In the Field 6-pound cannons.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Both the Northern and Southern states had a fair amount of 6-pound cannons at the start of the Civil War. These did not prove to be an overly valuable asset to either side. Both sides replace these with better cannons. In some theaters these cannons continued to be used.

What did the Confederacy do with the no longer needed 6-pounders? What did the Union do with its no longer needed 6-pounders?
 
Supposedly, (I ain't seen the proof, just endless books claiming it) in the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee pushed to have all 6-pounders melted down and turned into Napoleons, but I'm not sure personally. Napoleons use a lot more bronze, you'd have to melt two to get one.

Besides that, they never stopped using 6-pounders using them up till the end of the war. Especially in the Western and Trans-Mississippi Theaters. The CSA even manufactured a lot of 6-pounders, in iron and bronze, and kept doing it.

6-pounders might not have had the range of Napoleons or Rifles, but they were still useful. Especially when loaded with cannister, or in mountainous regions where it wasn't hard to increase range with a little ride up a mountain road.
 
Supposedly, (I ain't seen the proof, just endless books claiming it) in the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee pushed to have all 6-pounders melted down and turned into Napoleons, but I'm not sure personally. Napoleons use a lot more bronze, you'd have to melt two to get one.
I realize it ain't "proof," but Drew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, details the melting of the 6-pdrs into 12's, especially on page 189. Yes, its just a book, but he references the ORs, Pendleton's papers and the Tredegar Receiving and Production records.

In January and February, 1863, Tredegar averaged 8 Napoleons per month. Lee wanted, and got, 70 before the spring season. The slow production had been in the lack of copper and tin; the production increase was the result of melting the 6-pdrs.
 
I realize it ain't "proof," but Drew, Ironmaker to the Confederacy, details the melting of the 6-pdrs into 12's, especially on page 189. Yes, its just a book, but he references the ORs, Pendleton's papers and the Tredegar Receiving and Production records.

In January and February, 1863, Tredegar averaged 8 Napoleons per month. Lee wanted, and got, 70 before the spring season. The slow production had been in the lack of copper and tin; the production increase was the result of melting the 6-pdrs.

Hey its something.
 
What did the Confederacy do with the no longer needed 6-pounders?
There was no such thing as no longer needed in the South. They were still making 6lber in 1864.
 
for the union, some of the 6-pdrs were sent back to arsenals and rifled for the James projectile and sent back in the field. - an early form of recycling....
True, but that was at the outset, and those were not looked on favorably. The 1st Minn. Light had two fail during the early fighting on April 6 st Shiloh (unclear whether they were re-bores or new rifles, but I'm not sure it made any difference). They were quickly gone in the Army of the Potomac and eventually in the other armies.
 
They were like every other thing that was deemed useless (human & equipment) in the East, it was sent West.
And, on the Federal side, as soon as they could be ditched they were. The 1st Minn. finally got 3" ordnance rifles in March 1864. They had also started out with another mediocre weapon that got phased out - 2 M1841 12 lb. field howitzers - in addition to 4 "James" 6 lb. rifles.
 
Obsolete & worn out bronze cannon were returned to the U.S. Ordinance Bureau, melted down & recast. Three 1841 model 6 pdr cannons could be melted down & recast as two 12 pdr Napoleon cannon/howitzers. The current value of bronze is about $2.00 a pound. One of the perceived advantages of bronze cannon was the relative ease of recycling when they were shot out. A look with a flashlight down the bore of CW veteran bronze cannon reveals a pattern of long gouges made by the straps that held the wooden sabot to the round.

IMG_0397.jpg

Aimes Model One 14 pnd rifle. Chicago Board of Trade position, Stones River NB. Murfreesboro TN
This is the business end of an Ames Model One rifle. The exterior is identical to the 1841 Model 6 pdr. #97 was new cast, perhaps by recycling metal from obsolete or worn out cannons. Aimes also bored out & rifled 1861 smoothbores. By this means, an obsolete pea shooter smoothbore was morphed into a lethal 14 pnd rifle with three times the accurate range & exponentially larger hitting power. The Chicago Board of Trade's Aimes rifles held their ground & shot attacking Confederate infantry to tatters December 31, 1862.
artillery fortress rosecrans.jpeg

Fortress Roscrans, Murfreesboro TN Circa 1863
After Stones River, the Army of the Cumberland relegated their 1841 Model 6 pdr's to duty in fortifications. Note the dent in the side of the barrel & the corresponding chunk knocked out of the wheel of this 6 pdr or Ames Model 1. The Army of Tennessee, on the other hand, was largely armed with Model 1841 Model 6 pnd cannon & 12 pnd howitzers at the start of the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863. That left the A of TN gunners outgunned & out ranged. The almost clownish looking siege howitzer in the background is an example of the obsolete ordinance that armed the A of the C's works in 1863.

Battery of smoothbores & rifles.jpg

Firing by piece from the left, Chickamauga NB. NPS living history volunteers.
They may have been obsolete, but 1841 cannons & a howitzer could still pack a wallop. All shined up, they look like gold shining in the sun... from a distance there is actually a golden haze in the air around them.
 
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The six pounders were especially suited for use by the horse artillery - batteries accompanying cavalry units where every member of the battery was mounted so as to be able to keep up with other mounted men. The sixes were notably lighter in weight than the other bronze guns; only when ten pounder Parrotts and 3" ordnance rifles became common after the first year of the war did they begin to replace the six pounder guns in the horse artillery.
 
The six pounders were especially suited for use by the horse artillery - batteries accompanying cavalry units where every member of the battery was mounted so as to be able to keep up with other mounted men. The sixes were notably lighter in weight than the other bronze guns; only when ten pounder Parrotts and 3" ordnance rifles became common after the first year of the war did they begin to replace the six pounder guns in the horse artillery.
And that's why the horse artillery in the Army of the Potomac was generally outfitted with the 3" rifle by the time of the Peninsula Campaign.
 
Obsolete & worn out bronze cannon were returned to the U.S. Ordinance Bureau, melted down & recast. Three 1841 model 6 pdr cannons could be melted down & recast as 12 pdr Napoleon cannon/howitzers. The current value of bronze is about $2.00 a pound. One of the perceived advantages of bronze cannon was the relative ease of recycling when they were shot out. A look with a flashlight down the bore of CW veteran bronze cannon reveals a pattern of long gouges made by the straps that held the wooden sabot to the round.

View attachment 393915
Aimes Model One 14 pnd rifle. Chicago Board of Trade position, Stones River NB. Murfreesboro TN
This is the business end of an Aimes Model One rifle. The exterior is identical to the 1841 Model 6 pdr. #97 was new cast, perhaps by recycling metal from obsolete or worn out cannons. Aimes also bored out & rifled 1861 smoothbores. By this means, an obsolete pea shooter smoothbore was morphed into a lethal 14 pnd rifle with three times the accurate range & exponentially larger hitting power. The Chicago Board of Trade's Aimes rifles held their ground & shot attacking Confederate infantry to tatters December 31, 1862.
View attachment 393921
Fortress Roscrans, Murfreesboro TN Circa 1863
After Stones River, the Army of the Cumberland relegated their 1841 Model 6 pdr's to duty in fortifications. Note the dent in the side of the barrel & the corresponding chunk knocked out of the wheel of this 6 pdr or Aimes Model 1. The Army of Tennessee, on the other hand, was largely armed with Model 1841 Model 6 pnd cannon & 12 pnd howitzers at the start of the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863. That left the A of TN gunners outgunned & out ranged. The almost clownish looking siege howitzer in the background is an example of the obsolete ordinance that armed the A of the C's works in 1863.

View attachment 393922
Firing by piece from the left, Chickamauga NB. NPS living history volunteers.
They may have been obsolete, but 1841 cannons & a howitzer could still pack a wallop. All shined up, they look like gold shining in the sun... from a distance there is actually a golden haze in the air around them.
Great points. One of the trade-offs for recyclability was the shorter shelf-life of a bronze tube. The 12 lb. Napoleon could develop a burr inside the tube after a number of firings. And in original pieces, as we know, the copper eventually took over, converting that gold into green. Of course, in another sense, the ability to be recycled also turned that gold into "green". 😎
 
Great points. One of the trade-offs for recyclability was the shorter shelf-life of a bronze tube. The 12 lb. Napoleon could develop a burr inside the tube after a number of firings. And in original pieces, as we know, the copper eventually took over, converting that gold into green. Of course, in another sense, the ability to be recycled also turned that gold into "green". 😎
After Stones River, the A of the C stopped polishing the bronze cannon. There really was a, "Please shoot the bullets here!" quality about standing next to a cannon with a mirror finish. No joke, on a humid day, the air above the shiny guns has a golden haze. It is actually difficult to stand next to one, it is really too bright to look at. No doubt much to the chagrin of the NCO's, the barrels were allowed to weather into a mat brown bronze color. Some batteries painted the guns. The gray green verdigris patina that we see in parks is a natural oxidation that protects the surface of the bronze. I don't know for sure, but I would be very surprised if any NCO's let their guns go green during the war.
 
After Stones River, the A of the C stopped polishing the bronze cannon. There really was a, "Please shoot the bullets here!" quality about standing next to a cannon with a mirror finish. No joke, on a humid day, the air above the shiny guns has a golden haze. It is actually difficult to stand next to one, it is really too bright to look at. No doubt much to the chagrin of the NCO's, the barrels were allowed to weather into a mat brown bronze color. Some batteries painted the guns. The gray green verdigris patina that we see in parks is a natural oxidation that protects the surface of the bronze. I don't know for sure, but I would be very surprised if any NCO's let their guns go green during the war.
If any NCO's let their guns go green, I doubt that they stayed NCO's for long.
 
Obsolete & worn out bronze cannon were returned to the U.S. Ordinance Bureau, melted down & recast. Three 1841 model 6 pdr cannons could be melted down & recast as two 12 pdr Napoleon cannon/howitzers. The current value of bronze is about $2.00 a pound. One of the perceived advantages of bronze cannon was the relative ease of recycling when they were shot out. A look with a flashlight down the bore of CW veteran bronze cannon reveals a pattern of long gouges made by the straps that held the wooden sabot to the round.

View attachment 393915
Aimes Model One 14 pnd rifle. Chicago Board of Trade position, Stones River NB. Murfreesboro TN
This is the business end of an Aimes Model One rifle. The exterior is identical to the 1841 Model 6 pdr. #97 was new cast, perhaps by recycling metal from obsolete or worn out cannons. Aimes also bored out & rifled 1861 smoothbores. By this means, an obsolete pea shooter smoothbore was morphed into a lethal 14 pnd rifle with three times the accurate range & exponentially larger hitting power. The Chicago Board of Trade's Aimes rifles held their ground & shot attacking Confederate infantry to tatters December 31, 1862.
View attachment 393921
Fortress Roscrans, Murfreesboro TN Circa 1863
After Stones River, the Army of the Cumberland relegated their 1841 Model 6 pdr's to duty in fortifications. Note the dent in the side of the barrel & the corresponding chunk knocked out of the wheel of this 6 pdr or Aimes Model 1. The Army of Tennessee, on the other hand, was largely armed with Model 1841 Model 6 pnd cannon & 12 pnd howitzers at the start of the Tullahoma Campaign in June 1863. That left the A of TN gunners outgunned & out ranged. The almost clownish looking siege howitzer in the background is an example of the obsolete ordinance that armed the A of the C's works in 1863.

View attachment 393922
Firing by piece from the left, Chickamauga NB. NPS living history volunteers.
They may have been obsolete, but 1841 cannons & a howitzer could still pack a wallop. All shined up, they look like gold shining in the sun... from a distance there is actually a golden haze in the air around them.
Along with the gouges, the tubes also developed divots from the balls bouncing down the tubes before they left the tubes.
 
Along with the gouges, the tubes also developed divots from the balls bouncing down the tubes before they left the tubes.
That was associated with the circular error of round balls. Depending on the part of the bore the ball touched last, it took on a spin. That is one reason the balls went curving off line in such a highly decorative way. When they were using grazing fire, where the ball bounced along the ground, the spin stabilized it & the ball bounded along in a remarkably straight line. Until sanity prevailed, at Stones River, we fired exploding rounds at 800 yards & sent solid shot bounding toward the cedars across the cotton filed. In the STRI museum storage room is a piece of angle from a TVA tower with a decided dent from a sold shot. The crews shot at that tower for years before hitting it. The 1960's really were like no other.
 
Both Eastern armies had at least a few 6-pdrs as late as Antietam. The ANV had 44, while the AOTP had only 3. Sterling's 2nd CT Light Artillery battery still had three 6pndr James rifles at Gettysburg.
I'd have to check but my recollection is that technically the 2d Conn Light had 4 "14 lb." James rifles with a 3.8" bore rather than the 3.67's - just to further confuse things. (I referred to the 1st Minn. Light - they had the 3.67" "James" guns). In any event those were, as noted, virtually gone from the A of the P well before then. I think the 2d Conn also had 2 M1841 12 lb. field howitzers - which were also rapidly being weeded out. Gettysburg pretty much marked the end of their service with the A of the P - when they were transferred to Louisiana in early 1864 they were issued 3" ordnance rifles.
 
Along with the gouges, the tubes also developed divots from the balls bouncing down the tubes before they left the tubes.
Agree - that's the "burr" I mentioned. Not good for the efficient and effective firing of round shot or spherical case.
 
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