Lecture on ARTILLERY IN THE U.S. - March 20, 2010

Figure 1. Melvin Huston Displayed Several Types of Artillery Rounds During His Presentation

Mr. Melvin Huston has a big interest in guns.... especially Big Guns! On Saturday, March 20 at the Bedford County Historical Society library, Melvin shared his wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm for artillery. Since it isn't practical to collect and display guns that weigh between 500 pounds and six tons, Melvin showed examples of cannonballs and artillery shells, together with a Power-Point presentation as he discussed the history of artillery (Figure 1.).

Here are some highlights of Melvin's presentation on artillery.

The first cast iron artillery piece came to the Americas in 1539 when Hernando de Soto landed in what we now call Tampa Bay, FL. He brought two artillery pieces that weighed 6,000 pounds each and required thirteen horses to pull each one. Transporting the guns westward grew so troublesome that de Soto gave them to the local inhabitants of the Mississippi delta region.

In the 1600s Jamestown Colony had what they called "murdering pieces" for defense against the Spanish. By the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, artillery weighed much less and could be pulled by several horses. During the War of 1812 gun makers had switched to lighter, thinner, and more elastic bronze and brass. Some Civil War artillery could be disassembled and transported on horses (Figure 2.).

Figure 2. Artillery disassembled and packed for transport

Figure 3. Melvin shows a Parrott Gun projectile found on the Civil War battlefield at Chancellorsville, Virginia

A simple fact of US artillery history caused quartermaster's frustration in wartime. The United States government had no national foundry, and private foundries had no standards. Guns and projectiles from different foundries could not be mixed and matched.

Figure 4. The Captured German Cannon on the Square

When asked about the cannon on the Bedford Square, Melvin had the answer. Bedford's cannon is a Model 1895 German piece. Manufactured in 1912, it is one of six captured in WWI.

A second cannon - a Model 1855 Griffen smoothbore - is protected within the Fort Bedford Museum. It was cast at Phoenix Iron Company, Phoenixville, PA, in 1861. Of the thirty-six guns made before Phoenix began mass-production for the Union Army, eighteen were sold to Egypt. Philadelphia bought the remaining twelve guns to protect their city from Confederate attack. The Commonwealth moved those twelve guns in 1866 to the new arsenal in Harrisburg and then gave them to the Pennsylvania National Guard.

Figure 5. A Model 1855 Griffen Smoothbore 6-Pounder

In 1890 the Griffen 6-pounder, serial #12 of the 36, was brought to Bedford for the dedication of the town's Civil War memorial, "The Man on the Monument." No one wanted to pay the freight back to Harrisburg so Bedford-town kept the gun and placed it in the Square.

For years, fun-seekers attempted to fire the cannon in secret; eventually the town spiked it. Spiking involves pounding something into the vent hole and bending or breaking the "spike" so no ammunition can be fired. However, only sealing the muzzle would keep the local "kids" from firing "cherry bombs" and firecrackers in the cannon!

Melvin told of two rules in artillery battalions. During wartime, artillerymen had instructions to never lose a gun to the enemy. Secondly, if a crew had to leave a gun behind, they spiked it so it was useless to the enemy.

During Melvin's work at Kennametal, he served the Pennsylvania National Guard as a tank commander. He describes himself as "a nuts and bolts man," more interested in in studying the technical aspects of these pieces and not their precise use in wars and battles. Melvin has assembled an amazing library of books on artillery; if you need to learn about artillery, Melvin is the "big gun"!