Artillery pieces were extraordinarily heavy.

Field artillery pieces were enormously heavy yet being more transportable than siege or naval guns. A rifle that can only fire projectiles weighing 10 pounds may weigh well over half a ton. Two types of artillery barrels were used during the Civil War.

Cast iron and wrought iron were utilized to make rifled artillery weapons like the 10-pounder Parrott rifle and the 3-inch Ordnance rifle, which fired conical shells. During the American Civil War, field artillery was referred to as 10 pounders, 12 pounders, or inches, like the 3-inch ordnance rifle, etc.

Pounders merely referred to the projectile's weight when it was fired from the gun. A 12 pound projectile is fired from a 12 pound Napoleon cannon. The bore's diameter is measured in inches. A 3-inch ordnance rifle has a 3-inch-diameter barrel.