The Civil War Artillery Message Board

Re: 13th Tennessee Infantry and Shiloh Cannon

Ron,

Yes, but they were not all reamed to 3.80" then rifled. Some were rifled at 3.67" diameter. "Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War" (Revised edition) states on page 48-9 that there are 31 known survivors of this type. They are almost all using the Model 1841 profile (a single 1835) but have five different groove configurations. Those based on the M1841 were cast from 1844 to 1862.

In F.A.W. the authors state that they only know for certain that 3.80" was exclusively James. The others with 3.67" land diameters they refer to as rifled 6-pounder guns. Ripley used the same approach. Contemporary accounts did not necessarily make the distinction, so you might come across 12-pounder "James" (3.67") or 14-pounder James (3.80"). Of course, 20-pounder Parrots were 3.67" bore as well. Clearly the lighter bronze pieces were not suitable for firing 20-pounder Parrot ammo and the large charges used for them.

There are recoveries of the 3.67" as well as the 3.80" James projectiles. It appears that the 3.80" James rifle was several fold more common, but you can't ignore the presence of over 30 *survivors* of the smaller caliber. It doesn't make a lot of sense to have two calibers, unnecessarily complicating logistics and manufacturing; but then again, look at the 10-pounder Parrots in 2.9" and 3.0 inch.

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13th Tennessee Infantry and Shiloh Cannon
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Re: 13th Tennessee Infantry and Shiloh Cannon