Thanks David for the excellant information. I've played around enough with reproduction full scale CW field artillery to know that its not the easiest thing in the world to hit a target consistantly. That most of the artillery training in that day was in the direct fire methods. And that a mortar is not a direct fire weapon even if you can see your target. Let alone a weapon that was adapted into being a mortar from its intended useage.

That if such a weapon were used it could not be specifically aimed, and would be very inaccurate and therefore would be ineffective and therefore could only be classified as a terror weapon. And that this intent would be well reconized by any casual observer that visited Fort Sumter during that period and were permitted to see this arrangement.