1861 - 1865

The row of cannon in front of you dates from the Civil War, when radical advances in technology increased power, range, and accuracy.

Union armories produced new, larger rifled cannon; the South had few foundries and used existing weapons, often "rifling and banding" older smoothbore cannon to increase firepower. Confederates used a wide variety of weapons at Fort Moultrie. If you look into the cannon barrels here you can see some smoothbores and some that are rifled.

Banding cannon increased its firepower. A band of wrought iron expanded by heat, was slipped over the cast iron barrel. The band cooled, shrinking tightly in place, strengthening the breech to withstand the pressure of a greater powder charge. For more strength, additional bands were added.

Rifling (cutting spiral grooves in a weapon's bore) gave a stabilizing spin to a projectile. Rifled cannon had greater range than smoothbores of similar size, and their new projectiles were usually more accurate and destructive than the old round shot and shells.

The new elongated shells had an aerodynamic shape, and were larger, heavier, and could be filled with explosives.

Lanyard
To fire mortars and cannon, the hook of the lanyard was attached to the friction primer. When the lanyard cord was pulled, the primer's flame ignited the powder charge.

The short-barreled mortar fired spherical shells with timed fuses. Mortars were designated to fire upward in an arc, while cannon fired in a low trajectory.

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Show me all markers in:  Sullivans Island, SC  |  Charleston County  |  29482  |  South Carolina  |  United States of America

Civil War Defense of Sullivan's Island
Cannon Row
13-Inch Seacoast Mortar
10-Inch Confederate Columbiad
10-Inch Columbiad (Rodman)
H.L. Hunley Disappears
Discovering the Hunley
The Hunley Recovery Project
10-Inch Columbiad, Rifled and Banded
7-Inch Brooke Rifle, Triple Banded

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