Also known as: 12-pounder mountain howitzer.
| Type | Small light bronze howitzer |
|---|---|
| Transport | Broken down and packed on mules |
| Ammunition | Shell, case, and canister |
| Use | Mountain and frontier service |
The pack howitzer
The mountain howitzer was a small, light bronze piece, a 12-pounder of short reach, made so that gun, carriage, and ammunition could be broken down and carried on pack mules. This let it go where wheeled field artillery could not, into the mountains and over rough frontier country.
Firing shell, case, and canister, it gave mobile columns a measure of artillery support, and it saw much use in the West before, during, and after the Civil War.
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.