Usage of Cannister Rounds

Here we solicit numbers from members concerning anything regarding historical numbers that affect a Civil War simulation: hit rates, rates of fire, casualty rates, movement rates, you name it. The idea is that we're really trying to get the numbers for the game right.

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Kerflumoxed
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Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Kerflumoxed »

While much has been discussed regarding the use of cannister, little has been included regarding the composition of cannister. Here are a few facts that, hopefully, some might find interesting.

From the website Civil War Artillery: Canister was a cylinder filled with balls packed in sawdust; when the gun was fired, the cylinder disintegrated and the balls fanned out as if from a giant shotgun. The 12-pound Napoleon had a charge of 27 one and a half inch iron balls; 12-pound howitzer had 48...Rifled guns could shoot canister, but it was said that the rifling gave a twist to the shot which made it spread in an erratic spiral. Later designs of rifled cannister had a rigid iron container for the balls which would not spread into the rifling to try and keep the pattern form spiraling. There was also a design which had a charge in the canister which went off after the round left the tube, adding to the range of the balls.

Of course, this data may not be reflected in the game. In theory, the cannister from the Howitzer should inflict heavier casualties then the Napoleon simply because of the number of balls in each round as should the increase of firng double cannister. Incidentally, for the record, both the Napoleon and the 12 pound Howitzer had a 4.62 bore.

J.
Jack Hanger
Fremont, NE
[/size]
"Boys, if we have to stand in a straight line as stationary targets for the Yankees to shoot at, this old Texas Brigade is going to run like hell!" J. B. Poley, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade
Kerflumoxed
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Kerflumoxed »

Quote from a search on Cannister on the web:

Artillery, Arms & Ammunition
Canister "Giant Shotguns"

"The enemy fell like grass before the mower." "It seemed as if whole companies were wiped out of existence." These quotes from Civil War soldiers are typical descriptions of the effect of canister rounds fired from cannons. A canister round was a thin-walled metal cylinder packed with musket balls, or large lead or iron balls, and sawdust. Some canister rounds that have been found were packed with nails, pieces of hinges, and other scrap metal. A wooden block, or "sabot", was attached to the bottom of the canister. The sabot helped to keep the round in the middle of the bore and also prevented the explosion gases from shooting out around the sides of the canister. Attached to the bottom of the sabot was the cloth bag that contained the propellant powder that set off the round. When the powder was set off, the force of the explosion would disrupt the can and the shot would spray out of the muzzle of the cannon with murderous effect.

Canister rounds were the smoothbore canon's most lethal load and probably killed more Civil War soldiers than all other types of artillery rounds combined. Canister was effective only at short range, 600 yards or less, but like the blast from a giant sawed-off shotgun, the mass of slugs from the round would spread out and decimate anything downrange. When the enemy was within 150 yards, soldiers would load the guns with two or even three rounds of canister and fire them all off at one time.

The carnage would be gruesome. Attackers could increase the range of the canister by firing into hard or rocky ground, from which the slugs would ricochet into the mass of men. Union Gen. Alpheus Williams described the effect: "The Rebels followed with a yell but three or four of our batteries being in position they were received with a tornado of canister. Each canister contains several hundred balls. They fell in the very front of the line... stirring up a dust like a thick cloud. When the dust blew away no regiment and not a living man was to be seen."

J
Jack Hanger
Fremont, NE
[/size]
"Boys, if we have to stand in a straight line as stationary targets for the Yankees to shoot at, this old Texas Brigade is going to run like hell!" J. B. Poley, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade
Jim
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Jim »

The number of shot per canister is explicitly listed. The count in the file is lower than the actual number to account for the non-uniform distribution of the shot in the overall hit pattern. The howitzers have double the shot count of Napoleons. It is rather expensive to charge a battery of howitzers.

-Jim
"My God, if we've not got a cool brain and a big one too, to manage this affair, the nation is ruined forever." Unknown private, 14th Vermont, 2 July 1863
Kerflumoxed
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Kerflumoxed »

Jim wrote:
The number of shot per canister is explicitly listed. The count in the file is lower than the actual number to account for the non-uniform distribution of the shot in the overall hit pattern. The howitzers have double the shot count of Napoleons. It is rather expensive to charge a battery of howitzers.

-Jim
Hi Jim,

Yes, indeed, charging a howitzer is expensive...just as a Nap should be with double-cannister! :P

I'm not sure where to find the number of shot per cannister. Please point me in the right direction.

Thanks!

J
Jack Hanger
Fremont, NE
[/size]
"Boys, if we have to stand in a straight line as stationary targets for the Yankees to shoot at, this old Texas Brigade is going to run like hell!" J. B. Poley, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade
Jim
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Jim »

Jack,
In the SDK, in the logistics folder, the file is munitions.csv.


-Jim
"My God, if we've not got a cool brain and a big one too, to manage this affair, the nation is ruined forever." Unknown private, 14th Vermont, 2 July 1863
Kerflumoxed
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Kerflumoxed »

Jim wrote:
Jack,
In the SDK, in the logistics folder, the file is munitions.csv.


-Jim
Helpful as always! Thanks, Jim.

J
Jack Hanger
Fremont, NE
[/size]
"Boys, if we have to stand in a straight line as stationary targets for the Yankees to shoot at, this old Texas Brigade is going to run like hell!" J. B. Poley, 4th Texas Infantry, Hood's Texas Brigade
Willard
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Re:Usage of Cannister Rounds

Post by Willard »

Remember that firing from the open into infantry in the woods OR firing from the woods into infantry in the woods will decrease the effectiveness/amount of rounds on target.

I am done some minimal testing and on average it reduces canister kills by a minimum of 1/3 to 1/2 depending upon various factors.

Open field results are quite different as you would expect - especially if your guns are in an elevated position with the high ground bonus.
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