How did they get that monster up on the roof?
I don't believe that's a roof. The question still remains what did it take to put these guns in place?
Cannonmn, That photo is a great find. The purchaser really loved it!! Mike and I love exploring forts almost as much as making miniature artillery, so we have done some reading and more importantly collected a few pics in the public domain. I recalled one which would explain how they got those seacoast guns to the 'roof' or what they called the "Barbette Level" of the fort. Early in the Confederate occupation of Ft. Sumter, just after the cessation of the 36 hour Confederate bombardment of that strong-point in Charleston, South Carolina's outer Harbor and after Col. Anderson's Federal troops left, a photographer took the image below which clearly shows exactly how the Federal artillerymen were hoisting the heavy seacoast artillery tubes up to the Terraplein on the Barbette Level, three stories up, above the Parade. The Confederate Flag pole was very stout, indeed!
You can see how that very large timber hoist might work. Using very large blocks and large ropes, maybe 5" or perhaps 7" inch ropes, all but a few of the artillerymen in Anderson's command would get on that rope, with two men behind checking against it's sudden descent, via friction with one or two bollards. You can see the unique configuration they had with the legs set up on the top of the sealevel casemates. This was probably done to keep the shears shorter and stronger, but would necessitate a tricky pitch-out of the hoist, to get the tube being lifted clear of the sealevel casemate rear. Then the rope at the very top which goes toward the barbette guns would be hauled seaward when the tube cleared the terraplein, with a counterforce rope going out from the hoist's top at 180 degrees to several men to prevent a rapid swing of the gun tube. Those men would be opposite side of the fort from the ones next to the hoist.
The only other possibility we can think of would be to use a standard Garrison Gin, (see photo below taken at Fort Point at the entrance to San Fransisco Bay in California). If the fort, unlike Ft. Sumter, had no circular staircases at the interior corners, such a gin could possibly be used to hoist the lighter seacoast guns such as 32 pounders, etc. by placing the bottom points of two of the gin legs at the edge of the corner and the third toward the center of the terraplein and, of course, using a very long rope and two sets of hand-spikes in the square recesses in the ratchet controlled, capstan-pole, rope winder. It would be very tricky doing the lift this way and one 5" rope might not have enough strength for the larger pieces.
Love those forts!
Mike and Tracy
The heavy artillery hoist just after the initial bombardment of Ft. Sumter.
The Garrison Gin is almost 20 feet high!
