Lt.Arty Sections

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

A standard battery was six guns, divided into three two-gun sections. A battery was normally led by a Captain, supplemented by a 1st Lt and 2nd Lt.

1. I assume that if the battery were to operate as three separate sections (presumably a very rare thing in practice) each Lt. would have a section and the Captain would directly command the other?

2. Presumably the first, second, and third sections were standardized as to which gun was part of which section? In other words, the composition of the sections was not ad hoc, to be designated mid-battle.

3. Was the disposition of the three officers among the sections standardized or was it ad hoc? In other words, if a section was detached would that section always be commanded by the same officer each time, or would the senior Lt. always command the first section detached during a battle regardless of which section it was?

4. Was there any rhyme or reason to which guns were within which section? I assume a mixed battery would always put like with like (ex: if a battery only had 2 rifled guns, they would always be in a section together because they would be most likely to operate separately). But otherwise? Would the most experienced gun crews be paired together, or paired with the least experienced?

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

You should find the following articles of interest.

Artillery Civil War Facts

Civil War Facts

www.americancivilwar101.com

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

http://npshistory.com/series/symposia/gettysburg_seminars/6/essay7.htm

 

[Sowbelly and Hardtack]

https://goordnance.army.mil/history/Staff%20Ride/STAND%203%20ARTILLERY%20AND%20SMALL%20ARMS/ARTILLERY%20IN%20THE%20CIVIL%20WAR.pdf

 

[Belfoured]

A standard battery was six guns, divided into three two-gun sections. A battery was normally led by a Captain, supplemented by a 1st Lt and 2nd Lt.

1. I assume that if the battery were to operate as three separate sections (presumably a very rare thing in practice) each Lt. would have a section and the Captain would directly command the other?

2. Presumably the first, second, and third sections were standardized as to which gun was part of which section? In other words, the composition of the sections was not ad hoc, to be designated mid-battle.

3. Was the disposition of the three officers among the sections standardized or was it ad hoc? In other words, if a section was detached would that section always be commanded by the same officer each time, or would the senior Lt. always command the first section detached during a battle regardless of which section it was?

4. Was there any rhyme or reason to which guns were within which section? I assume a mixed battery would always put like with like (ex: if a battery only had 2 rifled guns, they would always be in a section together because they would be most likely to operate separately). But otherwise? Would the most experienced gun crews be paired together, or paired with the least experienced?

Much of this is actual practice. In a mixed battery the sections would generally have the same guns in a section for obvious reasons of range and ordnance. Keep in mind that at the outset of the War the standard US battery was six guns, with four M1841 6 lb smooth bores and two M1841 12 lb field howitzers. For the M1857 12 lb gun the six-gun battery was uniform, although in April 1861 the Army still had very few of these while production was quickly ramping up, notably by Ames. The same happened as the two types of rifles began getting turned out, primarily by Phoenix Iron Co. and by West Point Foundry/Parrott.

One good example is the 1t Minn. Light at Shiloh. It had four 6 lb "James" rifles and two M1841 12 lb field howitzers. The howitzers had significantly shorter range and obviously used smooth bore ordnance. The rifles were in two sections and the howitzers in one. The only experience of any kind that the unit had before the battle was on April 4 when the howitzer section was brought along by Sherman on a brief expedition up the river. At the Hornet's Nest line the battery had already lost one of its sections of rifles due to failures of its two pieces and had returned to the Landing. Its remaining two sections apparently operated separately at the HN (by 100 or more yards). Since the battery CO (Munch) had already been disabled by wounding, he had been succeeded by CO of the howitzer section, Pfaender, who also retained command of his section. The CO of the other section stayed in command of his rifles.

The Board Instructions called for a Captain to command the battery and three Lieutenants to command the sections. The Instructions also had a "school of the section" for drill so in theory the crews and CO's should remain the same. On the Federal side it was rare for sections to operate truly independent of the battery in battle, as opposed to doing things like changing front as a section to meet a flanking/similar threat to the battery. (As indicated above with the 1st Minn Light, a section might operate independently for a limited mission other than in battle). At Gettysburg July 1 Calef's Battery A 2nd US did deploy its sections independently at the outset with Buford but I've seen nothing indicating any changes in CO's/crews.

The Union armies went to nearly all standardized batteries of 12 lb Napoleons and 3" Ordnance Rifles/10 lb Parrotts - more quickly in the Army of the Potomac than in the western armies. The Confederates never were able to do so on the same scale for supply/manufacturing reasons (as well as using primarily 4-gun batteries). One solution was the occasional creation of "ad hoc" battalions from different units with sections using the same gun types/calibers. (After the Wilderness the Army of the Potomac went to 4-gun batteries as a compromise brokered by Hunt with Grant in order to retain the Reserve - Grant had decided to eliminate the Reserve because it had been rendered useless at the Wilderness).