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Bronze Guns
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THE Guns
Civil War field artillery was divided into two categories - smoothbores and rifles. The difference was found in the bore - the inner surface of the barrel. The inner surface of the smoothbore was like a pipe, while the rifle's bore had grooves that spiraled the length of the barrel. The grooves, or rifling, caused the projectile to twist as it moved down the barrel and gave the rifle greater range and accuracy. The rifle's projectile would spin like a football as it moved through the air.
Smoothbores:
The Federal Army had 38 smoothbore artillery pieces at Pea Ridge, while the Confederates had 61. They were designated by the size of the projectile they fired and were divided into two main categories - guns and howitzers. Howitzers were short-barreled cannon that could fire at higher angle than guns and with a lighter powder charge. Guns were longer-barreled cannon that could engage targets at long range. The projectile fired by the 6-pounder was slightly larger than a baseball (3.58" diameter). The 12-pounder's was about the size of a softball (4.52" diameter). Both field guns were accurate up to nearly 1 mile (6-pounder - 1,523 yards / 12-pounder - 1,663 yards). Howitzers fired the same ammunition as guns but were shorter-ranged. 12-pound howiters fired out to 1072 yards, while 24-pound howitzers were accurate up to 1322 yards. During the Mexican War, the 6-pound field gun was considered to be one of the finest artillery pieces in the world. But by the start of the war, 6-pounders were considered obsolete. They did not have the range nor striking power necessary for modern warfare. They were pressed into service though since there were hundreds available in the various arsenals. |
Rifles:
Rifled artillery was a fairly new innovation when the war broke out. They had spiral grooves (rifling) that ran the length of the bore. These grooves caused the projectile to spin as it let the barrel. This spin gave the rifle greater range and accuracy than smoothbore guns. In addition to the rifle's range and accuracy, it also had a much greater impact when its projectile hit the target. The Federals had 14 Rifled pieces with them at Pea Ridge, while the Southerners only had 2. All of the rifles at Pea Ridge were Rifled 6-pounders. The Rifled 6-pounder was made by taking a standard 6-pound smoothbore gun and cutting rifling into the bore. It was only moderately successful though, since bronze was a soft metal and the rifling quickly wore down. A Rifled 6-pounder could shoot a 12-pound projectile 1,700 yards accurately. At Pea Ridge, the Federals were not able to take advantage of the superior range and accuracy of their rifled artillery due to the woods, thickets and ravines where most of the heavy fighting took place. During both days of the battle, most of the artillery fire was at ranges from 400 to 800 yards, where the smoothbore guns and howitzers excelled. In the Eastern Theater though, rifled artillery pieces were much more effective as most of the battles were fought in open terrain. When used against the brick masonry forts along the coast (Fort Pulaski, GA and Fort Sumter, SC) the rifles proved to be devastating as they punched gaping holes through the walls. |
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Last updated on:
November 1, 2003
Written by: Interpretation Staff
http://www.nps.gov/peri/art3
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