Buried Confederate Cannons

[lance]

 The book- Galloping Thunder, The Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion by Robert J. Trout       Pages 645-646 tells about:
 Confederate Lieutenant Colonel Chew, buried the remnants of three batteries- carriages burned and cannons buried when he reached the Staunton River. This was done a few days after the Appomattox surrender.

Anybody know what kind of cannons he buried?

Are they still buried?

If they are still buried, i'd like to see them found and put in a museum.

[Boom J]

Lance, the paragraphs below are basically part of an obituary written for Col. Chew in the magazine "Confederate Veteran" in 1922. None of the twelve pieces that were buried on the banks of the river are identified, but it does state that they were never recovered.

The Confederate Veteran 
PUBLISHED MONTHLY IN THE INTEREST OF CONFEDERATE ASSOCIATIONS AND KINDRED TOPICS.
A Compilation of Monthly Issues for 1922
Officially Represents:
United Confederate Veterans,
United Daughters of the Confederacy,
Sons of Veterans and Other Organizations,
Confederated Southern Memorial Association.
Sumner Archibald Cunningham, Founder.

Col. R. P. Chew,
 "On Tuesday night, March 14, 1921, peacefully passed away the gallant and heroic spirit of Colonel Robert Preston Chew, the brilliant Confederate artillery officer, whose record of service in the army began at the early age of eighteen, when his diploma of graduation was handed him at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va., in the spring of 1861."

 "As the war approached the last stages at Appomattox, Colonel Chew with a small squad of daring men from his battery, eluded the forces with which General Grant sought to crush the remnant of General Lee's army. They retreated south to join Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, then in North Carolina. A flood on the Roanoke River impeded the retreat with their guns; to prevent the Federals from capturing these, the gun carriages were burned and the cannon themselves were buried along the bank of the river. The men succeeded in crossing the river and in joining General Johnston, with whom they reluctantly surrendered a few days later. The Colonel afterwards made several visits to the Roanoke River in an effort to recover the buried guns, but never succeeded in locating them. The spot was surrounded by immense stretches of pine woods, far from human habitation, making it impossible to identify the location."

[GGaskill]

Metal detectors.  Of course they need at east some idea of where they were.

[Cat Whisperer]

Has t here ever been an organized or systematic search?

Hmmm.  What's happenin' this weekend?  .....     

Would they be worth digging up?

[RocklockI]

if they were bronze they'd be ok ....i think ....

[Siskiyou]

It would be an interesting search even if the cannons were not found.  Just trying to track the unit as they moved South.  The information is conflicting; I can find the Roanoke River, and town of Staunton.  The obit refers to the Roanoke River.  It would be interesting sorting it all out.

Just think the cannons might be here,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith_Mountain_Lake

Or if he was making a bee line for North Carolina to join forces the cannons might be here. 

http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/jhkerr/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_E._Johnston


I rather doubt they were buried real deep,  I would think they would have been found by now with all the metal detectors entering the market in the 1960’s.    Looking at the age of the reservoirs the cannons could have been flooded when they were filled.  The water would protect them from treasure hunters.

[dan610324]

if its bronze cannons they would probably be as good as new after some cleaning .

[mechanic]

Be sure you are on private property with a metal detector.  In some states, Georgia is one, any navigable river is under the domain of the Corp of Engineers, thus the Feds, and it is a Fed offense to remove anything of the sort from that property.  I had this spelled out to me in no uncertain terms, even though I was up on the bank above normal water level in the Chattahoochee River below Columbus, Ga.  I left with a warning and not a citation.  Removing an arrow head from running water could be a felony here.

[lance]

 I apologize for being late with this post, and i want to Thank all of You for the input.  All i ask of you is to help in any way you can on this topic.  I have lot's of old books and maps, and will be glad to work with all of you any way i can. After reading the book, i have imagined what Lt. Col. Chew might have done and where he might have buried the cannons. According to this book, he left New london, Va. and buried the cannons at the Staunton River. Did he take any main roads? Did he cut a path?

My goal on this topic is this: If the cannons are really out there, maybe they can be found and put in a museum as a National Treasure. Sorry, i couldn't resist.

Anyway, This is something we can all work on and be a part of. If you know someone that can help,ask them,or invite them to join us.
See ya'll, morrow nite.   Thanks you guys,Lance

[Siskiyou]

This is located South of  New London near the N.C. line.

Scroll down and read the history part regarding the name.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/sta.shtml

[lance]

  I'm thinking some of us should get together and take a road trip, to scout out the area the cannons might be in.
  No digging tools, just cameras.
  The link Siskiyou posted in reply #9 looks like a perfect place to set up a base of operations.

[Cat Whisperer]

The way the economy has been going, we might all have a week laid off and could do it!   

[subdjoe]

Remember that in 150 years a river can drasticly change course.  Or, as has been pointed out, they could be under water in a resivoir.  Or, if the area were they were buried was in the back of beyond, they may be in the middle of the river under tens of feet of sand and gravel now. 

STill, it would be an interesting project.  And I bet you could put together a proposal, get some govt. grants and permits, and do a legal search for them pretty much anywhere - all paid for by the government (maybe even get paid to do it).  Anyone know someone who is a grant writer?

[cannonmn]

When I started collecting cannons, I went chasing after some of the "buried on retreat" ones, or "lost when crossing swamp."  I'd pick up some of those stories from a now-famous, late relic hunter named Matt Mason, who worked part-time at Governor's Antiques outside Richmond, VA.  The White Oak Swamp was where there were supposed to be a couple of Napoleons sunk in the mud, could only see the lunettes or remains of the tip of the trail when it hadn't rained in months.  Then there was the one near Fredericksburg, VA in the middle of the Rappahannock River, could only be seen during times of draught.  Nothing ever turned up, and it always seemed to me that the old timers would spin those yarns just for us newbies.

After wasting considerable time chasing those rumors with no results, I was able to prove to myself that it was a lot easier to spend the same amount of time working a second job, put the money away, and buy cannons at auction or from other collectors.  This of course is not nearly as romantic as finding cannons in the wild, but I have more tons of proof than I'd like to admit that my method works.

[mechanic]

I know where a sunken and burned stern wheeler is in the river near me.  It has some swivel guns on it, and in the best of conditions, you can see parts of it under about 8 feet of water.  I was told only the local university could get grants and permission to tamper with it, and then it would involve building a  barricade, pumping out the water and doing a full archaelogical survey.  Meanwhile they've been sitting there 150 years.

[Cat Whisperer]

There are a few of those in/near the Missouri and Mississippi rivers (and a few others).

One such came to light a couple of years ago out in the middle of a field in Western Iowa.  They found it IIRC by observing something in a satellite picture.

[lance]

 Might as well add this: Page 645 of the same book:   White Rock- New London area- Lurty's, McClanahan's and Thomson's Batteries:
 On the evening of the 9th April 1865,spiked and burned 30 fine pieces of artillery.
 Just think, there are cannons scattered all over the area.

 If we get enough people involved, maybe we can get at least a cannon or two put in a museum.
 
 

[1Southpaw]

the river had changed channels and the ship was high and dry so to speak in the middle of a field . Think it was in a Farm magizine  where I read of the discovery .