1st Maryland Cavalry

Artillery during the American Civil War evolved to be the predominant means to protect an army's deployment and to prepare for the advance of the infantry and cavalry. Artillery became more decisive in battle through improved organization, training, and discipline. Artillery encompasses the factors of: materiel, tactics, and men. Without skilled and daring artillerists the best equipment is rendered without value. American artillerymen have excelled in ingenuity, skill and dedication, from Henry Knox to present. Stringent training, morale building, and individual initiative have created a highly professional corps of artillery. Changes in artillery pieces themselves saw the use of: iron, bronze, and steel, rifled and smoothbore, muzzleloading, breachloading, solid cast and built up, guns with bore sizes from 1 1/2 inch to 20 inches, all at the same time in the American Civil War. Improved sights, friction primers, impact fuses and delayed fuses, all improved artillery's effectiveness for antipersonnel and fortification destruction.

Artillery is classified partly by weight and caliber, and then by its mobility and method of mounting. Field Artillery was light and mobile enough to be moved with the army in the field. On the march each gun or piece was hooked up behind a limber, which carried an ammunition chest, and was drawn by six horses. Flying Light Artillery was exceptionally light pieces which could be manhandled if necessary, or disassembled and transported on muleback or horseback. The small size and weight enabled these guns to keep up with the cavalry, to be placed in rugged terrain, and to be drawn by as few as one horse. Heavy Artillery included siege guns, which were mobile, although slow and unwieldy; garrison or fortress guns, and sea coast pieces. Rodmans, the largest weighed 117,000 pounds and fired a 1080 pound projectile 800 yards, were not mobile guns, and needed to be installed in fixed positions.