GDG- Cannon Fire

[Batrinque at aol.com]

In a message dated 10/31/2007 8:11:20 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
gary.mcginnis at dot.gov writes:

The  rifled guns were iron and had groves cut in the barrel to make the
shell  spin similar to a football. They used 2 pounds of powder and the
shot  weighed approximately 10 lbs. A three inch shell can be fired from
a 10 lb  Parrott, but due to a slight difference in diameter you can't
fire a 10 lb  from a three inch unless modified. There is an example of
this on the field  near the NH sharpshooter monument in front and north
of the PA monument. If  you are really curious (like me) you can take a
cup and put it in the  barrel and draw the diameter of both tubes to see
the  difference.




The source I have says a one pound charge of powder was used in the 10-lb  
Parrott and the 3-inch Ordnance, but I would not surprised if it varied upon  
occasion.  10-pound Parrotts (they are easily recognizable by the broad  band 
wrapped around the breech of the gun) were commonly altered during the  latter 
part of the war to accept the rounds for the standard 3-inch Ordnance  rifle, 
making ammunition supply less complex.
 
A decent introduction to artillery at Gettysburg, along with a useful  
appendix of technical data, can be found in Philip Cole's "Civil War Artillery  at 
Gettysburg: Organization, Equipment, Ammunition, and Tactics" and Bradley  
Gottfried is publishing his book on the subject in the near future.
 
 
Bruce  Trinque
Amston, CT



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