Guns all in position — one 10-inch mortar, three 8-inch
mortars, one a 32 pound Parrot rifle, and two brass field pieces. These guns
occupied about half a mile in the line. Other guns were interspersed along the
line, but of these I know but little. The mortar firing was grand in the
extreme, notably the 10-inch one. The gun is fixed permanently with an
elevation of 45 degrees. The shell is seen as soon as it leaves the gun on account
of the burning fuze. It mounts, and mounts, until it seems to be among the
stars, it then ranges along like a meteor until it begins to describe the other
half of the parabola. It then descends to the ground, burying itself many feet
in the earth and explodes with a deep muffled roar, sending dirt and stones
many feet in the air.
SOURCE: Abstracted from George G. Smith, Leaves from
a Soldier's Diary, p. 68
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