bravesastros
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Was steel ever used to make canister shot in the Civil War by any chance ?
Ben
Ben
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Steel Canister Shot
- Thread starter bravesastros
- Start date
raymond isbell
Established Users
Yes Steel and lead of different sizes
Raymond
Raymond
Bravesastros wrote:
>Was steel ever used to make canister shot in the Civil War by any chance ?
I'm the co-author of the book "Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War". None of my research has turned up even a single instance of steel being used for Canister balls in the civil war. At that time, steel was still difficult (and thus expensive) to produce. Therefore it was not wasted on items for which simple cast-iron would be sufficient. For example, whereas steel was greatly superior for punching a hole in a Monitor-class ironclad warship, you don't need steel balls to punch a hole in a human body ...plain old inexpensive cast-iron worked just fine for that.
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
>Was steel ever used to make canister shot in the Civil War by any chance ?
I'm the co-author of the book "Field Artillery Projectiles of the American Civil War". None of my research has turned up even a single instance of steel being used for Canister balls in the civil war. At that time, steel was still difficult (and thus expensive) to produce. Therefore it was not wasted on items for which simple cast-iron would be sufficient. For example, whereas steel was greatly superior for punching a hole in a Monitor-class ironclad warship, you don't need steel balls to punch a hole in a human body ...plain old inexpensive cast-iron worked just fine for that.
Regards,
Pete [P.C. George]
Yes iron was used in cannister shot not steel; furthermore, it was used by Captain Eli Lilly's battery against C.S.A. General Martin's Alabama Regiment as they tried to cross the railroad tracks at The Battle of Mossy Creek Tn. Lilly fired triple loads of cannister onto them in rapid succession. These iron slugs ripped thru the corn stalks and any soilder alike. Eventhough much of the field is gone to industry or relic hunters, these steel balls are still found from time to time.Scott
scottfromgeorgia
Established Users
I think the question was about steel. Cast iron and steel are two different materials. As Pete said, steel is more costly and did not come into widespread use until later in the 19th century.