M1875 HOTCHKISS TWO‑POUNDER MOUNTAIN GUN ON ITS ORIGINAL FIELD CARRIAGE

THE U.S. ARMY'S SIGNATURE CANNON USED DURING THE INDIAN WAR ERA

Hotchkiss & Cie (Hotchkiss & Co.), Paris, ca. 1875. 

Note: Oral tradition holds that this gun saw service at the Battle of Wounded Knee (1890); however, no primary documentation or unit-level provenance has been located to confirm that association. Further research is encouraged.

A classic example of the United States Army’s first purpose‑designed breech‑loading mountain gun, of 1.65‑inch (42 mm) “two‑pounder” caliber. Rifled steel tube with quick‑action breech (for fixed, metallic‑cased ammunition); original iron/wood pack‑carriage with large dished wheels, iron tires and bronze hubs; elevating screw and traverse gear. Marked at the breech with a U.S. acceptance roundel and number, and retaining to the trail the oval brass maker’s plate “HOTCHKISS’ PATENT / No. 78 / PARIS 1884.” Finish presently with deep arsenal‑style blue/black to the tube and original‑type olive drab to the carriage.

American engineer Benjamin B. Hotchkiss (1826–1885), trained in Connecticut’s premier arms industry and celebrated for his rifled‑artillery projectiles in the U.S. Civil War, removed to France after 1865 and founded Hotchkiss & Cie. There he developed the compact mountain gun adopted by the U.S. in 1875, a landmark as the Army’s first original breech‑loading field piece. Designed for frontier service, the Hotchkiss could be broken down into two pack loads(with a third mule for ammunition), giving cavalry columns a reliable, portable gun that replaced the aging M1841 mountain howitzer. The piece saw extensive use in the Late Indian Wars, famously with the 7th Cavalry at Wounded Knee (1890), and lingered in service into the Spanish‑American War and Philippine‑American War, bridging the gap between muzzle‑loading mountain howitzers and modern quick‑firing light artillery.

Surviving M1875s complete on their original carriages and retaining Hotchkiss Paris plaques are scarce. This example, combining U.S. ordnance acceptance to the tube with a Paris‑dated carriage plate, illustrates the international manufacture and procurement that characterized Hotchkiss production and makes it a particularly desirable museum‑grade artifact of late‑19th‑century American artillery.

Mechanics untested. Offered as an antique artillery piece; federal regulations in the United States (18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(16)) exempt such artifacts from FFL transfer requirements. Buyers are responsible for compliance with all applicable state/local laws and any export/import controls.

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