What is field artillery?
Q: What is field artillery?
A: Field artillery are cannons that can be moved around the battlefield or travel with an army unit. They must be disconnected from the cart and horses that pull them in order to fight.
Q: How was an artillery battery organized?
A: An artillery battery was made up of six guns (later four) deployed along a line about 82 yards wide, with the guns spaced about 15 yards apart. The battery had a total of between 70 and 100 soldiers, including eight highly trained men for each gun crew.
Q: What types of field artillery were used during the Civil War?
A: During the Civil War, different types of field artillery were used, such as 6 pounder gun, 12 and 24 pound Howitzer, Model 1857 12-Pounder Napoleon Field Gun, 3 inch Ordnance rifle and 10 and 20 pound Parrott rifle.
Q: What type of barrels did cannons have?
A: Cannons usually had either smoothbore barrels made of bronze which fired round iron cannonballs or rifled barrels made of cast iron and wrought iron which fired bullet-shaped shells.
Q: Were cannons reliable weapons?
A: No, both guns and ammunition had a tendency to be unreliable and they were dangerous to shoot.
Q: How many horses would pull each limber or caisson?
A: Each limber or caisson was pulled by a team of six horses.
