Ammunition Chests Exploded During the Gettysburg Campaign

[Gettysburg Guide #154]

Welcome, #154. Do you guides actually have an official number?

Yes we do. #154 is the number on the back of the badge issued to me by the National Park Service. The badges are the property of the NPS, and are reused when a guide retires.

 

[JPChurch]

Can someone explain the difference between a battery of "mounted horse artillery" aka a "flying battery" compared to a "regular" battery of artillery?

 

[CivilWarTalk]

Can someone explain the difference between a battery of "mounted horse artillery" aka a "flying battery" compared to a "regular" battery of artillery?

With most artillery, the crews walked following the guns, wagons, and caissons, only officers were issued horses, and the drivers who helped pull the guns, caissons, and wagons. Typically nobody rode on the limbers or caissons, probably because you were sitting on a bunch of explosives, at least that's my understanding. This made these units good for supporting infantry and cavalry that came into their area, but they couldn't keep up with fast moving cavalry normally.

With mounted artillery, every soldier was on horseback, and these units were more common with large Cavalry formations, and typically had lighter cannons, like Ordnance rifles, simply because they can be moved quickly and that makes them more mobile. I'm not sure if mounted artillery operated in sections, or as a 6 gun or 4 gun battery, that's something I don't know much about.

 

[JPChurch]

Thanks Tom. JP Church's 9th Michigan Battery was as such, horse artillery. They lost 23 horses killed the afternoon of July 3rd. The Rebs were shooting high ya know.

Here's the monument to them in front of the PA monument. They did have six 3" ordnance guns. Later on the battery was assigned to the Army of the Cumberland and took part in all the engagements during the Atlanta campaign

 

[James N.]

With most artillery, the crews walked following the guns, wagons, and caissons, only officers were issued horses, and the drivers who helped pull the guns, caissons, and wagons. Typically nobody rode on the limbers or caissons, probably because you were sitting on a bunch of explosives, at least that's my understanding. This made these units good for supporting infantry and cavalry that came into their area, but they couldn't keep up with fast moving cavalry normally...

Add horses for four to six sergeants (one for each gun) known as chiefs of the pieces, and one each for the battery trumpeter and guidon bearer.

 

[CivilWarTalk]

Add horses for four to six sergeants (one for each gun) known as chiefs of the pieces, and one each for the battery trumpeter and guidon bearer.

Oh, yeah, well, I guess my list wasn't exhaustive!

 

[JPChurch]

Add horses for four to six sergeants (one for each gun) known as chiefs of the pieces, and one each for the battery trumpeter and guidon bearer.

Church was indeed a sergeant in charge of one of the battery's guns that afternoon. Major Bill (from here on CWT, he pays particular attention to Michigan troops) some time ago quoted a portion of Daniels' official report, along with a handwritten letter he composed to the Hudson Gazette in Michigan. Church was specifically mentioned by Daniels, in addition to one of the corporals that helped man that particular piece. According to the GAR memorial speech given when he passed away here in 1919 (Wash. D.C.), his horse was shot and killed out from under him sometime that early afternoon. The corporal mentioned is also one of the 2nd Lts. shown pictured in my avatar (both he and Church having been promoted in rank by that time). This carte de visite was taken in early 1865 once the battery returned from service in the field after the surrender of Atlanta. This image itself was the subject of a topic here on CWT some time ago. I then went further to get in contact with Ron Coddington and his publication "Military Images" that deals specifically with all types of photography related to the ACW. That's another neat story.

I plan to go back to G'Burg and take a few pics of the battlefield when all the foliage is still gone off the trees, maybe sometime before Spring. And there's no tourists all over the place and I can find a motel room easily. I want to get up in the PA monument so I can see more of the land. The battery's position was such that it fired sideways/enfilade into the brigades of Pickett's division like Garnet's, Kemper's and Armistead's.

 

[Tom Elmore]

It is my understanding that Battery I, 9th Michigan initially focused their attention on Kemper and Pickett, then the five or so advanced Confederate artillery pieces (Miller/Squire/Norcom/Garden), and finally turned their guns on the Floridians and Alabamians under Lang and Wilcox. My attached draft map depicts a moment when Pickett's men were too close to the Union lines, and so the Union batteries south along Cemetery Ridge had selected other viable targets.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Image by Waud mentioned in the first post, one of his ' panoramic ' views, just cropped in half or it's be tough to see.

Boy, gives you an idea of what happens.

Second half

 

[James N.]

Oh, yeah, well, I guess my list wasn't exhaustive!

Church was indeed a sergeant in charge of one of the battery's guns that afternoon...

Most artillery reenactors I've met either forget or don't know that corporals usually served as the gunners and the mounted sergeants' main job was to keep the ammunition coming forward from the caisson in fresh limber boxes and had little if anything to do with actually serving the gun. In most reenactor artillery it's sergeants who act as the gunners, which is of course wrong.

 

[Cavalier]

@Tom Elmore Sorry for the wow. I meant it to be a like.

John

 

[lelliott19]

@Tom Elmore Sorry for the wow. I meant it to be a like.

John

John, don't worry about clicking the WOW icon on @Tom Elmore 's posts. I do it ALL the time! I'm constantly amazed at the detail he provides. I don't think he's offended by wow's - he doesn't seem to mind at all.

 

[Cavalier]

@lelliott19 I really appreciate your remarks above. I was not sure how that "wow" could be taken. My computer, (well in this case kindle), skills are non existant.

Thanks, John

 

[JPChurch]

It is my understanding that Battery I, 9th Michigan initially focused their attention on Kemper and Pickett, then the five or so advanced Confederate artillery pieces (Miller/Squire/Norcom/Garden), and finally turned their guns on the Floridians and Alabamians under Lang and Wilcox. My attached draft map depicts a moment when Pickett's men were too close to the Union lines, and so the Union batteries south along Cemetery Ridge had selected other viable targets.

Your attachment excludes the position of the 9th Michigan Battery (or I couldn't find it), which would have been much further down below. It does show the positions of some of the Vermont regts. that were hit by friendly cannister fire from one of the blasts of the 9th's guns late in the charge. See the little book "Double Cannister at 10 Yards" by David Schultz. He was supposed to write a sequel to his publication but never got around to it. Too bad...…….

 

[JPChurch]

Most artillery reenactors I've met either forget or don't know that corporals usually served as the gunners and the mounted sergeants' main job was to keep the ammunition coming forward from the caisson in fresh limber boxes and had little if anything to do with actually serving the gun. In most reenactor artillery it's sergeants who act as the gunners, which is of course wrong.

In reality then, as a sgt., keeping his gun supplied with ammunition was just as important as the corporal that was in charge of loading/ firing it. As Daniels mentioned in his letter to the Hudson Gazette, something along the lines of "both Sgt. Church and Corporal Hass served the battery well during the engagement..."

 

[Tom Elmore]

Your attachment excludes the position of the 9th Michigan Battery (or I couldn't find it), which would have been much further down below. It does show the positions of some of the Vermont regts. that were hit by friendly cannister fire from one of the blasts of the 9th's guns late in the charge. See the little book "Double Cannister at 10 Yards" by David Schultz. He was supposed to write a sequel to his publication but never got around to it. Too bad...…….

Look for "I/9 MI" - six guns east of 14 VT (14th Vermont). I have positioned those guns due west from the Hummelbaugh buildings - where the monument to the battery is now located. The 16th Vermont afterwards reversed direction and with four companies of the 14th Vermont attacked the left flank of Lang's brigade as it entered the low ground around Plum Run. It is there the Vermonters would have been subject to "friendly" canister fire.

 

[James N.]

In reality then, as a sgt., keeping his gun supplied with ammunition was just as important as the corporal that was in charge of loading/ firing it. As Daniels mentioned in his letter to the Hudson Gazette, something along the lines of "both Sgt. Church and Corporal Hass served the battery well during the engagement..."

The above is my favorite representation of a battery - in this case the First Texas Battery at Pea Ridge, Arkansas, March 8, 1862 - in action because it's from the perspective of a witness behind the gun lines standing at the head of the lead horse on the limber pulling the caisson. Out of frame is the captain commanding who is off to the left where he can see and judge the effect of his fire past the clouds of black powder smoke. There are three mounted officers in the picture who are either lieutenants commanding sections - two guns each - or possibly chief-of-the-piece sergeants going about their business. For a more complete idea of the duties of individual members of a gun crew, see my thread:

Brass Napoleon Award How to Fire a Civil War Cannon | Cannons & Artillery

Learn how Civil War artillery was manned & guns were fired, according to regulation & period drill employed by the armies of the North and South.

civilwartalk.com

 

[JPChurch]

Look for "I/9 MI" - six guns east of 14 VT (14th Vermont). I have positioned those guns due west from the Hummelbaugh buildings - where the monument to the battery is now located. The 16th Vermont afterwards reversed direction and with four companies of the 14th Vermont attacked the left flank of Lang's brigade as it entered the low ground around Plum Run. It is there the Vermonters would have been subject to "friendly" canister fire.

I never would have figured out "I/9 MI" but that makes sense to me now. "I" being the 9th letter in the alphabet and MI as Michigan....Other maps I've seen simply show the battery's location as "Daniels." There's another monument at Gettysburg listing the horse artillery regiments in Pleasanton's corps, The 9th MI is at the top of the list I think. You are correct saying the battery changed its focus on other targets like that battery brought forward by the Confederates. Those cannoneers that exposed themselves like that must have been some mighty brave souls. Several Union batteries claimed they silenced those guns, or knocked out a few of them until it was withdrawn.

 

[Peace Society]

The numbers I could find are 165 C or 200 combined. My poor memory was thinking there were more cannon than that. 200 x 4 = 800 chests. 50 / 800 = 1 / 16 = 6.25%. Would that be considered an acceptable loss today?

 

[neyankee61]

(CSA) One caisson; unidentified – probably in Col. E. P. Alexander's battalion; afternoon cannonade on July 3; near Sherfy house/barn on the Emmitsburg road.
(Sgt. William K. Haines, Company I, 5th New Jersey, wounded and a prisoner near the Sherfy house) One of our shots dismounted a rebel gun near where I sat, exploded the caisson and killed – or wounded so they had to be killed – all six of its horses.

Do you have the source of Haines' statement?