Artillery at Petersburg

At Petersburg, artillery became so constant and specialized that after the first few weeks soldiers learned by sound what kind of missile was passing overhead and which ones to dodge, while mortar shells inspired the most fear and ordinary field pieces or siege guns firing shells directly through the air disturbed men behind breastworks less. The Civil War cannon in use there included both bronze and iron guns, with rifled pieces firing conical shells and smoothbores firing traditional cannonballs. Their ranges varied widely, from guns that could throw a shell only 1,000 yards to some with typical ranges of nearly two miles, while one could fire more than five miles. The projectiles fired by these cannon ranged from six to 65 pounds.

Virginia · United States