"Sponge Staff/Rammer" Topic

OK, another one of my obsessional detail questions!

Union Artillery – everyone does a figure holding a Sponge Staff/Rammer but were they painted as per the gun carriage or left natural wood?

Yes the staff is the exact same color as the wood of the carriage.

He's right.

But no one makes a fellow holding a worm!

firstvarty1979,

YES!!! Why is that anyway?! Everyone sculpts the same damn poses and there is much yet to sculpt. Sad.

Yeah I've noticed that too! In fact I don't recall seeing one for any part of the muzzle loading period, not just the Civil War.

Thanks for the tip on the staff.

Trajanus,

You are welcome.

It just shows you that most sculptors just sculpt what everyone else does and leaves it at that. It happens with ALL lines, not just ACW artillery though. If you are really into this period or another you want unique correct posed models to suit your period. Oh well, we can dream.

I don't know how the actual sculpting is done, but wouldn't it be near impossible to make something as intricate a worm on a 28mm figure, let alone anything smaller?

Billy Yank

Would the sponge and rammer be used more than the worm?

Martin

avidgamer,

Painted rammers does raise an interesting point.

Given handspikes were painted too (thank you Troiani) and I assume worms – all for the same reason as the gun carriage etc that's to say they were out there in all weathers, doesn't that mean they would have been painted in earlier periods?

If so shouldn't Napoleonic British ones be grey, Prussian light blue, Austrian yellow etc. Not something I've seen gamers do!

Makes you think.

I don't know how the actual sculpting is done, but wouldn't it be near impossible to make something as intricate a worm on a 28mm figure, let alone anything smaller?

Fair point but I've seen some pretty complicated flag Finials in 28mm.

Would the sponge and rammer be used more than the worm?

Much more. You have to sponge and ram every round fired, worms only get used as and when the bore gets fouled up which varies with use.

Thought so.

Martin

Actually, from the drill I've read, the worm is used between every round. Worm goes down to pull out any fragments of the bag, then the sponge goes in, the round is loaded, then the ram pushes it home.

All the wooden bits are painted liquid olive. The metal bits are a gloss black lacquer. The sponge is plain sheep's wool, but quickly becomes fouled giving it a greasy-black look, though it is washed clean when the battery retires for the evening. Rammer, staves, etc, are all liquid olive.

FWIW, the sponge itself is removable from the staff for cleaning, and spares are carried for it in the battery wagon(s). It also has a cover to protect it when not being used. The cover was made of heavy drill, and could be either plain canvas drill, or on occasion black painted canvas drill. It was held in place with a drawstring.

Basically, when painting ACW artillery of either side, everything that is wood is painted liquid olive. Everything made of metal EXCEPT for the lids on the limber chests, is painted gloss black. The lids are copper and polished when needed.

Most always, the gun's tarp is folded and strapped to the top of the limber chest. There is also a vent cover which is strapped around the breech, as well as a muzzle cover. These are "normally" in russet leather, but may also be dyed black. Gunner's implement pouches, etc, such as the tube pouch, the pass pouch, and such, are russet leather.

One thing that you don't see modeled that would be nice to see are the gunner's knapsacks. These were worn when on the march, and often were strapped to the top and front of the limber chest. Artillery manuals stress that gun crews are NOT to overload the limber with excess baggage, and that under no circumstances are knapsacks, etc, be placed on the pole of the limber.

When going into action, those knapsacks would have been either unslung from the crew's backs and placed into a pile nearby, or removed from the limber and piled close by. Same with blanket rolls.

Reading the 1864 FA Tactics Manual leads me to believe that the worm was used only when required by a fouled bore. Two items lead me to this conclusion: the authorization for worm and staff is 1/2 per gun, generaly one per section and the drill instruction for school of the piece does not identify the worm and staff in the drill. Would have been very useful in removing fixed rounds (ball strapped onto powder bags) since they could grasp the strapping and withdraw the entire round. Fixed rounds were not used in the 3" or 10# rifled guns. Reenactor drill uses them after each cartridge since there is a good chance of foil buildup in the breech.

But how do you know you have a fouled bore unless you have a misfire? It only takes a few seconds to run a worm down, but if you have a misfire with a loaded weapon, you're in some serious (dung).

As far as alocation of them, the worm doesn't wear out, basically at all, whereas the sheepskin on the sponge might wear down to the point of uselessness during prolonged firing, and in the field it might be kind of hard to find on the spot a willing sheep to offer up its hide as a replacement!

Any powder bag leftover after firing is going to be a smoldering patch of cloth that the sponge won't necessarily reach. Need to search for that!

Do you have a link to the 1864 drill manual, or can you copy/paste what it does have in it on here? I'm curious what they do say about debris left in the gun after firing and how to handle it.

As cwbuff says The Worm is completely absent from the School of the Peice. It doesn't even get a mention in the 'naming of parts' the instructor takes the gun crew through.

There's no mention of it during the drill for loading and firing and interestingly no mention of it in the sequence for how a gun is to be served in action when the crew is reduced from 8 down to 2 men. Each function of operation is allocated to a different man with each loss of crew but the use of the worm is not there at all.

There is also no mention of the "debris left in the gun after firing and how to handle it." that firstvarty1979 asks about.

I would suggest also that a Worm is not precise enough to hook out a "smoldering patch of cloth" that's what sponging is for. To be certain, you would need a hoover! :o)

The 1864 manual is very drill orientated – even to the marching drill of gunners by indvidual crew. I suspect the 'hints and tips' aspect of working a piece was left to indvidual drill sargents to fill in during instruction

Picked up my copy from Stones River Battlefield Park and have seen it at several Sutlers at reenactments. My copy is water stained from carrying it in my haversack. Just as in battles, it also rains on reenactments. Also found it by searching for "The 1864 Field Artillery Tactics". It took me to Internet Archives where you can also find additional manuals.

firstvarty,

This is the book extract link

Page 107 onward deals with loading and firing.

Be advised the fronts piece says 1861 but like so many Civil War manuals the later 1864 text is no different.

Google just won't give you the modern reprint of the 1864 version (which I have) for free! :o)

Given drill manuals are the basics, things that have to happen for the unit to function or the item to be carried out – no matter what. Then in the Civil War period you went through drill till you could do it your sleep, as it was a complicated procedure for both infantry and artillery.

So when the horde of screaming Rebs were just about to overrun your guns and spilt seconds in loading that double cannister were life or death. What you didn't need was an extra element like using the Worm.

So you always drilled without it. You may well have used it, as and when but you never drilled with it.

Then when hell was coming, the drill kicked in, no one picked up the Worm and you got off the round!

Just a thought.

BTW: I am a dummy. In the "The 1864 Field Artillery Tactics" there's a small table that shows the amount of paint needed for various jobs.

One of which is "Field gun-carriage and limber, with implements"

Ah! Implements – Sponge/Rammer/Handspikes/Worm etc etc.

Cartridges (powder bags) back then were much more flammable than the ones used by modern living history crews. The waterproofing shellac used to protect them from moisture probably added to this flammability, so there would have been little if any debris left in the bore after firing.

One thing that is rarely modeled though is the handspike in position i.e sticking up at an angle from it's socket above the towing eye. This is where it should be ay all times when in action.

Steve Barber includes a worm in his artillery set check out his website