CHAPTER IX.
THE RIFLE.

The Rifle has at length taken its place among scientifically improved weapons. Mathematicians laboured long and earnestly to develope the important principles involved in it, and which lay hidden like latent heat, only waiting for the moment when they were to be extracted, as they were at length by experiment, the result of necessity: indeed necessity has done more for the improvement of gunnery than all the mental toil and labour bestowed on the science itself. The philosopher has sought in vain for that which mechanical skill unpatronised and unheeded forced upon the world, and that, too, in spite of prejudice and contempt; and the present generation see improvements brought out which were predicted generations before—as the following quotation from Robins clearly shows:—“Whatever state shall thoroughly comprehend the nature and advantages of rifle pieces, and having facilitated and completed their construction, shall introduce into their armies their general use, with a dexterity in the management of them, they will by this means acquire a superiority which will almost equal anything that has been done at any time by the particular excellence of any one kind of arms, and will perhaps fall but little short of the wonderful effects which histories relate to have been formerly produced by the first inventors of fire-arms.”

That the result here predicted has now been obtained no one can doubt. Greater extension of range is yet attainable; but accuracy of range amounts already to almost mathematical precision. All that is now required is, that the same principle should be applied to the heaviest projectiles; and when these are projected under precisely the same laws, experience will further establish this principle, that “the heavier the body in equal velocities the less the deflection from atmospheric resistance.” When this is demonstrated the present order of things will be reversed; heavy ordnance will exceed the shoulder rifle in extension and accuracy of range, whilst the shoulder rifle will again fall back to its former state of comparative inferiority.

Barrels were first grooved or rifled at Vienna, about the year 1498. The original object of grooving or rifling the barrels was to find space for the reception of the foul residue produced by discharging the rifle, and thus to diminish the friction of the bullet as it was forced down by the ramrod. During the next twenty years a spiral turn was given to the groove, and bullets were used with projections to fit the grooves, the degree of twist or spiral varying as the skill of the gun-maker thought best.

The difficulty of loading rifles has at all times been a drawback to their universal adoption as warlike weapons, and it has been reserved for a humble individual to achieve that which all the talent devoted to it for three centuries had hitherto failed to accomplish.

A multitude of claimants have “put in their plea” for a share in some part of the invention; and it may benefit not only the present but also the future generation, if we give a succinct account of the approaches made by different men towards the present established principle, and show the bearing each had in bringing about the revolution that has taken place in the science of gunnery.

The earliest notice of an elongated bullet is Robins’s “egg-shaped,” which gives to the hemispherical end the centre of gravity, thus establishing the first essential principle; but theory and practice were here sadly discordant, for its wild uncertain flight, caused by the small end acting as a rudder, rendered his theory useless, and it soon died of a natural death.

The next innovation on the spherical principle of bullets was the attempt made by the late Sir Home Popham to introduce elongated sphero-cylindrical bullets into cannon, with grooves and projections on the exterior to impart a spinning motion, which should be sustained by the action of the atmosphere; but this, like Robins’s idea, survived only a very short time. The next in rotation is a description given by Captain Beaufoy, in his work on the rifle called Scloppetaria, and published, we believe, in 1808. Captain Beaufoy gives a drawing of an elongated bullet one and a quarter diameters in length, having a hemispherical cavity accurately corresponding in shape to its counterpart at the opposite end. “This,” he states, “he had heard was beneficial from the fact of the rush of atmospheric air into the vacuum created, thus inducing a forward motion by the kick à posteriori.” This apparently was but a surmise, an idea never carried out, for in the same work a degree of spiral grooving is advocated with which the action of this bullet, had it ever been intended to be expansive in principle, would be quite incompatible.

Next comes the celebrated Joseph Manton with his invention, intended to give a spiral motion to the ball by the cup of wood already described under the head of rifled cannon. This very idea has since been revived by General Jacob; and in 1822 Captain Norton introduced to the notice of the Government his “Rifled Shell” for the explosion of an enemy’s tumbrils. This was of necessity an elongated hollow bullet, containing a small charge of gunpowder, which was ignited by the explosion of a cap on a nipple, screwed into the fore-end of the leaden shell.

Here, no doubt, was a partially expansive bullet; for the bullet would be driven in upon itself, and thus expand from the weakness of the hollow shell; this near approach, however, to the invention was not intentional: the sole object in view was the action of the shell, and no more importance was attached to its expansion, in Captain Norton’s estimation, than to the bullet described by Captain Beaufoy in his Scloppetaria. It is only within the last few years that some friend, with more acumen than the gallant officer, discovered his near approach to the subsequent invention, and a claim has been made on his behalf which he himself never dreamt of, during the many years we were battering at the doors of prejudice; closed as they were against military innovation.

In 1826, Capt. Delvigne proposed to use an elongated bullet: “having observed that when a bullet was forced in by the old system of the mallet, its diameter was increased perpendicularly to the axis of the barrel, he came to the conclusion that by giving a chamber to the breech of the rifle, and loading with an elongated bullet having just sufficient windage to enter freely, two or three taps from a steel ramrod would flatten it sufficiently to make it take the form of the grooves, into which it would certainly penetrate when fired.” This contrivance was, however, found to be useless for military purposes; for after a trial, extending over two or three years, by the Garde Royal in Algeria, it was given up in 1830. This, then, is clear proof of an attempt to construct an expansive bullet, and conclusive evidence also of its failure.

From 1830 to 1839, no evidence can be found of any progress having been made by these inventors. In 1836 I had the honour of producing the first perfect expansive bullet. During the winter of 1835 and the spring of 1836, I made an extensive series of experiments in order to overcome the effect of the very extensive windage existing in military muskets at that time; better known in the present day by the name of “Old Brown Bess.”

The mean diameter of the bore was ·760, the diameter of the bullet was ·701, or of the better understood gauge of 11 and 14 bore, thus leaving more than three sizes for windage. To obviate this great discrepancy by expanding a bullet from 14 to 11 bore, so as to destroy the windage, was the first consideration; and, indeed, the first great step towards that change of which we have as yet only seen the beginning. I here give a representation of my first attempt, and the observations made upon it in 1841:—

Five years ago I perfected and laid before the Board of Ordnance a new plan or system of constructing expansive balls, which is accomplished by having two dissimilar portions. An oval ball with a flat end and a perforation extending nearly through, is cast; a taper plug with a head like a round topped button is also cast, of a composition of lead, tin, and zinc, as below.

The end of the plug being slightly inserted into the perforation, the ball is put into the rifle or musket with either end foremost. When the explosion takes place, the plug is driven home into the lead, expanding the outer surface, and thus either filling the grooves of the rifle, or destroying the windage of the musket, as the case may be. The result of this experiment was beyond calculation; and for musketry, where the stupid regulations of the service require 3¹⁄₂ sizes of bore difference for windage, it is most excellent, as remedying this considerable drawback upon the usefulness of the arm; the facility of loading being as great, if not greater, than by the present practice.

Inventions, however, are of no use whilst kept in obscurity, and my first and natural course was to bring it under the notice of the parties for whose benefit it was intended. Accordingly, in July, 1836, a memorial was duly drawn up, and laid before the Master-General and Board of Ordnance, soliciting a trial. After overcoming some difficulties, a trial was ordered at the “cost of the inventor,” and in August, 1836, it took place at Tynemouth, in Northumberland, under the command of Major Walcot, of the Royal Horse Artillery, a party of the 60th Rifles being the firing party. The exact form of the memorial, and the points claimed by the inventor, are as follows:—

The success of the experiments far surpassed the expectations of the military men present; and that they fully established all the points claimed, will be evident from the following secret report made by Major Walcott to the Board of Ordnance:—

The immediate result was a very pithy epistle from the Secretary to the Board, saying, that “in consequence of the bullet I had submitted being ‘a compound,’ it was totally unfit for his Majesty’s service, and no more trials could be allowed.”

This, in 1836, was the universal mode of proceeding, as subsequent events clearly proved; whether from inability on the part of the constituted military science controllers, or from a fixed determination to reject all improvements from civilians, I knew not; but time explained it all, as the sequel will show.

The total destruction, in 1841, of the small arms department in the Tower of London, together with all the arms it contained, opened a vista to improvement both in the principle and mechanical construction of “Old Brown Bess.” This opportunity was not lost. A series of letters, Nos. 1 to 6, appeared in the Times in November and December, 1841, urging the necessity of a radical change in the construction of military arms, if the nation was still to hold its high military prestige. The sensation created at this time was immense, and no doubt laid the foundation stone for that change which has rendered English arms superior to any in the world, instead of being, as they formerly were, inferior to any in Europe.

In one of those letters, which may still be found in the Times of December 25th, 1841, the following account is given of the progress I had made in the invention since 1836; and when the form and proportions of my expansive bullet of 1841 are contrasted with the present and the original form adopted by our Government from the French of Captain Minié in 1849, it must strike the reader as being so palpable a copy as to leave no ground for argument.

“One favourite suggestion of Hutton’s has hitherto been strenuously rejected, even by those to whom his recommendations have, in other respects, been laws—viz., his plan of using ‘oblong bullets.’ Some years ago I laid before the Board of Ordnance a very simple plan of getting rid of all windage, yet of loading easily, and adding to the weight of the projectile (a favourite theory with the artillerists). This was effected by employing an oblong ball of lead ‘a diameter and a half in length,’ having a perforation extending through two-thirds of it. An iron plug of a conical shape is slightly inserted into this perforation, and the gun loaded with it. When the explosion takes place, this plug is driven home into the lead, and, by expanding its outer surface, the projectile comes out of the gun fitting as tight as possible, and a line of flight is given to it of corresponding accuracy. The advantages of this arrangement are numerous, but, in naval warfare, of the most important nature, giving heavier metal with smaller rates, and from the composition and shape of the projectile combined, producing a corresponding destruction.

“But the authorities laid the plan upon the shelf, where it will rest until produced by some more important personage than myself. The poor inventor obtains but poor encouragement, while his more wealthy competitor is enabled to have every opportunity of trying schemes which, in most cases, are not worth the consideration of any, save the friends of the party.”

In 1842, powerful influence being brought to bear, it was hoped that a trial of my invention would result; and in order to meet the strongly expressed public opinion, the Board of Ordnance ordered me to construct them model arms on my own principle. This was done, and the trial promised by the Master-General was demanded, but as obstinately refused by the Select Committee at Woolwich, whose power was superior to that of the Master-General; though he was fully pledged to afford me a trial.

Thus the progress of invention was delayed until 1848; sometimes enlivened, however, by the bursting of a shell of intelligence in the camp of military prejudice. Slashing letters appeared from time to time on military incapacity. Meanwhile Captain Delvigne and Captain Thierry continued their experiments, and on June 21st, 1842, a patent was obtained in France, which is thus described:—

“For having hollowed the base of my cylindro-conical bullet, not only for motives mentioned in the descriptive memoir given with my demand for a patent, but besides to obtain its expansion (son èpanouissement) by the effect of the gases produced through the ignition of the powder. By this means the effort of the powder itself, which formerly caused spherical bullets to deviate from the grooves, now contributes to force the bullets of my system more firmly into them.”

In a paper published by M. Delvigne in the Spectateur Militaire, of August, 1843, we also find:—

In 1847 and 1848 Captain Minié makes his first appearance on the boards; and he proposed a hollow iron cup to fill up the cavity in Delvigne’s bullet, and from this circumstance we get the name of Minié rifle.

The serious defects in our arms were now, however, becoming so glaring, and the disgrace of getting worsted in skirmishes with contemptible foes in the Cabul and Caffre wars, as well as nearer home in the Mediterranean, raised public indignation against the military arms department; and this indignation reached such a pitch that an immediate change was called for. The so-called invention of Captain Minié offered itself, and was immediately adopted, though the very same thing had previously, on two occasions, been rejected at my hands.

Thus the history of the rifle is brought up to the adoption by the Government of my principle, under the name of the Minié rifle; and the validity of the pleas on the part of the several claimants for a share in the invention has been succinctly stated.

During the succeeding years I several times made unsuccessful attempts to obtain from the English Government a recognition of my claim to the invention. True it is that insult was not added to injury, for they did not tell me I had no claim as an inventor, but they sheltered themselves under the political plea of “Oh, my dear sir, the injustice did not occur under our Administration, or we should be so happy to remedy it!”

Time went on, and war came at length, and brought with it proof that but for my invention we should have been ill prepared. “The queen of weapons saved the fight:” so said the Thunderer. “When war’s wild din was done,” the poor inventor was listened to.

The first step taken was through Mr. Scholefield, the member for Birmingham, who moved in the House of Commons for copies of the correspondence between myself and the Board of Ordnance in 1836, and the papers therewith connected. Thus an act of glaring injustice was exposed, and there was evidence of proceedings having been enacted over which I would rather draw a veil. The authorities were no doubt shocked at the injustice which the poor inventor had met with at the hands of the then Board of Ordnance.

Thus I obtained the Secret Report, which elevates so high the names of those who could designate a plan as “useless and chimerical,”[13] which was destined eventually to create greater changes in gunnery than it had undergone from its earliest invention.

I then disputed the fact of its being a French invention before the juries of the French Exposition in 1855; there, however, my evidence was inadmissible, from the fact of it not having been exhibited, and the invention not being a recent one. In spite of all this, I still persevered; and my next step was to submit the subject to royalty. I first submitted it to the Emperor Napoleon, who carefully investigated the facts of the case, and admitted the Englishman’s priority. Eventually the British Government, after much trouble, also admitted the fact, (though not until after it had been submitted to the successors of the original select committee) and awarded me the sum of 1,000l. in the army estimates of 1857.

It is a fact, which all will acknowledge, that the principles involved in an invention should be best known to the inventor himself; and if he is unable to explain the very principles of such invention, then it is quite fair to presume that he was not the original inventor.

Now there is no evidence that either Delvigne or Minié had any profound knowledge of the science of gunnery, and their knowledge of the principles of the expansive rifle was so meagre as to justify the assumption, that their only connection with its production was that of copying from the Times newspaper, or from my works published in 1842 and 1846. My observations certainly appeared before any of theirs; and I believe that no straining of facts can in any way connect them with the invention, which was as perfect in 1841 as when they reproduced it in 1848 and 1849.

With these remarks, I pass on to what is of more importance, viz., the principle of the expansive rifle.

It had long been known that to give a spiral motion to a bullet in a direction coincident to its line of flight, was the standard of perfection in rifle projectiles; but this, until the invention of the expansive bullet, could never be attained with safety.

Spheres receiving this motion are not likely to retain it, because the periphery of the spherical bullet is, in all cases, subjected to much more friction than the rest of the sphere; a change would therefore certainly be induced, the axis of the spinning motion being changed from one coincident to the line of flight to that of one vertical to the same. The two grooved rifle was an illustration of this; for in all cases the projections on the bullet induced a change, the ring of the bullet revolving parallel to the horizontal line, as I predicted in 1841.

Enough has been said to point out the prejudicial action of any projections on projectiles, both as regards their accuracy and length of flight; perfect smoothness of surface being, in fact, absolutely necessary. Lengthened study and a series of experiments with bullets of a sphero-cylindrical shape having grooves and projections on their exterior identical with the grooving of the interior of the barrel, led me to consider the production of a bullet with a considerable cavity (equal, in fact, to two-thirds of its length) at the same time adopting as a standard one and a half diameters in the length of the bore of the gun; thus the thickness of the metal between the apex of the bullet and apex of the cavity was nearly one half of the diameter, as the following diagram will show.

This enabled me to insure two important principles, on which depended the success of the whole invention. 1st. The centre of gravity was in the head of the projectile. 2nd. “The force was communicated directly to the centre of gravity during the explosion.” This is a most important principle, which all writers presuming to give their version to the theory of the expansive system, have entirely overlooked.

If the arrow could receive the propelling force in the head, its motion would be even, and free from “hobbling,” as Roger Ascham wishes it to be; but if, on the contrary, it is received at the opposite extremity, then there is a struggle between the head and the tail, as to which shall be first, and a “wobbling” motion is induced, enduring until an equilibrium of velocity is established.

It is essential to all future progress in the science of projectiles, that this point should be remembered, and its importance duly estimated; and it is possible to apply this principle to projectiles of any weight. If this point be attended to, where is the difficulty in extending the length of our projectiles to that of arrows? thus increasing their range indefinitely. There is, in fact, no law to limit the length of expansive bullets: the only limit to their length now is the tendency of lead to squash; but alloys of lead and other metals may yet be beneficially used for projectiles, and that to an extent of which at present we can form no conception.

The range of vision of the human eye being inferior to the range of the rifle will probably be the only limit to its use; and this range will not be difficult to attain: reduction in the size of bore enables us to elongate the bullet without diminishing its weight or the accuracy of its range; but without the existence of a cavity to insure the force being applied to the head of the bullet, this cannot possibly be done; whilst all other shapes are limited in their application, and an extension of range cannot be obtained with them.

Next to these two important points in the invention comes the question of expansion, whereby the grooves of the rifle are filled up with lead, and windage is as far as possible obviated. The expander I first employed consisted of a tapering piece of iron, similar in shape to the frustum of a cone, and this, when inserted into the cavity of the bullet, was flush with the bottom of the cylinder. The force generated by the ignition of the charge was exerted equally on the plug and on the leaden cylinder; the plug, however, moving more rapidly than the lead, is driven quicker into the bullet, the bullet expands, and thus the filling up of the grooves is accomplished. There can be no doubt that at the same time an upward force is exerted by the plug on the leaden bullet; and that, too, of a more elastic character than would be exerted by the gases themselves, if they were allowed to act directly with all their force upon the lead; for it is a fact beyond all dispute, that any force tending to set matter in motion gradually is more effective than that which is instantaneous in its action.

Many writers condemn in toto the Minié principle and its cup. Minié did not understand it; and the introduction of the cup by him was, I believe, an accident, or the best he could do by copying my mode of using it: it was not the production of his own brain.

It has been urged as an argument against the use of this cup, that sometimes expansion does not occur. This, however, may easily be accounted for by the fact that the cup is not tightly fitted into the cavity of the bullet; a space is left through which the elastic fluid penetrates the cavity, the cup then has as much pressure exerted upon it behind as in front, and hence it remains undisturbed.

Then the cup is sometimes driven in so violently that it becomes flattened against the flat surface of the upper portion of the cavity, cutting the lead so entirely as to leave the cylindrical portion of the bullet in the breech of the gun; this is well known to have been a frequent occurrence on the first introduction of this bullet. These defects are instanced, as evidence to show that Minié and others have no claim whatever to the production of the original idea—they cannot even now grasp it, but condemn it, because it is beyond the limits of their comprehension. True it is that, after blundering for several years, our Government have come back to my original idea, as the following quotation will show:—

“Colonel Hay,” says Sir Howard Douglas, “has introduced an important improvement in the shape of the cup, and in the figure of the cavity into which it is forced on the firing of the charge. It will be perceived that the cavity in the Minié shot has the form of the frustum of a cone, while that of the cup is a hemisphere: now all who have examined the shot picked up after having struck an iron target or penetrated into the earth, find that the hemispherical cup is very liable to be canted or turned instead of being forced directly into the hollow space; the lead of the shot is not driven equally into the grooves of the rifle. For this evil Colonel Hay has proposed a remedy, in giving both to the cup and the cavity in the shot conoidal forms; by which means the former must, by the force of the powder, proceed directly forward in the hollow space, and thus uniformly expand the lower part of the shot in the bore.”

If this is not conclusive evidence of the priority of my invention, then I cannot understand the English language.

The next object I sought to obtain in the invention was a reduction of opposing surface, and an increased momentum. The law of atmospheric resistance is as the area of displacement, and the velocity with which that displacement is effected. Thus, a spherical bullet of one ounce weight displaces a bulk of the atmosphere equal to the area of its hemisphere; whereas an elongated bullet of the same weight would have to displace so much less as is the difference between their diameters. These two bullets, started at equal velocities, are acted upon very differently by opposing forces; the velocity of the spherical is diminished much sooner than that of the elongated bullet, on account of its greater diameter: hence the increased range of the elongated bullet. Let us suppose an extreme case. Take a bullet produced from a description of hardened lead five diameters in length, and presenting to the atmosphere one-fifth the surface of a spherical bullet of equal weight; the reasonable assumption would be that this bullet would range a greater distance if projected at the same velocity, and if the same charge of gunpowder be used as with a spherical bullet.

The first series of experiments clearly established the fact that increased range could be obtained, and also with a vast reduction in the charge of gunpowder: with a saving, in fact, of nearly 50 per cent. Two drachms and a half were found equal to a range of fourteen hundred yards, whilst four drachms and a half on the old system would rarely reach half that distance. These important points were gradually developed, though not without many disappointments and much mental anxiety: the last discovery, to have rendered the task easy, should have been the first.

Extreme spiral curve in the rifle barrel is incompatible with the correct action of the expansive bullet. The old-established turns of one in four feet, one in three feet, and one in two feet nine inches, gave results in the order I have placed them; and it was not until the adoption of a spiral approximating to one turn in five and a half up to six feet, that I found the success of my experiments uniform: and this fact illustrates one great obstacle which my invention had to contend with before it was generally adopted.

The ordinary sporting rifles have invariably too much spiral; the amount of friction generated by an expansive bullet in a rifle of this construction is enormous, absorbing in many cases one half the power of the expellant. The result of this is most unsatisfactory: the bullet suddenly loosed from this immense friction, and freed from the column of air in the tube, rushes so wildly forward as entirely to destroy equilibrium in its flight; and hence the very loud complaints of disappointed experimenters.

The expansive principle now adopted combines such qualities that, however long and loudly it may be condemned, it will again assert its superiority, and hold undisputed the first place for generations to come. It is based on that law of nature which will always tell in mechanical productions; namely, minimum of friction, and hence maximum of propulsion or velocity; the greatest possible range with the least amount of expellant agency. The same law holds, even though the bullet should be elongated and made into an arrow. That which has been introduced to the world as an improvement on my invention, and modestly termed the “Pritchett bullet,” I rejected in 1841 as being inferior to the expansive bullet: any one who is curious, and wishes to be convinced of this fact, will find the following quotation in the Naval and Military Gazette for February, 1842:—“A great improvement may be effected by using plugs of a cylindrical shape, having the upper end round, and the part next the powder flat or concave; for rifles, to be of use, must be constructed for high velocity, and this can be done by a proportionate spiral and the use of a plug similar to that given above. In this case we may load with the greatest facility, and the bullet expanding, forces itself into the grooves of the rifle, and thus receives the modicum of spiral motion required.” A perusal of “Captain Jervis on the Musket Rifle” would lead one to infer that this was a great invention on the part of Mr. Pritchett, and that it would supersede to a certainty the more perfect expansive bullet; but Mr. Pritchett’s so-called invention has sunk into oblivion, from whence it will never emerge.

From practice I found that the most material defect in this bullet was its uncertainty of action: it was driven in upon itself, and thus its diameter was increased. A slight difference in the hardness of the lead, a bullet moulded when the metal was hot, and the reverse, would be such insuperable difficulties as to render their adoption quite impracticable; moreover, when rapid firing became necessary, the enormous friction created by the heat and hardness of the previous deposit from exploded powder, rendered the use of these bullets highly dangerous; as was proved in the Crimean war. I trust they are now for ever abandoned, for their adoption did not show great intelligence on the part of their advocates.

The expansive principle not being adopted in the armies of France and other Continental nations, may be justly attributed to the experimenters of the French school having been led astray; claiming, as they did, the entire merit of the invention. It is but fair that whilst endeavouring to establish my own claim to the invention, I should point out the discrepancies existing in the theory of my opponents.

That considerable imperfections exist in the expansive rifle used in France, is evident from the results of their experiments, and the time which has been wasted in discussing the principles necessary for correcting the flight of the bullet by “annular rings” being applied to its cylindrical part.

Captain Tamissier’s theory is “that an elongated bullet in passing through the air, describing the curve of the trajectory, maintained its axis parallel in its successive positions to the position it had at starting, and that the angle formed by this axis with the element of the trajectory—that is, the direction of the motion—changed every instant. The action of atmospheric resistance would also be altered by the surface presented by the projectile; as the point of application of this force would not always pass through the centre of gravity, but would establish a rotatory motion different from that with which the bullet was originally animated: in different words, the bullet, by preserving its original position, would after a time be pursuing its path with its broadside foremost; that is, with the point of its axis above the line of the trajectory and the near end below.

“To remedy this, and increase the precision of fire with these bullets, Captain Tamissier thought it was necessary to create resistances to the atmosphere as far as possible behind their centre of gravity, in order to bring the point of the bullet back to its original course. For this purpose he formed a number of circular grooves on the cylindrical part of the bullet, in imitation of the feathers of an arrow; which, he says, are placed at the hinder part to engender resistances.”

The folly of such a theory must be very apparent to a practical man. The engraving below of a bullet obtained direct from Captain Minié in December, 1855, and with which the troops were then experimenting at Vincennes, when compared with my bullet of 1843, renders any further argument unnecessary.

With this I contrast my bullet of 1841, at page 354, and a very slight inspection will be sufficient to satisfy any one of its superiority: every practical rifle-shooter knows that the smoother all the surfaces of the bullet, the more extensive and accurate is the range. That the French experiments should have given unsatisfactory results I am not at all surprised: the flat surface on the point of the bullet must offer a large space for the resistance of the atmosphere, during 1,000 yards of flight. Then to this must be added the effect produced by the rings around the bullet; and when the resistance of the atmosphere and that produced by the friction of the bullet are added together, we need not be surprised that the results of the experiments turned out very unsatisfactory. Surely, if the French school invented the bullet which produced this wonderful revolution in gunnery, they would have rendered it perfect, instead of producing it in a more rude state in 1848 than I had produced it in 1840.

Another point affording strong evidence that the whole was copied from my work of 1842, is this. In my original plan the bottom of the cavity of the bullet was flat, exactly as it now appears in Captain Minié’s annular ringed bullet. In 1843 this was changed into a hemispherical bottom; and this exists in all English expansive bullets, as the adjoining woodcut will show.

In 1852 I produced a new form of cup, intended to obviate the use of the heavier substance, or conical piece of iron. In addition to a cup of a parabolic spindle shape, it had a rim like that on a man’s hat, as the woodcut will show.