About forty-eight different types and sizes of cannons were used in the
Civil War. Identifying a particular weapon thus requires knowing such
facts as the name of the gun, howitzer, rifle or mortar; whether it was
a smoothbore (without rifling in the barrel) or a rifled gun (with
barrel groovings), etc.
The two most popular cannons in the Civil War were the 12-pounder
Napoleon smoothbore howitzer and the 10-pounder Parrott rifled field
gun.
The Napoleon weighed about 1,200 pounds, fired a 12-pound spherical
shell with a time fuse, and was very effective up to a range of 1,500
yards. The Parrott rifle--identifiable by a reinforced barrel
seat--weighed 900 pounds. At a maximum range elevation of 12°, this
piece was accurate to 3,000-3,500 yards (1¾-2 miles).
[Illustration: A Negro soldier stands guard over a Napoleon gun at
Grant's City Point, Va., supply-base. The Napoleon is attached to
its caisson, which carried ammunition.]
The Federals also made extensive use of mortars. Because of the ability
of these squat, heavy weapons to lob large shells a great distance by
high-angle fire, mortars were ideal for siege operations.
Artillerists used various types of shells, depending upon the action in
which they were engaged. Solid shot was good for battering a
fortification or for striking an enemy column in flank. Explosive shells
and "spherical case" blanketed an area with what is known today as
shrapnel. Canister, a shell filled with lead balls about the size of
plums, was deadly for close action up to 300 yards. Somewhat similar to
canister was grape shot. This type of shell, filled with balls the size
of oranges, was effective to 700 yards. Yet grape shot was rarely used
in land warfare.
The basic artillery unit was known as a battery. It normally consisted
of 4-6 guns commanded by a captain. In battle, batteries normally
supported infantry divisions.
[Illustration: A popular field piece among Confederates was the
12-pounder, breech-loading Whitworth gun. Made in England, these
weapons fired a solid shot accurately to a range of 5 miles.]
During the conflict of the 1860's the North experimented with and used
many new types of field weapons, including the machine gun and such
cannons as Rodmans, Columbiads, and Dahlgrens. Despite the large
variety, however, the Napoleons and Parrotts remained the "old
reliables" to gunners on both sides.
[Illustration: Mortars were very effective during bombardments or
siege operations. The most famous of these squat, heavy weapons was
the "Dictator" (shown above). Used during Grant's 1864 siege of
Petersburg, this mortar fired a 200-pound ball at distances over 2
miles.]