Artillery Ammunition-Solid Shot



Artillery Ammunition

A frequent question we get when out in the field is what did the artillery fire? There were many, many different types of ammunition used by cannon on both sides.  Some rounds were patent by a particular manufacturer (generally rifled ammunition) and some were not.  Each round can be divided into one of four categories or types.  Solid shot, common shell, case shot and canister/grape shot. In this post we will cover the most basic type of ammunition, solid shot.  In this series, where possible I will use write ups already in the photograph for explanation to shorten the length of the overall post.



The Cannonball

The write up in the picture actually covers most everything rather clearly. The ammunition on the paper is six pound ammunition while the one next to it is twelve pounds in weight, for a Napoleon. The skipping or bounding fire described was best done when firing Enfilade, meaning down the line of enemy soldiers.  After the cannon ball lost enough energy to fly it could still roll for some distance.  Early in the war it was not unknown for soldiers, in a "hold my musket" moment, to literally hand their weapon to another soldier and attempt to kick the ball to a stop. Most learned that all they did was have a leg torn off as the ball continued on its path.

Hotchkiss Patent Ammunition

Hotchkiss ammunition was one of the patent types of ammunition.  Each type had its own characteristics the differentiated it from another manufacturer.  Eventually there were so many patented types of ammunition that the Federal government ordered only certain types to be issued to a given battery based on preference.  They would be issued one type per category. A given battery might have Hotchkiss bolt and Parrott shell, but preferably not two manufacturers in the same category. This allowed for a degree of uniformity in action.

Parrott Ammunition

20 Pound Parrott Bolt with round shot

This gives a very short explanation of the solid iron projectile called round shot, bolt, or "cannon ball."  Ammunition much like this was fired from "Goldie" at Grayling at the artillery competition. The Twenty Pound bolt was a round used by the Twenty Pound Parrott also used at the artillery competition.  As of this writing, to see a picture of that gun refer back to the post "What is Black Powder"

-Corporal