During the siege and battle at Fort Abercrombie, soldiers of the 5th Minnesota used mountain howitzers to successfully defend their position.  Today, we are building an authentic reproduction of one of those cannon.  

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12 Pounder Mountain Howitzer: 

 

Type: smooth bore howitzer
Barrel material: cast naval bronze

Bore: 4.62" with a 3.3" chamber

Range: max 1,000 yards effective 0 - 500 yards

Types of Shot: solid shot, timed fuze (shot and shell), canister

Max rate of fire: 3 shots per minute

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 First designed in 1837, it saw service in the Mexican-American War, the American Civil War, and the American Indian Wars.  It served the United States Army until about 1870, but it has been rumored that M1841 Mountain Howitzers were still being used by militia units just prior to the Spanish American War.  

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The mountain howitzer was a shorter version of a field howitzer.  It accepts the same ammunition as field howitzers but has a shorter range due to the length of the barrel. It was difficult to haul cannons through rough terrain, dense woods, or mountains.  The mountain howitzer was designed to be disassembled and transported on the backs of mules.  This made for a highly mobile artillery piece that can go almost anywhere the troops can go.  The original carriage proved to be ineffective.  The trail frequently broke or fliped over when fired.  To help solve these problems, the Army adopted a larger carriage.  The larger carriage was the prairie class.  The prairie class carriage was longer, wider, and had larger wheels.  The prairie class was designed to accept a limber and was able to be pulled by a pair of horses.  The prairie carriage was light and mobile enough to accompany troops through terrain that was impassable for larger field artillery.

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When the Civil War began, Fort Abercrombie had three M1841 Mountain Howitzers.  That outpost had six  M1841 Mountain Howizers and one 6lb gun at the end of the war.  

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