Disabled CS Cannon

[Manassas 1861]

A rebel cannon at Port Hudson, Louisiana. Damaged by a US naval battery. LOC.

 

[Biscoitos]

"Destroyed" may or may not be the correct description of this artillery piece.
On one hand, well, just look at the photo. Destroyed seems obvious. Certainly would be at the end of its life.

However, despite the damage to the muzzle and the "shredded" condition of the wheels, the desperate Confederates may well have loaded it with some type of canister and fired in case of an attack. It could probably still be fired, even if the recoil took it down for good.

See the word desperate above.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I'm far from being an expert, but my first impression is that the muzzel and forward tube exploded while being fired.

Such was not uncommon.

 

[Biscoitos]

I'm far from being an expert, but my first impression is that the muzzel and forward tube exploded while being fired.

Such was not uncommon.

My assumption is that is was struck on the muzzle by a heavy shot.
The small caliber rounds on the ground were fired at the gun. They are smoothbore rounds but the damaged gun shows rifling marks in the tube.
However those small caliber rounds could not have produced the damage that we see.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

the desperate Confederates may well have loaded it with some type of canister and fired

Yeah, my first thought was about "The Widow Blakely" ... after it exploded at Vicksburg.

The Confederates did "saw off" the damaged part of the tube, and used it as mortar for the remainder of the the siege:

The Widow Blakely Cannon at Vicksburg – Iron Brigader

A great photo from an old thread:

Widow Blakely | Cannons / Artillery & Crew Served Weapons

I was passing thru Vicksburg last month and had to stop for gas. I couldn't get back on the road without getting at least one picture with the kiddo.

civilwartalk.com

 

[Biscoitos]

The damage done to the wheels was clearly done by incoming artillery projectiles, not by an explosion in the muzzle. Considering the heavy shelling that the Confederates suffered, I feel that the piece was struck on the muzzle by a heavy shot is the most likely explanation.
One Confederate piece at Port Hudson was disabled by having a trunnion shot away by a heavy shot. A relic hunter that I know found the trunnion.

 

[Biscoitos]

The website below shows the cannon that had the trunnion shot away.
One picture clearly shows the trunnion is missing, a dent in the tube and muzzle damage all caused by the heavy Union artillery fire.

Port Hudson Artillery

In touring the Port Hudson battlefield recently I discovered what appears to be cannons on display that matches disabled cannons in pho...

boleycreekrebels.blogspot.com

 

[Bentonville]

Yeah, my first thought was about "The Widow Blakely" ... after it exploded at Vicksburg.

The Confederates did "saw off" the damaged part of the tube, and used it as mortar for the remainder of the the siege:

The Widow Blakely Cannon at Vicksburg – Iron Brigader

A great photo from an old thread:

Widow Blakely | Cannons / Artillery & Crew Served Weapons

I was passing thru Vicksburg last month and had to stop for gas. I couldn't get back on the road without getting at least one picture with the kiddo.

civilwartalk.com

That would have been a huge sawed off shotgun. Cannister, please.

 

[7thWisconsin]

How much posing do you think was done for that photo? That looks like the end of the muzzle lying in front of the gun, and the scattering of shot certainly isn´t typical of the order that you try to keep around a working gun. But they´d look great to the folks back home.

 

[UCVRelics]

The many photos of Port Hudson were taken by the McPherson & Oliver of New Orleans and they took many photos there.

 

[observator]

By McPherson and Oliver Co:
see links to photographs at https://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=McPherson & Oliver

 

[Biscoitos]

By McPherson and Oliver Co:
see links to photographs at https://www.loc.gov/pictures/related/?fi=name&q=McPherson & Oliver

Thanks for posting this url
Photo # 31, on the 2nd page, titled "The Confederates had only field pieces with which to defend their works...battered guns...were mounted in the camp of Duryea's and Bainbridge's battery..." shows the gun pictured in the post that started this thread, but from a stereoscopic view.
The caption identifies it as one of the "battered guns."
Quite a few of the 68 post seige photos show Confederate artillery pieces damaged or dismounted by Union artillery.

The many photos of Port Hudson were taken by the McPherson & Oliver of New Orleans and they took many photos there.

 

[Biscoitos]

Did anybody notice the large odd shaped piece of iron in the foreground, on the camera side of the 4 round balls?
It looks to me to be the chunk knocked off the muzzle. The dark circle could be the bore and the part that "slopes" to the left, if rotated correctly, could be the top of the missing muzzle.
What do you think?

 

[7thWisconsin]

I think it is. I´d like to see a stereo view.

 

[iron bender]

Biscoitos I think you're correct too. That would have been one hell of a lick and certainly got the crew's attention. Isn't there a 12lb bronze gun at Gettysburg that took one right in the mouth?

 

[Manassas 1861]

The gun was placed at Port Hudson to defend the camp of Duryea's and Bainbridge's battery.

 

[iron bender]

Wondering about the gun/cariage in the op's pic. The cannon balls on the ground appear to be 12 pound. Is this an illusion considering size of the gun? Are they 8"?

 

[Biscoitos]

Wondering about the gun/cariage in the op's pic. The cannon balls on the ground appear to be 12 pound. Is this an illusion considering size of the gun? Are they 8"?

IMHO they are way too small to be 8."
Looking at the size of the balls relative to the size of the wheels.
I would think 12, maybe, but 6 is much less likely.

 

[Manassas 1861]

Here's another photo of a similar cannon, also from the camp of Duryea's and Bainbridge's batteries, 15th Arkansas Infantry, CSA.

 

[7thWisconsin]

Is that gun unseated too? It looks odd on the carriage.