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Post by witlesstex on Oct 30, 2007 9:39:34 GMT -5
I know that the Alamo fired grape and canister shot at the Mexicans, but I always thought that was because they were low on solid shot and so, basically, they had no other choice. Then, over the weekend I was reading a book about the Battle of Sabine Pass during the Civil War and it left the impression that Dowling chose to finish off the Yankee boats with canister shot, so my question is this: why would commanders choose to use grape or canister shots over solid shots? Is there a particular advantage somehow that I'm unaware of? And please try to explain it in layman's terms that I can understand. Also, was Travis, at the Alamo, using grape and canister shot because of a specific reason, in terms of military strategy, or was it because that was all he had available to use?
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Post by elcolorado on Oct 30, 2007 10:28:44 GMT -5
Solid shot is better suited for damaging "hard" targets such as defensive fortifications, walls, buildings, etc. But it is also effective on "soft" targets at long distances like troops in column formation, counter battery fire, etc.
Grape and canister, which could be a load of iron balls or even bits of scrap metal, effectively turned a cannon into a giant shotgun. A cannon loaded with canister is very lethal weapon to use against enemy troops inside 200 yards.
Travis believed that Santa Anna would have to storm the walls of the Alamo in order to capture it. This would amount to hundreds of Mexican attackers out in the open and close. Discharging a load of canister would (and did) inflict large numbers of casualties. So using canister, as opposed to solid shot, was the right choice for Travis....IMO.
Glenn
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Post by stuart on Oct 30, 2007 10:41:34 GMT -5
The short answer on this one is that it depends what was being shot at and how far away it was. Its impossible to be precise about ranges without knowing the guns involved but for the sake of clarity its best to begin by explaining that there were a number of different types of ammunition available to artillerymen, which they used according to circumstances.
Firstly there was roundshot which was simply an iron ball. This, depending on the range, was either fired directly at the target, or pitched just a little low so that it would skim (just like a stone on a pond) towards the target at low level and thus theoretically maximising the chances of hitting it rather than flying over the top. In practice it didn’t always work that way and depending on ground conditions could simply bury itself in the ground or ricochet off in the wrong direction entirely.
This ammunition could be used at all ranges at a comparatively high velocity and tended to smash whatever it hit.
Grapeshot and canister are often confused, but were actually significantly different. Canister was exactly what it says on the box. It was a tin canister filled with small iron balls, which burst apart on leaving the muzzle of the gun and essentially turned it into a big shotgun. In times of danger artillerymen would sometimes load double canister, but perhaps a little surprisingly a Confederate artilleryman named Haskell reckoned that at very close range roundshot was actually better at stopping infantry attacks; not because of the casualties but because of the moral effect of the great ringing crash of the discharge.
Grape consisted of a smaller number of significantly larger iron balls, packaged in a canvas bag. This was normally a naval ammunition, but it was also used in siege warfare to demoralise working parties. The heavier weight of the balls gave them a slightly longer range than canister and so they could be used to harass men digging trenches and saps, especially at night when it was too dark to lay a gun accurately enough for roundshot to be effective.
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Post by billchemerka on Oct 30, 2007 13:45:42 GMT -5
Canister shot, for example, is best used against advancing troops/cavalry when fired at a point in front of the antagonists so the compressed projecticles will fan out upon impact with the surface.
My companion recreated Revolutionary War unit, Lamb's Artillery, (since 1980), has hosted numerous seminars over the years, and on more than one occasion has explained the devastating impact of canister against opposing forces.
The use of canister shot is shown quite vividly in one scene from Alamo...The Price of Freedom.
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Post by witlesstex on Oct 30, 2007 20:29:58 GMT -5
Thanks, everyone, for the imput. And y'all did an excellent job of explaining it in language that I could understand.
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