The Artilleryman Magazine Spring 2015

Vol. 36, No. 2 Vol. 36, No. 2 Spring 2015 Spring 2015

$5.00 $5.00

Artilleryman Artilleryman Artilleryman The The The

N EW A RTILLERYMAN P UBLISHER N EW A RTILLERYMAN P UBLISHER N EW A RTILLERYMAN P UBLISHER N ORWICH U’ S B RITISH 12- PDRS . N ORWICH U’ S B RITISH 12- PDRS . N ORWICH U’ S B RITISH 12- PDRS .

B RITISH A RMSTRONG F UZE B RITISH A RMSTRONG F UZE B RITISH A RMSTRONG F UZE

L IVE F IRE C ANISTER T ESTS L IVE F IRE C ANISTER T ESTS L IVE F IRE C ANISTER T ESTS www.artillerymanmagazine.com www.artillerymanmagazine.com www.artillerymanmagazine.com

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www.artillerymanmagazine.com | Vol. 36, No. 2 1

NoticeThe information contained herein is for the generalhistory and background of our readers and The Ar-tilleryman assumes no liability for loading or shoot-ing data which may be published in this magazine.The circumstances surrounding the loading anddischarge of firearms mentioned are beyond ourcontrol and are unique to the particular instancebeing described. We hereby disclaim any responsi-bility for persons attempting to duplicate loadingdata or shooting conditions referenced herein andspecifically recommend against relying solely onthis material. Readers are cautioned that blackpowder varies according to grain size, type, date ofmanufacture and supplier, and that firing of an-tique or replica ordnance should not be undertakenwithout adequate training and experience in pro-cedures and loads.

2 NEW PUBLISHERJack W. Melton Jr. is the new publisher of The Artilleryman

3 A LITTLE ROAR

4 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8 BRITISH ARMSTRONG FUZESir William Armstrong introduced the breech loading (B.L.) Plain Percussion Fuze in 1870

10 LIVE FIRE CANISTER TESTSBurrough’s Battery fires canister from a 12-pdr. Field Howitzer and 10-pdr. Parrott to test impact of one-inch canister shot

14 TWO 19TH-CENTURY GUNS AT FORT JACKSONThe Savannah, Ga., fort is raising funds to restore and mount an unmarked 18-pdr. and 24-pdr.

16 HUNT’S INSTRUCTIONS ON FIELD ARTILLERYNew Army of the Potomac Chief of Artillery Henry J. Hunt issued an order on tactics in September 1862

22 SURVIVING ARTILLERY UPDATEJim Bender, keeper of the National Registry of Known Surviving Civil War Artillery, adds 11 guns to the list

24 NORWICH UNIVERSITY’S BRITISH 12-PDRS.The Vermont university displays three Armstrong-Whitworth rifled breech loaders

26 J.M. CURRIE’S IMPROVED PROJECTILEThe U.S. Patent Office issued Currie’s patent for “improvement in projectiles for ordnance” on Oct. 16, 1866

28 CLASSIFIED ADS

The Artilleryman | Spring 2015 | Vol. 36, No. 2

CCONTENTSONTENTS

Classified Ads:$12 for 25 words, 50¢ each extra word

Display ads:$6.60 per column inch,

full page $165, half page $88.Color: add $150 inside & outside

covers, $125 inside pagesSpot color: add $75

Subscriptions: $22 one year, U.S. CanadaSingle copies by mail: $6

ABOUT THE COVER: Helen S. Schwartz of Artistry in Photography found this1857 Napoleon 12 pdr. at Gettysburg National Military Park’s High Water Mark.Henry N. Hooper No. 24, cast in 1862, inspected by Thomas J. Rodman, is on a WarDepartment reproduction carriage.

Readers are invited to send high-resolution photos for consideration onthe cover. If we use your photo you’ll get a free year’s subscription.

The Artilleryman (ISSN 0884-4747) is pub-lished quarterly by Historical PublicationsInc. The office of publication is at 234Monarch Hill Rd., Tunbridge, Vt 05077.(802) 889-3500, (800) 777-1862, FAX (802)889-5627. Periodicals postage paid at Tun-bridge, Vt., and additional entry at Barre,Vt. Contributions of editorial material andphotographs are welcomed at the aboveaddress. Subscription rates: $22 per year inU.S. and Canada; $38 overseas. U.S. bankchecks or credit cards, please. POSTMAS-TER: Send address change to The Artillery-man, 234 Monarch Hill Road, Tunbridge,Vt 05077.

WWW.ARTILLERYMANMAGAZINE.COM

Founding Publisher:C. Peter Jorgensen

Editor and Publisher:Kathryn Jorgensen

Book Review Editor: Peter A. Frandsen

Advertising: Beth GodinCirculation: Linda Hoyt

New Contact Information:Jack W. Melton Jr. LLC,dba The Artilleryman

96 Craig St., Suite 112-333East Ellijay, GA 30540(706) 940-2673 (BORE)

Email: [email protected]: ArtillerymanMagazine.com

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The Artilleryman2

FROM THE PUBLISHER: I ampleased to tell readers that Jack W. MeltonJr. will be publishing future issues of TheArtilleryman. Many of you already knowJack, his artillery books and his photo-graphs. I know the magazine will be incapable hands and you will enjoy it.

Jack’s contact information is at the endof his bio that follows. He will use theemail address [email protected]. Anyone who wants toreach me personally, for non-Artillery-man reasons, can use [email protected].

Thanks for your many years of sup-port for my late husband, Peter, whofounded and published The Artillerymanfrom Spring 1979 through Summer 2009,and me.

Jack Melton is a life-long resident ofGeorgia, born in Columbus in 1960. Hesays he was destined through geographyand heredity to be a student of the CivilWar.

He grew up adjacent to the KennesawMountain National Military Park nearKolb Farm. Knowing that several ances-tors fought for the South heightened hiscuriosity about the rich history in hisbackyard.

His mother’s grandfather, JeffersonLove, was an artillery driver for MiltonLight Artillery of Florida. His father’sgreat-grandfather, Samuel Troup Carter,was in the 14th Alabama Infantry.

Jack’s interest in the history-rich areasurrounding him spurred him to re-spond to the National Park Service’sneed for a historical trail through Ken-nesaw Mountain National BattlefieldPark. After constructing the trail for hisEagle Scout project he was awarded hisEagle Scout Badge, making him a Bicen-tennial Eagle Scout on July 4, 1976.

He began metal detecting at age 14,and found his first Civil War 12-pdr. solidshot that same year with his dad. Thusbegan his interest in the field artilleryprojectiles of the War Between the States.

Deeply affected by the death, in 1987,of artillery collector and author ThomasS. Dickey Sr., whose “Shell Fragments”features appeared in The Artilleryman,Jack was moved to continue Tom’swork researching, photographing, and

New Artilleryman Publisher

studying the wide variety of projectilesand their patents.

He became an authority on Civil Warartillery known for his historical accu-racy. He co-authored Field Artillery Ord-nance 1861-1865, Melton & Pawl’s Guide toCivil War Artillery Projectiles, and In TheLine Of Fire and Confederate Bowie Knives.

Jack consulted on another 20 militaryartifact reference books on topics includ-ing accoutrements, uniforms and equip-ment, edged weapons, Bowie knives, beltbuckles, firearms and artillery.

He is photographer and Civil War ar-tillery consultant to the Atlanta HistoryCenter. His photographs have appearedon almost 100 Civil War magazine andbook covers.

Publishers Jack has worked with in-clude National Geographic, University ofGeorgia Press, The New York Times,Civil War Trust, Weider History Group,

Thomas Publications, North SouthTrader’s Civil War, McFarland & Co.,O’Donnell Publications, Mowbray Pub-lishing and Potomac Publishing Co.

Jack is a member of the American So-ciety of Arms Collectors, the Company ofMilitary Historians and the Civil WarRound Table of Atlanta. He shared thehonor of holding the round table office ofpresident as did Franklin Garrett, TomDickey and Beverly DuBose Jr.

Jack W. Melton Jr. stands by a 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle, cast in 1864, that is in the AtlantaHistory Center’s “Turning Point: The American Civil War” exhibition featuring the BeverlyDuBose collection. (Peggy Melton)

Contact Information:Jack W. Melton Jr. LLC,dba The Artilleryman

96 Craig St., Suite 112-333East Ellijay, GA 30540(706) 940-2673 (BORE)

Email: [email protected]: ArtillerymanMagazine.com



Rifle. If funds allow, they will also buy alimber and chest.

For information contact Phillip Seyfritat 859-624-0013 [email protected] may be sent to the associa-tion’s Cannon Fund, 101 Battlefield Me-morial Highway, Richmond, KY 40475.

- - -In Franklin, Tenn., a successful cam-

paign raised enough funds to buy SteenCannon & Ordnance Works carriagesfor four Federal M1841 6-pdrs. that satfor years on concrete pedestals on theFranklin Square.

- - -What is thought to be England’s old-

est cannon ball, fired during the 1460battle of Northampton, was rediscov-ered at the War of the Roses battle site.

The Eagle Drive Cannon Ball showsdamage from two bounces and has localsand and ironstone in a gouge. ANorthampton official said the ball sup-ports the long-held belief that artillerywas used in battle in England for thefirst time at Northampton.

More information can be read atwww.culture24.org.uk. Search “cannonball” under History & Heritage.

- - -The January 2015 issue of Bostoniano,

the magazine of Boston’s Italian Amer-ican Voice, reported recovery of a stolencannon. In November customs agentsfound a 17th century Venetian swivelgun hidden inside a piece of heavyequipment.

They needed torches and saws to un-cover the tube which was brought on acontainer ship from Egypt. It was re-turned to Italian authorities in January.

- - -Information about some historic can-

non came to our attention.–Grant Park in Galena, Ill., has a 12-

pdr. Blakely rifle cast by Fawcett, Pre-ston & Co. of Liverpool. The register ofsurviving cannon says it is a 3.75-inchtype 1, while Field Artillery Weapons ofthe Civil War lists it as 3.5-inch and theGalena Historical Society as a 3.67-inch.

It is the first Blakely sent to theConfederacy, where it fired on Fort

As noted on the previous page, this ismy final issue of The Artilleryman. Mylate husband, C. Peter Jorgensen, startedthe magazine in Spring 1979 when wewere suburban Boston weekly newspa-per publishers. Pete was a history buffand firearms enthusiast who had beenshooting scale cannon for 12 years.

He saw the need for a specializedpublication because black powder pub-lications paid little attention to artilleryand he thought artillerymen needed abetter way to share information and toeducate newcomers to safety issues andreduce the number of cannon accidents.

He found people to write articles andhad 500 readers signed up for the initialissue of “the first national magazine de-voted exclusively to black powder muz-zleloading artillery.” Readers wereinvited to get involved with articles,photos, advertising, subscriptions andsuggestions.

A year later readers began what be-came the “Great Paint Debate” about thecolor of Civil War period field carriagesand implements. It ended with the Win-ter 1984, Vol. 6, No. 1, issue featuring asample of olive drab and Don Lutz’s ex-planation of how modern attempts toduplicate the 1860s paint formulaserred. As a result, yellow-brown na-tional park cannon carriages were even-tually repainted “liquid olive.”

The word “muzzleloading” was re-moved from the magazine’s title inSummer 1985, Vol. 6, No. 3, to more ac-curately indicate that crew-servedbreechloaders were included.

Pete went on to collect original can-non, 3-inch projectiles and artillery ac-coutrements and do competitionshooting of period firearms, cannon andmortars with the North-South SkirmishAssn. (N-SSA).

He published The Artilleryman untilhis death in September 2009 when I be-came editor and publisher.

- - -The Battle of Richmond Association in

Richmond, Ky., is raising funds to buythe site’s first artillery piece. The associ-ation wants to raise $20,000 for a non-firing replica full-scale 3-Inch Ordnance

By Kathryn JorgensenA Little Roar …Sumter. A May 18, 1861, Harper’sWeekly illustration featured the gun.

–The Kansas Museum of History’smain gallery displays an Ames howitzerthat defended Kansas from proslaveryforces in the mid-1850s. The howitzerwas smuggled to freestaters inLawrence, Kan., after being shipped toKansas City.

The gun was captured whenLawrence was sacked on May 21, 1856.Three months later it was recovered inan exchange of prisoners and served inMissouri during the war.

–The Maryland Department of Natu-ral Resources has a 12-pdr. Dahlgrenboat howitzer that the Oyster PoliceForce acquired in 1868. It was mountedon the “Oyster Navy’s” original steam-powered patrol boat.

In 2010 the agency got the gun fromReisterstown American Legion Post 116,which had loaned it out for N-SSAshoots, and has displayed it since.

- - -Rob Morgan in Wales sent an article

about Fort Monroe from the currentissue of Postern, a magazine devoted tocastle studies and travels edited byPeter Presford(www.trekearth.com/members/posternpete/).

Peter H. Hemfling(www.starforts.com) wrote the article.Presford asked him about a mount pic-tured with no gun. Hemfling correctlyguessed a Rodman would have beenmounted there and noted that the forthad many changes in armaments overthe years.

Rob Morgan thought some of ourreaders could weigh in. The CasemateMuseum’s The Guns of Fort Monroe byRichard P. Weinert Jr. (1974) illustratesand describes fort artillery. Tubes andstacks of balls appear in old fort post-cards. We understand many of thosedisplay pieces are gone.

- - -The National Civil War Artillery As-

sociation (NCWAA) and Reynolds’ Bat-tery L will host the 27th Artillery Schoolat Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown,N.Y., on May 2 and 3. All branches of


The Artilleryman4

service, Federal and Confederate, arewelcome.

Reynolds’ Battery is a member of theNCWAA, the Artillery Reserve and theU.S. Volunteers.

The charge is $7. Registration formscan be downloaded at www.reynolds-battery.org. Contact John Beatty at 716-433-5761 or at [email protected] forinformation.

- - -The U.S. Army Artillery Museum (Fort

Sill) Quarterly Newsletter reported itwas successful bidder on a rare fractured“walking stick,” a M1819 6-pdr. gun soldat James Julia’s October auction.

Director and curator Gordon A. Blakeralso reported that a volunteer fabricateda bed for the museum’s new M1841 10-inch Seacoast Mortar. It is the only

survivor of 10 cast at West PointFoundry before the Civil War. It threw a92-pound shell nearly 2.5 miles.

Blaker said an important part of themuseum’s mission is answering ques-tions about artillery history and militaryartifacts. They received 60 such queriesfrom October-December 2014. Readerscan receive the newsletter by email bycalling 580-442-1819.

scrap pile.We shoot beer or soft drink cans loaded

with one inch of dirt to give the canweight. With 50 grains of FFF powder, thecans’ range will be about 100 yards, fur-ther with a heavier powder charge.

When firing heavier loads, I do not firefrom the shoulder. Instead, the weapon isheld slightly less than arm’s length belowand to my side to allow my arms toswing, taking up the recoil.

My research, years ago, was that thehand mortar fired a hollow ball filledwith black powder, and with an outwardfacing fuze in the ball that was lit first,then the gun fired.

Needless to say, a soldier’s life spanwas rather short, as the guns’ ignitiondidn’t always work, leaving the shooterwith a lit ball that was still in the gun.

Later, they cut the fuze shorter, turnedthe ball so the fuze was facing in, i.e. nogun ignition, no lit fuze. The soldier’s lifespan became longer.

These hand mortars were used to lobexploding bombs into fortifications andfrom ship to ship that were within range.

Gary KlingbeilIone, Wash.

original, though similar to the originals.Most are on a yacht carriage with onlytwo wheels at the forward end, thoughthey were available with a four-wheeledcarriage as well as a field carriage and allhardware was brass.

The Strong advertising circa 1900 had achart that told you the appropriate sizegun you needed depending on the size ofyour yacht! They were very popular withGAR posts as well as the yachtingcrowd. Most of these seen today havebarrels in the 10-16-inch range and fire12- and 10-gauge shells.

Bill JohnsonTehachapi, Calif.

TO THE EDITOR:Reference Rob Morgan’s question

about hand mortars in Vol. 35, No. 4, Fall2014:

The accompanying photos shows amortar a friend and I built some yearsago. We built mine using pictures of anoriginal as reference. This one is 23.5inches long, with a 2-5/8 bore. We usedan old original lock and screws, and thestock is from a piece of alder out of a

TO THE EDITOR:The cannon pictured in “What Is It?” in

Vol. 35, No. 4, Fall 2014, is a yacht salutecannon probably made by StrongFirearms Co. of New Haven, Conn. It hasa bore larger than a 1 gauge so it may bean 0 or 00. I don’t have my reference forthose gauges handy.

Strong made brass two-piece cases forthese salute guns with a brass tubethreaded to the brass head. I have a num-ber of this make salute cannon in my col-lection ranging from 12 gauge through 3gauge.

John StimsonIndianapolis, Ind.

TO THE EDITOR:As was stated in the Letters column

Winter 2014, the “What Is It?” on page 9of the Fall 2014 issue is a Strong Mfg. Co.salute cannon. However, it is not a con-version to breech loader but was in factmade that way.

Strong was the largest producer ofbreechloading yacht/salute cannonsfrom around 1880 to 1910. All had bronzebarrels and the sizes range from a small,toy sized piece on a cast iron field car-riage firing a .45-70 blank to a 54-inch be-hemoth using a size 00 gauge yachtcannon shell.

The gun pictured is probably the size 1and the loading recommendation was1/2 pound of powder. There are aboutfive or six different breech types on theseguns and the one pictured is the last stylecirca 1890-1910.

The carriage on the subject gun is not

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Replica hand mortar that letter writer Gary Klingbeil made and shoots.



is of the opinion that Dr. Gatling did littleserious testing and evaluation, but im-proved his design probably based on cus-tomer complaints from the field.

Matt SwitlikMonroe, Mich.

TO THE EDITOR:The Smithsonian-affiliated Heinz His-

tory Center in Pittsburgh recently pur-chased at a James Julia auction an“armorer’s model” of a M1860 Rodmancannon.

Before placing the piece on exhibit wewould like to take advantage of readers’expertise in hope of learning more aboutthis piece’s provenance and historical im-portance. Any assistance would be verymuch appreciated.

We are looking for other artifacts andarchival material related to Rodman’sguns or the Fort Pitt Foundry, which waslocated on the Allegheny River across thestreet from our History Center.

The auction catalog description follows:“Arsenal model of 15-inch Rodman gun

1864. SN 4. This is the only surviving ar-morers grade model of the massive 15-inch Rodman cannon.

“The overall length of this model is 33-1/2 with bbl length of 18-1/2 . Bore di-ameter is 1.5-inches which makes this a1/10 scale model. Muzzle is marked justlike full size guns ‘No.4 50,000 LBS T.J.R.FT. PITT PA 1864.’

“Our consignor describes this gun in hisnotes, ‘Fine presentation model machined

and marked just as a full-sized Rodmanseacoast gun of Civil War vintage wouldbe. This piece was apparently actuallymade at Ft. Pitt Foundry, in Pittsburgh,where the full sized guns were made.

“’The initials T.J.R. are those of GeneralThomas J. Rodman, designer of theweapon and Army Chief of Ordnance,whose initials appear on many full sizedpieces which he inspected. The registrynumber ‘4’ indicated it was one of the firstmade, probably of a small lot of perhapsten (or less) made for presentation to sen-ior government officials.

“’The piece is vented and could be firedas a salute gun. It is mounted on the cor-rect type iron carriage. An old woodentompion is provided to plug the muzzle.’

“The full sized massive Rodman can-nons were manufactured under Rod-man’s use of solid casting, among the firstlarge cannon made with this technologywhich Americans excelled at during theCivil War era.

“For a cannon this large the castingprocess took several days and involvedmany tens of thousands gallons of waterfor cooling the core of the casting to re-move impurities. Ft. Pitt Foundry was thefirst to use Rodman’s patent for hollowcasting guns.

“The first prototype 15-inch cannon wascast December 23, 1859. During the CivilWar only the 20-inch Rodman gun waslarger weighing in at over 115,000 pounds.

“A 15-inch Rodman at Ft. Monroe keptthe Confederate iron clad CSS Virginia(The Merrimac) at bay during her struggle

TO THE EDITOR:I was glad to read [Winter Vol. 36, No.

1 Roar] that C. Lee Noyes confirms mylong-standing suspicion that George A.Custer was offered the poorest of thepost-Civil War Gatling family and that hisdecision to not take the guns on his marchhad nothing much to do with his misfor-tune at the Little Bighorn.

As Director of the Monroe County(Mich.) Historical Museum for 32 years Ioften had to handle this same questiondue to our heavy association with G.A.Custer.

About all I knew for sure was thatSheridan’s 1876 publication, “Outline ofthe Posts in the Military Division of theMissouri,” only shows one .45-caliberGatling west of the Mississippi, at FortConcho, Texas. All other Gatlings listedare .5-inch or 1-inch.

Considering that the U.S. Army tookdelivery in 1867 of 100 Gatlings — halfwere .50 caliber and half 1-inch — I havealways wondered why there are so fewsurvivors. I only know of about three ofthe 1866s in .5-inch which are still in theiroriginal caliber and configuration.

Recently I found the first unmodified1866 1-incher I have ever seen in thenewly opened Royal Dutch Army Mu-seum at Soesterberg, Netherlands. It wasshipped in 1868 for test and evaluation.The Dutch never bothered buying anymore Gatlings.

Quite a few of the .50-caliber M1866swere apparently remanufactured to .45caliber and now have a lot of features thatare normally found in guns made in the1880s.

These are not too rare. I think it sug-gests that the M1866 Gatlings, as first is-sued, were far less than good performers.Those who have a lot of hands-on experi-ence with the later Gatlings, when ammofeed problems are still common, will prob-ably speculate that the simple M1866straight tin magazine was a real handicap.

I had the opportunity to stand by whena surviving M1866 in .50 caliber was dis-mantled for cleaning. I was amazed tolearn that this early model did not have abolt removal port which could be ac-cessed without total dismounting. Andthe bolts were assembled with taper pinsriveted in place. Replacing a broken firingpin required a very good gunsmith at hisworkbench.

One advanced Gatling collector I know

Information is requested about the Heinz History Center’s arsenal model 15-inchRodman.


The Artilleryman6

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with the USS Monitor. “This model is in wonderful condition

with great markings and the only one weare aware of in any museum or privatecollection.

“Provenance: Hampton P. Howell Jr.Collection; Springfield Arsenal, LLC Ar-tillery Collection. CONDITION: Fineoverall with iron patina with good, crispmarkings.”

Any assistance from Artilleryman read-ers would be very much appreciated.

Andrew E. Masich, Ph.D.President & CEO

Senator John Heinz History Center1212 Smallman St.

Pittsburgh, PA 15222412-454-6371

[email protected]

FROM THE EDITOR:John Morris told us the Yorktown Bat-

tlefield French mortar featured in the Win-ter 2014, Vol. 36, No. 1, issue is not astone-throwing mortar, but a bronze,spherically-chambered mortier de 12 pouces[inches].

He wrote: “Stone mortars were made tofire baskets of either stones or grenades atvery short range such that the small butheavy projectiles would fall on the enemysoldiers and horses. Stone mortars nor-mally had bores of 15-17 inches, and thin-ner-walled barrels than other mortartypes.”

John supplied a reference source for in-formation: The Armouries of the Tower ofLondon by H.L. Blackmore (Her Majesty’sStationery Office, 1976). Additional infor-mation can be found online.

The Blackmore description of the Ar-mouries’ mortiers de 12 pouces, which arenearly equal in size to the English 13-inchmortar, notes: “On each mortar thebreech section is of rounded form, andthe chamber is spherical with a shortneck, the vent leading into a small hemi-spherical hollow in the base of the cham-ber. There is a lifting loop at the muzzleand a single dolphin placed transverselyon the reinforce.”

The arms of the Duc du Lude, Grand-Maitre de l’Artillerie, appears on the rein-force. A shield with the royal arms ofFrance backed by the scepter and hand ofjustice is on the breech.

This Yorktown Battlefield French mortar identified in the last issue as a stone-throwingmortar is a mortier de 12 pouces. (Bob Ruegsegger)

A RTILLERY D RAWINGS Please contact us for a catalog sheet

Antique Ordnance Publishers PO Box 610434

Port Huron, MI 48061 E-mail: [email protected] • Tel: (810) 987-7749




The Artilleryman8

he B.L. Plain Percussion Fuze wasintroduced by Sir William Arm-strong on Oct. 13, 1870, and was

identified as Fuze, Percussion, Arm-strong, “C Cap”, Field service.

Its nomenclature changed to Fuze, B.L.Plain on May 15, 1873. The Royal Labo-ratory at Woolwich, England, realizedthat referring to fuzes by their inventor’sname was becoming confusing andstarted assigning numbers to each fuzein the 1870s. The number allocated to theB.L. Plain fuze was No. 2 on Jan. 31,1878.

Several of the older fuzes and shellswere used into the 1900s and the No. 2was declared obsolete on Feb. 26, 1921.

This fuze is used with field servicebreech loading (B.L.) common and seg-ment shells. This is a modification of theArmstrong C. percussion; the improve-ment was using a cap compositionpressed and varnished.

The body and top are made of gun

metal, and the body has a rim projectingat the top which ensures the fuze beingplaced in the correct position in the shell.

Located top center, on the inside, isfixed a steel needle. The top cover ispierced with four holes to allow for theflame of the Armstrong E. time fuze No.22, when used.

A washer of thin sheet brass closesthese holes (it is blown in by the actionof the time fuze). The body is pierced forthe safety pin.

The guard is made of gun-metal and ispierced with two holes for the safety pin.The guard fits inside next to the topcover. It is recessed inside to receive thehead of the pellet.

There is a slight undercut at the top ofthe recess into which the pellet expandswhen the guard sets back; both arelocked together and move forward atimpact.

The pellet is cast of equal parts of leadand tin. It is hollowed out to receive the

British Armstrong B.L. Percussion Fuze, No. 2By John D. Bartleson Jr.

T

copper cap, which is primed with capcomposition (fulminate of mercury,sulphide of antimony, and chlorate ofpotash). The composition is protected bya very thin disc of brass.

The cap is pierced with three smallholes arranged in a triangular formaround the center. These holes allow theflash to pass down to the lower part ofthe pellet. Its central hole is filled with

British Armstrong percussion fuze parts

British percussion fuze, No. 2, Mk. IV B.L..Plain



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pressed powder pierced and roughenedso as to ensure ignition.

On the pellet’s exterior are four feath-ers, or flanges, which are broken off atsetback. Below the pellet a disc of paperis placed to prevent its adhering to thebottom of the fuze.

The bottom consists of a gun-metaldisc which screws into the base of thefuze; in the center is a small hole whichcontains pressed powder driven andpierced as usual. This hole is closed onthe exterior by a thin brass disc.

The safety pin is made of twisted brasswire. It has a piece of braid attached to itto enable it to be withdrawn readily; alittle beeswax is applied to seal the hole,and the braid is secured by a paper stripshellacked around the fuze.

At impact the guard and pellet to-gether move forward to bring the cap tothe needle.

Numerous modifications were even-tually made to Armstrong’s original de-sign, resulting in the IV model.

Text and illustrations by John D. Bartle-son Jr., author and illustrator of the 1972field guide for Explosive Ordnance Disposal(EOD) personnel titled Civil War Explo-sive Ordnance 1861-1865 with radi-ographs.


The Artilleryman10

urrough’s Battery attended lastyear’s 150th Reenactment of Re-saca, Ga. We fielded nine horses,

four for our caisson and four for our 12-pdr.Field Howitzer. During Sunday’s battlereenactment we were advanced upon byabout 20 Confederate infantry from the 6o’clock.

We shifted our horses and pivoted ourfire 180 degrees and fired a round of “can-ister” at the foe. They were 50-75 yardsfrom our piece. Somehow our Kevlar-coated foes came on anyway. Not one ofthem fell. They then gloated that they had“got us” and went back to their side.

We then continued to fire upon the Con-federate infantry now massed in our frontand left. We were on the Federal right. Asthe gray lines came on we were in perfectposition to send out our imaginary rounds.Verbal calls for canister reverberated as wefired five or six rounds at the Confederateline of battle.

They were to our oblique, stretching be-fore us for a couple hundred yards, thenearest elements 50-75 yards away. We shottheir lines with our blank rounds time aftertime. We delivered a very fatal fire of canis-ter at one point almost entirely enfiladingtheir line.

At this point case shot with the fuze cut tothe maximum length would be the roundof choice for our field howitzer. It would actas solid shot penetrating several men per

shot. We really poured it on, gave it our alland we would have cut them into pieceshad we really been firing at them at thatrange.

We looked out over the battlefield. Noone fell. No one at all. I realize these shambattles are lame in so many ways, but thisexperience was the genesis of an experi-ment. What would the effect of canister beat these ranges, fired from this howitzer atlife-sized targets?

We decided we would conduct a live fireexperiment and find out. I have shot manyrounds of field howitzer canister and am fa-miliar with its effects. It is a thing of beauty.

The round itself contains 48 one-inch ironshot arrayed in tiers of 12 packed in sawdust. They are contained in a tin can. Thetin is attached to a wooden sabot with athick bottom plate and a thinner platecrimped in at the top.

This is the standard 12-pdr. Field

Event Inspires Burrough’s Battery To Conduct Live Fire Canister TestsBy Steve Cameron

B

Both blue an gray silhouettes were set up as targets for the canister test firings at 100 and 200 yards.

From foreground, Joshua, Caleb and mother Dawn Cameron help father Steve paintthe silhouette targets for the canister testing.



Howitzer canister used during the U.S.Civil War. For my business, Trail Rock Ord-nance, I have made hundreds of these invarious calibers. Propelling charge is thestandard 1 pound of powder which gives amuzzle velocity of 900 feet per second.

We needed targets to shoot at — an armyof plywood soldiers. I experimented withsilhouettes. I settled on an InternationalPractical Shooting Confederation-typetorso shape and calculated the height of thesoldier to be 5 feet 7 inches tall. The silhou-ette is 18 inches wide at the chest.

This is smaller than your average mod-ern reenactor, shorter and well, ummmm,narrower. The shape was a little blocky, butserved the purpose. We would need manyof them to shoot.

I started with quarter-inch plywood, butas I only got three per sheet switched overto cardboard, which is less than half the costof the plywood. I thought they looked veryplain, so I decided to paint them. I vacil-lated for days and finally decided to paintthem gray, on one side, and blue on theother.

I made a total of 21 plywood targets and80 cardboard ones. I experimented withstands and made a design that hangs on apiece of half-inch round bar driven in the

ground. This would be quick and easy.Since I have a couple of rifled field guns,

a 10-pdr. Parrott and a 3-inch Blakely rifle,this would be an excellent opportunity totest the effects of canister from a rifled gunas well.

I have heard over and over that rifledguns are less effective at firing canister thansmooth-bored ones. The rifling spins the

mass of shot and it leaves the bore in an er-ratic pattern. What a great opportunity totest this piece of conventional wisdom.

Our canister rounds for 3 inches were thesame type of sabot and plates, but weremade from softer aluminum to protect therifling. The shot was .69 lead for the samereason. The rounds only weighed about 6pounds and contained 88 .69 shot each.

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The Artilleryman12

We located a local shooting range whereit would be safe to fire canister and evensolid shot from the Parrott. It has a meadowabout 150 yards wide and 300 yards longthat is relatively flat. It rises slightly fartherback and terminates on the side of ClinchMountain. It is long and wide enough toconduct our test.

We made two groups of targets, 24 in oneand 25 in the other. We set the guns up inbattery at 100 yards. The gray targets werelined up in front of the field howitzer — vi-sions of Resaca danced in our heads. Theblue host was arrayed in front of the 10-pdr.Parrott.

We fired one round at 100 yards fromeach cannon. The first blast from the fieldhowitzer blew five or six of the targetsdown entirely, broken from their targetstands. The initial shot had inflicted seriouswounds on 18 of 24 of the targets.

The results from the Parrott were quitesurprising. We had also hit 18 of 25 with theinitial shot. So our platoon of 25 was re-duced to seven and our Confederate unitwas reduced from 24 to six.

Many of the targets were struck three tosix times each. The group seemed to be con-centrated in the center, meaning the re-spective captains leading their menforward had each been struck multipletimes. The targets in the center were pep-pered more than the periphery.

That moment of reflection was reachedsurveying the carnage of our initial shot.These lifeless forms represented real fleshand blood men, brave men that gave theirall for their country.

During the war how many times wasthis scene replayed? How many weremowed down like the grain on the Lea,mowed down by the light artillery?

For the field howitzer, the following hitsper target were noted for the first shot onlyat 100 yards: Targets 1-3, unhit; 4 & 5, twohits in legs; 6, one leg, two chest; 7, unhit; 8,four chest, three leg; 9, four leg; 10, threeleg hits, one in chest;

Target 11, two leg; 12, one in chest/neck;13, three leg; 14 & 15, one leg; 16, one ab-domen; 17, one chest; 18, one each leg andshoulder; 19, two leg; 20, one leg; 21, unhit;22, one chest; 23, unhit; Captain, one hit inabdomen and one in chest.

Looking at this data indicates the fol-lowing: 41 of 48 one-inch shot hit a target.That is an 85% hit rate. That broke downto: leg-66%, chest-27%, abdomen-5%,shoulder-2%.

Eighteen of 24 were hit — 75% were

direct casualties. The hits seem to be gen-erally concentrated in the center. The groupsize is roughly one-tenth of the range.

The canister shot for a 12-pdr. FieldHowitzer are 1-inch iron shot. These shotweigh 1,120 grains and leave the muzzle at900 feet per second. This generates 2,015foot pounds of energy. This is the equiva-lent energy of 5.75 rounds of .45ACP.

I am disappointed I did not get picturesof every target fired at with the Parrott.

We fired three more rounds, one more

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from each gun at 100 yards and two moreat 200 yards. The effect at 200 yards seemedto be no less diminished. Several of the ply-wood targets that we propped up fell yetagain.

The sound as the shot tore through themwas very interesting. It is the sound ofmany impacts in the same instant, each onesplintering and cracking, then the soundcontinues for what seems like a couple sec-onds, as each tier arrives in turn. It is verya distinctive sound. I numbered the targets

Gray “soldiers” were mowed down by canister.



so that they can be examined and even re-assembled for review or display.

Total results from the four rounds of 12-pdr. Howitzer were: 20 of 24 targets hit —83%; 61 of 192 shot hit their targets — 31%:leg, 34 hits, 55%; chest, 22, 36%; head,3, 5%; shoulder, 1, 1.6%; abdomen, 1, 1.6%.

I believe our point of aim for the shots at200 yards was too low. This was borne outby the fact that one of the targets was hit inthe face by what looks like the sabot, whichnormally hits quite low. The shot had hitthe ground and bounced over the targets.We fired at 100 yards at 0 degrees and aim-ing at the feet of the target.

The total results for the four rounds ofParrott canister, two at 100 yards and twoat 200 yards were: Target 1, one leg hit; 2,unhit; 3, two leg, four chest, one head; 4,one shoulder; 5, one leg; 6, five leg, twochest, two head; 7, one leg, four chest; 8,one leg, three chest; 9, five leg, one head;10, two leg, four chest;

Target 11, five leg, three chest; 12, threeeach leg and chest; 13, six each leg andchest; 14, five leg, three chest; 15, two eachleg and chest, one head; 16, three leg, onechest; 17, five leg, two chest, one head; 18,three leg, one chest; 19, two each leg andchest; 20, two leg, four chest; 21, one leg; 22,unhit; 23, one each chest and head; 24, twochest; Captain: six leg, four chest

So, for four Parrott rounds, 23 of 25 arecasualties, that is 92%. There were 115 hitsout of 352 shots which is 33%: leg, 61 hits,53%; chest, 47, 40%; head, 7, 6%.

The canister shot used with the 10-pdr.Parrott rifle were the .69 lead shot. This isthe same as for the smooth bore musket.There are 88 of them in my canister rounds.They weigh 412 grains and leave the muz-zle at 1,300 feet per second.

They each generate 1,546 foot pounds ofenergy. This is the equivalent of 4.4 rounds

of .45 ACP. The targets in the middlesustained more hits than the periphery.This indicates the shot are not spinning inan irregular pattern at all.

For both cannon firing canister there isplenty of energy to penetrate men in a lineof battle from any angle. The second rankwould be wounded by the shot after itpassed through the front rank. These re-sults were fired straight on. When the lineis oblique to the gun the effects are muchbetter.

A look at the stats indicate that a major-ity of the hits are in the legs. The victimswould be grievously wounded laying infront of the battery crying in agony. Themore than a third who were hit in the chest

or head would have been killed outright.This is a far cry from the zero casualties ourfriends sustained at Resaca.

We can conclude shooting canister is alot of fun. We can conclude that the effec-tiveness of both cannon was similar in thistest, at this place with these gunners.

I was very impressed with the Parrott.The howitzer I expected to work well, butthe Parrott exceeded my expectations.

If possible I intend to set up our plywoodtargets at a reenactment in a sutler area orsomewhere similar. Maybe then the in-fantry will pay a little more attention to usnext time we call for canister and fire atthem.

I also would be interested in conductingadditional tests with perhaps a comparisonof canister fired from the 3-Inch OrdnanceRifle and 10-pdr. Parrott, or Hotchkiss ver-sus conventional canister.

Steve Cameron is owner and operator of TrailRock Ordnance in Blaine, Tenn. He served inthe U.S. Army Ordnance Corps, attaining therank of captain. For information about Bur-rough’s Battery, horse-drawn artillery or whatthey are up to next email him [email protected], or go to the Burrough’s Bat-tery Facebook page. Steve’s article about theirhorse-drawn artillery was in Vo. 34, No. 1,Winter 2012.

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Spray patterns and body hits were counted after the test firings, which made holes inmany silhouettes.


The Artilleryman14

n 2014, Old Fort Jackson in Savannah,Ga., launched the Support the Fortcampaign, an effort to raise funds to

restore two 19th century artillery pieces.They were recovered from an old gasworks site in the northeast corner of Sa-vannah where Fort Wayne once stood.

The smaller of the two cannon is an 18-pdr. siege piece, cast sometime in the late18th or early 19th century. The larger wasoriginally cast as a 24-pdr.

To date, we have found no identifyingmarks of any kind on the 18-pdr. to give usa better idea of when or where it wasmade, or exactly where it had been prior tobeing found at the gas works.

We hope that some kind of markingsmay be found during restoration. Duringthe initial inspection when acquired, a 6-lb. solid shot was found inside the barrel.

Eighteen-pdrs. similar to this one wereused in Savannah as far back as the Amer-ican Revolution. An earlier battery built in1777 known as the “Mud Fort” was locatedwhere Old Fort Jackson now stands. It isunlikely the Mud Fort ever acquired suchheavy artillery as an 18-pdr. in the shorttime it was active.

Old Fort Jackson Seeks FundsTo Restore Two 18- & 24-pdrs.By Brian Lee

I

Old Fort Jackson is raising funds to restore, and hopefully find markings on, this 24-pdr. and 18-pdr. found in Savannah, Ga.

Eighteen-pdrs. were used in the Battle ofSavannah, 1779, the current Battlefield Me-morial Park, by both the British and the Al-lied (French and American) forces. Afterthe battle, a French officer described theiruse: “2 [British] 18-pounders, upon fieldcarriages, charged with cannister & placedat the head of the road [Augusta] causedterrible slaughter.”

Eighteen-pdrs. were also in use in Sa-vannah during the War of 1812, althoughno battles took place here during that war.A report, “Return of Ordnance & Ord-nance Stores for Savannah” issued on Dec.31, 1813, shows six 18-pdrs. mounted foruse, and an additional 18-pdr. unmounted.

Fort Jackson did have an 18-pdr. in itsgarrison, although we cannot be sure ifthis particular 18-pdr. served here. The fortwas abandoned due to unhealthy condi-tions in 1826, and the cannon inside wereremoved.

By the Civil War, 18-pdrs. were being re-placed by larger models. A report by A.T.Cunningham, First Lieutenant Artilleryand Ordnance, on Oct. 28, 1862, places alone 18-pdr. at Old Fort Jackson. It doesnot appear in a similar report in 1863.

Eighteen-pdrs. were more likely to befound in the inner ring of defenses of Sa-vannah during the Civil War. For examplein the same report, 18-pdrs. are found atFort Brown, which was located near theCatholic Cemetery, on present-dayWheaton Street. A reserve battery of two18-pdrs. was located near the Central ofGeorgia Railroad Depot, which was lo-cated on the 1779 battlefield of the Siege ofSavannah.

The second cannon, the larger of the two,has a series of holes drilled into the rear.This cannon was originally cast as a 24-pdr.The only distinguishing feature on it is thenumber “50” on the top, near the vent.

This number indicates the overall weightof the cannon in hundredweight, a Britishsystem of measure which equals 112pounds, so (50 x 112) equals 5,600 pounds.Although this is a British system of meas-uring, early American foundries used it aswell.

It does help us point to an early 1800smanufacture date, however not muchmore can be identified to date. At somepoint in its life, the bore was enlarged to fita 30-lb. projectile. The date of that event is



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Jackson. Instead, they were used in theinner line of defenses, along with the 18-pdrs.

In the Oct. 28, 1862, report previouslymentioned, Cunningham notes that a sin-gle modified 24-pdr. was located at FortBrown. During road construction onWheaton Street, a Civil War era canistershot was discovered that matches almostexactly the bore of the modified 24-pdr.cannon.

The use of canister and grape severelyreduced their effective range, down to onlya few hundred yards.

Old Fort Jackson intends to repaint theguns, construct appropriate carriages, andthen display the guns as part of its mu-seum.

Donations can be made on Old Fort Jack-son’s Facebook page under the Support theFort tab, in person, or by sending a checkto: 1 Fort Jackson Rd., Savannah, GA 31404.

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unknown, but may have happened priorto the Civil War.

Twenty-four pdrs. were in use in the Sa-vannah area during the War of 1812 andthe Civil War. The Dec. 31, 1813, reportmentioned above indicated that there wereeight 24-pdrs. mounted on carriages andanother two that were unmounted.

It is highly probable that Old Fort Jack-son had some 24-pdrs. in its arsenal at thattime. However, they were removed alongwith the other cannon in 1826 when thefort was abandoned.

Very few 24-pdrs. were used in the Sa-vannah area during the Civil War, but six30-pdrs. are listed in the records. In areport dated March 31, 1863, Maj. Gen.Benjamin Huger, Inspector Artillery andOrdnance, states that these 30-pdrs. werein fact old 24-pdrs. that had been reamedup for 30-pound ordnance.

Because the process thinned the cannonbarrel, it was believed that these modified24-pdrs. could not safely fire solid shot,and used canister and grape projectiles in-stead.

There are no indications that these mod-ified 24-pdrs. were ever used at Old Fort

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The Artilleryman16

EDITOR’S NOTE: Transcriber RobertHuddleston found the order featured here atthe National Archives in a large collectionof miscellaneous uncataloged Army of thePotomac documents.

He suspects the papers were left at head-quarters in the summer of 1865 and ran-domly boxed “when everyone was tryingdesperately to get discharged.”

Maj. Gen. George McClellan named Col.Henry J. Hunt his chief of artillery on Sept.5, 1862. Three days after issuing the fol-lowing Sept. 12, 1862, order from McClel-lan’s Army of the Potomac Headquarters inFrederick, Md., Hunt was appointedbrigadier general of volunteers.

The following instructions will, so faras circumstances admit, be observed inthe Artillery of this Army, and the Com-manders under whom it serves:

I. The responsibility of choosing theposition for action devolves upon theCommander of the Artillery. If assignedto his position by the General Officerunder whose orders he is placed, hewill, to relieve himself from the respon-sibility, report to the latter its objection-able features, provided a better one canbe found, and suggest the means neces-sary to improve or secure it.

II. In taking up a position, four pointsrequire especial attention:

1. The efficacy of fire of the battery.2. Cover for the pieces from the

enemy’s fire.3. The position of the rest of the

troops.4. The facility of movement.

1. That fire should be effective, is inall cases the most important considera-tion, to which—as far as may be neces-sary—the second consideration must besacrificed. For this purpose a clear viewof the enemy is necessary, and judge-ment must be used in the selection ofthe different projectiles, according tothe nature of the ground and the objectto be attained.

The concentration of fire rather thanits distribution is of importance; hence

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the guns should be as much as possibleso placed, that their fire may convergeon important points, and should not betoo much scattered over the field.

In a hilly or undulating country, amoderate elevation which gives a goodview of the ground is the best positionfor Artillery. Too much elevation shouldbe avoided, since the fire is more

effective in proportion as the projectilespass more closely to the ground.Ground covered by bushes, trees, orother obstructions is not favorable tothe use of artillery.

It is advantageous, under all circum-stances, to fire at lines obliquely, and atcolumns in the direction of their greatestdepth.

Against walls the most effective pro-jectile is solid shot, Shot and shell shouldbe used against log stockades, barri-cades, etc., and for sweeping a wood, towhich latter purpose, shrapnel and can-isters are not well adapted—and alsoagainst deep columns of cavalry takenin the prolongation of the column.There has been too much neglect ofsolid shot fire from the smooth boreguns.

Canister is to be employed at closequarters. It is effective both from thewide spread of its balls, and from therapidity with which it may be fired; ac-curate aiming not being necessary. Can-ister may be fired with great advantageinto the edge or skirts of a wood whichis about to be charged by our infantry,and against the flank of an enemy’s bat-tery at close quarters, under which cir-cumstances the canister shot are verydestructive to both men and horses. Theprevailing tendency to the use of canis-ter is too great.

Shrapnel may be considered as a longrange canister, the iron case or shell car-rying the bullets safely over the groundbefore distributing them. It should bechiefly used against troops which arestationary or not moving rapidly; or di-rected against fixed points over whichan enemy is passing.

Distances must be accurately judged,the projectile carefully prepared, the fireslow and deliberate, and its effect wellnoted, with a view to the correction oferrors. Shrapnel is too often wasted. Ar-tillery officers should recollect that, al-though it is the most effective andpowerful of projectiles if well used, it isalso the most harmless and con-temptible if used badly; that the ele-ments of uncertainty in its effect arenumerous, and, therefore, in its use,nothing should be left to chance whichcan be made certain by care and atten-tion. Shrapnel should never be firedrapidly, except against large and densemasses.

An intelligent officer or non-commis-sioned officer should be detailed towatch the effect of each shot, and to re-port what correction appears necessary.When time presses, and observation ofthe shrapnel fire is difficult, canister ispreferable if the range is such as toadmit of its use.

Shrapnel fire is very effective against

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The Artilleryman18

lines of troops, columns, or batterieswhich are stationary upon openground. It is not to be used againsttroops which are covered from view bythe conformation of the ground, or byobstacles of any kind,— except onlywhen it is known that the enemy is sta-tioned within a certain distance in therear of a given obstacle, as in the case offield-works, against the defenders ofwhich shrapnel is effective.

Batteries should be as much as possi-ble protected from sudden attack, eitherby their position, or by troops postednear them. A position within the riflerange of a wood or other cover, whichis not held by our own troops is a badone, and should not be taken if possibleto avoid it, since the enemy can occupythe cover, if only with sharp-shooters,and pick off men and horses. Woodsand other places of cover within therange of small arms, must therefore beoccupied by our own troops.

Even on perfectly open ground, theflanks of a battery must be protectedfrom assaults. Its front can take care ofitself, and hence it follows that the sup-ports of batteries should never be placedbehind them, nor amongst the car-riages, but always on the flanks, eitheron the prolongation of the line of thebattery, or, if ever can thus be secured,in advance or rear of that prolongation,but always within easy supporting dis-tances, and no closer, so that the fire di-rected on the battery may not injure itssupporting troops.

Although Artillery, as a rule, mustprotect itself against attacks from thefront, yet if such attacks are made by aheavy force, either in successive lines orin column, and with determination andpersistance, the supporting troopsshould, if practicable, wheel forwardtheir outward flanks, so that their cross-fire may sweep the ground in front ofthe battery; and may then charge vigor-ously with the bayonet, the Com-mander of the supports havingpreviously arranged with the Com-mander of the Battery for a suspensionof the Artillery fire. The enemy havingbeen driven off, the supports will atonce fall back towards the flanks so asto unmask the fire of the battery.

2. Artillery should, whenever practi-cable without undue detriment to its

offensive powers, seek positions inwhich it may be protected from theenemy’s fire, or concealed from his ob-servation. The best natural cover is thatafforded by the crest of hills which slopegently towards the enemy; the gunsshould be placed behind them withtheir muzzles looking over the top. Thelimbers and caissons will thus be en-tirely concealed. Cover which makessplinters when struck by shot, such asmasonry, wood stacks, &c., is objection-able.

Artificial cover may be obtained bysinking the piece. This is done by mak-ing an excavation for it to stand in. Theexcavation should be 1½ feet deep infront, and should slope gently upwardstowards the rear. This earth is to bethrown up in front to the height of about1½ feet. Ditches are dug at the sides forthe men. This system of sinking thepiece is used with advantage behind theedge of a hill, as it permits the piece tobe brought closer to the crest, and en-ables it the better to sweep the ground.

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Next to the protection of the guns,that of the caissons and limbers is of im-portance. Where the batteries are fre-quently moving, the limbers cannot beput under cover, but must remain closein rear of the pieces. Caissons must not,in any case, be so far separated fromtheir guns, that they are beyond theprompt control of the Commander ofthe Battery.

3. The third consideration in postingArtillery, is that of the position of therest of the troops.

In general, the advance and positionsof the Infantry and Cavalry determinethe position for action of the Artillery,which usually places itself on the flanksof the other troops, or between their in-tervals, where it is secure itself, and canfire for the longest period of time.

A position in advance of other troopsis very objectionable, especially in ad-vance of Cavalry; cases occur, however,in which it cannot be avoided, thosecases being, in general, when the action

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of the artillery is of primary impor-tance, and there is not suitable positionfor it elsewhere.

It may be laid down as a rule that Ar-tillery should not fire over our own troops.For this there are three good reasons.Accidents are liable to happen to thetroops from the projectiles. It embar-rasses their advance by battering theground in front of them, and obligingthem to hold back until the fire can bestopped or its range extended. It makesthe men over whom the projectiles arepassing uneasy, and may demoralizethem.

When it becomes necessary to fireover troops, solid shot, and in rarecases, shell should be used, and not can-ister, nor shrapnel; the latter projectilebeing liable to burst too soon, and tocarry destruction among those overwhose heads it was intended to pass.

4. It is of importance that every posi-tion assumed by Artillery should affordfacilities for free movement in every di-rection, in order that such new posi-tions may be taken up as circumstancesmay require. When this is not the case,care must at least be taken that thesafety of the guns is not compromised.

When the position is to be held to the

last extremity, strong supports shouldbe furnished and the guns fought to thelast, so that if lost is shal1 be withhonor. If the position is not to be soheld, and the nature of the ground willpermit, prolonges must be fixed, thatthe Battery may be fought retiring withthe other troops.

When it is likely that a position willbe carried, and its defense will not jus-tify the loss of guns, they must, if thenature of the ground will not admit ofthe use of the pro1onge, be limbered upand retired in due season, under theprotection of their supports. A Batterymay often be retired by sections andhalf Batteries, under the protection ofits own fire alone.

Whenever a Battery takes post, themeans of moving it to the front, theflanks or the rear must be studied by itscommander, and, if necessary, wallsand fences torn down, and ditches filledup, so that no unexpected obstaclesmay hinder its freedom of movement inany direction.

It is a disgrace to an Artillery officerif a gun, or even an opportunity of ren-dering service, should be lost, through aneglect or want of forethought on hispart. Guns may be honorably lost, iftheir sacrifice is necessary to the safety

of other troops,—provided the enemy ismade to pay dear for them—and nototherwise.

III. Objects of fire. It is too much thetendency of Artillery to fire at Artillery.In the beginning of a battle, the Ar-tillery should direct its fire whereverthe enemy seems most exposed to dan-ger.

When the battle is further advanced,if our own troops are about to repel anattack, that portion of the enemy’s forceis to be fired on whose attack is themost dangerous for the time being.

If we are acting on the offensive theguns must fire on that portion of theenemy whose resistance is most formi-dable. When acting on the defensive theenemy’s infantry and cavalry are themost proper objects of fire.

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The Artilleryman20

Artillery fire is to be concentrated onsingle points rather than divided be-tween numerous objects, notwithstand-ing that such a division or distributionof the fire may cause a greater or ab-solute loss to the enemy. It is not thenumber of killed and wounded that de-cides a battle, but the panic and demor-alization of those who remain; and thispanic and demoralization are muchsooner created and spread by concen-trating the Artillery fire on successivepoints, than my distributing it over awide space.

The general rule is, that Artilleryshould concentrate its fire upon thatpart of the enemy’s force which, fromits position, or from its character, it isthe most desirable to overthrow.Against an enemy’s Battery the fireshould be concentrated on a singlepiece until that is disabled, and shouldthen be turned upon another, and ananalogous plan should generally be fol-lowed in firing upon Infantry and Cav-alry.

When firing upon a hostile column,

the guns are to be directed at its centre.If the column is in the act of deploying,the flank toward which the deploymentis being made is to be fired on with can-ister or shrapnel.

As a general rule, Artillery should notfire upon skirmishers or small groups ofmen.

IV. The fire of Artillery is not to becommenced until the enemy is withineffective range; that is, so near that atleast one quarter of the shots are hits.Firing at too great a distance wastes am-munition which will be wanted at thecritical moments of the battle, and em-boldens the enemy’s troops by givingthem a contemptuous idea of the effectsof our fire.

Certain remarks of Frederick theGreat may here be borne in mind. “Itsometimes happens,” he says, “that theGeneral in command, or some otherGeneral, is himself forgetful, and ordersthe fire to be opened too soon, withoutconsidering what injurious conse-quences may result from it. In such a

case the Artillery officer must certainlyobey, but he should fire as slowly aspossible, and point the pieces with theutmost accuracy in order that his shotsmay not be thrown away. Such a fire isonly pardonable when the Generalwishes to attract the enemy’s attentionto one point, so as to make movementsin another.”

In the fire of Artillery accuracy is offar more importance than quickness.The fire should be slow while theenemy is at a distance; it is to be quickeras the distance diminishes, and is to be-come rapid when canister shot is beingfired at effective ranges.

“The proper expenditure of the am-munition is one of the most importantduties of an Artilleryman. An officerwho squanderers the whole of his am-munition in a short engagement proveshimself incapable of appreciating thedue effect and use of his arm, and incurthe heaviest responsibility. There aremoments in which we should not fire,or only very slowly, and others of acritical nature in which there should be

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Separate reports should be preparedby the commanders of pieces sodetached. There are to be annexed, inoriginal; to the narrative of the com-mander of the Battery.

Robert Huddleston is a retired teacher, nowan independent historian studying the CivilWar. His transcription can also be read atwww.gdg.org/Research/Hunt/hasept12_1862.html

troops; the nature of the enemy’s troopsagainst which the projectiles used; theeffect remarked; the reasons why posi-tions were changed; the behaviour ofthe men; and, without regard to rank,who distinguished himself; lastly, allimportant circumstances observed inthe neighborhood of the Battery.

If Sections or half Batteries were de-tached, it is to be specified by whoseorder and for what purpose they wereso detached.

no question of saving ammunition; butthe latter are only of short duration anddo not lead to a lavish expenditure ofammunition; while the inefficient, con-stant fire at long ranges always has thateffect.”

After an engagement, the commanderof each Battery must use all diligence inputting it into a condition to march andto fight. As soon after the action as pos-sible, a return of the losses of men andmaterial and a report of the fight will bepresented to the proper staff officer.

The return should contain a specifica-tion of the men and horses killed anddisabled; of whatever has been madeunserviceable or injured; of whateverhas been expended, lost, or damaged;and of all defects of material and am-munition noticed, and should suggestproper remedies.

The report should briefly describe theparticipation of the Battery in the en-gagement, as far as may be necessaryfor understanding the part taken by theBattery; the special instructions com-municated; the position of the Battery,with a statement of the neighboring

Cannon is fireable Cast barrel with 1/2” steel liner

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6-pdr. Napoleon-type Gun For Sale


The Artilleryman22

ometimes you wonder if your ef-forts go unnoticed. On two sepa-rate occasions in 2014 two

individuals commented they look for-ward to the annual Registry updates inThe Artilleryman.

So, please forgive me for my shortcom-ings. For the years 2013 and 2014 elevencannon have been added to the NationalRegistry of Known Surviving Civil WarArtillery, bringing the grand total of doc-umented survivors to 5,772.

The first report is that of a privatelyowned 32-pdr. shell gun of 4,500 pounds,Alger No. 152, dated 1865.

Most people I correspond with I havenever met. Such is the case with TomBatha who reported two 24-pdr. FlankHowitzers at Fort Morgan, Ala. Each wasmade by Cyrus Alger & Co. in 1847. Theonly other readable markings are theweights at 1471 & 1474 lbs.

On a very warm Sunday in May I hadthe opportunity to visit Vicksburg Na-tional Military Park and did my best toview all 147 cannon within the park. Formy efforts I was able to log two newfinds.

On Union Avenue is 6-pdr. bronze fieldgun M1841, Ames No. 6, dated 1842 andweighing 880 lbs. On Confederate Av-enue, approximately a quarter-mile be-fore Stockade Redan and Old GraveyardRoad, is what I believe is an unmarked

John Clark 12-pdr. Confederate bronzehowitzer which resembles a truncated 6-pdr. field gun, M1841.

The bore measured 4.70 inches and thetube is heavily pitted. It is nearly identicalto one documented on Ruggles’ line at

Shiloh National Military Park.Another discovery at Vicksburg NMP,

this one made by Tom Batha, is a 12-pdr.bronze howitzer, M1838 Alger No. 2,dated 1839 and weighing 697 lbs.

In August 2013 an 1863 dated Cyrus

The number of this 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle in Berlin, Conn., is unknown.

This Alger 6-pdr. was discovered on the Amoskeag Auction website.

Update Of Surviving ArtilleryBy Jim Bender

S



Next is another discovery on a webauction site, a nicely marked 6-pdr. irongun, Pattern 1834, No. 8 manufacturedby McClurg, Wade & Co. PPF, what wemay better recognize as the forerunnerto Fort Pitt Foundry.

Aft of the breech ring on the cascabelit is marked “U.S. RESERVE Corner No3” along with 806, the weight.

In June 2007 I discovered 12-pdr.bronze Napoleon, M1857, Hooper No.73, in a photo on the Internet. It wouldtake nearly seven years and an emailfrom Roger Warden to discover HooperNo. 72 sits next to it at a monument inPalmyra, Va.

To bait you, as Joe Gluskert has baitedme, IX-inch Dahlgren shell gun, AlgerNo. 258, presumably dated 1859, whichexists as a former bollard at thePortsmouth Naval Shipyard, is the newfind for 2015.

He says “Remind me to send you onein January every year. . . “

Jim Bender is keeper of the National Reg-istry of Known Surviving Civil War Ar-tillery. He can be reached [email protected]

Hartford and the kindness of ColonelJ.P. Thompson of the ordnance depart-ment. William Luby set the cannon andboulder.”

The first report for 2014 is a clearlymarked 3-Inch Ordnance Rifle, No. 4,which was discovered as part of an es-tate. It was subsequently auctioned andremains in private hands. Nos. 1-6 wereinitially issued to 1st New York LightArtillery, Reynolds’ Battery L. Nos. 2, 3and 6 are not known to survive.

Alger 6-pdr. bronze “insurance” gun of522 lbs. was discovered on the AmoskeagAuction website.

Credit for the next new discovery isgiven to none other than Kay Jorgensen,The Artilleryman publisher. What appearsto be an unfinished 3-Inch Ordnance Rifleis at the Soldiers Monument next to Kens-ington Congregational Church in Berlin,Conn.

If not for the provenance I would likelyhave dismissed it as Wayne Stark didwhen it was reported to him by SteveCoffey. It was somehow concluded to bea reproduction or some sort of “special”cannon and so at that time not officiallyentered in the Registry.

Based on some documentation pro-vided during my inquiry about the can-non it was first documented in anewspaper article Feb. 10, 1913.

Other documents state:“The description of the 1863 Kensing-

ton Soldiers Monument includes: A can-non was placed near the apex of thetriangular plot as part of the 50th an-niversary program in 1913. It is sup-ported by two boulders. Cannon ballswhich formerly were stacked on theboulders are now set in concrete on theboulders.”

“The piece is a 3” cannon given by theWar Department at the request of USSenator George P. McLean of Simsbury.It was delivered with 80 shells.”

Credit for obtaining the cannon is alsoprovided in another article:

“The cannon and shells were securedthrough the influence by vice presidentWilliam C. Skinner of the Colt’s PatentFirearms Manufacturing Company of

Jeff Stafford (610) 486-0567

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Restoration and reproduction of Civil War cannon carriages, wheels and rolling stock

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Jim Bender believes John Clark made this unmarked Confederate 12-pdr. howitzer atVicksburg National Military Park.


The Artilleryman24

orwich University in Northfield,Vt., is the oldest private militaryacademy in the United States,

founded in 1819. The campus is situatedabout 10 miles south of Montpelier, for-mer home town of Adm. George Dewey,the “Hero of Manila.”

Visits to the campus on numerous oc-casions, for various reasons over the past40 years, have been enjoyable. Like allreaders of The Artilleryman, we have a fas-cination with historic artillery and a num-ber of pieces reside on the Norwichgrounds.

One group of cannon has always beenintriguing. Two rather derelict small fieldguns on iron carriages with woodenwheels guarded the entrance to PlumleyArmory. A third gun, similar but in farbetter condition, was used as the salutegun on the main quadrangle by the flag-pole.

Early examination revealed that theywere in fact 12-pdr. Armstrong-Whit-worth rifled breech loaders. And therewere only three.

Thinking that cannon usually come inpairs or batteries of four or six, a searchwas on for a fourth gun. No one ap-proached on campus knew anythingabout them.

Finally, an inspection tour with GlenWilliford and some follow up research byhim in National Archives shed somelight.

The guns themselves are, in fact, BritishOrdnance QF (quick-firing) 12-pdrs. of 8cwt. That translates to a breech loadinggun that fires a projectile of a nominal 12-lb. weight from a tube and breech weigh-ing 846 lbs.

It was made by Sir W.G. Armstrong-Whitworth & Co. in Elswick, England, inthe 1896-1900 time frame. The bore is 3inches and was supplied with 12.5-lb.Shrapnel, common Lyddite shells.

With a muzzle velocity of 1630 fps, amaximum range of 5,100 yards was at-tained. The rated barrel life was 2,000rounds with Cordite Mk 1 or 6,000rounds with Cordite MD.

A total of 387 were produced, accord-ing to The American Steel Navy by John D.Alden (U.S. Naval Institute 1972). Theseare naval landing guns, normally as-signed to a ship to be used on shore by alanding party consisting of sailors ormarines.

Landing guns typically have smaller,lighter weight carriages than field gunsso that they may be more easily man-han-dled in the defined absence of horses.

The next question, obviously, is wheredid they come from — or how did theyget to Vermont? The only other foreigngun on campus is a Spanish War trophy,acquisition undoubtedly arrangedthrough Admiral Dewey.

At the outbreak of the Spanish-Ameri-can War, the United States military was

caught woefully unprepared. This alwayshappens to us and 1898 was no exception.There was widespread fear, if not outrightpanic, that the Spanish Armada wasready to attack the mainland at any time.

The modernization of the navy andcoast defenses had just begun and wouldnot be up to standards for a number ofyears. In response to this perceived threat,temporary coastal batteries were builtand ships were obtained from non-tradi-tional sources and commissioned.

In this latter category, two ships underconstruction in England were purchasedand commissioned into the U.S. Navy.

The first was the Amazonas, a 3,437 tonprotected cruiser being built for Brazil byW.G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Com-pany in New Castle. The ship’s original

Norwich U’s Three British 12-Pdrs., The USS Albany & USS New Orleans By Thomas Batha & Glen Williford

N

Ordnance QF [quick-firing] 12 pdr. of 8 cwt [counterweight] Armstrong-Whitworth No.9856, cast in 1899, can be seen at Norwich University.


equipment included two naval landingguns, Nos. 9857 and 9858, made in 1896.

It was commissioned the USS New Or-leans on March 18, 1898, and sailed for theNew York Navy Yard. It carried theseguns during fleet operations of Cuba andPuerto Rico. Upon return to New York inlate 1898, the two landing guns were re-moved and placed in storage there.

The New Orleans appears to have car-ried no landing guns until a recommis-sioning in 1909. At that time standardU.S. Navy 3-inch Mk1 Mod 1 landinggun(s) were issued.

The second ship obtained from thesame source was the Almirante Abreu,again a Brazilian naval vessel. It was notcompleted until 1900 and missed the warentirely. Commissioned May 29, 1900, asthe USS Albany, it appears to have sailedfrom England directly to the Philippinesin 1900 without her landing guns.

They were later shipped separately tothe New York Navy Yard aboard the USSBaltimore when it stopped in England onits way home from the Philippines.

The assigned Armstrong landing gunsfor the Albany were Nos. 9862 and 9866,both built in 1899.

Records of the Naval Bureau of Ord-nance, RG-74, Entry 118, reveal the finalconnection with Norwich.

In June 1904, guns Nos. 9858, 9866 and9857 were delivered to Harry G. Moselyin Northfield, Vt. No. 9866 is specificallyannotated “For Norwich University.” Allwere shipped with their limbers. It ap-pears that the guns were sold, as opposedto being donated.

The Norwich guns are scheduled forrestoration. It was unclear how extensivethat would be, but, at a minimum, re-building the wooden wheels would


appear to be urgent.The fourth gun? Well, the same records

indicate that it was shipped to a veteransgroup in West Chester, Pa., on Nov. 14,1911, also with its limber.

Tom Batha, a retired federal employee, hasbeen a student of military history with em-phasis on ordnance for over 40 years. He haspublished one book on the subject.

Glen Williford is a long time historical re-searcher of American field and coast artillerywho has written extensively on the subject in-cluding nearly a dozen books.

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The cruiser USS New Orleans, above, was originally built in England for Brazil andcame with two Armstrong naval landing guns which are at Norwich University.


The Artilleryman26




The Artilleryman28

CLASSIFIED ADSCANNON FRICTION primers: 95 cents.Lanyards $12. Gimlets $15. Bronze ventpicks $10. Bronze vent brush, wood handle$10. Primer extractor $7. Shipping $15 upto 100 primers, $1 each additional 100. UPSGround. Phil “Boom Boom” Sieglein, 5026Mile Stretch Dr., Holiday, FL 34690. 727-934-4330.

WANTED: COMMEMORATIVE “Remem-ber the Maine” cannon. Contact Steve Kapp,704 West 5th St., Grove, OK 74344. Cell: 918-791-1262; [email protected]

REPRINTED EARLY 20th century U.S.Army coast artillery ordnance manuals forsale. For list send two first-class postagestamps to Peter A. Frandsen, 9900 GeorgiaAvenue #302, Silver Spring, MD 20902-5242.

128 ISSUES of The Artilleryman for sale.Vol. 1 through Vol. 35, $650 postpaid. [email protected]

12-PDR MOUNTAIN Howitzer blueprints -barrel plans $42. Carriage plans $52. Bothsets $87. 12-pdr. plans $42. Prices includeUSPS priority postage. Helmut Sakschek,PO Box 3, Neenah WI 54957-0003.www.buckstix.com

TRAIL ROCK Ordnance offers metal partsfor the #1 and #2 Field Carriages, Field Lim-ber and 1st Model Prairie Carriage. We alsooffer 1st Model Prairie Carriages for $5,000,and #1 Field Carriages for $7,200. We offeran ever growing line of shooting acces-sories, implements, ammunition and othergoodies for the artillerist. Color catalogavailable for $7 ppd. Steve Cameron, 1754Little Valley Rd, Blaine TN 37709, 865-932-1200, [email protected],www.trailrockordnance.com.

TWO SPONGE buckets, close reproduc-tions, $95 each postpaid. 1841 MountianHowitzer pendulum sight, $75 postpaid.Call Len, 1st St. Paul Artillery 651-799-6299.

CIRCA 1862 three-barrel Norwich ArmsGatling type gun. One-inch rifled barrels.All complete with original carriage $61,000.Confederate manufactured Memphis can-non with original carriage $61,500. Circa1700-1750 Dutch bronze VOC cannon withmuseum-copied carriage $15,500. Addi-tional Dutch carriages available $2,000 each.Gatling/Gardner style gun with originalcarriage $36,500. Museum quality Dahlgrencarriage $12,500. Hotchkiss 1.65 mountaincannon as carried on mules $36,500. Othercannons available. Email for pictures: [email protected]; 859-983-3911.

LONGTIME ARTILLERY buff needs todownsize his collection. A variety of blackpowder shooters. Half-scale iron Napoleonon naval carriage; full scale coehorn mortaron oak bed; small carronade on oak bed;misc. small cannons; Kentucky percussionlong rifle replica; Kentucky percussion pis-tol replica; cannon tools; more. For detaileddescriptions, pics and prices: 603-431-3173;[email protected]

STATE OF NY original Delafield Rifle 3.67-in No. 3 1862. Excellent condition, fired inN-SSA competition. Only rare Delafieldwith shootable bore. $8,500. Fits No. 1 car-riage. Ken: 845-831-1170

Authentic Sponge and

Tar Buckets

Sponge Bucket ($15 shipping). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $200 + $15 UPS Tar Bucket ($15 shipping). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $150 + $15 UPS

Ask For Our Free Cannon Part List

www.pbocorp.biz PAULSON BROS. ORDNANCE CORP BOX 121 CLEAR LAKE, WIS. 54005 PHONE: Office (715) 263-3300 • Fax (715) 263-3301


Trailer - $6,000 This trailer was specifically designed to carry both cannons and limber. 4 wheel trailer with

two 7000 lb. axles with brakes.

Complete camp accoutrements also available

All prices negotiable Call Miki Heaton: 256-453-6434 (Brierfield, AL)

This is a reproduction cast by Birmingham Brass and Copper. The pattern was taken from Library of Congress documents and the gun was based on an

original pattern. There is an ammunition chest fabricated to these plans.

B UILD YOUR B ATTERY ! Artillery for sale

12-pdr. Bronze Confederate Mountain Howitzer - $9,000

Limber - $7,000 Built specifically for the 12-pdr. Napoleon

and the trailer.

Original 1870 Indian Wars Ordnance Cart - $5,000

12- pdr. Iron Confederate Napoleon - $20,000

Reproduction piece cast as a Bicentennial project in 1976. The carriage and limber

were built in late 1980’s.


Box 121, Clear Lake, WI. 54005

(715) 263-3300 Mon.-Fri. 9 am - 5 pm CST • Fax (715) 263-3301

After hrs: Bernard P. Paulson (715) 263-2803 • Bruce Paulson (715) 948-2647

E-mail: [email protected]

Fits The Following Cannon Barrels: 20 Pdr. Parrott Rifle

Heavy 12 Pdr.

32 Pdr. Field Howitzer

Carriages made of cast marine aluminum with steel hardware . All parts treated, “ P owder C oated” olive drab and metal parts painted gloss black. Carriages weigh approx. 1400 lbs.

Wheels can be purchased separately

WWW . PBOCORP . BIZ

Carriages, Limbers, Rifled Guns, Implements, Parts & Ammo

A LL M ETAL N O . 3 C IVIL W AR G UN C ARRIAGE


Fits The Following Cannon Barrels: 12 Pdr. Napoleon



Fits The Following Cannon Barrels: 6 Pdr. Gun


3-Inch Ordnance Rifle

2.9 & 3-Inch Parrott

P AULSON BROTHERS ORDNANCE CORP.


Documents

The Artilleryman Magazine Spring 2015