Also known as: battery organization.
| Unit | The basic field-artillery command |
|---|---|
| Size | Commonly four to six guns |
| Subunit | Sections of two guns each |
| Train | Limbers, caissons, forge, and battery wagon |
The battery in the field
The battery was the working unit of field artillery: a group of guns, commonly four or six of the same or mixed types, with their gunners, drivers, horses, and the limbers, caissons, forge, and battery wagon that made them mobile and kept them supplied.
A battery was divided into sections of two guns, each under a lieutenant, and served as a single command in march and battle. The battery, not the individual gun, was the piece on the board by which artillery was organized and handled.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.