Tell me more! Needed artillery reference books.

[major bill]

What are the artillery reference books one just needs in their library? Let us start off with these two.

So any thoughts about these two books? Having been published in 1970, Warren Ripley's book is on the old side, is it still relevant is has new research rendered it obsolete?

So what is the next artillery book one needs to add?

 

[UCVRelics]

IMHO there is only one.

 

[major bill]

IMHO there is only one.
View attachment 425932

I do not have a copy of this in my library.

 

[UCVRelics]

I do not have a copy of this in my library.

They are out there but be prepared to pony up

 

[major bill]

I thought this book gave me some insight on naval artillery.

 

[John Winn]

Well, if you aren't talking about artillery tactics I'd recommend these:

Jones, Charles H. (2001) Artillery Fuses of the Civil War (O'Donnell Publications, Alexandria, Virginia)

Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina)

The Jones book is very hard to find and will set you back if you find one but it's the bible. The Melton book is expensive but readily available from Mr. Melton; it's a wonder to behold.

Two others I think should be in a good library are:

Hazlett, James C., Olmstead, Edwin, and M. Hume Parks (2004) Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press,
Urbana and Chicago)

It's a classic and has lots of pretty good illustrations and useful appendices.

Cole, Philip M. (2002) Civil War Artillery At Gettysburg (Colecraft Industries, Orrtanna, Pennsylvania)

Obviously it only covers what was at the one battle but it's pretty good.

And one other that I've always liked that has some good chapters on artillery (field, heavy, and naval) is:

Coggins, Jack (1990) Arms and Equipment of the Civil War (Dover Publications, Mineola, New York)

It's compact and more of an overview but it contains a surprising amount of information. It's also nicely illustrated by the author's pen and ink drawings. You can find a good used copy easily and they're cheap.

 

[UCVRelics]

Well, if you aren't talking about artillery tactics I'd recommend these:

Jones, Charles H. (2001) Artillery Fuses of the Civil War (O'Donnell Publications, Alexandria, Virginia)

Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina)

The Jones book is very hard to find and will set you back if you find one but it's the bible. The Melton book is expensive but readily available from Mr. Melton; it's a wonder to behold.

Two others I think should be in a good library are:

Hazlett, James C., Olmstead, Edwin, and M. Hume Parks (2004) Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press,
Urbana and Chicago)

It's a classic and has lots of pretty good illustrations and useful appendices.

Cole, Philip M. (2002) Civil War Artillery At Gettysburg (Colecraft Industries, Orrtanna, Pennsylvania)

Obviously it only covers what was at the one battle but it's pretty good.

And one other that I've always liked that has some good chapters on artillery (field, heavy, and naval) is:

Coggins, Jack (1990) Arms and Equipment of the Civil War (Dover Publications, Mineola, New York)

It's compact and more of an overview but it contains a surprising amount of information. It's also nicely illustrated by the author's pen and ink drawings. You can find a good used copy easily and they're cheap.

Yep, It depends on how deep you want to get in the weeds. If you go with Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina) be sure to send it to @redbob so he can autograph the center spread

 

[John Winn]

Yep, It depends on how deep you want to get in the weeds. If you go with Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina) be sure to send it to @redbob so he can autograph the center spread

Yeah - pages 207-208 to be exact.

 

[redbob]

Yep, It depends on how deep you want to get in the weeds. If you go with Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina) be sure to send it to @redbob so he can autograph the center spread

As the green eyed monster rears it's ugly head...PS: I'm running a Christmas Special for this week only.

 

[SeaTurtle]

They're short, but if you're looking for something that's well-illustrated then Osprey Publishing has a couple books on ACW artillery:

osprey-13

Welcome to the Osprey Members website. Visit our image collection and explore our database of Planes,Maps,Machinery,Uniforms and Battlescenes.

ospreypublishing.com

American Civil War Artillery 1861–65 (2)

Because of the length of the coastline of the United States, from the beginning American ordnance and engineers placed an emphasis on heavy artillery mounted in…

ospreypublishing.com

 

[Belfoured]

Well, if you aren't talking about artillery tactics I'd recommend these:

Jones, Charles H. (2001) Artillery Fuses of the Civil War (O'Donnell Publications, Alexandria, Virginia)

Melton, Jack W. Jr. (2018) The Half Shell Book (self-published by Melton under Historical Publications, Charleston, South Carolina)

The Jones book is very hard to find and will set you back if you find one but it's the bible. The Melton book is expensive but readily available from Mr. Melton; it's a wonder to behold.

Two others I think should be in a good library are:

Hazlett, James C., Olmstead, Edwin, and M. Hume Parks (2004) Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War (University of Illinois Press,
Urbana and Chicago)

It's a classic and has lots of pretty good illustrations and useful appendices.

Cole, Philip M. (2002) Civil War Artillery At Gettysburg (Colecraft Industries, Orrtanna, Pennsylvania)

Obviously it only covers what was at the one battle but it's pretty good.

And one other that I've always liked that has some good chapters on artillery (field, heavy, and naval) is:

Coggins, Jack (1990) Arms and Equipment of the Civil War (Dover Publications, Mineola, New York)

It's compact and more of an overview but it contains a surprising amount of information. It's also nicely illustrated by the author's pen and ink drawings. You can find a good used copy easily and they're cheap.

Good list. If somebody is looking for a good illustration of tactics that were actually used, I'd add Spruill, Matt (2010), Summer Thunder (U Tenn Press). It's a guide for visiting Gettysburg that is focused only on artillery and it's modeled on the "Army War College-style" battlefield guides.

 

[drezac]

I would add:

The Big Guns, Civil war siege, seacoast, and Naval Cannon by Olmstead, Stark, Tucker

If you can find it for a good price ( I would not pay a lot for it) , Round Shot and Rammers by Peterson has a overview of artillery, plus has quite a few good illustrations that can be used for educational purposes.

I have an early version of Field Artillery Projectiles of the Civil War by Kerksis and Dickey ( 1968, Third Printing)