Part II - Gun Drill
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At the command by the
Gunner (or Sergeant or officer conducting the drill)
Take Implements, the crew faces inward toward the
piece (gun); at
Load, No. 1 places the sponge head of the rammer to block the bore from any sparks or other impedimenta that may be blowing about; No. 2 steps between the tube and the wheel, taking care to stand behind the muzzle face as a precaution lest the gun discharge prematurely; unseen in this picture, No. 3 has stepped to the
breech (back end of the gun tube) and placed his
thumb over the vent hole to prevent a draft and seal off any excess air in the bottom of the bore; No. 4 has taken a
friction primer from the brown
tube pouch worn on his waist belt and attached it to a hook on the end of the
lanyard and is standing with the primer in one hand and the lanyard handle in the other; meanwhile the Gunner is beginning to
lay or aim the piece in the general direction he wishes to fire. In the background No. 6 and No. 7 have opened the
limber box and are preparing the charge. (In practice, for safety the box is ONLY opened when the charges are being readied and never simply left standing open!)
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No. 5 has received the charge from the limber attendants and after showing it to the Gunner to make sure it's what he wants has brought it forward to hand it off to No. 2; note how he takes it over the wheel in order to stay behind the plane of the muzzle. All other cannoneers maintain their positions, observing always what is being done; this is because in the heat of battle in a noisy artillery battery consisting of up to six guns there are always sounds and for safety everyone needs to know exactly what's going on within their own gun crew!
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No. 1 now rams home the charge, taking care to see it seats entirely all the way to the bottom of the bore; since this is a drill, No. 5 has returned to his normal position halfway between the gun and limber. (If this were a combat situation instead, he might've returned to the limber for the next charge.) The Gunner oversees what's going on while everyone else maintains their positions.
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At the Gunner's command
Prime, No. 3 removes his thumb from the vent, taking a long brass rod called a
vent pick and inserts it down the vent to punch a hole in the (usually) linen bag containing the powder charge.
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The piece is now loaded and primed; the Gunner now completes the aiming, often using a
pendulum hausse (not pictured here) to sight in the target; No. 3's
thumbing being over, he drops back to the
handspike, a short but stout wooden dowel fastened onto the
trail of the carriage. At the Gunner's pats on the trail, No. 3 moves it to the right or left as indicated using the handspike. Once satisfied, the Gunner nods to No. 4 who steps to the breech, inserts the friction primer, and stretches out the lanyard - not taught, though, lest he stumble and jerk it accidentally! At the command
Ready No.'s 1 and 2 lean away from the muzzle, still watching to make sure their piece discharges; No. 3 steps out of the way of the wheel to avoid its recoil; and No. 4 stands ready, also out of the line of recoil, to pull the lanyard and fire the piece; one hand raised as a signal.
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Following the discharge of the gun, the gunners resume their post position, except for No. 1 who uses the wet sponge end of the rammer to
sponge - never SWAB! - the bore to quench any remaining sparks or embers and remove any remnants of the linen powder bag while No. 3 resumes his thumbing of the vent; should he fail for any reason someone is to jar his memory or get his attention by calling out
Stop Vent! In a combat situation, this would likely flow immediately into loading the next round; for drill everyone returns to the post position until the crew is rotated for the next session or dismissed, in which case a command
Return Implements causes them to replace all tools.