History Component - Cannon Designs and Economic Impacts - 1800s to 1900s

Howitzer

A Howitzer is a battery known for its short barrel and use of small charges to project at high trajectories with a steep angle of descent. The difference between a gun and the Howitzer is that the Howitzer has a multi-charge propellant, and fires at a higher elevation. They also use lower powder charges. WHen Switzerland first created the modern Howitzer, they were characterized by a shorter tail than other field guns. Howitzers came in many shapes and sizes. There was self propelled, mountain, pack, siege and field Howitzers that come in three different sizes, the 12 pounder, the 24 pounder, and the 32 pounder. They were originally intended to be used in sieze warfare, but they were often used to deliver cast iron shells, filled with things like gunpowder, inside fortifications. Soon Europe began to introduce Howitzers because of their mobility in the feild. They were used in many battles s`uch as the American civil War, The Spanish American War, the Russo-Turkish War and WWI. Field Howitzers were widely used in the civil war, and the most commonly known Howitzer was the 12 pounder “Napoleon.” Later Howitzers were replaced with artillery that used smoothbore pieces (Howitzer).

12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857

The twelve-pound cannon (twelve pound) was introduced by the french Army as the "canon obusier de 12" in 1853, or the "12-pounder Napoleon Model 1857 (canon obusier)." The "Napoleon," was a smoothbore cannon known for its safety, reliability and killing power, especially at a close range. Its name was taken from (field artillery) a former artillery officer and French emporer (twelve pound). Napoleon III of France (field artillery), and the phrase "12-pounder" represents its caliber which is 12 cm (canon obusier) . Its highest production was during the Napoleonic wars (1812-1815) and when it (twelve pound) arrived in America in 1857 (field artillery), it became extremely popular and was the primary cannon used in the American Civil War (twelve pound) . In the North 1,100 Napoleons were manufactured, and 600 were manufactured in the South. At Gettysburg, 36 percent of the Federal guns were Napoleons.