Note Number 16, The Billinghurst and Requa Rifle Battery
National Park Service
Item Details
Descriptive Information
LanguageEnglish
Transcriptionthe two batteries in the Fourth Parallel took an active part in a brisk skirmish. Three infantry men who were not thoroughly drilled served each piece. They were fired rapidly and apparently with good effect. Being breech loading, and easily handled scarcely any exposure above the parapet was required on the part of the gunners. But one piece was disabled during the siege and it was quickly repaired. Although the defensive properties of the Requa Rifle Battery were not severely tested in the small amount of service above recorded I feel quite satisfied that it is adapted to the defense of earth works particularly in a flat country like this, when the horizontal line of dispersion afforded by the fire of this piece is more effective than the cone of dispersion of the howitzer. It should be noted that the angle of dispersion can be varied to suit the case in this battery which is not true of the howitzer. These properties together with its small recoil and its loading at the breech and lightness are the qualities most desirable in a gun for boat service.
Physical Descriptions
Mediumletters (correspondence)
TypeStill Image
Formatimage/jpeg
Contributing Institutions
Identifiers
Digital Identifiersmt_brooks521_087_003
Permanent Linkhttp://purl.clemson.edu/5301A753CC0276AF44EED2CEC6EF6F3D
Batch ID20180328174717
