12-pounder James Rifled Gun

These weapons were an attempt by the Federals to convert existing smoothbores to rifled guns. As compared to the true James 14-pounders, these were originally bronze-tubed Model 1841 6-pounders, bored out and lined with rifled iron or brass sleeves in the James pattern. These would throw a shell farther and with more accuracy, but were prone to bursting at the breech, and the liners quickly wore down, reducing the effectiveness of the rifling. Most of these were retired from service fairly early in the War.

There may have been only four of these guns at Antietam, all in Federal service.

Find units equipped with these.

James-pattern shell, equivalent bolts & shells, solid shot

3.67 inches

1700 yards

60 inches

1700 pounds

Total weight = bronze tube (800 lb) + carriage (900 lb). Maximum range for 3/4-lb powder charge behind a 12 pound solid shot at 5 degrees elevation.

Photograph above is from the Mill Springs, KY battlefield, by Geoffrey R. Walden - the carriage is probably a modern replacement.

See more about this and other Civil War artillery at the comprehensive Civil War Artillery Page, by Chuck Ten Brink or the very nice Basic Facts page from Jack W. Melton, Jr. The NPS has a fine general introduction to Civil War artillery in a 3-page presentation.

Johnson, Curt & Anderson, Richard C., Artillery Hell: Employment of Artillery at Antietam, College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1995.