The Civil War Artillery Message Board

Re: "Mountain Howitzer"
In Response To: "Mountain Howitzer" ()

By far the most popular of the smoothbore cannon was the 12-pounder Model of 1857, Light, commonly called "Napoleon". The Model 1857 was of lighter weight than the previous 12-pounder guns, and could be pulled by a six-horse draft, yet offered the heavier projectile payload of the larger bore. It is sometimes called, confusingly, a "gun-howitzer" (because it possessed characteristics of both gun and howitzer) and is discussed in more detail separately below. . . .

The twelve-pound cannon "Napoleon" was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the war. It was named after Napoleon III of France and was widely admired because of its safety, reliability, and killing power, especially at close range. In Union Ordnance manuals it was referred to as the "light 12-pounder gun" to distinguish it from the heavier and longer 12 pounder gun (which was virtually unused in field service.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_artillery_in_the_American_Civil_War

…..

“Jackass Battery,” a class of artillery very efficient in the wild mountain districts . . . it being furnished with mules instead of horses.”

Ohio in the War: Her Statesmen, Her Generals, and Soldiers, Volume 2 By Whitelaw Reid, p. 828

https://books.google.com/books?id=ZW4yAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA828&dq=%22Jackass+Battery%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5jL_VMP1LM_MoATX6YKAAg&ved=0CEcQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=%22Jackass%20Battery%22&f=false

Messages In This Thread

"Mountain Howitzer"
Re: "Mountain Howitzer"
Re: "Mountain Howitzer"
Re: "Mountain Howitzer"