Author Topic: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. Govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."  (Read 525 times)

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Offline Cannoneer

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A New York Times article from July of 1861, that demonstrates why hindsight is always 20/20. It probably isn't going to take long for those in the know to figure out that it's the famous 'Wrought Iron 3-inch Ordnance Rifle' that's being criticized. Of course the historical facts tell us that manufacturers attempting to make cast steel cannon at that time, were having some serious problems with quality control; and the record also indicates that only one of John Griffen's wrought iron cannon is known to have burst in service.
http://www.nytimes.com/1861/07/14/news/light-and-durable-cannon.html


RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.

Offline Zulu

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Re: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."
« Reply #1 on: September 14, 2011, 01:47:55 PM »
Cannoneer,
I have that exact photo enlarged, hanging on my wall.
A friend contacted the Smithsonian and got a negative of the photo.  He had it enlarged to
this size.  I like it! ;D
This frame is 36" wide.
Zulu
 
Zulu's website
www.jmelledge.com

Offline GGaskill

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Re: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."
« Reply #2 on: September 14, 2011, 11:00:11 PM »
Looks like the article was written by a shill for the iron casting industry.
GG
“If you're not a liberal at 20, you have no heart; if you're not a conservative at 40, you have no brain.”
--Winston Churchill

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. Govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2011, 08:34:51 AM »
Zulu,

I also like the photo; and it looks good on your wall. Do you already have the information on that picture, such as the Union Officer's identities, etc.?



Yes George, I'd say that you picked up on some very subtle hints in this article; like speculating that this reporter was in the tank for the newly emerging Northern steel industry. I'd guess that someone was either putting "the lettuce" directly into his pockets, or at the very least, taking him out to some fancy New York restaurants, so he could digest some expensive greens the old fashioned way.  ;)
RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.

Offline Zulu

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Re: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. Govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2011, 09:50:49 AM »
Zulu,

I also like the photo; and it looks good on your wall. Do you already have the information on that picture, such as the Union Officer's identities, etc.?

Cannoneer,
I do not have any info on the picture.  I'm interested in it if you have it.
Thanks,
Zulu
Zulu's website
www.jmelledge.com

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: 1861 NYT article about the U.S. Govt. purchase of 600 "Griffen guns."
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2011, 10:12:24 AM »
Zulu,
This glass stereograph is in the Library of Congress collection: http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=301
RIP John. While on vacation July 4th 2013 in northern Wisconsin, he was ATVing with family and pulled ahead of everyone and took off at break-neck speed without a helmet. He lost control.....hit a tree....and the tree won.  He died instantly.

The one thing that you can almost always rely on research leading to, is more research.