Cannon
date: label: date made
content: 1845
notes: label: Description
content: Physical Description
label: Description
content: United States Ames Model 1841 cannon, six-pounder.
label: Description
content: Specific History
label: Description
content: In about 1861, this Model 1841 was rifled to fire a 12 pound James shell. These weapons were an attempt by the Federals to convert existing smoothbores to rifled guns. They were originally bronze-tubed Model 1841 6-pounders, bored out and lined with rifled iron or brass sleeves in the James pattern. These would throw a shell farther and with more accuracy, but were prone to bursting at the breech, and the liners quickly wore down, reducing the effectiveness of the rifling. Most of these were retired from service fairly early in the Civil War.
label: Description
content: General History
label: Description
content: The Ordnance Board of 1841 drew up the design for this gun. It was one of the most common of all the artillery pieces of the Civil War. It also saw action in the Mexican War.
place: label: Associated Place
content: United States
topic: label: related event
content: Expansion and Reform
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Military
label: See more items in
content: Military
label: Exhibition
content: Price of Freedom
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: AF.78677M
label: accession number
content: 308845
label: catalog number
content: 78677M
objectType: label: Object Name
content: 6 Pound Rifle W/ Carriage
label: Object Name
content: cannon
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall; overall: 104 in x 69 in; x 264.16 cm x 175.26 cm