Gunshot injuries; how they are inflicted, their complications and treatment

Front matter

Class Book

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT

GUNSHOT INJURIES

Preface To Second Edition

In the short interval of two and a half years which has elapsed since the preparation of the first edition of this book a large amount of new material has been added to the literature of gunshot injuries as a result of the present European War. In consequence thereof any work on gunshot injuries no matter how recently produced requires extensive additions This was realized and the labor of revision was begun shortly after war was declared.

The additions that have been made in the present edition refer to the u'3e of certain types of machine guns and the method of fire from these weapons; the use of the high explosive shell and shrapnel in the "77" and "75" mobile artillery of the French and German armies; the composition of the compound rifle bullet of the British army and how it has operated to provoke anew the discussion on Dumdum bullets. Chapter IV, on Infection of Gunshot Wounds, has been rearranged, and most of it rewritten. This was rendered necessary * because of the valuable contributions which the bacteriologists have made on the invasion of the fecal anaerobes in the wounds of the present war. Chapter V, which takes up the subject of the General Treatment of Gunshot Wounds, has also been rearranged and largely rewritten on account of the radical departures which have been made in the treatment of infected wounds, by Sir A. E. Wright, Alexis Carrel, Colonel H. M. W. Gray and others. To Chapter VI we have added material of much value on the subject of Injuries of the Superior Longitudinal Sinus, a traumatism which has developed largely as a result of tangential shots which have developed from the high velocity of the military rifle and machine gun. Material additions have been made on the subject of Chest Wounds in Chapter VIII. Hemothorax has been more frequent and more difficult to treat in the present war as a result of severe wounds from close fire by the rifle, and the numerous hits by shrapnel and high explosive shell fragments. In Chapter IX, devoted to Gunshot Wounds of the Abdomen, the views of military surgeons on the value of early operation have been discussed at length. Important additions have been made to Chapter X, in that part of it devoted to the management of all kinds

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IV PREFACE

of aneurysms. The value of vessel suture over the old-time method of ligation is dealt with in accordance with the views of a number of well known writers on the subject. In Chapter XII, on the Gunshot Injuries of the Diaphyses of the Long Bones, we have embodied at length the new treatment of Septic Gunshot Fractures by the hypertonic saline solutions and hypochlorous acid methods.

A new chapter has been added on the Casualties of Battles, which contains besides the usual statistics well known to military writers, such data as are available from estimates of losses in the present war. We have to state, however, that the figures are approximate only, though we hope they may be sufficiently accurate for comparative purposes. The difficulty of obtaining information on battle casualties during a war is well known. The reasons are obvious. The state is often uninformed on the subject, and besides this, the combatants often hesitate to make known battle losses for military reasons. Our data have come from official reports, the censored figures of attaches, magazine writers, etc. Until the end of the conflict, when the well organized governments have had time to compile their figures, we cannot expect anything of a more definite nature on battle casualties from the great World War.

L. A. L.

2624 Woodley Place, Washington, D. C.

October 3, 1916.

Preface To First Edition

The necessity for a book on Gunshot Injuries for the use of the military services and the American surgical profession was not apparent until very recently. After the conclusion of our great Civil War the volumes of Otis 1 supplied all the wants of the profession in this particular branch of surgery. The matter in the volumes referred to was rich in variety and so well suited to the requirements of the clinician and students of surgical literature that it became the reference work of the medical profession the world over. But the subject of Gunshot Injuries as a whole has been so modified by radical changes in the armament of the nations and the results in wounds by firearms have been so modified by modern methods of treatment, that the works of Otis and his contemporaries have now been entirely superseded as far as practical surgery is concerned.

The demand of the military and civil surgeon now requires a presentation of the important subject of gunshot injuries as inflicted by a new armament, and treated after the methods of modern surgical practice. The characteristic features of the wounds by the former, and the results attained in them by the latter have entirely revolutionized military surgery, so that the wounds by firearms of fifty years ago and the results of the treatment then in vogue form no guide for a study of the subject to-day.

Some authors on military surgery have sought from the time firearms were first used to treat gunshot injuries in war, as a specialty in surgery, apart from the class of gunshot wounds the civil practitioner is called upon to treat in civil practice. A careful study of the subject will show that there has been but little difference in the character of the large majority of the wounds from these sources. Wounds observed in the two conditions mentioned have for the most part been caused by similar weapons. In the evolution of firearms the rifle of the sportsman has differed but little from the military rifle, and the same may be said of pistols and revolvers, except that in civil practice wounds were more often inflicted by bullets having less weight and caliber, possessed with lower velocity, and animated by less

1 Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion, Parts I, II, and III, Surgical Vols., by Geo. A. Otis, Surg., IT. S. A.

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VI PREFACE

energy. This does not apply to the days of the code duello, because then the weapon used in personal combat was, ballistically speaking, similar to the military hand weapon of that day and the character of the wounds inflicted in military and civil practice was the same.

In our day reduced caliber rifles employing steel mantle projectiles used by armies and the sporting world alike, serve to maintain the similarity in wounds seen by the military and civil surgeon, and since the automatic hand weapons of the pistol and revolver class using steel mantle projectiles are coming into use in the civil population and the military services, the similarity of the wounds seen in peace and war will be further emphasized.

In recent wars the use of hand grenades, bombs and other devices which are made to burst by the agency of high explosives is becoming common, but the civil practitioner has opportunities to see the lacerated wounds from nitroglycerin and all of its modifications now extensively used in engineering projects everywhere so that the character of these wounds is not peculiar to the military service.

The difference in environment has probably done more than any other one thing to cause the earlier military surgeons to regard gunshot injuries in war as a special branch of surgery, and that came largely from the fact that military surgery is mostly made up of emergency surgery. But during these industrial times the practice of the civil surgeon is to a large extent made up of emergency surgery, and like his confreres in military practice he is well versed in all the resources of first-aid to the injured.

In great wars the military surgeon has exceptional opportunities to observe gunshot wounds of all kinds. Here again we find that gunshot inj uries form a branch of surgery common to the military and civil surgeon because armies are never provided with sufficient relief personnel in peace to meet all the exigencies in war. As example we find that the civilian surgeons out-numbered the regular medical officers in the Spanish- American in the ratio of 6 to 1, and in the great Civil War 66 to 1. When war is declared assistance has to come from the medical gentlemen in civil life and history shows that their services are more than welcome, and that they have always responded most willingly to their country's call in times of stress.

In the following chapters the author has as far as possible presented the characteristic features of wounds by the old armament in preantiseptic times, and compared these with the results of gunshot injuries by modern arms in the Spanish- American, Anglo-Boer,

Preface

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Russo-Japanese and Turko-Balkan Wars. He has also availed himself of the character of wounds by firearms in civil life and their results as compared to similar wounds in the military service. Like observations have also been made to a less extent on wounds by different kinds of rifles, pistols and revolvers on animals, experimentally and in the hunt.

There is a medico-legal aspect involved in the subject of gunshot injuries that is not treated as a rule in books on military surgery, but we know that the military surgeon is often called into courts to testify in cases having a medico-legal bearing and that it would appear to be his duty as much as that of the civil surgeon to acquaint himself with this part of the subject, hence the chapter on The Medico-legal Phases of Gunshot Wounds.

The bulk of the matter in the following chapters has been culled from lectures which for more than twelve years have formed the basis for teaching in civil and military medical schools — the method of teaching in the one has differed but little from that employed in the other.

The chapter on Field X-ray Apparatus has been confined to a discussion of types of apparatus which have been found most suitable for field work. We believe that good radiography can only be done by trained radiographers; especially is this so under the unfavorable conditions which obtain during active service and for this reason all description of radiographic technique has been omitted from this work. For the entire rendition of this chapter we are indebted to Captains Henry F. Pipes, W. A. Duncan and Arthur C. Christie, Medical Corps, U. S. Army.

The first chapter was revised in the office of the Chief of Ordnance and the part of the chapter on Ballistics was written in that office under the supervision of Colonel John T. Thompson, O. D., U. S. Army.

The remaining chapters were revised in the office of the Surgeon General by Lt. Col. F. A. Winter, M. C, U. S. A., to whom I am indebted for valuable assistance.

L. A. L.

Washington, January 1, 1914.

CHAPTER I Technical Considerations

Page

1. Definition of a Gunshot Wound. 2. Firearms. 3. Explosives.

4. Projectiles. 5. Ballistics 1-33

Chapter II

1. Wounds by Military Rifles in Recent Wars. 2. Dumdum bullet controversy in present European War. 3. Effects of the Pointed, Spitz, or Bullet "S" on Cadavers, Large Animals, and in the Turko- Balkan War. 4. The Stopping Power or Shock Effects of Bullets from Rifles, Pistols and Revolvers. 5. Explosive Effects of Rifle Bullets Explained. 6. Wounds by Projectiles from the Artillery Arms. 7. Wounds from Pistols, Revolvers, Shotguns, and Target Rifles 34-115

Chapter III

Symptoms of Gunshot Wounds 1. (a) Pain, (b) Shock, (c) Hemorrhage, and (d) Thirst. . 116-122

Chapter IV

1. Infection of Gunshot Wounds. 2. Tetanus and Toy-pistol Tetanus.

3. Poisoned Wounds 123-135

Chapter V

1. Arrest of Hemorrhage. 2. Treatment of Shock. 3. First Field Dressing. 4. Immobilization. 5. Administration of Food and Stimulants. 6. Treatment of Septic Wounds. 7. Antiseptics. 8. Hypochlorous Acid. 9. Eusol. 10. Eupad. 11. Treatment of Wounds by Saline Solutions. 12. Salt Sacs. 13. Open Treatment of Wounds. 14. Treatment by Excision and Primary Suture. 15. Treatment of Virulent Infections. 16. Tetanus and its Treatment.

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X CONTENTS

Page

17. Emphysematous Gangrene and its Treatment. 18. Exploration of Gunshot Wounds. 19. Treatment of Hemorrhage. 20. Remote Treatment of Wounds. 21. After Treatment of Wounds 136-164

CHAPTER VI Gunshot Wounds of the Head, Face and Neck

Head: 1. Wounds of the Scalp. 2. Wound of the Skull without Brain Lesion. 3. Fracture of the Outer Table. 4. Fracture of the Inner Table. 5. Fracture of the Skull with Brain Lesion. 6. Remote Effects in Head Wounds. 7. Hernia Cerebri. 8. Abscess of Brain. 9. Treatment of Gunshot Fracture of the Cranium. 10. Operations upon Gunshot Wounds of the Head. 11. Lodged Missiles in Brain.

Face: 1. Wounds of the Ear. 2. Wounds of the Orbit. 3. Wounds of the Nose. 4. Wounds of Malar Bones. 5. Wounds of the Upper Jaw. 6. Wounds of the Lower Jaw.

Neck: 1. Wounds of the Neck without Injury to the Cervical Vertebrae, List of. 2. Complications in Wounds of the Neck. 3. Wounds of Blood-vessels. 4. Wounds of Nerves. 5. Wounds of the Airpassages 165-213

Chapter VII

1. Fatality of Different Regions in Wounds of the Spine. 2. Concussion of Cord by Large and Small Caliber Bullets. 3. Contusion of the Cord. 4. Hemorrhage of the Cord. 5. Treatment of Gunshot Injuries of the Spine 214-227

Chapter VIII

1. Non-penetrating. 2. Contusions. 3. Laceration and Penetration of the Chest Wall. 4. Humane Character of Gunshot Wounds of Chest by New Armament. 5. Symptoms and Complications. 6. Treatment of Gunshot Wounds of the Chest and their Treatment in the Present European War. 7. Wounds of the Chest with Fracture. 8. Wounds of Heart and Pericardium 228-244

Chapter IX

1. Contusions. 2. Non-penetrating Wounds. 3. Penetrating Wounds without Visceral Lesions. 4. Perforating Wounds with Visceral Lesions. 5. Statistics of Gunshot Injuries of Abdomen. 6. Treat-

CONTENTS XI

Page

ment of Penetrating and Perforating Wounds, in Civil Hospitals and in Military Practice, Including the Present European War. 7. Contraindications and Indications for Operation. 8. Wounds of the Small Intestine. 9. Wounds of the Stomach. 10. Wounds of the Large Intestine. 11. Wounds of the Sigmoid Flexure and Rectum. 12. Wounds of the Liver and Gall-bladder. 13. Wounds of the Pancreas. 14. Wounds of the Spleen. 15. Wounds of the Kidney. 16. Wounds of the Adrenal Gland. 17. Wounds of the Urinary Bladder. 18. Wounds of the External Genital Organs. 245-300

CHAPTER X Injury to Peripheral Nerves — Injury to Blood-vessels and

Nature op the Lesions

1. Results of Injury to Blood-vessels. 2. Traumatic Aneurysms. 3. Aneurysmal Varix and Varicose (Arterio-venous) Aneurysm, and their Treatment in Recent Wars, Including the Present European War. 4. Injury to Peripheral Nerves 301-318

Chapter XI

1. Humane Features of Joint Wounds by the New Armament. 2. Mortality from Wounds of Joints, in the last five Wars. 3. Wounds of Joints with Lodged Missiles. 4. Treatment of Wounds of Joints. 5. Special Joints, Wounds of. 6. Special Reference to Gunshot Wounds of the Knee Joint and its Treatment as Recommended by Col. H. M. W. Gray in the Present European War 319-364

CHAPTER XII Gunshot Injuries op the Diaphyses op the Long Bones

1. Contusions. 2. Simple Fractures. 3. Compound Fractures. 4. Treatment of Gunshot Fractures of the Humerus. 5. Gunshot Fractures of the Forearm. 6. Wounds of the Hand. 7. Wounds of the Shaft of the Femur. 8. Fractures of the Tibia and Fibula. 9. Wounds of the Bones of the Foot 365-406

CHAPTER XIII Casualties of Battle

1. Table of Battle Losses by the Old and More Modern Implements of War. 2. Proportion of Killed to Wounded in Different Wars. 3. Influence of Modern Treatment on Losses in War. 4. Wounds by the Military Rifle and Artillery Fire. 5. Regional Distribution

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of Wounds. 6. Gravity of Wounds by Different Weapons. 7. Regimental Losses. 8. Percentage of Casualties in the Wounded which Reach Hospital Care. 9. Casualties in the Present European War 407-424

Chapter XIV

1. Diagnosis of a Wound Caused by Firearms. 2. At what Distance was the Firearm Discharged. 3. Was the Wound Inflicted before or after Death. 4. Is the Wound Dangerous to Life. 5. The Practitioner's Liability in Case of Infection. 6. How was the Wound Inflicted? 7. Was it Accident, Suicide or Homicide? 8. Identity of the Individual by the Flash of the Firearm. 9. Self-inflicted Non-fatal Wounds. 10. At what Time was the Firearm Discharged. 11. Was the Projectile Jacketed or not? 425-439

CHAPTER XV Field X-ray Apparatus

1. Importance of Radiography in Military Surgery. 2. The Particular

Kind of Machine best Adapted to Field Work 440-448

CHAPTER I Technical Considerations

1. Definition of a Gunshot Wound; 2. Firearms; 3. Explosives;

4. Projectiles; 5. Ballistics

1. DEFINITION

The term gun has descended to us from those earlier days of the use of firearms when large guns like cannons, mortars, and the hand cannon carried by two men, were the only weapons used in war. Hand weapons like the musket, rifle, carbine, pistol and revolver were unknown until the lapse of several centuries, hence the phrase "gunshot wounds, " which is now employed to designate the injuries caused by firearms. The surgical term — gunshot wound — has a wider application for the military surgeon than that usually understood by the surgeon in civil life. For the latter the term includes those wounds occurring in civil communities from missiles fired from portable firearms, viz.: weapons like shotguns, sporting rifles, pistols, revolvers, toy pistols, air-guns, etc. Such weapons propel missiles like bullets of varying caliber, lead pellets, powder grains, with and without wads, by means of a sudden explosive force resulting from the generation of large volumes of gases which are liberated by igniting explosive materials.

Under the term gunshot wounds the military surgeon includes in his battle returns all wounds resulting from the effects of any explosive force. For instance, to him the wound caused from a splinter of wood detached by a fragment of shell is as much a gunshot wound as the injury which might have resulted from the shell fragment itself. The same may be said of the wounds that result from an explosion or any explosive contrivance of whatever kind such as a bomb, terrestrial mine, torpedo, or any engine or implement used in war. In medico-military parlance any missile that is set in motion with sufficient velocity by a sudden expansive force may cause a gunshot wound.

For a proper estimate of the nature and character of gunshot injuries as the subject appears in our literature, the surgeon should familiarize himself with the evolution of firearms, their projectiles, and the explosives which have been employed for the purpose of inflicting injuries from the earliest times. He should further have knowledge of the mechanics of projectiles as far as that part of the subject may relate to motion, velocity, and energy.

In discussing firearms proper it is only necessary for our purpose to review briefly the evolution of weapons, giving the name and the salient features of each, reserving greater space for the more important subjects of projectiles, the mechanics of projectiles, etc.

Firearms and Other Machines used in War. — Firearms of the military class are divided into those of the artillery and the so-called hand-weapons. Under the former will be included large guns, field guns, and other engines employed in war.

Large Guns. — These are breech-loading rifled guns, the largest and heaviest types being used on large war vessels and in seacoast fortifications. The longest of these guns is about 50 feet, the weight about 130 tons and the caliber about 16 inches. They fire shot and shell, made from the hardest steel, weighing about 2400 pounds, with an initial velocity of about 2250 f.s. These large projectiles penetrate steel armor 21 inches in thickness at a distance of 5000 yards. These heavy guns have various calibers down to 3 inches.

Mobile Artillery and Siege Guns. — These vary in caliber from 3 inches to 6 inches. The most common of the field guns is the 3-inch breech-loading steel rifle which accompanies an army in the field, while the heavy field or siege cannon, such as the 6-inch howitzer and 4.7-inch gun, are used principally against fortified positions. All these types employ shell and shrapnel.

Howitzers. — These are cannon of 3.8-inch, 4.7-inch and 6-inch caliber in our army, but shorter than the guns of the same calibers. They fire projectiles at lower velocities and at higher angles than guns.

Mortars. — Are also cannon shorter than the guns or howitzers and are fired at lower velocities and with higher elevations than the latter. They are principally used to throw projectiles over fortified places or intervening obstacles into fortifications or bodies of troops which cannot be reached by ordinary gunfire, or upon the decks of vessels.

Machine Guns. — This class of guns is used by all armies under different names. In our service we now employ the Automatic Machine Rifle, cal. 30 (Benet-Mercie system), which fires the infantry rifle ammunition at great speed. The gun used in our army fires approximately 700 shots per minute and its accuracy at 1000 yards is such that 85 per cent, of hits have been made against silhouettes on the target range, The wounds inflicted by the bullets of the machine-gun are the same in character as those produced by the rifle bullet. The armies engaged in the present European war use the Maxim rapid fire gun, or some modification of it. It has a single barrel which is kept cool by a water jacket or cooled by air radiation, and it is fired by constant pressure on the trigger. The gun in our service is easily folded for transportation, it weighs about 70 pounds. The ammunition is fed to the mechanism from a belt which carries 250 cartridges. In the present war abroad the machine gun is playing an increasingly important role. The fire is directed to meet conditions as they arise. In one instance the fire may be distributed, in an other it may be concentrated, or delivered obliquely. An "infilade fire" may be delivered on the flank of the enemy, and a " covering fire" is delivered when troops in reserve fire from high ground, over the heads of their comrades, at the opposing force.

Hand Weapons, — This is a class of firearms to which the term handweapon has been given because they are carried by the soldier and fired from the hand or shoulder. This class includes the military rifle, the carbine, revolver and pistol.

The Military Rifle. — This weapon is now carried by all soldiers of the line except field artillery, viz.: cavalry, infantry, the marines and sailors. It represents the perfected weapon which has been evolved in the process of gun-making from the hand-cannon to the magazine breech-loading rifle. In order to properly appreciate the significance of the military rifle, the following summary of the different stages in the development of firearms will be of assistance

Hand Cannon. — These guns originated in the East, from which they

were introduced into Europe in 1446. They were the first portable

firearms of which we have any record. The hand-cannon was a small

cannon carried by two men and was fired from a rest on the ground

.and later from two-forked sticks.

Hand Gun. — The hand gun followed the hand-cannon; the barrel was longer and was made of brass fixed in a wooden stock, and like its predecessor, was fired by a lighted match applied by the hand to a touch hole at the rear end of the barrel. The projectiles were made of stone, iron, or lead, and the recoil was received by a breast plate instead of the shoulder.

Match Lock. — The hand gun was followed by the match lock, which was provided with a swinging cock holding a burning taper. The latter was gradually approached to the powder in the firing-pan around the touch hole, by pressing a trigger, underneath, with the finger. These weapons were used in war for nearly two hundred years, when guns with more complicated devices were adopted.

Wheel Lock. — This is a gun invented in Germany about 1515. The powder in the pan was ignited by sparks, which emitted from sulphurous pyrites resting against a rapidly revolving wheel set in motion by pressing the trigger.

The Snap Haunce Gun. — This gun followed the wheel lock. It derives its name from a pecking hen. In this the wheel was replaced by a cock which struck a steel-faced cover over the pan. It employed pyrites to produce the spark and it preceded the use of the more effective flint lock. The operation of firing with all the preceding weapons was slow, about one shot per minute. The bullets were round, weighing 10 to the pound.

The Flint Lock. — This mechanism employed a flint fixed in the hammer which on striking the steel-faced cover of the pan caused sparks to ignite the powder overlying the vent or touchhole. It was first used by the French and English in about 1642 and descended to us from these nations during the earlier settlement of our country. It continued in use for nearly two hundred years, when it was replaced by the percussion cap gun. It is the gun with which we fought our first three wars. At the beginning of the last century, the size of its balls was reduced from 10 to 14 1/2 to the pound, the charge of powder was 6 drams, and the bore of the gun was .753 inch diameter.

Percussion Cap Gun.- — The percussion musket has a hollow pin screwed into the vent which insures direct communication with the powder charge. A copper cap charged with fulminate powder is placed over the pin which on being struck by the hammer detonates and in turn ignites the explosive in the chamber of the gun. It was first used in the English Army in 1839 (though invented in 1807) and in our army in 1842.

The smoothbore percussion musket used in the armies at this time had calibers ranging from .63 to .75. It fired a bullet made of soft lead weighing from 315 to 400 grains and the charge of black powder was from 75 to 130 grains. The projectiles were round with initial velocities ranging from 540 to 950 feet per second and the effective range rarely exceeded 350 yards.

The imperfect fit of the ball in smoothbore barrels permitted the escape of so much of the powder gases at the time of discharge of these guns, with consequent loss of velocity and energy, that the gun makers next turned their attention to the correction of this defect, and in so doing they evolved the hand rifle, which has since become so valuable to the soldier and sportsman.

The Military Rifle. — The earlier patterns of rifled arms still employed round balls in barrels with straight grooves. The balls were a trifle larger than the bore of the gun, and they were forced down to the charge by the use of a ramrod. Later the bullets were elongated to allow more of the surface of the missile to come in contact with the barrel. The fit of the ball was so tight that it was necessary to employ a hammer in addition to the ramrod, and hammers for the purpose were added to the equipment. This secured a better fit between the ball and barrel, which in turn added to the energy and extended the range of the ball by retaining it longer in the barrel while the explosive was generating gases in greater volume and consequently adding greater pressure. The elongated bullets fired from the first rifles were apt to tumble or lose their balance, and this was overcome in a measure by giving the straight grooves in the barrel a slight twist or spiral turn at the rate of one complete turn in 78 inches. This added stability to the bullet, keeping its point forward in flight for a greater time, and it also added to the range, energy and accuracy of fire. This principle in ballistics and the improvement of explosives have added greatly to the effectiveness of projectiles.

To overcome the extreme difficulty and the loss of time in loading with the ramrod and hammer, in 1841 Delvigne, a French army officer, conceived the idea of making a hollow in the base of the bullet next to the explosive, so that the force of the gases might press the soft lead into the metal grooves in the barrel. This prevented the escape of gas and added to the value of the rifle. Later, in 1847, Captain Minie suggested placing an iron disc in the cup at the base of the bullet. The pressure of the gases forced the iron disc forward, thereby securing more expansion of the lead. This added greatly to the effectiveness of weapons, and although Captain Minie' s improvement related only to the projectile, the rifles of that day generally went by the name of Minie rifles. The iron device in the bullet, which was later changed to a boxwood plug, was employed in the Enfield rifle of the English and by other armies, whatever might be the name of their weapons.

The following were the principal features of the Minie rifle corresponding with the earlier makes of our Springfield rifle:

MINIE RIFLE, 1851 to 1866

Weight with bayonet 10 lb. 8 3/4 oz.

Diameter of bore 702 inch.

Number of grooves 4

Twist 1 turn in 78 inches.

Diameter of bullet 690 inch.

Weight of bullet 680 grains.

Charge of powder 150 grains.

Sight for 100 to 1000 yards.

In 1855 we made still further reductions in the muzzle-loading Springfield rifle, as follows:

Caliber 58 inch.

Weight of bullet 500 grains.

Charge of powder 60 grains.

The twist was shortened to one turn in 36 inches, and this was the gun used by our army until 1866.

Breechloaders. — The desire of tacticians to increase the rapidity of fire on the line, led to the adoption of breech-loading weapons. Although breechloaders were known since the reign of Henry VIII, they never came into practical use until the Germans used the device under the name of the Needle Gun in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. At this time we converted the Springfield rifle of our army to a breechloader by adding a breech lock which was made to work on a hinge forward, and we reduced the caliber to .50. The device was simple; slight pressure of the thumb of the right hand opened the chamber for the reception of the metallic cartridge which had then come into use. Our troops were equipped with this gun till 1873, at which time a new model was introduced. The caliber was reduced to .45, the twist was shortened to 1 turn in 22 inches to give the elongated bullet more stability, the powder charge was retained at 70 grains, and the weight of the bullet was reduced to 405 grains. These improvements increased the velocity to 1315 f.s. with a point blank range of 350 yards and a maximum effective range of 2000 yards. We now had a weapon which inexpert hands could be fired as of ten as twenty shots per minute. This was one of the most effective guns of its time. It compared with the German Mauser, the Lee-Speed of the English, the Lebel of the French, and the Spencer, Sharp and Maynard of the sporting world. The ingenuity of man had thus caused rapid strides in gunmaking in one generation, but those who marveled at these marked changes were scarcely prepared for the wonderful improvements that were soon to follow.