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I am researching Wiard rifles and new york units that used them, and I have a few questions.
According to a book I have on civil war artillery, (Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War; by Hazelett, Olmstead, and Parks) Gen. Sickles equipped three batteries for his Excelsior Brigade with wiard rifles. These 3 batteries I assume are the 5th and 10th independent battery NY light artillery, with the 3rd battery having not been completed and transferred into the 10th.
This is where I’m lost. I can’t seem to confirm that these batteries had Wiards. Sources I’ve found says the 5th had 20-pdr parrots, and the 10th had napoleons. Obviously they could have had mixed batteries, but nowhere are Wiards and the Excelsiors mentioned besides that book. If you try to research it, ill forewarn you that it’s slightly confusing b/c there were two batteries that may come up as the “10th independent”… the first to be organized was later transferred and re-designated as Co. F of the 3rd NY Artillery, they did in fact have 12-pdr Wiards… but are NOT the battery that was organized under the Sickles’ Brigade. I’m interested mostly in the 10th battery. 13 batteries of Wiards were supposedly purchased, to some Ohio batteries that i can confirm, to the 3rd NY artillery, and elsewhere, but who else did they go to?
Aside from the Wiards, confusing also is that on the NYS Military Museum website, the 6th Independent Battery is also titled as the “1st Excelsior Light Artillery”, but so is the 5th… However, under the page for the Excelsior Brigade, it states that Sickles only had organized the 5th and 10th to be attached to his brigade. http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic...IndBatMain.htm http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/historic...lesBrigade.htm
Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.
IIRC the 1st MN Lt Arty had 2 at Shiloh... I thought there was a listing of Wiard Rifles and what units they went to.
Look at Abebooks for CW Cannons; there is a recent title that is a phenom research project. Saw it at Barnes & Noble for $30... might be worth a check.
Good Luck
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
A quick glance at the OR shows that quite a number of Wiards seem to have been used in gun emplacements in various forts. Fort Morris seems to have had quite a few, often manned by infantry.
Batlett's 1st Ohio Artillery had two 12pdr's, the 3rd NY, Battery F, as you mentioned, had six Wiard guns. The 2nd Massachusetts had a couple as did the 1st Missouri. One OR report of Sigel's Corp, indicates that effective July 21, 1862, the Corp had eight 6 pdrs and four 12 pdrs, but the report does not specify which units had these guns.
A more through check of the OR might reveal more information. Also, "The Union, A Guide to the Federal Archives Relating to the Civil War," by Munden & Beers, indicates that some information pertaining to issuance of ordnance is available in several volumes, including a special file for Wiard guns which includes correspondence with Norman Wiard. - Page 280 in the Beers / Munden book. - A trip to the archives might be in order : ) Good Luck.
yeah, i was trying to avoid a trip, i put a request in to NARA, as well as the NYS Military Museum, ill see what they can turn up for me, otherwise ill have to roll up my sleeves.
Yes, it can be a pain to go to the archives, not to mention the expense of travel. BUT, I've found that if you don't do it yourself, you might not get the records that you really need. The information you get when you make a request is only as complete as the researcher who pulls it, makes it.
Not to blame the overworked staff of volunteers at the NARA, but on more than one occasion I've made a request and been told that there was no further information, only to check for myself my next trip out, and find dozens of pages of exactly what I requested. I 've since become a big fan of "find it yourself," if at all possible.
If you go, you may want to look into Record Group 156, "Records of Procurement, Issuance, Property Accountability, Testing and Experimentation." Within this group is a file of correspondence and "other papers relating to the Wiard Gun."
Hope you find what you are looking for, and have fun doing so !!
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