Cannon
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| Napoleon | Howitzer |
"Cannon" is the best term for all firearms larger than small arms. It is a metal tube placed on a mount. Cannons were generally made of bronze or iron. The basic artillery piece of the war, on both sides, was the Napoleon, a smoothbore, muzzle loading, 12-pounder-gun howitzer.
Howitzers were lighter and shorter, fired a relatively heavy shell with a light charge, and usually had a powder chamber smaller than the bore of the gun.
The twelve-pounder smoothbore "Napoleon" model 1857, was a gun howitzer, being both shorter and lighter than the older 12-pounder gun, but using the same powder charge.