31481 - M1841 6-Pound Gun

M1841 6-Pound Gun

The M1841 6-Pound Gun was a smoothbore muzzle-loading cannon, adopted by the United States Army in 1841. First used in the Mexican-American War, it fired a 6.1 pound round shot up to a distance of 1,523 yards at 5 degrees elevation. It could also fire canister shot and spherical case shot. The cannon proved very effective when employed by light artillery units during the Mexican-American War but it was outclassed by newer field guns by the time of the American Civil War. In the U.S. Army, they were replaced as soon as more modern weapons became available and none were manufactured after 1862. However, due to their limited industrial production capacity the Confederate States Army continued to use the cannon.