During the Civil War, artillery played an important part in most battles. At that time guns were muzzle loaders; which means that gun powder, wad and shot were all pushed down the front of the gun barrel. Siege guns were capable of making large holes in the enemies defences.

Slanning's Regiment owns two field guns. We don't call them cannon but guns or pieces. Field guns can be run in support of the regiment and are anti-personnel weopons. Although we don't use shot, it would have been the size of a golf ball, made of lead or cast iron, and capable of plowing through a file of men! In Sealed Knot battles, the guns only fire gunpowder that has been rammed down with a wad of grass.

All of the guns have names and ours are ‘Hope’ and ‘Charity’. They consist of a cast iron barrel, mounted on a wooden carriage with two wheels and a trail for moving the piece. On the side of the carriage are side-arms, e.g. mops and ramrod, used for loading.

‘Hope’ is an example of one of the smaller artillery pieces used in the Civil War. She is a robinette and is proofed to fire 1 ounce of black powder. ‘Charity’ is a falconette, the most common type in the Sealed Knot, and is proofed for 4 ounces.

Once we have loaded the gun the touch hole at the other end of the barrel is pricked with a spike to ensure it is clear and filled with powder. The touch hole is equivalent to the trigger of the gun. To fire the gun safely slow match is threaded on to the end of a four foot pole called a linstock, which is held at the far end and applied to the touch hole. Other equipment required is a bucket of water, a powder box kept six foot from the rear of the gun and a powder horn for priming. In the Civil War there would also have been a cart full of shot.

Intrigued? Then come and see for yourself. Artillery don't usually get attacked unless by prior agreement, but definitely have the biggest bang! If you think the pike block is not for you or don't fancy having a musket firing close to your face, you may just be the person we are looking for?

You will need a black powder licence, available from your local police force. You will first learn how to be a mattrosse - each gun needs four or five people to run it efficiently. Later, with experience, you can take a test to become a gun captain, in charge of one of the pieces and its crew.