Encyclopedia · Cannon and weapon systems

9-pounder gun

The 9-pounder gun was a field gun of British pattern firing a 9-pound shot. Not a standard United States caliber, it appeared in the war chiefly through imported guns.

Also known as: 9-pounder.

TypeField gun of British pattern
ProjectileAbout 9 pounds
United States useNot a standard American caliber; chiefly imported

An imported caliber

The 9-pounder gun was a standard field caliber of the British service but not of the American, which used the 6- and 12-pounder. In the Civil War the 9-pounder appeared mainly through imported British guns.

Such imported pieces, bought abroad to make up shortages, added to the mixture of calibers, especially in Confederate batteries drawing on foreign supply.

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