7th point your guns

chained_bear commented on the word 7th point your guns

"7th. Point your guns.—At this command the gun is, in the first place, to be elevated to the height of the object, by means of the side-sights; and then the person pointing is to direct his fire by the upper-sight, having a crow on one side and a handspike on the other, to heave the gun, by his direction, till he catches the object.

"The men who heave the gun for pointing are to stand between the ship's side and their crows or handspikes, to escape the injury they might otherwise receive from being struck against them, or splintered by a shot; and the man who attends the captain with a match is to bring it at the word, 'Point your guns,' and kneeling upon one knee opposite the train-truck of the carriage, and at such a distance as to be able to touch the priming, is to turn his head from the gun, and keep blowing gently upon the lighted match to keep it clear from ashes. And, as the missing of an enemy in action, by neglect or want of coolness, is most inexcusable, it is particularly recommended to have the people thoroughly instructed in pointing well, and taught to know the ill consequences of not taking proper means to hit their mark; wherefore they should be made to elevate their guns to the utmost nicety, and then to point with the same exactness; and having caught the object through the upper-sight, at the word..."

—Falconer's New Universal Dictionary of the Marine, 1815

October 10, 2008