r/CIVILWAR • u/JohnathanLocksmith • 16h ago
How did artillery batteries ACTUALLY work?
Greetings! I am a history lover who has recently become super interested in the Civil War.
As a little hobby of mine, I am trying to build a historically-accurate 3D diorama of the Battle of Gettysburg on my computer.
To cut to the chase, I have done some limited research on how cannons and artillery batteries worked during the time, but I am just having a lot of trouble adding it to my model.
This is going to sound so stupid but like, what did it LOOK like!?
I am going to quickly list what I "know" so far, and then explain why I am having a hard time grasping it (again, please remember I am not an expert whatsoever):
- a 6-gun artillery battery was essentially a little tiny rolling factory.
- It required anywhere from 90 to 150 men to support (including an 8 or 9 man team to operate each cannon, some men to drive/tend the horse teams, men to command, men to spot, men to work the forge, men to run ammo, men to run orders, etc)
- These guns could theoretically have an effective range of up to 1500 yards given the correct barrel and/or ammo type
So again my big question is like. . . what the hell did this look like?!? Where did all of these horses stand?? Did they put them all together like a parking lot? Did they just get scattered about the rear area wherever the drivers felt was good? Where did the battery commander stand?? How did they relay messages and direct fire? Did they throw up any improvised breastworks? How on Earth did Cemetery Hill, Culp's Hill, Big Round Top, and Little Round Top have enough room to accommodate all of the necessary infrastructure to keep their guns firing? It seems INSANE given the amount of guns present and the amount of men/horses required for each gun.
Sorry if this was long. Any help would be appreciated!
If you want see the prototype of the diorama I'm trying to make, an early version is free right now at this link: https://thebattleatlas.com/