Petersham High School - Hilltop Yearbook (Petersham, MA)

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WEAPONS CSecond Prizel In the old days when the colonies were expanding, when the Indians were resenting the approach of the White Man, and when a feeling of ill will was gradually creeping into our relations with England, we began to realize the importance of firearms. Our first rifles were long and very heavy. A man could stand and rest his chin on the barrel of the gun while the stock was on the ground, and he didn't have to bend over at all. This kind of gun was carried by great explorers like Daniel Boone. The gun was a muzzle loader, that is, the powder was put in the barrel and then packed in by the use of the ramrod which was carried under the barrel of the gun, then the lead shot was put in and a piece of paper was inserted to hold the ShOtIU1th6 barrel. The gun had a hammer which set off the charge of powder and sent the shot forward. The person who was carrying the gun had, hanging down by his side, a powder horn, which was used to carry the powderghe also had a case in which he carried his lead shot. In those days a man had to be a good shot and make every shot count because every time he fired he had to reload his gun. Many of these guns were used to fight the Indians during the French a n d Indian War. Bayonets were placed on the ends of the barrel as an added means of defense. In the second period of our early development, the nMinute- menn used this kind of weapon against the British during the War of Independence. George Washington was one of the great generals during the American Revolution. His men had a difficult time because they were not very well equipped and trained. Many of the men had very poor uniforms,and some of the men had no unihmms at all. The men even went without food and had to travel some- times on foot and sometimes by horseback. There were many battles of importance fought and won,in the American Revolution, even though the weapons used were not very good. In spite of th seemingly inefficient weapons, the colonies finally won their independence. Since the changes in firearms seem to be dependent upon the changes in the growth or development of our country,it is during the Civil War that the next improvements in weapons are noted. At this time the sword and the cannon were introduced to the battle front. The soldiers were now better trained to fight and better equipped than they had been during the preceding war. They now had long guns with a long bayonet on the end. The guns of this time were still very heavy. The soldiers now, as in the Revolutionary War, had to travel on foot3however,they had better uniforms. As there were a number of forts, which were used to

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Two of these taverns were located near the center of town and the remaining one on North Street. It seems regrettable that, after Petersham had developed into such a thriving and busy town, misfortune, in the form of a great fire, should appear. In 1847 this fire swept the westerly part of the Common, destroying property estimated at fifty- thousand dollars. Among the buildings destroyed was the button factory owned by Mr. Stone. Lost were the engines and machinery necessary for the manufacture of the buttons. Fourteen other buildings were also destroyed, including two hotels, barns, one dwelling-house, one large store, and one large building occupied by various business offices and shops. This disastrous fire in- flicted a permanent injury to the business interest of Petersham Never again did Petersham regain its position of a thriving business center, which even vied with Worcester. It became a small community where the people live a quiet, peaceful life, either working on farms or in business organizations out of town OLD PETERSHAM In years now faded in the past When Petersham was growing fast The Stagecoach swayed across the land Phyllis Harper '44 ff , ff -. ---j. -N And inns ave welcome to each band. M A '-'N' wffsiifgi. g , -,Zfy?NQQbg1?i1AEEE All farms and orchards grew so well fe3,' LH'?5JgiT Their produce fine to use and sell. ' -:gwMr:5gpf,gg?2igtQg The forest thiek with timber tall A prey to industry did fall. p3?.qC?:CAf.,i,yiw w.jw433QgNhX,X . ,'V 'N'te 51.1231 JL Our faithful Mr. Gibbs brought mail f4gLf?.55g55Q54 pr.- vf To tired workers without fail. 6. The factory wheels and saw mills stood .,i.Qg9!?YfgE2qfjfQHys5, i Fast whirring, ever turning wood. ffi 5amgQqHEEQLQffLg5f f of Its treasured charms, its homelife gay 9 Its green, its churches, fields of haykjpb 5g:1'I Present a picture dear to all fMH Who ever heard its beauties call. Ruth Newbury '45

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protect many cities and important towns, the cannon proved to be very successful because 'it could do much more damage than any other weapon. The rifle, however, still came in very handy. The sword was a very good weapon, but not many men had them. Only the generals were fortunate enough to have them. A different weapon that came into ussduring this period was the horse pistol. It is about fifteen inches long and it is loaded by putting the powder into the barrel and then packing it in with a ramrod. Then the shot is put in. The gun has a hammer which fires off the powder. This weapon was certainly very use- ful, because it was small and could be easily carried. During the First World War there were many new weapons used. One of these new weapons was the nSpringfieldn rifle. This gun was easier to reload and fire. The bullets were inserted in clips of eight. It was a bolt-action gun and could be fired faster than rifles used in previous wars. The machine gun came into use during World War I. This gun could shoot more bullets in a minute than any other weapon in use at that time. There was also a large gun, known as nBig Berthan, which was used to shoot at long range. A new machine, called the nTankn, was first used in this war. The tank was made of iron with large guns mounted on it. It proved to be an effective weapon. The airplane also came into use during this war, being used to fly over enemy lines to drop bombs and take pictures. During the present war, known as nworld War IIn,the weapons are greatly improved and much more accurate than those used in the previous wars. We have the carbine which fires .30 caliber shells and is gas-operated. The clips hold fifteen rounds. This weapon is light and easily carried around and is effective at a range of 150 to 200 yards. We have a new rifle, which is the uGerandn. This weapon fires a .50 caliber shell and is effective at 400 to 500 yards. It is also gas-operated and fed by a clip which holds eight rounds. We have the uBazookan gun which is more like a rocket gun. It fires a rocket which can penetrate any known tank. We have better machine guns and they can fire at the rate of 500 to 600 rounds per minute.