Gettysburg artillery & Retiring by Prolonge ?

I have been to the Salem Artillery marker as well. I walked east along the railroad tracks from the railroad cut bridge, crossed them and continued walking east before heading north into the woods a bit.

If I am not mistaken, the Confederate marker states their July 4th position. Not many markers that have July 4th positions noted. I now need to go back there too.

In regards to Power's Hill, I recall a small parking lot on the left side of as you turn ( maybe 100 yards or so) on to Granite Schoolhouse Lane from the Baltimore Pike. Is that parking area still there? I assume that is the best access to Power's Hill.

Hey Pam, get out your stop watch as we need to see if we can walk backwards between the two 9th Mass markers in six minutes. If they did it moving cannons, by gum we can do it too walking backwards.
 
I have been to the Salem Artillery marker as well. I walked east along the railroad tracks from the railroad cut bridge, crossed them and continued walking east before heading north into the woods a bit.

If I am not mistaken, the Confederate marker states their July 4th position. Not many markers that have July 4th positions noted. I now need to go back there too.

In regards to Power's Hill, I recall a small parking lot on the left side of as you turn ( maybe 100 yards or so) on to Granite Schoolhouse Lane from the Baltimore Pike. Is that parking area still there? I assume that is the best access to Power's Hill.

Hey Pam, get out your stop watch as we need to see if we can walk backwards between the two 9th Mass markers in six minutes. If they did it moving cannons, by gum we can do it too walking backwards.


The small parking lot is still there. I usually pull off Granite School House Road right at the little "lane" right across from the house with all the bird feeders and the cool garden. It means just parking on the shoulder, though. I have also parked at the mini-golf and walked up the hill--quite a hike!

As for the six minute backwards walk, I'm willing to give it a try.:smile:
 
Let us know how long it takes. You might try walking forward for 30 seconds, face about (toward the enemy) for five seconds, then resume your forward march, repeating the above time intervals until you reach your destination. Walk briskly since the minie balls were zipping close by your head!

As for the Salem Artillery, their marker north of the cut indicates they were held in reserve nearby on July 2, and on July 3 their rifle section was put in position further south at their other marker location on West Confederate Avenue. On July 3, their two Napoleons were moved up to the cut but were not engaged. But during the cannonade on July 3 I think that two Parrott guns of Capt. William P. Carter's battery occupied this very spot.
 
In drill the object is to attach the prolongue rope to the lunette ring at the base of the trail of the piece then wrap the opposite end around the pintle at the base of the axle on the limber and hook it using the attached iron hook. When the gun was fired and then recoiled, the driver would walk the team s-l-o-w-l-y forward taking up the slack and proceeding while the crew proceeded to reload the gun on the move; once they were reloaded, the team was stopped for the next shot. This was the prescribed method, usually to withdraw one two-gun section to the rear of another section that had gone into battery; once they had passed and uncovered the second section, it would then be able to cover the withdrawal until it was time to leapfrog again. In practice, Bigelow's Battery lost so many horses this was rendered impracticable, causing the men themselves to have to take up the ropes as a last resort.
 
I looking for knowledgeable folks on light artillery (12pdr Napoleons) who can advise me on artillery sequences that I am including in my latest writing project regarding the 9th Battery of Light Artillery at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863. Any suggestions? My thanks.
 
Great stuff people.

James N,

How many people does it take to manually move a cannon without the benefit of horses? Similarly, I assume the caissons were moved in unison with the retiring cannons. How many people does it take to manually move a caisson without the benefit of any firing recoiling?

My back and hamstrings hurt just thinking about the required effort.

Thanks ErnieMac for the link on the concise recap of the 9th Mass.
Sorry I never answered these questions before, but I'm only now seeing them! Of coursed it depends on the size of the gun in the first question, and infantrymen from nearby units were often detailed to help. Guns are well-balanced on their carriages so it's not impossible, but rough terrain can make it difficult. Caissons were sometimes withdrawn in action to prevent their capture in case the battery is overrun. This was the case at Ringgold Gap, Georgia when the section of two guns supporting Pat Cleburne's division had no caissons to draw from, thereby severely limiting their fire support ability. Here's a photo from a reenactment at Nancy, Kentucky showing a full-scale 12-pounder mountain howitzer and its limber being moved on easy terrain without any horses:

1558724095708.png
 
Sorry I never answered these questions before, but I'm only now seeing them! Of coursed it depends on the size of the gun in the first question, and infantrymen from nearby units were often detailed to help. Guns are well-balanced on their carriages so it's not impossible, but rough terrain can make it difficult. Caissons were sometimes withdrawn in action to prevent their capture in case the battery is overrun. This was the case at Ringgold Gap, Georgia when the section of two guns supporting Pat Cleburne's division had no caissons to draw from, thereby severely limiting their fire support ability. Here's a photo from a reenactment at Nancy, Kentucky showing a full-scale 12-pounder mountain howitzer and its limber being moved on easy terrain without any horses:

View attachment 308853

It also depended on how desperate the men were to get out of there with their equipment. :wink:

Ryan
 
Pam,

I am going to walk it- great suggestion. I have walked from the Peach Orchard to the Trostle Farm several times but not once did I think of Bigelow's retreat. This is one of the beautiful things about Gettysburg. No matter how much you read or how many times you visit the battlefield there is always something new to connect with. Thank you for the Power's Hill recommendation. I have not been there in years and I have not seen the new sight lines created by the battlefield rehabilitation.

Greg,

Thank you for the Corporal Reed sketching, That simple sketch really portrays the physical effort required to man handle a civil war cannon. The courage it takes to stay with your cannon versus pinning your ears back and running away as fast as possible is simply remarkable.

Thanks for responding. I hope I am not posting too many times. Between winter and being off work ( not much to do) , my time here on CivilWarTalk has been extremely enjoyable.
I walked it a few years ago, mainly out of curiosity, have good waterproof boots on (it does get marshy in spots and you may wind up ankle deep in muck), and deep woods off (or the equivalent) is a must to keep the ticks at bay!
 
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