The M1857 12-pounder Napoleon or Light 12-pounder gun or 12-pounder gun-howitzer was a bronze
smoothbore
A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars.
History
Early firearms had smoothly bored barrels that fired projectiles without signi ...
muzzleloading
Muzzleloading is the shooting sport of firing muzzleloading guns. Muzzleloading guns, both antique and reproduction, are used for target shooting, hunting, historical re-enactment and historical research. The sport originated in the United States ...
artillery piece that was adopted by the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
in 1857 and extensively employed in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. The gun was the American-manufactured version of the
French ''
canon obusier de 12
The Canon obusier de 12 (officially the "Canon obusier de campagne de 12 livres, modèle 1853"), also known as the "Canon de l’Empereur" ("emperor's cannon"), was a type of canon-obusier (literally "shell-gun cannon", "gun-howitzer") developed ...
'' which combined the functions of both
field gun and
howitzer. The weapon proved to be simple to produce, reliable, and robust. It fired a
round shot
A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...
a distance of at 5°
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Ver ...
.
[The sources Coggins, Katcher, and Ripley provide different ranges for round shot at 5° elevation.] It could also fire
canister shot
Canister shot is a kind of anti-personnel artillery ammunition. Canister shot has been used since the advent of gunpowder-firing artillery in Western armies. However, canister shot saw particularly frequent use on land and at sea in the various ...
,
common shell, and
spherical case shot. The 12-pounder Napoleon outclassed and soon replaced the
M1841 6-pounder field gun and the
M1841 12-pounder 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 during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War. It fired a shell up to a distance ...
in the U.S. Army, while replacement of these older weapons was slower in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. A total of 1,157 were produced for the U.S. Army, all but a few in the period 1861–1863. The
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
utilized captured U.S. 12-pounder Napoleons and also manufactured about 500 during the war. The weapon was named after
Napoleon III of France
Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...
who helped develop the weapon.
Background
In the period before the Civil War, a U.S. Army light artillery battery was organized with four M1841 6-pounder field guns and two M1841 12-pounder howitzers. The field gun fired solid iron cannon balls in a flat trajectory to smash its targets while the howitzer was designed to lob hollow shells into massed formations or fortifications. Napoleon III realized that mixing field guns and howitzers within an artillery battery caused the logistical problem of having to carry two types of ammunition. He understood that batteries might become more effective if a single gun could fire both the round shot of the field gun and the common shell and spherical case shot of the howitzer. (Both field guns and howitzers were already capable of firing canister shot.) The French gun designers' solution to the problem was the invention of the ''canon obusier de 12'' or 12-pounder gun-howitzer. By 1856, this new weapon had been adopted by France,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
,
Saxony
Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...
, and
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
. An American military commission sent to Europe in 1855–1856 led by
Major Alfred Mordecai wrote a report praising the new gun-howitzer and the U.S. Ordnance Department quickly obtained a license to produce the gun.
On 14 December 1856, the
Ames Manufacturing Company
Ames Manufacturing Company was a manufacturer of swords, tools and cutlery in Chicopee, Massachusetts, as well as an iron and bronze foundry. They were a major provider of side arms, swords, light artillery, and heavy ordnance for the Union in the ...
received an order to produce a copy of the gun-howitzer, and on 25 March 1857 the Ordnance Department accepted delivery of one piece for a cost of $546.02. The weapon failed its trial, but in 2004 the original gun could be seen at the
Petersburg National Battlefield
Petersburg National Battlefield is a National Park Service unit preserving sites related to the American Civil War Siege of Petersburg (1864–65). The Battlefield is centered on the city of Petersburg, Virginia, and also includes outlying compon ...
visitor center. On 28 May 1857, the Ordnance Department ordered four guns of a modified version from Ames and these pieces were delivered on 16 September 1857. The four modified guns were longer than the original gun and heavier. These four guns became the standard model for all 12-pounder Napoleons subsequently produced for the U.S. Army.
Production
Union
When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, the U.S. Army owned only the original five 12-pounder Napoleons. The U.S. Army needed field artillery and there was no time to experiment with new gun types. Since the new gun could be produced quickly, orders were placed with Ames and
Cyrus Alger & Company. Later, more contracts were let to
Henry N. Hooper & Company,
Revere Copper Company
The Revere Copper Company is a copper rolling mill in the United States. It operated North America's first copper rolling mill. It was started by Paul Revere in 1801 in Canton, Massachusetts, and developed a commercially viable process for manufa ...
, and Miles Greenwood & Company. A single experimental
wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...
Napoleon was manufactured by the
Phoenix Iron Works.
One member of the 1855 American military commission was
Captain George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
who became
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
in command of U.S. forces in summer 1861. Like Mordecai, McClellan saw the advantages of using a single artillery piece to combine the functions of both field gun and howitzer. In 1861, McClellan approved the plan offered by his chief of artillery
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
William Farquhar Barry, which included the goal to arm
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
field artillery batteries exclusively with the light 12-pounder smoothbore, the
3-inch Ordnance rifle, and the
Parrott rifle
The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War.
Parrott rifle
The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and inven ...
. Each battery was organized so as to contain six identical guns, if possible, with no less than four guns per battery. By the time of the
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas in July 1861, the U.S. Army had only nine 12-pounder Napoleons, and by 1 January 1862, it had only 36 Napoleons. In August 1861, 22 Napoleons were ordered and 153 were ordered in October and November 1861.
When it became clear that the war would be a long one, many more guns were ordered. The number of 12-pounder Napoleons produced for the Federal government each year were 1861 (179), 1862 (422), 1863 (512), and 1864 (13). In 1864, 39 Napoleons were produced for the states of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, and
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The U.S. manufacturers and how many guns they produced are shown in the following table.
Confederate
The Confederate States started the Civil War with its batteries largely armed with the M1841 6-pounder field guns and M1841 12-pounder howitzers found in Southern arsenals. The Confederate States were hampered by having an inferior industrial capacity compared to the North and were far behind in the production of 12-pounder Napoleons. In addition, the South suffered from such a shortage of copper that in May 1861 no bronze guns could be produced. In December 1861, bronze gun casting resumed when enough copper was found, mostly from melted down stills and church bells. On 10 July 1862, Confederate chief of ordnance
Colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
Josiah Gorgas
Josiah Gorgas (July 1, 1818 – May 15, 1883) was one of the few Northern-born Confederate generals and was later president of the University of Alabama.
As chief of ordnance during the American Civil War, Gorgas managed to keep the Confederate ...
sent the
Tredegar Iron Works
The Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond, Virginia, was the biggest ironworks in the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and a significant factor in the decision to make Richmond its capital.
Tredegar supplied about half the artillery used ...
plans for the 12-pounder Napoleon. Gorgas asked that all production of the 6-pounder gun and 12-pounder howitzer be suspended, so that the new Napoleons could be manufactured. On 13 November 1862, Gorgas ordered that 12-pounder Napoleons should be the only bronze artillery pieces produced. On 5 December 1862, General
Robert E. Lee wrote to the Confederate Secretary of War
James Seddon asking that most 6-pounder guns and some 12-pounder howitzers be melted down and recast as 12-pounder Napoleons. By the
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...
on 1–3 July 1863, Lee's army received 49 of the recast Napoleons. The Confederate manufacturers and how many guns they produced are shown in the following table.
![CW Arty Confederate Napoleon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/CW_Arty_Confederate_Napoleon.jpg)
The first order for Confederate 12-pounder Napoleons came on 7 February 1861 when Georgia ordered 12 guns from the Tredegar Iron Works, but it is unclear whether this batch was ever produced. Leeds & Company shipped two 12-pounder Napoleons on 19 December 1861. The Federal
capture of New Orleans
The capture of New Orleans (April 25 – May 1, 1862) during the American Civil War was a turning point in the war, which precipitated the capture of the Mississippi River. Having fought past Forts Jackson and St. Philip, the Union was ...
in April 1862 ended production of Napoleons at Leeds & Company, while the Union
capture of Memphis in June 1862 ended production at Quinby & Robinson. Most Confederate-manufactured Napoleons did not have the muzzle swell that was characteristic of US-manufactured Napoleons. In December 1863, Federal troops captured the copper mines at
Ducktown, Tennessee
Ducktown ( chr, ᎦᏬᏅᏱ, translit=Gawonvyi) is a city in Polk County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 461 at the 2020 census and 475 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Duc ...
, stopping all manufacture of bronze cannons in the Confederate States. After this, the Tredegar Iron Works produced a
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...
Napoleon with a thick breech band.
Specifications
![21-18-122-m1857](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/21-18-122-m1857.jpg)
The Model 1857 bronze 12-pounder Napoleon gun barrel was from the muzzle to the
end of the knob and weighed . The diameter of the bore (caliber) was and the bore length was . With a gunpowder charge it was capable of firing solid shot at 5° elevation and spherical case (shrapnel) shot at 3°45' elevation. With a gunpowder charge it was capable of firing common shell at 3°45' elevation. The cannon fired a round shot of diameter. The spherical case shot weighed and released 78 musket balls when it burst. The canister round weighed and contained 27 iron balls that were in diameter or slightly smaller. Canister shot was packed in four tiers within the canister round. When fired, canister was effective up to a distance of .
The first 12-pounder Napoleons produced by Northern gun foundries included a pair of handles attached to the top of the gun barrel. As many as 33 were manufactured before the handles were eliminated in late 1861. Of the 21 surviving Napoleons with handles, 17 were produced by Ames, 3 by Alger, and 1 by Revere. Ames also manufactured 6 bronze rifled Napoleons in 1862; all survived and were located at
Gettysburg National Military Park
The Gettysburg National Military Park protects and interprets the landscape of the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the park is managed by the National Park Service. The GNMP propert ...
in 2004. The Napoleon was a very dependable weapon. In 1864, U.S. Chief of Ordnance Brigadier General
George D. Ramsay wrote, "No instance has occurred during the war ... of the 12-pdr bronze gun (the Napoleon) having worn out or of its bursting." Many Confederate gunners preferred the Napoleons produced in the North because of their higher quality. A British observer,
Arthur Lyon Fremantle noted in 1863 that many of the guns belonging to the
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...
were captured pieces of Northern manufacture.
The 12-pounder Napoleon was the most favored field gun of both Union and Confederate armies. It was fairly accurate at all ranges and especially lethal when firing canister at close range. The Napoleon was mounted on a carriage weighing . The Napoleon fired the same ammunition and propellent charges as the M1841 12-pounder field gun, but its tube and carriage were lighter than those of the older artillery piece. A 6-gun Union battery of Napoleons was made up of three 2-gun sections. Each gun was hitched to a limber drawn by six horses and accompanied by a limber and caisson drawn by six horses. There was one ammunition box on each limber and two ammunition boxes on each caisson. Generally, each battery also had six reserve limber and caissons, one traveling forge wagon, and one battery wagon hauling equipment.
The ammunition box for the Napoleon contained 32 rounds. At Gettysburg, the
5th Maine Light Artillery Battery, armed with six 12-pounder Napoleons, carried 288 round shot, 288 spherical case, 96 common shells, and 96 canister rounds in its limbers and caissons. In a single ammunition box there were 12 shot, 12 spherical case, 4 shells, 4 canister rounds, and 48 friction primers. But this allocation of ammunition changed. According to the 1864 U.S. Army Field Artillery Instructions, the ammunition box contained 20 round shot, 8 spherical case, and 4 canister rounds. The 1863 Confederate States Ordnance Manual recommended that the Napoleon's ammunition box carry 12 shot, 12 spherical case, 4 shell, and 4 canister rounds. A 6-gun battery of 12-pounder Napoleons with two caissons per gun required 20 6-horse teams and 10 extra horses. Each 6-horse team was controlled by three drivers and each gun crew was made up of nine cannoneers.
History
![Texas Capitol 12-pound Napoleon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Texas_Capitol_12-pound_Napoleon.JPG)
General Barry pointed out that after the First Battle of Bull Run, there were only nine artillery batteries of mixed calibers available, drawn by 400 horses and manned by 650 men. By strenuous efforts, in March 1862 when McClellan's
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...
took the field, there were 92 batteries containing 520 guns, 12,500 men, and 11,000 horses. Many obsolete guns brought by volunteer artillery units in the
Eastern Theater were soon replaced by newer guns. Older guns rejected in the east migrated to the
Western Theater and were used to equip the western Union armies. The 1862 inventory by the Ohio Quartermaster General listed only ten 12-pounder Napoleons out of 162 available guns, compared to forty-four
3.8-inch James rifles, thirty-eight rifled 6-pounder guns, and thirty M1841 6-pounder field guns. As late as the
Battle of Prairie Grove
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas.
A division of Union troops in the Army of the Front ...
on 7 December 1862, fought in
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...
, the Union forces employed 40 guns, but none of them were Napoleons.
At the
Battle of Antietam on 16–17 September 1862, out of 301 artillery pieces, the well-equipped Army of the Potomac had one hundred seventeen 12-pounder Napoleons, eighty-one
3-inch Ordnance rifles and fifty-seven
10-pounder Parrott rifles. On the same battlefield, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia employed only fourteen Napoleons, compared to forty-four M1841 12-pounder howitzers, forty-three 10-pounder Parrott rifles, and forty-one M1841 6-pounder guns. Most Confederate batteries were made up of a mix of guns.
Captain M. B. Miller's 3rd Company of the
Washington Artillery
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered ...
was exceptional in that it was composed of four 12-pounder Napoleons. Captain Joseph B. Campbell's
4th U.S. Artillery, Battery B, armed with six 12-pounder Napoleons, was deployed in an exposed position near the Bloody Cornfield at dawn and suffered heavy casualties. While in action, infantry volunteers served some of the guns as they fired double canister rounds. Not knowing that he was supposed to remove the second gunpowder charge, one volunteer loaded two full canister charges. The Napoleon recoiled violently with each discharge, but at the end of the action the gun was found to be undamaged.
During the
Battle of Fort Sanders
The Battle of Fort Sanders was the crucial engagement of the Knoxville Campaign of the American Civil War, fought in Knoxville, Tennessee, on November 29, 1863. Assaults by Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet failed to break through the ...
on November 29, 1863, the 12-pounder Napoleons used by the Federals fired triple canister. The Union armies in the Western Theater eventually received their share of 12-pounder Napoleons. On 30 June 1863, the
Army of the Cumberland
The Army of the Cumberland was one of the principal Union armies in the Western Theater during the American Civil War. It was originally known as the Army of the Ohio.
History
The origin of the Army of the Cumberland dates back to the creation ...
reported having 220 artillery pieces, including sixty Napoleons, forty-five 3.8-inch James rifles, thirty-four 3-inch Ordnance rifles, and thirty-two 10-pounder Parrott rifles. On the same date, the
Army of the Ohio
The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863.
History
1st Army of the Ohio
General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. ...
counted 72 artillery pieces, including eighteen Napoleons, twenty-six 3.8-inch James rifles, and twelve 3-inch Ordnance rifles. In the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg, every bronze smoothbore on the field was a Napoleon except two 12-pounder howitzers in the
2nd Connecticut Light Artillery Battery
The 2nd Connecticut Light Artillery Battery, was recruited from Connecticut and served in the Union Army between September 10, 1862 and August 9, 1865 during the American Civil War.
Service
The 2nd Light Battery, under the command of Captain ...
. When
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
's western army began the
Atlanta campaign in May 1864, it included 110,000 soldiers and 254 artillery pieces, of which every one was a 12-pounder Napoleon, 10- or
20-pounder Parrott rifle, or 3-inch Ordnance rifle.
Civil War artillery
Notes
;Footnotes
;Citations
References
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See also
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{{DEFAULTSORT:M1857 12-pounder Napoleon
American Civil War artillery