Load! Ready! Fire!

Load! Ready! Fire!. . Firing an artillery piece required a carefully choreographed sequence of actions. On the command load, each man on the gun crew performed specific tasks to prepare the piece. , Step One, Load , 1 sponges the barrel. 2 takes the round from 5 and loads it into the barrel. 1 rams the round home while 3 holds his thumb on the vent. Once the round is in the barrel, 3 steps to the trail and assists G, the gunner, with aiming the gun. , Step Two, Ready , 1 and 2 step clear. 3 pricks the cartridge, punches a hole in the bag that holds the powder. 4 hooks the lanyard to the primer and inserts the primer into the vent. He then moves to the rear, taking the slack out of the lanyard. , Step Three, Fire , 3 steps clear of the wheel 4 pulls the lanyard, causing the gun to fire. G orders the gun run up, and the sequence begins again. , Gun crews were often targeted by the enemy. Ominously, the manual provided instructions for firing with diminished crews, ending with "Service by two men." , (sidebar) , 10-Pounder Parrott Rifle , The gun in front of you is a replica Model 1861 Parrott rifle Invented by Robert P. Parrott, it is easily identified by the large band at the rear of the barrel, which increased the strength of the weapon. This gun could fire a ten-pond projectile over a mile. , The Union army used hundreds of Parrotts. The Confederacy employed a number of captured guns, and several southern foundries turned out copies. , Men and Horses , When being moved, the gun was attached to a two-wheeled limber. A second limber was attached to a caisson that carried two ammunition chests. Each limber held a chest that contained additional ammunition and the tools needed to maintain and fire the gun. Each limber required four to six horses to pull it. , A sergeant (chief of piece), two corporals, an eight-man gun crew, three drivers and two horse holders were required for each gun.