L. VanLoan Naisawald's "Grape and Canister"

Field Master

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Mar 14, 2015
Artillery is often an under appreciated arm of study in a lot of parts of military history, at least I think. But everyone loves a cool looking cannon, or at least I did, since I was 4. :smile:

I haven't been too current on the books out there, I've dusted off the one I mention in the title & sat down to read a bit of it.

Has anyone read it?? Any thoughts??

The search system here revealed little but a few references of it in larger posts.

It is the counterpart to Jennings Cropper Wise's "The Long Arm of Lee".

Not many who served in the artillery, on either side, had such an impact on the future of the War, as did Porter Alexander and Henry Hunt did on the 3rd day at Gettysburg.
 
Grape was a naval round. Canister was a field artillery cartridge. The nomenclature got kinda confused.

Probably the confusion was that canister shot was about the size of grapes. Real grapeshot was about the size of plums.

Not saying that grapeshot was not used, just that the difference is blurred.
 
Lol thanks.....it's the title of a book actually.....

I do understand there is a difference, the confusion you cite it seems, stems from the fact that, like a lot of things, the Civil War was the transition period from one type of armament to another...this case from grape to canister.

I'm sure there are reports even from the war that get the terms conflicted.
 
Grape and Canister is a good treatment on the Army of the Potomac's Field Artillery and another book that covers the ugly stepchild of the Confederacy (the Army of Tennessee)'s field artillery is Cannoneers In Grey by Larry J. Daniel. Some of the best reading on field artillery during the Civil War comes in the form of books written about individual units. Also, the grapeshot/canister debate gets even blurrier since I have a stand of grapeshot that was found in an artillery position in Vicksburg and Ole is certainly correct, the grapeshot is about the size of plums and the canister (later editions) were the size of marbles. And don't worry that the Queen of the Battlefields (artillery) have cast a spell on you, I started out with a carbide pop cannon and eventually graduated up to a 155MM self propelled howitzer. Enjoy your reading.
 
I found a nice interesting book at a flea market cost me a whole 5 bucks.
Round Shot and Rammers
an introduction to land artillery in the U.S.
By :Harold L. Peterson
Illustrated by: Peter F. Copeland,Donald W. Holst,Robert L. Klinger
Published by: Bonanza Books, New York
128pages.
this book takes you through the Beginnings of artillery through the Civil War. With stops along the way in the French Wars and our Revolution. It gives the charting of loads for field and garrison artillery, and mortar. Has a few pages about swivel guns, and their uses, along with the early breach loading pieces called "port-piece". has diagrams of all ammunition, and loads. Nice book. Highly reccommend to those wanting to learn about artillery.
 
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