Cannon can be broken down into categories in two major ways. The first is by their construction and method of delivering the projectile to its target. The other is by the intended mission of the cannon. The former is determed by design, the latter usually by a combination of size and design.
The most common design was that of the gun, and it is the most easily identified. Guns were weapons that fired their ammunition at a nearly horizontal trajectory at high speed. This necessitated a long barrel and a large amount of gunpowder. Guns were made in both smoothbore and rifled versions. The gun was designed to batter down walls of fortifications (hence the term battery).
Howitzers were designed to fire at a shorter range and with a higher arc than the guns. Howitzers used a smaller sized charge, allowing the weapon to be lighter and smaller. They were almost never rifled. These weapons were perfect for service in the west, where mountains and bad roads did not hamper a howitzer nearly as much as a heavier gun.
Mortars are stubby weapons designed to throw their projectiles high into the air, and arch down onto their target at relativly short range. The killing speed of the ammunition was due to its fall, not from the gunpowder. Therefore, the charge required was quite small. Only a few test weapons were rifled, mortars were smoothbores as a rule. They were perfect as seige weapons, able to throw shells over walls and parpats while remaining behind their own fortifications.
Columbiads are a mixture of the previous three. They fire a heavy projectile over a long distance with a high trajectory. This requires a heavy charge with a long barrel. These were the guns that defended the coasts of the young country, and many were still in service at the beginning of the war.
The other method of classifying guns was by their designated purpose. Field weapons wer guns and howitzers of small enough caliber to keep up with a moving army. It was often designated as "light artillery", and came in two varieties:
A form of small howitzer was sometimes designated for mountain service. The howitzer and carriage was able to be disassembled and carried by pack animals on narrow trails. The guns were also mounted on "prairie carriages" that had 4 wheels. Theses were used on the frontier in defending forts from hostile indians.
Seige and garrison guns were the larger cousins of the field guns. Often called "heavy artillery", the guns were too slow to keep up with the infantry. The cannon were brought up to attack or defend fortifications. The pieces were known as seige guns when attacking, garrison guns when defending a fortification. All but the largest mortars fell into this category.
The largest of guns, and all the columbiads, fell into the seacoast category. As the name indicates, these guns defended the coastal fortifications from attack. The guns had limited mobility due to their size, and were occasionally permanently emplaced.
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