Which was the first big gun to be loaded and moved mechanically (i.e. by something other than just lots of men and brute force). The 100 ton Armstrong gun at Fort Rinella seems like a good candidate, a hydraulic system powered by a steam engine would lift shells and powder from the magazine, then a hydraulic ram-rod would force the charge and the projectile down the barrel before the gun was adjusted left/right and up/down by another set of hydraulics. This gave an impressive (for then) rate-...
