Wish I'd been there: Bannerman's Island, 1958

[cannonmn]

A great, true story most have never heard:
http://www.navyarms.com/files/bannerman.pdf

[KABAR2]

John,
Thanks for that, there was a write up in Guns and Ammo years ago by Val about bannerman's Island, when they were about to leave for good he noted to Spanish American War projo's standing sentury on the dock he had to climb up and remove the nose cap... both were loaded they pushed both into the river so they would sink into the mud.... I find the write up interesting for the number of rounds of live ammo still on the island after the fire in the magizine I was under the impression there was not that much there after that....

[Ranger99]

thanks for that.
i've read that before somewhere,
but it's still a good and interesting read

[cannonmn]

Thanks Allen. In about 1994 Jack Malloy lived only an hour away, on MD Eastern Shore, and I visited and bought his remaining Hotchkiss ammo.  Only friction-primed rounds remained, I guess he and friends had shot up all the percussion-primed rounds.  As I recall there were about 20 rounds of various types.  My biz has since sold them but I'll see if I have a pic.  I got some nice cannons from Jack too, nothing to do with Bannerman's, tho, just part of Jack's antique firearms biz.

[aboatguy]

By coincidence I found and read that article earlier today.  I was watching a video of a WWII sniper visiting the AMU and firing a reproduction 1903A4 sniper rifle from navyarms so I visited their site IOT what a repro rifle goes for and found that very interesting story.
 
 
Good job on posting it here.
 
Mike

[Ex 49'er]

Great story. Thanks for sharing!

[gulfcoastblackpowder]

I don't remember hearing anything about Bannerman's Island or Castle, but it made for an interesting read, and got me to look up both.  A little sad that they destroyed so much cool stuff, but that has often happened throughout history when people don't respect the value of old relics.

[seacoastartillery]

  OOPS!

[seacoastartillery]

      First,  thanks to Cannonmn for posting the excellent story of island ordnance disposal.  Never heard that one before.

     I first visited Bannerman Castle on Pollepel Island in June of 1972 shortly after leaving the US Army.  A shooting buddy who was a Kingston City cop and I rowed over to the Island after pushing his rowboat through 20 yards of dense brush at the river’s edge.  It was a real struggle getting over there against the Hudson’s strong current.  All we found was one bent and rusty Buffington rear sight for a Trapdoor Springfield.  There was nothing of real value left after the fire.  The truth is that the valuable items were moved out long before that.

      Anyway, just to give you guys some idea of what was on the island and where it is located, Mike and I have posted a few pics from our visit in April of 2004 when we  viewed the Castle from the New York Central railroad right-of-way.  You can see the two towers and archway of the boat dock entrance in the story too.  Four of these photos have not ever been posted.  Two have, but are posted for continuity.

Mike and Tracy
 
Going north to south, we found a handy pull off and walked down a small path to the NYC tracks.  We could see the top of the Castle looming over the tall bushes between the river and the tracks.





 Here is  a better look at the Castle on the right which was the main storehouse for ordnance and munitions for so many years.  The next structure going left along island’s shore is the double towered  boat dock entrance in the story.  Up on the ridge to the left is the Bannerman summer house with bright yellow, blooming Forsythia all around.





 We found this sign on the walkway over the tracks from which we snapped the previous pic.





  Across the Hudson to the south,  on the west side, about two miles away, is impressive,  Storm King Mountain, the subject of many “Hudson River School” paintings.  It was also the primary backstop for the West Point Foundry’s Test Battery located in Cold Spring, NY near the foundry site about 2,000 yards from the Storm King Targets, squares of wrought plate which rang if hit.






 This marker,  posted near West Point,  indicates somewhat, the lore associated with this famous mountain in addition to being a target for 300 Pdr. Parrott projectiles. Obtained some time ago from wikipedia.

 




 Mike is standing next to a replica 10 Pdr. Parrott rifle in a plaza near the river in Cold Spring, NY. The United States Military Academy at West Point, NY is across the river and about one mile south.  During the Civil War, the academy’s cadets could near the booming and thunder of the big guns being tested day and night.  Appropriate, eh?



 
 

 
 





 

 


 

[Cannon Cocker]

I had read a few things over the years about the great quantity of "gold" that came out of Bannerman's castle but I've never read that story or seen a picture of the actual castle.  Thanks for postings. 

[cannonmn]

There are dozens of videos about Bannerman's Island on you-tube.  Here's one of the better "quality" ones.  If you find another of the good videos, let us know.  This video was uploaded only a week before the north wall of the tower collapsed in Januay 2010, so you are looking at something in the video that can never be seen again.

[flagman1776]

I'm still kicking myself for turning down a brand new overrun full scale Mountin Howitzer barrel cast for NPS through a contact I had at Springfield Armory Museum NPS...  for 1000.