Below is from the Thursday March 4th 1847 issue of “Farmer and Mechanic” out of New York City.
Portable Rifle Cannons
Another improvement is said to have been made in the deadly munitions of war, by Mr Gilbert Smith, an ingenious artist of this city. It’s a piece of field ordnance of 36 inches in length from the breech to bore, bored with rifle fluting tbroagh a solid piece of steel, and weighing about 70 pounds. It is mounted on a light field carriage, with every requisite for ammunition, and capable of being moved by simple manual labor, upon any emergency—the whole not exceeding 220 pounds in weight.
The Herald says:—”We witnessed an experiment with this cannons at Hoboken, with a target at 700 yards distance, and notwithstanding a very high wind, every bullet, conically formed, forced only by one ounce qt powder, told either within the target, or within a few inches range of the very limited space allotted to it. The mounting is simple but surer and divested of any power of derangement the sight being regulated by a screw, and the gun capable of being, raised or depressed by a similar arrangement, possessing one advantage above all others, that of instead of sponging in front, the gun can be sponged and loaded by a swivel movement, as a common musket, and immediately returned to its position.
