 |
THE CIVIL WAR ARTILLERY PAGE |
|---|
|
|
THE CIVIL WAR ARTILLERY PAGE |
|---|
Branches of Service
John Gibbon's Artillerist's Manual, 1863 edition, describes the organization of the branches of service. Readers should be aware that these terms were not always accurately employed by the volunteer soldiers of the Civil War.Heavy Artillery
Heavy artillery was the commonly used term for what is properly referred to as foot artillery. The more descriptive names of seige and garrison artillery were frequently employed.Field Artillery
Field artillery was commonly referred to as light artillery, and was of two different types: mounted artillery, in which only the drivers and officers were mounted, and horse artillery, in which all of the men were horsed. As a general rule, mounted artillery accompanied infantry and horse artillery accompanied cavalry. "Flying battery" was often used to denote a battery of horse artillery, but this colorful description was not a term of military art. It should be noted that "light artillery" was, strictly speaking, synonomous with horse artillery, but this nicety of terminology was virtually never observed.
The Battery
The unit of organization for the field artillery was the battery. A battery usually had either six or four guns, although some batteries might have eight. Early in the War, two or three batteries were assigned to each brigade of infantry. In keeping with Sherman's dictum that a battery of light artillery was worth a thousand rifles, the captain of a battery had more nearly the duties and responsibilities of the colonel of an infantry regiment, and would often report directly to a brigadier general, particularly at this stage of the War.There was a great deal of experimentation with the organization of the artillery, but the tendency in the course of the War was to concentrate the firepower at the divisional level, with several batteries (usually called a battalion in the Confederate army and a brigade by the Federals) under the command of a field officer. There might also be a separate artillery reserve, commanded by a general officer who had at least theoretical supervision over the artillery forces of the entire army. Those who recall the conflict between Generals Hunt and Hancock over the use of the Second Corps artillery at Gettysburg will note that the resulting chain of command was not always perfectly clear.
It is often stated that the typical Federal battery had six guns, and the typical Confederate battery had four, but the exceptions to this rule are so numerous as to render it suspect. The Atlanta Campaign furnishes a late-War illustration of artillery organization. The Union had 29 four-gun batteries, 22 six-gun batteries, and one very anomolous five-gun battery. The Confederate artillery, nominally made up of 44 four-gun batteries, was actually organized into battalions of three batteries each, with the battalion operating in effect as a single twelve-gun unit.
The battery was commanded by a captain; each section (a pair of guns) was commanded by a lieutenant. A section often operated as an independent unit for small-scale operations. Each gun was under the command of a sergeant, with two corporals, one the gunner and the other in charge of the caisson. Though only seven or eight cannoneers were necessary to serve a piece, it took 25 to 30 men to keep a single gun in the field and in operating condition. The following link provides a detailed description of the personnel of a typical battery.
Field Artillery Battery Positions and Duties, by R. B. Hansen Artillery Insignia
Civil War uniforms were anything but "uniform", and there are exceptions to any general rule describing them. Even so, the artillery branch of the service, both Union and Confederate, usually bore some mark distinguishing itself from the other branches.Red was the color for the artillery, corresponding to the use of light blue for the infantry and yellow for the cavalry. Although enlisted artillerymen sometimes wore the ubiquitous sack coat, they were frequently issued the waist-length shell jacket, trimmed with red worsted tape. Slouch hats might be furnished with red hat cords. Kepis and forage caps, at least in the Confederate artillery service, often had a red band around the base, or were entirely of red cloth. Non-commissioned officers' chevrons and trouser stripes were red, as was the background of the officers' shoulder straps. (See the Fortress Alcatraz Home Page for a picture of a U. S. sergeant in the heavy artillery.
Shoulder straps for the officers, and sleeve chevrons for the non-commissioned officers, may be seen in the following tables:
Captain 1st Lieutenant 2nd Lieutenant
1st Sergeant Quartermaster
SergeantSergeant Corporal Thanks to Scott Gutzke of Battery B, 4th US Artillery, for graciously
permitting the use of his scans of shoulder straps and chevrons.
While most artillerymen wore red, not all red was worn by artillerymen. Red is a flashy color and was often adopted to add dash to uniforms of soldiers having no connection with the artillery service. The tombeaux on Zouave unforms, for example, were typically red, and Zouave non-coms might even use red chevrons to mark their rank.
Crossed Cannon image courtesy
of Burl BurlingameCrossed cannons were the badge of the artillery service, worn by men on both sides of the conflict. Enlisted men were issued crossed cannons in stamped brass to wear on their hats, to which were typically added a brass number designating the artillery regiment and a letter designating the battery. Officers wore an embroidered version of the design. Crossed cannons were also featured on some privately designed insignia; artillerymen in the Washington Light Artillery (Confederate) had medals with crossed cannons encircled by their name and motto, "Try us".
Flags
Much has been written of the emotional attachment of the infantryman for his regimental colors as the physical symbol of his unit. For the artilleryman, the flags were important, but the guns were more often considered the embodiment of the battery, even being given names in some cases.
In battle, the artillery flag marked the position of the battery's commander. For Union batteries, this flag usually took the form of a guidon (left), a small version of the stars and stripes with a forked tail. Confederate batteries were issued a smaller version of the familiar battle flag. Regular artillery units in the Federal service had large rectangular yellow flags with crossed cannons. For more illustrations, see the Echoes of Glory series.
Drill
In Hardtack and Coffee, John Billings of the 10th Massachusetts Battery describes even the most jaded infantrymen turning out to watch the drill of a battery of field artillery. With a dozen six-horse teams operating at close quarters and breakneck speed, and fifty cannoneers pelting after them to unlimber the guns and take their posts, a battery's evolutions were a spectacle that could not be rivaled even by the gaudiest of cavalry reviews. The horse drill is described in detail in Artillery for the United States Land Service. After the guns were unlimbered and the cannoneers at their posts, firing drill commenced:
This diagram shows the positions of the gunner and cannoneers with the piece unlimbered. The process begins with the gunner's command for the type of ammunition and the range; Number 6 assisted by Numbers 7 and 8, at the limber chest, calls out the elevation and cuts the fuzes. At the command "Load", Number 1 steps to the muzzle with the rammer held parallel to the bore. Number 5 is given a round of ammunition by Number 6 or 7, and delivers the round to Number 2, who inserts it in the bore, where Number 1 rams it home. While this is taking place, Number 3 covers the vent with his thumb, wearing a protective leather thumbstall. The Gunner then sights the piece, operating the elevating screw to set the range, and directing Number 3, now on the handspike, in setting the aim.
Illustration courtesy Martin Lowery of 1st Ohio Light Artillery, Battery I After sighting and loading, at the command "Ready", Number 3 pricks the charge with a vent pick, and Number 4 hooks the lanyard to a friction primer and inserts the primer in the vent. At the command "Fire", Number 4 pulls the lanyard and the piece is discharged. The cannon is then run back into position; Number 1 sponges the piece and the process can begin again. A battery of well-trained cannoneers could fire two or even three rounds a minute, especially under combat conditions when they skipped sponging.
For a more detailed description of the cannoneers' implements, see the Equipment page. For another illustration of gun drill, see The Tools of a Well-Drilled Team from the 3rd New York, Battery B page.
Especially under combat conditions, a gun crew might need to operate a piece with fewer than a full complement of cannoneers, and in theory a cannon could continue in service with only two men. The following table, taken from the 1864 Instruction for Field Artillery, shows which cannoneers would perform which duties under these circumstances.
Numbers Retained Positions Filled Gunner 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Gunner, 1 G, 3, 4 1, 2, 5 Gunner, 1, 2 G, 3, 4 1 2, 5 Gunner, 1, 2, 3 G 1 2, 5 3, 4 Gunner, 1, 2, 3, 4 G 1 2 3, 4 5 Gunner, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 G 1 2 3, 4 6 5 Gunner, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gunner, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 G 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
The Library John Gibbon, The Artillerist's Manual, 2nd ed., 1863
U.S. Army Ordnance Dept. (Alfred Mordecai), Artillery for the United States Land Service, 1849
U.S. War Department, Instruction for Field Artillery, prepared by a Board of Artillery Officers [ William H. French, William F. Barry, and Henry J. Hunt], 1864
M. C. Switlik, The More Complete Cannoneer, 3rd ed., 1990
John Davis Billings, Hardtack and Coffee, 1888
The Time-Life Echoes of Glory series (1991):
Arms and Equipment of the Union
Arms and Equipment of the ConfederacyJames Morgan, "Mounted But Not Mounted: The Confusing Terminology of Artillery", Camp Chase Gazette, March 1996
[Organization & Drill]
[Weapons]
[Ammunition]
[Equipment]
[Famous Weapons]
[Famous Artillerymen]
[History & Reenactment]
[Reference Desk]
