6-pounder Field Gun (grey), American Artillery, The American War of Independence 1775-1783
$65.00
Item Number: AWIGUN-02
6-pounder Field Gun (grey), American Artillery, The American War of Independence 1775-1783
THE AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE
The cannon used in the Revolution by all armies was the standard smooth-bore muzzle-loading gun which had been little changed in the previous two hundred years and which would serve as the principal artillery weapon of most of the world's armies for another hundred. They were cast of iron or bronze; loaded with a prepared cartridge of paper or cloth containing gunpowder, followed by a projectile. It was fired by igniting a goose-quill tube containing gunpowder, or “quickmatch,” inserted into a vent-hole that communicated with the charge in the gun; and when fired, the recoil threw it backward, necessitating it being wrestled back into the firing position by the gun crew.
The main field pieces in the war were the 3-pound galloper and the steady 6-pound field piece.
Iron guns were stronger and, therefore, could withstand bigger charges of gunpowder; most recommendations for the loading of iron cannon called for a powder charge of one-third the weight of the round shot for the gun. The recommendation for bronze guns was restricted to a charge of only one-quarter of the shot weight. Thus, iron guns could usually achieve a greater range than their equivalent in bronze; an iron six-pounder could fire 1500 yards, while a bronze six-pounder could do 1200 yards.
The advantage of bronze guns was that they were much lighter than their iron equivalents of the same caliber, so that bronze guns were preferred for campaigning, even though the range was less, since they could be moved more easily. Another advantage of bronze ordnance was that when, eventually, the gun was so worn as to be unserviceable, it could be melted down and recast; wheras an iron gun could only be scrapped. Last, but not least,, when cannon were lost at sea, bronze guns were salvagable and almost immediately re-usable, wheras even a short time immersed in sea-water was enough to destroy an iron cannon’s usefulness.
British forces used both bronze and iron artillery pieces, and within each caliber group there were generally a number of variant models. This was simply due to the incredibly long, useful lifespan of a muzzle loading cannon.
Note: Crew are not included.
Due to be released in NOVEMBER 2025.
