12-Pounder M1857 1864 Bronze Napoleon Cannons - Austin, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 16.442 W 097° 44.444
14R E 621123 N 3349822
A set of two cast bronze M1857 12-Pounder "Napoleon" light-field guns on the grounds of the State Capitol in Austin, Texas.
Waymark Code: WMMHT7
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/24/2014
Views: 6
A set of 2 cast bronze 12-Pounder "Napoleon" light-field guns with muzzle swells flank the so-called "Great Walk" on the southern grounds of the State Capitol in Austin, Texas -- one on each side of the walkway right before the driveway around the Capitol. The waymark coordinates are for the "West-side" artillery piece (i.e. the one on the left when facing the building); the "East-side" artillery piece is located at N 30° 16.439 W 97° 44.429. Both are pictured in the gallery for reference purposes but are very similarly displayed.
Of the five cannons currently on display within the Capitol's grounds (the other three being a 3-inch ordnance rifle and two 24-pounder Howitzers), these two Napoleons were cast in 1864 near the end of the Civil War, and are believed to be acquired "to maintain order" by Reconstruction-era Texas Governor Edmund J. Davis. They are both originals except for their wooden casings which have been replaced with more durable metal. The cast bronze barrels are in pretty good condition; stamped on the muzzles are the following inscriptions:
* cannon on the West-side:
"No 414 -- 1286 lbs. -- C.C. -- 1864"
* cannon on the East-side:
"No 368 -- 1240 lbs. -- T.J. -- 1864"
(note: this muzzle was also engraved with the word "Capitol", but apparently placed at a much later date).
As elaborated on several web sources, including Wikipedia: (
visit link)
"The twelve-pound cannon "Napoleon" was the most popular smoothbore cannon used during the [American Civil] war. It was named after Napoleon III of France and was widely admired because of its safety, reliability, and killing power, especially at close range. In Union Ordnance manuals it was referred to as the "light 12-pounder gun" to distinguish it from the heavier and longer 12 pounder gun (which was virtually unused in field service.) It did not reach America until 1857. It was the last cast bronze gun used by an American army. The Federal version of the Napoleon can be recognized by the flared front end of the barrel, called the muzzle-swell. It was, however, relatively heavy compared to other artillery pieces and difficult to move across rough terrain.
Confederate Napoleons were produced in at least six variations, most of which had straight muzzles, but at least eight catalogued survivors of 133 identified have muzzle swells. Additionally, four iron Confederate Napoleons produced by Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond have been identified, of an estimated 125 cast. In early 1863 Robert E. Lee sent nearly all of the Army of Northern Virginia's bronze 6-pounder guns to Tredegar to be melted down and recast as Napoleons. Copper for casting bronze pieces became increasingly scarce to the Confederacy throughout the war and became acute in November 1863 when the Ducktown copper mines near Chattanooga were lost to Union forces. Casting of bronze Napoleons by the Confederacy ceased and in January 1864 Tredegar began producing iron Napoleons."
---
The two models on display are made of cast bronze - not iron - and have muzzle swells, indicating that they potentially belong to the eight catalogued survivors of the 133 Confederate Napoleons having muzzle swells.