Author Topic: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK  (Read 7038 times)

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Offline seacoastartillery

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Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« on: September 07, 2008, 03:07:51 PM »
     At the midpoint in our tour of New England last summer we came to the small town of Lincolnville Beach, Maine.  This town is one of many picturesque towns along the shoreline of huge, Penobscot Bay and is about 25 miles south of Fort Knox, adjacent to Prospect and Bucksport, ME.  Fort Knox was built  in the early 1800s opposite Bucksport, Maine, along the Penobscot Narrows to deny access of enemy warships to one of the state's most important inland commercial centers, the City of Bangor, ME.  After having a terrific time exploring that excellent fort with all of it's unique features, Mike and I headed south along the coastal route, US Route 1.

     When we rounded a curve just north of Lincolnville Beach, we saw a ferry at a pier just south of a crescent shaped beach.  There was a seafood restaurant on the left, and next to it a small beach parking lot.  The beach "sand" can only be described as really small pea gravel and at the junction of the sloping beach and the level parking lot, we spied a cannon!  Although not large, it had a really unique shape, even before we parked the car Mike and I both said, "Carronade!"  There is a case to be made for preservation through careful application of paint, especially next to a large body of saltwater like the Atlantic Ocean.

     We ignored the Lobster Pound Restaurant and headed for the Cannon to take the pictures below.  The locals didn't know anything about their Carronade, but maybe someone here does.  Probable date of manufacture, etc.??  Enjoy the pics.

Regards,

Mike and Tracy





The letters are pretty clear, but not perfect, so we think that they are:  FALKIRK     PKO 1P     6  P2    As we are not very familiar with these guns, we can be sure of only a few things about this gun.  A  6 Pdr. Carronade built by The Carron Iron Company in Falkirk, Scotland after 1770 and before 1812.




The bronze plaque reads:  THIS CANNON was Stationed at Lincolnville Beach for the Protection of This Village During the War of 1812.  Restored to This Original Location on May 18, 1957 by Edwin W. Kibbe Who Gave it to the People of the Town of Lincolnville




The Ferry leaves Lincolnville for Islesboro Island about 4 miles away with intriguing geographical features like Dark Harbor, Seven Hundred Acre Island, Seal harbor and Turtle Head Cove.



Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #1 on: September 07, 2008, 08:41:28 PM »
This is a gunade not a carronade, as a carronade has no trunnions.  It is an insurance gun, sold by ship chandlers to arm merchant ships, as requried by Lloyd's of London.  I doubt this was the very cannon that was used to defend the town during the War of 1812.  Cannons breed stories and vice-versa.  The cannon probably has engraved on it

FALKIRK

PROVED

6 Pr.

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #2 on: September 08, 2008, 02:31:46 AM »
   What the?
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2008, 02:32:39 AM »
     Thanks John; that's the type of info we were looking for.  As for the "Carronade", does this battle scared veteran represent the clan well?

T&M

Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2008, 03:33:55 AM »
Yes thanks for the pix of the real carronades.  Where are those if I may ask?  I'm trying to imagine the geometry that led to that ball dent; the enemy round must have come from a large swivel mounted in one of the tops, or maybe from some other gun in a more typical mounting, provided the carronades were mounted as either bow or stern chasers.  Looks like the ball that made the dent had to have some in pretty much perpendicular to the carronade's line of fire.  Bet it made a pretty loud noise when it hit, too.

Offline claypipe

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2008, 03:46:07 AM »
Possibly a bow crossing? A tactic popular with smaller ship captains who didn't want to get their vessels chewed to pieces by dueling broadsided.


Offline Bob Smith

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2008, 04:11:10 AM »
The gunnade is not cast by the Carron Company, but by their near neighbour, the Falkirk Ironworks. They specialized in producing these small calibre gunnades for the commercial market, as well as general iron castings. The company was not founded till 1819, so it would put it after 1812. You can find other examples from this works, mainly associated with ports, though not as many as the guns produced by Carron.

Bob Smith


Offline seacoastartillery

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #7 on: September 08, 2008, 05:21:29 AM »
     The printing at the top of the folded brochure in Mike's pocket identifies the unique fort on our national landscape where we found this 32 Pdr. Carronade, Old Fort Niagara where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario.  The provenance of this piece is unknown, but if a reasonable person were to make a guess, we believe you could do a lot worse than to believe that it could have been on board either the US ship Lawrence or perhaps the US Brig Niagara which became Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's flagship after the Lawrence was shot to pieces by Commander Barclay's fleet during the Battle of Lake Erie in 1813.  The Niagara had 18 of these 32 Pdr. Carronades on board as it's main armament along with two 12 Pdr. long guns.

     Don't know how that dent got there, but if we were to speculate, we might imagine an enfilading shot could have done it from maximum range where the ball would have been following the descending branch of it's trajectory.  Many other explanations are cogent as well. 

     As for the Lincolnville Beach gunnade, is there a good book out there somewhere we could pick up to learn more about the Falkirk Ironworks and the Carron Iron Company as well?

Thanks guys, appreciate the info.

Tracy and Mike

     
Smokin' my pipe on the mountings, sniffin' the mornin'-cool,
I walks in my old brown gaiters along o' my old brown mule,
With seventy gunners be'ind me, an' never a beggar forgets
It's only the pick of the Army that handles the dear little pets - 'Tss! 'Tss!

From the poem  Screw-Guns  by Rudyard Kipling

Offline Bob Smith

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #8 on: September 08, 2008, 09:46:46 AM »
Surprisingly little on the subject; there is am old, now out-of-print book, RH Campbell, Carron Company, mainly written from an economic history view. There is a more recent book on Carron which I have not seen: Brian Watters- Where Iron Runs Like Water!: A New History of Carron Iron Works, 1759--1982 (Edinburgh: John Donald, 1998), and that already seems difficult to get hold of. However he has at least written articles for the local history website: http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=107

There is an obscure article about a Falkirk gunnade, I think in GUns Review from the 1970s but that will take some tracking down. I don't think there is any books about them.

Bob Smith

Offline Bob Smith

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #9 on: September 08, 2008, 10:00:31 AM »
That was easier than expected:
Hendry, C.C., 1983: The Falkirk Cannon. Guns Review 23

Bob Smith

Offline thelionspaw

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #10 on: September 08, 2008, 01:32:42 PM »
It's not much but it's something?

rc
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Offline Cannoneer

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #11 on: September 08, 2008, 08:25:02 PM »
Yes thanks for the pix of the real carronades.  Where are those if I may ask?  I'm trying to imagine the geometry that led to that ball dent; the enemy round must have come from a large swivel mounted in one of the tops, or maybe from some other gun in a more typical mounting, provided the carronades were mounted as either bow or stern chasers.  Looks like the ball that made the dent had to have some in pretty much perpendicular to the carronade's line of fire.  Bet it made a pretty loud noise when it hit, too.

cannonmn,

   While I’m not claiming any profound expertise on the subject of wind powered wooden battle vessels or their armament, I have been fascinated with this topic ever since I was a boy. Is the statement about the placement of large swivel guns in or on the masts, yard arms or any of the rigging of a ship an original supposition from you or did you obtain this information from another source? In all of the reading I have ever done on the history of sailing war and pirate ships I have never had the occasion of coming across a similar pronouncement. Even in contemplating your description for only a brief time, it would seem to me to be fraught with so many improbabilities as to seem practically implausible. Now, I have read in numerous books that one of the things done upon hearing the drum ‘beat to quarters’ was for sharpshooters (usually Marines on military ships) to be sent up into the rigging with their muskets with the purpose of shooting anybody they could on the enemy spar deck or rigging, especially anybody of rank but the indentation on that carronade certainly wasn’t made by a musket ball.

Carronades would be the opposite of the type of guns that would actually be used as bow or stern chasers. Bow chasers were guns usually cast in bronze with relatively small bores in relation to their long lengths, and they would be loaded with a heavy charge to carry the shot a greater distance with more accuracy. Carronades and gunnades usually had large bores and were cast with powder chambers with the intended purpose of firing a heavy slower moving projectile that would cause mayhem with the wood and rigging of an enemy ship when fired at short distances, hence the nickname smashers.

Claypipe is right, one of the most advantageous maneuvers a ship could be steered into (if the wind were in that ships favor) would be to fire a broadside into the enemy ships stern or bow quarter, so that balls traveled the length of the ship, wreaking the most havoc and destruction possible.

   
 


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 cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2008, 10:07:25 PM »
Quote
placement of large swivel guns in or on the masts, yard arms or any of the rigging of a ship

I can tell you don't have "Boarders Away II" by Gilkerson.  It is the most thorough work that's been done on naval swivel guns, lots of pix of real ones and drawings, and archival stuff, I think he has 25 pages or so on swivel guns and swivel howitzers.  The 2.75" King howitzer was used aloft, and there's hard-copy prime source documentation that shows UNITED STATES had 6-pounder howitzers aloft (if I remember correctly what I read.)  Or it may have been Spencer Tucker who had that in his book ARMING THE FLEET.  Since I wasn't around when these events took place all I can do is read and those two works have all the info., I can't claim to know anything about the events by direct knowledge except what I can infer from surviving specimens.

One very common swivel was the French "Pierrier" one-pounder bronze gun which Gilkerson has photos and drawings of, it has a 2" bore, and itself weighs about 180 lbs. without the iron swivel mount.  The French ships must have had many of these each, like a dozen or something, because there are still lots of them around in museums and collections.  This tube is basically the same shape as the US 6-pounder M1841, but with low trunnions as I recall.  I think there are either 2 or 3 of these in the collection.  There were many different manufacturers of this model in France so when I see one by a maker I don't have I'll try and get it.  I'll see if I can find a photo of one to post here.

I've got a naval 6-pounder howitzer swivel in the collection.  It is unmistakeably a naval swivel due to the wrought iron tiller somehow lodged in the bronze.  We shoot that one, but we have it mounted on a sliding wood carriage, not on swivel.

jPhotos:  6 Pdr. Naval Swivel Howitzer, French??

Sorry no powder can for scale, but the bore is 3.7 inch and total length is something like 29 inches going from my feeble memory.  It weighs about 170 lbs.  For unknown reasons it was cast breech up, as you can tell from how the gas bubbles settled.  Must have been made by an unskilled founder, who else would cast it breech up to leave all those bubbles in the breech?
















Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #13 on: September 09, 2008, 02:17:07 AM »
Here's a typical French Perrier, M1786, that's on display at the Maryland Maritime Museum in St. Michael's Maryland, about an hour or so from me.  I have one with identical marks, but the basering marks on mine are legible (manufacturer, date, place of manuf.) and I informed the museum that if they'd like that info, since the marks on their basering are gone, I'd pull my cannon out of storage so I could record the marks and forward it to them.  They didn't reply so I didn't bother.  As I recall the M1786 guns are about 40 in. long, and as mentioned before, weigh about 180 lbs.  I've seen some totally unmarked, some with only a weight on one trunnion and a registry or foundry number on the other trunnion, and some much more extensively marked, like mine that has the manufacture info on the basering.  I have another with the manufacture info deeply engraved on the breech face.








Offline Squire Robin

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2008, 10:56:48 AM »
Trinity Marine have a set of four Falkirk 6 pounders with original carriages, not to keen on their price though...

http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/

Fortunately I already have two  ;D


Offline Cannoneer

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #15 on: September 11, 2008, 05:33:09 AM »


Quote
I can tell you don't have "Boarders Away II" by Gilkerson.  It is the most thorough work that's been done on naval swivel guns, lots of pix of real ones and drawings, and archival stuff, I think he has 25 pages or so on swivel guns and swivel howitzers.  The 2.75" King howitzer was used aloft, and there's hard-copy prime source documentation that shows UNITED STATES had 6-pounder howitzers aloft (if I remember correctly what I read.)  Or it may have been Spencer Tucker who had that in his book ARMING THE FLEET.  Since I wasn't around when these events took place all I can do is read and those two works have all the info., I can't claim to know anything about the events by direct knowledge except what I can infer from surviving specimens.

   “Since I wasn’t around when these events took place all I can do is read and those two works have all the info., I can’t claim to know anything about the events by direct knowledge except what I can infer from surviving specimens.”

I don’t know what it is that I wrote that may have given you the impression that I think only people that have witnessed historical events or occurrences first hand should be the only individuals allowed to elaborate or expound about these observations in writing. If this were the case, I think you’ll agree that our libraries would be missing some great books, in fact there probably wouldn’t be many books in any library. All I simply meant by the question (Is the statement about the placement of large swivel guns in or on the masts, yard arms or any of the rigging of a ship an original supposition from you or did you obtain this information from another source?) was, did you utilize your own creative imagination in explaining that the dent in the carronade may have been caused by a swivel gun in the rigging or did you actually read a written account of swivel guns being fired from the masts of ships.

cannonmn, I’m sure you’ll agree with my following statement, seeing that you at times use the phrase “hard-copy prime source documentation” (I think you may also agree with me that some historians with the intention of impressing their readers sometimes show a tendency to over use that phrase): While I think it would be foolish to be a total skeptic I would also consider it equally foolish for a person not to have a healthy sense of skepticism when considering any purported facts that are presented to them.

I do not have access to either William Gilkerson’s, Boarders Away II or  Spencer Tucker’s, Arming of the Fleet at this time (I am now in the process of trying to get both books): Would you be kind enough to post a couple of quotes from these two sources that describe swivel guns being fired from the tops of a ship’s masts.
Your statement that a Daniel King Howitzer was used ‘aloft’ has really aroused my interest; I’ve been curious about these little howitzers ever since I first had the opportunity to read about them and then later see photos of  some of the surviving originals. Was the King Howitzer fired from the mast of a vessel from the First Continental Navy, and what is the source of this information?
The fact that there exists a written document from an eye witness that observed the use of 6 pdr howitzers that were somehow mounted in the rigging or on the fighting tops of the masts of a U.S. (Navy?) ship is indeed intriguing information; what is the time frame of this document and what exactly did this first hand witness report?

While it would be in my opinion idiotic to presume that it is an impossibility that swivel guns were at some time in history placed on the fighting tops of a war ship’s masts, I’m still going to make what might be called an informed guess that it may be improbable that this in fact ever did occur; in other words I’m saying that it’s possible that my guess could be wrong and if this is indeed the case I’d like for this fact to be proven.

As I stated in my first post the order given to the drummer to ‘beat to quarters’ caused a flurry of activity by the seamen on a fighting vessel and one of these activities would be for the Marine snipers to gather their muskets, balls and powder and make a quick ascension up the shrouds to their stations on the fighting tops. In the time period we’re discussing (the first quarter of the 19th century) there are so many descriptions of the accuracy of these marksmen in print that it would be nonsensical to deny the efficiency that these men exhibited when plying their deadly skills. Just reading the accounts of two American frigate’s battles will suffice as examples that prove the prowess of these sharpshooters; the USS Constellation’s battle with the French ship La Vengeance in 1800 and the USS Constitution vs. the HMS Guerriere in 1812.

At two different times in the battle the ships drew close enough to each other that both Captains ordered boarding parties formed, the second occasion was a brutal affair as the U.S. Marines up on the Constellation’s masts shot down on La Vengeance leaving her deck running with blood and covered with the bodies of the dead and wounded, and forcing the remnants of her boarding party to clear the deck and take cover. The source for this passage is Six Frigates: The Epic Founding of the U.S. Navy by Ian W. Toll.

Captain James R. Dacres, Royal Navy, to Vice Admiral Herbert Sawyer, Royal Navy   Boston 7th September 1812
This is the last paragraph of this letter: “I hope, in considering the circumstances, you will think the Ship entrusted to my charge was properly defended; the unfortunate loss of our Masts, the absence of the third lieutenant, second lieutenant of Marines, three Midshipmen, and twenty four Men considerably weakened our Crew, and we only muster’d at Quarters 244 Men and 19 Boys, on coming into action; the Enemy had such an advantage from his Marines and Riflemen, when close and his superior sailing enabled him to choose his distance.”
The Captain of the Guerriere even goes so far as to mention the American sharpshooters aloft as one of the main reasons for his defeat.

I have written about the exploits of the Marine snipers for a very specific reason, that reason being to ask the question; what in the world would necessitate the hoisting of a 200 pound swivel gun up into the fighting tops? A swivel gun is basically an anti- personnel weapon; do the above mentioned descriptions of the exploits of the U.S. Marine snipers give the impression that these leathernecks needed some additional fire-power?

I have already mentioned the hassle that it would be to use block and tackle to hoist a swivel gun up on to the fighting tops and I can’t envision them being kept there on a permanent basis (the fighting tops being in my opinion the only logical places on the masts where a swivel gun could reasonably be mounted).
The only place that a swivel gun would be of use on the fighting top would be mounted on the edge and this would mean the gunner would either be kneeling over or lying behind the gun, causing a hazard to the snipers that were trying to take positions that would give them clear shots. The explosion and ensuing smoke from firing the cannon would just be more of a distraction to the snipers, not to mention the danger of the sails being set on fire from smoldering powder being blown by winds back into the canvas. One of the standing rules of a sailing war ship was that only the bare necessity of black powder charges would be kept on a gun deck for each gun, the powder monkey’s job being to replenish this supply when needed; this would be impossible to do with a gun up top, and the only logical alternative would be for the gunner to take a number of bagged charges up with him and it doesn’t take much imagination to guess what would happen if one of the snipers were wounded and accidentally fired his weapon into the swivel guns stored charges or they happened to be hit by an incendiary projectile fired from the enemy ship. It just doesn’t seem reasonable to me that any commander of a ship would take these risks for so negligible an advantage to be gained.

 BTW, it’s always a pleasure to view the photos of ordnance you post; I really enjoyed the boat howitzer and the bronze French gun that looks like the smaller brother of our M1841 6 pdr.   

 
 
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 cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #16 on: September 11, 2008, 06:04:57 AM »
Thx for reply, I have to work most of the time for next several days, so I'll just post a pic (from the web) of the cover pic of the Gilkerson book showing a King howitzer being fired from a fighting top.



I could go through the two books I mentioned and retrieve the quotes requested but it may be better to hear from some other voices at this point, especially since I have to leave shortly, not ducking the question, just out of time for a bit.

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #17 on: September 11, 2008, 06:09:31 AM »
Squire,

   I can't remember which cannon forum I saw it on, (I know it wasn't this one) where there was a discussion about the carriages for your gunnades. I can see you've been working on them; is that an epoxy filler you're using? Do you think the carriages are going to be sturdy enough when you're done refurbishing them to fire the guns mounted on them?
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 Double D

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #18 on: September 11, 2008, 10:15:11 AM »




Is not the purpose of the long neck for the attachment of a tiller?

Offline Cannoneer

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #19 on: September 11, 2008, 12:15:58 PM »
Quote
Is not the purpose of the long neck for the attachment of a tiller?

Double D,

   On this boat howitzer what you see is what you get, the long handle is where you'd place your hand to move the barrel up and down and from side to side in it's swivel yoke to aim the weapon. On swivel guns that were meant to have inserted wood tillers the handle would be cast hollow.
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 Squire Robin

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #20 on: September 11, 2008, 12:40:24 PM »
Squire,

   I can't remember which cannon forum I saw it on, (I know it wasn't this one) where there was a discussion about the carriages for your gunnades. I can see you've been working on them; is that an epoxy filler you're using? Do you think the carriages are going to be sturdy enough when you're done refurbishing them to fire the guns mounted on them?


Haven't done anything to them yet apart from dry them out. Both beds are missing, the axles are very corroded and have worn away the inside of the trucks. Can't get the remaining trucks off because the wedges are rusted in solid.

Can't see me getting time off to do anything this side of Christmas.

Offline thelionspaw

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #21 on: September 11, 2008, 12:55:09 PM »
Sorry but I cannot fathom the taking of a 6 pdr aloft. It isn't practical.

First person accounts:  the veracity would be in question (?) and would depend upon whether it was being offered by a winner or a looser (?) for justification (?).  Think of the crappola that is being spewed today.

"Believe none of what you read and half of what you see".  The adage has worn well for all of these years and is still good advice.  

As for the book jacket's reproduction, there is always, "Artistic License".  

Melodrama; the public always enjoyed the thrill of action for action's sake.  Think of the movies they are cranking out today. Fanciful and farcical.

The gullible have always had a comic book mentality.  Feed them beans! The more things change, the more they remain the same.  The only thing that changes are the numbers.

Both sides had marines aloft with shoulder arms and grenades. Both sides would be picking off whomever was aloft.  Shoot a marine and you've shot a marine. There are always more. Shoot a cannoneer and you have shot a cannon.  I know that I would be trying to ring the big bell to win the cigar or Kewpie doll.

That's my opinion and I am prepared to repel borders.

Richard "The Doubter"

 
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Offline thelionspaw

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #22 on: September 11, 2008, 01:00:00 PM »
Squire,
I know there is a product on the market that facilitates the removal of rusted lags, fused in wood.  I believe it might be found in marine supplies.  I know the conservationists use something.

rc
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Offline GGaskill

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #23 on: September 11, 2008, 01:02:55 PM »
Shoot a marine and you've shot a marine.

True, but you have also lessened the number of attackers of your deck forces.  Take out all the opposition top force and the is no one attacking you.  Maybe some canister against the opposing fighting top?

Just speculation.
GG
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Offline Double D

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #24 on: September 11, 2008, 02:41:12 PM »
Trinity Marine have a set of four Falkirk 6 pounders with original carriages, not to keen on their price though...

http://www.trinitymarine.co.uk/

Sound like a group buy deal to me!

Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #25 on: September 11, 2008, 03:31:55 PM »
Got back from work early so I still have time to post some stuff.

Tucker, pp. 110:

Quote
During her engagement with the MACEDONIAN in 1812, the UNITED STATES carried three 6-pounder howitzers in her tops

The bronze swivel howitzer I posted photos above, with the iron tiller, is a 6-pounder howitzer.  It only weighs about 170 lbs. and kicks like a SOB.  I wonder how many of those three howitzers were still mounted in the tops after the battle!

Offline Cat Whisperer

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #26 on: September 11, 2008, 03:56:56 PM »
     Thanks John; that's the type of info we were looking for.  As for the "Carronade", does this battle scared veteran represent the clan well?

T&M



And from the radius gauges  you ALWAYS carry, what was the diameter of the ball that hit it?

Tim K                 www.GBOCANNONS.COM
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N 37.05224  W 80.78133 (front door +/- 15 feet)

Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #27 on: September 11, 2008, 03:58:16 PM »
Gilkerson pp. 84:

Quote
Mr. Anderson in Exercising the top men in the use of loading, pointing down on a Ship's decks, etc. the Howitzers, will be very particular in explaining to the Midshipmen, and in fact every man, Stationed in the tops in time of Action, every particular relating to the use of those important instruments of War, which if well managed, have often cleared the decks of an enemy, in a Short time-the lighting of one match by another, must be explained for tho' topmen may be very usefull in time of Action, if they are not well initiated and made to understand in all respects what they are placed aloft for; they are of no Service Whatever, and I have seen several instances, as well as the reverse-

Mr. Morgan will be particularly attentive to this order as Master Gunner, and explain it to Mr. Anderson as his 1st Mate.

United States Ship Constellation
at Sea July 31st 1798
THOMAS TRUXTUN

Offline intoodeep

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #28 on: September 11, 2008, 04:12:03 PM »
Here is a Swivel Howitzer that is supposedly of Dutch origin. This was recently for sale at a West Coast antique dealer. The dims are: 31½ Inches Long x 5¾ Inch Muzzle x 3¾ Inche Bore  Anyway, I think it's of neat design.



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Offline cannonmn

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Re: Found, Lincolnville Beach Cannon marked......FALKIRK
« Reply #29 on: September 11, 2008, 04:16:20 PM »
Quote
supposedly of Dutch origin

That would be easy to tell, all those made in the Netherlands had very standardized markings.  I can't see any marks on that one.