Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

The civil war
effect. With the loss of effective artillery fire support, attacks became increasingly
costly. Some relief came for the Union artillery with the introduction of the Coehorn
mortar in the Army of the Potomac. Mortar shells, fired at high angles, often reached
the trenches that other artillery projectiles did not. Being small and hand portable,
the Coehorns proved extremely useful for trench warfare. The Confederate States
Army recognized the utility of the Coehorns and also adopted high-angle fire for
use in the trenches. 62
The Civil War had been a transitional period for the artillery. With the introduction
of rifled weapons, coastal defense changed, the older harbor forts becoming
obsolete. Yet on the battlefield, the effect on an enemy that went under the cover
of trenches and fortifications was negligible. In organizational struc ture, both the
North and South initially assigned artillery in small groups as the Army had done
in previous wars, but gradually both centralized firepower at the division and corps
level to provide massed fire support for their respective armies. Following the end
of the war, however, the great Union army was largely disbanded, leaving a small
regular force to once again guard the coastline and protect the frontier.
62 Henry L. Abbott, “Siege Artillery in the Campaigns Against Richmond . . .,” in Professional
Papers [of the] Corps of Engineers, ser. no. 14 (1867; reprint, New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1868), pp.
17–20; War Department, War of the Rebellion, 1/26(pt.1):211–512, 517–28; Tidball, “Remarks Upon
Field Artillery,” p. 25, FA School files.
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