M1844 32-pounder howitzer
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| M1844 32-pounder howitzer | |
|---|---|
| Type | Howitzer |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1848–1865 |
| Used by | United States |
| Wars | American Civil War |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Cyrus Alger & Co. N. P. Ames |
| Produced | 1848 |
| No. built | 26 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1,920 lb (870.9 kg) |
| Length | 82.0 in (2.08 m) |
| Crew | 9 |
| Shell weight | 22.5 lb (10.2 kg) shell 2.5 lb (1.1 kg) charge |
| Caliber | 6.4 in (163 mm) |
| Barrels | 1 |
| Action | Muzzle loading |
| Carriage | 1,175 lb (533.0 kg) |
| Effective firing range | 1,504 yd (1,375 m) |
The M1844 32-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece adopted by the United States Army in 1844 and employed during the American Civil War. It fired a 22.5 lb (10.2 kg) common shell to a distance of 1,504 yd (1,375.3 m) at 5° elevation. It also fired canister shot and spherical case shot. The howitzer was originally designed to be used in a mixed battery with 12-pounder field guns. However, at the time of the American Civil War, the howitzer was replaced by the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon, which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. Only a few 32-pounder howitzers were produced, and they were used sparingly as field artillery during the Civil War because of the weapon's great weight.
Background
[edit]In 1800, armed forces used field guns for direct artillery fire and mortars for high-angle fire. The howitzer was intermediate between the field gun and mortar in that it fired an explosive shell on a curved trajectory against enemy soldiers or fortifications. A howitzer needed a smaller explosive charge than a field gun in order to lob a projectile of similar weight. Howitzers were sometimes named after the size of the bore (or caliber), for example the 6-inch howitzer.[1] By British and American convention, some howitzers were named after the field gun which had the same bore size.[2] In the US Army, the weapon was called the 32-pounder howitzer since it had the same bore size as the 32-pounder gun, which was 6.4 in (163 mm) in diameter. Since a smaller charge was needed to fire a projectile, the 32-pounder howitzer had a smaller chamber near the breech only 4.62 in (117 mm) in diameter.[1]
Bronze artillery pieces were made from copper and tin. Because the United States had few copper and no known tin deposits, in 1800 Secretary of War Henry Dearborn recommended that all cannons be cast from iron. However, casting guns from iron was unsuccessful, so the Ordnance Board of 1831 under Alexander Macomb determined that field artillery pieces should be manufactured from bronze. The 1834 regulations required that field guns be made in 6-, 9-, and 12-pounder calibers and howitzers in 12- and 24-pounder calibers.[3] The M1841 6-pounder field gun produced by Cyrus Alger and Company and Ames Manufacturing Company was a success and both firms continued making bronze artillery pieces for the U.S. government until the Civil War.[4] The 32-pounder howitzer was conceived to hurl the heaviest possible projectiles while still being classed as field artillery. It was designed to serve in mixed batteries with the heavy 12-pounder field gun.[5]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 70.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 23.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Hazlett, Olmstead & Parks 2004, p. 27.
References
[edit]- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. Vol. 2. New York, N.Y.: Castle. 1956 [1883].
- Hazlett, James C.; Olmstead, Edwin; Parks, M. Hume (2004). Field Artillery Weapons of the American Civil War. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-07210-3.
- Johnson, Curt; Anderson, Richard C. Jr. (1995). Artillery Hell: The Employment of Artillery at Antietam. College Station, Tex.: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-623-0.
- Ripley, Warren (1970). Artillery and Ammunition of the Civil War. New York, N.Y.: Promontory Press. ISBN 0-88394-003-5.
- Sears, Stephen W. (2001). To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsular Campaign. New York, N.Y.: Mariner Books. ISBN 0-618-12713-5.