Cemetary Cannon

[subdjoe]

   Boom J or anyone. I must confess my ignorance of cannon nomenclature. What are the rimbases? I've always been just a shooter and pyromaniac. I'm just now starting to delve into the more historic side of things. Much to learn, if you'll bear with me....

RIMBASE: The short cylinder, or shoulder, which united the trunnion with the body of the weapon. Its purpose was to provide extra strength at the trunnion junction and to limit any sideways movement in the trunnion beds.

from: http://civilwarartillery.com/

[tapwater]

   Thanks subdjoe. That's one I can add to my vocabulary.

[GGaskill]

Rimbases are the enlarged portion of the trunnions next to the barrel that make the barrel fit closely in the carriage cheeks.  Usually they are cylindrical with a small radius transitioning to the barrel but on a wrought iron rifle, they are streamlined into the barrel without a cylindrical section.

[coehornboy]

FYI:  Almost all cannons/tubes that you see on GAR monuments or in cemeteries are still the property of the United States.  At the end of the last century, the military "loaned" (a term used on most archived documents) the guns to a specific GAR post. THis has allowed the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW, the heirs to the GAR and chartered as such by Congress) to block the sale of these historic items and, in some instances,  to succesfully sue for their return.

A 32 pounder Bureau Ordnance rifle was "given away" and hauled off from a cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California, as a committee thought it was an eyesore.  By obtaining documents from the National Archive that showed that the gun was on loan and still belonged to the military, we were able to get it returned, and after being restored, is the centerpiece of the GAR plot.

[KABAR2]

The barrel looks like it is mounted backwards on its stylized carriage.

   Funny...I've always had that impression too. At least it keeps water out of the bore. It could seep around the concrete, freeze and do damage.

It may have been re mounted that way when the traffic circle encroached on where it is displayed the plates over the

trunnions look like stainless steel hence replacements, the barrel mounted in its proper position would stick out into the road when mounted

properly.

[Cannoneer]

FYI:  Almost all cannons/tubes that you see on GAR monuments or in cemeteries are still the property of the United States.  At the end of the last century, the military "loaned" (a term used on most archived documents) the guns to a specific GAR post. THis has allowed the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW, the heirs to the GAR and chartered as such by Congress) to block the sale of these historic items and, in some instances,  to succesfully sue for their return.

A 32 pounder Bureau Ordnance rifle was "given away" and hauled off from a cemetery in San Luis Obispo, California, as a committee thought it was an eyesore.  By obtaining documents from the National Archive that showed that the gun was on loan and still belonged to the military, we were able to get it returned, and after being restored, is the centerpiece of the GAR plot.

Welcome to the forum, Coehornboy, and thanks for your post, there's some very interesting information contained there. I knew what words the letters "GAR" represented, and also knew some facts about this organization, but the "SUVCW" is entirely new to me. I made a quick search on the web, and quickly found out about some of the good work they're doing in the area of providing help (sometimes, in the form of legal representation), to individuals and citizenry that feel that either they, and/or the local authorities where they live have been conned or bullied into parting with the historical artillery that's been on display in their communities for generations, with their final goal being to get these ordnance pieces back to the places where they were originally on view, and hopefully also where they provided a source of public pride.   

[Cat Whisperer]

coehornboy -

First post and contributing to our knowledge base!

WELCOME to the board!

What's your preference to shoot in big bore?

[tapwater]

   Finally got a few more pics and info.
The bore at the muzzle does indeed measure 3 5/8". There is no rifling that I can see or feel. I don't see a vent on top or bottom, but still, it could be plugged and painted over. There are several coats of paint, a gray coat is under the top coat of black. I can see no markings anywhere, but the trunnion ends are hidden by the marble base. A magnet tells me that the whole tube is ferrous. Over all length is 73 3/4".

[Cannoneer]

Thanks Tap, you did some fine investigative work here. This gun is definitely not an M 1861 3-inch ordnance rifle, it's in all probability a reproduction made to replace the cannon that was originally mounted on that display base, and was installed at this cemetery at the behest of the GAR. The fact that the barrel is ferrous metal would logically rule out the possibility that the original gun was lost to a metal drive for either of the World Wars.

[intoodeep]

Could it be a 6pdr. Griffen gun?? There were a few of them made.

[GGaskill]

Could it be a 6pdr. Griffen gun?

I thought about that but the Phoenix guns prior to the M1861 wrought iron rifles were profiled with straight lines, not the all curves style of Rodman.

[Cannoneer]

Could it be a 6pdr. Griffen gun?? There were a few of them made.

I thought about that but the Phoenix guns prior to the M1861 wrought iron rifles were profiled with straight lines, not the all curves style of Rodman.

George is right, the surviving examples of Griffen's efforts in making 6 pdr smoothbore guns of wrought iron don't have the the graceful lines, and smooth transitions of form that his latter rifled cannon design has. The breech face of the 'Griffen Gun' more resembles the Federal Napoleon's than it does the rounded form of the 3-inch ordnance rifle, and the rimbase joins the barrel at a straight right angle. BTW, the second Griffen gun photo is of another GAR cemetery monument located in Story City, Iowa.

[coehornboy]

coehornboy -

First post and contributing to our knowledge base!

WELCOME to the board!

What's your preference to shoot in big bore?

Beside the 1/3 scale 2.6 " bore in my previous post, I have a coehorn mortar and 2 half scale medieval guns with 1.25 bores (i'll post pics in a seperate thread)

Thanks for the welcome...been lurking for a while