ad opposed until its actual declaration, together with
the action of the Holy See in appointing to the sees of Philadelphia and
New York other candidates than those of his recommendation, weighed on
his mind. He died in Georgetown on the 3rd of December 1815. He may well
be reckoned the greatest figure in the Roman Catholic Church of the
United States. His position in the church had never been easy, partly
because he had been a prominent member of the Society of Jesus. The
great size of his diocese had made it unwieldy; and his struggle to
secure the independence of the American church had been a difficult one.
As a defender of papal and episcopal authority he had, especially in
Philadelphia and Baltimore, to deal with churches whose trustees
insisted that they and their parishes alone could choose priests, that
bishop or prefect could not object to their choice. Akin to this
difficulty was the desire of Catholics of different nationalities to
have separate churches, a desire often created or encouraged by
intriguing and ambitious priests. Besides these and other internal
annoyances, Carroll had to meet the deep-seated distrust of his church
in communities settled almost exclusively by Protestants.

See John Gilmary Shea, _History of the Catholic Church in the United
States_, vol. ii. (1763-1815), (Akron and New York, 1888); and Daniel
Brent, _Biographical Sketch of the Most Rev. John Carroll, First
Archbishop of Baltimore, with Select Portions of His Writings_, edited
by John Carroll Brent (Baltimore, 1843).

CARRONADE, a piece of ordnance invented, by the application of an old
principle of gun construction, to serve as a ship's gun. The inventor
was the antiquary General Robert Melville (1728-1809). He designed the
piece in 1759, and called it the "smasher," but it was not adopted in
the British navy till 1779, and was then known as the "carronade," from
the Carron works on the Carron river in Stirlingshire, Scotland, where
it was first cast by Mr Gascoigne. The carronade had a powder chamber
like many of the earliest guns known, and was similar to a mortar. It
was short, light, had a limited range, but was destructive at close
quarters. Carronades were added to the existing armaments of guns proper
or long guns. A 38-gun frigate carried ten carronades, and was therefore
armed with 48 pieces of ordnance. As the official classifications were
not changed, they were misleading guides to the real strength