Field Artillery Weapons Of The Civil War

This is a detailed survey, replete with photographs and diagrams, of the field artillery used by both sides in the Civil War. In paperback for the first time, the book provides technical descriptions of the artillery (bore, weight, range, etc.), ordnance purchases, and inspection reports. Appendixes provide information on surviving artillery pieces and their current locations in museums and national parks.

Richly illustrated with 122 highly detailed engravings of all types of artillery equipment and maneuvers Civil War historians, and especially reenactors, will enjoy this addition to the Civil War Reference & Reenactors Guide series This guide provides the most thorough explanation of how Civil War artillery operated in the field; definitions of all the equipment belonging to an artillery battery; explanations on the use of each piece of equipment; details for handling the horses; movement of artillery; and formations for battle. The illustrations show the gun, ancillary equipment, caissons and wagons, harnesses, ammunition types and how they are used, and emplacement positions. Includes all 39 artillery bugle calls. The book was written by a board of officers (the Artillery Board of the Army). This version is authorized for use in the training and employment of Union artillery. This book was also used by Confederate forces, as the Confederate artillerist was trained on and used the identical equipment as the Union forces. In fact, they relied extensively on captured Union artillery.

Because of the length of the coastline of the United States, from the beginning American ordnance and engineers placed an emphasis on heavy artillery mounted in coastal defences. The Union army organised its 'Heavy Artillery' into separate regiments, uniformed and equipped differently. While the Field Artillery was assigned across the fighting fronts Heavy Artillery units served the big guns in the forts and the defences of Washington. The Confederates did not differentiate types of artillery and those that became known as Heavy Artillery did so through informal association rather than formal designation. This book details the development and usage of the big guns. New Vanguard 38 and 40 are also available in a single volume special edition as 'American Civil War Artillery 1861-65'.

The American Civil War saw the creation of the largest, most potent artillery force ever deployed in a conflict fought in the Western Hemisphere. It was as sizable and powerful as any raised in prior European wars. Moreover, Union and Confederate artillery included the largest number of rifled pieces fielded in any conflagration in the world up to that point. Earl J. Hess’s Civil War Field Artillery is the first comprehensive general history of the artillery arm that supported infantry and cavalry in the conflict. Based on deep and expansive research, it serves as an exhaustive examination with abundant new interpretations that reenvision the Civil War’s military. Hess explores the major factors that affected artillerists and their work, including the hardware, the organization of artillery power, relationships between artillery officers and other commanders, and the influence of environmental factors on battlefield effectiveness. He also examines the lives of artillerymen, the use of artillery horses, manpower replacement practices, effects of the widespread construction of field fortifications on artillery performance, and the problems of resupplying batteries in the field. In one of his numerous reevalutions, Hess suggests that the early war practice of dispersing guns and assigning them to infantry brigades or divisions did not inhibit the massing of artillery power on the battlefield, and that the concentration system employed during the latter half of the conflict failed to produce a greater concentration of guns. In another break with previous scholarship, he shows that the efficacy of fuzes to explode long-range ordnance proved a problem that neither side was able to resolve during the war. Indeed, cumulative data on the types of projectiles fired in battle show that commanders lessened their use of the new long-range exploding ordnance due to bad fuzes and instead increased their use of solid shot, the oldest artillery projectile in history.

A description of types of artillery used in warfare throughout history, including the ancient engines of war; gunpowder introduced to Europe; the bombards; 16th century cannon; the 17th century and Gustavus Adolphus; the 18th century; U.S. guns of the early 1800s; rifling; the Civil War; and the change to modern artillery. Also includes the characteristics of cannon; projectiles; tools; the practice of gunnery; glossary; and selected bibliography. Many of the types of cannon described in this book may be seen in areas of the National Park system; some parks with especially fine collections are listed. Illustrated with detailed drawings.

Michael Grice brings to life the untold story of Field Artillery Gunnery, examining in detail how the bronze and iron guns of the American Civil War advanced to the high-tech artillery of today.