CivilWarTalk Throwback Thursday, 12-31-2020

James N.

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Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Joined
Feb 23, 2013
Location
East Texas
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This week Throwback Thursdaydepicts an "old friend" of sorts that I was reunited with or at least got to visit this fall - none of the reenactors pictured, but rather the full-scale reproduction mountain howitzer and limber! The gun itself was made-to-order for the captain of our battery, Glen Smith; he completed the job by constructing the carriage and limber, which were then mounted on correct-size antique wagon wheels. Following several years of use at events like this by-invitation-only living history encampment on a portion of the original Confederate defense lines at Corinth, Mississippi, Glen donated the gun and limber to the Prairie Grove Historic State Park in Arkansas. This October before the leaves completed turning I made my first visit there in a decade or more, and was happy to see our old gun in a prominent place by the door just inside the Hindman Memorial Hall Museum there. (Unfortunately, my camera failed about this time, so I have no photos from my visit.) Pictured above, our gun crew at Corinth included from left-to-right: an unknown Rebel infantryman, David Cejka with ramrod, Glen stepping down into the trench, Michael Hubbard standing with hands on hips, Yours Truly in red fireman's shirt, and Dr. Richard Bruce Winders, now former curator of the Alamo in San Antonio. For additional photos of this living history event from May, 1978, please see:

Reenacting The Siege of Corinth, Mississippi, May, 1978 | Reenactors Forum - Join, Drill, See the Elephant (civilwartalk.com)

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Anyone else having (preferably) old Civil War-related photos, mementoes, or memorabilia from reenactments, living history, or other events or vacation or other travel is welcome and encouraged to share them with us in this weekly thread!
 
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Exactly - in a nice prominent place right beside the entrance to the museum. Many times have I fired that very piece! My own personal contribution was a 6' X 12' canvas tarp seen in my photo strapped to the top of the copper-covered limber box, and which I still have in a closet at home. Note especially the correct 12-pounder bore on this replica which Glen specified from the foundry which otherwise cast the usual incorrect replicas - he returned it to them to have it bored out to the correct size. When I was there in October I had the young lady at the desk photograph me standing beside the gun for a potential then-and-now post, but unfortunately all my pictures inadvertently were deleted!
 
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Exactly - in a nice prominent place right beside the entrance to the museum. Many times have I fired that very piece! My own personal contribution was a 6' X 12' canvas tarp seen in my photo strapped to the top of the copper-covered limber box, and which I still have in a closet at home. Note especially the correct 12-pounder bore on this replica which Glen specified from the foundry which otherwise cast the usual incorrect replicas - he returned it to them to have it bored out to the correct size. When I was there in October I had the young lady at the desk photograph me standing beside the gun, but unfortunately all my pictures inadvertently were deleted!

There's always next time! Hope you got to see Cane Hill, its unrecognizable since they started cleaning it up. Though they run from the CW history and have no interest in promoting that. Even though its literally the only thing that ever happened there to get tourists to come.

I know where there's a mold for casting a Mountain Howitzer with the proper bore size I hope to buy soon, (I really need to get on top of that, I've let it lay too long) and an old friend let me know he's got a LOT of seasoned white oak in his shop from when they were gonna build a six-pounder years ago and it fell through he might let me dispose of. That plus my Christmas present project, and Tom and I conspiring to make a Tredegar Mountain Rifle mold with all the uniform projects, I think I've gotten too ambitious....
 
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