150 Years Ago: Hunt prefers the big siege rifles

One-hundred and fifty years ago (and one day, as I had other pressing news to report yesterday), Brigadier General Henry Hunt offered a report on the effectiveness of the heavy rifles employed at Fredericksburg the previous week.

I have the honor to report that the practice in the recent battle with the 20-pounder Parrott was in some respects very unsatisfactory, from the imperfection of the projectiles, which, notwithstanding the pains which have been taken to procure reliable ones, are nearly as dangerous to our own troops as to the enemy, if the former are in advance of our lines. In addition, the guns themselves are unsafe. At Antietam two of the twenty-two, and on the 13th instant another, were disabled by the bursting of the gun near the muzzle. The gun is too heavy for field purposes, and can be used with advantage only as batteries of position. For the last purpose it is inferior to the 4½-inch siege-gun, which requires the same number of horses and only half the number of drivers. I therefore respectfully propose that, as the allowance of artillery in this army is small, the 20-pounders be turned in to the Ordnance Department as soon as they can be replaced by light field guns,. and that a portion of the siege train (sixteen guns) be organized to accompany the force in the field for service in such positions as require heavy guns, and, in case of a siege, to form a part of the train. Seven such guns are now here. Twelve were asked for, and it is a misfortune they were not furnished. Two companies of the First Connecticut Artillery are serving with the guns now here. I propose that two other companies of that regiment be detailed, each company be organized as a battery with four guns, the whole to be placed under the command of a field officer of the regiment, and attached to the Reserve Artillery.

Ever since the Peninsula Campaign, the Army of the Potomac included a substantial siege train.  Recall the varied set of guns used at Malvern Hill.  By December 1862, the Army’s artillery park was more uniform in composition.  The field batteries assigned to the infantry formations were by and large 10-pdr Parrotts, 3-inch rifles, and 12-pdr Napoleons – although a few batteries of 12-pdr howitzers remained.  The siege batteries used, as alluded to in Hunt’s report, 20-pdr Parrotts and 4.5-inch Ordnance Rifles.

Lending weight to Hunt’s comment about the weight, the 20-pdr Parrott rifle was the heaviest weapon mounted on a field carriage.  On its modified 32-pdr howitzer carriage, a 20-pdr Parrott on the march – with limber, ammunition chest, gun, and carriage – weighed 4405 pounds.  The caisson with three more chests weighed about an other 4000 pounds.

On the other hand, the 4.5-inch rifle rode on a siege carriage.  With limber (no ammunition chest) the 4.5-inch rifle traveled weighing around 7300 pounds.  But before you go second guessing Hunt, the 4.5-inch rifle’s ammunition traveled in separate wagons, in loads that were better configured for transport.

The difference here is “field carriage” verses “siege carriage.”  The 20-pdr on field carriage arrangement allowed the gun to go into action from the march.  The 4.5-inch rifle required more time to prepare for action.  But Hunt felt the 20-pdrs “ready for action” configuration was of little value as the gun was too difficult to maneuver into action.  On the other hand, the weight of the 4.5-inch rifle was of less consequence as it was employed with more deliberation.

Regardless if you follow that logic, the greater concern with the 20-pdr was, as with all the Parrotts, the tendency to burst.  Three failed guns in two actions.  That is compared to the near flawless record of 3-inch Ordnance Rifles.  The 4.5-inch rifle had not seen extensive service to this point, but would enjoy an air of reliability – at least for the moment.  Even later in the war main complaint against the bigger rifle was vent erosion, not bursting.

Despite Hunt’s requests, seven months later the Army of the Potomac still marched with a mix of 20-pdr Parrotts and 4.5-inch Ordnance Rifles.  Ironically, given Hunt’s concerns about mobility, it was the 20-pdrs of Taft’s 5th New York Battery on Cemetery Hill on July 3, not the 4.5-inch rifles of the 1st Connecticut.  The bigger guns were held back because they took up too much valuable space on the roads to Gettysburg.

(Citation is from OR, Series I, Volume 21, Serial 31, pages 189-90.)

150 years ago: Arms buildup for Vicksburg

The string of tactical defeats and strategic withdrawals for the Confederates in the Western Theater through 1862 not only conceded territory to the Federals but also translated to lost war material.  At the Iron Buffs of Columbus, Island No.10, Fort Pillow, and Memphis, the Confederates shed much needed heavy ordnance and material.  Likewise, the rebels left many small arms on the field at Fort Donelson and Shiloh.  Not to mention the loss of production facilities in Nashville, New Orleans, and Memphis.  All of which was sorely lacking at the next bastion under pressure – Vicksburg.  During the fall of 1862, as the center of gravity in the west shifted towards that particular bend of the Mississippi River, Confederates shipped large quantities of equipment to Vicksburg.

But “shipped to” does not necessarily mean “received at” when one balances the books.  In the last days of November, those in Vicksburg complained of delays.  A message sent on November 30, 1862 complained of receiving only 1,700 small arms.  In response, on December 2 Colonel Joshia Gorgas reported in detail the support offered to that point by the Confederate Ordnance Department:

• October 29, Richmond: One thousand seven hundred small-arms.
• October 29, Richmond: Four 4.62 rifled and banded guns, with carriages and ammunition complete; four 12-pounder bronze guns; four 24-pounder howitzers, with carriages, caissons, and ammunition complete.
• November 9, Richmond: Four thousand rounds ammunition for 6-pounder gun and 12-pounder howitzer (three-fifths gun and two-fifths howitzer); 80 rounds 20-pounder Parrott ammunition; 200 rounds 3-pounder Parrott ammunition.
• November 10, Charleston: Eight hundred arms to General Smith, Vicksburg.
• November 10, Atlanta: Five hundred 3-inch rifle shot and shell.
• November 11, Richmond: Seventy rounds 20-pounder ammunition.
• November 18, Richmond and Lynchburg: One thousand five hundred arms and ammunition.
• November 18, Knoxville: One thousand five hundred arms and ammunition.
• November 18, Atlanta: Five hundred arms and ammunition.
• November 24, Richmond: Three 10-inch columbiads.

In short about 6000 small arms forwarded from depots in Richmond, Charleston (South Carolina), Atlanta, and Knoxville to Vicksburg.  But of course the majority of those (save the first 1,700) didn’t get on a train until November and thus were likely still on the rails when Gorgas responded. (*)

But that was just the muskets and such.  The “fun” stuff we discuss on this blog is the artillery, right?  Four 4.62-inch rifled and banded guns, four 12-pdr guns (likely Napoleons), four 24-pdr howitzers, and three 10-inch Columbiads.  At least one of the 4.62-inch rifles ended up at Port Hudson and another ended up in Little Rock, Arkansas.  Because of that scattering, its hard to say for sure all three 10-inch Columbiads served at Vicksburg.  The river defenses contained at least two weapons of that caliber before hand, so mention in action reports is not proof of presence of these big triplets.

But there is a good line on when the guns left Richmond.  Tredegar often filed claims for hauling equipment and stores for the Confederacy.  A tally of the “hauling account” for November lists an entry for November 22:

On the 15th, Tredegar unloaded three 10-inch Columbiads shipped downriver from Bellona Foundry, from the wording “boat in basin,” likely using the James River Canal.  The entry also indicates one of the Columbiads went to the proving grounds.  Tredegar also loaded up two 4.62 inch rifles for shipment to Danville at that time – which may or many not be part of the set Gorgas ordered shipped on November 9.  The going rate to unload a gun from a canal boat was $5.  The rate to haul a gun to the range was $10.  Loading two guns on the railcars cost $15.

On November 22, Tredegar loaded three 10-inch Columbiads  on cars heading to Danville, and from there points west.  Since the entry mentions handling one Columbiad from the proving grounds and the other two from the basin to the depot, that covers the weapons mentioned on the 15th.  Tredegar also loaded three carriages for the Columbiads.

Notice the costs of the labor for the 22nd.  Just as on the 15th, $10 a gun to transport to the depot (either from the basin or proving range).  Counting gun and carriage, Columbiads cost $7.50 per gun to load onto rail cars.  The 4.62-inch rifles loaded on the 15th were mounted on siege carriages, so handling costs were fifty cents left.   Again, let me highlight the rather tight bookkeeping done for the Confederate government.

A look further down on the “hauling” tally indicates Tredegar handled five more of the 10-inch Columbiads a few days later:

On the 29th, Tredegar’s workers loaded three of five 10-inch Columbiads handled that day onto rail cars.  The tally does not indicate where those were sent.  Either date (the 22nd or the 29th) would fit for the day those Columbiads rolled out bound for Vicksburg.  I’m inclined to go with the 22nd since the name of the connecting destination was provided.  And again look at the handling costs – $10 to move a gun, $5 to load a gun on a railcar, and $7.50 to haul and load a carriage.

But before leaving the tally sheet, consider this entry made between the two clipped above:

Anyone care to venture a guess about those pieces and where they were used?  I’ll give you a hint.

In late November 1862, the Confederacy rushed guns to several threatened points.

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* For Gorgas’ report and the original inquiry from Vicksburg, see OR, Series I, Volume 17, Part II, Serial 25, pages 775-6.

The receipt for hauling is located in the Confederate Citizens Files for J.R. Anderson & Company.

Improved guns for the forts: Confederate 4.62-inch Banded Rifles

A few months back, I discussed the 4.62-inch “Gorgas” Rifled Siege Guns produced in 1862 by Tredegar and Bellona Foundries.  The next chapter in that story was the improvement to correct deficiencies of the design.  As mentioned in the earlier post, Tredegar tested three of the “Gorgas” guns in September 1862, with three failures.  The next logical step, on a path well blazed by other gun-makers, was to apply a reinforcing band to the guns.

Apparently, the approval to band these guns came before the September testing.  Starting in August that year, Tredegar received orders to finish guns originally cast by Bellona.  The first received banding and rifling, being delivered to the government on, or about, August 3:

A second gun received similar treatment, being accounted for on August 24:

Delivery of the second gun to “Chafin’s Bluff” [sic] is noteworthy.  In his Report of Siege Artillery in the Campaigns Against Richmond, General Henry Abbot reported capturing a “one 4.6-inch Brooke rifled gun” after the battle of Chaffin’s Farm (pages 179-181).  The gun was part of the battery on the landward side of the Confederate line.  Its  employment, I would speculate, was as counter-battery against Federal guns placed to reduce the Confederate lines.  As such, the “Brooke” is more aptly identified as a 4.62-inch Siege and Garrison Gun… with the emphasis in this case on the “garrison” role.

Tredegar banded two more of the Bellona guns in November 1862.  Then they turned to producing their own version, adding at least five more.  Photographic and other anecdotal evidence indicates one of those rifled guns went to the defenses of Port Hudson, Louisiana.  Another of these guns was reportedly among the guns captured after the battle of Cedar Creek in October 1864.  Both weapons were among the West Point trophy collection but were, unfortunately for us cannon historians, scrapped during the World Wars.

But that simply shifts attention to Tredegar foundry number 1720, which appears on a March 1863 tally:

That month a “4.62 rifle & banded gun” with that foundry number went to Hamilton, North Carolina.  The gun was earmarked for the garrison at Fort Branch defending the Roanoke River.  That gun survives today, as an artifact recovered from the river by teams working at Rainbow Bend.

Second from left – 4.62-inch Rifle

The 4.62-inch rifle’s foundry number is clear today (thanks to careful restoration).

Foundry Number 1720

The bore has five-groove Brooke-style rifling.

Brooke Rifling

Tredegar’s stamps (“J.R.A.” is still very clear) appear on the right trunnion.

Right Trunnion

On the left is the year “1863″.

Left Trunnion Stamp

However, the gun foundry book from Tredegar indicates the gun was cast in the later half of December 1862.   So this may indicate the year of proofing.

The band, which makes this weapon different from the earlier Gorgas guns, is a wrought iron composite.

Breech Band

Although hard to determine, the band may use the “rings” as seen on Tredegar Parrotts and larger Brook rifles.  Notice also the breech profile, which is rounded as compared to the Stony Creek, Virginia gun.

Viewed from above, the casting lines remain clear on the gun.  J.R. Anderson eschewed any machining to smooth the exteriors, which he felt was merely decorative in nature.

Tredegar 4.62-inch Banded Rifle

The history, from foundry to fortification, of this particular gun is easy to document given the Tredegar papers.  Indeed the date the gun went to the rail yard is known.  Once in place at Fort Branch, the gun was among a sizable battery that stood in the way of any Federal advance towards the rail lines at Weldon, North Carolina.  At the end of the war, the garrison dumped this gun along with most of the others into the river.  The gun remained there until 1977 when it was recovered.  The gun was still on its carriage, which is also on display today at Fort Branch:

Top – Carriage for 4.62-inch Rifle

Odds are, that carriage is the same accounted for in the March invoice from Tredegar.  In most respects it follows the Federal siege gun patterns.

Warren Ripley, in his Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War, agreed with Abbot’s identification, tentatively calling this type of gun a “Brooke” siege rifle.  But the authors of The Big Guns: Civil War Siege, Seacoast, and Naval Cannons identify these banded rifles as “Gibbon & Andrews” Siege Guns.  In my opinion, the firmest designation is simply “4.62-inch Confederate banded siege rifle.”

Regardless of the name, these Confederate pieces weighed upwards of 6000 pounds each.  Comparable contemporary Federal weapons, such as the 4.5-inch siege rifle (3,575 pounds) and the 30-pdr Parrott (4,200 pounds) weighed considerably less.  The weight difference is partially explained by the improved metalworking techniques used by the northern gun-makers.  The Federal guns could follow the Army as part of a siege train.  The Confederate weapons, however, were best left in the fortifications.

And that’s where the lone survivor of the type spent its days.