Tell me more! How were artillerymen trained?

The numbers expended in battle could be amazing. When you look in the two artillerist manuals i linked you will see that when setting out on a campaign a battery had to carry a minimum of 400 rounds per gun. It would seem an outlandish figure until you realize just how many could be fired in an engagement.

On October 3, 1862, during the first day of the battle of Corinth, 11 Union guns were in an artillery duel with three Confederate batteries near a battlefield landmark, The White House. In his official report Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Davies (2nd Division commander) wrote;
"Twice our limbers were filed up with artillery ammunition, from a six-mule team running to Corinth. The artillery ammunition failed, and the supply not coming up in time, Major Stone, chief of artillery, ordered them to limber to the rear and came to me for orders. The artillery filed slowly to the rear, men looking more like coal-heavers than soldiers, with perspiration streaming down their faces blackened with gunpowder, and the wounded horses leaving a stream of blood in the road. The artillery had fired, of all calibers, over 1,500 rounds of artillery ammunition." This in the course of JUST 90 MINUTES.

My God... really speaks to what @Rhea Cole said about the precision of their movements. Can't even imagine facing that type of ordinance expenditure on the other side...
 
Also if you get into battles, expenditure of rounds is quite remarkable. I would suggest looking at the OR for any of the battles you are interested in your characters participating in. Sometimes they mention how many rounds they expended and what type of round.

This number always shocked me from the 5th Maine Battery (1st Day Gettysburg):

Solid Shot 384
Spherical Case 380
Shell 112
Canister 103
---------------------------
Total 979

(Source: Bachelder Papers Vol 1 pg.28)

This number is quite high, but it is worthy to note that this expenditure could occur.
That's a lot more solid shot than I thought compared to the other rounds. That's good to know.
 
My God... really speaks to what @Rhea Cole said about the precision of their movements. Can't even imagine facing that type of ordinance expenditure on the other side...
On Dec 31, 1862 at the Battle of Stones River Parson’s Battery fired almost 2,000 rounds. The Chicago Board of Trade fired almost 1,500 fourteen pound Aimes Rifle projectiles. Neither battery maneuvered. The reserve artillery park was within 1/4 mile of both batteries, so a continuous flow of ammunition was efficiently maintained to all the fifty guns that supported Rosecrans’ line along the Nashville Pike. Each gun only had 400 rounds available, so fire control was essential.

During Breckenridge’s Charge at 4:00 on Jan 2, fifty eight guns smashed the attacking infantry. Once again the reserve was readily at hand. In contrast to the superb record of the 14th Army Corps artillery, The Army of Tennessee played no significant part in the Battle of Stones River.
 
Also if you get into battles, expenditure of rounds is quite remarkable. I would suggest looking at the OR for any of the battles you are interested in your characters participating in. Sometimes they mention how many rounds they expended and what type of round.

This number always shocked me from the 5th Maine Battery (1st Day Gettysburg):

Solid Shot 384
Spherical Case 380
Shell 112
Canister 103
---------------------------
Total 979

(Source: Bachelder Papers Vol 1 pg.28)

This number is quite high, but it is worthy to note that this expenditure could occur.

That is for the whole battle, not just the first day. The 1st Corps expended, in the whole battle, the following 12 pounder ammunition:

544 solid shot
530 spherical case
192 shell
219 canister
=1,485 rounds

There were 12x 12 pounders in the corps (the other bty being B/4th US), and so the average gun fired 124 rounds. The limber and caisson of a 12 pdr team only carried 92 rounds, and so 32 rounds per gun were fired after resupply. The reporting of the acting BC shows that they emptied all on the evening of the 2nd, expending all their remaining canister at a target 800 yards away once everything else was exhausted (a futile exercise). On the 3rd they fired counterbattery for about an hour, which would be about 30 rpg (at 2 minutes to load, deliberately aim, and fire the piece), which is consistent with the AAR.
 
That's a lot more solid shot than I thought compared to the other rounds. That's good to know.
Solid shot from smoothbore guns was used in what might be considered a counterintuitive fashion. Round shot was fired to graze the ground & skip along like a jack rabbit to strike the infantry at waist to knee level. A single round shot could strike six men. When the converging fire of batteries on the flanks cris-crossed, the effect could be murderous. The sight of a gaggle of those balls spewing rooster tails at every bound must have been terrifying.

During the happy days when we fired an original 12 pound Napoleon live everyday at Stones River, balls would dance across the cotton field & bound into the trees 1/2 mile away. The Confederate infantry that took cover there on Dec 31 must have had a time of it. Solid shot & shattered tree limbs flying in all directions was deadly.

When the target was cavalry or artillery, a solid shot was loaded followed by two canister rounds. This too was aimed to graze the ground ten meters in front of the target. Needless to say, a converging fire of that load could be shockingly effective.
 
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That is for the whole battle, not just the first day. The 1st Corps expended, in the whole battle, the following 12 pounder ammunition:

544 solid shot
530 spherical case
192 shell
219 canister
=1,485 rounds

There were 12x 12 pounders in the corps (the other bty being B/4th US), and so the average gun fired 124 rounds. The limber and caisson of a 12 pdr team only carried 92 rounds, and so 32 rounds per gun were fired after resupply. The reporting of the acting BC shows that they emptied all on the evening of the 2nd, expending all their remaining canister at a target 800 yards away once everything else was exhausted (a futile exercise). On the 3rd they fired counterbattery for about an hour, which would be about 30 rpg (at 2 minutes to load, deliberately aim, and fire the piece), which is consistent with the AAR.

Understood. Thanks! Went back and looked and it was indeed a report for the total expenditure over the three days.
 
Of course, all of this talk about high numbers of rounds expended would make Mr. H. J. Hunt's head explode. His First Commandment was that fire be "slow and deliberate". And he had an eye to finances. There is the story - even if not completely true it fits - of him coming across a battery firing at long ranges and in his view wasting ammunition. As the story goes, he leaned down to the young battery commander and asked "Son, do you know that each round you fire costs your Government $X.XX?"
 
That is for the whole battle, not just the first day. The 1st Corps expended, in the whole battle, the following 12 pounder ammunition:

544 solid shot
530 spherical case
192 shell
219 canister
=1,485 rounds

There were 12x 12 pounders in the corps (the other bty being B/4th US), and so the average gun fired 124 rounds. The limber and caisson of a 12 pdr team only carried 92 rounds, and so 32 rounds per gun were fired after resupply. The reporting of the acting BC shows that they emptied all on the evening of the 2nd, expending all their remaining canister at a target 800 yards away once everything else was exhausted (a futile exercise). On the 3rd they fired counterbattery for about an hour, which would be about 30 rpg (at 2 minutes to load, deliberately aim, and fire the piece), which is consistent with the AAR.

Per the '61 manual (and carried over in the '63), 12-pdrs and light 12-pdrs were to deploy with a second caisson per gun. In this way the broader objective of a ready ammunition supply of approximately 200 rounds per gun with the battery would be achieved.

As a result, the basic load for a 12-pdr would be 224 rounds per gun (7 x 32) carried in seven chests, three on limbers and four more on the two caisson bodies. Basic load for a six-gun light 12-pdr battery would thus be 1344 carried with the battery. For campaign, an additional approximately equivalent amount would be carried, half in the divisional reserve park and half in the general park or army ammunition train.

Note, however, that the manual also describes the battery of maneuver as one gun and one caisson, even for 12-pdr batteries; so it appears likely the second caissons would remain nearby under cover but not directly with the piece and the first caisson. Depending on circumstances they might also sometimes remain with the artillery park. (I've not read enough 12-pdr battery memoirs to know how this was handled in practice -- 10-pdr Parrott and 3" Ordnance rifles carry approximately 50 rounds per ammunition chest so don't require a second caisson.)
 
Cody, I noticed that on page 1 of this thread you said the unit you are interested in had two mountain Howitzers, two 6-pounder James guns, and eventually two 10-pounder Parrott rifles.

The Mt Howitzers are essentially shorter, light versions of the 12-pdr field howitzer (the gun tube itself weighs only 220 lbs.). Originally, they were broken down and packed on the backs of mules. Some still were in the Civil War, but experience had led to the development and deployment of a wider, more stable "prairie" gun carriage and a prairie caisson in the 1850s. That was the more common Civil War mounting. In essence, these became scaled down versions of the standard no. 1 field carriages. (While the prairie gun carriage was drawn by a two-horse team, the first prairie caisson was drawn by a horse or mule between two shafts; later a limber was added and that pulled the caisson body in the usual manner by a two-horse team.) However, they continued the use of multiple long, narrow, eight-round ammunition boxes in lieu of field ammunition chests.

These were highly maneuverable, very effective weapons. They could go about anywhere a cavalryman could go and fired the same shell and spherical case (shrapnel) round as the 12-pdr Napoleon and 12-pdr field howitzer, but fired an even more deadly canister round -- one containing 148 .69 caliber lead musket balls vs. the 27 inch-and-a half cast iron balls of the Napoleon or 48 one-inch cast iron balls of the field howitzer. Due to the reduced powder charge used, their range was shorter -- about 250 yds for canister, 800 yds for case and 1000 yds for shell. Rowell's Yankee Artillerymen describes their use by Lilley's 18th Indiana Independent Battery (the artillery for Wilder's famous "Lightning Brigade"). That battery also had 3" Ordnance rifles which are functionally equivalent in operation to the 10-pdr Parrott (though stronger and about 100 lbs. lighter).

The James rifle was a rifled version of the 6-pdr bronze gun. Due to their elongated shape, the James rounds weighed around 12-14 lbs. rather than 6 lbs. They worked well except that the heavy, rifled rounds too quickly wore out the rifling of these comparatively soft bronze guns. However, 40 were still in use with the Army of the Cumberland at Chickamauga in late September 1863.

One interesting fact about the M. 1860 10-pdr Parrott, named after its inventor Robert Parker Parrott, that might be of use: the original model (which I believe was the first rifled artillery adopted into federal service) had a 2.9 " bore. This became a problem after the Army also adopted the 3" Ordnance rifle. The 3" rounds could jam in the 10-pdr Parrott tube. Later Parrotts were manufactured in 3" size (3" Parrott). Some earlier ones may have been re-bored to 3" but it was important for the gunner and crew of a true 10-pdr (2.9") Parrott to pay attention and not load the wrong size ammunition. In addition, Parrotts were made of cast iron with a wrought-iron reinforcing band and had a reputation for bursting. This was rare in 10-pdrs, but did happen (may have been the result of loading the wrong ammunition), and was a greater risk in the 30-pdr and 100+-pdr Parrotts.
 
Cody, I noticed that on page 1 of this thread you said the unit you are interested in had two mountain Howitzers, two 6-pounder James guns, and eventually two 10-pounder Parrott rifles.

The Mt Howitzers are essentially shorter, light versions of the 12-pdr field howitzer (the gun tube itself weighs only 220 lbs.). Originally, they were broken down and packed on the backs of mules. Some still were in the Civil War, but experience had led to the development and deployment of a wider, more stable "prairie" gun carriage and a prairie caisson in the 1850s. That was the more common Civil War mounting. In essence, these became scaled down versions of the standard no. 1 field carriages. (While the prairie gun carriage was drawn by a two-horse team, the first prairie caisson was drawn by a horse or mule between two shafts; later a limber was added and that pulled the caisson body in the usual manner by a two-horse team.) However, they continued the use of multiple long, narrow, eight-round ammunition boxes in lieu of field ammunition chests.

These were highly maneuverable, very effective weapons. They could go about anywhere a cavalryman could go and fired the same shell and spherical case (shrapnel) round as the 12-pdr Napoleon and 12-pdr field howitzer, but fired an even more deadly canister round -- one containing 148 .69 caliber lead musket balls vs. the 27 inch-and-a half cast iron balls of the Napoleon or 48 one-inch cast iron balls of the field howitzer. Due to the reduced powder charge used, their range was shorter -- about 250 yds for canister, 800 yds for case and 1000 yds for shell. Rowell's Yankee Artillerymen describes their use by Lilley's 18th Indiana Independent Battery (the artillery for Wilder's famous "Lightning Brigade"). That battery also had 3" Ordnance rifles which are functionally equivalent in operation to the 10-pdr Parrott (though stronger and about 100 lbs. lighter).

The James rifle was a rifled version of the 6-pdr bronze gun. Due to their elongated shape, the James rounds weighed around 12-14 lbs. rather than 6 lbs. They worked well except that the heavy, rifled rounds too quickly wore out the rifling of these comparatively soft bronze guns. However, 40 were still in use with the Army of the Cumberland at Chickamauga in late September 1863.

One interesting fact about the M. 1860 10-pdr Parrott, named after its inventor Robert Parker Parrott, that might be of use: the original model (which I believe was the first rifled artillery adopted into federal service) had a 2.9 " bore. This became a problem after the Army also adopted the 3" Ordnance rifle. The 3" rounds could jam in the 10-pdr Parrott tube. Later Parrotts were manufactured in 3" size (3" Parrott). Some earlier ones may have been re-bored to 3" but it was important for the gunner and crew of a true 10-pdr (2.9") Parrott to pay attention and not load the wrong size ammunition. In addition, Parrotts were made of cast iron with a wrought-iron reinforcing band and had a reputation for bursting. This was rare in 10-pdrs, but did happen (may have been the result of loading the wrong ammunition), and was a greater risk in the 30-pdr and 100+-pdr Parrotts.
This is great stuff. Thank you.
 
Cody, I noticed that on page 1 of this thread you said the unit you are interested in had two mountain Howitzers, two 6-pounder James guns, and eventually two 10-pounder Parrott rifles.

The Mt Howitzers are essentially shorter, light versions of the 12-pdr field howitzer (the gun tube itself weighs only 220 lbs.). Originally, they were broken down and packed on the backs of mules. Some still were in the Civil War, but experience had led to the development and deployment of a wider, more stable "prairie" gun carriage and a prairie caisson in the 1850s. That was the more common Civil War mounting. In essence, these became scaled down versions of the standard no. 1 field carriages. (While the prairie gun carriage was drawn by a two-horse team, the first prairie caisson was drawn by a horse or mule between two shafts; later a limber was added and that pulled the caisson body in the usual manner by a two-horse team.) However, they continued the use of multiple long, narrow, eight-round ammunition boxes in lieu of field ammunition chests.

These were highly maneuverable, very effective weapons. They could go about anywhere a cavalryman could go and fired the same shell and spherical case (shrapnel) round as the 12-pdr Napoleon and 12-pdr field howitzer, but fired an even more deadly canister round -- one containing 148 .69 caliber lead musket balls vs. the 27 inch-and-a half cast iron balls of the Napoleon or 48 one-inch cast iron balls of the field howitzer. Due to the reduced powder charge used, their range was shorter -- about 250 yds for canister, 800 yds for case and 1000 yds for shell. Rowell's Yankee Artillerymen describes their use by Lilley's 18th Indiana Independent Battery (the artillery for Wilder's famous "Lightning Brigade"). That battery also had 3" Ordnance rifles which are functionally equivalent in operation to the 10-pdr Parrott (though stronger and about 100 lbs. lighter).

The James rifle was a rifled version of the 6-pdr bronze gun. Due to their elongated shape, the James rounds weighed around 12-14 lbs. rather than 6 lbs. They worked well except that the heavy, rifled rounds too quickly wore out the rifling of these comparatively soft bronze guns. However, 40 were still in use with the Army of the Cumberland at Chickamauga in late September 1863.

One interesting fact about the M. 1860 10-pdr Parrott, named after its inventor Robert Parker Parrott, that might be of use: the original model (which I believe was the first rifled artillery adopted into federal service) had a 2.9 " bore. This became a problem after the Army also adopted the 3" Ordnance rifle. The 3" rounds could jam in the 10-pdr Parrott tube. Later Parrotts were manufactured in 3" size (3" Parrott). Some earlier ones may have been re-bored to 3" but it was important for the gunner and crew of a true 10-pdr (2.9") Parrott to pay attention and not load the wrong size ammunition. In addition, Parrotts were made of cast iron with a wrought-iron reinforcing band and had a reputation for bursting. This was rare in 10-pdrs, but did happen (may have been the result of loading the wrong ammunition), and was a greater risk in the 30-pdr and 100+-pdr Parrotts.
I would add that the risk was far greater in the larger Parrott calibers. The 10lb Parrott also was an "either-or" gun - it was either loved or hated. Given the alleged reputation of Parrotts, I've always been surprised at the number of gunners who liked them. During the time frame that the conversion from 2.9" to 3" took place, the West Point Foundry turned out very few 10 lb guns for about a year - then in 1864 resumed production at the former levels.
 
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