THE Gettysburg Gun-Battery B, First Rhode Island

Gettysburg Greg

First Sergeant
Joined
Jun 6, 2010
Location
Decatur, Illinois
GB gun combo.jpg

I find one of the more interesting vignettes from the Battle of Gettysburg to be the story of the Gettysburg Gun which I'm sure many of my friends here are at least somewhat familiar with. This refers to one of the guns in Brown's Battery B, First Rhode Island Artillery that saw action around the Copse of Trees on July 2nd and 3rd. During the artillery bombardment prior to Pickett's Charge, the battery was in action just south of the Copse of Trees. As one of the guns was being loaded with powder, a very accurate or lucky Confederate shot struck the muzzle of the gun killing the loader and severely wounding the sponge man. The surviving artillerymen attempted to ram the solid shot down the barrel, but the shell was now stuck in the distorted muzzle. They even resorted to using an ax in their attempt to dislodge the round, but as the hot barrel cooled, it welded the solid shot in place. This disabled gun having been struck three times was then moved to the rear. The gun eventually was put on display in the Statehouse in Providence, Rhode Island, where it remained until 1963 when it was decided to bring the gun back to Gettysburg for the Centennial Celebration. It was prior to this move that someone thought of asking about the powder charge still in the tube behind the stuck shell. So the 1863 powder charge was removed by drilling two holes into the back of the tube and flushing out the charge. The Gettysburg Gun made it to the Centennial and then was returned to Providence where it can be seen today resting on a rare Civil War carriage. On the left in my photo, is the gun and the carriage on display in Providence and on the right is a close up focusing on the damaged muzzle and the solid shot that has been stuck in place since July 3, 1863.
 
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I am selfish: I wish they would have left the display in Gettysburg so I can see it :smile: @Gettysburg Greg I am not sure how cannon balls work: this one looks fully intact and contained, so I was surprised that people were killed when it landed (I know about firearm rounds, but zilch about canon balls)
Hello, @Bee , I may have not been clear in my description. The Confederate round that struck the muzzle exploded killing the two artillery men. The solid shot stuck in the barrel was loaded after the muzzel was damaged, which is why it became lodged there. Make sense?
 
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Hello, @Bee , I may have not been clear in my description. The Confederate round that struck the muzzle exploded killing the two artillery men. The solid shot stuck in the barrel was loaded after the muzzel was damaged, which is why it became lodged there. Make sense?

Ahh, yes! THIS was not the round that killed the men, this happed afterwards. Got it:smile:
 
This same gun had an equally fascinating story to tell on the previous day, July 2. It was the fourth piece in the battery, under Sergeant Albert A. Straight, and it was held in place to fire a last discharge at the advancing Georgians of Brig. Gen. Ambrose R. Wright's brigade, around 7 p.m. But in the meantime, two of the limber horses were shot down, so the piece had to be abandoned. Sitting in the middle of the field between the Union lines and the Emmitsburg Road, it became an immediate focal point in the path of the 48th Georgia. I seem to recall an account describing a Confederate officer being shot while standing on the piece, and reportedly the color bearer planted his flag alongside it.
 
Sorry. I mean slightly left of west of the cop.
Ok, @Yankeedave , I didn't have a picture, but I have video I shot at that location that I can capture a still from. Here you see the Brown Battery location marker with the Codori farm in the background for reference. I will include a second image captured from the Emmitsburg Road facing towards the Copse. Closer to the camera and to the right is the outcropping where the Brown marker is located approximately where I placed the arrow.
brown bat.jpg


from ER.jpg
 
Brown's rightmost section was about 100 yards due west of the Copse with the rest of the battery lined southwest of the section (paralleling the direction of the Emmitsburg Road). They were approximately halfway between the stone wall and the Emmitsburg Road.

The 82nd New York and the 15th Massachusetts, stationed along the road to Brown's front, stood and fought briefly with Wright's Georgians before retreating back to the ridge. The artillerymen, firing double canister, ripped ragged holes in the Confederate line but couldn't stop them. Lt. Brown ordered his men to limber up and move to the rear but one of the gun commanders decided to give the Georgians a parting shot. In those few moments, the gun's horse team was shot down and the piece was abandoned. Another gun was left about 20 yards from the wall.

Some of Wright's men attempted to turn the cannon on the Federal line but were driven away by Cushing's battery who fired canister into Brown's former position.

Ryan
 
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