Arms & Artillery - Terrible Tools of War

This forum contains profiles of different Small Arms & Artillery types used during the American Civil War.

Filter:

A Captured Siege Gun at Richmond, Virginia Siege, Garrison, & Naval Artillery Siege & Naval Artillery Pieces Bore diameter (inches) Material Length of tube (inches) Weight of tube (pounds) Weight of projectile (pounds) Weight of charge (pounds) Range at 5° elevation (yards) 4 1/2-inch Rifle 4.50 Iron 133.0 3,450 33.0 3.50 2,078 30-pdr Parrott Rifle 4.50 Iron 136.00 4,200 1 29.0 3.75 2,200 24-pdr Gun 5.82 Iron 124.00 6,240 24.4 6.00 1,901 18-pdr Gun 5.30 Iron 123.25 4,680 18.5 4.50 1,592 12-pdr Gun 4.62 Iron 116.00 3,120 12.3 4.00 1,834 8-inch Howitzer 8.00 Iron 61.50 2,614 1 50.5 4.00 1,241 8-inch Mortar 8.00 Iron 22.50 930 1 44.5 3.75 1 1,200 10-inch Mortar 10.00...
10 pdr. Parrott Rifles drilling at Ringgold, Georgia, 1864. SMOOTHBORE ARTILLERY Field Artillery Piece Bore diameter (inches) Material Length of tube (inches) Weight of tube (pounds) Weight of projectile (pounds) Weight of charge (pounds) Muzzle velocity (ft./sec.) Range at 5° elevation (yards) M1841 6-pdr. Gun . 3.67 Bronze 60.0 884 6.10 1.25 1,439 1,523 M1841 12-pdr. Gun . 4.62 Bronze 78.0 1,757 12.30 2.50 1,486 1,663 M1841 12-pdr. Howitzer 4.62 Bronze 53.0 788 * 8.90 1.00 1,054 1,072 M1841 24-pdr. Howitzer 5.82 Bronze 64.0 1,318 * 18.40 2.00 1,060 1,322 M1841 32-pdr. Howitzer 6.40 Bronze 75.0 1,920 * 25.60 2.50 1,100 1,504 M1841 12-pdr. Mountain Howitzer 4.62 Bronze 32.9 220...
Image Name / Type Mfr Date No. Mfr. Caliber 1841 U.S. Percussion Rifle "Mississippi" Single Shot Muzzle-loading Rifle 1841 to 1861 100,000 .54/.58 1842 U.S. Percussion Musket "Harper's Ferry Musket" Single Shot Muzzle-loading Smoothbore Musket 1844 to 1855 275,000 .69 Austrian Lorenz Rifle-Musket Single Shot Muzzle-loading Rifle Musket 1854 to 1861 Austrian Import 326,924 .54 1855 U.S. Percussion Rifle-Musket "Harper's Ferry Rifle" Single Shot Muzzle-loading Rifle Musket 1857 to 1861 60,000 .58 1861 Springfield Rifle-Musket Single Shot Muzzle-loading Rifle Musket 1861 to 1865 660,000 .58 1863 Springfield Rifle-Musket Single Shot Muzzle-loading Rifle Musket 1863 to 1865 700,000 .58 1853 Pattern Enfield...
Civil War Cannon-Balls and Cannon-Shells came in a large variety of sizes! Some were as small as a modern baseball, and some were much larger than a modern basketball! Confederate torpedoes, shot, and shells in front of the arsenal, Charleston, SC, 1865. Photo by Selmar Rush Seibert. -National Archives First it's important to note that smoothbore guns typically fired round balls, and rifled guns most frequently fired elongated shot, similar to the shape of bullets you would see in use today. Rifled shot was typically 2 to 4 times heavier than the equivalent Round Ball shot by bore size. HOW BIG WERE CIVIL WAR "CANNON BALLS"? To explain, we will use the size of the cannon's bore, which would be just slightly larger than the...
Clipped from First Battle of Bull Run, chromolithograph by Kurz & Allison, 1889 Union & Confederate Artillery Pieces Participating At First Manassas TYPE OF PIECE No. of USA Artillery % of USA Artillery No. of CSA Artillery % of CSA Artillery No. of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY % of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY (R) 10 pdr. Parrott Rifle 16 28.0% 6 10.9% 22 19.6% (R) 10 pdr. Ordnance Rifle 10 17.5% 3 5.4% 13 11.6% (R) 20 pdr. Parrott Rifle 2 3.5% - - 2 1.6% (S) 6 pdr. Smoothbore Field Gun 14 24.5% 41 74.5% 55 49.1% (S) 12 pdr. "Napoleon" Light Field Gun 4 7.0% - - 4 3.5% (S) 12 pdr. Howitzer 8 14.0% 5 9.0% 13 11.6% (S) 12-pdr. Naval Howitzer 2 3.5% - - 2 1.6% (R) 30 pdr. Parrott...
Clipped from Battle of Shiloh by Thure de Thulstrup, 1888 Union & Confederate Artillery Pieces Participating At Shiloh TYPE OF PIECE No. of USA Artillery % of USA Artillery No. of CSA Artillery % of CSA Artillery No. of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY % of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY (R) 10 pdr. Parrott Rifle 12 8.8% - - 12 5.1% (R) 10 pdr. Ordnance Rifle 2 1.5% 7 6.4% 9 3.8% (R) 20 pdr. Parrott Rifle 12 8.8% - - 12 5.1% (S) 6 pdr. Smoothbore Field Gun 36 28.5% 58 53.2% 94 40.0% (S) 12 pdr. "Napoleon" Light Field Gun 4 3.1% 8 7.3% 12 5.1% (S) 12 pdr. Howitzer 18 14.2% 36 33.0% 54 22.9% (S) 24 pdr. Howitzer 4 3.1% - - 4 1.7% (R) 14 pdr. James Rifle 30 23.8% - - 30 12.7% (R) 6...
Clipped from Battle of Antietam lithograph by Unknown author, circa 1888 Union & Confederate Artillery Pieces Participating At Antietam TYPE OF PIECE No. of USA Artillery % of USA Artillery No. of CSA Artillery % of CSA Artillery No. of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY % of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY (R) 10 pdr. Parrott Rifle 57 18.9% 43 17.8% 100 18.4% (R) 3 in. Ordnance Rifle 81 26.9% 42 17.4% 123 22.6% (R) 20 pdr. Parrott Rifle 22 7.3% - - 22 4.0% (S) 6 pdr. Smoothbore Field Gun - - 41 17.0% 41 7.5% (S) 12 pdr. "Napoleon" Light Field Gun 117 38.8% 14 5.8% 131 24.1% (S) 12 pdr. Howitzer 3 0.9% 44 18.2% 47 8.6% (S) 24 pdr. Howitzer - - 4 1.6% 4 0.7% (S) 32 pdr. Howitzer 6 1.9% -...
Clipped from "Hancock at Gettysburg" by Thure de Thulstrup, 1887 Union & Confederate Artillery Pieces Participating At Gettysburg TYPE OF PIECE No. of USA Artillery % of USA Artillery No. of CSA Artillery % of CSA Artillery No. of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY % of TOTAL USA & CSA ARTILLERY (R) 10 pdr. Parrott Rifle 60 16.6% 42 15.4% 102 16.1% (R) 10 pdr. Ordnance Rifle 146 40.5% 73 26.8% 219 34.6% (R) 20 pdr. Parrott Rifle 6 1.6% 10 3.6% 16 2.5% (R) 3.67 inch Navy Parrott Rifle - - 4 1.4% 4 0.6% (S) 6 pdr. Smoothbore Field Gun - - 1 0.3% 1 0.1% (S) 12 pdr. "Napoleon" Light Field Gun 142 39.4% 107 39.3% 249 39.3% (S) 12 pdr. Howitzer 2 0.5% 26 9.5% 28 4.4% (S) 24 pdr. Howitzer -...
Back
Top