nstances during the first attack on Fort Fisher,--it was
certainly worth while in the publisher of this work, with his usual
liberality, to devote a long series of admirable plates, prepared under
the direction of Captain Mordecai, to the details of these dangerous
fractures.

It is generally admitted that the smaller "Parrott" guns, including the
thirty pounders, approach very near perfection. The large calibres have
precisely the same merits, as respects range, accuracy, and simplicity
of construction and manipulation. This their work against Fort Sumter
shows. But the deficiency of endurance belongs to the large guns alone;
since the smaller, after an immense amount of service, have shown no
sort of weakness. Yet, if the principle be correct, on which the latter
are strengthened, there seems no reason why the same degree of endurance
may not yet be secured for the larger. It is simply a mechanical
problem, whose solution cannot be far off.

The guns have burst both longitudinally and laterally, and in quite a
variety of position and service. General Turner's suggestion, that an
important secondary cause of bursting is the presence of sand within the
bore, among the ever-blowing sand-hills of the Sea Islands, seems
justified by the fact that in the naval service the accidents have been
far less frequent,--a thing in all respects fortunate, by the way, as
such explosions on board ship involve far greater sacrifice of life than
on land. Another secondary cause is the premature explosion of shell
within the bore, a defect which should be also remediable. Indeed, the
"Parrott" shell were at first notoriously defective, often bursting too
soon or not at all, and thus losing much of their usefulness; though
this defect has now been, in a great degree, remedied. The discussion of
the whole subject in this book seems reasonable and unprejudiced, and a
letter from the maker of the guns, at the end, gives with equal candor
his side of the question.

General Gillmore's narrative of his military operations is exceedingly
interesting, and generally clear and simple. The descent upon Morris
Island from Folly Island was undoubtedly one of the most skilful
achievements of the war. Under the superintendence of Brigadier-General
Vogdes, forty-seven pieces of artillery, with two hundred rounds of
ammunition for each gun, and provided with suitable parapets,
splinter-proof shelters, and magazines, were placed in position, by
night, wi