Drewry's Bluff, Virginia, sling cart used in removing captured artillery

Zuzah

Sergeant Major
Joined
Apr 12, 2012
Location
Denmark
17265705065_bf4989b72d_k.jpg


A sling cart, properly speaking, is nothing but a limber, with wheels 7 feet 5.49 inches high, which has a tongue 13 or 16 feet long. It may be considered as a lever of the first kind; so much more advantageous, as the hand of the power applied is longer, and the end which raises the weight shorter. Its fulcrum, which is formed by the united points of the wheels tangent on the earth, may be conceived to be at the lower point of a prop placed under the middle or center of gravity of the axletree; the end which is to raise the weight above the bolster being very near, and the end of the pole, to which the power is applied, very far. The height of its wheels will procure the greatest facility for drawing the weight, provided the pole be made of such length as to make with the supposed prop, or radius of the wheels, an angle nearly ninety degrees.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
A sling cart, properly speaking, is nothing but a limber, with wheels 7 feet 5.49 inches high, which has a tongue 13 or 16 feet long. It may be considered as a lever of the first kind; so much more advantageous, as the hand of the power applied is longer, and the end which raises the weight shorter. Its fulcrum, which is formed by the united points of the wheels tangent on the earth, may be conceived to be at the lower point of a prop placed under the middle or center of gravity of the axletree; the end which is to raise the weight above the bolster being very near, and the end of the pole, to which the power is applied, very far. The height of its wheels will procure the greatest facility for drawing the weight, provided the pole be made of such length as to make with the supposed prop, or radius of the wheels, an angle nearly ninety degrees.

17265705065_bf4989b72d_k.jpg
Wow! Never seen one of these gizmos before. Another spectacular job Sgt. Maj. Zuzah. The fading whitewash on the big wheels, soldier's uniform and the sandy grass are all incredibly crisp.
 
The "Drewrys Bluff - vicinity" Image I've long pondered where it might have been taken. The Gun in the sling in the image appears to be a Double Banded Brooke Rifle... Which the fortification at Drewrys Bluff itself didn't have amongst their inventory. However there were some of these at other smaller river batteries down the river from there... At least one has been photographed in position at one of the batteries that was on the farm I grew up on, about two miles south of Drewrys Bluff... At the end of the war the gun tubes were confiscated and gathered up... apparently not that much interest in the existing carriage or related parts.... as a teen found various pieces of the dismantled carriage iron hardware still remaining or had been haphazardly tossed about...
 
Yes, it's a nice photo and an interesting device. What REALLY impresses me are the wheel spokes on the large wheels. Note that the spokes are staggered--every other one going to the inside or outside rim of the hub--very similar to a bicycle. This was skillful work.

In the second photo, the spokes of both sets of large wheels are slightly different than the first example, and the wheels on the two axles are different from front to back, too. Very, very interesting.
 
I've never seen one before either. Thanks for sharing these photos, and thank you Sgt. Major Zuzah for bringing this image to life! How many horses or mules would be needed to pull a sling cart with a gun, like the one shown in Mike Serpa's photo?
 
I've never seen one before either. Thanks for sharing these photos, and thank you Sgt. Major Zuzah for bringing this image to life! How many horses or mules would be needed to pull a sling cart with a gun, like the one shown in Mike Serpa's photo?

Kinda depends on the type of road surface and elevation differences to be traversed. A safe goal in that day was 700 lbs per horse in a team of 4 or more when traveling distances for wagons. I'm not an artillery guy but a quick search yields a weight range for that gun of 10K -20K lbs depending on particular size. Also depends of the quality of animal you have to work with, there is a team of only TWO horses that moved a record 24K lbs by themselves in California. Each horse weighed well over a ton.For the pic above and the probable available stock 8-10 ballpark for short distance on hard flat ground.
 
Back
Top