Sled mounted cannons.

major bill

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
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Aug 25, 2012
Yes I know this pre dates the Civil War, but I was wondering if any Civil War era cannons were mounted on sleds? There had to be places in the USA that cannons on wheels were impractical in the winter. Say Minnesota or northern Michigan. So has anyone heard of mounting cannons on sleds there? There had to be places in Canada that sled mounted cannons would have been needed for any offensives operations in the winter.

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Have you ever fired a 12 gage shotgun while on skis? I am not sure I would want to see how far this moved backwards when you fired it.
 
I've never fired a 12 gauge while on skis even though I've often done those things separately. I don't think it would be very exciting but I can see an attraction at ski areas - snow boarders get to fire avalanche cannons and get catapulted over the opposite ridge. That's got to get some new volunteers in the ranks.
 
The Army was certain that I had to learn to fire various weapons while on skis. Firing various weapons while on skis was not too much fun and was cold. I did however get paid to do it.
 
I think for the most part the armies went into winter quarters for a reason. All lot of folks don't realize that the CW war was seasonal.
 
That is what the US commander at Frenchtown Michigan thought in 1812, His mistake was costly. I would think both the Canadian and US Army during the civil War would need some type of plan in place to conduct winter operations.
 
The Army was certain that I had to learn to fire various weapons while on skis. Firing various weapons while on skis was not too much fun and was cold. I did however get paid to do it.
the Finns had a 20mm lahti anti tank rifle that had skis for firing on ice\snow. You can find YouTube videos of it being fired from spikes in hard ground, the recoil was tremendous, like 35,000 ft\lbs at muzzle. Imagine if was no joy to fire off snow/ice

Though its kinda cool that they are legal to own

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I would think both the Canadian and US Army during the civil War would need some type of plan in place to conduct winter operations.

The Canucks? Did they fight for the north or south:cold: during the CW
 
The Canucks? Did they fight for the north or south:cold: during the CW

The Canadians were busy worrying about a northern incursion after the Civil War, which is part of why they confederated into a country in 1867. It's also why the major Canadian railroad lines were located a good ways from the Canadian/American border ... there was an ever-present worry about manifest destiny and a proclivity for some ambitious president to set his sights on the Great White North.

Mike
 
I was just trying to figure out the what the post war canucks had to do with the CW or did I sleep thru a class.
 
In North American wars prior to the Civil War most armies went into winter quarters just like during the Civil War. However, during the French and Indian War, American Revolution, and War of 1812 there were limited winter operations in cold climates. so I would wonder why neither side would not have had some kind of plan to stop a winter operation.
 
Yes I know this pre dates the Civil War, but I was wondering if any Civil War era cannons were mounted on sleds? There had to be places in the USA that cannons on wheels were impractical in the winter. Say Minnesota or northern Michigan. So has anyone heard of mounting cannons on sleds there? There had to be places in Canada that sled mounted cannons would have been needed for any offensives operations in the winter.

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What museum was this at? Can not read the writing on the sign.
 
This is inside the Battle of Raisin River National Battle Park building. They have a couple of these inside on sleds and some more out side on sleds and a cannon or two on regular carriages.
 
This is inside the Battle of Raisin River National Battle Park building. They have a couple of these inside on sleds and some more out side on sleds and a cannon or two on regular carriages.

The sleds are reproductions built per period accounts of the campaign. The originals were not arsenal issue but custom made for the campaign, adapting a shipboard carriage.

Monroe, Michigan (heritage Frenchtown area) is about an hour South of Detroit. Raisin River flows through town. This is one of the very newest NPS battle parks to open; just a few years old. I participated in a War of 1812 commemorative reenactment held on the grounds there in 2012.

The Monroe history museum is a must-see side trip. Of course Monroe is Custer's home town. For that matter, if you stay in the area the Henry Ford / Greenfield Village complex is just up the road in Dearborn.
 
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