The British Army in 1854 - Part 2

Artillery supporting Cavalry, and Garrison Artillery providing coastal defence and siege guns. Their field guns were relatively short range 6pdr and 9pdr muzzle loaders which had last seen service at Waterloo. The most commonly used all purpose ammunition was solid iron roundshot; with a direct accurate range of around half a mile for a 9pdr, it bounded along on landing like a well struck giant golf ball, to double the range on hard ground. Shrapnel, which exploded via a timed fuse, was particularly effective against massed troops in the open. Finally, Case, or Grapeshot, was the last gasp do or die shell; it operated at close range like a huge shotgun cartridge, scattering small projectiles forwards in all directions. Rates of fire were largely determined by the necessity for careful aim, and shortcuts on safety taken by the 5 man detachment. 2-3 rounds was generally taken as normal, and anything higher usually meant that the team were risking accidents.

Field Batteries and RHA Troops consisted of a mix of four field guns and two howitzers. Howitzers lobbed a larger shell as if from a lofted golf club onto a target, which might be hidden from sight. Howitzers did not fire roundshot.

The Corps of Royal Sappers and Miners were an extremely versatile Arm, responsible for a wide range of constructive and destructive activities. Specialists in fortifications, the creation and demolition of obstacles, and tunnelling, their Field Companies proved indispensible in the siege environment which was ultimately to dominate the campaign.

This then has been a brief overview of the key elements of the 27000 strong British Army which left for the Eastern Mediterranean in the spring of 1854, and whose fate we will be examining in detail as the series unfolds.

Illustration: Left to right - Officer, Guardsman, Drummer and Colour Sergeant, The Grenadier Guards Artwork by Angus McBride from Campaign 6, Balaclava 1854, reproduced by permission of Osprey Publishing Ltd (c) Osprey Publishing Ltd

Sources

John Duncan & John Walton (1991) Heroes for Victoria Spellmount Ltd

Mark Adkin (1996) The Charge Pimlico 2000

Sir Llewellyn Woodward (1962) Oxford History of England Vol 13 The Clarendon Press

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