The M1841 24-pounder howitzer was a bronze smoothbore muzzle-loading artillery piece adopted by the United States Army in 1841 and employed from the Mexican–American War through the American Civil War. It fired a 18.4 lb (8.3 kg) shell to a distance of 1,322 yd (1,209 m) at 5° elevation. It could also fire canister shot and spherical case shot. The howitzer was designed to be employed in a mixed battery with 12-pounder field guns. By the time of the American Civil War, the 24-pounder howitzer was superseded by the 12-pounder Napoleon, which combined the functions of both field gun and howitzer. The 24-pounder howitzer's use as field artillery was limited during the conflict and production of the weapon in the North ended in 1863. The Confederate States of America manufactured a few 24-poun