| Hobhood4 | 26 Jun 2015 4:00 a.m. PST |
Hi
I'm new to ACW, and have assembled two small forces for some simple rules. I've bought some Perry metal artillery, including the Confederate Artillery firing piece, 3" Parrott and 3" Ordnance barrels. There is no illustration on the site for this model. Two questions. Both barrels have a raised cross piece on one side. Is this the sighting mechanism, to be removed if the barrel is used to show the gun being fired? Otherwise the barrel doesn't fit on the carriage. The model barrels seem to be reversible, to be used for several operations. Secondly – there is an artilleryman using a straight ‘stick'. Some pictures show something like this being used in contact with the lower end of the carriage. Is this correct? And if so what is it for? Or is it the lanyard for detonating the charge before it is pulled away? |
Frederick  | 26 Jun 2015 4:32 a.m. PST |
If you mean what I think you do, the stick is used to re-position the gun Not sure about the cross piece but ACW artillery did not have sighting mechanisms on the side, as I recall |
| sma1941 | 26 Jun 2015 5:22 a.m. PST |
What you are calling a raised cross piece is the screw that raises and lowers the artillery tube. It goes on the bottom of the tube and rests on the carriage. |
| Extrabio1947 | 26 Jun 2015 6:03 a.m. PST |
I don't have this set, but the straight stick you are referring to is probably supposed to be the lanyard. It connects to a primer inserted into the vent that fires the piece. |
| avidgamer | 26 Jun 2015 7:10 a.m. PST |
The "stick" is called a Trail Spike" as was noted and was used to move the artillery carriage to change the angle or direction of the piece. Go to this site: link …to see an artillery piece with trail spike already attached to the piece during firing. It was made of wood and painted exactly the same color of the wooden carriage, wheels and limbers. Here's a video of loading and firing a Civil War artillery piece and also loading and firing the rifled muskets. link |
| Extrabio1947 | 26 Jun 2015 11:39 a.m. PST |
Look at a Perry Miniatures Confederate artillery firing set. There isn't a miniature holding a trail spike. That's the point. A trail spike is the first and quite obvious answer. I don't think that is the question, tho…. In the firing set, the only two miniatures holding anything stick-like hold either the ramrod or the lanyard. Assuming the stick in question is not the ramrod….. |
| jowady | 26 Jun 2015 12:10 p.m. PST |
It depends on which set you have, there are "running up the piece", this has a figure with a trailspike, "firing the piece" which doesn't and "loading the piece" which I can't tell from the photo if it does or not. |
| Hobhood4 | 26 Jun 2015 3:16 p.m. PST |
Thanks for your responses. I'll take it that the 'stick' is representing the lanyard before pulling back. It's just that the union equivalent set has this represented by a partly folded lanyard, which is sculpted rather more thinly – that's why I was confused. |
| TKindred | 26 Jun 2015 8:57 p.m. PST |
Is it like this one? If so it's the trail spike. link |
| jowady | 26 Jun 2015 9:28 p.m. PST |
Here's a key, is the figure holding the "stick with one hand? If so it's a lanyard, if he's not then its a trail spike. |
adds artillery to his soft-plastic Union forces.
