Civil War Field Artillery
Introduction

In many ways, the Civil War was the first modern war. The scorched earth policy implemented during Sherman’s March to the Sea introduced “total war” to the world (Cummings, 2012). And it involved the use of weaponry that would come to define the modern age of war: advanced, technological and devastating. As Gen. Hunt put it, artillery should be “a separate arm”—a specialized force of the army that could be used to maximum advantage (Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks, 2004). Field artillery weapons included the 6-pounder gun made of bronze which shot a 6 lb. projectile at a speed of 1,400 feet per second with a range of 1,500 yards; the M1857 12-pound “Napoleon” made of bronze, which weighed 1,227 lbs. and shot the 12-lb. ball at a speed of 1,440 feet per second with a range 1,600 yards; the 24-pounder Howitzer made of bronze, which shot the 18 lb. cannon ball at a speed of 1,060 feet per second at a range off 1,300 yards; and many others (Cole, 2002). All in all, the field artillery used during the Civil War was a force of destruction—big, slow, heavy and capable of removing limbs and heads before a body had time to duck. This paper will discuss and describe the field artillery used during the Civil War and show how it was put to use in America’s first exercise in conducting total war.

Smoothbores

Artillery in the Civil War consisted of two types: smoothbores and rifles. Smoothbores were the howitzers and guns. Smoothbores had been around awhile and were older than the rifle, which had only recently begun to be mass-produced by the time war broke out in 1861. Guns and howitzers were typical of the battery going back a century, but it was the way they were used in conjunction with the rifle in the artillery and Napoleon 12-pounder that changed the face of war.

Howitzers were short barreled and guns were longer. Guns used higher powder charges and ranged from 6-pounders to 12-pounders. The 6-pounder guns used in the early parts of the war had been produced as early on as 1835. Some older cannon were even 40 years old when armies became desperate. The Union opted for the bigger guns by the end of the war, but the smaller ones remained popular in the South (Ripley, 1984). The 12-pounder Model produced in 1857 was, however, the best—light, versatile, and capable of being pulled by a team of six horses as opposed to eight, the “Napoleon” as it was called could pay a heavy load on the heads of the enemy thanks to the large bore it possessed.

The howitzer had the shorter barrel and was primarily used with exploding shells and case shot. When the enemy was hidden within a fort, the howitzer was used to destroy the fort and bring the enemy out into the open. The cost of a single howitzer was approximately $500 at the time (Ripley, 1984),...…were used to transport these weapons, with every horse expected to pull up to 700 lbs of equipment. Since horses could panic under fire, they made hauling heavy guns and cannons somewhat problematic. Horses also required feeding and because of the tough nature of the job, the typical war horse was only good for about eight months of service. Still without them and the oak carriages made to move the equipment from place to place so that men could rain down death upon one another, the war could not have produced so many casualties. Supply wagons were used to sustain the batteries and mobile forges were also used to help keep the guns in working order.

Conclusion

The field artillery of the Civil War was a mixture of machines capable of destroying forts, fortifications, guns, carriages, men and earth. These cannon were heavy and cumbersome—yet their power to annihilate anything in their path was unrivaled. The more versatile and lighter they could be made, the more beloved they became. However, what commanded the most respect among men was their ability to deliver shot round after round—without exploding and injuring the men firing it. Wrought iron guns like the Napoleon were the most favored: they could scatter case over the heads of men and bury them beneath a hail of lead balls that rained down upon the explosion of the case. They literally delivered death with each announcement of their arrival. Thanks to these weapons, the era of modern war had…