An overview of Napoleonic era artillery – Interview with Kevin Kiley Military History Inside Out

An overview of Napoleonic era artillery – Interview with Kevin Kiley

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Interview Timeline

Kevin F. Kiley is a retired US Marine Corps artillery officer and a graduate of West Point. He has a master’s degree in Military History from and has written extensively on historic artillery and other topics. We spoke about his latest book, a dictionary of Napoleonic artillery. Artillery of the Napoleonic Wars: A Concise Dictionary, 1792-1815 (Frontline Books, 2021)

0:38 – Kevin talks about why he started writing about the Napoleonic Wars.

3:13 – Kevin talks about the focus of the book on technical artillery terms.

4:35 – Kevin contrasts field artillery and all other types of artillery.

8:01 – Kevin talks about Napoleon’s rise because of being an artillerist.

10:46 – Kevin talks about where the artillery pieces were made.

13:04 – Kevin talks about overheating artillery guns.

14:07 – Kevin talks about the gun foundries at the time.

15:30 – Kevin talks more about foundries.

16:06 – Kevin talks about naval artillery.

16:51 – Kevin talks about the artillery engineers of the time.

18:17 – Kevin talks about meritocracy in the French military.

19:29 – Kevin talks about moving artillery around.

21:35 – Kevin talks about horses and artillery teams.

22:06 – Kevin talks about horses knowing artillery commands.

22:53 – Kevin talks about how quickly gun crews could set up.

24:13 – Kevin talks about the elements needed to load and fire a gun.

25:59 – Kevin talks about the cartridge, siege loading, and the sabot.

26:41 – Kevin talks about fuses.

27:23 – Kevin talks about loading lit bullets.

28:59 – Kevin talks about the French system after 1815.

29:19 – Kevin talks about the research he did for the book.

32:42 – Kevin talks about counter-battery action.

34:05 – Kevin talks about incendiary shells.

35:43 – Kevin talks about standing up to artillery attacks.

36:30 – Kevin talks about the French at the American Revolution.

37:27 – Kevin talks about Washington’s use of artillery.

38:28 – Kevin talks about national approaches to artillery.

42:35 – Kevin talks about building cannons.

44:27 – Kevin talks about artillery in French battles.

46:54 – Kevin talks about the War of 1812.

48:04 – Kevin talks about an odd-sounding artillery term

50:52 – Kevin talks about Russian changes in artillery.

51:40 – Kevin talks about the best artillerists.

52:55 – Kevin talks about the cavalry and the artillery.

53:53 – Kevin talks about how the artillery protected itself.

54:31 – Kevin talks about artillery unit make-ups.

56:26 – Kevin talks about his various books.

1:02:49 – Kevin talks about temperature and artillery.

1:05:34 – Kevin talks about hearing loss and artillery.

1:10:20 – Kevin talks about Napoleon’s interest in naval artillery.

1:12:33 – Kevin talks about important qualities of an artillery officer.

1:13:19 – Kevin talks about interest in the Napoleonic Wars.

1:16:28 – Kevin talks about myths about the Napoleonic Wars.

1:17:47 – Kevin talks about the Russians and Napoleon.

1:22:03 – Information on the book can be found at amazon.

1:23:48 – Kevin talks about the Eastern Roman Empire.

1:25:15 – Kevin talks about how he got published.

Links of interest

https://amzn.to/3gIAEnM