A report about artillery used in Europe, plus a description of small arms in use in European armies.

"Rifled infantry arms. A brief description of the modern system of small arms, as adopted in the various European armies. By J. Schön, captain in the Royal Saxon infantry ... 2d ed., revised and augmented, with explanatory plates. Dresden: 1855. Translated from the German by J. Gorgas, Captain of Ordnance, United State Army": pages [177]-232.

Letter to the Secretary of War --Lists of books, drawing, &c., obtained by the Commission -- Part I Military organization -- Russia -- Prussia -- Austria -- France -- Great Britain -- Part II Ordnance at the Siege of Sebastopol -- French mortars -- Navy guns -- British batteries -- French reserve depot of ordnance -- Official return of guns burst in the English trenches before Sebastopol -- Official return of mortars burst and rendered unserviceable at the bombardment of Sweaborg -- Part III Report of the French Minister of War to the Emperor on the administrative arrangements for the War in the East -- First part--Personnel--Movement of troops -- Second part--Matériel--Ordnance and ordnance stores -- Third part--Transportation by sea -- Part IV Arsenals of construction -- Russia -- Prussia -- Austria -- Belgium -- France -- England -- Part V Rifled cannon -- Practice with Cavalli's breech-loading rifled cannon -- The Lancaster gun -- The Whitworth gun -- Krupp's cast-steel gun -- Part VI Cannon of large caliber -- Great gun of the Kremlin -- Belgian "Monster Mortar" -- Horsfall & Co.'s 13-inch wrought-iron gun -- Part VII Garrison artillery -- Russia - Prussia -- Austria -- France -- Part VIII Field artillery -- Russia -- Prussia -- Austria -- France -- England -- Part IX New systems of Field Artillery -- The Napoleon gun-howitzer -- Description of 12-pounder howitzer guns -- Austrian field carriages -- Gun cotton in the Austrian service -- Simplification of the Prussian system -- Saxony light 12-pounder gun -- Russian new light 12-pounder gun -- Russian plate-iron gun carriage -- Great Britain -- Part X Shrapnell shells or spherical case shot -- England -- France -- Belgium -- Prussia -- Russia -- Austria -- Part XI Fuzes for common shells -- England -- France -- Captain Splingard's new fuze -- Part XII Small arms -- Russia -- Prussia -- Austria -- France -- Great Britain -- Miscellaneous -- General remarks on rifled small arms -- Translation of "Schön on rifled infantry arms" -- Preface -- Explanation of plates -- Contents -- A glance at the chief defects of the smooth and grooved arms -- Use of grooves in Germany -- On the charge -- Number and depths of grooves -- The system of Delvigne -- The system of Pontchara -- The Delvigne-Pontchara system -- The Delvigne-Pontchara system as altered by Baron Augustin -- Consol or percussion primer lock -- The oval rifle -- English two-grooved rifle -- The breech-loading system -- The needle gun -- Loading the needle gun -- Advantages of the needle gun -- The Norwegian breech-loading rifle -- Lieutenant Von Frilitzen's breech-loading rifle -- Table of deviations, in feet, of the Swedish breech-loading rifle -- Table of deviations, in feet, of the Norwegian breech-loading rifle -- Table of deviations, in feet, of the Swedish tige rifle -- The revolver pistol -- The system of Wild -- The system of Thouvenin -- Advantages of Thouvenin's system -- Defects of Thouvenin's system -- Prussian tige rifle -- Bavarian tige rifles -- Saxony Jäger rifles -- Hanoverian seven-grooved rifle-musket -- Hanoverian eight-grooved rifle -- Oldenburg tige rifle -- Russian Jäger rifle -- The system of Minié -- Advantages of the Minié system -- Disadvantages of the Minié system -- Commission at Enfield, England -- The Swiss system -- The system of Wilkinson -- The system of Lancaster -- Conclusion -- Table of the twist of rifle grooves -- Table of elevations of various rifles for different distances -- Experiments in Switzerland -- Experiments made at the National Armory, in Belgium, to compare the fusil de munition, the carabine à tige, and the fusil Minié.