What is this? How late were Civil War cannon being used by military academies?

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
A local postcard of little boys with a big toy. I this a Civil War cannon? If so, this cannon was being used for training well after the Civil War. This has to be in the early 20th Century. Perhaps it was only for firing salutes.

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There something not right about this photo as the rammer is way to far out in front and the guy who is lining up the sights as it looks as if it just fired, either way they are in the wrong positions and to me it looks as if it has been photo shopped with all of the halo effects around the cadets.
 
There something not right about this photo as the rammer is way to far out in front and the guy who is lining up the sights as it looks as if it just fired, either way they are in the wrong positions and to me it looks as if it has been photo shopped with all of the halo effects around the cadets.

Did they photo shop in 1910? The front cadets do look like they have been added to the post card. Still it appears this post card is an original post card from the early 20th Century.
 
There something not right about this photo as the rammer is way to far out in front and the guy who is lining up the sights as it looks as if it just fired, either way they are in the wrong positions and to me it looks as if it has been photo shopped with all of the halo effects around the cadets.
There's one like it on sale on eBay right now that's postmarked 1913. As for their positions ... c'mon, they're kids. It's hardly serious military training. I suspect the smoke has been added.

Most of these early color cards were printed in Germany in the years before WWI.
 
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I do not think I have ever been to Nazareth Michigan and it is only a hour drive It really isn't a town but just Nazareth College and Nazareth Academy and the area is part of the City of Kalamazoo. Nazareth College closed in 1992. Nazareth was established by the sisters of St. Joseph who had opened a hospital and soon an orphanage. The Nazareth Academy operated in to the mid to late 20th Century and was a military school for orphans. My interest in this is that all the nuns are getting very old and the historic Nazareth motherhouse is slated for demolition. This made me think about the orphans of the Nazareth Academy and the uniforms they wore. Would a study of their uniforms over the years be interesting? The uniforms in the postcard in post #1 from the early 1900s are on the ugly side.

I wonder what happened to their cannon?
 
A local postcard of little boys with a big toy. I this a Civil War cannon? If so, this cannon was being used for training well after the Civil War. This has to be in the early 20th Century. Perhaps it was only for firing salutes.

View attachment 346853
BARBOUR HALL IS BARBOUR HALL JR, MILITARY SCHOOL 1941-was a Nazarene private school1902 via card and GOOGLE closed in 1978
 
I will have to look a bit deeper, but Nazareth Michigan was never a village or city in the classic view, but a Catholic motherhouse, college, and academy, with associate buildings. Nazareth College in Kalamazoo was a Catholic college and was not associated with the Church of the Nazarene. I do believe Nazareth College of Kalamazoo was founded as a Catholic college and believe that Barbour Hall could have been associated Nazareth College. I guess it is possible the Barbour Hall was a private military academy in the same area of the Military school that is associated with Nazareth College. Again, as far as I know, Nazareth Michigan was never much more than Nazareth College.

Again I will have to look in to this a bit deeper. If am am mistaken I will centrally apologize.
 
There something not right about this photo as the rammer is way to far out in front and the guy who is lining up the sights as it looks as if it just fired, either way they are in the wrong positions and to me it looks as if it has been photo shopped with all of the halo effects around the cadets.

There is a whole lot 'not right' about this photo and I agree the firing was photo shopped (or whatever they called it back then). Besides the #4 man being on the wrong side, the gunner bent over and sighting the gun (as it is supposedly firing), the wheel chained down (as a display piece would be), #1 stepping forward on the wrong foot, the lanyard still attached although the gun has fired, etc....

Not a photo one would see in a training manual for sure.
 
OK, but is this a civil War cannon? Even if it is some how "photo shopped", the cadets do appear to be firing a cannon, or pretending to be firing a cannon.
 
Now I want to drive the 50 miles to Nazareth to see the motherhouse before it is torn down. Kalamazoo Michigan does not have any good used book stores so I can not make it a good trip. Well the Kalamazoo friends of the Library does have a book sale room in the basement of the Kalamazoo Library.
 
While the cannon has the appearance of being a Civil War era piece, one cannot make that determination without a closer look. There is a directory out there of 'known' Civil War cannons, but without knowing where this particular gun ended up after the school closed, one can only made a wild guess. You might make a call or send an email to the local historical society and ask them if they know where the gun is. There is always an outside chance the gun was and still is in a park somewhere locally and had nothing to do with the school. Good luck in your search.
 
As we know, LSU began as a military school with W. T. Sherman as its first superintendent. The university continued that tradition for many decades, earning the nickname “Ole War Skule.” Here is a 1900 era photo of cadets in artillery drill at the old Pentagon Barracks (part of first Baton Rouge campus.

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Here is a photo of the same place showing it used as an arty park during the Federal occupation of the city.

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And here are two photos of the beautifully restored Barracks adjacent to the Mississippi.

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Finally, a bit of info on the historic Pentagon Barracks from an old thread.

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I saw a photo from the Mexican Revolution in 1910 and there was a m/l cannon in the forefront. The description said it was a "McGinty" cannon from the Civil War. Don't know what that is. Artillerymen can you respond ?
 
A lot of old artillery pieces (ACW included) disappeared from town squares and cemetery displays during the WWII scrap drives.
There were several cannons here in Anahuac that met that fate. I was told that at least one was on the courthouse lawn prior to 1900. One of the local judges said that he and his brother fired one of the guns and blew the muzzle off. They dumped it somewhere but never would reveal where. At least two guns were from Fort Chambers. Fort Anahuac (Mexican fort) was built here in 1831 and had four guns but they were removed after the skirmishing in 1832. No idea what happened to them. Probably returned to Mexico.
 
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