In the Field 6-pound cannons.

That's it - nice work. The monument is near the Hornet's Nest line the battery occupied from c. 10 am or so until it was able to (barely) pull out as the line started collapsing c. 4 pm or so. By the point that it arrived at the HN line it had two M1841 12 lb. Field Howitzers and two of the (apparent) 3.67" James rifles. One section fought near here and the other fought several yards to the south. The primary accounts are pretty confusing but I believe (without much certainty) that the two rifles were at this location. There is one primary account that suggests that each section had one rifle and one howitzer, but that makes little sense. It is undisputed that on the morning of April 6 the howitzers were in one section (which makes sense) and the then-four rifles were in the other two.
 
Recasting the 6-pdrs would require a foundry, most of which were already producing new guns and were quite busy. A well equipped arsenal could rifle the older 6-pdr guns for the james projectiles with a much faster turn-around time than a re-cast. With a re-cast, you not only had to melt and cast the cannon, but also do all of the required finishing work ( turning trunnions, finishing the bore, polishing. etc.) where rifling a 6-pdr only required the rifling process and re-proofing.
Recycling bronze cannon is a practice that went back hundreds of years. Iron & stone cannon balls inevitably eroded the bore of copper alloy guns. In times of crisis, as in the CSA, church bells were collected for recycling into cannon. It was a common & ordinary practice.

Today, copper alloy items are routinely recycled. All manner of steam engine parts wore out & were recast on a regular basis during the CW period. My granddaughter is an art major with a concentration in sculpture. She regularly participates in casting aluminum, bronze & iron. My point being, apart from scale, metal casting is a straightforward process.

On order to cast an 800 lb Napoleon, about 1,000 lbs of metal had to be melted & brought to temperature. Starting with clean recycled material of the correct alloy is a great advantage. Shot out or obsolete gun barrels would have been the perfect raw material.
 
That's it - nice work. The monument is near the Hornet's Nest line the battery occupied from c. 10 am or so until it was able to (barely) pull out as the line started collapsing c. 4 pm or so. By the point that it arrived at the HN line it had two M1841 12 lb. Field Howitzers and two of the (apparent) 3.67" James rifles. One section fought near here and the other fought several yards to the south. The primary accounts are pretty confusing but I believe (without much certainty) that the two rifles were at this location. There is one primary account that suggests that each section had one rifle and one howitzer, but that makes little sense. It is undisputed that on the morning of April 6 the howitzers were in one section (which makes sense) and the then-four rifles were in the other two.
It would've been an added and unnecessary headache for the battery's ordnance sergeant and officer to have mixed calibers within a section - it was bad enough for the battery itself! - so I too doubt there were more than one type.
 
It would've been an added and unnecessary headache for the battery's ordnance sergeant and officer to have mixed calibers within a section - it was bad enough for the battery itself! - so I too doubt there were more than one type.
Agree. If it wasn't in a letter generated a few days after the battle, I wouldn't even consider it. Not only would you be mixing calibers in a section, but you'd be needlessly revising sections in the midst of a battle. In addition to the ordnance problem, a great example of the tactical issue is Wiedrich's Battery I, 1st NY Light at Second Bull Run on August 30. He had four ordnance rifles and two 12 lb field howitzers. When he was ordered to respond to Longstreet's attack on Chinn Ridge, he had to leave the two howitzers behind because of range issues. So a six-gun battery was reduced by 1/3. (He was able to replace the howitzers with ordnance rifles at a later date).
 
Agree. If it wasn't in a letter generated a few days after the battle, I wouldn't even consider it. Not only would you be mixing calibers in a section, but you'd be needlessly revising sections in the midst of a battle. In addition to the ordnance problem, a great example of the tactical issue is Wiedrich's Battery I, 1st NY Light at Second Bull Run on August 30. He had four ordnance rifles and two 12 lb field howitzers. When he was ordered to respond to Longstreet's attack on Chinn Ridge, he had to leave the two howitzers behind because of range issues. So a six-gun battery was reduced by 1/3. (He was able to replace the howitzers with ordnance rifles at a later date).
Still, those older guns with larger calibers had their uses. One of my favorite accounts was by E. Porter Alexander describing "sharpshooting" at Fredericksburg by skipping shot across the ground from what he claimed to be his favorite type - a 12 or 24 lber. (I forget which, but tend towards the latter.)
 
Still, those older guns with larger calibers had their uses. One of my favorite accounts was by E. Porter Alexander describing "sharpshooting" at Fredericksburg by skipping shot across the ground from what he claimed to be his favorite type - a 12 or 24 lber. (I forget which, but tend towards the latter.)
Solid shot fired at a grazing trajectory would be spin stabilized by glancing contact with the ground. The ball would then skip along like a manic jackrabbit. Every strike sent a burst of earth & bracken into the air followed by a rooster tail that spun off the ball as it bounded. Seeing dozens of them zipping in your direction must have been terrifying. A single ball entering a pack of formed men could disable 6 men.

Sight to treeline STRI.jpg

If the batteries were properly positioned with 45 degree intersecting fire, the effect could be murderous. Traumatically amputated limbs became projectiles, further increasing the effect of the bounding balls.

This is image is the forward sight of a 12 pnd Napoleon cannon/howitzer at Stones River N.B. The tall split rail fence along the treelike is where General Hardee's infantry massed on the afternoon of 31 December 1862. With the winter sun approaching the tops of the cedars, Federal gunners would have squinted through their pendulum sight & seen something about like this. Confederate infantry, most of whom where armed with smoothbores that were completely ineffective at this range, could only stand & watch. Their better armed brothers fired their rifles at the line of artillery batteries across a cotton field. Every rifle shot produced a bloom of white smoke that clearly marked the position of the shooter.

Casualties, Stones River drawing Adolph Metzner.jpeg

Adolph Metzner, Casualties Stones River
Any one of the fifty some odd cannon that could bring fire to bear would answer with a solid grazing shot bounding across this field, aiming at the point where the white musket smoke stood out against the black green of the cedar trees. As the shattered fence rails & equally shattered body in Metzner's drawing demonstrates, a solid cannon ball skipping onto a target could wreak havoc. Officers & NCO's shouted cease fire orders all along the line. The Federal artillery continued to send solid shot crashing into the fence line & forrest, showering the men huddled there with splintered rails & fallen tree limbs.
 
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Still, those older guns with larger calibers had their uses. One of my favorite accounts was by E. Porter Alexander describing "sharpshooting" at Fredericksburg by skipping shot across the ground from what he claimed to be his favorite type - a 12 or 24 lber. (I forget which, but tend towards the latter.)
For certain. Hunt wanted to get rid of them, however, because with the 12 lb Napoleon you could do the same things and still get significantly greater range.
 
Recycling bronze cannon is a practice that went back hundreds of years. Iron & stone cannon balls inevitably eroded the bore of copper alloy guns. In times of crisis, as in the CSA, church bells were collected for recycling into cannon. It was a common & ordinary practice.

Today, copper alloy items are routinely recycled. All manner of steam engine parts wore out & were recast on a regular basis during the CW period. My granddaughter is an art major with a concentration in sculpture. She regularly participates in casting aluminum, bronze & iron. My point being, apart from scale, metal casting is a straightforward process.

On order to cast an 800 lb Napoleon, about 1,000 lbs of metal had to be melted & brought to temperature. Starting with clean recycled material of the correct alloy is a great advantage. Shot out or obsolete gun barrels would have been the perfect raw material.
Errata:
I have given the three six pounders melted down & turned into Napoleons about a thousand times
standing next to this gun at Stones River NB Visitor Center, oh well...
As is clearly indicated, the Napoleon 12 pnd cannon/howitzer weighs 1,222 lbs.
The 2,400 pounds of metal contained in three 6 pounders is equal to two Napoleons.
I couldn't get a reproducible image of the long scars on the inside of the barrel,
however, the marks left by the straps on the fixed ammunition
are clearly visible on the lower left of the muzzle.

Muzzle Napoleon 12 pnd.jpg


 
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Hey! That's me playing soldier. The third gun in line is the 6 pounder from Shiloh NMP. I was No. 4 and the gunner was Park Ranger Charlie Spearman. We later performed a night shoot which was a sight to see.
That eight gun battery program was really brilliant. I am NO. 1 on the second gun on the right as part of the Stones River crews. That was a terrific program. I was at the park after lunch today to get the photos for this thread. Spoke with Jim Lewis, still no clear idea when we will be able to burn some black powder on a regular basis. Good to hear from you. Rhea Cole
 
True, but that was at the outset, and those were not looked on favorably. The 1st Minn. Light had two fail during the early fighting on April 6 st Shiloh (unclear whether they were re-bores or new rifles, but I'm not sure it made any difference). They were quickly gone in the Army of the Potomac and eventually in the other armies.
One of the guns damaged at Shiloh was a 12-ponder howitzer. This piece had the axle box cracked and after the battle the carriage was repaired by wrapping the axle box. The same piece was used at Corinth on October 3rd, 1862.
Early the next morning, the enemy pressing us, we opened upon them and the fight became general. At the fifth discharge one of the howitzers was disabled by the breaking of an axle (from recoil) and obliged to retire. It was attached to the limber of the gun carriage and carried about 2 miles; but in crossing Cane Creek the fastenings broke, and being hotly pressed we were obliged to abandon it, spiking and throwing it into Cane Creek.”
 
One of the guns damaged at Shiloh was a 12-ponder howitzer. This piece had the axle box cracked and after the battle the carriage was repaired by wrapping the axle box. The same piece was used at Corinth on October 3rd, 1862.
Early the next morning, the enemy pressing us, we opened upon them and the fight became general. At the fifth discharge one of the howitzers was disabled by the breaking of an axle (from recoil) and obliged to retire. It was attached to the limber of the gun carriage and carried about 2 miles; but in crossing Cane Creek the fastenings broke, and being hotly pressed we were obliged to abandon it, spiking and throwing it into Cane Creek.”
That's interesting, but the primary sources (Pfaender, Hurter, and William Christie) all agree that the two guns disabled at Shiloh on April 6 were both from the center section and were 3.67" James rifles. One was disabled by a failure of the trail at the screw and the other was disabled when a projectile stuck in the tube. Crew members brought the disabled guns back to PL where they mounted the good tube on the good carriage and rejoined the other two sections (two rifles and two howitzers) at Grant's final line.
 
That's interesting, but the primary sources (Pfaender, Hurter, and William Christie) all agree that the two guns disabled at Shiloh on April 6 were both from the center section and were 3.67" James rifles. One was disabled by a failure of the trail at the screw and the other was disabled when a projectile stuck in the tube. Crew members brought the disabled guns back to PL where they mounted the good tube on the good carriage and rejoined the other two sections (two rifles and two howitzers) at Grant's final line.
@Belfoured, I don't remember where I got the information on that. Tim Smith said the same thing in his Corinth book but his sources don't say where it comes from either. I put it down to dementia and lack of coffee.

Thanks for the correction!

Tom
 
@Belfoured, I don't remember where I got the information on that. Tim Smith said the same thing in his Corinth book but his sources don't say where it comes from either. I put it down to dementia and lack of coffee.

Thanks for the correction!

Tom
Tom: No problem. Witham's book (and maybe Bearss's earlier work) have a howitzer limber broken at the axle. But Pfaender's April 10, 1862 "return of killed and wounded and of public property lost" has one howitzer limber "lost" and - interestingly - "the axletrees of two rifled-guns are split but can be repaired again". Those accidents must have happened at some point during the six or so "unlimber-relimber" events I've been able to compile but the accounts all leave no doubt that the two rifles in the center section (commanded by Fisher) are the ones that were disabled and that when the remounted good tube returned to the battery at Grant's final line it had "five" guns. In fact, Hurter served in that section so his account must be consiidered reliable on the details. The howitzer section, by the way, was Pfaender's (he assumed command of the battery after Munch was wounded in the opening fight) so any accident to the howitzers would certainly have been noted by him. As for "dementia and lack of coffee", you are far from the only one who needs a dose of caffeine. 😎 There are a number of errors about the First in the books by Daniel and Sword. Tim's book on Shiloh goes into less detail on that issue.
 
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