- Joined
- Oct 10, 2012
- Location
- Mt. Jackson, Va
In the town of Athens, Georgia sits a unique bit of artillery history. As the title implies it is a double barreled cannon! It was designed for warfare, but saw none. This was the brainchild of John Gilleland, a dentist, mechanic, and builder. He was able to raise enough money from the citizens of Athens to get the gun built for $350. Cast in one piece, the gun featured side-by-side bores, each a little over 3 inches in diameter and splayed slightly outward so the shots would diverge and stretch the chain taut. The two barrels have a divergence of 3 degrees, and the cannon was designed to shoot simultaneously two cannonballs connected by a chain to "mow down the enemy somewhat as a scythe cuts wheat."
Upon it's first test firing it was aimed at a target of two upright poles, uneven combustion of the powder and casting imperfections in the barrels gave the connected balls a spinning movement in an off-center direction, with witnesses reporting that on its first firing it "plowed up about an acre of ground, tore up a cornfield, mowed down saplings, and then the chain broke, the two balls going in different directions."
On the second attempt the chain shot across the horizon and into a thicket of pine. "[The] thicket of young pines at which it was aimed looked as if a narrow cyclone or a giant mowing machine had passed through", reported another witness.
With the third try the chain snapped immediately and one ball tore into a nearby cabin, knocking down its chimney, the other spun off erratically and struck a nearby cow, killing it instantly. Gilleland considered the test-firings a success. Gilleland tried to sell his idea to the Confederate Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia, but they deemed it unfit for service. He continued to try to promote his invention to other military leaders around Augusta, but failed to interest anyone. Finally his contraption was used as a signal gun in Athens to warn against advancing Federal soldiers.
Upon it's first test firing it was aimed at a target of two upright poles, uneven combustion of the powder and casting imperfections in the barrels gave the connected balls a spinning movement in an off-center direction, with witnesses reporting that on its first firing it "plowed up about an acre of ground, tore up a cornfield, mowed down saplings, and then the chain broke, the two balls going in different directions."
On the second attempt the chain shot across the horizon and into a thicket of pine. "[The] thicket of young pines at which it was aimed looked as if a narrow cyclone or a giant mowing machine had passed through", reported another witness.
With the third try the chain snapped immediately and one ball tore into a nearby cabin, knocking down its chimney, the other spun off erratically and struck a nearby cow, killing it instantly. Gilleland considered the test-firings a success. Gilleland tried to sell his idea to the Confederate Arsenal in Augusta, Georgia, but they deemed it unfit for service. He continued to try to promote his invention to other military leaders around Augusta, but failed to interest anyone. Finally his contraption was used as a signal gun in Athens to warn against advancing Federal soldiers.