| Field Artillery In The American Civil War |
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Field artillery in the American Civil War refers to the important Artillery weapons, equipment, and practices used by Infantry and Cavalry forces in the field. It does not include Heavy Artillery , use of artillery in fixed fortifications, or coastal or naval artillery. WEAPONS The principal guns widely used in the field are listed in the following table. There were two general types of artillery weapons used during the s and Rifle s. Smoothbores included Howitzer s and Cannon s. Smoothbores Smoothbore artillery refers to weapons that are not rifled. Earlier weapons tend to be smoothbore; later (and more advanced) weapons tend to be rifled. Howitzers Howitzers were short-barreled guns that were typically used for firing explosive shells in a high trajectory, but also for spherical case shot and canister. They were easier to transport because of their lighter weight, but they suffered from a shorter range than cannons and were not as flexible. The primary users of howitzers during the Civil War were some Confederate forces, particularly Cavalry . Cannons While heavier, cannons were more flexible than howitzers because they could fire shells and canister, and solid shot. Their trajectory was flatter and longer-range than a howitzer's. By far the most popular of the smoothbore cannons was the 12-pounder Napoleon, which was sometimes called, confusingly, a "gun-howitzer" (because it possessed characteristics of both). 12-pounder Napoleon The Napoleon was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the war. It was named after Napoleon III Of France and was widely admired because of its safety, reliability, and killing power, especially at close range. It was the last cast Bronze gun used by an American army. The Federal version of the Napoleon can be recognized by the flared front end of the barrel, called the muzzle-swell, whereas Confederate-manufactured Napoleons had straight barrels. |
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