The Swivel Gun is a mounted ship's cannon, able to turn and pivot. Used on Sailing ships during the age of sail, a swivel gun would be mounted over the bow gunwhales to give to widest possible range of fire (on undecked ships the gun would be mounted on to the bow railings). A small cast-iron cannon on a carriage A cannon is any large tubular firearm designed to fire a heavy projectile over a considerable distance. ... Traditional wooden cutter beating. ... The age of sail is the period in which international trade and naval warfare were both dominated by sailing ships. ... The Gunwhale, pronounced gunnel to rhyme with tunnel, is a nautical term describing the top line of planking of a boats sides. ...
Given their improved aiming ability over fixed cannon and firing a variety of shot, from grapeshot to round shot, swivel guns were used on smaller vessels - such as gunboats and merchant vessels - where ship size, storage capacity or cost limited the ship's ability to carry the traditional ranks of cannon. In military ships, the replacement of several guns with one swivel gun would allow the use of a heavier shot - able to do more damage on impact and well suited to hit-and-run tactics. Grapeshot was a kind of anti-personnel ammunition used in cannons. ... A gunboat is literally a boat carrying one or more guns. ...
Iron guns were stronger and therefore could withstand bigger charges of gunpowder; most recommendations for the loading of iron cannon called for a powder charge of one-third the weight of the round shot for the gun.
Light guns (up to 12 pounders and 5.5" howitzers) were assigned in pairs to infantry regiments as regimental guns, and moved with them or in advance of the infantry to lay down covering fire until the enemy was in musket shot range.
The subsequent activities of the guns depended on the course of the infantry battle; the guns of the victors were limbered up and moved on, while those of the vanquished were overrun by the enemy advance, since they could rarely be brought out of action quickly enough to save them from capture.
The guns had to be removed from all the ships, and the largest had to be raised between “camels” (barges or lighters which were then emptied of ballast).
By contrast, Barclay’s guns and supplies had to come up the Saint Lawrence River, and along the lengths of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie.
Because the Americans controlled Lake Ontario and occupied the Niagara Peninsula in early 1813, supplies for Barclay had to be carried overland from York.
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