Red... What is that exactly

[Cannonman1]

OK.. This has always been a question of mine.. Artillery rounds designated as Spherical Case were colored RED.. Their ammunition box marked for that round were colored RED.. Supposedly the Ammunition Wagons were also color coordinated (I assume on the canvas) .. We know that the common term RED as it pertains to paint going back centuries refers to Iron Oxide added to the paint giving it a rust color.. Not the bright cherry red we associate with the coor today. I know RED LEAD was used commonly as it was cheap and that may be the answer..
Does anyone have any evidence to that would take us one way or the other?

 

[Cannonman1]

RED LEAD

 

[James Brenner]

Don't know about the red color, but for what it's worth, I wouldn't get too hung up over the exact shade. Both the Artillerist's Manual and the Ordnance Manual have paint recipes. If you and I were to each mix up a batch of the same color paint using the same recipe, the colors would not be the same.

As for the wagon covers, they were white. Hunt, in his memoirs, notes how conspicuous the white covers were.

 

[James Brenner]

Brain fart. I meant Tidball, not Hunt.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Brain fart. I meant Tidball, not Hunt.

Was your brain fart red?

 

[James Brenner]

Colorless. Kinda like a cerebral SBD.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Brain fart. I meant Tidball, not Hunt.

Was your brain fart red

OK.. This has always been a question of mine.. Artillery rounds designated as Spherical Case were colored RED.. Their ammunition box marked for that round were colored RED.. Supposedly the Ammunition Wagons were also color coordinated (I assume on the canvas) .. We know that the common term RED as it pertains to paint going back centuries refers to Iron Oxide added to the paint giving it a rust color.. Not the bright cherry red we associate with the coor today. I know RED LEAD was used commonly as it was cheap and that may be the answer..
Does anyone have any evidence to that would take us one way or the other?

Good question. I was just reading Adolphus an
d he remarked that red dye for uniforms was easier and cheaper to make and acquire than blue or yellow. So it would be prevalent for use as paint as well. I think those colors were subdued and not the "cherry red" type of colors as you have stated already. James Brenner gave you the best tip. Try mixing your own version of the recipes in the Artillery Manual.
Cheers!
Oh, and shoe us what you come up with please.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Colorless. Kinda like a cerebral SBD.

I get those all the time.

 

[James Brenner]

A quick search of the Google states that there are several sources of/for red pigment besides red lead. I 'spect that each pigment would provide a different shade of red.

 

[Dan Kohli]

The color coding of wagons you are mentioning is to distinguish between Quartermaster Department and Ordnance Dependent, Not the type of shell or ammunition, if I remember correctly. The body of the wagon would be painted: a blue box and red frame and wheels for the Quartermaster Department, and completely olive green for Ordnance Department.
I apologize for being pedantic.

 

[Cannonman1]

Thanks for all the info. Good stuff !!

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

Supposedly the Ammunition Wagons were also color coordinated (I assume on the canvas) ..

The color coding of wagons you are mentioning is to distinguish between Quartermaster Department and Ordnance Dependent, Not the type of shell or ammunition, if I remember correctly.

Regarding ammunition distribution at the battle of Stone's River, Alfred Pirtle, First Lieutenant, Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote:

……My attention was now drawn to my train, which had became stalled on the railroad track. While engaged in extricating it, officers and men began to come to me clamoring for ammunition, which I issued to all regardless of any forms. I had painted on the wagon tops the caliber of the cartridges in each wagon so as to save time in issuing, and here it worked to a charm. Major Loomis was rapidly placing the fixed artillery ammunition where it was most needed.

Source: page 103-104

Sketches of war history, 1861-1865; papers read before the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, 1883-19 : Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Ohio : Free Downl

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

 

[Dan Kohli]

Regarding ammunition distribution at the battle of Stone's River, Alfred Pirtle, First Lieutenant, Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote:

……My attention was now drawn to my train, which had became stalled on the railroad track. While engaged in extricating it, officers and men began to come to me clamoring for ammunition, which I issued to all regardless of any forms. I had painted on the wagon tops the caliber of the cartridges in each wagon so as to save time in issuing, and here it worked to a charm. Major Loomis was rapidly placing the fixed artillery ammunition where it was most needed.

Source: page 103-104

Sketches of war history, 1861-1865; papers read before the Ohio Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, 1883-19 : Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. Commandery of the State of Ohio : Free Downl

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

archive.org

That sounds like something the guy ordered his train to do in the field, not something the Ordnance Department practiced army wide. I'm not saying that it was not a smart idea, or never happened.

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

That sounds like something the guy ordered his train to do in the field, not something the Ordnance Department practiced army wide. I'm not saying that it was not a smart idea, or never happened.

I have absolutely no expertise in this, but was under the impression that in the Western Theater this practice was more common, if for no other reason than it was practical. @Rhea Cole may be a source for more information.

 

[Dan Kohli]

I have absolutely no expertise in this, but was under the impression that in the Western Theater this practice was more common, if for no other reason than it was practical. @Rhea Cole may be a source for more information.

Ok. I didn't see this in till logging in today.