Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

The civil war
carriage system necessitated changes in maneuvers that were included in both sets
of regulations. 8
In 1857, the School of Practice for heavy gun service reopened at Fort Monroe,
and classes began in the fall of 1858. 9 The instructional classes were to consist of
two companies from each regiment. Each company was to have a two-year tour of
duty, with one company from each regiment being relieved each year. The school
was active for about three years, when it closed because of the outbreak of the Civil
War. General orders issued in 1859 directed the establishment of a complete and
systematic course of practical and theoretical instruction for all artillery, as well
as annual inspections. 10 Despite the diversity in existing artillery organizations and
equipment, these measures promoted more uniformity in training than had previously
been possible.
During the years prior to the Civil War, European armies had been experimenting
with both rifled and breechloading cannon. As Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis
decided to increase American awareness of military developments in Europe, and
he was primarily responsible for sending a commission to observe the Crimean War
and European armies in general. Based on extensive travels abroad, Maj. Alfred
Mordecai pre sented the commission’s views on artillery, recommending that the new
French 12-pounder gun-howitzer be obtained for testing. The Ordnance Department
concurred, and in 1857, the Army adopted for light artillery batteries the bronze
muzzleloading Napoleon, named after Napoleon III of France. The piece remained
standard until the 1880s. 11 The report also cited the success of the British in using
large caliber cannon and indicated that wrought iron for field service might be a
moderate expense in connection with introducing rifled weapons for such batteries.
A suggestion also surfaced that horse (field) artillery be separated from foot (heavy)
artillery, the way units in France were divided. 12
The Napoleon, which proved to be the most popular field piece during the Civil
War, was effective with solid shot or shell and most effective with canister against
personnel at close ranges. Within its range, canister was more deadly against infantry
than any other ammunition. Batteries composed wholly of Napoleons were
almost as mobile as the light batteries of 6-pounder guns and 12-pounder howitzers.
Although artillerists highly regarded the latter early in the Civil War, the howitzers
8 See Instruction for Heavy Artillery (Washington, D.C.: Gideon and Co., 1851) and Instructions for
Mountain Artillery (Washing ton, D.C.: Gideon and Co., 1851).
9 HQ Army GO 9, 30 Oct 1856; WD GO 5, 18 May 1858; HQ Army GO 13, 18 May 1858; Arthur,
History of Fort Monroe, p. 76.
10 WD GO 10, 9 May 1859.
11 Alfred Mordecai, Military Commission to Europe in 1855 and 1856 (Washington, D.C.: G. W.
Bowman, 1861), pp. 141, 145; Message From the President to the Two Houses of Congress . . . , 34th
Cong., 3d sess., 1856, H. Doc. 1, p. 16.
12 Mordecai, Military Commission to Europe, pp. 119, 137–38. Field artillery equated to both horse
and mounted—cannoneers on horseback operating with cavalry and cannoneers operating with infantry
while marching or, when necessary, mounted on ammunition chests. Foot artillery included siege and
garrison, seacoast, mountain, and rocket artillery. The same recommendation was put forth after the Civil
War, but the two types of artillery were not separated until 1901.
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