The Verbruggens, father and son, were in charge of the Royal Brass Foundry from 1775 to 1786, when they both had died. Jan died 10/1781 and Peter died about 2/1786. Being the brass foundry, they didn't make iron guns. There are a few sources of information on their 3 pound cannons but each is confused. Steve Strauch discusses the 3 pounders and provides photos of many of them. Unfortunately, some of the photos are not too helpful. Adrienne Caruana wrote the book "Butterflies and Grasshoppers", but got some of it mixed up. David McConnell's book about British Muzzleloading Artillery adds some details but ... (Incidentally, I am looking for a copy of that one) Carel de Beers book on the Art of Gun Founding is a dandy, if you can find the edition with the color prints which he did alone. The earlier addition with the black and white drawings, which he co-authored with Melvin Jackson, is OK. However, the full story is this. In February, 1775 the Verbruggens got a contract to make 6 three pound cannons which had been designed by Pattison. It had been shown to the King with success and it could be carried on the shoulders of the crew in an emergency. While completing that contract they were given another contract to make 4 three pounders which had been designed by a Mr Ward who was from Ireland. The Pattison was 36" from breech ring to muzzle and weighed about 190 pounds. There is an original of that gun today in Perth, Ontario Canada. I have photos of that gun. The other 1775 gun was 32" long and was sponsored by Mr Townsend. Which gun belongs to Townsend has been the subject of most of the confusion surrounding the Verbruggen 3 pounders. A letter written in 1775 specifies that the Pattison and the Townsend are two different guns and the Townsend is 32" long. I make a copy of that model with a elevation ring under the neck. There are two originals of that gun today. One is mounted in a wall at West Point and the other is on display at the Smithsonian. The weight is 207 pounds. The two 1775 guns were sometimes referred to as grasshoppers as they could be carried on carriages equipped with shafts to move them in a manner similar to that of a modern deer carrier with wheels in the middle and handles fore and aft. Throw your deer or cannon on the top and run around the field with it. The Pattisons and Townsends were shipped to the colonies in late 1775. Caruana's book shows a drawing of the procedure with a Townsend on it. It shows the ogives and fillets each side of the trunnions which are missing on the Congreve and it is missing the ogive and fillet on the rear of the chase, which is different from the Pattison. The third gun of the 3 was ordered from the Verbruggens in late January, 1776 and they cast a couple of dozen of them for the Canadian campaign of General Burgoyne. It and its carriage were designed by Congreve. It was called a butterfly because of the 2 boxes which were mounted on the axles on each side of the gun. It, like the Pattison, is 36" long and weighs about 218 pounds. "Butterflies and Grasshoppers" shows this carriage with canister in one side box and ball in the other side box. Powder charges of varying weights were carried in the trail box and could be dismounted behind the gun for safety. The balls and cannister stayed mounted with the gun. There are several of these available in historic locations. This is the usual cannon utilized by most artillery units re-enacting currently. It is characterized by a clean, lower cost appearance, without the ogives and fillets that are found on the two guns of 1775. A drawing of it along with that of the Pattison are in Caruana's book. There is no drawing of the Townsend. The names of Congreve and Townsend are frequently used incorrectly which has been the source of the confusion surrounding the Verbruggen 3 pounders. Both the butterfly and the grasshopper were used with a limber to carry additional ammunition as well as a wall gun This setup is pictured in Caruana's book. Early drawings and models show that there were 3 bands on the wheels, an inner washer band, a central band next to the outside of the spokes and a linch band on the outside. Mueller and Rudyerd both show this configuration. The original models are at Woolich.
