| M1844 32-pounder howitzer | |
| Type: | Howitzer |
| Origin: | United States |
| Service: | 1848–1865 |
| Used By: | United States |
| Wars: | American Civil War |
| Manufacturer: | Cyrus Alger & Co. N. P. Ames |
| Production Date: | 1848–1857 |
| Number: | 25 |
| Crew: | 9 |
| Is Ranged: | yes |
| Is Artillery: | yes |
| Cartridge Weight: | shell charge |
| Barrels: | 1 |
| Action: | Muzzle loading |
The M1844 32-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece adopted by the United States Army in 1844 and employed during the American Civil War. It fired a common shell to a distance of at 5° elevation. It also fired canister shot and spherical case shot. The howitzer was originally designed to be used in a mixed battery with 12-pounder field guns. However, at the time of the American Civil War, the howitzer was replaced by the M1857 12-pounder Napoleon, which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. Only a few 32-pounder howitzers were produced, and they were used sparingly as field artillery during the Civil War because of the weapon's great weight.
In 1800, armed forces used field guns for direct artillery fire and mortars for high-angle fire. The howitzer was intermediate between the field gun and mortar in that it fired an explosive shell on a curved trajectory against enemy soldiers or fortifications. A howitzer needed a smaller explosive charge than a field gun in order to lob a projectile of similar weight. Howitzers were sometimes named after the size of the bore (or caliber), for example the 6-inch howitzer. By British and American convention, some howitzers were named after the field gun which had the same bore size. In the US Army, the weapon was called the 32-pounder howitzer since it had the same bore size as the 32-pounder gun, which was in diameter. Since a smaller charge was needed to fire a projectile, the 32-pounder howitzer had a smaller chamber near the breech only in diameter.
Bronze artillery pieces were made from copper and tin. Because the United States had few copper and no known tin deposits, in 1800 Secretary of War Henry Dearborn recommended that all cannons be cast from iron. However, casting guns from iron was unsuccessful, so the Ordnance Board of 1831 under Alexander Macomb determined that field artillery pieces should be manufactured from bronze. The 1834 regulations required that field guns be made in 6-, 9-, and 12-pounder calibers and howitzers in 12- and 24-pounder calibers. The 9-pounder was later suppressed. The M1841 6-pounder field gun produced by Cyrus Alger and Company and Ames Manufacturing Company was a success and both firms continued making bronze artillery pieces for the U.S. government until the Civil War. Before the Civil War, light field batteries were organized to consist of four 6-pounder field guns and two M1841 12-pounder howitzers while heavy field batteries included four 12-pounder field guns and two M1841 24-pounder howitzers. The 32-pounder howitzer was conceived as a way to hurl the heaviest possible projectile while still being classed as field artillery. It was designed to replace the 24-pounder howitzer in some field batteries.
The 32-pounder howitzer was authorized in 1843 as a so-called shell gun. A shell gun was a cannon that could fire a projectile that would penetrate a ship's hull before exploding. In fact, the howitzer was not a true shell gun because it lacked the power and the penetration to do this. The howitzer's true function was to outrange other field howitzers and utilize the maximum size of projectile. Between 1848 and 1857, Cyrus Alger manufactured 11 32-pounder howitzers while N. P. Ames produced 14 between 1851 and 1855. There are 9 known survivors out of a total of 25 produced.
The Model 1844 bronze 32-pounder howitzer barrel was from the base ring to the muzzle. The length of the bore was and the overall length of the barrel from the end of the cascable (knob) to the muzzle was . The diameter of the firing chamber was . The barrel weighed and the diameter of the bore (caliber) was . The carriage weighed and the total weight of gun and carriage was . Almost all artillery pieces of the Civil War era were muzzleloaders. The very few breechloading guns available were complex and difficult to use.
The howitzer could fire common shell, spherical case shot (shrapnel), or canister shot. It could not use solid shot. At 5° elevation, the gun could throw a common shell a distance of with the standard propellant charge of . At 3°45' elevation, the gun could throw spherical case shot a distance of with a propellant charge of . The spherical case shot weighed . The canister shot weighed and contained 48 iron balls from in diameter.
The Union Army standardized a strength of 6 guns per battery. Each gun was pulled by a limber containing an ammunition chest. Two caissons each with three additional ammunition chests were assigned to every gun. A battery wagon and a traveling forge were attached to each battery. Therefore, a typical six-gun battery had 20 six-horse teams to pull 6 gun limbers, 12 caissons, 1 wagon, and 1 forge, plus 10 extra horses. However, the heavy 32-pounder howitzers required 8-horse teams for each gun which added to the number of horses. Each gun was served by a sergeant, two corporals, and six privates. Six privates drove the limber and caissons. Two guns formed a section, commanded by a lieutenant and the battery was led by a captain. When a battery's guns were unlimbered, they were placed at regulation intervals, with limbers and caissons to the rear. A six-gun battery occupied a width of and a depth of .
The 32-pounder howitzer, Ames Company registry number 12, served with the 5th U.S. Artillery, Battery H at the Battle of Shiloh on 7 April 1862, the Battle of Stones River on 31 December 1862, and the Battle of Chickamauga on 19–20 September 1863. It is rare to know the service record of an individual artillery piece. During the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July 1862, Brigadier General Fitz John Porter reported that Captain Charles Kusserow's battery of 32-pounder howitzers was engaged. Porter believed that Confederate reports of being fired on by the Union gunboats were mistaken, and that the explosions were really rounds from Kusserow's howitzers and some 4.5-inch siege rifles. One of Kusserow's gunners wrote to a friend that he was sickened to see their shells "cut roads through them some places ten feet wide ... they would close up and come ahead". Kusserow's Battery A, 1st Battalion, New York Light Artillery was present at the Battle of Antietam on 17 September 1862, during which it was armed with six 32-pounder howitzers. The battery was rearmed with 3-inch Ordnance rifles soon after the battle.
Union Brigadier General Henry Larcom Abbot wrote, "For defending positions against assault ... no artillery can be more efficient than the 32-pdr. or 24-pdr. field howitzer. The former ... throws very large case shot and canister and from its light weight may be kept out of sight and danger until the assault is delivered when it can suddenly be run into battery and served with murderous effect." Abbot then described an attack by the 22nd South Carolina Infantry Regiment on the Dutton redoubt located near Bermuda Hundred. The position was defended by Company L, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment with one 24-pounder howitzer and two 32-pounder howitzers. On 2 June 1864, the Confederate attack on the redoubt was repulsed. The Union soldiers counted 17 Confederates killed, including Colonel Olin M. Dantzler. A lieutenant and 22 enlisted men surrendered rather than try to retreat under fire from the redoubt.
See main article: Field artillery in the American Civil War.
| Caliber | width=9% | Tube length | width=10% | Tube weight | width=10% | Carriage weight | width=9% | Shot weight | width=9% | Charge weight | width=10% | Range 5° elev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1841 6-pounder cannon | ||||||||||||
| M1841 12-pounder cannon | ||||||||||||
| M1841 12-pounder howitzer | ||||||||||||
| M1841 24-pounder howitzer | ||||||||||||
| M1844 32-pounder howitzer | ||||||||||||
| M1857 12-pounder Napoleon | ||||||||||||
| 12-pounder James rifle | ||||||||||||
| 3-inch Ordnance rifle | ||||||||||||
| 10-pounder Parrott rifle | ||||||||||||
| 20-pounder Parrott rifle | ||||||||||||