Field artillery in the American Civil War
For ranges of  or less the most effective field piece was the Model 1842 12-pounder Howitzer. It weighed only  and could easily be moved into position by hand. Its large shells gave it very good firepower but its short range (just over ) was less than that of the 6-pounder gun. They were easy targets for enemy artillery that usually had greater range. They were popular for close infantry support. At the Battle of Gettysburg, nine of these were supposed to accompany Pickett's Charge. Because of some confusion among the Confederate ranks regarding the orders and very accurate Union artillery fire, all nine were taken out of the battle before Pickett's men crossed the field. The smoothbore guns remained the most favored technology during the war.