Guns At Gettysburg

3.8-inch James Rifle. The James Rifle was a bronze rifle similar in shape to the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle, and was produced by the Ames Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts. It was not a widely used cannon in either army, though the 2nd Connecticut Battery was armed them at Gettysburg. The James Rifle fired a 14-pound elongated shell and were accurate up to 1,700 yards.

2.75-inch Whitworth Rifle. Imported from England by both North and South, only the Confederacy actively used these unique guns in the field. Designed by Sir Joseph Whitworth before the American Civil War, it fired an elongated 12-pound iron shell which fit snuggly into the fine rifling of the tube. It was also unusual in that it was a breechloader. A locking ring around the breech allowed the end of the gun to be opened so that the shell and powder charge could be loaded through the breech. The gun's unusual shape and distinctive shells were a curiosity when compared to other ordnance, though they were extremely accurate and could fire a solid shot beyond 2,800 yards. Two of the guns were in use by Hurt's Alabama Battery at Gettysburg and the shrill whine of the Whitworth shells was distinguishable above the roar of the cannonade before Pickett's Charge. Though the Whitworth cannon was very accurate, it had a myriad of problems with the breech mechanism. According to Colonel E.P. Alexander, the Whitworth was not as desirable a weapon as the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle.

Civil War cannon were mounted on carriages made of oak with iron fittings. There were several different sizes of carriages to accommodate each type of cannon. Carriages at the park today are made of cast iron and are made to replicate the look of the old carriages. These were made in a Gettysburg foundry by Calvin Hamilton, a Civil War veteran, between 1895 and 1910.

There were many types and styles of artillery rounds manufactured during the Civil War. Smoothbore guns such as 12-pounder Napoleons and howitzers fired round cannon balls. Elongated or conical-shaped shells were used in rifled cannon. The four basic types of artillery round included SOLID SHOT for use against large infantry formations or opposing artillery, and SHELL which was a hollow iron shell filled with black powder and ignited by a length of paper fuze or a percussion fuze. CASE was similar to a shell- hollow inside and filled with black powder with the addition of iron balls. The fourth type of artillery round was CANISTER, a tin can filled with iron balls and used against infantry and cavalry formations at close range. When fired, canister turned the cannon into a large shotgun.

An artillery shell was affixed to a wooden base and a cloth bag filled with one to two pounds of black powder. The shell was placed into the muzzle of the cannon and rammed into the breech. The bag was pierced with a sharp wire through the vent at the breech and ignited by a friction primer- a copper tube filled with ignition powder & fulminate of mercury. The primer was attached to a lanyard that when pulled, drew a serrated wire through the primer igniting the charge. An efficient gun crew could load and fire up to three rounds per minute. This deadly efficiency was never more evident than on July 3rd during Pickett's Charge. A variety of ammunition was used against the Confederate infantry formations. One solid shot plowed into Company I, 53rd Virginia Infantry knocking out 12 men. As the Confederates swarmed up to the Union positions, Union gunners desperately loaded and fired double charges of cannister into the gray ranks with devastating results. It is no wonder that infantrymen had such high respect, and loathing, for the big guns.

A battery was an intricate organization of men, horses, and ordnance. There were multiple duties for each man to perform when not in battle including care of the horses, gun and carriage maintenance, and routine stock duties. In battle, each man had a specific assignment to serve the gun, though many were cross-trained and could perform other duties when required. One battery in the Union army consisted of six cannon, all of similar type and caliber and each with its own limber and caisson. Teams of six horses were used to pull the limbers and caissons that held ammunition chests containing the different types of shells used in each gun. The gunners walked during the march or trotted alongside the limbers when moving into a position. Only when the situation called for fast movement did they ride on the limbers and caissons when going into battle. Once in position, the gunners would unlimber the cannon and the limber would move to a position directly behind the gun. The caisson team would move to a location behind the limber to await further orders.

Confederate batteries were smaller, composed of only four guns and often of different types and calibers. For example, Captain Charles Fry's Virginia Battery, the "Orange Artillery", had two 3-inch Ordnance Rifles and two 10-pounder Parrott Rifles. Captain Hugh Ross' Georgia Battery had one Napoleon, three Parrott Rifles, and one Naval Parrott Rifle. Due to a scarcity of horse reserves in the south, Confederate batteries were forced to limit their horse teams to only four animals. Mules were used when horses were unavailable, but they were not considered a satisfactory substitute as they were more difficult to control.

In the Army of the Potomac, the artillery was organized by brigades. One brigade was commanded by a major, lt. colonel or colonel though several were commanded by captains, and was composed of four to five batteries. Every corps had one artillery brigade assigned to it for the use of the corps commander. The artillery brigade commander was responsible for posting his batteries and making certain that each was properly serviced and supplied. Two brigades of horse artillery were assigned to the Army of the Potomac's Cavalry Corps. The army also had a well organized Artillery Reserve composed of five brigades. These reserve brigades supplied extra batteries to support the batteries assigned to the infantry corps, and added an extra amount of firepower when and where it was needed.

The Army of Northern Virginia organized its artillery into battalions, each commanded by a major or colonel. One battalion was composed of four batteries and one battalion was assigned to an infantry division. For example, Major William T. Poague's Battalion, assigned to Pender's Division of Hills Corps, was composed of the Albemarle (Virginia) Battery, the Charlotte (North Carolina) Artillery, the Madison (Mississippi) Light Artillery, and Brooke's Virginia Battery. In addition, each of the three army corps had an artillery reserve of two battalions. Despite the larger number of artillery organizations in Army of Northern Virginia, the Union held the advantage in the actual number of guns present during the battle. Many of the Confederate batteries were understrength and missing their total compliment of cannon.