Civil War Cannonballs

Sling shot ammunition (BB's) work well for spherical item of similar size as cannonballs.  If the BB's are too large for your taste, you might try buckshot.  

Tom

I have some plastic cannon ball stacks I bought a while back. They are 1:32, and are for 6 lb British cannons, but should scale out about right for some of the larger Civil War field guns. Shoot me an email if you are interested.

Are you depicting field or siege/garrison artillery?  Smoothbore or rifled?

Smoothbore field artillery was mostly 6 lb or 12 lb.  6 lb shot/shell/case were about 3 5/8" in diameter; 12 lb about 4 and 5/8".  Canister projectiles were cylinders 10" to 12" or so long.  HOWEVER:  in the field, you would not see stacks of these projectiles next to the guns or howitzers.  The ammunition was issued fixed--strapped or nailed to wooden sabots with the powder bags tied to them as well.  They were stored in the ammunition chests until inserted into the bores.  One chest was on the limber several yards behind the gun and two more were on the caisson (with a fourth on the caisson's limber) further away (2 limbers plus one caisson per gun).

Rifled guns used conical shot/shell/case (or some other odd shapes in come cases) thought their canister was cylindrical.  Because of the rifling, these projectiles were generally not fixed to the powder, but they were still all stored in the chests.

Siege/Garrison artillery often did have projectiles stacked about them with the powder carried separately from the magazine nearby as needed.  These projectiles were usually 24, 30, or 32 lb and commensurately bigger.

Stands of grapeshot would be possible for siege/garrison guns, but it was all but obsolete in the field during the war.  If any turned up, it would have been small quantities, early in the war, and almost certainly Confederate.  It was much more common at sea.  (Don't be fooled by the formulaic "The battery swept the field with grape and canister" that is often reported, especially in the newspapers; that phrase had no more literal meaning than "Give them the cold steel" or "The Chivalry of the South" [referring to Southern troops].)  For the big guns, grape can be simulated with tiny birdshot blued between small circles of car, plastic, or brass.

Thanks for all of your responses.  I have a pair of SMR flatcars with 2 smooth bores on each car.  I was thinking of placing a stack or two  of cannonballs along side of them.  Most assuredly not prototypical,but there would be a given effect.  I may just place a couple of crates and be done with it.

Norm 

palallin posted:

Are you depicting field or siege/garrison artillery?  Smoothbore or rifled?

Smoothbore field artillery was mostly 6 lb or 12 lb.  6 lb shot/shell/case were about 3 5/8" in diameter; 12 lb about 4 and 5/8".  Canister projectiles were cylinders 10" to 12" or so long.  HOWEVER:  in the field, you would not see stacks of these projectiles next to the guns or howitzers.  The ammunition was issued fixed--strapped or nailed to wooden sabots with the powder bags tied to them as well.  They were stored in the ammunition chests until inserted into the bores.  One chest was on the limber several yards behind the gun and two more were on the caisson (with a fourth on the caisson's limber) further away (2 limbers plus one caisson per gun).

Rifled guns used conical shot/shell/case (or some other odd shapes in come cases) thought their canister was cylindrical.  Because of the rifling, these projectiles were generally not fixed to the powder, but they were still all stored in the chests.

Siege/Garrison artillery often did have projectiles stacked about them with the powder carried separately from the magazine nearby as needed.  These projectiles were usually 24, 30, or 32 lb and commensurately bigger.

Stands of grapeshot would be possible for siege/garrison guns, but it was all but obsolete in the field during the war.  If any turned up, it would have been small quantities, early in the war, and almost certainly Confederate.  It was much more common at sea.  (Don't be fooled by the formulaic "The battery swept the field with grape and canister" that is often reported, especially in the newspapers; that phrase had no more literal meaning than "Give them the cold steel" or "The Chivalry of the South" [referring to Southern troops].)  For the big guns, grape can be simulated with tiny birdshot blued between small circles of car, plastic, or brass.

 

 

Make me want to put a model 20 inch Rodman on my layout. Have seen both of them up close BTW