Civil War Artillery: A Pictorial Introduction

By Robert Jones

In 1861, a blast of artillery aimed at Fort Sumter started four years of the most horrendous period in American history. On the morning of April 12th, forty three Confederate cannons opened up on the fortress. Miraculously, no one on either side had been killed or seriously wounded – a battle conclusion with these results would rarely happen again. The Confederacy had to struggle to place artillery and ammunition in the field. While the Union had 163 field guns on hand, the Confederacy had only 35 when the war began. Also, most of the gunpowder mills were located in the North. Take a trip through time beginning with the infancy of artillery during the American Revolution until the final shots were fired at Appomattox. Most of the major battles are visited, along with some lesser engagements, and the role that the artillery played regarding their outcome. With over 550 photographs, (many previously unpublished), the reader will get a real feel what it was like to serve with the artillery during the Civil War.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Feb 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781300096689

Robert Jones

Robert Jones was born in Gloucester in 1957 and read Philosophy and English at Cambridge. He is a director at Wolff Olins, one of the world's best brand consulting firms, and has worked as a consultant in corporate communications for 16 years, with companies such as Andersen Consulting, Cameron McKenna and the National Trust. He lectures at Oxford Business School on marketing.

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Civil War Artillery: A Pictorial Introduction

Civil War Artillery

A Pictorial Introduction

Copyright © 2012 by Robert Jones

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced without the written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations, references, or embodied in critical essays and reviews.

Photography, layout and design by Robert Jones

Special thanks to:

The Library of Congress – Prints & Photographs Division

The United States Department of Defense

New York State Library – Manuscripts and Special Collections

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Selected items courtesy of Robert K. Frederick’s collection

Pat, Sam and Wes Small – The Horse Soldier, Gettysburg, PA

OTHER BOOKS BY ROBERT JONES:

The Civil War Canteen, published 2007

Battle of Gettysburg – The Relics, Artifacts & Souvenirs, published 2008,   

(Revised 2011)

Children at the Battle of Gettysburg – Their Unforgettable Summer published

2010

The Civil War Canteen – Second Edition, published 2011

Front Cover: Artifacts from author’s collection

ISBN # 978-1-300-09668-9

Civil War Artillery - A Pictorial Introduction

photo018 (5).jpg

Double Canister at Ten Yards

Cowan’s First New York Battery – Gettysburg, July 3rd, 1863

By

Robert Jones

Dedicated To

Corporal Peter J. McCallum

1st Cavalry Division Vietnam

Born April 4, 1948

Killed in action

March 30, 1969

arlington-cemetery-615 (2).jpg

Arlington National Cemetery

PREFACE

I must admit that in the later part of the 1960's, I hadn't a clue as to the exact meaning of artillery. Yes, I was aware it was some military term, but wasn't entirely sure of its purpose. Compliments of the United States Army, I would soon find out. It was a time that was supposed to be filled with free love and peace, but somehow this didn't click with my persona. No, I was no John Wayne or Audie Murphy, but I did have a strong sense of patriotism. My father, as well as my uncles, served in World War II, my brother Bill served in Vietnam, and cousins Pete and Joe were currently in the Army and stationed in Vietnam. The military draft was taking men left and right and after months of holding my breath while taking my ritual walk to the mailbox, I decided to enlist, which would finally put an end to the expected inevitable.

After Basic Training at Fort Dix in my home state of New Jersey, I was off to Fort Sill, Oklahoma. It was, and still remains the only active Army installation of all the forts built during the Indian Wars and serves as the home of the United States Field Artillery School. After nine weeks of intense training, I would now definitely find out what artillery was and its purpose on the battlefield. My training came to an end, along with an additional week in self-propelled artillery (similar to tanks). My orders came through and my next assignment would be in an exotic place on the other side of the world known as Vietnam. I wasn't surprised because during this era it was something that all young soldiers had in the back of their minds. My brother Bill served in Vietnam and was now stationed in Germany, so from his stories I had an idea of what to expect. My cousin Pete was in Vietnam at the time and I figured I would try to meet up with him when I got there. I only had a week off before I had to report to California for my trip overseas.

Shortly before leaving Fort Sill, I received a letter from Pete, who was an infantryman with the First Cavalry Division in Vietnam. We were best friends growing up and practically raised together, living next door to each other for most of our young lives. In a previous letter I told Pete that I had orders for Vietnam. Typical of Pete's character, he told me that I didn't have to worry about going to Vietnam; he said the artillery was well protected by his Infantry, and we were lucky to be in the Artillery. I read this letter to my buddies who were also shipping out to Vietnam, and this truly put us at ease as to what we were up against...thanks Pete from all of us.

A few days later I arrived at Newark Airport to an anticipated homecoming celebration, but was told by my somber looking family that Petey was killed in action. His demise was only a day after he wrote me that inspirational letter (maybe his last), ironically trying to comfort me about going to Vietnam. As an honored pall bearer, I was privileged to be one of the last to bid farewell to a soldier who was truly an American hero. I still have that letter and will read it every so often making me realize just what kind of person Pete really was. I know he would get a kick out of this in his humble way, so I decided to dedicate this book to him for making life a little more bearable before going to war.      

INTRODUCTION

In 1861, it was a blast of artillery aimed at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor which started four years of the most horrendous period in American history. At 4:30 a.m. on the morning of April 12th, forty three Confederate cannons opened up on the fortress. Miraculously, no one on either side had been killed or seriously wounded – a battle conclusion with these results would rarely happen again.   

About 7:00 A.M., Captain Abner Doubleday, the forts second in command after Major Robert Anderson, was given the honor of firing the first shot