James Rifle 14-Pounder

History of the James Rifle 14 Pound Rifle

By the time of the American Civil War (1861-1865), rifled weapons were the future of the battlefield in terms of the range accuracy offered by the weapon type. This led to a period of modernization of small arms and artillery systems.

Minuteman general and engineer/inventor Charles T. James sought to perfect a process by which off-the-shelf bronze smoothbore field guns could be converted into more efficient rifled forms for the quantities required for Union warfare. This eventually led to the generic term "James rifle" being applied to a range of firearms bearing his rifle pattern, most of which were in 14-pound form.

The need for guns was evident in the early days of the war, when smoothbore guns were still vital to both sides. However, errors in these bronzes have occurred due to material loss or deformation during operation.

Charles James worked with the Massachusetts-based Ames Mfg Co. to advance his model, which led to the birth of a new rifled gun with a caliber over 3 inches - the aforementioned 14-pound James rifle. Inventory of the 6-pounder Model 1841 bronze smoothbore gun (detailed elsewhere on this page) also follows.

The basic design corresponds to the artillery of the time. The barrel is tapered at its business end and is mounted on mounting hardware that includes a single tow arm. Transportation included a pair of heavy-spoke wheels, and crews were positioned around the gun while operating.

Like other muzzle-loading guns of the period, the gun required multiple crews for optimum efficiency. Siege-oriented artillery mounted on suitable siege vehicles for fixed defensive firepower.

Ultimately, the process of pulling the existing bronze cannon was not entirely successful. While bronze proved to be an excellent artillery metal for its role throughout history, it proved too soft to be used for extended periods of time during rifling - causing premature wear of the rifling grooves.

Thus, by the end of 1862 (James himself died in late 1862), the James rifle craft and the corresponding James projectiles developed for it were replaced by more modern and practical artillery solutions. Some siege guns using the James rifle method were used in the bombing of Fort Pulaski in April 1862.

In addition, some German naval guns were also painted with James patterns out of necessity.

James Rifle 14lb Spec

Basic

Roles

Performance

Armor

Depends on ammo supply.

Changes