From the PREFACE.
In preparing this work it has been my endeavor to place in compact form all the data I could obtain that might prove of service to those persons interested in the subject of light artillery, both in the Regular Army and in the National Guard.
I have held strictly to the lines laid down in Army Regulations, Drill Regulations, Official Reports, etc., as regards the matter extracted from such sources; and such as has not been so obtained has been carefully selected from the best authorities I have been able to consult.
I make no claim to originality in this work. It is drawn on the lines of similar handbooks in foreign services; and a great deal of the matter has been copied verbatim from the works consulted. To the writers and compilers of those works I hereby express my thanks.
While I do not consider that machine-guns are proper weapons for the light artillerist, I feel that occasions may arise when knowledge regarding them may prove of service; hence the chapter pertaining to them.
I express, with pleasure, my thanks to Lieut.-Colonel E. B. Williston, 3d TJ. S Artillery, for his assistance.
I am particularly obliged to Captain L. L. Bruff, Ordnance Department, for having permitted me to copy from the manuscript of his work on Ordnance and Gunnery (now being published), and also for the use of many of his cuts. His friendly consideration in so doing is fully appreciated....
--A. B. Dyer, 1st Lieut., 4th Artillery, West Point, N. Y., March 1, 1896