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Artillery Hell: In the Line of Fire
by Eric A. JacobsonOriginally published in the Battlefield Dispatch Vol. 1 No. 3 Fall 2013 -
https://boft.org/artillery-hell-in-the-line-of-fire
Thanks. I wasn't aware of this source. I assume by "3-inch" guns he is referring to just Ordnance Rifles and not also to 10 lb Parrotts. My only "nit" would be whether those guns could "easily" hit targets at 6,000 feet (2,000 yards). That was considered the maximum "effective" range at 5 degrees elevation. For several reasons that would not be routine practice on a battlefield - or even necessary at Franklin in order to wreak havoc on Hood's attack.Artillery Hell: In the Line of Fire
by Eric A. Jacobson
Originally published in the Battlefield Dispatch Vol. 1 No. 3 Fall 2013 -
https://boft.org/artillery-hell-in-the-line-of-fire
Yeah, most of the 3" guns were firing canister. We found a 3" lead canister sabot with some of the tin still attached in 1994 when they were excavating the outer line in front of the Carter smoke house. It had to have been fired by the 1st Kentucky at an angle to the west at Confederates in the outer ditch. Pretty cool find.Thanks. I wasn't aware of this source. I assume by "3-inch" guns he is referring to just Ordnance Rifles and not also to 10 lb Parrotts. My only "nit" would be whether those guns could "easily" hit targets at 6,000 feet (2,000 yards). That was considered the maximum "effective" range at 5 degrees elevation. For several reasons that would not be routine practice on a battlefield - or even necessary at Franklin in order to wreak havoc on Hood's attack.
That sounds like an excellent discovery.Yeah, most of the 3" guns were firing canister. We found a 3" lead canister sabot with some of the tin still attached in 1994 when they were excavating the outer line in front of the Carter smoke house. It had to have been fired by the 1st Kentucky at an angle to the west at Confederates in the outer ditch. Pretty cool find.
They also fired dummies. A captain who ordered his 3” ordinance rifles filled to the muzzle with rifle bullets said that there was a distinct sound of the report followed by, “…the sound of the bones.” My friends at Kennesaw have found several reports of dummies, i. e. Socks or bags of bullets, being fired during the Atlanta Campaign.That sounds like an excellent discovery.
I would think at that stage of the war a good gunner on a 3" Parrott or Ordnance rifle could fairly readily lay fire on the lines of an advancing division at that range. Estimating range would be the most difficult part and by then they were likely pretty good at it. The weapons were quite accurate. There are a number of recorded instances of such weapons hitting targets the size of a barrel head and larger at one mile, and of course there is the Fifth Indiana's snipe of Gen. Polk at Pine Mountain at a similar range.Thanks. I wasn't aware of this source. I assume by "3-inch" guns he is referring to just Ordnance Rifles and not also to 10 lb Parrotts. My only "nit" would be whether those guns could "easily" hit targets at 6,000 feet (2,000 yards). That was considered the maximum "effective" range at 5 degrees elevation. For several reasons that would not be routine practice on a battlefield - or even necessary at Franklin in order to wreak havoc on Hood's attack.