Military History Series: Civil War Artillery
“Spotlight on Military History” is an ongoing feature on You Served, VA MortgageCenter.com’s Military Blog.
By definition the term artillery refers to heavy weapons and the implements and materials required for their use. Artillery weapons can be broken down into Guns, Howitzers, Mortars and Columbiads. Often the pieces are further sub-categorized by their use; i.e. Seacoast, Siege and Garrison, Field Artillery, and Mountain. Artillery weapons may also be described by the type of bore, smooth or rifled.
In the Civil War, Mountain Artillery could be quickly broken down and transported by horses, Field Artillery was generally lighter and easier to maneuver, Siege and Garrison Artillery was heavy but could be either transported or mounted to a fortification, and Seacoast Artillery was heavy and most often mounted in fortifications along waterways.
A Columbiad was a heavy iron piece. It fired shot and shell at a high angle using a heavy powder charge. Columbiads were used primarily for defense of the waterways and so classified as a seacoast weapon. They were usually mounted in fortifications at rivers and other waterways. By the end of the Civil War these weapons had become obsolete.
A Mortar was a stubby artillery weapon that fired heavy shot or shell in a high arc and required only a small powder charge. When a mortar shell exploded the fragments that fell on the enemy weighed ten to twenty pounds. Mortars were most beneficial when the desired target was above or below the line of sight. The long barrel of the other artillery weapons made accuracy under those conditions difficult but the short barrel of the mortar made for greater accuracy. The most famous mortar used during the war was the “Dictator”. The “Dictator” could fire a 200 pound explosive shell about 2 ½ miles. The “Dictator” was mounted on a railroad car and was used primarily at the junction of Petersburg and City Point Railroad during the siege at Petersburg.
A Howitzer was a short barrel artillery weapon that could fire shot or shell. It shot short distances at high elevations using small powder charges. They were light and maneuverable. The most commonly used field howitzer was the Model 1841 12-pounder. It could fire a shell over 1000 feet with a powder charge of less than 1 pound.
A gun was a long barreled artillery weapon. It fired solid shot at a low degree of elevation for long distances with a large amount of powder charge. One of the most famous guns of the Civil War was the “Whistling Dick”. It was a Confederate weapon. The “Whistling Dick” was used for the defense of the river in Vicksburg, Mississippi in 1863 and is responsible for sinking the Union gunboat Cincinnati.
