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93-585: Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia , and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, the post merged in 2005 with the neighboring Marine Corps installation, Henderson Hall, and is today named Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall . In 1861,

186-447: A low explosive such as gunpowder. The fragments of the shell could do considerable damage, but they tended to fragment into a few large pieces. For smoothbores, the projectile was referred to as "spherical shell". Shells were more effective against troops behind obstacles or earthworks, and they were good for destroying wooden buildings by setting them on fire. They were ineffective against good quality masonry. A primary weakness of shell

279-533: A lunette (Fort Ramsay) on the future grounds of Fort Myer. One of the first fortifications built on the Arlington Line , the lunette was located at and near the present post's Forest Circle. Later renamed to Fort Cass, the lunette had a perimeter of 288 yards (263 m) and emplacements for 12 guns. A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization ) noted

372-414: A percussion cap on a nipple. The cap is struck by a huge spring actuated striker built into the flat strip that supports the chambers at their aft end. The cylinder is moved one fifth of a revolution and lined up for firing by the moving of a lever from left to right. The lever is attached to a ratchet arrangement, the distance moved being regulated by its mounting in the frame in such a manner as to control

465-409: A 12-pounder Napoleon contained 78 balls. The name shrapnel derives from its inventor, Henry Shrapnel . The primary limitations to case effectiveness came in judging the range, setting the fuse accordingly, and the reliability and variability of the fuse itself. Grapeshot , which originated as a naval round for cutting enemy rigging or clearing packed decks of personnel, was the predecessor of, and

558-455: A Confederate battery on Benner's Hill at the Battle of Gettysburg: Such a scene as it presented—guns dismounted and disabled, carriages splintered and crushed, ammunition chests exploded, limbers upset, wounded horses plunging and kicking, dashing out the brains of men tangled in the harness; while cannoneers with pistols were crawling around through the wreck shooting the struggling horses to save

651-436: A few ANG-operated bases, such as Selfridge ANGB , Michigan. Support facilities on Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve installations tend to not be as extensive as active bases (i.e., they usually do not have on-base lodging (though Kingsley Field ANGB , Oregon, is an exception), clinics (except for drill days), or retail stores (although some have small convenience stores)). In Russian usage "military base" or "naval base"

744-453: A high trajectory , but also for spherical case shot and canister, over a shorter range than the guns. While field use alluded to firing at targets consisting of enemy forces arrayed in the open, howitzers were considered the weapon of choice if the opposing forces were concealed behind terrain features or fortifications. It cost about $ 500. Howitzers used lighter gunpowder charges than guns of corresponding caliber. Field howitzer calibers used in

837-400: A loaded chamber with the breech end of the barrel. It is held in alignment by a spring loaded dog slipping into a recess in the cylinder. To cut gas leakage to a minimum, a screw arrangement at the rear jacks the cylinder forward after positioning until a tight joint is effected between the front of the chamber in the cylinder and the breech end of the barrel. The chambers are ignited by use of

930-665: A logistical challenge for the artillery, because they had to be fed, maintained, and replaced when worn out or injured. Artillery horses were generally selected second from the pool of high quality animals; cavalry mounts were the best horses. The life expectancy of an artillery horse was under eight months. They suffered from disease, exhaustion from long marches—typically 16 miles (25.8 km) in 10 hours—and battle injuries. Horses panicked easier than men when subjected to counter-battery fire , and their movements were made difficult because they were harnessed together into teams . Robert Stiles wrote about Union counter-battery fire striking

1023-502: A long bolt that twisted to conform to the rifling. It is said that the bolts made a very distinctive eerie sound when fired, which could be distinguished from other projectiles. Whitworth also designed a 3-pounder breechloading rifle which saw limited use in the war. The table below lists the guns used by both armies at the Battle of Antietam in September 1862. Though both sides employed

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1116-782: A post office and dining facilities ( restaurants ). They may also provide support facilities such as fast food restaurants, gas stations, chapels, schools , banks , thrift stores , a hospital or clinic (dental or health clinics, as well as veterinarian clinics), lodging , movie theaters, and, in some countries, retail stores (usually a supermarket such as Commissary and a Department Store , such as AAFES ). On American military installations, Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (FMWR) provides facilities such as fitness centers, libraries, golf courses, travel centers, community service centers, campgrounds, child development centers, youth centers, automotive workshops, hobby/arts and crafts centers, bowling centers, and community centers. Bases used by

1209-586: A showcase for the US Army's cavalry , and, since the 1940s, home to the Army's elite ceremonial units—The United States Army Band ("Pershing's Own") and the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard"). The National Weather Service was originated there by General Albert J. Myer in 1870. Fort Myer was the site of the first flight of an aircraft at a military installation. Several exhibition flights by Orville Wright took place there in 1908. On 17 September 1908 it became

1302-447: A six-horse draft, yet offered the heavier projectile payload of the larger bore. It is sometimes called, confusingly, a "gun-howitzer" (because it possessed characteristics of both gun and howitzer) and is discussed in more detail separately below. The 3-inch (76 mm) rifle was the most widely used rifled gun during the war. Invented by John Griffen, it was extremely durable, with the barrel made of wrought iron , primarily produced by

1395-444: A variation on, canister, in which a smaller number of larger metal balls were arranged on stacked iron plates with a threaded bolt running down the center to hold them as a unit inside the barrel. It was used at a time when some cannons burst when loaded with too much gunpowder, but as cannons got stronger, grapeshot was replaced by canister. A grapeshot round (or "stand") used in a 12-pounder Napoleon contained 9 balls, contrasted against

1488-495: Is not limited to denoting a specific fence described facility and usually encompasses a broad territory within which a number of discrete facilities may be located. As examples, 1) the Russian Sevastopol Naval Base comprises individual facilities located within the city of Sevastopol proper (waterfront moorings, weapons stores, a headquarters compound, and a naval infantry base) as well as an airfield at Kacha north of

1581-796: The Army of Northern Virginia 's bronze 6-pounder guns to Tredegar to be melted down and recast as Napoleons. Copper for casting bronze pieces became increasingly scarce to the Confederacy throughout the war and became acute in November 1863 when the Ducktown copper mines near Chattanooga were lost to Union forces. Casting of bronze Napoleons by the Confederacy ceased and in January 1864 Tredegar began producing iron Napoleons. A Confederate cannoneer remembered, "Our guns were 12 pound brass Napoleons, smooth bore, but accounted

1674-498: The Phoenix Iron Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania . There are few cases on record of the tube fracturing or bursting, a problem that plagued other rifles made of brittle cast iron . The rifle had exceptional accuracy. During the Battle of Atlanta , a Confederate gunner was quoted: "The Yankee three-inch rifle was a dead shot at any distance under a mile. They could hit the end of a flour barrel more often than miss, unless

1767-458: The September 11th attacks , were bivouacked at Fort Myer. These troops were under Operation Noble Eagle . These included both active and National Guard Military Police units from around the nation. In 2005 the last remaining deployed responders were demobilized. As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission initiative to create more efficiency of efforts, the Army's Fort Myer and

1860-545: The United States Air Force Reserve tend to be active USAF bases. However, there are a few Air Reserve Bases , such as Dobbins ARB , Georgia, and Grissom ARB , Indiana, both of which are former active-duty USAF bases. Facilities of the Air National Guard are often located on civil airports in a secure cantonment area not accessible to the general public, though some units are based on USAF bases, and

1953-602: The United States Postal Service issued its first day cover of a postcard celebrating the 100th anniversary of Weather Services at Fort Myer. A pamphlet and one book have been published about Fort Myer. The book, Images of America: Fort Myer , contains a copy of a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln that appointed General Whipple's oldest son to the United States Military Academy at West Point . Military base Military bases within

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2046-404: The artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by the artillery branch to support infantry and cavalry forces in the field. It does not include siege artillery , use of artillery in fixed fortifications, coastal or naval artillery . It also does not include smaller, specialized artillery pieces classified as infantry guns . The principal guns widely used in the field are listed in

2139-845: The navies and air forces of the world are the HMNB Portsmouth in Portsmouth, UK, the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island , Washington State, US, or Ramstein Air Base , Germany (the last two are each designated as a Main Operating Base ). Other examples of non- or semi-permanent military bases include a Forward Operating Base (FOB), a Logistics Base (Log base) and a Fire Base (FB). A military base may also contain large concentrations of military supplies in order to support military logistics . Most military bases are restricted to

2232-418: The police , constabulary , militia , or national guards . Alternatively, the term may refer solely to an establishment which is used only by an army (or possibly other land fighting related forces, such as marines ) to the exclusion of a base used by either an air force or a navy . This is consistent with the different meanings of the word ' military '. Some examples of permanent military bases used by

2325-550: The (Specialist Teams Royal Engineers (STRE)) were formed to plan and execute Works projects worldwide. Some British and Commonwealth naval bases are traditionally named, commissioned, and administered as though they were naval ships. For this reason they are sometimes called stone frigates . Field artillery in the American Civil War#Weapons Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to

2418-464: The 12-pounder was only cycled out of the main field army inventories as production and availability of the 12-pounder "Napoleon" rose, and would see action in the Confederate armies up to the very end. As with the corresponding heavy field guns, the heavier howitzers were available in limited quantities early in the war. Both Federal and Confederate contracts list examples of 24-pounders delivered during

2511-644: The 1840s through the 1860s barracks were constructed under supervision of the Royal Engineers in: The Cardwell Reforms (1872) ushered in another period of intensive Barrack building at Aldershot , Portsmouth , Plymouth , London , Woking , Woolwich , Dublin , Belfast , Malta , Gibraltar and the Cape of Good Hope . In 1959 the Corps' Work Services was transferred to the civilian War Department Works Organization (later renamed Property Services Agency (PSA)) and by 1965

2604-514: The 2.9" Parrotts to 3" to standardize ammunition, and no further 2.9" Parrotts were to be produced. The M1863, with a 3-inch (76 mm) bore, had firing characteristics similar to the earlier model; it can be recognized by its straight barrel, without muzzle-swell. Parrott rifles saw use in all the major battles of the war; the Union army carried a number of 10-pounders at First Bull Run and one 30-pounder. The 20-pounder Parrott only began production in

2697-471: The 27 smaller balls in a canister round. By the time of the Civil War, grapeshot was obsolete and largely replaced by canister. The period Ordnance and Gunnery work states that grape was excluded from "field and mountain services." Few, if any, rounds were issued to field artillery batteries. Shells consisted of a strong casing around an explosive charge, in order to generate a strong, brisant explosion from

2790-463: The 3.67" gun are rifled 6-pounder or 12-pounder James rifle , while the 3.80" variant was known as the 14-pounder James rifle . To add to the confusion, the variants of the 3.80" bore rifle included two profiles (6-pounder and Ordnance), two metals (bronze and iron), three types of rifling (15, 10, and 7 grooves), and different weights. Although the James rifles were reported to be extremely accurate,

2883-556: The 6-pounder field gun and 12-pounder howitzer in the early battles, they were recognized as inferior to the 12-pounder Napoleon and soon discontinued in the Union armies in the Eastern Theater. However, Union and Confederate armies in the Western Theater continued to use both weapons. Some 6-pounder field guns were converted to 12- or 14-pounder James rifles. The 32-pounder howitzer was too heavy to be employed as field artillery and

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2976-431: The 6-pounder field gun in order to improve its accuracy. In December 1860, Secretary of War John Floyd wrote, "the results of trials of rifled cannon and projectiles … indicates a superiority of James expanding projectiles for such cannon. The regulation 6-pounder, with a rifled bore (weight 884 pounds), carries a James projectile of about 13 pounds." James rifles were an early solution to the need for rifled artillery at

3069-462: The Americans about trench warfare. General George S. Patton Jr., who was posted at Fort Myer four different times, started the charitable "Society Circus" after World War I. He ultimately was post commander and commanded the 3rd Cavalry Regiment that was stationed at Fort Myer from the 1920s to 1942 when the regiment was sent to Georgia to get mechanized. In late 2001, troops, deployed in response to

3162-494: The Civil War were 12-pounder (4.62 inch bore), 24-pounder (5.82 inch bore), and 32-pounder (6.41 inch bore). Most of the howitzers used in the war were bronze, with notable exceptions of some of Confederate manufacture. Coupled to the 6-pounder field gun in allocations of the pre-war Army, the M1841 12-pounder howitzer was represented by Models of 1835, 1838 and 1841. With a light weight and respectable projectile payload,

3255-493: The Civil War, and the Confederate Tredegar foundry turned out as many as 21 more. A Federal battery of four proved "highly effective" at the decisive battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico , and Nathan Bedford Forrest frequently employed mountain howitzers for the rapid close-quarters combat that he favored. Smoothbore guns were designed to fire solid shot projectiles at high velocity, over low trajectories at targets in

3348-401: The Confederacy produced some new iron field guns, most of those used on the battlefields were of bronze construction. The 6-pounder field gun was well represented by bronze Models of 1835, 1838, 1839, and 1841 early in the war. Even a few older iron Model 1819 weapons were pressed into service. Several hundred were used by the armies of both sides in 1861. But in practice the limited payload of

3441-696: The Marines' Henderson Hall became the first Joint Base in the Department of Defense . Joint Base Myer–Henderson Hall (JBMHH) consists of military installations at Fort Myer, Henderson Hall , The Pentagon , and Fort Lesley J. McNair . These installations and departments serve over 150,000 active duty, DoD civilian, and retired military personnel in the region. The fort was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972, for its well-preserved concentration of cavalry facilities and officers' quarters, and for its importance in military aviation history. On September 1, 1970,

3534-465: The Mexican War, and only scant references exist to any Civil War use of the weapons. The 12-pounder field gun appeared in a series of models mirroring the 6-pounder, but in far less numbers. At least one Federal battery, the 13th Indiana, took the 12-pounder field gun into service early in the war. The major shortcoming of these heavy field guns was mobility, as they required eight-horse teams as opposed to

3627-485: The United States are considered federal property and are subject to federal law . Civilians (such as family members of military officers ) living on military bases are generally subject to the civil and criminal laws of the states where the bases are located. Military bases can range from small outposts to military cities containing up to 100,000 people. A military base may belong to a different nation or state than

3720-474: The Western theaters. The Parrott rifle invented by Robert P. Parrott , was manufactured in different sizes, from the 10-pounder Parrott rifle up to the rare 300-pounder. The 10- and 20-pounder Parrott rifles were used by both armies in the field. The smaller size was much more prevalent; it was made in two bore sizes, 2.9-inch (74 mm) and 3.0-inch (76 mm). Confederate forces used both bore sizes during

3813-451: The Whitworth gun fired 10 shots with a lateral deviation of only 5 inches." This degree of accuracy made it effective in counter-battery fire, used almost as the equivalent of a sharpshooter's rifle, and also for firing over bodies of water. It was not popular as an anti-infantry weapon. It had a caliber of 2.75 inches (70 mm). The bore was hexagonal in cross-section, and the projectile was

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3906-516: The best gun for all round field service then made. They fired solid shot, shell, grape and canister, and were accurate at a mile. We would not have exchanged them for Parrott Rifles , or any other style of guns. They were beautiful, perfectly plain, tapering gracefully from muzzle to "reinforce" or "butt," without rings, or ornaments of any kind. We are proud of them and felt towards them almost as if they were human..." Howitzers were short-barreled guns that were optimized for firing explosive shells in

3999-468: The breech. The Confederacy also developed a 2-inch bore five shot machine cannon during the war. It was used in the siege of Petersburg , Va., and was later captured on 27 April 1865, at Danville, Va., by Union troops and sent to the Ordnance Laboratory, United States Military Academy , West Point, N.Y. The weapon uses the principle of the service revolver whereby rotation of the cylinder indexes

4092-442: The bronze rifling wore out rapidly, and the James rifles and projectiles soon fell out of favor. No James rifles are known to have been produced after 1862. The total numbers of James rifles are uncertain, but the 1862 Ohio Quartermaster General annual report recorded 82 rifled bronze pieces (44 of those specified as "3.80 bore [James rifles]") out of a total of 162 of all field artillery types. Unusual or out-of-favor types migrated to

4185-438: The case was loaded with lead or iron balls and was designed to burst above and before the enemy line, showering down many more small but destructive projectiles on the enemy. The effect was analogous to a weaker version of canister. With case the lethality of the balls and fragments came from the velocity of the projectile itself – the small burst charge only fragmented the case and dispersed the shrapnel. The spherical case used in

4278-566: The city; 2) the Leningrad Naval Base comprises all naval facilities in the greater St. Petersburg area including training schools, commissioning institutes, the naval academy, and the Kronshtadt base on Kotlin island. An overseas military base is a military base that is geographically located outside of the territory of the country whose armed forces are the principal occupants of the base. Such bases may be established by treaties between

4371-637: The depth and range of its effect on land or water while bolts tended to dig in rather than ricochet. The most pervasive piece of artillery equipment was the horse. The caisson was a two-wheeled carriage. It carried two ammunition chests and a spare wheel. A fully loaded limber and caisson combination weighed 3,811 pounds (1728.6 kg). The gun carriages, caissons and limbers were all constructed of oak . Each ammunition chest typically carried about 500 pounds (226.8 kg) of ammunition or supplies. In addition to these vehicles, there were also battery supply wagons and portable forges that were used to service

4464-475: The end of the war. Smoothbore field artillery of the day fit into two role-based categories: guns and howitzers. Further classifications of the weapons were made based on the type of metal used, typically bronze or iron (cast or wrought), although some examples of steel were produced. Additionally, the artillery was often identified by the year of design in the Ordnance department references. The smoothbore artillery

4557-405: The equivalent of a four-wheeled vehicle, which distributed the load over two axles but was easier to maneuver on rough terrain than a four-wheeled wagon. The combination of a Napoleon gun and a packed limber weighed 3,865 pounds (1,753.1 kg). The above diagram shows the typical gun crew of a Civil War cannon. Each cannoneer was numbered and played an important role in the firing sequence when

4650-574: The estate and began to use it as a burial ground for Union Army dead (see Arlington National Cemetery ), to house freed slaves (Freedmen's Village), and for military purposes, including the Civil War defenses of Washington (see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War ). Shortly after the Union Army's rout at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Army constructed in August 1861

4743-577: The exception of the Far Western theatre of the war (e.g. Halls Battery at the Battle of Valverde in New Mexico ), Federals did not use 24-pounder howitzers in field. The 24- and 32-pounders were more widely used in fixed fortifications, but at least one of the later large weapons was with the 1st Connecticut Artillery as late as 1864. Finally, the lesser-known but highly mobile 12-pound M1841 mountain howitzer saw service with infantry and cavalry forces in

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4836-405: The explosive types of ordnance. With solid projectiles, accuracy was the paramount consideration, and they also caused more tube wear than their explosive counterparts. While rifled cannon had much greater accuracy on average than smoothbores, the smoothbores had an advantage firing round shot relative to the bolts fired from rifled pieces. Round shot could be employed in ricochet fire , extending

4929-485: The following table. There were two general types of artillery weapons used during the Civil War : smoothbores and rifles . Smoothbores included howitzers and guns . Smoothbore artillery refers to weapons that are not rifled. At the time of the Civil War, metallurgy and other supporting technologies had just recently evolved to a point allowing the large scale production of rifled field artillery. As such, many smoothbore weapons were still in use and production even at

5022-618: The following: Fort Cass, Maj. N. Shatswell commanding. –Garrison, two companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery—8 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 220 men. Armament, three 6-pounder field guns (smooth), five 20-pounder Parrotts (rifled) , three 24-pounder siege guns (smooth) , one 24-pounder F. D. howitzer (smooth) , one 24-pounder Coehorn mortar . Magazines , two; dry and in good condition. Ammunition, full supply, well packed and in serviceable condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for

5115-670: The following: Fort Whipple, Major Rolfe commanding. –Garrison, three companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– l major, 13 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 414 men. Armament, six 12-pounder field guns (smooth) , four 12-pounder field howitzers (smooth) , eight 12-pounder James guns (rifled) , eleven 4.5-inch ordnance Magazines, four; two not in a serviceable condition. Ammunition, full supply; good condition. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient; interior work. The Civil War ended in 1865. Fort Whipple, with its fortifications abandoned, then became

5208-446: The fort after Brevet Major General Amiel Weeks Whipple , who died in May 1863 of wounds received during the Battle of Chancellorsville . The fort was considered to be one of the strongest fortifications erected for the defense of Washington during the Civil War. It had a perimeter of 658 yards and places for 43 guns. The May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery noted

5301-414: The governing power in the host country and another country which needs to establish the military base in the host country for various reasons, usually strategic and logistic. Furthermore, overseas military bases often serve as the source of the military brat subculture due to the children of the bases' occupant military being born or raised in the host country but raised with a remote parental knowledge of

5394-605: The gunner got rattled." The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery converted to the 3-inch Rifle on 5 March 1864; they were described as "3-inch Rodman's guns" in an 11 Nov. 1864 letter from 1st Lieutenant Henry S. Hurter to the Minnesota Adjutant General. The 1st Minnesota Light Artillery took part in the Atlanta Campaign . It was retained in service after the war, with many converted to breechloading weapons as 3.2-inch converted rifles or 3-inch saluting guns. It

5487-440: The guns. Horses were used to pull the cannon and ammunition. On average, each horse pulled about 700 pounds (317.5 kg). Each gun in a battery used two six-horse teams (for normal field artillery ; heavier guns required much larger teams): one team pulled a limber that attached to the trail of the gun to form a four-wheeled wagon of sorts; the other pulled a limber that attached to a caisson. The large number of horses posed

5580-474: The home of the Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers, established in 1869. On February 4, 1881, the Army post containing Fort Whipple was renamed Fort Myer as an honor to Brigadier General Albert J. Myer , who had commanded the newly established Signal School of Instruction for Army and Navy Officers from 1869 until he died in August 1880. Since then, the post has been a Signal Corps post,

5673-564: The land that Fort Myer would eventually occupy was part of the Arlington estate, which Mary Anna Custis Lee , the wife of Robert E. Lee , owned and at which Lee resided when not stationed elsewhere (see Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial ). When the Civil War began, the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the United States, Lee resigned his commission, and he and his wife left the estate. The United States Government then confiscated

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5766-448: The lives of wounded men. The term " horse artillery " refers to the faster moving artillery batteries that typically supported cavalry regiments. The term "flying artillery" is sometimes used as well. In such batteries, the artillerymen were all mounted, in contrast to batteries in which the artillerymen walked alongside their guns (although regular artillerymen would sometimes jump onto the backs of their team when rapid battlefield movement

5859-442: The location of the first aviation fatality, as Lt. Thomas Selfridge was killed when on a demonstration flight with Orville, at an altitude of about 100 feet (30 m), a propeller split, sending the aircraft out of control. Selfridge suffered a concussion in the crash and later died, the first person to die in powered fixed-wing aircraft. Orville was badly injured, suffering broken ribs and a leg. Quarters One on Fort Myer, which

5952-750: The occupant military's home country. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Royal Engineers were largely responsible for erecting military bases in the British Isles and the British Empire. In 1792 the Chief Engineer was instructed to prepare the Barrack Construction estimates for Parliament and at the same time the Department of the Barrackmaster-General was established. During the period from

6045-456: The one battery using them was soon rearmed with 3-inch Ordnance rifles. The 12-pounder Blakely rifle had a particularly violent recoil and fell out of favor. Ammunition came in wide varieties, designed to attack specific targets. A typical Union artillery battery (armed with six 12-pounder Napoleons) carried the following ammunition going into battle: 288 solid shot, 96 shells, 288 spherical case rounds, and 96 canister rounds. Canister shot

6138-406: The open, although shell and canister were acceptable for use. The barrels of the guns were longer than corresponding howitzers, and called for higher powder charges to achieve the desired performance. Field guns were produced in 6-pounder (3.67 inch bore), 9-pounder (4.2 inch bore), and 12-pounder (4.62 inch bore) versions. Although some older iron weapons were pressed into service, and

6231-564: The order "Commence fire" was given: The Union Army entered the war with a strong advantage in artillery. It had ample manufacturing capacity in Northern factories, and it had a well-trained and professional officer corps manning that branch of the service. Brig. Gen. Henry J. Hunt, who was the chief of artillery for the Army of the Potomac for part of the war, was well recognized as a most efficient organizer of artillery forces, and he had few peers in

6324-406: The practice of the sciences of gunnery and logistics. Another example was John Gibbon , the author of the influential Artillerist's Manual published in 1863 (although Gibbon would achieve considerably more fame as an infantry general during the war). Shortly after the outbreak of war, Brig. Gen. James Wolfe Ripley , Chief of Ordnance, ordered the conversion of old smoothbores into rifled cannon and

6417-544: The projectile was seen as a shortcoming of this weapon. Six pounder guns had mostly disappeared from the Union armies by 1863 but the Confederates continued using them until the end of the war. The larger 9-pounders and 12-pounders were less well represented. While the 9-pounder was still listed on Ordnance and Artillery manuals in 1861, very few were ever produced after the War of 1812 . Nine-pounders were universally gone well before

6510-421: The public and usually only authorized personnel may enter them (be it military personnel or their relatives and authorized civilian personnel). In addition to the main military facilities on a certain installation, military bases usually (but not always) have various different facilities for military personnel. These facilities vary from country to country. Military bases can provide housing for military personnel,

6603-488: The rapid expansions of both combatant armies, mass introduction of rifled artillery, and the versatility of the 12-pounder "Napoleon" class of weapons all contributed to a change in the mixed battery practices. The twelve-pound cannon "Napoleon" was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the war. It was named after Napoleon III of France and was widely admired because of its safety, reliability, and killing power, especially at close range. In Union Ordnance manuals it

6696-430: The revolving of the cylinder. The lever when brought to the left as far as possible and swung to the right as much as the frame will permit turns the cylinder one fifth of a revolution and indexes the loaded chamber. Its use at this time showed the serious effort of the Confederacy to develop a weapon capable of sustained fire. Even before the start of the Civil War, an ordnance board recommended that rifling be added to

6789-590: The rugged western theaters and prairies, and continued in service during the Indian Wars . This versatile piece could utilize one of two carriages: a small carriage that could be drawn by a single animal or could be rapidly broken down to carry on the backs of pack animals , or a slightly larger prairie carriage to be drawn by two animals. A veteran of the Mexican–American War , several hundred more of these diminutive tubes were produced by Union foundries during

6882-454: The six needed for lighter guns, and the long range shells were of questionable reliability. The Whitworth, designed by Joseph Whitworth and manufactured in England, was a rare gun during the war but an interesting precursor to modern artillery in that it was loaded from the breech and had exceptional accuracy over great distance. An engineering magazine wrote in 1864 that, "At 1600 yards [1500 m]

6975-404: The six-horse teams of the lighter guns. A small quantity of 12-pounder field guns were rifled early in the war, but these were more experimental weapons, and no field service is recorded. By far the most popular of the smoothbore cannon was the 12-pounder model of 1857, Light, commonly called "Napoleon". The Model 1857 was of lighter weight than the previous 12-pounder guns, and could be pulled by

7068-411: The start of the war. Six-pounder bronze guns could be rifled to fire the projectiles invented by Charles Tillinghast James . Some were simply rifled from their initial 3.67" bore, others were reamed to 3.80" then rifled. Reaming to 3.80" was preferred to eliminate wear deformities from service. Contemporaries often failed to differentiate between the two bore sizes. However, the effective descriptions for

7161-555: The station's radio towers, "The Three Sisters", transmitted to Paris the first wireless communication that crossed the Atlantic Ocean . During World War I , Fort Myer was a staging area for a large number of engineering , artillery , and chemical companies and regiments. The area of Fort Myer now occupied by Andrew Rader Health Clinic and the Commissary were made into a trench-system training grounds where French officers taught

7254-451: The summer of 1861 and none were delivered until late in the year. Parrotts were manufactured with a combination of cast iron and wrought iron. Cast iron improved the accuracy of the gun, but was brittle enough to suffer fractures. On the Parrott, a large reinforcing band made of tougher wrought iron was overlaid on the breech. The Parrott, while accurate, had a poor reputation for safety, and it

7347-462: The territory surrounding it. The name used generally refers to the type of military activity that takes place at the base, as well as the traditional nomenclature used by a branch of service. A military base may go by any of a number of names, such as the following: Depending on the context, the term "military base" may refer to any establishment (usually permanent) that houses a nation's armed forces , or even organized paramilitary forces such as

7440-473: The war, and surviving examples exist of imported Austrian types of this caliber used by the Confederates. The M1841 24-pounder howitzers found use in the "reserve" batteries of the respective armies, but were gradually replaced over time with heavy rifled guns. The only known 24-pounders in use by the Army of Northern Virginia were in Woolfolk's Batteries (later Battalion) with two batteries of 4 pieces each. With

7533-414: The war, which added to the complication of supplying the appropriate ammunition to its batteries. Until 1864, Union batteries used only the 2.9 inch Parrott, but they also employed 3" Ordnance rifles. During the first day of the battle of Gettysburg , three Parrott rifles were temporarily unusable when 3" ammunition was mistakenly issued to the battery. Following this, plans were made to re-bore all of

7626-565: The work. Although the Army abandoned the lunette in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, the United States War Department continued to control its property. Following the Union Army's defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in August 1862, the Army constructed Fort Whipple on the grounds of the former Arlington estate during the spring of 1863. The fort was located a short distance southeast of Fort Cass. The Army named

7719-417: Was "double canister", generally used only in dire circumstances at extremely close range, where two containers of balls were fired simultaneously using the regular single powder charge. Case (or "spherical case" for smoothbores) were antipersonnel projectiles carrying a smaller burst charge than shell, but designed to be more effective against exposed troops. While the shell produced only a few large fragments,

7812-588: Was a solid projectile that included no explosive charge. For a smoothbore, the projectile was a round "cannonball". For a rifled gun, the projectile was referred to as a bolt and had a cylindrical shape. In both cases, the projectile was used to impart kinetic energy for a battering effect, particularly effective for destroying enemy guns, limbers, caissons, and wagons. It was also effective for mowing down columns of infantry and cavalry and had psychological effects against its targets. Despite its effectiveness, many artillerymen were reluctant to use solid shot, preferring

7905-490: Was also categorized by the bore dimensions, based on the rough weight of the solid shot projectile fired from the weapon. For instance a 12-pounder field gun fired a 12-pound solid shot projectile from its 4.62-inch (117 mm) diameter bore. It was practice, dating back to the 18th century, to mix gun and howitzers into batteries. Pre-war allocations called for 6-pounder field guns matched with 12-pounder howitzers, 9 and 12-pounder field guns matched with 24-pounder howitzers. But

7998-426: Was applied to specific rifled projectiles as well. Spherical shell used time fuses , while rifled shell could use timed fuse or be detonated on impact by percussion fuse. Fuse reliability was a concern; any shell that buried itself into the earth before detonating had little anti-personnel effectiveness. However, large caliber shells, such as the 32-pounder spherical, were effective at breaching entrenchments. Shot

8091-399: Was eventually replaced by the 3.2-inch gun M1885 . The Confederates were unable to manufacture the wrought iron barrels for the 3" rifle, thus captured ones were prized items. Despite the effectiveness of this weapon, the Confederacy did produce various bronze 3" rifles and cast iron pieces with a straight tube; however, none of them were reliable and the latter were often prone to bursting at

8184-577: Was originally built as the garrison commander's quarters, has been the home of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army since 1908 when Major General J. Franklin Bell took up residence. It has been the home of every succeeding Chief of Staff, except for General John J. Pershing . The United States Navy established the nation's first radio telecommunications station, NAA , near Fort Myer in 1913. In 1915,

8277-956: Was referred to as the "light 12-pounder gun" to distinguish it from the heavier and longer 12-pounder gun (which was virtually unused in field service.) It did not reach America until 1857. It was the last cast bronze gun used by an American army. The Federal version of the Napoleon can be recognized by the flared front end of the barrel, called the muzzle-swell. It was, however, relatively heavy compared to other artillery pieces and difficult to move across rough terrain. Confederate Napoleons were produced in at least six variations, most of which had straight muzzles, but at least eight catalogued survivors of 133 identified have muzzle swells. Additionally, four iron Confederate Napoleons produced by Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond have been identified, of an estimated 125 cast. In early 1863 Robert E. Lee sent nearly all of

8370-413: Was required, and they typically rode upon the limbers, caissons or supply wagons while on the march). A prominent organization of such artillery in the Union Army was the U.S. Horse Artillery Brigade . The limber was a two-wheeled carriage that carried an ammunition chest. It was connected directly behind the team of six horses and towed either a gun or a caisson. In either case, the combination provided

8463-410: Was shunned by many artillerymen. The 20-pounder was the largest field gun used during the war, with the barrel alone weighing over 1,800 pounds (800 kg). After the Battle of Fredericksburg , the Army of the Potomac's chief of artillery Henry J. Hunt attempted to have the 20-pounder Parrott removed from the army's inventory, arguing that its enormous weight required a team of eight horses instead of

8556-477: Was that it typically produced only a few large fragments, the count increasing with caliber of the shell. A Confederate mid-war innovation was the "polygonal cavity" or "segmented" shell which used a polyhedral cavity core to create lines of weakness in the shell wall (similar to the later fragmentation grenade ) that would yield more regular fragmentation patterns—typically twelve similarly sized fragments. While segmented designs were most common in spherical shell, it

8649-423: Was the deadliest type of ammunition, consisting of a thin metal container containing layers of lead or iron balls packed in sawdust. Upon exiting the muzzle, the container disintegrated, and the balls fanned out as the equivalent of a very large shotgun blast. The effective range of the canister was only 400 yards (370 m), but within that range dozens of enemy infantrymen could be mowed down. Even more devastating

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