The Moon Voyage — Jules Verne

During the Federal war in the United States a new and very influential club was established in the city of Baltimore Maryland It is well known with what energy the military instinct was developed amongst that nation of shipowners shopkeepers and mechanics Mere tradesmen jumped their counters to become extempore captains colonels and generals without having passed the Military School at West Point they soon rivalled their colleagues of the old continent and like them gained victories by dint of lavishing bullets millions and men But where Americans singularly surpassed Europeans was in the science of ballistics or of throwing massive weapons by the use of an engine not that their arms attained a higher degree of perfection but they were of unusual dimensions and consequently of hitherto unknown ranges The English French and Prussians have nothing to learn about flank running enfilading or point blank firing but their cannon howitzers and mortars are mere pocket pistols compared with the formidable engines of American artillery img src https s3 eu west 1 amazonaws com dia kitadagitim ckeditor_assets pictures 53 content_1_original_original jpg alt height 15 width 15 font size 1 color white font img

During the Federal war in the United States a new and very influential club was established in the city of Baltimore Maryland It is well known with what energy the military instinct was developed amongst that nation of shipowners shopkeepers and mechanics Mere tradesmen jumped their counters to become extempore captains colonels and generals without having passed the Military School at West Point they soon rivalled their colleagues of the old continent and like them gained victories by dint of lavishing bullets millions and men But where Americans singularly surpassed Europeans was in the science of ballistics or of throwing massive weapons by the use of an engine not that their arms attained a higher degree of perfection but they were of unusual dimensions and consequently of hitherto unknown ranges The English French and Prussians have nothing to learn about flank running enfilading or point blank firing but their cannon howitzers and mortars are mere pocket pistols compared with the formidable engines of American artillery