Paint or oil on cannon carriges & limbers

I don't know what type of grease was used but can say that carriages were painted (as were wagons). There's even specifications in the 1864 manual written by French, Barry, and Hunt. I have no idea how often they were repainted; I'd guess just whenever they looked like they needed it and when they had the time.
 
The army had a very exact formula for mixing the print for gun carriages, limbers, caissons, & traveling forged. When the paint is fresh, it is an unattractive yellow green. With time, the paint matures into an olive green. With the effects of sun, wind & water, the color matures into a deep grayish green.

At Stones River NB, the original formulation was followed during routine maintenance of the living history artillery carriages & limbers. The initial shade was a bit off putting, smelt terrible & took forever to dry. Sometimes historical accuracy comes at a price. One extra treat was that any rags soaked with linseed oil could spontaneously combust. (I know someone who left a linseed oil soaked rag in a jacket pocket where it began to smolder as he was driving home.)

The battery wagon carried the raw pigments necessary to mix with linseed oil at need.
 
The army had a very exact formula for mixing the print for gun carriages, limbers, caissons, & traveling forged. When the paint is fresh, it is an unattractive yellow green. With time, the paint matures into an olive green. With the effects of sun, wind & water, the color matures into a deep grayish green.

At Stones River NB, the original formulation was followed during routine maintenance of the living history artillery carriages & limbers. The initial shade was a bit off putting, smelt terrible & took forever to dry. Sometimes historical accuracy comes at a price. One extra treat was that any rags soaked with linseed oil could spontaneously combust. (I know someone who left a linseed oil soaked rag in a jacket pocket where it began to smolder as he was driving home.)

The battery wagon carried the raw pigments necessary to mix with linseed oil at need.
Now that's "living history". 😎 I know that the Ordnance Manual had formulas for various colors beyond the olive for the wood parts - including black for the iron parts. If I recall correctly, Gibbon's only concern about paints and "lackers" was keeping them off the tubes.
 
Carriages were painted in an OD color. I paint all of mine with the exact color that was used during the CW.
On the grease, tar as it was called and was used as a lubricant for the carriage axles and projectile shots. Hogs’ lard or tallow was usually used, with actual tar mixed in to keep the grease from melting during long marches and hot weather.
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Is there any standard color for gun carriages and etc. for the Army of Northern Virginia, or any Confederate Army for that matter?

John
 
Is there any standard color for gun carriages and etc. for the Army of Northern Virginia, or any Confederate Army for that matter?

John
No, toward the end of the war some CS carriages went out without any paint.
 
Anyone know what the bearing surfaces are like on the hub and axle? Is it just wood to wood greased with that mixture mentioned?
 
Carriages were painted in an OD color. I paint all of mine with the exact color that was used during the CW.
On the grease, tar as it was called and was used as a lubricant for the carriage axles and projectile shots. Hogs’ lard or tallow was usually used, with actual tar mixed in to keep the grease from melting during long marches and hot weather.
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NICE PLAYROOM! AND SUPER NICE TOYS! FWIW the Alamo is having a full scale repro of the famous 18 pounder built. Don't know who will do it. There will be a special display area. I'd love to see permanent exibit showing chain shot, cannister and the correct tools. They still have some of the original artillery recovered from the battle exhibited but no carriages. This is LOOOONNNNGGGG OVER DUE! But thanks to Phil Collins of Genesis it's happening
 
The hub is wood and it slides on a iron axle. There are no bearing just a lot of grease. This a before and after I did the rstoration on this cannon.
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That is how some farm equipment, such as disc harrow axles were made as late as the mid twentieth century - metal axle, wood bearing. Also some bearings used in ships were/or are made of wood, a very hard wood, such as lignum vitae.
 
That is how some farm equipment, such as disc harrow axles were made as late as the mid twentieth century - metal axle, wood bearing. Also some bearings used in ships were/or are made of wood, a very hard wood, such as lignum vitae.
The hubs are oak but no bearings.
 
I came across the gentleman at a paint store that assisted the Gettysburg National Park Service come up with the correct green as dictated by the period Army Ordnance Manuals, both the ones for the Union as well as the updated one by the same gentlemen that ended up labeled as Confederate use. The correct period ingredients, according to him, were discovered in the back of a warehouse. Prior to their experiments the "green" commonly used was yellowish/brownish due to modern versions of the specified ingredients. The experiment with correct period ingredients revealed a true green that was not yellowish or brownish. My Traveling Forge is painted the exact color of what the Park Service is now using in Gettysburg, using the same machine mixing instructions.

The below photo shows differences in "army green". Using a flash on the camera tends to lighten the appearance of the colors.

Army Green labeled.jpg


Traveling Forge built by David Einhorn author of the book Civil War Blacksmithing cropped.jpg
 
The hubs are oak but no bearings.
When I say "bearing", I guess I really mean "bushing" or a bearing surface (remember babbit?) like a crankshaft bearing in an engine. Anyhow, some of the old farm disc harrows had a metal axle riding in a wooden hub, with grease, much the same as you described. This wood was extremely hard.
 
There is a formula for this paint and I think @redbob has it.
 
I came across the gentleman at a paint store that assisted the Gettysburg National Park Service come up with the correct green as dictated by the period Army Ordnance Manuals, both the ones for the Union as well as the updated one by the same gentlemen that ended up labeled as Confederate use. The correct period ingredients, according to him, were discovered in the back of a warehouse. Prior to their experiments the "green" commonly used was yellowish/brownish due to modern versions of the specified ingredients. The experiment with correct period ingredients revealed a true green that was not yellowish or brownish. My Traveling Forge is painted the exact color of what the Park Service is now using in Gettysburg, using the same machine mixing instructions.

The below photo shows differences in "army green". Using a flash on the camera tends to lighten the appearance of the colors.

View attachment 392048

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Give us the ingredients for posterity!
 
Give us the ingredients for posterity!

Unfortunately a gentleman has taken ALL the research that I posted to the Internet and used it in his book as his research. That is why the "research" in his book is the same as what can be found in my book. Thus the information is preserved for posterity in over a thousand books printed.
 
correct green as dictated by the period Army Ordnance Manuals
One of the thinks that I have seen is the color pops on the NMP metal carriages more so than wood.
 
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