Also known as: Napoleon, 12-pounder gun-howitzer, Model 1857.
| Type | Bronze smoothbore gun-howitzer |
|---|---|
| Bore | 4.62 inches |
| Class | Light 12-pounder field gun |
| Origin | French pattern of the Napoleon III era, adopted 1857 |
| Ammunition | Solid shot, shell, spherical case, and canister |
The standard field gun
The Model 1857 gun-howitzer, universally called the Napoleon after the French pattern from which it derived, was a bronze smoothbore of 4.62-inch bore firing a 12-pound projectile. Lighter and simpler than the older system of separate guns and howitzers it replaced, it combined their roles in one carriage-friendly piece.
Its versatility made it the most common field piece of the war on both sides. It fired solid shot for battering and ricochet, shell and spherical case for longer-range work, and canister for close defense, where a double charge of canister could break an assault at short range.
On this site
Sources & further reading
- United States Army, Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Manual for the Use of the Officers of the United States Army. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1862.
- Gibbon, John. The Artillerist's Manual. New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1860.