Civil war.. did the confederate army have cannons?

Question

My son insists that his teacher told him that one side of the armies did not have cannons. I don't remember ever hearing that. Does anyone know for sure???

Answer 1

both sides had cannon, although the confederates had significantly fewer.
the misconception comes easily, because the south only had one major producer of cannon, tredegar iron works in VA. also, the lack of materials, iron foundries, and factories was one of the main causes of the fall of the confederate states.

Answer 2

The South had plenty of cannons. The favorite was the 12 pound Napoleon which was made of brass and had a smooth bore.

http://members.tripod.com/~ProlificPains/arty.htm

The Model 1857 Gun Howitzer (Napoleon) was the most popular, common, and deadly field piece of the Civil War. The barrel was of bronze and smooth-bored designed originally in France. A Napoleon fired a 12.3 lb projectile and had a maximum effective range of about 1,600 yards. The barrel with its carriage weighed 2,445 pounds, light enough to be hauled by men for short distances, however, the usual method of transportation was by a six-horse team with a driver aside one of each pair of horses. Union Napoleons had a slight swell at the muzzle of the 4.62 inch bore. Confederate made pieces were generally tapered and some had a band-reinforced breech. Artillerymen favored Napoleons because their bronze barrels were stronger and safer than those made of iron -- thus there was less chance the gun would burst during firing killing or wounding the crew. A Napoleon was able to fire all of the four basic types of ammunition. The solid shot, shell, and case rounds were all spherical and were used against enemies at distances greater than 600 yards. For shorter distances the gun was loaded with canister, which turned it into a giant shotgun with lethal effects. The most accurate shot ever fired by a Napoleon was most likely made on Dec 13, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Confederate MAJ Braxton and LT Marye fired solid shot at a Union color bearer almost 1,600 yards away. Their first shot killed the man beside the color bearer, the second was a direct hit.

Answer 3

maybe your son heard wrong or maybe his teacher is an idiot. The Confederate Army most certainly had cannons. If any doubt remains, take a vacation and go visit Sumter South Carolina, the site of Fort Sumter, which was the first battle of the Civil War

Answer 4

Just watch the movie Glory, it is based on history and shows the Confederacy and Union having cannons in the movie. Plus if you go to a library or book store, you can open up and book on the civil war and verify this.

Answer 5

Yes, the Confederates had cannon. David Alexander Porter was Robert E. Lee's colonel of artillery.

Answer 6

They had so many cannon it was unreasonable, distictly similar to the rest of the era...crazy. Without cannon they would have stood no chance against the north as they were a key to "modern" warfare at the time. He who abused his cannon better tended to win, like Napolean smacking all of Europe upside the head.

Answer 7

Yes the South had cannons. Robert E. Lee used a lot of them at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Answer 8

hi. I'm in the 8th grade and learning about the entire civil war. and it just so happens that i have to do a project on the civil war as well. and i have come to find out that both sides- the confederacy and union-. both had cannons.

Answer 9

Yes they had cannons...

But...

His teacher might have been saying that in a certain battle the confederates didn't have cannons...

Answer 10

Yes