Existing comment:
The Guns That Won the Battle:
These cannons represent the largest guns that defended the fort during the War of 1812. Cannons from this battery fired 18 and 36 pound iron balls almost a mile and a half. Heated cannonballs or "hot shot" proved especially devastating to wooden ships. For much of the battle the British kept their distance and, as a result, most of their bombs and rockets missed the fort. After 25 hours, they sailed back into the Chesapeake Bay -- unwilling to come within range of the fort's deadly artillery.
"The object of artillery for defense not being the same with that of attack, a different system is adopted for pieces of this construction... Guns for maritime defense and sea coast batteries may be made of iron and of calibers much about twenty-four or eighteen pounders... they will keep the enemy's ship at a greater distance, and protect more effectively the roads and entrances of harbours..." -- Louis De Tousard, 2nd US Artillery, American Artillerist Companion, 1809 |