historicus
Private
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2016
I have never known what makes a Howitzer cannon a Howitzer cannon as opposed to, say, a Napoleon cannon or a different type of cannon. Before today I had several theories about what might make a Howitzer cannon a Howitzer. Today I went to the Chickamauga Battlefield to try to figure it out. At the Visitor's Center for Chickamauga National Park, the National Park Service has six cannons on display. The National Park Service has plaques for each of the six cannons that label what type of cannon it is. Before today, my first theory was that maybe a Howitzer cannon meant a bronze cannon that was originally made as a smoothbore, but the cannon was retrofitted to be a rifled bronze cannon. One of the six cannons on display at the visitor's center seems to rule that out because it is a bronze cannon labeled a Howitzer, and it does not have the rifle grooves inside the barrel. I don't say that this definitely rules this cannon out of being a Howitzer because perhaps the rifle grooves wore away over time.
Before today, I thought that maybe a Howitzer cannon just meant a smoothbore cannon, but I saw several other smoothbores that were not Howitzers, so that ruled that out.
A third theory that I had before today was that a Howitzer cannon might just mean a cannon made out of iron instead of bronze, but the Howitzer I saw at the Visitor's center was made out of bronze, so that rules that theory out.
A fourth theory that I had before today was that a Howitzer cannon might just mean that the cannon was manufactured at a foundry named Howitzer. But the Howitzer cannon at the Visitor's Center for Chickamauga was made at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. Also, I saw several plaques at Chickamauga that said that Federal batteries had Howitzers, so those two facts seem to rule out that the Howitzers are named after the Foundries where they were made.
So what makes a Howitzer cannon a Howitzer cannon as opposed to a Napoleon or a James or any other type of cannon?
Before today, I thought that maybe a Howitzer cannon just meant a smoothbore cannon, but I saw several other smoothbores that were not Howitzers, so that ruled that out.
A third theory that I had before today was that a Howitzer cannon might just mean a cannon made out of iron instead of bronze, but the Howitzer I saw at the Visitor's center was made out of bronze, so that rules that theory out.
A fourth theory that I had before today was that a Howitzer cannon might just mean that the cannon was manufactured at a foundry named Howitzer. But the Howitzer cannon at the Visitor's Center for Chickamauga was made at the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond. Also, I saw several plaques at Chickamauga that said that Federal batteries had Howitzers, so those two facts seem to rule out that the Howitzers are named after the Foundries where they were made.
So what makes a Howitzer cannon a Howitzer cannon as opposed to a Napoleon or a James or any other type of cannon?