12-pound field gun

The 12-pounder field gun was considered to be a battle-winning weapon, particularly when massed in "Grand Batteries".

 It was used by both Guard and Line batteries.

A Heavy Field Battery usually consisted of 8 pieces - 6 12-pounder guns and two Howitzers. 

 In action  they had a crew of 15 men, which included  8 specialist gunners commanded by a Corporal. They were drawn by a team of 6 horses accompanied by three ammunition caissons, each holding 68 rounds.

They had an effective range of 750 to 1,000 metres and could fire upto two rounds per minute.

  La Gardes Howitzer

Howitzers were a specialised form of artillery, designed to fire exploding shells, as opposed to the solid round shot of the 12-pdr.

The shell was a hollow iron sphere, filled with gun powder. Its detonation was achieved through the use of a timer fuse.

La Gardes Howitzer was of the type introduced into the French army in 1795, and is classed as a 36-pdr (weight of the shell) with a calibre of 6.4inches (163mm).

It had a crew of 13 men, commanded by a corporal. Two gunners were specialist, called bombardiers, whose job was to fill the shells with gun powder and cut the timing fuses to length- a skilled and dangerous job.