The Armaments of Point Lookout

The Armaments of Point Lookout. Point Lookout State Park. , Colonel Henry Brewerton's last report detailed the final disposition of Point Lookout's earthwork project (fort construction)- "Operations were brought to a close on the 3rd of May 1865, at which time four, 12-pounder Napoleon guns were mounted in Redoubt No. 1 (Fort Stanton) and three 12 pounder brass howitzers, and one 4.5-inch rifled gun in Redoubt No. 2 (Fort Lincoln." You are currently standing in Fort/Redoubt #3, where no guns were mounted as construction on this redoubt was ceased before its completion., The 4.5-inch Siege Rifle was of conventional cast iron construction and did not use the welded wrought iron construction of the 3-inch ordnance rifle. The 4.5 siege rifle fired shells weighing up to 30 pounds. The cannon weighed 3,450 pounds and was 133 inches long., The Model 1841 12-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore artillery piece that was adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and employed from the Mexican American War (1846-1848) to the American Civil War (1861-1865). It could fire a 12 lb shell up to 1,072 yd at 5° elevation, as well as canister shot and spherical case shot. Used throughout the American Civil War, the howitzer was outclassed by the 12-pounder Napoleon which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. In the U.S. Army, the 12-pounder howitzers were replaced as more modern weapons became available. Manufacturing ceased after 1862, but the weapon was not officially retired by the U.S. Army until 1868., The Model 1857 12-Pounder Napoleon Field Gun, called the "light 12-pounder gun" by the United States Army, was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the American Civil War. Lighter and shorter than the French version, the bronze-barreled Model 1857 12-pounder Napoleon made up 40% of the cannons on both sides. The M1857 Napoleon could hit a target up to 1,700 yards away. However they were most accurate at closer ranges of about 250 yards. Using a black powder charge of 2.5 pounds, the M1857 Napoleon fired a cannonball or canister shot at a speed of 1,440 feet per second. The barrel had a bore of 4.62 inches in diameter and was 62 inches long. The barrel alone weighed 1,220 pounds and weighed 2,445 with its gun carriage. Similar to the M1841 howitzer the average crew to fire the 1857 field gun was six men.