This is one of the nastiest Napoleonic weapons

#AbsoluteHistory

[DaWanderer]

It's awesome that he's survived all these years to tell the story today.

[bluesteel]

So essentially a massive shot gun. Nasty.

[anastasisparastatidis]

"I own a 12 for home defense"
"12 gauge?"
"Nahh, 12 grape"

[DylansPen]

Back in the day you can imagine how horrific most wounds were.

[donb]

My 3X great grandfather was apart of the charge of the Scots Greys. He was with the 6th Inniskilling Irish Dragoons who were attached to the Scots Greys. He survived.

[Aelxi]

"To cannon, all men are equal." - Napoleon

[eelchiong]

Can we just appreciate the authenticity of the role down to the soil-encrusted finger nails?

[Badpoison]

It doesn't burn it away, it shreds off.

[K-vo]

Little correction, the standoff was to create a seal between the shot and the gunpowder charge in order to block the barrel until enough back pressure built up to break the seal and propel the shot with enough velocity and distance to be effective.
Without the standoff which is actually called the Wad, the gunpowder would ignite and create an almighty fireball out the front of the barrel, propelling the shot a mere few feet, possibly even leaving some shot in the barrel.

[dandy-lions]

"Artillery adds dignity to what would otherwise be an ugly brawl." Frederick the Great

[caesarisared]

Wow I had no idea they were that big! I thought they were the same size as a musket ball

[jasonbennett]

I’m still astounded that lines of soldiers would march across open fields into the direct path of such wicked killing tools flying through the air all around. Terrifying

[German_king]

me Learning every type of shot for the cannon in guts and black powder

[poppinsquirrels]

British people were born with voices to give clear instructions on anything.

[vinny]

During the American Civil War they shot at eachother using cannon firing 12 pound tin cans full of whatever metal scrap fit in the can. You do not want to think about what the battlefield looked like when the fight was over.

[esomethingoranother]

Napoleonic artillery was really something. I love that grapeshot, but the chain shot was really some scary stuff. It was mostly used on naval ships to take out enemy mast/sails but i sure as hell wouldn't want to get in between those two things.

[foilbaby]

Thats horrific. The different ways humanity kills one another is astonishing

[IceRanger]

There’s a story out there somewhere about a Civil War Cannoneer at Antietam, who, after his entire unit was killed by advancing confederate forces in a cornfield, fired a point blank (and I mean point blank) round of “double canister” (two rounds of grape shot) into the rebel forces. The guy basically wiped out anything that moved in that cornfield in one shot.

[daddylopez]

“Looks like a bunch of grapes” I’m convinced they have never seen grapes

[ethanmitchell]

Imagine going into a gun store and being like

“You got any grapeshot?”