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"Bull Pups"

cannon firing

    The 12 pound Mountain Howitzer is a large caliber gun designed on a small scale. Its short barrel and small carriage made it possible to be disassembled and carried by pack animals, usually horses or mules. This was a great asset in the steep mountains of Tennessee and the Carolinas during the American Civil War. The barrel would be placed on a special packsaddle on the lead, or shaft mule. The carriage was placed on the second, or carriage mule. Followed by ammunition mules, carrying two ammunition chest each. See below:

cannon packed on mules

The Mountain Howitzers, nicknamed "Bull Pups" by their Gunners, had a 38 inch bronze or iron barrel with a 4.62 bore diameter. It had a range of about 900 yards.

Rounds shot include:
Canister, which consisted of 148 .69 caliber lead balls packed in sawdust and placed in a tin plated iron cylinder. This had the same effect as a huge shot-gun or scatter-gun with a range of up to 400 yards.
Solid Shot, which consisted of a solid "ball" attached with two straps to a wood SABOT. The powder was attached to the groove in the SABOT with a string.
Shell, which consisted of a "ball" attached with two straps to a wood SABOT. Typically a Bormann fuse was used to set off the Shell.
 
 
Mountain Howitzer at the Tredegar Iron Works - Richmond, VA
[Click on Thumbnails below for Larger Image]
restored cannon
restored cannon
restored cannon
restored cannon

cannon icon 

cannon pulled by mule

Mountain Howitzer Drill Procedures

History of the Mountain Howitzer

An Outstanding Civil War Artillery Site

Firing Table

Charge
Ball
Elevation
Range
Remarks
Pounds
Degrees
Yards

0.5

Shell

0

170

 

0.5

Shell

1

300

0.5

Shell

2

392

 

0.5

Shell

2 30'

500

Time, 2 Seconds

0.5

Shell

3

637

 

0.5

Shell

4

785

Time, 3 Seconds

0.5

Shell

5

1005

 

0.5

Solid Shot

0

150

 

0.5

Solid Shot

2 30'

450

Time, 2 Seconds

0.5

Solid Shot

3

500

 

0.5

Solid Shot

4

700

Time, 2.7 Seconds

0.5

Solid Shot

4 30'

800

Time, 3 Seconds

0.5

Canister

4 to 5

250

 

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Copyright © 2002 - 2008 Bruce Robere

Last modified date and time: 09/12/2008 19:39