12 pounder iron howitzer at Antietam

[cannonmn]

Please look at photos on FB here, I need to know if the howitzer is original and it's markings if it is. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Be75j6gDn/

 

[cannonmn]

Please look at photos on FB here, I need to know if the howitzer is original and it's markings if it is. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Be75j6gDn/

Got this info: "Wayne Stark examined it in April 1981. Has it listed as 12-pdr Confed iron howitzer, no markings recorded. Comment: unmarked, larger than M1841". M1841 refers to the U.S. M1841 bronze 12 pounder howitzer. Since this is a unique tube, I'll be interested in what NPS knows about it.

 

[cannonmn]

Duplicate text deleted.

 

[Rhea Cole]

This is both a howitzer & a cannon.

Cast iron CSA 12 pound howitzer / cannon "Napoleon."


I believe what we are wrestling with is nomenclature. The 1857 model 12 pound howitzer / cannon was developed during the reign of Napoleon lll. In U. S. service it replaced the 1841 model 12 pound howitzer & 6 pound smoothbore cannon. (+/-) 1/2 half of the six pounder inventory was rebored with lands & grooves. Almost all of the rest were recycled.

Three 1841 model 6 pounders were recast to make two 1857 model howitzer / cannon "Napoleons."

Unlike the elegant curves of the bronze 12 pound Napoleon, the resource poor Confederate cast iron version looks like a piece of sewer pipe.

Note:

The howitzer designation indicated the ability to loft a shell or spherical case shot in a high parabolic curve to drop down onto the target.

Cannon, such as the 1841 model six pounder's bore was too narrow for shells. It was, however, suitable for battering with solid shot or showering balls & fragments from spherical case shot ( shrapnel.)

Kinetic Energy = 1/2 Mass X Velocity squared. By converting six pound cannon into twelve pounders, at the expense of a small increase in weight, the Kinetic Energy increased exponentially. Having only one type of ammunition in a battery had obvious advantages, too.

 

[Rhea Cole]

This is both a howitzer & a cannon.

View attachment 572598
Cast iron CSA 12 pound howitzer / cannon "Napoleon."


I believe what we are wrestling with is nomenclature. The 1857 model 12 pound howitzer / cannon was developed during the reign of Napoleon lll. In U. S. service it replaced the 1841 model 12 pound howitzer & 6 pound smoothbore cannon. (+/-) 1/2 half of the six pounder inventory was rebored with lands & grooves. Almost all of the rest were recycled.

Three 1841 model 6 pounders were recast to make two 1857 model howitzer / cannon "Napoleons."

Unlike the elegant curves of the bronze 12 pound Napoleon, the resource poor Confederate cast iron version looks like a piece of sewer pipe.

Note:

The howitzer designation indicated the ability to loft a shell or spherical case shot in a high parabolic curve to drop down onto the target.

Cannon, such as the 1841 model six pounder's bore was too narrow for shells. It was, however, suitable for battering with solid shot or showering balls & fragments from spherical case shot ( shrapnel.)

Kinetic Energy = 1/2 Mass X Velocity squared. By converting six pound cannon into twelve pounders, at the expense of a small increase in weight, the Kinetic Energy increased exponentially. Having only one type of ammunition in a battery had obvious advantages, too.

View attachment 572603

I had meant to include this citation because it clearly indicates the cone or dimple shaped breech of a howitzer. The powder bag was attached to the wooden sabot. A cannon's breech is the same diameter as the bore.