Practical Manual of Artillery

munitions that were found inside were applied to the Prince, Lord of the army, and the Prince, or his General, were accustomed to giving a share of them to the General of the Artillery, specifically of all the muskets and other small pieces of artillery, and some quantity of provisions to be distributed among the Bombardieri bombardiers/artillerymen. However, in the wars of Piedmont and Lombardy, this rigor was not practiced; rather, for all the lands that surrendered under terms, those were inviolably observed by the ministers of the aforementioned Imperial and Catholic Majesties. But if the Land was taken by assault, then it was customary to give the General of the Artillery all the pieces of artillery that were found broken inside, and all the bells fell to the Lieutenant of the General. The latter would redeem these bells from the lands themselves for a good sum of money, and from this, the Lieutenant would give a share to the Bombardieri who had been present and had labored in the battery, according to the merit and ability of the person.

The precedence of the office of the General of the Artillery has always been according to the quality of the person, that is, if he is of noble birth, he can be placed in comparison with any other man of supreme office who is in the army, except for the General, who precedes everyone in rank. However, if the General of the Artillery is not noble, but has attained the office of General by his own virtue and valor alone, his prudence and discretion must intervene here so as not to claim any greater precedence than is appropriate, so that he is not held to be a presumptuous and arrogant man.

On the provisions that belong to the office of the General of the Artillery, once the war has ended. Chap. IX.

HAVING treated copiously in the previous chapters of the office of the General, and of the authority and power that he has to command, and to make the election and provision of the offices, officials, and other things pertaining to the state of the artillery, those namely which he has and enjoys in time of war, in the present chapter it will be a convenient thing that we speak of those things that concern the provision of the aforementioned General during peacetime.

Firstly, the General of the Artillery of any Kingdom, Lordship, or State whatsoever, must with the utmost diligence make an election of a very practical Lieutenant, of whom he has undoubted faith and certainty that he will administer all things pertaining to the exercise of the artillery with that authority and fidelity that is expected for the service of the King, Prince, or Republic, and for the honor and reputation of his General. And as for the gravity of the General, it is not a licit or decent thing—indeed, it derogates from his reputation—to manage and treat minutely all the things of his office, which in effect are infinite. He must give his Lieutenant all the authority to command, just as he himself has it from the Prince. If the Lieutenant is a grateful man of good judgment, he should not only communicate the matters of importance and defer to the opinion and judgment of his General, but also all other minor matters. Nevertheless, although the Lieutenant may be a very diligent and practical man, and one of whom the General has full satisfaction regarding the things of his office, in matters of importance he must always assist and find himself there in person, just as he will do when providing the artillery emplacements to the Master Gunners of his province, or to its garrisons, and to the other Bombardieri of the army, and at his discretion remove them for some defect or error committed. And when it would occur to the General to have to confer about the condition of the artillery with the Prince or his Governor, and when he also has to make agreements for the munitions of shot, powder, saltpeter, sulfur, charcoal, and other similar things with the Merchants and Powder-makers who will be obligated to provide the aforementioned materials. All of which things belong to the office of the General, who then must communicate them with the Prince, so that he also may be informed in what manner the things of the artillery are passing in his province, state, or kingdom subject to his dominion.

It also falls to the General of the Artillery to have all those examined who pretend to