First published in 1852, this technical manual provides a comprehensive overview of the armament systems used on US naval vessels at the time. The author, John Dahlgren, was a prominent naval officer and inventor who played a key role in the development and implementation of new armament technologies. This book is an important resource for scholars and enthusiasts of naval history and technology. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.