12 pound napoleans

ttully · #1 03-27-2008, 08:42 PM

does anyone know of a way to trace a specific cannon to a specific regiment or even specific battery? i have two mystery cannon with dates ,weights, ord. numbers and manufacturers foundry numbers. Its my first reasearch project and i'm really stumped. Any help or advice would be appreciated thanks
tully

johan_steele · #2 03-27-2008, 11:29 PM

If they're CS manufacture I think you're out of luck. Send me a PM w/ what info you have as I have a book that might have some data for you. I'm away from my library until next week though.

M E Wolf · #3 03-28-2008, 10:40 AM

Dear Johan_Steele,

In regard to the Confederate cannons and other ordinances--Wouldn't the US Military have some listing to the captured cannons and such? The Quarter-Master would most likely be the source of the information, so when surrendered--wouldn't they have such identification and where they belonged?

I do realize that many cannons had been stolen from the US Army prior to the Civil War's full manifestation as well.

I also do realize many of the Confederate papers were being destroyed by time General Lee made it to Appomattox. Many records were destroyed by the Confederate goverment when Petersburg and Richmond were under seige.

Good luck TTully -- if anybody can help you, it is the folks on this list.

Sincerely,
M. E. Wolf

johan_steele · #4 03-28-2008, 11:05 AM

THe CS didn't record what specific battery received a gun but were shipped to a specific dept or Army and then parcelled out, add to that capture and some swapping for uniformity it could get real interesting quick. THe US records on thta subject aren't a whole lot better as Cannons were often sent to a state or to an arsenal for distribution and paperword didn't always entail S/N I have one book that might be useful.

Hazlett, James C., Olmstead, Edwin, Parks, M. Hume, Field Artillery Weapons of the Civil War, University of Illinois Press, 2004.

M E Wolf · #5 03-28-2008, 03:23 PM

Dear John_Steele,

Very interesting indeed sir. Hopefully there will be the needed information in the book.

If someone didn't have their book, I suppose one could pester someone from the US Park Service, at Gettysburg and perhaps at West Point, where I 'understand' there are authentic cannons there.

www.nps.gov/seac/civilwar.htm is one site that may be of use to all concerns.

Sincerely,
M. E. Wolf

johan_steele · #6 04-02-2008, 09:24 PM

"Stamped on the muzzle face of gun "A" is C.A.& Co.-No.73- 1862-1236lbs-and some initials i cant make out. Gun "B" is stamped Revere Copper Co.- No.15- 1862-1223lbs-JPF. Now i believe the first gun was made at the Cyrus Algers foundry outside Boston Mass. The initials i can't make out are the inspectors stamp i think. The second gun was also made in Mass. by the company founded by Paul Revere and son. that is where my trail goes cold. I can't find any records from these old companies. These field pieces are in excellent shape, but are not on limbers, they are mounted on concrete columns." ttully

Gun A was indeed made by Cyrus Alger & Co of Boston, #73 being delivered to a contract that was delivereed in October 61 but they kept making them knowing there would be demand for more. So it was probably made in early 62 in preperation for the 15 March 62 contract they knew was in the works. Somrething that may be of interest to this gun, "...this department will receive the ten light 12 pounder guns... which you have made in excess of your order from this office. You are authorized to continue the manufacture of light 12 pounder guns till further orders. 56 more guns were made under those orders w/ another 15 on a 7 July 62 contract. Cyrus Alger & Co delivered 170 Napoleons by war's end. Alger was famous for over producing and selling off surplus guns to the states in this case that didn't happen as the US Army snatched them up as fast as they could be finished.

Gun B: Revere Copper Co made 461 guns by the end of the War w/ #15 probably being delivered in October of 61. THey had already made 30 by that date w/ #15 in that number

So these are certainly not CS guns but manufactured for the use of the US.

Dyer has this to say about the NJ Battery you mentioned:

2nd Battery ("B") Light Artillery

Organized at Camp Olden, Trenton, N.J., and mustered in September 3, 1861. Left State for Washington, D.C., October 22, 1861. Attached to Hamilton's Division, Defenses of Washington, to March, 1862. Artillery, 3rd Division, 3rd Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to June, 1862. Artillery Reserve, 3rd Army Corps, to August, 1862. Artillery, 2nd Division, 3rd Army Corps, to January, 1863. Artillery, 1st Division, 3rd Army Corps, to May, 1863. Artillery Brigade, 3rd Army Corps, to March, 1864. 2nd Volunteer Brigade, Artillery Reserve, Army of the Potomac, to May, 1864. Artillery Brigade, 2nd Army Corps, to June, 1865.

SERVICE.--Duty in the Defenses of Washington, D.C., until March, 1862. Ordered to the Virginia Peninsula March, 1862. Siege of Yorktown, Va., April 5-May 4. Battle of Williamsburg May 5. Battle of Fair Oaks (or Seven Pines) May 31-June 1. Action at Fair Oaks Station June 21. Seven days before Richmond June 25-July 1. Battles of Oak Grove, Seven Pines, June 25. Peach Orchard and Savage Station June 29. White Oak Swamp and Glendale June 30. Malvern Hill July 1. At Harrison's Landing until August 16. Moved to Washington, D.C., and duty in the Defenses of that city until November. Operations on Orange and Alexandria Railroad November 10-12. Near Falmouth, Va., November 28-December 11. Battle of Fredericksburg, Va., December 12--15. At Falmouth until April 27, 1863. "Mud March" January 20-24. Operations at Rappahannock Bridge and Grove Church February 5-7. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee to Manassas Gap, Va., July 5-24. South Mountain, Md., July 12. Wapping Heights, Manassas Gap, Va., July 23. Near Warrenton, Va., until October. Bristoe Campaign October 9-22. Auburn and Bristoe October 14. Advance to line of the Rappahannock November 7-8. Kelly's Ford November 7. Brandy Station November 8. Mine Run Campaign November 26-December 2. At and near Stevensburg until May, 1864. Campaign from the Rapidan to the James May 3-June 15. Battles of the Wilderness May 5-7. Spotsylvania May 8-12. Spotsylvania Court House May 12-21. Assault on the Salient ("Bloody Angle") May 12. Harris Farm (or Fredericksburg Road) May 19. North Anna River May 23-26. On line of the Pamunkey May 26-28. Totopotomoy May 28-31. Cold Harbor June 1-12. Before Petersburg June 16-18. Siege of Petersburg June 16, 1864, to April 2, 1865. Jerusalem Plank Road June 22-23, 1864. Demonstration north of the James River August 13-20. Strawberry Plains August 14-18. Russell's Mills August 18. Ream's Station August 25. Watkins' House March 25. Appomattox Campaign March 28-April 9. Hatcher's Run March 29-31. Boydton Road, Fall of Petersburg, April 2. Sutherland Station April 2. Sailor's Creek April 6, Farmville April 6-7. Appomattox Court House April 9. Surrender of Lee and his army. Moved to Washington, D.C., May. Grand Review May 23. Mustered out June 16, 1865.

Battery lost during service 1 Officer and 8 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 23 Enlisted men by disease. Total 32.

What I've found shows the battery had 4 10 pound Parrots guns and 2 Napoleons if the two in your park are those I don't know for certain. After the war most guns were stored at various arsenals and farmed out as needed for monuments, many were melted down in various scrap drives of the two World Wars and some were sold overseas. So in ,my own opinion I would be quite suprised if those were the same guns used by Battery B. That they are of the same type is certain though. I've had no luck finding registery numbers corresponding to State volunteer batteries.

There is a history of the Battery available online, History of Battery B. You might have some luck with that but my connection is dial up and I've had no luck with the numbers. http://books.google.com/books?id=3c6...&hl=en#PPP1,M1

Another avenue might be Benet, Stephen Vincent A Collection of Annual Reports and other Important Papers. Govt Printing Office 1880.

Also take a look through your state historical society for the Annual Repotrs of the Adjutant General.

The National Archives Record Group 156 entry 214 Register of Inspection of Cannon 1861-65

I wish I could be more help, good luck.

M E Wolf · #7 04-03-2008, 04:46 PM

Dear List Members,

In regard to "Revere" -- I just wanted to mention two of the Revolutionary hero Paul Revere's grandsons served in the Union side, with the 20th Mass. Regiment -- Col. Paul Revere,Jr. was mortally wounded at Gettysburg July 2nd and died on the 4th. The other grandson, was Edward Hutchinson Robbins Revere, who was an assistant-surgeon for the 20th Mass. Regiment, who was killed on 9-17-1862 at Antietam.

Thought I would mention that the Revere brothers were part of the "Harvard Regiment," to which Oliver Wendell Holmes was also a member.

Just some thoughts.

Respectfully submitted for consideration,
M. E. Wolf