Wirt Adam's Artillery

[JohnG0609]

Wirt Adams went out from Port Gibson to meet Grierson with two mountain pieces. Is anything known who crewed the two pieces? Were they are a battery or were they organic to the regiment? I haven't found any other reference to them. Just curious who they are and where they come from.

 

[Stryker65]

Wirt Adams went out from Port Gibson to meet Grierson with two mountain pieces. Is anything known who crewed the two pieces? Were they are a battery or were they organic to the regiment? I haven't found any other reference to them. Just curious who they are and where they come from.




View attachment 570463

Likely that they were organic to the regiment. It was common that western cavalry regiments would have mountain howitzers attached -- the one that comes up the most is the Tenth Missouri Cavalry (US), which had a battery of four mountain pieces attached in almost every full regiment action they fought in, manned by members of that regiment.

 

[DixieRifles]

Tim Smith's "The Real Horse Soldiers" does not name the battery. It describes Adams left with 2 companies and mentioned "artillery was coming". Later, he had arrived with "two regiments of his cavalry and artillery" — but again no unit named.

I would like to know more about the cannon described as "2 Pound Mounted Cannon". It was a 2-lb Woodruff Cannon.

Link with reenactor photos. Woodruff gun.

 

[JohnG0609]

would like to know more about the cannon described as "2 Pound Mounted Cannon". It was a 2-lb Woodruff Cannon.

That would indeed be interesting! I recall somewhere reading that they were 2 pound mounted cannon.

 

[JohnG0609]

Likely that they were organic to the regiment.

That does seem likely. I wasn't really sure how "horse artillery" were organized. Forrest organized his by battery didn't he? As did Stuart?

 

[tony_gunter]

I know XV Corps cavalry had one that they captured somewhere between Jackson and Vicksburg. @Championhilz wrote an article about it during the fight near the Big Black River during the siege.

The Federal cavalry just crewed it organically with men from the regiment as well.

 

[Stryker65]

That does seem likely. I wasn't really sure how "horse artillery" were organized. Forrest organized his by battery didn't he? As did Stuart?

They did. And that was useful for division/corps sized actions, but in a region where a single cavalry regiment was often the extent of mounted military forces in the area, attached field artillery was often incredibly useful. The 10th Missouri was, for a time, the sole for,ce operating in West Tennessee, similar to Adams' being the only organized cavalry in western Mississippi.

 

[Stryker65]

I know XV Corps cavalry had one that they captured somewhere between Jackson and Vicksburg. @Championhilz wrote an article about it during the fight near the Big Black River during the siege.

The Federal cavalry just crewed it organically with men from the regiment as well.

Was that the 4th Iowa Cavalry? They had a howitzer at Jones' Plantation at the end of June, but lost it to Adams' cavalry there.

 

[tony_gunter]

Was that the 4th Iowa Cavalry? They had a howitzer at Jones' Plantation at the end of June, but lost it to Adams' cavalry there.

Yeah, Jeff had some details about where they captured the gun if I remember correctly.

 

[Trooper "D"]

Tim Smith's "The Real Horse Soldiers" does not name the battery. It describes Adams left with 2 companies and mentioned "artillery was coming". Later, he had arrived with "two regiments of his cavalry and artillery" — but again no unit named.

I would like to know more about the cannon described as "2 Pound Mounted Cannon". It was a 2-lb Woodruff Cannon.

Link with reenactor photos. Woodruff gun.

It would have been nice to see it at an angle from the front exposing the Bore.
These guys with their Artillery sabers serving that gun. That I would like to watch.