Mexican 8 Pounder

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• What  you  see  before  you  is  a  replica  of  a  Mexican  8  pound  field  gun.
  Guns  like  this  one  were  nestled  in  the  Mexican  infantry  ranks  here  at  the  battle  of  Palo  Alto.
  These  heavy  field  guns,  unlike  their  American  counterparts,  were  mostly  static  pieces.
  The  guns  were  placed  on  the  field  at  locations  were  they  were  thought  to  have  the  best  advantage.
  Once  there  they  weren’t  easily  moved  around.
  As  opposed  to  the  horse  drawn  light  artillery  of  the  U.S.  army.
  The  Mexican  artillery  used  here  at  Palo  Alto  was  also  of  an  older  design  dating  back  to  the  mid  to  late  1700’s.
  In  addition,  the  black  powder  used  in  these  big  guns  was  not  of  the  best  quality.
  In  fact,  many  times  the  rounds  fired  from  the  cannon  failed  to  reach  the  U.S.  battle  line.
  Put  together  an  old  artillery  design  and  poor  black  powder  and  you  had  a  long,  tough  day  ahead  of  you  if  you  were  a  Mexican  artilleryman.

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