Ka-Boom!

[Private Watkins]

G.A.R Reunion Sept 28-30, 1895, Fairplay, MO.

Any thoughts on what happened to that cannon...?

 

[Copperhead-mi]

1895 G.A.R. Reunion. They accidently loaded it with smokeless powder?

 

[1stMN]

Well I'd say from the shape of what's left of the wheels, it was an explosion of some kind. Maybe it took a hit in battle?

 

[John Winn]

Given that the photo was taken in 1895 I'd say the damage had to have been done not long before. Maybe they were all infantry veterans and loaded that thing up with too much powder. I hope nobody got hurt. Wouldn't that be ironic.

 

[Private Watkins]

Given that the photo was taken in 1895 I'd say the damage had to have been done not long before. Maybe they were all infantry veterans and loaded that thing up with too much powder. I hope nobody got hurt. Wouldn't that be ironic.

Certainly possible... the way the wheel bottoms are buried in the dirt though made me wonder if it had been there in that condition for quite some time...?

The way the wheels and carriage show signs of a blast outward from the center would seem to indicate to my untrained eye that it likely exploded upon firing rather than took a hit from the enemy...

 

[alan polk]

That's a neat picture. I'm trying to figure something out, though. On the right, there is a young man grasping what looks to be a spoke. Just below his hand is some object, kind of looks like an urn of sorts, but on top of this object looks to be a 6-pound round ball. Anyone have any thoughts on what my bad eyes are seeing?

 

[John Winn]

That's a neat picture. I'm trying to figure something out, though. On the right, there is a young man grasping what looks to be a spoke. Just below his hand is some object, kind of looks like an urn of sorts, but on top of this object looks to be a 6-pound round ball. Anyone have any thoughts on what my bad eyes are seeing?

The man is grasping one of the spokes. The object is the breech and cascable (the knob on the breech end of a gun) which has been placed on the wheel hub. You can see in the photo that the breech was blown off.

 

[redbob]

I can't really tell for sure, but Parrott Guns had a nasty habit of blowing up/out at the breech.

 

[Private Watkins]

The man is grasping one of the spokes. The object is the breech and cascable (the knob on the breech end of a gun) which has been placed on the wheel hub. You can see in the photo that the breech was blown off.

Yep I agree...

 

[UCVRelics]

The man is grasping one of the spokes. The object is the breech and cascable (the knob on the breech end of a gun) which has been placed on the wheel hub. You can see in the photo that the breech was blown off.

I agree with Rob as well that is the breach end of the parrot gun sitting on the outside of the wheel hub. From looking at the outer rims which are blown upwards and the section of barrel missing on the front I would say they were trying to fire something they should not have been firing, or it was done in battle and the GAR Post had it as a war souvenir.

 

[Private Watkins]

A breech failure makes sense based on the blast pattern and fragment placed on the wheel... but then what would have caused both a breech failure and a failure at the front end...?

 

[UCVRelics]

A breech failure makes sense based on the blast pattern and fragment placed on the wheel... but then what would have caused both a breech failure and a failure at the front end...?

I would say that with the muzzle damage and the breach that a round went off in the tube, which leads me to believe that it was a battlefield piece. There are well documented cases of this happening.

 

[Private Watkins]

I would say that with the muzzle damage and the breach that a round went off in the tube, which leads me to believe that it was a battlefield piece. There are well documented cases of this happening.

I agree and tend to think it is a battlefield casualty that they used for the reunion photo... the bottoms of the wheel are well encased into the ground, with grass growing in the dirt around the wheel...

 

[UCVRelics]

Also, If you look at the left wheel there appears to be a piece of the muzzle leaning against on of the spokes.

 

[chubachus]

It was probably melted down during WW1/WW2.

 

[John Winn]

Also, If you look at the left wheel there appears to be a piece of the muzzle leaning against on of the spokes.

Good catch. Looking closely there's other pieces of the tube on the hub of the right wheel as well (as seen by the viewer; left wheel from their perspective).

Given the date of the photo, the salvaged pieces, and what was left at that time - particularly the wooden parts like the spokes - I think the gun suffered its destruction some time after the war.

 

[lelliott19]

Whoa! That's a great image! Wonder if that guy standing up on the canon was one of the ones responsible? He looks like the cat that ate the canary.

 

[UCVRelics]

It was probably melted down during WW1/WW2.

I agree, but nothing new. I would like to know how many church, railroad & etc brass bells were melted down in the South to support the Southern Cause. I remember my Dad telling me about the metal drives during WW1

 

[John Winn]

I agree, but nothing new. I would like to know how many church, railroad & etc brass bells were melted down in the South to support the Southern Cause. I remember my Dad telling me about the metal drives during WW1

That's an interesting question. I'd guess a lot. Everything was in short supply so I'm sure whatever could be got was got. I wonder if folks ever hid their church bells ?

Eric Wittenberg told us recently of a guy who removed and hid an iron fence during WWII that surrounded a Gettysburg monument so it wouldn't get melted down. After the war he put it back up.

 

[UCVRelics]

That's an interesting question. I'd guess a lot. Everything was in short supply so I'm sure whatever could be got was got. I wonder if folks ever hid their church bells ?

Eric Wittenberg told us recently of a guy who removed and hid an iron fence during WWII that surrounded a Gettysburg monument so it wouldn't get melted down. After the war he put it back up.

A Southern would not have hidden a bell or any other metals that would help out the "Cause" The ONLY thing a Southerner hid was the silver and jewelry when the yankees were coming. I have the bronze CSA grave marker from my GG-Grandfather Wells grave who is buried at Beauvoir my Grandfather took during WW2 to keep it from being melted down.