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The Napoleon cannon more officially known as the 12-pounder bronze gun model 1857 was a smooth-bore cannon that fired a twelve-pound cannon ball.

The gun weighed 1,200 pounds but ironically was considered a light gun.

This cannon could fire either an explosive shell or solid shot all the way up to a mile in distance.

It could also fire canister shot up to 300 yards away and be accurate.

Both the North and the South really liked this gun because of its firepower and reliability.

The Union military manufactured this gun in great numbers during the course of the war.

Civil War Napoleon cannonCivil War Napoleon cannon

 

 

 

 

Civil War Napoleon cannonCivil War Napoleon cannon

 

 

 

 

 

The Confederates did the same.

The rebels basically just copied the Union gun so it was slightly different but it still fired the same twelve-pound ammunition.