Grape shot or Gatling Guns?

[gloriousbattle]

Which is the more effective for cutting down enemy infantry?

The answer to this might well be the obvious one, but how do the two stack up in the field over relatively long service?  The cannon, by this period, is a pretty well-established and reliable technology.  Doesn't really require too much expertise to dump in the powder, followed by a handkerchief and some broken up tableware, and you have a pretty nice, effective, anti-infantry blast.  Yes, I know that shells are more complicated in this period, but not universally, and I understand that you can still do it the old fashioned way in a pinch with some guns if you need to, or am I wrong?

Primitive machineguns, however, are still new and finicky in this period, not having had all the bugs worked out yet.  After all, they are still jamming in WWII, and even today.

In test conditions, or during the early part of a campaign when the army still has everything it needs, I am sure the machinegun is much more effective, but does it remain so after protracted campaigning, when trained personnel start to get scarce, and proper replacements and ammo even more so?

Just curious.

[ErikB]

Cannon went through their difficulties, too.  They used to explode and kill their crews sometimes.

Still, I don't know which is more effective against infantry.  I couldn't say.

[moif]

Cannon have virtually no moving parts, so by that measure alone they have the advantage. On the other hand they are generally heavier and harder to bring to bear. Machines are heavy but generally never as heavy as cannon.

Machine guns require specific ammunition, where as a simple cannon can fire almost anything you care to pack into it.

Grape shot is effective, case shot even more so, but it can only be fired once before a reload stops your rate of fire. Machine guns can keep a sustained flow of bullets sweeping back and forth.

I think for killing infantry, machine guns win by default if you can afford them, but if your resources are meager then a cannon loaded with grape/case shot is effective enough to do much the same job. 

[ErikB]

Cannon can blow open fortifications protecting infantry, as well.

Thinking back to my Army time I'd prefer the man-portability of a M249 or M60 but such weapons cannot do much about bunkers, dirt fortifications or sandbags.  And besides, they are modern and your question was about a different period.

[ushistoryprof]

The type of "infantry" enemy you are facing and the land scape of the battlefield need to be considered as well.  The rate of fire of a machine gun would be a big advantage in closer actions.  In several battles in the late 19th century cannon crews were overrun by natives while reloading.  Training, elan and just plain guts could effect any battle but attacking a working machinegun  over open terrain would be hard indeed.
Prof

[Traveler Man]

There's also the mounting for the machine gun to consider. Early versions used much the same carriages as the artillery of the time, with all the attendant limitations to speed of traverse, etc. Where properly sited they can do the business as effectively as cannister/case from a cannon. The Prussians found this out the hard way against the French at Gravelotte-St. Privat.

[Gluteus Maximus]

Machine gums have a longer range than cannister and (barring mechanical  breakdown) can give a consistent withering fire throughout the length of the charge. Grape/cannister is possibly more lethal in each volley, but there is an appreciable time between each discharge. Theoretically, given decent uneven terrain for the attackers, they could judge the time of the next shot and duck into cover to avoid most of the damage and then charge forward in the reload time. The morale effect of MGs on experienced attackers is probably greater than volleys of cannister, so you should get more casualties and less chance of pressing home to melee.

Assuming mechanical unreliability is inevitable in the 19thC , I'd go for a mix of Gun and Gatling, so that if they do jam, you still have conventional gunnery to back up the rifle fire.

[AKULA]

cannon with cannister (rather than grape shot) over a gatling, for sheer flexibility (different munitions), and reliability.

In practice a military expedition would likely opt for both if available.

If later in the period, a Maxim over a cannon, due to portability and weight of firepower.