F

254 SERVICE OF ARTILLERY

working the artillery ; and a few steady intelligent men pick-ed out for carrying on the sap. With one stage of coun-termines, the number of miners must be increased to 80,and with two to 160. The infantry must furnilh some fitmen for working under ground, and building the frames ofthe shafts, branches and galleries.

CHAP. II.

Of Convoys.

33. ' T H E transport of artillery and stores is either byland, or water: in the former cafe, a rendezvous is appointedfor all the carriages, and the roads are put in repair; in thelatter, the boats are collected at the place most commodiousfor embarkation.

So soon as the commanding officer of artillery has re-ceived orders from the general to forward the guns, stores,&c. contained in the inventory previously concerted betweenthem ; he dispatches an experienced officer to the camp, themoment he hears that the place is invested, to choose aproper place for the park; and when the convoy marches byland, he detaches one or two subaltern officers to examinethe condition of the roads and bridges, that they may berepaired, or rebuilt if necessary: in the mean time, thestores are loaded and every thing prepared for departure.

34. The roads should be broad and straight, for the fakeof shortening the line of march, and avoiding the delay thatsometimes happens in narrow roads to a whole convoy fromthe breaking down or oversetting of a carriage, particularlyof a heavy gun. In a mountainous country, where the,roadsare sleep, narrow and winding; they should if possible bewidened and mended : if that cannot be effected, new onesmust be made sufficiently broad and straight. A steep roadis less inconvenient than a winding one; the difficulty in thefirst cafe being surmounted by dividing the stores into a num-ber of carriages; but in the second, from the short turns,the guns mutt frequently be dragged on sleighs by the sol-diers with the assistance of ropes and tackles, with great la-bour aud much loss of time.

35. Bridges, for the passage of heavy artillery, are madeeither with beams, trestles, or boats. Should there be a-

necessity