Case Shot or Canister?

[John Winn]

Thanks for that additional info. Was the "powder bag" inside or outside the can? For propulsion or for explosion?

As has been noted, the powder bag was outside the can. I'd add that when things got really bad batteries would double up on the tin cans - i.e. use "double canister" - but in those cases the powder bag would be removed from one of the rounds such that the number of pieces of shrapnel was doubled but the powder charge was not doubled. I think batteries sometimes carried canister cans that weren't attached to powder bags so as to speed up the loading process when double canister was needed.

Double canister at close range; very bad.

If you really want to get learnt on the basics of field artillery I offer my article on such available on this site here:

https://civilwartalk.com/threads/article-on-field-artillery.138916/

 

[alan polk]

Thanks! Great explanation that even I can understand.

Now on to "shells" - I got the ones that were hollow cannonballs with powder inside. What about the other ones? Can you give me a brief run down of what kinds (generally) there were? And what was inside them?
(Thanks for your patience in explaining. I'm sure this stuff is common knowledge to most of you, but not to me.) Maybe we need a thread on artillery vocabulary?

Generally speaking, cannonballs came 3 ways:

1. Solid

2. Hollow, but filled with lead balls (case-shot)

3. Hollow with nothing but powder (shell)

The reasons for case-shot and regular "shells" were:

Case-shot was used strictly as an ant-personnel weapon. It was designed to explode at high speed just above the ground.

If you look at my avatar, you can see the small powder channel that held maybe a ounce or so of powder. (The black stuff you see is not powder but what is called a tar-matrix.) That was all the powder that was needed in order to "crack" the surrounding iron casing to scatter iron fragments of the casing and the lead balls inside it. It is why the ball needed to explode during flight (as it travelled, say, 700 miles per hour). If a case-shot projectile fell to the ground, came to a stop, and then exploded, it would just go "POOF," like a firecracker and do nothing except scare the heck out of folks. Again, it needed to explode in flight and just above the ground to "efficiently" kill men and animals.

"Shells" were hollow, BUT, its walls were much thicker and it contained A LOT more powder. If a "shell" hit the ground, came to a stop, and then went off, it would go "BOOM" like a bomb and hurt and kill fellows within a good blasting radius!! Shells were designed to go off mid air or on the ground and it did equal damage. They served not only as anti-personnel weapons, but served to knock down buildings, earthworks and set fire to things, etc.

Solid shot (solid round balls) were used to skip along the ground serving as a deadly bowling ball, or to knock out opposing artillery (counter battery fire), knock down buildings, earth works, set fire to things etc.

Bolts (solid bullet-shaped projectiles) were generally used for counter- battery fire and to knock things down or pierce ship armor.

 

[lelliott19]

Thanks @John Winn Very informative and helpful!
EDIT TO ADD: The article is fantastic! Thanks so much!

Generally speaking, cannonballs came 3 ways:

Thanks @alan polk ! A very thorough and easily understandable explanation. I checked out the link that @redbob posted above, but it had so much information and the terminolgy/definitions seem to assume that the reader has existing knowledge. Since I obviously lack even a basic understanding, I was getting nowhere. I really appreciate your taking the time to explain this to me.

So the rifled projectiles - what was inside them? Just powder? Or was there other stuff in there?

I am working on a regimental history and in the various accounts of Gettysburg, there is reference to artillery fire taking out sections of the battle line (10-12 men) as the brigade advanced across the Peach Orchard. I definitely don't want to use incorrect terminology so Im really glad I discovered there was a difference between case shot and canister. Now I just have to find out which one it was. @Tom Elmore can you help?

Thanks again @alan polk You're the BEST!

 

[alan polk]

So the rifled projectiles - what was inside them? Just powder? Or was there other stuff in there?

The same principle with Cannon balls applied to rifled projectiles. They were either case- shot loaded or empty but with thicker walls and more powder.

In regard to your Gettysburg example: generally speaking, if those infantry men were within 400 yards of enemy artillery and that many guys were taken out, I would highly suspect the culprit to be canister, perhaps even double loaded canister. Do you know about how far away they were from artillery at the time of the mass casualties?

 

[alan polk]

@lelliott19 , please find below a video that shows live firing of Civil War canister from a 12-pound Napoleon. I believe It will be extremely helpful to you in your book. You should be able to better understand how ten or so men could be taken out with a single round.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Double canister at close range; very bad.

And Boy Howdy.

Very bad is a nice way to explain double canister at close range.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

Double canister at close range; very bad.

I forgot to add, double canister at close range is like shooting doves with buckshot.

There's nothing left of the bird.

 

[alan polk]

I forgot to add, double canister at close range is like shooting doves with buckshot.

There's nothing left of the bird.

I've read a few diary accounts in which charging Infantry described the sound of canister coming at them as the sound of flushed quail! I believe the consensus of most infantrymen, north and south, was that canister was the most dreaded of all the battlefield weapons.

 

[Tom Elmore]

At Gettysburg, in Barksdale's brigade, 67 out of the 70 identified wounds were by gunshot, which strongly suggests the Union artillery had little or no time to fire before they began pulling out of the Union Third Corps line. Wofford's men suffered comparatively little from artillery during their charge because it had been mostly driven off before they came on the scene. Kershaw and Semmes are another story entirely. Here is a breakdown by type as described by the men themselves, who became artillery casualties:

Kershaw
Canister - 8
Grape - 6
Canister or Grape - 1
Shrapnel - 3
Shell piece/fragment - 2
Concussion from bursting round - 2

Semmes
Shell piece/fragment - 4
Grape - 3
Canister - 1
Concussion from bursting round - 1

Anderson
Grape - 1
Shell piece/fragment - 1

As you can see, between just canister and grape it is rather evenly divided. Pieces/fragments would, I understand, usually come from common shell, which is in third place above, although pieces and fragments could I suppose also be generated by canister and grape casings. "Shrapnel" is also known as case shot, which comes in fourth place. I imagine concussions could be attributed to any type of bursting round (which excludes solid shot or solid bolts).

 

[AUG]

Also to add: the terms grape shot and canister shot were often used interchangeably, especially be infantrymen who didn't know the difference, but they were in fact two different things. As has been described, grape shot was mainly a naval round for larger caliber guns. Canister shot was for field guns.

The 12-pound Napoleon contained twenty-seven 1 1/2-inch iron balls, though later in the war I believe that was changed to a larger number of smaller sized shot per round. Other artillery pieces had varying numbers and sizes of shot depending on the caliber. The smoothbore guns were noted for being better canister throwers.

Photo of canister round with powder bag attached:
Expired Image Removed

The 4th Texas Infantry charged and captured a battery head-on at 2nd Manassas and a couple men gave a good description of what it was like to take a round of canister at close range:

In the battle the next day, the 29th [actually 30th] of August, 1862, in capturing the battery I heard them placing the night before, it so happened that my company was immediately in front of the four cannon, and the last discharge of canister shot swept through it, killing five and wounding a number of others. One lieutenant was killed, another lost a leg, and I received a wound that prevented me from doing further service until the spring 1863.
- Capt. James T. Hunter (Co. H, 4th Texas), CV 26, p. 114.

We ascended the hill out of Young's branch, charged a battery of six guns, supported by a line of Pennsylvania infantry. This battery was near enough to use on us grapeshot and canister. As we came near to it one of the guns was pointed directly at my company and the lanyard strung. Our Captain commanded Company G to the right and left oblique from it [the gun]. I was on the right and with a few others went into Company H. Company H received a load of canister which killed four or five men.
I was immediately with Lieutenants Jones and Ransom of that company, who were both killed right at my feet. I stepped over both of them. Captain Hunter, now living, was also shot down at that time. Most of the company were my schoolmates. This last shot threw smoke and dust all over me, and the shot whizzed on both sides of me. Lieutenant Jones was shot in the head and feet, but I was not touched. When the smoke cleared away we had these guns, and they were so hot I couldn't bear my hands on them.
- Lawrence A. Daffan (Co. G, 4th Texas), Unveiling and Dedication of Monument to Hood's Texas Brigade comp. by F. B. Chilton, p. 189.

 

[John Winn]

Thanks @John Winn Very informative and helpful!
EDIT TO ADD: The article is fantastic! Thanks so much!

Thank you very much. I'm glad you found it useful.

 

[UCVRelics]

They breakdown to a case shot here is a 10lb Parrott case shot I dug in Corinth, Canister here is the one that sits on my desk at work. Think of it as a BIG shotgun shell full of pellets and then the stand of grape shot which came in several different sizes.

 

[drezac]

@lelliott19 , please find below a video that shows live firing of Civil War canister from a 12-pound Napoleon. I believe It will be extremely helpful to you in your book. You should be able to better understand how ten or so men could be taken out with a single round.

In reference to that video, please see my previous post:

Canister Shot from Original 12-pdr Video - The rest of the story

 

[drezac]

One interesting note regarding canister. (Per Regulation) a limber carried 5 canister (6-pdr) or 4 (12-pdr).
Per Regulation, canister was to be used at 500 yd or less range, and was considered ineffective past 600 yd. at that range, you would only have time to fire a few rounds before either
1. you limber up and run
2. you are overrun.

double canister was to be used in emergencies at ranges of 200 yd or less.

The idea that artillery would fire large amounts of canister would only be accurate in situations such as Gettysburg where the artillery was considered to be stationary, and even then, there would not be much time between when the enemy was in rage to when you would be overrun.

 

[alan polk]

There is a 3rd option:

You decimate the enemy's advancing columns and save the day!

 

[drezac]

There is a 3rd option:

You decimate the enemy's advancing columns and save the day!

Forgot that one...thats what i get for posting after a long day....

 

[Jobe Holiday]

ucvrelics.com - Isn't the canister round with the center driving band, that is sitting on your desk, for a breech loading Krupp Gun?
J.

 

[FZ11]

One interesting note regarding canister. (Per Regulation) a limber carried 5 canister (6-pdr) or 4 (12-pdr).
Per Regulation, canister was to be used at 500 yd or less range, and was considered ineffective past 600 yd. at that range, you would only have time to fire a few rounds before either
1. you limber up and run
2. you are overrun.

double canister was to be used in emergencies at ranges of 200 yd or less.

The idea that artillery would fire large amounts of canister would only be accurate in situations such as Gettysburg where the artillery was considered to be stationary, and even then, there would not be much time between when the enemy was in rage to when you would be overrun.

Lots of time to fire canister at Gettysburg. They can fire 2-4 rounds per minute and there are 27 balls in each round so that's,maybe, 8o balls per minute, PER GUN. Double Cannister would be approx. 160 balls,per minute,Per Gun. Lotsa Cannister casualties at Gettysburg. Remember, the troops pause,hesitate,and stop to fire at Gettysburg. Also many troops stop at the Emmitsburg Road and are under Cannister fire all the time they are stopped. Each 1.25 to 1.5 inch canister ball can injure more than 1 soldier. Caps for emphasis.

 

[drezac]

One note: the numbers I am using for rounds available to a gun are based on the regulations, as that is the only accurate point of reference. It's very possible that the limbers could have different amounts of each round depending on what action they may have anticipated or what was available from the supply wagons.

FZ11 - Gettysburg was defiantly a different situation that most. Union artillery was not mobile there, but lined up with no intention of limbering up and moving, and also it was massed under one commander. It provided advantages in regards to rounds available. Resupply was much easier, with caissons and supply wagons closer to the guns that would normally be the case. Typically in combat you would have 4 limber boxes available - 1 with the gun and 3 with the caisson, having 16-20 canister available in the field (but not quickly unless the caisson was brought up to the gun, which was very risky - they were usually at a safe distance to the rear).

Under normal conditions, when the gun's ammunition supply was getting low, the limber from the caisson would be brought up and the guns limber would be taken back to the caisson. the men at the caisson would then exchange the depleted limber box with one from the caisson, the procedure repeated as needed. If the supply wagons were close enough, the men at the caisson could then replenish the empty limber box.

Each type of round was shipped from the arsenal in a different color box. Solid shot- olive, Shell- black, Spherical case - red, canister - drab. This made it easy to identify the rounds without the need to read what was on each box. In theory, you could tell anyone who was available to go to the supply wagons and bring up every drab box you could find, set them next to the muzzle, load directly from the shipping box, and have a very high rate of fire.

 

[FZ11]

Yes. Henry Hunt is commanding the artillery at Gettysburg. His reserve batteries and ammo are about 500-600 yards behind Cemetery Hill. Hunt is replacing Guns and Ammo as needed from beginning to end of the charge.