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Cannon And Carriage I Picked Up

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Joined
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Summerville, SC
Just had to grab this cannon and carriage. The barrel is 4' iron, and heavy. Luckily my back didn't give out getting it unloaded. The carriage is made of solid oak. I plan on sleaving it, if it isn't already.

Any thoughts on this would be much appreciated

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Welcome to the world of cannons, you will need some cap squares for your trunnions :thumbsup:
 
Are there any hints on who made it, or how it was made? Is the tube made of Iron / steel? You don't want to do anything other than display an aluminum tube! Does the bore look like it's of consistent caliber all the way down? That would indicate it was a drilled bore diameter rather than cast over a clay plug. These days, many cannons are cast iron (or steel) over a DOM (drawn over mandrel) steel liner, but some, like Steen Cannons starts out with a big steel blank, and then machines it down.

If there are hints in the dating that would be good to know too. In the olden days, cannons were molded with the muzzle down over a clay plug. The impurities would be lighter than the iron, and float to the breech end, or in to the cascabel and got cut off as scrap, or otherwise known as dead heads. If the foundry's metallurgical quality control wasn't that great, then some times the impurities were in the actual breech area, and a failure there doesn't just hurt one person, it killed the whole gun crew.

So be careful with it. Odds are you'll be fine, but I would still proceed in firing it with caution. A metal x-ray wouldn't be entirely out of order either before firing, especially with full power projectile loads.

Looks really cool though. Great find. In the looks of how it was displayed as found (in a second hand store) you probably got it pretty cheap.
 
Thanks for the reply's

What I know so far, it is cast iron material and I will be stripping the barrel of paint at a later date, in an effort to try and identify it.

The carriage is old, probably from the early 1900's based on the wood and screws used.

I will post more detailed pics of it soon.

I am not sure if the barrel has been vented, as the touch hole is covered in paint.

The bore appears to be the same dimension

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Col. Batguano said:
Looks really cool though. Great find. In the looks of how it was displayed as found (in a second hand store) you probably got it pretty cheap.

It all depends on what you call cheap. I consider the 1500.00 for a cannon of this size with carriage to be a bargain! A decent flintlock will set you back that much
 
Very nice gun! I, too, would be interested in sleeving it so it could be shot with projectiles, if you can find a place to shoot it.

That is either a copy of a naval carriage or a carriage used in forts with wood decks (floors).

Oh, the cost of the gun is not nearly as much as accessorizing it. Wait until you build the ship or fort it goes with. :grin:

Gus
 
Nice signal cannon. They ain't made to shoot loads, just signals.

Amen, Sister
I have a ca. 1800 signal cannon, 1" bore. Have fired signal loads from it many times. About 120 gr. bp gives a nice report. If no elevating wedge or screw originally existed, that means it is not intended for use with projectiles.
 
Seems to me that a 2 7/8 inch bore in Mule Brain's cannon is a bit large for a "signal cannon"?

Maybe it was designed for firing when the School for the Deaf team scored a touchdown? :hmm:
 
:idunno:
Seems to me that a 2 7/8 inch bore in Mule Brain's cannon is a bit large for a "signal cannon"?

Dunno. I have never read a history of signal cannons. How far away to you want it to be heard? A yacht/boat starting cannon has to be heard over wind and waves. If I remember correctly, in 'The Friendly Seas' a fortress 42" cannon was used to signal incoming ships from sea at considerable distance.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
Nice signal cannon. They ain't made to shoot loads, just signals.

Amen, Sister
I have a ca. 1800 signal cannon, 1" bore. Have fired signal loads from it many times. About 120 gr. bp gives a nice report. If no elevating wedge or screw originally existed, that means it is not intended for use with projectiles.

The carriage does have an elevation block. I however don't think the carriage is original to the barrel. I would also agree, it is a bit large to be a signal cannon. I will find out more once I get the barrel stripped of paint
 
What is the diameter of the breech? The N-SSF has some pretty good safety rules concerning artillery. If you consult them concerning your piece, that would be a good starting place. Other safety measures are also applicable of course, as have been discussed in above posts.
 
I'd love to know what you find.

I really think it is a large signal cannon. The gun seems a little small for other uses. Sure that bore is a bit large, but look at the walls of the barrel. They seem a bit thin for a projectile larger than 2 inches....

Now all that said...I am jealous of your cannon. I am not allowed to bring home any cannons, amusette, punt guns or grenade launchers from the period.
 
Fyi, I got a GOOD LAUGH out of your comment about cannons not making a good broth.

IF I'd paid that much for it (I probably wouldn't have, as I don't need a cast iron pot on the top of my head!!), I'd have it lined with some STRONG steel tubing & shoot it with live ammo.
(2 to 4 pounder cannon were once common in TX & Latin America for farm/ranch defense.)

yours, satx
 
satx78247 said:
(2 to 4 pounder cannon were once common in TX & Latin America for farm/ranch defense.)

That's pretty cool - can you point me towards some readings on their use?
 
Offhand, I can think of two such sources:
1. WITH SANTA ANNA IN TEXAS, A Personal Narrative of the Revolution by LTC Jose Enrique de la Pena, republished by TA&MU Press
(LTC de la Pena mentions the "fortified ranchos, which have cannons for defense against hostile Indians".)
AND
2. The very lightly fictionalized book, LOVE IS A WILD ASSAULT (Virtually ONLY the names of persons, who were living at the time that the book was written, have been changed) by Elithe Hamilton-Kirkland.= Ms. Kirkland used Harriet Potter's many diaries/journals to write her book.
("Our very own East Texas Wildcat", Harriet S. (nee Ames) Potter & her husband Robert S. Potter owned & often used a 3 pounder, according to Harriet's diary of June 1835, "to drive away evildoers, cutthroats & renegades from our Love Nest on Caddo's shores".)
Note: A physician & gun collector in Smith County, TX owns a (Spanish made) 3-pounder that was recovered from Caddo Lake in 1954. - He believes that he has the "notorious Mrs. Potter's cannon" but this is not & cannot be proven, to my knowledge.

yours, satx
 
Also THE GONZALES CANNON of Texas Revolution fame is a Spanish-manufacture 21.5" long piece of about 1.5" bore, which was intended to be a Fiesta Cannon but was also used with shot/powder to fire upon & frighten away Comanches & was fired at least 3-4 times at the Mexican lanceros during the 02OCT1835 skirmish at Gonzales.

yours, satx
 
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