Union Eleventh Corps Artillery

Union Eleventh Corps Artillery. . Eleventh Corps artillery units in 1863 were equipped with 3-inch ordnance rifles and 4.62-inch model 1857 Napoleon cannon often referred to as 12-pounders. Ordnance rifles could fire a solid or hollow 3-inch, iron, buIlet-shaped projectile nearly 2,800 yards. Explosive shells contained iron or lead shot around a black powder explosive charge. The Napoleon guns also fired both solid and explosive cannonballs. Both types of guns could fire canister shot, iron balls inside a tin container propelled by an iron plate between the powder and the shot. Canister, once fired, spread out rapidly and was very lethal out to 400 yards against massed infantry. If Napoleon guns were “double- shotted” (a second round stripped of its powder bag and placed on top of the first one) 96 iron balls over 1-inch in diameter could be fired at one lime. Artillery placement in this area would have been driven by terrain, visibility, gun range and the threat. Battery #2, with its exceptional visibility and range in three directions, likely utilized ordnance rifles. Battery #1 covered the Potomac Church road and Daniel Bridge, both potential avenues of enemy attack. Battery #3 with its more open, less steep terrain, may have utilized 12-pounders which had shorter range and were more lethal in close combat. Several 11th Corps soldier letters and diaries describe the construction of the batteries or fortifications in and around this park to include deployed artillery. Unfortunately, documents found to date do not detail the specific units or type of artillery in each of the fortifications preserved in this park. Research is continuing., 11th Corps Artillery Brigade Units , 1st New York Artillery, Battery I , 2nd New York Battery , 13th New York Battery , 1st Ohio Artillery, Battery I , 1st Ohio Artillery, Battery K , Source: Organization of the Army of the Potomac, May 31, 1863. OR Series 1, Part II, Vol 25, #40. , (captions) , 11th Corps Ordnance , (1) 3-inch Hotchkiss shell (explosive) , (2) 12lb cannonball (case Shot) , (3) 12lb cannonball (solid shot) , (4) 10lb Parrot (explosive) , (5) 3-inch Schenkl (shell) , (6) Canister shot – 12lb Napoleon, Civil War photo taken near Atlanta GA of battery constructed with parapet and gun shelves similar to those found in battery #1, Stafford Civil War Park , National Archives photo, 3-inch ordnance rifle – Library of Congress