Cannon

(kān'nun.) [From L. canna, a pipe made of reed.] (Ord.) A piece of ordnance, or a heavy metallic gun for a battery, mounted on a carriage called a gun Carriage. C. are made of iron, steel, or bra , and are of different sizes, carrying balls varying from 3 lbs. in weight to several hundred. The explosive force being directed by the tube, balls and mi iles are carried to great distances with destructive power. In a field of battle they are often drawn by horses on light carriages, and are then called field-pieces, or flying-artillery. The different parts of a C. are, the breech, or solid metal, from the bottom of the bore to the cascabel, or S extremity of the solid end; the trunnions, which project at each side, and form an axis, on which it turns; the bore, or cylindrical cavity, which at present is not cast, but formed in the solid metal by a boring-machine; and the chamber, which is a rece for the powder, formed at the end of the bore, and of smaller diameter. C. were originally made of longitudinal bars, bound with strong hoops; and this mode of manufacture has been in some instances revived. The earliest forms of artillery appear to have been the balista and catapult a of the Romans. The Normans also seem to have used contrivances of the kind for projecting arrows at the battle of Hastings. C. cannot, however, be said to have actually existed prior to the invention of gunpowder, which completely changed the science of war. In the 12th and 13th centuries, they are said to have been extensively used by both the Moors and [s. 137]