What is a civil war howitzer?
The M1841 12-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and employed from the Mexican–American War to the American Civil War. It fired a 8.9 lb (4.0 kg) shell up to a distance of 1,072 yd (980 m) at 5° elevation.
What is the muzzle velocity of a Civil War cannon?
1,215 ft/s
The gunpowder charge weighed 1.0 lb (0.5 kg) and fired the projectile with a muzzle velocity of 1,215 ft/s (370 m/s) to a distance of 1,830 yd (1,673 m) at 5° elevation.
What was the effective range of a Civil War cannon?
This is pretty much what most artillery rounds are today. The typical Civil War shell had a range of about 1,500 yards — or just under a mile. However, when enemy troops were approaching, the artillery had two options. The first was to use what was called “case” rounds.
Are Civil War cannonballs explosive?
Contrary to Hollywood films and popular lore, these cannonballs did not explode on contact. Percussion fuses were not used on spherical projectiles. These shells and spherical case shot were designed to explode only when a flame reached the interior charge.
What kind of cannon balls were used in the Civil War?
Types of guns used
| Artillery piece | Union Army | Confederate Army |
|---|---|---|
| M1841 12-pounder howitzer | 3 | 44 |
| M1841 24-pounder howitzer | 0 | 4 |
| M1841 32-pounder howitzer | 6 | 0 |
| M1857 12-pounder Napoleon gun-howitzer | 117 | 14 |
Did Civil War cannon balls whistle?
Several Continental soldiers kept journals during the siege. Within their pages, the soldiers immortalized their encounters with the cannon shot which alternately rocketed, bounded, rolled and dropped into their camps.
How are cannon barrels rifled?
In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun’s barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the projectile longitudinally by conservation of angular momentum, improving its …
How much does a mountain howitzer weigh?
The 12 pounder mountain howitzer gun tube was about 33 inches long and weighed 220 pounds. The carriage weighed 157 pounds and each wheel was 65 pounds, making the total weight of the mountain howitzer 507 pounds. A downside to the mountain howitzer compared to other artillery was the limited range of the smaller weapon.
What is a M1841 mountain howitzer?
The M1841 mountain howitzer was a mountain gun used by the United States Army during the mid-nineteenth century, from 1837 to about 1870. It saw service during the Mexican–American War of 1847-1848, the American Indian Wars, and during the American Civil War, 1861-1865 (primarily in the more rugged western theaters ).
When did the US Army start using mountain howitzers?
The M1841 mountain howitzer was a mountain gun used by the United States Army during the mid-nineteenth century, from 1837 to about 1870. It saw service during the Mexican–American War of 1847–1848, the American Indian Wars, and during the American Civil War, 1861–1865 (primarily in the more rugged western theaters).
Who used howitzers in the Civil War?
Mountain howitzers were used by artillery and infantry units, but their portability made them especially suited for cavalry. They were used in every theatre of operation. Confederates John Hunt Morgan and John S. Mosby both used them in some of their fast moving raids.