Choose a sound effect by clicking on one of the table windows below. To hear the interesting effect of a cannon firing, the wiz of the shell flying by and then an explosion try clicking on 1, 2 and 3 in that order. 1Cannon 2Shellby 3Shellhit Revolver Rifle Click on photo for a larger version!Two 100 Pounder Parrott Rifles, Morris Island, South Carolina. 20 pounders of the 1st New York Battery, Richmond, Virginia This 12 pounder Whitworth has been modified to a breech loader Probably one of my favorite weapons from the Civil War, the Fieldpiece was a valued "tool" for each battle in which it was used. Light-weight and manuverable it could be moved into place quickly. Unlike some of the other rifles used in battle, the Fieldpiece was dependent on only two horses to move it hither and thither. 6 pounder field rifles, unknown location These are munitions captured in Savana, Ga., when that city was taken during Sherman's march to the see. These are 12 pounder Napoleon rifles sitting in situ at the position of Battery H (DeGolyer's), 1st Michigan Light Artillery, Vicksburg NMP. Piles of solid shot and canister in the Arsinal grounds, captured after the fall of Richmond. Richmond & Petersburg Railroad bridge at right. Richmond, Virginia This is a good picture of a 13 inch mortar, called the "Petersburg Dictator" sitting on rails at Petersburg, Virginia. A 200-pound Parrott rifle in Fort Gregg on Morris Island, South Carolina., 1865 This 10-pounder Parrot, marking the position of the 4th NY Independent (Smith's) Battery, Gettysburg NMP Types of Ammunition Solid Shot For smoothbores, cast-iron solid shot is the familiar round cannonball. See cannonball fragments or shrapnel Here ; for rifles, the elongated projectile is called a "bolt". This particular Bolt was made for a 30 pounder Parrot rifle and is 91/2" long. This next Bolt is called a Bottle Nose and was made to fit snuggly in a 20 pounder and is 81/2" long. It was this amunition, the rifle bolt, that was able to smash holes in the walls at fort Pulaski and by doing that rendered masonry fortification obsolete. Shell Shell, as its name suggests, is a hollow iron projectile filled with a bursting charge of black powder. All round shell, and some rifle shell, used a time fuse to ignite the bursting charge; Rifle shells could also use percussion fuses. Case Shot Also called shrapnel or shrapnel shell after its inventor, British artilleryman Henry Shrapnel, case shot was an improvement on the simple shell by the addition of small lead or iron balls to the interior of a thinner-walled projectile. The balls were embedded in a matrix of sulphur or coal-tar. Case shot was designed to explode in the air, so nearly always used time fuses. Canister Canister is simply a tinned-iron can full of iron or lead balls packed in sawdust. When fired, the effect is that of a giant shotgun blast. Canister is short-range man killer ammunition. Grape Shot Grape Shot is similar in concept to canister, but has fewer and larger balls, held together with iron rings or trussed up with fabric and twine. (The latter is "quilted grape shot", sometimes referred to as "quilted grape" or "quilted shot".) It is often mistakely stated that this was purely naval ammunition, but grape was at least occasionally issued to field and foot artillery (first hand accounts of its use are too wide spread to say it was strictly Naval amunition.) From: THE CIVIL WAR ARTILLERY PAGE Civil War era cannon on display at the Naval Academy, MD. Go Here For Small Arms From Longstreet's: "From Manassas to Appomattox" * During the lull, after the rencounter of Walker's, Hill's, and Hood's divisions against Mansfield's last fight, General Lee and myself, riding together under the crest of General D. H. Hill's part of the line, were joined by the latter. We were presently called to the crest to observe movements going on in the Union lines. The two former dismounted and walked to the crest; General Hill, a little out of strength and thinking a single horseman not likely to draw the enemy's fire, rode. As we reached the crest I asked him to ride a little apart, as he would likely draw fire upon the group. While viewing the field a puff of white smoke was seen to burst from a cannon's mouth about a mile off. I remarked, " There is a shot for General Hill," and, looking towards him, saw his horse drop on his knees. Both forelegs were cut off just below the knees. The dropping forward of the poor animal so elevated his croup that it was not an easy matter for one not an expert horseman to dismount à la militaire. To add to the dilemma, there was a rubber coat with other wraps strapped to the cantle of the saddle. Failing in his attempt to dismount, I suggested that he throw his leg forward over the pommel. This gave him easy and graceful dismount. This was the third horse shot under him during the day, and the shot was one of the best I ever witnessed. An equally good one was made by a Confederate at Yorktown. An officer of the Topographical Engineers walked into the open, in front of our lines, fixed his plane table and seated himself to make a map of the Confederate works. A non-commissioned officer, without orders, adjusted his gun, carefully aimed it, and fired. At the report of the gun all eyes were turned to see the occasion of it, and then to observe the object, when the shell was seen to explode as if in the hands of the officer. It had been dropped squarely upon the drawing-table, and Lieutenant Wagner was mortally wounded.* Of the first shot, Major Alfred A. Woodhull, under date of June 8, 1886, wrote,— " On the 17th of September, 1862, I was standing in Weed's battery, whose position is correctly given in the map, when a man on, I think, a gray horse, appeared about a mile in front of us, and footmen were recognized near. Captain Weed, who was a remarkable artillerist, himself sighted and fired the gun at the horse, which was struck." * Of this shot, Captain A. B. More, of Richmond, Virginia, wrote, under date of June 16,1886,— " The Howitzers have always been proud of that shot, and, thinking it would interest you, I write to say that it was fired by Corporal Holzburton, of the Second Company, Richmond Howitzers, from a ten-pound Parrott." Click HERE for the Effects of Artillery Fire Site Navigation <-Retreat- Home -Forward-> Search Menu E-mail GuestBook . .
Shell Shell, as its name suggests, is a hollow iron projectile filled with a bursting charge of black powder. All round shell, and some rifle shell, used a time fuse to ignite the bursting charge; Rifle shells could also use percussion fuses.
Canister Canister is simply a tinned-iron can full of iron or lead balls packed in sawdust. When fired, the effect is that of a giant shotgun blast. Canister is short-range man killer ammunition.
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* During the lull, after the rencounter of Walker's, Hill's, and Hood's divisions against Mansfield's last fight, General Lee and myself, riding together under the crest of General D. H. Hill's part of the line, were joined by the latter. We were presently called to the crest to observe movements going on in the Union lines. The two former dismounted and walked to the crest; General Hill, a little out of strength and thinking a single horseman not likely to draw the enemy's fire, rode. As we reached the crest I asked him to ride a little apart, as he would likely draw fire upon the group. While viewing the field a puff of white smoke was seen to burst from a cannon's mouth about a mile off. I remarked, " There is a shot for General Hill," and, looking towards him, saw his horse drop on his knees. Both forelegs were cut off just below the knees. The dropping forward of the poor animal so elevated his croup that it was not an easy matter for one not an expert horseman to dismount à la militaire. To add to the dilemma, there was a rubber coat with other wraps strapped to the cantle of the saddle. Failing in his attempt to dismount, I suggested that he throw his leg forward over the pommel. This gave him easy and graceful dismount. This was the third horse shot under him during the day, and the shot was one of the best I ever witnessed. An equally good one was made by a Confederate at Yorktown. An officer of the Topographical Engineers walked into the open, in front of our lines, fixed his plane table and seated himself to make a map of the Confederate works. A non-commissioned officer, without orders, adjusted his gun, carefully aimed it, and fired. At the report of the gun all eyes were turned to see the occasion of it, and then to observe the object, when the shell was seen to explode as if in the hands of the officer. It had been dropped squarely upon the drawing-table, and Lieutenant Wagner was mortally wounded.* Of the first shot, Major Alfred A. Woodhull, under date of June 8, 1886, wrote,— " On the 17th of September, 1862, I was standing in Weed's battery, whose position is correctly given in the map, when a man on, I think, a gray horse, appeared about a mile in front of us, and footmen were recognized near. Captain Weed, who was a remarkable artillerist, himself sighted and fired the gun at the horse, which was struck." * Of this shot, Captain A. B. More, of Richmond, Virginia, wrote, under date of June 16,1886,— " The Howitzers have always been proud of that shot, and, thinking it would interest you, I write to say that it was fired by Corporal Holzburton, of the Second Company, Richmond Howitzers, from a ten-pound Parrott."
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