As soon as I saw the cannon featured in Cat Wisperer's new thread titled, 'Postal shoot, new shop toy', I started digging through my stack of,
The Artilleryman magazines. I just knew I had seen that tube somewhere before, and I was right! Back in the Fall of 2002, Capt. Art Krause, who maintains the Ordnance Survey for the State of Maine, wrote a very interesting article on Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol, a unique cannon with a fascinating history.
From the article: "The piece is located at The Castle, Port of Dover, where it has remained since the end of the English civil wars. The bronze cannon is described as a “basilisk.” The tube is 24 feet in overall length and has a 4.75-inch bore. In 1613 the gun was loaded with 18 pounds of powder and a 10- pound ball. At 2 degrees elevation the shot carried a distance of 1200 yards.
The highly decorated tube was cast in the city of Utrecht in 1544 by Jan Tolhuys, bell and gun founder of that city. In May of 1545 the piece presented as a gift to Henry VIII by Maximilian van Egmont, Count of Buren. The count was a military commander in the service of the emperor and was on friendly terms with Henry."
The breech inscription reads, in Dutch: “As breaker of ramparts and walls, Am I known; O’er mountain and valley fly balls, By me thrown.” A more fanciful verse has long been associated with this gun and it appears on Victorian and Edwardian postcards which feature this gun at it's Dover, England location. The verse often quoted is, “Load me well and keep me clean, I’ll carry my ball to Calais Green.” Calais, France that is.
However, the most interesting detail to me that Captain Krause mentions in his article is the fact that
the carriage bears a relief of the head of Queen Elizabeth's archenemy, Philip II of Spain surrounded by vipers! So, East Coast Moderator guy, Timothy, are you going to add a few vipers to your new gun?? Could be an excellent way to psych-out your competition in the up-coming Postal Shoot, Tim!!
Tracy
Cat Whisperer's new Postal Shoot gun. Do you see it's resemblance to the Elizabeth I cannon?
Queen Elizabeth's Pocket Pistol with it's long, slender tube.
