Also known as: prolonge rope.
| Type | Heavy rope with hook and toggle |
|---|---|
| Use | Linking gun and limber for firing while retiring; short moves |
| Carried on | The gun carriage |
Firing on the move
The prolonge was a heavy rope fitted with a hook and toggle, carried on the carriage. Hooked between the gun and its limber, it let the piece be drawn short distances without limbering up, and above all allowed a battery to keep firing while slowly falling back, the gun following the limber on the prolonge between rounds.
This let field artillery cover a retirement, delivering fire as it withdrew rather than ceasing to limber up and move.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States War Department. Instruction for Field Artillery, Prepared by a Board of Artillery Officers. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1863.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.