Buried cannons recovered?

[cannonmn]

The Richmond Howitzers buried their cannons on the way to Appomattox in '65, who recovered them and when? At that time 1 st Co., only one I checked, had two napoleons and two 10 pdr.Parrotts. Where are those cannons now?

 

[ErnieMac]

I've seen online sources showing the 1st Company Richmond Howitzers buried their pieces near Red Oak Church along with quite a number of pieces from other batteries under the command of BG R. Lindsay Walker. The present Red Oak Baptist Church is in Oakville VA, about 5 miles northwest of Appomattox Court House. I would imagine the 1865 church was close by if not in the same location.

1st Company Richmond Howitzers

History of the 1st Company Richmond Howitzers in the American Civil War

civilwarintheeast.com

A few days after the surrender a squadron of the 11th Pennsylvania Cavalry unearthed 54 field pieces along with caissons and carriages in the vicinity of the church. The recovered items were turned over to the appropriate authorities. A article in the 1 December 1887 Washington (DC) National Tribune recalled the incident. Whether the 11th recovered all the pieces that were buried unknown to me.

 

[UCVRelics]

Mystery Solved. Great info @ErnieMac

 

[redbob]

That had to be a pretty big hole.

 

[Ole Miss]

Ernie I see you caught them sneaky Pennsylvania's who thought they had covered their tracks!
Good work my friend and see you at Murfreesboro!
Regards
David

 

[cannonmn]

Thanks for solving the mystery for me.

 

[cannonmn]

That's great info, some of the text could indicate that some effort was made to,identify the cannons. Maybe there's an inventory of them somewhere. It'd be just great if the list contained all the markings on those cannons. Please find the list, if there is one, and post it here.

 

[ErnieMac]

That's great info, some of the text could indicate that some effort was made to,identify the cannons. Maybe there's an inventory of them somewhere. It'd be just great if the list contained all the markings on those cannons. Please find the list, if there is one, and post it here.

I don't think you will have much success finding a list that you can tie to the Richmond Howitzers. The Pennsylvanians would not have known which guns were associated with which unit. I also think they would not have taken the time to record serial numbers of the artillery and locations where they were found. My guess is the pieces were dug up, thrown onto wagons and carriages and promptly hauled away. The Union ordnance teams who received them would have recorded the numbers, but probably had no idea where they were found.

 

[Package4]

That's great info, some of the text could indicate that some effort was made to,identify the cannons. Maybe there's an inventory of them somewhere. It'd be just great if the list contained all the markings on those cannons. Please find the list, if there is one, and post it here.

The only way a list would do any good is if you had the identifying marks/numbers before they were buried. Keep in mind that only the tubes were recovered; I have to imagine that the carriages were the burn marks described and the limbers most likely were burned or later found hidden in barns/farms.