American Artillery

An extensively illustrated history covering the artillery weaponry of the United States military from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century.

The first regiment of artillery in the American Continental Army was formed in 1775. During the American Civil War almost a century later, artillery evolved from the employment of individual batteries to massed fire of grouped batteries.

In 1907, the US Army Artillery Corps was reorganized into the Field Artillery and the Coast Artillery Corps. During the First World War, a lack of American-made weapons saw the adoption of foreign artillery pieces. The Second World War demanded the introduction of many new field artillery pieces by the US Army. General Patton later commented, “I don’t have to tell you who won the war, you know our artillery did.”

American artillery firepower also took a heavy toll of the enemy during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. During the Cold War American artillery continued to develop, as the military embraced new weapons systems including tactical nuclear missiles, which thankfully never had to be used. Conventional artillery continued to prove highly effective in the country’s twenty-first century wars. This superbly illustrated and authoritative work covers the full range of artillery weaponry that has been in service with US armed forces.

“Full of technical details on cannon, rocket and missile launchers, munitions, and fire-direction equipment. There is also considerable information on how new ordnance was developed and adopted into service over time.” —Military Heritage Magazine