Lt.Arty Recommend Reading

Johnny Shafto

Sergeant
Joined
Jun 21, 2021
In preparation for our first visit to a Civil War battlefield I wanted to learn more about artillery. Is there a book anyone might recommended that would serve to educate the uneducated? Ideally it would cover light, heavy, coastal, and other examples. My apologies if this has been previously discussed but I didn't initially find anything. Thank you in advance. JS
 
I have written a reviewed piece about field artillery that puts a lot of factoids and basics together in one place. I have attached a copy for you. It has a bibliography that lists a number of the better-known sources. Unfortunately, there's really not a single reference that puts it all together (thus, my attempt with regard to field artillery). Some books are really encyclopedias documenting all the various guns - or projectiles - and their variations but they don't really touch much on things like tactics or logistics. Some are about tactics in general and have a chapter regarding artillery. It really is difficult to get educated about a lot of the details.

While my piece does not address coastal, naval, or heavy artillery (well, not much) if I may say so I think it does serve as a solid introduction to CW field artillery (my goal). And, as I said, it has been reviewed by people better informed and read than me and I'm certain that there are no errors of fact.

That said, here's one you probably can get used for cheap:

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

It's only 160 pages or so but it's pretty action packed and touches on all the the types of artillery you mention to some degree. The author did all the illustrations which are very good drawings. If you read this book you'll have a good, general, understanding of Civil War weaponry, equipment, and a little about tactics. In short, it makes a very good little intro.
 

Attachments

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@John Winn piece is an excellent start as it is well done. I would also suggest.
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Having already thanked John Winn personally I wanted to also do so publicly. His paper on
The Composition and Operation of Civil War Mounted Artillery Batteries provided the ideal introduction for this novice and is highly recommend. Thank you John Winn for both your time and your knowledge. J.S.
 
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