TWIN SISTERS CANNONBALL FOUND?

[OldSowBreath]

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/main/7360070.html

If the above is true, that the cannoball found did come from one of the Twin Sisters cannons used at the Battle of San Jacinto, it will be one of the most remarkable finds of the century, as far as Texas history is concerned. The Twin Sisters themselves are lost, and I have spent a lot of time researching where they might be buried, and have searched for them with a metal detector, obviously without results. Clive Clusser thought he had pinpointed where they were buried after the Civil War, but did not unearth them. My only concern about this story is that I thought when the Twin Sisters were commanded to fire by Sam Houston, only grape shot and cut up chain and horseshoes were fired. It could be that the first shots fired at Santa Anna's forces were in fact solid shot. No doubt chain and horseshoes were used after that.

 

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[Boomdeyada]

Thank you for posting that,
My great+ uncle fought and died at the Battle of San Jacinto.

 

[fossis]

Thanks for posting this.

Fossis............

 

[Bell]

Yep, a hunting buddy dug it. The mexicans were shooting canister, and nothing of that caliber, also they would have had to have shot it at themselves for it to end up where it did, which is behind what was formerly believed to be the battlefield, and behind the mexican position. Id give anything to have been there and held it. Maybe we will see the sisters come up one day. Folks have a pretty good idea of where they should be, trouble is its under a major railway in the middle of a bunch of refineries.

 

[sjones5348]

Hi I actually have a cannonball that I found on the banks of the San Jac river when Iwas 13 (I'm 24 now), My dad took it to a "Historian" that told us it wasn't anything of importance and offered my dad $350. Even though my family needed the money at the time my dad told the "Historian" no thanks that it was my cannonball and he would let me make that decision. I still have my cannonball but I am very protective of it and have never had it looked at. Thanks for posting this article because my cannonball looks exactly like the one in the picture.

 

[moondog]

Hello , it might be of interest to you that I am the one who found the Twin Sister Cannonball at San Jacinto. I am one of the metal detectorist who worked with the Archeo team at San Jacinto. It is the one being held by Commsioner Garcia. It is a 4 pounder, very crude with a showing mold seam. If you read the book 18 Minutes by Steve Moore, he has a chapter in there about a young blacksmith from San Felipe writing his father and telling him that they are melting horse shoes to make cannonballs for the Twin Sisters which were originally 4 pounders and then bored to 6 pounders at the beginning of the Civil War at a foundry in Louisanna and then shipped to Galveston.

Bobby McKinney
Rosenberg, Texas

 

[SKR]

Interesting Chronicle article. I believe I saw this 4 pounder at the San Jacinto Museum a few years ago. I believe the cannon originally had a supply of cannon balls made by Miles Greenwood's Eagle Ironworks, but most were lost during shipment to Texas. I think a few of the remaining Greenwood balls or others were fired at San Jacinto on the first day of the battle as there were reports that trees were cut in half.

 

[SKR]

Stephen L. Moore's detailed book and almost every Texas author or history buff will tell you that Twin Sisters cannon were originally 6 pounders, but my research shows they were definitely 4 pounders. I've been telling people this for years, but few believe me or care either way. I even attempted to get the Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning News, San Antonio Express and Austin American Statesman to write a factual history of the cannon for the 175th anniversary of the San Jacinto Battle, but found little interest in setting the record straight. Most editors and authors seem to prefer the myth and mystery of the Twin Sisters and not the true story of their creation. That's Texas history for you.

 

[darthoblio]

When I visited the San Jacinto battlefield sometime in the 1980s, I felt as if I'd been there. My wife and I were following along behind a tour, but not attached to it. I started tell her, "Sam Houston's forces were here in these trees, and Santa Ana's soldiers were right over there." I don't know how I knew it although I had read the history. It just all seemed so familiar. The tour guide overheard me and without any sarcasm, started asking me questions about the battle. I dunno...I do believe in reincarnation, but.....

 

[AUDIOSWAMP]

I could not help but notice that You said the Twin Sisters were buried !!! and knowing how Army's have set rules for everything that they do!! this may help in locating the cannon ? Here in Georgia our Twin Sister cannon was lost in time also only to be found 10 years later by a young boy looking for lizards under a rock pile {The cannon is now on display at UGA in Athens GA }My question is did the Army have a set way to dispose of or hide cannons and other items ?

 

[OldSowBreath]

I could not help but notice that You said the Twin Sisters were buried !!! and knowing how Army's have set rules for everything that they do!! this may help in locating the cannon ? Here in Georgia our Twin Sister cannon was lost in time also only to be found 10 years later by a young boy looking for lizards under a rock pile {The cannon is now on display at UGA in Athens GA }My question is did the Army have a set way to dispose of or hide cannons and other items ?

Its been a long time since I posted. In a nutshell, here is probably the best account of what happened to the cannons: At the end of the Civil War, they were seen in downtown Houston with some other field pieces that were going to be sent off for scrap by the US government. Several recent Confederate veterans recognized them and in the night took them down the bayou to Harrisburg (very near Houston) and buried them near some pine trees and near the bank of the Bayou. I put some credence in this story because the soldier who left us this history later became a respected State Appellate Court justice. In his account, he mentioned landmarks which I could still find today, and did find in county records. He attempted to find the site in the 1920s but so much of the ground had changed that he was unable to do so, and of course, there were no metal detectors at that time. I spent a lot of time where I thought they were with a metal detector, but all I find was lots of concrete rebar which had been used as fill in that area.

In the last day or so, I have been in contact with a gentleman who claims to have one of the cannonballs. He obtained it from a very elderly gentleman in Pasadena (near the battlefield). I have held it, it is the right size and weight, but has a very pronounced "nipple" for want of a better word, on it. By nipple, I don't mean like one on a musket, but rather much larger. I believe cannoballs were used in the first round of firing because the record says they opened fire first at 200 yards from the Mexican line. I don't think chain, nails and cut up horseshoes would be remotely effective from that range due to the scatter pattern.

I wonder if the man I talked to is on this board and posted above. I would like to acquire it and left him my card.

 

[icetman]

Thank you for posting that,
My great+ uncle fought and died at the Battle of San Jacinto.

A little late to this but have been researching the Twin Sisters and saw this site.

Boomdeyada, my name is Todd Homman and I am a member of the Sons of the Republic of Texas The Sons of the Republic of Texas , LONE STAR CHAPTER in The Woodlands, TX The Sons of the Republic of Texas , and it would be an honor to have you join us if you haven't already but if not no need to live in Texas to be a member. Your family history is amazing and we have several members who had their ancestors at San Jacinto among other Texas Battles including the Alamo, Goliad and Gonzales.

Our membership is open to all who have an direct lineage (father or mother, not uncle or aunt) to their ancestors who where here in Texas before it was a state, February 19, 1846 or before. SO come join us and REMEMBERING and HONORING The REPUBLIC OF TEXAS!

 

[khopfe]

Hello- I decided to start here to identify a cannonball my father gave me before he passed. His story was that it was found by a surveyor near Main Street or Old Spanish Trial in Houston near the present day Astrodome in the 1960's. It appears to weigh about 1 lb exactly and be 3 inches at its widest part.

 

[texasvarmit]

View attachment 869848

Hello- I decided to start here to identify a cannonball my father gave me before he passed. His story was that it was found by a surveyor near Main Street or Old Spanish Trial in Houston near the present day Astrodome in the 1960's. It appears to weigh about 1 lb exactly and be 3 inches at its widest part.

hello khopfe,
Nice Houston cannon ball!

My father was the superintendent on many construction jobs in Ft. Worth and DFW area and I had an uncle Roy who was a construction super in Houston, and he also worked in New Orleans, and found cannonballs in New Orleans. My father found a lot of old stuff while working in downtown FW, including a great wrought iron horse hitching post with a wrought iron ring for tying up a horse, old porcelain signs, one cannon ball, bottles, coins, etc.

the above photo: the upper right cannon ball is the one that my dad found in downtown fort worth, it is really rusted out badly but could date to the military fort which was around 1849 here. The wrought iron hitching post, I need to get photos of, but it is now firmly planted in our front planting area, set in about 2 bags of concrete so it can't be stolen by kids etc. (I wrapped the base of the wrought iron with a asphaltic compound to keep the lime in the concrete from destroying the iron)

Your cannonball looks like the one upper left of my photo which is a US civil war era cannonball. That is one great find!

BTW, the broadaxe head in my photo was dug near the San Fernando cathedral (built 1731) in downtown San Antonio, very deep below ground (about 8 feet plus)

 

[westpointdaughter]

Hi. I am a new member and am very interested in your post.
A West Pointer fired the Twin Sisters and my father would like to point you to the West Point channel to get your research authenticated. He, too, is quite the history buff!

 

[SKR]

Good morning Westpointdaughter and welcome to the forum. Thank you for your interest in my Twin Sisters research. I'm also a relatively
new member here. I believe two sets of field pieces (Hollow Ware Cannon- 6 pounders and Twin Sisters Cannon- 4 pounders) actually came
out of Cincinnati, Ohio and were shipped to Texas in 1836, but only the smaller set made it to San Jacinto in time for the battle. I'm not sure
how the U.S. Military Academy can authenticate my research, but I will shoot you a PM, when I'm more awake and have more time.

Sloan

 

[texasred777]

It's been a LONG time ago; but I remember a little paper-back Texas history book (written like a comic book). I believe the book was about 11" or 12" long, about 5" or 6" tall, and about 1/2" to maybe 3/4" thick. It was given to the students in the 7th grade of the Itasca, Texas elementary school in about 1955. I don't remember if we were allowed to keep them, or if we turned them back in like our other books at the end of the school year. If I remember correctly, it stated something about Jean Lafitte giving those cannons to Texas. Can anyone tell me if I'm correct (or if the book was correct)? I remember a little cartoon showing two of the Sam Houston's soldiers running forward, with a couple of cannonballs zooming overhead, and a balloon over one of the soldier's heads saying: "Ain't them sisters sweet!" I'll make myself a note to see if I can find a copy of that little book sometime.

 

[SKR]

I don't know about comic book history or a Jean Lafitte connection, but the best "published" account of the Twin Sisters arrival
in Texas is Stephen L. Moore's Eighteen Minutes. No pirates involved.

 

[SKR]

Well, Westpointdaughter's father contacted me and also professed that he wanted to help me authenticate my Twin Sisters Cannon research through the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. After a few email exchanges, the whole thing backfired in my face as the colonel exposed his ulterior motive for wanting to assist me. He SEEMS to have a very West Point-centric view and has some need to place her graduates in preeminence over ordinary officers and enlisted men in American and Texas history. He only wanted to place West Point graduate William C. Stilwell in a place of prominence in Gen. Houston's cannon crew at the expense of artillery commanders Col. James C. Neill, Col. George W. Hockley and the other members of their small command. When I wouldn't play this game, he dropped his offer in a fuss like a hot cannon ball. Beware of unsolicited offers of historical charity on the internet. It could be a big BOOM-doggle for the other party's benefit. 8(

 

[Geodude8]

Not sure there is any remaining interest since the last post on this thread is dated 2014. But just in case...we have a 3-inch diameter cannonball retrieved circa 1970s during a construction project from a chemical plant located near the battle grounds. Construction worker who found it gave it to my father-in-law because he knew it would be meaningful to him - my wife's ancestor fought at San Jacinto and relayed the message of victory over Santa Ana to President Burnet in Galveston. Tried sharing a photo of the cannonball with the San Jacinto museum several years ago but never received a reply. We have no proof it was shot from the Twin Sisters but it sure looks like the one Sylvia Garcia held in her hand - same size and same weathering pattern. Just wanted to share this with others who might be interested in hearing about it.