Also known as: heated shot.
| Class | Incendiary use of solid shot |
|---|---|
| Preparation | Round shot heated red-hot in a shot furnace |
| Target | Wooden ships and structures |
| Handling | Wet wads between charge and shot to prevent premature ignition |
Fire from the guns
Hot shot was an ordinary solid round shot heated to a red heat in a shot furnace and then loaded and fired to lodge in and set fire to wooden ships, buildings, and stores. It was above all a weapon of seacoast defense against wooden warships.
Firing it safely demanded care: wet wads were rammed between the powder charge and the glowing ball so the heat would not touch off the charge before the gun was fired. The spread of iron warships reduced the value of hot shot by the time of the Civil War.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.