DaveBrt
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2010
- Location
- Charlotte, NC
Rufus A. Wilder (1817-1907) was an inventory who worked for the Mine Hill Railroad in Pennsylvania from 1848-1865. Wilder was in Philadelphia when Isaac R. Trimble, Superintendent of the Philadelphia Wilmington & Baltimore RR (connecting Washington to Baltimore) began destroying track and bridges on his own road, April 19, 1861. Rebel sharpshooters prevented the immediate repair of the damaged road.
Wilder sketched out a plan to build an iron battery on wheels, a rolling fortress to stand guard while the road was repaired. He showed his plan to local officials, then went to the Baldwin Locomotive Works where the car was approved and President Samuel M. Felton of the PW&B ordered a copy.
The works were placed on the running gear of a baggage car. A howitzer was mounted on a swivel base at one end and walls were constructed of 2 ½ inch thick oak planks with ½ inch boiler plate on the outside. The walls were penetrated with slots for riflemen to fire through. The finished car was 65 feet long by 9 feet wide. The 24-pdr cannon was raised and lowered at will and manned by 6 men. The car was intended to carry 60 men total.
The car saw some service on the PW&B and the B&O, but was never in action. USMRR’s Herman Haupt ordered the “elephant” to Alexandria, Va. for use on lines in that area, but it appears the it was put on a siding and forgotten.
Trimble took his rebellion south and became a Confederate general.
Wilder sketched out a plan to build an iron battery on wheels, a rolling fortress to stand guard while the road was repaired. He showed his plan to local officials, then went to the Baldwin Locomotive Works where the car was approved and President Samuel M. Felton of the PW&B ordered a copy.
The works were placed on the running gear of a baggage car. A howitzer was mounted on a swivel base at one end and walls were constructed of 2 ½ inch thick oak planks with ½ inch boiler plate on the outside. The walls were penetrated with slots for riflemen to fire through. The finished car was 65 feet long by 9 feet wide. The 24-pdr cannon was raised and lowered at will and manned by 6 men. The car was intended to carry 60 men total.
The car saw some service on the PW&B and the B&O, but was never in action. USMRR’s Herman Haupt ordered the “elephant” to Alexandria, Va. for use on lines in that area, but it appears the it was put on a siding and forgotten.
Trimble took his rebellion south and became a Confederate general.