Can anyone steer me in the direction of a site or persons having expertise on the care of or restoration of civil war era cannon? This is a 4.5 inch rifled siege gun marked Ft. Pitt, Penn. 1864. It's about 11 ft long, 3500 lbs.
It is presently on a concrete base and the plan is to place it on the correct style carriage (reproduction) and and display pad in the front of Mammoth Spring State Park in Arkansas.
The cannon was obtained from the War Department in the late 1800's and was used to fire in the morning and evening at the annual Blue and Grey Reunion at Mammoth Spring, Arkansas. This reunion was started by veterans of the Civil War and is now in it's 116th year although it's called the Soldiers and Sailors Reunion now and the civil war veterans are long gone.
We would like to keep the tube in it's brown patina instead of paint. The only active rust is where the trunnions are encased in the concrete base and deep down in the bore where trash had accumulated. We'd like to stabilize this and of course cap the muzzle to keep out moisture.
If anyone could offer suggestions or contacts please do.....Roy, Maint. Supervisor, Mammoth Spring State Park
