Projectile Paths of the Gun, Howitzer, Mortar, and Columbiad.

A gun, the most common type of artillery, fires projectiles in a flat and horizontal trajectory at high speed. Guns were used to deliver long and accurate fire on enemy positions, fortifications such as walls, and enemy artillery units. Guns came with smoothbore and rifled bores.

A howitzer is designed to fire projectiles shorter distances in a slightly higher arc than a standard gun. Howitzers were close in weapons, made for anti-infantry and anti-cavalry work, canister and the like. Most batteries organized in 1860 contained four guns and two howitzers for flank and close in artillery support.

A mortar fires projectiles, almost always balls, high into the air, and arches them down into fortified enemy positions. Mortars were also able to hide behind friendly fortifications, out of the direct sight of the enemy, and less vulnerable to enemy fire. Mortars were very effective when used with timed fuses, this causes the shells to explode above the enemy's position, and causes massive damage. Mortars were only occasionally found on the open battlefield, they were most commonly used in seige, garrison, and seacoast defense.

A columbiad is a large mixed-breed cannon, part gun and part howitzer, firing a large, high-speed projectile over long distances in a high trajectory. Using a heavy charge, and a lenthy bore, these guns were used in sieges, and in seacoast defense. Because of their large size, they were unlikely to be found on the open battlefield.

What is the difference between a Smoothbore and a Rifle?

Being a proven technology of the Mexican War (the 1840s), Smoothbores were the most common cannons in use in 1860. Basically, a smoothbore is just a large reinforced tube, usually bronze or iron, with a cap on one end of the tube (the proper term would be: breech). The most common field artillery smoothbores fired 12 & 24 pound cannonballs. Smoothbores were partularly effective when loaded with canister and fired into advancing infantry at close range.

A rifled cannon has grooves cut in a spiral pattern inside the bore. These grooves cause enlogated projectiles to spin in flight. This spinning causes equalizing in the center of gravity of the projectile, preventing an uncontrollable tumble while in flight. The effect of rifling also causes a longer and more accurate shot, making it easier to hit distant targets. This made rifles popular with artillery crews, they could attack a enemy artillery unit with smoothbore cannons from a great distance without fear of accurate return fire. Rifled cannon did sometimes fire canister, but it's effectiveness was limited due to the rifle effect on the round balls.

What is the difference between Solid Shot, Shell, Spherical Case, and Canister?

Below you will find drawings of Solid Shot, Shell, Spherical Case, and Canister. These drawings are based on 12 pounder cannonballs & canister, some of the most commonly used smoothbore projectiles of the Civil War.

Solid Shot is a cast iron projectile with no explosive. It's designed to be used against cavalry, troops in a column, buildings and other solid objects. Solid shot is more accurate than shell or spherical case with a longer range. Rifled cannons used a type of solid shot called a Rifle Bolt.

Shell is a round, hollow projectile with a powder-filled cavity. Detonated with a time fuse, these projectiles exploded into 5-12 large pieces. The loud air burst it created terrorized troops and horses. Rifled cannons also had an option for a percussion style impact fuse.

Spherical Case was developed by British General Henry Shrapnel. Its design was that of a hollow shell with powder and 40-80 musket balls that exploded in all directions. This refinement on the common shell was much more effective, but more difficult to manufacture. The effect after detonation, when correctly fused, was similiar to the devistating effects of canister.

Canister, also called Case Shot, was made from a tin can containing 27 iron balls packed in sawdust. When fired, the tin can ripped open at the muzzle and showered the balls directly at enemy troops. It was good for repelling the enemy at close range--50-300 yards. For an even more devastating effect, canister could be used in a double load. It can be said that canister turns a cannon into giant shotgun.

What is the difference between Canister and Grape Shot?

Canister, as described in the previous question, was a cylinder filled with balls packed in sawdust; when the gun was fired, the cylinder disintegrated and the balls fanned out as if from a giant shotgun. Grape shot was a stack of larger balls, typically held togther by iron plates and large bolts. A variation of grape shot called quilted grape was made by covering the balls in canvas and wrapping the shot with heavy twine. The larger balls in grape shot had a greater range and did greater damage to structures than canister, but was typically less effective against troop formations. Grape shot was primarily a heavy artillery or naval weapon, but was at least occasionally issued to field artillery.

What is the difference between Heavy Artillery and Light Artillery?

Heavy Artillery units were responsible for seacoast, garrison and mountain artillery. During the war, there were so many extra regiments of Heavy Artillery that many of them were issued muskets instead of cannon, and served as infantry.

Light or Field Artillery is divided into two parts; Horse Artillery and Mounted Artillery. Light artillery was mobile and horse-drawn. These types of artillery units traveled well with infantry and cavalry units.

What is the difference between Horse Artillery and Mounted Artillery?

Horse and mounted artillery are defined by the way the soldiers who manned the cannons travel. Both horse and mounted artillery draw their cannons and caissons by horses. The difference is that the crew of horse artillery batteries all traveled by horse, making them very mobile and specially adapted for use with cavalry. Mounted artillery crews walked, and, depending on conditions, ran alongside their pieces. Mounted artillery was far more common than horse artillery during the Civil War. It's interesting to note that mounted artillery crews were under strict orders to walk with their guns, rather than ride on the limbers and caissons. It may seem natural for tired artillery men to grab a ride, but this practice was dangerous to say the least, and it caused worn-down horses even more trouble drawing their burden.

What are the different types of fuses used in Artillery Projectiles?

There are primarily four different types of fuzes that were used during the Civil War: the time fuze, the percussion fuze, the combination fuze, and the concussion fuze.

The time fuze was the most widely used fuze system. Time fuzes were designed to explode a projectile after a predetermined number of seconds. Two basic systems of time fuzes were used. The first system was simply a powder composition, wrapped tightly in paper and pre-cut at the factory to determine the time before explosion. It was driven into a metal or wood fuze plug mounted in the fuze hole of the projectile. The second system employed a soft metal housing containing a powder train. The artillerist would cut through the train at the appropriate time mark before loading the projectile into the cannon. Both time fuze systems relied on the flame from the exploding propellant charge in the cannon tube to ignite the powder composition. After the composition had burned down through the set number of seconds, the fuze flame would enter the powder chamber inside the projectile and cause the projectile to explode.

Percussion was the second most employed fuze system. These were designed to explode the projectile when the fuze made contact with an object. Most percussion fuzes employed a plunger-and-anvil method of detonation. The fuze body was usually brass, copper, or alloy, and was threaded so that it could be screwed into the nose of the projectile. When the fuze struck an object, a striker would slide forward down a chamber inside the fuze body and strike a percussion cap against the anvil. Employing the same principle as a musket, the percussion cap then exploded, sending a small flame through a hole in the nipple and igniting a powder train. The powder train transferred the flame to the powder chamber and detonated the projectile.

As the name implies, combination fuze systems were a combination of the time fuze and percussion fuze systems. Combination fuzes varied widely in their method of detonation depending upon the inventor and manufacturer. The basic premise was that the fuze was set prior to firing to a specific detonation time. When the projectile was fired from the cannon tube, the shock (or inertia) of the firing caused a plunger to slide down and strike a chemical composition against a metal platform, causing a flame to ignite the powder train. If the projectile struck an object before the time element was completed, the system was designed to activate as a percussion fuze.

Concussion fuzes were designed to activate from the shock of striking an object. Once again, the actual mechanics of the fuze system varied according to the manufacturer and inventor. Some systems employed chemical vials which, when shattered upon impact, caused a fire inside the fuze body and transferred to the powder chamber. Other systems relied upon plaster to separate the igniting material from the powder until the plaster shattered upon impact.