Double ramming the rifled gun

[Ferguson's Artillery]

I am interested to know how many of the units represented on this forum employ the rammer twice during the loading sequence for a rifled piece. While my unit does it routinely, simulating the separate loading and ramming of the usual "unfixed" cartridge and projectile for our 10 lb Parrott, I rarely see it from other units. Why is this not more generally known and practiced? Are we not setting a good example for units which might not subscribe to this forum?I submitted a Letter to the Editor in the recent (Vol. 34, No. 4, Fall 2013) issue of The Artilleryman magazine addressing this issue, and I'm eager to see what response it receives. If your unit serves a rifled piece and you don't ram twice during the loading sequence, I'd like to know your reasons.

Chris Rucker
Ferguson's (SC) Artillery Company

[faabala]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Last Saturday 5 NC batteries came together to form a new North Carolina Artillery Battalion. Using authentic drill is one of our major goals. We hope to dump the farby NCWAA drill. We also spoke about our rifled guns double ramming as they should. Some units are doing it and all of them should. We are going to strive to improve our on field conduct, act as a cohesive unit and hopefully improve the individual impressions (that might be the biggest hurdle).

[Pennvolunteer]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

David - Here! Here!... let's all work to drive a stake in the heart of NCWAA drill! I have approached some in the Oklahoma Historical Society to adopt NPS drill as the only acceptable drill at state historic sites to start killing off NCWAA. We'll see if I get anywhere.

[Ferguson's Artillery]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Bravo! We certified in NCWAA because we feared that it would be required at the big sesquicentennial events, and we wanted to have "the card" so as not to be shut out. As it turned out, thankfully, no event asked that units be certified, we never had to do the ridiculous drill, and we will never recertify. David, I look forward to hearing more about the NC Battalion; it sounds like what I'd like to see happen here in SC.

[faabala]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

All the crews are on board. We are lobbying hard for a basic NPS drill. The only push back may be from event organizers and the umbrella groups that don't know any better and use the NCWAA standards as "default".

Our battery is the "Campaigner" section of the Battalion. My devious plan is to lead by example and be extra helpful with my research and try to win over the youngsters and slowly improve the material culture of the whole group.

[marine05]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

We do, because it is proper. NPS has asked us to not do it especially when we are with a mixed gun battery as we were for the 150th Gettysburg, 3 Parrots, 3 12pounders. We ram the blank charge on the second ram. We realized a few years ago that the typical "Niagra" drill, where people are certified, was not historically correct and we regularly train with the 1864 manual. Only three commands, load, ready, fire.

[Silas]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Could you provide links to the NCWAA and NPS artillery drill? Neither is practiced in my primary reenacting region of the Pacific Nor'west where artillery rules are filled with layer upon layer of well intentioned safety fixes. I'd like to compare local rules with these two standards.

[rmilstead]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Guys,
I have a PDF version of the NPS Manual. If there is some way to post it here, I can. It is 23 pages long.
Hardaway's has been using the basic NPS in N-SSA competition for some years with a few modifications required by their safety rules. We are among the few that even try to do so in that venue but it is possible to stay close even there.
Dick Milstead
Hardaway's Alabama Battery
The Company of Military Historians

[Coatsy]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Mr. Milstead, if you wish to email the pdf file to me hcoats007@gmail.com, I'll make sure the file gets placed on the AC.


Thank you!

[10TnVI]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Gentllemen- Having perused several period manuals, I have not found reference to a period practice of 'double ramming' on a rifled piece. For my own and others elucidation could you please cite period 'chapter and verse' for the practice.

thank you
I remain etc.

[robwall1861]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Dave,

Does your unit have a website...Thanks and have a great weekend.

Sincerely,
Robert "Robin" Wallace

[Silas]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Now you guys have done it. I have to ask, what is the manual commonly used by reenactor artilleryman? In looking for information about double ramming, I was stuck with the problem of which manual to consult. The ones I examined quickly don't seem to have special instructions for rifled tubes.

Please cut me some slack. I'm an infantryman, but have served as an artilleryman when needed or just for something different. When infantry reenactors are asked about what manual they use, most will say Hardee, even if their primary impression is post-1862 Federal. (By general order published in August 1862, Casey's manual replaced the 1861 U.S. Tactics.) Many Confederates will say they used Hardee and pull out a copy of the 1855 manual without realizing Hardee revised his manual in 1861.

I'm wondering whether there is some of the same misapplication in the artillery ranks. I've got several artillery manuals linked on my webpage so I am aware that there isn't one manual which is the go-to manual. I can consult Gibbon, Patterson or the three officer version. Which is most correct for Federal? For Confederate? Did a manual published during the war replace one of the other manuals like what occurred with Casey's in 1862?

To determine what is correct/incorrect about the NCWAA or NPS standards, I wanted to know what is the most appropriate period source. Otherwise, we're just comparing apples and oranges. They are both round fruit which falls from trees, but both are very different.

What are reenactor artillerymen using and why?

[faabala]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Here is our FB Group. We are always looking for guys with good impressions to fall in with us. We are going to be at Fort Anderson Feb 15-16 and Bentonville Mar 15-16

https://www.facebook.com/groups/111523932195815/

- - - Updated - - -

Now you opened a can of worms. Most mainstream crews use some form of NCWAA modern drill. The one with the implements on the wheel hubs. The best crews use NPS drill. It is the closest to the French, Barry and Hunt period drill with some concessions to blank fire. One thing we are pushing with the new artillery BN here in NC is the use of NPS drill. We will be firing more than the 10 minute interval that NPS decrees and will be worming between shots. Other than that it is the same.

[faabala]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

I have digital copies of probably ten or twelve different manuals. But, almost all are exactly the same as the French, Barry, and Hunt official federal version. For our Confederate impression we use Gilham's Manual for Volunteers.

[Pennvolunteer]

Re: Double ramming the rifled gun

Silas, what Dave said, is true, Federal crew drill should be by Hunt, Barry and French, and the NPS drill is very close with some reasonble safety modifications. As to the issue of double ramming, bronze smoothbores used one piece fixed ammunition, so the drill only addressed ramming once. The issue with the rifled Parrotts and Ordnance guns is the powder and projectile are separate, so you load the powder, ram and seat it, and then the projectile. The shortcoming in HBF, is even with the 1863 update, they really don't modify the manual for the prevalence of iron rifled guns on the field by that point. The unfortunate part is then they don't talk about this issue with separate loading ammo in the drill. But at least they are consistent, the manual has detailed ammo chest configurations for all the smooth bore tubes, but just has a foot note on the fact that rifled guns carry 50 rounds in each chest. They do update the range tables to include the 10 pdr Parrott and 3 Inch in the 1863/64 version, but I guess they were busy with the war and didn't fully revise the manual!!