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Re: Best Civil War cannon
In Response To: Best Civil War cannon ()

Although I think the 3" Ordnance rifle was the best ACW field piece in many ways, the 12 pounder Napoleon was more utilitarian and so I would award the honor to it.

In CSA service the Napoleon was clearly superior. The CSA had great difficulty producing quality shell and case with *good* fuses for its rifled pieces. This really hurt their rifled pieces in long range firing. It also prevented the CSA artillerists from firing over their troops. The CSA also could not produce the same quality of 3" piece as I understand it.

For overall US and CSA use, much of the combat occurred in heavily forested areas where the longer range and accuracy of the rifle pieces was negated. The larger bore, and better pattern of the non-rifled canister gave the Napoleon a substantial advantage in such conditions. This was partially offset by the lower total weight of the 3" rifles--making them more manageable in rough terrain and muck.

I'm fond of the 12 pounder mountain howitzer, but it was truly a niche weapon. It was a "go anywhere" piece for rugged terrain and raids, but consequently it was not suited for terrain that allowed other cannon to operate (because it was outranged, and typically carried much less ammo.)

Had more ACW combat been over open ground, then I would vote wholeheartedly for the 3" rifle (even though the fire control of the time was really not sufficient for rifled pieces to really shine at long range the way they could.)

The 3" rifled cannon were not as effective at many common ranges (short to moderate), but they were more efficient with powder and they were lighter and cheaper. Additionally, they made percussion fuze practical.

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