Editing Cannon (section)

=== 18th and 19th centuries ===
{{see also|Naval artillery in the Age of Sail|Field artillery in the American Civil War|Siege artillery in the American Civil War}}
[[Image:Antoine Morel-Fatio pl10.jpg|thumb|[[36-pounder long gun]] at the ready]]

The lower tier of 17th-century English [[ship of the line|ships of the line]] were usually equipped with demi-cannons, guns that fired a {{convert|32|lb|kg|adj=mid}} solid shot, and could weigh up to {{convert|3400|lb|kg}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stone|first=George Cameron| author-link = George Cameron Stone| title=A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration, and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times|year=1999|publisher=Courier Dover Publications|isbn=978-0-486-40726-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J5PgapzD6FoC|page=162}}</ref> Demi-cannons were capable of firing these heavy metal balls with such force that they could penetrate more than a metre of solid oak, from a distance of {{convert|90|m|ft|abbr=on}}, and could dismast even the largest ships at close range.<ref>{{cite book|first=Byron|last=Heath|title=Discovering the Great South Land|year=2005|publisher=Rosenberg Publishing|location=[[Kenthurst, New South Wales|Kenthurst]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC&q=demi-cannon+solid+oak&pg=PA127|page=127|isbn=978-1-877058-31-8|access-date=7 November 2020|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080040/https://books.google.com/books?id=yOWLaNm6c7sC&q=demi-cannon+solid+oak&pg=PA127|url-status=live}}</ref> Full cannon fired a {{convert|42|lb|adj=mid}} shot, but were discontinued by the 18th century, as they were too unwieldy. By the end of the 18th century, principles long adopted in Europe specified the characteristics of the [[Royal Navy]]'s cannon, as well as the acceptable defects, and their severity. The [[United States Navy]] tested guns by measuring them, firing them two or three times—termed "proof by powder"—and using [[hydrostatic test|pressurized water to detect leaks]].<ref name="NavyBarbaryI">{{cite book|last=Knox|first=Dudley W.|title=Naval Documents related to the United States Wars with the Barbary Powers, Volume I|year=1939|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=[[United States Government Printing Office]]}}</ref>

The [[carronade]] was adopted by the Royal Navy in 1779; the lower muzzle velocity of the round shot when fired from this cannon was intended to create more wooden splinters when hitting the structure of an enemy vessel, as they were believed to be more deadly than the ball by itself.<ref name="Carronade">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC|title=Siege Train: The Journal of a Confederate Artilleryman in the Defense of Charleston|year= 1996|publisher=[[University of South Carolina Press]]|location=Charleston|last= Manigault|first=Edward|author2=Warren Ripley|page=83|isbn=978-1-57003-127-4|access-date=25 September 2017|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080034/https://books.google.com/books?id=dS4yZLvS0soC|url-status=live}}</ref> The carronade was much shorter, and weighed between a third to a quarter of the equivalent [[long gun]]; for example, a 32-pounder carronade weighed less than a [[ton]], compared with a 32-pounder long gun, which weighed over {{convert|3|t|abbr=on}}. The guns were, therefore, easier to handle, and also required less than half as much gunpowder, allowing fewer men to crew them.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm|title=The Historical Maritime Society|access-date=26 May 2008 |publisher=The Historical Maritime Society|year= 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516191537/http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=16 May 2008}}</ref> Carronades were manufactured in the usual [[naval artillery|naval gun]] [[Caliber|calibre]]s,<ref>Twelve-, 18-, 24-, 32-, and 42-[[pound (mass)#Imperial Standard Pound|pounders]], but 6-pounder and 68-pounder versions are known.</ref> but were not counted in a ship of the line's rated number of guns. As a result, the classification of Royal Navy vessels in this period can be misleading, as they often carried more cannons than were listed.

[[Image:William Simpson, A Hot Night in the Batteries.jpg|thumb|right|Illustration by [[William Simpson (Scottish artist)|William Simpson]] shows action in a British artillery battery during the [[Crimean War]] with cannon firing and being loaded and men bringing in supplies.]]

Cannons were crucial in [[Napoleon]]'s rise to power, and continued to play an important role in his army in later years.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC|page=12|title=The Age of Napoleon|last=Conner|first=Susan P.|year=2004|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group]]|isbn=978-0-313-32014-9|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=10 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510172903/https://books.google.com/books?id=WPkgXITA09EC|url-status=live}}</ref> During the [[French Revolution]], the unpopularity of the [[French Directory|Directory]] led to riots and rebellions. When over 25,000 royalists led by General Danican assaulted Paris, [[Paul Barras]] was appointed to defend the capital; outnumbered five to one and disorganised, the Republicans were desperate.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC|title=The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte|last=Asprey|first=Robert B.|year=2000|publisher=[[Basic Books]]|isbn=978-0-465-04881-6|page=111|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126091315/https://books.google.com/books?id=UqkSyhUcZ0kC|url-status=live}}</ref> When Napoleon arrived, he reorganised the defences but realised that without cannons the city could not be held. He ordered [[Joachim Murat]] to bring the guns from the Sablons artillery park; the Major and his cavalry fought their way to the recently captured cannons, and brought them back to Napoleon. When Danican's poorly trained men attacked, on [[13 Vendémiaire]] 1795 (5 October in the [[Vendémiaire|calendar used in France]] at the time), Napoleon ordered his cannon to fire grapeshot into the mob,<ref name="Asprey, pp. 112–113.">Asprey, pp. 112–113.</ref> an act that became known as the "[[13 Vendémiaire#A whiff of grapeshot|whiff of grapeshot]]".<ref>Conner, p. 13.</ref> The slaughter effectively ended the threat to the new government, while, at the same time, making Bonaparte a famous—and popular—public figure.<ref name="Asprey, pp. 112–113."/><ref>Conner, pp. 12–13.</ref> Among the first generals to recognise that artillery was not being used to its full potential, Napoleon often massed his cannon into batteries and introduced several changes into the French artillery, improving it significantly and making it among the finest in Europe.<ref name="Baynes, p. 669.">Baynes, p. 669.</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Waterloo Campaign: June 1815|page=123|access-date=26 May 2008|last=Nofi|first=Albert A.|author-link=Albert Nofi|publisher=[[Da Capo Press]]|isbn=978-0-938289-98-2|year=1998|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZPFtsn-nRTwC}}</ref> Such tactics were successfully used by the French, for example, at the [[Battle of Friedland]], when 66 guns fired a total of 3,000 [[roundshot]] and 500 rounds of grapeshot,<ref name="Baynes, p. 669."/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Pictorial History of England During the Reign of George the Third: Being a History of the People, as well as a History of the Kingdom, volume 2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ|last=Craik|first=George L.|author-link=George Lillie Craik|year=1884|location=London|publisher=[[Charles Knight (publisher)|Charles Knight]]|author2=Charles MacFarlane|page=295|access-date=26 May 2008|author2-link=Charles MacFarlane|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080029/https://books.google.com/books?id=A-0GAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> inflicting severe casualties to the Russian forces, whose losses numbered over 20,000 killed and wounded, in total.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chandler|first=David G.|title=The Campaigns of Napoleon|location=New York |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=1995|isbn=978-0-02-523660-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/campaignsofnapol00chan/page/582 582]|url=https://archive.org/details/campaignsofnapol00chan/page/582}}</ref> At the [[Battle of Waterloo]]—Napoleon's final battle—the French army had many more artillery pieces than either the [[British Empire|British]] or [[Prussia]]ns. As the battlefield was muddy, [[recoil]] caused cannons to bury themselves into the ground after firing, resulting in slow rates of fire, as more effort was required to move them back into an adequate firing position;<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4tTYCLqjwj8C|title=The Waterloo Companion|last=Adkin|first=Mark|publisher=Stackpole Books|year=2002|access-date=26 May 2008|page=283|isbn=978-0-8117-1854-7}}</ref> also, roundshot did not [[ricochet]] with as much force from the wet earth.<ref>{{cite book|title=Napoleon's Artillery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W7ngGaRS6nkC|page=32|last=Wilkinson-Latham|first=Robert|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]|year=1975|location=France|isbn=978-0-85045-247-1|access-date=26 May 2008}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Despite the drawbacks, sustained artillery fire proved deadly during the engagement, especially during the [[Battle of Waterloo#The French cavalry attack|French cavalry attack]].<ref>Wilkinson-Latham, p. 36.</ref> The British infantry, having formed [[infantry square]]s, took heavy losses from the French guns, while their own cannons fired at the [[cuirassier]]s and [[lancer]]s, when they fell back to regroup. Eventually, the French ceased their assault, after taking heavy losses from the British cannon and musket fire.<ref>Nofi, pp. 115–116.</ref>

In the 1810s and 1820s, greater emphasis was placed on the accuracy of long-range gunfire, and less on the weight of a broadside. Around 1822, [[George Marshall (gunner)|George Marshall]] wrote ''Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery''. The book was used by cannon operators in the United States Navy throughout the 19th century. It listed all the types of cannons and instructions.<ref>{{cite book |last= Marshall |first= George |author-link=  |date= 1822 |title= Marshall's Practical Marine Gunnery |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lHcNBLcgVSQC&q=Marshall%27s+Practical+Marine+Gunnery |location= Norfolk, Virginia |publisher= C. Hall |page= 1 |isbn=  |access-date= 4 April 2021 |archive-date= 20 October 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080026/https://www.google.com/books/edition/Marshall_s_Practical_Marine_Gunnery/lHcNBLcgVSQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Marshall%27s+Practical+Marine+Gunnery&printsec=frontcover |url-status= live }}</ref>

[[Image:ChancellorsvilleBattlefieldModern.jpg|thumb|A 3-inch [[Parrott rifle]] from the [[Battle of Chancellorsville]]]]

The carronade, although initially very successful and widely adopted, disappeared from the Royal Navy in the 1850s after the development of wrought-iron-jacketed steel cannon by [[William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong|William Armstrong]] and [[Joseph Whitworth]]. Nevertheless, carronades were used in the American Civil War.<ref name="Carronade"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm|title=Carronade|access-date=6 March 2008|publisher=The Historical Maritime Society|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080102235759/http://www.hms.org.uk/nelsonsnavycarronade.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=2 January 2008}}</ref>

Western cannons during the 19th century became larger, more destructive, more accurate, and could fire at longer range. One example is the American {{convert|3|in|mm|adj=mid}} wrought-iron, muzzle-loading rifle, or [[Griffen gun]] (usually called the 3-inch Ordnance Rifle), used during the [[American Civil War]], which had an effective range of over {{convert|1.1|mi|km|abbr=on}}. Another is the smoothbore [[Canon obusier de 12|12-pounder Napoleon]], which originated in France in 1853 and was widely used by both sides in the American Civil War. This cannon was renowned for its sturdiness, reliability, firepower, flexibility, relatively lightweight, and range of {{convert|1700|m|ft|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hazlett|first=James C.|author2=Edwin Olmstead |author3=M. Hume Parks |title=Field Artillery Weapons of the American Civil War|edition=5th|publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]]|location=[[Champaign, Illinois]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-252-07210-9|pages=88–108|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=twcQGSi1F7QC}}</ref>

[[File:Sagahan Armstrong gun used at the Battle of Ueno against the Shogitai 1868.jpg|thumb|Armstrong gun deployed by Japan during the [[Boshin war]] (1868–69).]]
[[File:De Bange 90 mm Mikkeli.JPG|thumb|The 1870s [[de Bange 90 mm cannon]] on the yard of Eastern Finland military office in [[Mikkeli]], [[South Savonia]], Finland]]

The practice of [[rifling]]—casting spiralling lines inside the cannon's barrel—was applied to artillery more frequently by 1855, as it gave cannon projectiles [[Gyroscope|gyroscopic]] stability, which improved their accuracy. One of the earliest rifled cannons was the [[breech-loading weapon|breech-loading]] [[Armstrong Gun]]—also invented by William Armstrong—which boasted significantly improved range, accuracy, and power than earlier weapons. The projectile fired from the Armstrong gun could reportedly pierce through a ship's side and explode inside the enemy vessel, causing increased damage and casualties.<ref>{{cite book|title=All the Year Round: A Weekly Journal|access-date=26 May 2008|date=1859|last=Dickens|first=Charles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ|pages=373|publisher=Charles Dickens|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080025/https://books.google.com/books?id=o-4RAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> The British military adopted the Armstrong gun, and was impressed; [[Prince George, Duke of Cambridge|the Duke of Cambridge]] even declared that it "could do everything but speak".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|page=59|title=Arms and the State: Sir William Armstrong and the Remaking of British Naval Power, 1854–1914|last=Bastable|first=Marshall J.|year=2004|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-3404-1|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080036/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|url-status=live}}</ref> Despite being significantly more advanced than its predecessors, the Armstrong gun was rejected soon after its integration, in favour of the muzzle-loading pieces that had been in use before.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ruffell|first=W. L.|title=The Gun – Rifled Ordnance: Whitworth|work=The Gun|url=http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled2.htm|access-date=6 February 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080213152724/http://riv.co.nz/rnza/hist/gun/rifled2.htm|archive-date=13 February 2008}}</ref> While both types of gun were effective against wooden ships, neither had the capability to pierce the armour of [[ironclad warship|ironclads]]; due to reports of slight problems with the breeches of the Armstrong gun, and their higher cost, the older muzzle-loaders were selected to remain in service instead.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|page=94|title=Arms and the State: Sir William Armstrong and the Remaking of British Naval Power, 1854–1914|last=Bastable|first=Marshall J.|year=2004|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-0-7546-3404-1|access-date=26 May 2008|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020080031/https://books.google.com/books?id=6ybDCEqsWrUC|url-status=live}}</ref> Realising that iron was more difficult to pierce with breech-loaded cannons, Armstrong designed rifled muzzle-loading guns,<ref>Bastable, p. 72.</ref> which proved successful; ''[[The Times]]'' reported: "even the fondest believers in the invulnerability of our present ironclads were obliged to confess that against such artillery, at such ranges, their plates and sides were almost as penetrable as wooden ships."<ref>Bastable, p. 73.</ref>

The superior cannon of the Western world brought them tremendous advantages in warfare. For example, in the [[First Opium War]] in China, during the 19th century, British battleships bombarded the coastal areas and fortifications from afar, safe from the reach of the Chinese cannons. Similarly, the shortest war in recorded history, the [[Anglo-Zanzibar War]] of 1896, was brought to a swift conclusion by shelling from British cruisers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Young|first=Mark C.|title=Guinness Book of World Records |edition=2002|page=112|publisher=[[Bantam Books]]|isbn=978-0-553-58378-6|year=2002}}</ref> The cynical attitude towards recruited infantry in the face of ever more powerful field artillery is the source of the term ''[[cannon fodder]]'', first used by [[François-René de Chateaubriand]], in 1814;<ref>{{in lang|fr}} [[:wikisource:fr:De Buonaparte et des Bourbons|"De Buonaparte et des Bourbons"]] – full text in the French [[Wikisource]].</ref> however, the concept of regarding soldiers as nothing more than "food for powder" was mentioned by [[William Shakespeare]] as early as 1598, in ''[[Henry IV, Part 1]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Shakespeare|first=William|title=Henry IV, Part 1|year=1598}} Act 4, Scene 2, lines 65–67.</ref>