In 1862, Georgia dentist, builder, and mechanic John Gilleland raised money from a coterie of Confederate citizens in Athens, Georgia to build the chain-shot gun for a cost of $350. Cast in one piece, the gun featured side-by-side bores, each a little over 3 inches in diameter and splayed slightly outward so the shots would diverge and stretch the chain taut. The two barrels have a divergence of 3 degrees, and the cannon was designed to shoot simultaneously two cannonballs connected with a chain to “mow down the enemy somewhat as a scythe cuts wheat”. During tests, the Gilleland cannon effectively mowed down trees, tore up a cornfield, knocked down a chimney, and killed a cow. These experiments took place along Newton Bridge Road northwest of downtown Athens. None of the previously mentioned items were anywhere near the gun’s intended target.
r*ddit

  • NineMileTower@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 months ago

    During tests, the Gilleland cannon effectively mowed down trees, tore up a cornfield, knocked down a chimney, and killed a cow

    So, it worked?

    • Xatolos@reddthat.comEnglish
      1·
      3 months ago

      Gilleland’s invention was a failure. When it was first tested on 22 April 1862, it was aimed at a target of two upright poles. Uneven combustion of the powder and casting imperfections in the barrels gave the connected balls a spinning movement in an off-center direction, with witnesses reporting that on its first firing it “plowed up about an acre of ground, tore up a cornfield, mowed down saplings, and then the chain broke, the two balls going in different directions”.

      On its second firing, the chain shot across the horizon and into a thicket of pine. “[The] thicket of young pines at which it was aimed looked as if a narrow cyclone or a giant mowing machine had passed through,” reported another witness.

      On its third firing, the chain snapped immediately and one ball tore into a nearby cabin, knocking down its chimney; the other spun off erratically and struck a nearby cow, killing it instantly. Gilleland considered the test-firings a success.

      The inventor seemed to think so.

      The wikipedia article about it.

      • ahornsirup@feddit.orgEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        Which isn’t necessarily an issue if your goal is to hit somewhere in a line of charging infantry. Why you wouldn’t just use canister shot is beyond me, but accuracy isn’t much of an issue if your target is an entire enemy formation.

        • merc@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          1·
          3 months ago

          I don’t think you realize how much they missed by:

          “On its second firing, the chain shot across the horizon and into a thicket of pine.”

          So, you’d miss the entire army you were shooting at, and hit a nearby forest.

        • YarHarSuperstar@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          3 months ago

          It’s an issue if you need the chain to be stretched across parallel to the side by side group of soldiers charging at you.

        • Rentlar@lemmy.caEnglish
          1·
          3 months ago

          Solution: aim the Gilleland cannon at what you don’t want to hit, then fire!