Has anyone ever seen old ink or paint stenciling on a cannon barrel?

[cannonmn]

This M1841 Rifled Heavy 12-Pounder Gun has been sitting around here for several years.  I thought I knew all the marks on it, but today a disabled Iraq War vet looked at it with his one remaining eye and found something no one had ever noticed before.  He found paint or ink stenciling under the green patina of this gun, near the breech.  In the photo, one I took when it first arrived, that I just pulled up to re-inspect, you can see a couple of letters in the 11:00 direction from the vent.  There are more letters but they are hard to read and don't photograph well so I'm going to try the blacklight as soon as I find where it is hiding.  Its a good thing no one polished this beast or those marks would be long gone.  Has anyone ever seen old stenciling like that on a cannon tube? 
 

[Cannoneer]

You didn't post the photograph.

[KABAR2]

Knowing the military it was probably simple instructions "front towards enemy > "
Seriously though it would be interesting if more can be deciphered...

[cannonmn]

Here are some photos of the stenciling taken with flash.  Blacklight was tried but showed nothing.  Stenciling appears as gray block letters just to the left of center in most of the photos.  Perhaps someone can enhance the photos to show more than just the "MON.." I can see now.









 

[Cannoneer]

You seem convinced that the stencilling is something official; how do you know that it wasn't done at a later date?

[MKlein]

I think I see monthly on right side

[cannonmn]

You seem convinced that the stencilling is something official; how do you know that it wasn't done at a later date?

No idea really, think I will continue to attempt to decipher it then figure out when/what etc.
I do know it was one of several heavy 12's in the basement of Ford's Theater in DC, and no one seems to know when those got there, but certainly after the NPS took over there, whenever that was.  Then those guns went to the NPS "clearinghouse" in Springfield VA where they were traded for carriages the NPS needed.  NPS considered the heavy 12's not something they'd use in "interpretation" and let them be traded off.  Not sure which carriage-wright got this one.

[cannonmn]

I put a similar posting on the Ebay Antques forum, and a couple of those folks think it reads:
MONIT___NO
http://forums.ebay.com/db2/topic/Antiques/When-One-Eye/5100137465

[MKlein]

How about Monument as in Lincoln Monument Association
The plan was to melt down bronze cannons for the Lincoln Memorial
Here is good reading on the subject
http://books.google.com/books?id=ibAFAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
 

[JonnyReb]

 What a piece of History!  Enjoying the mystery.  J

[cannonmn]

How about Monument as in
Lincoln Monument Association
The plan was to melt down bronze cannons for the
Lincoln Memorial

Thanks, I'd like to read that.  I went to the link and it just goes to front page.  I could not find anything in the index so i used "search" which went to a small portion of a page of tables that looked right,but when I click on it, it goes to something unrelated.  Can you give me a section name and page number to look for there?

[MKlein]

Senate report No 328 page no 2. On 3 Feb 1880 or 345 of the E-Book
Looks like the Lincoln Monument Association started in 1868
Just type in keywords like Lincoln, condemned, captured or bronze in the search bar under the book on the left and then click on pages to read
Next time I see a bronze statue made around that time I will look to see if it has T.J.R. stamped on it.

 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Tomb

[cannonmn]

Thanks again; lemme see if my attempt to copy the more interesting part of that text was successful, if it was it will show up on this link:
http://books.google.com/books?id=ibAFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA345&img=1&zoom=3&hl=en&sig=ACfU3U2oVyQGOsZxbQLcl-1qhJ8ANoyNQw&ci=13%2C254%2C961%2C1382&edge=0