Cannon and uniform ID

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Hello, everyone. I found this picture of an artillery squad practicing in the archives at my college. They seem to be members of the precursor to our ROTC program. I found what I believe is a piece of compacted grape shot a few hundred feet from where this picture was taken. Can anybody confirm the model of cannon or type of uniform. I suspect they may be Civil War surplus, but I'm not sure. I know that this picture is 30 years after the war, so the equipment would be quite old at that point, but I thought it was worth asking about.

 

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[smokeythecat]

My guess - 10 pound parrott gun left over from the CW. And it looks like Indian Wars 5 button standard blouses/coats. Right after that the color changed and the blues were done away with.

 

[Mackaydon]

Have you asked at the Buhl Library Reference Desk? Or at the county library for the county historian?
Don.....

 

[Red-Coat]

You might be interested in these extracts from the Annual Reports of the War Department, Volume 4 (1895), relating to their inspection of the Grove City College military department.

There is comment that “a large number [of the students) were still unprovided with a uniform, which consists of a dark- blue blouse, trousers and forage cap”. Also that the institution was in possession of government property, including cannon described as “2 muzzle-loading rifles, 3-inch” which were “in very bad condition”, had been poorly cared for and hadn’t been fired or cleaned since “decoration day”.

 

[TheCannonballGuy]

The cannons in the photo lack a major identifying characteristic of a Parrott Rifled Cannon... the wide re-enforcing band which encircled the cannon's breech (back) end. You can see the wide breech re-enforcing band in the attached photo, which shows several 100-Pounder (6.4"-caliber) Parrott Rifles inside yankee Fort Brady on the bank of the James River a few miles below Richmond VA during the civil war.


The cannons in your old photo appear to have the shape of a US Model-1860 3"-caliber Ordnance Rifle. The uniforms could be anything, because they are being used by college/university students, not actual US or State Militia troops.

EnvoyToTheMolePeople wrote:
> I found what I believe is a piece of compacted grape shot a few hundred feet from where this picture was taken.

Cast-Iron will not compact, so if that is the metal it's made of, it cannot be a grapeshot. A lead grapeshot can get "smushed" by impact.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

EnvoyToTheMolePeople wrote:
> I found what I believe is a piece of compacted grape shot a few hundred feet from where this picture was taken.

Cast-Iron will not compact, so if that is the metal it's made of, it cannot be a grapeshot. A lead grapeshot can get "smushed" by impact.

Yes, the ball was lead. If I remember correctly, you were the one who ID'd it for me. I didn't know about this picture until later, so I thought the ball could have been French and Indian war, but somebody posted a picture of similar shot from the Civil War, which made me reconsider.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

You might be interested in these extracts from the Annual Reports of the War Department, Volume 4 (1895), relating to their inspection of the Grove City College military department.

There is comment that “a large number [of the students) were still unprovided with a uniform, which consists of a dark- blue blouse, trousers and forage cap”. Also that the institution was in possession of government property, including cannon described as “2 muzzle-loading rifles, 3-inch” which were “in very bad condition”, had been poorly cared for and hadn’t been fired or cleaned since “decoration day”.

View attachment 1930774 View attachment 1930775

I've never seen this document before, but based on what Cannonball guy said and this document, the two cannons are probably the ones mentioned in the document, confirming they are Civil War surplus model 1860 3 inch muzzle loading rifled cannons.

 

[EnvoyToTheMolePeople]

Have you asked at the Buhl Library Reference Desk? Or at the county library for the county historian?
Don.....

I never spoke to our county historian, but I did speak to our college archivist. She was very helpful, but not 100% sure about the origin of the cannons.

 

[DCMatt]

I never spoke to our county historian, but I did speak to our college archivist. She was very helpful, but not 100% sure about the origin of the cannons.

There are several War Department reports on Google Books from the 1890's in which Grove City College is included. I read their military department was created in April 1, 1891. The June 1891 report says they expect to purchase military equipment and suitable drilling grounds for the Fall session. With no armory on campus, they expected to use the armory of the town's militia to store equipment.

According to the 1895 report, cadets were only taught how to load the pieces as there was no range for actual firing practice.

Cool stuff...

 

[DCMatt]

Here is a portion of the 1892 report which confirms the earlier posts of 3 inch Ordnance Rifles (apparently provided by the government) and adds a bit more information: