ROBERTSON'S-DENT'S BATTERY PENSACOLA, FL
Blakeley Park, Spanish Fort, AL Reenactment Photo, Copyright Stephen Howard
We're looking for a few good men......do you fill the bill?
ROBERTSON’S - DENT'S BATTERY OF PENSACOLA, FL
Robertson’s Florida Battery was organized in Pensacola, Florida in late 1861 and was known, as was the custom, by the name of its commanding officer, Captain Felix H. Robertson. Robertson was a Texan who resigned from West Point just prior to graduation and offered his services to the Confederacy. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of artillery and was present at the bombardment of Fort Sumter before being sent to Pensacola. In January of 1862 at the age of twenty-two, he was given command of the newly formed battery.
By March of 1862 the battery was in Corinth, Mississippi as part of Gen. Braxton Bragg’s Corps of 10,000 men. It left Pensacola with one caisson, 231 rounds of ammunition and four 12-pounder Napoleon guns supplied by Leeds & Company of New Orleans. The battery was issued a battery wagon and traveling forge in Montgomery but arrived at Corinth in need of additional equipment. Robertson and his men first saw action on April 6, 1862 at the battle of Shiloh. By Murfreesboro, the battery had added two more Napoleons for a total of six guns. At Chickamauga, Major Robertson was in command of a battalion of reserve artillery and Captain S. H. Dent assumed command of the battery. Dent, a Maryland native, practiced law in Eufaula, Alabama from 1856-1861. He enlisted in the Eufaula Rifles and became adjutant of the 1st Alabama Infantry in 1861. In April 1862, he joined the newly-formed Robertson's Battery, later called Dent's Battery when he became its captain in 1863. After the war, he returned to Eufaula, where he entered business and practiced law. By the time the Battery reached Chattanooga in December of 1863, it was known as Dent’s Alabama Battery. After participating in the Atlanta Campaign and the Battles of Franklin and Nashville, the remaining troops were sent to man the coastal defenses of Mobile. Those not captured at Spanish Fort and Blakeley were surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama on May 4, 1865.
ROBERTSON’S - DENT'S BATTERY TODAY
Robertson’s - Dent's Battery was reestablished in 1985 as an association of individuals united for the purpose of preserving and promoting knowledge of the American Civil War period and the memory of those who served on both sides during that conflict. To accomplish this goal the group participates in various activities such as:
- Parades, Ceremonies, & Civic Events
- Living History Events
- School Lectures and Presentations
- S.C.V. & U.D.C. Memorials
- Civil War Battle Reenactments
The unit has one full-scale 6-pounder cannon used to authentically portray Civil War field artillery in action. The group participates in local events as well as reenactments around the Southeast, primarily in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Some members camp modern at these events while others rough it in the authentic Civil War camps. Members of Robertson's Florida Battery also portray a Federal artillery unit, Battery "D", 4th U.S. Artillery. The Battery meets the first Saturday of each month. Call or e-mail for details.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (Tentative)- 2006:
** Denotes events Robertson's/Dent's Battery will attend and participate as a Confederate artillery unit.
Sept 9, 2006 - Monthly meeting @ 6 PM at Village Inn, Pace, FL
Sept 16-17, 2006 - Battle of Bibb Furnace Civil War Reenactment
**October 21-22, 2006 - Beauvoir Fall Muster, Harrison County, MS
(Directions to Harrison County Fairgrounds and the Fall Muster - Take I-10 exit 28 north, go 7 miles, you can't miss it!)
2006 ALABAMA DIVISION EVENTS
August 05, 2006 - Alabama Division Picnic and Meeting, Tannehill State Park; McCalla, Alabama - Alabama Division Meeting
September 08-10, 2006 - Battle of Tunnel Hill, Tunnel Hill, Ga - 35th Tn Inf /28th Al Infantry Battle
November 03-05, 2006 - Missionary Ridge, Sequoyah Caverns, Alabama Cleburne's Division, Alabama Division & Carnes Battery Battle
CIVIL WAR FIELD ARTILLERY POSITIONS
Eight cannoneers are needed to fire field pieces. Five are at the gun--the gunner and cannoneers 1, 2, 3, 4. The gunner is in charge of the piece; he gives the commands and does the aiming. Cannoneers 1-4 actually load, clean and fire the gun. Cannoneer 5 runs the ammunition from the limber to the gun. Cannoneers 6 and 7 prepare ammunition and cut the fuses. Click on the "Gallery" button at the bottom of the page for illustrations.
CANNON LORE
According to an old saying, “Artillery lends dignity to what might otherwise be a vulgar brawl.” In serving this function, it has had a major effect on the history of the world. The big guns, beyond their function, served symbolically as well. Major Robert Stiles, Confederate artillery officer, put it this way: “The gun is the rallying point of the detachment, its point of honor, its flag, its banner. It is that to which men look, by which they stand, with and for which they fight, by and for which they fall. As long as the gun is theirs, they are unconquered, victorious; when the gun is lost, all is lost.”
TYPES OF FIELD ARTILLERY AMMUNITION:
SOLID SHOT
For smoothbores, cast-iron solid shot is the familiar spherical cannonball; for rifles, the elongated projectile is called a "bolt". Both were useful for counter-battery fire or attacking fortifications; the superior power of the rifle bolt was the technological development that made masonry fortifications obsolete, a fact graphically demonstrated by the ease with which the walls of Fort Pulaski were breached early in the War.
SHELL
Shell, as its name implies, is a hollow iron projectile filled with a bursting charge of black powder. All round shell, and some rifle shell, used a time fuse to ignite the bursting charge; Rifle shells could also use percussion fuses.
CASE SHOT
Also called shrapnel or shrapnel shell after its inventor, British artilleryman Henry Shrapnel, case shot was an improvement on the simple shell by the addition of small lead or iron balls to the interior of a thinner-walled projectile. The balls were embedded in a matrix of sulfur or coal tar. Case shot was designed to explode in the air, so nearly always used time fuses.
CANISTER
Canister is simply a tinned-iron can full of iron or lead balls packed in sawdust. When fired, the effect is that of a giant shotgun blast. Canister is short-range anti-personnel ammunition.
GRAPE SHOT
Grape Shot is similar in concept to canister, but has fewer and larger balls, held together with iron rings or trussed up with fabric and twine. (The latter is "quilted grape shot", sometimes referred to as "quilted grape" or "quilted shot".) It is often erroneously stated that this was purely naval ammunition, but grape was at least occasionally issued to field and foot artillery.
REENACTING AS A HOBBY
Civil War reenacting is a family oriented hobby with activities for all ages. Women and children portray the families of soldiers and reenact roles of civilians of the time period. Teenagers under 18 may participate in battle reenactments with parental supervision but are not permitted to carry firearms. The Battery provides liability insurance that covers active members.
CONTACT INFORMATION
For additional information on meetings, events, membership, etc., contact Steve Howard at (850) 476-8717 or Charles Coe at (850) 995-0154.
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Send E-Mail to: showard25@cox.netCopyright © 2000 Stephen Howard. All Rights Reserved