William Speir's Blog

Posted By William Speir on April 5, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Ebook version of the next drill manual from the acclaimed Muzzle Loading Artillery Series: Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 4: Naval Artillery Drills is now available for purchase!

This Ebook contains the Artillery Drills for smoothbore gun deck cannons which was developed for the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association’s (LTAC-USFAA) “School of the Piece,” and joins the Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 1: Field Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 2: Mountain Howitzer Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 3: Mortar Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 6: Field Artillery Battery Leadership, Volume 1: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manual, and the Bundled Set of the Three Muzzle-Loading Articles already available.

This Ebook is priced at $9.99 USD and is available in the Store section at Artillery Publication (http://ArtilleryPublications.com/) in PDF format. The Ebook is also available via Google Books for the same price.

This Ebook is the seventh of 14 publications that will be available via ArtilleryPublications.com over the coming months. Artillery Publications, a joint venture between Professional Publishing Press and myself, is working to become the premier source for artillery books, presentations, research papers, articles, histories, etc.

We are looking for people to join our community of published artillery authors. If you have original content about artillery from any time period that you’ve been thinking about publishing please contact me.

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Tags: "William Speir", cannon, cannon safety, Media, muzzle-loading artillery, naval artillery, Press, Release, Speir

Posted By William Speir on February 16, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Ebook version of the next drill manual from the acclaimed Muzzle Loading Artillery Series: Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 3: Mortar Artillery Drills is now available for purchase!

This Ebook contains the Artillery Drills for smoothbore Cohorn and Siege Mortars which was developed for the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association’s (LTAC-USFAA) “School of the Piece,” and joins the Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 1: Field Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 2: Mountain Howitzer Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 6: Field Artillery Battery Leadership, Volume 1: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manual, and the Bundled Set of the Three Muzzle-Loading Articles already available.

This Ebook is priced at $9.99 USD and is available in the Store section at Artillery Publication (http://ArtilleryPublications.com/) in PDF format. The Ebook is also available via Google Books for the same price.

This Ebook is the sixth of 14 publications that will be available via ArtilleryPublications.com over the coming months. Artillery Publications, a joint venture between Professional Publishing Press and myself, is working to become the premier source for artillery books, presentations, research papers, articles, histories, etc.

We are looking for people to join our community of published artillery authors. If you have original content about artillery from any time period that you’ve been thinking about publishing please contact me.

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Tags: "William Speir", author, cannon, cannon safety, cohorn mortar, mortar, muzzle-loading artillery, Press, Release, siege mortar, Speir, writing

Posted By William Speir on January 3, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Ebook version of the next drill manual from the acclaimed Muzzle Loading Artillery Series: Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 2: Mountain Howitzer Artillery Drills is now available for purchase!

This Ebook contains the Artillery Drills for smoothbore Mountain Howitzers which was developed for the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association’s (LTAC-USFAA) “School of the Piece,” and joins the Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 1: Field Artillery Drills, Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 6: Field Artillery Battery Leadership, Volume 1: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manual, and the Bundled Set of the Three Muzzle-Loading Articles already available.

This Ebook is priced at $9.99 USD and is available in the Store section at Artillery Publication (http://ArtilleryPublications.com/) in PDF format. The Ebook is also available via Google Books for the same price.

This Ebook is the fifth of 14 publications that will be available via ArtilleryPublications.com over the coming months. Artillery Publications, a joint venture between Professional Publishing Press and myself, is working to become the premier source for artillery books, presentations, research papers, articles, histories, etc.

We are looking for people to join our community of published artillery authors. If you have original content about artillery from any time period that you’ve been thinking about publishing please contact me.

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Tags: "William Speir", author, cannon, cannon safety, muzzle-loading artillery, Press, Release, Speir, writing

Posted By William Speir on December 12, 2011

On Tuesday, December 6, 2011, William Speir, Author of the acclaimed Knights of the Saltier Series, was interviewed on BlogTalkRadio for On Screen News. The interview was focused on the release of the second book in the Order of the Saltier Trilogy, titled “Crusaders of the Saltier.” If you missed the interview, it can still be heard by clicking HERE to visit BlogTalkRadio.

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Posted By William Speir on December 12, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

The Ebook version of the next drill manual from the acclaimed Muzzle Loading Artillery Series: Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 1: Field Artillery Drills is now available for purchase!

This Ebook contains the Field Artillery Drills for rifled and smoothbore cannons which was developed for the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association’s (LTAC-USFAA) “School of the Piece,” and joins the Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 6: Field Artillery Battery Leadership, Volume 1: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manual, and the Bundled Set of the Three Muzzle-Loading Articles already available.

This Ebook is priced at $9.99 USD and is available in the Store section at Artillery Publication (http://ArtilleryPublications.com) in PDF format. The Ebook is also available via Google Books for the same price.

This Ebook is the fourth of 14 publications that will be available via ArtilleryPublications.com over the coming months. Artillery Publications, a joint venture between Professional Publishing Press and myself, is working to become the premier source for artillery books, presentations, research papers, articles, histories, etc.

We are looking for people to join our community of published artillery authors. If you have original content about artillery from any time period that you’ve been thinking about publishing please contact me.

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Tags: "William Speir", advertisement, author, cannon, cannon safety, Media, muzzle-loading artillery, Press, publisher, Release, Speir, writing

Posted By William Speir on December 8, 2011

First of all, let me state for the record that I LOVE the show “American Guns” on the Discovery Channel. I never miss an episode. I find the Wyatt family very interesting, and any show that is about guns (building them, modifying them, trading for them, buying them, selling them) is something that is going to get my attention.

That said, I have a problem with one of the recent episodes titled: “CANNON BALLS/DREAM RUGER” (original air date November 21, 2011). Actually, I have three problems.

My first problem has to do with the scale-sized cannon that Gunsmoke has on its sales floor. The price for this cannon was quoted at $35,000, which is a ridiculous amount of money for that cannon. You can purchase a FULL-SCALE 12-pound Napoleon smoothbore cannon WITH limber cart, limber chest and implements (along with a trailer to transport them all) for less money, so why would one purchase a scale-sized gun for more money than one could get a full scale gun with limber? The Wyatt’s know a great deal about pistols and rifles, but they have a lot to learn about artillery.

Which brings me to my second problem. The good folks at Gunsmoke built a muzzle-loading, black powder cannon that shoots bowling balls for one of its customers. Because they used an oxygen tank for the barrel, which was a clever idea I must admit, and decided to use the existing hole at the base of the tank for the fuse hole to ignite the black powder, they found themselves having to use a VERY unsafe method of loading each round.

Civil War Reenactors, who use muzzle-loading black powder cannons all the time, are very safety conscious. We roll our powder charges in double-thick, heavy-duty aluminum foil so the powder can be loaded and transported safety. Once the powder charge has been rammed down the muzzle, we use a vent prick through the vent hole on the top of the barrel’s breach (back end) to break open the powder charge so the fuse can ignite the powder. Once the cannon has fired, we clean out the barrel carefully with one implement that gets out any of the remaining aluminum foil (called a “worm”), and with another implement that has a wet sponge on the end to extinguish any remaining embers from the previous charge. There is nothing more dangerous than ramming a powder charge down a barrel where there are still burning embers from the previous charge still in the breach. The injuries that can occur from the resulting misfire are so severe that we take extra precautions to make sure this never happens. Many cannon crews even sponge the barrel twice just to make very sure that the cannon can be reloaded safely.

Because the folks at Gunsmoke created a cannon barrel where the vent hole is in the rear of the breach, rather than at the top of the breach, and because they had no implements created to ram the charge down the barrel, they could not use powder charges that were wrapped in foil. Instead, they “threw” a cupful of black powder down the muzzle before each shot. This forced the person putting the black powder into the cannon to be standing in front of the muzzle, rather than to the side which is much safer. Also, because the folks at Gunsmoke had no sponge or other implements that could be used to clean the inside of the barrel between shots, there could have been hot embers still smoldering in the breach when the next charge was thrown in. The powder could have ignited instantly, causing a ball of flame to rush out directly into the face of the person throwing in the powder. For a group of gunsmiths who are very concerned about firearm safety, they created a firearm that could cause serious injury to the person loading it.

My third problem is with the way the barrel was secured to the carriage. The carriage was well built, but it was missing a critical piece of hardware. Protruding from each side of a cannon barrel are two “trunnions,” which are used to connect the barrel to the carriage. There are two notches on either side of the carriage where the trunnions are seated. The notches are cut out of the wood. Civil War artillery carriages have an iron band at the bottom of the notch and above the notch to hold the trunnions in place. These bands are secured with long bolts that provide reinforcement to the wood so the carriage is not damaged when the cannon fires. The folks at Gunsmoke only had a metal band on top of the trunnion to hold the barrel in place, so the wood can easily get damaged and eventually crack as the cannon is fired more and more. This is a much smaller issue than the way the cannon is loaded, but could result in unnecessary damage to the carriage.

The Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association conducts artillery schools around the country every year and produces manuals on artillery safety that are available to the general public (go to ArtilleryPublications.com for more information). Anyone wanting to get involved with muzzle-loading black powder cannons should obtain these manuals and attend these schools to make sure that they are operating the cannon as safely as possible.

As I said before, I love the show “American Guns” and will continue to watch it. But I have a problem with any show that depicts the unsafe construction and operation of muzzle-loading black powder cannons. Muzzle-loading artillery is dangerous — even when firing only blank charges. The safety issues increase considerably when firing live ammunition, even when that ammunition is only a bowling ball. I hope that, should the folks at Gunsmoke decide to make another cannon or sell more cannons in the future, they consult muzzle-loading black powder artillery experts before taking on a project that could have disastrous consequences to the gun owner and spectators. Cannons are not like other firearms, and only those trained in their use and safety should ever operate or be in possession of one.

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Tags: American Guns, black powder, Bowling Ball, cannon, cannon carriage, cannon safety, Discovery Channel, firearms, guns, Gunsmoke, Kurt Wyatt, live ammunition, muzzle-loading artillery, muzzle-loading cannon, oxygen tank, Paige Wyatt, powder charge, Renee Wyatt, Rich Wyatt, sponge, trunnion, worm

Posted By William Speir on October 18, 2011

FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE

Artillery Publications (AP) announces the release of a new series of Muzzle-Loading Artillery Manuals by William Speir based on the Muzzle-Loading Artillery Manuals used by the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Field Artillery Association.

The original four-volume Muzzle-Loading Artillery Manual Series has been updated and is being released globally in the first mass-market edition of the manuals used by the Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter of the United States Artillery Association.  In addition, six new Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manuals are being released that contain the individual artillery drills for Field Artillery, Mountain Howitzers, Mortars, Naval Artillery, Heavy Artillery, and Battery Leadership – perfect for the students of the School of the Piece and the School of the Battery!

Volume 1, which contains all of the muzzle-loading artillery drills, will be available for purchase soon.  The remaining volumes will be available one at a time over the next several months.  The initial release of these manuals will be in ebook format and will be sold for $9.99 USD each.  The print version of these manuals will be released some time next year.  Pricing for the print editions has not been finalized.

Muzzle-Loading Artillery Books Sold by Artillery Publications:

• Volume 1: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Drill Manual
• Volume 2: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Primer
• Volume 3: Muzzle-Loading Artillery Instructors Manual
• Volume 4: Muzzle Loading Artillery Testing and Certifications Manual
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 1: Field Artillery Drills
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 2: Mountain Howitzer Artillery
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 3: Mortar Artillery Drills
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 4: Naval Artillery Drills
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 5: Heavy Artillery Drills
• Muzzle Loading Artillery Drills Part 6: Field Artillery Battery Leadership

Muzzle-Loading Artillery Presentations Sold by Artillery Publications:

• Article 1: The Evolution of Artillery
• Article 2: Muzzle-Loading Safety for Reenactors
• Article 3: Muzzle-Loading Ordnance During the War Between the States

Artillery Publications is also calling for authors, who want to publish on the topic of artillery, to submit their works (book, articles, presentations, etc.) for publication under the Artillery Publications imprint.  The goal is for Artillery Publications to be the premier source for publications about artillery from it’s beginnings in the ancient world to the modern age.  Visit our site at http://artillerypublications.com/ to learn more about the Muzzle-Loading Artillery Manuals being offered and how you can become part of the Artillery Publications family of authors. 

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Tags: "William Speir", artillery, artillery manuals, artillery safety, author, cannon, cannon safety, Loyal Train of Artillery Chapter, Media, muzzle-loading artillery, Press, publisher, Release, Royal Hutt River Military College, Speir, United States Field Artillery Association

Posted By William Speir on October 16, 2011

The core conflict in my second novel, “Crusaders of the Saltier – Book 2 or the Order of the Saltier Trilogy,” concerns an attempt by an ambitious politician to take total control over the government of the United States of America.  I have been asked many times about what my inspiration was for this plot.  Some have speculated that I based the plot on current headlines, and while there are parallels between the action in the book and what is happening around the country today, I actually had quite a different inspiration for the plot.  At the urging of several of my readers, I thought I’d share from where the inspiration came.

I had actually been working on the story of “Crusaders of the Saltier” for several years – long before I started writing the “Order of the Saltier Trilogy” in 2009 – but I could never find the right way to tell the story in a new and fresh way.

The idea of a government being taken over from within is not new.  The tactic of “slight of hand” (getting the population focused on one thing so they wont see the other thing) is the stuff that secret society conspiracy theorists live for.  This idea was also used successfully in the “Babylon 5” TV series and in “Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace.”  The roots of the story go all the way back to Absalom, the son of King David who corrupted the hearts of his countrymen in an attempt to overthrow his father.

As a Southerner and amateur historian specializing in the War Between the States (incorrectly referred to as the American Civil War), I am someone who believes Lincoln was the most successful practitioner of “slight of hand” politics, and that was the real inspiration for the book.  There are many who believe that the War Between the States was initiated to keep the northern states so focused on the southern states being the “enemy” that they didn’t notice Lincoln’s real agenda – the changing of our constitutional form of government from a democratic republic where the central government was subordinate to the will of the people and the states, to a federal republic where the people and the states are subordinate to the will of the central government.  Four years and over 500,000 military and civilian deaths later, Lincoln got what he wanted through an illegal force of arms – a new form of government that the people and the states were never allowed to ratify, shoved down their throats at the point of the bayonet and sword.  It was only an assassin’s bullet that kept Lincoln from completing his work, but the damage was already done and we live with the results of that damage even today.

This is the story I decided to put into a modern setting, substituting the South with terrorists and foreigners living amongst us, and using terrorism, rather than secession, as the catalyst that allowed the President in the book to make changes to our form of government without the people taking notice until it was too late.  Internment Camps replaced the POW camps and federal prisons where Lincoln illegally imprisoned private citizens, newspaper editors, businessmen, and politicians for the duration of the war without trial, without being charged for crimes, and in many cases without the prisoner having done anything at all (it was the fear that they might do something that got them imprisoned).  The chance to place these themes in a modern setting was irresistible to me, and once I had created the fictional organization knows as the Order of the Saltier in “Knights of the Saltier – Book 1 of the Order of the Saltier Trilogy,” I had the platform to build the story upon without having to resort to a military civil war.

So, that’s the real story about how the central conflict in “Crusaders of the Saltier” came about.  It is a modern retelling of the political maneuvering, plots, and agendas from the Lincoln administration during the War Between the States, and how a secret society of Knights thwarted the attempt to set aside America’s constitutional form of government in favor of a dictatorship.  I hope the readers will enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

To learn more about the novels of William Speir, please visit his web site at http://www.williamspeir.com.  To order your copy of “Crusaders of the Saltier – Book 2 of the Order of the Saltier Trilogy,” go to Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.  You can also order the book through the publisher’s web site at http://sbpra.com/williamspeir/

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Tags: "action adventure", "secret society", "William Speir", article, author, Crusaders, drama, fiction, Knights, Media, novel, Press, Release, Saltier, Speir, writing

Posted By William Speir on October 16, 2011

This is a question I have been asked many times since my first novel, “Knights of the Saltier – Book 1 of the Order of the Saltier Trilogy,” was released in 2010.  Is the Order real?  Does it actually exist?  Where is it based?  How can I join?  At the urging of several of my readers, I decided to reveal some background information of this enigmatic group of people who secretly fight for freedom and justice.

The Order of the Saltier is a Secret Society and its activities remain unspoken to non-members at all times.  The veil of secrecy is necessary to mask the activities of the Order and shield its members, called “Knights,” from scrutiny by those who do not share the aims and purposes of the Order or would wish to impede the Order’s activities.

What is a Saltier?

A “saltier” is a heraldic term for the Cross of St. Andrews, which is a cross in the form on an “X” rather than the Roman “T” shaped cross.  The flag of Scotland, which is a white St. Andrew’s cross on a blue field, is referred to as the “Saltier.”  The Order Badge is a Crimson Cross Saltier, Fimbriated, with a Knight’s Crown at each tip.  The Crimson Cross symbolizes the blood shed in the cause of freedom.  The four crowns symbolize Freedom, Justice, Rightness, and Fidelity, which are the four pillars of the Order.

The Order Crest is a Crimson Renaissance Eagle clutching the Order Badge.  The eagle symbolizes that the four pillars of the Order are carried on the wings of eagles wherever they are needed.  The Order Shield is the Order Crest on a White Shield with Crimson Border.  The Order Arms is the Order Shield surmounted by a Knight’s Helmet with Crimson Mantle.  The Great Seal is the Order Arms surrounded by the Motto of the Order in Latin:  “Et Vitam Impendere Justitia” which translates in English as “To Sacrifice Even Life To Justice.”

The Manifesto of the Order of the Saltier:

Justice and Freedom are under attack everywhere.  Governments, militaries, elected and appointed officials, corporations, criminals, bullies and thugs every day prey on the innocent for their own purposes.  Individually and collectively, these evil and corrupt forces operate under the belief that no one can stand up to them or challenge their usurped power over others.  The innocent no longer have a clear understanding of who they can trust and who can help them attain the Justice to which they are entitled by God.

The innocent need help defending themselves against these forces of evil and corruption.  The influence of evil and corruption needs to be contained and eradicated from the earth.  The agents of evil and corruption need to be brought to justice so that their reign is ended.  The line must be drawn – the watchword: “Thus far and no farther!”  For this crusade, the Order of the Saltier was founded.

The mission of the Order of the Saltier is to stand against tyranny in the world and individuals, groups, or governments who are attempting to take or destroy the Justice and Freedoms of others.  The guiding principal of the Order of the Saltier is to uphold the ideals of Justice and Freedom in the world.  The duty of the Order of the Saltier is to identify where tyranny exists and where Justice and Freedom are in peril or under attack from individuals, groups, or governments in the world; and to take action where possible to fight tyranny and to help restore Justice and Freedom to those who have lost it.

The Governance of the Order of the Saltier:

The Supreme Governing Authority of the Order is the Grand Master.  The Grand Magistry is the governing council of the Order and is appointed by the Grand Master to assist in administering the affairs and activities of the Order.

The Commanderies, comprised of members in the same locality, handle the activities of the Order is a specific geographic area.  These activities are called “interventions,” and are efforts of the members to help those in need.  Each Commandery is under the command of the Prior.

The Priories are councils that oversee all of the Commanderies in the same country.  Each Priory is under the command of the Grand Prior.

Membership Ranks of the Order of the Saltier:

There are three Ranks of Membership:

- Knight or Dame: This is the rank for new members of the Order.

- Knight Commander or Dame Commander: This rank is granted by the Order to those Knights or Dames who have provided consistently outstanding service to the Order and its activities.

- Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross: This rank is granted by the Order to only those Knights Commander or Dames Commander who have provided consistently exemplary service to the Order and its activities.

The Order does not accept unsolicited applications for membership.  A candidate must be approached by a current member, and then go through a significant vetting process to ensure the candidate is worthy of membership and able to perform the activities required while maintaining the secrets of the Orders.  Only after that vetting is completed can a candidate be voted into membership and the vote must be unanimous.  This level of selectiveness is required to ensure the quality of the candidates while ensuring the safety of the current membership.

So, does the Order of the Saltier exist or is it all just a work of fiction?  Officially, the Order of the Saltier does not exist.  But then again, isn’t that the answer you would expect to hear about any secret society?

To learn more about the novels of William Speir and the Order of the Saltier, please visit his web site at http://www.williamspeir.com.  To order your copy of “Knights of the Saltier – Book 1 of the Order of the Saltier Trilogy,” go to Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com.  You can also order the book through the publisher’s web site at http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/KnightsOfTheSaltier-Book1.html

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Tags: "action adventure", "secret society", "William Speir", author, drama, fiction, Knights, novel, Saltier, Speir, writing

Posted By William Speir on July 19, 2011

The Children of the Saltier Series is a continuation of the Knights of the Saltier Series and follows the next generation of the Knights and Dames of the Order of the Saltier.

Book 7 – Legacy of the Grand Master  

In Book 7, which picks up eight years after the end of Book 6, we see the coming of age of Tom and Emily Anderson’s daughter: Jamie.  She is a fierce athletic competitor, a loyal friend, an excellent student, and a beautiful young woman.  One day, her grandfather pulls her aside and tells her about her family’s greatest secret: the Order of the Saltier.  In so doing, he gives Jamie a challenge and a choice – to walk away from the Order and what it represents; or to follow her destiny, join the Order, and fulfill her grandfather’s legacy.  Upon finishing college, Jamie accepts her grandfather’s challenge and joins the Order.  Her first mission starts as a simple car jacking ring, but her team quickly discovers that car jacking is just a front for an international smuggling and counterfeiting operation.  Jamie and another member of her team, a tall, handsome stranger from across the country, find themselves in the middle of a web of intrigue, murder, corruption, and a plot aimed at the nation’s economic stability.  As they race toward the final confrontation between the Order and those behind the plot, Jamie is faced with having to choose between her destiny and her heart, and that choice will determine the fate of her grandfather’s legacy.

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Tags: "action adventure", "secret society", "William Speir", author, drama, fiction, Knights, Media, novel, Press, Release, Saltier, Speir, writing