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1861 Parrott Rifle 2.9 inch registry number 10

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Discussion starter · #62 · (Edited)
After doing more reading and looking over the findings above, there’s nothing I’ve found that’s solid enough to conclude that no. 10 was definitely in one Confederate battery or another. However if I had to guess based on all of the circumstantial evidence I’ve collected, I’d guess it was one of the two (later three) 10-pounders in Reilly’s Battery, aka Rowan Artillery, originally formed in North Carolina. This is one of two units that we know for sure was armed with 10-pdr Parrott Rifles captured at Bull Run. The other was the 1st Rockbridge Artillery. Then there are three other units I listed in post no. 60 which are possibles but to me less likely because I haven’t found anything definite stating they received artillery captured at Bull Run.

A few posts back you’ll find a 4-page inventory of Reilly’s Battery done in the field: 1861 Parrott Rifle 2.9 inch registry number 10

No. 10‘s bore is “shot-out,” no rifling left. The vent either has an odd repair or has been replaced. These two features indicate the weapon was fired extensively, and probably continued in service well beyond when it should have been retired. The tube has drag marks on top, showing it was dragged upside-down over rocky soil. I havent yet found a good explanation for this. Take a look at the history of the Rowan Artillery here, there are details of where the guns fired, when, and how many rounds. One thing is clear in this history, the guns fired rapidly and depleted one ammunition chest after another. In one battle they got so hot a round “cooked off” and fired before the primer could be inserted.

To expand a bit on the extensive firing, Reilly’s battery reported firing 5174 rounds in the actions mentioned on pages 564-578, covering a 7-month period ending before Gettysburg. I’m guessing it fired over 2000 rounds at Gettysburg. So it is easy to see how the battery would have guns with worn bores and vents.

The chapter on Company “D” begins here:

books.google.com

Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, in the Great War 1861-'65

books.google.com

Link to the book:


Back to the beginning for a moment, I’ve now had more time to gather data and think about which of the two US batteries at Bull Run actually lost No. 10 to the Confederates on July 21, 1861. My answer is again based on circumstantial evidence, but after I write it out, hopefully soon, it may convince you the gun had been part of Griffin’s Battery.
 
Discussion starter · #64 ·
cannonmn said:
After doing more reading and looking over the findings above, there’s nothing I’ve found that’s solid enough to conclude that no. 10 was definitely in one Confederate battery or another. However if I had to guess based on all of the circumstantial evidence I’ve collected, I’d guess it was one of the two (later three) 10-pounders in Reilly’s Battery, aka Rowan Artillery, originally formed in North Carolina. This is one of two units that we know for sure was armed with 10-pdr Parrott Rifles captured at Bull Run. The other was the 1st Rockbridge Artillery. Then there are three other units I listed in post no. 60 which are possibles but to me less likely because I haven’t found anything definite stating they received artillery captured at Bull Run.

A few posts back you’ll find a 4-page inventory of Reilly’s Battery done in the field: 1861 Parrott Rifle 2.9 inch registry number 10

No. 10‘s bore is “shot-out,” no rifling left. The vent either has an odd repair or has been replaced. These two features indicate the weapon was fired extensively, and probably continued in service well beyond when it should have been retired. The tube has drag marks on top, showing it was dragged upside-down over rocky soil. I havent yet found a good explanation for this. Take a look at the history of the Rowan Artillery here, there are details of where the guns fired, when, and how many rounds. One thing is clear in this history, the guns fired rapidly and depleted one ammunition chest after another. In one battle they got so hot a round “cooked off” and fired before the primer could be inserted.

To expand a bit on the extensive firing, Reilly’s battery reported firing 5174 rounds in the actions mentioned on pages 564-578, covering a 7-month period ending before Gettysburg. I’m guessing it fired over 2000 rounds at Gettysburg. So it is easy to see how the battery would have guns with worn bores and vents.

The chapter on Company “D” begins here:

books.google.com

Histories of the Several Regiments and Battalions from North Carolina, in the Great War 1861-'65

books.google.com

Link to the book:


Back to the beginning for a moment, I’ve now had more time to gather data and think about which of the two US batteries at Bull Run actually lost No. 10 to the Confederates on July 21, 1861. My answer is again based on circumstantial evidence, but after I write it out, hopefully soon, it may convince you the gun had been part of Griffin’s Battery.
Click to expand...
 
Discussion starter · #65 ·
Search goes on. I reread the section of the book linked on post 62 which gives the number of rounds fired by the battery each day. That got me wanting to see the source material for those numbers. I’m guessing they kept a record of how many rounds each piece fired, and maybe that material mentions registry numbers. Anyway I went looking for Reilly’s descendants to see if he left any pspers behind. But the people I tried to locate were either deceased or had non working phones for other reasons. Next stop: see what State of N.C. has. That’s been more productive, there’s some material at UNC left by one of the battery commanders, John A. Ramsay, and I’m investigating now.
 
Discussion starter · #67 · (Edited)
The wonderful folks at UNC have scheduled a look-thru of the Ramsay collection, CAPT John A. Ramsay being the last commander of Rowan Artillery. My search has to wait its turn obviously, and I may have to go there, about 6 hrs away, don’t know yet. They know I’m looking for details on the guns, particularly the “right section” of two Parrott rifles. Will I be crushed if no. 10 wasn’t one of them? No, because that will still be valuable info (process of elimination) and I’ll shift focus to the next most likely battery mentioned above.

Meanwhile I’m spending some time checking the theory that all wrought-iron vent bouchings were exclusively the work of Confederate ordnance people. I haven’t been able to determine what metal Robert P. Parrott used for vent bouchings on his newly-manufactured rifled 10-pounders. I bought the book “Fighting for the Confederacy” edited by Gary W. Gallagher, the recollections of Gen. Edward Porter Alexander, who was the CSA Chief of Ordnance. 664 pages, small font, Alexander had a lot of recollections about family, friends, generals, battles, and about everyone he ever met.

One thing I learned from the book was kind of surprising-I’d always thought that at Gettysburg, Gen. Longstreet was communicating directly with Pickett prior to the Ill fated Pickett’s Charge. No, Longstreet had fully delegated the decision on whether and when Pickett should charge, to Alexander. So Alexander actually ordered Pickett’s Charge. According to Alexander.
 
Discussion starter · #69 · (Edited)
Here’s an interesting entry in the July portion of an invoice from Tredegar Foundry, charging the Confederacy for bushing 6 cannon vents at Malvern Hill on 31 July 1862. Rowan Artillery was in that area resting and training after the Battle of Malvern Hill on 1 July. We don’t know for sure they were bushing Rowan’s guns, but it is entirely possible. The invoice comes from the “Citizen’s File” for J.R. Anderson, & Co., a business name under which Tredegar operated.
Image
 
#70 ·
John,

I am very much enjoying your research.

I was taught by my old field training officer about investigations, keep after it! Sooner or later you may find what you are looking for. Along the way you will also learn so much more.

We see the history of each battle well documented, but what did "they" do in between battles.

Thanks John.
 
Discussion starter · #71 · (Edited)
Discussion starter · #74 ·
Another aspect of No. 10 that I’ve wondered about is the corroded horizontal surfaces. The gun must have been stored outside without paint. Most iron Civil War cannons I’ve seen have better furnace finish, so must have had paint remaining at end of War so rain didn’t bother them. Why didn’t no. 10 have paint remaining? The red book pictured above relates an incident where one of the two Parrotts in Reilly’s battery got so hot a round “cooked off” firing spontaneously due to heat. The crew poured water from their canteens down the bore to cool it. That much heat must have degraded the paint.
 
Discussion starter · #76 ·
While waiting for info from UNC, I’ll post 2 muzzle photos for comparison. No. 21 is owned by a friend, also came out of a cemetery, and shows considerable firing based on appearance of vent and muzzle. No. 10’s muzzle shows much more wear, with very little rifling remaining, and has obviously been fired a great deal. I’m not sure there’s enough rifling left to impart sufficient spin to projectiles. It may still be usable with canister rounds.
Image

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Discussion starter · #77 ·
A very helpful UNC grad student is browsing thru the collection looking for details of the artillery in possession of The Rowan Artillery. So far she hasn’t found any gun numbers although type and caliber of the weapons are mentioned-nothing new, has all been published already. But this excerpt is probably the very first version: Adobe Acrobat
 
Discussion starter · #78 · (Edited)
So maybe tomorrow the UNC lady will report on the last folder in the Ramsay papers “likely” to have more specific info on the cannons, folder 15. It is supposed to contain some ordnance returns among other things. Keeping fingers crossed, even though none of the other returns of ordnance/ordnance stores I’ve seen for the Rowan Artillery has contained any registry numbers.

What does this mean to my project, the current goal of which is to determine which Confederate artillery battery received and fought No. 10? Now that I’ve downloaded dozens of “returns of ordnance/ordnance stores” for several different Confederate batteries from Fold3, it is obvious that cannon registry numbers weren’t generally used for reporting/record keeping in the Army of Northern Virginia. If any unit used them, I’d expect it would be Reilly’s Battery, since CAPT. James Reilly was an ex-US Army Ordnance Sergeant, with experience going back to the Mexican War. I think the Artilleryman and battery officers simply saw no need to record the registry numbers of each gun, and higher-echelon Confederate ordnance officers didn’t seem to have promulgated any requirement for it.

If we never find registry numbers, we’ll still have all the previously-noted circumstantial evidence, which so far, has been consistent with No. 10 having been issued to and used by the Rowan Artillery, aka Reilly’s Battery, from August 1861 through 5 April 1865.
 
Discussion starter · #79 ·
Im still curious about the “dragged”-looking top surface of the barrel. I haven’t found any written description of guns of the Rowan Artillery having been dragged, but reading about one battle in which they were engaged makes me wonder if they didnt Have an experience similar to that of the Richmond Howitzers in this excerpt from Stiles’ book:

Image
 
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cannonmn
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