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Author Topic: Grape shot and  (Read 671 times)

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Offline Blaster

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Grape shot and
« on: March 28, 2009, 02:37:33 PM »
 Here's a picture of some dug up Civil War artillery stuff. First two on the left are grape shot and the ball on the right is a small cannon ball. These are from the Battle at Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia. A real good friend dug these up many years ago at that battle site which was on private property.  I've had these for around 30 plus years and just ran across them again the other day. 


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Offline BoomLover

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #1 on: March 28, 2009, 03:14:34 PM »
No wonder grape shot was so effective and devastating, those are pretty large pieces of anti-personel material! Then when you think of how many were in each cannister, a few well placed rounds could clear the decks or the battlefield pretty quickly! BoomLover
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Offline Artilleryman

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #2 on: March 28, 2009, 04:23:48 PM »
I think the two on the left are canister and the larger one grape shot unless I am reading the tape wrong.  At any rate in my opinion the most deadly of the artillery rounds when used against an infantry line.
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Offline RocklockI

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #3 on: March 28, 2009, 06:46:49 PM »
Could the bigger one be a grenade ? that fuse hole dosnt look tappered for a wooden fuse .
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Offline Blaster

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #4 on: March 29, 2009, 04:15:06 AM »
Quote from: Artilleryman on March 28, 2009, 04:23:48 PM
I think the two on the left are canister and the larger one grape shot unless I am reading the tape wrong.  At any rate in my opinion the most deadly of the artillery rounds when used against an infantry line.

I'm going to measure all three of them and will post the figures.  The largest one, with the fuse hole, has been deactivated.
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Offline subdjoe

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #5 on: March 29, 2009, 08:29:52 AM »
If I recall correctly, canister was about .69 inches in diameter and for a 12# Naooeon there were 84 (?) per can.  The number of balls varied from gun to gun, but the size stayed the same. 

Grape was 9 ball/stand, and were about 1 1/4 inches in diameter.  And, for grape, the size of the ball varied for the size of the gun.  But, again if I recall, there were always 9/stand.
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Offline Terry C.

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2009, 08:59:18 AM »
Quote from: subdjoe on March 29, 2009, 08:29:52 AM
If I recall correctly, canister was about .69 inches in diameter and for a 12# Naooeon there were 84 (?) per can.  The number of balls varied from gun to gun, but the size stayed the same.

I believe you're thinking about the canister for the 12-pound Mountain Howitzer.

The canister for the 1857 Napoleon used 27 balls of a larger diameter.
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Offline Blaster

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2009, 10:41:16 AM »
Measured them just a little while ago.  It's rather difficult to measure as there is NO consistent surface to measure due to the uneven rusting.  The smallest one averages 1.07", middle one averages 1.20" and the large one 1.90". 
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Offline Artilleryman

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2009, 04:01:13 PM »
The smaller ones could have been cannister for the 6 pdr or the 12 pdr field howizter.  If the larger one is hollow I don't know what it is unless it is a defective 12 pdr grapeshot.
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Offline subdjoe

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Re: Grape shot and
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2009, 05:03:43 PM »
Quote from: Terry C. on March 29, 2009, 08:59:18 AM
Quote from: subdjoe on March 29, 2009, 08:29:52 AM
If I recall correctly, canister was about .69 inches in diameter and for a 12# Naooeon there were 84 (?) per can.  The number of balls varied from gun to gun, but the size stayed the same.

I believe you're thinking about the canister for the 12-pound Mountain Howitzer.

The canister for the 1857 Napoleon used 27 balls of a larger diameter.

Ah! So I didn't recall correctly.  Thank you..
(makes note to get his brain tuned up, it seems to be running rough)
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Your ob't & etc,
Joseph Lovell

Justice Robert H. Jackson - It is not the function of the government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the government from falling into error.
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