reelinron wrote:
Pics good here.
Embarrassed to show my lack of knowledge here, but I ask anyway.
Were cannonballs used to knock down infrastructure or kill soldiers? It seems like a lot of resources to kill individual soldiers.
Also, did they shoot exploding shells through those old cannons?
Thanks, ron
Ron,
Field cannons were used against troops. In those days, troops marched in tight formation and cannon shot of any kind could do a lot of damage. A cannon ball, for instance, had enough momentum to continue going long after it hit the front line. Grape shot and cannister spread out like a shotgun blast.
In the late 1780's, an English Lieutenant named Shrapnel, developed a fuse system that allowed cannon balls to explode over troops. They were filled with musket balls.
Naval guns used solid shot aimed at the waterline of enemy ships. They also used chain shot, bar shot, expanding bar shot, jointed bar shot and star shot. This was aimed at sails and rigging. A ship that cold not maneuver did not stand a very good chance of winning.
Grape shot swept the decks of personnel rapidly.
Here are some samples of that stuff.
Zulu
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