it is considered that it is not only the duty, but the interest, of each to know, and to know well, the most important facts in gunnery. Some of them are recorded in the following pages, and have an authority which will induce confidence; for the facts here stated, and the principles laid down, need not be unlearned again, as is too often requisite with the notions picked up by the way-side in early life. The progress made in naval gunnery, by the maritime nations of Europe, leaves it no longer a question with the sea officer of our country, whether he shall study the subject, or pick up so much of it only, as may be thrown in his way in the course of ordinary professional service. This was well enough when all others did it; no others do it now; and we must follow the example of our competitors in the study and practice of naval gunnery, or the young officers of the present day will not prove the worthy heritors of the fame bequeathed to them by the fathers of the Navy. The time has gone by when the pursuit of nautical knowledge by study and application would depreciate the seaman in the eyes of sailors; and it is to be hoped that this barbarous prejudice derived from the bold navy on the other side of the Atlantic, and repudiated by it now, shall no longer find a refuge amongst ourselves. Knowledge in naval gunnery, like every other branch of knowledge, is only to be acquired by labor, assiduity, and study; and, like all other knowledge, carries power with it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Instruction Upon the Art of Pointing Cannon

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Subject-catalogue [ed. by F. Vinton].