new gun for our battery

I've watched supposedly knowledgeable people tell spectators the Hawken was more common than the Enfield. Look at the manual, do your own research.
Ive also heard peole claim that there were thousands of J.H.Dance and bros. .44 revolvers used in the civilwar,and after i did my own research,i found that only 500 had been made.. reenactors and their "fairy tales":wink:
 
The NPS has one of the best artillery programs on the planet. They own exact reproduction guns and equipment and train to the manuel. Join a park service unit that has artillery and shoot for nothing but your time and uniform.View attachment 4631View attachment 4632View attachment 4632
that color matches all my equipment. the color of the other companys equpipment is a brownish color. and thats what they believe to be correct
 
The formula for the paint color is in period ordnance/artillery manuals (can't remember where at the moment, but I know I've extracted the info for someone on another forum before.) Someone knowledgeable on paint should be able to produce the correct hue based on the formula. I would take a look at what the manual says and perhaps ask the NPS for the advice from an authority on the specific colors. I can hunt around in my manuals if you need me too.

I've also read some comments from folks about non-standard red or reddish brown paint that was used on some CSA carriages, not sure in which theater. This was several years ago.
the color i was in the movie was a orengeish red color. it really looked good.im just not sure if its gonna look authentic and not "hollywood"
 
the color i was in the movie was a orengeish red color. it really looked good.im just not sure if its gonna look authentic and not "hollywood"

This is just speculation on my part, but I wonder if red ochre was used historically in place of yellow ochre (or a portion there of) for some carriages? Red ochre is the anhydrous version of yellow ochre. Red 0chre was commonly used in barn paint. Some of it is browner rather than deep red. This would seem a rather simple substitution. The answer is likely to be found somewhere in the histories of specific batteries.
 
The store that mixes the paint for the National Park Service in Gettysburg said that there was a problem with mixing modern equivalents of the ingredients described for "Liquid Olive" in the Ordnance Manuals of the 1860s. According to him the modern equivalents produces a brownish green color. Years later in the back of an old warehouse was discovered period ingredients, and when those were mixed it resulted in a dark green color that the NPS in Gettysburg now uses of all their carriages in the park. That green can be seen in my Avatar, and the machine mixing instructions for Sherwin-Williams Stores as well as Lowes mixing machines, and other information on paint are documented in the book titled Civil War Blacksmithing. I held a sample of that paint against a Gettysburg NPS carriage in the park and it was an exact match. All someone needs to do is take the book to either store and let them input the instructions that match their mixing machine.
 
I'm positive that Battery Wagons were the territory and for use of the smiths at a Battery Forge. A Battery Wagon carried among other things a complete disassembled No. 1 cannon carriage and disassembled No. 1 wheel(s) as well as the tools to cut down trees and make carriage parts. See Ordnance Manual image below.

You can't install tires or hub bands without the tools that are carried in the Limber of the Traveling/Battery Forge.

View attachment 4614

I think I'm agreeing here, but the battery wagon and battery forge are separate pieces though working together. The battery wagon is displayed in Plates 14&15, while the forge is displayed in Plates 16&17 of the 1864 Federal Field Artillery Tactics manual. Both used the standard limber, but with different tools/materials than in other services (pp. 15-16.)

One battery wagon and one forge are required per battery (pg. 15.) They are labeled A&C respectively.
The battery forge had to serve the farriers for the battery horses as well. The army "field park" is to have a battery and forge labeled B&D. Not sure if this field park referred to a brigade, division, reserve or whatnot. Obviously, some central forge/blacksmithing would be required for the officer's mounts as well as that of the company/regimental/quartermaster/ordnance wagon teams.
 
jpflynn, Have you considered doing something completely different and getting a mortar?

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I have a copy of the Home Depot paint formula that I refer to as the "olive drab" military color. Also, if you plan on building your carriage I provide quality irons primarily for the No 1 Carriage. Let me know if you're interested and I can give you a price sheet and send you some pictures.
 
Im planning on getting a new piece for my battery and breaking off from my current unit to form my own. But i need a few opinions. My current battery consist of guns and crews from west and Middle Tennessee and were strictly confederate. I already have the gun picked out. Now im trying to figure out my carraige and limber designs. I really like red with black trim. But what do you all think? Im not in reenacting for my self,im in it to educate and entertain the spectators. So give me your opinions. What color would you like to see on the carraige and limber?

Red sounds great, l think TJ Jackson would agree.

Jess.
 
The VMI cadet battery guns were painted red with black ironwork. The red was to distinguish them from regular guns, as they were built lighter to facilitate training by the cadets. The red guns in Gods and Generals were supposed to be that battery.
Mike
 
I'm in the process of building a 1/6-scale static model of a cannon and carriage. I am also curious as to what color to paint my model. I had heard that the many of the Confederate cannons were a shade of brown or tan. I've seen some carriages painted like that.
At my last visit to Shiloh National Park, I took a photo (hopefully it shows up below) of the cannon on display inside their Visitor's Center. It looks to be an ochre Yellow. Could that be a shade variation caused by non-standard mix? Surely, you are not saying the NPS has the wrong color?

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I also have another question about cannon paint. If a cannon had brass fittings would they be painted Black? I know many use brass sights but these are not fitted to the cannon. My cannon is a mixture of steel and brass. Should I paint all of it Black? Or more accurately, paint it to appear as if it had been painted but the paint was rubbed off?
 
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