Artillery limber box ?

[skunkskinner]

Was there a certain color used on artillery boxes and cannon carriages in the civil war?

So far on the net I have seen
dark green
light green
yellow
blue
gray
brown
black
and olive
The iron supports on all of them are black.

Theres no help from the war pictures, and there are no museums close around here. I have looked for sum kind of documentation,but must be looking in the wrong place.

Just push me in the right direction please.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

According to the US Ordnance Manual of 1861, olive with black iron. Here from the Confederate Ordnance Manual of 1863 (a reprint of the '61 US Manual) page 169 under the heading of "Quantity of Paint for a Carriage" in Chapter VII - "Paints, Lackers, etc.":

"A priming of lead color and two coats of olive color are applied to new wood work, and 1 coat of lead color and 1 of black, to the iron work."

Straight to you from the horse's mouth.... :wink:

 

[pichou]

The olive was mixed from yellow (YELLOW) and black (BLACK), and is the color of real olives... or maybe a little paler and grayer, but not modern OD green.

 

[skunkskinner]

Thank you Gentlemen very much. Olive it is, and I will order the US ordnance manual to, If it is available. :hatsoff:

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

There ya go, it'll even tell you how to make the paint...

 

[pichou]

http://books.google.com/books?id=dKlEAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=army+ordinance+manual

Olive Paste. Yellow ochre, pulverized 68. Lampblack '. 1.1 Boiled oil 37. Spirits of turpentine 0.4 Make a thick paste with the ochre and oil

Liquid Olive Color. Yellow ochre (French) 46. Boiled oil (raw, 45) 40. Litharge 5 Lampblack 2 Spirits of turpentine 5 Japan varnish 2

 

[rifleshooter2]

Here is a formula for the paint I got from another Cannon Forum it's supposed to be used at the Saratoga military museum. Civil War is a little out of my time period (our carrages were blue 1790's) but this should work for you.

The Home Depot Behr
Premium Plus Int/Ext High Gloss
Deep Base (8300) Quart

Colorant OZ 48 96
B Lamp Black 1 3 1
KX White 0 9 0
L Raw Umber 1 13 0
T Medium Yell 0 21 1

 

[dallas10c]

Here is a pic I took last month while visiting my folks in VA.. They live right next to Chancellorsville and Wilderness Battlefields.

Hope it helps

PM me and I'll send you a copy you can blow up for a better view.

 

[kansas_volunteer]

If you want to get down to really precise detail, you might try contacting the museum at Fort Sill, OK. As the Arty School is there, they have a great collection of old guns and reference materials. Think of it as The Museum of the Fur Trade for Artillery nuts.

http://sill-www.army.mil/museum/research%20and%20inquiries.htm

 

[skunkskinner]

Thanks for the info and links guys.

I can see that I'm going to have a lot of fun with this new endeavor (Cannons).

 

[uncrichie]

Go to www.artillerymanmagazine.com e-mail Pete Jorgenson and he will be able to give you the correct formula. I'm pretty sure it was he or someone else who contributed an article for the magazine that had some original CW pieces. They had the paint scanned and have the paint codes. Hope this helps. Kurt.
PS, they will also send you a free sample issue of the magazine on request. I got it for several years and its very informative reading.

 

[omarick1948]

Good up to the CANNON SECTION of this forum and ask those guys. They will give you the information you need! JMHO

 

[skunkskinner]

Good up to the CANNON SECTION of this forum and ask those guys. They will give you the information you need! JMHO

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