From "Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact" by James H. Willbanks. "Battery Guns"
The invention of the percussion system by Reverend Forsyth in 1807 really had an impact on the development of machine guns. Time passed and more technological breakthroughs were made and the development of rapid fire guns continued.
One of the earliest ones was the swivel gun developed by Joseph G. Chambers of Pennsylvania. In 1813 he took out a patent for a system of repeating gunnery. His gun had seven barrels, each holding 32 balls that used a Roman candle approach.
A burning fuse set off the charges, one after another, delivering an impressive number of shots in a short time. However, the firing was impossible to stop once it began and it continued until the last shot was fired.
The U.S. government purchased several of his swivel guns and several were used against British forces on the Great Lakes in the War of 1812.
--Brock-Perry
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of America's "Forgotten War," the War of 1812 that took place over three years, 1812 to 1815.
Battle of New Orleans.
No comments:
Post a Comment