Ensign Merrill — page 108: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

[7 THE LIGHT ON THE POINT. «- 108)” and almost anybody can aim a gun when the muzzle _ touches the target.’’ Shortly after turning to, the boatswain sounded a peculiar call on his pipe, and shouted : ‘All gun divisions to quarters! Drop all work and man the batteries.”’ ) In obedience to the command, those members of the crew stationed at the guns marched below to the first deck and speedily took their proper places. Thesecond officer, who was, as stated before, an old graduate of the Annapolis Naval Academy, had charge of the for- ward or pivot gun, while the executive officer, Ned Gage, commanded the two after pieces. Each crew consisted of fifteen men, this number be- ing required because of the primitive methods for han- dling the heavy rifles. In the time of which we write there were no improved carriages with hydraulic at- tachments, but a simple iron frame-work supported on one end by hardwood rollers. ‘To shift the piece re- quired the use of roller handspikes and a rude block and tackle. Theordnance on the Badger was cemposed of the then recently introduced breech-loaders, techni - cally known as ‘‘sixty-pounders,”’ firing a projectile of. that weight. Kach man in the division had specified duties to perform, from the captain, who controlled and fired it, to the powder-monkey, whose duty was to carry ammunition from the hoisting tube. Most of the men had multiple work; for instance, the one handling the sponger while swabbing out after firing, would man one of the side tackles while the weapon was _ being trained. ‘Then the rammer would handle a handspike at the proper time, and the first side-tackleman would assist in carrying shells and solid shot. With suffi- cient practice an entire sonia ee could work smoothly Gcomicbooks.co mn pete