Artillery Designs during the Civil War

During the civil war, there were nearly too many artillery designs, used in a vast variety of forms. Guns varied specifically by weight of the munition, draw or carriage, and even by measurement of the diameter of the munition utilized. The most common howitzer was the “12-pounder” bronze gun or Napoleon Howitzer. This gun was used by the Union forces primarily for its incredible accuracy for its time: from 300 yards up to, and including, 1 mile. This “smooth bore” howitzer utilized a twelve pound munition from whence it derived its name. Invalid source specified.

The Majority of the 12-pound Napoleon howitzers for the Union Army where manufactured in Massachusetts. Given the extreme destructive capability of the Napoleon Howitzer, the Confederate States manufactured a copy in effort to offer relevantly matched

capabilities. These fabricated pieces were constructed and assembled in a variety of places including Tennessee, Mississippi and Virginia. (Interior, n.d.)
The second most common artillery piece utilized by both sides was the lighter, more maneuverable “10-pounder”, specifically dubbed the Parrot Rifle. The Parrot Rifle was designed by Captain Robert Parker Parrott. A key aspect to this piece was the ability to reasonably and readily modify. Throughout the war, the Parrot was redesigned for a longer and wider bore, all while maintaining the ability to effectively utilize the same 3-inch shell. (Interior, n.d.) Over the course of the war, and upon reflection, the Union noted that while not initially the cornerstone of the artillery, as the war progress the Parrot Rifle became the favored piece. As time and battles continued the raw capabilities of the Parrot Rifle became clear with one primary trait that the Napoleon could not match: an effective range of 2000 yards juxtaposed to the Napoleon with only 300. The Confederate Armies also replicated the Parrott rifle but instead of the 10 pound cannon they made the 10 pound and the 20 pound. These where set strategically throughout the southern boundaries to counteract the Unions Parrott rifle. (Interior, n.d.)These where the main guns used in the civil war and Gettysburg but their where many other unusual guns used, some of those include the 12-pounder model 1841 which was used in close range fires but where not very good for long range attacks. The 3.8-inch James Rifle, this was not widely used in Gettysburg but the few that where had a 14-pound shot and accurate up to 1,700 yards. The 2.75-inch Whitworth Rifle was imported from England used by both the North and the South, this gun was so accurate it would shoot the unique solid shell beyond 2,800 yards. (Interior, n.d.)In Gettysburg their where many different types of artillery shells used, but the most common where; the round cannon ball, shell which had an iron shell filled with black powder with a fuse out of the back, and the case which had the same shape as the shell but in addition had iron balls put inside for close combat at infantry troops. (Interior, n.d.)

Commanders 1
Of the two opposing forces, aspects of Artillery were commanded by Colonel Edward Alexander for the Confederate States and General Henry J. Hunt for the United States. Colonel Alexander was born in Washington, Georgia and went to West Point when Gen Lee was the superintendent. Alexander graduated third out of thirty-eight students in 1857. In 1861 Alexander resigned from federal duty and became a captain for the Confederate engineers. His first battle was the Battle of Manassas where he won and later got transferred to Northern Virginia where he remained throughout the war. Colonel Alexander commanded a battalion in General Longstreet’s First Corps, this battalion was a reserve artillery component out of Virginia (Trust, Edward Porter Alexander, n.d.). Alexander moved his way up quickly because of the battle of Fredericksburg, because of this battle he was put in charge of commanding the Artillery Barrage to clear way for Pickett’s charge. Later he was defeated at Gettysburg but because of his command was promoted to brigadier general. (Trust, n.d.) Gen Hunt was born in Detroit Michigan and was in charge of an outpost there. Gen Hunt attended West Point and became very interested in light artillery. Even Though he graduated 19th in his class of 1839 he still had smarts for artillery. When the civil war started Gen Hunt was a Maj and he fended off many groups of confederate troops with his reserve artillery component. When Gen McClellan took over the Army of the Potomac he promoted Maj Hunt to Col Hunt. Col Hunt got promoted very quickly to Brigadier General and Chief of Artillery because of the battle of Gettysburg and Pickets charge where he smashed General Robert E. Lee’s assault on Malvern Hill, furthermore during pickets charge and the battle of Gettysburg. Henry J. Hunt commanded his artillery troops at the same time as General Lee was sending his forces through the northern lines, General Hunt watched from the hills. General Hunt knew what General Lee was doing, so he waited for the right time. Pulled his forces back, held the artillery until the last moment, and once the Confederate forces where to close to turn back, he released all of his guns, killing the Confederate forces and winning the day. (Diary, 2013)

Pickett’s Charge.
Of particular note during the Battle of Gettysburg, and a major turning point for the Union Army, was Pickett’s Charge. Starting on July 1st, 1863, General Robert E. Lee and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade went to battle. Both Union and Confederate forces converged on Gettysburg, and the Confederate forces pushed the Union lines back to Cemetery Hill. This sparked the genuine beginning of the battle to come. After the successful push by the Confederate Army of northern forces back to the hill, both sides received reinforcements and began to plan their strategies. The next day, Gen Lee made his first strike, pushing the Confederate forces off of most of their strongholds. By that evening, the Union only held Round Top. The next day on July 3rd the Union Army drove the Confederates out of their last stronghold, after the Artillery Bombardment was over Gen Lee tried attacking the Union forces but ultimately failed with many casualties. When Gen Lee pushed his forces after the artillery bombardment the Union had tricked them into thinking that their guns where down or out of ammo. But this had just drawn in the Confederate Army close enough that they could ultimately destroy Lee’s Army. On July 3rd Gen Lee had to draw back his troops to the Potomac River and concluding the Battle of Gettysburg. (Trust, Battle Of Gettysburg, n.d.)
Conclusion and aftermath

On July 6th, the Philadelphia Enquirier wrote an article stating “Victory!”, after 3 long years of running from the Confederates the Army of the Potomac stood their ground and defeated Robert E.

Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. (STEPMAN, 2013) Serving as one of the most brutal of Civil War conflicts, the Artillery Corps of its day served its ultimate purpose. A huge part of the defeat in Gettysburg came from the Confederate States of America. When they lost in Gettysburg, France dropped all support and who played a major role in supplying the southern states with supplies. When France left their side they started losing battles and with no support and no push to win in crumbled the Confederates.(STEPMAN, 2013) Some aftermath included support of the ground fighting force, the tactical utilization of artillery as an aspect of warfare contributed to the nearly 30,000 casualties to the Confederate States, more than a third of General Lee’s army. Over 20,000 casualties from the Union lines but this devastation began what was a continuous series of losses for the South and could be attributed to the beginning of the end of the Civil War

itself.