History of Cannons in Warfare

"Battle for Maloyaroslavets" Yefin Deshalyt

1812 Overture

     Cannons have been used in military and civilian life to break advancing infantry, put out wildfires, and- our personal favorite- deliver t-shirts to sports fans. In the great history of artillery, one classical composer dared to use cannons as a musical instrument. In 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte led a failed invasion of the Russian Empire, ending not only in defeat but in the near total annihilation of his massive invasion force. To commemorate their victory, the Russian Empire began constructing a massive cathedral as a memorial to the men lost in the war. When near completion in 1880, composer PI Tchaikovsky composed a grand overture to celebrate the Russian victory utilizing brass instruments to symbolize the marching bands of 18th Century Armies, and literal cannons to signal the crescendo of the movement.

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"Henry Knox" Gilbert Stuart

Grassroots Artillery

     Foreign military instructors were far from rare during the American Revolution where personalities like Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben and Casimir Pulaski were training the Continental Infantry and Cavalry, the artillery of the American revolutionaries had a homegrown instructor to prepare them for battle. Henry Knox was a bookstore owner when the Revolution began.     Knox had stocked several books in his store on military history and science, and conversed regularly with his frequent soldier customers- even marrying the daughter of a British officer (and avoiding her brother's attempts to get young Knox to join the British Army). When the war escalated from rebellion to revolution, Knox- like many- fled Boston and signed up with the Continental Army.

     Henry Knox was far from a "lead from the back" commander. The young soldier took command of one of Bunker Hill's artillery placements and led a successful barrage on incoming British Regulars before withdrawing from the fight in its final moments. For his heroism in the early campaigns of the conflict, John Adams urged the Second Continental Congress to award Knox a commission as an officer in the newly formed Continental Artillery- in which he formed a close friendship with other artillery commanders Alexander Hamilton and Benjamin Lincoln (the grandfather of a future US president).

     In 1779 as the war began to turn in the revolutionaries's favor, George Washington knew the war's endgame would need a disciplined and efficient artillery corps and ordered Henry Knox to be the founding instructor for an artillery academy- one of only a handful of colonial-born drill instructors to earn such an esteemed position. Knox ran the academy so efficiently that it would later become a permanent facility which would later become known as the United States Military Academy also known as West Point. In contemporary times, the training paid off well- as Knox and his artillery commanders were pivotal in the victory at the Siege of Yorktown, which would lead to American victory in the war and independence on the world stage.

     After the war, Henry Knox would serve as the Secretary of War and made early efforts to champion the cause of Native American sovereignty- proclaiming indigenous people owned the land they occupied and that US federal diplomacy would be the most appropriate method for working with indigenous peoples. For his personal politics, the general often disagreed with US-Indian policy, but carried out orders to organize and equip US military personnel involved in the several Indian Wars of the Early Republic Era, writing later about his discontent over his involvement over the unnecessary bloodshed.

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"Agustina de Aragon" Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau

The Savior of Zaragoza

     When French forces invaded Spain in 1808, the defenders of the key city of Zaragoza desperately fought to hold the walls against waves of French assaults. Just as all hope seemed lost and the French breeched the walls, one woman stood behind guarding the cannon her fellow defenders had abandoned as the city's defenders scattered.     Cool as a cucumber, Agustina de Aragon lit the fuse on her husband's gun and fired into the incoming French soldiers. De Aragon's stalwart resistance against the incoming French inspired the city's defenders to return to the fight, and- soon after- won the Siege of Zaragoza.

     Although the city would later be lost in a second siege, Agustina de Aragon would join up with guerilla forces and later joining forces with the Duke of Wellington in a series of brutal guerilla warfare battles that would eventually free the country from French occupation.

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Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol

     While cannons were becoming an increasing presence on European battlefields, one feared cannon among soldiers of the era was the basilisk. The barrel alone for this fearful cannon could weight as much as four thousand pounds and stretch a whopping ten feet long with several stretching even further like the famous "Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol" that reached a length of thirty feet long. This type of cannon got its name from the mythological beast- the basilisk- which was a fire breathing serpent from European folklore- an apt name for such a weapon. Its massive size may have been the basilisk's downfall though. As armies needed artillery that could be increasingly maneuverable on the open battlefields of Europe, the massive basilisk was far too large to be a practical field weapon.

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"Battery on the March in India 1888" [Unknown Artist]

No Horsing Around

     Horse artillery units blended the rapid deployment of cavalry with the firepower of artillery into a highly mobile fighting force in 19th Century militaries. Entire battalions of infantry depended on their army's horse artillery to back them up with battles turned against them. That's why these units heavily depended on powerfully disciplined soldiers.

     While certainly for pleasure, sport was an essential aspect of life for soldiers in horse artillery units, and games provided excellent practical training for future combat. Horse and mule races helped develop sound experience in movement logistics, and mounted wrestling- wrestling bouts where both competitors attempted to wrestle each other from their opponent's horse prepared these soldiers for how to respond to enemy attacks while moving into or out of position. There is little written on the topic of horse artillery sports save for a few mentions and titles of rare photographs, but these rare moments of sport in war were critical for producing top-notch horse artillery.