Roundshot? EFFECTIVE??? NO!

[Prussian to the Iron]

now if only they could get the cannons to aim up with canister shot, so i can fire canister without killing half my men.

[Zenicetus]

now if only they could get the cannons to aim up with canister shot, so i can fire canister without killing half my men.

I don't think you're supposed to stand in front of a cannon firing canister shot.

The dispersion pattern is "conical," designed for use at short range. Also I've read about it being fired intentionally short of advancing infantry so the balls would skip and flatten for wider dispersion. I don't think CA is modeling it in that much detail, but you just don't put solders in front of a big shotgun.

[A Very Super Market]

Cannons are low on the ground. If you aimed up, the enemy would end up only getting a slightly painful drizzle. Artillery is meant to be in front of your men, or in a gap, or completely separate in their own battery.