Gerald makes good points here. Solid shot was typically the preferred round for general combat. Solid shot could inflict damage on four ranks of infantry with it's trajectory. Case shot and shell especially in the Confederate service was less predictable due to the variations in fuzes that were available to the Southern cannoneers. Solid shot could be fired at low elevation and skip across the ground towards it's target inflicting unpredictable damage for distances that way exceded the flight to ground time of the round. Solid shot was always the highest populated round in the chest. If you read the cannoneer's "bible" (The 1864 Field Artillery Tactics) or "red book" as some call it, you can find all of the combined knowledge of field artillery use, tactics, and specifications of the time. Although the date might lead you to believe that the methods had changed from the beginning of the war, this was actually a cumulative instruction on the physics and mechanics of field artillery at the time. As I know T.R. is a veteran and a skilled combatant, I'm sure he understands the machine gun field of fire and it's supporting weaponry. I'd prefer to keep my riflemen on post with small caliber, long range fire and leave any grenades to an M-79 blooper or a mortar team with a 81 or four deuce weapon. If you read the tactics and techniques of the time, canister was called for at distances of 350 yards or less. Double canister was two "cans" of shot but the "cartridge" or in this case the powder bag remaind the same as if for a single round. T.R. is corect in his percentage of casualties inflicted by artillery during the WBTS. Artillery was more useful as a demoralizing factor on troops in the field. It was however very effective on buildings and fortifications. The King of Battle.

Keith